 |
|
Eight Pak infiltrators gunned down in Poonch
Poonch, Oct 3 (ANI): Border troops killed eight suspected militants in Poonch district who were trying to slip into Kashmir from the Pakistani side late on Wednesday foiling the biggest infiltration bid in recent weeks. A senior defence official said the infiltrators were killed after they were ambushed by troops in an operation that lasted 12 hours. "Last night our ambush party spotted infiltrators' group on the Line of Control. They monitored the group for an hour and then aimed and killed all of them. They were eight in all and belonged to the Lashkar-e-Toiba," said Brigadier K.V.S Lalotra. He said a large cache of arms and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, was recovered from them. "We have recovered large amount of AK-47 arms, grenades and other ammunition from them," the brigadier added. Meanwhile, bodies of five jawans of Border Security Force killed in a landmine blast on Wednesday have been brought to Srinagar. State Governor Girish Chandra Saxena offered homage to the departed soldiers. There has been a sudden surge of violence in the state since polling in Kashmir last month. New Delhi says the elections are a test of Pakistan's pledge to halt the flow of Muslim separatists across the border. The issue took the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of war in June. More than 600 people, many of them militants, have been killed since the election was announced on August 2. New Delhi and the United States say infiltration has increased during the elections, feeding the violence that has killed more than 35,000 people since the revolt against Indian rule broke out 13 years ago. Pakistan says the elections are a farce but says infiltration, except by rogue elements, has halted, and denies sponsoring the militants. Pakistan wants a U.N.-mandated plebiscite for Kashmiris to choose between India and Pakistan. India controls just under half of Kashmir-the trigger for two of its three wars with Pakistan, which controls about a third. China administers the remainder.(ANI) Cauvery, Nagappa kidnap crises hit Karnataka tourism
Bangalore, Oct 3 (ANI): It seems the terror of forest brigand Veerappan has once again hit the normal life in Karnataka. The state tourism industry has been equally affected. Following the kidnapping of former state minister H. Nagappa, tourists, both national and foreign, feel reluctant to visit the state fearing they might land up in the clutches of the most wanted man in the country. The Cauvery river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is said to be another reason for the sudden fall in the number of tourists. Even as the state was trying to recover from the tragedies of last year's kidnapping of thespian Rajkumar and the long standoff between India and Pakistan, the latest developments have affected the tourism sector in the state. Karnataka Tourism Commissioner I.M. Vittalamurthy said, "the Veerappan and the Cauvery episodes have affected Mysore tourism very badly. Mysore region constitutes a major chunk of tourism, particularly in this season. Hotels are virtually vacant and the travelling industry has been equally hit". The agitations about the Cauvery water dispute have cast a shadow on Mysore's "Dasara" festival. According to the Tourism Commissioner, the agitations have hit the sector so badly that more than 95 percent of foreign tourists have cancelled their bookings leaving the industry in the doldrums. G.V. Sampath Babu, general manager of a tourist transport firm, said, "tourism transport vehicles and operators are very damaged. Vehicles have stopped plying on the roads and the whole industry is disturbed". Many of the small time operators have already closed down their operations because of the heavy losses. The hotel industry has been the real target of the impact of these agitations. It is mired with cancellation of bookings, just 10 per cent occupancy, no foreign tourists, and compounded losses. Managing Director of Kamat Chain of Hotels A.S. Kamat said, "hotel industry has been very badly affected. Because of the road blockages, no car and trains can pass. For pleasure people don't want to go where law and order is disturbed". The cancellation of bookings by foreign travellers and curtailing of domestic tourists inflow has almost reduced the industry to no recovery status. In spite of the discount rates,occupancy in hotels is less than 50 percent. According to available statistics Karnataka gets around 16 million domestic tourists and about three lakh foreign tourists per annum earning a direct revenue of Rs 350 crore and a foreign exchange worth Rs 542 crore. But (according to an estimate) due to the ongoing crises, this year the total revenue and foreign exchange may be as low as 30 percent. (ANI) Nitish orders probe into Lucknow station stampede
Go
to top
