Wednesday 17 December 2014

Gujarat village with over Rs 1000 crore in NRI deposits

The tiny Dharmaj village in Anand district, about 70 km from Vadodara, has a population of only 11,333 but has as many as 13 banks.

For the past several decades, NRIs in this village have been depositing money in banks and post offices and the kitty today has grown to over Rs 1,000 crore, making it one of the richest villages in the country and with the highest NRI deposits.

Deputy general manager of Vadodara division of Central Bank of India, R N Hirve said that NRIs of this village prefer to park their money in banks which are mostly state-run banks and therefore the deposit in the banks have now cumulatively run into more than Rs 1,000 crore.

Rich flow of funds has made Dharmaj one of the richest and most literate villages not only in the state but across the country.

The over 3,000 Patidar families live life king size and zip past in swanky cars and almost every family in the village has a member sending in the money for several decades.

There as many as 1,700 families hailing from this village settled in Britain, around 300 families in the US, 160 in New Zealand, 200 in Canada, and 60 in Australia, among others, taking the total number of families staying abroad to around 3,120.

BJP hits back at TMC over allegations of 'misuse of CBI'

"TMC senior members are under arrest or being questioned by the central agency for their involvement in the Saradha ponzi scheme scam. The question BJP would like to ask Mamata Banerjee is why is she portraying TMC a victim of BJP sponsored conspiracy? The larger question in your mind is 'if he sings to CBI then what will happen'?" the BJP said.
  
BJP secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said in a statement that state minister Madan Mitra is close to Banerjee and Sudipto Sen and knows enough on Saradha scam.
  
He said the CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court when BJP was not in power. "In order to divert the scam issue you are doubting the investigation and casting aspersion on the apex court," he said.
  
Singh also questioned the Left and the Congress for supporting the TMC in Parliament.
    

Death rate down in Delhi by 7.1 percent

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in the state also has come down from 23.94 percent per 1,000 live births to 22.37 percent per 1,000 live births, according to figures published in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2012.

Also, the death rate calculated per 1,000 population has come down from 6.1 per cent in 2012-13 to 5.52 percent in 2013-14.

However, the infant mortality has gone up from the 2008 and 2009 figures, by 18.3 percent and 18.96 percent respectively.

Birth rate per 1,000 population has gone up from 20.9 per cent to 21.07 per cent indicating betterment in the health of pregnant women.

UP, Delhi to work on development of border areas

This was decided after a meeting between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung in the Union capital on Tuesday.

An official said that it was decided to have encroachment free and planned development in the Yamuna region. The official also said that land allotment for extension of educational institution campuses was also discussed by the Delhi government.

A consensus was arrived at the meeting that chief secretaries of both the governments would survey land records and take a decision on land utilization.

Omar government failed on all fronts: PDP

PDP Patron Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed while addressing an election rally here today said "the present NDA government headed by Narendra Modi has doubted credentials of present regime of Omar Abdullah. That is why, instead of sanctioning funds to the state government for flood victims, the Centre has announced to send funds directly to the victims."

Mufti said Omar government has failed on all the fronts particular on peace and development and instead of resorted to corruption and nepotism and destroyed all democratic institutions in the state, Mufti said.

He said failure of the present government has squeezed space of dignity for all section of society, and all the positive initiatives taken by the previous government have been reversed and the atmosphere of hope that was generated, in the state, has disappeared.

Assuring to address grievances and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the state, Mufti said formation of PDP government in the State is writing on the wall.     

Christmas Day conversion: Hindu outfit calls off ceremony

Satya Prakash Nauman, district president of the outfit, on Tuesday said over phone,"The proposed 'ghar wapsi'(conversion ceremony) planned for December 25 has been called off".

However, he did not elaborate the reason behind the outfit's u-turn.

A controversy had erupted after the outfits announcement that it will conduct a mass conversion ceremony at a local college here on December 25-- Christmas.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped in the city two days ago.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had also announced his plans to attend the proposed ceremony, saying there was nothing wrong if people re-convert to Hinduism if they are doing it willingly.

Countdown for LVM 3 mission begins

"The 24 and a half hour countdown for the mission has commenced at 9 AM on December 17," ISRO said. The Mission Readiness Review and the Launch Authorisation Board, which met on Tuesday, has cleared the launch for December 18 at 9.30 AM, it said.
A senior ISRO official explained that the lesser duration of the countdown for the mission was due to the dummy cryogenic stage.

As per the plan, soon after the lift-off at Sriharikota, ISRO would study the flight validation of the complex atmospheric flight regime of LVM 3 and would also test the ability of the CREW module to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere with thermal resistance, parachute deployment in cluster formation, aero braking system and apex cover separation
procedures.

BJP won Lok Sabha polls by playing communal card: Rahul Gandhi

"BJP had succeeded in winning Lok Sabha elections based on communalism and even public failed to recognise the fact," Rahul told an election rally here.

