Akhilesh Yadav directs officials to make UP 'mandis' world class

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday directed officials to chart out a project to improve facilities at state's 'mandis' and make them world class.

Akhilesh, who is also the chairman of Mandi Parishad, asked the officials to identify the areas which needed to be improved for making "radical changes" in the 'mandis' (a whole sale market where farmers sell their vegetables, food grains and other products).

The chief minister asked for setting up modern 'apna bazars' at 31 places, where, besides the availability of agricultural inputs, arrangements for folk culture, recreation and hand loom products should also be made for the benefit of farmers and their families.

The chief minister said that if required Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for running these 'apna bazars' should be considered.

Akhilesh, who was presiding over a meeting of Uttar Pradesh Rajya Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad, asked for equipping the 'mandis' with solid waste management, rain water harvesting and solar energy besides planting trees in the open land of mandis.

For those growing betel leaves in Bundelkhand area of the state, he directed for providing free transport facility to help them get better remunerative price for their product.

The chief minister said that it has been decided that under the Mandi Parishad run personal accident assistance scheme, an assistance of Rs 50,000 in the event of death should be enhanced to Rs 2 lakhs.

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BSF man kills wife on suspicion of affair before hanging self

AHMEDABAD: A BSF jawan murdered his wife on suspicion of having an extramarital affair before hanging himself in a well at Bhandara village in the district, police said on Saturday.

Ramesh Damor (28), posted in Jammu and Kashmir, had come to his native place on leave on June 18.

Ramesh suspected that his wife Ila was having an extramarital affair and stabbed her to death using a sharp-edged weapon last night before killing himself, police said.

"After murdering his wife, Ramesh hanged himself with a rope in the well," Santrampur police station sub-inspector V K Jadhav said.

The dead bodies were sent for postmortem to Santrampur government hospital.

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Telecom firms come to Uttarakhand flood victims' aid

NEW DELHI: To help people stranded in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh, some telecom service providers have begun allowing free hotline services, extending credit limits of customers and setting up helpline centres.

Airtel has made hotline service 55100 Emergency Alerts free for 30 days for all its subscribers who are stuck in these three states. Every alert will automatically include the location information.

"The 55100 service will be given free of charge for 30 days and may be extended if the situation on the ground does not improve," Sunjyiev Mahajan, Chairman, TBM Technologies Pvt Ltd, the company behind 55100 Emergency Alerts said.

All that a subscriber needs to do is dial 55100 and follow the instructions. The service works on every handset and does not need any smartphone, internet, data, GPS and GPRS. It even works with zero balance in the subscriber's mobile phone account.

Vodafone India has set up 19 help desks at locations, which have been severely affected by using its distributors and service points so that affected people can reach out to the world outside.

"Two helpline centers have also been set up at the Jolly Grant and Sahasdhara Helipads. Free phone service is being provided to the affected people, who are brought to these helipads after evacuation," the company said in a statement.

Vodafone is also providing talk-time credit to affected customers who are unable to top up credit due to the non-availability of recharge facilities in impacted locations.

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Uttarakhand floods: 13 bodies recovered in UP rivers

LUCKNOW: As many as 13 unidentified dead bodies were found floating in rivers in different parts of the state during the past 24 hours. All the rivers originate in Uttarakhand. A few come to Uttar Pradesh (UP) via Nepal. Authorities suspected that some of the highly decomposed bodies are of those who were washed away in massive floods in Uttarakhand . Bodies have been sent for post mortem. Their DNA samples will be collected before cremation for identification at later stage.

While two bodies each were recovered from Ganga and Khoh rivers flowing in Nagla and Najibabad areas respectively in Bijor district. Three bodies, including one of a women, were found in Kali Nadi river Narauna area of Bulandshahr district. Three bodies were recovered from Sharda river in Pilibhit. Similarly, three bodies, including one of women, were found floating in Sharda river in Lakhimpur district. According to police, barring three bodies recovered in Lakhimpur Kheri, the rest 10 might be of those drowned upstream in Uttarakhand and bodies came floating down the river to UP.

