Month: September 2009

Stone India arm signs accord with US firm

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Kolkata, September 30: Railway equipment manufacturer Stone India, through its subsidiary Stone Intermodal, has joined hands with the US-based Railrunner NA to manufacture, maintain and market seamless road-rail (bi-modal) transportation systems, a top official said here on Wednesday.

‘We are waiting for the design approval from the Indian Railways, which is expected to come within six to 12 months. The first trial run is expected within 18 months,’ Amitava Mondal, chief executive and managing director of Stone India, told reporters.

At least 75 killed in Indonesian quake

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Jakarta, September 30: At least 75 people were killed in a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra Wednesday, a top official said.

Fauzi Bahar, the mayor of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, told Vice President Jusuf Kalla by telephone that the quake left at least 75 people dead and toppled dozens of homes and buildings, Kompas.com news website reported.

The quake struck off the western coast of Sumatra at about 1016 GMT. A 6.2 magnitude aftershock followed about 22 minutes later.

India’s current account deficit at $5.8 bn in first quarter

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Mumbai, September 30: India’s current account deficit stood at $5.8 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal as compared to $9 billion a year ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Wednesday.

The bank said in a statement that the capital account ‘showed a turnaround from a negative balance in the last two quarters of 2008-09 to a positive balance of $6.7 billion during the first quarter of 2009-10’.

Congress, Trinamool fight for Siliguri mayor’s chair

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Kolkata, September 30: The Congress and the Trinamool Congress, who are allies at the national level, are fighting for the mayor’s seat in Siliguri with both sides Wednesday filing nominations for the post in the municipal corporation.

Both the parties laid claim to the mayor’s chair after the Siliguri municipal polls resulted in a tie. They have 15 seats each.

The Congress won 15 seats and Trinamool 14 in the elections but Mamata Banerjee’s party claimed the support of an independent candidate, Ranjan Sil Sharma, to equal the Congress number.

Government urged to announce support price for cotton

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Chandigarh, September 30: Punjab on Wednesday asked the central government to announce minimum support price for cotton immediately as the marketing season of the produce will start shortly.

Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has sent a letter in this regard to union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran, a state government spokesperson said here.

‘In the letter Badal has appealed to the union minister to direct the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to start procurement operations immediately to enable the farmers to get appropriate MSP for their produce,’ said the official.

Duncan Group may sell fertiliser unit

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Kolkata, September 30: Duncan Goenka Group is looking for a potential buyer or a joint venture partner for its closed fertiliser unit, a top official said here Wednesday.

The group acquired Duncans Fertiliser Industries Ltd from ICI India in December 1994. It has remained closed since 2005.

‘The idea is to sell it off or get a joint venture partner,’ G.P. Goenka, chairman of Duncan Goenka Group, told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference.

Goenka said the company was in talks with three potential firms in this regard.

Bhutia signs for East Bengal

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Kolkata, September 30: After getting an interim relief from the All India Football Federation (AIFF), national captain Bhaichung Bhutia signed for East Bengal here Wednesday.

Bhutia will play in East Bengal’s away match against Pune Football Club in the first round of the I-League Saturday.

Bhutia, who has been suspended for six months by Mohun Bagan, formally signed up for East Bengal at the Indian Football Association (IFA) office after AIFF appointed arbitrator Amarendra Sharan allowed him to play for the red and gold brigade.

Ind vs WI: India out of Champions Trophy

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Centurion, September 30: India were crushed out of Champions Trophy as Australia defeated Pakistan by two wickets in a nail-biting encounter here today.

Pakistan and Australia have qualified for the Semi Finals fro Group B. Australia to meet England in the semi finals while Pakistan will take on New Zealand.

On the other hand, India restricted West Indies for 129 runs. Chasing a total of 130 runs, India were 16/2 at this moment. Gautma Gambhir was unfortunate when he dragged the ball on stumps while Dravid was run out.

At this moment Karthik and Virat Kohli are at the crease.

Declare cow ‘national animal’: Hindu groups

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Kurukshetra (Haryana), September 30: Several Hindu groups came under a common umbrella Wednesday to urge the government to declare the cow as the “national animal”.

Members of these groups said they had started a 108-day national campaign that will cover about 20,000 km.

Vijay Bhardwaj of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad told IANS: “There was a time when cow was considered the most holy being. Now the cow is struggling to survive.”

He said the Hindu groups will meet President Pratibha Patil and urge her to declare the cow the national animal and to draft laws against its killing.

Restore walled city heritage, get incentives

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Dehi, September 30: Residents of the walled city wanting to renovate their homes could be given permission to use their properties as hotels or for other commercial uses if they restore the building’s lost heritage, a civic authority official said Wednesday.

Afraid that urbanisation and modern architecture could undo the Mughal-day architecture and ruin the Shahjahanabad or Old City charm, concerned city planners feel incentives could address the issue.

Bharti-MTN merger deal called off

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New Delhi, September 30: Bharti Airtel on Wednesday called off the much-hyped $23 billion deal for amalgamation with South Africa’s MTN after nearly four month-long intense discussions.

“The deal has been called off,” Bharti spokesperson said.

This is the second time in just over a year when Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel has been forced to abandon talks for amalgamation of the two organisations in a complex deal that also required Indian government’s clearance for dual listing.

Bharti-MTN deal terminated

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New Delhi, September 30: India’s telecom major Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN Wednesday terminated their talks for a proposed $24-billion equity swap-cum-strategic alliance that could have potentially created the world’s third largest mobile phone enterprise.

According to Bharti, the proposed deal was called off after the South African authorities declined to accept certain regulatory constraints on the part of both sides.

India scoffs at Pakistan for calling 26/11 evidence ‘half-baked’

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New Delhi, September 30: Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday scoffed at Pakistan for terming as ‘half-baked’ India’s evidence of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed’s role in the 26/11 Mumbai mayhem.

