Strike-hit Jet to hire more expat pilots

Mumbai/New Delhi
Sept. 9: Over 200 Jet Airways flights were cancelled on Wednesday as the strike by pilots looked set to enter its third day on Thursday. The pilots’ agitation intensified with about 432 pilots opting to go on mass sick leave even as the Bombay high court issued a contempt notice to the pilots on Wednesday for not withdrawing their strike.

More pilots went on sick leave on Wednesday as compared to the 363 on Tuesday, indicating the stir was gaining more support among the pilots. Jet Airways will be cancelling several domestic and international flights on Thursday as well in view of the continuation of the strike. Sources said a desperate Jet Airways was also examining the possibility of hiring more foreign pilots to get its aircraft back in the skies. Jet Airways is believed to have incurred losses worth several crores in the last two days alone.

The stalemate between the Jet Airways management and the pilots continued throughout Wednesday with no breakthrough reported despite the fact that the pilot union representatives landed in New Delhi on Wednesday morning itself. However, it appeared that talks between the management and pilots had failed by late Wednesday evening. Jet Airways had to cancel about 174 domestic and 32 international flights on Wednesday.

Addressing reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday, Capt. Hameed Ali, chief operating officer (COO) of Jet Airways, said: “On Wednesday 432 pilots out of 700 reported sick and the situation has become fluid. For any particular flight we are not able to assess whether the pilot will be available or he will be reporting sick. So we are reviewing contingency plans on an hourly basis.”

Jet Airways banked heavily on national carrier Air India and other private airlines to accommodate passengers on their flights on Wednesday. Air India, which reiterated that it “is the most dependable airline”, also announced it had operated a special flight on the Chennai-Bengaluru-Colombo route for the Indian cricket team after the Jet Airways flight from Chennai to Colombo, on which the cricketers were apparently booked, was cancelled.

The cricketers boarded the flight from Chennai while a few others boarded from Bengaluru. The flight also carried other passengers. Several international Jet Airways flights to West Asia and Southeast Asia were also cancelled. The airline, however, ann-ounced that its “operations to Europe, UK and North America remain as per normal schedule”.

Civil aviation ministry sources told this newspaper that the government’s only concern was passenger welfare. “Beyond that, it’s a dispute between the management of a private airline and its pilots. We have no role to play in that resolution,” said a ministry source.

The ministry sources expressed relief that most passengers had been accommodated by other airlines. Sources said that this had boosted load factors in other airlines by about 10 per cent. Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Wednesday and is believed to have sought his intervention.

Source:: Deccan Chronicle

Read more...

Ministers refuse to attend CM meets

Hyderabad
Sept. 9: Certain ministers in the state Cabinet are openly defying and snubbing the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, but he has decided to bide his time and keep quiet for the time being.

Two ministers, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy (agriculture) and Mr Jupalli Krishna Rao (civil supplies minister), did not attend important meetings convened by Mr Rosaiah despite the Chief Minister’s office informing them beforehand.

These two, along with Ms Konda Surekha and Mr P. Ramachandra Reddy, had initially refused to take the oath afresh. Mr Raghuveera Reddy attended a condolence meeting in his district on Tuesday but skipped the meeting on release of water for the second crop under Nagarjunasagar dam.

On Wednesday, Mr Rao also missed a crucial meeting on prices of essential commodities. The commissioner of the department also skipped the meeting without prior notice. A thoroughly embarrassed Mr Rosaiah had to conclude the meeting in 10 minutes with available officials.

In another meeting, the health minister, Mr Danam Nagender, kept the CM waiting for 20 minutes. In the last Cabinet meeting, two ministers told Mr Rosaiah that he would come back to his old portfolio soon enough. The veteran leader just smiled.

Meanwhile, Mr Rosaiah will not clear important files until he gets a nod from the high command.

Read more...

