Jalal, who was arrested by the Goa police Saturday, had come to this tourist place for triggering blasts at major ports, places of tourists interests including disco and pubs, they said. He was arrested after he got down from Mangala Express and one kg RDX, two hand grenades, two detonators and other substances were found in his possession. These attacks could have affected the tourism industry and could be seen as a replay of attacks carried out by militants in Bali of Indonesia, police said.

Tariq Jalal, a science graduate, had escaped from the custody of Jammu and Kashmir police in 2002. "In 2002, he was taken into custody by state police and was taken for identifying the spot for militant training in Srinagar from where he escaped and after that went on missing," Goa Director General of Police Neeraj Kumar told reporters here.

"After his escape from Srinagar, he travelled to Nepal, Bangladesh, Karachi and landed in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," Kumar said.

During his two-day long interrogation, he has disclosed that he planned to target vital establishments in Goa like Marmagao port trust, oil dumps, airport and railway stations, the DGP said. Jalal is a trained radiologist and inclined towards militancy when he failed to get a job.

Police zeroed in on Jalal after he made some calls to Srinagar. He was allegedly involved in creating "sleeping cells" of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in Mumbai and other places in the metropolis. During his interrogation, Jalal revealed he was a member of Pakistan-based militant outfit Tehrique-ul-Mujahiddin which works under LeT, the sources said. (PTI)

A total of 225 MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha belonging to the BJP-led Opposition alliance have already signed the memorandum, BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra told PTI. "Talks are on with TDP and AIADMK to join the signature campaign", he said. (PTI)

Following the outbreak, Government and the MCD are taking measures, including administering antibiotics to family members and neighbours of the infected persons, to check its spread. "We are also distributing leaflets to educate people about the symptoms of meningococcemia like high fever, throat infection and pain in the neck," Health Officer NK Yadav said. (PTI)

Mumbai: Ravindra Patil, former bodyguard of Bolly-wood actor Salman Khan and an eyewitness in a hit-and-run case was arrested from Mahabaleshwar early Sunday after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him, police sources said.

The non-bailable warrant was issued against him as he failed to appear for trial in the case in which Salman Khan is accused of killing one person and injuring four by ramming his car in to a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002.

Even after the warrant was issued he did not appear on four occasions and was reported missing. Crime Branch sleuths have arrested him from Mahabaleshwar and brought him to Mumbai. He has been lodged in Bandra jail and will be produced before a holiday magistrate Sunday, police sources added.

The court had issued non-bailable warrant against Patil on February seven when he failed to turn up. Again on February 10 he did not appear and the court re-issued the warrant by asking him to appear on February 16. Even on that day and later on March 2 he failed to appear in the case.(PTI)

New Delhi: Sale of 10 per cent equity in telecom joint venture Hutchison-Essar by the foreign partner to Egypt-based Orascom, that has significant presence in Pakistan and Bangladesh, appears to have raised the hackles of the government with the National Security Advisor MK Narayanan voicing security concerns about the deal.

In a note sent to Telecom Ministry earlier this month suggesting a total review of the FDI policy in the sector, Narayanan said that the with the latest acquisition, the China-Pakistani-Bangladesh-Egypt was making such concerns more 'daunting'.

Sources in Communication Ministry acknowledged the concerns by NSA and said that a review of the FDI policy would be taken up. "It would not be in terms of FDI ceiling of 74 per cent but more about various clauses," they said.

Suggesting that the concerned ministries should meet on the issue to adopt a yardstick that would be acceptable and realistic, NSA said that the time had come to take a formal position on this matter and for a comprehensive policy. Sale of over 10 per cent equity to Orascom by Hutch had promoted Essar to ask government if clearance was required for the deal.

Essar, the single largest equity holder in the mobile major, shot off letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran late last month, after it failed in attempts to get a satisfactory answer from Hutchison. (PTI)

Varanasi/Lucknow/Hardoi: Witnesses failed to idenity the two suspects who were detained in Hardoi in connection with Varanasi blasts but confusion prevailed Sunday whether they have been released with Uttar Pradesh Home Secretary Alok Sinha and Hardoi police taking contrasing positions.

The witnesses to the twin blasts in Sankatmochan temple and Varanasi cantonment rail station failed to identify Sadiq Ali and Ansar, whose faces resembled the released sketches of the terrorists suspected to be behind the explosions. official sources in Varanasi said.

Ali and Ansar were paraded a number of times before the two witnesses at a hotel in the temple town on Saturday, the sources said. After the identification parade, the two eye-witnesses said they were not the same persons who had allegedly kept a bag containing the bomb at Godaulia market on March seven. Shopkeepers of Godulaia market were called to the identification parade of the two who, along with six others, were picked up from a marketplace in Hardoi on Friday evening.

In Srinagar, Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashker-e-Tayyaba (LeT) on Sunday denied its involvement in last week's Varanasi blasts and said it had no connection with those arrested in Uttar Pradesh and Goa. "The blasts at Varanasi were aimed at defaming 'jehad' in Kashmir," LeT spokesman Abu Huzaifa told Kashmir News Service (KNS), a local news agency, here.

He claimed that the blasts at public places in the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, were being engineered by "Indian secret agencies". (PTI)

"Details of the abducted policemen are not known," they said adding additional police force have rushed to the spot to trace them.

