Now, Goa Tourism to promote backwaters

Kolkata: Going beyond sea and beaches for which the state is known globally, Goa Tourism wants to promote its backwaters to cash in on the monsoon season.

"There are many a things beyond the beaches of Goa and the monsoons are the best time to experience them. We also have very good backwaters like Kerala," Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd Chairman Nilesh Cabral said.

Goa, which experiences a lean period during the monsoon months in terms of tourism revenue, is trying to create more utility infrastructure for the rich experience of backwater cruises.

Cabral said that GTDC offers monsoon packa

ges at nearly 50 per cent discount compared to the peak season which would be valid till September.

Goa is also promoting safari tours, spice plantations, white-water rafting, trekking, mountaineering and traditional Goan festivals.

For the safari tours, the tourism board is promoting places such as Bhagwan Mahavir National Park, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, among others.

The spice plantation guided tours cover places such as tropical spice plantation in Ponda, Savoi, Pascoal Spice Village near Khandepar and Sahakar Spice Farm on the Ponda-Belgaum road.


Goa also offers world class spa resorts and day spas with a variety of Ayurvedic treatments, a niche of Kerala known globally.

Goa would also complete installing basic amenities on all its beaches in public private partnership over the next one year, Cabral added.

PTI

Badal offers Rs 10 cr for reconstruction work in U'khand

Dehradun: Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for reconstruction of Kedarnath shrine, Hemkunt Sahib and other Himalayan centres of faith in the wake of the recent calamity.

Badal, who met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at the secretariat here, said in these moments of crisis Punjab stands in solidarity with Uttarakhand and will offer all help to the state government in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Besides announcing a financial assistance of Rs 10 crore for reconstruction of the damaged Himalayan temples, Badal also announced that relief material including 10 thousand tonnes of flour and rice, 100 tonnes of sugar, 10,000 blankets and woollens as per requirements will be provided by Punjab government.

Expressing his gratefulness to Badal, Bahuguna said the Punjab Chief Minister's gesture reflects the country's ethos of helping each other in times of need.

PTI 

Mauritius lauds India's efforts to fight piracy

Port Louis: Mauritius on Thursday lauded India's contribution in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean Rim region.

Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said India made "significant contribution to fight against the scourge of piracy in our region."

He was speaking after inaugurating the first Economic and Business Conference of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC).

The two-day conference, among others, is being attended by Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry Anand Sharma and representatives of several nations including Japan, Singapore, Sri

Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa.

IOR-ARC is a grouping of 20 nations.

Ramgoolam also underlined the need for focusing on concrete deliverables by the governments of the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries to improve the lives of about 2 billion people living in region.

"We need for focus on concrete deliverables," he said.

He also said trade and investment among the member countries has remained much below potential.

In this regard, Ramgoolam made a case for increasing cooperation in the field of deep sea mining, rare earth metals, defence and other emerging sectors among the member nations. IOC-ARC is a 15-year old association which was formed in 1977 to promote mutually beneficial cooperation among countries in the Indian Ocean region through a consensus- based, evolutionary and non-intrusive approach.

The Maurtius Prime Minister called upon the member countries to adopt right approach and and formulate new trade agenda for the region.

Ramgoolam, however, ruled out any move towards a common currency saying that the system had created problems in the European Union.

The focus, he added, should be on "exploring the best possible arrangement in a structured manner to boost trade and investment."

The combined GDP of IOR-ARC member countries in 2012 rose to an estimated USD 6.9 trillion from USD 5.8 trillion in 2010.

By 2016, the combined GDP of IOR-ARC countries is expected to reach over USD 9 trillion. The recent performance of the regional economies indicates that they have successfully come out of the global financial crisis.

The economies in the region have both traditional and knowledge-based sectors, having the capacity to absorb increasing pressure of the regional demand in most of the sectors, he said.

India has been on the forefront in combating the menace of piracy through naval exercises and seeking cooperation from other countries.

