Rashtriya Janata Dal celebrates good show in Bihar by-polls

Patna, Sept 20 (ANI): The activists of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) here celebrated the party’s good show in the by-election for 18 legislative assembly seats.

The RJD-Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) won eight seats in the by-election for 18 legislative assembly seats, a major set back to ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

The JD (U) bagged three seats while its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won two seats.

The activists burst crackers and distributed sweets to celebrate the win at the party office.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad termed the results as referendum on the ruling government.

“It is not possible for the Bihar Government-led by Nitish Kumar to return. The RJD alliance will return to power. The people of Bihar have welcomed us with open arms,” said Yadav.

The RJD failed poorly in Lok Sabha election in April-May this year, winning just four seats out of the total 40 in Bihar. (ANI)

Four Nepali women being sent to Muscat detained at Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur, Sept 19 (ANI): Volunteers of a social service organisation and the personnel of the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Uttar Pradesh Police at Gorakhpur detained four Nepalese women.

Reportedly, as per the statement of the women who were taken into custody at the Gorakhpur Railway Station, they were intending to go to Muscat.

These women had entered India through the Sanauli border post.

Although all the four women had their respective passports with them, only two of them could show their endorsed visas for Muscat.

“Our team visited the railway station along with a Nepali counsellor. When she saw these women and spoke to them, they gave some wrong information, which in turn sounded fishy and made us to suspect something was amiss. When we asked them where they were heading, initially they said Oman and again changed their statement saying, New Delhi. When our counsellor asked them for their passports, some said they had it while others said they didn’t. So, we found them suspicious,” said Gyan Kumar, co-ordinator, Maanava Sewa Sansthan, Gorakhpur.

Amidst such confusing utterances by the women, the police believe that one of the women named Dilmaya was trying to send the other three to Muscat by bringing them from Nepal.

She claimed that they were going to Muscat because they had their relatives residing and working there.

“These people held us for interrogation. We asked them either to let us go to Nepal or else allow us to go to Muscat. We have our relatives there,” said Dilmaya.

A couple of months ago, police officials of Gorakhpur had detained five women who were allegedly being trafficked to Gulf countries for flesh trade.

Reportedly, a pimp was escorting these women to Mumbai from where they were to be sent to certain destinations in the Middle East. (ANI)

Rashtriya Janata Dal celebrates good show in by-polls in Bihar

Patna, Sep 18 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) celebrated its good show in state by-election on Thursday.

The RJD-Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) won eight seats in the by-election for 18 legislative assembly seats, a major setback to ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

JD (U) bagged three seats while its ally Bharatiya Janata Party won two seats.

RJD activists gathered at the party office and burst crackers and distributed sweets to celebrate the win.

Rabri Devi, leader of opposition in Bihar legislative assembly, termed the results as referendum against the ruling government.

“Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar is fooling the public. The people of Bihar have understood it and that’s why they have rejected the ruling party. I congratulate the people of Bihar. I am sure that people will keep on voting for Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance,” said Devi.

RJD failed poorly in Lok Sabha election in April-May this year, winning just four seats out of the total 40 in Bihar. (ANI)

EU supported urban agricultural market popular in Kerala

Maradu (Kerala), Sept 18 (ANI): Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market at Maradu in Kerala has become popular among residents and farmers alike.

Fresh and cheap agricultural products are available here and the farmers have the storing, testing and other facilities.

The market is run by the Kerala Government and is financially aided by the European Union (EU). Fresh fruits, vegetables, spice and other agriculture produces are sold in the market.

The place is attracting hordes of customers, as the prices of products are cheaper compared to other shops.

“Most of the products sold in this market are fresh and of a good quality. Earlier, I used to go to main market. But this place is cheap, easy and products come directly from the farms as compared to other shops,” said Sebastian, a customer.

The setting up of warehousing, packaging and marine testing units for frozen or dried fish, vegetables and fruits at the Urban Market are some of the facilities available to farmers.

Prices are low since the farmers directly supply their produce in this market and own shops.

“Compared to other markets here, the prices are low as we have no labour cost involved During festival and other occasions, sellers used to charge high but here prices always remain low because we ourselves produce and later sell and for customers,” said Saji Kumar, a farmer and a shop owner.

Recently, various programmes and exhibitions have been introduced with the help of the State Government and horticulture mission to make the market more farmer-friendly.

The market was set up to improve the marketing infrastructure and enabling farmers to get a better price for their produce.

The market is developed at an area of 46 acres that can handle more than 2,500 tons of produce.

