Elephants ransack residential area in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: Three wild elephants entered into a residential area in the outskirts of the city last night and ransacked some sheds, storehouses and vegetable gardens.

Officials said the elephants came out of the Amchang Wildlife Reserve in the eastern fringes of the city last night.

The pachyderms came to Bonda area near Narengi on the outskirts of Guwahati and ransacked the area creating panic among the people.

When locals informed the forest authorities, forest guards arrived at the spot and chased away the elephants to Amchang.

There were no reports of any casualty.

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Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi ends eight-day fast

NEW DELHI: Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, who was recently arrested under sedition charges as well as Sec 66A of the Information Technology Act for his controversial cartoons, today ended his eight-day fast demanding immediate scrapping of the "unconstitutional" law.

Trivedi, who was on a fast for the past eight days at Jantar Mantar here, ended the protest after Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal requested him not to waste his life and rather work towards "uprooting this government".

Trivedi and his colleague Alok Dikshit ended their agitation after Kejriwal gave them a glass of juice at the protest site.

Kejriwal's presence at the fast site is significant because Trivedi had earlier opposed the activist's entry into politics.

However, Trivedi today said he feels the move was right. "We tried a lot to put forth our point in front of the government but they didn't listen to us. The country needs a political option," he said.

Alleging that the Government has turned a deaf ear towards people, Kejriwal said the only way left is to shunt it out.

"The youth of this country are fighting for their freedom of expression. Section 66A of the IT Act is totally unconstitutional and youth have been wrongly arrested under this law. At least, the government could have listened to them," Kejriwal said.

Noting that the government did not talk to them when they launched a fast in August, Kejriwal asked youngsters "not to waste their lives like this." "Our motive should rather be to throw out this government and we should work unanimously in that direction," he said.

Trivedi insisted that there was a need to repeal the Act and alleged that the government was behaving like "Taliban".

"We were following the Gandhian way of revolt but nobody paid heed to us. I don't think we need such representatives who don't listen to people," Trivedi, who was arrested in September under sedition charges for his cartoons, said.

Kejriwal alleged that Trivedi and Dikshit were not allowed to meet Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal, and the duo were arrested.

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Cash transfer scheme a 'revolutionary' measure of UPA, Sonia Gandhi says

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today strongly backed the Centre's new Direct Benefit Transfer system that will ensure cash transfer directly in the hands of beneficiaries of various schemes, saying it is in line with many other "revolutionary" measures taken by the UPA.

Gandhi, who is also UPA chairperson, also announced her intent to bring the much-talked out Food Security Bill in Parliament soon to ensure that no poor family remains hungry.

She made the remarks while unveiling the Delhi government's ambitious food programme 'Annashree' under which monthly cash subsidy of Rs 600 will be transferred directly into bank account of the senior-most female member of two lakh poor families.

While hailing the scheme as the country's first totally Aadhar-based cash transfer programme, Gandhi chose the occasion to highlight the central government's Direct Benefit Transfer system, which will be implemented in 51 districts from January 1 facilitating cash entitlement in a total of 34 schemes.

"The purpose of this scheme is to ensure that the government's money being disbursed in pension, scholarship, MNREGA wage payment and social benefit schemes reaches the beneficiaries directly at their hands and without any delay. This money will reach directly into the hands of beneficiaries and not only up to bank accounts and post offices," Gandhi said.

The Congress president also made it clear that this cash transfer scheme is, however, not being implemented by the Centre in food and fertiliser subsidy programmes.

She said that the cash transfer scheme is envisaged on the basis of the ideology of balanced development of the UPA in which the welfare of the poor matters most.

Gandhi also hailed the Land Acquisition Bill which got the Cabinet's nod on Thursday, and announced that the much-talked about Food Security Bill will be brought in Parliament soon.

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18 migrants die, nine missing after boat sinks off Greece in Aegean Sea: Police

ATHENS: Eighteen migrants have died and nine are missing after their makeshift boat sank off the coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea, police said on Saturday.

"Only one person was plucked out of the water and hospitalised," a ports police spokeswoman told AFP, saying 18 other bodies had been found so far -- most on a beach near the town of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos.

The lone survivor rescued so far, a 20-year-old man who had been taken to hospital in Mytilene, told authorities the boat was carrying 28 people, including children.

Three port police boats resumed the search on Saturday in the hope of finding more survivors.

The victims set sail from the western coast of Turkey on Thursday but ran into bad weather that sank their boat, ports police said.

