Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

India’s longest Bus introduced between Bangalore and Mysore

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 06:30 PM PDT

Karnataka has  introduced the  India’s longest bus, at 14.5 metres and including a pantry and toilet facilities, to ply the 130 km between Bangalore and Mysore.

Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister  of Karnataka R. Ashoka launched the trial run of the multi-axle Volvo bus built at the Swedish firm’s manufacturing plant in Hoskote near Bangalore.

Ashoka said the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) plans to operate this bus service between Bangalore and Chennai after the feedback from passengers on the service between Bangalore and Mysore.

Akash Passey, chairman of board of Volvo Buses in India, said the new bus was “a global introduction from India, and has been developed keeping in mind the evolving customer, passenger and driver needs in India”.

Though 14.5m long, the bus “offers almost the same manoeuverability as a typical coach”, he said.

Steps to Revive the Glory of Indian Hockey begins

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 05:30 PM PDT

After drastic performance at London Games, Indian Hockey Veterans are working out to revive its lost glory. Olympians and former International hockey players including Mohammad Riaz, B.J. Carriapa, Baljeet Singh Saini, Surinder Kaur and Sandeep Kaur are participating in the first High Performance Coaching Programme  at Lucknow.

The three-year programme, organised by Federation of International Hockey (FIH) and Hockey India, aims to help Indian coaches obtain up to a Level 3 certification and will be an annual feature during the junior national championship.

As many as 46 coaches have registered for the inaugural course that is being conducted by FIH Master Coach and FIH Coaching and High Performance Manager Tayyab Ikram and FIH Grade 1 Coach Siegfried Aikman.

“Hockey in India needs to be institutionalised and the focus should be on the structural development and high performance awareness. There is a pressing need of professional high performance center and a long term plan for coaches and training of team entourage, time to give up ad hoc arrangements,” Ikram said.

“In India, we need to be more consistent when it comes to coaching development. This can be the most important investment for a country which is very rich in potential and talent,” he said.

The seven-day initiative will conclude Sep 10, a day after the conclusion of the men’s junior hockey championship.

The content includes two High Performance Courses a year and will target the experienced and qualified coaches from all over India. It also includes inputs from top experts and practical coaching sessions, discussions on development, special presentations and contributions from participants, match analysis, feedback after each course and complete monitoring and assessment process will be in place.

“We are delighted to assist the coach education programme which intends to develop the coaches with updated and scientific know how of High Performance Coaching, an area which needs attention and resources in a country full of talent,” Kelly Fairweather, CEO, FIH said.

The Empty Indian Political Drama against Sri Lanka

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 04:30 PM PDT

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa appears dead set on taking on the ordinary Sinhalese for her inability to influence the Indian government to pursue a Sri Lanka policy of her choice.

It is plain ridiculous to suspend an officer of Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium for allowing the use of the ground for a football match between a Sri Lankan team and a local team.

The game, we are told, had hurt the “sentiments” of Indians Tamils, because of the excesses that took place during Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE that also killed many innocents (mostly Tamil).

The Sri Lankan football team was asked to go back. Another Sri Lankan student team also faced hostility. If this wasn’t enough, Tamil groups have taken upon themselves to oppose the visit of some 200 Sri Lankan pilgrims to Tamil Nadu.

At this rate, will Jayalalithaa call for an end to India-Sri Lanka cricketing ties?

After all, if a football clash between two unknown teams – an event which would have gone unnoticed but for the chief minister’s action – can hurt “Tamil sentiments”, a high-profile cricket match between the national teams of India and Sri Lanka is bound to cause the same effect. (India won 4-1 an ODI series in Sri Lanka in as July-August and is set to visit Sri Lanka again.)

What more? Will New Delhi be asked to shut its high commission and two consulates in Sri Lanka? Maybe India should also sever trade links with Colombo. Will Indian tourists be told to boycott Sri Lanka?

In as much as none of these has any logic, the same applies to Jayalalithaa’s action against the football team.

It is one thing for the chief minister to rant against India’s military relations with Sri Lanka.

It is insane to tell ordinary Sri Lankans – whatever the ethnicity – that they are not welcome to Tamil Nadu on account of the supposed wrongs of the regime in Colombo.

This would be akin to punishing the Indian Muslim today for whatever Mughal kings of an earlier period did.

The Indian government was wrong in stating that it would continue to provide “training” to Sri Lankan military officers. It was a badly worded statement.