PTI

Rs 310 drop in Mumbai-Bangalore AC bus fare

MUMBAI: The fare of the Mumbai-Bangalore AC sleeper coach reduced have has dropped by Rs 310 per seat - a 14% reduction in price.

With the current season being lean, the MSRTC has lowered its fares from the existing Rs 2,180 per commuter to Rs 1,870 to beat the competition from private operators, who are also known to lower their fares at this time of year. When contacted, MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor said, confirmed the "sudden" reduction in fares.

"We had to do it, keeping in mind the interests of our passengers. During off-season, most private operators lower their fares. We therefore cannot keep our fares constant through the year. To make it more competitive, we have reduced the fares by more than Rs 300. The reduction in price is a is a huge saving, especially for those travelling with families or in groupsand large families and groups, for passengers, specially those who travel in a group or family." Kapoor added.

The state's first ever AC Sleeper bus has been a hit with commuters. "We have two buses commuting between Mumbai Central and Bangalore daily in both directions,'' he said. The buses are expected to fetch additional revenue to the tune of four crore rupees annually, sources said.

Tickets can be booked online for the seats/berths. The USP of the new buses were not just the sleeper berths, but the fact that the fares were kept fixed (Rs 2,180 per seat). In comparison, private bus operators keep increasing the fares for Bangalore, and it is close to Rs 4,000 per passenger during peak season and festival rush. But now, even the MSRTC buses will charge Rs 310 less.

The state bus undertaking is mainly targeting business commuters and software professionals as these buses will go via Pune and Kolhapur. There are 32 luxuriously furnished sleeper berths in the Volvos. The bus leaves Mumbai Central depot at 1 pm and reaches Bangalore next day at 7 am. The return service from Bangalore starts at 4.30 pm and reaches Mumbai the next day at 10.30 am. The total distance travelled between Mumbai and Bangalore is 1,016 kms.

The transport corporation also has plans to "We also plan are determined to introduce AC sleeper coaches on other prominent long-distance routes such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad very soon," Kapoor added.

Goa to ban Plaster of Paris Ganesh idols again

Panaji: The Goa government proposes to impose a ban on Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) which, after immersion, end up polluting the water source, state Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said on Monday.

The state has imposed a ban on PoP idols earlier too, though such idols continue to have a market as they are relatively cheaper and have a good finish.

Saldanha, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government function in the capital, said: "PoP does cause a lot of pollution. The decision (to ban PoP idols) will be taken soon, much before Ganesh Chaturthi, so that people have enough time on their hands to get the right idols."


The PoP idols, often containing gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium as well as lead paints, disintegrate slowly and, in the process, poison the waters of lakes, ponds and rivers, as well as choking the beds of water bodies.

Last year, after the state government banned the idols, it also started selling eco-friendly Ganesh idols through its handicrafts corporation.

Ganesh Chaturthi, which is scheduled for September 09 this year, is one of Goa's most popular religious festivals.

IANS 

Taj Mahal ranked third among top landmarks in the world

NEW YORK: Travellers from across the globe have ranked India's Taj Mahal among the top three landmarks in the world, a leading travel website has announced.

According to TripAdvisor's 2013 Travellers Choice Attractions Awards, Taj Mahal was ranked third in the list of Top 25 landmarks.

The top two places were taken by Machu Picchu in Peru and Angkor Wat in Cambodia respectively.

"The winners of Travelers' Choice Attractions awards were determined based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews of attractions," said a company statement.

Taj Mahal, listed among the new seven wonders of the world, is renowned the world over for its architecture and aesthetic beauty.

Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, the white marble mausoleum in the northern Indian city of Agra is also a symbol of enduring love.

In 1983, it became a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas.

It shares the latest honour alongside Petra World Heritage Site in Jordan and Bayon Temple in Cambodia, which are ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the list of 25 top landmarks in the world.

3,000-year-old rock art found in Chhattisgarh

BILASPUR: Five unique rock art, apparently dating back to about 3,000 years, was discovered from the dense forests of Suarlot hills in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

The rock art, found by archaeologist Hari Singh Chhatri in the dense forests, show the concepts in the form of geometrical drawing. These drawings in red ochre are of humans, mermaids, animals including goat, and a geometrical pattern which resembles a 'viman' or an aeroplane.

