Manifold | SilverScorpio.Com

Tight security at Vaishno Devi shrine ahead of “Navratri”

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Katra, Sept 18 (ANI): Security has been beefed up at the famous Vaishno Devi Temple near Jammu ahead of the nine-day “Navratri” festival.

Paramilitary and police personnel are patrolling and frisking people at important points in Katra, which is thronged by thousands of devotees every year, especially during Navratri.

The nine-day Navratri festival will begin from Saturday and the authorities claim to be in full control of the situation.

“There is much fanfare in Katra during Navratra festival and the inflow of tourists also rises manifold during those days. We have made proper security arrangements. We have taken the help of the CRPF. This time, we also have one contingent of Haryana police,” said Ashok Sharma, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

The devotees making their way to the shrine were also put through rigorous checking, a routine, exercised with extra care, considering the sensitive nature of the shrine and keeping recent threats in mind.

The devotees complied without complaining.

“There was not much trouble during the security check. We were checked several times but we did not face any problem. It was all done very safely,” said Vijay Kumar, a devotee.

‘Navratri’, which literally means nine nights, is observed twice a year.

The festival lasts for nine days in honour of nine manifestations of Durga, goddess of power ,and fall in the months of April-May and September-October.

It is believed that during the Navratri, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of the demons and blesses her devotees with happiness and prosperity. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, April, ashok, ASP, assistant, assistant superintendent, care, check, checking, contingent, control, CRPF, devi, Devi Temple, devotee, devotees, durga, Earth, extra care, fall, fanfare, festival, Goddess, goddess durga, happiness, Haryana, help, honour, inflow, jammu, katra, manifold, May, mind, Nature, Navratra, Navratri, nine days, October, paramilitary, patrolling, police, power, problem, proper security, prosperity, routine, Saturday, security, security arrangements, security check, sensitive nature, Sept, September, sharma, shrine, situation, superintendent, Tight, tight security, time, trouble, Vaishno, vaishno devi temple, vijay kumar, way, year

Tribals lament lack of adequate medical facilities in Orissa

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dasmantpur (Orissa), Aug 27(ANI): Tribals living in Orissa’s Dasmantpur village are deprived of basic amenities and health facilities leading to several health hazards.

Locals say that the Central Government had made development plans for education, health and communication, but they are yet to see development in this regard.

The plight of the residents of the village has become manifold with the onset of monsoon, as tribals are facing the wrath of epidemics like cholera and diarrhoea.

“We are not getting the facilities provided by the government, as they get diverted en route. People here consume mango kernel during rainy season, so chances of suffering from Cholera increases,” said Subas Patika, another local.

“They cannot reach the medical centres, as there is no proper road connectivity. The river en route also swells up during rainy season. Education facilities are also very poor here,” he added.asmantpur village was in news for the last few years for the number of deaths due to cholera and diarrhoea like epidemics after floods.

“We are facing water problems. There is a tube well, but worms fall from it, in the morning. So people don’t use it for drinking. Our village doesn’t even have proper road connectivity.

The Anganwadi (government sponsored centre to help poor) does provide us some medicines,” said Keshab Chandru, a local. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Anganwadi, ANI, asmantpur, Aug, cannot, Central Government, centre, Chandru, cholera, communication, connectivity, Dasmantpur, Development, diarrhoea, drinking, Education, education facilities, education health, floods, Government, Health, health facilities, health hazards, kernel, keshab, lack, lament, local, locals, mango, manifold, Medical Centres, medical facilities, medicines, Monsoon, morning, NEWS, number, onset, Orissa, patika, plight, rainy, rainy season, regard, river, road, route, season, Subas, tribals, tube, village, water, water problems, wrath

Lashkar’s Gulf based terror cells planning attack on India: Report

July 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Virginia (US), July 7 (ANI): The threat perception on vital installations in three coastal states Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa has been increased manifold following intelligence reports of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) channelising huge amounts of money from its Gulf-based networks for terror strikes against the country.

