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Centre seeks fresh SC direction on SYL

         New Delhi: The Centre today moved the Supreme Court seeking a fresh direction for the completion of the Sutlej- Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal in view of Punjab Legislature annulling all previous agreements on sharing of river waters with its neighbouring states. The details of the application are still awaited. The Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, had annulled the 1981 agreement and all other agreements relating to the Ravi-Beas river waters with retrospective effect.

Godhra issue rocks both Houses of Parliament (Go To Top)
by Pankaj Yadav

          New Delhi: Absolutely no business could be conducted in either House of the Parliament on Thursday as the Opposition benches carried out loud protests against Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. They demanded Lalu's resignation while shouting slogans - "Lalu Hatao Desh Bachao". The Opposition members have been boycotting Lalu in both the Houses o charges that he is a tainted minister of the UPA government. As the Lok Sabha assembled in the morning, former railway minister Nitish Kumar rose to make a statement in reply to allegations which Lalu had made yesterday while replying to the debate on Rail Budget. But Speaker Somnath Chatterjee didn't allow Kumar to speak as the latter had not given any notice seeking the Chair's permission. At this the whole of Opposition started slogans and came to the Well of the House while protesting against the government. When the agitated members didn't pay heed to Speaker's requests to maintain silence, the latter adjourned to House till 12 p.m.

         The same scenes occurred when the House reassembled and the Speaker had no choice but to adjourn the House, this time till 2 p.m. Thereafter, amid similar uproarious scenes the Speaker adjourned the House for two more occasions. Amid the din, Nitish was seen arguing with the Chair as to how the latter allow Lalu to speak on Godhra issue on Wednesday during the debate on the Rail Budget. "These are two entirely different issues," he said. The Rajya Sabha too was adjourned till tomorrow even as the Opposition benches demanded a statement from the Prime Minister clarifying that whether Lalu's decision of ordering a fresh probe in the Godhra carnage had his assent.

40 feared drowned in Bihar boat capsize (Go To Top)

          Patna: At least 40 persons were feared drowned when their boat capsized in a flood-hit Sitamarhi district of Bihar on Thursday. Officials said that the boat carrying about 50 people capsized at Rampura near Muzaffarpur town. Ten people managed to swim to safety. The district administration confirmed the incident but refused to divulge details. In the last three days, over a dozen people have drowned in similar incidents in Samastipur, Darbhanga and Madhubani districts.

Army called for relief-work in flood-hit Bihar (Go To Top)

          Benimath (Bihar): Overflowing rivers washed away a large number of homes killing dozens of people in Bihar and forced millions to live on roadsides in the worst monsoon flooding in recent years. The state government has sought the assistance of army to carry relief materials to the flood-affected villages. Millions of people were marooned in low-lying parts of Sitamarhi, Muzaffarnagar and Darbhanga in the state, as river waters flooded huge swathes of land. Villagers complained that the government was not providing them any assistance.

          The death toll due to the floods in Bihar has risen to 59 with reports of more people drowning in Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts where swollen rivers of Burhi Gandak, Kamla Balan and Kosi have created havoc in the past five days. According to television news reports, train services are out of gear in at least eight sections under Samastipur division of East Central Railway and headquarters of five districts remained cut off from Patna after the inundation of railway tracks and roads by surging water of the tributaries of Ganga originating from Nepal. The Army and the IAF have been pressed into service to help local administration in rescue of marooned people and airdropping of food packets in flood hit areas Torrential rain in the districts has further aggravated the situation created by discharge of more than three lakh cusecs of water through Bagmoti, Kosi and Sone barrages situated on the foothills of Nepal.

           The damage has been estimated at Rs. 10 billion in Assam, which has appealed for international aid as the state is battling the worst floods in recent years. Floodwaters have swept away power lines, embankments, railway tracks, swamped highways and destroyed dozens of small dams in the oil-and-tea-rich state.