Delhi-Lahore bus meets with accident

    Jalandhar: The Delhi-Lahore 'Sada-e-Sarhad' bus today collided with an army truck near Lambra Chowk on the GT Road, at Choggiti near here while it was on its return journey to the national capital in the afternoon. Although no casualty was reported, the bus with 24 passengers on board, sustained a minor damage. According to sources, two Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Sada- e-Sarhad buses, were on their way to Delhi at about 2 p.m. (IST) when one of them was hit by an army truck from the side. The buses were stranded at the spot for more than an hour due the mishap. The Delhi-Lahore bus service was launched on March 16, 1999, almost a month after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee undertook the historic bus trip to Lahore on February 19 the same year. The service was snapped on December 31, 2001, 18 days after terrorist attack on the Parliament. However, the "Delhi-Lahore-Delhi" bus service resumed on July 11, 2003. Later, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said that he would try for a final bid for peace with Pakistan following which both countries decided to resume full diplomatic ties and air, rail and bus links.

Lahore-Amritsar bus returns after inaugural run (Go To Top)

    Amritsar: The Lahore-Amritsar 'Dosti' bus service returned to Lahore after successfully completing its inaugural run on Saturday. The Indian service from Amritsar is scheduled to begin on January 24. The bus carrying the 15-member Pakistani official delegation commenced its return journey from the International bus terminal at Amritsar. With a small group of well-wishers seeing off the travelers, the green and white bus emblazoned with the slogan "Dosti" (Friendship) and flags of both countries headed back home. Firdosh Alam, Joint Secretary, Pakistan's Ministry of Communication, said that the new bus service would greatly benefit the people of the two countries. "In the trial run, just a few Pakistani people and officials have come. But as more people come to know about the services, the number of travelers will increase. It is very convenient and people will greatly benefit from it and as for the visa matters, it will be communicated to the concerned authorities," said Alam.

    The agreement for beginning the bus service was signed at the conclusion of two-day technical-level talks in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore last month. Both the cities are 60 km (37 miles) apart. Mian Ijaz, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore, said that the bus service would not only play a role in solving core issues of the two countries but would also promote cultural exchange bringing people closer. "I understand the Lahor-Amritsar bus service will play a major role in solving the core issues. It is a big step to promote cultural exchange between two countries. People of the two countries will come close together which is what the people of Pakistan want," he said. The much awaited bus service, which was yet another sign of peace between the two neighbours, had entered the Wagah border post on Friday to a warm welcome amidst beating of drums and dances by traditional folk artists. Pakistan and India launched the third cross-border bus service between Lahore and Amritsar, the latest new transport link aimed at building confidence, to spur their peace process. A bus service between Lahore and Delhi resumed in July 2003, but this is the first direct link between the two sides of Punjab. The launch of the new bus service came two days after India and Pakistan made a fresh commitment to push forward their peace process, despite reiterating differences over ways to end their enmity over the issues relating to Kashmir.

   The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries had agreed on Wednesday that two years of talks had helped boost relations, despite fears that the dialogue had reached a stalemate. India and Pakistan have strengthened transport, cultural, sporting and commercial links since re-launching their peace process. Earlier this month, they had agreed to start a second cross- border train service from February one. The two sides have also agreed to start another bus service between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib in Pakistan from next month.

Bofors gun not to be displayed in R-Day Parade (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: The controversial Bofors guns are in the news again as the Indian Army announced on Saturday that it would not parade the Swedish 155 mm howitzers in the forthcoming Republic Day celebration on January 26. The Bofors gun have been replaced with the new indigenous and upgraded in Israel, Soltam 155mm artillery guns. Lieutenant General M G Girish, who is looking after the preparation of the parade on behalf of the Army, said that they wanted to show something new to the public and decided to exclude bofors from the parade this year. "The Bofors gun have come many time, so we felt that people will like to see the new equipment which is an up 133mm gun use to be a part of the Indian gun inventory but now it has been upgraded and now they have made it 155 mm gun and that is why it has been included," said Lieutenant General M G Girish. "We keep changing the equipment so that we give the public information and visibility of most of our equipment. We waited to reduce the number and yet we wanted to keep the interest alive, so we have removed the Bofors gun," he added.

