NEW DELHI: Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) on Monday said his country’s relationship with India was “unassailable” and could not be compared with any other country. With history having created a “new atmosphere,” Nepal would like to “start afresh” on issues of discord such as water resources. “Nepal is in a very delicate and sensitive transition period. I have full confidence that we can create very conducive conditions in a very short span of time,” said the Maoist leader, who became Nepal’s Prime Minister a month ago.

“Due to our specific history, geography, cultural ties and tradition of economic interdependence, our relationship with India is crucial. Although we wish to develop ties with China, there is no question of comparison,” he said at a luncheon organised by India’s three leading chambers of commerce and industry.



Mr. Prachanda earlier placed a wreath at Rajghat and met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He called on President Pratibha Patil and interacted with Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani.



Asked about India’s security concerns regarding the spillover of Maoist influence in Nepal, Mr. Prachanda said Kathmandu appreciated New Delhi’s apprehensions but it had its own anxieties. “We would like to go ahead collectively,” he said.



Mr. Prachanda addressed Harshpati Singhania’s complaint of labour unrest, uneven tax structure, industrial security and dumping of third country’s goods from Nepal into India.



“Without the presence of a vibrant private sector, the government alone cannot accelerate its development efforts. The Government of Nepal remains committed to adopting every possible measure to provide investors the necessary securities including repatriation of capital and profit earned by them in the country. We will do all we can to ensure industrial security in Nepal and also a fair collaborative relationship between labour and industry as well,” he said.



Mr. Prachanda said he would head a high-level investment board to reform the industrial policy, simplify procedures and encourage investments that would reduce trade deficit and prioritise exports. These measures would be harmonised with the new economic policy to ensure a “judicious distribution” of economic benefits to the people and accelerate economic growth.
Admitting that the economy was sluggish in the transition process, he said additional opportunities for Indian industry lay in reconstruction of damaged facilities and building of infrastructure.



In the hydel sector, seen as a big growth sector by the Indian industry, he was of the opinion that big projects instead of small ones should be undertaken. He accepted a draft report prepared by an industrialist for hydel policy reforms.



Ranbaxy’s representative sought simplification of procedures. The Nepal Commerce Minister assured him that his request would be examined.

AHMEDABAD: Khalid, Hassan and Shahealam Ansari — these are three names provided by the Ahmedabad crime branch officials to the Delhi police as the people behind the serial blasts that killed 24 in the Capital on Saturday.

The accused being interrogated for the Ahmedabad blasts and the Surat bomb planting cases are learnt to have given these three names as those involved in the Delhi blasts. This information was given by a Gujarat police team camping in Delhi to their counterparts. The team headed by a deputy superintendent of police has also given them copies of detailed confessions made by the 21 accused arrested by the crime branch in connection with the serial bomb blasts of Ahmedabad.

The team is also armed with details on the modus operandi of the gang of terrorists busted by Gujarat police. These new names have led the Delhi police to launch a manhunt in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. “We are hunting for the three accused in Azamgarh along with various other places in Delhi and UP,” said Delhi police officials. Mufti Abdul Bashar Kasmi, one of the masterminds of the serial blasts in Ahmedabad belongs to Azamgarh.

“It now turns out that Bashar was not only one of the masterminds in Gujarat but also in Jaipur and the recent Delhi serial blasts,” said officials of Ahmedabad city police. These names and other information have been provided by some of the accused who are now in custody of the Ahmedabad crime branch. There are three other names that have been provided to the Delhi police by their Ahmedabad counterparts — Alamzeb Afridi of Juhapura who has been absconding along with terror masterminds Qayamuddin Kapadia and Abdul Subhan alias Tauqeer.

A team of Delhi police has also reached Ahmedabad to grill Bashar. According to Delhi police sources, the serial blasts of Delhi had been planned in June and this input has been given by some of the key terror accused arrested by the Ahmedabad crime branch. “On June 14, 15 and 16, Bashar, as per his own confession, was in Delhi. The Delhi police want to know where he had stayed and whom he met. They also want to know if the terrorists arrested by the crime branch knew anything about who provided logistic support to the terrorists in Delhi.