Shastri’s gold watch stolen

New Delhi
Sept. 9: A gold wristwatch of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was stolen from Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial in New Delhi. The watch was gifted to Shastri by his Russian counterpart Alexia Kosygin during the Tashkent conference in 1966.

Although the theft took place on September 3, the matter was reported to the police on Sunday. When the authorities of the memorial discovered that the watch was missing from the showcase, they started a frantic search operation to trace the watch, but were unsuccessful.

Later, Mr A.K. Das, director of the memorial, lodged a complaint with the police. Mr Das stated in his complaint to Tughlak Road PS that he and his staff had conducted an independent inquiry into the incident but had not been able to find the watch.

The police took fingerprints and other necessary forensic evidences from the memorial and have started an investigation to nab the thief. An FIR under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered. Sources said the memorial has no safety equipment like CCTV cameras.

“It also lacks basic security equipment and necessary police protection for safeguarding the cultural heritage,” the sources said. Mr Anil Shastri, the son of the late prime minister, said the prime suspects are an unidentified couple and another man who spent “more than the usual time” there on September 3.

“The officials had written to the CPWD asking them to provide locks for showcases which exhibit rare articles of Shastri but they were not provided,” he added.

Read more...

Lisa Ray suffering from incurable cancer

* Bookmark and Share

* Email this article
* Printer friendly version

New Delhi: Canadian born Bollywood actress Lisa Ray has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the plasma cells, and says the disease is 'incurable'.

'I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on June 23. Started my first cycle of treatment July 2. Not long ago. For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong,' Lisa, 37, posted on her blog .www.lisaraniray.wordpress.com.

'The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it. I was also tired of being tired all the time. So when I sat there with Bobcat, my life partner and reservoir of Yellow, and got the news I didn't react and I didn't cry. I'm an actress, believe me, I can be dramatic. Not just then though,' she added.

The model-turned-actress decided to undergo medical examination a few months ago after she felt 'exhausted, pale and drained' all the time.

Explaining her disease, Lisa said: 'Myeloma is incurable. It's a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow... Every year, approximately 2,100 more cases are diagnosed. I'm a junior member in many ways, having been diagnosed at 37, while the average age is 65... makes the disease not quite as 'sexy' as other cancers.'

However, Lisa is hopeful that 'it can be cured' with the new treatments available in the healthcare sector these days.

'So today with Velcade and, Revlimid and other promising new treatments in the pipeline, our survival rates are improving. But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this cancer be beat. So I'm going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto myeloma and cancer awareness. I believe it can be cured. That's the dirty realist in me,' she wrote.

Lisa was born to a Bengali father and a Polish mother. She joined showbiz as a model and later ventured into films with Tamil movie 'Nethaji'. After that she was seen in Vikram Bhatt's 'Kasoor' in 2001, but stayed away from mainstream Hindi films as she could not speak the language fluently.

In 2002, internationally renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta cast her opposite Rahul Khanna in the crossover film 'Bollywood Hollywood'. The Canada-based director later repeated Lisa in her Oscar-nominated period drama 'Water' (2005), in which she impressed critics with her performance as a young widow.

Read more...

Kim set for Serena face-off

New York, Sept. 9: Kim Clijsters will carefully scrutinise the face of Serena Williams when the two take to the court on Thursday for a US Open showdown that promises to be the matchup of the tournament.
That way, she will know just what to expect from the defending champion and tournament favourite in their semifinal.
“Serena, I’ve seen her play here, and she has that face where she’s like, ‘OK, I’m here to do business.’ But that doesn’t mean that you don’t get chances when you get to play her. So that’s something that I’m going to be really focused on,” she said.
Serena, who cruised past Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3, and has lost just 24 games in five matches, said she was aware that she could get stoney-faced when the stakes were high.
“I’m not aware of it, but I see it afterwards in the photos. I’m pretty horrified sometimes,” she said.
Still, she admitted, it would be hard to build up any reserves of animosity towards Clijsters, whom she described as being “just a good-hearted individual who takes tennis seriously and life more seriously.”
“But if I can play against Venus, I can pretty much play against anyone,” she said.
In the men’s singles, Rafael Nadal assured a jump past Britain’s Andy Murray back into the world number two ranking by advancing to the US Open quarterfinals on Tuesday while the Scotsman crashed out in humbling fashion.
Spanish third seed Nadal, trying to complete a career Grand Slam with a seventh major title, defeated French 13th seed Gael Monfils 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 to book a spot in the last eight against Fernando Gonzalez.
Second seed Murray never looked in form as Croatian Marin Cilic reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory. “I just struggled. I played poorly. I’m very disappointed. I didn’t feel like I played well. I had my chance in the first set and struggled after that,” said Murray.

