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IAF resumes relief in Gujarat as weather improves

     Ahmedabad: Indian Air force helicopters today resumed dropping food and medicines to those marooned in Gujarat where severe flooding has left 127 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. Bad weather had hampered relief efforts on Saturday. Across Gujarat, roofs of submerged houses could be seen from the air, surrounded by vast areas of brownish flood waters, though levels were receding in many areas on Sunday as monsoon rains eased. Earlier in the day troops saved at least 100 people in Garbada region using rubber dinghies. Some soldiers also swam to the roofs of flooded houses and to trees to bring people to safety. F.P. Halani, a state government relief official, said that they were doing their best to help flood victims. "Today we have deployed four helicopters, which carried about 12- 13 trips to bring food packets and water, clean drinking water to the people," Halani said.

      There are widespread complaints about lack of food and drinking water and a poor response from state authorities. Prices of milk and vegetables have also soared but authorities battling extreme weather say they are doing their best. On Saturday, waters had receded in some areas, allowing about 400 passengers stuck in a train for over 30 hours to leave their carriages. Most walked to higher ground but some had to be rescued by army boats. Harried passengers ran clueless from counter to counter trying to find means of going back home as confusion and poor planning left many in extreme fatigue and even tears. "I was stranded for three days. I have reached here by train and I have to go to Ahmedabad but there is a lot of confusion for further journey regarding the tickets and expenses," Uday Pratap Singh, a stranded passenger, said. Authorities meanwhile assured all the people that they would be taken back to their homes safely. "We have 20 buses that would carry around 1,000 passengers to Ahmedabad and the railways would bear all the expenses," R. U Sheikh, a railway official in charge of the passengers' safety, said.

Mughal 'descendant' prefers Centre as Taj Mahal's custodian

     Kolkata: Another 'descendent' of Mughal King Shahjahan has said that the Union Government should keep the ownership rights of the Taj Mahal. Prince Yakub Habeebuddin, 'great grandson' of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor said last month that his family had documents proving their claims on the Taj. The most famous monument of love already has four claimants the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has run the Taj since the late 19th century, the Sunni Wakf (Trust) Board which is demanding it be given the 7 percent takings from at least 20,000 people who visit each day, a right-wing Hindu group and Prince Yakub. The ASI has asked the federal government to let it keep the 350- year-old monument. Foreigners pay 750 rupees entry to the Taj while Indians pay 20 rupees. Sultana Begum, who runs a small tea stall in Kolkata, and lives with her five daughters in a dingy room says none of the claimants can afford to maintain Taj. "Neither the Sunni board, nor the Shia board and neither Prince Yakub should get the ownership of the Taj Mahal. If it comes to Yakub or any of the boards, none of us are capable of maintaining or safeguarding the Taj Mahal. It must stay with the government, I have full faith that the government can take care of this historic monument," she said.

      Sultana says she has the documents, which prove that she belongs to the family of Shahjahan, who built Taj Mahal for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, but is not claiming the right to the property because it belongs to the country. "We can trace back our lineage to our grandfather but their claims are much generations later, we are the third generations so much closer and more genuine. We can prove our claims but still we feel that that Taj Mahal should stay with the government," said Zinat Mahal, Sultana's daughter. The Wakf Board, which governs properties belonging to Muslim religious institutions, has said that Shahjahan had bequeathed it to the trust's predecessor. Like other state Sunni Waqfs, the Uttar Pradesh state body was granted the ownership of Sunni graves in the state and also claims the Taj Mahal as a grave under its care. And, it insists, the emperor and his wife were Sunnis. But some religious leaders also say the mausoleum was built under supervision of an Iranian Shia architect and that Shahjahan was in fact a Shia. So the Shia Waqf should own it. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has said the gleaming white structure, flanked by two mosques, is not even Muslim. Looking after a wonder of the world is not easy -- the ASI employs 105 maintenance staff, 50 gardeners, 30 workers at an anti-pollution centre and 180 guards. None of those claiming the Taj want to look after it, leaving maintenance instead to the ASI. Historians say Shahjahan consulted experts from the Middle East and Europe as he planned the tomb, which took 20,000 people more than 22 years to build.