The policemen were travelling in a bus when the Maoists stopped the vehicle near Chintagufa and abducted them, Dantewad District Superintendent of Police Praveer Das said. The incident took place about 20 km from Dornapal and about 500 km from the state capital. At the time of abduction, the policemen were without their weapons, Das said.

The details of the kidnapping were not known, the SP said. Meanwhile, police today recovered bodies of two villagers near Konta area of Dantewada district. The two were suspected to be killed by the Maoists, who have started targeting villagers to create a reign of terror in the entire Bastar region, including `hyper sensitive' Dantewada district, Das said. Naxalites have stepped up their violent activities in Dantwada district after a peace campaign was launched against them with the active support of the State BJP Government, police sources said.

So far, over 50,000 people have deserted their villages fearing for their life and have taken shelter in 27 relief camps opened by the government in the area, sources said. From June last, about 200 people, including over 50 policemen, have also been killed by the Naxalites in Dantewada district, they added. (PTI)

Bangalore: In a clear attempt to check revolt among power aspirants, ahead of the planned expansion of the BJP-JDS coalition ministry in Karnataka, the saffron party on Sunday asked partymen to understand the 'limitations of the coalition' and work for its success.

"All MLAs and partymen cannot be given berths. Workers should understand the limitations of a coalition Government. All should cooperate with the government", BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu told partymen, while speaking at a 'consultative meeting' here.

Naidu's remarks come in the backdrop of severe resentment that swept the maiden ministry expansion of the BJP-JDS coalition government held last month as several ministerial aspirants who were left out, expressed displeasure. He asked partymen not to "pursue a personal agenda" and work for the success of the coalition Government, in which the BJP is sharing power for the first time in the State.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, heading the coalition Government, has already indicated that he would go in for another round of expansion by next month to fill 12 berths, an exercise he has been putting off since February, fearing rebellion in both the parties. Kumaraswamy last month inducted 20 ministers -- 10 each from JDS and BJP. Naidu said the new President for the Karnataka unit would be named on March 17, as the incumbent Jagadish Shettar has joined the ministry.

Later speaking to reporters, Naidu said the BJP was exploring the possibility of fielding a second candidate for the March 28 biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. "Our aim is that the BJP should get the second seat and that the Congress should not be allowed to take advantage", he said, adding that the party was in consultation with the JDS, its coalition partner, to get its support.

The BJP has cleared the name of party leader K B Shanappa and is yet to finalise the second candidate. As a winning candidate needs 45.8 votes and considering the fact that it has 80 members in the 224-member assembly,BJP did not have the requisite numbers to win the second seat,he said. (PTI)

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi is grappling with the tricky issue of selection of candidates for Rajya Sabha elections even as lobbying among partymen to grab a seat in the Upper House is feverishly on. Heavy weights likes Arjun Singh, H R Bhadrwaj, Dasari Narayan Rao and Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha Rehman Khan are among the retiring members.

While Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh, who is keeping indifferent health for quite some time, is talked about being renominated from Madhya Pradesh, Bhardwaj, who last time got elected from Madhya Pradesh, is attempting a shift to Haryana. Former Union Minister C K Jafar Shareef figures as a prominent aspirant from Karnataka from where Rehman Khan is seeking renomination.

Congress can bring four MPs from Andhara Pradesh, largest it can bring from a state, where there is a long list of aspirants including Dasari Narayan Rao and PCC chief Keshav Rao besides few outsiders. Party Spokesman Rajeev Shukla, who last time was elected from UP on Loktantrik Congress' ticket, is aspiring an entry into Rajya Sabha from Uttaranchal.

Chief Minister N D Tiwari, who recently caused a flutter within the party by annoucing his intention to quit citing old age, is also keen on moving to the Delhi. His announcement coinciding with Rajya Sabha elections is being considered significantly within the party circle.

While BJP has already come out with list of candidates, Congress is expected to do so in a couple of days. March 17 is the last day of filing nominations. In Gujarat where Raju Parmar is retiring, AICC secretary Yogendra Makhwana and former MP Pravin Rashtrapal are prominant aspirants. All three Parmar, Makhwana and Rashtrapal belong to schedule cast. (PTI)

Zaheera, while surrendering on March 10, had pleaded before the sessions court here that she should be kept in a jail in Maharashtra and not (not) in Gujarat as she apprehended a threat to her life. Zaheera pleaded that she had confidence and faith in the Mumbai court which conducted her trial and hence she decided to surrender before it in keeping with the apex court order.

Remanding Zaheera to judicial custody, Judge Abhay Thipsay ordered Mumbai police to keep her in safe custody in a city jail and produce her on March 12 to decide her application on serving jail sentence in Maharashtra and not in Gujarat. Before Zaheera surrendered she had gone into hiding from her relative's residence at suburban Bhayander in nearby Thane district following the apex court order.

The Supreme Court had sentenced Zaheera to one year jail term and fined her Rs 50,000 for her flip-flops in the Best Bakery trial and for changing her version frequently. The Supreme Court severely reprimanded Zaheera for turning hostile during the trial and accepted the report of the high-powered inquiry committee, which had indicted her as a "self-condemned liar."