What should have been stated is that the Sri Lankans are among military personnel from many countries who come to India for routine refresher courses. India is not teaching these soldiers how to kill; they already know it.

The only Sri Lankans India trained to kill belonged to Tamil groups including the LTTE.

Despite Islamabad’s undisguised backing to terrorist groups in India, no sensible Indian wants an end to people-to-people contacts with Pakistan. Nor has anyone said ‘no’ to Chinese investment since Beijing occupies Indian territory.

Jayalalithaa’s actions – and those who think on similar terms – can only strengthen the Rajapaksa regime, which will point at Tamil Nadu to maintain its military presence in predominantly Tamil areas.

None of what is taking place in Tamil Nadu – which itself is linked to the traditional DMK-AIADMK rivalry – will prove in anyway useful to the ordinary Tamil in Sri Lanka.

Many in Sri Lanka and around the world have legitimate concerns about human rights abuses and reconciliation issues there. There is nothing wrong if these are discussed threadbare – or if people feel frustrated vis-à-vis Colombo.

But the anti-Sri Lanka tendencies Jayalalithaa is fanning in Tamil Nadu will have long-term consequences — for India.

Man sentenced to Death for killing Pregnant Wife and Foster Parents

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 03:30 PM PDT

A man  in New Delhi has been sentenced to death for murdering his  parents, who had adopted him, and his pregnant wife in 2008, terming him a menace to society.

“The convict (Nitin) is a menace to the society. When he did not spare his own parents and wife and killed them in cold blood, what respect he would show for the lives of others,” Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said.

The court called the convict a live bomb, which has the potential of causing a huge catastrophe, if not destroyed at the earliest.

“I am of the opinion that the life imprisonment would be altogether inadequate punishment in this case, having regard to the nature of crime and manner and circumstances in which it was committed,” Bhat said, terming the case among those rarest of rare cases that have shocked the collective conscience of the society.

“There was no justification at all for the convict to commit the grotesque killings. The convict appears to be without any remorse,” the judge said.

The case dates back to April 2008, when Nitin killed his pregnant wife after she opposed his extramarital affair. He also killed his parents.

Sri Lankan Tourists Forced to Leave India by Tamil Activists

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 02:30 PM PDT

One hundred and seventy-five Sri Lankan tourists were safely escorted by police to Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli airport Tuesday when Tamil activists staged demonstrations against their visit.  The Sri Lankan tourists were on a tour to Velankanni Church, around 320 km from here.

“The tourists will be leaving for Sri Lanka tonight. Their flight is around 10.40 p.m. We have organised food packets for them at the airport,” Shailesh Kumar Yadav, commissioner of police, Trichy told IANS over phone.

He said another six Lankan tourists later joined the group at the airport.

Following the protests against their visit by Tamil activists, the tourists were taken in vans to Tirchy airport, said police officials.

According to the police, the Lankan tourists were travelling in seven buses. A tyre of one bus got punctured on the outskirts of Trichy and MDMK activists came to know about their presence in the state.

Around 30 MDMK cadres gathered around the buses and shouted slogans and also pelted stones at the buses, police said.

According to police, no serious injuries were caused to the tourists.

Police dispersed the protesters and escorted the Lankan tourists to Trichy airport.

The Sri Lankan government Monday night issued a statement warning its nationals to desist from visiting Tamil Nadu till further notice.

“The Government of Sri Lanka regrets the increasing number of instances of intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals visiting Tamil Nadu for the purposes of tourism, religious pilgrimages, sporting and cultural activities and professional training,” the statement said.

“These visits are a reflection of people to people contact between the polity of two countries which are bound by age old friendly ties and traditions,” the statement added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Sunday ordered the sending back of two Sri Lankan football teams that were in the city to play friendly matches. The teams left for their country Monday.

Queried about by reporters, DMK President M. Karunanidhi said it is normal for sportsmen and cricketers from India to visit Sri Lanka and players from Sri Lanka visiting India.

He said all that DMK is saying is that the Sri Lankan defence personnel should not be trained in India and the issue has been raised in parliament as well.

On the proposed visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India, Karunanidhi said the DMK will not accept with open heart any warm reception to him as he was “responsible for the killings of lakhs of Tamils”.

He said DMK will send the resolutions passed at the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) meet here to the United Nations (UN).

