Confidence in the future of British monarchy at an all-time high
press trust of india   
London, 28 July
He might be a few days old, but little Prince George has many ‘official engagements’ coming up, with plans for a christening, a foreign tour, a high society wedding and a sojourn with the family at Balmoral.
In what may be his first diplomatic mission, the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton is expected to accompany his parents on a tour of Australia next year, echoing the Duke of Cambridge’s first foreign visit to Australia in 1983 when he was nine-months-old.
The trip by the young royals, with the third in line to the throne in tow, could provide the stardust to invigorate support for the monarchy in parts of the country where it is waning, The Sunday Times reported.
Before he is dispatched abroad, however, George will have time to meet his extended family.
Kate and William plan to visit Balmoral in August to see the Queen and introduce George to Prince Philip, his great-grandfather. The Queen, who greeted her great-grandson at Kensington Palace on Wednesday, departed for Balmoral on Friday to start her summer break.
Philip has not yet seen the prince because he is recuperating at Sandringham from an abdominal operation. He is expected to travel to Balmoral in the next fortnight.
When it comes to public duties the infant prince will be eased in with a social event, a society wedding between James Meade, tipped to be named as a godfather, and Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of the Earl of Romney.
The wedding will be held on September 14 in Norfolk. After that George will have another duty to perform when he appears as the star of the show at his christening, which is expected to be held in October when the Queen returns to Buckingham Palace.
Both William and Charles were christened in the music room at the palace and George’s ceremony will follow the same tradition: a small, private affair with a photograph issued to the media afterwards.
The baby prince will wear a lace and satin gown made by Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dressmaker. It is a replica of the fragile 172-year-old robe which has been used by royal babies since the christening of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841.

China landslides: At least six people were killed and 10 others reported missing after two landslides ravaged villages in China, reports said on Sunday. The rescuers continued the relief work in the affected areas. pti
Iraq bomber: A suicide bomber killed nine Kurdish police in northern Iraq on Sunday, a district official and a doctor said. The bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a three-vehicle police convoy.  afp
Fatal cure: A Chinese woman died and her husband fell ill from animal toxins after eating boiled toads to cure themselves from liver cirrhosis and cancer. Toads are used in traditional Chinese medicines. pti
Pak blast kills one: At least one person was killed and two others injured in a roadside blast near a passenger van, travelling from Parachinar to Piwar Tangi area, in north-west Pakistan’s restive tribal region. pti
Cambodia PM party: The ruling party of strongman Cambodian premier Hun Sen claimed victory in today’s elections which were marred by allegations of widespread irregularities, but it faced rare competition from a resurgent Opposition.  afp
Heartless: Matthew Green, (42), a British married pharmaceutical consultant with a seven-year-old son has set a record after he lived without a heart for two years ~ surviving with the help of an external blood pump. pti
Burka Avenger: Move over Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Supergirl. Woman cartoon superhero Burka Avenger, an action-comedy animated series, is set to debut on Pakistani TV to fight for the rights of girls.  pti   
Hawking: UK physicist Stephen Hawking had come so close to death while writing his bestseller A Brief History of Time in 1985 that his doctors offered to switch off his life-support machine, it has emerged.     pti
Jaywalkers: Traffic police in China’s Shanghai city have introduced an innovative punishment for jaywalkers. Those who break traffic rules can opt to pay a fine or read newspaper coverage of traffic accidents in public, state-run China Daily reported today. pti
ISS delivery: Russia’s space agency said that its cargo ship has docked successfully with the International Space Station. The agency said the ship has delivered about 2.4 metric tons of supplies to the space outpost. ap

