north east online - north east india news: Jan 3, 2010

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Temple elephant runs amok in Tirumala

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 3 (ANI): A six-year old elephant Avanija, of Lord Venkareshwara temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, ran amok creating panic among the huge gathering of devotees on Saturday late evening.

The incident took place just prior to the young elephant was to take part in a religious procession of temple deities.

Two persons were injured during the incident and suffered minor injuries. They are being treated at the Ashwini Hospital here.

According to reports, when the huge gate leading to the concourse of the temple was opened, it created a loud noise that disturbed the elephant, which was further complicated by the din and commotion of the devotees.

At this, the jumbo raced towards the pilgrims who were waiting for the darshan of the deities resulting in panic among them.

The pilgrims blamed the temple authorities for the incident by contending on occasions like Brahmotsavam proper precautions should have been taken.

"The Tirumala Tirupati Devashanam (TTD) authorities ought to have taken proper precautionary measures and ensure safety of pilgrims. Earlier also there was a similar instance. This has been our submission," said Mahadev, a devotee.he mahout managed to bring the elephant under control almost immediately. (ANI)

Contingency arrangements for PM's plane at Jaipur

Rajasthan government on Sunday made contingency arrangements for the landing of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's plane, in case of unfavourable weather in Delhi.

"There were indications that PM's plane on way from Kerala might take a diversion if weather conditions are not favourable in New Delhi and could land here at Sanganer airport," District Collector Kuldeep Ranka said.

"Meanwhile, the traffic police and security agencies took up the task of making arrangements at the airport and at Raj Bhawan," he said, adding there was no official confirmation of PM's arrival at Jaipur so far.

The Prime Minister was in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday morning to inaugurate the Science Congress. He was to return to Delhi by evening.

Ulfa chief faces flak from Assam housewives

Liberation Front of Asom’s (Ulfa) elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Barua is mounting. This time, it is from Assamese housewives accusing him of murder.

Barua has been on the back foot since the arrest of four of Ulfa’s heavyweights including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa over the past two months. Adding to his misery are housewives – all victims of his rebel group’s violence.

One such housewife is Mridula Deka, widow of All Assam Students Union (Aasu) leader Upen Deka. “Barua must have masterminded the killing of my husband,” she said. Her conviction was on the basis of a threat letter the Ulfa had served Deka in 1990.

Deka, from Nalbari in western Assam, was gunned down on January 11, 1997 in Guwahati. Unidentified miscreants also killed his brother-in-law that day.

“The allegation is baseless,” Barua told a couple of local TV channels on Saturday. “The Ulfa had no hand in the killing of Deka, who we still respect for his contribution to our cause.”

The accusation comes barely a fortnight after housewives in Dhemaji town said none of the Ulfa leaders could be pardoned for the crimes they had committed.

“They should face severe punishment,” said Lobita Saikia, who lost her daughters – Aruna and Rupa – in a blast at Dhemaji on August 15, 2005. The two were among 13 persons the blast had claimed in the town 450 km northeast of Guwahati.

Barua had last month apologized for the blast that was meant for targeted government officials including the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Dhemaji district. But at the same time he passed the buck to leaders of the outfit on ceasefire mode.

This elicited a strong reaction from the Ulfa’s pro-talks faction. “Baruah has lost his mental balance and his accusations are a bunch of lies," said Mrinal Hazarika, leader of the faction that is 150 cadres strong. “He is a paper tiger issuing statements to show he is not a spent force and as isolated as people think him to be.”

Improvement in Jyoti Basu''s condition

Kolkata, Jan 3 (ANI): CPM leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu''s health condition is reported to be stable.

Basu is being treated for pneumonia at the AMRI hospital in salt lake here.

"He has shown much improvement compared to yesterday. His condition is now relatively stable," said Dr Debashish Sharma, Superintendent of AMRI Hospital.

"Besides lung congestion due to pneumonia, all other health parameters are okay," he added.

AMRI Hospital superintendent further said the 95-year old former West Bengal Chief Minister would be kept under observation for the next 48 hours in ICU.

Jyoti Basu was admitted here on Friday following a severe chest infection.

The doctors after conducting a proper check-up had detected that he was suffering from slight pneumonia.

Earlier in July 2009, Basu was admitted to the hospital complaining of discomfort in the abdomen and a disturbed sleep. (ANI)

Maharashtra suspends five police personnel for dancing at don''s party

Mumbai, Jan 3 (ANI): The Maharashtra Government has cleared suspension of five police officers for allegedly dancing in a party organized for a gangster.

Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Sivanandan had recommended suspension of officersw including Assistant Commissioner of Police Prakash Wani and Deputy Commissioner of Police V.N Salve.

The recommendations were made in his report submitted to the Maharashtra government on Saturday.

This is for the first time that an IPS officer has been recommended for suspension for having underworld links.

The Mumbai police in its report also submitted evidence in the form of photographs and statements of the people who attended the party.

Key Chotta Rajan man Paulson Joseph organized the party. If the cops are found guilty their services will be terminated. (ANI)

Passenger train derails in Assam

Guwahati, Jan 3 (ANI): Seven compartments of a passenger train derailed between Helem and Nij Bogaon areas in Assam early on Sunday morning, but no casualty has been reported till now.

The Murkongselek-Rangiya passenger train carrying 400 people derailed at 3:47 a.m., claimed railway sources.

The spot where the accident took place is under the Rangiya division of North East Frontier Railway.

Railway officials have rushed to the spot, around 70 kilometers from Rangiya, to ascertain the cause of the mishap. (ANI)

Dense fog disrupts flights, trains for second consecutive day

New Delhi, Jan 3 (ANI): The cold waves in North India have delayed and disrupted many flights and trains on Sunday as well. Reports of flight and train disruptions have come from other cities also.

Some international flights coming into Delhi have been diverted to Mumbai. Almost 45 domestic departures and 25 arrivals have been delayed by two to five hours. The airport authorities are working overtime to clear the stranded flights quickly.

Nine domestic flights were cancelled and 12 others were delayed, said Airports Authority of India official.

The situation at the runway in Delhi, however, appeared better on Sunday than Saturday, but flights continued to be late. Airport sources said there was fog around midnight but the sky started clearing by Sunday morning.

Six domestic flights to Amritsar, Leh and Srinagar have also been cancelled due to poor weather at these destinations.

Some international flights were delayed around midnight by three hours due to fog, as the runway visibility was less than 150 meters.

The Meteorological department officials said the present visibility at main runway is around 2,000 meters, while at the new runway it is 1600 meters.

Around 36 trains have also been affected due to the fog. A lot of trains were re-scheduled on Sunday including the Magadh Express, Lichchavi Express and Kafiyat Express.

On account of the train accidents that took place on Saturday and the dense fog, which is continuing for the second consecutive day on Sunday, 52 trains arrived late in Delhi.

A few other trains have been delayed by over 11 hours.

Around nine trains have been cancelled. Two trains were cancelled due to fog and six owing to the three accidents that took place in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.

The passengers are having a tough time, as there is no information available regarding many other trains that have been affected due to fog. (ANI)

8 fall ill after gas leak at Orissa steel plant

At least eight people fell ill early Sunday after inhaling a toxic gas that reportedly leaked from a blast furnace of a steel plant in Orissa's Sundergarh district, police said.

The gas leaked from a blast furnace at the state-run Rourkela steel plant Sunday. The steel plant at Rourkela is 514 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Five workers and three officers of the plant were hospitalised. "The condition of four of them was critical, but now they are out of danger," Superintendent of Police Diptesh Kumar Patnaik told IANS.

He said the leak has been contained by the plant authorities.

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