India News

Heavy rainfall disrupted normal life and triggered landslide along National Highway-58 in Uttarakhand.

Due to the impact of the landslide, huge boulders started rolling down the hill slopes blocking Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway also known as NH-58.

This caused disruption in traffic and caused a lot of problems for the tourists and the devotees.

Avtaar Singh, a devotee from Amritsar who was visiting Gurudwara Hemkunt Sahib in the Himalayas, said that he faced a lot of problems because of the bad roads.

"On the way, we faced a lot of problems. The roads are broken. Rocks are lying on the road. We had to get down on the way and cross the roads," said Singh.

Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Khajaan Das said: "The district officials have been directed to act if there is a natural calamity. There should not be any kind of laxity."

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) who has been entrusted with responsibility of maintaining the NH-58 continues the rescue work with heavy machines and bulldozers clearing off the debris from the road.

Source ANI

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission on Tuesday said that India''s growth projection could be trimmed due to a poor monsoon.

Yet the country has adequate food stocks to counter inflationary pressures, he said while addressing an international meet on key inputs for accelerated development of Indian power sector for the XII Plan held here.

"The existence of drought by itself can only lead to some shaving down of the growth projection. At the moment, agriculture is less than 20 per cent of the GDP. So, obviously, there will be some effect, but it need not be very large effect," he added.

He also mentioned that country has more than enough food stocks to counter famine-like situation and inflationary pressures.

"We have more than enough food stalks to be able to counter.  I hope that by the effective management of food stalks, we will be able to counter inflationary pressure," he said.

On Monday, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had said that the country needed to raise planting of winter-sown crops and improve irrigation to make up for the damage to farms.

Source ANI

Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja will inaugurate a one-day workshop on World-Class Tourism Infrastructure here tomorrow.

The objective of the workshop is to develop world class tourism infrastructure in consultation with architects, the engineering organisations, tourism managers and consultants.

As a capacity building workshop, focused to sensitise the various stakeholders of the tourism industry towards the emerging trends in world class tourism, the objective is to initiate dialogue and debate, it will also be a curtain raiser to the emerging demands of world class tourism today.

The participants in the workshop would be, head of the engineering departments of the implementing agencies in States/UTs and the chief architect associated with implementation, officers from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and resources persons/experts/specialists from the INTACH, the ADB, the JBIC, the CPWD, the RITES, the NBCC, the HUDCO and the ITDC.

There would be four simultaneous technical sessions on: urban civic amenities; built heritage; climate responsive architecture (vernacular architecture) and urban landscape.

Source ANI

The Minister of Mines and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, B.K. Handique, today said that efforts would be made to improve the investment climate for mining in the country.

He said this while delivering the inaugural address at the 43rd Annual General Meeting of Federation of Indian Minerals Industries (FIMI) here.

Speaking on the occasion, he said, "We are conscious that policy initiatives and legislative measures need to be evolved constantly with the changing needs".

Handique said that sustainable development of our mineral industry, with a view to achieve desired growth rate lies at the very core of our efforts.

"Indeed, it is our common goal and we are all working towards its fulfillment," he added.

He said that the 100 days agenda include framing of new legislation to give effect to the National Mineral Policy 2008 on the aspects relating to transparency and seamlessness in the concession regime and sustainable development framework. The draft legislation is being finalized and will be brought before Parliament in the ensuing Winter Session.

Source ANI

Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday asked the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to complete all the ongoing expansion programmes on time.

He was reviewing the Q1 performance of the public sector major at a meeting here today.

He said, the economy looks set for a rebound considering the latest IIP numbers and the projections of GDP this fiscal. This will translate into decent demand growth for steel in the near future.

The Minister appreciated the difficult business environment following the slowdown and hoped the situation to improve in the next couple of quarters.

He expressed satisfaction over the performance of SAIL during the first quarter.

The steel major reported a turnover of Rs 9747 crore during April-June 09, a decrease of 20 per cent over the same quarter last year. The net profit also fell by 27.7 per cent to Rs.1326 crore.