"The rock art is still safe as it is located in dense forests. I have found pictures of a male and a female with a specific difference in their height. This could be of Lord Ram and Sita," archaeologist Hari Singh Chhatri told TOI.

"There was a place called 'Kharoud', which is also known as Khar Dusan (demon) Nagri. It is just 34km from Korba. And, the famous Shivrinarayan is just 3km from Kharoud," he said adding that these places could have links with the places where Lord Ram visited during his exile.

Rock Art Society of India secretary G L Badham said, "It is an excellent discovery. Of course, the period of Ramayana had connection with Chhattisgarh forests for which there are evidences. These rock art are one of them".

"Since it is for the first time that the concept of 'viman' is being suggested, the Rock Art Society proposes to carry out an extensive work. We had found some rock art in neighbouring Raigarh district. But, the present design is surely different from the one found in Raigarh and can be called a 'viman' till it is confirmed," he added.

Narayana Murthy seeks airport near electronic city

Bangalore: Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy has pitched for a small airport near Electronics City, the biggest hub of Bangalore's IT industry that houses the main Infosys campus, as he called for improving the infrastructure facilities in Karnataka.

"We are not asking for anything extraordinary. We are asking for reasonably good roads, electricity, water, clean air and some English schools. We need reasonable connectivity to the airport. Ideally, we would like a small airport near Electronics City," Murthy said at a Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce event on Friday night.

While putting forward industries wish list to the state government he also said the software sector has made big contribution towards the economy of the state.

"Ours is an industry that contributes about 25 per cent of the state's GDP (Gross Domestic Product),has created half a million jobs with an average monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and 1.5 million jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. It earns net foreign exchange of Rs 55,000 crore a year and has a capital output ratio of 1:5," he said.

PTI

PM interacts with school children on board train to Kashmir

Banihal: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday undertook a train journey through the 11-km long tunnel under the Pir Panjal mountain ranges along with school children most of whom travelled by rail for the first time.

Singh interacted with students during the 18-km train journey from Banihal to Qazigund which reduces the distance between the two towns by nearly half.

The Banihal-Qazigund rail section includes an 11-km long tunnel, the country's longest, built at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore.

Singh asked one of the girl students seated next to him whether she had travelled by train earlier, to which she replied in the negative.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was seated a couple of rows behind the Prime Minister and was seen chatting with the students.

The train travel by Singh and Gandhi was being planned for almost a week and was kept under the wraps for security reasons.

Singh and Gandhi boarded the train after the flagging off ceremony at Banihal this afternoon. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge were also in the train.

The train will start regular operations from Banihal to Baramulla from tomorrow making five trips daily beginning at 7.10 AM from Banihal and 7.35 AM from Baramulla.

PTI 

Six Rajasthan hill forts on Unesco heritage list

JAIPUR: Six of Rajasthan's hill forts have made it to Unesco's World Heritage List: Chittorgarh Fort, Kumbhalgarh Fort (Rajsamand), Ranthambore Fort (Sawai Madhopur), Jaisalmer Fort, Amber Fort (Jaipur) and Gagron Fort (Jhalawar).

"The selection of these forts is a reflection of our past work," said tourism, art and culture minister Bina Kak. The listing of the forts was approved at the 37th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Friday.

Kak said the selection of these forts, located in different cities, as a serial cultural property, was the first of its kind ever by Unesco. She said with this selection the six forts would receive enhanced international recognition — the way Jantar Mantar in Jaipur did after being selected in the World Heritage List in 2010.

Five of the forts had been nominated last year too, but Unesco had rejected them. This year the government added Jaisalmer Fort, reworked the documents and re-nominated the other five. Four of the forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and two by the Rajasthan State Archaeological Survey.

The state government had sent the nomination dossier of the forts to the World Heritage Site centre in January 2011. A two-member team from the advisory body of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) had met state government and ASI officials in Jaipur in November 2012. Following this, the ICOMOS recommended that the hill forts be made part of the World Heritage Site list.