Names of those who attended terrorist training camps in Kalol and Kerala will help get some breakthrough. The Delhi police want to grill the accused with us to know more on these aspects,” said Gujarat police sources.

New Delhi : The World Bankhas approved USD 300 million for the national e-governance programme of India, e-Bharat.

The fund would be used for preparatory activities, including capacity building and project preparation, at identified states and central ministries.

The e-governance initiative envisages citizen-centric governance by ensuring accessibility of all government services to people.

Inplementation of e-governance is expected to bring in more transference and reliability at affordable cost.

The plan is proposed to be carried out through mission mode projects, capacity building in government, public-private partnerships etc.

NEW DELHI: With an upward revision in its international poverty line norm from $1 a day, a World Bank study has revealed that nearly five out of 10 Indians are living on less than $1.25 (approx. Rs. 55) a day. And what is worse, their number is on the rise, despite a fall in percentage terms.

In its update on ‘International Comparison Programme’ released on Tuesday, the World Bank said that out of an estimated population of about 100 crore in 2005, “the number of poor people living below $1.25 a day has increased from 42.1 crore in 1981 to 45.6 crore in 2005. This is the biggest challenge facing India.”

The study also pointed out that even as the number of people living on the earlier poverty line norm of less than $1 a day had come down, there was still a large number of people living just above this line of deprivation and their numbers were not falling either.

As per the revised estimates on poverty based on new purchasing power parity norms, India’s poverty rate fell by a mere 19 per cent between 1990 and 2005 as compared to a global decline of 38 per cent . In terms of a dollar a day, the number of people living below the poverty line decreased from 29.6 crore in 1981 to 26.7 crore in 2005. In comparison, China achieved a much faster rate of poverty reduction.

The study revealed that in the developing world outside China, the $ 1.25 poverty rate fell from 40 per cent to 29 per cent over the 1981-2005. However, given the growth of population, this progress was not enough to bring down the total number of poor outside China, which stayed at about 1.2 billion.

As for South Asia, the $1.25 poverty rate declined from 60 per cent to 40 per cent over the same period but that was not enough to bring down the total number of poor people in the region, which stood at about 600 million in 2005.

In India, even as the poverty rate (at $1.25 a day) as a share of the total population went down from 60 per cent in 1981 to 42 per cent in 2005, the absolute numbers went up from 420 million to 455 million in 2005 during the period.

The Bank has prescribed that for achieving a higher rate of poverty reduction, India will have to address inequalities that currently impede the poor from reaping the benefits of growth. At the same time, the update noted that the high rate of economic growth witnessed in recent years did help in reducing the incidence of poverty.

On a positive note, the World Bank update pointed out that although the developing world is poorer than expected as per the new estimates, the countries in this group, nevertheless, have been fighting poverty successfully. At this rate, it said the world was likely to reach the first millennium development goal of halving the 1990 level of poverty by 2015.

NEW DELHI: With an upward revision in its international poverty line norm from $1 a day, a World Bank study has revealed that nearly five out of 10 Indians are living on less than $1.25 (approx. Rs. 55) a day. And what is worse, their number is on the rise, despite a fall in percentage terms.

In its update on ‘International Comparison Programme’ released on Tuesday, the World Bank said that out of an estimated population of about 100 crore in 2005, “the number of poor people living below $1.25 a day has increased from 42.1 crore in 1981 to 45.6 crore in 2005. This is the biggest challenge facing India.”

The study also pointed out that even as the number of people living on the earlier poverty line norm of less than $1 a day had come down, there was still a large number of people living just above this line of deprivation and their numbers were not falling either.

As per the revised estimates on poverty based on new purchasing power parity norms, India’s poverty rate fell by a mere 19 per cent between 1990 and 2005 as compared to a global decline of 38 per cent . In terms of a dollar a day, the number of people living below the poverty line decreased from 29.6 crore in 1981 to 26.7 crore in 2005. In comparison, China achieved a much faster rate of poverty reduction.

The study revealed that in the developing world outside China, the $ 1.25 poverty rate fell from 40 per cent to 29 per cent over the 1981-2005. However, given the growth of population, this progress was not enough to bring down the total number of poor outside China, which stayed at about 1.2 billion.

