Off track: Express train loses its way

KOLKATA/SURI: An express train from Howrah to Dhanbad in Jharkhand took the wrong tracks and ended up heading for Bolpur on Monday evening.

It was a good 6-7km before the error was spotted and the 12339 Coalfield Express started backing up slowly. Passengers knew something was wrong when they started going back the way they had come. Red-faced Eastern Railway officials admitted that the mistake could have led to a major accident. Train services have been badly affected in the east since morning due to dense fog.

The train had Howrah at 5.20pm. Till Khana Jn (the second station after Burdwan), trains moving towards Dhanbad and beyond follow the same route as those bound for Bolpur, Rampurhat and North Bengal. After Khana, the express was to move to Galsi but the line it took would have taken it to Jhapater Dhal instead.

The changing of tracks takes place at Burdwan itself. Though trains on both routes cross the Talit and Khana Jn stations, they do so on different tracks. The error was not noticed till Burdwan where the Coalfield Express doesn't have a stoppage. It seems that the driver sped across the station after getting a green signal and it was not possible for him to make out that he was being diverted towards Bolpur, say sources.

It was 100 metres from Talit when station staff realized that the Coalfield Express had lost its way. The train was stopped at 7.30pm by "alert railwaymen", an official said. "There was no possibility of a head-on collision. However, had the train moved further ahead, its pantographs could have got entangled as it is a non-electrified section. It seems that those in charge mistook the Coalfield Express for some other train," an official from Burdwan Jn said.

Sources said a high-level inquiry was ordered into the incident.

Constitution Bench to hear petitions of Tamil Nadu, Kerala today

With tension building up on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border over the Mullaperiyar dam issue, the Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the applications filed by Tamil Nadu for deployment of Central Industrial Security Forces for the protection of the dam and to restrain Ministers in Kerala from making provocative statements.

A five-Judge Constitution Bench comprising Justice D.K. Jain, Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Deepak Verma, Justice C.K. Prasad and Justice Anil R. Dave will also hear an application filed by Kerala to reduce the level in the dam from 136 ft to 120 ft.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary K. Anbazhagan also filed an intervening application opposing Kerala's application.

All the applications are to be heard in the pending suit filed by Tamil Nadu questioning the law enacted by Kerala in 2006 fixing the level of the dam at 136 ft.

Apprehending danger to the dam from miscreants, Tamil Nadu has sought a direction to the Centre to deploy the CISF immediately at the dam site.

It said, “The Chief Minister of Kerala Oomen Chandy, other Ministers and its officials have been repeatedly going to the press during the past few days and making various statements on the issues, which are pending consideration and are reported to have stated that the construction of a new dam is the only solution and that the existing dam would be decommissioned.”

Tamil Nadu said because of these statements a mob indulged in vandalism at the dam site and such incidents were likely to escalate, warranting deployment of independent forces from the CISF. In another application, Tamil Nadu brought to the court notice that Mr. Chandy, other Ministers and officials by their statements were creating a fear psychosis among the people about the dam's safety. It sought to restrain Kerala, its Ministers and officials from issuing any statements about de-commissioning of the existing dam or construction of a new dam. Tamil Nadu maintained that the reported tremors “are negligible and in any event were below 3.5 on the Richter scale and the dam was safe.”

Kerala stand

Kerala prayed for a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to reduce the level from 136 ft to 120 ft. It said the 25 earthquakes or tremors in the vicinity of the dam recently had threatened its safety, causing serious concern to 50 lakh people living in the downstream region.

In its application, the DMK said the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly for reducing the level from 136 ft to 120 ft was most inappropriate, apart from offending the Rule of Law and doctrine of separation of powers.

Keywords: Mullaperiyar Dam row, Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, Supreme Court

Caught in 2G Loop, Essar executives chargesheeted

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed in a special court here its second supplementary charge sheet in the 2G spectrum case implicating five persons, including two members of the family that controls the Essar Group, and three telecom firms.

They had allegedly violated the Department of Telecom (DoT) guidelines that prevented the existing Unified Access Service licence-holding promoter companies from owning over 10 per cent equity holding in another licensee company in the same service area.

The CBI has charged all the eight accused for criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) and to cheat (Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code) the DoT by setting up Loop Telecom as a front company in violation of the norms to illegally obtain additional spectrum despite having substantial stake in Vodafone Essar.

The Essar Group, in a statement, denied the charges.

Among those chargesheeted are Essar Group vice-chairman Ravikant Ruia and promoter-director Anshuman Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran and I.P. Khaitan, Essar Teleholdings Limited CEO Vikash Saraf, Essar Teleholdings Limited, Loop Telecom and Loop Mobile India Limited.

