Cyclone Nilopher to bring heavy rains in three districts of western Rajasthan: Met

JAIPUR: The countdown for cyclone Nilopher in Naliya (Gujarat) which will also bring rains in western Rajasthan has began on Wednesday. Jaipur Met office on Wednesday has officially announced that as an impact of Nilofer cyclone heavy rainfall will be witnessed in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jodhpur in the next 48 hours from Friday onwards.

BN Bishnoi, Director, Jaipur Met office, taking to TOI on Wednesday, said, "The cyclone NIOPHER is merely 880 kms away from Gujarat. Its speed has though curtailed and has come to 90 kms/hour still there is a possibility that it will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall in western Rajasthan including Jaisalmer, Jalore and Barmer district of the state."

The climatic pattern also changed in Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jalore also changed on Wednesday as cloudy conditions prevailed in these districts. Likewise many parts in the state including Jaipur, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Sirohi and Chittorgarh had a hazy day.

Though the state will get a impact as rainfall the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 14 Rescue and Relief Teams comprising more than 550 Rescuers with boats and other flood rescue equipment as proactive measures to mitigate the situation during cyclonic storm 'Nilofar' in Gujarat. "Two additional teams are deployed in Jodhpur on Wednesday to meet any emergency in Barmer and Jaisalmer while majorly they are working in Gujarat including Surat, Kutch and Bhuj," said an officer of NDRF on Wednesday.

IMD officials down scaled down the intensity as the speed of the cyclone which was initially 120 kms/hour has reduced to 90 kms/hour but said it will bring mild to moderate showers in western Rajasthan. "There is also a possibility of heavy dust storms in the western Rajasthan," said an officer.

BSF has already kept its men on high alert to foil any attempt of intrusion."We are ready to foil any kind of intrusion attempt by Pakistan," said a senior officer of BSF.

Sources said that its impact will also be seen on some parts in the eastern Rajasthan as cloudy conditions will prevail in the cities including Jaipur, Dausa, Bharatpur, Ajmer, Jalore, Bhilwara, Jodhpur and other parts of the state.

Officials have evacuated a few of the hamlets which had witnessed floods in Barmer district in August, 2006 in Kewas and Malva areas. "Since there is a hard soil with covering gysum refusing the water to pass through, we have also arranged for the water pumps to pump out at other safer places after the heavy rainfall," said a senior officer.

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Saradha scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs 60 crore

NEW DELHI: Moving ahead in the multi-crore Saradha chit funds scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday attached assets, including a school, a cement factory and few resorts, worth Rs 60 crore in West Bengal in connection with its money laundering probe.

The agency, while issuing its seventh attachment of properties order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seized an operational school called Linclon High School, a cement factory by the name Landmark Cement Factory and a number of flats and resorts spread in various places in West Bengal.

The attachment order issued by the Kolkata office of the agency said the total conservative value of these assets is about Rs 60 crore but the actual market price of these immovable assets would be three-four times higher that the official valuation.

"A resort in Lataguri, residential flats in Siliguri, several tracts of land in Malda and South 24 Parganas district and accounts of East Bengal and United Mohun Bagan have been attached under PMLA laws," ED sources said.

Saradha CEO Sudipta Sen.
A flat in Odisha's Cuttack and several other real estate properties associated directly or indirectly with jailed Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen and his associates have been attached, they said.

The sources said the ED found these assets to be largely under 'benami' heads which have been procured through multi-layered financial transactions by Sen and his associates which gave suspicion of money laundering.

The ED has already attached assets worth Rs 400 crore in this ponzi scheme case which is alleged to have duped numerous investors in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha.

Saradha director Debjani Mukhopadhyay.
The agency issued the order after its Eastern Zone special director Yogesh Gupta met the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money in Delhi recently which appreciated the agency's probe in this case and reviewed its attachment orders issued till now.

An attachment order under PMLA is meant to deprive the accused from the benefits of his or her illegally acquired assets.