As for South Asia, the $1.25 poverty rate declined from 60 per cent to 40 per cent over the same period but that was not enough to bring down the total number of poor people in the region, which stood at about 600 million in 2005.

In India, even as the poverty rate (at $1.25 a day) as a share of the total population went down from 60 per cent in 1981 to 42 per cent in 2005, the absolute numbers went up from 420 million to 455 million in 2005 during the period.

The Bank has prescribed that for achieving a higher rate of poverty reduction, India will have to address inequalities that currently impede the poor from reaping the benefits of growth. At the same time, the update noted that the high rate of economic growth witnessed in recent years did help in reducing the incidence of poverty.

On a positive note, the World Bank update pointed out that although the developing world is poorer than expected as per the new estimates, the countries in this group, nevertheless, have been fighting poverty successfully. At this rate, it said the world was likely to reach the first millennium development goal of halving the 1990 level of poverty by 2015.

NEW DELHI: Plans for the ongoing crackdown on secessionists in Jammu and Kashmir were finalised at a meeting chaired by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan last week, government sources told The Hindu.

Mr. Narayanan and Intelligence Bureau Director P.C. Haldar had flown to Srinagar to meet with key police, Central Reserve Police Force and military officials on August 20, amidst signs of a meltdown of the State government’s authority across the Kashmir Valley.

Senior officials present at the meeting said Mr. Narayanan told the police and administrators that the country’s authority in Jammu and Kashmir had diminished to dangerous levels. He called for restoring order, and said New Delhi would offer whatever resources were needed.
However, enforcement of the crackdown was deferred until after a secessionist rally scheduled to be held at Sringar’s Eidgah on Friday. State government officials, the sources said, were confident that the rally would remain peaceful, on the basis of private assurances from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Tehreek-i-Hurriyat leaders.

More important, the State government also believed that internal differences with the secessionist groups would lead to low turnout at the Eidgah protests.

In the event, over a quarter of million protesters turned out at the Eidgah, belying the State government’s claims that the secessionist protests in Jammu and Kashmir were diminishing.
In the wake of the murderous clashes, which followed a failed secessionist march to the Line of Control, the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir rolled out what was described as the decompression doctrine: the deliberate disengagement of police from protests in the city, in order to allow the supercharged protests to let off steam. But the tactics backfired, allowing Islamists to take control of Srinagar.

On August 13, for example, protesters hoisted Pakistani flags over the ruins of police and CRPF posts that were destroyed after the authorities ordered their vacation.

Protesters destroyed sandbagged positions at Bagh-e-Ali Mardan, Bagh-e-Mehtab, Bohri Kadal, Kawdara, Safa Kadal and Saraf Lada.

Among the targets was a CRPF bunker near the All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s home in Rajouri Kadal, which was first to guard the secessionist politician’s home after the assassination of his father.

Protesters burned down the office of National Conference leader Mohammad Syed Akhoon, again hoisting a Pakistani flag to mark their triumph.More attacks

Similar attacks were reported outside of Srinagar, too. Mobs set ablaze the Gulshanabad police station at Charar-e-Sharif, as well as the Sheeri police station in north Kashmir. Police posts at Kohum, Klangam and Nadihal were also attacked.

Matters came to a head on Independence Day, when the CRPF personnel at Srinagar’s historic Lal Chowk pulled down the Tricolour just two hours after it was hoisted, after learning that protesters were marching there.

Pakistan’s national flag was later hoisted on the clock tower at Lal Chowk, a debacle never seen even at the height of the jihadist ascendancy in Srinagar.Ugly scenes

Ugly scenes were again evident at Friday’s gathering of protesters at the Eidgah, though the rally itself remained peaceful.

Islamist-led mobs attempted to provoke confrontations with CRPF personnel in several areas.
Groups of motorcycle-borne activists made a point of slowing down outside the few surviving CRPF outposts in the city, and shouting provocative slogans. Slogans like “Bharat teri maut ayi,” “Lashkar ayi, Lahskar ayi” [India, you death is coming, the Lashkar-e-Taiba is coming] and “Ragda, Ragda, Tiranga Ragda” [we’ve torn up the Tricolour], as well as outright communal invective, were common.

