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J and K highway traffic suspended again due to landslides

     Srinagar: Vehicular movements on the 300-km long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was suspended this afternoon following fresh landslides and washing away of a 20-metre stretch of road at Ramsu, 130 km from Srinagar, said a defence spokesman. The Boarder Roads Organisation (BRO) has swung into action and efforts are underway to make the road worthy enough to handle the vehicular traffic again. The BRO has asked the authorities not to allow movement of traffic without consulting them. All Jammu-bound light passenger vehicles have been halted between Zig and Qazigand following the landslide information. The road has become slippery due to heavy snowfall in the Qazigund and Banihal sectors along the highway since last night. Earlier, vehicles were plying on the highway from Jammu towards Srinagar despite bad weather around the Jawahar Tunnel area. The area is witnessing very heavy snowfall with 6.6 cm of snowfall recorded at Jawahar Tunnel and Qazigund till 11:30 this morning. It has been raining and snowing at Banihal and Batote since last night and 7.6 cm snowfall was recorded at Banihal, 125 km from Srinagar. The Highway was closed down due to heavy rain and snowfall in the area and nearly 4,800 passengers and over 900 vehicles were stranded on the highway since February 7. The main link between Srinagar and Jammu, 2.4 km long Jawahar tunnel was under 10 feet deep snowfall and could be cleared only on Sunday after six days.

Rs 822 cr package for tsunami-hit Andamans (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday announced a Rs 821.88 cr package for the tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar islands for relief and rehabilitation work. An official spokesperson said that the package was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Of the total package, Rs 239.54 crore would go for revival of agriculture and Rs 313.19 crore for ''immediate relief and response assistance. Rs 215.65 crore will be given for the construction of temporary housing and relief employment generation, while there will be a special package of Rs 15.01 crore for the fishery sector. There will also be special packages for rehabilitation of orphans, widows, disabled and unmarried girls (Rs 8.6 crore) and for immediate restoration of damaged infrastructure of the islands administration (Rs 29.89 crore). Of the total assistance, Rs 313.19 crore would be as per the Calamity Relief Fund and the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) norms. Assistance covered under norms with relaxation of scale is worth Rs 215.65 crore.

     The announcement of the package should come as a big relief to the residents of the islands that lost over 3,000 people in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that hit most parts of South East Asia and coastal areas of the Australian and African continents. In all, close to 30,000 people died with the worst-hit being the Western Indonesian province of Aceh. The worst hit in the Andamans was the disabled population, as it was reported last month that nearly 700 polio afflicted were declared missing. The package has been cleared just days after Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited the islands to review the progress being made in terms of rehabilitation.The Cabinet also approved the implementation of the agreement on visa free travel for the holders of diplomatic and official passports between the Republic of India and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. The agreement was signed on November 22,2002, to facilitate visa free travel for the holders of diplomatic and official passports. An official spokesman said a citizen of one country holding the said passport would be allowed to stay in the other country's territory for a maximum period of three-days without a visa.

Court adjourns Kanchi seer's bail plea (Go To Top)

     Chennai: A sessions court in Chennai today adjourned the anticipatory bail application filed on behalf of Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati apprehending arrest in connection with an assault on a temple priest till February 22. The case in which the Sankracharya applied for an anticipatory bail relates to an assault on Tirukoshttiyur Madhavan in the city on August 3, 2004. The Principal Sessions Judge, P Murugesan adjourned the hearing on a plea from city public prosecutor T V Ganesan till February 22. A standing High Court order has already said that the seer cannot be arrested in the case till the disposal of his bail application. Sankaracharya was arrested on November 11, 2004 in connection with the Sankararaman murder case and was later released on bail on January 11.

     The seer had already been arrested and named as the prime accused in the Sankararaman murder case and the two-year-old case, relating to the murderous attack on Radhakrishnan, a local auditor and former devotee of Kanchi mutt. The city police had earlier transferred the Madhavan assault case to the special investigation team in Kancheepuram as this case was also similar to the other two cases. Madhavan, also a former devotee of the mutt, had suffered a murderous assault on Greams Road here in August 2004. Police said the victim had fallen out with the seer, over the issue of demolition of some Vaishanavite temples at Tirumala. Madhavan had told the police that the attack was sequel to his differences with the Acharya, when he opposed the proposed demolition of the temples. Madhvan said that the Seer had threatened him with dire consequences if he proceeded further in the matter. On August 3, when Madhvan was returning home, a car borne gang attacked him from behind, he had told the police.

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