Ahmedabad/Jammu, May 2 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today promised action against those responsible for waving Pakistani flags at yesterday’s rally addressed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani even as rightwing Hindu organisations held a protest demanding the separatist leader’s arrest.

The Chief Minister also rejected Geelani’s demand to curtail the duration of the Amarnath Yatra to 30 days from the planned 59 days and said it will take place as scheduled.

“Some people were involved in such activities. Action will be taken against those involved in such an act,” Sayeed told journalists in Ahmedabad, recalling how separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat, who had himself raised pro-Pakistan slogans and waved Pakistani flags at a rally attended by Geelani was put behind bars.

“When Masarat Alam was released, he had already spent five years under PSA (Public Safety Act). Then, I myself saw him with Pakistani flag. We then took immediate action (against Alam, who was again arrested),” Sayeed, who is on a visit to Gujarat to promote tourism in his state, said, adding “law will take its course”.

At the April 15 rally Pakistani flags were waved by Geelani’s supporters which led to filing of case against him, his close aide Masarat Alam Bhat and others on sedition and other charges. Bhat was arrested the next day and booked under the stringent Public Safety Act a week later.

At yesterday’s rally, the first by him at militancy-hit Tral in south Kashmir, Geelani’s had demanded restricting the Amarnath Yatra to 30 days keeping in mind the safety of pilgrims and protection of environment. His supporters had chanted pro-Pakistan slogans and waved that country’s national flag.

The Mufti insisted that the yatra will be held as scheduled as “people of Jammu and Kashmir are in its favour.”

The Chief Minister appeared to share the view of Geelani against creating exclusive townships for Kashmiri Pandits who wanted to return to the Valley when he spoke about the “culture of living together”.

“They are part of our culture, a culture of living together. They had to leave (the Valley) in an atmosphere of militancy in 1990. In the past, we attempted to bring them back but did not succeed in our efforts,” Sayeed said.

“Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also made such attempts. Those (displaced) three lakh Kashmiri Pandits are intellectuals and learned. They should come back. My Government will make all possible effort to bring them back,” he said when asked about resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits.

London, May 2 (PTI) The wait for Prince William’s second baby was finally over as his wife Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, today gave birth to a baby girl.

The baby was “safely delivered” at 8:34 am local time (0734 GMT), Kensington Palace said in a statement.

The father, Duke of Cambridge, was present at the birth of his daughter, who weighs 8 pounds 3 ounces (3.7 kg).

The palace added that the mother and baby are “doing well”.

The new baby is fourth-in-line to the throne, behind her grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William and brother Prince George.

The Duchess of Cambridge was earlier today admitted to the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London, where her first baby Prince George was also born in July 2013, with early stages of labour.

Kensington Palace had made the announcement in the early hours of today that the Duchess was driven to the hospital alongside her husband and later said the labour is “progressing as normally”.

Kate was being looked after by consultant obstetrician Guy Thorpe-Beeston. He was joined in the delivery room by Alan Farthing, the Queen’s surgeon-gynaecologist.

There will be a traditional custom of placing a paper announcement outside Buckingham Palace of the new princess soon.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who will be hoping for a baby bounce in the May 7 General Election which usually favours the ruling party, said: “One of the privileges of my job is you get to see them (Prince William and Kate) up front and they are a wonderful couple, they are loving parents.

“With the rest of the nation I’ll be wishing them well today, hoping for a healthy and happy outcome.”

The world’s media began rushing to the media pen outside the hospital as the news of the labour was announced.

Unlike at the time of Prince George’s birth, the world’s press have been stopped from camping outside.

Fans of the royal family have also been gathering near the hospital with flags and banners in recent days with some sleeping in the rough in sleeping bags.

Royal protection officers, who carry concealed weapons at all times, were stationed at the Lindo Wing in anticipation of Queen Elizabeth II’s newest great grandchild

Kathmandu, May 2 (PTI) Authorities in Nepal’s capital have asked residents not to slaughter or consume animals and birds over fears of a pandemic in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake that rocked the Himalayan nation.

Issuing a public notice, the Kathmandu District Administration has appealed to local people not to consume meat-related food items for the time being.

