More
rains in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh likely
Vishakhapatnam/Puri:
The meteorological department on Tuesday predicted more
rains and strong winds in Andhra Pradesh, where at least
eight people were killed following a cyclone. Officials
said they were bracing for more rain in the region though
the storm had substantially weakened. "Another depression
has formed near Jagdalpur region and because of that, rains
accompanied by strong winds are expected in coastal regions
of Andhra Pradesh. The fishermen in the areas of Kalingapatanam,
Kakinara, Machilipattinam and Visakhapatnam have been warned
not to venture to the sea," said Subramanya Sashtri, Director,
Cyclone Warning Centre. Earlier, trees and electricity poles
were uprooted by strong winds and heavy overnight rains
triggered floods in the coastal districts, leaving 25,000
people homeless in the State. Authorities together with
volunteers have already shifted thousands of people to safer
places. Meanwhile, in Puri (Orissa) 40 fishermen are reported
to be missing after a cyclone hit the area. The local people
there said that 19 boats had left early on Saturday, of
which seven had returned, but 12 still remain at sea. However,
the fishermen here have blamed the authorities of not issuing
a cyclone warning.
Taxi
unions call off strike in West Bengal (Go
To Top)
Kolkata:
The indefinite strike called by the taxi owners in West
Bengal demanding hike in fair was withdrawn on Tuesday by
the Bengal Taxi Association (BTA) and the Calcutta Metropolitan
Taxi Drivers' Union (CMTDU) following a meeting with Transport
Minister. The withdrawal was made after an assurance from
Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty that the State Government
would do an upward revision of fares at a meeting with the
representatives of BTA and CMTDU. However, no such announcement
was made by the bus unions, and it expected that their strike
would continue even on Wednesday.
Taxi
and bus owners demand that there should be at least a 20
to 30 percent increase in their fares. Some operators said
that they were already burdened by rampant bribe demands
from the police and could not bear the additional burden.
"Police are charging up to 5000 rupees ($ 116) per month.
This should be controlled by the government of West Bengal,"
said Swaran Lal, The President of Bengal Bus Syndicate.
Earlier this month, India raised petrol and diesel prices,
the second rise this year, bringing some relief to the hugely
burdened state oil firms, but still leaving a wide gap between
local and global prices. India's retail fuel prices are
among the highest state-controlled ones in Asia. In New
Delhi a litre of petrol was 40.49 rupees and diesel 28.45
rupees, with the latest rise, adding around three and two
rupees respectively. Kerosene and cooking gas prices were
left unchanged in a move widely seen as bowing to pressure
from the Communists, who had resisted an increase, as it
would hurt the poor.
Ex-Assam
CM Prafulla Mahanta launches new party (Go
To Top)
by Peter Alex Todd
Guwahati:
Two months after his expulsion from Asom Gana Parishad,
the party's founder-president and two-time Chief Minister
of Assam, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, launched his new party
"Asom Gana Parishad (Progressive)" on Tuesday, splitting
the parent outfit and vowing to oppose the ruling Congress.
"To develop the state, regionalism is strongly required.
I would be concentrating on that but the support of people
is very important. I want to develop the state economically,
politically and socially with the help of the people," Mahanta
said. The new party has decided to formulate an election
policy to prevent ruling Congress from coming back to power
in the coming assembly polls election next year. Mahanta,
the founder president of the regional party formed in 1985,
is supported by four sitting MLAs and former ministers Sahidul
Alam Choudhury, Utpal Dutta, Gunin Hazarika and Bubul Das
and he also claims the support of 23 out of the 26 district
committees of the party. The AGP had first split in 1992
when Mahanta's deputy during the Assam Movement and the
then Home Minister Bhrigu Kumar Phukan fell apart and Phukan,
along with his supporters, broke away to form the `Natun
Asom Gana Parishad'. But the differences were resolved the
next year and the AGP reunited with its parent party on
August 29, 1993. Hundreds of supporters gathered to celebrate
the official launch of the new party.