The apex cout also observed that "this is a classic example of a case where evidence were tampered with and witnesses won over". (PTI)

Kumarakom (Kerala): Holding that Sino-Indian talks on border dispute were moving in the right direction to "extricate" them from "logjam", National Security Advisor M K Naryanan on Sunday said the delineation issue could be settled after the next two to three rounds.

"The talks are moving in the right direction. The two countries are working to evolve a methodology for the settlement of the dispute, based on parameters and guiding principles agreed to between the two Governments earlier," Narayanan told journalists after a round of talks with the Chinese delegation at the Kumarakom Lake resort here.

"Our effort is to extricate talks from the logjam. I will be dishonest if I say that it will be settled in this round," Narayanan said after talks with Chinese delegation led by China's Executive Vice-foreign Minister, Dai Bingguo. The seventh round of India-China talks began in Delhi yesterday and the scene was shifted to the picturesque spot here for two days.

On the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, Dai Bingguo said "we have taken note of it, but we have primarily come here for border talks and that is our agenda." The two delegations arrived by a special Indian Airline flight at Kochi from where they and drove in here. (PTI)

The species in Shalabugh reserve include the greylag geese, mallards, teals, pochards, coots, gadwalls, pintails and shovellers.

"The species of birds inside the reserve are completely healthy, showing normal behaviour. Their flight patterns, feeding and mating indicators are normal," says Master Habibullah, 65, who lives in Chanduna village close to the reserve. He has been a keen bird watcher since childhood. The good news is that Habibullah has been studying the behaviour of the birds in the reserve and his observation is that the birds are in the pink of health. (IANS)

London: India and five other key WTO powers, which held a meeting here with an aim to break the deadlock in the global trade talks, have failed to achieve a breakthrough, but expressed commitment to meet challenges on the key issues of agriculture, services and non-agriculture market access.

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, who represented India at the two-day Group of Six (G-6) meeting which concluded last night, said that during the discussions he told the developed countries clearly that "there is no question of compromising India's agriculture sector."

"India has 300 million poor people earning less than a dollar per day. This round is to lift the poor people and their standard of living. There is no formula yet on the card. There is only hope," he told newsmen.

India was opposed to the question of market access which upset subsistence farming, he noted. 

The G-6 meeting was attended by the US, Brazil, the European Union, Japan and Australia, besides India to discuss issues relating to the ongoing Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations of the World Trade Organisations (WTO).

European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who chaired the talks, noted they had a "good meeting so far ...Our job is to build consensus. We don't expect to make a breakthrough." He claimed they had made progress in a number of areas but declined to elaborate.

"We remain committed to meet the challenges we set in Hong Kong (talks) on key issues of Agriculture, Services and Non-Agriculture Market Access," Mandelson said.

Brazilian Foreign Minister and Chairman of G-20, Celso Amrion, said he did not see at the meeting the "click" to make an agreement possible. (PTI)

New Delhi: You might be all excited about Holi, just a few days away, and stockpiling all the bright and beautiful colours but spare a thought about what you will smear on your friends and family. Shocking as it may sound, the beautiful colours could be acids, alkalis, mica or silica or some more dangerous chemical that may invite future hazards.

Celebrations of the arrival of spring with a carnival of colours -- reds, blues, greens, oranges and all imaginable hues -- might turn out to be a nightmarish experience. Acne, rashes, allergies and eye problems for young and old alike could just become the order of the day.

In some cases, the condition might affect a person for life, according to experts. ''The most commonly used colours like blue can cause dermatitis, a condition that often results in swollen, reddened and itchy skin ... high level of discomfort caused is extremely nerve wrecking,'' says Dr Anil Kumar Malik, a senior dermatologist.

''The colour red for instance contains a base of mercuric sulphite, which is highly toxic and a pigment that completely discolours the skin. Even the black paste can lead to eruption of allergic reactions on sensitive skins,'' he points out.

And if you think using dry colours will be safe and you are being cautious then you are grossly mistaken.

'Gulal' that contains two components, a coloring agent and a base, has mostly heavy metals like lead, chromium, nickel and cadmium.

''It is all the more capable of disturbing human body function and damaging the skin at large,'' says Dr Malik.

Dr Purnima Sood, senior Opthalmologist, says constant colour contact may cause conjunctivitis, obstruct vision and even lead to blindness if not treated properly.

''In case of eye irritation, splashing of water should be followed immediately after the eye comes in contact with harmful agents of colour,'' she advises.

But don't be dissuaded from celebrating Holi -- just a few precautions will do. Dr Malik strongly recommends use of natural and skin friendly and organic colours as they are much safer and reduce hazards to a minimum. He has a word of caution for people who are at high risk of developing allergies.

''Individuals with a history of eczema or Atopic Dermatitis should use a barrier cream white soft, yellow soft, paraffin prior to playing Holi''

''In case of any rash or allergy due to the result of such colour contact with the skin, medical aid must be sought immediately instead of self medication,'' advises Dr Malik.