‘They are welcome to bake it fully. All the baking ingredients are in Pakistan. All the evidence is available on Pakistani soil,’ Chidambaram told reporters.

Couple booked for torturing Dalit girl

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Lucknow, September 30: A woman was arrested Wednesday and a search was on for her husband after they allegedly held a six-year-old Dalit girl hostage for the past six months and tortured her, police said.

The matter came to light Sunday when police raided their home on a complaint by the girl’s mother and rescued her.

“We were shocked to see the condition of the girl who had injuries and bruises all over her body. She could hardly walk,” Paresh Pandey, superintendent of police (Trans Gomti), told reporters.

Champions Trophy: Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets

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Centurion, September 30: Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets in a nail-biting Champions Trophy Group A encounter at the SuperSport Park here on Wednesday.

After restricting Pakistan for 205 for six, Australia lost quick wickets in the middle overs to win the match in the last ball.

For Australia, Mitchell Johnson (2-45) and Shane Watson (2-32) took two wickets each while Michael Hussey top scored with 64 runs.

Pakistan’s comeback bowler Mohammad Asif finished with figures of 2-34 while Saeed Ajmal claimed 2-31

Australia’s win means India are now out of the competition.

Tribal leader Mahato has insurance policy worth Rs.1 cr: Police

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Kolkata, September 30: Chhatradhar Mahato, the arrested chief of a Maoist-backed body in West Bengal’s Lalgarh, has an insurance policy worth Rs.1 crore (Rs.10 million) and he recently bought a house in Orissa, a top police officer said here on Wednesday.

‘Mahato has confessed during interrogation that he has an insurance policy worth Rs.1 crore and he has also given two premiums for it. He also bought a house at Mayurbhanj area of Orissa recently,’ West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh said at a press conference.

30 drown as boat capsizes in Kerala

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Kerala, September 30: At least 30 tourists drowned when a boat capsized in a lake in the Periyar wildlife sanctuary of Kerala on Wednesday evening, police said. With rescue work continuing, the toll was feared to go up.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan expressed deep anguish and ordered an inquiry into the accident.

The boat of the state-run Kerala Tourism Development Corporation was carrying at least 76 tourists, mostly from Karnataka and some from abroad. It capsized at around 5.15 p.m. in the artificial lake near Thekkady, about 300 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Five teenagers rescued by IAF chopper from Andhra river

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New Delhi, September 30: Five teenagers, who got stuck midstream in a river in Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, had a dramatic rescue after an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter was summoned for help.

Seven children in the age group 10-15 years were caught in a small rivulet midstream in Mehboobnagar while they were trying to cross it as the water level rose suddenly. While two of them swam to safety, the other five did not know how to swim and took refuge on a rock as the water level continued to rise.

Stones thrown at Haryana speaker

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Jhajjar, September 30: A mob pelted stones at outgoing Haryana assembly Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadiyan during an election rally here ahead of next month’s polls, officials said.

Kadiyan, who is contesting the Oct 13 polls on the Congress ticket from Beri constituency, had gone to Dhigal village on Rohtak road.

Goa tourism minister arrested yet again

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Panaji, September 30: Goa Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco was once again arrested and released by the Crime Branch on Wednesday, this time in a case of threatening and criminal intimidation, police said.

Pacheco, a National Congress Party (NCP) legislator, against whom this is the fifth criminal case booked in the last few years, was arrested this morning after he drove to the Crime Branch from the Secretariat, where he had addressed a press conference.

He was released on a personal bond and after he produced a local surety, Superintendent of Police Atmaram Deshpande told reporters.

5.5 cr more LPG connections in five years: Deora

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Surat, September 30: A total of 5.5 crore additional households will be provided cooking gas connections over the next five years covering almost two-thirds of the country, Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Wednesday.

He said this would increase the coverage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to 16.5 crore households in India from 11 crore at present.

More than 120 killed in Pacific island tsunami

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Wellington, September 30:The Pacific island death toll from Tuesday’s tsunami, which was triggered by a 8.0-magnitude undersea earthquake, continued to rise as more bodies were recovered from the debris of villages and tourist resorts and was set to reach at least 120, reports from the region said.

A total of 63 people were confirmed dead in Samoa as officials hampered by power and communications outages struggled to assess the casualties and damage. The disaster management office said many were still missing and the final toll was likely to top 100.

I’ll try to bring more kids to children film fest: Nandita Das

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Bhubaneswar, September 30:Actress Nandita Das, the newly appointed chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI), promises to bring maximum number of kids to the children film festival, starting Nov 14, despite the fact that kids are hooked to reality shows.

“My top priority at this moment is to attract large number of children from different regions and classes to the children’s film festival,” Nandita Das told reporters here while speaking on the sidelines of the programme “Joy of Giving”.

PM greets China on 60th anniversary

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New Delhi, September 30: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday congratulated the Chinese government and people on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic and said that “strategic and cooperative partnership” between India and China had developed over the years.
In a message to Premier Wen Jiabao, the prime minister said: “This is an important milestone in the life of China and an occasion for celebrations of your great nation’s many achievements in the last 60 years.

Rs.20 lakh in fake currency recovered in Uttar Pradesh

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Lucknow, September 30: The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh police Wednesday recovered fake Indian currency notes of more than Rs.20 lakh (two million) from a hideout in the Mainpuri district, police informed.

The recovery was made following the interrogation of one Girijesh Yadav, who was arrested with fake currency worth Rs.5 lakh from Manaknagar locality of Lucknow Tuesday.

Yadav was arrested on a tip-off by one of his accomplices, Arif, arrested earlier last week. The intelligence about Arif was provided by the Mumbai police.