Plea
to free Jammu man from Pakistani jail (Go
To Top)
Jammu:
Even as hundreds of families celebrated reunion after
India and Pakistan exchanged civilian prisoners last week,
Durgesh wore a forlorn look as she sat staring at her father's
letters. Her father was nowhere among the freed prisoners.
Durgesh, a resident of Jammu, was just an infant when her
father Swarnlal left home in 1991. "I was two-months-old
when he left. I haven't even seen him. I want my father
to come back. Yesterday, when I saw prisoners being released
on television, I expected my father to be one of them. But,
he was not there," she said. Swarnlal's family says despite
repeated requests, no steps have been taken to find him.
Dehradun
District Court nullifies mayor's election (Go
To Top)
Dehradun:
The ruling Congress party in Uttranchal on Monday received
a setback when a District Court nullified the election of
the Mayor of Dehradun on charges of winning the election
by unfair means. The Court announced its decision after
a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Vinod Uniyal,
submitted a petition in the Court where he had complained
of rigging and claimed that his opposition has won the election
by fradulent means. The Court says that it has found substantial
eveidence of rigging and malpracticing during counting of
votes and hence dismissed the Mayor,Manorama Dobriyal Sharma
Contesting Municipal elections as a Congress candidate,
Manorama, won the elections in February, 2003. She defeated
her rival,Vinod Uniyal of BJP by a margin of 4309 votes.
Manorama polled 50511 votes while Vinod Uniyal polled 46202
votes. With this win, Manorama became the Mayor of Dehradun.
Lucknow
sanitary workers strike leaves city in a stench (Go
To Top)
by Kamna Hajela Mathur
Lucknow:
With the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) workers'
strike entering its seventh day, the life of the people
in the city has become a mess. The strike has created a
stench across the city, and raised fears among the public
about the likely outbreak of disease if the sanitary workers
don't resume their duties. "There is a lot of garbage on
roads and it stinks everywhere. We also fear the outbreak
of deadly diseases due to it. Every corner of Lucknow city
has piles of garbage," said Mohommad Khalil, a resident.
The Lucknow Muncipal Corporation (LMC) has, however, hired
sanitary workers from neighbouring districts to clear garbage
in the city. The Urban Development Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
Azam Khan, denied having any personal problems with Valmiki
community and has no plans to take any action against them.
Aishwarya
Rai to carry out anti-polio campaign in Pak (Go
To Top)
Islamabad:
Bollywood starlet Ashwarya Rai, who is also India's
Polio ambassador, is likely to visit Pakistan next month-end
to create awareness against the disease, Pakistan Health
Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan said. She would be accompanied
by Indian Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramdoss. "I just talked
to the Indian health minister and he has confirmed that
he, along with Aishwarya Rai, would visit Pakistan," the
Daily Times quoted him as saying. The former Miss World,
who was a model before taking to films, has been carrying
on an active anti-polio campaign in India for more than
a year now. Nasir Khan further said that he would visit
India along with Pakistani pop singer Jawad Ahmed, who is
Pakistan's polio ambassador, after the visit of the Indian
delegation. According to him, the exchange of polio ambassadors
was decided in June when he met the Indian Health Minister
during the annual meeting of World Health Organisation (WHO)
in Geneva. Khan said the exchange of polio ambassador would
be unique and fruitful for the people of both countries.
"Health diplomacy is something very important for both India
and Pakistan and we are proud of having taken the initiative
to begin it," he said.
Sensex
crosses 8,500 mark (Go
To Top)
Mumbai:
The Bull run at the Bombay Stock Exchange continues
with the 30-share Sensex crossing the 85,50 mark on Tuesday.
The BSE Sensex, which touched an intra-day high of 8511,
ended the day at 8500.28 up 55 points. The NSE Nifty surged
11 points to close at 2,578. The bounce back at the markets
was led by select IT majors Satyam and Infosys which registered
gains of 2.55 and 1.99 per cent respectively. Wipro ended
the day in the red, marking losses of over a per cent. Select
mid cap stocks also recovered lost ground in afternoon deals.
While Moser Baer closed with gains of almost 3 per cent,
others like HCL and Hinduja TMT also ended the day with
significant gains.