According to a report in the Terrorism Monitor, a periodical published by the Virginia based Jamestown Foundation, intelligence authorities have revealed that the LeT’s marine wing is planning a repeat of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and is on the look out for an incursion into India via the western sea-coast.

Recently, Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram had also raised fears about terrorists using the sea route to strike at strategic locations along the western cost.

Intelligence authorities have also confirmed the Gulf link to terror in India.

There are several LeT cells operating in the Gulf that have financed and facilitated terrorist operations against India, the report said.

The arrest of Muhammad Omar Madni, who is believed to be a close aide of Lashkar chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed revealed the impending threat to India through the sea route.

Madni’s arrest and interrogation revealed several startling details, including new routes used by terrorists, the location of bases inside and outside India, terrorist finances, and the recruitment strategy of the LeT.

The investigations carried out by Mumbai Police’s crime branch also revealed that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks were financed by LeT’s Gulf cells, the report said.

During the probe it was also found that it was the Gulf-based operatives that had masterminded and executed a series of blasts in various cities such as Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Delhi and Surat in 2008, it added.

These serial terror attack was carried out with of the Indian Mujahedeen (IM) operatives and the banned Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the report went on to add.

With the increasing threat perception from the middle-east, India is now seeking a comprehensive anti-terrorism treaty with the Gulf nations, the report concluded. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ahmadabad, aide, ANI, arrest, attack, Bangalore, branch, coastal states, cost, country, Crime, crime branch, Delhi, Foundation, Goa, Gujarat, Gulf-based, Hafeez, home, impending threat, incursion, India, india report, Indian, intelligence, intelligence reports, interrogation, Islamic, Islamic Movement, Jamestown, Jamestown Foundation, July, Lashkar, Lashkar-e, LeT, link, location, look, Maharashtra, manifold, Minister P.Chidambaram, MONEY, monitor, movement, Muhammad Omar Madni, Muhammad Saeed, Mujahedeen, Mumbai, Mumbai Police, November, P. Chidambaram, perception, planning, police, probe, recruitment, Recruitment Strategy, repeat, report, route, sea, sea route, serial, series, SIMI, Startling Details, strategy, student, Surat, terror, terror attack, terror strikes, terrorism, terrorist operations, the Gulf, threat, threat perception, toiba, treaty, union, Union Home Minister, US, Virginia, Western Sea, wing

Pak Army faces massive militant force in Waziristan if Mehsud aligns with tribes: Report

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 1 (ANI): The Pakistan Army is planning an offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold South Waziristan, but it seems that it is unaware of the massive threat that the region has in store.

The military will have to face a formidable army of extremists if Mehsud join hands with the militant commanders of North Waziristan, The Christian Science Monitor reported an analysis in the Long War Journal, as saying.

The fears of the Taliban teaming up with the tribal leaders of North Waziristan has increased manifold, particularly after reports of the peace accord in the region being severed surfaced.

The Army must tackle these tribal commanders, the Bahadar, the Haqqanis, and Nazir, if it wants to succeed against Mehsud, as they have a combined force of 50,000 fighters, the analysis said.

These tribals leaders also run a number of terror training camps, and have been providing safe havens to Al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations.

So, the Pakistan Army must prepare itself to tackle an estimated force of 30,000 fighters under Mehsud’s command, backed by thousands of insurgents in the unfavorable rough terrains of Waziristan, the analysis concluded. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accord, al, al-Qaeda, Analysis, ANI, army, Bahadar, Baitullah, baitullah mehsud, Christian Science, Christian Science Monitor, command, extremist, Extremist Organizations, extremists, force, Haqqanis, insurgents, journal, July, July 1, Long, manifold, Mehsud, monitor, Nazir, North Waziristan, number, offensive, Pak, pak army, Pakistan, Pakistan army, peace, peace accord, qaeda, region, report, rough terrains, safe havens, South Waziristan, store, stronghold, Taliban, Tehreek-e, terror, threat, training, training camps, Tribal, tribal leaders, Tribes 1, ttp, war, War Journal, Washington

Masterline Telebiz, a leading SIM card-manufacturer in India

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mohali, June 19 (ANI): The telecom revolution in India has proved to be a boon for the related firms of this sector.