Wearing clothes that fully cover the body will also help avoiding dermatitis at large. Dr Sood also recommends that people guard against 'gulal' falling into their eyes, as small bits of mica affects the cornea leading to abrasions and loss of sight. And an easy way to ensure that the colour washes off easily and prevents allergic reactions is application of cold cream or oil on all exposed parts followed with sunscreen. (UNI)

Mr Rymbai, who was being projected by the dissidents in the CLP as possible replacement for Mr Lapang as the CLP leader, should now find it difficult to play into the hands of the dissidents. The induction is likely to take place only after the Assembly session, sources close to CLP said on Sunday.

Back from Delhi, Mr Lapang had a meeting with the Speaker and Mr Rymbai on Friday at the Speaker's residence and arrived at the decision to induct Mr Danggo at Mr Rymbai's cost.Last week, in a rare show of political aggro Mr Danggo came out openly on the need for West Khasi Hills to have a ministerial berth in the MDA ministry.He accused the Chief Minister of not fulfilling his promise made in July 2004 of inducting Mr Danggo in the ministry after two years.

Sources said before taking such a decision, Mr Lapang consulted some senior members of CLP on the merits and demerits of having Mr Danggo in the ministry.After the induction of Mr Danggo, the MDA ministry would be up for a major reshuffle likely to take place after the Assam Assembly polls.

When contacted, MPCC president OL Nongtdu said in case of any reshuffle, the AICC would be informed in advance. "Only after the arrival of AICC leader Mr Oscar Fernandes in New Delhi on Monday, issue can be taken up", he said.

With the Speaker on Lapang's side, the effort of the dissident Congress MLAs to make any surprise move aimed at toppling the government in the coming Assembly session is unlikely to materialise.Moreover, the AICC is also not in favour of any change of leadership, as it believes that there has been no major breakdown of law and order under Mr Lapang's leadership.

SHILLONG: Efforts from all corners are on to get four HNLC militants arrested in Bangladesh last year extradited to India. A highly placed source here said the four militants were arrested in Sylhet by a joint team of Bangladesh Rifles and Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh last year. They are now languishing in a jail in Bangladesh.

The militants - Robin, Star, Obar and Mill - were picked up on July 15 last from Agram village under Hobiganj sub-district while trying to sneak into India. A large cache of arms and ammunition were seized from their possession. A senior police official said both Obar and Mill are believed to be senior HNLC cadres and Personal Security Officers (PSOs) of self-styled C-in-C Bobby Marwein.

"The matter has been intimated to the Union Home Ministry for taking it up with its Bangladeshi counterparts to secure extradition of these militants to India", the source said.

The police source lamented that the Bangladesh government was yet to respond to extradition plea, despite repeated requests.

SHILLONG: Ten 'ghost workers' of Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) resigned recently following the direction of the authorities to a section of workers serving in other departments. "Recently, ten full-time Mazdoor resigned after the authorities issued a strict direction that ghost workers would not be entertained in the office", Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shillong Municipal Board, Mr WL Lyngdoh said.

The first 'ghost worker' of the Board was identified during the end of last year and the service of one Papu Singh was terminated as he was working in United Bank of India (UBI) as well. Singh was appointed as a regular employee of SMB in 1985, while he was already working with UBI since 1976.

The Board officials suspect that there could be other 'ghost workers' still maintaining dual jobs. The SMB had earlier asked the employees to resign by December 15 last year if they had undertaken other profitable jobs. "The Board has to pursue the matter so that the employees do not engage themselves in malpractices of this nature", the CEO said.

The SMB could also save Rs 39,000 in November last year after checking the loopholes in distributing wages. There was a trend of receiving daily wage in different names. Mr Lyngdoh asserted that that the officers would be sent to important offices in and around the city to cross check weather the SMB employees were working in other government offices.

SHILLONG: The movement against border fencing in Khasi-Jaintia Hills received a shot in the arm when some members of the ruling coalition assured the NGOs that they would raise the issue in the forthcoming Assembly session beginning on March 17.

KSU president Samuel Jyrwa said that the Co-ordination Committee on International Border (CCIB) together with the Union approached "many legislators" of the Congress-led MDA government and urged them to take up the issue of border fencing in the coming Assembly session.According to him, the legislators agreed to raise the issue in the Assembly to pressurise the State government to consider the demand of the NGOs. 

Earlier, the NGO set a 15-day deadline to the State government to use its office for stalling the fencing works in disputed areas. The dead line will expire on March 15. Mr Jyrwa warned that if the State government failed to espond positively on or before March 15, the KSU along with other NGOs of the CCIB would finalise on their agitation programme.

The NGOs opposed to border fencing have been demanding that fencing should be erected only on the zero areas where no dispute prevails. In disputed areas, they said, fencing works should be stopped immediately and fresh border demarcation should be ordered. "If the government fails to meet our demand, we would go ahead with our proposed agitation in entire Khasi-Jaintia Hills", the KSU president said.

SHILLONG: The proposed meeting for finalising the formation Khasi-Jaintia Legislators Forum in line with the Garo Hills Legislators Forum (GHLF) was deferred to March 17. The meeting was to be held on Monday. Former Minister and KHNAM president Mr Paul Lyngdoh earlier wrote to all Khasi and Jaintia Hills legislators to attend the meeting to form the Forum and take up issues concerning the people of Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Mr Lyngdoh said the meeting had to be deferred to March 17 to be held soon after the first day Assembly session following the suggestion of the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy.

