India News

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday retorted to various allegations by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee and accused him of having links with the Maoists.
 
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Mamata said: “I think that the Marxists and the Maoists are both sides of the same coin. They are working together. If Maoists are to be banned, why not the CPM which is also carrying out armed operations in the state.”

Mamata also accused Buddhadeb of not helping the family of two police officers, who were kidnapped by Maoists in West Midnapore district on July 30.

“The Union Home Minister had said that the Centre will help in the search of the two policemen, I want to know why the State Government was not looking for them even after the assurance. Does not the Chief Minister have the responsibility to look for them?” Mamata said.

Earlier, Bhattacharjee had alleged that Mamata was trying to shield the Maoists involved in the detention of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express by not naming them in the report filed by the railway authorities.

“Though a Union Minister, she did not mention the name of the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) as being responsible for the incident, even when the Central Reserve Police Force named the outfit in the first information report filed by it,” Bhattacharjee said.

He had also alleged that the nexus between the Maoists and the Trinamool was present in West Bengal and said that there was now no doubt that the Trinamool was supporting them in the State.

Source ANI

Srinagar: A policeman was killed and another wounded when gunmen opened fire on them in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

Head constable Manzoor Ahmad and constable Abdul Kabir were on patrol at a busy street in Srinagar in the afternoon when they were shot at by suspected militants from a close range.

“Two security personnel were on duty. They were fired upon,” said Shyam Chand, Deputy Inspector General of Central Reserve Police Force.

Several eyewitnesses said that the gunmen fled into the crowd following the commotion.

“We were sitting inside. We heard firing shots. We came out of the shop and saw people running here and there. We saw the two policemen lying drenched in blood,” said Faheem Ahmed, a local.

Meanwhile, security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt.

No rebel group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Source ANI

Imphal (Manipur): Security forces in Manipur gunned down seven ultra guerrillas, during an encounter near Andro Sanapat in Imphal on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference, Commanding Officer of 28 Assam Rifles, Col. S C Rana, said that they had raided a rebel hideout and had a gun battle, which lasted over three hours.

“We had inputs regarding the movement of armed cadres in the north east jungle area of Andro Sanapat and accordingly the operation was planned and launched. So, at about 23.30 hours (on Saturday) the contact with the UGs (ultra guerrillas) was established and there was a fight, which continued till 2.30 am on Sunday,” Col. Rana said.

“The search was carried out and some recoveries made included seven bodies of UGs and weapons,” he added.

Huge cache of arms, including two AK 47 Rifles, one 7.62 US made rifle, one .69 automatic pistol, three 9mm pistols, one RPG shell, three lathode grenade shells, two hand grenades, several live rounds of ammunitions, wires, detonating materials, small quantity of explosive materials and one radio set were recovered from the spot of action.

Source ANI

Ludhiana: Body builders from across the country participated in Mr. India 2009 body building competition held at Ludhiana.

Body builders came on stage one by one and displayed their physique while inspirational tunes were played in the background.

"I would ask all to stay fit. This is a good way to get rid of all diseases. One can prevent diseases like blood pressure and asthma," said Harpal Singh, a body builder.

A good number of specially-abled body builders also participated in the event and they too showed their skills of excellence in physique.

The specially abled body builders came on stage with the help of crutches and stunned the audience with their well-built and maintained physique.

Winners and runners-up in different categories were awarded medals while all the participants were presented with certificates.

Local hero, Sandeep Kumar of Ludhiana was crowned Mr.India-2009.

Source ANI

Indore: Zoo authorities in Indore managed to rescue a cow elephant and its mahout after they were found trapped in a storm drain on Sunday.

The mahout had taken Champa, the adult cow elephant for the routine morning walk when both fell into the drain and were rescued after struggling for half an hour.

"The mahouts have been instructed to take the elephants for a walk in the morning and in the evening for at least an hour. The public enters the zoo in the morning at 9''o clock. So the mahouts were instructed to take the elephants before the visitors enter. But somehow, Champa (the cow elephant) while walking fell into the drain along with its mahout," said Rajesh Kothari, Superintendent of Zoo, Indore.

India boasts of being the home to over 50 percent of Asiatic elephants, considered to be the most intelligent among animals.