One such company is Mohali-based Masterline Telebiz, which is producing mobile recharge cards for most of the mobile telecom operators in India. It is now foraying into mobile telephone SIM cards for international players too.

Masterline Telebiz has revolutionized the phone card industry by positioning itself among the leading SIM card-manufacturers in India.

Naresh Nanda, an electrical engineer from Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, started the company with a small team in Chandigarh and began supplying recharge cards at Rs. 17 a card to telecom service providers.

Today, the same card fetches him 60 paise i.e. almost a cent per card. It’s still viable for the company, as the volume have grown manifold.

Nanda tells that his company deals with all leading mobile operators who have head on competition for survival. Today, call charges have fallen drastically. They have to compress their operational costs and that pressure comes on us.

“We have to learn from their example so I have a lot of competition. We are the first movers in these industry. We have learnt a lot and still manages survival better than the new entrants because there is advantage of skill sets. There is the advantage of length in these business and plus the expertise know how with the vendors who support us. Now, going forward, the recharge cards hold big growth potential. It is not being fully supported by the numbers of vendors who lack experience and lack professional deliverance. So we have looked them very prospectively about the card business,” said Naresh Nanda, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Masterline.

Masterline has in-house Artwork Studio, which offers expert advice and guidance for the project, right from initial concept through to the finished product.

As the revenue sharing propositions are better with the players in South America and America, Masterline prefers a partnership with global players to offer value added services for 3G Spectrum.

The financial meltdown, according to Nanda came as a blessing as it led to compression in costs.

“The services and the products which we try to sell are necessity based products and I think necessity is quite safeguarded from any recession and the second for our advantage is that the telecom industry which have tremendous growth potential. And, having said that with these potential still lying there, we see a lot of room for us vis-a-vis the competition is concerned competition. Competition is in every line of business but it is the intelligence of every manufacturer to be able to steer his way through the competition by re-engineering the product the concept you can put in the product,” says Nanda.

As the financial markets in India are improving, the company expects the SIM card business to touch two million dollars.

Besides, the company is also in the process of getting a separate trademark for supplying integrated state-of-the-art security systems in Indian market. It has plans to import a range of security equipment from Italy, Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. By Sunil Singh (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: advantage, advice, america, ANI, artwork, blessing, boon, business, call, call charges, card, Card Business, Card Manufacturers, cent, Chandigarh, Chief, chief executive officer, college, company, Company Deals, competition, compression, concept, deliverance, director, electrical engineer, engineer, engineering, equipment, example, executive, experience, expert, expertise, G Spectrum, growth, guidance, head, India, industry, Initial Concept, intelligence, Italy, June, lack, learnt, length, line, lot, Malaysia, managing, manifold, manufacturer, market, Masterline, meltdown, mobile telecom, Mohali, Mohali-based, nanda, naresh, necessity, officer, paise, partnership, Phone, positioning, potential, pressure, process, product, project, Punjab, Punjab Engineering College, Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, range, recession, recharge, recharge cards, revenue, revolution, right, room, Second, sector, security, service, sim, Sim Card Manufacturer, sim cards, Singapore, skill, Skill Sets, South America, Spain, studio, Sunil Singh, survival, taiwan, team, Telebiz, telecom, telecom operators, Telecom Revolution, Telecom Service Providers, telephone, today, trademark, value, volume, way

Taliban’s ‘safe havens’ in Pak’s heart a “doomsday scenario for India, Afghanistan and West

April 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr.24 (ANI): The so called ‘peace deal’ between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban in the Swat Valley has brought Washington and Islamabad at loggerheads, with the United States considering that the accord would only provide an opportunity to the insurgents to build terror safe havens in Pakistan’s heart.