Facilities such as internet access enable the farmers keep track of the daily prices, Agmark certification for the produce is also available at the Agmark Testing Laboratory functioning at the market. By Juhan Samuel (ANI)

NSA to convene China Study Group meeting to discuss incursion fallout

New Delhi, Sep.17 (ANI): National Security Advisor M K Narayanan will hold a meeting of the China Study Group – consisting of top officials including Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and Secretaries of Defence, Home and Foreign Ministries – here today.

The meeting is expected to take stock of the situation along the Sino-India border, official sources said.

Besides Chandrasekhar, the meeting will be attended by Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Home Secretary G K Pillai and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

Top officials of the three armed forces and the Intelligence Bureau will also attend the meeting.

The meeting assumes significance in wake of recent reports of incursions by the Chinese army in Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, involving the air dropping of expired food canes, painting of rocks red among others.

Another media report said that two Chinese Sukhoi fighters had transgressed into Indian air space last month.

The Indian Air Force, however, says no unscheduled flight inside Indian air space had taken place last month. (ANI)

J and K Govt seeks Center’s clearance to construct concrete huts along LAC

Srinagar, Sep 16 (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir Government has sought clearance from the Ministry of Defence to construct huts like along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) bordering China.

According to sources the State Government forwarded this proposal with the aim of strengthening the Indian presence along the LAC.

State Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla, said concrete huts would also help the nomadic shepherds to stay.

Nomadic shepherds are currently using mobile tents.

Recently Leh’s Deputy Commissioner Ajit Kumar Sahu said, the Chinese had threatened some shepherds in the remote regions of the district.

The State Government is also reportedly planning to house revenue officials and guards to monitor Chinese activities along the Pangong Lake, sources said.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan has called a meeting of the China Study Group of the Union Government on Wednesday, to discuss the situation along Indo-China border.

Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Home Secretary G. K. Pillai, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Senior officials of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, officials from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) would also attend the meeting. (ANI)

SunTec wins two strategic customers in Middle East

Trivandrum/United Arab Emirates, Sept 16 (ANI/Business Wire India): SunTec, the leading provider of Relationship-based Pricing and Centralized Billing solutions, has announced two strategic wins in the Middle East region, one of which has helped the company to gain a foothold in Port Operations Billing – its fifth operating domain.

One of the largest banks in UAE has invested in SunTec’s Relationship-based and Centralized Billing solution, while a leading Port Operator of the region has signed up to SunTec to automate and centralize the pricing and billing operations for their vessels as well as cargo operations, helping them to offer a convergent bill to customers and effectively manage multiple contracts.

The solution will be implemented in multiple phases at the leading bank, and by the end of phase-I in December 2009 their ‘Customer Benefits Program’ will go live for retail banking.

The bank will thus be among the first few in UAE offering comprehensive customer benefits programs. SunTec’s solution being the pivot, the bank will be able to scale up their benefits programs to customer with ease.

Furthermore, in future, the bank will leverage SunTec’s solution for streamlining and automating their pricing and billing functions across enterprise.

The solution offers pertinent pricing innovations for the leading port operator also.

The complex multi-national operations of modern-day ports call for streamlined Relationship-based Pricing. New models like cost-based billing have become more relevant, as containerised trade is gaining prominence across the globe.

The situation demands differential pricing to be offered to customers based on the value they bring in.

“With these wins, SunTec has not only gained considerable footprint in the Middle East region, but also established its multi-industry compatibility,” said Nanda Kumar, CEO of SunTec.

“We conceptualized and created our core pricing and billing platform, horizontal in nature and flexible enough to address the pricing and billing requirements of any transaction-based vertical, all the while, helping our customers to imbibe best practices from multiple industries,” added Kumar. (ANI)

Aarushi murder case: CBI reconstitutes team

New Delhi, Sep 9 (ANI): The CBI has reconstituted its team of officials investigating the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case.

CBI chief Ashwani Kumar took the decision in this effect, as he did not agree with the line of investigation taken by the team, sources said.

The new will most probably start investigation right from scratch as now even the vaginal swab of 14-year-old Aarushi seems to have been misplaced or not taken at all, they said.

Sources said that there was no semen, as alleged initially, in the slides sent to the centre and corroborative testing revealed that the material was not drawn from Aarushi.

Aarushi was found murdered in her Noida home on May 15, 2008. Their domestic help Hemraj was later found dead on the rooftop. (ANI)

Nepal PM assuages India’s concerns, says won’t allow fake note smuggling

Kathmandu, Sep 9 (ANI): Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar has said his government is really concerned about the Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) racket and would take proper action against anyone who indulges in the practice.

