press trust of india
Hyderabad, 6 August
Agitating against the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, Samaikyandhra supporters today continued with their week-long protest across coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
Protesters belonging to different organisations supporting a united Andhra Pradesh took out huge rallies and resorted to road blockades at several places as the protests entered the seventh day today.
Seemandhra employees boycotted duties and took out a rally in the Secretariat premises here to protest the decision for creation of a Telangana state.
The protesters, under the aegis of Secretariat Seemandhra Employees Forum, raised slogans like ‘Hyderabad belongs to all’ and ‘we want justice’.
In Anantapur, agitators stopped a passenger train at the railway station there.
“The protests are continuing today also, however, in a peaceful manner.”
“No one has been taken into custody,” Anantapur Superintendent of Police, Mr S Shyam Sunder told PTI.
In Kurnool and Nellore districts, the protesters cooked food on the roads besides taking out massive rallies and blocking the roads.

statesman news service
Chennai, 6 August
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday urged the Centre to adopt a "coercive diplomacy" against Colombo to end their harassment.
She further described the recurring incidents of attacks and "abductions" of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy as acts of "an unfriendly nation."
Referring to the 3 August arrest of 20 Indian fishermen from the state by the Lankan Navy, the chief minister said she had told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that it was yet another "outrageous incident."
In a letter she had told Mr Singh, "I have been repeatedly writing to you about the travails of innocent Tamil Nadu fishermen who face harassment, abduction, assault and apprehension at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy, which continues its menacing and predatory acts in the face of the immobility and apathy of Government of India to the plight of these innocent fishermen."
The ineffective response of India has emboldened the Lankan Navy to continue such predatory attacks on Indian fishermen, she said.
She said such frequent arrests and detention for long  had created tension and agitation among the
fishermen community in the state which "now nurses strong grievance against India”.
She also requested Mr Singh to "take immediate steps to initiate a diplomatic dialogue with Sri Lanka to immediately stop recurrence of such incidents of arrest and harassment of the fishermen.

statesman news service
Bangalore, 6 August
The Congress and the JDS are leaving nothing to chance to ensure that their candidates win the by-polls to the Parliamentary constituencies of Mandya and Bangalore Rural, scheduled for 21 August.
Till a few days ago, both the parties were finding it difficult to find candidates as no partyman wanted to contest now as there are only a few months left for the Lok Sabha to end its term.
It is only after much coaxing, cajoling and wooing that the Congress, on its part, has  managed to get film actress Ms Ramya and Mr D K Suresh, brother of former minister, Mr D K Shivkumar, to contest from Mandya and Bangalore Rural, respectively. They will be pitted against
Mr Puttaraju in Mandya and Ms Anita Kumaraswamy, wife of former chief minister Mr H Kumaraswamy of the JDS in Bangalore Rural. The Gowdas had a tough time particularly in convincing Ms Anita before she relented, even if  reluctantly.
The two seats which were won by the JDS  in the last election, fell vacant this time after the Mandya and Bangalore Rural MPs, Mr Cheluvarayaswami and Mr H D Kumarswamy, respectively, decided to give up these seats after they won in the just concluded Assembly elections.
The BJP finds itself in a very peculiar position considering that it has virtually no influence in the two LSconstituencies.
The latter will return the favour by not fielding any candidates against the BJP in the forthcoming elections to the three legislative council seats.
The fight for the two Lok Sabha seats, accordingly, will now intensify considering that it has become a prestigious one. Both the Congress under Chief Minister Siddaramiah, and the JDS under Mr Deve Gowda and his son are leaving no stone unturned.
For the Congress in particular, it is a very crucial battle what with the general elections barely a few months away.
If it manages to regain the seats from JDS, Mr Siddaramiah will have moved closer to the party higher ups in terms of the respect and confidence that he enjoys with them.
He wants to  ensure Ms Ramya manages to pip Mr Puttaraju to the post in Mandya, at least.
The fight, however, is more intense in Bangalore Rural where Mr D K Suresh, brother of former Congress minister, Mr D K Shivkumar, is pitted against Ms Anita Kumaraswamy.
Both the opponents hail from the Vokkaligga community and have tremendous clout with the voters.