US diplomats see the peace accord of the Swat Valley, which is located just 60 miles away from Islamabad, as a threat to the region, and to the western world too.

“There’s a doomsday scenario where the real concern is that they establish a foothold in this part of northern Pakistan to launch attacks on Afghanistan, India and the West,” The Telegraph quoted a diplomat, as saying.

With the Pak Taliban announcing earlier this week that Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and other top Taliban leaders from Afghanistan would be welcomed in the valley as ‘brothers’, as would militants fighting British and American forces in Afghanistan, concerns for America have increased manifold.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, fearing Taliban taking over Pakistan in near future, had also said that Islamabad has no choice left but to challenge the expanding writ of the insurgents.

Clinton also has accused the Government of Pakistan of “abdicating” to the Taliban and other extremist groups by ceding large tracts of territory.She said that the country’s instability is a “mortal threat” to world peace. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accord, Afghanistan, al, america, American forces, ANI, Apr, bin, choice, clinton, concern, country, deal, diplomat, diplomats, doomsday, Doomsday Scenario, extremist, extremist groups, foothold, future, Government, government of pakistan, heart, Hillary Clinton, India, instability, Islamabad, Laden, Loggerheads, manifold, mortal, mortal threat, northern Pakistan-, opportunity, osama, Pak, Pakistan, part, peace, peace accord, peace deal, qaeda, region, safe havens, scenario, Secretary of State Hillary, swat valley, Taliban, Taliban Afghanistan, Telegraph, territory, terror, threat, threat to world peace, United States, US, us secretary of state, valley, Washington, week, west, world, writ

99acres introduces property search on mobile

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 14 (ANI/Business Wire India): In an endeavour to ease property search and to make the site device agnostic, 99acres.com, has introduced property search on mobile.

Launched in partnership with Mobisoc Technology, 99acres.com offers a WAP application for property search that allows users to search properties via mobile. Builders and brokers can check their account and track responses on properties uploaded on 99acres.com.

“We understand that time is of critical value today and responding real time is imperative. Our users, builders and brokers are on the move all the time, which makes it difficult for them to be connected to their PC or laptop. We want to be sure that users can connect to 99acres anywhere anytime and endeavour to make property search effortless and time efficient,” said Vineet Singh, Business Head, 99acres.com.

The advantages of the application are manifold. When users are on the move for house hunting and exhaust the options that were shortlisted, they can connect to 99acres.com through their handsets and search for more properties in that area, thus, saving on time.

Listings contain not only the address and specs of the property, it also lists the phone number of the broker/builder thus enabling users to contact and close transactions quickly. Property builders and brokers can access their 99acres.com account on mobile, check responses and can contact prospective buyers/tenants without losing time to get connected to a PC.

Commenting on the launch, Vinish Kathuria, President – Strategy and Business Development, Mobisoc said, “We are excited to partner with 99acres.com to bring Rich Internet Experience to its customers. With 310 million plus Mobile users in India and growing every month, applications like 99acres.com make it convenient for an average user to do some of the things better, especially when he/she is on the move”.

The application is simple and easy to use. To get the application on mobile handsets, users need to sms ’99′ to the short-code 56300. Alternately, users can feed their mobile number on the link – http://mobile.99acres.com. Within seconds they would receive a sms with a link.

Through GPRS connectivity of any cellular services provider mobile users can connect with the link, download the application and get going.

Once installed, users can access the application from ‘Applications’ or ‘my own’ folder on their mobile. The application opens the Main menu screen, which allows users to select an option between search/check/post properties. Users can search for properties on rent and sale by city, budget and property type and select any listing to view property details.

Further, a user may call a contact via the application. Builders and brokers who have an account on 99acres.com, can check their account and track responses on properties posted by them.

