0815 HRS. 14th August, 2014 THE HEADLINES: Union Cabinet approves four key highways projects for all weather connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir. Supreme Court asks Centre to come up with a road-map in two weeks to make river Ganga pollution free. Assam government expresses displeasure over the alleged indifferent attitude of the CRPF in handling law and order situation at Sarupathar area on Assam-Nagaland border. Israel and Hamas agree to extend the ceasefire in Gaza by another five days. AND, ahead of crucial last Test match against England at Oval tomorrow, Ishant Sharma practices in nets; Final decision on his fitness to be taken today . The Union Cabinet has approved four highway projects in Jammu and Kashmir for all-weather connectivity in the Valley. The highways projects approved are Srinagar-Banihal, Qazigund-Banihal, the Chenani-Nashri and Jammu-Udhampur highways. The Cabinet has also enhanced fund allocation by over 8,000 crore rupees under the National Highways Development Project for the state. Our correspondent reports that these projects will reduce the journey time from Jammu to Srinagar and to strategic border areas in the state besides helping to boost the economy and provide employment potential to locals in project activities. The Supreme Court has set a two-week time limit for the Centre to come up with a road-map to make the river Ganga pollution free. It asked the government yesterday as to why urgent steps are not being taken to clean the river. A Bench headed by Justice T S Thakur said, the issue of cleaning the Ganga is shuttling between the two Ministries. The Bench said that the cleaning project should be done in stretches as it cannot be undertaken at one go. The issue of cleaning up of river the Ganga has been monitored by the apex court and several applications have been filed. The 2,500-kilometre river passes through 29 major cities, 23 small cities and 48 towns. The ambitious Ganga Action Plan to clean the river was launched by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. President Pranab Mukherjee will address the nation today on the eve of the 68th Independence Day. The address will be broadcast by all stations of All India Radio from 7 PM in English, which will be followed by Hindi translation. AIR will broadcast regional language versions of the address from 8.00 PM. The nation is getting ready to celebrate its 68th Independence Day. Elaborate arrangements are being made for the Prime Minister to hoist the National Flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi. The tri-colour which reflects the sovereignty of the country and keeps crores of its people together has a long history attached to it. Very few people of the present generation know that there were several unsung heroes behind the national flag besides Pingali Venkaiah, a freedom fighter who designed the national flag. A report from our Hyderabad Correspondent: The fluttering tri-colour, a synonym for free and independent India, evokes true patriotic spirit in every Indian. The idea of having a common flag for the nation was mooted by Pingali Venkayya, a multi-talented personality born in a small village called Bhatlapenumarru in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh in 1878. Having studied flags of about 30 countries, he wrote a book “Indian National Flag” in 1916. As the Young India newspaper refers, on constant persuasion Mahatma Gandhi asked him to design a flag for the nation. Pingali presented him a flag with two colors and a Charkha during the 1921 Congress meeting and after modifications it was adopted in 1931 Congress meetings. It was modified several times to take a final shape of present day tri-colour.Without getting even a pension for freedom fighters, Pingali Venkaiah died in poverty in 1969.One of his family members, Susheela says the grand father of her husband whom Pingali Venkaiah brought up was a selfless patriot. (He never expected any thing for what he did. He was not a politician. He had shown keen interest for having a flag for the nation. When Gandhiji asked him to do it in 1921, Pingali designed the flag in three hours.) Around 10,000 security personnel from the Delhi Police and the paramilitary forces will keep a hawk-eyed vigil at Red Fort and the area surrounding it during the Independence Day celebrations tomorrow. A multi-layered security cover has been put in place alongwith a ground-to-air security apparatus to pre-empt any possible terror strikes in the city with special emphasis on the region around the venue. Besides this around 5,000 personnel from the local police, those from the Special Cell and Security wing of the Delhi Police will also be pressed into service for security arrangements while the traffic police will take care of a smooth traffic flow. The Assam government has expressed displeasure over the alleged indifferent attitude of the CRPF in handling the law and situation at Sarupathar area on the Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat. Sources in the Assam Home Department said that the law and order situation is with the CRPF as the area was marked as a neutral zone, where Naga miscreants indulge anti-social activities. Sources said that around 200 houses in Golaghat district were torched down by miscreants. A report; Around six thousand people have taken shelter at relief camps at Uriamghat in Golaghat district. Senior police and Home Department officials reached the spot and held talks with Nagaland officials. Several organizations of Assam blocked road at Rangajan in Golaghat. Assam government has put all districts bordering Nagaland on alert. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has sought additional forces from the centre. Police said that situation is under control now. Manas Pratim Sarma, AIR News, Guwahati. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences last night following complaint of pain in his lower abdomen. Sources said, Mr Singh was admitted to the Gastroenterology Department around 8.30 pm yesterday. Tests were carried out during the night to save time as Mr Singh is supposed to attend parliament today. Doctors said, Mr Singh is fine and that he will be discharged from the hospital at 10 AM today. The condition of former BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who suffered head injuries, continues to be critical. The 76-year-old politician, who is in a coma, was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi on Friday after he fell down in his house. A Defence Ministry spokesperson said, Jaswant Singh continues to be on life support system. Petrol price is to be cut by 1 rupee, 89 paise to 2 rupees, 38 paise per litre from midnight tonight. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a tweet said that petrol price in the national capital is to be cut by 2 rupees, 18 paise. At present, Petrol costs 72 rupees, 51 paise per litre in Delhi. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to Singapore tomorrow to explore deeper cooperation between the two countries. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Syed Akbaruddin said that during the three-day visit, she will flag off year-long celebrations to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties with Singapore. He said, Mrs. Swaraj will hold meetings with top leaders of Singapore including Prime Minister Lee Hsien and her counterpart K Shanmugam. The External Affairs Minister will be focused on trying to obtain Singapores cooperation in the projects that we have in mind in terms of infrastructure which is the smart cities project. Smart new cities and rejuvenation of Indian cities is a major project that the Government of India is launching. Israel and Palestinian groups including Hamas have agreed to extend the ceasefire in Gaza by another five days. The Egyptian foreign ministry confirmed the move and said it is aimed at giving more time to negotiations for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire. The decision came minutes before the current 72 hour ceasefire was due to expire at midnight local time. The chief of the Palestinian negotiating team Azam Al Ahmad said in Cairo there is an agreement on many points regarding lifting the blockade of Gaza and negotiators need more time to settle some remaining disputes. Concerns were raised earlier about the fate of the ceasefire when rocket from Gaza landed in southern Israeli, hours before its expiry. An Israeli spokesman confirmed the rocket fire and said there were no casualties. Hamas denied that it was responsible for the rocket fire. However, the decision to extend ceasefire in Gaza by five days has raised hopes for peace in the region. The month long conflict has claimed over 1940 Palestinian lives and left over 10,000 injured. On the Israeli side 67 people, mostly soldiers have perished in the fighting. In the build-up to the fifth and final Test at the Oval against England, India regrouped in the practice nets. The Test match at the Oval will be played tomorrow. In a major boost ahead of Indias must-win game, medium-pacer Ishant Sharma was deemed fit. England lead the five-match series 2-1 after four Tests, as visitors crashed to an innings-and-54-run defeat at Manchester within three days in the fourth game. Since then, this was the first time this touring squad took to the nets. The Delhi seamer Sharma returned to London before the rest of the squad and had a session at the Oval yesterday. He bowled for a long duration during nets. The final decision on his fitness will, in all probability, be taken today. TODAYS NEWSPAPERS: The Lok Sabha giving a nod to the landmark Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is the front page story in most of the news papers. The Tribune writes - The two decades old Collegium system of appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court is set to change with the Lok Sabha passing a landmark bill to create a National Judicial Appointments Commission. The Indian Express says Judicial Bills pass Lok Sabha, hit Rajya Sabha bump. Senior leader and AAP founding member Shanti Bhushan attacking Arvind Kejriwal, also gets top coverage. Hindustan Times writes, War within the Aam Admi Party intensified, with Bhushan questioning Kejriwals organisational skills, saying the former Delhi Chief Minister didnt have it in him to turn the young party into a national force. India Pakistan row over Modi Barb, headlines The Hindu, after Narendra Modi accused Pakistan of continuing a proxy war with India. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said, it would be better if the countries dont engage in a blame game - and Indias spokesperson saying Mr. Modi articulated Indias core concern with Pakistan. The Times of India reports that the Finance Ministry is taking a re-look at recent appointments of top level public sector bank executives just before the UPA demitted office, in what is seen as a direct fallout of the recent arrest of the Syndicate Bank Chief by the CBI, on alleged corruption charges. And finally, the Indian origin professor of mathematics at Princeton University, Manjul Bhargava, being awarded the 2014 Fields Medal, known as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, is also widely covered by the press.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 05:14:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015