Month: September 2013

Guidelines announced for greening of cities

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To curtail further urban concretisation of cities and towns in the country, the urban development ministry has issued guidelines for urban greening and landscaping across the country.

The guidelines based on a petition filed by NGO Hindustan Environment Action Group deals with water harvesting, prevention of flooding, conservation of water bodies, protection of green cover, and heritage sites while ensuring a people-centric approach.

The guidelines were in place in Delhi since 2010 but were extended to the entire country under pressure from the National Green Tribunal.

JPC report on 2G scam a cover-up: CPI

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The CPI Saturday termed the JPC report on 2G scam as a “cover-up” and said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram were “morally and legally” responsible for the enormous losses caused to the exchequer.

“The report is a cover-up operation. A fraud has been played, facts have been suppressed and it is biased to favour them (Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram). Parliament’s mandate has also been violated,” party leader Gurudas Dasgupta told reporters here.

Trooper arrested for molesting minor in Bengal

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A Rapid Action Force (RAF) trooper was Saturday arrested for allegedly molesting a minor school girl in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, police said.

The incident which happened under Ghoom Jorebunglow police station in the district, led to people staging angry protests. Police carried out a “mild” baton charge after protestors clashed with them resulting in minor injuries to a few policemen.

The victim, a class 11 student was returning home when the accused posted at a checkpost, allegedly caught the girl by her hand and tried to pull her towards him.

Traffic restrictions for Modi’s Delhi rally Sunday

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The Delhi traffic police has announced traffic restrictions in north Delhi in view of the Bharatiya Janata Party rally at Japanese Park in Rohini area Sunday.

Participants in the rally have been advised not to use private vehicles but commute via Delhi metro to reach Japanese Park, the Delhi Police’s traffic wing said.

To reduce traffic congestion, goods vehicles will be diverted at Shahbad Dairy, Peera Garhi crossing, Wazirpur bus depot and Mukarba chowk in north Delhi.

Somen Mitra criticises Ghosh’s suspension without hearing

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Virtually backing suspended Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool MP Somen Mitra Saturday indicated that Ghosh has not been given any scope to defend himself before the punitive action.

“Even a convict getting capital punishment is allowed to defend himself. He is told what their crime is,” Mitra, perceived to be the rallying point for dissident Trinamool MPs and leaders, told the media, after Ghosh said that he did not receive any show cause notice prior to his suspension.

UP politician’s security men arrested for assaulting chemist

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Five people including three Uttar Pradesh Police constables posted as security officers of a politician were arrested for assaulting a chemist here, police said Saturday.

The three constables – Shailendra Pratap, Shailendra, and Sunny and their two companions Mohammed Sayeem Aktar and Shiv Kumar were arrested from Connaught Place area late Friday, police said.

Police said the accused constables, posted as personal security officers of a senior politician of Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party, had assaulted a chemist in south Delhi’s Yusuf Sarai area on Sep 17.

PM pitches for UNSC reforms

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday made a strong pitch for reforms in the UN Security Council saying these should reflect current realities.

“The UN Security Council must be reformed and restructured to reflect current political realities,” Manmohan Singh said in his speech in the UN General Assembly.

“More developing countries should be included as both permanent and non-permanent members,” he said.

The prime minister also said that multilateral financial institutions should also enable an enhanced voice for developing countries in their decision making structures.

Cultural extravaganza in Delhi to celebrate China’s National Day

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Celebrating the 64th National Day of China here, Indian and Chinese artists Saturday enthralled the audience with cultural performances like face changing, Rajasthani folk dances, musical performance and magical tricks.

“China-India Cultural Extravaganza 2013” was organised by the India-China Economic and Cultural Council in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy and the China National Tourist Office.

Indians trying to come to terms with Nairobi attack

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The Indian community in Kenya is trying to come to terms with the devastating fallout of the Nairobi mall attack Sep 21, coping with the pain of losing loved ones and lost business opportunities.

The community which bore the brunt of the terror act, lost scores of its members, and saw its businesses suffer heavy losses with the fate of the Westgate shopping mall remaining unknown and establishmens in the vicinity of the mall suffering severe disruption.

Man arrested for stealing Rs.4.7 lakh

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A man was arrest Saturday for sealing Rs.4.7 lakh from the bag of a traveller in Metro train here, police said. The stolen money was recovered.

Gajaba, 30, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station in the morning soon after the victim, in his 50s, raised an alarm, police said.

Police have recovered Rs.4.7 lakh from Gajaba’s bag which he stole from the passenger going towards Uttam Nagar from Seelampur.

Man caught for stealing Rs.4.7 lakh in metro

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A man was arrest Saturday for sealing Rs.4.7 lakh from the bag of a traveller in Metro train here, police said. The stolen money was recovered.

Gajaba, 30, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station in the morning soon after the victim, in his 50s, raised an alarm, police said.

Police have recovered Rs.4.7 lakh from Gajaba’s bag which he stole from the passenger going towards Uttam Nagar from Seelampur.

Girl dies after rescue from open bore well

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A six-year-old girl died of multiple organ failure, a few hours after she was rescued from a 200 feet-deep borewell in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvanamalai district, said officials.

According to doctors at the Vellore government hospital, Devi did not respond to the treatment given as several of her organs had failed during her 10-hour-ordeal

A resident of Pulavanpadi village, the young girl fell into the bore well, which was not properly covered up, in a farm owned by Shankar, around 8 a.m. this morning while out with her mother.

Trinamool suspends rebel MP Kunal Ghosh

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Eight days after he raised the standard of revolt, the Trinamool Congress Saturday announced it has suspended Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh on disciplinary grounds.