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 24 AUG: A Delhi court today extended till 19 August the judicial custody of seven accused, including former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla, who have been arrested in connection with the Rs 10 crore railway bribery case.
Seven accused, including Mr Singla and then Member (Staff) of Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, were produced before the court and Special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma extended their judicial custody till 19 August.
Out of the 10 accused, who were charge sheeted by the CBI, alleged middleman Ajay Garg, who has been accused of being instrumental in fixing the bribe amount for getting a favourable post for Mr Kumar, was granted bail by the court on 8 July.
Two other accused, Mr M V Murali Krishan and Mr C V Venugopal, are presently out on interim bail. The court had earlier dismissed the bail pleas of these nine accused who were charge sheeted by the CBI.
Besides Mr Singla, Mr Kumar and Mr Garg, the other accused charge-sheeted by the CBI are MD of Bangalore-based G G Tronics India Pvt Ltd Narayan Rao Manjunath, alleged middleman Sandeep Goyal, Rahul Yadav, Samir Sandhir, Sushil Daga, Murali Krishan and Venugopal.
The CBI, in its charge-sheet filed on 2 July, has alleged that Singla had demanded Rs 10 crore from Mahesh Kumar for his appointment as Member (Electrical).
The agency had said it was decided between the accused that Rs five crore will be paid before the appointment and rest of the money will be paid after the job was done.
The court on 12 July had dismissed the bail plea of seven accused in the case, saying they can tamper with the evidence or influence witnesses, if released on bail. All the 10 accused have been charge sheeted for the offence of criminal conspiracy under the IPC and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 6 AUG: The suspension of Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal, who had cracked down on illegal sand mining, today reached the Supreme Court with the filing of a public interest litigation seeking quashing of all proceedings against her.
The UP government and the Centre have been made respondents in the petition filed by advocate M L Sharma.
Contending that the action taken against Ms Nagpal was arbitrary, unconstitutional and malafide, the PIL has sought quashing of all proceedings against the 2010 batch IAS officer who had clamped down on the mining mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar area of UP.
The 28-year-old Sub-Divisional Magistrate was suspended on 27 July ostensibly for ordering the demolition of the wall of an under-construction mosque in a village in Noida without following the due process.
The UP government had on 4 August served a charge sheet on the officer, asking her to submit an explanation for her conduct.
Coming out in support of Ms Nagpal, Congress President and the Chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC) Sonia Gandhi has written a letter to the Prime Minister, saying that she should not be “unfairly treated”.
The Prime Minister had yesterday said the Centre was in touch with the state authorities on the issue and laid down rules will be followed.
 

India summons Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner; lodges strong protest over killing of its soldiers at the LoC in Poonch sector

Press Trust of India
ISLAMABAD, 6 AUG: Pakistan army today denied that its troops had fired across Line of Control in the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir killing five Indian soldiers.
“No such incident has taken place on LoC as there was no violation of the ceasefire by our troops,” a military official told PTI.
Indian defence sources said the Pakistani soldiers, numbering about 20, intruded into the Indian territory past midnight and ambushed the patrol party at the Sarla post on the Indian side of the LoC.
A Subedar and four jawans of the 21 Bihar Unit were killed in the attack which took place at around 2 a.m, 450 metres from the LoC on the Indian side, they said.

Press Trust of India
TOKYO, 6 AUG: Britain supported the use of atomic bombs against Japan in World War II about a month before the first one was dropped on Hiroshima by the USA, according to declassified American documents.
The documents illustrate Britain’s involvement in the US’ decision to carry out the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, something not widely known, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on the 68th anniversary of the bombings.
Quoting recently declassified documents by the US National Archives and Records Administration, it said the British government officially expressed its support for using the new weapon against Japan at the Combined Policy Committee meeting in Washington on 4 July 1945.
Britain referred to atomic bombs as Tube Alloys (T.A.), a codename it used for wartime research on nuclear weapons that was also used to refer to plutonium, Kyodo said.
According to the documents, British Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson told the meeting chaired by US Secretary of War Henry Stimson that the British government “concurred in the use of the T.A. weapon against Japan.”
“The governments of the United Kingdom and the United States had agreed that T.A. weapons should be used by the USA against Japan, the agreement of the British government having been communicated” by Wilson, it said.
The committee was established based on the Quebec Agreement made in August 1943 by the USA, Britain and Canada on coordinated development of atomic weapons.
Britain’s official agreement on the use of atomic bombs came after US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed at their September 1944 meeting in New York that an atomic bomb might be used against Japan when it was developed, the documents show.
Shortly after the July 1945 committee meeting, the USA conducted the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico.
The first operational atomic bomb was dropped by the USA on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Three days later, another Japanese city Nagasaki was pounded by the atomic bombs.

