India signs Trans-Asian Railway Network Agreement

New Delhi, June 30 (UNI): India has signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railway that will go a long way instrengthening ties with South East Asia, in line with its 'Look East Policy' that requires strengthening of rail linkages in the region, Trans-Asian Railway Network will improve transport linkages between Asia and Europe facilitating movement of goods and containers among SAARC and ASEAN countries, resulting in enhanced trade.

It will also provide a unique opportunity for the Government to and also strengthen rail linkages in North Eastern part of the country.

The Agreement was signed by Chairman Railway Board J P Batra yesterday at UN Headquarters, New York.

Earlier, 18 countries had signed the agreement at Busan, Republic of Korea in November last year.

Now with India and Bangladesh signing the agreement, in all 20 countries have become signatories to the agreement.

The total Trans-Asian Railway Network as finalised by the agreement has 80,900 K of Railway line in 28 countries including 22,600 K in South Asia, Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey.

The Southern Corridor of the network as decided in an expert group meeting held in Dhaka in 1999, commences from Kunming in China and Bangkok in Thailand and ends in Kapikule in Bulgaria.

The total length of this route between Bangkok and Kapikule is 11,460 K and it provides trans continental rail connectivity to countries China, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Iran and Turkey.

The route as proposed will enter India at Tamu, bordering Myanmar, entering Bangladesh at Mahisasan/Shabajpur and again entering India from Bangladesh at Gede.

On the west side, the route is proposed to enter Pakistan at Attari.

This route has a missing link of 315 K between India and Myanmar of which 180 K alone is in India between Jiribam and Tamu in Manipur state.

Indian Railways have the largest and most developed rail network in the region.

It will benefit from a multi-lateral agreement in the region as it will harmonize different standards and technologies adopted by different countries benefiting Indian Railways.

Tran-Asian Railways Project of UN-ESCAP(Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) ai at promoting infrastructure development in the ESCAP region.

An Inter-Governmental agreement to formalise the Network was negotiated under UN-ESCAP and was adopted by the ESCAP at its 62nd session at Jakarta in April 2006.

Uttarakhand Legislators get tips on House proceedings DEHRADUN, June 30 (UNI):A two-day training programme for Uttarakhand Assembly members, especially the 28 new Legislators elected for the first time in the state, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Maj Gen (Retd) B C Khanduri today.

Maj Gen Khanduri in his inaugural address urged the MLAs to attend the assembly sessions for the maximum period and observe the proceedings.

Recalling his experiences, he told the new Legislators that maximum attendance would help them gain knowledge about the rules and regulations of the House and parliamentary activities.

He asserted that this, in turn, would help them in presenting public related issues in a effective way in the House and would increase their credibility in their respective constituencies.

The Chief Minister said all the assembly members should come in the House well-prepared.

Hoping the members, especially the new ones would take full benefit of the training programme, he stressed on feeding the information to the media correctly so that public was informed about their endeavors inside the House.

Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor said in the programme legislators would be taught about general proceedings, Parliamentary special Rights, passing of parliamentary bills, budget, Parliamentary Committees and other related subjects.

He said basics of Legislature was discussion and the better discussion yielded better results.

Experienced leaders like Bharatiya Janata Party State Chief and former CM Bhagat Singh Koshyari, State Parliamentary Minister Prakash Pant, Health Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, BJP senior leader Keshrinath Tripathy, Legislator Munna Singh Chauhan, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal leader Kashi Singh Airy gave tips to the learning members.

New work culture evolved in Assembly, says Rohani JABALPUR, June 30 (UNI): Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Ishwardas Rohani today claimed that he had succeeded in discharging his duties and responsibilities in a non-partisan manner and also evolved a new work culture in the Assembly secretariat.

Stating that his endeavour was to maintain the dignity of the house and its high traditions, Rohani told UNI that he had evolved a new work culture in the Assembly secretariat in granting priority in the selection of questions, call attention notices and adjournment motions.

Rohani, who was born in Karachi(Pakistan) on June 30, 1946, said he was fortunate enough to preside over the Assembly in its golden jubilee year and arrange President A P J Abdul Kalam's address to the assembly.

Stating that he conducted the proceedings in an impartial manner with the cooperation of both ruling and opposition members, Rohani said in order to help the legislators update theelves with the political, financial and other developments, Assembly publication 'Sanchayani' was being started.

