Thursday, November 11, 1999

War records’ release sought
NEW DELHI, Nov 10 — A former Chief of Army Staff Gen V. N. Sharma, and other retired services top brass have criticised the moves by authorities to continue to keep a lid on records of Army operations fit for declassification saying that this would harm future battle preparedness.

Delhi police arrests Haryana gangster
NEW DELHI, Nov 10 — A dreaded Haryana gangster, who threw chilli powder and escaped while being escorted to a Karnal court, has been arrested by the Delhi police.

Still under 4 ft of water
CHANDBALI (Orissa), Nov 10 — Even as water was receding from most parts of Orissa, vast areas in this remote village still remained under water affecting over two lakh persons and hampering relief operations.

PM to flag off trucks from Punjab
NEW DELHI, Nov 10 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee will flag-off trucks from Punjab carrying relief material for cyclone-hit Orissa here tomorrow at a brief ceremony that nearly got enmeshed in a security tangle.

Mamata wants Sealdah station named Calcutta
CALCUTTA, Nov 10 — Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today proposed to rename the Sealdah Railway station, undergoing modernisation, as “Calcutta” and said that it would be developed as a model station.

Cockroach trap developed
New Delhi, Nov 10 —A trap to prevent the entry of cockroaches through the drains has been developed. Cockroaches are the main source of gastroenteric diseases, according to a study.

Lucknow city of ‘most powerful’
LUCKNOW, Nov 10 — The UP capital will be home to the Prime Minister and the UP Chief Minister with city resident Ram Prakash Gupta set to replace Mr Kalyan Singh.

SPG cover to Sonia extended

NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (UNI) — The government has decided to amend the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act, 1985, through an ordinance in order to continue SPG cover to Congress President and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi beyond November 30, 1999.

The decision to amend the Act was taken at a Cabinet meeting held here today was presided over by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Giving reasons for issuing ordinance, an official spokesperson told newsmen that since the SPG protection to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her two children will be expiring on December 1, 1999, it may not be possible to get SPG amendment Bill passed in both Houses of Parliament by then. It is therefore, proposed to get an ordinance issued in this regard.

The proposal approved by the Cabinet provides SPG protection on threat perception to former Prime Ministers and spouses and their immediate family members after 10 years. The existing laws prohibit continuation of SPG cover beyond 10 years.

The amendment also proposes that if SPG cover is withdrawn from the former Prime Ministers, it may be withdrawn from spouses and family members. However, the government may provide SPG protection or alternate security to family members of former Prime Ministers on threat perception.

An official spokesperson said the amendment in the Act will reduce the burden on the SPG and the SPG Act will become more realistic.

The Cabinet today cleared proposals to introduce four Bills in the winter session of Parliament, including the much-delayed constitutional amendment Bill for reservation to women in legislative bodies.

The proposals included an ordinance to amend the SPG Act, 1995.
Among the Bills cleared for introduction are: The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Act 1957, the national trust for the welfare of persons with autism,cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities Bill, 1999, and the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, to be replaced by a new Act to be called the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

The Bills cleared today, barring the constitution (84th amendment) Bill, are non-controversial in nature and are likely to passed in both Houses when they reassemble on November 29 for three weeks.

Under the disinvestment strategy, it was decided to divest the shares of Hindustan Copper Limited and introduce the voluntary retirement scheme for the public sector company.

The Cabinet also cleared the proposal for transfer of shares of the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to employees of the company at Rs 146 per share of Rs 10. Employees will get 200 shares each at a discount of Rs 15 per cent.

Centre may not favour clemency

CHENNAI, Nov 10 (UNI) — Union Power Minister and senior BJP leader Rangarajan Kumaramangalam today indicated that the Centre might not recommend clemency to the President for the four condemned assassins of the late Rajiv Gandhi.

Addressing a press conference here, he said parties like the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, were campaigning for clemency. But, they would not be able to convince other alliance partners on the issue, he added.

“Whatever be the state of mind of the assassins or the motive behind the act, it will not take away the heinous nature of the assassination. They do not deserve any leniency”, he said.

