| Army
colonel, jawan killed in Assam blast Sonitpur
(Assam): An army colonel and a jawan have been killed when a powerful blast
took place in Assam's Sonitpur district on Monday. According to defence sources,
the blast occurred at Chariduar, near Bhalukpung at around 6:30 am when an army
vehicle travelling to Tenga in Arunachal Pradesh was targeted. The colonel was
identified as Parimal. Sreedharan
withdraws resignation as CM says Delhi needs him Top New
Delhi: A day after he put his papers owning moral responsibility for an accident
at a construction site that killed six people, Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan
withdrew his resignation. "E Sreedharan has decided to withdraw his resignation
in view of the letter he received from Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit (asking him
to continue as the DMRC Managing Director)," Metro Rail spokesperson Anuj Dayal
told reporters here on Monday. Dayal said the Metro chief also took into consideration
the persuasion of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna and Union Urban Development
Minister S Jaipal Reddy who asked him to withdraw his resignation letter and continue
in the post. The 77-year old renowned technocrat quit his post within hours of
the accident at the Metro construction site in south Delhi's Jamrudpur area on
Sunday where an under-construction bridge collapsed killing six people and injuring
15 others. On Sunday night, Dikshit had rejected his resignation saying that the
Delhi Metro and the country needed his services. "We respect his sentiments. But
we also know that the Delhi Metro and the country need him. Not only he did good
work for Delhi but also for the country," she had said. Highly placed sources
said the government rejected Sreedharan's resignation as it viewed that his continuation
was necessary for the successful completion of Metro projects ahead of the Commonwealth
Games next year. Doctors
go on indefinite hunger strike in Chennai Top Chennai:
Intern doctors in Chennai on Monday resorted to an indefinite hunger strike over
demand for higher stipend. The intern house surgeons and post-graduate assistants
have been on an indefinite strike since July 1, and now have resorted to a hunger
strike of ‘fast unto death’ from Monday. “The reason why we have gone for hunger
strike today is that despite all our efforts for two weeks, nothing has been done.
They have called us for talks but no discussion has been going on,” said Dr. Athira,
a CRRI (compulsory rotatory residential intern) of Madras Medical College. “We
have been asked to call off the strike first without increase in the stipend.
And they have not given anything in a written format. So we are intensifying the
strike from today expecting the government to give solution to our problem,” she
added. Their demands include increasing the present stipend for the CRRI from
Rs 4,500 to Rs 10.000, for the postgraduates from Rs 8000 to Rs 25,000, for super
speciality post-graduates from Rs 9,500 to Rs 28,000 alongside an annual hike
of 10 percent. The intern doctors highlighted that despite all their efforts,
the government has not paid any heed to their demands. “We had been sending multiple
representations to the government for the past year but since we haven''t got
any positive response, we did a token strike on February 24 and now we waited
for four months and after that we have decided to go on an indefinite strike.
From July 1st we have been on an indefinite strike,” said Dr. Mayurish, a post
graduate medical student of Madras Medical College. Further, the interns emphasised
that the government ought to cater to problems as soon as possible, so as to enable
resumption of normal work in the hospitals. Prof
Sabharwal murder accused acquitted by Nagpur sessions court Top Nagpur:
All six Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists who were accused in
the H S Sabharwal murder case were acquitted by a sessions court here today. In
its verdict, the court said it was acquitting all ABVP activists as the prosecution
had failed to prove their involvement in the murder. According to the lawyer of
the accused, the court further noted that the prosecution had failed to file conclusive
evidence to prove that the six were present at the murder site. Professor. Sabharwal,
the head of the political science department of Ujjain 's Madhav College , died
on August 26 2006 from lung and rib injuries after being beaten up by ABVP activists.
He was trying to convince students about the need for postponing the college union
elections. Methanol
in spurious liquor led to Ahmedabad hooch tragedy Top Ahmedabad:
The hooch tragedy in Ahmedabad was caused by the mixing of a huge quantity
of methyl alcohol with the spurious liquor, doctors have said. “Methanol, which
is not for human consumption, was found in large quantity in the patients who
were admitted to the civil hospital after consuming spurious liquor,” Assistant
administrator of civil hospital Dr Gautam Sharma said. The post-mortem report
of the bodies, which were brought from other hospitals to civil hospital, has
also confirmed presence of methanol in high quantity, he added. Directorate of
Forensic Science, Gandhinagar, where the samples of the hooch tragedy victims
and the spurious liquor has been sent for tests, is yet to submit its report.
“We will be submitting the report on the sample received by us in a day or two,”
said Dr J M Vyas, Director of Forensic Science Laboratory. Methanol, a colourless
liquid with a mild alcoholic odour, is not meant for human consumption. Ethanol
is used in different quantities for liquor. The crime branch is investigating
from where bootleggers managed to source Methanol in such a large quantity, though
it is not available in open market. As part of the subsequent action following
the hooch tragedy, the state police cracked down on dens manufacturing illicit
liquor across the state. Eight people, including three women, who were responsible
for supplying the spurious brew to Majoor Gam and Odhav areas have been arrested
and are being questioned. Police are also in search of one Vinod Chauhan alias
Dagri from Mahemdabad in Kheda district, who allegedly manufactured the spurious
liquor and supplied it to the city. The state government has also suspended 10
police officials for negligence. |