All the forts represent Rajput military architecture. The structural remains or ruins range from the eighth to the 19th Century and comprise multi-gated approaches through massive and high fortification walls, palaces, temples, memorials and water reservoirs.

'It's about love, not money': Retired postman builds mini Taj Mahal in Bulandshahr as a monument to his late wife

When Mughal emperor Shah Jahan lost his beloved wife Mumtaz in 1631, he built the Taj Mahal, the white marble mausoleum regarded by many as the world's greatest monument to love.

So when 77-year-old retired postmaster Faizul Hasan Kadari's wife died in December 2011, he knew exactly what he had to do: build his own Taj Mahal for the wife he loved no less than the great Mughal loved his.
Now, 16 months later, his "mini-Taj" is taking shape on a 5000 sqare feet plot in Bulandshahr, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and the grieving farmer is on his way to becoming a local celebrity.
Faizul Hasan Kadari with a photo of his wife Begum Tajmulli
While the Taj Mahal stands at 561 feet and is flanked by four 130 feet minarets, Faizul Hasan Kadari's mausoleum and memorial to his love, Begum Tajmulli, is a rough replica the height of a large unfinished house, waiting for its white marble cladding and Koranic calligraphy inscriptions.
So far he has spent around £25,000 on the Bulandshahr Taj, but plans to spend more yet. "There would be everything which the Taj Mahal has. When completed, it will cover about two acres of land, which may also have a garden similar to the garden of Taj Mahal. I have spent about Rs 20 lakhs [£25,000] so far," he explained.
He had once regarded Shah Jahan's monument to his wife's memory was wasteful and extravagant until his own wife died. "I used to think that Shah Jahan insulted the common man by building a magnificent monument to love. But after the death of my wife in December 2011, I realised that it had more about the intensity of love than the money," he told the Mail Today.
"Since we were issueless and I had no other liabilities, I started construction of my own Taj Mahal on a piece of land which was not useful for agricultural purposes," he added.
Now his wife is buried inside and he hopes they will be reunited when he finally passes away. "I have written in my will that my graveyard should be besides her," he said.

Source : Telegraph.co.uk

Now, rail link till Katra for Vaishno Devi pilgrims

NEW DELHI: Travel for devotees to the famous Vaishno Devi shrine will become more comfortable with trains expected to go right up to Katra, the shrine's base camp, from August.

Railways is going to open the 25-km Udhampur-Katra rail link in August as work on the difficult route is almost complete.

The national transporter is also working with the state government to integrate permit slips for Vaishno Devi Darshan with the train ticket.

"We are in talks with the Jammu & Kashmir government. The passenger can get permit slips while booking the train ticket," said V K Gupta, General Manager, Northern Railways.

The next step is an evaluation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for approval to run trains up to Katra as safety clearance from the watchdog is mandatory before new route becomes operational, an official said.

Most of the work, except the laying of ballast-less track on a 3.1-km-long tunnel, the most difficult on the route, is almost complete now, Gupta said.

After the commissioning of the new route, pilgrims will be able to reach the base camp of Vaishno Devi shrine at Katra without having to break their journey at Jammu.

An estimated 10 million devotees pay obeisance at the Vaishno Devi shrine annually.

The Udhampur-Katra rail route — to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 960 crore — passes through hostile terrain, making it an extremely challenging railways project.

The route consists of seven tunnels and 30 small and big bridges, including a 185-feet high tunnel. A total of seven tunnels span over 10 km of the 25-km stretch.

While no decision has been taken yet on the number of trains which will go to Katra, but once the line is operational, any train coming to Uddhampur can be extended to Katra depending on popular demand.

Katra station is ready with three platforms, and two more platforms will come up later.

Monsoon rains ahead of schedule: MeT office

New Delhi: India's monsoon rains are a week ahead of schedule, powering across two-thirds of the country by June 14 and heavier than normal, but the weather office is sticking to its forecast for average rains during the entire four-month period.