Unfortunately, the number of elephants has dwindled over the recent years.

Massive deforestation, poaching and people encroaching upon forest corridors have forced elephants to move out of their natural habitats in search of food and water.

Source ANI

Jaipur: Indian Oil Corporation on Sunday confirmed that three out of 11 petrol tanks are still blazing at the Sitapura oil storage depot near Jaipur, while the rest are spewing smoke.

“A factory adjacent to IOC factory caught fire; some bitumen fell on the top floor and it caught fire due to high temperature. After that police and fire fighting personnel had come to the site the fire is not now controlled. The digging of the trench is almost complete. Fire is still raging in three tanks. There are total 11 tanks in which 8 tanks it is mostly smoke," Kuldeep Ranka, Collector of Jaipur.

Earlier in the day, two more bodies were spotted at the burning Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fuel depot near Jaipur, pushing the toll to ten.

"The unidentified charred bodies were noticed in the wee hours of the day near one of the blazing tanks, but was not possible to reach there because of the heat," said Inspector General of Police, B.L.Soni.

So far, nearly five lakh residents in the radius of five-kilometer area around the fire spot have been moved to safer locations after it was declared "danger zone".

Among those who were evacuated were all the patients, doctors and staff of a government hospital and engineering and medical students of 10 hostels.

According to IOC sources, a total loss of 300 crores has been estimated.

The IOC also said that it would take al least 15-18 months to rebuild the facility in Jaipur.

Earlier Petroleum Minister, Murli Deora had ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of fire.

Source ANI

Chandigarh: The Crime Branch of Chandigarh Police on Sunday said that it had cracked a major cricket-betting racket and arrested four bookies in the city.

Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Superintendent of Police (Crime) of Chandigarh Police, Madhur Verma, said: “The arrested persons were operating from a rented house and they were caught red-handed while laying bets for their clients on the third ODI between India and Australia that was played at Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday.”

“Rate was in the odds of 70 and Australia was their favourite team,” he added.

The arrested bookies have been identified as Vijay Kumar, Sunil Malhotra, Shagan Lal and Vicky.
 
Verma further said the betting amount could shoot up to millions of rupees as few notebooks containing the names of their clients were seized from the spot of the crime.

The police have also confiscated 40 mobile phones, one laptop, two television sets, three recording devices and about hundred SIM cards from the house, which was used as a base by the accused.

“We also found a large number of mobile phones in their house, through which they used to contact their clients and their counterparts in New Delhi and Mumbai,” Verma added.

He also informed that the Chandigarh Police would be investigating the links of this group with similar gangs operating in other States.

With the arrests ahead of the fourth ODI game between India and Australians to be played at Mohali, the police claimed to have achieved great success.

Source ANI

Pushkar (Rajasthan): Hundreds of devotees from different parts of the country took a holy dip at the Pushkar Lake on the occasion of Kartika Poornima on Sunday.

This ritual holy dip is locally known as Shahi Snan (royal bath).

Prior to the holy dip, many Hindu monks and priests took out a procession through the streets of Pushkar with a message for the masses to keep the lake free from pollution.

Every year, to mark this occasion, these people gather at Saptrishi Ghat of the lake and the locals say that it has been observed from immemorial.

Many of the priests appealed to the tourists to bring back the lost glory of the lake since it has almost dried up due to lack of ample rainfall.

Certain Samaritans came forth to ''liven up'' the lake through water tankers from other places.

The local administration too had to provide water tankers near the ghats (bathing places) for the pilgrims and asked devotees to take bath there.

Source ANI

Ranchi: Income Tax department on Sunday reportedly claimed that it has found evidence of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s link to “unaccounted” money transactions amounting to Rs 400 crore.

Earlier in the day, Income tax officials continued the raids being conducted at several addresses linked with Koda.

According to sources, documents relating to illegal transaction of Rs.2,000 crore were found during the raids.

Properties of Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary- close associates of Koda- were also raided.

“We are going through the documents seized from these people. We will say anything only after analysing the documents,” an Income Tax official said.

On October 9, the Enforcement Directorate had charged Koda and his former Cabinet colleagues under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly amassing assets worth several hundred crores.

