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Fencing along LOC in Gurez sector completed  

       Jammu: The Army has completed fencing along the Line-of-Control (LOC) in the Gurez sector, which was considered as a main path of infiltration into the Kashmir Valley, defence sources said here. With the completion of fencing in this remote area, which is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is situated at an altitude of 7,800 feet on Bandipore-Gilgit road in Baramulla district in north Kashmir, the chances of infiltration from this sector have been reduced to a large extent, they said.

Chief Secretaries deliberate on administrative reforms

       New Delhi: The government has drawn up a detailed schedule for filling up the backlog of vacancies, including for SCs and STs, and is committed to setting up an Administrative Reforms Commission for revamping the Public Administration System and making the Right to Information more progressive, participatory and meaningful, Minister for Personnel Suresh Pachauri said today. In his inaugural address at the Chief Secretaries Conference, here he said the government was committed to bringing in transparency in administration, right to information, timely and effective redressal of grievances and a systematic approach to simplifying procedures.

       Addressing the Chief Secretaries of states and Union Territories who met here for a day-long conference to discuss Administrative Reforms, Model Code of Governance, Accountability and streamlining the service delivery system, Mr Pachauri said the Civil Services were accountable not only to ''vertical hierarchy, but also horizontally, the beneficiary...'' ''It is not only important what one does, but more important is the manner it is being done. The Common Minimum Programme is committed to setting up an Administrative Reforms Commission for revamping the Public Administration System on a massive scale. It is also committed to making the Right to Information more progressive ...'' he said. Pachauri said his Ministry had also drawn-up a detailed time schedule for filling up backlog vacancies including those for SCs and STs. Citing the examples of Great Britain, New Zealand and Canada, he said reforms introduced in these countries had resulted in improvement and more efficient delivery to the public. Most of these Reforms had led to increased competition and, therefore, the pressure for more efficiency.

      ''We should certainly study these Reforms and examine their feasibility in the Indian context. While doing so, we should keep in mind the complexities of our social structure as also our special requirements arising out of our plural and diverse society. The Reforms, in whatever form we introduce, should conform to Indian organisational ethics and socio-cultural characteristics. Success of these Reforms can only be judged by the difference they make to the life of the poor and weaker sections of the country,'' he added. Asserting that civil service reforms and corruption at various levels of administration would have to be given some thought, he said improving the performance of the system and integrity of the public services could only deliver good governance and ensure timely delivery of quality service to the public. ''Unless we root out corruption and bring in transparency in our functioning, people sooner or later will lose faith in the administration,'' he said and hoped that Chief Secretaries who head the Administrative System in States and Union Territories, would deliberate on these issues with a sense of commitment to make the system more responsive to the people.

Pakistan PM to visit Bangladesh on Wednesday (Go To Top)

        Dhaka: Pakistan Prime Minister and current Chairperson of SAARC, Shaukat Aziz, arrives in Bangladesh Wednesday on a two-day visit. This will be his first visit to Bangladesh since assuming office in August 2004. His wife and a 61-member delegation will accompany him. The Pakistan Prime Minister will have a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Khaleda Zia. The two leaders are expected to discuss matters related to the forthcoming 13th SAARC Summit to be held in Dhaka on January 9- 11, 2005. Issues of bilateral interest would also be discussed. The Prime Minister of Pakistan will also pay a courtesy call on the President, said an official release here Tuesday.

Four billion dollars spent on US elections till now (Go To Top)

      Washington: According to initial estimations at least four billion dollars have been spent on the US presidential elections. Other expenses, which include vote count, salaries of people working for the elections, and payment of services of lawyers are separate which have not been calculated up till now. According to US media there are several other expenses, which are being borne by local and state governments. These expenditures are so high that through them at least 30 thousand students can be provided education. The national organization for state secretaries has estimated that 33 million dollars have been spent per state. The state of California has spent the highest amount of 66 million dollars. The US justice department has also sent one thousand different analysts to different states the expenses of which are being currently calculated.

Jadhav, Paul out, Gambhir, Kaarthik in  (Go To Top)

         Mumbai: Maharashtra opener Dheeraj Jadhav and West Bengal seamer Shib Sunder Paul were on Tuesday predictably left out of the Indian squad for the fourth cricket Test against Australia, which gets underway at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday. The Indian team is likely to go into the match with three spinners -- leg spinner Anil Kumble, off spinner Harbhajan Singh and left arm spinner Murali Karthik. The hosts are looking to salvage some pride through a consolation victory in the final Test. Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir and Tamil Nadu keeper Dinesh Kaartik are all set to make their Test debuts. Both have already appeared in one-day internationals. The last spot seems to be a toss-up between left arm paceman Ashish Nehra and left arm spinner Murali Kartik. "We will decide on the final eleven after a look at the wicket tomorrow. There is lot to play for all our team members. There's no need to motivate anyone for a Test whatever may be the status of the series," said stand-in captain Rahul Dravid after nets. Australia have already clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead by overwhelming India by a whopping 342 runs in the third Test.

East Bengal footballers Sasthi, Dipankar arrested (Go To Top)

       Kolkata: East Bengal footballers Sasthi Duley and Dipankar Roy were arrested in Kolkata on Tuesday morning for allegedly sheltering an absconder, Dilip, who was wanted in 15 murder cases, official sources said. According to the superintendent of police of North 24-Parganas district, Praveen Kumar, the two would be produced in the Barrackpore SDJM's court at two pm today. Both the footballers had gone to New Delhi to join their team, which is participating in the Durand Cup, but returned to Kolkata for police interrogation on Sunday night.