The early morning terrorist attack in Kathua district rocked the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly today with Opposition members seeking an explanation from the government on the incident.

The issue was raised by National Conference MLA Devender Singh Rana who wanted to know about the steps being taken by the government to thwart the attack.

he House wants to know how the militant attack took place, how the militants were able to launch this attack,” Rana said.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh informed the House that two or three heavily armed militants managed to enter the Rajpora Police station in Kathua and were holed up in the police station.

“Police and CRPF has cordoned off the area and heavy firing is going on. A man has died and we are not sure if he is a civilian or a CRPF personnel. Ten people have been injured which include two policemen, seven CRPF men while one civilian and a policeman have been seriously injured,” he said.

Opposition National Conference and Congress termed the answer “unsatisfactory”.

“What are you saying that you don’t know that the man who has died can be either a civilian or a CRPF personnel. The government should have the information,” said Rana.

Ali Mohammed Sagar of the National Conference said, “People are dying and you have no information.”

While condemning the attack CPI (M) MLA M Y Tarigami said that the House needs to show a united face in condemning such tragedies and expressed sympathy with the family of those killed in the attack.

“It’s a tragedy and it should be debated here. The House needs to know what steps the government will take and has taken. Let’s not get divided on the tragedy. Such tragedies are unfortunate and we should speak in one voice and condemn it,” Tarigami said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and conveyed to him that relief materials are being air dashed to the flood-affected valley in the shortest possible time.

During the telephonic talk, the Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister about the prevailing flood situation in Kashmir valley and the steps being taken for rescue and providing relief to the affected people. Singh assured full central assistance to tackle the flood situation and conveyed to Mufti that relief materials are being airlifted to the valley in shortest possible time to help the state government in rescue and relief operations, official sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always rushed Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to Kashmir for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage and assured the state of all assistance.

Seven months after the devastating floods, Kashmir valley is facing yet another flood following incessant rains with river Jhelum in spate at several places while 16 people were feared trapped after two houses collapsed in Budgam district.

Nigeria’s election chief said he was investigating irregularities as protests erupted amid calls for a rerun in one state following a knife-edge vote over the weekend.

Reports of underage voting, electoral officials being “substituted” and the technical glitches that led to voting being extended to Sunday were all being looked into, Attahiru Jega said.

The electoral headquarters were burnt down in Rivers, an oil-producing state which has become a key battleground for the two main parties.

Attacks on the oil industry pushed global crude prices to record highs in 2004 and former rebels threatened to take up arms again if Goodluck Jonathan – who brokered a lucrative peace deal in 2009 – is not re-elected.

“It is true our INEC office in Rivers state was torched. We have informed police authorities,” Jega said, speaking from Abuja, the Nigerian capital. “We have asked for additional security so this does not occur again.”

Police confirmed two people were killed during voting on Saturday, while the opposition put the figure at “scores” and alleged the vote there had been rigged. By Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of the state capital, Port Harcourt, calling for the vote to be rescheduled. The Situation Room, a civil society group monitoring the election, said it was “deeply concerned” about reports of “interference” in Rivers and neighbouring Imo state.

Rotimi Amaechi, the powerful governor of Rivers state, defected to the opposition after a series of internal squabbles with the ruling party spilled over into the public limelight.

Jega also addressed the failure of some card readers which the electoral body said meant voting spilled over to Sunday in 300 polling stations. Some 400 card readers out of more than 150,000 used had not worked, he said, but insisted this would have no impact on the final result.

“The number of failures of card readers to operate surprised us. One possible explanation is that the people operating them had not been trained.”

Results are likely to be announced by Tuesday, he said.