Mr Kumaramangalam, who is a senior lawyer, said as per the Constitution, President K.R. Narayanan was bound to consult the union government on clemency petitions received by him. This aspect was, however, a matter of interpretation, he admitted.

Apart from the four condemned prisoners, Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, a number of organisations have also appealed for clemency for the assassins.

Indian Nationalist Movement president and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supporter P. Nedumaran has said he will present a memorandum containing one lakh signatures, to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on November 19 seeking mercy for the prisoners.

To a question, Mr Kumara-mangalam said the question of abolishing capital punishment, now raised by various quarters, was also raised when assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were sentenced to death by the court.

On the inclusion of Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s name in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the Bofors case and the Congress demand for its deletion, Mr Kumaramangalam said under the new Act, the government had no authority to delete Mr Gandhi’s name.

He, however, would not like to join issue with former union minister P. Chidambaram’s remark that the inclusion of Mr Gandhi’s name was bad in law.

It was a standard practice to include the name of a person involved in a case, but not living at the time of prosecution, in column two of the charge sheet, he added.

The CBI, the prosecuting agency, was functioning under the administrative control of the Central Vigilance Commission and not the government, Mr Kumaramangalam clarified.

He said if the charge sheet was filed before the elections it would have been dubbed as political vendetta and the government had suggested to the CBI that the charge sheet would appear more credible if it was filed after the election.

Asked whether the government would consider deleting Mr Gandhi’s name as assured by Home Minister L.K. Advani in Parliament, he said the Home Minister had only assured to “look” into the issue under the glare of television cameras in Parliament.

He refused to say whether Mr Advani had examined the issue and arrived at a decision but hinted that the name would stick.

Asian Innovation Award for Indian

NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (PTI) — A retired Indian civil engineer, who has found a cheap and environmentally sound solution to provide water round the year to farmers in the remotest regions of the country, has been selected for this year’s ‘Asian Innovation Award.’

Sixty two year-old Chewang Norphel, hailing from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, was selected for the award for developing an alternative to reduce the dependence of his fellow Ladakhis on the fickleness of nature for irrigation water.

As the source of irrigation water in most parts of Ladakh depends on nature, coming from melting glaciers, Mr Norphel harnesses nature itself by building artificial glaciers to trap and freeze water.

At the onset of winter, water from a stream or river is diverted along a large wall made from locally-gathered rocks at the foot of a mountain and is channelled through inch-thick pipes to an area shaded from the harsh mountain sun.

As the pipes reduces the speed of the water’s flow during periods of low temperature, the water freezes to form thick sheets of ice.

During summer, the water melts and is channelled into the fields, reducing farmers’ depedance on natural glacier melts.

The Asian Innovation Award is jointly instituted by the business weekly Far Eastern Economic Review and chemical major DuPont for honouring individuals in Asia who develop new ideas, methods or technologies and apply existing knowledge in a way that improves quality of life and enhances productivity.

Atal on next Y2K campaign
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Nov 10 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, would appear in the next phase of the “Y2K OK” campaign to build the confidence of the global community on India’s compliance.

Mr Vajpayee would appear in the “confidence building campaign” to be launched later this week, the president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), Mr Dewang Mehta, told The Tribune.

The first phase of the campaign was aimed at making people aware of the Y2K problem and how it could affect the lives of even non-computer users.

The year 2000 (Y2K) bug is a problem that can occur in computers that use only the last two digits to denote a year in their date fields. Unless rectified, the bug could cause losses of valuable data when the new millennium dawns.

Mr Mehta said the Prime Minister would appear in the campaign to build the “confidence of global community on the Y2K compliance of the country and build investor trust.”

Fashion designer, Ms Ritu Beri was used to draw the attention of small businesses, while cricketer Ajay Jadeja conveyed the message how even the telephones could get affected by the bug, Mr Mehta said.

Apart from celebrity fashion designer and cricketer, leaders in their respective fields like RBI Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, head of the Tata industrial group, Mr Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Hindustan Lever Ltd, Mr K B Dadiseth and the Chairman of the Y2K Task Force, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, have appeared in the campaign.

While the government has launched the awareness campaign, the final report of the IT Action Force said the 11 critical sectors in the country have become Y2K compliant.

