Delhi all set to receive Olympic flame
New
Delhi: With less than 24 hours to go for its arrival
from Beijing, the national Capital is gearing up to receive
the Olympic flame. Elaborate security arrangements are being
planned by the city police for the Olympic torch run in
Delhi on June 10. The torch will be brought by two Boeing
737 aircrafts at around noon on Thursday. Armed commandos,
along with hundreds of police personnel, will man the 33-km-long
route of the flame in the city. Indian authorities are planning
a mega event to showcase the country's cultural heritage
and its commitment to the Olympics. India will host the
Commonwealth Games in 2010, and has also bid for the 2016
Olympics.
The
Olympic torch relay will start from Delhi's Qutab Minar
and pass a 33.2 km long route covering most of the city's
historical places such as the Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and
Lutyen's Delhi before culminating at the National Stadium.
A pilot vehicle of Delhi Police will lead the procession
comprising VIPs and schoolchildren. "The traffic police
has made elaborate arrangements on the carriage way of the
torch. Places like Qutub Minar, Humayun Tomb etc where cultural
programmes are scheduled will have adequate traffic control
measures implemented," said Qamar Ahmed, Joint Commissioner
of Police (Traffic).
About
300 people will follow a Greek runner who will hold the
torch and four Greek motorcyclists will also accompany him.
Over 5,000 school children will also join the event. Leading
personalities from the sports world and budding artistes
would be among the 105 torch bearers. Dashing cricketers
have also been included for their star value, though cricket
is not an Olympic event. Ace shooters Anjali Bhagwat, Jaspal
Rana, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, cricketers Rahul Dravid,
Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, former India cricket captain
Kapil Dev, and legendary athlete Milkha Singh are amongst
the prominent torch bearers.
"The torch will represent the modern and developed India.
It will also represent our tradition. I think, India has
one of the richest cultures in the world," said Arvinder
Singh Lovely, Delhi Minister of education and sports. "This
opens new avenues for Indian sports. Sports and especially
Olympic sports has not been in great focus in the country.
It has been more of cricket. So the arrival of the torch...all
Indians, one," said Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian
Olympic Association. Over 61 Indian sportspersons have qualified
for the 2004 Olympics so far, with more selections expected
in the next few weeks. Carrying the message "Pass The Flame,
Unite The World", the Olympic torch began its journey from
Olympia, Greece.
The
flame, lit from the sun's rays in Olympia on March 25, resumed
journey last week from Sydney, Australia, the host of the
previous 2000 Games, and is being taken across all five
continents, represented by the Olympic rings, before reaching
the host country Greece, where Olympics originated. After
travelling 26 countries, the flame would return to Greece
on July 9 for a final home tour before lighting the cauldron
at the Olympic stadium on August 13.
SC lifts stay on RS elections (Go
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New
Delhi: In a major relief both to the Government and
the Opposition, the Supreme Court today lifted its stay
on the election to the 65 seats of Rajya Sabha and allowed
the Election Commission to announce a revised schedule for
the polls involving 14 states. A vacation Bench comprising
Justices K G Balakrishnan and P Venkatarama Reddi gave this
order while allowing applications of the Union Government
and the Commission seeking vacation of the interim order
of June 4 staying a notification announcing the commencement
of the poll process. However, the Bench said the election
of the 65 members to the House of elders by the ensuing
polls would be subject to the Court's final decision on
petition challenging the amended electoral law allowing
open ballot system and doing away with domicile status of
the candidates.
Joshi sworn in LG of Delhi (Go
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New Delhi: Retired IPS officer BL Joshi was on Wednesday
sworn in as the Lt Governor of Delhi at a simple function
here. Joshi, 70, who is the 18th Lt Governor of Delhi, was
administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi High
Court Chief Justice BC Patel. The function was attended
by a number of dignitaries including Vice-President Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her Cabinet
colleagues and Union Minister Jagdish Tytler. Joshi, a Rajasthan
cadre officer who has served at various positions in the
state government, Central government and Indian missions
abroad, succeeds Vijai Kapoor.
