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Thursday,
October 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Cyclone claims 41 lives in Andhra 7 held in connection with Noida tragedy Hooch tragedy toll rises to 28
Punjab, UP polls before March No ‘secret plan’ on FDI in print media
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Jessica case: witness
contradicts statement Patna bandh peaceful Panel on war records’ declassification ISI agent convicted in spying case
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Cyclone claims 41 lives in Andhra Hyderabad, October 17 State Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu started an aerial survey of the worst-affected areas this morning. According to the sources, 15 persons who were taking shelter in a temple, drowned in the flood waters in Suddamitta village in Kurnool district. In Cuddapah town, which is submerged in water, 18 persons were killed in house collapses and 150 reported missing. Nellore reported six deaths, including five students who were swept away while crossing a rivulet. Two deaths were reported from Chittoor, the home town of the Chief Minister. The sources, quoting unconfirmed reports, said more than 200 persons were either missing or washed away in the affected coastal districts of Nellore, Cuddapah and Chittoor. Food and water packets would be dropped by this afternoon as people living in the low-lying areas were being shifted to safer places. They said Cuddapah town might face the worst-ever floods, as the Buggavanka Dam was facing the threat of a major breach. The entire district machinery was at the dam site, making hectic efforts to prevent any breach to the dam. Train services and traffic on National Highway No 5 between Chennai and Kolkata were also affected, the sources added. They said train services were disrupted on the Nellore section and many trains were terminated at Gudur as the rail traffic came to a standstill in the worst-affected Nellore district. Meanwhile, Army helicopters were pressed into service to drop food packets and carry out relief operations in the state. “We have pressed Army choppers to drop food packets and rescue people from marooned villages besides engaging military engineering staff from our state and Tamil Nadu for rail and road repair works”, state Relief Commissioner K. Roshaiah told PTI adding that the official machinery would be coordinating relief works from Nellore town. Heavy rain lashed Nellore, Cuddpah and Chittoor districts breaching tanks, damaging roads, inundating low-lying areas besides uprooting trees and rail tracks while over 3,000 persons were shifted to safer places in last two days. Though toll figure cannot be specified at this stage, Roshaiah said, there were reports from Cuddapah that 15 persons were missing since a three storey building collapsed following heavy rain.
UNI, PTI |
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7 held in connection with Noida tragedy New Delhi, October 17 Delhi Finance Minister Mahinder Singh Saathi told mediapersons that he had taken up the matter with the Police Commissioner to strengthen enforcement at police station-level. He also said the government was contemplating sealing off of the borders with the states adjoining Delhi. He said the ‘liberal’ excise policy of UP was partly to blame for the liquor tragedy. “Why doesn’t the
Opposition (BJP) in Delhi first set its house in order there?” he said and pointed out that the ‘Tohfa’ brand of country liquor responsible for the Noida deaths was manufactured reportedly in Muzaffarnagar. The minister said the sale of liquor pouches in Delhi was illegal. Also, the use of plastic (used for pouches) had been banned, thereby rendering their sale in plastic pouches illegal. |
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Hooch tragedy toll rises to 28 Noida, October 17 As many as 30 persons are still undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the town. Following public announcement that all those, who consumed the illicit liquor should come out and get the treatment, 92 persons turned up taking the number of affected persons to 124. They are residents of the Sector 44 slums, Sectors 4, 22, 9 and 37 and Mamora village A person, Bunti, of Nithari was taken into custody today for selling liquor and about two dozen shops were razed to ground by the authorities. |
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Harin Pathak assumes office New Delhi, October 17 Mr Pathak was sworn-in to the Union Council of Ministers on Monday along with Defence Minister George Fernandes. He was Minister of State for Defence Production and Supplies from October, 1999 to November, 2000. He and Gujarat Health Minister Ashok Bhat stepped down from their posts after they were chargesheeted in a case relating to the murder of a police constable during riots in Ahmedabad in 1985. The 54-year-old MP from Ahmedabad, met Mr Fernandes immediately after taking over.