The 11 priority sectors were banking and finance, telecommunications, power, civil aviation, railways, ports, petroleum and natural gas, insurance, space, atomic energy and defence.

“India is in a much better position to make the transition into the year 2000 than several countries, was the case just a few months ago,” Mr Mehta, who is also member of the IT Action Force, said, adding that “there can be no guarantees that we will not experience any problems.”

Assumption that Y2K problem would not occur in India since the country has only 3.6 million personal computers or low level of computer penetration, Mr Mehta said “would be like ignoring the reality.”

He said “some problems could occur due to embedded chips and information regarding them is industrial plants, instruments and machinery are not known.”

“In sector, where Y2K bug could pose a threat to the lives of individuals, maximum precautions are being taken,” the NASSCOM president said.

IT sector is a major revenue earner for the country. The software export revenues grew by 58.3 per cent at Rs 8,060 crore for the first half of the current fiscal as against Rs 5,090 core during the corresponding period of 1998-99 even as the Y2K related projects are declining.

Software exports of $1.87 billion now form about 10.5 per cent of India’s total export of $17.4 billion during April-September 1999 as against 8.5 per cent during the first half of last fiscal, Mr Mehta said.

According to NASSCOM survey, software exports in 1999-2000 would total $3.9 billion compared to $330 million in 1993-94 and $1.6 billion in 1996-97.

The export revenues could touch $50 billion by the year 2008, the NASSCOM said if certain measures to promote the IT were taken.

The $750 billion global software market is expected to grow to $2 trillion in the next decade. At present, India’s share in the global market is less than 0.6 per cent, Mr Mehta said.

Satguru Jagjit Singh honoured

GWALIOR: Satguru Jagjit Singhji was honoured with Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial Award at Gajaraja auditorium on November 4 for his selfless service to the Indian classical music.

Satguru Jagjit Singhji, a gifted musician himself, has contributed immensely to the field of classical music by promoting and supporting many a promising artist. Indian classical music has also been enriched by the contribution of numerous ‘bandishes’ and ‘taals’ created by the Satguru. A master of “dhrupad and dhamar gayaki”, Satguruji has created many “bandishes” in intricate “taal” patterns that included “taals” with three quarters and 13 “matras” three quarters and seven “matras” and seven by eight “matras”. His deep interest in music has made him revive old ragas like ‘Maaj’ and ‘Suhi’ mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib but almost never sung.

Speaking in the honour of the Satguru, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, son of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, said all classical artistes are related to Satguruji in one way or the other, whenever an artiste is in trouble, he knocks at Satguruji’s door and receive his blessings. There is a melody in his selflessness that creates divine music. Ustad Amjad Ali played ‘Chandra Dhwani’ raga on sarod in “Pancham ki Savari taal” of 15 “matras” in the honour of the Satguru. Later he enthralled the audience with his master strokes in “raga Peelu”. He was accompanied on the tabla by Ustad Shafat Ahmed Khan. Pandit Bala Saheb Poonchwale who was to be the chief guest could not reach in time, thanks to the Indian Railways.

Earlier at a small programme organised at Sarod Ghar some Namdhari disciples presented a few rare “bandishes” and a few “bandishes” of the Satguru in ‘Maaj’ and ‘Suhi’ ragas. A new instrument created with the inspiration of the Satguru was presented before a select gathering. The new instrument somewhat like jal tarang is played with wet thumbs instead of the sticks. Balwant, a disciple of Satguruji, played Khamaj and Bhopali ragas on the instrument accompanied by the tabla. The instrument was named ‘Namdhari Tarang’ by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
— Vandana Shukla

War records’ release sought

NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (PTI) — A former Chief of Army Staff Gen V. N. Sharma, and other retired services top brass have criticised the moves by authorities to continue to keep a lid on records of Army operations fit for declassification saying that this would harm future battle preparedness.

Describing as “mystifying” the continued secrecy being maintained by the government on Army operations post Indo-Pak conflict in 1947-48, General Sharma writing in a first ever `Indo British review’ of 50 years of Indian armed forces said “modern conflict cannot be successfully sustained without learning from past experiences”.

