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PM inaugurates Jammu-Udhampur rail line

     Udhampur (J-K): After linking Srinagar with Muzaffarabad, the Capital of PoK, Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh today inaugurated 55 kilometre long Jammu-Udhampur railway by flagging off the first Uttar Sampark Kranti Express. The rail line will connect Udhampur with the rest of the country as it links Udhampur, Srinagar and Baramulla with Jammu, which is accessible through rails from any part of the country. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the first train linking Kashmir valley to the rest of the country will run in 2007. He said that the Government had attributed Rs 1000 crore for the ambitious project that aims at boosting development of the valley through trade and tourism. The work on this ambitious project had started almost 22 years ago, but due to difficult terrain and paucity of funds it kept delaying. A multi-tier and multi-dimensional security set has been implemented throughout the Jammu-Udhampur railway track, which snakes through militancy-hit hills.

    According to the Railway authorities, this rail track is the first step towards taking the train to the Kashmir valley. Additional General Manager of Northern Railways, V. K. Kaul had earlier called this project "marvelous" stating that many new techniques had been used to complete the rail line. He had also told that to give the final shape to the project a 75-meter high bridge had to be made at Gambhir. Although, high security measures have been taken along the 55- kilometer long rail track, but security of this single-track rail line still seems to be a difficult task. Therefore a Village Defense Committees has been formed to assist the police in providing security to the track. "We are in the Village Defense Committee. We look after the railway track and also take care of the security of our village. This is all we do," said Aziz Ahmed, a Village Defense Committee member. After a long walk Udhampur will finally be on the railway map of the country.

Govt assurance to traders to rectify VAT (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: The Central government has assured traders that it will iron out chinks in its most significant tax reform in years, the value-added tax (VAT), which came into effect earlier this month ignoring protests against the levy from thousands of wholesalers and retailers. VAT replaces a complex web of state sales taxes and forms the centrepiece of the government's tax reforms to simplify the system and raise revenues for the cash-strapped states. It is levied on the value manufacturers and retailers add to goods at each point of sale. It will cover 550 goods and have two basic rates of 4 percent and 12.5 percent, with a special rate of 1.0 percent for gold and silver ornaments. Traders with turnover of less than 500,000 rupees are exempt from the new tax. In some states the exemption applies to traders with annual turnover of up to 1 million rupees.

     Traders say they do not yet know which rates apply to which goods and have slammed the system terming it as complex, poorly prepared and set to burden them with higher payments. Ramesh Chandra, member secretary of the empowered committee on VAT, said the government agreed that the problem was critical, adding that the government was working on a fast track mode. "Yes, I do agree that there is a lack of uniformity in rates. This is why we are holding our meeting on ironing out these chinks earlier than scheduled. This is a very serious matter for us," Chandra told reporters in the Capital on Wednesday after a national conference organised by an industry chamber. Eight states, five of which are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are opposing the tax but a senior government official said the new tax -- in place in 130 countries -- had been adopted in a majority of India's 28 states. VAT has been delayed five times in nearly 10 years and the run-up to its implementation on April 1 saw the government take on the traders, who hit the streets several times to make the Congress party-led coalition abort the launch. Analysts said implementation of the new tax marks an overhaul of the country's archaic tax system, which will make it more transparent. The government has given no estimate for how much it eventually expects VAT to bring in for the regions but a study by an industry lobby group, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), has said it should fetch additional revenues of nearly 750 billion rupees once it gets bedded down.

Zahira deposes before Nanavati Commission (Go To Top)

     Ahmedabad: Zahira Sjeikh, one of the key witnesses of the Best Bakery riots case, who recanted late last year, today appeared before the Nanavati Commission. The Commission asked Zahira to file a fresh affidavit. Atul Mistry, Zahira's lawyer, requested the commission for adjournment of her hearing till April 18. "She told them about her petition in which she said that she has to go to the Supreme court on April 18 for an enquiry, so she has given an application. After April 18 she is ready to come," Mistry said. Prosecution has declared Zahira hostile and the Supreme Court issued contempt of court notice to her for frequently recanting her statements. Zahira, the seventh witness in the Best Bakery case, also retracted her statement after her mother Sehrunissa, sister Saira, brothers Nafitullah and Nasibullah and two others. Zahira and her family members have alleged top human rights activist Teesta Setelvad and her associate Raees Khan lured them with money and pressurised them to identify the accused.

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