Read more...

Harbhajan hits cameraman

Bengaluru, Sept. 9: Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday found himself in a fresh controversy after jabbing at a photographer at the Bangalore International Airport before leaving for the tri-series in Sri Lanka.
The feisty off-spinner, who very often finds himself in the news for all the wrong reasons, jabbed at a cameraman after the camera had hit him on the head while he was taking his luggage out from a car before entering the airport.
Harbhajan gave an angry stare at the cameraman even as a security personnel tried to push back the hordes of lensmen who had virtually mobbed the cricketer.
The 29-year-old Punjab spinner has a rather dubious isciplinary record, having been penalised for various offences during his career.
Harbhajan was accused of racially abusing Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds in Sydney and the 2007 ‘monkey-gate’ incident snowballed into a major crisis, threatening to tear apart the cricketing world.
In the same year, Harbhajan was banned for the remaining Indian Premier League matches after the infamous ‘slap-gate’, which saw him slapping his India teammate S. Sreesanth in Mohali.
After the ‘slap-gate’ incident, Harbhajan had promised to mend his way and keep a check on his temper.

Read more...

Numero Uno tag beckons India

Colombo

Sept. 9: Having warmed up with the BCCI corporate cricket tournament, it’s time for serious cricket as the Indian cricketers arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Immediately after touching down in the Emerald Island, the Indians concentrated on the job at hand, taking part in a practice session under lights for more than two hours.
Even the players like skipper M.S, Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and R.P. Singh, who had turned out in the Corporate tourney final in Bengaluru on Tuesday, opted to slug it out in the field.
Catching under lights can always be tough and coach Gary Kirsten took it upon himself to provide some high catches to the fielders.
The two stalwarts in the Indian batting line-up, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid too matched the enthusiasm of their younger counterparts.
Dravid, not known for his big hitting, then attempted a few big shots against the spinners and cleared the ropes with ease. He was also sharp in his reflexes when he practiced slip catch practice.
In the team that has been picked for the tri-series, only Tendulkar and Yusuf Pathan had not played in the Corporate event. Also with the Corporate tournament being held lights, most of the players would have gotten used to the conditions.
Among the bowlers, Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma looked sharp and bowled with good pace.
After the practice session, Team India coach Gary Kirsten said that they were happy to squeeze in the time for practice. “We were nervous with the flight being delayed. But we are happy to squeeze some time for the practice session,” said the South African.
Even though this is a very short tournament, it is important from India’s point of view. India, who are No. 2 in the ODI rankings, are snapping at South Africa’s heels and a series win here would catapult them to the No.1 ranking

Read more...

Obama dream: Gandhi dinner

Washington

Sept. 9: US President Barack Obama has said given a chance he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi, whom he considered a “real hero”.
Mr Obama expressed his desire in response to a question from a student Lilly during his discussion with 9th graders at Wakefield High School in Arlington Virginia where he accompanied with the education secretary gave a national speech welcoming students back to school.
Mr Obama asked students to take responsibility and to learn from their failures so that they succeed in the end.
“Hi. I’m Lilly. And if you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?,” Mr Obama was asked by one of the students.
“Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list,” Mr Obama responded amidst laughter.
The next moment he was serious. “You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine,” Mr Obama said. “Now, it would probably be a really small meal because he didn’t eat a lot,” he said amidst laughter. But Mahatma Gandhi is someone who has inspired people across the world for the past several generations, he said.
Mr Obama said: “He (Gandhi) is somebody whom I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr King (Martin Luther), so if it hadn’t been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States.” Gandhi, he said, ended up doing so much and changing the world just by the power of his ethics. “I am always interested in people who are able to bring about change, not through violence, not through money, but through the force of their personality and their ethical and moral stances.”

