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Amarinder announces special grant for Harsa Mansar village CHANDIGARH, Dec 15: Lauding the service rendered by residents of Nondiscript Harsa ....more ANSU sponsored capital bandh begins peacefully ITANAGAR, Dec 15: The dawn to dusk capital bandh, called by the All Nyishi Students’ Union (ANSU) began here at 0500 hours this morning amid ..more Children
worst-hit MUKERIAN, PUNJAB, Dec 15: The train tragedy near Mukhsar in Punjab left ten-year-old Mintoo. ...more Foundation stones of imperial Delhi unveiled NEW DELHI, Dec 15: After 93 years, history was revisited today as the foundation stones marking the establishment of Delhi .....more |
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Chautala Govt will not CHANDIGARH, Dec 15: The Congress today urged the Chief Election Commissioner to order deployment ......more HC suggests police verification for issuing mobile connections PATNA, Dec 15: The Patna High Court today suggested cellular phone operators ....more 7458 persons killed in Kashmir, North-East and Naxal violence NEW DELHI, Dec 15: A total of 7458 persons were killed in 10, 788 incidents in .....more Ailments
on the rise KOLKATA, Dec 15: Lifestyle-related ailments like hypertension and diabetes are....more |
Amarinder announces special grant for Harsa Mansar village CHANDIGARH, Dec 15: Lauding the service rendered by residents of Nondiscript Harsa Mansar village close the yesterday’s train accident site, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today announced a special development grant of Rs ten lakhs for the village falling in Hoshiarpur district. "The Government has decided to provide a special development grant of Rs 10 lakhs for the Harsa Mansar village for the service rendered by its residents immediately after the train mishap," the leader of the house made this statement on the floor of the Assembly here. The residents of Harsa Mansar village carrying iron rods, axes, ropes and other handy material had rescued scores of injured as the site of collision between Ahmedabad bound Jammu Tawi Express and local train painted a gory picture. Correcting his statement made in the House yesterday that 50 passenger had died in the ghastly accident, the Chief Minister said "the death toll is 37 and its not 50 as I said." He said that all the dead and injured were evacuated and shifted to various hospitals. "The injured were provided adequate treatment," he added. "The cause of the accident is apparently human error," he said. The Chief Minister, who alongwith Assembly Speaker Kewal Krishan and Health Minister Romesh Chand Dogra visited the spot yesterday, said that four bogies were substantially damaged in the collision. (PTI) |
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ANSU sponsored capital bandh begins peacefully ITANAGAR, Dec 15: The dawn to dusk capital bandh, called by the All Nyishi Students’ Union (ANSU) began here at 0500 hours this morning amid tight security measures. All the educational institutions, private offices, Central Government establishments and business establishments remained close while State Government offices remained open with thin attendance. All sorts of vehicles remained off the road, while long distance buses were cancelled. However, a few state transport buses were seen plying on the road with escort. Magistrate on duty, police and para-military personnel, ambulance, press, hospitals, pharmacies, water supply, electricity and milk van were, however, exempted from the purview of the bandh call. The district administration has made elaborate security arrangements to thwart any untoward incident during the bandh. So far no such incident has been reported from any part of the capital complex, police sources said, adding police forces were maintaining strict vigil in all vulnerable areas of the state capital and regularly patrolling along the highway. The bandh is the first phase of the agitational programme launched by the students’ body in protest against the State Government’s failure to fulfill its demands, including cancellation of the suspension order of Mr K Wahge, the executive engineer of PWD division A, who was suspended on December nine last after the dacoity incident in his office, and resignation of Home Minister Jarbom Gamlin. The ANSU would also resort to 24-hour bandh in five districts of the state namely Papum Pare, east Kameng, Kurung Kumey, lower Subansiri and upper Subansiri on December 20 next which would be followed by a 36-hour bandh in these districts on December 27, if the Government failed to fulfill its demands. The apex organistion of the Nyishi tribe, the Nyishi elite society, during a press conference here yesterday has extended its moral support to the ANSU on its series of bandh call. The society also threatened to resort to rigorous democratic movement if the State Government failed to fulfill the demands. Meanwhile, the Students Community of Changlang District represented by All Changlang District Students’ Union (ACDSU), Tangsa Students’ Union (TSU), All Tutsa Students’ Union (ATSU) and United Students’ Association of Bordumsa (USAB) has given a 48-hour bandh call from 0500 hours tomorrow to protest over the brutal murder of a Zila Parishad Member (ZPM) at Diyun under the district on November 30 last allegedly by Chakma refugees. The students’ organizations have also demanded immediate removal of Chakma and Hajong refugees from Changlang, proper investigation and arrest of the culprits, award of life long imprisonment to the culprits and proper security to ZPMs and VIPs, according to an ACDSU release here today. (UNI) |
