Suryanarayan cremated with state honours

     Hyderabad: K Suryanarayan, the Indian engineer who was abducted and killed by Taliban in Afghanistan, was cremated at the Sardar Patel Cremation Ground in his hometown Hyderabad with full state honours on Tuesday. Suryanarayan's six-year-old son Satjya Teja lit the pyre amidst heart-rending scenes. The engineer's body was flown back to the country yesterday, which reached here at night. Earlier in the day, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called on his family members to pay his condolences.

    Meanwhile, Suryanarayan's wife Manjula, who had attempted suicide late on Monday evening just hours before his body was brought to Hyderbad for last rites, was still in the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital. Manjula allegedly consumed phenyl and swooned following a woman claimed to be Suryanarayan's 'second wife' and demanded her share of the compensation sanctioned for his family. Swapna, hailing from Warangal, claimed that Suryanarayan had married her in 2004 and they have a nine-month-old daughter. She showed photographs as proof of her "love marriage" to Suryanarayan. However, K. Chandrashekhar, Surayanarayan's father refused to accept Swapna as his daughter-in-law. "We have nothing to do with her (the second wife)," he said despite Swapna's presence during the funeral. Suryanarayan, 41, was kidnapped with his Afghan driver when gunmen stopped their vehicle in the southern province of Zabul on Friday. His beheaded body was found on Sunday morning in the Hassan Karez area not far from the place from where he was kidnapped. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y Rajashekhar Reddy has promised a compensation of Rs five lakh to Suryanarayan's family and a job to Manjula, his wife. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also announced that the Centre would bear the educational expenses of Suryanarayan's three children. Suryanarayan's telecom company Al Moayed has also announced a compensation package of 20 lakh rupees. A senior Afghan official blamed "common enemies" of India and Afghanistan for the killing. Relations between India and Afghanistan have flourished since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 and India is involved in numerous Afghan aid and reconstruction projects.

Taj Mahal creates a traffic jam in Karachi (Go To Top)

      Karachi: There was utter chaos on the streets of Karachi, and commuters were stuck in the worst ever traffic jam for hours together last week when Indian film Taj Mahal was premiered in the port city. The traffic police had closed a part of MA Jinnah Road in a bid to control the public who gathered around the Capri cinema to have a glimpse of Indian film actors who had come here to attend the premier. Most acutely affected were the ambulance services and many ambulances, sirens wailing, were seen trapped in the traffic muddle, The News reported. The city police and administration took no measures for averting the chaos although it was obvious that closure of MA Jinnah Road in the rush hours would create a chaotic situation, the paper added. People of all ages, including women and children, and workers doing business or jobs, were equally affected. Many of them were heard cursing the police and the city authorities for closing the city's arterial thoroughfare just for the sake of a film's premiere. "It seems the security of Indian actors is more important to our authorities than the comfort of their masses. It is so irritating. We are returning from hours of hard work and the government has made arrangements for us to sweat further for hours," said a furious young man who also spent hours on the MA Jinnah Road in the traffic jam. People returning home from their offices and business places faced the worst ordeal, as they got stuck up in the traffic jam for several hours causing their family members anxiety. "It is very, very unfair that you put hundreds of thousands of people to inconvenience just for the enjoyment of a few. I have been sitting in this bus for more than one hour. I should have gotten home by now, but nobody sitting here knows how long we will remain stuck here," said an office worker. A local shopkeeper reportedly said: "The movie should have been shown on Sunday when there is very little traffic on this road. On Sunday closing a part of it would not have been so troublesome for the public. But then, our government has never cared for public's convenience."

Indian hanged for murder in Kuwait (Go To Top)

      Gorakhpur: Gorakhpur's Shakrullah who left for Kuwait in search of a job has been hanged on charges of murder. His family is in a state of shock and grief. His brother had approached everybody from the President to the Prime Minister, but to no avail. "In this connection I faxed requests to the Prime Minister and the President, but I got no response. Through the Prime Minister and the president I requested the Kuwait government that if my brother is involved in a murder and if he has committed the crime and if he has been sentenced to death, then he should be pardoned and granted life. It's the carelessness and the callousness of the embassy there for what has happened. When my brother complained to the embassy that his boss was harassing him, the embassy should've looked into the matter and conducted an inquiry and should've also informed me. My father died when he heard of it of brain haemorrhage. We've left everything to God. I've requested the President that he requests the Kuwait government to give my brother life," said Ataullah, Shakulallah's brother before the sentence was carried out.

