0815 HRS.

21st June, 2013

THE HEADLINES:

• Over 34 thousand pilgrims and tourists evacuated from different parts of the flood hit Uttarakhand.

• Prime Minister appeals the countrymen to join efforts to help the flood affected people.

• India and Iraq decide to enhance cooperation in oil and hydro carbon sector.

• Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai agrees to participate in peace talks with Taliban.

• India storm into the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets; To meet England on Sunday at Birmingham.

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In Uttarakhand, over 34 thousand pilgrims and tourists have been evacuated till now from different parts of the flood affected areas mostly from Rudraprayag, Tehri, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts. Army, ITBP and National Disaster Response Force, have launched one of the biggest human rescue operations. Army has mobilized 2,500 additional troops for rescue and relief operations. State Chief Minster Vijay Bahuguna said that the efforts of evacuation of people are in full swing.

We have completed the evacuation from Kedarnath. Now, evacuation begins for those stranded at Badrinath and Gauri Kund. We have to construct helipads at many places for big choppers to land. State government is bearing the expenses of travel of stranded tourists whether it is by road or train. State mourning has been declared.

Our correspondent reports from Dehradun that damage to roads and bridges is the biggest challenge for the agencies operating for relief and rescue in the state.

Army, ITBP and National Disaster Response Force, NDRF, are trying to build temporary bridges and roads so that people can be brought down and flown in small helicopters. 90 sorties were conducted yesterday using IAF, Army helicopters and private helicopters. The Boarder Road Organisation has opened NH-94 between Dharasu and Rishikesh. In Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts, several roads have been opened. Communication nodes have been established at Gaucher, Harsil, Joshimath and Rudraprayag by the Army to enable people to contact their families. Several State Governments have also set up their control rooms to help their people. Railways has deputed senior staff at Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh to oversee arrangements to facilitate train travel by the stranded passengers. With Sunil Shukla from Dehradun, this is Balachandran for AIR News.

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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has appealed all citizens to stand with distressed fellow countrymen affected by cloud burst and floods in Uttrarakhand. In an appeal, Dr. Singh urged the people to donate generously to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) and actively participate in the national efforts to support the affected people. He said the affected people need help to tide over the calamity that has fallen upon them to survive and to rebuild their lives.

Payment may be made by cheque or draft in the name of the PMNRF and sent to the Prime Minister Office, South Block, New Delhi. The public sector banks will not charge any commission on drafts favouring the PMNRF. The contributions can also be made through money orders and also directly in the account of PMNRF. People can also make contributions online through www.pmindia.nic.in. All contributions to PMNRF are exempt from income tax.

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The Supreme Court has directed the Centre and Uttarakhand government to make all out efforts to rescue thousands of people stranded in the state due to flash floods and provide them food and drinking water. A bench of justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi yesterday directed the governments to deploy sufficient number of helicopters to rescue flood-affected people in the area.

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In Uttar Pradesh, the water level of the major rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Sharda, Ghaghra and Rapti, is either stable or has started to recede in various districts as there has been no heavy rainfall in the foothills of the Himalayas in the last two days. However, in Bulandshahar and Aligarh, the Ganga river was still flowing above the danger level when the reports last came in. Our correspondent has filed this report:

''The marooned villagers felt a respite as most of the rivers of the state have started receding. However some of them are still flowing above the danger mark. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has sanctioned Rupees 50 lakh each for the flood affected 13 districts. He has also instructed the officials to provide all the help to the flood victims while carrying out relief and rescue work, which is going on round the clock in the affected areas. Merajuddin, AIR NEWS, Lucknow''.

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In Himachal Pradesh, the weather is clear today and two Indian Air Force and one state government choppers have started airlifting operations of stranded people from the calamity hit tribal district of Kinnaur. Over 300 stranded persons were evacuated by Indian Air Force and state government choppers from district headquarters Reckong Peo, Sangla, Pooh, Nako amd Karcham yesterday. Our correspondent report has filed this report:

So far, over 550 persons have been air-lifted during past three days and still about 400 others are to be evacuated from different parts of district. A NDRF team had been dropped at Ropa Kanda area to rescue some shepherds stranded there for past few days in heavy snow. Meanwhile, the teams comprising of different departments' officers had been constituted at Sub Divisional level to assess the loss. The officers had been asked to submit their report within two weeks. Shishu Sharma Shantal, AIR News, Shimla.

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Delhiites can now get relief from the flood threat as the water level of Yamuna river has come down to near danger mark of 204.83 meter. Delhi Flood Control Department official said that at 6 A.M., the water level was recorded at 204.84 meter which is one centimeter above the danger level.