Koda, an independent member of Lok Sabha and a UPA supporter, has been charged with having business interests of diverse kinds - cement, steel, auto, power, agro and tourism.

Estimated at 300-400 crore rupees, his investments are alleged to be spread from Singapore to Thailand to Dubai to Liberia.

Source ANI

Jungadh (Gujarat): A leopard that had fallen into an open well in Jungadh district of Gujarat was rescued after a three hour-long operation.

A rescue team of forest rangers, including a veterinarian, was rushed to the spot.

According to sources, the leopard managed to stay afloat in the 40 feet deep well before being tranquillised and slowly lifted up in a net.

"The moment the news of a leopard stuck in an open well, 40 to 50 feet deep reached us, an equipped rescue team was rushed to the site of the incident. Rescuers pulled the leopard out using the net and subsequently tranquillised the animal for transportation," said Dr. Arshi Wagh, Veterinarian, Sakkarbaug Zoo, Junagadh.

Later, the rescued leopard was shifted to the Sakkarbaug Zoo for medical treatment.

Incidents of animals trespassing into villages is not uncommon here. And this has become a matter of concern for the local population.

"Such incidents have become frequent, now for the past seven to eight years. It is a matter of concern for us, of course. We duly inform the forest rangers but reports from our side are met with indifference from their end. The risk escalates when irrigation goes on during late hours," noted Pravinbhai, a farmer, Junagadh.

Development pressures and encroachment into forest areas have also brought humans and the wild cats into conflict.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Pre-paid mobile connections were blocked in Jammu and Kashmir from Sunday following the Union Government’s decision to ban it on account of security concerns.

The decision to stop the service has resulted in complete chaos among subscribers, who have objected to the Government’s decision by saying that the procedure of shifting from pre-paid to post-paid mobile connections would be a cumbersome process.

Earlier, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had decided not to issue fresh pre-paid mobile connections in Jammu and Kashmir and as per this policy the existing pre-paid SIM cards would not be renewed in the State after November 1.

“I have no problem if there are pre-paid connections in rest of India but there is a security situation; we think that pre-paid connections are prone to be misused,” Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had said.

The Ministry had even asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in the matter for implementation of the decision.

The step comes in the wake of the reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors.

In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections.

The fake documents/identity numbers are also reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections. This situation had given rise to serious security concerns.

Source ANI

New Delhi: In order to ensure safety of food products, the Government is set to introduce a new set of regulations from 2010, replacing the existing Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

"Under the existing provisions, small operators like street vendors cannot be licensed. The new regulations will require them to undergo a simple registration process at the base level, say the panchayats or municipalities," said P I Suvarathan, Chairperson of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The new set of rules aims to integrate the whole licensing system.

The food processing will be classified as into two categories –High-risk products (meat, milk, edible oil and the like) and low-risk products (rice).

"Companies with inter-state operations will be brought under a common regulatory system. Besides, there will be specific regulations covering safety of foods distributed by Railways and the Civil Aviation," Suvarathan said.

According to the new regulations, Food Safety Officers will be appointed who would do surveillance and prepare reports on quality of various food products keeping in mind the interests of consumers.

"We (FSSAI) have already suggested to states to set up separate Food Safety Department by each of them which would monitor food processing in their respective areas," he said.

Source ANI

Gonda (Uttar Pradesh): At least 11 people were killed and over 20 others injured on Sunday, when a passenger train hit a truck at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district.

The accident took place around 1.30 p.m. when a Gorakhpur-Ayodhya passenger train hit the truck at Kalyanpur railway crossing in Gonda.

According to reports, nine train passengers and the driver of the truck were among the victims. The injured have been admitted to a local hospital where the condition of some people were said to be serious.

Meanwhile, senior railway officials have ordered a probe into the incident.

Source ANI

Gandhinagar: The Seismological Research Institute (SRI), Gandhinagar, has acquired a German-based software that will enable geologists to detect and track trends below the surface of the earth.

With the aid of this software, this institute is now equipped with an early warning mechanism to detect probable earthquake.

The SRI was set up in to detect the movements under the ground since this region is prone to frequent tremors, the most horrifying earthquake being that of 2001.

It monitors the entire state with regular inputs from 38 Geo-Seismological centres. 11 of these have been installed with latest systems to analyse.