NEW DELHI, 27 JULY: Slamming Delhi government on the recent power hike, the Delhi BJP has today decided to hold citywide agitation saying the anti-people move will be ‘an additional burden’ to the people already reeling under the pressure of rising prices of all commodities
 Delhi BJP president, Mr Vijay Goel, said in a press conference that the party will hold a massive rally on the issue at Ramlila Maidan on 11 August.
 Reacting sharply over the tariff hike Mr Goel said that the common people of Delhi are already bearing ‘the large holes in their pockets’ due to the mismanagement of state government and this step will only cause more miseries to them. It is shameful that chief minister of Delhi Mrs Sheila Dikshit instead of protecting the interest of common people working in hand in glove with the private discoms, he said.  The recent 5 percent tariff hike has resulted in an increase of 72 percent in power tariff over the last two years and 22 lakh household will be affected by this, he said. This is another way of filling discoms pockets with public money, said the Mr Goel.
With the new charges coming into effect, electricity prices for 200 units will be hiked by 20 paisa, from 200-400 units will be 30 paisa and 400 and above will costs 1.50 paisa per unit.  Mr Goel also added "There is a lack of transparency and the Delhi government and the DERC have become stooges of the discoms. The ultimate sufferer is the common man. In fact the hike announced yesterday is just tip of an iceberg. The DERC and Delhi government are getting ready to dole out Rs. 19.505 crore as outstanding regulatory assests." sns

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 27 JULY: The final meeting of the search committee for the next Vice-Chancellor of Presidency University which was scheduled to be held today was cancelled as a member of the three member search committee is not in the city.
Hence, the deadline of 29 July within which the committee had been asked to submit its recommendations will not be maintained.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to ask the present V-C, Prof Malabika Sarkar, to continue until a new V-C is appointed.
The Higher Education Department will issue an order regarding this next week.
Meanwhile, the alumni association of the university has decided to support Prof. Sarkar.
“We will write to the Higher Education Department not to disrespect Prof. Sarkar as she is an alumni of the university,” said Mr Bibhas Chowdhury, secretary of the association.
The teachers of the university are skeptical about the functioning of the search committee.
One of the teachers said: “Why did the search committee announce it would meet today to finalise its recommendations, knowing one of its member would be out of the city?"

statesman news service
KOLKATA, 27 JULY: The forensic report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on the Kamduni rape incident today confirmed that the college student was "raped but was not gangraped", according to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sources. 
In its first charge-sheet, CID had maintained that the girl was raped by Saiful Islam but she was not gangraped. Villagers of Kamduni had protested against CID’s findings and demanded Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the incident. They had even visited the President demanding the same. 
Villagers today said that it
is a conspiracy by CID officers and the report has been
manipulated. "We will continue our demonstration until CBI takes up the case," said a villager. 

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MANAS R. BANNERJEE
manas.bannerjee@gmail.com
Jateshwar (Jalpaiguri), 23 July
To assuage the fear lurking in the collective psyche of non-Gorkha people in the Dooars, principally the Adivasis and the Bengalis, over land from the region to be included into the GTA, the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee today repeatedly stressed on the amity between the Hills and the plains. “My government would ensure by all possible means that the people of both the regions would live in peace and amity,” she said while campaigning for her party for the rural polls in the sensitive Alipurduar sub-division of Jalpaiguri district. 
At the beginning of her speech, she asked: “Are you afraid of division of Hills and plains? Don’t worry. I am always with you through thick and thin. My party is committed to maintaining peace and amity between the people of the Hills and the plains. Let the people of the Terai and the Dooars sleep peacefully. My government and my party would stand guard over them.”
Addressing a public rally at Jateshwar High School ground, Miss Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on the state election commission for its alleged headstrong attitude regarding the schedule of the rural polls.
“Had the commission agreed to conduct the polls in one or two phases the death toll would have been much less. As many as 22 Trinamul activists have died just in one month. Despite this, I have asked my party workers to abstain from violence,” she said. She also claimed that the rural polls had passed off peacefully up to the third phase. “Violence began to take toll when elections were held in Murshidabad and Malda. This is because the CPI-M and Congress hatched a conspiracy to fan violence and blame my party for it. I am sure that the strength of these two parties would be substantially reduced in these two districts as well as in North Dinajpur,” she said.  She also stepped up heat on the Congress and the Centre for the deplorable conditions of the National Highways in Jalpaiguri and Dooars that connect Assam. “I am convinced that the Congress has intentionally kept things in a mess. If I were in the Centre, I would have completed the restoration work in a day,” she claimed.