The Defence Ministry had in 1980s de-classified the official records of the 1947-48 Kashmir operations publishing them in an official book titled ‘History of 1947-48 Operations’ and thereafter despite repeated demands the government had so far not de-classified the official records of the 1962 Sino-Indo conflict and 1965 Indo-Pak war.

Though the country’s Constitution is said to be silent on the issue, experts say India does follow “conventions” like in England and the USA of declassifying information under the Official Secrets Act after a lapse of 30 years.

A former Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen M. I. Thapan said “the military history of post independence India obviously comes under some aura of official indifference. Indian armed forces have participated in four major campaigns since 1947. One does not know if these services to the nation have been recorded officially for posterity”.

He said if the authorities had officially recorded the major operations, “Why should they not have been published for the edification of the common citizens, more particularly a young serviceman for his professional benefit”.

General Thapan, a decorated war hero of 1971, Bangladesh operation, said “I am aware that some of the participants who directed operations in 1965 and 1971 have been officially interviewed for record. However, I am unaware what has transpired as a result of these interviews”.

Both Generals, commented that apparently the much awaited Lt- Gen. Henderson Brooks report on the 1962 disaster was “still being kept under government wraps, to save many a political reputation”.

General Thapan said though a foreigner Neville Maxwell was believed to have had access to Brook’s report in writing his best seller ‘’India China War’, the continuing government secrecy was “mystifying”.

He said successive governments when questioned in Parliament on reasons for this “clamp down” on recorded military history had come out with a standard response claiming “it would not be in public interest to disclose these records”.

“Nothing can be more inane or frustrating,” he declared saying that in democracies all over the world official papers have been thrown open to public after a periods of 25 to 30 years.

General Thapan said by keeping the public away from scrutiny of such vital battles, the government was denying future military commanders accessories to take strategic and tactical decisions.

He called for an early declassification of official records of other major operations like Operation Bluestar in 1984 and Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka saying that “these would give vital insights on tactical blunders made by the then military commanders”.

The demand by the former Generals comes in the wake of reports that the Defence Ministry was bypassing the release of the official records of the 1962 and 1965 operations and working on publishing the records of the 1971 operations by the end of next year.

Delhi police arrests Haryana gangster
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Nov 10 — A dreaded Haryana gangster, who threw chilli powder and escaped while being escorted to a Karnal court, has been arrested by the Delhi police.

The alleged criminal, Balwan Singh alias Phool Singh alias Phoola, who has been declared as a proclaimed offender by the Haryana police, was arrested from Mundka village last night, the police said.

The 33-year old criminal is allegedly involved in about 46 cases including dacoities and robberies. He was involved in criminal activities in Panipat, Ganour, Gharonda, Bahadurgarh, Samalkha, Israna, Rai, Bhutana and Thanesar.

He was arrested from a rented house, in the village of the former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, where he had been living since January this year.

According to the police, he had escaped along with seven others, from the custody of the Haryana police a few months back while he was being taken to a court in Karnal. The Haryana police had declared him a proclaimed offender after this incident.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr S.K. Gautam said the police received a call that an alleged criminal lived in a rented house in Mundka village. A police team reached there and arrested him. He paid Rs 360 as rent to his landlord.

The ADCP said Phoola and his gang would lure truck drivers on the highways by shining torch lights four or five times which reportedly indicated that the person would arrange a sex worker. The truck drivers who stopped their trucks would be taken to a deserted area. They would then be beaten up. Thereafter the criminal would escape with the truck.

The ADCP said after escaping from Karnal, Phoola committed four robberies in Haryana. He also looted a truck laden with beer bottles.

The police recovered three trucks from his possession while the fourth is yet to be recovered. The looted goods could not be recovered, he said.

Still under 4 ft of water

CHANDBALI (Orissa), Nov 10 (PTI) — Even as water was receding from most parts of Orissa, vast areas in this remote village still remained under water affecting over two lakh persons and hampering relief operations.

All 27 gram panchayats under this block have been affected by the cyclone and floods. The devastation in 12 gram panchayats was the maximum with 90 per cent of the houses destroyed, circle inspector of Chandbali B.K. Panigrahi told PTI.