Meanwhile, Mr Lyngdoh termed as arbitrary the decision of the GSU to hold the debate on reservation policy on March 17 in Tura. "The fixing of the date and venue by the GSU without due consultation is childish and arbitrary", the KHNAM president said.

The GSU on Saturday announced March 17 as the date for debate on the reservation policy with Mr Lyngdoh in Tura.

SHILLONG: Police on Sunday arrested an extortionist for demanding money from a trader in West Khasi Hills. According to police, the extortionist Hector Sohshang was arrested from New Nongstoin in West Khasi Hills for demanding money at gun point from one Rina Khardewsaw of Pyngdengrei village.

Police said the accused went to Nongstoin Bazar at 7 pm on Saturday and demanded Rs 10,000 from Mrs Rina. Following an FIR lodged by Mrs Rina, police rounded up Hector and seized a country-made revolver, but without ammunition.

SHILLONG: Reel often imitates real life. In the case of Biplab Das, it was tragically the other way round. Biplab, a mass communication student of St Anthony’s College, had acted in one of the documentaries directed by his girlfriend Marbika. The film ended with the death of the character portrayed by Biplab. Marbika had no intuition that she would be capturing Biplab alive, ironically in death, for the last time. Her world came crashing down when a trio of miscreants brutally framed him forever.

"The documentary is based on the life of Marbika’s mother," said Mrs Ampareen Lyngdoh, head of Mass Communication department. "Biplab enacted the role of Marbika’s father and as per the script had to die at the end of the film."

The short film, Mrs Lyngdoh added, recounted the real life story of a woman in an orthodox Marwari family, who not only manages her husband’s business but also takes care of her children. Marbika had made the documentary as part of a Mass Communication third year student’s production programme.

On the relationship between the deceased Biplab and Marbika, the Mass Communication head revealed it had its inherent complications since both belonged to conservative families—Bengali and Marwari respectively. "Both Marbika and Biplab were above average students and they did their work near to perfection," Mrs Lyngdoh said.

Meanwhile, the Pynthorumkhrah-Golflinks Dorbar Shnong excommunicated the three youths—Boni Lyngdoh Phawa, Bernard Lyngdoh Phawa and Akbar Qureshi—who were apprehended by the police for killing and burying Biplab in the local cemetery.

The Executive Committee, which met here recently, banished the trio "with immediate effect" for their "barbaric act". Labelling Biplab’s death as unfortunate, the Executive Committee observed the ghastly incident "has tarnished the image of our locality". It lauded the police for arresting the culprits within a short period of time and called upon the judiciary to punish them. The police, on the other hand, said the case relating to Biplab’s death was still on.

SHILLONG: Convergence inspection to examine the implementation of various projects in remote areas of Garo Hills has given scope for speedy development in the region. In an attempt to streamline the monitoring system in remote areas of West Garo Hills, a concept of convergence inspection was mooted jointly by the West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner's office and the community involved.

Under the programme, if any officer of a particular department visits a village, he is asked not to limit the inspection only to his own department's projects but also to look into the problems of other departments as well, if there are any complaints.

The initiative was taken with inspiration from the Natural Resource Management Groups (NaRMG) scheme of IFAD project in Garo Hills covering 200 villages where the socio-economic development of the villages is credited to the participating community.

Talking to The Shillong Times, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Sampath Kumar said this programme "more systematic" than the previous ones started functioning in January and instructions were issued to all departments for follow up actions.

Since then officials, under the banner of the District Co-ordination Committee, have been meeting on a monthly basis to discuss in an open forum problems faced by villagers, pending projects, monitoring of various schemes, besides coming out with suggestions to rectify those problems.

The programme covering all villages of the district would allow officers to supervise the implementation of various projects like midday meals, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, teachers' presence in schools, supply of drinking water, functioning of Primary and Community Health Centres, construction of roads, besides others.

"If a contractor of a project in rural area stops work in between, it becomes too late when the concerned department comes to know about it. But with this programme coming into play, any official can check on such anomalies and immediately report to the concerned department or take it up during the monthly co-ordination committee meeting", the Tura DC said.

Mr Kumar said information gathered through this programme would be considered as positive feedback "as we can come up with suggestions to rectify the problem". The community too needs to be alert and report their problems to the concerned departments, he said.

The convergence inspection is also to direct the officers to get a general feed back so that the district administration will know, which areas need special focus. The next meeting of the committee has been convened on March 21, Mr Kumar said.

The employees said that as they are solely depending on MMDC Ltd for survival, the Government should arrange alternative jobs for them in other Departments to earn a living. The employees also said they had already withdrawn all the money from the Provident Fund as Salary Advance yet "could hardly make both ends meet."

"We have borrowed money for the Children's School Fees and rations and the amount of loan along with interest have zoomed up, which we feel unable to repay if the condition in MMDC is deteriorating", the employee said.

Further, the employees said that they are unable to work in any private organisation as they have to attend office regularly. It may be mentioned that at present there are only 15 staff working in the MMDC.

Fulfilling a promise made to the Armed forces more than five years ago, finance minister P. Chidambaram in his 2006-07 budget, unveiled a big gift to them: the Defence Modernisation Fund. The fund will be non-lapsable (for that reason, administered by the Reserve Bank of India rather than the ministry of defence) and capital funds unutilised by the services will flow into the fund, on the premise that long gestation periods for defence procurement predicate a long term commitment of funds. The fund will pay for defence imports and will have a corpus of at least Rs 25, 000 crore to be built up over the next three years.

