JAMMU : 300 people have died and 25 suffered injuries in floods that battered the state last September, the Jammu and Kashmir government today said.

In a written reply to the question of NC member Shehnaz Ganai in Legislative Council, Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Basharat Bukhari said that due to floods of 2014 in the state 300 people have died and 25 persons injured.

He further said that apart from damage caused to 26,1361 structures, farm sector of 3.27 lakh hectares of agricultural land and 3.96 lakh hectares of horticulture land also suffered damage.

Under public sector, 6,910 kms of road length, 559 bridges, 3,063 PHE schemes, 6,423 irrigation works and schemes, 4,202 sub-stations, 11,671 kms of electric conductors, besides 6,466 other buildings suffered damages.

The government is contemplating to get the disaster management plan for whole state approved by the disaster management authority and in future all the disasters including floods be effectively dealt as per the state disaster management plan.

The World Bank has agreed to fund USD 25 million for capacity building, setting up of emergency operating system and strengthening of state disaster management authority.

The government also said that over 2.60 lakh houses and 75,000 business establishments have been damaged in the floods.

As many as 2,61,361 houses have been damaged during September 2014 floods in the state, Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Basharat Bukhari said in a written reply to the question of NC member Bashir Ahmed Veeri in Legislative Council today.

Apart from this 75,000 business establishment have also got damaged in the floods, he said.

The government has put damaged houses under two categories for grant of relief, he said, adding the verification of assessment of loss is in progress.

So far damage and loss in respect of 35,569 business establishments has been assessed, he said adding the figures of such establishment with loss suffered will be available on completion of verification.

No relief has been paid to the business establishments and as when the funds are approved by the Union government for special package, the payment shall be made to the owners of these establishments.

In Anantnag district a total number of 14,489 houses have been damaged, he said, adding, an amount of Rs 16.30 cr has been disbursed by the government in Bijbehara, Anantnag and Homeshallibugh constituencies. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI: Rejecting the dialogue offer on the controversial land bill, Sonia Gandhi today alleged it was a mockery of the consensus building exercise by a “myopic” Modi government which was “bending backwards” to favour industrialists and demanded that UPA’s legislation be brought back in totality.
“Proposition of a post-facto debate after unilateral imposition of anti-farmer law is mockery of building partisan consesus,” the Congress president said replying in a strongly worded letter to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Chiding the government for painting those opposing its land bill as anti-nationals, Gandhi asked the government to “rise above its narrow-minded politics”.
Hailing farmers as the “backbone” of the country, Gandhi said Congress cannot support any law which hurts farmers, and asked the Modi dispensation to bring back UPA’s land bill in totality.
Gandhi said it was regrettable that anyone championing the cause of distresed farmers and needy farm labourers was being branded as “anti-national” by a “myopic Modi government bending backwards to favour select insustrialists”.
She said the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP is in understanding farmer’s distress and loss of livelihood by acquisition of land without safeguards.
Being pro-farmer does not mean anti-growth, she said.
Last week, Gadkari had written to Sonia Gandhi, leaders of other opposition parties and social activist Anna Hazare inviting them to an open debate on the issue while asserting that the bill was “very much in farmers’ interest”.
Faced with stiff opposition on the land bill, the government had reached out to leaders of opposition parties, with Union transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari telling them that the government was willing to debate all aspects of the bill which is awaiting clearance in the Rajya Sabha. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Industries Chander Prakash Ganga today said that as many as 17 industrial units are defunct in the state.
“The government is planning to revive the sick units, which can be revived but there are 17 industrial units, which are totally defunct and cannot be restarted,” the Minister told UNI outside the Legislative Assembly. Mr Ganga said, new Industrial Policy is in the offing and will be introduced in the coming three months,”adding, that the existing policy will lapse on March 31, but has been extended by three months and new policy will be introduced, thereafter.” He further said the facilities and the schemes for the industries introduced during then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees government at the Centre, which were withdrawn by the UPA government, will be revived.
“New industrial policy is being framed, keeping in mind the interest of traders and business fraternity,” the Minister said. He added that industrial growth is a must to boost the economy of the state.
(AGENCIES)

