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PM accepts responsibility for Bihar Assembly dissolution

     Chandigarh/New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday accepted responsibility for his government's decision to dissolve the Bihar State Assembly on May 23, 2005. Reacting to opposition calls for his resignation in the wake of the Supreme Court order on Friday declaring the dissolution of the assembly as "unconstitutional", Dr. Singh said that it was the only suitable option at that time. He also said that the government needs to study the judgement in detail to reach to any conclusions. "I don't disown our responsibility and my responsibility as the Prime Minister. There was a specific circumstance which was brought to our notice. It was our judgement that taking into account the objective situation then of the dissolution of the assembly was the only practical course open. The honourable Supreme Court by a majority judgement has held that decision as unconstitutional but I still don't know the reasons which led the honourable Supreme Court to arrive at that decision, I will have to study it in detail," Singh told reporters in Chandigarh on the sidelines of a conclave of Congress chief ministers.

Sikhs procession on Guru Ramdass birthday  (Go To Top)
by Ravinder Singh Robin

     Amritsar: Thousands of Sikhs took out a procession in Amritsar on Saturday on the eve of 471st birth anniversary of their fourth Guru (religious teacher), Guru Ramdas. Guru Ramdas worked extensively for promotion of Sikhism, his greatest achievement being the foundation of Ramdaspur, which is now known as Amritsar. At the head of the procession were the Panj Piaras, five men or boys dressed as priests, carrying the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The festival is called "Prakash Utsav" or festival of lights, as the entire city is illuminated with numerous lamps and prayers are offered late in the night. "On the occasion of birth anniversary of Guru Ramdassji, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee has organised the procession in the city. Late in the night prayers will be offered along with lighting of lamps. Fireworks will follow," said Jaswant Singh, a priest of the Golden Temple. The tourists attending the festival were extremely thrilled on seeing the cultural extravaganza. "This is very very beautiful. I accidentally came here. I did not know that this is going to happen.This is very exciting. We came up in the morning. Its very very beautiful like a great festival," said Jasmine, a Canadian tourist. The Sikh religion originated with Guru Nanak (1469-1539 AD) who was succeeded by nine other prophets, Guru Gobind Singh (1666- 1708 AD) being the last. Followers of Sikhism are identified by five visible symbols namely Kachcha (underwear), Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (comb), Kara (iron bangles) and Kripan (dagger). Most Sikh men sport a beard and wrap their uncut hair in a turban. Most take the surname "Singh", which means lion, after their guru exhorted them to shed fear and defend their honour.

Israeli, 11 others killed in Himachal bus mishap  (Go To Top)
by Rajiv Kimta

      Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh): Twelve pilgrims, including an Israeli woman, were killed and dozens injured on Friday when a bus carrying them turned turtle in Himachal Pradesh. The mishap took place in Dhaliara village. The dead Israeli woman was identified as Salmen Mikel. Police said the injured were shifted to a local hospital, and eight of them were in a critical situation. "Twelve casualties have been confirmed, and the rest we are lifting the wreckage of the bus to see how many more people are trapped inside," said Rani Bindu, Deputy Superintendent of Police. The bus driver said the accident took place when he was trying to negotiate a speeding vehicle from the opposite direction. "I applied immediate brakes because I saw a vehicle coming at a very high speed from the other direction," said Shyam, the driver of the bus. When the bus reached the place, boulders fell on it. We ran to rescue the people trapped in the bus. We managed to rescue two foreigners along with the two others," said Heera Lal, a resident. Tek Chand, an injured, added: "A few small stones fell in the beginning then the boulder fell on the bus. I managed to lie down on the seat but my feet got stuck in the rubble." Witnesses said rescuers used their hands and pickaxes to get through the rubble and take out the injured and dead. Known for its snow-capped mountains and heavily forested valleys, Himachal Pradesh is a favourite destination for thousands of tourists, especially young backpackers.