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Children worst-hit by train accident MUKERIAN, PUNJAB, Dec 15: The train tragedy near Mukhsar in Punjab left ten-year-old Mintoo orphaned with both his parents and two sisters killed in the accident. Mintoo, however, had a miraculous escape and suffered no injuries in yesterday’s accident which killed 37 people. The boy was returning from Jalandhar with his family after attending a cousin’s marriage in Pathankot in the DMU train which collided head-on with the Jammu Ahmedabad Express. His father Dalbir Singh, mother Neelamjit Kaur and sisters Baljinder and Harpreet were killed in the accident. The four bodies were brought to the Mukerian civil hospital last night where mintoo was seen crying bitterly. Tragedy struck another four-year-old girl Komal who lost her mother and brother in the accident. Komal along with her family members had boarded the DMU train from Bhangla village, just two km from the railway station near Mansar where the incident occurred. Her mother Bholi and brother Pawan Kumar lost ther lives in the accident. Komal, who was admitted to the Mukerian hospital with injuries in her left eye and shoulder, was unaware of the death of her family members. She was repeatedly asking her relatives the whereabouts of her mother and brother. The accident occurred at around 1150 hrs at Mansar village, lying between Mirthal and Bhangala stations. The DRM put the final toll at 37 while 50 people are said to be injured. Sources said 26 bodies had been identified so far. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the kin of the deceased out of which Rs one lakh would be released immediately. (UNI) Foundation stones of imperial Delhi unveiled NEW DELHI, Dec 15: After 93 years, history was revisited today as the foundation stones marking the establishment of Delhi as capital of the British empire were unveiled here. The stones, virtually forgotten in two identical chambers of the imposing North Block and South Block near Rashtrapati Bhavan, were unveiled by Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a function appropriately called ‘Yaadgaar’. The stones had originally been inaugurated by King George V and Queen Mary of England on December 15, 1911 to mark the shifting of the British empire from Kolkata to Delhi. They were initially placed at the Kingsway camp and shifted to their present locations on July 31, 1915 after construction of the two buildings, which now house offices of important ministries, was completed. However, they were soon forgotten and the condition of the historic chambers, used mostly by security personnel, deteriorated rapidly. When the significance of the chambers dawned on the Government, it was decided to restore and open them to the public as museums, a top Home Ministry official said. Pictures of the construction of the two building have been put up in the two chambers, close to Vijay Chowk, to remind citizens of the imperial origins of the city. The museums would soon be opened to the general public though they can visit it only on particular days of the week, the official said. "They may soon become popular tourist attractions of the city," he added. It would also give people a chance to visit a portion of the North Block and South Block, which are presently out-of-bounds to the general populace because of security reasons. Patil and Mukherjee said this was an attempt to recall the historic past of the Indian capital. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit was also present at the ceremony. The North Block was the first building to come up in imperial Delhi, followed soon after by the South Block. Both buildings were designed by British Architect Herbret Baker, who incidently also planned the Parliament House. (PTI) |