Village authorities turn deaf ear to pleas
asim pramanik 
asim.pramanik@rediffmail.com                    
Behrampore, 5 August
Teachers and students of a higher secondary school at Khenkul village of Nabagram block in Murshidabad finally took upon themselves the job of refurbishing the mud road leading to their school. They took the initiative to collect funds in order to make the project possible.
The road is full of potholes, especially during monsoon, and local authorities have turned a deaf ear to their repeated pleas.
Voluntary contribution of Re 1 or Rs 2 each by students and donation of anything between Rs 100-200 per teacher generated the funds, said the school officials.  
Today the students of standard-XII, including the girl students led by their teachers, accomplished the repair work on around 1-km stretch from Gangarampur Primary School to Khenkul High School.
The students laid bricks bought from nearby brick factories and toiled to make the road surface even. Teachers also took part actively and supervised the repair work.
The road used to cause a lot of trouble to school children, said Md Mozaffar Hossain, headmaster of the school.
“We took a decision to do the repair work ourselves as we started getting reports of students being injured frequently while riding bicycles on the laterite road”, he added.
Though the road runs through century-old minority and tribal dominated settlements like Gangarampur, Khenkul, Bathan, Milky, among others, no measures by government agencies were ever taken to make it a metalled road, stated the villagers.
The local MLA, Mr Kanai Mondal of the CPI-M, however, claimed that the road has been included in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana scheme.
The MLA&’s claim was called into question by many of the villagers saying the mud-road&’s inclusion in the PMGSY scheme is part of a strategy to hoodwink locals.  
“We set a precedent before the students as well as the local people by doing the road repair without waiting for the panchayat or any other government agencies. The need of the hour was to carry out the work on a war-footing as we cannot idly see our students falling on roads and returning home without attending classes,” said a teacher of the school.     

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi, 5 August
The Supreme Court today lifted the stay on the trial of the cases going on against mafia don Abu Salem in several courts across the country even as it allowed the CBI to withdraw the prosecution of the don under the provisions of criminal law that attracts death penalty.
 While disposing off Salem&’s petition for quashing all proceedings after Portugal&’s apex court terminated his extradition to India, the court ruled out his return to Portugal from where he was extradited to face trial for his alleged involvement in 1996 Mumbai serial bomb blast cases.
 A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam vacated the stay on the trial of the cases going on against Salem in several courts across the country and also allowed the CBI to drop additional charges slapped on Salem under TADA and Explosive Substances Act after his extradition.
 The apex court held that the verdict of Portugal court is “not binding” on courts here and Salem&’s extradition to India is still “valid in the eyes of law”.
Salem, currently in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, had moved the apex court for closure of trial against him in various courts here after the Portugal Supreme Court upheld the order of a lower court there, terminating his extradition for “violation” of deportation rules by Indian authorities.
He challenged his trial under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) which mandatorily attracts death penalty. He had contended when he was extradited, the government had given an undertaking that he would not be tried under the provisions of criminal law that attracts death sentence.
The Supreme Court had stayed Salem&’s trial after he approached the apex court against the TADA court&’s order of 31 January, rejecting his plea for closure of his trial.  Attorney General G E Vahanwati had said government was committed to its assurance given to the Portuguese court and had sought the apex court&’s permission to drop the additional charges framed against Salem by the trial court.
The CBI had sought the court&’s permission for withdrawal of charges under section 5 and 6 of TADA and sections 4(b) and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act in view of its commitment to the Portuguese government.
Salem and his then companion, actress Monica Bedi, were extradited to India on 11 November 2005, after a marathon legal process lasting three years.

Parliament holiday: Parliament could have six-day holiday from August 15 to 20. Both the Houses are likely to sit on September 2 or 3.
BCCI moves SC: The BCCI approached the Supreme Court challenging Bombay High Court’s order that held as illegal the two-member probe panel.
Quota order flayed: MPs lashed out at the Supreme Court judgment on reservation saying the order would hit 80 per cent of the  population.     P2