Garbage Vigilantes Strike Goa – Green Group Makes Polluters Pay                              

 Anjuna,Goa – March 29, 2015: Is it the first real step towards the solving the serious garbage problem in Goa? On March 18, 2015, an independent reporter whose wish is to stay anonymous,  received the following information, including documentary photos, showing what a group calling themselves “Clean Goa Warriors” claims are the first reprisals in their continuing campaign to rid the state of the garbage menace. The night before, the CGW staked out over a dozen locations in North Goa popular with what they call “Social Retards” who by night dump their garbage by the sides of the roads. With upwards of 200 members including Goans of all backgrounds, Indians from nine states and Foreigners representing seventeen countries they caught seven miscreants and decided to make an example of four of them including a Catholic and Muslim from Goa, a Hindu hailing from West Bengal and though he had a Karnataka gardener doing his dirty work Lord Michael Heseltine, British businessman and one time Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.The UK Prime Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street refused any comment though two independent sources have verified that the story, and an interview with Lord Heseltine, was quietly suppressed after a flurry of calls from unnamed government officials. A screen capture of the unfinished exposé was delivered to GoaGreg.com and has been circulating on various social networking sites. The photo shows Heseltine being interviewed on the garbage strewn lawn of the Maldiva Residency, a Dona Paula mansion, owned by Michael DeSouza, a close friend of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Others captured and punished for dumping household trash include family members of wealthy Muslim trader Mahmud Ben Ahmed, patriarch of one of the oldest  Muslim families in Goa, tracing their ancestry back to the time when the Delhi Sultanate invaded Goa in the early 14th century. Their home on the outskirts of Anjuna village was stinking and swarming with flies by high noon after the entrance to the house was blocked by garbage. Ben Ahmed cried vowing to join the Warriors “…in cleaning up the most beautiful state in India.”

Totally unrepentant was Lazarus Mascarenhas of Moira who was caught along with his two sons Joseph and Felipe dumping several large white bags of waste from their “Gorgeous Goa” restaurant. The contents of the bags included all types of unseparated garbage including recyclable glass, plastic, tetrapaks, wet waste and several dead rats. Mr. Mascarenhas is said to have screamed from the second story of his massive, though withering Portuguese house, “I don’t care. My peons will clean it and it’ll be back where it belongs tonight.” He claims to have called the police, but Atmaram Deshpande of the North Goa Superintendent’s office denied they were contacted. None of Mr. Mascarenhas’ neighbors report seeing any men in uniform or representatives of the local government.

The final target of the “Clean Goa Warriors” strike was Nikhil Chakravorti of Kolkata suburb of Salt Lake. Though he was only caught throwing two medium sized plastic bags from his scooter (GA03AA6147) into the Aswem nullah the CGW covered the dunes in front of the beach facing “Blue Guest House” where Mr. Chakravorti is the manager. All guests demanded their money back and moved out before the 10 am checkout. The soft spoken Chakravorti continuously shook his head repeating, “what can we do?” When questioned he replied, “Years we’ve been waiting for the panchayats, but government seems uninterested and soon tourism in Goa will die. People will go where the place is still beautiful.”

In their statement the CGW says, “In times of chaos, when leaders are incapable or unwilling, when selfish, unthinking and shortsighted individuals carelessly act against the greater good of the people and violate our dear Mother Nature, then it is the right, even the duty, of concerned citizens to act against the criminal behavior by wrongdoers and the leaders who have created the failed ecosystem where our future is in danger. Just as the American colonists, by what the British government considered an act of terrorism, declared their freedom by throwing English tea into Boston Harbor, we promise to disturb and distress the dirty

India will be airlifting its nationals from strife-torn Yemen after getting permission from authorities to fly from Sana’a for three hours a day.

“Today we got permission to fly from Sana’a for three hours a day. We will use the slot for evacuating our citizens everyday,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said a day after 80 Indians left the city for Djibouti.

According to official sources, the government will chalk out a schedule for Air India sorties to evacuate the nationals. Ms. Swaraj also tweeted that India was in the process of sending a ship with a capacity of 1,500 passengers.

On Saturday, as many as 80 Indians left Sana’a for Djibouti where Indian mission will assist them in returning home. The Ministry has also set up a 24-hour Control Room to monitor the situation in Yemen where all the airports have been shut down.

There are about 3,500 Indians, most of whom are nurses, in various provinces of Yemen including Sana’a.

WASHINGTON: The US has voiced its disappointment with India for voting against the benefits of same-sex partners at the UN.

Addressing the gathering at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, US ambassador to India Richard Verma talked about Strategic Plus Partnership between India and the US but maintained that it was not always that the two countries need to agree with each other.

“We were disappointed, for example, by India’s support this week for the attempt to strip benefits from UN staff in same-sex relationships. We will continue to support the rights of LGBT individuals in India, in international institutions, and around the world,” he said.

India was among the 43 countries along with China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia that voted in support of a Russia-drafted resolution that proposed removing benefits for same-sex partners of UN staff. But the resolution failed to pass in the General Assembly committee after 80 nations opposed it.

READ ALSO: India joined Pakistan & 42 others in a vote against gay rights at UN

New Delhi, however, justified its move to vote in favour of the resolution saying it was against the unilateral decision of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to change the system of entitlements without consulting member countries.

Verma, in his maiden public appearance in the city after becoming the top American diplomat in New Delhi, however, welcomed India’s constructive leadership in global challenges and supported its aspiration to become a leading power.

