11
killed in Tehri dam mishap
Dehradun:
At least 11 labourers were killed and several injured
when they got buried under debris from an ongoing tunnel
project of Tehri dam, Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narain
Dutt Tiwari said Tuesday. "Eleven bodies have been recovered
till now and rest are not known. Most of the injured people
are believed to be serious. Thirty people were working at
the time of mishap," said the CM. The acident occurred when
an underground tunnel of the 2400 MW Tehri hydel project
under construction, caved in last night. "A magisterial
inquiry has been ordered, about which a report has to submitted
in three days," the CM said.
JMM
legislators boycott Assembly against Soren's arrest (Go
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Ranchi:
Dozens of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLAs boycotted
the State Assembly on Tuesday, a day after their leader
Shibu Soren, an erstwhile union cabinet minister, was arrested.
JMM MLAs shouted slogans outside the Assembly premises in
Ranchi and demanded action against State Chief Minister
Arjun Munda, who they say, is implicated in a case of murder
and riot. "Arjun Munda is a culprit, we want to tell the
people of Jharkhand that those who are just undertrials
are being harassed. But those who are the real convicts
are being spared," Markhand Singh, an MLA, said. Soren had
surrenderd before a local court on Monday, and later he
was sent to judicial custody till August 13.
Nafisa
was an alcoholic: Gautam (Go
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Mumbai:
Another tale has been added in the tragic saga of model
and VJ Nafisa Joseph's death, with her former fiance Gautam
Khanduja stating that she was an alcoholic and very tempramental.
Reports indicate that he apparently told the Versova police
that problems in their relationship arose due to her drinking
problem which sometimes even went up to 10 pegs of alcohol
per sitting which made her violent and tempramental. He
also reportedly told the Police that she was addicted to
sleeping pills such as Restil. According to Gautam, all
this led to souring of their relations, which he further
says was known to both the families. Nafisa's family and
friends however, do not agree with Gautam and defend her
fiercly.
CPM
rally against oil price hike (Go
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New
Delhi: The CPI-M, the second biggest ally in the Congress-led
UPA government, took out protests slamming the coalition
for hiking oil prices. Oil firms, immediately after government
allowed them limited freedom to fix prices, hiked petrol
prices by about six percent and diesel by about five percent.
The hike, which came into effect this month, came on top
of a steep hike early last month on fuel prices including
cooking gas. CPI-M activists, holding banners and shouting
anti-government slogans, marched down the streets in the
heart of the national capital New Delhi. Sujan Bhan Bhardwaj,
leader of CPI-M, demanded the government withdraw the price
hike. "It depends on the government, if they agree with
our demands, which we have made clear, then we are with
them. Otherwise we cannot let any anti-people government
run," he said. Meanwhile, the Communists are also opposing
the Centre's decision to increase Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) limits in the key insurance, aviation and telecom
sectors.
Parliament
deadlock to end (Go
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New
Delhi: The Ruling UPA and opposition NDA are close to
ending the deadlock in Parliament. The comprose formula
was worked out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader
of Opposition L K Advai in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker
Somnath Chatterjee. According to the agreement both sides
have agreed to withdraw all controversial remarks made by
senior leaders of the two combines.
Central
team in Bihar to assess flood situation (Go
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Patna:
A Central team arrived in flood-hit Bihar state on Tuesdayto
assess the damage and losses. More than 690 people have
died and hundreds of thousands marooned in the month-long
floods. The seven-member team is scheduled to hold talks
with the state government before handing over a report to
the Home ministry on the quantum of relief. "We will hold
talks with the state government and then assess the situation
in the flood affected areas," Atanupur Kayasth, joint secretary
in the ministry of Home, told reporters here. Meanwhile,
showers brought a wave of jubilation in rain-starved in
Rajasthan. Several parts of the desert state witnessed the
first heavy downpour in nearly a month. According to the
weather bureau forecast, heavy rains will continue to fall
for the next 24 hours. "This has been a very good spell,
most areas of the state have received rain, only a few parts
of the extreme west, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur are untouched,"
said S.S.Singh, Director of Meterological Department in
Jaipur.
PMK
demands closure of liquor shops (Go
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Chennai:
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) staged a demonstration
demanding closure of liquor shops across Tamil Nadu as it
was ruining family lives and present day youth, specially
those unemployed. The PMK would carry on with the campaign
till the August 21 after which the party has threatened
to close down all government run liquor shops forcefully.
"In our first stage we would lock all the wine shops.The
work would be done by the women's wing of the PMK in the
23rd of Auguat. We will go to each and every vilage to close
down all TASMAC shops. We want that the Tamilnadu governmemnt
should withdraw the policy," said S Ramadoss, PMK founder
and president. The party's women wing is actively participating
in the campaign.
Country
has potential to absorb more FDI: Chidambaram (Go
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Bangalore:
Union Finance Minister P Chidabaram has said that the
country had a great potential to absorb more Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI). He said though the Left parties had some
reservations but he was confident of convincing them on
the issue. He further stated that the Common Minimum Programme
(CMP) directs more FDI. "The CMP directs that we should
increase FDI in India.NCMP says India can absorb 2-3 times
the current level of FDI.The left parties have some reservation
but I said I am confident that I can talk to them and convince
them", he said. The Finance Minister was speaking to reporters
here after inaugurating the Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts
unit.
BJP
protests job reservation for Muslims (Go
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New
Delhi: The BJP threatened to carry out a nation- wide
agitation against Andhra Pradesh's Congress-led government's
move to reserve seats for the Muslims in government jobs
and educational institutions. BJP activists, holding banners
and placards, shouted slogans against the policy as they
held a demonstration in New Delhi. "If Congeress passes
an ordnance then we will carry out agitation across the
nation as 85 percent of Muslims already have reservations
in backward class. But granting reservation to well- to-do
Muslims is not at all acceptable," BJP spokesman VK Malhotra
said. The state government had a few weeks ago announced
a five percent reservation for Muslims, fulfilling an election
promise made during state polls in April. However, later
the state government order was stayed by a court in response
to a public interest petition (PIL). BJP says the move could
sow the seeds of communalism in sensitive Indian society.