Kunal Ghosh who was an employee of the Saradha group.

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Actor Raghava Lawrence to build temple for his mother

CHENNAI: Actor-filmmaker Raghava Lawrence, who is currently busy with Tamil films "Muni 3" and "Oru Ticketil Rendu Cinema", has decided to build a temple for his mother in his father's hometown Poovirundhavali in Tamil Nadu.

The work on the temple has started and will be completed by next year.

"It's been my dream to build a temple for my mother Kanmani while she's alive. I'm in this world because of my mother. I dedicate this temple to all mothers, who have sacrificed their life for their kids," Lawrence told IANS.

"My mother's statue is being made in Rajasthan. The temple should be completed by next year and I plan to have a grand opening ceremony," he added.

Lawrence also plans to write a book about his upbringing by his mother, who struggled to make ends meet.

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Tamil actor Raghava Lawrence to build temple for his mother

CHENNAI: Actor-filmmaker Raghava Lawrence, who is currently busy with Tamil films "Muni 3" and "Oru Ticketil Rendu Cinema", has decided to build a temple for his mother in his father's hometown Poovirundhavali in Tamil Nadu.

The work on the temple has started and will be completed by next year.

"It's been my dream to build a temple for my mother Kanmani while she's alive. I'm in this world because of my mother. I dedicate this temple to all mothers, who have sacrificed their life for their kids," Lawrence told IANS.

"My mother's statue is being made in Rajasthan. The temple should be completed by next year and I plan to have a grand opening ceremony," he added.

Lawrence also plans to write a book about his upbringing by his mother, who struggled to make ends meet.

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Central government offices to shut down early on Thursday

NEW DELHI: After Delhi government offices remained closed on Wednesday in view of the holiday declared on Chhath, it is now the turn of some key Central government offices to shut down early on Thursday. As the government organizes a 'Run for Unity' from Vijay Chowk to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31, it has ordered closure of offices housed in South Block, North Block, Rail Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan and Krishi Bhawan, among others, from 2 pm on October 30 to 9.30 am on October 31.

Government officers located in Rashtrapati Bhawan and Parliament House will also remain closed from 10 PM on October 30 till 9.30 am on October 31. Another set of buildings including RBI, Yojna Bhawan, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Nirvachan Sadan and Sanchar Bhawan, will stay shut between 2 pm on October 30 and 8.00 am on October 31.

The early closure of these Central government offices was ordered by the ministry of personnel as part of security arrangements for the 'Run for Unity', to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Vijay Chowk on Friday.

Among the buildings which will remain closed from 2 pm on Thursday till 9.30 am on Friday are DRDO Bhawan, Sena Bhawan, Vayu Bhawan, Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Vigyan Bhawan, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, National Museum, Archaelogical Survey of India building, Raksha Bhawan, Baroda House, National Gallery of Modern Art, CSIR Building, National Archives, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, National Media Centre, Hutment (MoD office) at Dalhousie Raod and Krishna Menon Marg, Coast Guard Headquarters and CCA (ministry of agriculture office at Akbar Road).

The list of government buildings ordered shut from 2 pm on Thursday to 8 am on Friday include Transport Bhawan, Akashvani Bhawan, Dak Bhawan, Jeevan Tara Building, Jeevan Deep Building, Jeevan Vihar Building, SBI Building and Punjab National Bank Building at Patel Chowk.

The instructions/information regarding early closure of the aforesaid offices have been circulated to all ministries and departments of the government of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan secretariat UPSC, CVC, EC, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Rajya Sabha secratriat, Supreme Court, High Court, CAT, Planning Commission and NDMC.

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Black money: Govt will submit list to Supreme Court tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The government will give the names of all the Indians who hold foreign bank accounts, given by foreign countries, to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said and emphasized that no one will be protected.

The list will be given to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope, he said, but did not say if the government was open to making the list public.

"The government shall place the list before the court because the government has already given (the list) to the court constituted special investigating team (on June 27). The government is keen that by whatever procedure in accordance with law we must get to the root of the matter.