He accused BJP of "cheating" people of the nation by showing sweet dreams and "misguiding" them on communal lines.   

Gandhi was addressing public rally at Bani, organised in support of Congress candidate Rajneesh Sharma Miyan.   

He was accompanied by Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, JK state chief Saifuddin Soz on his campaigning for the party candidate.

Gutka ban useful, helped many to quit the habit: WHO

In a study conducted by the WHO in seven states – Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha and National Capital Region (NCR) - 92 percent respondents supported ban on sale of gutka, while a whopping 99 per cent said the ban was good for the health of Indian
youth.

"These findings have a strong message that regulatory mechanisms are effective and can have a positive impact on the consumption pattern. The ban did impact use. Of the respondents who continue to use pre-packaged gutka, 49 percent reported they consume less since the ban. There was high degree of unanimity among respondents (90 percent) that the government should ban the manufacturing, sale and distribution of other forms of smokeless tobacco," WHO Representative to India Dr Nata Menabde said in a release here.

PM Modi 'most searched' personality on Google

"Modi is one of the top most searched personalities this year, even ahead of Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, making him the first politician to gain more popularity than film celebrities on the web," Google India said in a statement here.

The company's 'Year in Search' lists this year's (2014) major events, biggest interests and most searches on its global web site.

"The historic Lok Sabha elections in April-May emerged as the country's first digital election, revealing that an online presence mattered for all political parties while 'Elections 2014' topped our trending charts," the statement said.

Major sport tournaments like FIFA World Cup in June-July in Brazil and Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 in April-May across the cities topped the trending searches, breaking records as fans 'googled' for teams, players, scores and match results.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Goa CM held tourists responsible for rising drug rackets

Notably, Parsekar's statement has come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a recent 'Man ki baat' programme on radio, voiced concern over the "devastating" drug addiction menace and called it a "national pain." He had also said that the money spent by youth on drugs could be funding terrorism.

"There is no denial that drugs exist in the state. We want that drug-peddling should be controlled. In the recent times, police have made large drug seizures," Parsekar told reporters here.
  
"Some tourists come here only to do drugs. These tourists don't contribute towards any revenue generation. They arebankrupt. In the days to come, we will maintain stricter vigil on such kind of tourists," he said.

Telangana cabinet expands, six ministers take oath

Governor E S L Narasimhan administered oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers who include T Srinivas Yadav, who resigned from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and also as a member of Telangana assembly a couple of hours before the swearing-in ceremony.

Tummala Nageswara Rao, who quit TDP in August, A Indrakaran Reddy, who resigned from Bahuajn Samaj Party (BSP) in June, also joined the cabinet.

Jupally Krishna Rao, C. Laxma Reddy and A. Chandulal are the others who took oath at the ceremony held at Raj Bhavan and attended by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and senior officials.

This has taken the number of ministers in the cabinet to 18. There is not a single woman in the ministry.

Goa Congress ridicules Centre's Christmas circular to schools

In a circular on December 10, the Samiti had asked the deputy commissioners to ensure that 'Good Governance Day' was celebrated at all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) on December 25 with action taken to be communicated to the commissioner's office.

Congress'S Goa spokesman Sunil Kawthankar said the move might cause a communal discord in the state.

"This is a purposeful move to undermine the importance of Christmas in the country. This will trigger communal discord in the state," he said at a press meet.

Senior Congress leaders Agnelo Fernandes and legislator Pandurang Madkaikar were also present on the occasion.

Terming it a "Gujarat model", Fernandes said that the Centre is testing the waters by sending the circular only to Navodaya Vidyalayas.

"If they find there is no response from the public, they will implement it in all the schools in the state," the former Calangute legislator alleged.    

Agra civic agency approves hike in Taj Mahal ticket prices

The present rate is Rs 20 for Indians, shared equally between the ADA and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and under the new proposal, it will be Rs 40.

For the foreign tourists, the ticket will now be Rs.1,000 from Rs.750, out of which the ASI gets Rs.250 and the ADA Rs.500.

Entry for  children below 15 years is free. This is the third time that a proposal of hiking the ticket rates has been passed by the ADA Board. 

Visa on Arrival at Goa airport to boost tourism

The VoA facility was launched by the Union Home Ministry on November 27. Soon after the notification, the Dabolim airport started the process of issuing visas from December 4.

A total of 43 countries have been extended this facility and Goa is one of the nine airports which has been selected for providing the VoA facility.

Of the total number, the highest number of 183 VoA has been issued to tourists from Ukraine followed by 154 to those from Russia. While 7 VoA have been issued to tourists from Germany, those from Jordan, Singapore and the US have been issued 3, 1 and 4 VoA respectively.