New Delhi, Oct 3 (ANI): Following a meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati here on Thursday, Railway minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an enquiry into last week's stampede in Lucknow's Charbagh railway station that left at least 17 people, including several Bahujan Samaj Party workers, dead. According to him, the probe would be conducted by the Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF), who will submit his report within a week. Earlier, Mayawati met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani to apprise them of the September 28 incident, for which she blamed on local railway officials. (ANI) Organ trade thrives in tribal areas of West Bengal
Go
to top Bindol (West Bengal), Oct 3 (ANI): Poverty stricken villages of West Bengal have become the favourite hunting ground of illegal organ brokers looking for transplantable organs, mainly kidneys. At least 50 people in Bindol village in Dinajpur district have sold their kidney for a meagre sum of about Rs 10,000-20,000. $400). The racket started in the last decade when some brokers lured the gullible and poor villagers to Mumbai or New Delhi with a promise of job. Once there, the desperate villagers were asked to part with their kidney in return for money. "He said that give us your kidney and we will give you a lot of money. They said that I could keep that money in bank or spend it. But they said that for it, I will have to come with them to give my kidney," said Khaju Sauren, one of the victims. In most of the cases, the donors ended up spending major portion of the compensation money on the subsequent medical bills. In one third of the cases, there was a decline in the household income following surgery. Eight years after the nephrectomy, Abdul Kader has been without work due to his deteriorating health. "He (broker) said that you will get a job with good wages if you come with us to Mumbai. So 7-8 of us went with him but none of us got a job. They tempted me with money and removed one of my kidneys. He said nothing will happen and that he has also given one of his kidneys. So I also gave one," Kader recounted. The victims are often not given their promised due. "They are told they would get money. And they are all daily wage earners. They think that 50,000 to 60,000 rupees will change their lives. What does a kidney matter? So they give in. But they are cheated," said Ashok Kumar Ray, a social worker trying to bring to light the plight of the tribals. The brokers have been targeting the young men of the tribe. Though paying for a donated body organ is a criminal offence, India has been known as a "warehouse for kidneys." With a population roughly a billion, the need for kidneys has reached a crisis in India. Only 4,000 such operations are performed annually while 100,000 people go into kidney failure each year. But more lucrative are foreign clients which most of the brokers cater to. India is one of the largest centers for kidney transplants in the world, offering low costs and almost immediate availability.(ANI)
Kerala Congress MLA arrested Go to top Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 3 (ANI): A Kerala Congress MLA , Sobhana George has been arrested in a forgery and conspiracy case. The MLA is suspected to have fabricated a document linking Tourism Minister K V Thomas with a hawala racket. However, she has denied the charges but a local court issued a non-bailable warrant after a Crime Branch probe pointed at her involvement. (ANI) Commonwealth action plan to reduce global poverty Go to top London, Sept 26 (ANI): Finance Ministers from 52 Commonwealth countries, meeting in London, have drawn up an action plan to help deliver "The Monterrey Consensus" - the blueprint for encouraging economic growth and reducing global poverty, which emanated from the United Nations Conference in Monterrey, Mexico, last March and was endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August. Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, who chaired the meeting, declared that the "call to action" meant that "the era of resolution is to be moved forward to an era of implementation". "What we are talking about," he explained, "is a new development compact, which will allow all countries across the Commonwealth, as well as across the world, to have a fair share of the benefits of global prosperity." The importance to the Commonwealth lies in the fact that 665 million of its citizens live on less than a dollar a day, thus making it home for more than half the world's poorest people. The seven countries most affected by HIV/AIDS are in the Commonwealth, and in some Commonwealth countries less than 35 per cent of children complete primary school. The Action Plan sets out separate commitments for governments of developing countries and advanced and high income countries. Developing countries are committed to devising and implementing poverty reduction strategies and promoting stability and liberalisation. They are to reform and strengthen processes for public expenditure and finacial management to ensure that expenditure is effectively directed at key priorities; and to develop policy frameworks that encourage domestic and foreign private sector investment. Advanced countries will open their markets to exports from developing countries, and enhance their