Singh urged the SAIL to strengthen its CSR activities.

"Out of the budget of Rs. 80 crore, the company has been able to spend Rs10.83 crore during the first quarter which is a drop of 201 per cent on sequential basis and a drop of 60 per cent compared to Q1 of the previous year," he said.

The profitability was adversely affected due to reduction in average net sales realization of saleable steel, escalation in input prices mainly of imported coal, coke, ferro-silicon, increase in railway freight, increase in fuel cost surcharge by DVC and higher interest charges.

Source ANI

Former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the State Department''''s former top civil servant, Nicholas Burns, who played a key role in hammering out the Indo -US nuclear deal,  has backed India''''s claim for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.

Addressing enterpreneurs and former diplomats at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here, Burns said: " A United Nations Security Council without India  looks like the institution of 1945, the era of (Harry S.)  Truman, (Joseph) Stalin, (Winston) Churchill, its a ancient vanished world."
 
"How will we think of solving global issues without India and Japan at UN Security Council," he added.

Burns'''' endorsement for New Delhi''''s membership in the UNSC comes more than two months after India''''s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Hardeep Puri, demanded an expansion of both the permanent and non-membership of the UN Security Council to reflect contemporary reality.

Puri then said that any delay in this regard would make the United Nations lose more credibility and effectiveness.

“A reorganization is definitely long overdue, hence inevitable,” Puri said while noting that the world order has been transformed beyond recognition since 1945 when the UNSC was set up.

He was speaking at an informal plenary meeting on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council.

Puri proposed an expanded UNSC of 25 seats, with 11 permanent and 14 non-permanent members as “the most optimal option.”

He said that of the six new permanent members, two each should be from Asia and Africa, while one each sould be from Latin America and The Western European and Others Group (WEOG). The four additional non-permanent seats would be distributed equally amongst Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

The WEOG is one of several unofficial regional groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums.  Apart from Western European nations, the 29-member group includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand among others.

Noting then that the council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, Puri said: “It is in our collective interest that this body is able to discharge its functions effectively, in real-time.”

Although, relations between India and the United States has improved considerably in the last decade, and especially after the signing of the Indo-US nuclear deal, Washington is yet to formally support New Delhi''''s bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC.

In fact, the US has been pitching for Japan''''s inclusion as a permanent member in the UNSC.

Burns admitted that altering the UN charter is difficult business where you need 128 votes, but expressed optimism about India''''s chances of becoming a permanent member of the UNSC.

"It is long overdue. We are bound see this happening. I am not saying this on imaginative  but on a realistic basis," Burns said.
 
The Council is currently composed of five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — and ten non-permament members (with year of term''''s end): Austria (2010)  Japan (2010) Uganda (2010) Burkina Faso (2009) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (2009) Viet Nam (2009) Costa Rica (2009) Mexico (2010) Croatia (2009) and Turkey (2010).

Source ANI

Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal arrived here on Tuesday on a five-day official visit, as the head of a 64-member delegation.
 
His spouse Gayatri Nepal, six cabinet ministers including the Foreign, Finance and Energy Ministers, high-level government officers, businessmen and journalists are accompanying him.
 
Speaking to reporters soon after his arrival, Nepal said: “It is a goodwill visit. There is no particular agenda before me. So, I think, this will strengthen relations between Nepal and India and will lead to a new height.”
 
This is Nepal’s first visit to New Delhi after assuming the office of Prime Minister.

On Wednesday, the visiting dignitary will lay a wreath at Rajghat, the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.
 
Prime Minister Nepal will then meet External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna at the Hotel Oberoi. He will proceed to meet President Pratibha Devisingh Patil for about 30-minutes.
 
He will attend and address a business luncheon meeting hosted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).

On Wednesday evening, he will call on Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari at the latter''s official residence and will meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence.
 
Thereafter, he will proceed to Hyderbad House for delegation level talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A signing of bilateral agreements will follow the meeting.
 
