NewsBriefs
Back to Headlines

Karunanidhi launches Rs 2 rice scheme

        Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday launched the Public Distribution System (PDS) through which rice would be made available to the poorest of the poor in the state at the rate of two rupees per kilogram. Karunanidhi, who is celebrating his 84th birthday today, first paid floral tribute at the memorials of former chief ministers C.N.Annadurai (Marina) and Periyar before beginning the distribution of of rice bags to six Below Poverty Line (BPL) familiesat the Thiru.Vi.Ka Colony Fair Price Shop near the Alaiamman Temple at Teynampet. He also distributed Rs.15,000 each to three families under the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance scheme. Karunanidhi said that his government is in the process of implementing another major poll promise, the distribution of two acres of land to the landless poor. Karunanidhi will also inaugurate the refurbished farmer's market and the Samuthuvapuram, an attempt at social engineering, where people of different castes and religions reside in the same area, at Ambattur later in the day. All these schemes were promised in the party's pre-poll manifesto. All the farmers' markets will become functional from today. It may be recalled that Tamil Nadu's Agriculture Minister had set a May-end deadline for it.

Karunanidhi to visit Delhi (Go To Top)

       Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will arrive in New Delhi on Monday for talks with President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This will be his first visit to the national capital after becoming chief minister for the fifth time during his over four decade long career. Informed sources here said that Karunanidhi would leave Chennai on the evening of June 4. He will meet Sonia Gandhi the next morning, an official release said. As per his schedule, he would call on the Prime Minister and the President Kalam in the evening. The chief minister will meet Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Prime Minister V P Singh and CPI(M) leader Harkishen Singh Surjit before leaving for Chennai on June 6.

Creation of Telangana state BJP goal (Go To Top)

       Mahaboobnagar (Andhra Pradesh): Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh said today that the party is committed to creating a separate state of Telangana "within four months" of coming to power at the Centre. "We will invite the pro-Telangana parties into the NDA fold. If necessary, we will make the support for Telangana a pre-condition for parties to join NDA alliance," Singh said at a public meeting here. Singh and other senior party leaders M Venkaiah Naidu, B Dattatreya, Bangaru Lakshman, Prakash Javdekar and state BJP President N Indrasena Reddy addressed the meeting, which was christened as the 'Telangana Betrayal Day Rally'. "We are committed to the Telangana cause. Let the UPA government introduce the Telangana Bill if it has the will," Naidu said. He made it clear that his party would support the Bill whenever it is introduced in the Parliament. The BJP leaders alleged that Congress had repeatedly "betrayed" the people of the region. The party leaders argued that the Mahaboobnagar meeting would help to send a strong signal to the people of the region that the BJP would be at the forefront of the statehood movement.

Maharashtra rain death toll rises to 41 (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Rains in Maharashtra have claimed 41 lives so far, among the dead being three people in Ratnagiri, one in Thane and two in Nanded Districts.One person was washed away at Palghar in Thane while another drowned at Rajapur in Ratnagiri, Bhushan Gagrani, a spokesman of the Maharashtra Government, said. Meanwhile, Mumbai continues to experience heavy rains. Buses and local trains, however, are running on schedule.

Lalu's surprise check of railway station (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: Railway Minister Lalu Yadav carried out a surprise check on facilities at the Old Delhi Railway Station here on Saturday. Frantic officials rushed to assist Yadav, known for his sharp tongue and maverick ways, as he moved through the crowd on the hurriedly cleaned platforms and verbally lashed at a food stall owner for serving a stale rice bun. The lumbering Indian railways had become synonymous with losses, delays and red tape with a government panel five years ago predicting bankruptcy, but now a turnaround scripted by Yadav has seen the organization post a record surplus of about two billion dollars in 2005. Yadav is credited with bringing in a series of innovative schemes for boosting the railway's freight earnings and cleverly manipulated passenger fares to keep profits while keeping cool the millions of low budget travellers for one of the world's largest and busiest rail networks that runs about 10,000 trains daily. Amid the minister's most famous reforms have been the return of the "Kullad" or earthen cups used for serving tea instead of the plastic and Styrofoam glasses, a move he says has helped bring employment to the rural poor while saving money for the railways and the surprise inspections. Miffed at the poor sanitation, Yadav assured a better than ever cleanup for the terminal. "Our focus is on cleanliness and passenger conveniences. The problems I have seen will be rectified and we will ensure a massive cleanliness drive in the entire area," he said.

Naxalities kill three in Jharkhand (Go To Top)

      Jamshedpur: Naxalites killed three inhabitants of Hadian village in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district on on Saturday morning. Police sources said, however, that the bodies of the dead could not traced. Senior police officials are at the spot investigating the incident. Saturday's incident follows the killing of 12 bomb disposal squad personnel in a landmine explosion near Karmapara in West Singhbhum district on Thursday. The Naxalites had laid the landmines to target police personnel who were known to take shelter in a school while undertaking long range patrol.

Arrest warrants against Benazir, Zardari (Go To Top)

      Islamabad: An Islamabad court on Saturday issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari and directed the Interior Ministry to present them in the court on July 3 after their arrest through the Interpol. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed two separate applications in District and Sessions Court Islamabad against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari under the charges of submitting false statements in the election commission. District and Sessions Judge Islamabad Mirza Rafi-uz-Zaman issued summons to Benazir and Zardari to appear before the court on June 3 but no one appeared before the court on behalf of Benazir and Asif Zardari.