Naxal fear compels Orissa villagers to send away their women

     Jujomora (Orissa): An open domination of Naxalites in various villages of Orissa has compelled villagers to send away their womenfolk, fearing leftist rebels would forcibly make them join their groups. According to the villagers, last month, two young women were kidnapped and later, they were brutally beaten up when they refused to join them. "We are old people, we are threatened here everyday. What to do? We had to send our daughters away. We don't want them to be killed," said Dhurba Bhai, a villager. However, the increased naxal activities in the State has come as a surprise as so far they were supposed to be fighting for peasants' rights and radical redistribution of land. Till recently, they had targeted rich landowners and government offices. But when they intensified their activities after a brief lull, innocent villagers became their target. The rebels killed three villagers and injured several others in Jujumura in the last week of May this year. In another incident, in the same month, the head of Chhamunda village council was kidnapped and had to sign on a bond paper to pay a ransom of Rs.4 lakhs to the naxals.

     Being easy targets, women and children are very often victims of naxals butchery. And now these fear-stricken villagers are fleeing their villages to safer places in search of jobs and a better life. "The naxals come to our village and take away the girls. They force them to join their groups. People are very scared here, so much so that most of them have left the village and gone to their relatives places," said Marshal Jadia, another villager. Sambalpur, a tribal dominated district, is the worst hit place. Naxals repeatedly vandalise their homes, kill the menfolk and extort money. Police are providing security to the women in the remote districts and are conducting repeated raids and operations at the suspected hideouts of the rebels. "They lure the girls by recruiting them in their groups, giving them good salaries. But now they are not able to do so as we are conducting raids and combing operations," said S.K.Seth, Superintendent of Police, Sambalpur. Orissa is not the only state that is the hot bed for naxal activities. Neighbouring areas in states like Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, eastern Jharkhand, Bihar and southern Andhra Pradesh are equally affected by the Naxalite movement, represented mainly by the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).

11 killed in Mumbai building collapse (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: At least 11 people have been reported killed and several injured after a residential building on Temkar road near Mumbai's J J Hospital collapsed late on Monday night. Police and fire brigade officials said that at least 47 people have been rescued so far, but added that several people were still trapped. Johny Joseph, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner said that the copration had received information about the building collapse at around 11.30 p.m., and added that the injured were being attended to at the J J Hospital. Informed sources said that the close to 90-year-old Sadaf building on Temkar Street housed 16 flats. The process for relocating stranded residents of the building has begun and the state government has announced a compensation of Rs.one lakh for those killed, and Rs 10, 000 for those injured.

Pak envoy Aziz Ahmed Khan to continue? (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Pakistan High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan has reportedly been given a one year extension, till September 2006, reliable sources in Pakistan's Foreign Office said. (Yesterday it was reported that a few other names were being considered). Quoting the sources, The News reported that the country's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri recommended the extension for Khan, whose two-year contractual term expires next month. Subsequently, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz extended his contract till September 2006, the paper added. Aziz was appointed as High Commissioner to India in June 2003. Earlier, he had served as a diplomat in New Delhi. He is known to have lived up to the expectations of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the Foreign Office. As High Commissioner, Aziz was specially assigned the task of intensifying efforts for bringing normalcy in Indo-Pak relations, especially providing a platform for the solution of the Kashmir dispute.

Ganguly confident about Zimbabwe tour (Go To Top)

    Mumbai: Indian cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed confidence about his team's chances of improving its ICC One Day International cricket ranking ahead of their tour of Zimbabwe. Talking to reporters before the team's departure on Monday night, Ganguly said: "We need to get back to our best in ODIs. I'm sure we have a much better one day side than what is shown by our performance. But we are in a professional sport where results matter. I'm sure our boys know this and they also how to get out of any perceived lows." Asked whether he had talked to Rahul Dravid after being named as captain for the tour of Zimbabwe, Ganguly said: "I don't need to talk to him because we know each other very well since our U-15 days. I am proud of his achievements, and I think he is of mine. It doesn't matter who is captain or coach, but we have to fire as a team." On India's slow over rates, Ganguly said: "I know I have been penalised a number of times for India's slow over rates. The problem arises especially overseas when we play more fast bowlers. We have to make a conscious effort to improve. The 15-member Indian cricket team for the triangular series featuring Zimbabwe and New Zealand is as follows: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao, M S Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, R P Singh and J P Yadav. Coach: Greg Chappell, Manager: Amithabh Choudhary, Physio: John Golster, Trainer: Gregory Allen King.

Sachin, Rahul and Viru in World XI squads (Go To Top)

    Melbourne: Indians Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag are the only three Indians to make the grade in the World XI that will take on Australia in a three-match one- day series and a Test match in Australia in October. An International Cricket Council (ICC) release said that all three would be in the Test squad led by South African captain Graeme Smith, while Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag would be in the World XI one-day squad led by South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock. The 13-member ICC World XI will take on the Australians in a six-day Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from October 14 to 19, while Pollock will lead his 14-member squad against the world champions at Melbourne's Docklands stadium on October 5, 7 and 9. Test squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (vc), Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Steve Harmison, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori. ODI squad: Shaun Pollock (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar (vc), Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Flintoff, Kumar Sangakkara, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori.

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