Although the Pancheshwar multi-purpose project will be discussed, no specific agreement will be signed. The main opposition CPN (Maoist) has warned the government not to sign any agreement related to the Pancheshwar project without a consensus.
 
On Thursday, Nepal will meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. In the evening, he will address a meeting of intellectuals and academia at the India International Centre.
 
He will leave for a daylong visit to Mumbai on Friday and will return to Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon.

Source ANI

Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan on Tuesday clarified that his detention at Newark International Airport in the US was not a drama.

Addressing mediapersons here after his return, Khan said, "I was asked bizarre questions by the airport officials. It wasn''t a drama. I don''t want publicity. But, I feel routine procedure was not followed there. We should not be treated on the basis of our colour or nationality."

Recalling the incident, he said he was not angry over what had happened there. However, he felt that the airport officials ''went a little overboard'' with the questioning.

Denying that he felt bad about the questioning, he said what really hurt him was the question they popped at him several times, "Your name is very common. Can anyone vouch for you to enter here?"

Rubbishing reports that he was trying to promote his upcoming movie ''My Name is Khan'', he said, "I hate people who rake up religious issues for their personal gains. I don''t want to sound pompous here but I don''t need publicity to promote my movie. I am too big a star for that."

The actor also said the incident would not prevent him from visiting the US again.
He said that if a ''tit for tat'' policy was to be followed, then he would love to be allowed to frisk Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie or Megan Fox.

Khan was detained for about two hours at the airport where he had arrived to attend a South Asian related event in Atlantic City.

Khan was released after Congress MP Rajiv Shukla spoke to the authorities in the US and the Indian consulate.

He was detained after his name flashed on a computer and was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit.

Source ANI

A group of students on Tuesday set four air-conditioned bogies of the Patna-Delhi Shramjeevi Express afire at the Bihta Railway station which falls between Patna and Mighal Sarai Junction in Bihar.

According to sources, the students resorted to violence after Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel beat some of them up at the railway station during a ticket checking drive.

The group, comprising about 15 students, had boarded the train at Ara. They were spotted by RPF personnel and forced out of the coaches at Bihta station.

The security men then bolted the doors of the bogies from inside following which the students set the coaches on fire.

The situation is still tense in the area.

Source ANI

Latehar in Jharkhand is known for its rich natural beauty, forest, forest products, and minerals.

But Maoists’ presence in the area has affected tourism.

However, local residents have now started bringing a change in Latehar, as they believe a better livelihood could be possible if a united effort was made to create an environment that is tourist-friendly.

Residents in Jharkhand’s Latehar District hence are engaged in initiatives to revive the region’s tourism industry. For this, they ensure the safety of visitors and provide them with basic facilities.

Several locals have become tourist guides. Many others are working as gardeners at popular tourist spots.

"We provide protection to the tourists so that no untoward incident or accident affects them. We take care and try to provide all facilities to them," said Manbahal Mistry, a local, working as a guide.

One of the popular destinations here is the Lodh Falls, also known as theBuddha Ghagh Falls. It is located in the Mahuadaner block of Latehar, 40 kilometres off Ranchi.

The waterfall is situated deep inside the pristine forests of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.

The presence of Maoists, also known as Naxalites had discouraged several tourists in the past from exploring the enchanting environs.

However, thanks to the efforts of the local residents, the fear of Maoists is eclipsed as the tourists are taken on a conducted tour of interesting places.

Rajiv, one of the tourists from Patna said: "I have come from Patna to see Lodh falls. I like certain arrangements made by the government but I specially appreciate the help that I have got from the locals here. They took us around as guides and told everything about this place."

Source ANI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that prices are likely to go up this year due to erratic monsoon.

"Erratic monsoon may put pressure on inflation," said K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI on the sidelines of a meeting of the Regional Rural Bank chiefs.

On rescheduling of farm loans because of the uncertain monsoon this year, he said that is an issue for next year.

Earlier, an Empowered Group of Ministers (EgoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was set up by the Centre to tackle drought situation in nearly one-fourth of the country.    

EgoM includes Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and Power Minister Sushil Shinde.