Soon, the application will also allow builders and brokers to upload properties through the application. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 99acres Com, account, address, Alternately, ANI, application, Apr, area, broker, budget, builder, business, Business Head, business wire, check, Check Responses, city, com, connectivity, contact, Critical Value, Development, device, download, endeavour, experience, folder, GPRS, handsets, head, house, hunting, India, Kathuria, laptop, launch, launched, link, listing, Listings, main, make, manifold, menu, Mobile, Mobile Builders, Mobile Check, mobile users, Mobisoc, month, move, New Delhi, number, option, partner, partnership, Phone, post, president, property, Property Search, Prospective Buyers, provider, rent, Rich Internet, Rich Internet Experience, sale, screen, search, Singh, site, strategy, Sure That Users, Technology, time, Time Listings, today, track, Track Responses, type, upload, user, value, Vineet, Vineet Singh, Vinish, WAP, Wap Application, wire

Three-quarters of all UK terror plots originate from Pakistan: Report

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr.10 (ANI): Following the 9/11 incident the world saw Afghanistan as the hub of worldwide terrorism, but now the focus has shifted to Pakistan which experts believe is the origin of three-quarters of all terror plots.

A report in The Telegraph states that at least three out of every four terror plots in Britain, which are being probed now, have Pakistani roots.

The report also mentions that out of four men who were involved in the July 2005 London serial bomb blasts, three were trained in Pakistan.

They received military as well as religious training in the country.

Mohammed Siddique Khan, who headed the London bombing plot had visited Pakistan several times, his video captured by CCTV cameras at the Karachi Airport in 2004 is a testimony to the fact.

What is more worrying for the authorities is that about 4,000 young British Muslims have been trained in terrorist camps based in Pakistan, and with an estimated 400,000 British citizens visiting Pakistan each year, the danger of many being radicalized by the outlawed groups increases manifold.

There is an urgent need for British authorities to make the visa application process stringent, so that the extremists do not take advantage of the loopholes. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: advantage, Afghanistan, airport, ANI, application, application process, Apr, being, bomb, bomb blasts, bombing, Britain, British, British authorities, british citizens, CCTV, Cctv Cameras, country, danger, extremists, fact, focus, four men, hub, incident, July, karachi, Karachi Airport, khan, London, London Bombing, loopholes, manifold, Mohammed Siddique, Mohammed Siddique Khan, muslims, need, origin, Pakistan, plot, process, Religious Training, report, serial, several times, siddique, Telegraph, terror, terrorism, Terrorist Camps, testimony, three quarters, training, U.K, video, visa, visa application, world, worldwide, Worldwide Terrorism, year

Pakistan providing inputs to US to carry out drone strike on Mehsud

April 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr.4 (ANI): Pakistan is secretly providing intelligence inputs to US forces for carrying out drone strikes against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, a senior Pakistan intelligence official has revealed.

The official said that the United States, after months of persuasion by Pakistan’s military leadership, agreed to carry out strikes on Mehsud’s hideout and terror camps along the ungoverned Pak-Afghan border area.

“We are mounting joint operations against Baitullah Mehsud which will hopefully soon show results,” The Daily Telegraph quoted an official, as saying.

He said that Washington was given information about Mehsud’s movement earlier also, but it was somehow ignored.

“Mehsud was traveling on a road from point A to point B, and twice we tipped off America. But nothing happened,” the official added.

Pakistan may have been denying any assistance to the US forces for carrying out missile hits. It has also denied use of its air base by the US Predator aircrafts and termed the strikes ‘counterproductive’,but this disclosure clearly suggests that Islamabad too is worried by the increasing influence of the Taliban inside its territory.

Following Mehsud’s announcement that he would carry out more attacks inside Pakistan similar to the Manawan police training academy strike, Pakistan’s concern has increased manifold.

