Assam Rifles men on UN Mission for Haiti relief

As part of the UN Mission, 140 men from Assam Rifles will be leaving for Haiti next month to provide relief and aid in the quake-hit poor Carribean country.

"The contingent will include ten officers and 130 men of other ranks. They are scheduled to leave for Haiti early next month," Assam Rifles spokesman A K Chowdhury told PTI.

They will be engaged in all kinds of relief work and aid, besides handling the security part.

Though the UN Mission's are generally for five years, the Assam Rifles men are likely to be rotated, giving opportunities to more personnel to be a part of it.

This is the first time that troops from the 175-year-old paramilitary force would be going on a UN Mission.

Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen KS Yadava said it was a proud moment for the force to get selected for the mission.

The Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7 quake on January 12, followed by at least 52 after-shocks that left hundreds dead.

An estimated three million people were affected by the quake.

The Haitian government reports that an estimated 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.

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Arunachal asks Centre to seek funds from World Bank

Despite the Centre's reported reluctance, the Arunachal Pradesh government has asked it to continue seeking loans from the World Bank for projects in the border state in spite of objections from China.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu on Thursday said that during his recent visit to New Delhi, he came across press reports suggesting that the Centre has decided against pressing for loans from World Bank for various projects in Arunachal and instead mobilise internal resources for them.

"On seeing the press reports, I immediately rushed to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the evening of March 8 and told him it is okay for Central financial grants for developmental projects in Arunachal but we should also seek loans from the World Bank for the state. Otherwise it will give a wrong message," Khandu told reporters in Itanagar.

The controversy arose after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna reportedly said that if India can find internal resources to take up those projects in Arunachal, there is no compulsion to go to the World Bank or other funding agencies.

BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad had described Krishna's statement as a shift in the country's foreign policy.

The issue also had an echo in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when several BJP members including Prabhat Jha said such an attitude on the part of India would mean surrender of sovereignty.

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