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18,000 evacuated from flood-hit villages in Andhra Pradesh

     Hyderabad/ Bhubaneshwar: Around 18,000 people have been evacuated from Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda districts of Andhra Pradesh as waters from state's two major rivers Krishna and Godavari are flooding the villages. Dozens of villages are inundated in the three districts and people have been shifted from the villages on the banks of rivers to safer places. The water levels are rising alarmingly in both the rivers and there has been an overflow of about 5.43 lakh cusecs of water from Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir. State Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy is reviewing the flood situation and has asked the senior oficials to manage the crisis efficiently. According to Shashank Goel, Commissioner for Disaster Management, 2,687 people were evacuated from low-lying areas to relief camps in Guntur district. About 14,503 people have been moved to safer places in Krishna district, he said. Meanwhile, Incessant rains today flooded more than 200 villages in Orissa, destroying property and livestock. Water levels in major rivers -- Baitrani, Brahmani and Kherasoota rivers have risen to danger levels. Thousands of people have fled the flood-affected areas in Bhadrak district along with their belongings, but have nowhere to go. In Mahari district, a bridge, destroyed by floods has marooned the villagers who have taken shelter in a temple. "We are suffering due to floods for the past 15 days. We are virtually marooned and no help has reached us. The overflowing river has breached at several places. No one from the government has come to help us" said Bishwanath Jena, a villager. Villagers said despite destruction, they did not receive any help from the government.

Four pilgrims killed, 25 injured in a bus accident near Katra (Go To Top)

     Katra (J-K): At least four pilgrims bound for the revered Vaishno Devi shrine were killed and 25 others injured when the bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in Katra today. Officials said the mishap occurred in the wee hours due to poor visibility and heavy rainfall near Mori village, 35 kilometres from Jammu, when the pilgrims were returning from Katra. M.L. Mehra, Superintendent of Police, Katra, said all the four passengers died on the spot and the others are undergoing treatment at a local hospital. "We started the rescue work immediately and evacuated all the injured to nearby hospitals. We have recovered four bodies at the site," said Mehra. Mehra added all the dead pilgrims were from eastern Bihar state. Route to the holy Vaishno Devi shrine, which attracts about 5.5 million pilgrims annually, is busy due to heavy influx of devotees. Perched atop Trikuta hills at a height of 1,700 meters above sea level, Vaishno Devi shrine is held in high esteem among Hindus all over the count.

Dominique Lapierre school for poor and destitute (Go To Top)

     Kolkata: Celebrated author Dominique Lapierre today opened a school for poor and destitute children at Parbakshi village in West Bengal's Howrah District launching the Dominique Lapierre Education Project for Deprived Children in the Third World. Lapierre has written much-acclaimed novels like Freedom at midnight (on India's independence), City of Joy (on Kolkata), Five past midnight in Bhopal (on Bhopal gas tragedy). "I want to open a school...want to open 15 schools and this is one of them. This is very important for me. Education is the number one target in the world today," said Lapierre. The children too, expressed happiness over the school's establishment. "They provide us with food and lodging, they give us everything. We have got admission into this school, they teach us really well. That's why we have taken admission in this school," said Sudarshan Samanta, a student of the Bodhodaya Vidyamandir. The project aims to set up an inter-district chain of Bodhodaya Vidyamandir's to allow 1000 children to have access to education. Lapierre, has made Kolkata his second home. Apart from writing novels, he has been engaged in philanthropic work here for several years.

Man unites with family after spending 38 years in mental asylum (Go To Top)
by Brajesh Kumar Singh

     Agra: After spending 38 years in a mental asylum in Agra, seventy-five-year-old Virendra Bahadur Raghuvanshi has been finally reunited with his family. Raghuvanshi was cured of his insanity after he was sent to the asylum from the Urai Jail in 1967. But, he had to spend all these years in the asylum as the authorities could not locate his family. Jai Kishan,Raghuvanshi's nephew, says the not only he but his parents had tried hard to locate him, but all efforts proved futile. "I was informed by the police that my uncle is in mental asylum. So, I have come to take him back home," says Jai Kishan. Raghuvanshi, is very excited to be back home after spending almost half of his life in the asylum. A local court recently passed an order to release him. "After spending 38 years of my youth, now I am going back home," said Raghuvanshi. Asylum officials claim that they had sent several letters to various addresses mentioned by Raghuvanshi at intervals. They said that it was only due to their efforts that Raghuvanshi was once again with his family. "He came to the mental asylum in 1967. Since then he was given proper treatment. Now, his condition is stable. It is due to the efforts of the asylum officials that we sent several letters to his home. But due to the absence of the concerned person at home, nobody came to ask for him. And when his nephew retired and came back to the residence, he got the news. All court proceedings have been taken care off, and after the court's decision, we will send him back," said Mukshu Hussain, a doctor at Asylum officials said they keep getting many patients like Raghuvanshi who are virtually forgotton by their families. But they are happy that one of their patients has been finally united with his family.

Maths wizard Vashisht Narayan Singh awaits medical aid (Go To Top)
by Ajay Kumar

     Aarah (Bihar): He used to be hailed as the next Ramanujam of India - a renowned mathematician, a legend. But the maths wizard is now living a detached life. Dr.Vashisht Narayan Singh, who has won accolades for his discoveries in the subject, is today living a life of penury in his native village in Bihar. Singh, suffering from a neurological disorder is confined to his cot in his small house in Aarah district of Bihar, as he is unable to adjust to his surroundings. Singh's loving family says they ran from pillar to post to get him treated, but government's apathy has forced them to keep him at home without proper treatment. They say he was treated at the renowned National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences, but had to be brought back to his native village as they were unable to bear the expenses. But even while he is not able to understand anything happening around, the 64 year-old mathematician is popular with village children who visit him every evening to get their mathematical problems solved. Even though he is not able to speak clearly, Singh mumbles his dream of making India the world's number one country. "I wanted to make this country the most forward and most developed in the world," he said. Singh's younger brother Ayodhya Singh, who has been taking his care since he was diagnosed in 1976, says rather than medicines his beloved subject could perhaps work as elixir of his life. "We want that the government should take him to college campuses. May be he can improve that way. I am sure that will be the cure for him," he said. Singh keeps his prized possessions -- maths books, diaries filled with mathematical theories and formulae -- tied in a neat heap and occasionally looks at them, as if he is trying to remember the equations.

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