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Dimapur
NATIONAL
Tuesday 31 March 2015
The Morung Express
Floods ravage Kashmir, 17 dead so far
SriNagar, March 30 (iaNS): Up to 16 people were killed on Monday as a devastating flood in the Kashmir Valley forced thousands to flee to safer places as rain-fed streams rushed down the mountains, flooding parts of Srinagar. A man was washed away by a swollen river in Jammu region. As the water level in the Jhelum river rose menacingly, a high alert was sounded in the region. Fearing a repeat of the terrible September 2014 floods that killed over 200 people, entire families deserted their homes in lowlying areas. For Nisar Hussain, 65, who lives in Gogjibagh area of Srinagar with his 60-year-old wife and 27-year-old daughter, this was the second uprooting in six months. A landslide in Laden village in Budgam district buried two houses, trapping 16 people from two families under the debris. While six bodies were found by evening, all others are feared killed, officials said. The dead included four women, a man and a 22-day-old baby. A vehicle carrying cattle on way to Udhampur from Doda was caught in flash floods in Jammu. A young
Unseasonal rain kills seven across India New Delhi, March 30 (iaNS): The fury of unseasonal rain in different states of north and east India since Sunday evening has left at least seven people dead and damaged standing crops in thousands of hectares, officials said on Monday. In Bihar, at least five people, including two children and a woman, were killed on Monday when they were struck by lightning in two separate incidents, officials said. Three deaths - of the children and the woman - were reported from two villages in Munger district, while the other two people were killed in Ramnagri Diyara under Barh in Patna district. Weather department officials said that the rainfall was unseasonal. In Uttar Pradesh, at least two people were killed in lightning strikes and two others were reportedly electrocuted widespread rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, flattened standing crops.
Kashmiri men assist a woman and a child to evacuate from a flooded area in Srinagar on Monday, March 30. Authorities in Kashmir issued alerts Monday and asked people to move to higher ground after heavy rain flooded several parts of the Himalayan region. (AP Photo)
man, Angrez Singh, was washed away. In Srinagar, a worried Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed visited the water-logged city centre Lal Chowk and interacted with traders and common people. He assured the traders that the government would take up on priority basis providing relief to businessmen who suffered in 2014. Sayeed announced Rs.25 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for
the worst hit Kashmir Valley and Rs.10 crore for Jammu region. Flood-hit resident Nisar said he had to quickly shift his family after a flood alert was sounded by the authorities on Sunday night. "This is traumatic. My daughter refused to live at Gogjibagh after news about the rising Jhelum river was flashed on TV," he said. Ghulam Rasool, a 56-year-old in flood-hit Rajbagh, did not even wait for the authorities to issue
the flood warning. "I left everything behind and shifted out of my home with my family hardly four hours after it looked like the rain was unending on Saturday night," he said. Flood waters inundated the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Pampore town, 12 km from Srinagar, snapping road links between the state's winter and summer capitals. The Jhelum was flowing at 22.8 feet at Sangam
in Anantnag, at 19 feet at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar and at 11.55 feet at Ashim in Bandipora, an official told IANS. People living along the banks of Jhelum were told to move to safer places. And residents in floodprone areas of Srinagar, especially those in Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Wazir Bagh and some more places, hurriedly shifted to safer places. The process began on Sunday evening. Many shopkeepers
along the Residency Road and Lal Chowk commercial hub moved their merchandise to safer places. These were the worst hit in 2014. Authorities said more than 80 public and private properties were damaged in the incessant rains. An avalanche warning was sounded in the higher reaches of the state. All examinations have been postponed till April 3. Inter-district connectivity has been severely
In Punjab and Haryana, the food grain states, rainfall and high velocity winds damaged more standing crops in various parts in the past 24 hours, officials said in Chandigarh on Monday. A central team headed by union Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan will visit Chandigarh on Tuesday to assess the damage to crops in the region, said a spokesman of the agriculture department. In Himachal Pradesh, various areas were lashed by thundershowers while the upper reaches experienced snow on Monday, causing the temperatures to drop sharply. Shimla, which recorded a low of 8.2 degrees Celsius, experienced rain and hailstorm.The majestic Dhauladhar ranges near Dharamsala wore a fresh blanket of snow, as did the nearby hills of picturesque tourist resort Manali.
affected in the Kashmir Valley. The weather office has forecast better days. "There will be a decrease in precipitation from today (Monday). Another western disturbance is likely to hit the state on April 2 but the intensity is going to be much less," Sonam Lotus, director of the local Met Office, told IANS. The central government was in constant touch with Jammu and Kashmir
and monitoring the flood situation, officials said. Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief Minister Sayeed. Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi visited the Kashmir Valley and promised government assistance to people to tide over the crisis. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deputed and four other teams are on stand-by.