Foreign nationals from Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Philippines have also been issued VoA each as per data furnished by the Goa airport.

PM Modi to address rallies in Jammu ahead of final phase polls

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said Modi will address rallies in Kathua district and Jammu city. "PM Modi's first rally will be held at Mandi in Billawar constituency and the second at MA Stadium in Jammu City," a party source said.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to address two election rallies in the Jammu region on Tuesday. Twenty constituencies in Rajouri, Jammu and Kathua districts go to polls on Saturday in the fifth and final phase of state assembly elections.

In the fourth and penultimate phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in 18 constituencies, the voters defied separatists' boycott call and chilly weather and came out in good numbers on Sunday to record a 49 percent turnout  

Jindal to return 294 acres of land to farmers: Mamata Banerjee

"Jindal has communicated his decision to us to return the 294 acres of land to the farmers procured for their project. We are forming a committee under the district magistrate so that the land is returned to the farmers," she said.

With the return of land and scrapping of the project, the company is estimated to incur at least Rs 700 crore loss as it had made considerable investment there.

JSW had bought 294 acres of land from 485 farmers paying Rs 3 lakh per acre which is nearly 275 percent higher then the then prevalent rate.

Also, free shares of equivalent amount and a job guarantee for every land seller's family was agreed upon. However, with lack of availability of raw materials impeding the project, the company decided to return the land.

Post the handover, JSW Bengal will be left with 4,268 acres government land, which has been leased to it for the Rs 35,000 crore project.

Mumbai: 14 injured in fire at railway quarters

According to the Fire Brigade officials, the blaze started on the 4th floor of railway officers' quarters building behind Maratha Mandir theatre opposite Mumbai Central railway station.

They said the short circuit in one of the duct wires of the building caused the fire.

"We got a call around noon about the fire in the residential building. After reaching the spot, we rescued 65 people from the building. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident," the official said adding that the entire fire-fighting operation lasted for over three hours.

Eight fire engines, six water tankers and four ambulances were deployed at the spot for rescue operations.   

The injured were admitted to Nair and Jagjivandas hospitals in the vicinity.
 

UDF authorises Kerala government to take decision on liquor policy

UDF also extended full support to State Finance Minister K M Mani against whom a FIR has been registered in the bar bribery scam.
 
Indian Union Muslim League and Socialist Janata Democratic (SJD) also expressed reservation over changes in the liquor policy at the meeting held here.
 
Sudheeran opposed the changes mooted by Chandy and said there was no need for any alteration.
 
Sudheeran also wanted a comprehensive study on the impact of the policy instead of relying on the suggestions of a few departments like tourism.

Admitting that Sudheeran did not agree to the changes, Chandy told a a press conference after the meeting that UDF entrusted the cabinet to make practical changes without in any way affecting the basic nature of the policy.
 
The new policy announced in August last envisaged total prohibition in stages in ten years time. The policy limited foreign liquor bars to five-star category hotels, besides closing down retail outlets of Kerala State Beverages’ Corporation in a phased manner.

PM Modi in JMM bastion, asks people to throw out 'looters'

"Throw out the looters by giving BJP a two-third majority vote for stability in Jharkhand and its development," Modi told an election rally here.

Addressing poll rallies here and at Barheit, the two seats from where Chief Minister Hemant Soren is contesting this time, he said the state has the potential to fill up the coffers of the country but was being looted.

Taking a swipe at JMM Chief Shibu Soren and his son Hemant Soren without taking their names, Modi said, "The father and son filled their own coffers and did nothing for the poor."

Modi said just as a mother does not give sweets to her son if he commits a wrong deed so should the people punish the "looters" in the final phase of voting.

"Shouldn't the youth here get employment so that they don't have to go thousands of miles away for job?"

Asking the people not to believe in rumours that they would lose land if BJP is voted to power, he said, "No one can snatch tribal land ... Welfare of tribals can only strengthen the country."

Monday 15 December 2014

Leh coldest place in Jammu and Kashmir

The minimum temperature recorded at Leh, 434 kms from Srinagar, was minus 9.2 degrees Celsius as against previous night's minus 7.2 degrees Celsius, an official at the Meteorological Department said.
  
The night temperature in Kargil, in Ladakh region, also recorded a dip of nearly two degrees to settle at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam, the famous hill resort in south Kashmir which serves as a base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a drop of nearly four degrees in the minimum temperature which settled at minus 4.4 degrees Celsius as against Sunday's minus 0.8 degrees Celsius.

Sheila Dikshit not to contest assembly polls

The Congress sources said Sheila Dikshit has informed the party high command that she has no interest in contesting assembly polls from the New Delhi assembly constituency. Neither will she nor her relatives fight elections from the key seat.

However, she made it clear that if the party high command asks her to campaign for, she will canvass for the party candidates.