Heavier than normal rains can trigger flooding but at this stage in the June to September season, they spur planting of crops. India's biggest concern is drought during a monsoon, with rains crucial for the 55 percent of farmland without irrigation.

The monsoon should cover the whole of India before the usual mid-July timing and their distribution over major crop-growing regions should be fairly even, BP Yadav, a director at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said on Friday.

Rainfall is expected to be at 101 percent of the long-term average in July and 96 percent in August, two key months for the planting and maturing of crops.

The strong start to the June to September monsoon boosts prospects of robust farm output.

That could help the economy and hold down inflation, a critical concern for the coalition government as it readies for a round of state polls this year and a national ele

ction by May 2014.

India is one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of rice, sugar and other food agricultural commodities. A strong monsoon will underpin government confidence harvests will be ample to cover the extra grains needed for its plans for a $24 billion welfare scheme to give cheap food to more of its poor.

The weather office first forecast an average monsoon in April, before the season started, and the continuing absence of the El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which can cause droughts, played a part in its confirmation of that forecast on Friday.

The rains have also been ample over seven southern and western states, including major sugar producer Maharashtra, which were hit by drought last year and need plentiful and timely rain to assist a recovery.

© Thomson Reuters 2013

Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi gets world's second best airport award

PTI

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been named the world's second best airport in the 25-40 million passengers category by the Airport Council International. The best airport in this category is the Seoul Incheon in South Korea.

The airport also has been adjudged as the fourth best in the world among 199 airports across all categories.

A nine-member team, comprising representatives from airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Central Industrial Security Force, Airport Operations Control and Air India received the 'ACI ASQ Award' at an award ceremony organised by the Airport Council International (ACI) in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday.

"This recognition is testimony to the efforts of all our employees and partners who have consistently met the expectations of the industry," DIAL CEO I Prabhakar Rao said.

IGI airport scored 4.83 out of 5 on the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) scale.

IGI has managed to retain its position of second best airport in the 25-40 million passengers per annum category for 2012 year.

The airport had an ASQ score of 3.02 in 20

07 and ranked last among the 101 participating airports of the world.

The airport has an annual capacity of over 60 million passengers, but in 2012, around 34.2 million passengers passed through it.

IGI handled around 550,000 tonnes of cargo and over 300,000 aircraft movements during the same period.

Since its inception in 2006, the ASQ Awards have become the world's leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark with over 275 airports participating in it.

The ASQ Awards recognise and reward the best airports in the world based on ACI's ASQ passenger satisfaction survey done on uniform format worldwide and represent an opportunity to celebrate the commitment of airports worldwide to continually improve passenger experience.

Himachal's apple basket bountiful this season

Shimla: There is good news for apple lovers this year as they can soon expect a good supply of the deep, crunchy crimson apples from Himachal Pradesh, the country's largest apple basket.

The state horticulture department estimates say the state is heading for a bumper apple production, the mainstay of the state's economy, after two consecutive years of less than normal yield.

"We are expecting a production of over 3.75 crore apple boxes (of 20 kg each) this season," Gurdev Singh, director of horticulture, said on Wednesday.

Last year, he said, over 2.04 crore boxes were harvested - 20 percent less than state's normal yield of 2.5 crore boxes - while it just 1.36 crore boxes in 2011.

In both the years, the reduced output was owing to adverse weather - extended winter and the fury of hailstorms when the crop was maturing.

Horticulture experts said plentiful snow in last winter and now good spells of rain have sufficiently increased the moisture content in the soil, which helped the plants obtain sufficient nutrients.

They say early varieties such as Red June, Summer Queen and Tydeman's Early Worcester, though inferior in quality, will start arriving in the markets by the end of July.

Superior grades like Royal Delicious, Red Chief, Super Chief, Oregon Spur and Scarlet Spur will start arriving by the middle of August and their harvesting will continue till November.

"There was some damage to the crop in the recent hailstorms and significant premature fruit dropping too, but overall the crop is healthy. At present, the fruit is in development stage," Gopal Mehta, a prominent apple and cherry grower of Kotgarh in upper Shimla, said.