This will set to rest permanently, taunts hurled at the services for being handmaidens of the bureaucratic system and perennially being made to return money to the Consolidated Fund of India, after being denied the right to spend it in the first place. In the 2005-06 budget for instance, the services returned Rs 9000 crore to the government and saved its bacon. Without this money, North Block would not have been able to balance its books. In tandem with the outlay in the budget totalling Rs 89,000 crore, was more good news. The biennial Defexpo 2006 for land and naval systems attracted unprecedented participation both local and foreign. Defexpos over the years have served to showcase India's defence capabilities and prove that defence undertakings are not just money-spending but also money-earning entities. As with the Defence Modernisation Fund, so also with the Defexpo, the government revealed a more modern outlook to defence spending, showing itself ready to invest money in defence if this meant more sensible utilisation of funds. This is an encouraging sign.

What did Defexpo 2006 tell us about India and the world in relation to equipment manufacture and export? Because governments are still the most important procurers of defence equipment but are getting out of the production loop by leaving that part of it to private manufactures, most countries have confederations of defence equipment-producing companies that are aggressively backed by government. The USA, Britain, Israel, Russia and France are just a few. India is rapidly getting there and the participation of private industry in the Defexpo increased over 115 per cent over the last one, showing how much the domestic defence industry had grown since foreign direct investment was permitted in defence. Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee said that ordnance factories sold equipment worth Rs. 869 crore to non-defence customers and in the financial year 2007-08, their sales were expected to touch Rs. 944 crore. He also said India's export earnings had gone up from US $17.4 million in 1999-2000 to US $ 87 million in 2005-06. In the last five years, the export earning of Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) had been US $ 72.24 million but for the current year alone, was expected to be US $ 80 million.

First the equipment. This Defexpo showed a disproportionate interest in heavy armour and all-terrain vehicles. Indian government owned entities as well as private manufactures like the Tatas and Mahindra and Mahindra displayed various kinds of retrofitted anti-landmine all terrain vehicles, suggesting these companies visualised a greater policing role for the Army. Indian defence industry clearly thinks there is a market for tough IED-proof four-wheeler. The display of tanks like the Arjun showed how much ground India still has to cover with the increasing use of technology in the battlefield, are not tanks and heavy armour going to become a thing of the past?

By contrast, Singapore, which showed in Defexpo for the first time, showcased its Light Strike Vehicles (LSV), a brilliant example of how heavy armour has conceptually modified itself to contemporary needs. Singapore needed for its minimal army, a vehicle that is at once fast and capable of intense fire power. The LSV is light enough to be lifted by a Puma helicopter it achieves this by modified design. A vehicle that has no sides, it can seat up to three people and can move at 100 km an hour, mounted with the most sophisticated artillery systems.

The Russian display was designed for an Indian audience. A range of Russian-made tactical land missiles arrayed in the exhibition was calculated to sprinkle salt on Indian wounds. Indian missiles are characterised by obsolescence and hounded by the problem of non-availability of spares. They are either indigenously produced (the Trishul which failed and led to the import of the Israeli Barak) or imported from Russia. In this exhibition, however, Russia proclaimed that it had restructured its defence industry and was now offering missiles on a commercial basis. The costing was not on friendship-price basis, but they were guaranteed to work this was the message from the Russian pavilion.

The Indian defence relationship with Russia has withstood the test of time and perestroika. But the tricky problem of 1500 T-22 MIs in the Indian army that need to be upgraded remains. Funds have to be divided between upgrading these tanks (not cheap) and the purchase of more state of the art T-90s (re-christened Bhishma) at a cost of Rs 12-13 crore each. There was some controversy surrounding the upgrade of the T-72s. Hopefully, this has been resolved. The Israeli display was interesting for what it did not show, rather than for what it did. We know that Israel is highly developed in Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology. But although India had the Nishant, the indigenously developed UAV, on display, why did Israel not show its UAVs? The Barak naval missile was on display as were other Israel-developed missiles. A range of electronic surveillance equipment was also on display. The French pavilion had a big presence but is worried about future negotiations with India. The Indian Navy has negotiated purchase of six pieces of the Scorpene submarine. This is manufactured by the French firm DCN that has also supplied to Pakistan, a submarine called Agosta, made under licence production at a shipyard in Karachi.

The British have latched on to the Line of Control (LOC) problem between India and Pakistan as a market for the HALO, the world's most advanced system of acoustic detection of fire and precise counter fire. India can do with this equipment on the Line of Control (LoC) where misdirected firing can lead to huge losses. Scores of soldiers die from firing on both sides. HALO was on display at the Defexpo, along with live demonstrations by a group of British army soldiers on how to prevent infiltration using sensors developed by British companies. 9/11 and the war in Iraq have shown us that in future even conventional wars will end as wars against terrorism. India needs to address this. Defexpo missed this point. INAV

It was a strange pecking order. An order that shattered long-held notion about gentle pigeons, noisy crows and their countenance in general. Having had no opportunity earlier to watch pigeons closely, I was fascinated by their sheer numbers when they descended on my huge terrace-cum-balcony in Hyderabad one morning. Their cooing and chattering amused me as I stood in front of the kitchen window sleepily getting my six-year-old's lunch ready.

