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4-phased poll in J and K, CEC wants voters to take courage
New Delhi, Aug 2 (ANI): Election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held over four days in late September and early October with counting due on October 10, Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh said here on Friday. The dates are September 16 and 24, and October 1 and 8. "Date of polls first phase is 16th of September, second phase 24th of September, third phase 1st of October and fourth phase is 8th of October," Lyngdoh said. According to the CEC, there would be enough security provided to allow people to vote. But he added that a "little bit of personal courage is required in the circumstances because let's not pretend Kashmir is absolutely normal. So a little bit of personal courage is required if you want to come and cast your vote." Lyngdoh announced a string of measures to try to ensure fair elections, including deployment of experienced Indian civil servants from outside the state as observers, and use of electronic voting machines. The BJP has hailed the announcement of poll dates. "We welcome the announcement of election dates for Jammu and Kashmir. It is according to the wishes of government that elections are to be held in four phases which will end by September and October," said senior leader of the party V.K. Malhotra. He, however, said the Election Commission should also consider holding elections in Gujarat simultaneously with Kashmir polls.(ANI) 6 pilgrims die in road accident near Varanasi
Chandoli (UP), Aug 2 (ANI): At least six Hindu pilgrims were killed and more than 30 injured in a road accident near Varanasi. The mishap occurred in Chandoli district at about 4.30 p.m. on Thursday when a bus carrying 71 "Kawarias", as they are called in local parlance, from Deoghar in Bihar and going to Vindhyachal collided head-on with a truck in an attempt to overtake another truck. Five passengers, including two women, died on the spot while another succumbed to injuries later. The 16 injured, three of them critically, are undergoing treatment at the government hospital in Varanasi. Fourteen others with minor injuries were released after preliminary treatment. "Sixteen injured have been admitted. Of them three are in a serious condition. Their treatment is going on," said S.K. Verma, a physician in the hospital. Passengers said the mangled steel and protruding front portion of the truck that rammed the bus delayed rescue. "We first got out, those who were all right. Later, we took out the injured because the truck's engine had rammed the bus and was protruding over the front seats of the bus. So we could not bring out those trapped in the front seats easily," said Shivaji Tewari, a traveller. "We somehow managed to rescue a couple of them at first then we had to break the seats to release the others. The seats on the right side of the bus were completely smashed, fracturing some passengers' legs," he added. "No, we did not become unconscious. We got trapped. Three of us had our legs trapped under the seat. After half an hour, with great difficulty, we were rescued," according to Satyanarayan Gupta, an injured pilgrim. All the passengers belonged to Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. Every year hordes of Kanwarias converge on the holy city of Varanasi for Shravam Mela, the monsoon festival. Carrying water from Ganga and Jamuna in pots hanging on triangular and semi-circular wooden sticks decorated with colourful plastic flowers and photographs of Lord Shiva, the Kanwarias, the more devout among them walking barefoot, traverse hundreds of kilometres.(ANI) Grenade thrown at Cong office in Srinagar, guard hurt
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to top Srinagar, Aug 2 (ANI): At least one CRPF personnel was wounded when suspected militants lobbed a grenade at a Congress party office here on Friday, the police said. The attack came after the Election Commission announced that state polls would be held in mid-September and early October. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the police added. Earlier on Thursday, 20 people were reported killed in fighting in the region, including four heavily-armed guerrillas who sneaked into a high-security residential zone in the state. (ANI)
Maharashtra steps to make gutkha ban a success Go to top Mumbai, Aug 2 (ANI): The Maharashtra government's order to ban manufacture, sale and distribution of gutkha (chewing tobacco) products in the state will be implemented from Friday. To propogate the message, the food and drugs administration of Mumbai burnt gutkha sachets worth lakhs of rupees at the Hutatma Chowk here. The otherwise ubiquitious tiny pouches of gutkha were conspicuously absent at the paan shops with the state government issuing a strong warning of heavy penalty against those who dared to defy the order. Those violating the ban would invite a penalty of Rs 1000 and simple imprisonment ranging from six months to three years. However, the government is seeking the people's support to ensure affective implementation of the ban. The government has also set up a special task force comprising the health department personnel, district Collectors, police and representatives of local NGOs to ensure effective implementation of the ban. (ANI)
SAARC housing workshop to be held in Karachi
Go to top Karachi, Aug 2 (ANI) A three-day workshop of South Asian countries on providing low cost housing for the poor is slated to begin here on August 5. Delegates from six of the seven nations comprising South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) bloc--Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and hosts Pakistan--will take part. India has not yet confirmed its participation. The workshop will discuss and share views about enhancing development and reasearch work in the housing sector in the region. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Pakistan's Chairman of Council for Works and Housing Reasearch, N.H. Taqvi, said the workshop will offer an opportunity to exchange experiences and enhance development and reasearch work in the housing sector. "Almost one-third of the population in SAARC countries live without shelter. In Pakistan the situation is no different from the rest of the developing countries. According to 1998 Housing Census, there were around 19.3 million housing units in Pakistan which includes 67.7 percent rural and 32.3 percent urban housing units, out of which 39 percent are slums and 40 percent proper and solid houses", Taqvi said. He also elaborated on the main objective behind the workshop which includes providing low-cost shelter facilities to the poorer sections of the region. "The research and development work conducted by us has proved that housing and shelter facilities in the SAARC countries can be provided at a minimum cost that is affordable. This is the main objective behind our research and development," Taqvi added. The SAARC workshop on housing, which is being hosted for the first time by Pakistan, is being organised with financial support from Japan. Previously, about 10 workshops on housing sector have been held for individual countries in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India. The last conference on housing was organised in Nepal.(ANI)
India builds radar that can detect infiltration
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to top Bangalore, Aug 2 (ANI): In what can be described as a major breakthrough in defence research and development, the country has indigenously developed a short-range Battle Field Surveillance Radar, which would help in checking infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan. The radar, costing less than Rs 5 million, has been developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment, a defence research organisation headquartered in Bangalore. It is now being mass-produced by Bharat Electronics Limited. The most unique aspect of the battery-powered lightweight radar is that it can simultaneoulsy search a specified sector while it scans multiple targets. The easily portable equipment can also carry out a doppler-based classification of various ground surface targets. Defence researchers are thrilled at the developement of the equipment they call "very, very pertinent" to the requirements of the time. The director of ERDE, George M. Cleetus said: "It is an extremely important and significant item at the current time when we are talking of the border violations, border security, peremeter security of air fields or vital installations. This is a very pertinent item. It is meant for man detection, even when the man is sneaking in by lying on the ground and crawling. And, even if a person is sneaking in while being under the snow". It is said that the Indian government had requisitioned such an equipment after the 1999 Kargil battle. The ERDE came out with the technology within two years of it being commissioned. The introduction of the battlefield radar is expected to ease Indian worries about rampant infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir from across the line of control (LOC). Besides, it would also lessen defence expenditure as now there would be no need of procuring expensive ground sensors from the US. (ANI) |