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New flood alert in Mumbai, toll nears 1000

     Mumbai: Mumbai Police have urged millions of residents to stay off the streets as heavy rains brought more flooding to country's financial hub today. Relief officials said that the death toll in the state could reach 1,000. The monsoon rains in the state have been the heaviest for almost a century and, on Sunday, western India was drenched again. Long-distance trains on some routes have been cancelled for a week, leaving thousands stranded at railway stations, and flights to and from Mumbai airport, India's busiest, have been delayed as planes could not take off or land for about nine hours on Sunday. "They are saying due to bad weather, the flight is cancelled. They are saying you are not getting any refund. So, now what to do," said Anita, a stranded passenger. "They are simply showing that it is delayed. They just gave the information that they don't know whether the flight from Delhi has left or not. We have been waiting here since 8.00 o'clock (local) time in the morning," said S.C. Surana, another stranded passenger.

     In Raigarh district, 150 km (93 miles) south of Mumbai, about 200 are dead or missing. At least 910 confirmed deaths have been reported in the state, police said. Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said Sunday's rains had raised fears of new landslides in and around the city. Nearly 70 people were killed in Mumbai's northern suburb of Andheri last week after they were trapped under a huge mound of mud and rocks which flattened dozens of shanties on hillsides. In Mumabai alone, hundreds have died in the city of over 15 million since Tuesday due to landslides, drowning, electrocution in flooded streets and even by suffocating in their cars as they waited out the rains for many hours. In Nasik too, stranded passengers loitered around in the station. Officials said fatalities in the state, including Mumbai, were rising as more bodies were dug out from villages flattened by landslides south of the city. Dead bodies and carcasses of animals were still strewn across parts of the city and its suburbs from last week's flooding, raising fears of disease, TV and officials said. Industry officials said the damage bill would run to billions of rupees in Mumbai, headquarters to India's biggest firms, following the flooding. There have been angry protests in several areas of the city where thousands have been without electricity and drinking water supplies since flooding started last Tuesday. Reliance Energy, which supplies power to parts of the city, said the flooding had damaged some transformers and feeders.

No long distance train to Mumbai till August 6 (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Central Railway has cancelled all long- distance trains via Igatpuri-Kalyan till August six, said Railway sources. The suburban trains on the Central (Main) are also running only up to Kalyan, the sources said. On the Western Railway, however, all the long distance trains are running on schedule. Mumbai, which was slowly recovering after the record deluge that slashed the City last week, is again facing floods following fresh heavy rains. City's suburb of Kalyan is the most affected area. Hundreds of houses have been washed away as the stream of water has totally submerged the low-lying areas. According to reports, at least 61 people have died in Kalyan and hundreds are missing.

Advani visits media person injured in Kashmir attack (Go To Top)

      New Delhi/Srinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party President and Opposition Leader L K Advani today visited the media person, Sahara News Cameraman Muzaffar Ahmed Butt, in New Delhi's Apollo Hospital, who was injured in a fierce gunbattle between militants and security forces on Friday evening. Advani said that the incident was a lesson for the Government which needed to be serious in the fight against terrorism. Television cameramen and photographers who had rushed to cover Friday's firefight got caught in the crossfire. Seven were hurt, including Muzaffar who was in a critical condition and was brought to New Delhi for further treatment. Two camerapersons of Asian News International, Aamir Amin Butt and Ejaz Ahmed Dandroo also got injured in the cross-fire but sucessfully completed their task. Two soldiers were killed and 20 people, including seven journalists, were wounded in the fighting. Security forces gunned down two militants on Saturday after a nearly 30 hour encounter, which police say was deliberately slow for the safety of about 40 people trapped in nearby buildings. The rebel militants had positioned themselves in two buildings in central Srinagar after they raided the city's main business centre Lal Chowk on Friday (July 29) afternoon, sparking a fierce battle with troops. Two Islamic groups, Al-Mansuriyan and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen have claimed responsibility for the raid.

CPI (M) refuses to back UPA Govt on nuclear deal with US  (Go To Top)
by Vrishti Beniwal

      New Delhi: Refusing to back the UPA Government on nuclear deal with the US, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) today said that the party's Polit Bureau has decided to conduct seminars and meetings across the country to make people aware of the disadvantages of the pact. "The Polit Bureau considers the India-US nuclear cooperation as another step towards India serving the global strategy of the US which is harmful for our strategic and security interests," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told a press conference here following a two-day meeting of party's Polit Bureau on July 29-30 in the Capital. Karat further said that that the CPI(M) is not completely against the pact, but sees it in a wider framework, and will discuss the issue in both the Houses of Parliament on Monday. When asked about the Left softening its stance on the pact, he smiled and said, "We are always soft towards the Government." Karat said that the joint statement issued after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US shows the continuation of the trend of India being accommodated as an ally of the latter. The party feels that India's independence in developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes should be maintained, said Karat, adding that the Department of Atomic Energy should not be weakened while implementing the nuclear cooperation agreement on the basis of structured reciprocity. On Saturday, the Left parties had said that the Prime Minister's statement in Parliament had answered some of their concerns, indicating that they had softened their stand on the issue. Earlier, the Left had termed the pact a 'sell-out', as India has agreed to allow international agencies like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its nuclear installations. But, the Prime Minister made it clear in the Parliament that India will open its installations only if the US recognises it as a State with advanced nuclear technology.

Sonia to defuse tension in alliance in Karnataka (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Mallikarjun Kharge are likely to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi this evening following summons from the party High Command over the Siddaramaiah issue. They are camping in the National Capital since last night and have held discussions with AICC leaders Ahmed Patel and A K Antony, the party in-charge for Karnataka. The Congress-led coalition Government in Karnataka is in crisis as the Jantata Dal (Secular) has stated that the future of the coalition depends on the cooperation from the Congress to oust the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, from the Cabinet. Siddaramaiah is at loggerheads with the JD (S) supremo Deve Gowda on whose behest his son and JD (S) working president Kumaraswamy has stepped up efforts to oust Siddaramaiah from the party leadership.

     Earlier, Deve Gowda met Ms Gandhi and other leaders in New Delhi on the issue of his differences with Siddaramaiah and conveyed his concerns that the Deputy Chief Minister should be under his command. Deve Gowda wants Congress to be on his side as he is likely to take action against Siddaramaiah for participating in a backward classes rally - AHINDA rally - held in Hubli recently. Deve Gowda had ordered Siddaramaiah not to organize and partcipate in such a rally. But Siddaramaih did not budge from his stand. He took part in the rally, which was attended by a huge gathering. The success of AHINDA rally was a rebuff to Deve Gowda. Deve Gowda is also said to have urged Sonia Gandhi not to take Siddaramaiah into Congress if he is ousted from JD (S). Similar developments had happened in Maharashtra where expelled Shiv Sena leader Naryan Rane was inducted in Congress. But it is learnt that the Congress President told him that Congress doors are open to those who come keeping faith in the ethics and ideals of the party, clearly giving a hint that Siddaramaiah may find shelter in the Congress. It is also learnt that Janata Dal (Secular) legislators will meet on Monday and pass a resolution authorising Deve Gowda to appoint a new leader for the legislature party. Ms Gandhi has been requested to make it sure that Congress will not come in the way of removal of Mr. Siddaramaiah from the Ministry on the condition that there will be no attempt to prevent the induction of any Congress MLA into the Ministry. The Cabinet expansion is likely to take place. Ms Gandhi is expected to instruct Singh and Kharge not to interfere in the internal affairs of the JD (S) as some Congress leaders who hail from Siddaramaiah's community - he represents the strong Kuruba community - have been found trying to win him over to Congress.

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