The CBI said that during its investigation “an allegation surfaced that a Mumbai-based private telecommunication firm, which had obtained 21 UAS licences [Loop Telecom] and 2G spectrum from the DoT in 2008-09, was a front company of another Mumbai-based telecom corporate group [Essar Teleholdings Limited] and was being controlled by it under a corporate veil in violation of Clause-8 of the UASL Guidelines dated December 14, 2005.”

The CBI, in a release, said the investigation has “established that the said telcom private firm [Loop Telecom] was an ineligible company to get the said licences being an associate/front company of another telecom group/group of companies, under a corporate veil.”

398 files, over 20,000 pages

CBI Investigating Officer Vivek Priyadarshi submitted the charge sheet along with 398 files, running into over 20,000 pages, before Special Judge O.P. Saini in five large metal trunks.

There are 100 prosecution witnesses, with four of the witness statements having been recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which makes these admissible during trial as evidence.

Mr. Saini said the matter required “further consideration” and deferred a decision on taking cognisance of the charge sheet to December 17. There is a possibility of the case being transferred to the court of a first class magistrate. The offence of cheating carries maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment and is also triable in the court of a first class magistrate. However, Mr. Saini's court was designated as a special court by the Supreme Court to exclusively hear 2G cases.

The provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act were also attracted on any of the accused, with the CBI saying it could not find any evidence of DoT officials or any public servant being aware of the alleged violation of Clause 8 by Loop Telecom.

Keywords: 2G spectrum case, 2G trial, spectrum allocation, Essar Group, Loop Telecom

7

Rupee tumbles to all-time low of Rs 53.29/US dollar

The rupee sank to a record low of 53.21 per dollar on Tuesday on worries Europe's debt crisis could exacerbate the growth slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy.

At 9:05 a.m. (0335 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 53.15/18, after falling 1.53 percent on Monday to

52.84/85.
During trade on Monday it had hit 52.87 after the industrial output index for October plunged 5.1 percent from the same month a year earlier, far worse than expected.
The BSE Sensex also fell 0.3% early on Tuesday as investors turned cautious after a slump in industrial output raised concerns about corporate earnings and foreign fund outflows.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) led the losses, falling 0.6%.
At 9:17 a.m. (0347 GMT), the main 30-share BSE index was down 0.29% at 15,829.55, with 22 of its components in the red.
The 50-share NSE index was down 0.37% at 4.746.50.

Under attack from opposition, PM to meet UPA allies

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold consultations with allies on Tuesday on the Lokpal issue at a meeting of UPA leaders, the first such exercise after the fiasco over FDI in retail.

The meeting is expected to project a united face of the ruling alliance on the issue of Lokpal

at a time when it was under attack from opposition parties and Anna Hazare for coming out with a "weak" bill.
The consultations will be held a day ahead of an all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister on the ticklish issue.
Last week, the government had to put the decision on allowing 51% FDI in multi-brand retail on hold following key allies Trinamool Congress and DMK expressing opposition to it and demanding its rollback.
The Lokpal bill is expected to come up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on December 20, two days ahead of the conclusion of the current session of Parliament.
Though some opposition parties have been demanding extending the winter session, government managers are ruling out such a possibility at present.
The consultations in the UPA come close on the heels of several non-Congress parties including the BJP and the Left sharing dais with Hazare at Jantar Mantar where he underwent a day-long fast to protest against the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the Lokpal bill.
At Jantar Mantar on Sunday, several political parties flayed the government and the Parliamentary Standing Committee for preparing a weak Lokpal draft. Some of them also appealed to Anna and his team to be flexible in their approach towards the bill.
The much debated Lokpal Bill is expected to come up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on December 20 amid indications that the Prime Minister could be brought under its purview with some safeguards.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that the legislation could now come up for approval in the Lower House on December 20, giving ample time for the Upper House to consider the measure.
The current session adjourns sine die on December 22.
Bansal indicated that the Prime Minister could be brought under the ambit of the ombudsman with some safeguards.
At the same time, he said his personal opinion was that PM should be kept out of the Lokpal's purview.

Defence spend in 5 years to cross Rs 5,20,000 crore

NEW DELHI: Defending long unresolved borders against two potentially hostile nuclear-armed neighbours does not come cheap. Besides, acquiring a wide array of weapon systems for billions of dollars, India will spend upwards of Rs 60,000 crore over the next five years on developing military infrastructure and capabilities for the western and eastern fronts.

If the cost of raising the already-sanctioned new mountain strike corps in the north-east is pegged at another Rs 60,000 crore and a conservative estimate of defence capital outlay in the 2012-2017 timeframe crossing Rs 4,00,000 crore are taken into account, it adds up to a staggering Rs 5,20,000 crore. This does not include the huge day-to-day cost of maintaining a 13-lakh armed forces.