“One of the major reasons the protests snowballed to the levels we’ve seen,” a senor CRPF officer told The Hindu, “is that we allowed hard-line Islamists to run of the city, allowing them to use mosques to broadcast appeals for people to come out on the streets. Our withdrawal also allowed them to pressure people otherwise unsympathetic to the secessionist cause to join the protests.

CRPF and police personnel have now begun to reassert their presence across towns and cities in Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials say all posts destroyed in recent weeks will be rebuilt. “We’re willing to sustain this crackdown for as long as it takes,” a senior police officer said.

New Delhi : The government will hold a meeting with private broadcasters on the much delayed Content Code next week.

"I am holding a meeting next week and then we will decide," Minister for information and broadcasting (I&B) Priya Rranjan Dasmunsi told PTI on the sidelines of a book release function here on Monday.

Content Code, which calls for regulation of content shown by private television channels, has been under much debate as broadcasters see it as a move by the Government to control their programmes.

Referring to the media coverage of the much-reported Aarushi Talwar murder case, he said, "I am keeping a close watch on TV coverage and media should take lessons from the way it covered the case."

The Supreme Court as well as the government were critical of media's role in the manner of the twin murder case was covered.

The News Broadcasters Association (NBA), a body of private news broadcasters, had last week formed the 'News Broadcasting Standards (Disputes Redressal) Authority' to enforce NBA's code of ethics and broadcasting standards. The authority will become operational from October 2.

NEW DELHI: Omprakash, alias Bunty, fell as dramatically as his career in crime had risen in the past three months. The 30-year-old robber, whose biker gang had let loose terror on the streets of the capital, was killed in an early morning encounter on Monday at a half-built in south Delhi. Bunty and his accomplice, Rajesh Sharma (26), who also died, were holed up in the house for the past two days, plotting the murder of two businessmen.

With the encounter, the curtains came down on the one-and-a-half-month-long manhunt for the 5 feet, 8 inches tall school dropout which had taken the Delhi Police to various places in Delhi and NCR. Four policemen, including an inspector, were injured in the shootout at Saurabh Vihar near Badarpur.

The house reportedly belongs to the owners of Mittal Gardens. Police raided the property after getting a tip-off that Bunty and his accomplices were hiding in Delhi and had been threatening two businessmen — Pawan and Naresh Garg from Madangir — who were going to depose against him.

At 4.30am on Monday, a 25-member police team zeroed in on the house where the two criminals were sleeping. When asked to surrender, Bunty and Rajesh opened fire. As the sole entry to the house was locked from inside, the police returned fire through the window. According to the team members, the criminals fired at least 24 rounds. Finally, clad in bulletproof jackets, the policemen broke open the door and entered the house.

Washington : As India and the US work overtime to get a clean NSG waiver, the Bush Administration said the Indo-US atomic deal was currently the "principal focus" of its nuclear policy and given a priority over a similar pact with Russia.

Asked whether developments in Georgia will affect the US-Russia civilian nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the present focus of America's nuclear commerce policy was the India deal and not the one with Russia.

"Our principal focus right now has been on the India civil nuclear deal, having worked through the IAEA, now working through the NSG, and still trying to get into a position to make the appropriate presidential determinations in early September. So that's our focus right now on the civil nuclear side," Rice told reporters on her way to Tel Aviv.

Rice's comments came even as Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon discussed a strategy with senior US officials in Washington to address reservations expressed by some countries at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) over the draft waiver that is required to push the Indso-US nuke deal forward.

Echoing Rice's sentiments, White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto said the current focus of the administration was to see the India-US deal through. The fate of the deal rests with the 45-member NSG which is due to meet for the second time in two weeks on September 6.
"I think we have another nuclear agreement in the queue ahead of that (Russian deal), that we're really focussed on right now, and that's the India civil nuclear agreement. And that's generating a lot of work and time and energy on our part to get that done," Fratto said.

"We were able to work that through the IAEA and now working with the NSG, and trying to get that through NSG, and eventually for presentation to our Congress," Fratto added.

The Deputy Press Secretary was asked whether America intends to pull out of the US-Russia civilian nuclear agreement, given Russia's military action in Georgia, or the deal would be completed by the end of the year.