The authorities believe that the selling of meat would add to sanitation and health-related complications as several agencies fear the outbreak of a pandemic.

There had been epidemic of swine flu in Jajarkot district in western Nepal some time before the earthquake and few people have also been infected in Kathmandu with the deadly H1N1 virus.

Kathmandu District Administration chief Ek Narayan Aryal have issuing a public notice said, “We have urged the locals of Kathmandu not to slaughter animals and birds keeping in view the possibility of spread of pandemic and health of the local people”.

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) Gold prices plunged sharply and closed below the psychological Rs 27,000 benchmark on the bullion market here following frantic unwinding by stockists and speculative traders marred by heightened global volatility.

Silver also endured heavy selling pressure to settle below the Rs 38,000 level amid sluggish industrial demand.

Domestic sentiment turned extremely bearish and volatile after the yellow-metal tanked to six-weeks low in worldwide trade as a slew of stronger than expected US macro data fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The bullion market was closed on Friday for the “May Day” holiday.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) tumbled by Rs 370 to end at Rs 26,635 per 10 grams from Thursday’s closing level of Rs 27,005.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also slumped by a similar margin to conclude at Rs 26,785 per 10 grams as compared to Rs 27,155.

Silver (.999 fineness) tanked by Rs 585 to finish at Rs 37,500 per kilo against Rs 38,085 previously.

On the global front, gold for June delivery crashed to settle at USD 1,174.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday, while silver July contract closed at USD 16.135 an ounce.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Price of non-subsidised LPG was today cut by Rs 5 per cylinder even as jet fuel (ATF) rates were marginally raised in step with global trend.

The price of non-subsidised or market-priced domestic cooking gas (LPG) was cut by Rs 5 to Rs 616 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, state-owned fuel retailers said.

The reduction comes on the back of two successive hikes – Rs 5 on March 1 and Rs 11 on April 1.

Households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs 417 in Delhi. Any requirement beyond this has to be bought at the market price, which is now Rs 616 in Delhi.

In Mumbai, non-subsidised cooking gas has been cut by Rs 4.50 to Rs 627.50, while it will cost Rs 649 in Kolkata as against Rs 654.50, previously. Chennai will see a price cut of Rs 5.50 to Rs 608.50 per cylinder.

Rates vary from state-to-state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

Oil companies raised price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, in Delhi by Rs 272 per kilolitre or 0.5 per cent to Rs 49,609.84 per kl.

The increase comes on the back of a 2 per cent reduction in rates last year.

Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline’s operating costs and the price cut will reduce the financial burden on cash-strapped carriers.

No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price hike on passenger fares.

State-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) revise jet fuel and non-subsidised LPG prices on the first of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate. The same on petrol and diesel is done on a fortnightly basis.

Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today sought the participation of corporates to help the government implement its ambitious integrated water conservation and management initiative, Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan.

“The government has expressed its resolve to make Maharashtra drought?free. ‘More crop per drop’ will be the guiding motto of the government for using water efficiently,” he said addressing a gathering here on the occasion of Maharashtra Day celebration.

Maharashtra attained statehood on May 1, 1960.

Maharashtra Day is being celebrated today in various parts of the state.

On the occasion, Rao took salute of a ceremonial parade held at Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai.

“The state government is implementing the ‘Jalyukta Shivar Yojana’ under which water harvesting storages will be created in villages with the participation of gram sabhas. The government is also seeking the co-operation of corporates to take up this initiative as a part of corporate social responsibility,” he said.

He said that skill development will be a priority for the state government.

“The state will be launching the ‘Late Pramod Mahajan Skill Development Scheme’ to evaluate and integrate existing schemes of skill development and start new ones,” he said.

He said the government has decided to implement the Aamdar Adarsh Gaon Yojana on the lines of the Saansad Adarsha Gram Yojana.

“Around1,000 villages will be developed under this scheme,” he said.

“The state government has also decided to implement Mukhyamantri Gramin Marg Yojana under which good quality roads will be constructed to connect villages with growing population by 2019,” Rao said. .

