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All arrangements made for first phase of J-K polls
Srinagar, Sept 14 (ANI): Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir Pramod Jain said 2,400 government employees who came from Uttar Pradesh along with local staff will man the polling booths. Jain briefed reporters on Saturday about polling arrangements at a news conference in Srinagar. "For the first phase of the polls, all administrative, logistical and security arrangements have been made. 2,400 people from Uttar Pradesh have already come. As earlier discussed every polling station would have 50 percent personnel from outside the state," he said. The first phase of voting begins on Monday. The four phased elections will come to an end on October 8. The staff from outside the state, especially from Uttar Pradesh, had been reluctant to come to the elections marred by threats and violence. Islamic guerrillas fighting New Delhi's rule have threatened to disrupt the elections and kill candidates contesting the polls. State police chief A.K.Suri said some people distributing pamphlets urging people not to vote have been taken into custody. "As you are aware the various terrorist groups have been desperate. They have been making fervent calls for boycotting the elections. We have been successful in apprehending a couple of people who were carrying pamphlets and posters asking and exhorting people not to participate in the elections. This also includes a woman of the Dukhtra-e-Millat who was carrying such posters," said A.K. Suri, Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir. He added that 500 additional companies had been deployed in the state to provide adequate security to the voters. Nearly 40,000 more paramilitary soldiers have been brought into the state to guard polling stations and candidates. About 5.6 million people are eligible to vote for 87 state assembly seats. These elections have become a key test for India's huge military and paramilitary forces struggling to quell a nearly 13-year revolt in the Himalayan region which has claimed more than 35,000 lives.(ANI) Key September 11 suspect arrested in Karachi
Islamabad, Sept. 14 (ANI): Binalshibh, a Yemeni national wanted for his alleged role in planning and carrying out the deadly attacks on September 11 last year, is one of the most important members of Al Qaeda to be taken into custody over the past year. He was taken into custody last Wednesday, the first anniversary of the black day, after a gunbattle in a Karachi apartment. This came with the help of FBI and CIA following information provided by the American intelligence. Two suspects were killed in the fight while five surrendered. The operation was planned after a phone call from the apartment was intercepted. Binalshibh, now under interrogation, was refused a visa for the United States at least four times before September 11, according to US officials. He apparently wanted to join the 19 hijackers involved in last year's attack. A roommate of Mohamed Atta -- the suspected ringleader of the hijackers -- in Hamburg, he is also known as Ramzi bin al-Shaibah. In fact he was a wanted man in Germany too. The man is suspected of helping plan attacks and was very prominent in the Hamburg cell. His capture is considered a significant development in the US goal of destroying the network, the officials said. Binalshibh was not as high in the organization as Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in Pakistan in March and turned over to US authorities. It was not immediately clear whether Binalshibh had been turned over to US authorities. One American official declined to say what would happen next, adding "it's a very sensitive matter." His capture came just days after a journalist with al- Jazeera Arabic satellite television said he interviewed the Yemeni in or around Karachi. Binalshibh and another key Al-Qaeda member reportedly affirmed that Osama bin Laden was personally involved in planning the September 11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people. Yosri Fouda, the al Jazeera journalist, said the Yemeni claimed to be the coordinator of the attacks. Binalshibh disclosed that Atta called him on August 29 last year and told him a riddle to set the date of the attacks, Fouda added. One of the suspected hijackers had tried to enroll Binalshibh in a flight school in Florida. As Binalshibh was unable to get into the United States, the conspirators might have tried to find someone else to take part in the hijacking of the fourth plane, top FBI officials have said. The airplane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field on September 11 had only four hijackers. The other three airplanes, which smashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, had five hijackers each. Binalshibh is mentioned repeatedly in the indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Black Tuesday. The indictment mentions at least four times that Binalshibh applied for, and failed to receive, a visa to enter the United States. It also details various money transfers he made to the hijackers and to Moussaoui. (ANI) Severe quake in Uttaranchal predicted
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to top Dehradun, Sept 14 (ANI): Scientists at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun, capital of Uttaranchal have predicted severe earthquakes in the near future. Experts say the state falls in the most seismically active region of the Himalayas. The sudden eruption of geological pressure building up in the region might surpass the one in Gujarat last January that killed at least 30,000 people. "The Government of India has divided the entire country according to the intensity of seismic activity. The Uttaranchal area falls in the most dangerous zone. There have been earthquakes here in the past and are most likely to occur again," said N.S Virdi, Director, Wadia Institute of Himalyan Geology. Virdi said awareness was the key to minimise damage due to such natural calamities. "We should prepare ourselves to deal with earthquakes. Preparednees and awareness through the media or in schools is a must. At this institute, we are doing a lot towards