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Khel Ratna Award goes to ace shooter Abhinav
New Delhi, Aug 29 (ANI): President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Thursday gave away the country's prestigious sports awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, at a glittering ceremony. The function, held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, newly appointed Sports Minister Vikram Verma and other senior ministers. The much-coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2001 was given to Abhinav Bindra, India's ace shooter who brought laurels to the country in various international events. As proud Bindra walked up to the President, dressed in formals, the grandiose Ashoka Hall reverberated with applause from a crowd that included parents and friends of sportspersons. The 20-year-old Bindra received a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 500,000. A jubilant Bindra said the award will motivate him to perform better in future events. Bindra who paired with Ambekar Sammer in 10m Air Rifle at the recently concluded Commonwealth games in Manchester won the gold medal. He also clinched a silver in the singles of the same event. Country's 34-member shooting contingent won 13 gold medals, six silver and eight bronze medals, the highest ever by India in the games. "I am very happy and honoured to receive this award. I think it will give me tremendous motivation and it will add responsibility on me to do well in the future. It is a very positive thing and hopefully I can do well in future," said Bindra. Fourteen players including cricketer V.V.S. Laxman, wrestler Ramesh Kumar, shooter Samaresh Jung and tennis player Sandeep Kirtane received Arjuna awards for lifetime achievement in sports. Two Dronacharya awards for eminent coaches and three Dhyan Chand awards were also awarded during the function. Ramesh Kumar, country's outstanding wrestler and recipient of Arjuna award, assured of good performance in the forthcoming Asian Games. Kumar won a gold medal in Junior World Free Style Wrestling Championship held at Tashkent in 2001. "I feel very happy. I was hoping to get the award. I am also hopeful of bagging a gold medal in the Asian Games," said Kumar. Country's stylish batsman V.V.S. Laxman and hockey star Dilip Tirkey could not make it to the function. Last year awards were mired in controversy after several sportsmen objected to the awards selection criteria and refused the awards.(ANI) NAhmedabad, Aug 29 (ANI): Residents of Ahmedabad celebrated the filling up of the dry Sabarmati river with waters of Narmada, the state's lifeline. Gujarat BJP caretaker government organised a function on Wednesday to welcome the arrival of Narmada waters into Sabarmati river through Narmada main canal. Jubilant citizens sailed in the surging waters of the Sabarmati river and burst firecrackers. Hindu saints were also called to bless the river. Caretaker Chief Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 5,000 strong crowd who had gathered to mark the occasion. Modi expressed confidence that Gujarat would show the country how to implement the concept of water grid by feeding several rivers, 900 ponds and 9,000 villages with the Narmada river. "Narmada is our lifeline. We had been dreaming and after such a long wait Gujarat's dream has been fulfilled. This will help fill water in 900 wells and 2 dozen rivers will receive water. This will ease the water crisis in Gujarat. Nearly 1,000 villages will receive potable water," Modi said. Modi also praised the efforts of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which is building the dam on the Narmada. He added that it was because of their hard work that the state was able to bring Narmada waters to parched regions of Saurashtra and Kutch through the 700-km pipeline. The Narmada Valley development project is the country's biggest dam project. The height of the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam on river Narmada has now reached 95 metres. The government targets the height at 110 metres. With the rise in height, the dam would be able to store more water in the reservoir and 8,000 to 10,000 cusecs water will start flowing from the bypass tunnel. Environmentalists have fiercely opposed the project saying millions of tribal people will be displaced and benefits flowing from the dam will be limited. An estimated 8,500 more families will be affected with an increase in the height of the dam. At least 40,000 familes have been displaced in the reservior area of the Sardar Sarovar dam. Cleared by the federal government in 1987 the project involves the building of some 3,200 small, medium-sized and large dams on the 1,300-km. Narmada river and its tributaries to generate electricity and provide water to millions of people. The dam will benefit Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The multi-billion-rupee project is being largely financed by state governments and market borrowings after the World Bank withdrew financing in 1993, and is expected to be fully completed by 2025. The project was stalled for six years because of a lawsuit filed by Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Campaign) and other environmentalists who say it will cause huge environmental damage but which backers say is needed to provide power to the energy- hungry country. The construction was resumed in 2000 following the Supreme Court's intervention.(ANI) Cong activists come to blows outside Sonia residence
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to top New Delhi, Aug 29 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested on Thursday against the main opposition Congress party, embarrassed by an illicit romance-murder scandal involving its councillors. The demonstration took an ugly turn as rival party workers clashed and exchanged blows outside the residence of Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi. Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni was injured by miscreants armed with glass bottles and sharp-edged objects. Enraged Congress party workers then ransacked BJP office, separated by less than ten kilometers. "The Congress activists stormed the BJP office and one of our workers was hurt also. This also makes us sure that now Congress is also living in a glass house and it is now breaking. When our women activists had gone to stage a protest march in front of Sonia Gandhi's residence then there also they hit them," said a BJP activist. Police said the weekend murder of Congress councillor Atma Ram Gupta by his colleague Sharda Jain was due to Gupta's intimacy with another woman councillor. Jain has confessed that she and her brother hired goons to eliminate Gupta. Both Jain and her borther have been arrested.(ANI)
