2100 HRS                                 
05-08-2013

THE HEADLINES  

• Both Houses of Parliament adjourned for the day on Telangana and Bodoland issue.
• Supreme Court asks Centre to frame rules to restrict use of red beacon & siren to persons holding constitutional posts.
• In Kerala, 13 killed in heavy rains and landslides in Idukki district ; Cochin International Airport  closed due to water logging.
• Over hundred people die due to floods in Eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Rupee strengthens 22 paise to close at 60.88 paise against the dollar.
• AND IN Badminton World championship, shuttler Ajay Jayaram and P. Kashyap beat their rivals in men's singles event in China.

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Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day today over Telangana statehood and a separate state of Bodoland. The two Houses witnessed frequent adjournments over the same issue earlier in the day.  When the Rajya Sabha met at 2. 35 P.M to take up a discussion on the devastation in Uttarakhand due to rains and floods, two members of the Telugu Desam Party rushed to the well of the House. They demanded an immediate discussion on the issue of United Andhra Pradesh. Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien made repeated appeals to the agitating members to resume their seats to facilitate the ongoing discussion on Uttarakhand. But, his pleas went in vain. The two members continued squatting in the well of the House raising slogans in support of their demand forcing him to adjourn the House for the day.
   
Earlier, Finance Minister P Chidambaram made a brief statement saying the members will have an opportunity to express themselves on Telangana and allied issues once the Union Cabinet approves the creation of the new state. He said the government wants a structured discussion on the issue in Parliament.
   
In the Lok Sabha, which reassembled at 3 P.M, some Congress and Telugu Desam party members began raising slogans against the creation of Telangana. The House witnessed frequent adjournments on Telangana and Bodoland before adjourning for the day.
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BJP today held Congress responsible for frequent disruptions in both the Houses of Parliament on the first day of the monsoon session. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Party spokesman Shahnwaz Hussain said the government has failed to handle the Telangana issue. 

"This is always the responsibility of the ruling party to take opposition into confidence to run the Parliament smoothly.  On one hand, the people of Telangana are celebrating the announcement and on the other, P. Chidambaram said on the floor of the Parliament that his party has taken the decision but Cabinet is yet to take a call on this".
   
Meanwhile, Congress appealed to all sections to extend cooperation in the smooth functioning of Parliament. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Party Spokesman Meem Afzal  said this. Government and our party want this session of Parliament to be smooth and peaceful  and all the bills and ordinances should be passed.  We are ready to discuss every issue.  In our view Food Security Bill is the most important bill which is about the welfare of around 82 crore people".
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In Assam, the Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State, a common forum of 11 organisations demanding a separate state, today urged protesters to shun violence in Karbi Anglong. The office bearers of the forum confirmed this. The statement came in the backdrop of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s proposal of discussion and shunning violence. Earlier, the Finance Secretary of the Forum welcomed the Chief Minister’s proposal of talks on the issue of a separate state. But the forum set the condition that they will hold talks only if the representatives from the Centre, attend the same. But the forum has not received a formal letter, as of now.
   
Our correspondent reports that normal life has been disrupted in parts of Central and Lower Assam in the wake of the bandh called by different organizations in support of their demand for a separate state.
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In West Bengal, normal life has been paralyzed due to an indefinite bandh called by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) on the third day in the hills of Darjeeling district today. The GJMM has organized this bandh to press their demand for creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland on the line of Telangana. Roads  were completely deserted. The National Highway  linking Sikkim and Siliguri, via Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling district had very thin vehicular movement amid tight security. District Magistrate Soumitra Mohan told our correspondent that the situation in  Darjeeling hills is peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported. Meanwhile, Home Secretary of West Bengal, Basudeb Banerjee, will reach Darjeeling to take stock of the situation tomorrow.
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As the Uttar Pradesh Government charge-sheeted IAS Officer Durga Sakhti Nagpal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the Centre is in touch with the state authorities on the issue and that laid down rules will be followed.  The Centre asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to immediately give a report on the suspension of Nagpal, who had cracked down on sand mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar area.
   
Minister of State for Personnel V. Narayanasamy said this is the third such letter sent to the State Government so far after the 2010 batch IAS Officer was suspended on the 27th of last month.  The Centre's fresh reminder came in the backdrop of Sonia Gandhi, who is Chairperson of National Advisory Council, writing a letter to the Prime Minister, saying that Nagpal should not be unfairly treated. The Uttar Pradesh Government yesterday served a charge-sheet to the IAS Officer.  Nagpal, the 28-year old SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar, led the crackdown on the sand mining mafia.

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The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to frame rules to restrict the use of red beacon & siren to persons holding constitutional posts. The Apex Court observed that misuse of red beacon and siren granted by government to VIPs, is a menace to society and it must be stopped. A bench of justices G. S. Singhvi and V. Gopala Gowda asked the government to impose heavy and exemplary fine on its wrong use and granted two weeks time to Centre to respond to it. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by an Uttar Pradesh resident on misuse of red beacon.
   