Two shot dead on Howrah-Danapur train
(Go
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Patna:
In yet another daring incident in a running train in
Bihar, two passengers were shot dead by unidentified gunmen
inside an AC-2 tier coach of the Howrah-Danapur Express
between Bakhtiarpur and Khusrupur stations on the Patna-
Bakhtiarpur section of East Central Railway on Wednesday,
railway sources said. The gunmen pumped bullets into chest
and head of the passengers, Vijay Kumar (30) and Anil Kumar
(40), when they were fast asleep near Khusrupur, about 48
kms from Patna junction, sources said. The victims belonged
to Jamaluddin Chak under Khagaul police station on the outskirts
of the state capital. The killers later jumped from the
train and fled. The bullet-riddled bodies of the victims
were recovered when the train arrived at Patna Junction,
sources said. Special Task Force (STF) personnel were pressed
into service to carry out raids to apprehend the killers.
An FIR was being filed by the GRP (Patna Junction) in connection
with the killing.
Rajya Sabha adjourned again (Go
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New
Delhi: The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were adjourned
till 2 p.m. today after the Opposition benches persistently
demanded that "tainted" ministers of the Manmohan Singh-led
UPA government should resign. As the Opposition raised slogans
like "we want resignation" and "daagi mantri istifa do (tainted
Ministers resign)", members from the treasury side in the
Rajya Sabha tried to shout them down chanting, "We want
discussion (on the President's address)". The unrelenting
tirade across the floor of the House led to the Chairman
adjourning the House ten minutes after it assembled for
the day. The deadlock over the issue of chargesheeted ministers
in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet continues despite a meeting
between the Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition LK Advani
yesterday.
Atwal sworn in as Deputy LS Speaker (Go
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New
Delhi: Akali Dal (Badal) member Charanjit Singh Atwal
was sworn in as the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha today.
The NDA proposed his candidature and the ruling coalition
supported it. Atwal, 67, was the only candidate for the
post. Going by convention, the United Progressive Alliance
had offered the post to the Opposition. Former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee moved the motion for Atwal's election,
which was seconded by Leader of the Opposition LK Advani.
Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee and eight others moved
identical motions, which were supported by other members.
Speaker Somanth Chatterjee then declared Atwal elected as
deputy speaker amid loud thumping of desks. An MP from Punjab's
Phillaur constituency Atwal brings with him vast experience
of a politician and lawmaker.
Born in
Montgomery district of Pakistan on March 15, 1937, Atwal
graduated from Ludhiana and obtained Law degree from Punjab
University, Chandigarh. He was the Punjab Assembly Speaker
from 1997-2002 and before that he was a member of Lok Sabha
from Ropar (1985 to 1989) and was Deputy Leader of Shiromani
Akali Dal Parliamentary group in the House. He was also
the former Vice Chairman of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
(2001-2002) and former Regional representative of the association
from 1999 to 2002. As the former Chairman of Committee of
SC/ST's Legislative Assembly, Punjab (1977-80) he had widely
travelled abroad and has represented Punjab and India in
various conferences. Atwal is a member of International
Programme Planning Sub Committee of Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association. And participated in 43rd Commonwealth Parliamentary
Conference in Mauritius in September, 1997 and 44th in 1998
in Wellington and 45th in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999. Atwal
has three daughters and two sons, one of whom Inder Iqbal
Singh Atwal, is an MLA. Atwal will be the second Sikh to
hold the post in the history of the country. The first was
Hukum Singh, who was elected to the post in March 1956.
Punjab CM asks Centre to intervene in
SYL issue (Go
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New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today
asked the Centre to intervene in the Sutlej Yamuna Link
canal issue in order to protect the farmer's rights and
deliver justice to the state. Amarinder Singh met Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, and urged him to intervene in the
issue. "We have kept all the facts before the Prime Minister.
It is now up to the Centre to give justice to Punjab," the
Chief Minister said. He claimed that the legal recourse
was still open to Punjab following the Supreme Court's directive.
Amarinder said it would take all possible measures to protect
the rights of farmers. He also maintained that when Punjab
and Haryana were carved out from erstwhile Punjab, all the
resources were shared in the ratio of 60:40. "Haryana Chief
Minister Om Prakash Chautala is crying hoarse. He must do
his calculations again. Haryana has less land but more water
than Punjab. So what is the point in giving it more water,"
he held. However, the Supreme Court has refused to accept
the state's review plea on the SYL canal.