Authorities have not yet released the victims' nationalities.

The island is one of several in the eastern Aegean sea that lie near the Turkish coast and are frequent targets for migrants trying to reach western Europe.

Migrants often perish trying to make the crossing in makeshift boats, particularly in winter.

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All party delegation from Karnataka to PM on Cauvery issue soon

BANGALORE: An all party meeting convened by Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar today decided to go on a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to plead against issuing of final notification by this month-end for implementing the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Shettar pointed out that it is not proper to notify the 2007 order as the appeal against the award by the state is still pending before the Supreme Court, and also stressed the need for consulting the State before the move.

The opposition BJP and JDS backed the Government on taking the delegation to the Centre on the issue.

Shettar also reiterated that the Cauvery Monitoring Committee had no powers to issue a directive to Karnataka to release 12 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in November, and added that the State has filed a petition before the Cauvery River Authority to suspend the order.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah and his counterpart in the Council, S R Patil (both Congress), JDS floor leader in the Assembly, H D Revanna and Lok Sabha member H N Ananth Kumar (BJP) were among those who took part in the deliberations.

Water Resources Minister Basavaraja Bommai and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar were also present.

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Left parties stage dharna against bedlam in West Bengal assembly

NEW DELHI: Left parties staged a dharna in the Parliament House complex on Friday deploring the bedlam in West Bengal assembly and said it had never happened before when women members were attacked in the House.

"What happened in the assembly on Tuesday is deplorable. The incident was an attack on parliamentary democracy...women members were also attacked, this had never happened before," CPM MP in Lok Sabha Basudev Acharya, who sat on the dharna, told reporters.

Alleging that workers from the Left parties have been at the receiving end for the last one-and-half-years ever since Trinamool Congress came to power, he said, "No one has the right to speak in the state assembly neither the government can be criticised. In this one-and-half-year no adjournment motion has been accepted by the House."

"People have seen how democracy is being attacked in the state and rights of the MLAs are being attacked by TMC anti-social elements," he added.

More than a dozen Left leaders including Gurudas Dasgupta participated in the dharna holding placards.

West Bengal assembly had plunged into bedlam on Tuesday with ruling Trinamool Congress and Left members coming to blows and the Speaker suspending three Left MLAs, while three injured members were taken to hospital.

Tempers ran high after Left members who tried to bring an adjournment motion on the mushrooming of chit funds in the state rushed to Speaker Biman Banerjee's podium and started shouting slogans.

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Gujarat polls: Rahul Gandhi to campaign again on Saturday

NEW DELHI: To give a further boost to the Congress in poll-bound Gujarat, party general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, will campaign again in the state on Dec 15, party sources said on Friday.

This will be Gandhi's third visit to the state where the first round of polls on Thursday saw an overwhelming 68 percent voters exercise their franchise.

The second round of state polls is slated for Monday. Counting is due on Dec 20, when the results of both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where the assembly elections took place Nov 4, will be announced.

According to party sources, Rahul Gandhi will hold a public meeting in Bhuj in Kutch district.

He had earlier addressed rallies in other parts of the state in Dec 11 and 13.

Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi, said Thursday that the high voter turnout would help the Congress against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the state.

Modi is tipped to return to power as the chief minister for the third consecutive term.

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BJP MLA says Chhattisgarh govt ‘favouring’ GMR group with land acquisition

RAIPUR: Land acquisition for a railway line at Tilda, near the state capital in Chhattisgarh , has sparked a row with a senior BJP legislator alleging that the state government was doing it under the garb of a proposed industrial area to directly benefit infrastructure giant GMR Group to transport coal to its 1370 MW thermal power plant, now under construction.

Raising the issue during the question hour, senior BJP leader Devji Bhai Patel, who represents Dharsiva constituency in the assembly, said the revenue department had published notices in the newspapers for land acquisition for "industrial purpose" in Tilda tehsil. He alleged that the state run Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) has misled the revenue department for acquiring land for laying a rail-line between Tilda and Raikheda, sparking a heated debate during the question hour.

"This land acquisition is for the GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Limited for transportation of coal to its upcoming thermal power plant", he said alleging that the acquisition was in gross violation of norms as no government agency could acquire land for a private party.

GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Limited (a subsidiary of GMR Group) is setting up a 1370-Mw thermal power plant in Tilda—about 40 km from here.