Read more...

Pak aided Iran’s nuclear quest: Khan

Washington, Sept. 9: Pakistan helped Iran acquire nuclear technology with the aim to jointly emerge as a “strong bloc” in the region to counter international pressure and “neutralise” Israel’s power, according to the disgraced scientist, Mr A.Q. Khan.
“The Iranian officials would meet suppliers them in Dubai. We had told the Iranians that the suppliers were very reliable,” Dr Khan said in an interview to an Urdu Pakistani TV channel, a copy of translated version of which was obtained by “Secrecy News of the Federation of American Scientists”.
Noting that Tehran was interested in acquiring nuclear technology, he said: “Since Iran was an important Muslim country, we wished Iran to acquire this technology. Western countries pressured us unfairly. If Iran succeeds in acquiring nuclear technology, we will be a strong bloc in the region to counter international pressure.”
“Iran’s nuclear capability will neutralise Israel’s power. We had advised Iran to contact the suppliers and purchase equipment from them,” he said, giving an insight into Iran’s acquisition of nuclear technology.
Dr Khan said, Sri Lankan Muslims based in Dubai were suppliers of nuclear material and equipment to Pakistan, Iran and Libya.
“Be it Libya, Iran, or Pakistan, the same suppliers were responsible for providing the material through the same third party in Dubai,” Dr Khan said.
He also said that Pakistan was ready to test a nuclear bomb as early as 1984 as the US overlooked its clandestine atomic programme in the initial years.

Read more...

NYT reporter freed from Taliban

Kabul

Sept. 10: Mr Stephen Farrell, a New York Times reporter held captive by militants in Afghanistan, was freed in a military commando raid early on Wednesday, but his Afghan interpreter was killed during the rescue effort. Armed gunmen seized Farrell and his interpreter, Sultan Munadi, four days ago while they were working in a village south of Kunduz.
An Afghan journalist who spoke to villagers in the area said that civilians, including women and children, were also killed in the firefight to free the journalists. That report could not be independently verified, and details of the operation itself were sketchy.
Mr Farrell and Mr Munadi were abducted on Saturday while they were reporting the aftermath of Nato airstrikes on Friday that exploded two fuel tankers hijacked by Taliban militants.
Afghan officials have said that up to 90 people, including civilians, were killed in the attack, which Nato officials are now investigating. In a brief telephone call at 7.30 pm on Tuesday, Farrell told Ms Susan Chira, the foreign editor of The Times: “I’m out! I’m free!”
Ms Chira said, Mr Farrell told her that he had been “extracted” by a commando raid carried out by a lot of soldiers in a fierce firefight with his captors.
Mr Farrell said that he had also called his wife. Farrell, 46, joined The Times in July 2007 as a correspondent in the Baghdad bureau. Munadi had worked regularly with The Times and other news organisations.
In a second phone call to a New York Times reporter in Kabul, Mr Farrell said: “We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid. We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out.”
“Munadi and I ran outside. There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices. Munadi went forward shouting: ‘Journalist! Journalist!’ but dropped in a hail of bullets. I dived in a ditch,” said Farrell. After a minute, Mr Farrell, who holds dual Irish-British citizenship, said he shouted, “British hostage!” The British voices told him to come over. “As I came forward, I saw Munadi. He was lying in the same position as he fell. He did not move. He’s dead,” Mr Farrell said.

Read more...