He said most of the fruit crops in the state, including cherries, pears, peaches, apricots, almonds and plums, are heading to a bumper yield.

Upper Shimla areas, which account for 80 percent of the total apple production, have seen congenial weather with plentiful snow during winter.

Snow is considered white manure for apple orchards.

According to the meteorological office in Shimla, the entire apple belt has seen adequate rain even before the monsoon has set in.

"We are expecting the monsoon will arrive a week in advance," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, said.

The monsoon normally hits the state by June 27.

Himachal Pradesh's apple industry, which is currently worth over Rs 2,000 crore, is credited to Satyanand (Samuel Evans Stokes Junior).

Satyanand, an American missionary, first introduced high quality apples in the Kothgarh-Thanedar belt in Shimla district in the early 1920s.

His daughter-in-law, Vidya Stokes, now state horticulture minister, manages most of the family's orchards.

IANS 

Now, book train tickets through SMS!

New Delhi: Come July and you can book your train ticket by sending an SMS.

Keeping an eye on the growing mobile phone market in India, IRCTC will launch SMS-based ticketing from July 1 and a dedicated number will be announced soon for this.

Describing the step as environment-friendly as no print-out is required, a senior IRCTC official said "mobile- based booking provides the users ease and convenience of booking tickets from anywhere and anytime. There will be no requirement of a printout because the ticketing message will be considered as valid during the journey."

As per the requirement, one has to register the mobile number with IRCTC as well as one's bank. The Bank provides MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) and OTP (one time password) for authorization of payment.

The official said SMS booking is very simple as a passenger ha

s to type the train number, destination, journey date, class and passenger details like name, age and gender on the SMS box.

"The sender will receive transaction ID and then make payment through sending another SMS by typing PAY followed by the transaction ID, MMID as received from the bank and password, said the official adding "with this the passenger's ticket is booked."

The service is available to all mobile subscribers and Rs 3 is being charged per SMS and payment gateway charges are Rs 5 for ticket amount upto Rs 5000 and Rs 10 for more than Rs 5000.

PTI

World Bank all for an eco-friendly Hyderabad

World Bank country head Barjor E. Mehta hails the innovative features, multi-modal integration and the urban redesign approach of the HMR project; terms it a very promising one

The World Bank has promised all support to the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project and the plans to transform the capital into an eco-friendly global city.

Appreciating the innovative features, multi-modal integration and the urban redesign approach of the project, Barjor E. Mehta, World Bank country head, had mentioned that the Hyderabad model was a very promising one. He was speaking at a joint workshop conducted by the World Bank and HMR on “land value capture for Transit Oriented Development (TOD)” in the Metro Rail Bhavan on Thursday.

Tracing out the development of cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, Hiroaki Suzuki, Lead Urban Specialist, World Bank, explained how they had achieved prosperity and development, apart from addressing traffic problems through the TOD approach.

Metro rail projects in these cities made them global centres of economic activity with planned densification along metro corridors and large-scale development of areas around stations through land pooling and incentives like higher FSI to accommodate the increasing urban population, he said.

Loss-making metro projects are cross subsidised through revenues from property development in and around stations. TOD strategies has to involve the government, city administration, private sector and other stake holders for sustainability of urban areas.

HMR Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy highlighted the main features of “Transit + ” model of the Hyderabad project like the inter-modal integration with the railway stations of Secunderabad, Nampally and Begumpet; bus depots/stations at Miyapur, JBS, MGBS, Dilsukhnagar, Koti, Lakdi-ka-pul and Falaknuma and six MMTS stations.

The operation of merry-go-round feeder buses in colonies and business areas around Metro stations, skywalks, footpaths, bicycle stations and pedestrian facilities etc are being planned to avoid personalised vehicles, he said.

Stations are to have shopping complexes, multiplexes, food courts, clinics and retail stores to cater to the day-to-day needs of people, thereby reducing congestion on roads.

Urban Development Principal Secretary B. Sam Bob highlighted the need to finance more urban infrastructure projects by capturing enhanced land values through the TOD mechanism.