However, state revenue minister Dayaldas Baghel sought to clarify that the land acquisition and proposed rail-line was part of an extensive industrial project, including the proposed mega industrial area in Raikheda. He said the land in question had not been handed over to the GMR for the rail-line.

However, the BJP legislator countered the minister's statement saying that there was no plan for establishing an industrial area in Raikheda and only GMR's power plant is coming up in the area. " "Talks about establishing an industrial area at Raikheda is just a facade and the state Industries Corporation was trying to directly help the private company by trying to by-pass all the norms", he said reiterating that the government cannot acquire land for the benefit of any industry.

When Patel alleged that the power company had even started construction work on the land proposed to be acquired and the villagers had recently got it stopped, the minister said he was willing to conduct a probe into the allegation.

"I have no problem if the CSIDC is building the rail-line for use of industries but cannot be handed over to the power company", Patel said adding that people in eight villages would be displaced with this proposed land acquisition. "We will not allow this land acquisition at any cost in my constituency", Patel said.

Former chief minister Ajit Jogi said the centre was in the process of formulating a law with regard to land acquisition under which no land could be acquired without consent of 80 per cent of farmers in the respective areas, that too with effect from 2007.

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Navy deploys INS-Ganga for patrolling Gulf of Eden where Somali pirates enter India

MUMBAI: The Indian Navy has deployed INS-Ganga to patrol the Gulf of Eden and protect the marine jurisdiction from where the Somali pirates enter India. The navy has been patrolling this gulf for sometime now and hence there has not been a single case of piracy reported, say sources in the Indian navy.

Last year, the navy, coast guard and the Yellow Gate police have jointly caught 120 Somali pirates who had hijacked at least two fishing trawlers of Iran and Pakistan and kept 70 crew members hostage for two days. "The pirates had killed an Iranian national, injured another one and kidnapped all the hostages. Four cases were registered and charge sheets have been filed against the pirates," said a source in the security establishment. Observers say that most of the Somali nationals are becoming pirates due to non availability of food and money. "They consider piracy as a profession. If you see these pirates you will be surprised. They are so weak that it looks they are suffering from starvation. However, piracy is an offence and hence they are arrested whenever come to Indian jurisdiction. Most of the time they hijack ships and barges on gun point," said an observer.

After the arrest of 120 pirates, who are currently kept in Navi Mumbai's Taloja jail, there were discussion between navy, coast guard and police to the infiltration. "After a year, the decision was taken to deploy INS-Ganga for patrolling. This ship has small trawlers that sail in the sea. More than 500 personnel have been deployed on this ship and there has not been a single case of piracy since it began patrolling," said a source from the Navy.

Sources added that in most of the cases, the pirates wish to be caught and jailed so that they would get proper food and accommodation in the jail. "However, we cannot bring everyone and feed here until they commit a crime. Its also uncertain whether the Somali government will take these pirates back or not since the pirates were not carrying any proof of nationality," said the source.

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Pakistan jail staff suspects Indian prisoners and bars them from writing letters

AMRITSAR: Many Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails are still suspected and are even not allowed to write letters to their dear ones in India.

Revealing this, Pakistani advocate Awaish Sheikh , who is also contesting the case of Sarabjit Singh, informed TOI on Friday that during his meeting with Indian prisoner Kuldeep Singh in Central jail on December 13th the deputy superintendent of central jail refused Kuldeep Singh to write a message for his family.

Kuldeep Singh was reportedly arrested from Shakargarh area of Pakistan in 1992 on charges of spying and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court on May 1996 and had already spent 20 years in Pak jail. Sheikh informed that he met Kuldeep Singh in jail after approval of home secretary .

"But to my surprise a major of Pakistan army and his junior were unofficially present in the meeting along with deputy superintendent of jail", said Sheikh adding that representatives of special branch(CID) and counter terrorism departments also accompanied him. He said this was for the first time that any lawyer met him in jail in all these years and he also gave him some eatables.

He said he handed over him a draft of mercy petition for his release on humanitarian grounds in Urdu language and also two papers for writing messages for his mother, wife and son back home so that they could be delivered to them."A jail staffer took those papers from him and gave to deputy superintendent of jail who refused to handover to me after reading them" said Sheikh adding that he was informed that he couldn't take these papers on the plea that correspondence of inmates were not allowed.

"I tried to convince him but he d idn't listen to me" said Sheikh. However he said that Kuldeep gave him a hand made key ring and asked him to convey his well being to his family members.

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