Other members include Rural Development Minister C P Joshi, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy.

As many as 161 districts out of over 600 have been declared as drought-hit in the country.

The EGoM will take decisions and approve new and innovative schemes, besides examining the existing schemes for suitable modification.

The term of reference for the EGoM includes assessment and monitoring of the situation arising out of drought and deficient rainfall.

Source ANI

President Pratibha Patil today greeted the people of the country on the occasion of the Parsi New Year, which will be celebrated tomorrow.

In her message, President Patil said: “On the joyous occasion of Navroz, I extend my greetings and good wishes to all my fellow citizens, especially my Parsi sisters and brothers.”

“May this unique festival heralding the Parsi New Year bring happiness and fulfilment to our people and make us feel proud of our composite culture and pluralistic society,” the President added.

Source ANI

Japanese Encephalitis has claimed eight lives in Uttar Pradesh''s Gorakhpur district.

According to officials at the BRD Medical College Hospital, these deaths were reported in the last three days, taking the toll since January to 160.

As many as 105 patients are undergoing treatment in the hospital.

The symptoms of Japanese Encephalitis virus are seemingly mild, but the disease can cause meningitis and inflammation of the heart in newborn babies.

According to doctors, the death rate due to Japanese Encephalitis is 28-56 per cent.
 
The deadly Japanese Encephalitis fever is caused by a virus found in pigs and wild birds and transferred to humans by mosquito bite. It affects the brain and causes headaches, convulsions, high fever and respiratory distress.

Many survivors are left mentally or physically handicapped.

Source ANI

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that the multiple environmental crises that confront our country have created in many ways an alarming situation.

Addressing at the National Conference of Ministers of Environment and Forests here, Dr. Singh said: "Climate change is threatening our fragile ecosystems. We are staring at the prospect of an impending drought. Water scarcity is becoming a way of life. Pollution is a growing threat to our health and to our habitats."

"We have to make fundamental choices about our lifestyles," he said, assuring his audience that the "challenges are not insurmountable".

Terming climate change as a major global challenge, he said: "We are conscious of our responsibilities to both the present and the future generations. We seek to enhance the ecological sustainability of our development path."

The Prime Minister sought the cooperation of all State Governments to implement the eight missions that the Centre has outlined under the National Action Plan on climate change.

"I would urge each State Government to create their own State level action plans consistent with the strategies in the national plans," he added.

Speaking on need to modernize the existing Forest and Wildlife management system, he said that there are a large number of positions of frontline personnel lying vacant in many states in the Forests and Wildlife sector.

Underlining the need to ensure that local communities benefit from forest, conservation, he said, Tribals have guarded our forests for centuries. The Tribal Rights Act was the best way to guarantee these rights.

The Prime Minister expressed concern that rivers all over India were still being degraded. He referred to the increased allocation in this year''s national Budget to clean rivers, and asked state pollution control boards to curtail release of industrial effluents into waterways, "which account for 25 per cent of total pollution in rivers".

Drawing attention to the view that environmental clearances have become a new form of Licence Raj and a source of corruption, he said that this is a matter that needs to be addressed head-on.

"There are trade-offs that have to be made while balancing developmental and environmental concerns. But the procedures must be fair, transparent and hassle free. Decisions must be taken within a specified time," he said.

On discrepancies in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Reports, he said: "I would urge all the States who have not yet established State EIA Authorities to do so at the very earliest. Effective coordination between the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the State Ministry is vital if we are to build a credible and efficient system of assessment and clearance."

"The recent introduction of the National Green Tribunal Bill in Parliament is a positive step forward. This will strengthen environmental adjudication and settlement of disputes. We should consider setting up a National Environment Protection Authority supported by regional Environment Protection Authorities," the Prime Minister added.

Source ANI

Vice President Hamid Ansari has greeted the people of the country on the auspicious occasion of Navroj, which marks the beginning of the Parsi New Year.

In his message, Ansari said that this festival is celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety and fosters the spirit of harmony and brotherhood that marks our composite culture.