Karunanidhi said: “Efforts are on to submit the copies of resolutions passed at the TESO meeting to the UN by M.K. Stalin and T.R. Baalu. Soon I will announce when these two would submit the resolutions to the UN and other foreign missions.”

He said one of the resolutions passed at the TESO meeting is that the Tamils in Sri Lanka have lost their livelihood and they are on the run to save their and their children’s lives.

Officials at the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission here were not available for comments despite several attempts by IANS.

CBI dictated Statement to Witness in Aarushi Hemraj Case

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Aarushi Talwar Murder case took an interesting turn when a witness claimed that her statement was dictated by CBI,

Aarushi’s  maid told a special court that whatever was recorded in her statement was dictated to her by the probe agency.

Bharti Mandal, during her cross-examination before Special Judge S. Lal, said that she had never appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to get her statement recorded.

Following the witness’ remarks, the probe agency’s counsel took the maid outside the court for a few minutes.

The defence lodged a complaint over this and the court took a serious view on matter and reprimanded the CBI.

Defence counsel Manoj Shishodia said several contradictions had surfaced during the maid’s cross-examination.

The CBI submitted her three statements – recorded in 2008 – but she said that her statement in court was the first ever given by her.

She claimed once she spoke before a video camera which she did not know belonged to media or the probe agency.

The defence claimed that the CBI mentioned the name of the maid’s husband differently at three places in the case documents.

Shishodia said her husband was identified at three places as Vishnu Mandal, Bhim Mandal and Vishu Mandal.

After Bharti Mandal’s statement, the court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered at her parents’ Noida residence May 16, 2008. The body of her domestic help Hemraj was found the next day on the terrace of the house.

Aarushi’s parents are accused in the double-murder.

Her mother Nupur Talwar was taken into custody April 30 and she challenged in the apex court the May 31 Allahabad High Court order rejecting her bail plea. She is lodged in Dasna jail in Ghaziabad. Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar is out on bail.

Movies to get back to On-screen Smoking Scenes

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 11:29 AM PDT

Movies in India would soon be able to show smoking scenes on the screens. The ban would shortly be lifted , according to Government sources.

Ministry of Broadcasting has informed the Supreme Court that  it would shortly permit Smoking Scenes – though with the strict stipulation that one of the actors in the scene warns viewers that “smoking kills”.

A bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told that the new notification would mandate that the films showing a smoking scene would show the actor giving a warning at the start of the film, in between after the interval while a static message would be displayed in the course of the scene showing smoking.

Senior counsel V. Shekhar, appearing for the government, told the court that the notification, superseding all earlier notifications prohibiting smoking scenes, would be issued Sep 14.

He said that Sep 14 was important because on that day, a film “Heroine” by UTV Software Communication Pvt. Ltd., depicting a scene of a woman smoking is going to be released.

Adjourning the hearing of the matter, the apex court declined to entertain a plea by a counsel seeking exemption for the release of this film.

Justice Sathasivam said that “we have to prioritise the issues”. “People are not getting water and food. You can survive without showing smoking and liquor scenes.”

The notification will pave the way for amending rules that currently restrain filmmakers from showing smoking.

The court was apprised of an Aug 2, 2012, letter written by the information and broadcasting ministry to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asking it to “advise the filmmakers to give a 20 second anti-smoking message as approved by the ministry of health with voice over of the one of the actors who is seen smoking in the film to be displayed at the beginning and in the middle (after interval) of the film and a static message to be displayed for the duration of smoking scene in the film”.

The court was told that on the basis of this letter sent to CBFC, the government is proceeding to issue the notification.

Shekhar informed the court that the information and broadcasting ministry has in principle agree with their recommendations.

Taking on record the statement made by Shekhar that the fresh notification that is likely to be issued Sep 14 would supersede all earlier notifications thereby paving the way for the return of smoking scenes, the court directed listing of the matter Aug 20 for further hearing.

Mumbai Metro to become operational by March 2013

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Metro trains would start plying on the tracks of Mumbai by March 2013. This was said by  Reliance Infrastructure Chairman Anil Ambani .

Addressing the annual general meeting of the company, he said 700,000 passengers will be able to travel in Mumbai Metro, cutting the commute time from what it takes 90 minutes now with the existing modes of travel to under 20 minutes.

He said there was a huge growth opportunity in infrastructure, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announcing $1 trillion investment in ongoing 12th five year plan, of which 60 percent is expected to come from private players.