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A portion of a three storey building collapsed near Mumbra station in Thane district of Maharashtra in the wee hours today leaving one dead and several others injured. Six fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Spokesperson of Thane Municipal Corporation, Sandeep Malvi informed AIR that 14 people have been rescued so far.

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A special CBI court in Ranchi has directed 44 fodder scam accused, including former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra, to complete their arguments by July 1 as it fixed July 15 to deliver the judgement. It has asked the accused to complete the arguments or submit their written arguments by July 1. Besides Yadav and Mishra, senior government officials, including IAS officers and fodder suppliers have to appear before the court on the assigned date. This will be the first judgement among the five fodder cases against Lalu Prasad.

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India and Iraq have decided to take their relationship to a higher level by enhancing cooperation in oil and hydro carbon sector. The joint economic commission headed by the Oil Ministers of the two countries is expected to meet early next month inBaghdad to finalise the modalities. The agreement to this effect was taken up at the bilateral delegation level talks between the Indian and Iraqi foreign Ministers inBaghdad yesterday.

The two countries discussed entire gamut of bilateral relations including energy security and have decided to work as partners in progress and not merely as a buyer and seller. Iraq assured that it it will continue to meetIndia's oil requirements.Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Jebari said that Indian companies can join in business and infrastructure development in Iraqsince the security situation has improved over a large part of the country. The first Indian minister to visit Iraq in 23 years, the External Affair Minister Salman Khurshid met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the top political leadership during his visit. Atul Tiwary, AIR News, Baghdad.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who was on a two day visit to Iraq, returned home last night.

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President Hamid Karzai is willing to join peace talks with the Taliban if the United States follows through with promises made by it. An Afghan spokesman said inKabul that Secretary of State John Kerry promised that the Taliban flag and a nameplate with their former regime's name would be removed and the US would issue a formal letter supporting the Afghan government. The planned talks were thrown into disarray and President Karzai cancelled a planned delegation to the newly opened Taliban office in Qatar.

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In Pakistan, at least 15 people including three policemen were killed in violence inKarachi yesterday. Geo News reported that two policemen were shot dead when they signaled a suspicious vehicle in Shershah area, while another policeman was gunned down in Kharadar.

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Indians' money in Swiss banks has fallen to a record low level of about 9,000 crore rupees. This follows a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall ofSwitzerland banking system made it unattractive for their global clients. According to the latest figures released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Zurich yesterday, the total funds held by Indian individuals and entities included 1.34 billion Swiss francs held directly by them, and another 77 million Swiss francs through fiduciaries or wealth managers at the end of 2012. The data has been released at a time whenSwitzerland is facing growing pressure from the US and other countries to share the foreign client details, while its own lawmakers are resisting such measures.

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Team India have stormed into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy Cricket tournament, beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets at Cardiff last night. Put into bat after rain delayed the toss, Sri Lanka posted a modest 181 for 8 in the allotted 50 overs. Chasing 182 for victory, India overhauled the target in just 35 overs, courtesy a 77-run opening wicket stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Continuing his fabulous form, Shikhar Dhawan again top scored for India with a brilliant 68. Virat Kohli was the other valuable contributor with unbeaten 58. Ishant Sharma, who conceded just 33 runs in 9 overs and bagged 3 wickets, was adjudged man of the match. India will take on co-hosts England in the title clash of the competition on Sunday at Birmingham.

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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Hogging the headline in almost all newspapers is the havoc that Uttarakhand is going through after 3 days of torrential rain, cloudbursts and flooding. Rescue and relief operations, being stepped up on a massive scale across the region have been reported by the newspapers. The Indian Express along with photograph, covers it under the headline "Rescue gathers steam, but over 50,000 pilgrims still stranded."

The Statesman writes on its front page that the rupee has fallen 300 percent against the dollar since 1991. The US federal reserve's decision to slow down the current 86 billion dollar-a-month bond purchase programme over the next few months and bring to a complete halt by mid-2014 sent panic waves across global currency markets.

According to the Times of India, MBBS doctors aspiring to pursue post-graduation will now have to compulsorily undertake a one-year rural posting before becoming eligible for such a course.

You can soon buy a fan that will bring down your monthly power bill by upto 50%. A story in the Hindustan Times states that the World Bank is providing 50 million dollars to the government Bureau of Energy efficiency (BBE) to produce 5 million super-energy efficient fans that would help India save 100 MW power every day.

The Asian Age front page story reveals what Indian Women do, online. The study "women and the web" says, of the 60 million women, 24 million logged on to the web daily. Most checked emails, followed by using search engines, social networking, music and video downloads, reading educational content, searching for jobs, hearing music and reading Indian news.