"Manual location of the epicentre of earthquake takes around ten minutes. Now, we have a plan of auto-location programme by which we can find out the magnitude and epicentre in 10 seconds. If a damaging earthquake initiates in Kutch region, it takes around 40 seconds for the damaging tremors to reach Gujarat," said Dr. B.K. Rastogi, Director General, Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhinagar.

The network of permanent seismological observatories project digital broadband seismographs.

The seismic data from these observatories are downloaded at Gandhinagar via VSAT.

The seismic activity is monitored round the clock. The details of any regional earthquake are reported within few minutes.

In addition to this, a network of 40 Strong Motion Accelerographs (SMA) is also established to record strong ground motions.

Kutch area acts as an ideal case study for SRI since frequent long distance tremors occur in this region.

Source ANI

Srinagar: Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir got a shot in the arm with the hosting of the Autumn Kashmir Ambassadors Golf Championship here.

The tournament, in which several diplomats are participating, was teed off on Saturday at the Royal Springs Golf Course.

Envoys of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, South Korea, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Taiwan have taken part in the tournament.

With the hosting of the tournament, the J-K tourism ministry intends to send across a message to countries, which have issued travel advisories asking their citizens not to visit the state for security reasons.

"I have requested the ambassadors to tell their countries'''''''' tourism boards that they had been to Kashmir and everything is fine there and to nullify the advisories against visiting Kashmir," said Nawang Ringzin Jora, Tourism And Culture Minister.

The diplomats enjoyed the game as well as the scenic beauty of the valley.

"From the fact that we are here, we feel that we are safe to come here. We feel that we can play golf, a leisure activity. We feel like even putting on our other hats as tourists, we can enjoy ourselves looking at the magnificent sceneries and the mountains that form the backdrop right now," said Jonahatan Otowana, High Commissioner of Zimbabwe.

The number of ambassadors coming for the Championship is increasing every year and thereby removing certain apprehensions about the valley region.

"When I came here for the first time, I was the only ambassador in a group of people who came to play golf here. This time we have 19 ambassadors and High Commissioners with their wives and their children and other non-golfers from New Delhi. So, certainly my experience of this beautiful place has been that it is a place to enjoy, a beautiful place and a safe place," said Francis Mouloyta, High Commissioner of South Africa.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on Sunday expressed satisfaction that most benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) have progressively improved their disposal in recent years.

Addressing the All-India Conference of the CAT in the national capital, Justice Balakrishnan, said: “Some regional benches have disposed off a higher number of cases than the numbers instituted before them.”

He further said that even in the light of the L. Chandra Kumar decision, it is desirable to continue with the administrative tribunals, despite the power of the High Courts to scrutinize their decisions.

“It must be noted that an overwhelming majority of the decisions given by the benches of the CAT are upheld by the respective high Courts. Also, these tribunals are more accessible top litigants, both in terms of lower costs and absence of complex procedures,” he added.

While, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Prithviraj Chavan said that so far 191 organizations have been brought within the ambit of the CAT.

“Naturally, more Government employees would be in a position to get speedy justice for their grievances. If we can fulfill the infrastructure needs of the CAT, even the PSUs and the Public Sector Banking institutions could be covered,” Chavan added.

Refering to the Report of the Law Commission, titled “L. Chandrakumar be revisited by a larger Bench of the Supreme Court”, Chavan said: “The matter has been discussed with the Chairman of the CAT and the Report is currently under active consideration of the Government. We will have to find ways, which will help us to protect the original objective with which the Administrative Tribunals were conceived.”

Chavan also expressed satisfaction that since its inception, the CAT has handled about 5.32 lakh cases, out of which only about 23,000 are pending.

He further assured that there would be a constant support for all the activities of the CAT.

“We have taken steps to fill up the vacancies in the CAT as soon as they arise. In fact, ever since the Act got amended, we have been able to fill up about 47 vacancies. We will support construction of modern office space wherever land available. CAT is already making good use of Information Technology. We will support further upgradation,” Chavan said.

Chairman of the Principal Bench of CAT, Justice V.K. Bali, said that disposal at the principal bench was 110 percent as compared to the institution in the year 2008.

