Sulabh launches toilet for every house campaign
Badaun (UP): A nation-wide campaign for building toilet for every house was on Sunday launched from Katra Sadatganj village here, where two girls were allegedly gangraped and hanged in May. Starting the campaign, voluntary organisation Sulabh International opened ‘Sulabh (low-cost) toilets’ to the public at a function in the village, as a tribute to the two cousin sisters, the victims. “Absence of toilet in a house is responsible for incidents of rapes and sexual assaults in villages,” Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak said. Non-availability of toilets in the village made the two sisters go out in the open at night to attend the call of nature, when they were allegedly raped and murdered and the bodies hanged from a tree. (PTI)
Goa beach cleanliness to begin from today
Panaji: Goa’s untidy and garbage-ridden beaches would soon be a thing of the past as the state tourism department has contracted the work of cleaning the sea shore which will begin from today. A private agency has already been hired by the government which will clean the beach belt of around 60 kms, out of total 105 kms stretch, state tourism minister Dilip Parulekar said today. “All the beaches visited by tourists would be cleaned,” he said. Initially, the cleaning would be done manually, and gradually after the rainy season, machines would be used to pick up the rag from the shoreline, he said. “We will go ahead with the mechanised cleaning of the beaches only if NGOs which are working in the field of environment protection are satisfied,” he said. Some NGOs had earlier claimed that mechanised cleaning might result in destruction of flora and fauna in the beach belt. (PTI)
BJP will win Haryana polls: Sharma
New Delhi: BJP will form the next government in Haryana on its own as people have made up their minds to uproot the Congress, said state party chief Ram Bilas Sharma. Claiming absolute majority in the forthcoming assembly polls in the Haryana, Sharma here said,”We fought in 8 seats in last Lok Sabha elections and won the 7, in terms of assembly segments it results in 54 seats out of 72.” Haryana BJP chief said party will fight all the 90 assembly seats and is confident of winning the majority. “Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) head Kuldeep Bishnoi broke the alliance by using abusive language. The public is watching and will teach him a lesson,” Sharma said. (PTI)
St Francis Xavier exposition to be on India’s tourism calendar
Panaji: The sacred exposition of relics of St Francis Xavier to be held in Goa this year-end will be a part of the Indian Tourism calendar, Union Minister Shripad Naik said here Sunday. “The exposition of the relics is supported by us. We will provide all the possible financial help for the event,” Naik told reporters here. He said the event would be promoted in a big way and it would be part of the Tourism Ministry’s campaign. “We will promote the event in the country and also abroad,” Naik added. The decennial exposition will be celebrated from November 22, 2014 to January 4, 2015 at Old Goa, nine kms away from here. Pope’s Ambassador to India Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio will be present for the concluding mass of the once-a decade celebration. Francis Xavier, a Basque, was born in Spain on April 7, 1506, and arrived in Goa on May 6, 1542. He died in December 1552 and was first laid to rest in Portuguese Malacca. Later his body was moved to the Portuguese colony at Goa, today a popular tourist enclave, and installed in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. The basilica holds the relics of the saint. Every 10 years, the relics are moved in solemn procession to the nearby Se Cathedral where they are available for public veneration for 44 days. (PTI)
Jharkhand Police’s initiative against naxals successful: DGP
Jamshedpur: The “stringent steps” taken by the Jharkhand Police against naxal activities have yielded results, with the state recording 35 per cent decrease in naxal-related incidents this year compared to the previous years, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said Sunday. Barring a naxal-related incident in Dumka district, parliamentary polls held in three phases in Jharkhand four months ago were satisfactory, with the voting percentage registering an increase and no report of naxal incidents in the first two phases, Kumar said at a press conference. All the nefarious designs of the ultras, barring one incident, had been foiled and voters turned out in large number despite a poll boycott call given by the extremists outfit because of the steps taken by the police, Kumar said. There had been an improvement in containing the naxal activities in the state and several naxals were arrested following the anti-naxal operation launched by the police, he said. (PTI)