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Ailments on the rise among elderly in Bengal KOLKATA, Dec 15: Lifestyle-related ailments like hypertension and diabetes are on the rise among the increasing elderly population in Bengal, a gerontology study here said. "Seventy-five per cent of the elderly people suffer from hypertension with heart problems and 73.1 per cent reported having walking and vision problems, and 68.2 per cent of them suffered from diabetes," said Dr Dilip Chakraborty, head of the department of Mathematics, Netaji Nagar college which conducted the study sponsored by the University Grants Commission. According to the study on the condition of the state’s aged people, 40 per cent of the respondents described healthcare available to them in the state as bad and only a meagre three per cent rated it as excellent. The study, which will be released tomorrow at a seminar, observed that while in the 19th century about one in 40 Indians was over 65, today one in eight is over 65. "And the age group growing fastest in our society and in many other countries is the people aged over 85," it said, adding, 52.49 per cent of the old people suffered from depression and emotional stress. The study also focussed on the financial aspect of the age-group. "We have surveyed about 10,000 elderly people in the state, among whom 6,000 were from the urban areas, and found that 45.08 per cent of them do not receive any cash benefit at the time when they need money most," said Dr Chakraborty. "31.95 per cent of them receive pensions, 20.80 per cent are lic holders and only 1.75 per cent are under the monthly income schemes," Dr Chakraborty said. "According to the last census, nearly 4.66 per cent of the total population in West Bengal was over the age of 65, recording a 0.5 per cent increase in the total population in the age group from 1991 census," he said, adding that 27.45 per cent were aged 75 or above living in the urban areas. Speaking about the employment factor, he informed that only 12.18 per cent of the elderly people were working on full-time basis, 12.74 per cent on part time basis and 73.65 per cent were unemployed. (UNI) |
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VHP slams BJP for ‘failing’ to take up Seer arrest issue KOLKATA, Dec 15: Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Ashok Singhal today slammed the BJP for "failing" to take up the issue of Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi’s arrest aggressively in the Parliament and said that "the house should have been stalled" as it was "a much bigger issue than the Ramjanmabhoomi". "Parliament could not function for 18 days on the Ramjanmabhoomi issue. The Kanchi Seer’s arrest was a much bigger issue than that. False charges were inflicted on him which we cannot tolerate. The house should have been stalled on this issue. BJP should have taken up this matter aggressively in Parliament. All those sitting in Parliament are spineless," Singhal told a press conference here. The VHP leader asked "why do we live in this country when we cannot raise this issue of insult to the Hindu samaj in Parliament?" Making a broadside at the fast undertaken by the BJP leaders in protest against the Seer’s arrest, Singhal said that they had observed a day’s token fast and next day they switched over to the issue of price rise. "For them price rise issue is more important, not the Hindutva," he said. He said that the BJP did not take up the Hindutva issue even after the return of L K Advani as the party president. "Majority of the BJP workers wanted to fight for the cause of Hindutva but not those who are in the leadership of the party," Singhal said. Stating that the Sankaracharya was insulted, Singhal asked "could anyone dare to arrest Pope? even no chargesheet was filed against the Kanchi Seer". The VHP leader also squarely blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for arresting the Seer in a murder case. To a question regarding VHP floating a separate political platform to take up the cause of Hindutva, Singhal said that he never talked about VHP launching such platform. He said the Hindus wanted a platform which would take up their cause and fulfil their aspirations. "I do not say that the VHP would do it. But this is a historic necessity and it will be fulfilled one day". Asked that there was not much protests in the country against the Sankaracharya’s arrest despite VHP’s efforts, Singhal retorted that a bandh was observed in 70 percent areas of the country in protest against the arrest. "VHP workers did not resort to violent method to enforce bandh like the Communists," he said. On whether he wanted suspended BJP leader Uma Bharti to join VHP, he said that Uma could come to VHP but she would not take up any post in the BJP.(PTI) Another batch of troops leaves the Valley SRINAGAR, Dec 15: The troop de-induction from Kashmir valley, begun on November 17, continued today with another batch of troops leaving, though with "a heavy heart" and promising to return as tourists. "We are leaving with a heavy heart as we had developed good relations with the locals, who are fed up with the violence and want to live in peace," soldiers boarding the vehicle said. They said a majority of the people in Kashmir are peace-loving and very helpful. "However, because of some outside elements the atmosphere has changed," they said and prayed for peace. Many of the soldiers said that they would come back as tourists to see the beautiful sights of Kashmir. "As soldiers, we could not move out of from our camp," they said, adding they