Lord
Ganesh idols immersed as 10-day festival ends
Mumbai/Pune:
People in Maharashtra bid adieu to their favourite elephant
headed god Ganesh amidst chanting of holy hymns and prayers
on Saturday. Tight security was put in place in Mumbai for
the idol immersion marking the culmination of the 10-day
long festivities. The festival marks the birth anniversary
of Ganesh, signifying good omen and prosperity. At least
20,000 Ganesha idols were immersed in Mumbai city itself
with the height of idols varying from five to over 20 feet.
People thronged several beaches, despite an alert on high
tides, to immerse the idols in a farewell ritual. "This
is an auspicious time so we have to carry out the immersion
at the assigned time," said Sandeep Sapre, a devotee. This
year the devotees had bedecked the Ganesh idols with jewellery
worth millions of dollars and also made a Ganesh on the
theme of female infanticide where they could educate people
against this menace.
In Mumbai,
the recent devastation by the floods that killed over 1,000
people failed to deter the festive spirit. In neighbouring
Pune city, scores of people led by lawmaker Suresh Kalmadi
poured out on to the streets to take the decked up idols
of the pot bellied god for his final journey. People threw
colours at each other and played drums to mark the occasion.
For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair,
celebrated within homes. But at the turn of the century,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from British
rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a platform
for political propaganda and unity. Legend has it that Hindu
Godess Parvati, consort of Shiva, the Lord of Destruction,
had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty- like substance.
Later Shiva unknowingly beheaded the young lad. When he
realised that the boy was Parvati's creation, Shiva brought
him back to life, by slaying an elephant and giving him
the animal's head.
Congress
denies agreement with Paswan in Bihar (Go
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Patna:
Congress general secretary in charge of Bihar Digvijay
Singh on Saturday denied the claims that the Congress had
a "hidden agreement" with Ramvilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP) for the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar. Talking
to media, Singh said there was no such agreement with the
LJP, and Paswan would have to be either with the RJD-led
UPA alliance or fight against it. On being asked about Paswan's
proposal of having a Muslim Chief Minister in the State,
Singh said Paswan's demand might be considered if he joins
the UPA and if it comes into power and the LJP leader comes
up with the name of a suitable Muslim candidate for the
CM's post.
BJP
pitches for urban employment guarantee bill (Go
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by Jai Krishna
Chennai:
The Bharatiya Janata Party came down heavily on the
Manmohan Singh government on Saturday for not fulfilling
its promises and demanded that the employment guarantee
bill, which is limited only for the rural areas, should
also be extended to the urban areas. "In its election manifesto
and Common Minimum Programme (CMP) the government has promised
that employment guarantee will also be extended to the urban
unemployed and middle class people. But instead of a national
employment guarantee bill, the government has only gone
for a Rural Employment Guarantee Bill," the BJP said in
its 20-point economic resolution passed at its Chennai National
Executive meeting today. It demanded that an employment
guarantee bill for the urban unemployed should be passed
in the next session of Parliament, as more than four crore
poor, educated unemployed live in the urban areas who have
been kept out of the purview of the recently passed Rural
Employment Gurantee Bill.
Hizbul
top militant killed in Doda (Go
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Jammu:
Hizbul Mujahideen's senior commander Masood Ahmad Nathnu,
also called its 'financial chief', was killed in an encounter
with security forces in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir
in wee hours today, official sources informed. Masood had
gone to Dama village, seven kms north-east of Doda, allegedly
to meet his girl-friend. Acting on a tip off, security forces
raided the village, where Masood opened fire at them. He
was shot dead in the retaliatory gunbattle and a pistol
was recovered from his possession, sources said. Masood
who was active in Doda for the last ten years and was managing
the finances of the outfit.