Defence minister A K Antony on Monday gave figures for the planned development of military infrastructure, with new fighter bases, helipads, bunkers, forward ammunition dumps and the like, to strategically counter China and Pakistan.

Responding to queries on major projects of Military Engineer Services (MES) in Lok Sabha, Antony pegged the planned ``development'' of Army infrastructure and ``improvement'' of IAF infrastructure in the north-east at Rs 7,374 crore and Rs 1,753 crore, respectively.

Similarly, capability development along the northern borders will cost Rs 24,312 crore, while upgrade of storage facility for ammunition will come for Rs 18,450 crore.

Construction of suitable habitat for soldiers deployed in high-altitude areas like Kargil, Siachen-Saltoro Ridge and Ladakh, which includes insulation, dome and fibre-glass based shelters, will cost another Rs 6,000 crore.

Sources say the infrastructure coming up in the Eastern Army Command includes 5,572 ``permanent defences and bunkers'' along the Line of Actual Control with China as well as helicopter and drone bases at Missamari, Kumbhigram and Lilabari in Assam.

This is in addition to IAF deploying Sukhoi-30MKI fighters in Tezpur and Chabua as well as progressively upgrading ALGs (advanced landing grounds) in Arunachal and eastern Ladakh.

The Army's offensive punch will, however, come when the new mountain strike corps, with headquarters in Panagarh (West Bengal), takes concrete shape in the 12th Plan, with two new specially trained and equipped divisions under it.

Two divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, with their HQs in Zakama (56 Div) in Nagaland and Missamari (71 Div) in Assam, have been raised over the last couple of years.

Together, the four new divisions add up to around 75,000 troops. ``For decades, our posture against China in North-East has been defensive. This is the first time we will have offensive capabilities in the mountains if they are needed,'' said a source.

They are needed, even if for deterrence. With five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China is capable of rushing over 30 divisions (each with over 15,000 soldiers) at their ``launch pads'' on LAC in double-quick time, outnumbering Indian forces by at least 3:1 in the region

Targeting the Unemployed

in its bill to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. The bill does, indeed, extend the payroll tax cut for another year, but, beyond that, there is a lot to dislike. To help pay for the package, for instance, the bill would cut social spending more deeply than is already anticipated under current budget caps without asking wealthy Americans to contribute a penny in new taxes.

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¶ It also holds the expiring provisions hostage to irrelevant but noxious proposals to undo existing environmental protections. Worse, it would make unemployment compensation considerably stingier than it is now.

¶ At last count, 13.3 million people were officially unemployed and 5.7 million of them had been out of work for more than six months. At no time in the last 60 years has long-term unemployment been so high for so long.

¶ But Republican lawmakers would have you believe that the nation cannot afford jobless benefits and that many recipients are not so much needy, as lazy, disinclined to work as long as benefits are available. When was the last time any Republican lawmaker tried to live on $289 a week, the amount of the average benefit?

¶ Under current policy, federal benefits kick in when state-provided benefits run out, typically after 26 weeks. The duration of the federal payouts depends on the level of unemployment in a given state. Currently, workers in 22 of the hardest-hit states — including California, New Jersey and Connecticut — qualify for up to 73 more weeks of aid. In five other states — including New York — up to 67 more weeks are available. In the remaining 23 states, maximum federal benefits range from 34 weeks to 60 weeks. The cost to continue the program for another year would be about $45 billion.

¶ The Republican plan would cut $11 billion of that in 2012 by slashing up to 40 weeks from the program, reducing by more than half the maximum 73 weeks now available. Because of the way the program is structured, the biggest cuts would come in the states with the highest unemployment. Millions of jobless workers would be quickly left without subsistence, and the weak economy would be weakened further by the drop in consumer spending.

¶ The bill would also impose onerous — and gratuitous — requirements on people who apply for jobless benefits. It would allow states to drug test applicants and would require recipients to be high-school graduates or working toward an equivalency degree.

¶ Curtailing jobless benefits makes sense once hiring is clearly on the rebound, which is not yet the case. Joblessness remains high, not because the unemployed are lazy or on drugs, but because there are too many applicants for too few jobs. Labor statistics show that if all the job openings in America were filled tomorrow, nearly 10 million people would still be unemployed. That works out to about four jobless workers for every opening. In a normal job market, the expected ratio would be about one to one.

¶ We need job creation, like the spending and infrastructure programs in President Obama’s jobs bills, which Republicans scoffed at. Lawmakers could also take smaller steps to help the long-term jobless, like outlawing discrimination in hiring against unemployed job-seekers.

¶ In the meantime, the only humane and economically sensible choice is to renew unemployment benefits at a level that is up to the scale of the crisis. The Republican plan