will also bring their families with them next time. The batch of soldiers left here this morning as part of the troop de-induction from the Kashmir valley. "It is a continous process and will continue," Defence Ministry Spokesman LtCcol V K Batra told reporters at Rengreth, though he declined to dicsclose the place and name of the batallion for "operational reasons." Troops who have left the Valley as a part of de-induction will not return, he said. Lt Col Batra said troops are being withdrawn after accessing the ground situation. The de-induction started from November 17 when Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh arrived here on his maiden visit to the Valley. The decision to withdraw the troops from here was criticised by a number of organisations, including Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). They alleged that violence in the Kashmir valley has increased after the de-induction started. However, the separatist organisations, including breakaway Hurriyat Conference (HC) said the de-induction was just a drama to mislead the world. The human rights violations by security forces, including rape, have increased after the "drama of de-induction" started, they alleged. However, almost all mainstream political parties have welcomed the move and said it will help to built confidence among the people. (UNI) Lalu according higher priority to rallies than Railways : BJP NEW DELHI, Dec 15: The Bharatiya Janata Party today took strong exception to the conduct of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and accused him of giving greater priority to prepare for the political rallies in Bihar rather than rendering a helping hand to the victims of yesterday’s accident near Hoshiarpur in Punjab which had claimed nearly 50 lives. BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters that the way the Railway Minister had rushed to his home state of Bihar, after a cursory visit to the accident spot, for overseeing the preparation of a rally was ‘most condemnable’, leaving the victims in the lurch. "We are sorry to say that Railways is his last priority," he said. The opposition would have taken a lenient view if the Minister were to be sick or had been permitted by the chair for absenting. The cavelier manner in which he had handled the Parliament, not even giving a statement on the accident, was most insulting and a person like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to insist that the Railway Minister should be present in the House to provide the much needed information to the House. Asked if the opposition were ready to hear Mr Lalu Prasad since they were imposing some sort of a boycott against him on the tainted Ministers controversy, Mr Malhotra said, the opposition had heard him yesterday on the accident and will hear his statement to the House. "He shall also explain his ‘conduct’ to the House, because if he can fly to Delhi by a special flight, he could have done it today itself without insulting and embarassing the Parliament," Mr Malhotra said. He said the NDA leaders had met in the chambers of leader of the opposition L K Advani after the Lok Sabha adjourned to discuss the floor strategy since there was no consensus on the issue. "We are happy that ‘good sense’ has prevailed and the L S was adjourned for the day," he said. He disagreed with the statement of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that the opposition was making this a big issue and that they were issueless. "If killing of 50 people in the rail disaster is not an issue what else can be," he asked. (UNI) Children suggest frequent Indo-Pak dialogue for normal relations CHENNAI, Dec 15: "The relations between India and Pakistan could be normalised only through frequent but sincere dialogues and people-to-people interaction." This was the suggestion made by a Pakistani student, though in bureaucratic parlance, to a poser raised by 13-year-old Tamizharasan, a student of Human Rights Education (HRE), from Rasipuram in Tamil Nadu. The two were sharing the impact of the HRE on their lives and societies through video-conferencing facility, organised by the institute of human rights education of people’s watch-Tamil Nadu here yesterday. Santosh, an eighth standard student, narrated to his counterparts in Islamabad how the hre helped them understand children’s rights. "For the past three years, we have stopped buying fire crackers for Deepavali as we learnt that children are employed in firework factories in Sivakasi," he said. The much-expected interaction, which was marred by frequent disruptions, had to be abandoned after a while as the link was severed despite frantic efforts by organisers. "You know the situation between India and Pakistan. It is difficult to establish the link again," a Pakistani technician could be heard saying. However, later in the day, the children shared their experiences with an UNESCO official in Paris through video-conferencing. (UNI) |
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