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Thousands pray for rain in Hyderabad

     Hyderabad: Thousand of Muslims gathered at a dry riverbed here on Monday praying for rains as the city's main water reservoirs, lifeline to its six million people, turn dry. Officials warn that Hyderabad will face grave water shortages during the approaching summer, if there is no rain in coming weeks. Locals say the situation is worse than a drought and have now sought divine intervention. Authorities are offering free bus rides to all those willing to join the massive ceremony near Himayat Sagar, one of the four reservoirs that supply water to the ancient city. "God listened to us and there were rains in the past. Despite this, there is a heavy shortage of water and people are suffering. We are holding this mass prayer so that God listens to us and there is rainfall," said Mohammad Faridudinn, the state's minister for minorities. Though a save water drive and efforts at rain water harvesting have helped build some backup, officials say it will not be enough for the entire city once the summer hits, when temperatures soar as high as 47 degrees. Officials further said that they desperately need water from a bitterly disputed dam reservoir on the Krishna river.

India hails Iraq elections (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India on Monday hailed Iraq's landmark poll, terming it as a step towards peace and stability in the country. New Delhi's statements came as Iraq's interim Prime Minister IIyad Allawi vowed to unite the country's competing ethnic and religious groups. The call was an attempt to seize the momentum created by Sunday's poll, when electoral officials estimate eight million Iraqis turned out to vote, confounding predictions many would be scared away by insurgent threats of a bloodbath. "It has been our view that the restoration of full sovereignty to the Iraqi people is a necessary pre-condition for peace and stability in that country. In that context, the holding of elections in Iraq on January 30, 2005, is a noteworthy development. Preliminary reports about the turnout of voters are encouraging. We hope that these events would set in motion a process that would lead the Iraqi people taking full control of their destiny," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a news conference.

     Although Iraqis queued up enthusiastically to cast their ballots in many places, numbers had been low in Sunni Arab areas where the insurgency is strongest, highlighting the dangerous communal rifts facing a new government. Shi'ites, who make up about 60 percent of Iraq's population, are widely expected to have won most votes in the election, and officials in the top Shi'ite-led coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, have already claimed a degree of victory. But Shi'ite leaders were quick to reassure rivals that they plan to include the Sunni minority, dominant during Saddam's 35-year rule, in the new government. As praise for the vote poured in from around the world, experts have cautioned that true success will depend on whether Sunnis accept the outcome and join the political process. US President George W. Bush, who had looked to the vote as a turning point in the troubled 22-month-old U.S. military presence in Iraq, hailed the election as a "resounding success", and hoped it would unite Iraqis and defeat the insurgency. But prospects for a US withdrawal could be dented if the aftermath of the poll further alienates the once-privileged Sunnis and foments sectarian strife.

India will join the SAARC summit in Dhaka: Pranab (Go To Top)

     Bolpur (West Bengal): Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India would participate in the upcoming SAARC summit in Dhaka as scheduled notwithstanding the disturbances in Bangladesh. "There is no reason for India not attending. So far, our decision remains unaltered in this regard," Mukherjee told reporters here. He was asked if there was any possibility of India not joining the summit to be held in Dhaka on Februry six and seven in view of the violence including the killing of Awami League MP and former Bangladesh Finance minister S.A.M.S Kibria and four others.