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Punjab, UP polls before March Dehra Dun, October 17 This was revealed by Mr J.M. Lingdoh, Chief Election Commissioner, while talking to the mediapersons here today. He was here in the state capital to hear the complaints of the public regarding the proposed draft of the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in Uttaranchal. When asked that the term of the present legislative Assembly in Punjab is expiring on March 3, 2002 and does it mean that the elections in UP, Uttaranchal and Punjab are expected to be held before this, the Chief Election Commissioner replied: “I can’t exactly give the dates of the election but it is quite obvious that in order to avoid any constitutional crisis, elections will be held sometime in the end of February”. He said ballot papers would not be used for voting in all constituencies of the three states. Electronic voting machines would be used to cast votes. “We will go for proper identification of the voters this time during voting to avoid bogus voting”, he said. It is worth mentioning that the Election Commissioners, Mr T.S. Krishnamurthy and Mr B.B. Tandon, have heard the public complaints at Almora, Nainital, Tehri and Pauri. Besides this, the Election Commission heard the public complaints at Hardwar and Dehra Dun during the past few days. “We have been very systematic in dealing with the hearing of complaints. Detailed interactions were held with the district officials from time to time and finally we had a round of discussions with the Chief Secretary and other senior officials of the state at Dehra Dun this morning,” he added. |
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No ‘secret plan’ on FDI in print media New Delhi, October 17 This was stated by
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sushma Swaraj during discussions on the second day of the Economic Editors Conference, 2001, here. “The I and B Minister is telling you that there is no question of allowing it (FDI in print media) secretly,” Ms Swaraj said. She said the government had taken no firm decision on this though the issue relating to FDI in non-news and non-current affairs publications did come up for discussion at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. To a specific query on the issue, the Minister categorically said “we are still following the 1955 Cabinet resolution, which bars the entry of foreign print media business. We have also now reopened the issue.” However, she pointed out that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, headed by Mr Somnath Chatterjee, was looking into the matter suo motu. “We will not proceed on the issue until the report comes out,” Ms Swaraj added. Ms Swaraj said the industry status given to the film sector has given boost to the sector and film exports had gone up from Rs 250 crore in 1999 to Rs 400 crore last year while Rs 900 crore could be expected in the current financial year. |
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Jessica case: witness contradicts statement New Delhi, October 17 “I had told the police that Bina was saying stop that man. However I had not said to the police that she also said “He (Manu) has shot Jessica,” said witness Rouble Dunglay in the court of Additional Sessions Judge R.L. Chugh. The dress designer told the court that he heard two gunshots after his arrival at the restaurant at 2 am on the fateful night. He along with well-known designer Rohit Bal and other friends had gone to the restaurant looking for food as all eating joints had closed by then. Supporting the prosecution on facts, 27-year-old Dunglay told the court that after the gunshot he tried to make out the person who was shot. A moment later he saw Jessica lying in a pool of blood. He took her to the hospital as he knew her as a friend for past few years. A nervous looking Duglay said it was true that he told the police that he saw Bina chasing a boy soon after the shooting took place, but denied that he told the police that the boy looked obese. “I don’t remember whether I told the police that the boy who was being followed by Ms Ramani was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans,” Dunglay stated. Meanwhile the prosecution began to record the statement of Ms Bina Ramani’s husband George Mailhot. It will be continued by the prosecution tomorrow as the matter was adjourned by the court today. Jessica Lal was allegedly shot dead by Sidharth Vashist, alias Manu Sharma, after she refused to serve liquor to him at the Tamarind Court Restaurant in Mehrauli on April 29 night in 1999.
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Patna bandh peaceful Patna, October 17 Over 10 students were detained by the police when they brought out a procession on the Ashok Raj Path here to enforce the bandh, official sources said. No untoward incident was reported during the bandh. Colleges under Patna University were closed and most of the private schools here declared a holiday today as a precautionary measure. Shops and major business houses remained open and vehicles plied as usual. Central and state government offices functioned without any trouble as banks transacted normal business. The police had on Monday opened fire on a group of students trying to free an arrested union leader, leaving one person injured at Patna college here on October 15. Student organisations, including the Chhatra Samata, the Students Federation of India, and the AISF had called the bandh also demanding punitive action against policemen responsible for it.
PTI |
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Panel on war records’ declassification New Delhi, October 17 Noted defence historian S.N. Prasad and Lieut Gen (retd) S. Nambiar would be the two other members of the committee, which would submit its report by December 31, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. The committee, the spokesman said, would review the history of the conflicts already compiled to decide whether or not they could be thrown open for public sale. A Defence Ministry announcement said the committee would examine all files available in the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs relating to the wars and decide on whether to recommend or reject their publication.
PTI |
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ISI agent convicted in spying case Kolkata, October 17 The sentence will be pronounced by the city Civil and Sessions Court Judge A. Mukherjee tomorrow. ISI agent Ahmed Ali, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh, was arrested on September 15, 1999, from Dum Dum in the northern fringe of the metropolis for passing on vital information on defence establishments, including the Chandipur missile test range, to Pakistan. Ali, Aloke Biswas, Md Yakub and Mrinal Poddar were convicted for sedition and criminal conspiracy. Ali was separately convicted for cheating by impersonation. The judge observed that the most distressing part was how such secrets were passed on so easily. It was time to change existing laws so that the onus of proof was shifted from the prosecution to the accused. Eight persons, including two staff members of the Chandipur test range, were apprehended following Ali’s arrest. Biswas was arrested from Mumbai, Yakub from Delhi and Poddar from Dum Dum. Asit Panda, his wife, Lakshmi Priya, B.P. Singh, Biren alias Birendra Kumar Das and Aziz Khan were acquitted. B.P. Singh and Das were employees of the test range.
PTI |
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Entire Opposition quits UP House Lucknow, October 17 |
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Pakistan frees Punjab youths New Delhi, October 17 |
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