The first list of party candidates may include Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and Legislator Party Leader Harun Yushuf among all the eight candidates who won the last assembly polls.

Besides, the party is likely to repose faith in all the candidates who were runner up in the last assembly polls. The first list may feature many senior leaders including former minister Dr Ashok Walia, Subhash Chopra, Mukesh Sharma.

Former West Delhi MP Mahabal Mishra is keen to contest from Dwarka assembly seat, while the party is in favour of fielding either former Union Minister Krishna Tirath or her daughter from Patel Nagar constituency. 

Illegal built-ups on reserved areas need to be demolished:Maharashtra Revenue Minister

The government is also planning to bring a new law wherein there would be a provision for action against elected representatives (of various bodies) who support illegal constructions, Khadse said in Question Hour during the ongoing state Legislative Council session here.

Congress member Anant Gadgil raised the question regarding illegal constructions on the outskirts of Pune city.
  
The minister admitted that it is difficult for the government to tackle the issue of illegal constructions.
  
Various government agencies are aware of such illegal constructions, but "some officers deliberately try to manage it," he alleged.

Sometimes, even elected representatives try to stop concerned officers from taking action on such matters, he claimed.

The government is planning to introduce a law under which elected representatives, if found guilty, will be punished, he said.

BJP, JDS members stage walk out from Karnataka Assembly over cane growers issue

Raising the issue, Opposition BJP Leader Jagadish Shettar alleged that the government has failed to commit itself to pay Rs 2,500 per tonne to sugarcane growers and charged that it was in favour of sugar lobby.

Dubbing the government "anti-farmers", he said it has been talking about taking action against mill owners but in reality nothing had happened.
   
JDS Floor Leader H D Kumaraswamy asked the government to pay farmers first and recover the amount later from sugar factories.

Maharashtra aims to finish backlog in small irrigation scheme subsidy

Khadse was replying to a question raised by members Amarsingh Pandit, Satish Chavan, Dhananjay Munde, Abdullakhan Durrani, Ramhari Rupanwar, Sanjay Datta and Bhai Jagtap regarding small irrigation schemes of Maharashtra.
   
He said that due to funds problem, the government was unable to release earlier subsidies (for two financial years) and therefore "we have not accepted a single case of small irrigation scheme."

"Central funds are yet to be received. We have to complete all the backlog in small irrigation schemes. Now, for this year, we are accepting fresh proposals for small irrigation schemes. For this year, we have demanded Rs 720 crore from the Centre," he added.

Fire at railway quarters in Mumbai, few injured

An unspecified number of people who are reported to have been injured in the blaze have been admitted to Nair hospital and no casualty has been reported so far, a civic official said.

The fire started on the 4th floor of railway officers' quarters behind Maratha Mandir theatre opposite Mumbai Central railway station, an official said, adding, apparently it was caused by a short-circuit.

"We got a call around noon that a fire broke out in a residential building. We initially thought it was a Grade-1 fire and sent four fire tankers to the spot. It was later upgraded to a Grade-2 fire and we have now deployed eight fire engines and five water tankers at the spot," a fire brigade official said.
  
The fire which has gutted the fourth floor is yet to be brought under control, he said.

"There was lot of smoke emanating from the floor where the fire broke out. This caused panic among the people living there which made evacuation process a little difficult. We have evacuated people and we are working towards dousing the flames," the official said.

Intense cold wave sweeps Himachal Pradesh after snowfall

Vehicular traffic remained disrupted for the second day in upper Shimla and also between Kullu and Manali. Water in taps in residential areas located in Shimla's US Club and Jakhu hills remained frozen due to the extreme cold. The district administration has declared closure of all educational institutes in Shimla for two days from Monday.

Popular tourist spots near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda received good spells of snow in the past two days. The tourist resort Kasauli in Solan district also received mild snowfall.

The Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet) and the Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft) - located on the Manali-Leh highway - witnessed heavy snowfall as well. The resort town of Kalpa recorded a minimum temperature of minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 0.4 degree in Dalhousie and 5.9 degrees Celsius below the freezing point in Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district.

Assam Assembly Speaker to refer 'non-utilisation' of fund to Privilege Committee

"I will take serious action if nothing has happened even after a ruling by me in last session. It is a breach of privilege and I will refer the matter to the Privilege Committee of the Assembly," Gogoi said inside the House.

The Speaker will take action as per recommendations of the Privilege Committee in its report, he added.
  
Gogoi expressed concern over two government departments' attempt to shy away from their responsibilities over the serious issue.

"We have to find out whose responsibility it is. It cannot go on like this," the Speaker said.

Raising the topic as 'Point of Order' during the Zero Hour, AGP MLA Padma Hazarika called for the Speaker's attention over non-implementation of his ruling given during the last session of the Assembly in August this year.