"May Navroj bring a new beginning, amity, prosperity and happiness in our lives," the Vice President added.

Source ANI

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet here tomorrow to discuss the drought situation in many parts of the country and rising prices of essential commodities.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called for the meeting to discuss ways to deal with the situation.

The meeting is taking place at a time when the party has expressed concern over price rise and asked the government to take concrete steps to make available essential commodities.

The CWC is also likely to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana.

Polls are scheduled for October in Maharashtra, whereas the Haryana elections may be preponed.

Source ANI

A full team of the Election Commission will begin three-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh from today.

The visit assumes significance as elections for the 60-member Arunachal Assembly is due in October this year.

During their visit, the team led by Chief Election Commissioner Naveen B. Chawla will review election arrangements and law and order situation in the State.

The Commission is scheduled to meet Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all the 16 districts of the State.

The team will visit Tezu and Tawang to review the poll preparedness.

Source ANI

The Prime Minister, Dr. manmohan Singh, will address a national conference of Ministers of Environment and Forests here today.

The conference is expected to take a comprehensive stock of policies and programmes being implemented to protect the environment, forests and wildlife.

Union Minister of state (Independent charge) Jairam Ramesh, Secretaries of Environment and Forests from all states, the chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, the chairmen of  pollution control boards in all states, the principal chief conservators of forests, the chief wildlife wardens, members of the Planning Commission, chief ministers, secretaries to the Government of India, Dr R K Pachauri, the Director General of TERI, and various non-government organisations will participate in the conference.

The conference will seek to enhance the efforts of the Central and State Governments for the effective implementation of environment-related policies and programmes.

Deliberations will focus on several issues, including monitoring compliance with environment and forest related laws and regulations and the road map for institution building; river cleaning - innovative models and enhanced co-ordination among the centre, states and local bodies; strategies for increasing forest cover and enhancing synergies between Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme and CAMPA Funds; strengthening of state forest departments and capacity building of forest officials; protection of forests in the context of the implementation of Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forests Rights) Act, 2006 and wildlife management and tiger conservation and issues related to man-animal conflict.

Source ANI

Normal life was badly affected in different parts of Manipur on the first day of the three-day general strike called by the Apunba Lup, an umbrella organisation of several social organisations, protesting against the killing of youth allegedly by police commmandos in an encounter last month.

Markets, business centers and entertainment houses remained closed, while attendance in government offices was negligible and vehicles largely remained off the road during the first day of general strike.

The Apunba Lup has called the 72-hour strike demanding resignation of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on moral grounds and dismissal of the commandos involved in the ''fake encounter''.

Twenty seven-year-old Chungkham Sanjit was allegedly killed by police commandos in "fake encounter" on July 23rd in a market in Imphal.

Source ANI

Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said that the Indian Government expected Pakistan to act firmly and stop the export of terror from its soil.

Responding to Islamabad’s strong words of condemnation on Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s warning of possible terrorist plots being hatched again in Pakistan, almost ten months after 26/11, Tharoor told ANI TV: "We hope that the Pakistan Government will do everything in their power to prevent any terrorist organization based on their soil from doing harm to our citizens and our country."

Tharoor also said that New Delhi has taken serious note of Islamabad’s demand that the former share information about alleged terrorist plots being hatched in Pakistan.

Emphasizing that the Indian Prime Minister is sticking to his fundamental desire for maintaining peaceful relations with all neighboring countries, including Pakistan, Tharoor said: "The PM at no point has attacked the Government of Pakistan. The PM said that we have credible information that there are threats to our country from terrorist organizations based in Pakistan."

“PM has made it very clear that until visible action is taken against the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, it will be difficult to have meaningful talks with Pakistan,” External Affairs S.M.Krishna also said here during a book launch function.

The comments from the two ministers were a reaction to Pakistan saying that it has taken the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s remarks ‘very seriously’, asking New Delhi to provide information regarding Pakistan based terrorists planning fresh attacks against India.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of a function at the Foreign Services Academy, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said India must share the information supporting Dr. Singh’s statement, in accordance with the Sharm-el-Sheikh agreement.

