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Hindus take dip in Ganges on 'Somvati Amavasya'

          Hardwar: Lakhs of Hindus bathed in the Ganges river on Monday marking the "Somvati Amavasya". Worshippers from across the country had begun converging along the banks of the Ganges from midnight to take the holy dip. Dinesh Chand, a devotee, said: "Somvati Amavasya is a very big event. With this holy dip we can attain salvation." Local priests added to the significance of the event even as it was after a number of years the night without moon had come during the monsoons. "The significance of this event is that this time it is after many years that the Amavasya has come during the rains. This month is also called as Adhik Mass," Sahib Ram, a priest, said. The last time the Somvati Amavasya had fallen on a Monday in 1996. Unfortunately, several people had died in a violent stampede then.

Best Bakery case: SC appoints PP (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday appointed P.R. Vakil as the public prosecutor (PP) in the trial of Best Bakery case. Vakil, a senior SC advocate, was appointed after a consent from the eyewitnesses of the case in which 12 people were charred to death during the Gujarat communal riots in 2002. Manjula Rao would be assisting Vakil in the case. Speaking to reporters, social activist Teesta Setelvad said: "The court said that those advocates who were trusted by the eyewitnesses will be only appointed and the two names we had given, P.R.Vakil and Manjula Rao have been cleared by the court. The court did not get into the details as to which states will be involved - Maharashtra or Gujarat. They were only interested that the case opens soon." In the last hearing, the Apex Court had reprimanded the Gujarat government and the PP appointed by the state for opposing arrest warrants against the accused. The court also asked the Gujarat government to state within a month the steps taken by it against those who were intimidating the witnesses in the case. The Bakery killings in Baroda took place while more than 1000 people, mostly Muslims, were slaughtered in retaliation after a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindu pilgrims burning 59 people alive. 21-old Sheikh, a survivor in the attack had, earlier, said that she had been repeatedly threatened that if she spoke the truth in court, she and her family would be killed.

Floods continue to wreak havoc in Bihar (Go To Top)

          Muzzafarpur (Bihar): Thousands of people have been rendered homeless and crops worth crores of rupees damaged in this district following last month's extensive floods in the region. More than 690 people have died in the month-long floods. The disaster has caused heavy damage as it has destroyed bridges, homes, roads, rail lines, communication links and businesses. "There is water all over the place. Everybody has left this region due to floods and everything has been washed away. There is nothing left here," Sukhiya Devi, a flood victim, said. They also complained that authorities did not take up adequate relief measures. "Due to floods there are a lot of problems. Nobody is coming here to see us," Laxmi, another flood victim said. Authorities admitted that extensive rebuilding of basic infrastructure would have to be taken up. "At least 2-3 kilometers of Muzaffarpur road has been damaged due to floods. Small bridges here have also been destroyed. Houses in the area have been damaged," Surya Kumar Mishra, Muzzafarpur DM, said.

Chennai lawyers threaten hunger-strike against conduct code (Go To Top)

          Chennai: Striking lawyers in Tamil Nadu on Monday threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if their demands were not met. The lawyers have been protesting for over a week against a new 25-point code of conduct, which was announced a fortnight ago. The notification by the Madras High Court amended the Advocates' Act and laid down stringent norms for the lawyers' community. The notification restrains lawyers from resorting to any form of agitation anywhere in the court premises. Dozens of lawyers protested outside the state's Chief Justice's office and demanded an immediate withdrawl of the notification. "We are gaining support in addition to the lawyers, the rest of the public are also participating. We intend to continue with the hunger strike from tomorrow. Meanwhile we are going to meet all the representatives of the party delegation and tell them the bench of the Supreme court is long overdue for the last 56 years. So please organise all this, we are going to tell them," M.R. Karuppan, former president of Madras High Court's Advocates' Association, told reporters.

Pilgrimage to Amarnath on despite rebel threats (Go To Top)

         Srinagar: Hundreds of Hindu pilgrims chanted hymns as they performed rituals of the "Chari Mubarak" before setting off on foot to a cave shrine in Kashmir on Monday. The pilgrims will carry the mace to the Amarnath shrine, located at a height of 12,500-feet high. Mahant Deependra Giri, the head priest of the cave temple and also custodian of the holy mace, performed the main rituals at the Sankracharya temple in Srinagar, summer capital of the state. "When the situation in Kashmir was worse, then also the pilgrims and locals conducted the tour successfully. This year the number of pilgrims has gone up even further. When we will enter the holy cave later this month, we will pray that the situation in the state normalises and the people are able to live with peace and respect," Giri said. Officials say a record 250,000 people are taking part this year in the pilgrimage that skirts icy streams and glacier-fed lakes and winds through dense pine forests. This year the event is under immense threat due to intensification of separatist violence in Kashmir that officials say could be aimed at derailing a fragile peace process between India and Pakistan. According to Kashmiri legend, the cave shrine was discovered 400 years ago by a Muslim shepherd Adam Malik. His descendants still receive a share of cash and other offerings made by devotees to the Hindu god at the cave. For many Indians, the trek is their first glimpse of Kashmir.

Olympics: Paes, Bhupathi through to next round (Go To Top)

         Athens: India's top tennis duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi put their Olympic medal quest on track with a straight set victory over strong contenders Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish of the United States to romp into the second round of the men's double event here today. "We knew all along that it will be a tough match and were quite prepared. We were quite confident that if we play well, we can beat them. We just had to keep our composure," Paes said after the match. The celebrated pair overcame some anxious moments before suppressing their opponents with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 victory in a tussle which lasted one hour and thirty minutes. The former world number one doubles combination were a little patchy in the first set which spilled over to the tie-breaker stage but raised their game by a few notches in the second set to seal the fate of the Americans in a high-voltage contest. Paes and Bhupathi, reuniting on the court after a gap of nearly two years, showed that they had lost none of their pristine touch as they went about their task in a clinical fashion, never letting the occasional lapses to upset their rhythm. The star pair will now lock horns with another strong team of Roger Federer and Yves Allegro of Switzerland in the second round tomorrow.

India takes a beating in archery, weight lifting and boxing (Go To Top)

         Athens: For the second day running, India fared poorly at the 28th Olympics here, losing ground in archery, badminton, boxing and weightlifting. While Reena Kumari and Sumangla Sharma provided the only bright spots in otherwise dull day for India, entering the second round of the individual archery event, their compatriot Dola Banerjee was ousted in the first round. Welterweight boxer Vijender Kumar lost his first round bout 20-25 at the at the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. Kumar, who trailed his rival in the first three rounds, put up some sort of a fight in the fourth and final round, but eventually lost. Vijender conceded a 4-6 lead after the first round which widened to 9-14 in the second and then 13- 21 in the third before he went on an all out attack in the final round in which he had the clear edge. Vijender's exit on Sunday follows the elimination of Jitender Kumar in the 81-kg class on Saturday. The Indian challenge in boxing has now whittled down to Akhil Kumar in the 51 kg (fly weight) and Diwakar Prasad in the 54 kg (bantam).

         National women's badminton champion Aparna Popat, men's national table tennis champion Achanta Sharath Kamal, woman weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu and trap shooters Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh also came a cropper in their respective disciplines, losing to more powerful and better prepared rivals. Chanu could only manage a total lift of 190 kg to finish fourth in the 53kg women's Olympic Weightlifting competition. In the Sydney Olympics, Chanu, 26, finished sixth. Udomporn Polsak of Thailand won the gold with a total lift of 222.5 kg while the silver and bronze went to Raema Lisa Rumbewas of Indonesia (210) and Mabel Mosquera of Colombia (197.5), respectively.