Source : TOI

Joneja, 15, becomes youngest Indian to climb Everest

New Delhi: At 15 years and seven months, Raghav Joneja has become the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, climbing the peak with five teenage mates from Lawrence School, Sanawar.

Lawrence became the first school in the world to send a team to the highest peak.

The boys achieved the remarkable feat May 21 when they summited Everest after a month-long gruelling expedition, backed by Hero Cycles.

The expedition comprised of seven boys with their sherpas, three fathers as a support team and another four old Sanawarians, who joined the group from here to the base camp for 21 days to give them moral support.

Col. Neeraj Rana, ex-director of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), was the mentor for the expedition which April 9 arrived at Lukla, Nepal from where the group trekked for nine days to the base camp. At the base camp they acclimatised for nearly a month and began the final ascent May 17.

While they set off in a group of seven, one of the seven, Hakikat Grewal, developed a problem in his oxygen mask and couldn’t reach the summit, having to retreat from 27,600 ft.

However, the rest completed the expedition successfully.

Ajay Sohal (16) and Prithvi Chahal (17) together climbed the summit first, next came Shubham Kaushik (16), who was followed by Fateh Brar (16) and then Joneja and Guribadat Singh (17).

“Whatever we do through the rest of our lives, this is one achievement that will always stick to us and will always make us proud. The team is grateful to Hero Cycles and our school for making this ultimate achievement possible for us,” said Joneja.

Established in 1847, the Lawrence School is located near Kasauli, in the Shimla Hill in Himachal Pradesh.

IANS 

Abducted British couple rescued, 9 arrested in TN

Chennai: An abducted British couple was rescued and nine persons, including two Sri Lankans, were arrested for allegedly committing the crime and demanding Rs 2.58 crore as ransom. 

Chennai Police coordinated with Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), London, and Serious Organised Crime Agency, United Kingdom, state and central intelligence agencies and rescued the couple from an SUV bound for a house at Mandarakuppam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu last night. 

"A gang of people operated from London as well as in the state to coordinate this abduction. It was a peculiar and complex case, as it involved two different cities in two countries," Chennai Police Commissioner S George told reporters here today.

Based on a complaint on May 29 that British nationals Thavaraja (59) and his wife Salaja (55), who landed at the airport here from Colombo, were missing, a case was registered. They were originally from Sri Lanka and had settled down in the UK and obtained citizenship. 

The couple had arrived here to proceed to Tiruchirapalli, where they planned to join a tour operator and visit temples in the state for nine days. 

Investigations revealed that the couple's daughter Dharshini, residing in London, received calls from unidentified men who claimed to have abducted her parents and demanded a ransom of Rs 2.58 crore (300,000 pounds).

Chennai Police coordinated with Dharshini, as she sent them clippings of her conversation with the abductors and sought more time to raise the ransom money, as was advised by police. 

"The only source of information was Dharshini's clippings as we did not know who were the kidnappers and where they were keeping the couple," George said. 

PTI

Preliminary trials of anti-collision system successful: Mittal

Jammu: Preliminary field trials of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) in South Central Railways have been successful, Chairman Railway Board Vinnay Mittal said on Monday.

"We are experimenting with TCAS in South Central Railways. Preliminary field trials in South Central Railways have been successful," he told reporters after reviewing work on under-construction railway infrastructure in Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.

Mittal said, "it is GPS based system...We are trying to spread the trials to a distance from 150 to 200 km and cover many more locomotives and establish its efficiency."

"We are also looking into protective warning system which is an European based system," he said, adding it is a cheaper technology.

He was replying to a volley of questions about the collision of trains and accidents and safety measures taken by the railways in this regard.

A safety device designed to prevent train accidents, TCAS is based on a combination of railway signalling data with radio communications, global position, radio frequency identification devices, software and logic.

Field trials were conducted last month in real time on a track near Tandur station. Two TCAS-equipped locomotives operated a series of test runs, simulating scenarios including head-on collisions, rear-end collisions, and SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger).

PTI