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Reliance pays 847 million to BSNL

     New Delhi: Reliance Infocomm paid Rs 847 million to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) towards Access Deficit Charge that it allegedly evaded by routing incoming international calls as local ones, as directed by the Supreme Court. According to some BSNL officials, the towering company deposited the amount on January 7, thus clearing the dues of Rs 1.82 billion it owed to BSNL till October 2004. They further added that the total amount pending on Reliance was Rs 2.63 billion till date. Supreme Court, on January 3, has directed the private telecom operator to pay the balance amount within a week failing which BSNL would be free to disconnect the services. Thus by paying the amount, Reliance has avoided the risk of disconnection. BSNL's total demand of Rs 2.63 billion includes the unpaid ADC levy till date. However, the demand of reliance to pay through bank guarantees was turned down and the telecom company was asked to clear the dues within a week.

No sign of diseases in tsunami-affected region: WHO (Go To Top)

     Colombo: The World Health Organization said today there were no signs of impending outbreaks of serious disease in tsunami-hit areas, but warned that the situation should be watched carefully for a month. The WHO will need one month to say with confidence that the worst is over, if there is no outbreak, the organization's southeast Asia chief, Samlee Plianbangchang, told reporters here. "Until now there is no news of outbreak of any serious disease" in the tsunami-affected region, he said.

Kerala villagers to build memorial for tsunami victims (Go To Top)

     Azheekal (Kerala): Residents of a small village in Kerala, devastated by the tsunamis last month, have decided to build a memorial for the people who lost their lives. Azheekal in Kerala's Kollam district accounted for 52 of the 176 victims across the state. The village council has decided to build a memorial at the mass graveyard for 28 victims. "We will build a memorial for the tsunami victims in this place with the help of village council and other agencies. We lost 52 lives here," said Reji V, a villager. Meanwhile, the Indian army is still continuing with the relief and rescue operations in the affected areas. The Army has launched a "Junkar" or two heavy duty mechanised, multi-purpose ferries to connect the tsunami hit coastal villages in Kollam and Alappuzha districts. Earlier the plan was to build a bridge in this place. "We are ferrying only vehicles like cars and motorcycles. But language is the main hindrance in the relief operations. Otherwise, the work is going on very smoothly," said MW Ansari, a soldier. The ferries save villagers of Aiyram Thengu 20 kilometres distance and 45 minutes time to reach the nearest town Karunagappalli . The state government says 400,000 families have been badly hit by the killer waves along its 500-mile coastline.

Indians in Washington raise $2 m tsunami relief (Go To Top)
by Priscilla Huff

     Washington: Indians living in the Washington DC area have already raised over two million dollars for the Tsunami victims and have also established links with 1000 villages in South India for distribution of the relief monies. Grouping themselves under the banner "Association for India's Development" (AID), the expatriates have already raised around two million dollars for the victims. They have established volunteer links with about 1000 villages over the course of their everyday efforts. Mohan Bhagat, a physics professor at the University of Maryland and also a member of the board of directors for the Association for India's Development (AID), has been helping to co-ordinate the fund-raising efforts in Washington. About the funds collected so far for the purpose, Prof. Bhagat said: "Once our website was announced donations began coming in. In little less than two weeks we have crossed 2 millio dollars. And, this is all by word of mouth."