He said Reliance Infra had now become one of India’s leading power engineering players, with a turnover of Rs.11,700 crore last year, implementing 13 projects – seven in power and six in roads.

The company, he added, had also become the largest private power distributor, delivering over 5,000 MW to 5.7 million customers in Mumbai and Delhi. The license in Mumbai, he added, had now been renewed till 2036 to serve 2.8 million residents.

He said in Delhi, the transmission and distribution losses, which were at an alarming 55 percent, had been cut to less than 18 percent, resulting in a saving of Rs.30,000 crore to state government.

The company’s shares ended the day 1.36 percent higher at Rs.446.35, after touching a high of Rs.448 in the interim.

Boeing predicts India to be Global Leader in Aviation in 20 years

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 08:37 AM PDT

Global aircraft manufacturer Boeing has predicted that India would be  a global leader in Civil Aviation in next 20 years. Indian carriers will require 1,450 new aircraft worth $175 billion to cope with the growth in passenger traffic over the next 20 years it said.
“Over 60 million passengers will fly within India this year. Over the next 20 years, India is projected to have the highest passenger traffic growth in the world,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of sales, Asia Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Aircraft, releasing the company’s current market outlook.

“The forecast passenger growth is expected to be driven by economic prosperity, higher discretionary incomes and business progress.”

And airlines in the country will require 1,450 new aircraft worth $175 billion to service the traffic growth.

According to Keskar, the biggest demand from the airlines in India will be for single-aisle aircraft, which Boeing estimates to be around 1,201 units at a cost of $114 billion.

Boeing also projected a demand for 234 twin-aisle aircraft from 2012 to 2031 worth $61 billion, followed by a demand for 15 regional jets worth $0.5 billion.

Keskar further said that airlines in India are improving their financial performance due to increased yield and capacity management. However, a slowdown in the economy, high fuel prices and weak rupee could affect the margins.

“Their is a slight more supply than demand. But this is not a matter of major concern as the airlines have been improving their performance by better capacity management,” Keskar said.

Globally, the aircraft manufacturer projected sales of 34,000 airplanes worth $4.5 trillion in the next 20 years. The company also forecast an annual traffic growth of 5.00 percent over the next 20 years and by that time the world’s commercial aviation fleet will double.

Meanwhile, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus in its latest global market forecast (GMF) said that their will be a need for some 28,200 passenger and freighter aircraft between 2012 and 2031 worth nearly $4.00 trillion.

“Aside from growth in international traffic, by 2031 four of the world’s biggest traffic flows will all be domestic – US, China, Intra-Western Europe and India, and these account for a third of world traffic,” says John Leahy, chief operating officer, customers, Airbus.

The report predicted that in value of orders terms, India will be the fourth largest market after China, US and UAE.

“By 2031 the world’s passenger fleet will have expanded by 110 percent from slightly over 15,550 today to over 32,550. In the same period, the world’s freighter fleet will almost double from 1,600 to 3,000 aircraft,” the report said.

The report added that traffic will grow at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent in the next 20 years, during which some 10,350 aircraft will be replaced by new efficient models.

Tehelka Victim Bangaru seeks Cancellation of Jail Term

Posted: 04 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT

Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman has sought suspension of his four-year jail term in a bribery case and told the Delhi High Court that the 2001 sting operation carried on him was “illegal” and “contrary to law”.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Laxman, told the court that inducement during sting operation was prohibited in law.

Justice A.K. Pathak was hearing the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief’s plea challenging the jail term awarded to him April 28 by a trial court.

The court would next hear the case Wednesday.

Laxman sought the suspension of the four-year jail term on the ground that he was suffering from many old-age related illnesses and was a diabetes patient.

Sethi pleaded that the petitioner suffered from heart ailment and was living on one kidney.

“I am 74-year-old, have medical conditions. I am seriously diabetic and for the last four months I am in custody,” said Laxman.

A CBI special court on April 28 sentenced Laxman to four years’ rigorous imprisonment after holding him guilty of accepting a bribe from a fake arms dealer in a 10-year-old graft case and also fined him Rs.1 lakh.

The case dates to 2001 when news portal tehelka.com carried out a sting operation that caught Laxman on camera receiving money from a journalist posing as an arms dealer. He later resigned as BJP chief.

Tehelka had released CDs showing Laxman accepting money for promise of assistance to a fictitious Britain-based company M/s West End International in securing a contract for the supply of thermal imagers to the Indian Army.
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