Villages after villages were still marooned with most parts of Nalgonda under 4 feet of water. Noaga, Rampur, Kherang, Tatabandha, Pratappur and Chitrapur villages have virtually ceased to exist.

Chandbali, a one-time thriving river port, had lost its sheen after the construction of NH-5 with almost the entire trade and commerce being channelised through road. Situated on the east coast, 56 km from Bhadrak, it is now famous for its fishing harbour.

Following the super cyclone which uprooted trees and lampposts and blew up roofs, saline water from the sea crossed the embankment under Chandanpur and Dhamra Gram panchayats, inundating 100 acres of crop land.

After almost eight days of total darkness, power and telephone lines are now partially restored, but block headquarters and police station are still submerged.

“It is terrible. I do not know how many more days they will need to restore electricity,” Mr Manas Ranjan Sahu, a constable, said lighting a kerosene lamp.

Mr Panigrahi said relief was distributed by the Army in 12 severely affected gram panchayats approachable only by water route.

Mr Krishna Chandra Dutta, a resident of Batitanti village, said all houses in his village had collapsed and 50 per cent of the trees had been uprooted. “After starving for several days, we received some food packets. Now the Army is providing relief. Country boats are plying in my village which is still under 2 feet of water.”

With the approach road to the block headquarters, about 15 km away, between Nalgonda and Kherang marooned, road communication has been remaining disrupted since October 29.

PM to flag off trucks from Punjab
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Nov 10 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee will flag-off trucks from Punjab carrying relief material for cyclone-hit Orissa here tomorrow at a brief ceremony that nearly got enmeshed in a security tangle.

“There will be a symbolic flag-off for the trucks from the Prime Minister’s residence in the presence of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal” a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office said today.

The Punjab government had organised relief material which has been loaded on 250 trucks for the cyclone-hit state of Orissa.

Earlier, the security agencies had expressed apprehension about letting in a number of trucks in the high-security zone, laden with relief material which had to be flagged off by the Prime Minister.

Delhi police sources said that it was decided that a few trucks will be flagged off by the Prime Minister while the rest of the will be lined up at Sindhu border on the Ambala-Sonepat highway.

Mamata wants Sealdah station named Calcutta

CALCUTTA, Nov 10 (PTI) — Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today proposed to rename the Sealdah Railway station, undergoing modernisation, as “Calcutta” and said that it would be developed as a model station.

There were Railway stations bearing the names of various cities. “I have a proposal to rename the modernised station of Sealdah as Calcutta”, she said after laying the foundation stone for the first phase modernisation of the Sealdah station here involving an expenditure of Rs 11.17 crore.

Stating that the second phase of modernisation would be taken up later, Ms Banerjee said that now the Railways had shortage of funds for which austerity measures were being taken cutting 30 per cent expenditure.

Reiterating that there would not be any hike in rail fare she said that passengers should help the Railways by purchasing tickets.

Ms Banerjee said that immediate replacement of Railway tracks at many places was necessary, else it might lead to accident.

The Railway Minister also called upon the people to remain vigilant against any attempt to sabotage Railway tracks and said that persons providing any advanced information regarding a sabotage attempt would be rewarded even with employment.

Referring to the train disaster at Gaisal, she said that the CBI was now investigating the accident and those responsible would be severely punished.

Cockroach trap developed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Nov 10 —A trap to prevent the entry of cockroaches through the drains has been developed. Cockroaches are the main source of gastroenteric diseases, according to a study.

Cockroaches are the primary agents for spreading salmonella paratyphi germs which are responsible for the outbreak of gastro-enteritis and enteric fever, the finds of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, published in the Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, said.

The trap fits over the drain hole in place of grating.

Lucknow city of ‘most powerful’

LUCKNOW, Nov 10 (UNI) — The UP capital will be home to the Prime Minister and the UP Chief Minister with city resident Ram Prakash Gupta set to replace Mr Kalyan Singh.

Mr Gupta and Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee have their houses in the city. While Mr Vajpayee, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Lucknow, has a flat in the La Place multi-storeyed colony, Mr Gupta lives in his two-room apartment in the Park Lane colony.