“We have decided it as a matter of policy that life of no case in the tribunal in any part of the country would be more than six months. On an average, 91 per cent of cases of the principal bench have been upheld in the petitions in Delhi High Court,” he said.

Source ANI

Mumbai: The annual camel and cattle fair of Pushkar, which attracts thousands of tourists eavery year, witnessed a low visitor turnout due to global economic slowdown and scanty rainfall in various parts of the country.

Each year under the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, nomadic tribesmen set camp on the surrounding sands for a week of serious camel trading.

On average, about 20,000 cattle change hands during the fair, but this year the number of deals are far fewer and it is a buyer''s market with supply far outstripping demand.

Sunder Singh Yadav, a cattle trader from Jagrajpur in Rajasthan, said the drought had forced the people to sell their cattle as the prices of fodder had surged.

"Business is bad this year, our expenses are running high and sales are very low. There is a drought so everyone wants to sell and very few want to buy. It is quite bad," said Sunder Singh Yadav, a livestock trader of Jagrajpur.

Parts of northern and western India, specially Rajasthan and Gujarat, have suffered severe drought with many lakes, reservoirs and canals drying up -- sending the prices of food and fodder beyond affordable limits for many.

Paramhans, another cattle trader from Samdhabad in Rajasthan, said the drought and recession have hit farmers so hard they were finding it hard to feed their own families, so feeding animals was beyond their capacity.

"This year we had no rain and there is a severe drought. We have no fodder to feed the animals so we have brought them here to sell, but there are no buyers," Paramhans said.

Until the early 1970s, the Pushkar camel fair was largely a rural affair where thousands of nomads and cattle owners used to come to trade in camels.

But over the years it has evolved into India''s biggest tourist attraction, where foreign travellers mix with villagers and their animals.

Source ANI

Mumbai: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mugdha Godse and Madhur Bhandarkar are leaving no stone unturned for the promotion of their forthcoming movie ''Jail''.

A film-promotion event was held at a mall in Mumbai.

“The entire experience of doing this film was very good and we got to learn many things while making this film. The prisons have a different atmosphere altogether which are totally different from the rest of the world. So, I came to know about what actually happens inside a jail,” Neil Nitin Mukesh said.

''Jail'' tells the story of Parag Dixit (Neil Nitin Mukesh), who is leading a peaceful life with a good job, a pretty wife (Mughda Godse) and a beautiful house, until a sequence of ill-fated events lands him in behind the bars.

Bhandarkar, the ''Page-3'' and ''Fashion'' fame, has directed it.

"This is a very different and innovative style of promoting a movie, as nowadays people visit the malls so frequently. So, there is a need of connecting to the people to promote the film and this is best place to promote our film. There is no use of making a good product and not publicising it properly," Bhandarkar said.

Sharib Sabri and Toshi Sabri have composed the music for the film.

The film is slated for release on November 6.

Source ANI

Ranchi: Income tax officials on Sunday continued raids at the addresses linked with former Jharkhand chief ministers Madhu Koda and Shibu Soren.

On Saturday, the IT and Enforcement Directorate officials raided 70 addresses associated with Koda in order to strengthen a money laundering case against him.

Raids were conducted at houses of mediapersons Arup Chatterji and Prem Shyankaran, who are said to be associated with Koda.

"The raids were conducted at houses and offices of Arup Chatterji and Prem Shyankaran. Arup was till last month reporter with Sahara News channel. He is planning to open a news channel. Prem is a contractor who started a Hindi newspaper," said Ujjwal Chaudhary, Director, Income Tax (Investigation).

According to sources, documents relating to illegal transaction of Rs.2,000 crore were found during raid.

Properties of Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary - close associates of Madhu Koda - were also raided.

"We are going through the documents seized from these people. We will say anything only after analysing the documents," an official said.

On October 9, the Enforcement Directorate had charged Koda and his former Cabinet colleagues under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly amassing assets worth several hundred crores.

Koda, an independent member of Lok Sabha and a UPA supporter, has been charged with having business interests of diverse kinds - cement, steel, auto, power, agro and tourism.

Estimated at 300-400 crore rupees, his investments are alleged to be spread from Singapore to Thailand to Dubai to Liberia.