Riot-hit wary of Gaurav Yatra Go to top Ahmedabad, Aug 29 (ANI): Preparations are on for the 3rd September Gaurav Yatra.People and political parties are apprehensive that the yatra may pave way for further tensions in and around the Kheda district village from where the yatra will begin. But the BJP members say that it's simply a way of telling people that things have come to normal.Jayanti Barot, general secretary, BJP, Gujarat, says, "It is peaceful in Gujarat. Peace and development should take place and Gujarat should move ahead.The purpose for the yatra is that we plan to discuss government plans and the elections and work on our vote bank." He further adds that in the sensitive areas, only outsiders try to disrupt peace.The locals live in peace and share everything.There is no question of them fighting.It is only the outsiders who trigger violence. Whereas the Congress feels that this is just another way to insinuate violence and cause further unrest in the state.Himanshu Vyas, Gujarat Congress spokesperson, says, "We are against the yatra because they are only trying to threaten the unity of Gujarat.They can take out the yatra, we have no probem in that but they shouldn't do it to threaten unity." According to him, this is not a 'Gaurav' Yatra but a 'Sharam' Yatra. As the BJP gets ready for the yatra, the Congress with the Bhathi Sena's support, also plans to have a programme on the same day at the same place. On this, the Dahyabhai Rathod, Sarpanch, Phagvel village, comments, "This will definitely trigger more riots.The atmosphere is not good.Recently, a murder had taken place too.I have given it in writing that whatever bad happens, the BJP and the Congress are to blame for that." The people staying in the camps are also worried about the consequences of the two yatras.Ataullah Khan, a resident of the camp, says, "The state of the camp is bad.The BJP and the Congress are only worried about their own interests.I think there is no need for a yatra.What is required is to resettle the displaced people and provide food.They can think of elections later." This is the bottomline.What is more essential is to provide people with basic amenities instead of wasting money on some yatra that would apparently do no good to the people of the state.(ANI)
Aftab, eight others charge-sheeted for American Center attack
Kolkata, Aug 29 (ANI): A local court on Thursday (August 29) formally charged the main accused in an attack on a US office early this year. Five policemen were killed when attackers on motorcycles opened fire outside the U.S. cultural centre in Kolkata on January 22. Police blamed Aftab Ansari for the attack after they said he called from Dubai and claimed responsibility. Aftab Ansari, who was deported by the United Arab Emirates in February this year, and eight others were served chargesheets on 13 counts. "Today all the nine accused persons have been produced before the sessions court for the purpose of framing of charges against them. Prosecution has preferred charges in which conspiracy to wage war against the state and to commit murder, forgery, using forged documents for using the cars and for using the prohibited arms for the purpose of waging a war against the state (have been levelled)," public prosecutor Ashok Bakshi told reporters. "There are different sections under which we have framed charges, under 13 counts, for all these offences committed by them," he added. Bakshi said the next court hearing has been fixed for September 23. Investigation officials have said that Ansari had links with Pakistan's main intelligence agency and with Pakistan-based anti- Indian militants. Ansari is also accused in several kidnap and illegal arms smuggling cases in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh including kidnapping of a shoe-baron of Kolkata Partha Pratim Roy Burman in 2001.(ANI)
Kashmiri Hindu girl to contest for Gulmarg Assembly seat Go to top Srinagar, Aug. 29 (ANI): A young college student has become the first woman candidate to file nomination papers for the forthcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir state. Sonika Pandit, a college student, filed her papers before an electoral officer in Srinagar on Wednesday, a day before the final day of filing nominations for the first phase of polls in the state. Sonika, a Kashmiri Hindu migrant settled in Jammu, will fight as an Independent candidate for election from Gulmarg constituency in Baramullah district, from where her family originally hails. "I want to do something for the people here, so I have filed nomination. The government has done nothing for them. The roads are in a bad state, other facilities are also few. I want to do something," she said after filing her nomination. Her father, Harish Pandit, who has also filed nomination as Independent candidate from the Sopore constituency in Kashmir Valley, said Sonika's candidature would prove to be an example for women in the state. "There is a reign of terror in Kashmir. That's why this girl is here, so that other girls can see her and feel that they also need to fight, under any circumstance. Man and woman, boys and girls, are equal," remarked Harish Pandit. Sonika will take on political heavyweights Mustafa Kamal, the state Industries and Commerce Minister (National Conference) along with Ghulam Hassan Mir of the People's Democratic Party in a three-cornered fight for the Gulmarg seat. She is counting on the migrant Kashmiri Hindu families that have recently moved back to the area from Jammu, as well as on the local women, for a possible victory. (ANI) |