Eight bodies recovered from Nagpur's collapsed building; UPA, Left fail to patch up, BHEL sell-off likely to be put off; One killed, 20 feared trapped as tunnel collapses in Maharashtra; Sonia Gandhi visits flood-hit Himachal; Pakistan Internet fault may hit India too; Singapore PM says new trade pact will boost bilateral investment; Is Angelina Jolie expecting Brad Pitt's child?; Di forced to prove Harry's paternity; Steven Spielberg calls in the army; Jolie says Africa agony therapeutic; George Orwell's Motihari home to be a world heritage site; Buckingham Palace RAF saviour bids adieu; Tom Cruise believes in rebirth; There's a serial kisser on the loose; Nothing virginal about Pam's dress at Virgin bash; Paris Hilton likes lonely loos; Sharapova to shed top for sake of Wimbledon history; Bettany gets villainous for Da Vinci Code; Ben Affleck misses JLo's toe sucking sessions; Bee's inspire Renee to have a baby; India Travel Times, Indian News, Tourism, Hotels, Airlines, Tour, Travel, Ayurveda, Yoga, Festival, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Kathakali, Dance,

Home Contact Us Dateline New Delhi, Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Eight bodies recovered from Nagpur's collapsed building

Nagpur: Police and municipal authorities on Wednesday recovered eight bodies from the debris of a building, which collapsed after catching fire in Nagpur. Eyewitnesses said the building caught fire on Monday evening, possibly due to a short circuit, and collapsed on Tuesday morning. Firefighters said that the short circuit had probably triggered a gas cylinder blast, resulting in the fire that later engulfed the building. Police said they were investigating the reason for the collapse. "After getting the fire under control, our men went inside, but the building collapsed. We don't know why it happened. So a lot of people got trapped inside," said SK Sardar, a police inspector. Municipal authorities said rescue work was in progress. "Eight bodies have been taken out so far. Four people are in the process of being rescued, and we are expecting one or two more people to be taken out. We are in the process of clearing the debris and the rescue operations are also going on. We have called in for more cranes and sought help from the neighbours," said AN Siddiqui, a senior official of the municipal department. The injured have all been admitted to various hospitals.

UPA, Left fail to patch up, BHEL sell-off likely to be put off (Go To Top)

Lucknow: The Congress led UPA has failed to break the deadlock with the Left, which has been angered over the hike in oil prices and plans to sell off the blue-chip state firm, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). Prakash Karat, General Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), on Wednesday said they would continue with their boycott of the co-ordination committee meetings with the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) as it deviated from the policy blueprint, the Common Minimum Programme (CMP). "The Communist parties have decided to call of the co-ordination committee meeting with the UPA. The reason is the Union government's decision to sell 10 percent stake of BHEL. We believe that this is against the CMP as it has been clearly said that the profit making sectors should remain in the public sector," Karat told reporters in Lucknow The left parties said the government's move to sell off 10 percent of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) was a violation of the CMP, which seeks to balance free market reforms while caring for millions of the country's poor. Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Karat on Monday amidst reports that the government is likely to shelve BHEL sell- off in an effort to patch up with the Communists. "We have made it clear about the profit making companies. The co- ordination committee's aim is to discuss the problems. And if government flouts it then there is no reason for us to be a part of it anymore," Karat said. The government's only sale so far has been a 10.5 percent stake in National Thermal Power Corp. last October. That raised 1.2 billion dollars, and the government aims to raise 11 to 16 billion dollars more from stake sales over the next five years. The government's decision earlier this month to raise petrol and diesel prices by almost seven percent in the wake of a spike in global crude prices has added to the political tension with the communists.

