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Nov 2004
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Fund-less UK national stranded in India

      Kullu (HP): A British national, who was earlier convicted for travelling without valid travel documents, is staying put despite being released from prison due to lack of funds. Thomas Forbes Marshal was arrested by the Kullu police after it was discovered that he had no travelling documents. "He was arrested under the Foreigner's Registration Act because he was found without travelling documents. He served his term and was released. Upon his release, the court ordered him to be deported back to United Kingdom. Now, we have had some trouble in deporting him back because the British embassy has refused to bear his air ticket expenses. Now, we are trying to find out a way of arranging an air ticket for him," said Anand Pratap Singh, the Suprintendent of Police, Kullu.

      Thomas is staying in the Manali police station and says that he does not want to go back to his country because of some of the policies there, which he doesn't agree with. "I am against some of the policies practised by the government, so I prefer to stay here at the moment. I am hoping that the Indian government arranges for my visa, but rather than going to the West, at this moment I would rather stay here. I do not agree with the British policies, I would rather stay here. If I go back and speak of these policies, there is danger to my life", Marshal said.
- Nov 13, 2004

Chennai hotel group launches mid-range inns (Go to Top)

      Chennai: Choice Hotels India, one of India's leading chain of mid-range properties, has announced the launch of the all new Comfort Inn Marina Towers. Addressing a press conference here, Marina Towers Managing Director NM Ansari said Ansari Estate had signed a franchise agreement with the Choice Hotels group under the Comfort Inn brand name. Ansari said the hotel had 112 rooms and added that 53 rooms were currently in operation. The rest of the rooms would be made available for occupation shortly. He said the company had its marketing offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. He said that they had plans to set up a similar office at Hyderabad shortly.
- Nov 6, 2004

National highway No. 55 a nightmare for motorists (Go to Top)

      Siliguri: The National Highway-55, also known as Hill Cart Road, is the main connection between the plains and Darjeeling in West Bengal. However, every year, due to heavy rains, avalanche and soil erosion, the road is replete with potholes. The entire road is full of potholes, small and big pools of water here and there, rendering it almost unusable for the vehicles. Its condition worsened during the last monsoons, and most of its parts have remained unattended.

      As a consequence, motorists are having nightmares on this highway. "The condition of the road is very pathetic. We face a lot of problems. The vehicles get faulty on the way. A lot of time is consumed while commuting. Passengers also face a lot of problems. The situation becomes grave for people who are ill and who have to move really fast. A journey of about 2.5 hours takes 4-5 hours," says Sanjay, a taxi-driver. The locals appeal to the government to take the matter into consideration. "The road is very bad. We face a lot of problems in commuting. We are the locals. The road is highly prone to accidents. We appeal to the government to repair it," says Sujan, a local.

       The tourism also gets affected due to the condition of the highway. According to Raj Basu, a Private Tour Operator, there's a loss of revenue due to the dilapidated condition of the road. He further said: "Had we got the NH-55 in a better state, we would definitely have a higher tourist inflow. Also, the transporters over here lose a lot in terms of revenue because they have to spend a lot in vehicle repairing and servicing." Tourism is the backbone of the Darjeeling economy, and therefore it is imperative on the part of concerned authorities to take steps in order to restore normalcy on the highway.
-Nov 5, 2004

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