"... the government has no difficulty in placing the entire list and the same will be placed before the court tomorrow," Jaitley told reporters here.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the government for seeking a modification of its order on disclosure of names of blackmoney holders abroad. It directed the Centre to place before it names of all such account holders by tomorrow.

Jaitley said the government was keen to punish all illicit foreign account holders and would do everything to bring back the black money.

"The truth about these names and also these accounts must come out so that penal action can be taken against the people and the money lying there can be brought back to India. The government has no difficulty whatsoever with any agency investigating this matter because there is nobody the government wants to protect in this case so that those whose names have come must really be investigated and punished according to law," he said.

He, however did not reply to a question on whether the government would make the list public.

Jaitley said the government is also keen that the procedure followed must be such that the reciprocating countries continue to cooperate with India.

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No Chinese incursion, troops trespass into each other's territory by mistake: India

ITANAGAR: Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday denied any incursion by China's People's Liberation Army in Taksing area of Arunachal Pradesh in recent times.

"It is a natural phenomenon as troops from both the sides usually trespass into each other's territory by mistake as there is no definite demarcation of the border.

"Even Chinese army sometime claim incursion by Indian Army," Rijiju told reporters at Raj Bhawan helipad here before his departure to New Delhi.

When his attention was drawn to the alleged incursion at Taksing area in Upper Subansiri district about three months ago, Rijiju said that troops from both the countries accidentally trespass into each other's territories during routine patrolling.

"Patrolling teams from both the countries trespass into each other territories and sometime confrontations are reported ... Incursion along the border takes place only where there is no permanent structure. Since there is no boundary demarcation, such type of ingress will continue."

"Our troupes are being instructed to be more vigilant and not to allow Chinese to cross our periphery," he said.

Rijiju, however, conceded that Arunachal Pradesh had lost a portion of land to China earlier because of less patrolling but hastened to say: "We have not conceded any inch of our territory to China after NDA came to power at the Centre."

He said ITBP had recently arrested three persons of Tibetan origin from Lemeking area of Upper Subansiri district. Their interrogation was on to unearth the truth but language barrier had become an impediment.

"I had a meeting with the DG and IG of ITBP this morning and directed them to get the identity and motive of the three people," he added.

Asked to comment Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki told newsmen that the incursion by PLA was not officially reported to him.

"Since the issue is a subject of the external affairs ministry the state government has no say over it," he quipped.

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No Chinese incursion, troops trespass into each other's territory by mistake: Rijiju

ITANAGAR: Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday denied any incursion by China's People's Liberation Army in Taksing area of Arunachal Pradesh in recent times.

"It is a natural phenomenon as troops from both the sides usually trespass into each other's territory by mistake as there is no definite demarcation of the border.

"Even Chinese army sometime claim incursion by Indian Army," Rijiju told reporters at Raj Bhawan helipad here before his departure to New Delhi.

When his attention was drawn to the alleged incursion at Taksing area in Upper Subansiri district about three months ago, Rijiju said that troops from both the countries accidentally trespass into each other's territories during routine patrolling.

"Patrolling teams from both the countries trespass into each other territories and sometime confrontations are reported ... Incursion along the border takes place only where there is no permanent structure. Since there is no boundary demarcation, such type of ingress will continue."

"Our troupes are being instructed to be more vigilant and not to allow Chinese to cross our periphery," he said.

Rijiju, however, conceded that Arunachal Pradesh had lost a portion of land to China earlier because of less patrolling but hastened to say: "We have not conceded any inch of our territory to China after NDA came to power at the Centre."

He said ITBP had recently arrested three persons of Tibetan origin from Lemeking area of Upper Subansiri district. Their interrogation was on to unearth the truth but language barrier had become an impediment.

"I had a meeting with the DG and IG of ITBP this morning and directed them to get the identity and motive of the three people," he added.

Asked to comment Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki told newsmen that the incursion by PLA was not officially reported to him.