Chennai, May 1 (PTI) Unidentified motorcycle-borne men today hurled a petrol bomb at an Andhra Bank branch here in the early hours of today, police said.

No one was injured in the incident.

The men threw the petrol bomb and fled from the scene, police said.

The incident is suspected to be linked with the gunning down of 20 woodcutters of Tamil Nadu in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh last month.

On April 10, some unidentified persons had pelted stones at three branches of Andhra Bank in Tamil Nadu and there were also widespread protests and demonstrations by political parties and right groups in the state against the gunning down of the woodcutters.

Kathmandu- The distribution of relief materials sent by different countries to the earthquake victims are not reaching the people is despair and need. The local residents are appealing through their Facebook accounts to donor agencies to donate directly to the people. According to one such post it says the Government was expecting money in terms of help but when relief materials started pouring in the were least intrested in distribution an has been lying in Government stores.

A video shows some ministers being stoned and throwing water bottles b the local people. It shows their anger and anguish. Another posts has photgraphs of top 6 politicians who after the earthquake are not be seen anywhere. Speculation is rife that they must have fled to foriegn countries not wanting to take the burden on their shoulders.

KATHMANDU: A 15-year-old boy was rescued alive after spending 120 hours buried under debris of a collapsed building in Gongabu, giving search and rescue workers a renewed hope today that there are still chances of saving more people.

Pemba Lama Tamang, 15, of Nuwakot was among many people who were either killed or trapped under the wreckage of a seven-storey building that housed four guest houses. The teenager used to be a dishwasher in Hilton Guest House. “I was resting near a counter of the guest house after the morning’s work. All of a sudden the building started shaking and guests, staff and I ran down. But it was too late to escape. The building crumbled and I was trapped in a crater formed by the debris,” he recounted.

Tamang said he spent six days praying and hoping for a new lease of life. “I was lucky that two cans of ghee were lying nearby and I fed on ghee. I found a piece of cloth soaked with rain and squeezed a few drops of water to drink,” he told mediapersons from Israeli Field Hospital set up on the premises of Shree Birendra Hospital, Chhauni.

A special search and rescue team of Armed Police Force backed by the US experts had pulled Tamang out of the debris at around 11.55am after hours of arduous efforts. The rescue workers, led by Inspector Laxman Bahadur Basnet, sensed a peculiar sound from under the debris while using a sniffer dog before they confirmed someone alive there and pulled him out alive.

This triggered a celebration among the APF personnel and onlookers. The APF teams have managed to rescue as many as 330 persons, including 245 in the Kathmandu Valley so far, said DSP Ajaya Chhatkuli.

The jubilant search and rescue workers gave Tamang water and rushed him to the hospital for treatment. An Israeli doctor attending Tamang said none of his family members showed up in the hospital to visit the boy.

Ohad Horsandi, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel, who is coordinating the hospital management, told THT, “The boy was dehydrated and exhausted but is in high spirits now. He does not have any bodily injuries. It shows that chances of pulling trapped persons alive from debris are still there even after ‘Golden Window’ period, the first 72 hours after the earthquake, is over. I love to call him a Super Hero.” Tamang’s mother works in Kuwait and the boy does not know anything about his father. He came to Kathmandu three years back and worked as a tempo and microbus helper before joining the guest house last month.
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KATHMANDU: The death toll from the April 25 earthquake has crossed 5,858 as search and rescue teams continue their efforts to pull people dead or alive from the debris of collapsed structures. According to National Emergency Operation Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs, another 13,827 people treated with injuries they suffered after being crushed under the rubble. At least 34 districts were affected by the earthquake.
Relief has not reached even within 5-7kms of Kathmandu Valley.Four villages south of Swyombhu are still awaiting relief where most of the houses were destroyed on Saturday’s deadly tremor. According to local residents not a single government employee or any reporter have entered their village.

A Facebook post posted by a local resident of Kuelshwar requests all foreign countries eager to help Nepal in terms of materials and food not to directly give it to the Government. They want it to be channelized through local NGOs or local residents. The Facebook posts says due to the corrupt Government the needy people will not receive these supplies for whom it actually meant for.