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi made 18 official foreign visits since 2001

Replying to a query during the Question Hour on the first day of the Winter Session of the Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilamani Sen Deka said a total of Rs 43,44,353 have been spent by the government exchequer on these trips.
  
Gogoi visited 18 different nations on official tour in equal number of trips, he added. Answering on behalf of the Chief Minister, Deka said one agreement was signed between state and foreign institute in all these visits abroad.
  
"During the CM's visit to the US, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between The Earth Institute, Columbia University and Assam State Disaster Management Authority," the Minister said.

Deka said Gogoi did not undertake any foreign trip between 2001 and 2004, and his first foreign visit was to Indonesia and Singapur.

PDP accuses NC of derailing peace process along International Border

"The present regime led by National Conference (NC) has derailed the process of peace along the International Border. It is very unfortunate that the state government has also failed to carry forward the agenda of peace and development initiated by previous PDP-led regime," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said while addressing an election rally here.

Mufti said during its tenure of three years from 2002 to 2005, PDP provided "corruption-free governance" to the people of the state.

"In just three years, we provided corruption-free governance to the people by bringing total transparency and accountability in the functioning of the government," he said.

Tuesday 9 December 2014

FIR filed against Uber in rape case for alleged cheating

"We have registered a separate FIR against Uber under Section 420 (cheating) of IPC. In inveatigations so far, it emerged that the company cheated their customer on the pretext of providing safe commuting with duly verfied driver," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma said.

Earlier in the day, a senior Delhi Police official said "we may book the company under CrPc section 188 and other charges as criminal negligence and abetment to the crime have been made out against Uber".

The investigations have gathered momentum amid growing outrage over the rape allegedly by a driver of Uber who had been arrested on Sunday.

"We wanted to know the role of the company while it brings the customer and the car driver into contact through its App. What is the liability of the company if the driver commits a crime as in this case? What is the business model, how it works, who are its promoters?" the officer said.

Sources privy to the investigation said Uber's General Manager (Marketing) Gagan Bhatia, who claims to be the in-charge of the company's India operations, during his day-long questioning, has not been able to provide much information to the police regarding the company's operations and its policies.
  
Bhatia could not come up with satisfactory answers to these questions posed by police and he has been asked to produce the documents regarding the operations of the company in India.

Uber cab driver accused of rape was trying to flee to Nepal after crime: Police

The accused, identified as Shiv Kumar Yadav, had married his own widowed sister-in-law and had told her and his stepson to be ready with the baggage.

"He had purchased a new mobile phone and SIM card in Mathura and was in touch with them through that. He had told them that he had had an altercation with someone and they were trying to implicate him in a false case so they should leave their rented accommodation in Chandrapuri locality of Mathura. He was collecting money to either flee to Nepal or Gorakhpur," said a senior police official.

Yadav was using three mobile phones and police will take him to Meerut to recover the smartphone which had the Uber App used in the crime.

During his three days in police custody, investigators will try and determine whether he victimized his other feamle customers as well.

Textile hub facing soil contamination danger: Study

"Though the situation has improved in Tiruppur, contamination levels remain high when compared to other rivers of the region. Noyyal is still highly polluted and Tiruppur is more polluted than its surroundings," says the study.

The study titled 'Pollution of Surface Water in Tirupur and its Adjacent Areas by Textile Effluents' was conducted by New Delhi-based advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)to evaluate the extent of pollution of the surface water due to textile industry.

It has found that levels of COD, chlorides, sulphates, sulphides and TDS are high in areas, such as Managalam, Andipalayam, Tiruppur main town, Kasipalayam dam, Koolipalayam reservoir, Nanjarayan pond and Chinamuthur, where dyeing units are concentrated.
  
"Formation of sulphide, which makes the soil infertile, has emerged as a new threat to these areas. More units need to opt for ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) to cause a significant dent in pollution levels," says the study. However, Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA) President A Sakthivel said the pollution problem caused by the dyeing units has been addressed and Tiruppur textile units have achieved zero liquid discharge (ZLD).

Opposition has run out of issues: PM Modi in Jharkhand

Seeking a stable government with full majority in Jharkhand, Modi asked people not to hand over power in the state in the hands of "thekedars" (brokers).

"These days leaders of opposition parties are very upset. They have to campaign for the sake of their survival and are going to Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir too. But they don't have any issues against the Modi government. They are repeating their speeches made during the Lok Sabha elections. There is bankruptcy of issues for opposition," Modi said addressing a poll rally here on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister said his government's policies will help the mineral-rich state progress fast and reap benefits of its coal reserves.

Muzaffarnagar riots: Accused in Kutba killings arrested

Dhiraj Kumar was arrested on Monday evening at Kutba village under Shahpur police station in the district, they said, adding, he was remanded to 14 days judicial custody.

Eight persons, including a woman were killed and 20 others injured during riots in Kutba.