TN politicians take to music to win votes (Go To Top)

     Madurai: The Election Commission may have banned the use of posters and paintings or banners on walls for the forthcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu but this has not stopped political parties from innovating. Candidates are using musical concerts to lure the voter. In-house singers roped in by these political parties have been toiling for days, penning the lyrics and scoring music fit for the campaign trail. "Pambaram...Pambaram...Pambaram" may sound like the hilarious lyric of a foot-tapping number in a Tamil movie, but it is Nellai Abu Backer's new composition for Vaiko's Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazgam's (MDMK) campaign. "Pambaram" in Tamil denotes a spinning top, and ironically this is also the election symbol of the MDMK. "I have composed 12 new songs for the election campaigns out of which pambaram.....pambaram....pambaram....is a foot tapping number. Then, we have songs highlighting the five year achievements of AIADMK rule and the list continues," said Backer. "The CD's helps us to get our (parties) message through to every nook and corner of the state. Wherever party meetings are held, we play the cd's to garner votes," he added. Other political parties have composed similar songs and these are played during election meetings and campaigns. While the DMK is banking on celebrity singer Nagoor Hanifa, the MDMK boasts of Nellai Abu Backer and others. Nellai Abu Backer has composed 12 new songs at the cost of Rs.40, 000 all sponsored by party leaders. According to the people, it is a good way to reach the rural masses. "Musical events like these are the effective to reach out to the rural voter, who can easily understand the political message aired through these songs. Now, with the Election Commission's ban on posters and wall paintings, this is the only available tool of canvassing," said R. Kannan, a spectator. For the AIADMK, the evergreen movie hits of its popular founder and former Chief Minister, M. G. Ramachandran has come in handy for campaign. Compact discs and cassettes of the songs have also been released.

Bus mishap in Maharashtra, 28 dead (Go To Top)

      Kashimira (Maharashtra): An overcrowded bus plunged into a shallow creek in Kashimira near Mumbai on Tuesday killing at least 28 people. The bus, carrying about 60 people, plunged into the Chena river in Kashimira of Thane district, veering off a bridge, after the driver lost control while trying to avoid a motorcyclist. "My rickshaw was four vehicles behind the bus. It manoeuvred the turn at a high speed and lost balance. It veered off the bridge, turned turtle and plunged into the river. Only those people who fell out could be saved. There are very few chances of other people inside the bus having survived," said Niraj, an eyewitness. Police officials have confirmed the death of 28 people adding another 33 passengers survived the crash. A compensation of 100,000 rupees has been announced to the families of the deceased by the Thane Municipal Corporation, which runs the Thane municipal transport buses.

India, Pakistan discuss Kashmir CBMs (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The first day of the two-day Indo-Pak talks on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) across the Line of Control (LoC) ended today with both sides discussing the opening of two meeting points on the LoC and the launching of a truck service on the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad route. Officials however, did not take any questions on Tuesday's deliberations, but said a briefing would be held tomorrow. Launching a new bus service between Poonch and Rawalkot also figures in the agenda of the talks between the two nations, which are to continue tomorrow. Syed Ibne Abbas, Foreign Ministry Director General for South Asia, is leading the seven-member Pakistani delegation, while Dilip Sinha, Joint Secretary, External Affairs Ministry is leading the Indian team. As part of the modalities for truck services across the LoC, the two sides will also discuss the nature and number of products to be traded across. The proposal for establishing meeting points for daylong interaction between Kashmiris living on both sides of LoC was made by India last year. It may noted that India and Pakistan opened five crossings along the LoC last year to facilitate the exchange of relief materials and help the divided families meet their relatives in the aftermath of the October 8, 2005 earthquake that devastated parts of Indian Kashmir and PoK.

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