The TTP chief has also threatened carry out ‘spectacular’ attacks on America, and the increased frequency of US drone strikes in the areas of Pakistan along the Afghans border clearly suggests that the Pentagon is seriously worried about the issue. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: academy, afghans, air, aircrafts, america, ANI, announcement, Apr, area, assistance, Baitullah, baitullah mehsud, base, border, border area, Chief, concern, daily, daily telegraph, disclosure, drone, frequency, hideout, influence, information, intelligence, intelligence official, Islamabad, issue, joint operations, leadership, London, manawan, manifold, Mehsud, military leadership, missile, movement, nothing, official, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pentagon, persuasion, point, police, police training academy, predator, road, strike, strikes, Taliban, Tehreek-e, Telegraph, territory, terror, training, ttp, United States, US, use, Washington

Extremist groups once nurtured by Pakistan have now turned against it: Report

April 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar.31 (ANI): The frequency and magnitude of terror strikes within its geographical territory has increased manifold in recent times proving one thing for sure that the extremists groups once nurtured by Pakistan to act against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and carry out the holy war ‘Jihad’ against India to set Kashmir free have now also turned against Pakistan.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which has been charged of carrying out the Novenber 2008 terror attack on Mumbai, is considered to have a strong hold in Lahore.

Monday’s attack on the police training academy in Manawan, thus proves that outlawed terror groups such as LeT have established their grip in that part of the country.

According to a report in The Telegraph, by promising to shut down groups such as LeT in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and under immense international pressure, Pakistan has made itself a legitimate target in their eyes.

Moreover, the report stated that the LeT enjoyed a blind support of hundreds of Pakistanis against India. For them the ‘Jihad’ to separate Kashmir from India is much more important than the impending threat of extremism along the Afghan border.

The report said that Pakistan is being divided from inside and is more susceptible than Afghanistan because of the fact that these blind supporters, give a chance, would definitely choose the LeT over the writ of a democratically elected government. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: academy, Afghan border, Afghanistan, ANI, attack, Blind Support, border, chance, country, extremism, extremist, extremist groups, fact, frequency, geographical territory, Government, grip, hold, holy war, impending threat, India, jihad, Kashmir, Lahore, Lashkar-e, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Legitimate Target, LeT, London, magnitude, manawan, manifold, mar, Monday, Mumbai, Novenber, Pakistan, Pakistanis, part, police, police training academy, pressure, report, report said that, Report Stated That, Soviets In Afghanistan, strong hold, support, Taiba, target, Telegraph, territory, terror, terror attack, terror attacks, terror groups, terror strikes, the, thing, threat, training, wake, war, writ

India will continue to participate in Bay of Bengal Programme

March 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 18 (ANI): The Government of India has approved the proposal of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture for continuation of India’s participation in the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO) beyond April 2008.

The BOBP-IGO has been functioning in India since April 2003 with its headquarters at Chennai.

Presently, Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka are the members of the BOBP-IGO.

The BOBP-IGO has played a stellar role in the sustainable development of fisheries in the Bay of Bengal region.

Its contributions to the marine fisheries sector have been manifold and range from introduction of new technologies to human resource development and valuable inputs into the policies and programmes of the Member-countries.

It has established its position as a regional fisheries body of repute in the international arena.

India will continue to annually contribute US 60000 dollars in equivalent rupees besides hosting the headquarters of the BOBP-IGO at Chennai, Tamil Nadu and meeting its cost at Rs. 26.00 lakh per annum. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Agriculture, ANI, animal, annum, April, arena, Bangladesh, bay, Bay of Bengal., bengal, Bengal Region, BOBP-IGO, body, Chennai, Chennai india, continuation, cost, dairying, department, department of animal husbandry, Development, equivalent, Government, government of india, Governmental, Governmental Organization, headquarters, human resource development, husbandry, India, Inter, international arena, introduction, lakh, maldives, manifold, mar, Marine Fisheries, member countries, ministry, Ministry Of Agriculture, nadu, New Delhi, organization, participation, position, presently, programme, proposal, range, region, Regional Fisheries, repute, resource, role, rupees, sector, Sri Lanka, Stellar Role, sustainable development, tamil, Tamil Nadu, US

Landslides force migration from Kashmir

February 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kourapani (J-K), Feb 25 (ANI): Landslides in the vicinity of the Baglihar hydroelectric power project in Kashmir led to cracks in the houses forcing the people to migrate elsewhere in search of safe accommodation.

