Recent blasts grave reminder of terror challenge: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday described the recent Mumbai and Delhi blasts as a "grave reminder" of the great challenge that terrorists posed to India's national security. Addressing the all-India conference of director generals and inspector generals of police in New Delhi,

Singh said the national security situation continued to be "uncertain".

"The national security situation continues to be uncertain. Recent terror attacks in Mumbai and Delhi are a grave reminder to great challenge posed by terrorists to our nation's security," Singh said after distributing the police meritorious service medals to officers.

He also noted that left-wing extremism had also claimed lives of many innocent people and policemen.

The Mumbai blast took place on July 13 and the Delhi blast outside the high court premises on Sept 7, both claiming many lives and injuring many more.

http://www.hindustantimes.com

Chennai train accident: 9 killed, 100 injured; rail traffic disrupted

Chennai: At least nine people were killed and over 100 injured when two trains collided near Chennai on Tuesday evening. The accident happened near Arakkonam when Chennai Beach-Vellore Cantonment train rammed the stationary Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train at about 9:30 pm.

The accident happened at a point between Melpakkam and Chitheri stations near Arakkonam. The Arakkonam-Katpadi train was waiting for signal when it was hit by the Vellore-bound train.

The exact cause of accident is not known yet. Railway officials suspect it to be a case of over-speeding, but say it is too early to speculate on what exactly caused the accident. Railway authorities have also said that the train that collided skipped signals and its driver jumped out before the collision.

Five bogies of the stationary train and three bogies of the moving train derailed after the accident. Many passengers were trapped in these bogies but reports suggest most of them have been pulled out safely.

Rescue operations and clearing of tracks is still on. Overnight rain and darkness hampered the rescue work, but it resumed after rain stopped this morning.

More than 100 police officials and firemen are involved in the rescue efforts. Navy personnel and two teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) are also at the site.

The injured were rushed to Arakkonam and Vellore government hospitals, and also to hospitals in Kancheepuram. Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will visit the site soon with senior officials. He has announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh for the families of those killed and Rs. 2 lakh for those seriously injured.

The accident has disrupted rail traffic on the busy Chennai-Katpadi sector with two trains being cancelled and many others diverted. Train services are expected to resume by this evening. Southern Railways has set up special help desks and helplines for information for those travelling.

This is the third rail mishap since July this year. Seventy people were killed when the Howrah-Kalka Mail derailed near Kanpur on July 10. Three weeks later, some coaches of Guwahati-Bangalore Express jumped the tracks in Malda district of West Bengal and were hit by another train leaving three persons dead.

Chennai Helpline numbers: 044 25357398, 044 25347771, 09244919572

Read More at :- India Times News

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/chennai-train-accident-9-killed-100-injured-rail-traffic-disrupted-133500&cp

Gujarat best example of effective governance: US Congressional report

Washington: Identifying Gujarat as perhaps the best example of effective governance and impressive development in India, a Congressional report showered praise on the Chief Minister Narendra Modi and said that the state under him has become a key driver of national economic growth.

Gujarat, is followed by Bihar and its Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for his governance and administrative skills, the latest report of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on India said.

"Perhaps India's best example of effective governance and impressive development is found in Gujarat, where controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi has streamlined economic processes, removing red tape and curtailing corruption in ways that have made the state a key driver of national economic growth," said the CRS report.

An independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress, the CRS prepares periodic reports on issues of interest to the US
lawmakers.

The 94-page report was released by the CRS for US lawmakers on September 1, a copy of which made public by the Federation of American Scientists.

"Seeking to overcome the taint of his alleged complicity in 2002 riots, Modi has overseen heavy investment in modern roads and power infrastructure, and annual growth of more than 11 per cent in recent years," the CRS said.

Gujarat, the CRS said, has attracted major international investors such as General Motors and Mitsubishi and with only five per cent of the country's population, the state now accounts for more than one-fifth of India's exports, it said. The CRS mentions Bihar after Gujarat in good governance.

"Another positive example in 2011 has been Bihar, one of India's poorest states, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has won national attention through his considerable success in emphasising good governance over caste-based politics.

"He is credited with restoring law and order across much of the state, as well as overseeing infrastructure and educational improvements of direct benefit to common citizens projects," the report said.

"Kumar's Janata Dal (United) party, in alliance with the main national opposition BJP, won an overwhelming reelection majority in November 2010 state elections," the report said.

The examples set in by Chief Ministers Modi and Kumar may have inspired the popular leader of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh.

"Chief Minister Mayawati, who is widely believed to maintain national political ambitions and was at the forefront of a nascent "Third Front" in 2009, has shifted her own focus much more toward infrastructure projects such as road-building and improving the state's poor energy grid," the report said.

The CRS also refers to the ongoing Telangana movement in Andhra Pradesh, and the new Trinamool-Congress rule in West Bengal.

As West Bengal's new Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee is faced with repairing one of India's poorest states.