it. We have been giving lectures in schools and distributing literature on how to deal with earthquakes. Awareness need to be created among the people here that they are living in an earthquake-prone area," Virdi said. "People must know what to do before and after an earthquake occurs. Secondly, when it comes to construction of earthquake resistant buildings, there is a lot of new technology coming in. We need to adopt that," he added. Virdi said apart from creating awareness strict measures need to be taken to curb rampant urbanisation. Uttaranchal is the first state in the country to have formed a disaster management ministry which made efforts in making specialised earthquake cells and funding related research. But the state minister for rehabilitation said the government lacked funds to relocate about 200 villages falling in the danger zone. "According to a report from a recent survey conducted by scientists, we have the information that some 200 villages are extremely sensitive and it is necessary to rehabilitate them at the earliest," said Harak Singh, Uttaranchal minister for disaster management. "But the problem is that the federal government is not giving any help for rehabilitation and the state government does not have the resources to rehabilitate 200 villages," Singh added. The region experienced a major quake in 1991 killing nearly 1,500 people. Measuring 6.6 on Richter scale, the quake flattened Uttarkashi town and nearby villages, just 300 kilometers from New Delhi. Cracks in buildings were reported almost from the entire state after the 1998 quake with its epicenter at Chamoli hills. The quake severely damaged public properties including schools, college hospital, state guest houses, water pipelines and bridges. The state's capital Dehradun also falls in Zone 4 category.(ANI)
Pre-marriage HIV test to be made mandatory in AP Go to top Hyderabad, Sept 14 (ANI): The Andhra Pradesh government plans to make HIV testing for both partners mandatory before marriage. "Legislation has to be made for pre-marital investigation," said K Sivaprasad Rao, Health Minister. One Shanti is being counselled in a Hyderabad hospital to help her cope with what HIV tests have recently confirmed that she has acquired the deadly virus from her husband, who perhaps knew for quite some time now that he is infected with the virus. "He asked me once if I knew what AIDS is. I said, 'No, I don't. But why are you asking me?' He did not say anything to me after that," said Shanti, an HIV victim. At a Hyderabad maternity hospital, 6,700 pregnant women have been screened for HIV since October last year and 146 of them tested positive. Doctors say, almost invariably, wherever the woman tested positive, subsequent tests have revealed that the husband is infected. "If a man or a woman has had a sexual relationship before marriage and they have contracted AIDS, the other person should not be punished for that," said Dr Savitha, Medical Officer, HIV/AIDS Prevention Project. Counsellors say because HIV/AIDS is literally a matter of life and death, every prospective groom and bride has the right to reassure themselves that HIV is not going to sour their marital dream.(ANI)
Gujarat CM slams Musharraf's UN speech
Jhanjarka (Gujarat), Sept 14 (ANI): Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, slammed Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf for anti-India references in his U.N. General Assmebly speech on Thursday. Modi was addressing a public meeting in Jhanjarka village in Ahmedabad district on Saturday. The meeting marked the beginning of the second phase of the controversial Gaurav Yatra organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party. "He (Musharraf) has hurt the sentiments of hundreds of Gujaratis living all across the world. Gujaratis will protest against this," said Modi. He also criticised the state's main opposition Congress party. "But I also want the Congress members to remember that Musharraf is speaking the same language as is used by you, the people of the country. We are really surprised that his comments have the same drafting, the same language, the same words as used in the Congress speeches. This is a matter of concern for the country," added Modi. In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Musharraf on Thursday raised doubts about the safety of minority communities in India. This was a veiled reference to the religious violence that had rocked Gujarat earlier this year, where over 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed. Narendra Modi's government has been accused by non-government groups and opposition parties of failing to check Hindu-Muslim violence during the country's worst religious violence in a decade. The state government says the Gaurav Yatra, led by Modi, is being organised to promote peace and communal harmony in the state. However, the march, which began last Sunday has been postponed three times, once at the intervention of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, due to fears it might destroy a fragile peace. Security was tight throughout the rally and there were no reports of violence. The second phase of the rally will cover about 615 kms in six districts in three days. Many observers feel the rally was part of BJP's preparations for the state's Assembly elections likely to be held later this year.(ANI)
Four arrested in Cooch Behar for alleged links with ISI Go to top Cooch Behar, Sept 14 (ANI): At least four persons have been arrested here for their alleged links with ISI agents whom they helped, the police said on Saturday, in getting safe passage to and from Bangladesh disguised as these people were as businessmen involved in export and import. The arrest took place on Friday, a senior police official said. This followed the arrest of ISI agent Nazrul from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and another agent Sattar Ali from Binnaguri in North Bengal recently. The official further said that Nazrul had crossed the Indo- Bangla border several times with the help of these men. The four were identified as Amarjit Roy of Kharagpur and three brothers -- Subhas, Dipak and Shibu Karmakar of Changrabandha. (ANI) |