Indian High Commissioner's car stoned in Lahore

    Lahore: The official car of the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, was stoned by an angry mob that was protesting against the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad by a Danish daily. According to initial reports, the High Commissioner was not in the car at the time of the attack, and India has as such not lodged an official complaint at the time of filing of this report, as the attack was not supposedly directed at India. A private television report described the incident as being of a minor nature, which New Delhi and Islamabad would try not to blow it up. Reports further said that one of the security guards travelling in the car at the time of the attack was injured.

Insurgents kill three GAIL workers in Tripura (Go To Top)
by Pinaki Das

    Badunaipara (Tripura): In the first major attack in 2006, insurgents of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura gunned down three Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) workers in West Tripura on Tuesday. The three GAIL workers including a surveyor escorted by the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawans were on a seismic survey at an interior tribal hamlet Badhuniapara, 80 kilometres east of Agartala, under Teliamura police station, when the suspected NLFT (BM fraction) opened fire on them from atop a hilltop. While two of the workers died instantly, one succumbed on the way to the hospital. Incidentally, the place of attack is only two kilometres away from the 44 Assam-Agartala National Highway. The dead were identified as Sujay Saha, Harendra Malakar and Gopal Sarkar. One TSR personnel was also hit by bullets but escaped unhurt as he was wearing a bulletproof jacket. The tribal insurgents, however, managed to escape when the TSR jawans retaliated. "We were in house and on hearing the firing sound, we ran for our life. We did not see the militants," said Smita Debbarma, a local. Senior police and TSR officials along with reinforcement and sniffer dogs were rushed to the spot and a massive combing operation has been launched in the hilly terrain to nab the militants. No arrest have however, been made so far. The Border Security Force had also been alerted so that the militants are not able to cross over to their hideouts in neighbouring Bangladesh. Meanwhile, villagers abandoned the area anticipating some clash between the security forces and the insurgents. Most of the houses were closed except for a few women and children in some houses in the area.

Mughal Gardens opens to public  (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: Rashtrapati Bhavan's famous Mughal Gardens, which is spread over 15 acres, today opened for viewing to the general public. The Gardens, which includes the Musical Garden, the Spiritual Garden, the Herbal Garden and the Biodiversity Park, will remain open to the general public till March 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on Mondays being the maintenance day. The Gardens, contiguous to the main building of Rashtrapati Bhavan, were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who was inspired by the beautiful gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, the garden around the Taj Mahal and Persian and Indian miniature paintings.

    The Mughal Gardens comprise three parts: the first is the Rectangular Garden adjacent to the main Rashtrapati Bhavan building, which is divided into four quarters, each with terraced gardens on either side. The central lawn here is the venue of numerous receptions and At Homes hosted by the President. The second is the Long Garden, leading on to the third part, which is the Circular Garden. The Long Garden has several beds of roses with a dwarf-trimmed hedge, giving the effect of 'coloured knots on a vast carpet'. The Circular Garden, also known as the 'Pearl Garden' or the 'Butterfly Garden', presents a feast of colours, with each tier overflowing with annual flowers and separated from the next, by a patch of greens having a centrally located fountain.

    The Garden derives its evergreen character from trees like Moulsri, Putranjiva, Saru, Juniper, China Orange, roses and a variety of climbers etc. The Garden has numerous varieties of roses like Taj Mahal, Pusa Arjun etc. and "Oklahoma" which is nearest to being black. In blues it has "Paradise", "Blue Moon" and "Lady X" as well as Green Rose. Various annuals are grown in beds and formal borders according to their heights and colours to produce harmonious effect and provide longer period for the bed to be full of blooms. Winter flowers like Calendula, Antirrhinum, Alyssum, Dimorphotheca, Eschscholzia, Larkspur, Gazania, Gerbera, Godetia, Lineria, Mesembryanthemum, Brachycome, Metucharia, Verbena, Viola, Pansy, Stock etc. grow well in flowerbeds. Dahlias, Carnations and Sweet Pea stand out because of their range of colours. Naturalizing effect is created by bulbous flowering plants like Narcissus, Fressia, Zephyranthus, Gladiola, Asiatic Lily and Tulips etc.

    The Long Garden or the 'Purdah' Garden, so called because of its shape blooms and blooms, enclosed by high walls, lies to the west of the main garden. It has 16 square rose beds hemmed in low hedges. Along the walls are lined the resplendent China Orange whose ornamental fruits outnumber the leaves, which is a centre of attraction.