Police had registered cases against 110 rioters and arrested two persons in this connection.
  
On December 2, several riot victims, including women, had staged a dharna and raised slogans in Shahpur town over delay in the arrest of those accused in Kutba killings.

According to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was set up to probe the riots, more than 50 people were allegedly involved.
  
A local court has already initiated attachment proceedings against the accused persons who are absconding.

Control over Mumbai should lie with Maharashtra Government: Sena

"There is no doubt that Mumbai should develop, but we have to ensure that the remedy does not turn out to be more dangerous than the illness itself. The Shiv Sena believes that Mumbai will not be separated from Maharashtra and the control of the city will only lie with the state government," the Shiv Sena, which recently joined the BJP-led state government, said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"If the PM only gives special attention to Mumbai, he will be accused of favouritism. Opposition parties will get the ammunition to fire salvo at the government saying that big industrialists are close to the BJP, hence the PM is giving special attention to the city," it said.

The Sena said other cities of the state, like Mumbai, should also be made into world class cities and the focus should not be on Mumbai alone. "Nagpur is the second capital of Maharashtra. The Vidarbha region is in dire need of development and industrial growth. Even cities in the Marathwada region can be developed into world class cities. All this will contribute to the development of the state," the editorial said.

Moderate polling in Jharkhand, about 30 percent turnout till 11 AM

Polling has been incident-free so far, barring protest by villagers in three booths of Simaria constituency for about 15 minutes demanding basic amenities such as water, road and electricity, officials said.

The villagers in booth numbers 147,148 and 149, however, exercised their franchise soon after the district officials assured to look into their grievances, the officials said.

Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed and Chief Minister Hemant Soren cast their votes for Ranchi and Hatia assembly segments.

While Koderma registered 36.41 per cent votes, Barkatha registered 25.20, Barhi 32.80, Barkagaon 25.10, Ramgarh 29.50, Mandu 27.50, Hazaribagh 24.50,Simaria 30.56, Dhanwar 32, Gomia 30, Bermo 27.46, Ichagarh 40, Silli 43.14, Khijri 35.59, Ramgarh 31.94, Ranchi 31.94, Hatia 10.25 and Kanke 26.71 percent.

Former chief minister Babulal Marandi(Dhanwar), ex Assembly Speaker C P Singh (Ranchi) and three incumbent ministers Finance Minister Rajendra Prasad Singh (Bermo), Water Resources Minister Annapurna Devi (Kodarma) and Drinking & Sanitation Minister Jaiprakash Bhai Patel (Mandu) are among the 289 candidates who are in the fray today.

Government mulling ban on all unregistered cab-services

Uber was banned on Monday after a driver it hired six months ago was arrested for allegedly raping a female passenger on Friday.

The six radio taxi services that are registered are Easy Cabs, Mega Cabs, Meru, Chanson, Yo Cabs and Air Cabs.

"All other transport/taxi service providers through web-based technology, who are not recognised, are prohibited from providing such services in the NCT of Delhi to public till they get license/permission from the Transport Department," a government order said, effectively saying these services have to go off the roads.

Meanwhile, US-based cab company Uber has also been booked for cheating by the Delhi Police in connection with the alleged rape of a 27-year-old finance company executive in its cab by the driver on Friday night here.

Petrol bomb hurled at polling station in Baramulla

A petrol bomb was hurled at a booth in the early hours on Tuesday. No casualties were reported in the incident, police said.

Barring this incident, polling in all 16 constituencies spread across Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts of the state, was going on peacefully.

Security arrangements in the three districts have been strengthened in the wake of Friday's violence, where 21 persons, including 11 security personnel and eight militants, were killed in four incidents in the Valley.

Third phase election: Voting underway for Jammu & Kashmir polls

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and three of his cabinet colleagues are among 144 candidates whose fate will be decided in the third phase of polling today in the 16 seats spread across Budgam, Pulwama and Baramulla districts.

At many places, voters lined up at polling stations much before the start of the voting time at 8 AM. An average 11.76 percent of voters exercised their franchise till 10 AM, poll officials said.

While Beerwah in Budgam district witnessed 18.16 percent of the voters casting their ballot, Sopore registered only four percent voting till 10 AM, the officials said.

Uri saw over 10 percent of the electorate exercising their franchise, Rafiabad 12 percent while Gulmarg saw over 15 percent voters casting their ballot. Chadoora recorded 15.30 percent, Budgam 15.88 percent, Khan Sahib 16.85, Charari Sharief 13.54 percent, Tral 5.41 percent, Pampore 12.28 percent, Pulwama 7.62 and Rajpora 13 percent, the officials said.

Singapore inks MoU to plan, develop Andhra capital

The master plan will be ready in six months and after that a detailed action plan will be worked out, announced Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after a meeting with S Iswaran, minister in the Singapore Prime Minister's office.