Jammu : In yet another ceasefire violation along the LoC, four BSF personnel were on Tuesday injured in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district when Pakistani forces allegedly opened fire from across the border while a group of armed militants sneaked into the Indian side through Kana Chak area.

BSF posts in K P Nallah area in Samzian belt of Poonch came under firing and mortar attacks early on Tuesday, BSF officials told PTI, adding there was nor retaliatory fire. The firing came from Pakistan NCCP post resulting in the injury to four BSF personnel including a sub-inspector and an assistant sub-inspector.

In another incident along International Border in Jammu frontier, a group of armed militants sneaked into Indian territory under cover of firing from the Pakistani side, following which a massive operation was launched by BSF. "A group of three to four militants have infiltrated into the state through Kana Chak border after cutting the fence and under the cover of firing from the Pakistan side around 0145 hours", BSF DIG S Sagwan said.

"The BSF, army and police personnel have cordoned off the entire belt and tracker dogs have been pressed into the operation," Sagwan told PTI. Giving details, he said a group of 20-30 unidentified ultras took positions close to the International Border on the Pakistan side and opened indiscriminate firing on border patrol parties around 12.30 am.

Asked whether Pakistan troops were involved in the firing, he said their involvement cannot be ruled out. "We are looking into all aspects of the incident." The ultras infiltrated through the Layliyal border outpost by cutting a three-tier fence, he said, adding some arms and ammunition were recovered from the area.

Bhubaneswar : Seven people were killed, four of them in police firing, in unabated violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district, taking the toll to nine, in the backlash to the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati as curfew was clamped in all major towns of the district.

Four persons persons were killed when the police opened fire to disperse a mob which attacked places of worship, prayer halls and shops at Barakhama in Kandhamal district, Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda said.

Three persons were killed when their houses were torched in Raikia area around midnight on Monday night, official sources said.

Two others, including a woman, were killed when a missionary-run orphanage was set on fire on Monday.

Almost the entire Kandhamal district was placed under indefinite curfew following continued violence. All major towns are under curfew and Rapid Action Force (RAF), CRPF and state police were deployed, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division) Satyabrata Sahu told PTI over phone.

NEW DELHI: A woman Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official allegedly attempted suicide by taking some poisonous substance at the Prime Minister’s Office here on Tuesday. She was stated to be out of danger.

The incident took place around 2 p.m. when 46-year-old Nisha Bhatia, a Director in the Cabinet Secretariat, allegedly took poison after being denied entry. She had previously lodged a complaint alleging harassment at workplace.

Ms. Bhatia was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where she is under observation. The police will take necessary action on the basis of her statement.

According to a Cabinet Secretariat release, Ms. Bhatia had lodged a complaint last year alleging sexual harassment by her Joint Secretary. It was enquired into by the Complaint Committee and an external woman officer was also involved. However, Ms. Bhatia withdrew her complaint, said the release, adding that the official was given several opportunities to present her case, but she refused to cooperate. The committee summed up the inquiry on May 19 and found that her allegations were not substantiated.

Several complaints against Ms. Bhatia were received meanwhile from different officials alleging unauthorised communication, contact with the media, insubordination, misbehaviour, abuse of authority and sending objectionable and offensive SMS to senior officials. “Based on the examination of reports of her ‘erratic’ behaviour, a senior medical officer of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences suspected presence of a psychiatric illness in her and advised psychiatric opinion to assess her condition,” said the release.

According to the Cabinet Secretariat, Ms. Bhatia was advised to go for medical counselling, but she refused. In view of the complaints against her, a preliminary enquiry was ordered on August 8.

Telegu superstar Chiranjeevi will now be seen in a new role. Ending a year-long speculation, Chiranjeevi on Sunday announced his entry into politics and said pro-poor policies and social justice will be his party's main agenda.He said that he isn't quite bidding farewell to films but is open to educational films only.

From a tiny village in coastal Andhra Pradesh to stardom in tinsel town and then to the centrestage of politics, the rise of Chiranjeevi is similar to the action-filled blockbusters which he has been associated with in the last three decades.As the 53-year-old reigning star of Telugu cinema gears up for his new role in politics, the question being asked is whether he can recreate the magic of NT Rama Rao who had stormed to power within nine months of floating TDP in 1983, a feat that has no parallel in India's political history.