Hoping they would come back the next morning and every day after that, I began to put out loads of rice — leftovers that my dog Tootsie made available. The crows came too — noisy as ever and often scolding me on days when I would delay putting out their meal. They waited at strategic points on the parapet, ready to swoop down on the bowl. I wasn't sure if they were early risers or had just got into the habit of grabbing a quick bite before the dominating pigeons landed.

As the messengers of love arrived with their domineering swagger, the crows obligingly stepped aside to let them have their fill. And while the pigeons made a mess of the place, throwing lumps of rice onto the ground, the crows would shift and slide, making way for one latecomer among them — a single-legged fellow.

Though he was half a wing short, he was the only one who had the courage to goad the pigeons to make way. It was probably a similar act of bravery that cost him his looks. I saw in him what cartoonist R K Laxman had noted decades ago — a spark of intelligence and a strong survival instinct in his jet black eyes. Eyes that reflected a quiet confidence in other creatures as well.

Something that made him stand out in the murder of crows that surrounded me and Tootsie every day. And then one day Tootsie died. The bowl lay in the balcony as usual, but the winged friends didn't turn up. Much later, the brave one put in an appearance and sat there in silence — for a long, long time. To me, it was as if he had come as a representative of the two warring parties, to bid farewell to his benefactor, before leaving for good. (By arrangement with The Times of India)

Sir,

The seven states of South India - MP, Mah, AP, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Kerala is equal to the size of Iran (16,48,000 Sq. Km). The population of Iran is 69.5 million while that of South India is 37.2 million (37,21,21,870). Iran is rich in oil and is one of the major oil producing countries in the Middle East and the Arab world. Due to the exhaustion of oil and coal by the year 2025 A.D. - (Pres. Bush of USA), many countries will be going back to water, electric energy, solar and wind energy and nuclear energy. India has few nuclear plants for producing electricity and others alike, in Mah, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. India uses 3% of nuclear energy. For peaceful use of nuclear energy, India should not have opposed the use of the same by Iran. Half of the world, starving population depends on developed countries. Why should we oppose or envy Iran in trying to climb up to be one of the developed countries? India should have developed nuclear energy three times of what it is developing now. If we have one billion empty stomachs, we also have two billion hands to work. What we really need is food and tonic for our brains and the will to do it.

Yours etc.,
K.M. Khonglah
Shillong

Sir,

In our rural area, during the Congress rule of S.M. Krishna in Karnataka, there was a gang rape and murder of a poor 18-year old girl. After police investigation, the result: suicide. A prominent dalit leader was also brutally murdered. Still there is no trace of the culprit.

During Dharam Singh's Congress and JD (S) coalition, there were rapes of two minor ST girls and were subsequently poisoned to death. After some furore, police went through the drama of catching the culprits. Ironically, within six months they were released on bails. The CM and Home Minister beat his earlier records in PWD and of other Congress CMs. He used to auction each and everything in his home department.

Such gruesome atrocities on women and dalits were rampant during Congress rule. Amazingly, the conviction rates nose-dived to almost zero. Under massive corruption, the weakest, especially women and dalits, become major victims. These ground realities are contrary to the Congress claims. The downfall of corrupt Congress in South has started with Karnataka and will have its domino effect. Due to the lip service it pays to the downtrodden, women, dalits and massive corruption, Congress is going to be in a pathetic state such as in the north.

Despite all these, one wonders where are the microscopes of some NGOs, NCW and NHRC? Are they limited to nitpicking in non-Congress and non-Communist ruled states?

Yours etc.,
R K Mani,
Karnataka

The party was undecided on its chief ministerial candidate in Kerala against the backdrop of differences over the choice of the person. The party politburo and central committee, which met here during the weekend, discussed threadbare and finalised the poll strategies and alliances for the elections where it will take on Congress for the first time after it extended support to the UPA Government at the Centre.

In Assam, "CPI(M) has reached an electoral understanding with AGP led by Brindaban Goswami to piece together a non-BJP, non-Congress alliance with the support of other Left parties," Party Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters here after conclusion of the two-day Central Committee meeting.

"We have reached an understanding on seat-sharing and a formal announcement in this regard would be made soon. Everything is moving towards that direction," he added.

Asked to spell out the party's stand in the event of a hung Assembly, Yechury said CPI(M) would ensure that BJP is kept out of power. "It's obvious, we will take a position opposite to BJP." Differences in the party remained as to who will spearhead its campaign and subsequently emerge as the Chief Ministerial candidate in Kerala where the party is hoping to wrest power from ruling Congress.

Yechury said CPI(M) leadership has discussed the issue of Kerala leadership but a decision would be taken at the Kerala party's state secretariat and state committee meetings scheduled to be held from March 14-16 at Thiruvananthapuram. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and Poliburo member S Ramachandran Pillai would attend the meetings.

With the Kerala Government ordering a CBI probe into the SNC Lavlin deal, signed in 1997 by the then Power Minister and present State party secretary Pinaray Vijayan, his chances of leading the charge appears to have dimmed, giving the advantage of the Leader of the Opposition and arch-rival V S Achuthanandan who finds himself marginalized in the party.