Accumulation of water in the reservoir may have been the cause of landslide.

Even as the authorities embarked upon a mission to find an alternative stretch on the national highway for connecting Doda and Kishtwar districts with the rest of the country, fear has overwhelmed the inhabitants here.

Geological experts have already identified some spots prone to landslide in the area. Among the worst hit areas are KouraPani, Malhori, Jathi, Assar, Marsu, Trungal,Gagla , Kashi and other villages adjoining the Baglihar reservoir.

“Because of the river Chenab, the walls are developing cracks. Till now, nobody came to see it. Divisional Commissioner has neither interacted with the public nor said anything regarding giving us any protection or compensation. My house, my father’s house and my brother’s house, all have developed maximum number of cracks and when the Divisional Commissioner saw it, he ordered the Block Divisional Officer to provide us with some support and fill the cracks,” said Chain Singh, a resident.

The 500-metre vulnerable stretch runs between Assar and Trugal. The road started sinking at Koura Pani, Gagla, Kashi and Jatthi areas on the Batote-Kishtwar national highway.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand visited the affected villages to take stock of the situation.

“We have discussed about it and are waiting for the technical reports. Whenever we receive the reports, we will try to find the alternative solution as fast as possible,” said Tara Chand.

While plight of the people have increased manifold due to the sinking of the land at several places, the authorities seem to be waiting for the report. y Pradeep Sharma (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ''cause, accommodation, accumulation, ANI, anything, area, Assar, Baglihar, Batote, block, brother, chain, Chenab, commissioner, compensation, country, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, divisional, Doda, father, fear, Feb, force, Gagla, geological, highway, house, Jathi, Jatthi, Kashi, Kashmir, Kishtwar, Koura, Kourapani, land, landslide, landslides, Malhori, manifold, Marsu, maximum, metre, migration, mission, nobody, number, officer, Pani, plight, power, Pradeep, project, protection, Public, report, reservoir, resident, rest, river, road, search, sharma, Singh, sinking, situation, solution, stock, stretch, support, Tara Chand, till, Trugal, Trungal, vicinity, water

INTROMET-2009 begins in New Delhi

February 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 23 (ANI): INTROMET-2009, an International Conference on “Challenges and Opportunities in Agrometeorology”, began here today.

The three-day conference is being organised by the Indian Meteorological Society.

The conference will discuss the issues like adaptation strategies for climate change impacts, monsoon variability and crop production and agricultural risk evaluation.

About 25 scientists from abroad and 150 Indian scientists are participating in this mega event to focus on the above issues and draw attention of global agro meteorological community, administrators and policy makers to debate and devise improved methods and techniques for better prediction, preparedness and mitigation of the adverse weather impacts on agriculture production and to make public and media aware of the possible impact, consequences and mitigation measures to sustain food security.

The conference will dwell upon these challenges through 46 oral presentations during eight technical sessions.

A Special Session has also been planned to share the wisdom of veteran scientists on “Role of IMS in addressing challenges in Weather and Climate Services”.

The challenges facing agriculture and assuring global food security and the sustainable management of natural resources are manifold and immensely complex.

Agriculture is intimately tied to nature and hence subject to its vagaries. It is important to note that almost every aspect of agriculture from long term planning to tactical decisions in day-to-day agricultural operations is dependent on climate and weather.

Rapid changes in global and regional climate in the recent decades have become the focus of discussion among the scientific community.

