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Previous Files: Monday Dec 23 Sunday Dec 22 Back to Today's Headlines PM Opens Delhi Metro Rail
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday launched Delhi Metro's first train which he said will open "a new chapter" in the national Capital's history. In the first line, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation train will cover a distance of 8.3 km (5.1 miles) between the eastern suburb of Shahdara and Tis Hazari. Besides Vajpayee, officials and guests including Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit bought tickets for a special ride in the coach decorated with flowers. Regular train service will begin from tomorrow (December 25). Visitors and uniformed Metro officials waved as the train left the Seelampur station where the main inaugural function was held. Vajpayee pressed a button from the dais and unveiled a plaque to mark the opening. "Today Metro is starting and it will improve the transportation and ease commuting," Vajpayee later said at a public meeting. "There will be less congestion on the roads and number of buses will also decline. It should also have an impact on reducing the pollution level. On the whole, it opens a new chapter in the history of Delhi," he added. The target date for completion of the first phase which would cover 62.5 kms (40 miles) is September 2005. The entire Metro project is estimated to cost Rs 81.55 billion and construction of the last phase is expected to end in 2021 after connecting the Indian Capital with its suburbs. For New Delhi rated as one of the world's most polluted cities, five years ago and which is now battling pollution, the Metro, running on elevated and ground-level tracks, would mean a reduction in atmospheric pollution as it runs on electricity and is expected to take 2,000 buses off the roads. Other benefits include less travelling time, reduction in the Rs 5 billion expenditure in imported fuel per year, thereby saving precious foreign exchange, and an anticipated fall in accident rates. India in Upbeat Mood for Christmas (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: On the eve of Christmas, people in India were busy on Tuesday with last-minute preparations for the festival. Streets and markets in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi wore a festive look. Christmas is Jesus Christ's birthday celebrated all over the world on December 25. People were out in the streets buying Christmas trees and models of Santa Claus. Shopping malls put up attractive decor for the occasion to lure customers. Figures of Santa Claus and snow maidens were spotted at busy market corners. Santa Claus toys and replicas are the most sought after items by children. People were excited about Christmas, but at the same time they felt that celebrations were becoming private affairs. "It (Christmas) is not the same that it was before. And a lot of people especially the middle class segment, would lose a lot of entertainment they used to have. Now you are going to experience the entertainment which is going to move only to five-star hotels and closed places where they have their own functions," said Bryan, a buyer. BJP Issues a Warning to Opposition (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has vowed to uphold secularism and keep away from religious campaign. But it also issued a veiled threat to the Opposition not to drag religious issues into political agenda. Addressing the party's national executive here on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said the more the Opposition would try to corner the Hindu-nationalist BJP, the more they would be repulsed. The Gujarat elections came after 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in religious riots in a frenzy of reprisal killings for the burning of 59 Hindu pilgrims of a train at Godhra city. "Today, if somebody tries to attack us in the name of Godhra and the incidents after Godhra, then Godhra will find a mention from our side. If somebody tries to attack us in the name of Hindutva, there will be some reaction.," Advani told the excutive meeting on the second and concluding day. Senior leaders of the BJP, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, attended the meeting of party's top policy-making body. The party, buoyed by its success in Gujarat, firmed up its strategy for next year's polls in several States, including Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. However, analysts said that the BJP could not easily replicate its hardline Hindu tactics in provincial elections next year and ahead of national elections due by 2004. Crackdown on Pakistanis in US (Go To Top) ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of Pakistanis were arrested during a country-wide operation by the American immigration authorities, according to a private television channel. The arrests were so widespread that the US officials faced shortage of handcuffs and the prisons became overcrowded, the Nation quoted the channel as saying. The Pakistanis in the US are in a state of shock and fear. Their businesses are facing closure. The areas where Pakistanis live in majority are wearing a deserted look. The embassy has failed to come to their rescue, the report added. A large number of Pakistanis are living illegally because their visas have expired. Following the new American law, hundreds of them were rounded up in California olone. Leading American newspapers maintain that Pakistanis feel that they are being targetted. According to the television, the surveillance of Pakistanis in the US has been increased and women are also being arrested, but there are reports that some of them have been released on bail. 44 Killed in Plane Crash Near Iranian City (Go To Top) TEHERAN: An Antonov plane, flying from Turkey to Iran, crashed near the city of Isfahan, killing 44 people, most of them Ukrainians. A spokesman for Iran's civil aviation authority was quoted by State television as saying that the plane crashed at about 4 pm (GMT) on Monday, reports Dawn. There were 46 people on board the aircraft, the radio informed, mainly Ukrainian aeronautics industry