Australia will have a chance to regain the Ashes when the return series starts in Brisbane in November

agencies
Manchester, 5 August
England retained the Ashes after rain meant the third Test against Australia at Old Trafford ended in a draw today. Only 20.3 overs were possible on the fifth and final day, but that was still long enough for England to collapse to 37 for three, having been set 332 to win after Australia declared on their overnight 172 for seven.
But England, 2-0 up in the five-match series after wins by 14 runs and 347 runs at Trent Bridge and Lord’s respectively, only had to draw this match to be sure of retaining the Ashes.
And they had the result they required when the match was abandoned as a draw at 4.39pm local time.
It was a thoroughly unsatisfactory end to a test that was building up to a thrilling finale after four days of absorbing cricket at Old Trafford. And Australia will bemoan the fact that rain has spared England when not a single minute was lost to weather in the series up until Sunday afternoon.
Earlier, Ryan Harris struck twice in quick succession to remove England captain Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott before Peter Siddle claimed the prize wicket of Kevin Pietersen.
However, the bad weather for which Manchester venue Old Trafford is infamous, but which had stayed away until Sunday evening, took charge. At the close, England were 295 runs shy of the victory target, with Joe Root, dropped on four, 13 not out and Ian Bell four not out. Australia captain Michael Clarke, who made a superb first innings 187, was angry when the umpires took the players off for bad light yesterday before rain ended the day’s play.
The weather was still against Australia when rain delayed today’s scheduled start by 30 minutes.
 “I don’t want to take anything away from England. They deserved to be 2-0 up. That’s the chance you take when you are 2-0 down in the UK, there can be a bit of rain about.  The guys have worked their backsides off here.” Clarke was named man-of-the-match for his first innings 187 but he said: “It’s nice to make runs but the result is more important.” Australia will have a chance to regain the Ashes when the return series starts in Brisbane in November.
But Clarke said this side still had something to play for this campaign. “It’s important we concentrate on the two Tests here. It would be a great achievement if we leave England 2-2 — our goal is to try to level the series.”
Now the best Australia can hope for is to share the series 2-2. 
In the event of a drawn campaign, the team that last won the Ashes retains them and in this series that means England following their 3-1 win in Australia in 2010/11.
One consolation for Australia was that this result ended a run of six successive Test defeats, their worst for 29 years, and meant they avoided equalling their all-time record losing streak of seven set between 1885-88.
The series, which could yet see the first drawn Test campaign between England and Australia since 1972, continues Friday with the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street, the headquarters of north-east county Durham.

agencies
 Faridabad, 5 August  
Tainted Rajasthan Royals cricketer Ajit Chandila was shocked that the Delhi police had slapped stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act charges against him.
He said that he was a cricketer and not a terrorist.  "My family and I are in a state of shock that such charges are being levelled against me, I am a cricketer; not a terrorist," said Chandila here today. 
Chandila, one of those accused in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, was out on bail to attend the last rites of his elder brother. 
“My elder brother was admitted to hospital a day after my arrest. A lot has happened in my life since then. I hope God doesn’t let this happen to anyone else,” said Chandila at his residence.
Chandila, along with Rajasthan Royals team-mates S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan, came to be arrested by the Delhi police on 16 May after a midnight raid in Mumbai. 
Sreesanth and Chavan secured bail in June but Chandila was not that lucky. He is out on bail for three days, a period which ended today.  
Chandila said that he had never been approached by any bookie. 
"I have no clue to the spot-fixing controversy. I have never been approached by anybody. I am absolutely unaware of this," he said. 
Asked if he was being framed, Chandila said: "I don’t want to say anything. I am shocked. It is a tragedy for me and my family. I don’t even know what will happen to me. I also don’t know what the MCOCA is. When my lawyer told me the details of the law, I was shocked and devastated." 
Asked about his penchant for luxury jeans and watches, Chandila said that every sportsperson liked designer clothes. 
"Each cricketer participating in the Ranji Trophy or the IPL gets paid handsomely. Everyone likes to wear good clothes and watches. We’re paid enough and we don’t have to adopt any wrong means." 
Chandila said that nobody should interfere in his personal life.   "My dream was to become a cricketer and I worked very hard to achieve my goal. My performances in the past two seasons of the IPL prove that. God willing, I’ll soon make a comeback," he said.

press trust of india
New Delhi, 5 August
Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid today expressed anguish over the recent IPL spot-fixing scandal and its fallout, saying that restoring the credibility of the game was of utmost importance failing which cricketers may lose respect of their fans.
BCCI has been faced with a serious credibility crisis ever since the spot-fixing and betting scandal broke out in the sixth edition of the IPL.
The whole issue led to N Srinivasan stepping aside as BCCI President and even the Bombay High Court declared that the two-member panel, constituted to probe the scandal, was “illegal and unconstitutional”.
“Things like this don’t help, when we are on the front pages of the newspapers and not on the back,” Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo.
“There are so many fans and so many people who care deeply about this game and it is because of these fans that we are who we are as cricketers. Administrators are there because of the fans and the cricketers to run this game, so credibility of a game, or a board, or even a government for that matter, is important irrespective of what you do. If you are in public life it is important,” he said.
BCCI President N Srinivasan got mired in the controversy when his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan faced betting charges along with Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today said he hoped that Parvez Rasool will get a chance to showcase his talent during India A&’s tour of South Africa.