official development assistance (ODA) in support of effective national development and poverty reduction strategies. In particular, donor countries are committed to progressing towards the United Nations ODA target of 0.7 per cent of GNP, and focusing aid "where it will do most good, in support of countries with the greatest level of poverty, and which are building sound governance, policies and institutions, and implementing credible strategies for development and poverty reduction". The plan emphasises that by forging consensus across its diverse membership, Commonwealth countries can have more impact in global fora than by acting separately. Thus, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors are to be urged to provide simplified and streamlined support for financial management in developing countries. As the London meeting precedes the annual meetings of both the IMF and the World Bank, there will be an early opportunity for Commonwealth ministers to make their point. Chancellor Brown said the United Kingdom would press for a further stage of debt relief amounting to one billion dollars and would contribute towards the cost. But debt relief and increased aid would not be enough to meet agreed goals, and it was his belief that consideration should be given to setting up a new international financing facility to meet the demands of the future. (ANI)
Kangra tea industry in doldrums
Go
to top Kangra, Oct 3 (ANI): The tea industry in Kangra valley, which had once been the greatest source of revenue for Himachal Pradesh, is now struggling for survival. Over the years, the area under tea plantations has shrunk to one third following fall in tea prices. The prices have hit rock bottom with a kilogram of tea now available at 35-40 rupees (less than a dollar) from 180 rupees a kilogram a decade earlier. "There will be a great loss. There will be problems for poor people like us. How will we feed our families. Without work here, there will be no source of income," said Shakuntla Devi who along with her husband has been working in tea plantations for the last 15 years. The Kangra valley tea has been facing stiff competition from imported tea from China which is available at much cheaper rates. Changes in weather have also affected the tea production. Planters said the government should take immediate steps to revive the industry. "We want Himachal government should tie up with other countries like in Europe where this tea can be exported. This tea is of export quality. It can also help the tea industry and earn foreign revenue. There are many tourist resorts in Himachal. This tea can be introduced there so that people come to know about it and it is promoted properly," said Davinder Pathania, manager of one of the tea estates in Kangra. The British introduced tea in Kangra valley 150 years ago. Before the civil war, Afghanistan used to be the chief importer of Kangra tea. Now with a new government in Afghanistan, tea planters are hoping that the trade may pick up. India is the largest exporter of tea in the world. India exports 30 percent of its produce and earns a major foreign exchange through it.(ANI)
"Benazir may run for presidency"
Go to
top Lahore, Oct 3 (ANI): PPP Parliamentarian candidate Altaf Qureshi has said that Benazir Bhutto may be the party's candidate for Presidency. "We will not support Gen Musharraf as President. The party has a lot of people eligible to hold the office. There is possibility that we will nominate Benazir for the office," said Altaf Qureshi while speaking at The Nation Forum. He was flanked by his party's candidate Omar Sharif Bokhari. Having journalistic background , Altaf Qureshi is Central Deputy Information Secretary of the party. Despite the fact that he is in the PPP since its inception, this is his first contest for any public office. He is author of many books and known as think-tank for the party workers. About formation of the future government, he said 'let the time come the party will decide about it'. He ruled out any power- sharing with the military government. 'President Musharraf will have to come to the Parliament for vote, if he wants to continue as President. The fraudulent referendum was a drama staged to befool the world and the people," he said. The PPP candidate observed that the people were enthusiastically supporting the democrats against the dictatorship. 'The people are democratic in nature. They want their rule getting rid of the military supremacy,' he maintained. He said the political activity has given the people confidence for resolution of their problems. We have motivated the party workers to manage maximum turnout on the polling day, he said. Omar Sharif Bokhari alleged the elections are not being held in a fair and free manner. 'We are winning. Due to loyalty to the exiled leaderships, PPP-PML (N) voters are in high morale," he said. He also alleged that the Christian voters were being harassed by police. "The police removed our posters and banners at the Mayo hospital and the SHO threatened of dire consequences if they cast votes for PPPP," he further alleged.(ANI)
|