The Noble Peace Prize winning Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected alarming changes in the trends of rainfall, temperature and extreme weather events.

The process of climate change is known to have increasingly disturbing impacts on agriculture threatening food security both at global and regional level. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: adaptation, Agriculture, agro, Agrometeorology, ANI, aspect, attention, change, climate, community, conference, crop, discussion, dwell, evaluation, event, Feb, focus, food, Governmental, impact, IMs, Indian, Inter, international, INTROMET, ipcc, level, management, manifold, meteorological, mitigation, Monsoon, Nature, New Delhi, Noble Peace, panel, planning, policy, prediction, preparedness, prize, process, production, Public, rainfall, rapid, risk, role, security, session, society, temperature, term, today, variability, Veteran, weather, wisdom

Trouts, a lucrative proposition in Kashmir

January 20, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Rajouri, Jan 20 (ANI): Trout fish cultivation has gained fillip in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri District as the State Fisheries Department is successfully harnessing the potential to produce trout, a valuable commercial fish.

Trout, both brown and the rainbow species, is a coldwater fish found aplenty in the Beas, Sutlej and Ravi rivers flowing in from the upper reaches of the Himalayan range.

In 1984, a trout fish-farming project was set up at Kokernag, 79 kilometres south of Srinagar with assistance of the European Economic Community (EEC).

The project was successful and emerged as Asia’s largest trout farm.

The Kokernag farm has now restocked trout fishes in the valley’s streams and the trout production has increased manifold.

Consequently, quality trout is available at State’s fishery centres at much cheaper rates as compared to other trout producing nations of Asia.

The Fisheries Department is propagating trout farming in the cold-water rivers for the promotion of sport fishing to attract more tourists from abroad.

“We cultivate fish in the still waters. In fish farming, the investment is less as compared to the profits we generate. We have more than 100 units engaged in the farming in the Rajouri District alone. And we earn minimum 20 to 30 thousand through one Kanal,” said Qasim Lone, Assistant Director,isheries Department, Jammu and Kashmir.

Commanding massive demand within India and abroad, 10,000 to 150,000 of trout fish are being exported. This is apart from the amateur anglers and tourists netting this fish.

“We export nearly ten thousand to fifteen thousand a fish every year.We want more of our trout fish to be exported. We also get support from the Jammu and Kashmir Government,” said Mohammed Iqbal, a private fish firm owner.

Trout is highly nutritious. It is said that an average-sized trout contains about 1.8 grams of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is needed for the development of brain and retina in infants.

This fish also contains 20 percent protein, Vitamin A, B, B1, C2 and D and forms the basis of healthy, low fat and fibre-rich diet.

The saga of trout in Kashmir valley dates back to the era of British colonial rule.

It is believed that trout was introduced here for angling by an Englishman named Frank Mitchell in 1899.

He reared the trout in premises of his private carpet factory at Bagh-e-Dilawar Khan (Garden of Dilawar Khan) located in old city Srinagar.

Later,he established the first trout hatchery at Harwan, situated on the outskirts of Srinagar in 1901,which today has become a prospective proposition. By Tahir Nadeem Khan (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: acid, ANI, asia, assistance, assistant, Bagh-e, basis, Beas, brain, carpet, city, coldwater, colonial, Commanding, community, cultivate, cultivation, demand, department, Development, diet, Dilawar, director, economic, EEC, englishman, era, European, factory, farm, farming, fatty, fifteen, fillip, fish, fishery, fishing, Frank Mitchell, garden, Government, Harwan, Hatchery, Himalayan, India, investment, jammu, jan, Kanal, Kashmir, khan, Kokernag, manifold, Mohammed Iqbal, Omega, owner, percent, potential, production, project, promotion, proposition, protein, Qasim Lone, quality, rainbow, Rajouri District, range, ravi, retina, rule, saga, Sport, srinagar, state, support, Sutlej, Tahir Nadeem, today, Trout, Trouts, valley, vitamin, year