Earlier, the bench had  directed Centre and all states to give a list of persons being protected either by the central government or by the state administration. The bench had said it would consider forming a new mechanism for assessing security threat to people on the basis of which protection is given to them.
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In Kerala, 13 people were killed in heavy rains and landslides in Idukki district. These include three  persons who were killed in a landslide near Cheeyappara, on the Neriyamangalam-Adimali road. The body of a mother and her baby, who were missing from Malayinchi near Thodupuza were also recovered later. More from our correspondent..
    
"Rescue and relief operations are in full swing in Idukki district, which was at the receiving end of nature's fury. Apart from the district authorities and the police, the country's armed forces are also chipping  in to deal with the situation arising out of incessant rains in the region. The Navy is sending a 40 member team and the army has already dispatched three columns of its personnel for rescue and relief operations in Idukki. A 40 member team of the National Disaster Response Force along with five tonnes of relief material ferried by two IAF aircraft has already reached Kochi. Raj Mohan, air news,KOCHI

Meanwhile, Cochin International Airport  has been closed till  tomorrow following incessant rains. Emergency Control Rooms have been opened at the airport. Flights operating from the airport  have either been cancelled or diverted. The Ernakulam district administration is making alternate arrangements for the Bali Tharpan ceremonies on the banks of river Periyar in Aluva on account of Karkadaka Vavu tomorrow. 
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In Tamil Nadu flood water has seeped into many houses of Namakkal and Erode as excess water was released from Mettur Dam. Flood alert had been issued in eleven districts including Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Karur and delta districts.           
                  
Cauvery river is in spate as more than one lakh twenty thousand cusecs of water is being released from the Mettur Dam. Water has seeped into more than 150 houses in Pallipalayam and Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district. People living in low lying areas have been shifted to nearby government school and wedding hall. District administration is warning the people in Pallipalayam through loud speakers to move to safer places. In Erode water has seeped into many houses in Bhavani and people have been shifted to safer places from Ammapettai river bank. At Mukombu in Tiruchirapalli excess water is being released into Coleroon river. In Hogenekkal four persons stranded in floods were rescued by Indian Air Force .K DEVI PADMANABHAN, AIR NEWS, TIRUCHIRAPALLI.
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Parts of the national capital, Delhi received rain today bringing respite from muggy and humid weather. The Met Office has forecast more rain in the city. The minimum temperature was recorded at a notch above average at 27.7 degrees Celsius.
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More than one hundred people have died in floods in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan caused by several days of heavy rains. About 60 people are feared dead in Pakistan, where houses have been submerged and people have been electrocuted by broken power lines in the flood waters. Reports say in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province many people were swept away in flash floods. Pakistan's biggest city Karachi was also badly affected with at least 16 deaths after days of flooding.
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THE BUSINESS WORLD
"Snapping eight days of losses, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 18 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 19,182, today. The Nifty gained 8 points, to 5,685. Stock markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore ended mixed. The rupee strengthened 22 paise, to close at 60.88 against the dollar. Gold declined 50 rupees, to 28,750 rupees per ten grams in Delhi. Silver dipped 25 rupees, to 42,075 rupees per kilo. And Brent crude oil futures climbed above 109 dollars a barrel, while US crude rose 50 cents, to 107.44 dollars a barrel. Pradeep Kumar, AIR News"
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The Bombay High Court today refused to direct the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to provide a copy of the CCTV footage of 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The division bench of justices V K Tahilramani and Mridula Bhatkar was hearing an application filed by NIA seeking the footage. NIA told the court that the footage would provide clues regarding the planter and also to identify witnesses who would have seen him.
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Shuttlers Ajay Jayaram  and P.Kashyap today notched up  stunning victories over their rivals in the men's singles competition to start India's campaign at the 2013 BWF World Championships on a positive note in Guangzhou, China. Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will start their campaign in the women's singles tomorrow as they got a bye in the first round.
    
Jayaram ranked 24th, beat world number 12 Wing Ki Wong of Hong Kong 22-20, 17-21, 21-15. P.Kashyap defeated Estonia's Raul Must  19-21, 21-14, 21-9.    India's doubles and mixed doubles pairs , however, had a bad day as they failed to cross the first hurdle.

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Indian chess player Parimarjan Negi  has won the Politiken Cup in Denmark. He had won the same tournament in 2009. But this time,  he emerged with a fine score of nine out of a maximum possible ten points. Negi, who had won two titles in the US recently, scored eight wins and two draws in the Open tournament, which featured about 600 players from all over the world.
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The News Services Division of All India Radio in its weekly “PUBLIC SPEAK” programme will bring you a discussion tonight on "Public outrage and loss of public property".  This can be heard on FM Gold Channel and additional frequencies at 9.30 p.m. Listeners can ask questions to  experts in our studio on telephone number: 011-2331-4444. This programme is also available on Doordarshan DTH