"We have decided to work with the government of Andhra Pradesh on this project of master planning and development of capital city," said Iswaran, who is also the city state's second minister for home affairs, trade and industry.

The MoU on "the master-planning and development of the capital city and capital region of Andhra Pradesh" was signed by officials of Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh and International Enterprise Singapore in the presence of Naidu and Iswaran.

As per the MoU, the parties will "cooperate in the master-planning, development and construction of the capital city of Andhra Pradesh as a modern, vibrant, sustainable and smart capital city with a strong economy, excellent social amenities and efficient transport and logistics networks".

J&K elections: Pargwal residents to vote for change

Over 30 villages situated along the Indo-Pak border and banks of river Chenab in Pargwal sector of Chammb Assembly Constituency of Jammu district became the target of heavy Pakistani firing and shelling, forcing their displacement in August and October and subsequently due to floods in September.

"We are trying to get back on track after floods hit us in September and firing displaced us in October. We are yet to get compensation for the damage caused to agriculture land, and properties including house in floods. Our vote will be for change and for government that brings us peace and safety from firing and floods", Surjeet Singh, a farmer in Hamirpur Kona forward belt of Pargwal sector said.

Pargwal sector will go to polls in the last phase of elections in the state on December 20.

The two major elections issues in Pargwal sector, which has a population of nearly 40,000, are cross border firing and floods apart from local development and employment issues.

Sandeep Dikshit included in Congress's Delhi election panel

Apart from Dikshit, four other leaders - former Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Krishna Tirath, and Yoganand Shastri and Mateen Ahmed -- have been named as the members of the committee headed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Arvinder Singh.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on November 25 approved the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC), Manifesto Committee, Publicity Committee and Disciplinary Committee for the ensuing Assembly elections in Delhi.

Controversial figures and former Congress MPs Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar did not figure on any of the panels recently set up by the party for polls in Delhi.

Sheila Dikshit and Ajay Maken are members the poll panel which will look after the preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Ramalinga Raju sentenced to six months imprisonment in Satyam case

The special court for economic offences sentenced Ramalinga Raju, his brother and then managing director of the company, B Rama Raju and two others to six months imprisonment in six of the seven cases filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

The court also fined 11 individuals for amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2.66 crore.

The highest fine was imposed on Krishna G Palepu, who was directed to pay the amount in two months.

"The accused were convicted and sentenced in six cases. The sentences will run concurrently," Special Prosecutor C Raghu said.

Ramalinga Raju, Rama Raju, former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas and former director Ram Mynampati were sentenced to imprisonment and fined while other former directors were fined Rs 20,000 each in a complaint.

Don't be misled by AAP: BJP MP to Delhi voters

Addressing a "nukkad sabha" at R K Puram ahead of the Assembly polls, he said Prime Minister Modi has in just six months taken India and put it in a place of "vishwa ka guru" and in the coming four-and-a-half years, the country's fate and future will undergo a sea change under his leadership.

"In the context of elections in Delhi, when the government will be formed here and MPs from here will be elected to Rajya Sabha, then Narendra Modi will have majority in Rajya Sabha as well. Once this happens, there will no hurdle in doing work anywhere.

"Arvind Kejriwal will try to mislead saying this is Vidhan Sabha election... Narendra Modi will run the country and he will run Delhi as well," the MP said.

In a bid to woo the Valmiki voters in the area, he said that this community was the bravest amongst Hindus as they had accepted carrying garbage on their heads but did not change their religion and urged them to support the party.

Sunday 7 December 2014

UP government suspends Noida Authority Engineer-in-chief Yadav Singh

Recently, the Income Tax Department has raided the residences of Yadav Singh. The Income Tax department conducted raids at the premises of two private companies in the National Capital Region and seized Rs 10 crore in cash and gold and diamond jewellery weighing over 2-kg.

The raids were conducted in connection with the sale of plots in Noida through bogus share-holdings. Among the premises raided was the house of Kusumlata, Singh's wife.
  
Engineer-in-chief Yadav Singh's alleged role in misuse of his post to get land allotted is under scrutiny.

In 1980, Singh was posted as a junior engineer with the Noida Authority and was promoted as assistant project engineer in 1985.

In 1995, he became a project engineer before being promoted in 2002 as the chief maintenance engineer under the previous Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party regime in Uttar Pradesh.

The 2002 appointment had been handed to Singh superseding others. Singh was seen as being close to Mayawati.

In 2011, he was elevated to the post of engineer-in-chief of Noida Authority.

Hurdle cleared for Navi Mumbai International Airport

This followed intervention by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who was in New Delhi on  Sunday. "Under the 'Shared Till' approach, the operator will retain a percentage of non-aeronautical revenues generated from commercial activities like shops, concessions in terminal building, renting out parking lot, which enhances long-term project viability with attractive private participation through the PPP mode," Mohan Ninave, chief spokesperson for CIDCO, which is implementing the airport project, said on Monday.