It is not the first time a southern star is venturing into politics. Other political parties are closely watching the event.Speaking at a presser he expressed his wish to serve the people and said that it is former President Kalam who's inspired him to join politics.

Chiranjeevi also mentioned he's been infuenced by his predecessor N T Rama Rao.Meanwhile, the BJP on Sunday gave a guarded response to Telgu superstar Chiranjeevi's plan to enter politics, saying its impact on Andhra Pradesh scenario could be assessed only after the actor announced policies and programmes of his party.

"Let's see," senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here when asked about the impact of the megastar's party in the state."He (Chiranjeevi) is a popular actor no doubt", Naidu said but added that for any political party, it is the policies and programmes that are important

NEW DELHI: The Kishore Chandra Deo parliamentary committee, set up to establish the facts of the cash-for-votes scandal on Monday, interrogated four witnesses and is now expected to get down to the job of finalising its report before August 29 when its current tenure ends.

Samajwadi Party MP Rewati Raman Singh; Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani’s political aide Sudheendra Kulkarni; the man accused of carrying cash of Rs.1 crore to the residence of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ashok Argal on July 22, Sanjeev Saxena; and a BJP Yuva Morcha activist, Suhail Hindustani, who coordinated his activities with Mr. Kulkarni, deposed before the committee.

Mr. Deo later told reporters that the work of getting evidence had been completed. Some other members said the next meetings have been fixed for August 26 and 27 when the seven-member committee will get down to the job of finalising its report.

It seems that three members of the committee – V.K. Malhotra (BJP), Mohammad Salim (Communist Party of India - Marxist) and Rajesh Verma (Bahujan Samaj Party) — demanded that Mr. Saxena be submitted to a narco analysis test as what he said before the committee was not borne out by the video-footage of the episode as recorded by CNN-IBN television channel’s camera team present at the residence of Ashok Argal, where the money was allegedly offered as a bribe to three BJP MPs.

Apparently, Mr. Saxena flatly denied that he was involved in any bribe giving but could not explain the video-footage, according to some committee members. The BJP’s charge is that he worked for SP general secretary Amar Singh and carried the cash on his behalf.Written submission

Mr. Hindustani is believed to have made a written submission before the committee where he admitted that he was a BJP activist and his family living in Jaipur had links to the Jana Sangh and then the BJP. He reportedly also admitted that he contacted Mr. Kulkarni and expressed his desire to be useful to the party in exposing the alleged horse-trading of MPs ahead of the trust vote in Parliament.

Although the submissions before the committee are meant to be confidential and a matter of privilege, Mr. Hindustani’s submission was e-mailed to many correspondents by the office of Mr. Kulkarni.

Mr. Hindustani admitted that he accompanied two BJP MPs – Mr. Argal and Faggan Singh Kulaste – to the residence of SP general secretary Amar Singh on July 22 morning.
In his evidence, Mr. Kulkarni reportedly stuck to the script of the video-footage shot at Mr. Argal’s residence. He has already admitted he was in Mr. Argal’s house on July 22 and came out in front of the cameras only after the alleged bribe-giver had gone and the `sting operation’ was complete.

Mr. Rewati Raman Singh told reporters outside the venue of the meeting that he had deposed before the committee and he hoped “truth will prevail”.

NEW DELHI: Banking transactions across the country are likely to be hit this week as various employees’ associations have given calls for strikes on Monday (August 18) and Wednesday (August 20).

Monday’s strike is by members of the All-India State Bank Officers’ Federation (AISBOF) to protest against the government’s move to merge the State Bank of Saurashtra with the State Bank of India (SBI).

The one on Wednesday will be by members of the All-India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) to protest against the “anti-people banking, economic and labour policies” of the UPA government. More than 5 lakh employees of the public, private, cooperative and rural banking sectors are expected to participate in Wednesday’s strike.

In Delhi, AISBOF president T.N. Goel said more than 80,000 officers in over 15,000 branches/offices of the State Bank group, comprising the SBI and its seven associate banks, would strike work on Monday and there would be no transactions or clearing. More than 350 branches of the SBI group in Delhi and the National Capital Region would be affected.