Baripada, 23 July: Police have arrested a youth in connection with an alleged gang rape case at Mohakud Sahi under Bangiriposi police limits. Six other accused persons are absconding.
As per reports, Rajkishore Mahakud (23) used to visit the house of the victim to look after studies of his five year old son. “As per the victim&’s complaint,  Mahakud and his six friends had reached her house, tied her eyes with a piece of cloth and raped her several times. The alleged incident had taken place about five months ago,” said IIC of Bangiriposi police station, Mr Dilip Kumar Sahu.
Incidentally, Mahakud had been to her house three days ago and again raped her. Acting on the FIR, police arrested  Mahakud on Monday.
“He was produced in the court of the SDJM at Baripada and have been sent to judicial custody after his bail  was rejected,” said IIC Mr Sahu.     sns

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Malda, 23 July
In a pathetic road accident, one police home guard ~ Rathin Roy (40) ~ was killed, and 10 others injured, while returning from election duty.
Two other home-guards, Mr Shyam Singh (40) of Darjeeling district police and Mr Subodh Roy (42) of Barrackpore sixth battalion were admitted to Malda Medical College Hospital (MMCH) in critical condition.
It is learnt that two police cars collided early this morning today on Malda-Nalagola state highway when home guard Rathin Roy died and 10 more were injured. 
The Superintendent of Police, Mr Kalyan Mukherjee, rushed to MMCH to speak to the injured home-guards.
He said that Roy was posted at Malda police line barrack and lived in the quarter.
"His family members were informed," Mr
Mukherjee said.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Paradip, 23 July 
Mr Sanjiv Singh has taken over as the executive director in-charge of Indian Oil&’s refinery project, billed as the largest Greenfield project of India, at Paradip.
Prior to his current assignment, Mr Singh was the executive director of IndianOil&’s refinery and petrochemical complex at Panipat, said to be the largest integrated refinery complex of its kind in the country.  A chemical engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, supplemented with a diploma in management, Mr Singh has over three decades of experience to his credit in the hydrocarbon industry.
“After joining IndianOil in 1981 as a graduate engineer trainee, he has worked in various capacities at Mathura, Barauni and Panipat refineries. In addition, he was also on secondment to Centre for High Technology (MOP&NG) and NNPC, Nigeria as a Technical expert,” said a company source.  Having a varied work experience spanning across refinery as well as petrochemicals operation and technical services support, he had been closely associated with Panipat refinery since its commissioning in 1998.
Meanwhile, company officials claimed that the refinery project has achieved 93.6 per cent progress. The 15 MMTPA Paradip refinery has an approved budget of Rs 29,777 crore. Commissioning of PDRP is scheduled in phases from September 2013. More than 500 engineers and officers of IndianOil, 35 refinery construction related companies and consultants are engaged with their army of engineers, technicians and workers.

Statesman News Service
Raiganj, 23 July
Seven persons were injured when the activists of CPI-M and Congress armed with stone and lethal weapons attacked each other and exploded bombs at Jagir vasti village in the Islampur police station area of North Dinajpur district last night. The injured are undergoing treatment in Islampur sub-divisional hospital.
One of the members of North Dinajpur CPI-M committee, Mr Subir Biswas, said: "When our members were campaigning for the panchayat elections near Jagir vasti, the anti-socials backed by the Congress attacked them. Five of our activists were injured in this attack." 
The Congress leader of Islampur, Mr Kanaiyalal Agarwal, denied this charge and said: "Last night, the CPI-M activists were threatening our members at Jagir Vasti. Altercation started as a result of it. In the course of it, they attacked our activists with lethal weapons, stones and also exploded bombs. Two of our members were hurt."
The IC, Islampur police station, Mr Moqsedur Rahaman, said: "No one has been arrested yet. Police has been posted in the village to prevent any fresh incident.”
“An investigation is on," he said.

press trust of india
Cuttack, 23 July
The state government will hold a second entrance test to fill up the diploma seats lying vacant in private engineering schools of the state.
Orissa High Court directed the State Director of Technical Education and Training (DTET) yesterday to complete the process of admissions as soon as possible after conducting the entrance test before 15 August.
Taking up a writ petition filed by Odisha Private Engineering Schools’ Association (OPESA), a single judge bench of Justice B N Mohapatra gave the direction.
OPESA in its petition had stated that more than 60 per cent of seats are lying vacant in all the private engineering schools of the state after the end of admissions made on the basis of first entrance examination held in May.
The association had contested saying that delay in publication of state matriculation examination results had deprived many students of the opportunity of appearing for the first entrance test and hence had urged the High Court to direct the state government to conduct another entrance examination.