BPCL plans mega capex

Mumbai

Sept. 9: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for the capital expenditure in this financial year.
Of this, Mr Ashok Sinha, the chairman and managing director of BPCL, said: “We are planning to spend Rs 2,000 crore to drill nine wells in the blocks in Mozambique. We would also be spending Rs 390 crore for the upgradation of the Kochi refinery and Rs 400 crore for the upgradation of the Mumbai refinery.”
Mr Sinha was speaking to reporters after the company’s annual general meeting. They also would spend about Rs 500 crore to set up 500 petrol pumps across India this fiscal, he added.
The Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh is expected to produce six million tonnes of oil per annum and would be commissioned by March 2010.
“We expect that the under recoveries would be lower in the current financial year as the crude oil prices are at moderate level. I feel that Opec would not cut the production further during this fiscal and the crude oil prices would remain in the range of $60 and $ 70 per barrel.”
If this happens this year then the underrecoveries would be less compared with the last fiscal, he added.
Currently, BPCL is loosing Rs 3.94 per litre of petrol and Rs 2.71 per litre of diesel. The company loses Rs 146 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder, while on per litre of kerosene it incurs a loss of Rs 16.
Mr Sinha said: “Since last six months, BPCL has stopped supplying air turbine fuel (ATF) to Kingfisher Airlines as the receivables have risen to Rs 341 crore on the account of non-payment of dues. We are thinking of taking legal action against the Kingfisher. However we know that the aviation industry is bleeding due to the crisis.”
Our volumes of ATF have gone down by 20 per cent resulting in a negative impact on profits to the tune of Rs 20 crore, he added.

Read more...

Pyramid Saimira to sue Kamal

Chennai
Sept. 9: Pyramid Saimira Production International Limited has issued a legal notice to popular film star Kamal Haasan and Rajkamal Films International, threatening to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against them if they failed to repay Rs 10.9 crore given to them for producing a movie titled Marmayogi.
The notice called upon Kamal Haasan and Rajkamal pay Rs 10.9 crore with 24 per cent interest from April 2, 2008, immediately.
According to the company, Kamal Haasan entered into a memorandum of understanding dated April 2, 2008, with it for a joint venture project of the film Marmayogi in Tamil and Hindi at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore.
Kamal Haasan also assured he would bestow all his attention only on the project and that he would not act in any other film till Marmayogi was completed and released.
He assured that he would commit the veteran actors Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini and Priyanka Chopra since the picture was also to be produced in Hindi.
Kamal Haasan had received Rs 10.9 crore as advance, the company said in its notice.
But, he has failed and neglected either to confirm the artistes or commence production. Instead, he diverted the amount and commenced own production of the Tamil and Telugu versions of a film titled Unnaipol Oruvan, the company said.

Read more...

Karuna hits out at Rahul

Chennai

Sept. 9: The Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, on Wednesday declared that none could subjugate the DMK or dislodge the party in the state, even as his ally, the Congress general secretary, Mr Rahul Gandhi, is going around Tamil Nadu pledging fresh initiatives to bring the Congress to power.
Recalling the DMK resistance during the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government, the octogenarian said, “They tried and failed to subjugate and suppress us. Even MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) could not scare us.” MISA and Emergency tried to muffle the DMK voice, “and we were unable to address rallies or give media statements. In such a suppressing scenario, we used marriage ceremonies to speak out our policies,” he said.
Mr Gandhi, unveiled his ambitious plans for the party in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday by saying that the fruits of Central schemes would reach people “when the Congress comes to power here.”
He struck this confident note during a Youth Congress rally when a young woman queried why the benefits of the Central projects were not percolating to the common man. “When the Congress comes to power here, the benefits will certainly reach the masses,” Mr Gandhi said, evoking loud cheer from the crowd which had arrived from Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram.
Earlier, Mr Gandhi sent a loud message that the Congress is keen on capturing the Dravidian turf by skipping the Congress’ Tamil ‘protocol’, — any leader la-nding from Delhi would first call on Mr Karunanidhi.
The DMK camp is understandably, upset. “He is spending three days and visiting over a dozen places across Tamil Nadu. Could he not find five minutes to pay a courtesy call on Thalaivar Kalaignar? We are all upset,” said a DMK senior.