Indian pilots may undergo mid- PM Modi among 31 leaders to have India, Japan vow to build strong defence ties term tests after Germany crash personal details leaked at G20: Report
New Delhi, March 30 (PTi): Pilots of Indian air carriers may now be subjected to mid-term psychometric tests to ensure that they are mentally fit to fly, following the deliberate crashing of German airliner by the co-pilot last week. 9 commercial airlines in India employ well over 3,000 pilots who are subjected to such tests at the point of induction but there are no subsequent appraisals of their mental state. They, however, undergo physical fitness tests every 6 months. The government is mulling "mid-term" psychometric tests in the backdrop of the action of Andreas Lubitz, copilot of a Germanwings flight last week who crashed the Airbus A320 plane into the French Alps killing himself and 149 others. Reports thereafter have said that 27-yearold Lubitz was suffering from depression but had hidden this from the airline. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told PTI that psychometric tests should be carried out on pilots in India from time to time. The Ministry would hold consultations with the aviation regulator DGCA soon to prepare fresh rules keeping in mind the crash of the German airliner, he said.
lONDON, March 30 (PTi): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among 31 world leaders whose personal details were inadvertently compromised at the G20 summit held in Australia last year, a media report said today. An email error by an employee of Australian immigration department accidentally sent the passport numbers, visa details and other personal identifiers of the heads of government attending the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brisbane last November to the organisers of the Asian Cup football tournament, the Guardian reported. Besides Modi, US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and British Prime Minister David Cameron were among those whose
details were exposed, the report said. The Australian privacy commissioner was contacted by the director of the visa services division of Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection to inform them of the data breach on November 7, 2014, and seek urgent advice. But the newspaper claimed that it was not considered necessary to inform the world leaders of the privacy breach. "The personal information which has been breached is the name, date of birth, title, position nationality, passport number, visa grant number and visa subclass held relating to 31 international leaders attending the G20 leaders summit," the officer wrote. The recommendation not to disclose the breach to the world leaders may be at odds with privacy law in some of their countries.
Modi govt says to push for cow slaughter ban in India Krishnan N Das Reuters
India will use all its "might" to ban cow slaughter across the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a speech to spiritual leaders, as the Hindu nationalist government moves to fulfil a poll promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A renewed thrust by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protect cows, worshipped by majority Hindus, has led to a clamp down on beef trade run
mostly by Muslims. India is the world's second largest beef exporter and fifth biggest consumer. Maharashtra, India's second most populous state, extended a ban on the slaughter of cows to bulls and bullocks this month. Other BJP-led states such as Jharkhand and Haryana have also tightened curbs. "How can we accept the fact that cow slaughter is allowed in this country?" Singh said on Sunday. "We will use all our might to ban it. We will
try to build a consensus." Critics say tougher anti-beef laws discriminate against Muslims, Christians and lower-caste Hindus who rely on the cheap meat for protein, and fear they could pave the way to a nationwide ban that would threaten thousands of jobs. India has some 300 million cattle, and animals foraging for food are a familiar sight on the rubbishstrewn streets of towns and villages. Their numbers could swell by 200,000 in Maharashtra alone as
farmers abandon animals they can't sell, according to the beef trade. Modi, who in his election campaign last year criticised the previous government for promoting beef exports, in 2011 spearheaded a ban on beef trade in his home state of Gujarat that he led for more than a decade. There is no central law on cattle slaughter though various states have brought in their own legislation. Maharashtra's latest ban has been widely ridiculed on social media and traders
in Mumbai have shut abattoirs for days in protest. Mohammad Ali Qureshi, president of the Bombay Suburban Beef Dealers Association, said a nationwide ban on beef will fail as people in several regions enjoy the meat that is a cheap source of protein. "A nationwide ban on cow slaughter is impossible," Qureshi said. "If the government takes any such decision we won't sit quiet and their will be nationwide protest. They will have to regret their decision."
Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, right, reviews an honor guard with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani, left, upon arrival at Defense Ministry in Tokyo Monday, March 30. (AP Photo)
New Delhi, March 30 (PTi): India and Japan today agreed to build a strong relationship in defence and security as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. Highlighting that Japan is the first country he is visiting since assumption of office, he said this clearly conveys the importance India attaches to strengthening bilateral defence and security cooperation. He said that he would like to see a strong partnership with Japan in defence equipment and technology. Abe said that he wants to build a strong relationship with India not only in economic field but also in defence and security field. He said that a strong India-Japan partnership is not only in the national interest of the two countries but is also important
Bharat Ratna, Padma awards conferred on prominent people
The President of India along with the recipients of Bharat Ratna and Padma awards, India’s top civilian honours. It was conferred on Monday by President Pranab Mukherjee on a galaxy of prominent people who have done the country proud. (Courtesy: Rashtrapati Bhavan/Facebook)
New Delhi, March 30 (iaNS): India's high civilian honours - the Bharat Ratna and Padma awards - were on Monday conferred by President Pranab Mukherjee on a galaxy of prominent people who have done the country proud. Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, was bestowed posthumously on
freedom fighter and eminent educationist Madan Mohan Malaviya at an investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday evening. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who too was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, was presented the medallion and the scroll of the award last week at his residence because of
his ill health. President Mukherjee, in a simple yet elegant ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, presented the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri to a host of leaders and prominent people from various walks of life. The awards, which are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every
year, this year included two Bharat Ratnas, three Padma Vibhushans, 12 Padma Bhushans and 34 Padma Shris. BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya received the Padma Vibhushan. Journalists Swapan Dasgupta and Rajat Sharma, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates were awarded the Padma Bhushan. The Gates couple, however, could not come to personally receive their awards. Poet-lyricist Prasoon Joshi, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and playwright Tarak Janubhai Mehta were some of the well-known people who received the Padma Shri. Rajat Sharma shook hands with Prime Minister narendra Modi as he stood to receive Padma Bhushan. People from the sports
world included wellknown wrestler Satpal, who received the Padma Bhushan for his outstanding performance in various international tournaments. Renowned badminton player P.V. Sindhu and Indian hockey team captain Sardar Singh both received the Padma Shri. The Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan was overcrowded as relatives and friends of the recipients occupied most of the chairs. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many cabinet ministers and government officials were present. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also present at the awards ceremony. He was seen interacting with the media freely after the function. Relatives and friends of the recipients cheered when the names of their loved ones were announced to receive the awards. Some of them put their
hands up while clapping and were seen pointing at the recipients of the honour. On March 27, President Mukherjee made a break with protocol to drive down to Vajpayee's Krishna Menon Marg residence to confer the highest honour on the nonagenarian Bharatiya Janata Party leader who has been keeping ill health. Ansari, Modi as well as former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Advani were among those who attended the presentation on that day. Modi expressed his gratitude to Mukherjee for going to Vajpayee's home to personally hand over the award. A photograph of the president presenting the medallion to Vajpayee was released later. Vajpayee, 90, was the first non-Congress leader to serve India for a full fiveyear term (1999-2004). His earlier two stints in office lasted 13 days and 13 months, respectively.
for peace and security in the region, an official statement by the Ministry here said. Parrikar, who is on a four-day visit to Japan, also held talks with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani and both chaired the Defence Ministerial Meeting. The two Ministers briefed each other on the security environment surrounding each country and their respective defence policies. They reviewed strategic developments relating to international security situation with emphasis on the inter-connected Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. "They were of the view that in the inter-connected Indo-Pacific region, India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has a key role in maintaining peace and stability in the region," the statement said.
EC for stringent law to deal with political funding
New Delhi, March 30 (PTi): Batting for a "strong law" regarding political funding, Election Commission on Monday said use of black money during elections has to be checked as it creates imbalance in a democratic system. Chief Election Commissioner H S Brahma said here that India needs a "strong law" to deal with the issue of political funding and to usher in "good accountability". He said black money and money power, followed by muscle power create imbalances in electoral process and are not good for a healthy democracy. "Black money impinges democracy. Black money and muscle power disturb level playing field...Though money cannot guarantee votes, the one who can spend more has an upper hand," he said inaugurating a daylong consultations on 'political, finance and Law Commission recommendations'on electoral reforms. Giving an example, he said there had been reports that candidates spend up to Rs 15 crore in assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. "From where does the money come and where does it go," he wondered. Referring to the response of political parties on the issue of money power, Brahma said they also agree that its use should be curbed. He said privately most political leaders have agreed that money power is bad. "Political parties and EC have to live happily like husband and wife," he said adding that there could be differences but the aim should be to cleanse the electoral system. Speaking on the occasion, Law Commission Chairman Justice (Retd) A P Shah said money comes in truck loads during elections. He said in Tamil Nadu, candidates have been known to give Rs 5000 per person to electors to vote in their favour.