Statesman News Service
Raiganj, 23 July
The major contesters in the panchayat polls of North Dinajpur district are the Left Front and Congress. The Trinamul Congress will have less strength than the CPI-M and Congress.
However, the TMC is strong in the three blocks of Chopra, Itahar and Kaliaganj out of a total of nine blocks of the district. On the other hand, the Congress and Left Front are strong in all nine blocks here. 
One thing going for the Trinamul is that such issues as the  AIIMS controversy, Saradha scam, the style of functioning of the state Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee who had branded protesters as Maoists and using of rough language of some TMC leaders against the leaders of  both the Congress and Left Front will have little effect in the panchayat polls this year.
A section of voters still cannot forget the arrogance of the Left Front leaders. They reportedly will vote against the Left Front and the Congress.
In the 2008 panchayat elections, the Congress got 63 and the Left Front bagged 31 gram panchayat seats out of a total of 98 GPs seats of the district. The Congress bagged seven panchayat samiti seats and the Left Front secured two. The Congress also captured 17 seats and Left Front seven seats out of a total of 24 seats of North Dinajpur ZP.
This year, the seats of the ZP rose from 24 to 26. The number of seats also rose in GPs and PSs too. In the past panchayat elections, the Left Front and the Congress were the main contesters. The TMC, BJP and other political parties won some seats sporadically in the gram panchayat level.
However, the TMC has increased its strength in Islampur, Chopra and Itahar in the past two years.
A resident of Panishala in Raiganj, on condition of anonymity, said: "After the change of guard, we hoped that AIIMS will be set up at Panishala in Raiganj. If AIIMS would have been set up, then North Dinajpur district would have spontaneous in all aspects. But the Chief Minister reportedly did not acquire land for AIIMS for political reasons. For the sake of narrow politics, the CM is not acquiring land for AIIMS. We are upset over this. Apart from AIIMS, voters partly will be influenced by the Saradha scam. Funds of several thousand customers were cheated by the Saradha Group. As a section of TMC leaders had an attachment with Saradha Group, they are not liking the TMC. On the other hand, the nature of branding protesters as Marxists and Maoists by the CM will have little impact in rural polls of North Dinajpur district."
It is true that in the past two years, no industry was set up in North Dinajpur district. The unemployment problem has risen extensively high. Before the Assembly elections, people here did not like the CPI-M because they had no good dealings with the public and the Left Front government failed to solve unemployment problems here.
After change, no development was made in
North Dinajpur.
In the past two years, the TMC failed to strengthen their organisation in most of the blocks of North Dinajpur district.

Angul administration&’s apathy to the dreaded disease alarms citizens
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Angul, 23 July
Even though well aware of the toll dengue had taken in Angul  barely two years ago, government authorities here seem to be in deep slumber with even when the spectre of the disease looms large on the industrially-rich district.
At least 25 persons had succumbed to the mosquito-borne disease, the highest in the state, in 2011.
Though  senior district officials claimed that several initiatives like sensitisation programmes have been launched, nothing significant is being seen on the ground.   “There is no mass awareness campaign, cleaning drive, mosquito killings and other preventive measure in the district even though five dengue positive cases have been detected in the district so far. The administration is yet to convene an interdepartmental meeting to coordinate anti-dengue measures,” said a senior citizen.
In Talcher, colliery colonies and municipal areas are full of bushes and choked drains where mosquito killing drive to prevent the disease is yet to be started. Similar situation also exists in Angul municipal areas.
“Government machinery here is indifferent to the emerging dengue situation here where it acquired near epidemic form two years ago.  “We can cleanse our surroundings but what about the drains and killing of mosquitoes. Unless urgent preventive measures are not taken, the disease may spread like in 2011,” said a local resident.
Meanwhile, a nurse of MCL central hospital, Ms Manjushree Sahu, has been shifted to a private hospital at Bhubaneswar after she was found dengue positive. On Monday, one Binita Sahu of Bond area was reported dengue positive at SCB medical college and hospital. Earlier, three positive cases were detected in the district.  Two of these positive cases belonged to the Bhusan steel plant area where the sanitation measures to curb the disease are virtually non-existent. The executive officer of Angul municipality, Mr Padmanav Nayak, however, said that the civic body would take all sorts of measures soon to combat the menace.
When contacted, the chief district medical officer Dr CR Nayak said that sensitisation programme to curb breeding of mosquitoes  is on but awareness among the people is vital. A cell has been formed at MCL central hospital to treat dengue patients, he informed.