   The Circular ('Pearl' or 'Butter Fly' or 'Sunken') Garden at the western edge is a huge terraced bowl lined with various fragrant and vibrant annuals, which are blooming and blooming. A bubble fountain in the middle of this bowl enhances the grandeur of the place. Viola and Dahlia are in praiseworthy state along with other multicoloured attractive annuals separated by lush green grass. The main Mughal Garden is in bloom having annual flowers such as enlivening roses, lilies, tulips, double pansy flowers and eye catching velvet green lawns intercepted with lotus shaped fountains and blue base water canals. The newly added Musical Garden has an enthralling pair of fountains, which play the Shehnai music and Vandemataram. The fountains are a perfect blend of music, light and water with the help of modern technical know-how. Bonsai (dwarf plants), a variety of cactus plants, drift wood, potted plants, sparkling canal water and red stone paths add to the beauty of Rashtrapati Bhavan, besides being Tactile Garden, Peacock Golf Course, other playgrounds and the Health Centre etc.

   The entry and exit into the Gardens will be via Gate No. 35 of the President's Estate, which is located at the extreme end of the Church Road, about 300 meters West of Cathedral Church. Entry for physically challenged people using wheelchairs will be through the Rashtrapati Bhavan Reception. Such persons can arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan through Hukmi Mai Marg or Rajpath. Visitors have been requested not to bring any water bottles, briefcases, handbags/ladies purses, cameras, radios/transistors, cell phones, umbrellas, arms/ammunitions and eatables. Such articles, if any, will not be allowed to be carried into the Mughal Gardens and will have to be deposited at the entry point at the owner's risk. Schools wishing to organize a visit for children below the age of 10 years to the Mughal Gardens during this period have been told to contact the President's Secretariat two days in advance so that their entry can be arranged on a priority basis.

    The Biodiversity Park, which has deer, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowls, turtles, parakeets, rabbits and migratory birds, is another attraction. This Park is also full of peacocks. Important medicinal and aromatic plants depicting their use can be seen in the educational-cum-conservation Herbal Garden. The biodiesel producing plant Jatropha; Stevia, which provides safe sugar for diabetics, Isabgol (plantago), Damusk rose, Ashwagandha, Brahmi, Tulsi, Geranium etc. can be seen in the Herbal Garden.

Students strike against Tinsukia killings (Go To Top)
by Peter Alex Todd

    Guwahati: A dawn-to-dusk shut-down called by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) to protest the killing of nine persons in the police firing on February 10 at Kakopathar in Tinsukia District, hit transport services, schools, offices and businesses on Tuesday. Authorities said they had stepped up security across the State and police and para-military forces have intensified patrols to prevent any trouble during the strike. Several colleges and schools had to call off their annual exams following the strike. Normal life was also affected. "The shops are closed, eateries are closed. What are we going to do, what are we going to eat?," asked a local. On Monday, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the AASU had observed a state-wide shutdown which received a mixed response. The ULFA has been fighting an armed insurgency since 1979. However, in the last few years, public sympathy for the ULFA has reduced mainly after the Independence Day bombing in Dhemaji district last year where 21 schoolchildren were killed. Over 15,000 people have been killed so far since the ULFA launched its revolt. The February 10 incident came three days after a team representing the ULFA held talks with senior federal officials in New Delhi. Both sides agreed to push for peace to eventually enable the government to open direct talks with the rebel leaders. The government had also assured that it would look into complaints of human rights violations by security forces in the State.

SC to Govt: Make marriage registration compulsory (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ordered the Central and the State Governments to make marriage registration mandatory within in a span of three months to end the malicious practice of under-aged weddings. A bench consisting Justice Arijit Passayat and Justice S H Kapadia, granted one month for public objections, if any. The court also said that the matter should be advertised and finished off within that period. The amend rules should also have provisions in respect of a false declaration during registration of marriage. The National Commission for Women (NCW) had on January 17 told the Supreme Court that the registration of marriages would curbed the harmful marriage practices. Then, court had asked the Commission to present their views on the matter. According to the bench, one way of curbing the practice was to make it mandatory for all marriages to be registered, as also to state the age of those who were getting married. In its affidavit, the commission had said it fully supported the proposal as this was of critical importance to various women- related issues such as prevention of child marriages, ensuring a minimum age for marriage, prevention of marriages without consent of both parties, checking of bigamy and polygamy and to enable married women to claim the right to live in the matrimonial houses. The commission had also said the law would also enable widows to claim their inheritance rights and other benefits and privileges they were entitled to after the death of their husbands. The law would also daunt men from leaving women after marriage and daunt parents from selling their daughters. The commission further had said that they were fully in favor with the court's proposal to maintain records on the registration of marriages as it would really help to resolve marriage arguments. The commission had drawn the attention of the court to a 2004 interim order directing the states to give reason why they should not consider enacting a law for compulsory registration of marriages. The law had already been enacted in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra but in most of the states it had done so.

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