officials travelling to Iran for an inaugural flight of the Iran-140, an Iran-built plane. There were also several Russian nationals on the flight. Mayor, Councillor, 2 Others Killed in Blast in Philippines (Go To Top) MANILA: A Muslim mayor, town councillor and two others were killed and 11 critically injured in a bomb explosion at Mindanao, an island in southern Philippines on Tuesday. The bomb was planted in the compound of the residence of Shaudie Ampatuan, mayor of Datu Piang. The blast took place when he was hosting a party, according to a military spokesman. The dead councillor was named Rodolfo Wahab. Meanwhile, the Philippine military was on high alert on Tuesday as a two-day, unilateral Charistmas ceasefire with Communist insurgents took effect, with the guerrillas maintaining they would not reciprocate. Al-Qaeda Still a Challenge: CIA Chief (Go To Top) WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda continues to be a threat to the US though its top leaders have been killed and many activists detained, according to CIA Director George Tenet. The outfit is still planning terrorist attacks, he said in an article in Los Angeles Times. Tenet also said that one-third of Al-Qaeda's senior leadership has been killed, more than 3,000 operatives or associates have been detained in more than 100 countries and over 166 countries have seized around 121 million dollars in terrorist-related financial assets. But he contested the notion that the Muslim world has "lined up" against the US, saying it "is a myth". No Buyer Yet for Jinnah's London Residence (Go To Top) LAHORE:A house used by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in London in 1893, which has been put on the market to be disposed of by the end of January 2003, has so far no firm customer. The property is currently owned by a US-based Pakistani who wishes to remain annonymous. He is selling it to meet "unavoidable personal commitments" but wishes that its ownership should pass on to some Pakistani. The residence that was initially quoted at a guide price of 1.4 million pounds (British) is now valued at 1.7 m pounds, says an article in Dawn. The advertisement first appeared August 14 this year. The deadline for receiving offers from prospective buyers was November 20 but was extended until the end of January next year as no satisfactory response came. According to Khalid Hasan, a Pakistani whose real estate firm has maintained the residence since 1990, no one had come up with a concrete bid as yet. He also said that previous Governments led by Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and the present regime had been approached, but none showed any interest. The 12-bedroom house is located at 35 Russell Road, Kensington, London W14. It lies within "one minute walking distance from Kensington Olympia Station and 12 minutes to Kensington Palace, Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street Station and Holland Park. The area is one the top five affluent localities of London." The only offers received so far are from a Jew and a Hindu developer. Urs of Amir Khusro Observed (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: The Urs, or religious fair, of saint-poet Amir Khusro was held in New Delhi on Monday. The renowned 12th century poet is a disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, a Sufi saint who spread the message of love and brotherhood. Urs festival is held every year to mark Amir Khusro's death anniversary. The Urs began in the traditional style with rendition of qawwalis, devotional chorus songs, marking his 698th anniversary. A large number of pilgrims, irrespective of their faith and religion, throng the tombs of Amir Khusro and Nizamuddin Aulia every year to pay homage. The tomb is decorated with flowers. "After 698 years of the death of Amir Khusro, people know him less as a poet and more as a saint. His mausouleum is also in the premises of Hazrat Nizammudin Aulia," said a maulvi. Amir Khusro (1253-1325 AD), a prolific poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of Delhi Sultanate, is also a household name in much of North India and Pakistan, through the playful Hindi riddles, couplets and legends attributed to him. Sufism was a reform movement of the 13th century against orthodox Hinduism and Islam. It believed in mysticism and preached worship of God through devotional singing. Assam Easy Route for Infiltration, Thanks to Damaged Fences (Go To Top) MADANPUR (Assam): People living along Assam's porous border with Bangladesh say that damaged fence has made the State an easy target of infiltration. The two nations share a 4,200 km (2,600 miles) border where illegal crossings are common. India's five States - West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram - share borders with Bangladesh. But most of the infiltration takes place via Assam. Villagers living along the border areas say the movement is not restricted and people often infiltrate without any hassle. At several places the two countries are geographically separated by just a border pillar. Abdul Jabbar, a resident of Madanpur village, said inadequate fencing has made it easy for people to move across the border. "Bangladesh border is nearby. Sometimes, people cross the border also. Yes, fencing is broken here," Jabbar said. Geographical conditions make it difficult for the authorities to fence the entire border. Asiad Medals Back With Sunita Rani (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Athelete Sunita Rani on Tuesday got back her Asian Games medals she was stupped of following a doping charge. Tandhir Singh, Secretary-General of the Olympic Council of Asia, said that due to discrepancies in the test data, Sunita had been absolved of the charge. The one-man Salwan Commission set up by the Indian Athletic Federation had absolved Sunita last month. Its report had brought out the unacceptable variations in the amount of Nandrolone in the two samples. Sunita had won a gold medal in the 1500 meters and a bronze medal in the 500 meters race in the Asiad in Busan, (South Korea), but had later lost them after she tested positive for the banned substance nadrolone. -ANI |