Fore More Information :- India times news
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/gujarat-best-example-of-effective-governance-us-congressional-report-133493?pfrom=home-topstories

Amar Singh's bail hearing adjourned till Sept 15

The hearing on the bail plea of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam, was on Tuesday adjourned till September 15 by a Delhi court. The court has asked for the medical record of Amar Singh from the AIIMS. The medical records of Amar Singh from AIIMS will be sbmitted to the court on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the condition of Amar Singh, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences following a rise in creatinine level in his body last evening, is stable now.

Creatinine is a fairly reliable indicator of a person's kidney functioning. "His condition is hemodynamically stable. He had homemade food in the morning. In due course of time he will undergo different tests. He has urine infection," a senior doctor with AIIMS said.

Arrested for his alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, Singh, 55, was admitted in the private ward of AIIMS at around 8 pm on Monday night, Tihar Jail spokesman Sunil Gupta said.

Singh is now admitted in the new private ward of the hospital. "He will undergo different tests which will include those related to blood, ultrasound and chest X-ray. Dr Sanjay Gupta, additional professor, department of Nephrology is looking into his case as he is a post transplant case. Gastroenterologists and endocrinologists will also be roped in," the doctor said.

Singh was shifted to AIIMS after a panel of doctors at Tihar Jail found his creatinine level high. The former Samajwadi Party general secretary has been in Tihar Jail since his arrest on September 6 in connection with the cash-for-votes scam.

Fore More Information :- India times news

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Blast outside Delhi High Court

BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad: It is a matter of great distress...Why isn't the government taking any action? How many more deaths? There is no proper security, no intelligence inputs...We condemn the attack.

CPI's D Raja: We condemn the attack in all possible terms...the government should come up with the right probe and share what went wrong... what is going on, what is wrong with our intelligence network? We strongly condemn this attack. Nobody should go scot-free. There is a failure on the government's part.

12: 00 pm: SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL HELPLINE: 011- 2670 7444

11: 55 am: No intelligence inputs on the blast: MHA

11: 47 am: High intensity bomb used

Lok Sabha condemns the blast, is adjourned till 12:30 pm, reports HT.

11: 45 am: All metros on high alert

11: 35 am: MHA assesses situation

Times Now reports the MHA is in constant touch with investigative teams at the blast sight. The bomb was concealed in briefcase and place outside gate no 5.

11: 27 am: Delhi Blast: There was blood all over, says eyewitness

"It was a powerful blast...there is a lot of blood there," said a shocked woman lawyer, who was just driving up to work at the Delhi High Court when the explosion took place near Gate no 5.

Lawyers said the blast could be heard at the Patiala House two or three kilometers away. Kavita, an eyewitness said she was in a judge's chamber when she heard the blast. "The windows rattled she said." More

11: 17 am: 9 dead, 45 injured: Union Home Secretary

Medium to high intensity bomb used. He added that Delhi is on high alert and that investigations have begun.

11: 15 am: Parliament adjourned, Home Minister to make a statement at 12:30 pm

11: 12 am: NIA to help investigate

Besides the Delhi police and the forensic team, the NIA and NSG are also being rushed to the spot.

11: 09 am: 4 dead, 30 injured: Special home secy

A lawyer tells NDTV, that gate no 5 used to issue passes to litigants. He also said that 10 am is peak hour. Special home secretary tweets that so far four have been confirmed dead and 30 injured.

11: 04 am: Officials confirm four are dead, reports HT

Hindustan Times tweets that officials have confirmed four people have died in today's blast.

11: 00 am: Second blast in 4 months

This is the second blast in the Delhi High Court premises. On May 25, also a Wednesday, there was a low intensity blast.
10: 53 am: Blast happened at 10:17 am: Police

The blast happened in the area where people wait for passes to enter the court premises, said special officer Special Commissioner Dharmendra Kumar.

10: 46: Bomb could have been placed in a briefcase: Police

A police officer at the blast area say there is a possibility that the bomb could have been placed in a briefcase. Delhi police have asked people to clear the High Court area. The injured have been taken to Safdurjung hospital and RML hospital.

10: 43 am: HC building being evacuated: Lawyer

A lawyer present at the blast sight tweets, " Blast in delhi HC. Right in front of me. *shudders* the whole car shook" ..."The bomb was very powerful it seems. Everyone is outside. Lots of injured. The gates are closed now. Can hear sirens"...The bomb was very powerful it seems. Everyone is outside. Lots of injured. The gates are closed now. Can hear sirens"..."Many hurt. Building being evacuated. The Judges are themselves out in the corridor."

10: 40 am: Two feared dead, says NDTV

The nature of the blast is yet to be identified. So far, two people are feared dead in the explosion, reports NTDV, while CNN IBN says the number of injured may be around 20.

10: 38 am: Police cordon off the blast sight, fire tenders rush in.

10: 35 am: The injured are being taken to Safdarjung hospital, reports Times Now

10: 30 am: Ambulance rushed in

Ambulance arrives at the explosion site. The number of injured is still not confirmed. The reason for the explosion is not known yet.

10: 25 am: Explosion outside Delhi High Court gate no 5

Blast outside Delhi High Court. Television channels report of injuries to people. There are more people at the court premises than other days of the week since Wednesdays are when PILs are heard.

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