Tibetans prepare for Dalai Lama's birthday (Go To Top)

     Dharamsala: Hundreds of people today chanted hymns and prayed for the spiritual leader's well being at the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala and hoped that the Tibetan issue would be resolved during the lifetime of the 14th Dalai Lama, as they prepared for his 70th birthday. "At this moment we are quite hopeful that Tibet issue will be resolved during his lifetime and he will be able to go back to Tibet. In any case, from the viewpoint of people there will be 15th Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama and Tibet cannot be divided. Present Dalai Lama will live for more than 100 years and thereafter I am quite sure that people of Tibet will choose to have 15th Dalai Lama," said Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibetans-in- exile. The Dalai Lama was born on July 7, 1935 in a hamlet at Takster in Tibet. B. Tsering, President of Tibetan Women's Association, said people of Tibet would continue their freedom struggle with the help of teachings of their leader. "The institution of Dalai Lama will continue in our history. The interim period where the Dalai Lama is a minor and growing up, there has been a lapse there, some difficult times have been faced by Tibet. But this Dalai Lama has prepared Tibetan people to manage their own affairs even in his absence so much so that now very strong democratic government system has been developed under his guidance," he said. Tibetans believe that Beijing would seriously note their yearnings for autonomy to Tibet. China recently, in a white paper, urged the Dalai Lama to abandon his vision of an autonomous Tibet, squeezing the slim hopes of a political solution that might allow the exiled spiritual leader to return to his homeland. The Tibetans-in-exile have been expecting that Tibet might be granted autonomy akin to that given to Hong Kong and Macao under the contentious "one country, two systems" formula. The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign to gain autonomy for his homeland, maintains that there should be a referendum of the Tibetan people to decide their own future. The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala with thousands of his followers since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. About 134,000 Tibetans live in exile, the vast majority in India or Nepal, and of them less than half were born in their homeland. Tibetans say more than 1.2 million fellow countrymen have died in their homeland since the Chinese occupation.

Manmohan Singh to be the first Indian PM to attend G-8 meet (Go To Top)

     London: What can be termed as the growing importance of India in the global economy, Group of Eight (G-8), the elite economic powerhouse of the world have invited Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the deliberations scheduled on July 7, 2005. ahmohan Singh, an economist of international repute, who is widely regarded as the architect of India's economic reform started in 1990s is the first Indian Prime Minister to be invited in the meeting of the Group of Eight most industrialised nations of the world. According to the official sources, Indian Prime Minister who is scheduled the attend the G-8 deliberation in London on Thursday is expected to stress on the problem of global warming and alleviation of poverty from the world with special emphasis on Africa. The leaders of the world's richest countries G-8 -- Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia will gather at a posh golf resort in the cool of Scotland to tackle the issues of African poverty and global warming. "Along with the threat from international terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, I believe they are the most serious problems facing the world today," British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the host and agenda-setter for the summit, wrote in The Economist magazine earlier this year. Manmohan Singh, who arrives in London on a three-day visit on Wednesday, will spend a day at the Gleneagles in Scotland with the world leaders. On July 8, he will receive an honorary degree from Britain's prestigious University of Oxford, his Alma Mater, at Oxford. Chris Pattern, Chancellor of the Oxford University, will be present at the special ceremony where the Indian Prime Minister will be conferred the honorary doctorate in Civil Law for his role both as a leading economist and statesman. Singh received a philosophy doctorate from Oxford's Nuffield College in 1962. The same day, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the 75th Anniversary of the India House, the imposing structure at Aldwych, in the heart of London, housing the Indian High Commission and meet representatives of Labour Friends of India, Conservative Friends of India and the Liberal Democrats Friends of India. The G-8 meeting will begin Wednesday evening with a ceremonial dinner attended also by the leaders' wives and Queen Elizabeth II. It will end Friday afternoon with a news conference and what participants hope will be a joint statement of agreement. The leaders will meet at the lush, 850-acre Gleneagles estate resort, where the amenities include a golf course, jogging and bicycling trails and guests can also ride horses, shoot, fish, play tennis and even engage in falconry. But the location has been chosen as much for its seclusion as its splendor, as with all the group's venues since police and protesters clashed violently at a World Trade Organization conference in Seattle in 1999. Last year's G-8 summit was held on Georgia's Sea Island, where the surrounding water provided a natural barrier to protesters. Gleneagles lacks open water, but its rural isolation makes it easy to limit access to the site.