Officers said that possibility of 10 bodies floating down to UP from Uttarakhand is higher because they are in highly decomposed condition. Also, they pointed out, in a similar manner, 40 bodies were recovered from Ganga river in Haridwar, Uttarakhand on Friday. These 40 bodies were of the people who were washed away in the upper reaches, they claimed. However, the three bodies found in Lakhimpur are not as decomposed as the 10 found in other places. "We think the three bodies could be of those who drowned in Lakhimpur Kheri," officials said.

If three bodies found in Lakhmipur Kheri are included, the total death toll due to floods and rain related incidents in the past seven days in UP climbs up to 44. Both the Uttarakhand and UP are reeling under floods since June 16. As many as 23 districts in UP are facing floods. Most rivers are flooded because of heavy rains in the upper reaches in neighbouring Uttarakhand and Nepal. The condition is bad in 15 districts. The floods have affected over five lakh population in around 600 villages in the state. According to control room at the UP police head quarters in Lucknow, rescue teams of provincial arms constabulary has shifted over 30,000 people to safe places.

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In violent crimes, UP tops list: National Crime Research Bureau

LUCKNOW: The annual report of National Crime Research Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states in terms of murders. Also, UP has earned the credit for maximum number of kidnappings, dowry related deaths and robberies in the year 2012.

Not only this, but UP has for the third consecutive year retained its top position in violent crimes. The state reported a total of 33,824 incidents in 2012. This included 4,966 murders, 8,878 kidnappings, 3,159 robberies, 2,244 dowry deaths along with other major crimes, according to NCRB. In 2010, UP accorded 27,225 cases of violent crimes followed by 32,987 in 2011.

NCRB data revealed that it is not specific age group which is committing crimes. Rather, people from all age groups are indulging in it. In 2012 alone, 10.7% of the total crimes were committed by people of above 50 years. Those between 18-30 years committed 46% crime. As high as 15% of the total offenders were women.

Social activists say that present situation of increasing crime is worrisome. "There is no stringent punishment for the criminals. As a result, they walk freely with head high on the streets," said an activist.

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5.2 magnitude earthquake rattles Italy

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Britain shut down UFO desk in 2009 after finding no threat, files reveal

LONDON: Britain's defence ministry shut down its UFO unit four years ago after concluding that extra-terrestrials likely did not exist, and in any case did not pose a threat, previously secret files released on Friday showed.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) closed its hotline in 2009 despite a trebling of reported sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) that year, many of them near national landmarks.

In a briefing for then defence minister Bob Ainsworth, civil servant Carl Mantell said the UFO desk was using up increasing amounts of staff time but had "no valuable defence output".

He wrote in a memo that in more than 50 years, "no UFO sighting reported to (MoD) has ever revealed anything to suggest an extra-terrestrial presence or military threat to the UK".

It added: "The level of resources diverted to this task is increasing in response to a recent upsurge in reported sightings, diverting staff from more valuable defence-related activities."

The National Archives files reveal details of sightings recorded in the two years before the UFO desk was disbanded, including those around the Houses of Parliament and Stonehenge.

Between 2000 to 2007, the MoD received an average of 150 reports a year, but 520 sightings were recorded in the 11 months to November 2009, according to a briefing in the files.

Officials said one possible reason for the surge could have been the trend for releasing Chinese lanterns, which appear like floating lights in the sky.

Many sightings were made in the summer months by people out walking their dogs, having barbecues and, in one case, relaxing in a hot tub.

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Xi calls for removing 'bad elements' from Chinese military

BEIJING: Winning or losing public support is an issue that concerns the survival of the ruling Communist Party, President Xi Jinping has said, seeking to eliminate 'bad elements' such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance from China's powerful military.

Xi, also the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has instructed the PLA to implement a "mass line" campaign as part of efforts to build a strong military with enhanced combat capabilities and war preparedness.