"Since the issue is a subject of the external affairs ministry the state government has no say over it," he quipped.

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Nilofar to weaken closer to Gujarat coast, but will bring heavy rains on Friday-Saturday

NEW DELHI: The cyclonic storm Nilofar, developed in Arabian Sea, on Tuesday turned "very severe" while approaching Oman coast, but the system will gradually weaken close to Gujarat coast on Friday. Still, it will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall along coastal districts of the state on Friday and Saturday.

The Nilofar, which will gradually start turning towards north Gujarat and adjoining Pakistan coast from early Wednesday morning aftrer hitting Oman coast, may also cause some trouble in Rajasthan's border districts of Barmer, Jalore and Jodhpur.

As a precaution, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday suggested "total suspension of fishing operations" at sea along and off Gujarat coast and advised people in affected areas to "remain indoors around landfall time" between October 31 night and November 1 forenoon.

Referring to possible track of the Nilofar, the country's national weather forecaster said, "As the system would come closer to Gujarat coast, it will weaken and cross the coast as a cyclonic storm (not as "severe" or "very severe" cyclonic storm)".

Issuing a warning, it said the system would bring heavy to very heavy rainfall along coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch from October 31 (Friday) night.

"Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph would commence along and off Gujarat coast from October 31 night and would become 80-90 kmph gusting at the time of landfall. Sea condition along and off Gujarat will be rough to very rough From October 31 night and would become high from November 1 morning", said the IMD.

It also predicted that the Nilofar would cause damage to thatched roofs and huts. "Minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of trees and breaking of tree branches" is also expected.

Keeping the prediction and warnings in mind, the cabinet secretary Ajit Seth chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) here to review the preparedness of central and state agencies to face any challenge arising out of the approaching cyclonic storm.

In a video conferencing with the chief secretary and other senior officials of the state, Seth took stock of all the steps taken by the Gujarat government to deal with the cyclone.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is, meanwhile, fully geared up for rescue operations and has alerted its three battalions. It has pre-positioned seven rescue and relief teams at different places in Gujarat. Nine of its teams are on standby for deployment at short notice.

The Centre has even asked all telecom operators in Gujarat to share infrastructure through intra-circle roaming arrangements for 15 days, issuing an advisory for restoring communication facilities in the event of the state being hit by cyclone.

The department of telecommunication (DoT) said, "All access providers are directed to take steps for immediate maintenance and restoration of telecommunication facilities in these areas and to facilitate the knowledge of wellbeing of relatives in these areas."

The telecom operators have also been asked to transmit messages or advisories through SMS from government/NDMA and Meteorology Department to all subscribers in the state.

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Black money: Arun Jaitley non-committal on making list public after Supreme Court pulls up Centre

NEW DELHI: The government will give the names of all the Indians who hold foreign bank accounts, given by foreign countries, to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said and emphasized that no one will be protected.

The list will be given to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope, he said, but did not say if the government was open to make the list public.

"The government shall place the list before the court because the government has already given (the list) to the court constituted special investigating team (on June 27). The government is keen that by whatever procedure in accordance with law we must get to the root of the matter.

"... the government has no difficulty in placing the entire list and the same will be placed before the court tomorrow," Jaitley told reporters here.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the government for seeking a modification of its order on disclosure of names of black money holders abroad. It directed the Centre to place before it names of all such account holders by Wednesday.

The Supreme Court of India.

Jaitley said the government was keen to punish all illicit foreign account holders and would do everything to bring back the black money.

"The truth about these names and also these accounts must come out so that penal action can be taken against the people and the money lying there can be brought back to India. The government has no difficulty whatsoever with any agency investigating this matter because there is nobody the government wants to protect in this case so that those whose names have come must really be investigated and punished according to law," he said.

He, however did not reply to a question on whether the government would make the list public.

Jaitley said the government is also keen that the procedure followed must be such that the reciprocating countries continue to cooperate with India.

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