Four
die as house collapses in Himachal rain (Go
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Palampur
(Himachal Pradesh): Four people were dead and three
others injured following a house collapse in Thalla village
of Palampur district in the State on Friday night. The injured
were admitted to a nearby hospital and their condition was
reported to be serious. The house collapsed following heavy
rains in the State in last few days, killing two women and
two children. Deceased were identified as Rekha (22) and
her four- month-old son and Sudershan (23) and her two-year-old
daughter. Earlier, the rescue team reached the spot walking
for about five kilometres as continuous rain had breached
the village road at several places. A compensation of rupees
ten thousand was immediately announced for the affected
families by the district officer.
Exiled
Tibetans explore democracy in India (Go
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Dharamsala
(Himachal Pradesh): Tibetans living-in- exile in Dharamsala
are engaged in attending a workshop here to make their youth
aware of democracy and parliamentary system of government.
A group of 70 Tibetan delegates are currently in the hill
town to be a part of the workshop "Grassroots Democracy
Strengthening Local Assemblies" first of its kind being
organised by the Tibetan government-in-exile's research
centre. Earlier on Sunday, Tibetans cast their votes to
elect the 14th Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (ATPD)
to form a new Tibetan Government in exile. ATPD or Tibetan
parliament is the highest elected legislative organ of Tibetans-in-exile.
In the workshop, people mainly leaders of various local
assemblies of Tibetans settled in Nepal and other countries,
are being informed about the functioning of parliament and
their rights. The delegates also attended the first session
of newly elected ATPD. Acharya Yeshi Phunstok, coordinator
of the workshop, said that the leaders would also be briefed
on autonomy and democracy in different nations. Members
of the ATPD are directly elected by the people every five
years, with around 82,000 Tibetan voters registered in India,
Nepal, Bhutan, Europe and North America. The Tibetan people,
both inside and outside Tibet, consider the government-in-exile
to be the sole legitimate government of Tibet. An estimated
134,000 Tibetans live in exile, the majority of them in
India and Nepal. The Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai
Lama set up his seat of power in Dharamsala after he along
with his followers fled to India in 1959, nine years after
China occupied Tibet.
Bangladesh
Rifles arrest 15 Indian nationals (Go
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by Nazrul Islam
Dhaka:
Bangladesh Rifles has claimed to have arrested as many
as 15 Indian nationals from two bordering districts of Sathkira
and Lalmonirhat for their alleged intrusion into Bangladesh
territory, said official sources. An official at the Bangladesh
Rifles headquarters in Dhaka said that the border forces
arrested 25 persons including 13 Indian citizens from Taluigachha
border of Satkhira district. Among the 13 arrested, nine
were women and two of them were children, they added. Officials
said that the Indian citizens entered Bangladesh illegally
a few days ago and were returning home Thursday night through
the border. A case has been filed with Satkhira Sadar police
station in this connection, said officials. Officials further
said that two other Indian nationals were arrested form
Dahogram-Angorpota border in Lalmonirhat.
Musharraf
no to Benazir, Sharif return (Go
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Islamabad:
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said
that former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif
would not be allowed to return to Pakistan. Addressing a
ceremony in the Columbia University, Musharraf said that
the Benazir and Sharif had during their rule, destroyed
Pakistan and plundered the national exchequer. Therefore,
they could not be allowed to return to Pakistan, he said.
"They (Nawaz, Benazir) destroyed Pakistan, how could they
be allowed to return and plunder the national exchequer.
They plundered two billion dollars from the national exchequer,"
The Nation quoted Musharraf as saying. He however, said
that the political parties of these two former Premiers
could of course take part in the 2007 general elections,
as there were no restrictions on them.
Israel
recognition after creation of Palestine:
Aziz (Go
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Islamabad:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that Islamabad
will recognize Tel Aviv, only when the independent state
of Palestine comes into existence. He said that Foreign
Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's meeting with his Israeli
counterpart was only an 'engagement', and Pakistan's stance
vis-a vis Israel was no different from that of the OIC.
"We will only recognize Israel when an independent state
of Palestine comes into existence. This is the stance of
the OIC and Pakistan also adheres to it. There is no harm
in engagement if the cause of Palestine is served. Interfaith
harmony is a good thing," the Dawn quoted Aziz as saying.
Aziz also ruled out the possibility of starting any trade
with Israel.