Talking to reporters in Birganj in the Terai plains near the Indo-Nepalese border, Nepal said, “We are really concerned about this racket and if anyone uses our land to supply fake currency into India, we will take proper action.”

“Any unlawful activities detrimental to the interest of our neighbouring country will not be allowed,” he added.

He also assured India that Nepal soil will not be used for the smuggling fake of Indian currency into India.

His assurance came following the nabbing of two Nepali nationals by the anti terror squad of Madhya Pradesh in connection with a fake Indian currency racket that revealed the involvement of former Crown Prince Paras and India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.

They further revealed that Yunus Ansari, the son of a minister, was the conduit between Paras and Dawood, who between them have been pushing in crores of fake Indian currency into India.

According to sources, Dawood manages the printing and manufacture of the fake currency, while Paras is responsible for its transit from other countries into Nepal and India.

Paras reportedly used his influential position to ensure the money reached the designated transit points on the India-Nepal border without a hitch. (ANI)

Absence of teachers keeps literacy rate low in Bihar

Patna, Sep 8 (ANI): Even as the world’s observing ‘International Literacy Day’ on Tuesday, Bihar continues to suffer from rampant illiteracy.

Despite the government’s repeated efforts to improve standards of teaching, schools are grappling with a lack of teaching staff and creaking infrastructure.

“We want to increase the number of students in our school, but this is only possible if there are more teachers. We want accommodate 2000 students in the school but we are not able to give admission to the students who come here as there are no teachers and no place to sit,” said Kamlesh Kumar, a teacher.

He added that their school has appealed to the authorities to take a notice of their condition.

The parents prefer keeping their kids at home. They feel that their kids are better at home playing.

“We don’t send our kids to the school because there are no teachers and if there are no teachers what will our kids study in school. That is why the children go to school, play for sometime and come back as there is no one to look after them in the school. Hence, my kids don’t go to the school and play on the streets,” said Mohammad Sarfuddin, a slum dweller.

The eradication of illiteracy has been one of the major programmes of successive Indian governments since independence.

The National Literacy Mission, launched in 1988 by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s government, has greatly helped in increasing the rate of literacy in the country. Besides the universalisation of primary education, steps were taken to promote adult literacy. (ANI)

Wanted Maoist leader arrested in Bihar

Gaya, Sep 5 (ANI): Bihar police arrested a Maoist leader, wanted in two-dozen cases of murder, robbery and kidnapping here on Friday.

Vinod Mehta alias Marandi was the founder of Revolutionary Communist Centre (RCC), officials said.

Marandi, along with two of his associates, was arrested from Sherghati town.

Officials said Marandi was earlier a self-styled commander of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), before snapping ties and founding his own outfit.

“Earlier he was a sub-zonal commander of MCC. He snapped his links with MCC. When he got out of jail, he formed a new terrorist organisation called RCC (Revolutionary Communist Centre),” said Ranjan Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, Sherghati town.

The central government banned and formally labelled Maoist insurgents as a terrorist group, hoping it would give security forces more enforcement powers after the rebels briefly created a ‘liberated zone’ in Lalgarh region of West Bengal recently.

Some experts said the ban would have little impact in the battle against an estimated 22,000 Maoist combatants. (ANI)

Bihar CM uses a two-decade old helicopter

Patna, Sep 5 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is using a two-decade old helicopter amid fears over its airworthiness.

M K Singh, pilot of Bihar government’s Pawanhans helicopter has said that that Kumar’s chopper, bought in the year 1989-1990, was fit to fly.

“This helicopter was bought in the year 1989-1990 and had came in the same lot as Pawanhans helicopter. We are not facing any major problem. Small problems will be there even if you buy a brand new Boeing or an airbus. These technical problems will exist till the time one keeps on flying,” he added.

Singh also said that age of a chopper was not intrinsic to its airworthiness.

“If a plane is old, it does not mean that its condition is bad. All its components are to be changed on a regular basis. There is a periodic servicing, a major servicing and when the plane crosses certain age, then crack detection takes place, an ultrasound is being conducted. These days new systems are coming like CT scan, which can detect minor cracks,” he added.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s chopper crash on Wednesday have raised questions over the worthiness of Reddy’s helicopter. (ANI)

Radio Pakistan unhappy over criticism of Jaswant Singh book on Jinnah

Abohar, Sep.3 (ANI): The expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh has got a new fan in Punjabi Durbar programme of Radio Pakistan.

In its latest edition, the Punjabi Durbar programme has described all political parties of India be it Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress or Shiv Sena being anti-Pakistan for voicing objection to Jaswant Singh’s book- “Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence”.