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court today rejected the temporary bail plea of self-styled godman Asaram, accused in an alleged rape case, seeking release of 30 days to perform last rites of his nephew.
Justice Paresh Upadhyay held that the reason given by Asaram to perform last rites of his nephew is not sufficient enough to grant him temporary bail.
Asaram, 73, had yesterday moved the temporary bail application before the High Court, a day after his plea was rejected by a Gandhinagar court.
The Gandhinagar court had denied bail to Asaram saying the last rites of his nephew Shankar Pagrani (68), who died on March 19, can be performed by the deceased’s other family members.
Pagrani’s body has been kept in a cold storage at city civil hospital.
The godman’s plea said it was Pagrani’s last wish that Asaram, who is his maternal uncle, should perform the last rites as his parents had already died.
The case of rape, sexual assault, illegal confinement and other offences was filed against Asaram by a Surat-based girl, who accused him of repeatedly sexually assaulting her between 2001 and 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Her younger sister had lodged a separate complaint against Asaram’s son Narayan Sai for alleged rape, sexual assault, illegal confinement and other offences.
Asaram is currently lodged in a Rajasthan jail since his arrest in September 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram. (AGENCIES)

MUMBAI: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan today deposed in a sessions court in the hit-and-run case in which he is an accused, even as it asked the media not to report his statement till the conclusion of his testimony.
Judge D W Deshpande passed the order on an application moved by Khan’s lawyer Srikant Shivade, who urged for a direction restraining the media from reporting the matter until the deposition of the accused concludes by evening.
On a plea by Khan’s lawyer, the court also asked the media not to telecast or broadcast panel discussions or release or publish interviews of personalities on the merits or demerits of the case until the trial concludes.
“Please follow the court directives and do not flash news when the accused gives a statement in the court. You may report his statement after it concludes by evening,” said the judge.
Khan, 49, attired in a white shirt and blue denim jeans, arrived in the court at 11 AM sharp and his deposition began 30 minutes later. His sisters Alvira and Arpita and personal bodyguard were also present in the court. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU: Nearly 50 school students and teachers from two government schools today attended the proceedings of the House in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly here. The students were invited on the directions Education Minister Naeem Akhtar to witness the grants on Education Department table in the House.
The students, however, left dejected after the House was adjourned due to disruptions by the opposition over transfer of power projects to the state.
The students and faculty were from Government Ranbir Higher Secondary School for Boys and the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Mubarak Mandi.
Talking to reporters later, students expressed that they were keen to see the House proceedings and wanted to be aware on its functioning, but it is unfortunate that it was adjourned. Some of the students also said that they were not able to understand the functioning of the House, due to chaos. Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar said, “we wanted students to get aware on Education grants, so that must know about the future course of action prepared by the government to boost the education sector.”
He termed the adjournment unfortunate and criticised the opposition for disrupting the House and not giving a “good message” outside to the people. (Agencies)

MELBOURNE : Australia’s trip to a seventh World Cup final on Sunday may seem standard fare for a nation that has already won cricket’s ultimate prize four times, but the achievement marks a stunning turnaround from the depths of two years ago.

Battling mediocrity in all formats, Michael Clarke’s side lurched from crisis to crisis in the annus horribilus of 2013, as reports of in-fighting, sackings and bar-room assaults dominated newspaper headlines.

Pundits debate the exact moment of Australia’s nadir, but few would have tipped the team’s spectacular implosion during a 4-0 test series white-wash in India.

The second loss of that series made Australia the first team to lose a test match after declaring their first innings closed and was to be the catalyst for the infamous ‘Homework-gate’ scandal.

With the support of captain Clarke, four players were stood down for the next test for failing to provide then-coach Mickey Arthur ideas on how the team could turn around their fortunes.     Shane Watson, vice-captain at the time and one of the four offenders, threatened to quit international cricket after returning home from tour to be with his pregnant wife.     Branded a much-needed ‘line in the sand’ by South African Arthur, the punishment was intended to whip an ill-disciplined team in to shape but two further test defeats followed and Australia entered the defence of their Champions Trophy title in England with morale at rock-bottom.     Their batsmen were skittled for 65 in a 243-run warmup loss to India in Cardiff and the one-day international tournament was a debacle, with hot-headed opening batsman David Warner stood down for punching England’s Joe Root at a Birmingham night-spot.     News that Australian players were out drinking rather than stewing in their hotel rooms over a loss to England reinforced perceptions of a team in disarray, and management acted swiftly by sacking Arthur and replacing him with former Australia batsman Darren Lehmann less than three weeks before the Ashes.     Australia would go on to lose the series 3-0 after squandering dominant positions in a number of matches but under Lehmann’s calm direction and the renaissance of fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, turned the tables spectacularly in the return Ashes series on home soil.