“As India’s strategic plus partner, we support India’s aspiration to become a leading power…We also welcome India’s constructive leadership on global challenges. We support greater Indian participation in multilateral institutions, including its candidacy for permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council and its eventual membership in all four multilateral export control regimes,” he said.

Mumbai: Right-wing organisations are to blame for the murders of activists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar, a Maharashtra Legislative Council member said in the House, where MLCs cutting across party lines expressed concern over the twin killings and demanded a proper probe.

Kapil Patil (Lokbharati) mentioned the names of two such outfits, who he claimed, orchestrated the murder of rationalist Dabholkar (in 2013) and Pansare, a veteran Communist leader, who was shot dead last month.

The same outfits may also target Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Patil said while initiating debate on the motion on law and order situation in Maharashtra.

Referring to the two high-profile murder cases, which remain unresolved, he said of late right-wing groups have gained in strength in the state and have emerged as a threat to the lives of progressive thinkers.

Patil claimed the slain police officer Hemant Karkare had submitted a list of people who’s lives were under threat from right-wing organisations and that the RSS chief’s name topped the list. “These extremists do not tolerate liberal Hindutva or Hinduism.”

The state government and police are aware of these group’s gameplan, but they do not want to take action against them, the legislator maintained. “The state should clarify who are shielding these organisations.”

MLCs across party lines, including Manikrao Thakre, Anant Gadgil (Congress), Rahul Narvekar (NCP and Neelam Gorhe (Shiv Sena) expressed concerns over Pansare and Dabholkar’s murders and demanded a thorough inquiry.

PTI

Hyderabad: In order to clear the extra rush of passengers during the summer season, 26 special trains will be run between Solapur and Nagpur, according to South Central Railway.

Train no.01401 Solapur-Nagpur weekly special will depart Solapur at 3.20 pm from April 1 to June 24 (13 trips on Wednesdays) and arrive in Nagpur at 12.35 PM on the next day.

In the return direction, train no.01402 Nagpur-Solapur will leave Nagpur at 3 PM from April 2 to June 25 (13 trips on Thursdays) reach Solapur at 11.35 AM the next day.

Enroute, the trains will stop at Mohol, Madha, Kurduwadi, Barshi Town, Usmanabad, Latur, Latur Road, Parli Vaijnath, Purna, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Murtazapur, Badnera, Chandur, Dhamangaon and Wardha stations in both directions.

The special trains will have 11 coaches — one First AC cum AC II Tier, two AC III Tier, four sleeper class, three general second class and two luggage cum brake van coaches, the SCR said in a statement.

PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: With Kerala registering the lowest growth rate of population in the last one decade, the state is all set to achieve “zero population growth” in the coming years.

While the national rate of growth of population in the last 10 years is 17.6 per cent, the growth rate of state population during the period is 4.9 per cent, the lowest rate among Indian states, according to the latest Economic Review by the State Planning Board.

“The population growth trend shows that Kerala is moving towards zero population growth or towards negative growth,” the Review for the year 2014, placed in the just concluded assembly session, said.

Quoting the final data published by the Directorate of Census, it said the state’s population as on March 2011 was 3,34,06,061, which was 3,18,41,374 in 2001. Of the total state population, 1,60,27,412 (48 per cent) are males and 1,73,78,649 (52 per cent) are females, it said.

The report reveals that six southern districts – Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram – have lower growth rate.

Of the total population, around 64.1 per cent is in the working age group of 15-59 while the remaining 36 per cent is the dependent group. Among this, 12.6 per cent are old dependants and 23.3 per cent are young dependants.

Indicating the declining trend of child population, the Review said population growth rate of children, belonging to the age group of 0-6, is on a negative trend (-8.44 per cent).

Quoting Census, it said the total child population in the state during 2011 is 34,72,955, which was 37,93,146 as per 2001 Census. Stating that the proportion of child population has decreased from 12-10 per cent across the state, the report said the highest proportion of child population is in Malappuram district, the lowest is in Pathanamthitta.

Southern districts in Kerala show two per cent decline except Kollam, which has a decline of one per cent in the proportion of child population, while the northern districts show one per cent decline except Wayanad which has a decline of two per cent.

However, the state’s density of population is much higher than that of the country. As per the figures of 2011 Census, the density of population in the state is 860 persons per square kilometre which is 382 at the national level.

Thiruvananthapuram is the most densely-populated district (1508) in the state while, Idukki is the least densely- populated district (255), the report added.