In its recent Punjabi Durbar Programme, Radio Pakistan said that Jaswant Singh has paid a huge price for his biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

Many Indian scholars have expressed sympathy with Jaswant Singh, but have taken exception to Pakistan Radio describing all Indian political parties as anti-Pakistan.

Anil Kumar, a historian and a commentator on current affairs has stated that political parties in India have tried their best to cultivate good relations with Pakistan ever since independence.

“India has been maintaining friendly relationship with Pakistan since 1947. India parted with funds held by united India, when Jinnah demanded it. Even after Pakistani aggression in 1965 and 1971, India returned to Pakistan the territory which was in India’s possession in the hope that there would be cordial relations between the two countries,” he said.

“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have been continuously trying to maintain good relations with Pakistan, but Pakistan continued terrorist attacks in India,” Anil Kumar added.

“India is a secular country. There are more Muslims in India than the total population of Pakistan. Moslems are happy to be in India. Many feel that they are safer than in Pakistan, which is being subjected to violence by the Taliban,” said Anil kumar, who is, an expert on Indo-Pak affairs.

India is continuing talks at different levels despite incidents like Mumbai terror attacks and Pakistan’s ongoing support to militancy in Kashmir.

It is surprising that broadcasters of Radio Pakistan expect political parties in India to sing praise of Jinnah, who was chiefly responsible for the division of the sub-continent on the basis of religious identities.

They accept Jinnah’s contribution during the freedom struggle against the British Raj, but are critical of his role in dividing the country. (ANI)

Bihar CM seeks flood relief from Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here and sought rehabilitation package for the victims of last year’s devastating floods.

Kumar said that Prime Minister Singh has assured he would visit the state soon.

“I had to discuss flood situation and also the rehabilitation package for the victims of last year’s Kosi floods, for which I have been urging since long. People, whose houses were damaged, have been facing hardships for the last one year. We have requested the Prime Minister that a decision on this should be taken at the earliest,” Nitish Kumar said.

Kosi river burst its banks in Bihar and flooded half of the state last year, wiping out villages and farms and displacing more than three million people.

Despite deficient monsoon rains across the country this year, major rivers were in spate in Bihar.he Kosi, a tributary of the mighty Ganges, last year flooded an area roughly the size of Belgium. The floods changed the course of the river, shifting it 120 km (75 miles) towards a dry river channel it last flowed through 250 years ago.

Bihar is the fifth largest producer of rice in India and agriculture experts say it will take a long time for the region to recover. (ANI)

Jharkhand police rescues abducted official from Maoist clutches

Ranchi, sep 2 (ANI): The Jharkhand Police on Wednesday rescued a State Government official, who was abducted by the Maoists in Palamau District.

According to police sources, a 20 member armed gang of the Jharkhand Liberation Tiger (JLT) had abducted Alok Kumar, a Circle Officer (CO) of Paki block in Palamau district, on Monday.

The incident tookplace in Kekargarh village of Palamau, about 190 km from the state capital Ranchi.

Kumar was rescued from the forest near Manatu block in the district on the early hours, sources added.umar was visiting the villages to select the workers for the Anganwadi when he was abducted.

The Maoists demanded a ransom of Rs 20 lakh for the release of Kumar.

“It was the police operation that forced the rebels to release Kumar,” said a police officer involved in the rescue operation.

Jharkhand has turned into a major Maoist hub in the country. The red ultras have the dominance in 18 of the 24 districts of the state. (ANI)

Saraswat takes charge as new DRDO chief

New Delhi, Sep 1 (ANI): Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, who is in charge of the development of missile and strategic systems in the country, today took charge as scientific adviser to Defence Minister AK Antony and will also serve as Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Dr. Saraswat, who replaced the present incumbent M Natarajan on September 1, will also serve as Secretary Department of Defence Research and Development,.

He is presently Chief Controller Research and Development (Missiles and Strategic Systems) since November 2005 in DRDO.

In this capacity, he spearheaded the development of country’s strategic and tactical missile systems, including the AGNI series of strategic missiles covering a range up to 3000 kms.

Dr Saraswat, who has a doctorate in Combustion Engineering, started his career in DRDO in 1972 at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad and was responsible for the development of country’s first Liquid Propulsion Engine.

As Project Director ‘PRITHVI’, he steered the design, development, production and induction of first indigenous Surface-to-Surface missile system ‘PRITHVI’, into armed forces.

The successful testing of DHANUSH missile on board a moving ship with high terminal accuracy brought new dimension in the national defence capability. Dr. Saraswat also pioneered the concept of theatre defence system and integration of national Air Defence elements.