Source ANI

New Delhi: BJP’s central leadership has reportedly extended firm support to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, assuring him that no change will be done in the state leadership as demanded by the warring Reddy brothers. 

“Under the leadership of the law minister, the home minister, and Ganesh Karnik – we met Mr L K Advani, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Ms Sushma Swaraj who is the deputy leader of the Lok Sabha and also our national president Rajnath Singhji. I must tell you they are all of the single and very firm view that whatever circumstances, there is no change in leadership of Karnataka BJP Legislature party, and no change in leadership of the state government,” Yeddyurappa’s representative Dhananjay Kumar told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya and former MP Dhananjay Kumar held talks with BJP senior leader L K Advani to discuss the crisis in the state.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Speaker Jagadish Shettar, who is close to the Reddy brothers -- Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakar Reddy -- met senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley today.

Jaitley had spent three days in Karnataka last week to resolve the crisis. After he failed to convince the dissidents, leaders from both the camps were asked to visit the capital to find a solution to the problem.

The first BJP Government in the south India was rocked by infighting after the influential Reddy brothers renewed their dissident activities, breaking the truce brought about a few months ago when they first raised the banner of revolt.

Striking back at the dissidents, Yeddyurappa had ordered mass transfer of officials of Bellary district from where the dissident ministers hail, and hinted at action against the rebel leaders, further angering them.

Yeddyurappa said the issues would be resolved.

Reddy brothers are expected to reach Delhi on Monday while Yeddyurappa will be in New Delhi on November 4.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Guruparab, the birthday of Guru Nanak Devji.

In his message, Ansari said: “I convey my best wishes to the people of our country on the auspicious occasion of Guruparab, the birthday of Guru Nanak Devji. Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism, is an apostle of universal love, piety and spiritual faith. His divine teachings guide us on the path of social harmony and unity.”

“On this joyous occasion let us pray that his ideals of humanism and social equality inspire us to move towards a peaceful and just society,” the Vice President added. 

One of the biggest celebrations in the Sikh calendar, Guruparab, also known as ''Jyototsava'', is celebrated on the full moon of Kartika.

To mark the event, a huge celebration takes place in Nankana Sahib (now in Pakistan)-the town of Guru Nanak''s birth in 1469.

Other festivals celebrating Guruparab takes place at the spectacular Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minster Sheila Dikshit on Sunday flagged off a cycle rally for school children here to create mass awareness about the Commonwealth Games, to be held in the city in October 2010.

Around 250 students participated in the rally, which started from Rajghat and passed through Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, Rani Jhansi Marg, Tees Hazari, ISBT, Mori Gate, Red Fort and finally came to an end at Rajghat.

Dikshit said that she supported the cause of riding bicycles, as it was a good exercise and also pollution free.

“I want to give this message to children that they should ride bicycles and travel on bicycles as far as they can. This is pollution free and it is also an exercise,” Dikshit said.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be country''s first major international sports event after the 1982 Asian Games.

Earlier, New Delhi had hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 and again in 1982.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Indian batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who sustained injuries during the third ODI against Australia, are doubtful starters for the fourth ODI to be played at Mohali on November 2.

Sehwag was struck on his left foot by a Peter Siddle yorker and Gambhir was hit below the ear by a pull shot from Australian skipper Ricky Ponting during Team India''s six-wicket win in the third ODI in the national capital on Saturday.

“Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir sustained injuries during the third match of the Hero Honda Cup 2009, played at Delhi on October 31. A final decision on their availability for the fourth match, to be played at Mohali on November 2 will be taken on the morning of the game,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement. 

Though the injuries are minor, wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has been recalled to cover up for the openers and will stay with the squad till the end.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan on Sunday said that the Supreme Court Collegium has withdrawn the name of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran from the list of judges who were to be evaluated for appointment to the apex court. 

Addressing the media on the sidelines of the All-India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in the national capital, Chief Justice of India Balakrishnan said: “We have only asked that the names of four other judges should be processed for their appointment as judges of the Supreme Court.”

According to reports, the names of Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice A K Patnaik, Punjab High Court Chief Justice T S Thakur, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan will be evaluated.

Justice Dinakaran’s name has been reportedly dropped due to the allegations of corruption and land encroachment against him.