The campaign should target serious problems reported by officers and soldiers and result in the formation of a long-term mechanism to guarantee the building of a strong military, President Xi Jinping has instructed.

Called the "mass line", the campaign refers to a guideline under which the CPC is required to "prioritise the interests of the people and persist in exercising power for them", state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

Xi said on Tuesday that bad elements such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance should be firmly opposed, adding that that winning or losing public support is an issue that concerns the CPC's survival.

CPC has monopolised political power since 1949 when the People's Republic was founded.

Xi's instructions were echoed by Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the CMC, at a PLA conference held here on Friday, who said that the campaign should focus on enhancing the PLA's combat capabilities and war preparedness.

Fan called for creating specific regulations concerning official receptions, the management of military vehicles, use of personnel and resources management.

Another CMC's vice chairman Xu Qiliang said the military must maintain firm beliefs and be absolutely loyal, pure and reliable.

The military should always follow the CPC's instructions and serve the people, he said at the conference.

Meanwhile, China's military said it will also survey all the construction projects and real estate holdings of the world's largest army with over 2.3 million personnel to bring about accountability, forced to shun luxury banquets and wasteful expenditure.

Zhao vowed to shift the army's construction work to being more scientific and to optimise resources, the PLA Daily, the official organ of the military quoted Zhao Keshi, head of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as saying.

Zhao called for comprehensive examinations of all construction projects and real estate holdings, and for the creation of standard systems for project examinations and approvals, land transfers, housing rentals and accountability, state run Xinhua reported.

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Torrential rain claims 36 lives in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Torrential rains across Kerala since the onset of monsoon have claimed 36 lives, chief minister Oommen Chandy said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after holding a video conference with district collectors to review the flood situation, he said the government would request the Centre to release additional quota of rice to give free rations to those affected.

He said 72 relief camps have been opened. Free ration, food articles and Rs 2,000 will be given to those in camps.

Free ration for two weeks would be given to tribal families, fisherfolk along coastal areas and coir workers, he said.

Fully damaged houses and unsafe houses certified by an engineer will be given Rs 1 lakh. Owners of partially damaged houses will be given a maximum of Rs 30,000, he said.

Collectors have been instructed to document details of rain-affected areas using new technology.

Meanwhile, parts of the state experienced a respite from rain on Friday.

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Rain claims 28 lives in UP, 600 villages affected

LUCKNOW: At least 28 people have so far lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh whereas a population of 5 lakh in some 600 villages of the state has been affected because of it.

A maximum of 15 people have lost their lives in Saharanpur, 5 in Sitapur, 3 each in Lakhimpur and Muzaffarnagar and one each in Balrampur and Bahraich.

According to relief commissioner's office statement here, following incessant rains and release of water in the barrages, large areas of Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Muzaffarngar, Bijnore, Amroha, Pilibhit, Sitapur, Meerut, Balrampur, Shamli, Saharanpur, Aligarh, Shahjahanpur and Rampur have been affected.

Lakhimpur Kheri is the worst hit where a population of over one lakh belonging to 127 villages has been affected.

Meanwhile, 95 villages in Muzaffarnagar, 52 in Bijnore, 63 in Amroha, 71 in Meerut, 37 in Pilibhit, 17 in Sitapur, 66 in Bahraich, 12 in Shamli, 5 in Aligarh and 50 in Saharanpur have been affected by flood waters which have also submerged thousands of hectares of agricultural land.

Huge number of Army personnel and PAC has been pressed into service for relief and rescue operations in the affected areas and thousands have been shifted to safer places.

After release of 6 lakh cusec water at Narora on Thursday, Bulandshahr, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur, Rae Bareli, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia on the banks of Ganga have been affected.

Besides this, cities like Muzaffarnagar, Bagpat, Shamli, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Auraiya, Jalaun, Hamirpur and Allahabad on the banks of Yamuma have been affected due to release of 8 lakhs cusec water in Hathnikund barrage on June 17 , the statement said.

According to Met office forecast, weather had been mainly dry over the state and is expected to remain dry in the next 24 hours.

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