    Lieutenant General Girish said that these guns may not be as god as Bofors but they are useful for the army. The armed forces would for the first time unveil American Acquired ANTPQ-37 fire finding radars this year as well. The ANTPQ-37 radars were acquired by India under direct Government to Government sales from the US and have now been fully inducted into the Army. Tableaux of Scorpion submarine and Bridge Layer Tank on Arjun will be other major attractions in the parade. Altogether 24 tableaux from different states, ministries and industries, Agni missile-I and II, Indra PC-II Radar, Pinaka, Brahmos, performance of school children, motorcycle displays by BSF dare devils and impressive fly past by Indian Air Force planes and helicopters are some of the other highlights of the parade. King of Saudi Aravia Abdullah Bin Aziz Al-Saud will grace the function as the Chief Guest.

Toyota workers arrested , strike continues (Go To Top)

    Bangalore: Hundreds of workers of the Toyota Kirloskar plant in Bidadi near here, were arrested today after they continued their strike even as the company lifted the factory lockout. On January 8, the Toyota Motor Corporation had declared an indefinite lockout at its plant after a strike by workers following the dismissal of three of their fellow workers. The workers, however, said that since the company wanted them to accept formally their mistake and stand against the office- bearers, they decided to continue the strike. Meenakshi Sundaram, District General Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Union, said the workers were ready to call off the strike on conditions of collective bargaining. "The management lifted the lockout by putting a serious condition by giving undertaking, (they asked the workers to) accept what they have done is wrong. The workers are forced to give evidence against their office bearers... But what we have decided is that we will go to the factory gate and let the management decide and talk to the office bearers peacefully even at the format of undertaking, several other issues like the suspensions made after sixth. Moreover, those (who were arrested after the strike, their suspension) should be withdrawn, negotiating everything peacefully through discussions and collective bargaining, we can settle the issue," said Sundaram. The workers also demanded that those suspended after the strike should be taken back. About 1,550 of the factory's 2,350 workers are affiliated with the union. Toyota Kirloskar has invested nearly 15 billion rupees (336 million dollars) in its Bidadi plant, which started production in December 1999 and has a capacity of 60,000 units annually.

    Toyota makes the Corolla and Camry cars and the Innova in the plant, and sold more than 42,000 vehicles in India in 2005. Last July, hundreds of striking workers at the Indian motorcycle and scooters unit of Honda Motor Co. clashed violently with police near Delhi, resulting in a production loss of at least 57 million dollars. Japan's ambassador said then that the incident could damage India's image in the eyes of foreign investors. Japan is the fourth-largest investor in India, with 2 billion dollars in equity investment. About 250 Japanese companies are present in India.

Faisalabad Test: Day one witness Pak's onslaught (Go To Top)

    Faisalabad: India's game plan of playing with five specialist bowlers seems to go completely awry as Pakistan battered Indian bowling scoring 379 at the loss of four wickets at the end of first day's play of the second Test against India at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. After initial hiccups from debutant Uttar Pradesh left-arm seamer R.P.Singh, Pakistan went on rampage with skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi joining the run feast as both completed their half-centuries to take Pakistan in the commanding position at stumps of the first day. Rookie RP Singh, who replaced Sourav Ganguly in the playing XI, had a dream run on his debut by taking three crucial wickets of opener Shoaib Malik , Pakistani vice-captain Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. He ended the day with three wickets conceding 77 runs in 17 overs and was clearly the pick of the bowler for the day. After the close of the day's play, coach Greg Chappell said that RP Singh helped them seize the advantage but it got away from the team in the final session. Earlier, in the day Inzamam won the toss and elected to bat but the openers went down cheaply. The two dismissals put the brakes on Pakistan after the hosts were off to an attacking start with openers Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik, who made a half century in the first drawn Test at Lahore, putting on 49 runs in 11.5 overs. Irfan Pathan was the worst offender as he went for over six runs an over. Even the spinners did not leave much impact though it can be said in their defence that some of the field placing that Indian skipper Rahul Dravid employed while they were bowling defied logic. Even Dravid's decision to take the second new ball just before the close of play was not justified.

    Teams: India: Rahul Dravid (Capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, R P Singh and Zaheer Khan. 12th man: Gautam Gambhir Pakistan: Inzamam-ul Haq (Capt), Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria and Mohammed Asif. 12th man: Arshad Khan Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Simon Taufel (Australia). Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

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