Criticising the merger move, for which the Centre issued notification on August 14, he said the employees would hold a massive demonstration in front of the SBI headquarters here on Monday.

The AIBEA is organising month-long rallies and dharnas to protest against privatisation, mergers and consolidation and the unrestricted entry of foreign direct investments in banks. The All-India Reserve Bank of India Employees’ Association has already announced its support.

NEW DELHI: The number of people using Metro services has been going up and looking at this increased rush, the Delhi Metro has ordered 131 new trains. Apart from easing the rush in the Metro, the new coaches will have additional features like power connections that will enable passengers to use their laptops and charge their mobiles while travelling on the Metro.

Every new Metro coach of Phase-II will have power supply points for this purpose, reported officials. Said a Delhi Metro official: "The Metro coaches in Phase-II will also have reduced noise levels inside the trains. The DMRC is making major design changes to reduce noise levels by use of special sound absorbing cushions in the walls of the Metro coaches and more buffing on the Metro doors.

" The Phase-II Metro coaches will also provide a much better level of passenger comfort. For the first time, there will be humidity control inside the Metro. The temperature will be maintained at 25 degree Celsius and the relative humidity will be maintained at 60 % during the summer and monsoon months.

Phase-II trains will also have CCTVs inside the coaches apart from the cameras outside, so that the driver can see entry and exit of passengers from the trai

NEW DELHI: The Centre has extended the visa of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who returned earlier this month to the capital after a sojourn in Sweden.

The papers seeking extension of her visa had been processed and approval given, a Union Home Ministry spokesperson said here.

However, the spokesperson said it was not immediately clear whether the extension was for three or six months. The writer, who has been the target of Islamic fundamentalists, returned was whisked away by security agencies, earlier this month, to an undisclosed destination in the capital.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan police have launched a crackdown on suspected persons across the State in the wake of the breakthrough claimed in the Ahmedabad blasts case. A dozen people were picked up from various towns for questioning to ascertain their role in the May 13 blasts here.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), believing that the terror strikes here and in Ahmedabad were inter-linked, is concentrating on the contacts of alleged mastermind Abul Bashar Qasmi and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) leader Sajid Mansuri in Rajasthan.

Policemen, who went to detain three persons, including two former SIMI members, in Baran on Saturday night faced resistance from the local people, who laid a siege to the Kotwali police station. The policemen had to do some explaining to the 250-strong crowd and ended up bringing in the neighbours too along with the detainees.

Those picked up in Baran were Wasim Ahmed (44), a scrap dealer; Abid Hussain (43), a cloth merchant; and Riyaz Ahmed (25), owner of a grocery shop. Baran District Waqf Committee chairman Majid Salim, a prominent Muslim leader of the town, was among those who insisted on accompanying the three persons to Jaipur.

Mr. Salim said Ahmed and Hussain were members of the SIMI over a decade ago when the outfit was not banned. About half-a-dozen friends and relatives, who reluctantly left the three persons in the SIT’s custody, affirmed that their past association with the SIMI could not be used to link them to the Jaipur or Ahmedabad bombings.

The SIT – reportedly acting on the basis of leads provided by Sajid Mansuri, former SIMI zonal secretary in Gujarat, after his recent arrest – also picked up four persons in Kota on early Sunday morning. Police suspect that Sajid Mansuri stayed in the houses of two of them after escaping from Surat following the raid on a controversial meeting of SIMI in 2001.
Those detained in Kota were Ishaq (65), his son Taufiq (25), Alauddin (48) and Nazahat (30). The Rajasthan Muslim Forum has called their relatives here to demand an explanation from the SIT on their detention.

Police also picked up Abrar Ahmed, a medical graduate doing internship in the Sawai Man Singh Medical College, from the college hostel here, and his colleague Anwar Hussain from his native place, Niwai, in Tonk district.

According to the SIT, Sajid Mansuri knew them well and stayed in their hostel room several times during his visit to Jaipur. The Gujarat police also affirmed that Sajid Mansuri and his men were here when the bombs were planted.

ADGP (Crime) A.K. Jain told The Hindu that the SIT was only carrying out a “routine interrogation.” It could not be termed a crackdown on a community.