Nagaland & Meghalaya to vote today

Nagaland and Meghalaya will go to the assembly polls amid tight security on Saturday. The two northeastern states have 60-member assembly each. In Nagaland, polling was postponed in one constituency following the death of a Congress candidate. Amid allegations and counter-allegations of bribing voters, the ruling Naga People’s Front and opposition Congress are engaged in one of the most bitter electoral battles in Nagaland’s history.
In Meghalaya, the government appealed voters to vote without fear while assuring adequate security amid Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council’s poll boycott call. The BSF has sealed the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya and its troops are maintaining vigil in view of militancy. The Congress is facing a tough fight from former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma-led National People’s Party and Khasi Hills-based United Democratic Party.

Of FDI in Retail....

The Union government downplayed the Opposition’s concern over allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and informed the Supreme Court that the policy, when fully implemented, would touch the lives of only 13.3% of the country’s population living in 53 cities.
The government said its policy on FDI in multi-brand retail stipulated that retail sales outlets could be set up only in cities with a population of over 1 million. “Even if the policy is fully implemented across the country, there are only 53 urban agglomerates/cities with million plus population. These 53 comprise only 0.67% of the total number of cities and have a total population of 160.7 million, as compared to the total population of India of 1,210 million, which is only 13.3%,” it said. The Centre was responding to the SC’s query on what steps were taken to protect traditional retail traders during hearing of a PIL which challenged the policy and the manner of its implementation.

Navi Mumbai Metro update

Nine international firms have showed interest in providing rolling stock—trains, signaling, communication and tracks-—for the 11-km Belapur-Kharghar-Pendhar Metro rail line in Navi Mumbai.
The selected company will not only provide eight trains, but will also maintain the system for the subsequent three years of operation.
The nine consortia who have bought applications are—Hyundai Rotem, Balfour Betty and Nippon Signal; Siemens AG & Siemens India; L&T Construction; Ansaldo STS; CAF and CAF India; OHL-Obrascon Huartelainsa; Bombardier Transport; CSR Nanjing Puzhen; and Alstom India Ltd.
The Rs.2,111-crore project to create a 11-km viaduct for the Metro with 11 stations, with most of it coming up in Kharghar, was launched in May 2011. Out of 300 pillars, 105 have already been built with nearly 25 spans of the viaduct in place. Cidco expects to complete construction of the viaduct by March 2014 and stations by September 2014.
While the project’s civil work will cost Rs.1,011 crore, the rolling stock will cost Rs.1,020 crore. This Metro route is part of the 24-km line between Belapur and the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport via Kharghar, Taloje and Pendhar. The 11-km line is a challenging task as it will come over a creek, railway line, Pune highway.
Over 8,000 people are expected to use the rail every hour in one direction as total eight trains will be run at a frequency of eight minutes.
According to planners, the Metro will be extended till Khandeshwar near the proposed airport from Taloja in the next phase. The next phase between Pendhar and the airport will be taken up as soon as the airport construction takes off.

The Chopper Caper

University Cricket Championship is here !

Of Blasts in India since 2005

NEW DELHI, Sep 7, 2012: 13 killed in a blast outside High Court
PUNE, Aug 1, 2012: 4 low-intensity explosions at Jangli Maharaj road. One injured
NEW DELHI, Sep 7, 2011: 1 killed and 24 hurt in a blast outside the Delhi High Court
MUMBAI, July 13, 2011: 3 blasts kill 26 and hurt 130
VARANASI, Dec 7, 2010: Two-year-old killed, 25 injured in a blast between Dashashwamedh and Shitla ghats on the Ganga
PUNE, Feb 13, 2010: 17 killed and over 60 injured at German bakery
MUMBAI, Nov 26, 2008: 166 people killed in coordinated serial explosions and indiscriminate firing across city including CST and two five-star hotels — Oberoi and Taj
ASSAM, Oct 30, 2008: At least 77 killed, over 100 hurt in 18 bombings
IMPHAL, Oct 21, 2008: 17 killed in a powerful blast near Manipur Police Commando complex MALEGAON, Sep 29, 2008: 5 killed after a bomb kept in a motorbike goes off in a crowded market
MODASA, Gujarat, Sep 29, 2008: 1 killed, several hurt after a low-intensity bomb on a motorcycle goes off near a mosque
NEW DELHI, Sep 27, 2008: 3 killed after a crude bomb is thrown in a busy Mehrauli market
NEW DELHI, Sep 13, 2008: 26 killed in six blasts across the city
AHMEDABAD, July 26, 2008: 57 die after 20 synchronised blasts in less than two hours
BANGALORE, July 25, 2008: 1 person killed in a low-intensity blast
JAIPUR, May 13, 2008: 68 die in serial bombings
January 2008: Terrorist attack on CRPF camp in Rampur kills 8
October 2007: 2 killed in blast inside Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan during Ramzan
August 2007: 30 dead, 60 hurt in Hyderabad terror strike
May 2007: A blast at Mecca mosque in Hyderabad kills 11
February 19, 2007: Two bombs explode on board a train bound from India to Pakistan, burning to death at least 66 passengers, most of them Pakistanis
September 2006: 30 dead and 100 hurt in twin blasts at a mosque in Malegaon
July 2006: Seven bombs on Mumbai’s trains kill over 200 and injured 700 others
March 2006: Twin bombings at a train station and a temple in Varanasi kill 20 people
October 2005: Three bombs placed in busy New Delhi markets a day before Diwali kill 62 people and injured hundreds

Cycle bombs strike Hyderabad

Two powerful bombs tied to bicycles ripped through Hyderabad’s bustling Dilsukhnagar area killing at least 15 people and injuring over 100 here on Thursday evening, shattering the evening calm in this predominantly middle-class locality in the east of the city. No individual or group has claimed responsibility so far even as the nation was put on a state of alert.
The bombs triggered back-to-back explosions near popular movie theatres, blowing bodies into the air, flattening shops and houses and triggering panic among scores of injured people who were seen scurrying for cover in all directions with blood oozing out of their heads and legs.
The first bomb exploded near the Dilsukhnagar bus stop at 6.58 pm, close to Konark theatre and a minute later, another high intensity blast near a snack shop flung bodies into the air and created a crater, police and witnesses said.
Immediately after the blasts, a stampede prevailed at Dilsukhnagar as people tried to run out in all directions, with women carrying small children in the arms and looking for safety. Locals rushed to the aid of the injured crying in pain.

At least 25 people were initially rushed to the Osmania Hospital and 15 were rushed to the Yashoda Hospital in Malakpet along with five other hospitals, police said. Two days of strike by nurses and Group IV staff caught doctors at the emergency ward completely off guard and some patients even offered to help. But with the CT scan machine not functioning at the hospital, most of the injured could not be scanned for any internal hemorrhage. The 108 ambulance service alone shifted 42 injured to various hospitals, an official said. Four of the same family among scores of other injured were lying unattended for hours, as the few staff present struggled to attend to all the wounded.
Similar scenes were seen at Yashoda and Omni, where scores of injured were taken for treatment. Immediately after the blasts, phone lines got jammed and people left offices in a hurry, causing huge traffic jams all around. Many shops and business establishments downed their shutters.
As part of a security measure, police closed down many roads, diverted traffic and shut shops near the blast site and in the Old City’s Begum Bazaar, Gulzar House and Charminar.