IAF recruitment policy to be changed
BANGALORE: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis on Wednesday indicated that there would be a change in recruitment and training programmes to reduce accidents due to human failure. Areas such as changing selection criterion and approach to training pilots needed special attention to significantly reduce the accidents due to human failure, he said, while inaugurating the 40th annual conference of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine here. — UNI

Police opens fire to disperse mob
AGARTALA: The police opened fire to disperse an agitated mob that damaged police vehicles on the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday of the road blockade in Tripura. The police said here that agitated people blocked the national highways at Jirania in West Tripura and Ambassa in Dhalai district. The police opened fire at Ambassa and resorted to lathi charge at both places to disperse the mobs. One person was seriously injured at Ambassa. The blockade had been launched to protest against the abduction of two school students by militants on November 2. — UNI

Youth shot dead
HYDERABAD: Naxalites of the banned People’s War Group (PWG) on Tuesday shot dead a youth alleging him to be a “police informer” at Rachamalibadu in Guntur district,the police said on Wednesday. It said P. Srinivsas Chary (27), a resident of Mahabubnagar district, was staying at Macherla in Guntur for the past six months following a threat from the PWG. — PTI

AP legislators to declare assets
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday heralded a new era of legislative transparency when the members took a pledge to follow the new ethical code that makes it mandatory for them to declare their assets. On the opening day of the week-long session of the newly constituted assembly, the members, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, took two separate oaths — one declaring allegiance to the Constitution, sovereignty and integrity of the country and another pledging to abide by the rules, etiquette and conventions of the House. — PTI

30 injured in Tripura clash
AGARTALA: At least 30 persons, including six policemen, have been injured in a clash between agitating students and the police in the Khowai subdivision of West Tripura district. Trouble started when a CRPF vehicle carrying seven tribesmen came to a halt near a roadblock demanding to meet the agitators on Tuesday. The agitators asked the CRPF to release the arrested tribesmen and when they refused to do so, the students started brick batting, the police said. At the same time, a contingent of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) reached the spot and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the agitators. — PTI

Nine drowned as boat capsizes
BALAGHAT (MP): Nine persons were drowned when their boat capsized on the Bainganga river near Bhorgarh village, about 50 km from here, on Tuesday, the police said on Wednesday. It said four bodies — a 30-year-old woman, a 12-year-old girl and two kids — had been fished out from the river so far. Most of the victims were residents of villages near Sanwarghat in Maharashtra. Although the boat was carrying 17 passengers, eight of them managed to swim to safety, the police said. — PTI

Local bodies’ poll announced in MP
BHOPAL: Elections to the municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Madhya Pradesh would be held in two phases on December 16 and December 22, the State Election Commission announced on Wednesday. Announcing the schedule for holding the elections at a press conference here, the State Election Commissioner, Mr N.B. Lohani, said the code of conduct for them would come into force from Wednesday itself. The results would be declared on December 23 and December 26, he said. — PTI

NLFT kills girl
AGARTALA: Banned NLFT guerrillas shot dead an 18-year-old girl and kidnapped two youths from Dalubari in the Dhalai district on Tuesday night. Police sources said here on Wednesday that the armed militants stormed the village, just behind the office of the Dhalai SP and tried to kidnap a youth. The ultras opened fire when the youth’s sister came to her brother’s help, killing her on the spot. The rebels left the spot after kidnapping the youth along with another person. After the incident, a violent mob set ablaze some tribal houses near the village. — UNI

Shrine closed
GAURIKUND (Rudraprayg): The eleventh ‘jyotirlinga’ of Lord Rudra — the Kedarnath temple —closed for the winter at 8 a.m. on Wednesday after an elaborate samadhi puja. The Kedarnath temple is situated at a height of 11,700 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas. The ‘jyotrlinga’ slab was covered with holy ashes and Lord Shiva was sent to the samadhi till the shrine reopens in the summer next year. The ritual was performed by the naib rawal, Sidheswarling Shiavacharya, and other priests. Later the palanquin of the bhogmurti of Lord Shiva was taken to Okhimath, where puja of the Lord is performed in the six winter months. —UNI