One killed, 20 feared trapped as tunnel collapses in Maharashtra (Go To Top)

Shahpur (Maharashtra): At least one person was killed and 20 workers feared trapped as a tunnel at an upcoming dam site caved in on Wednesday at a project site here, following heavy rains. According to reports, water inundated the tunnel at the Ghatghar project site at Shahpur in Maharashtra's Thane district. Police teams have rushed to the site. Rescue operations are also still going on. "There were 20 labourers, three welders. Only two or three people came out," said Ram Kishan, a local. Officials said bad weather, which has also caused landslides in the area, was hampering the rescue efforts. Western India has been reeling under a week of incessant monsoon rains, raising flood alert in several areas.

Sonia Gandhi visits flood-hit Himachal (Go To Top)

Rekong Peo/Shimla/Rampur: Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday visited the flood-hit areas in Himachal Pradesh. Dozens of homes and road bridges have been washed away in the Himalayan state after the Sutlej river burst it banks on Sunday. Thousands of people have fled their homes after the breach, which scientists say, may have been caused by a swollen lake in neighbouring Tibet. The army has also moved into the mountainous region moving an estimated 5,000 people to schools and government buildings on higher ground besides restoring road and telecom links. No deaths have been officially confirmed but reports said at least half a dozen people could have been washed away by the swirling waters. Sonia, who is being accompanied by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, visited the worst hit Rekong Peo region in Kinnaur district, which has been cut off from the rest of the country. She also met the affected people, including some tourists. She said that farmers were worried about their crops, as the entire region has been cut off. "A major damage has been caused to the roads, infrastructure. The farmers are the worst hit as the season of pea was on, which will be followed by Apple and Chilgoza. So they were worried about how will they do their sales," Sonia told reporters in Shimla after the visit. Patil had on Tuesday announced the formation of an elite force to deal with natural disasters. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) rescued several foreign tourists who were stranded in the upper reaches. State's Chief Veerbhadra Singh, who had also visited the region, said the damage is assessed to be about eight billion rupees till now and feared it might go up. Officials suspect an artificial lake in neighbouring Tibet, which was formed last year after a landslide blocked the Pareechu river -- a tributary of the Sutlej, could have breached and are awaiting confirmation from satellite imagery. There has been no comment from Chinese authorities, however "I think they have received the satellite pictures and they show the worst is over and we will have dialogue with our neighbouring country and whatever is necessary, we will hold talks with them," Patil said. Last year also, authorities had evacuated about 3,000 people from downstream villages in Himachal Pradesh on fears that the lake would burst its banks. But that did not happen.

Pakistan Internet fault may hit India too (Go To Top)

Karachi: The fault disrupting Internet services in Pakistan is likely to affect the flow of Internet traffic in at least four neighbouring countries, including India, for a couple of hours today. The other three countries are the UAE, Djibouti and Oman. The fault had developed in the submarine optic fibre link - SEAMEWE-3 (the only Internet service provider in Pakistan) on Monday night and the blackout continued on Tuesday, even as a number of websites operating from the country could not be updated. The website of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) was also not updated. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has been able to locate the fault some 35km off Hawkes Bay and approached a UAE-based E-Marine to rectify it. PTCL officials said that Internet traffic in these countries would be affected for nearly two hours when the rectifying process begins, The News reported, adding that it could take up to three days for the traffic to be normalised.

Singapore PM says new trade pact will boost bilateral investment (Go To Top)

New Delhi: Visiting Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said on Wednesday said that a new agreement to be signed between his country and India would open new avenues of trade and investment. The Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) is an integrated package comprising a free trade agreement, a bilateral agreement on investment promotion and protection, an improved double taxation avoidance agreement and a work program for co- operation in healthcare, education, media and tourism. "I think once we sign CECA (Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement), there would be many opportunities for business people on both sides to take advantage of doors which will be opened up, investment, trade, tourism, movements of people, professionals. I think many opportunities would open up. Sky is the limit," Lee Hsien Loong told reporters after being accorded the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Lee will address a business luncheon meeting organized by CII, FICCI and Assocham on Thursday on the theme "India's engagement with South East Asia". New Delhi is attaching significance to Lee's visit, his first to the country after assuming office last year.

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