A Tamil Nadu's village has only blind residents (Go To Top)
by Jai Krishna

     Alamgadi (Tamil Nadu): Residents of Alagamadai village in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram District faces a peculiar problem. All of its residents suffer from some form of eye defect. The elderly suffer from night blindness, whereas the younger generation inevitably experiences poor eyesight as they cross the age of 22. It starts whenever a person is 12. During the day, these people have a visibility of about 60 -70 per cent. By the time it is dark they loose it completely. Earlier, nearly 450 people lived in Ramanthapuram district. Today, they have reduced to only 50 people due to this eye- problem which has become an enigma for all. The village was full of people living in it till recently. But the day villagers realised the problem, most of them decided to leave the village to settle in far off places in other parts of the State. Today only a few elderly people live here.The village's only primary school till recently had 35 students but now it stands locked. People of nearby villages fear to send their wards to the school. The village has a pond which fulfills the drinking water needs. "Although medical teams and officials inspected the village, nothing could be discovered about the problem and subsequently the issue got buried," says Baalakarasu, a villager. The villagers have become exhausted of visiting many Hospitals as they return disappointed every time. "I had approached various eye institutes for treatment but where ever I go doctors say there is no treatment available for the disease. The disease occurs because of nerve disorder and there is no medicine or therapy to cure it," says Maarikannu, another villager , who has already lost his eyes.

Miscreants vandalise Durga idols in Bangladesh (Go To Top)
by Nazrul Islam

     Dhaka: Although the government has tightened security to ensure the smooth celebration of Durga Puja, unidentified miscreants have vandalised idols of the GoddessDurga at least at three places in Muslim-dominated Bangladesh. Delayed reports reaching here from southern Khulna, Faridpur and Jessore districts said the miscreants had attacked the idols late on Thursday night. The biggest Hindu festival, coincides with the Muslims Ramadan, which beginsin Bangladesh from Sunday. Reached by telephone, a superintendent of police in southern Khulna district, Mainul Hasan, admitted that the vandalism had taken place in the Khulna metropolitan area on that night and said the security has been beefed up in areas under his supervision. "We have taken the highest ever security measures around the Puja stages," said Hasan adding that the forces are being deployed on phases. He said the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion has started patrolling to ensure security and sanctity of the Puja celebration. The miscreants damaged the idol of Durga at the temple of Sri Satya Narayan in Labanchara area of Khulna. Locals said the miscreants entered the temple at the dead of night and damaged the idol. In Jessore, miscreants took away the bust of the idol Durga on Thursday night from a temple at Alfadanga. The matter came to the notice of the local people on Friday morning. Taking the tip from the intelligent reports, the police administration has posted "terror alert" with foolproof security measures at all puja venues, the number of which is around 20,000, more than last year's. The government already deployed elite-force RAB in plainclothes from October 3 and in uniform at puja mandaps, alongside the members of the regular forces like paramilitary BDR, Armed Police Battalion, police and Ansar. The Home Ministry directed the law-enforcers to coordinate with the local puja celebration committees for maintaining peace and tranquillity matching with the serene nature of the autumn. Bangladesh Puja Celebration Committee advised all local puja mandap committees to post their own volunteers for a smooth holding of Durga Puja. Panic grips among the people in Bangladesh following the August 17 serial bombings across the country and October 3 courtroom bomb blasts in three districts that killed at least five people and hurt nearly 200 people.

Market in correction mode, loses 143 points in the week (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: After massive bull charge since September 1, the stock market now seems in a correction mode as the country's benchmark index suffered a moderate setback in the volatile market and ended the week 142.92 points lower at 8,491.56. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd 30-share sensitive index (sensex) saw a correction of 330 points in the week ended October 8, the Weekly Market Review released here today by the BSE said. In the volatile market the bourses touched a new intra-trade record high of 8,821.84 points in the reporting week, however, latter it saw a major correction of 330 points and ended the week at 8,491.56 as compared to last weekend's close of 8,634.48, reporting a net loss of 142.92 points or 1.66 percent. The market had risen by over 1,000 points between September 1 and October 4. According to the market analysts the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) that have invested heavily in the bourses in the last few months have made a hefty withdrawal during the week, igniting all-round sell-off. FIIs have invested over Rs 37,000 crore in equity market in the last nine months of the current calendar year. They have reported net sales of Rs 211 crore in cash and Rs 1,762 crore in futures during the first four days of the reporting week, that have induced operators and retail investors to book profits at higher levels. The sentiment was dampened by weak global trend following heavy sales in major world markets on fears of further US interest rate hike after the recent increase in inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped by 282 points and 69 points respectively in the week.