Pakistan bowlers learning cricket skills in India (Go To Top)

     Chennai: With the feel good factor reshaping Indo- Pak ties and cricket diplomacy breaking new grounds, it's the time for training of Pakistani bowlers at renowned MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. The three fast bowlers Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Asif, Riaz Afridi, and under-19 bowler Mohammad Irshad are honing their skills under the able guidance of Dennis Lillee, former Australian fast bowler, popularly known as "Pace Guru" in the 11- day camp that started on June 27 lasts till July 7. Khalil, who was part of the Pakistan team that toured India this year, said that it was his good fortune to be trained by Lillee. "I feel better with Dennis Lillee and Shekhar and also with Srinath. I am really enjoying at Chennai MRF Pace Foundation," he said. Lillee is euphoric about the budding pacers. "This time we have four Pakistanis and two from Emirates. Yes we have different players this time," he said. Having played two tests and three one-dayers, Mohammad Khalil is touted to be the most promising among the three. Afridi and Asif have played one Test mathch apiece. About 19 Indian boys are also attending the camp. The Foundation that was established in 1987, has become one of the best training grounds for fast bowlers. Left arm medium pacer Khalil, the most promising amongst them, had claimed five for 144 in three one-dayers against the Australians this year but went wicketless in the two Tests he played against Australia and India.

     Afridi played in one Test against Sri Lanka in Oct-Nov 2004 at Karachi, claiming two for 42. Asif's only Test against Australia this year was not fruitful (18-3-88-0), while Irshad has been waiting in the wings for his country's cap at the senior level. "The list of bowlers, who have trained here in the Academy and then donned their country caps include Glen McGrath, Brett Lee and Shane Watson (Australia), Michael Mason, Cluis Martin and James Franklin (New Zealand), Makhaya Ntini, Lance Klusener, Nantine Hayward and Roger Telemacus (South Africa), Paul Franks, Steven Kirby, Sajjad Mohammed and Kabir Ali (England),Chaminda Vaas, Nuvan Zoysa and Dilhara Fernando besides six others from Sri Lanka, five from Zimbabwe including Henry Olonga and Brian Strang and three from Bangladesh," T A Sekar, Chief Coach at the Foundation, said. In all, 43 bowlers from different boards, including 12 Indians, have represented their respective countries after training at the academy. Apart from this, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and Laxmipathy Balaji have been using the facilities to fine-tune their bowling and recuperate from injury. Presently, Srinath is a consultant coach at the academy. The MRF Pace Foundation was established in August '87, with the legendary Dennis Lillee of Australia, as Director, with the singular mission of developing and breeding strike bowlers of tomorrow. The foundation is believed to be unique in its nature and objective. It selects, nurtures and scientifically develops the cricketing skills of youngsters with promise. When it began ten years ago, the MRF Pace Foundation possessed few facilities other than an unused ground on the Madras Christian College campus. The academy went international in 1992 and since then bowlers from various countries have gained knowledge and honed their skills, making use of the facilities available.

References: New Delhi Metro rail, Shiv Sena power struggle, Narayan Rane resignation, Chenab bridge Baglihar, RSS conclave Surat, IAF relief Gujarat flood, Mughal Taj Mahal claim custodian, Tibetans Dalai Lama birthday, Manmohan Singh G-8 meet, Pakistan bowlers cricket skills Chennai MRF, Scarlett Johansson pooch, LA mayor Arnie, Leonardo DiCaprio. Halle Berry, Jude Law Sadie Frost divorce, Rod Stewart gardener arrested, Lindsay Lohan fans eat, India, India News, Newspaper, Indian, News, Travel News, India Travel Times, Travel,Tourism, Tour, Tourist, India, Times, News, Hotels, Airlines, Ayurveda, Yoga, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Cuisine, Festival, Temple, Trekking, Hindu, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Odissi, Dance, Shimla,Varanasi, Kullu, Manali, Dehra Dun, Mussourie, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Nainital, Delhi, Goa, Kovalam, Darjeeling, Bodh Gaya, Kancheepuram, Kanchipuram, Thekkady, Badrinath, Amar Nath,Vaishno Devi, Tirupati, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Chennai,

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