“We can’t take any such statement lightly. Pakistan wants peaceful and friendly relationship with all its neighbors and that’s why it wants that the misunderstandings should be ratified. So, let’s see what they respond to us,” Qureshi said.

On Monday, India’s Deputy High Commissioner, P. Kumaran, was summoned to the Pakistan Foreign Office by Director-General of South Asia, Afrasiab Hashmi where he was told categorically that both India and Pakistan had agreed in Sharm-el-Sheikh to share information regarding terror threats.

“In all sincerity, we would request India to share real time information that they have and for our part we stand ready to cooperate fully in pre-empting any act of terror,” Hashmi said.

Hashmi said Islamabad needed credible information to crackdown on extremists planning attacks on India.

Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit said Dr.Singh’s remarks ‘warranted serious and prompt attention.’

Speaking after inaugurating a Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security in New Delhi, Dr. Singh, on Monday, had said there is credible information that terrorist groups based in Pakistan were planning to carry out fresh attacks in India and advocated the need for utmost vigilance.

Dr. Singh said: “We have put in place additional measures after the last year’s Mumbai terror attack. But there is need for continued vigilance. The area of operation of these terrorists today extends far beyond the confines of Jammu and Kashmir and covers all parts of our country.”

Source ANI

A group of students from various colleges in Jammu and Kashmir recently had an opportunity to learn about wildlife, as they attended a two-day camp at the Dachigam National Park.

Organised by Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI) in collaboration with Wildlife Department of Jammu and Kashmir, the camp was aimed at creating awareness about the importance of nature and wildlife conservation.

Rashid Naquash, Warden of Wildlife Central Division, said they wanted students to know about the importance of the flora and fauna of the park, and their importance in human life.

“The main purpose of this is to acquaint our youth with nature and environment. They should inculcate the feeling for the environment protection. We are here at the Dachigam National Park, which is a protected area for wild life, to acquaint these youth with the flora and fauna of the park and the importance of wildlife for the human life,” said Rashid Naquash.

The students were taken on a guided tour of the National Park and were educated about various species of wildlife and plants.

“This is the first time in 20 years that such a camp has been organised. We are very excited, all my friends and we are here to study the importance of wildlife. We are very happy to come here,” said Aquib Mushtaq, a student.

Latief Ahmad, a student, said that creating awareness about environment is all the more important in today''s age as global warming has become an important topic.

“In today''s time there is a lot of importance in this. You are seeing deforestation and global warming. For this, environment awareness is very important. Such camps should be organised. We have come here so that we learn something fro here,” said Latief Ahmad.

Source ANI

Thousands of farmers accompanied by workers of the Congress party took to the streets in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district to stage a protest on Monday to demand the 150 villages of the district be declared as drought-hit.

The farmers wanted the villages be declared drought-hit following delayed monsoon and deficient rainfall this year.

Apprehending complete ruin of their crops in the absence of ample rains before the end of September, the farmers lamented about the lack of alternative irrigation facilities.

“We demand to declare the region of Gwalior drought-hit as the farmers are very worried over the inadequate monsoon rain. We want to appeal to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to declare this region as drought-hit. Further, the farmers are unable to pay off their debts due to the losses,” said Ramavtar, a farmer.

Farmers also demonstrated outside the office of Gwalior''s District Collector to submit their signed memorandum with a request to report the matter to the State Government.

Munnalal Goyal, a member of the Congress Party who led the delegation of farmers to the Collector''s office, insisted that the State Government should take special measures for farmers to sail through this crisis.

“Farmers are really worried about their drying fields. We have come to appeal to the government, which doesn’t seem serious about the situation. Congress party demands that this rural area should be declared drought-hit. And also the government should create employment opportunities here,” said Munnalal Goyal.

The Bundelkhand region, which is adjacent to Gwalior District, has already been declared as a drought-hit area.

Source ANI

The death of a seven-month-old girl due to H1N1 virus in Mumbai on Tuesday, pushed the country’s swine flu death toll to 29.