Completing a 5-0 series whitewash of the tourists to kick off 2014, Australia’s success would filter down to the one-day team, who trounced England 4-1 in the subsequent series and would finish the year with a 13-5 winning record. (agencies)

LUCKNOW : A Congress legislator in Uttar Pradesh has demanded the immediate removal of stylish batsman Virat Kohli from the Indian Cricket team for insulting the country in yesterday’s World Cup Semi-Final encounter against Australia.   Australia powered into the World Cup final with a 95-run victory over defending champions India at Sydney. ‘When the entire Australian team were practising for the crucial semi-final match, Virat was treating his girl friend and Bollywood actor Anushuka Sharma with Afgani Chicken and other delicacies and taking snaps,’ the Congress

MLA Vivek Kumar Singh from Banda told here today. ‘He demanded that Virat should be removed immediately from the team and his expulsion should be permanent for insulting the Indian cricket lovers. How could a non-serious player get a chance in the team, for which the entire country has stood up for the past couple of days,’ he questioned. ‘The politician also demanded action against the BCCI officials for allowing the players to invite their girl friends during the crucial World Cup Matches. Such thing only distracts the players from their target,’ he said.

Atleast two cricket lovers committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh yesterday after India lost to Australia in the WC semis at Sydney ground. While a peon of the irrigation department jumped from the seventh floor of a government building in the state capital after Mahendra Singh Dhoni got out, a 17-year-old hanged himself in Fatehpur district after Team India lost the match. Reports of burning of the posters of Virat and Anushuka were received from several parts of the state including Kanpur, Bulandshahar, Allahabad and Lucknow. Meanwhile, security was beefed up at the residences of Team India members Suresh Raina in Ghaziabad, who is set to get Married on April 3 in New Delhi. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : In the first ever reduction in domestic natural gas prices, the rates will be slashed by 9 per cent to USD 4.56 per unit from April 1 to reflect the softening in international prices, benefiting users in the power and fertiliser sectors.

The government had in October last year fixed natural gas price at USD 5.05 per million British thermal unit based on weighted average of international hub rates. This was on gross clarofic value (GCV) basis.

“The price of gas on GCV basis from April 1 will be USD 4.56 per mmBtu,” a top source said.

On net clarofic value (NCV) basis, the price would come to USD 5.01 per mmBtu as compared to USD 5.61 per mmBtu rate prevalent currently.

“The government does not fix or notify a rate. A formula was notified last year, based on which the price applicable from April 1 would be USD 4.56 per mmBtu on GCV basis,” said the source.

This will be the first reduction in price of natural gas ever in India. While it will impact the revenue producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries, it will be a bonanza for users in the power and fertilizer sector.

As per mechanism approved in October 2014, price of domestically produced natural gas were to be revised every six month using weighted average price at Henry Hub of US, National Balancing Point of UK, rates in Alberta (Canada) and Russia with a lag of one quarter.

So, rate for April 1 to September 30 would be based on average price at the international hubs during January to December 2014.

The Oil Ministry is likely to announce the price for next six months “within next couple of day”, said the source.

When contacted, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan refused to indicate the likely price but said, “if we are getting a cheaper price, its good for the economy”. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, will remain closed from this afternoon till March 28 due to repair work.

Only Light Motor Vehicles (LMV) were allowed from Srinagar to Jammu this morning.

The highway will be closed to allow Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to repair the road, damaged at several places due to landslides and shooting stones during the past one month, a traffic police official told UNI.   He said only LMV, which had crossed the Jawahar Tunnel by 1030, were allowed from Srinagar for Jammu.   The highway will also remain closed for entire day tomorrow, he said.

However, earlier it was decided to close the highway on March 28 for conducting repair as at several places, the road is very narrow and only one vehicle could pass the damaged area.

The authorities have allowed only one-way traffic on the highway for the past about three months to avoid any traffic jam or accident. However, drivers and passengers alleged that traffic jam for hours was a daily routine on the Highway.

Meanwhile, a large number of trucks, mostly empty, and oil tankers remained stranded at different places on the Highway after authorities decided to allow only LMVs today. (AGENCIES)