Shah Rukh&’s move may attract other celebrities to the IPL-style football league

sns & Agencies
New Delhi, 5 August
AIFF-and IMG-Reliance&’s new  football league today got a big boost with  Bollywood  star  Shah Rukh Khan showing keen interest in buying the Kolkata franchise of the new league.
“King” Khan, as he is popularly known, already owns the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier league (IPL)  and his move to  have a team in the new football league may attract  other movie stars and industrialists to  join the race to own the clubs in this popular sport.
Shah Rukh  admitted  that  he was interested in buying stakes in the successful Goan I-League club Dempo but now with a new franchise-based league coming up, he has changed his mind.
"Earlier I was planning to buy stakes in Dempo and now with the new franchise-based league coming up, I will have a look at it. I will love to own a franchise," Shah Rukh was quoted  by a TV channel.
Asked which city he would buy, Shah Rukh said: "I will love to have the Kolkata football club."
Eight clubs, 176 players, 72 overseas stars and 10 weeks of packed action – that is how the AIFF’s commercial partner IMG-Reliance plans to glamourise Indian football early next year.
The new tournament, scheduled between 18 January  and  30 March, is on the lines of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), also managed by IMG. IMG-R have a contract with the AIFF to run the event for 12 years.
Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa and Guwahati have been shortlisted for the auction.
Each team will have nine foreign, eight Indians and four U-21 players, who will be up for grabs in September. Some of the world’s top footballers – David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Michael Owen and Raul Gonzalez – could be seen in action in the tournament.
There will also be eight icon players and four names will be made public in September.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 5 August
"Asian capitalism  is mounting  a challenge to the dominance of the west-led financial and political system, the world is moving towards a pluralistic non-European setting" former foreign secretary, Krishnan Srinivasan said today. "The European Union has to address this shift in gravity from West to East  at a time of internal crisis, but needs to benefit from the prospects that the emerging Asian nations represent, while recognising this power shift does not share  its cultural attitude or value system" he added while speaking on "Europe and Emerging Asia" at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies. "The European Union may have  a high standard of living but it is yet to emerge with an international personality sans a seat in the security council or a participation in the Olympic Games" Mr Srinivasan pointed out. "A century of European dominance has ended in Asia with the balance of power shifting to  America and is again about to shift eastwards with India and China the leading nations in the new power structure" the former foreign secretary pointed out. 

Rampurhat facility struggles to cope with influx of patients
Shaoni Dutta
shaonidutta@gmail.com
Rampurhat, 5 August
 Rampurhat hospital  which is  designated a district hospital does not fulfil even fifty percent of the criteria expected of such a  facility. For the past one year with facilities  at par with a sub-divisional hospital it is  headed by Chief Medical Officer of Health(CMOH).
Nearly a year ago West Bengal state minister of health Chandrima Bhattacharya declared Rumpurhat sub-divisional hospital as district hospital. Before that Birbhum had only district hospital at Suri, the district headquarters. Rampurhat being a densely populated sub-division,  bordering Jharkhand, it has a huge  influx of patients. Keeping this in mind,the government decided to upgrade Rampurhat sub-divisional hospital to a district hospital.
Chief Minister on her visit to Rampurhat also declared it as a state hospital.
However,  despite the fancy nomenclature, this hospital just doesn’t measure up. The basic criteria to be a district hospital is to have at least 500-bed capacity. Rampurhat hospital has  336 beds. “The order  authorising 500 beds has not been passed so far. So we  are unable deal with the patient influx expected of a district hospital  ,” admitted Dr. Himadri Halder, super, Rampurhat district hospital.
When it was a sub-divisional hospital Rampurhat hospital had a 286-bed capacity  along with 20 SNCU beds and 30pediatric beds. To run a 500 bed hospital it needs more floor space. “It will take atleast 5 years after we get the go-ahead for a 500-bed facility for it to function as a  full-fledged district hospital,” said a senior district medical officer.  This apart the hospital does not have doctors  dealing with certain specialisation. There  are no trained neurologists and psychologists  that are mandatory for a district hospital. The  other departments are also woefully short staffed.
Being a district hospital it is also compulsory to have an ICU. But  Rampurhat district hospital is running without an ICU.“We do not have the required facilities of a district hospital. We are asking the government for additional facilities,” said Radhanath Mandi, CMOH, Rampurhat district hospital.