But the rebellion in the Trinamool ranks seemed far from over. Senior leader and party MP Somen Mitra backed Ghosh, while the Congress’s claim that eight-10 Trinamool MPs could join the party after Diwali (Nov 2) created further uncertainty.

“Ghosh is being suspended from the party with immediate effect until further orders,” Trinamool secretary general and disciplinary committee convenor Partha Chatterjee told the media.

Jamaat-e-Islami to adopt 1,000 riot-hit Muzaffarnagar families

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Jamaat-e-Islami Hind will adopt 1,000 families, displaced from five villages of riot-hit areas of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, and rehabilitate them in their original homes.

“Thousands of Muzaffarnagar riot-hit displaced families are forced to live in extremely small relief camps or under open sky without shelter in miserable conditions with very poor sanitation facilities, therefore Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s relief and rehabilitation committee has decided to adopt 1,000 selected families,” all India secretary Mohammad Shafi Madani said in a release here.

Tutor’s brother gets 10-year jail for raping student

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A court here Saturday awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to a man who raped a seven-year-old girl who had come to his house for taking tuitions from his sister.

Additional Sessions Judge Vikram Aggarwal sent Dikraj, in his early 20s, to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs.25,000 on him.

He was found guilty of rape and threatening the victim and her family and was convicted under various penal provisions including the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act.

Charge sheet against union minister in Bengal

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A charge sheet was filed in a court in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district Friday against Minister of State for Railways Adhir Chowdhury in connection with the murder of a Trinamool Congress worker over two years ago.

The charge sheet was framed against Chowdhury, a senior Congress leader, and eight others in the Baharampur court by police probing the killing of Kalam Sheikh May 15, 2011.

With police declaring Chowdhury as “absconding”, the court issued an arrest warrant.

Former Rajasthan minister undergoes medical test in rape case

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A former Rajasthan minister underwent a medical test here Saturday in connection with a case of rape lodged against him by a married woman, police said.

Babu Lal Nagar was taken to SMS Hospital where a medical board carried out various tests on him, a police officer told IANS.

“Nagar had ignored our notices over the past one week requiring him to appear before police for a medical examination. However, he appeared before us today (Saturday). The doctors have taken his blood sample for a DNA test. Police had got semen samples from the woman’s clothes,” said a police officer.

Odisha hospital ceiling fan falls on patient

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An octogenarian paralytic patient suffered shock and minor injuries when a ceiling fan came crashing down and fell on his chest Saturday at a leading government hospital in Odisha, his son said.

The mishap occurred in the medicine ward of the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar where Padma Lochan Sahu, who was injured in the accident, was admitted three days ago.

“It suddenly fell on him as he was sleeping. Since he is unable to speak, the pain was visible in his body movements and on his face,” his son Prafulla said.

The hospital staff removed the fan and conducted an X-ray scan.

Chinese police bust child trafficking network

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At least 92 children and two women were rescued during a crackdown on a major human trafficking network in China.

Police also detained 301 suspects who were part of the network, reported Xinhua.

The children were kidnapped from southwest China’s Yunnan and Sichuan areas and deliverymen drove them to the sellers in other regions, according to a statement released Friday by China’s Ministry of Public Security.

Killed NRI student’s family questions police probe

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The family of 21-year-old NRI student Anmol Sarna, who died here after a drug party, Saturday questioned the Delhi Police investigation and said they will continue to press for a CBI probe.

Addressing a press conference here, they said they will meet the government to press their demands for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to handle the case.

“The postmortem report of Anmol clearly suggested that he had a deep injury on his head and in his private parts. Police have not investigated the case in this direction,” said Sushma Sarna, his mother.

Death toll in Pakistan quake reaches 359

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The death toll in Pakistan’s magnitude-7.7 earthquake which struck Balochistan province Tuesday reached 359 Friday, with media reports from the country suggesting it could further rise.

“The numbers confirmed are 359 dead and 755 injured. That is what we know for sure,” provincial government spokesman Jan Mohamed Buledi said.

“Most of the affected areas have already received assistance, but there are some very remote areas that we haven’t been able to reach,” he said while declining to comment on media accounts about hundreds of deaths not yet counted.

371 killed in Pakistan earthquakes

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At least 371 people were killed and over 750 others injured after two earthquakes hit Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province within a period of three days, officials said.

Talking to Xinhua, Saif-ur-Rehman, spokesperson of Provincial Disaster Management Authority said that a total of 359 people were killed and 750 others injured in the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit the province Thursday, while the second earthquake measuring 7.2 at the Richter scale, which struck the area Saturday afternoon, killed 12 people.

I’d like to make film on wildlife: John Abraham

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Actor-producer John Abraham, who has been roped in as the face of National Geographic Channel in India, says he is keen to make a film on wildlife.

“Wildlife is something that we have not attempted before. I would like to explore it…I would like to make a film on wildlife, but we have to work a lot on it. If we get a responsible producer who can produce such films then why not,” John said here.

Meanwhile, the actor, who is also passionate about his bikes, says he is developing a script based on motor cycling.

India’s forex reserves jump by $2 bn

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India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves jumped by $2.03 billion to $277.38 billion for the week ended Sep 20, the biggest weekly gain in nearly two years, on the back of concessional swap facilities offered to banks by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The forex reserve has increased sharply for the second consecutive week. It had jumped by $544.7 million in the previous week.

According to RBI’s Weekly Statistical Supplement, the country’s foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, increased by $1.97 billion to $249.22 billion for the week ended Sep 20.

Joint action plan to solve water-logging issue on Gurgaon expressway

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Three departments of the Haryana government and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Saturday prepared a joint action plan to counter the water logging issue on Hero Honda crossing of the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, an official said.

A joint action plan was prepared by NHAI, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) and Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) officers in presence of Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi and they even fixed deadline for themselves to complete the action plan.