Read more...

PC meets FBI in New York

New York, Sept. 9: On a visit here, the home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, had a first-hand experience of how the US’ financial capital, which is on the terror radar, is protected by security agencies from terrorist attacks.
Mr Chidambaram, who arrived here on the first leg of his four-day US visit on Wednesday, was briefed by officials from the FBI, intelligence and security agencies and New York Police about the measures being taken by them to prevent any Mumbai-type terrorist attacks.
From walking at the Penn Station, which handles thousands of train passengers every day, to a briefing by the New York Police Department (NYPD), which had made several changes in its counter-terrorism measures post-26/11 attacks, Mr Chidambaram and his team of officials got to know how a mega city like New York can be protected from terrorists without causing much inconvenience to its residents.
Mr Chidambaram was also told about the coast guard facility at State Island. It was an important aspect of his trip given that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26 last year entered Mumbai through the sea route. Coastal security is an integral part of New York’s counter-terrorism mechanism. At Big Apple, Mr Chidambaram was at the Joint Terror Task Force Centre of the FBI in New York, where he was given an exclusive briefing by the NYPD on the steps being taken by them to protect the city.

Read more...

KVP told to stay put in Delhi

New Delhi/ Hyderabad
Sept. 9: The Congress high command on Wednesday held consultations with many party leaders from Andhra Pradesh on the issue of choosing the successor of the late Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

Sources said that the high command preferred to address the succession issue in New Delhi itself and is in no mood to depute party observers to Hyderabad at present. The central leadership feels there is no point in sending observers to meet MLAs because the political atmosphere is already charged in favour of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of YSR. Instead, the high command will be seeking more information from party leaders by summoning them to Delhi.

This means the present exercise will continue for some more days and the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, and the PCC chief, Mr D. Srinivas, might also be asked to be available at Delhi. Meanwhile the Telugu channel NTV aired a snap opinion poll showing 75 per cent of respondents plugging for Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy as Chief Minister. Done by the market research agency AG Nielsen, the poll showed 13 per cent of respondents backing Mr Rosaiah. The PCC president, Mr D. Srinivas, the union minister, Prof. Jaipal Reddy, and the minister of state, Ms D. Purandareswari, were preferred by three per cent each of the respondents. The poll covered 11, 562 people across the state, according to a release issued by the channel.

Sources said that the high command was also considering the option of making Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy the PCC president while continuing with Mr Rosaiah as Chief Minister. According to some MPs who have met the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and top leaders of the party, “lot of misinformation” about Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy had been fed to them. There are reports that the high command had asked the Rajya Sabha member and a close aide of the YSR family, Mr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, to work out alternatives without causing heartburn to the YSR loyalists.

Meanwhile, Mr Rao met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, apparently in a bid to forward the cause of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. “The Prime Minister knows everything about the political situation in the state,” he told mediapersons later. “He is also aware of the sentiments of people and partymen. I do not have to explain the details to him.” He also met AICC general secretary, Mr Digvijay Singh, and the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. He had met the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and the state in-charge, Mr Veerappa Moily, the other day

Read more...

State is drought-hit, seeks Rs 4,200cr grant

Hyderabad
Sept. 9: The state government has finally declared 971 of the total 1,108 mandals in AP as drought hit and has sought an assistance of Rs 4,200 crore from the Centre. The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who made this announcement on Wednesday at the Secretariat, said that his predecessor, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, wanted to declare the state drought-hit on September 4. “Unfortunately, he left the duty to me,” he said.
Since the poll code is in vogue for the Tekkali by-election, 10 mandals in Srikakulam district were not included in the list.
The state received 32 per cent less rainfall this year. If the rainfall deficiency is more than 19 per cent, that area can be declared as drought-hit as per the Centre’s guidelines.
“All farm loans can now be rescheduled and fresh loans can be disbursed,” said Mr Rosaiah. “Farmers will get input subsidy of up to 50 per cent of the cost.”
The state government waited for the completion of the Kharif loan disbursal by banks to declare drought. Mr Rosaiah said banks had already disbursed Rs 13,600 crore of the targeted Rs 14,100 crore as loans.