Earlier, the CJI had sought a report from Tamil Nadu Government on the allegations.

The District Collector of Thiruvallur, Palani Kumar, had submitted his report to the apex court, which confirmed that Dinakaran had encroached on 197 acres of public land illegally.

Source ANI

Jaipur: Two more bodies were spotted at the burning Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fuel depot in Jaipur today, pushing the toll to ten.

"The unidentified charred bodies were noticed in the wee hours of the day near one of the blazing tanks, but was not possible to reach there because of the heat," said Inspector General of Police, B.L.Soni.

"The fire spread to the roof of the building of a private electronic and instrument company ''Genus Overseas Ltd'', 200 meters from the IOC complex wall at about 0700 hours", said Chief Fire Officer, Ishwar Lal Jat.

"Firemen present there could extinguish the flames within two hours," added Jat.

So far, nearly five lakh residents in the radius of five-kilometer area around the fire spot have been moved to safer locations after it was declared "danger zone".

Among those who were evacuated were all the patients, doctors and staff of a government hospital and engineering and medical students of 10 hostels.

According to IOC sources, a total loss of 300 crores has been estimated.

The IOC also said that it would take al least 15-18 months to rebuild the facility in Jaipur.

Earlier Petroleum Minister, Murli Deora had ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of fire.

Source ANI

Madurai: Addressing a public function in Madurai, Union Home Minister, P.Chidamabaram today issued a strict warning to Pakistan that any further attack on the Indian soil will be strongly retaliated.

 Chidambaram said he has been warning Pakistan not to play with India and that the Mumbai attacks should be the "last game."

"We have been gaining strength day by day to counter terrorism from across the border. I have been warning Pakistan not to play games with us. (I have told them that) the last game should be the Mumbai attacks. Stop it there," said the Home Minister.

"If terrorists and militants from Pakistan try to carry out any attack in India, they will not only be defeated but will be retaliated very strongly," added Chidambaram.

Chidambaram''s warning came on a day when Pakistan''s Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani termed India''s offer of talks as a positive sign.

Paying tributes to Indira Gandhi during the course of his speech, Chidambaram recalled her words of serving the nation till the last drop of her blood flowing in her veins.

The Home Minister also highlighted the progressive schemes launched by the Congress party- led UPA Government for the common people.

Source ANI

On Board Special Aircraft: President Pratibha Patil, who returned from seven-day state Visit to United Kingdom and Cyprus on Sunday, said she has witnessed the desire and commitment from the British interlocutors across the political spectrum to diversify and strengthen ties between the UK and India.

Speaking to reporters on board special aircraft, Patil said she has received enthusiasm from UK interlocutors across the entire political spectrum for further strengthening and diversifying the ties between our two countries.

"I saw desire and commitment on the part of UK interlocutors across the entire political spectrum for further strengthening the ties between our two countries. I reciprocated with full measure," she added.

She said her visit would give an impetus to the bilateral ties.

"My visit to UK was a reiteration of our strong commitment to the strategic partnership and our desire to further consolidate this important relationship," she added.

She had lead a high-level delegation including representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) with her.

Queen Elizabeth, as head of the Commonwealth, presented to President Patil the baton and flagged off the baton relay for the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in India in 2010.

She met President of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias during the second leg of her two-nation tour.

"He (Cypriot President) indicated that India could count on Cyprus as a reliable friend of India in the EU," Patil said.

Patil was the first Indian head of state to visit Cyprus in last 20 years.

An agreement was also signed between India and Cyprus for solar energy cooperation, entailing an investment of approximately 50 million Euros.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today greeted the nation on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, which will be celebrated on Monday.

In his message, Dr. Singh said that the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, of peace and unity are very relevant in today''s world.

"A Society without discrimination and distinction - the vision of Guru Nanakji is the vision towards which we should strive," he added.

The anniversaries of Sikh Gurus are known as Gurpurabs (festivals), and celebrated by Sikhs with devotion.

Gurpurabs mark the culmination of Prabhat Pheris, the early morning procession that starts from the gurdwaras and then goes around localities singing shabads (hymns).

The celebrations also include the three-day Akhand path, during which the Guru Granth Sahib is read continuously, from beginning to end without a break.