However, majority of the State leaders are Pinaray supporters and to avert the possibility of Achuthanandan getting the baton, they even floated the idea of a Muslim Chief Minister in the form of LDF convenor Paloli Muhammad Kutty, a Pinarayi loyalist, in the politburo meeting.

A CAG report had pointed out serious lapses in awarding the contract to SNC-Lavalin for renovation of Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniar hydro electric power projects at a cost of Rs 374.50 crore.The report also stated that the expenditure for renovation did not yield commensurate gains, prompting the government to order a CBI probe.

The party has already completed the slection of candidates in West Bengal where it has decided to field 54 new faces and has kickstarted campaigning.In Tamil Nadu and Pondichery, CPI(M) does not have much stake. (PTI)

A combined team of the Army and the Assam Rifles had an exchange of fire with militants of the Peoples Liberation Army at about 8 am. Four PLA cadres and one woman were killed in the encounter while the security forces recovered three AK rifles and one LMG.

The civilian is identified as Moikham (30). Her son aged one year and two months also sustained bullet injuries. The husband of the deceased, Chingthui said the security forces shot dead his wife while she was hiding under a bed of their house with the minor child.(NNN)

In another incident at Darogajan locality, over 60 shanties were destroyed in a fire. The fire spread, due to seasonal wind, through the jhuggi cluster at Darogajan and shops at Khermohal respectively, eyewitnesses said. (PTI)

Imphal: A team of Manipur police would be sent to Mizoram to probe the alleged rape of 21 Hmar girls at Churachandpur district by suspected militants. The girls were reportedly in Mizoram and three MLAs from Manipur and some senior State Government officials had gone there to meet them.

Manipur Chief Minister O.Ibobi Singh had earlier informed the Assembly that the Government will meet all expenses incurred in looking after the people who had fled to Mizoram. He said, however, half of them had already returned to the State. Police said about ten cases of rape were registered at Parbung Police Station, Churachandpur.

Meanwhile, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), whose cadres operate in the area, have announced that they were ready for a probe by an impartial body. The UNLF stated that it would award capital punishment if any of its cadres were found to be involved and reminded that it had killed one of its cadres earlier for raping a girl. (UNI)

NNN adds: The alleged mass rape of Hmar girls by underground cadres has evoked condemnation from a cross section of the people. The Hmar Students Association (HSA), Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and the Zomi Federation (ZSF) of Churchandpur on Sunday vehemently flayed the alleged rape incidents of girls of a village in Churachandpur district by allged UNLF cadres.

"Defilement of 21 innocent girls by UNLF cadres during January this year at Tipaimukh sub-division of Churchandpur District, the humiliating act of sadism and sodomy perpetrated, had an ulterior motive in forcibly outraging the chastity and purity of the innocent girls and thus robbing them of their most valued possession - their chastity," a joint statement of the organisations stated.

The incidents came to light only after the UNLF rebels were flushed out from the area. The victims narrated their horrid experiences and the trauma they faced at the hands of the militants.

Aizawl: The Mizoram State Legislative Assembly was unanimous on the need to settle boundary disputes with neighbouring states, especially Assam. The House had a threadbarediscussion on the official resolution adopted by Revenue Minister B. Lalthlengliana on Thursday last, which stated that the Centre should set up a boundary commission to ascertain the actual boundary between the State and its neighbouring states.

Putting party differences aside, all members of the House felt that it was high time that the boundaries between Mizoram and its neighbouring states, especially that with Assam, was settled once and for all.

According to Lalthlengliana, the then Assam authorities had demarcated Mizoram's territory in 1933 which is still the official boundary till today without giving due importance to the Southern Boundary of Cachar district as notified in the Calcutta Gazette on September 21, 1870 and subsequently in the Assam Gazette No. 299P of August 20, 1875. It was only in 1912 that a notification was issued in the Gazette for the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 to become effective whereby the Inner Line Reserve Forest was accepted following the demarcation made through the Southern Boundary of Cachar notification.

In 1930, the 1875 notification of the Mizoram - Cachar Boundary was changed through a notification which stated that "The Inner Line Regulation of 1873 as amended by the Regulation of 1925 was then extended to the Lushai Hills District by Notification No. 9110 AP dt. 28.8.1930."

Soon after this, in 1933, when it became necessary to re-demarcate the Chittagong Hill Tract and the Lushai Hills, a new boundary for the Lushai Hills was created. The difference between the 1875 boundary demarcation and the 1933 demarcation was a loss of 749 square km by Mizoram.

"The present boundary between Mizoram and Assam is just a boundary on paper without ground realities. The Assam authorities of that time had never bothered to consult the people of Mizoram when they changed the boundaries from time to time. This is in contravention of norms. We had been forced to accept our present boundaries when we became a district council (in 1852), which later became our official boundary when we became a Union Territory (in 1972) and a State (in 1987). Our complaints had always fallen on deaf years," Lalthlengliana said.

He asserted that the boundary dispute was not something that can be ascertained through talks between the two chief ministers of Mizoram and Assam since the Constitution provided the alteration of any State boundary through an act of Parliament. (NNN)