Read more...

7 suspended for ragging, assaulting teacher

Seven students from colleges in Assam's Dibrugarh town have been suspended on charges of ragging and assaulting teachers, officials said Wednesday.
The action has been taken against four postgraduate students of Dibrugarh University and three undergraduate students from the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh.
The four students from Dibrugarh University were suspended for two semesters for allegedly assaulting some junior boarders of the hostel.
"The action was taken based on a complaint by some junior boarders that they were physically and mentally tortured by seniors at their hostel. A five-member committee formed to inquire into the incident found them guilty," Dibrugarh University Registrar Pradip Kumar Bhuyan said.
The Assam Medical College late on Tuesday expelled three of its undergraduate students from the hostel for allegedly assaulting a teacher last week.
The incident took place outside the college campus around midnight on September 2.
"Apart from expelling the three students from the hostel, we have also debarred the students from attending classes for six months and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each," principal and chief superintendent of the Assam Medical College T.R. Borbora said.
Last month, Dibrugarh University had expelled one postgraduate student and penalised eight more to varying degrees, including cash penalties.
The tough action was initiated following written complaints against the nine students to the vice chancellor by junior students alleging "mental torture" bordering on obscenity.

Read more...

Army major, two militants killed in J&K

An Indian Army major and two militants were killed in fighting near the border with Pakistan in the mountainous Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.

The army sources said that a group of militants were trying to sneak into the Indian side in the Sonagali area of Poonch district on Tuesday night, some 220 km northwest of Jammu.

A gunbattle started when the security forces challenged the infiltrators after spotting them. One army major and two militants were killed in the fighting.

Meanwhile, a search operation was launched in the area to nab the other militants. The troops are also scanning the area for more bodies of the militants who might have died in the attack.

The security forces say that the infiltration bid by militants from across the border was kept under control, although the number of infiltration attempts was higher this year compared to 2008.

They said Pakistan is helping the militants to infiltrate into the Indian side.

In another incident this month, five militants were killed during an infiltration bid in the northern Kashmir area of Gurez.

Lt. Gen. P.C. Bhardwaj, general officer commanding in chief of northern command, recently said that over 70 militants had sneaked into India from Pakistan this year so far. During the same period last year the number was 45.

Read more...

Chinese couple held for trafficking

A couple in Beijing has been tried on charges of trafficking children after they allegedly sold their newborn daughter to raise money to help rear their two sons, state media reported on Wednesday.

The migrant couple is accused of selling their daughter to a middleman for 10,000 yuan ($1,470) in January as they left the Beijing hospital where she was born, the 'Beijing Times' said.

The middleman is facing similar charges after he sold the girl to another couple for 21,000 yuan, it said.

The three were tried in a Beijing court on Tuesday, but no verdict was reached, the report said.

"Give me back my child, you cheat," Zhao Zhongying, the mother of the child, was quoted as shouting at middleman Wang Jianjun, an illegal taxi driver, as she entered the courtroom.

"I never wanted to sell my child. I only wanted to find a good home for her."

Wang allegedly arranged the sale of the child after Zhao's husband complained about the financial difficulties the family was in while riding in Wang's car.

"I thought if we could sell the girl, we could save money to raise our two boys," the paper quoted the husband as saying.

Trafficking of women and children remains common in China, with many cases often linked to the country's "one-child" birth control policy.

Young women are also often forced into marriages or prostitution.

During a four-month period ending in August, Chinese police arrested more than 800 suspected human traffickers and freed nearly 3,400 women and children, state media reported earlier.

Read more...