Source ANI

Chennai: Three Malaysian teenage girls will soon be interrogated by the Interpol over their links to an international fake credit card syndicate based in South India.

 

The teenagers have returned to Malaysia after graduating in cosmetology courses at colleges in Chennai.

 

The Chennai police have uncovered their link to a Sri Lankan, believed to be the syndicate mastermind.

 

The police discovered that while pursuing the courses, the Malaysians were given fake credit cards to purchase expensive goods here. They were paid 5,000 Indian rupees (RM500) for each transaction, The Star reports.

 

Following a tip-off last week, the police arrested the 25-year-old Sri Lankan, now a Canadian citizen, who spilled the beans on the Malaysian girls who worked for him.

 

As the girls returned to Malaysia a few months ago, Chennai police alerted Interpol.

 

Chennai police (special crime division) Deputy Commissioner C. Sridhar told Bernama yesterday that the girls were used by the syndicate leader to purchase jewellery and cellphones worth nearly 5mil rupees (RM500,000).

 

“Surely, the girls were part of the gang. We are now in the process of ascertaining their actual names, addresses and college names. Once we have this information, we will seek Interpol’s assistance to investigate the girls,” said Sridhar.

 

He said that during interrogation, the Sri Lankan told Indian sleuths that his group obtained empty credit cards belonging to Malaysian banks via courier, but did not reveal further details of his Malaysian nexus.

 

Later, he printed names on the empty cards in his rented house in Porur, located in the suburbs of Chennai.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Leaders backing B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday held talks with BJP senior leader L K Advani in the wake of demands for the Karnataka Chief Minister''s removal by the Reddy brothers.

Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya and former MP Dhananjay Kumar met Advani to discuss the crisis in the state.

Both the leaders have tried to convince the central leadership that there should be no change of guard.

Karnataka Speaker Jagadish Shettar, who is close to the Reddy brothers -- Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakar Reddy -- met senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley today.

Jaitley had spent three days in Karnataka last week to resolve the crisis. After he failed to convince the dissidents, leaders from both the camps were asked to visit the capital to find a solution to the problem.

The first BJP Government in the south India was rocked by infighting after the influential Reddy brothers renewed their dissident activities, breaking the truce brought about a few months ago when they first raised the banner of revolt.

Striking back at the dissidents, Yeddyurappa had ordered mass transfer of officials of Bellary district from where the dissident ministers hail, and hinted at action against the rebel leaders, further angering them.

Yeddyurappa said the issues would be resolved.

Reddy brothers are expected to reach Delhi on Monday while Yeddyurappa will be in New Delhi on November 4.

Source ANI

Imphal: At least seven suspected militants were killed by the Assam Rifles in an encounter in Manipur''s Imphal East district today.

According to the sources, the encounter took place at around 11.30 pm on Saturday between the suspected ultras and Assam Rifles personnel at Andro Sanapat, about 25 km from here.

 A huge cache of explosives including two AK-47s and four pistols were recovered from the spot.

The encounter is still going on.

Source ANI

Reasi (J-K): A top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander was on Sunday killed in an encounter with security forces in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources, LeT commander Abutalla was killed following a gun battle with joint operation party of the Rashtriya Rifles and the police in Mahore area in Reasi distrct.

An AK rifle with ammunition was recovered from the spot. The operation is still going on.

Source ANI

New Delhi: Olympian Deriba Merga of Ethiopia won the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in men''s section while Kenya''s Mary Keitany won the women''s category.

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon began with almost 30,000 participants.

The open category of the main event was the half-marathon of 21.097 km.

The other three categories were the Great Delhi Run (7 km), senior citizen''s run (4.3 km) and the wheelchair Event (3.5 km).

Apart from the runners, Bollywood celebrities Shah Rukh Khan, Rahul Bose were also present at the event.

Former Australian captain Allan Border and Sydney Olympic 400 metre gold medallist Cathy Freeman were the brand ambassadors of the event.
The event has grown in terms of participation as well as popularity in the last five years.

The prize money offered was 2,10,000 dollars with the men and women winners bagging 25,000 dollars each.

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is India''s premier and the top rated running event, which has been accredited with the IAAF Road Race.

Source ANI