The girl’s death due to swine flu has risen the total number of deaths in Mumbai to three.

“The girl Modia Mohammad Shaikh, a resident of suburban Ghatkopar, died at the hospital early today,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar.

The girl had been shifted to Kasturba Gandhi hospital from a private hospital and her blood sample was sent to Haffkine Institute for tests.

The nationwide count of fresh H1N1 cases now stands at 152 with the 97 positive cases being reported from Maharashtra.

Owing to the rising count and death toll, the Centre too has revised its treatment guidelines, doing away with H1N1 tests for people with mild to moderate symptoms and quarantining before starting the treatment.

The patients will be categorised depending on the severity of infection and given appropriate treatment.

Source ANI

An ambulance service has come as a boon for expectant mothers, especially for those in their advanced stage of pregnancy, in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district.

Till recently, the expectant mothers and other family members remained a worried lot since commuting to the nearest primary health centre (PHC) or the district hospital involved a big risk of life and safety in this Maoist-affected region.

Thanks to the initiative of the State government, now such fears are allayed with the introduction of an ambulance service exclusively for expectant mothers and it is named ''Matahari Express''.

Officials of the Bilaspur district said that the objective of launching the ''Matahari Express'' was to reduce the MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) and IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) in the village.

"Our main intention is to reduce the MMR and IMR rate and to encourage women to deliver in the primary health care services centre. We have till now received a very good response. The initiative is getting along with private partnership. We have the ambulance available 24 hours," noted Sonmani Bora, district official, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

No wonder, the ''Matahari Express'' service has become a boon for the families residing in the interiors and isolated villages.

In Bilha Village, this van has rendered a life-saving mission by rushing the would-be mother to the nearest hospital or doctor at the earliest for a safe child delivery.

"With this service we do not have to worry anymore," said Kaushala Bai, a local resident.

Under the Mother Care Scheme, a rural woman delivering her child at a primary or community health centre gets an amount of rupees 1,400. She is also entitled for 250 rupees to supplement her diet.

"Because of the transport problem, the women could not come to the hospital but now with this service. We have also publicised the phone number through which the people can avail the service," said Dr. Surendra Pambhoi, Block Medical Officer in-charge of Bilha village.

The van has a trained staff of paramedics including those conversant with pre-natal and pro-natal care.

In Sanskrit or Hindi, ‘Mata’ means mother and ‘Hari’ stands for divine entity.

Source ANI

Expressing reservations over the idea of opening up communication channels with certain sections of Taliban, the former United States Deputy Secretary of State, Nicholas Burns, on Tuesday said that the US should resolve the problem keeping in view the regional context.

"Reconciling with Taliban is very complex and there is a risk that after the talks these militants could turn on India. We (US) should go ahead to look at the problem in the regional context,” said Nicholas Burns in the capital.

Burns, who retired from the U.S. foreign office a year-and-a-half ago, on Tuesday was here in Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) where he addressed ex-diplomats and strategists.

U S has been suffering major setbacks in combating Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and under its new AfPak policy, it is planning to hold talks with what it calls “Good Taliban” and would carry on its offensive against the ‘Bad Taliban’.

New Delhi is however skeptical about any reconciliation with militants and does not believe in the “Good Taliban theory”.

Burns further stressed that the U.S should deal with India and Pakistan singularly and there should be no ''''''''hyphenation''''''''.

“The US should have independent relationship with Pakistan and India,” he added.

Calling India''''''''s role in Afghanistan as “positive and constructive”, Burns said that Pakistan equipped with nuclear bombs and high instability is creating worries like no other country.

Burns said: “India could play an instrumental role in bringing Iran onboard as a nuclear Iran is not in the interest of India.”

On the issue of Mumbai terror attack on 26/11 last year, Burns said: “Mumbai attack had evoked lot of sympathy in the United States and we should use this to motivate the two countries in countering terrorism not only in south Asia but other parts of the world as well.”

Burns had played a key role during negotiations related to the Indo-U.S nuclear deal.

Source ANI