MANAS R. BANNERJEE
manas.bannerjee@gmail.com
Jateshwar (Jalpaiguri), 23 July
Though chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee was against the Supreme Court&’s decision to conduct rural polls during the holy Ramzan month, party leaders used the religious occasion for rural poll campaigning by circulating the timetable of breakfast with her greetings among the minority people here.
The general secretary, West Bengal Pradesh Trinamul Congress, who is also the state municipal affairs minister, circulated the timetable for ramzan.
A section of people was happy with the timetables given to them while the chief minister was addressing a political rally at Jateshwar today.
According to them, they got another timetable with a manifesto of the Trinamul Congress. “But the timetable was wrong because the timetable of Delhi was printed, which was two minutes advanced. But this is an accurate one,” they said.
Addressing the rally today, chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, said: “I was dead against conducting rural polls during Ramzan. I had to accept the present schedule due to the Supreme Court&’s decision. Elections cannot be conducted during the Ramzan, monsoon and flood season and during Durga Puja.” Notably, secretary Anagrosar Muslim Sangram Samiti, Moulana Sahajuddin Mian today met the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee at the podium and felicitated her for recognition of muajin and imam and introduction of monthly allowance for poor clerics.
Moulana Sahajuddin, who is also the top leader of the Imam Muajjin Kalyan Samiti, Alipurduar proposed district, appealed to the people to work for the Trinamul Congress during polls. The Trinamul minority cell leader, Mr Idrish Ali, addressing the rally, came down heavily on Mira Pandey for conducting polls during Ramzan. He said: "After the rural poll results, the chief of state election commission Mira Pandey will be finished."

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Darjeeling, 23 July
The student wing of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha has decided to organise awareness camps in schools and colleges across three sub-divisions of the Darjeeling Hills in support of
Gorkhaland.
Today, the wing submitted a memorandum to the party&’s senior leadership, explaining the resolution the student wing has adopted asking the party to cast off the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and to plunge headlong for Gorkhaland.
“Students are the future and there is no future left for them in the GTA. The party leadership should adapt itself to the changing contours of the national politics when demands for smaller states are being considered by the Centre. There is thus no reason, in our view, as to why the party should remain stuck in the marshes of the GTA,” said Mr Deep Thapa, the vice president of Vidyarthi Morcha, the GJMM&’s student affiliate. 
“Vidyarthi Morcha has never participated in any of the GTA activities. Nor will we participate even if it gets constitutional recognition,” he added.
Notably, the student and the youth wings of the party had staged a demonstration, asking the party to quit the GTA on 18 July ~ the second anniversary of the signing of the tripartite GTA memorandum of understanding. 
However, the party leadership has been maintaining a studied silence regarding the fresh spell of statehood movement launched at the behest of some of the party affiliates. “Things are not yet clear as to whether the party would support the stance of its affiliates. But it would prove difficult for the party to continue with the GTA and striving for the statehood cause at the same time in case Telangana is carved out. A schism might surface in the party&’s rank and file and it would bode ill for the party,” said an observer.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kurseong, 23 July
With the Centre remaining engaged in dialogue on carving out Telangana, a meeting of Federation for New States of India ~ an organisation championing the cause for smaller states ~ was held in New Delhi on Sunday.
The Gorkhaland Rashtriya Nirman Morcha chief, Mr Dawa Pakhrin, was present there as a representative of the movement for Gorkhaland.    
Mr Pakhrin informed that the representatives from Telangana, Bhil Pradesh, Purvanchal and many others from different corners of India were present to press for their respective separate statehood demands.
“The representatives said they would go for vigorous movements, demanding formation of several new states if the Centre decides to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
“However, we feel the formation of a separate state of Gorkhaland is different from other statehood demands as because the national identity of the Indian Gorkhas is involved in it. This aside, this is the oldest statehood demand in the country,” Mr Pakhrin said.