In airports worldwide, Single Till, Double Till and Shared Till mechanisms exist with the trends moving towards the 'Shared Till' which ensures project viability, protects investors' interests and ultimately facilitates world-class facilities to flyers at the airport.

In 'Single Till', all revenues from aeronautical and non-aeronautical are used to cross-subsidise the expenditures incurred. In 'Double Till', the non-aeronautical revenues are totally separated, while in 'Shared Till' some percentage of revenues is used to cross-subsidise expenditure as in Mumbai and Delhi airports (30 percent) currently.

"NMIA, which will be operated in a highly competitive environment with the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) across the harbour, would not be able to sustain unless a similar regulatory regime is permitted to ensure a level playing field," the spokesperson said.

"As CSIA and the proposed NMIA would exist as the first-ever multi-airport system in India freely competing among each other in a free-market environment without any traffic allocation, the key concern expressed by the prospective bidders was the confusion on the regulatory framework, which has now been clarified," explained the spokesperson.

Bomb threat delays Jammu-Delhi Rajdhani by over four hours

The alert was passed on to Punjab police by their J&K counterpart, following which the search operation was launched.

The train, which had arrived at Pathankot at about 9:18 pm last night finally left the station at 1.57 am this morning after the search was over, police said. The train remained at Pathankot Cantt railway station for 4.34 hours.

They said that the train would be reaching New Delhi at about 9 am on Monday against its scheduled arrival time of 5 am.

Earlier, nearly 150 security personnel including three DSP-rank Punjab Police officers, one SP-rank officer, besides personnel drawn from the Government Railway Police (GRP) thoroughly searched the Jammu-Delhi train at Pathankot Cantt station, which is situated about 250 kilometres from here.

Later on, the Army's help was also sought which chipped in to search the train.

Timing, relevance of restructuring not appropriate: Bihar CM

He demanded that a meeting of the National Development Council be called to consult the states meaningfully and take a holistic view on the issue and noted as a think tank, the proposed institution should have the capabilities to support the ministries and states with knowledge of innovations and best practices of the world.
  
Manjhi, who heads a Janta Dal-United government in the state supported by Congress and RJD, said, "The manner in which this meeting has been convened, its agenda and format, is pointing to the fact that you have already made up your mind on the subject and the states are here, merely to put their stamp on it".
  
Participating in the meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers on the issue of renaming and restructuring the plan panel, he said that the speech of the Prime Minister on Independence Day about re-thinking on the Planning Commission has given rise to the public perception that the government has decided to give a 'go-bye to the process of planning' in this country and that the growth and development in this country will be led by the market forces and the capitalists.
  
"I would request the Prime Minister to take no decision in haste without due diligence and deliberation. The meeting of the National Development Council should be convened to discuss the matter and take a holistic view on the same. If states are to be consulted meaningfully then the proposed structure and modalities should be duly circulated for firming up of their view on the matter. Final view should be taken after considering the observations of all stakeholders," Manjhi said .
  
He said that though the Prime Minister has talked about strengthening the federal structure and increased, active participation of the states in the formulation of national policies as equal partners and in their effective implementation, nothing substantial has been done to confirm these views.
  
"I am of the view that to deliberate on this important issue, the appropriate forum would have been the National Development Council. Furthermore it would have been more fruitful and productive if the alternative structure and modalities that are being proposed could have been circulated beforehand to the states, so that they could have firmed up their views on the issue," he added.

TDP government to complete six months today; challenges galore

Riding on the back of a popular support in the wake of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu took over the reins of the residuary state, after being in the opposition for 10 years, on June 8.

Naidu, however, had found himself in an unenviable position as the state, devoid of a capital city and undivided AP's crown jewel Hyderabad, is faced with a budgetary deficit of Rs 16,000 crore.
  
Adding to Naidu's onerous responsibility are the election promises of TDP, like loan waiver for farmers and self-help group women, creation of jobs and enhanced social security pensions, among others.
  
Immediately after he was sworn in as Chief Minister at a grand function near Vijayawada, Naidu had signed different files relating to the loan waiver, closure of illegal liquor dens, enhancement of social security pensions and a scheme for supply of clean drinking water to villages.
  
He signed another file enhancing the retirement age for state government employees from 58 to 60 years.
  
After a thorough exercise, Naidu had announced last week his government's decision to waive farm loan of up to Rs 1.50 lakh per family in the state. The opposition YSR-Congress and Congress attacked the government for not implementing the scheme fully and for allegedly not talking about loan waiver for self-help group women.
  
Getting down to the task in right earnest, Naidu had announced the government's decision to locate the capital in the Vijayawada-Guntur region in Coastal Andhra.