He was Director RCI before taking over as CCR and D(MSS). He has headed various committees of national importance.

Dr Saraswat is forerunner in the development of number of critical missile technologies that were under denial due to Missile Technology Control regime, thus making India self-reliant in Missile Technologies.

He has received several awards including Prof Jai Krishna Memorial Award of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and National Systems Gold Medal by Systems Society of India.

International Academy of Engineering, Russia, elected Dr. Saraswat as Member of Academy and honoured him as an academician. (ANI)

RSS to chart BJP’s final succession plan in October: Sources

New Delhi, Sep.1 (ANI): Marathon rounds of meetings between the RSS top brass with BJP leadership in New Delhi might have prepared a ground for leadership change. But real changeover in BJP is likely to take place only after RSS national executive meet in October.

According to highly placed sources ” RSS is expected to chart a final blueprint for BJP succession plan in its three day National Executive which is slated to take place in Rajgir Bihar from 9-11th October.

Although publicly RSS claims that BJP is going to decide its own future course of action as per the leadership issue is concerned and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had reportedly asked Leader of Opposition Advani to decide on his successor. But top RSS sources insist that Sangh will take final call on BJP leadership only after the October’s National Executive.

All eyes within BJP and outside will be on two key positions on which the decision is to be taken in the crucial RSS meet. BJP’s president Rajnath Singh tenure is ending in November and BJP -RSS combine has to appoint the new president. BJP has made it clear that Rajnath will not get second term as President because according to the constitution same person cannot be repeat the term as a president and party is not looking in a mood to amend the constitution.

According to sources while RSS is trying to rope in a fresh face like Bal Apte or Narendar Modi for the prestigious position, Advani camp isreportedly pitching for Arun Jaitley, Ananth kumar and Venkaiah Naidu .imilarly ambiguity continues over who will take the baton from Lal Krishan Advani as the leader of opposition. While speculations are rife that Sushma Swaraj is the first choice for the post. But Murli Manohar Joshi and Rajnath Singh who held lengthy discussions with Mohan Bhagwat are also seen as key contenders. By Naveen Kapoor(ANI)

Karnataka Housing Minister resigns following defeat in by poll

Bangalore, Aug 31 (ANI): Karnataka Housing Minister V. Somanna resigned from the state cabinet on Monday following his defeat in the recent by polls to the state assembly.

Somanna handed over his resignation to the Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa.

“I will take a decision on accepting his resignation after consulting the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief D.V.Sadananda Gowda and national general secretary Ananth Kumar and the party high command,” Yeddyurappa told reporters after receiving the resignation letter.

Somanna, who was earlier, elected from the Govidrajnagar constituency in Bangalore resigned from his seat as well as from the Congress Party to join BJP in February.

Subsequently Somanna was rewarded with a cabinet birth in the Yeddyurappa Government.

Somanna who is known for his innovative election strategies, tasted maiden defeat in his political career against debutant Priyakrishna of Congress in the by polls on August 18.

The two-day southern region meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held in Davangere in central Karnataka on Sunday asked Yeddyurappa to seek the resignation of Somanna.

The BJP is reward Somanna with another post as the elections to the Brihat Bangalore Municipal Corporation (BBMC) are on the cards. Somanna played a crucial role in party’s victory in all the three Lok Sabha seats in Bangalore in the 2009 general elections.

Somanna is the third minister to resign from the Yeddyurappa government during the last one-year. Earlier S.K. Bellubbi, and Krishnayya Setty resigned from cabinet to make way to accommodate new faces in the cabinet. (ANI)

Junior doctors’ strike in Bihar, claims 38 lives

Patna, Aug 31(ANI): The outdoor and emergency services at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) continue to be affected for the fifth day on Monday due to an indefinite strike by 800-odd junior doctors.

According to reports, the doctors strike has so far claimed lives of 38 patients.

“Work at emergency and other wards of the Patna Medical College Hospital in Patna and Darbhanga Medical College Hospital at Darbhanga have been seriously hit by the strike,” a news channel quoted official sources, as saying.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that the junior doctors should withdraw the strike as soon as possible.

“The timing of the strike is completely wrong and anti-people. It should have been amicably resolved, instead of resorting to a stir,” Kumar said.

The striking juniors are pressing for introduction of payscale system in place of existing stipend system, which they get in lieu of work while pursuing their postgraduate studies.

The juniors get Rs 13,000 per month as stipend in the first year and it goes up by Rs 1,000 in each of the remaining two years during which they complete the PG course. (ANI)