The Reference section was being strengthened to equip the law-makers with detailed information to make the debates more meaningful, he added.

Bihar Left to celebrate three decades of LF rule in Bengal Patna, Jun 30 (UNI): All the major Left parties, including the CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP, will jointly celebrate the Left Front's three-decade-old rule in West Bengal on July five.

This was decided at today's meeting of the state CPI here, where senior leaders of other constituents were also present.

Apart from holding a rally to mark the historic occasion, a number of programmes, including seminars and workshops, had been organised here next Thursday as part of the day-long celebration.

Several senior Left Front leaders from West Bengal were likely to arrive in Patna next week to participate in the celebration.

However, the names of those taking part were not yet known, Front sources informed.

Tthe Left have altogether five members in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Narayana Kurup Wage Board begins wage revision process for journos NEW DELHI, June 30 (UNI): The recently-constituted Wage Board for Working Journalists and Non-Journalists employees of Newspapers and News Agencies held its first meeting here today, setting in motion the process of wage revision in the print media.

The meeting, chaired by Wage Board Chairman Justice Dr K Narayana Kurup, decided to send notices to workers unions and newspaper establishments seeking their views in writing.

As per the Working Journalists Act of 1955, sending notices is the first step towards initiation of the process.

Dr Kurup told UNI that the next meeting would be held in Cochin in the first week of August.

"We will submit the report as soon as possible, though the time given for the purpose is three years," he said.

Justice Narayana Kurup wage board is the sixth in the series since the first Divatia Wage Board was constituted in May 1956.

The fifth wage board headed by Justice Manisana Singh submitted its report on July 25, 2000.

"The fact that no wage board has been set up or constituted for any other industry after 1966 except for sugar industry shows the concern of the government for the print media which plays a vital role in moulding public opinion and is one of the great powers of the 20th century and of today," Dr Kurup said, addressing the first meeting held at the "Kerala House" here.

Justice Kurup said the general wage structure had at best reached the lower level of fair wage, though some employers were paying much higher wages than the general level "like the honeycomb which overflows with its own sweetness." Bajrang Dal warns to demolish Rajiv's memorial if Raethu damaged JAIPUR, June 30 (UNI): The Bajrang Dal has strongly opposed the UPA Government's move of destruction of the mythological Raetu in Dhanushkotti along Rameshwaram for implementation of Sethu Samudram project and warned that it would demolish Rajiv Gandhi's memorial in Sriperumbadur if government failed to desist the move.

Talking to reporters here today, Bajrang Dal national Convenor Prakash Sharma said that Raethu symbolised India's mythological heritage as it was constructed by Lord Ram and if the government opted to demolish such a monument then there was no justification in preserving other memorials of various political leaders including that of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

He said the government should desist from the move as it was not necessary to demolish the sethu for implementation of the Setu Samundram project.

Sharma said that VHP and Bajrang Dal would make all efforts to save the 31 miles long bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka between Dhanushkotti and Trincomali.

Sharma was in town to participate in the two-day meeting of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) central management committee which concluded here yesterday.

The meeting of the Hindu outfit also adopted a resolution asking the government to save the Raethu threatening to launch a nationwide agitation if the government failed to do so.

The VHP also decided to hold a Dharma Sansad of Hindu sants in New Delhi on July 25 and 26 for finalising the agitation programme in this regard.

Mizo girl breaks IFS record Aizawl, June 30 (UNI): Muanpuii Saiawi, daughter of retired IFS Lalhmingliana Saiawi has broken record by bagging both the Ambassador Bimal Sanyal Memorial gold medal and the Ambassador Bimal Sanyal Memorial silver medal.

Saiawi, a probationer of the 2005 batch of IFS officers, has become the first to bag both the gold medal for the best probationer and the silver medal for the best dissertation since the awards were instituted in 1991.

The awards sponsored by the External Affairs ministry, were handed over to Saiawi by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav at the foreign service institute of the MEA at New Delhi on Thursday in the presence of Indian and foreign diplomats.

Lalu was addressing in Hindi to the 20 officers graduating into the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

Saiawi is to be posted in South Korea.

Her outstanding performances during the probation at IIM, Bangalore, IIFT, New Delhi, Internal assessment, Foreign ministry and other institutions made Saiawi to get the gold medal while she had bagged the silver medal for her thesis 'The Re-emergence of the Left in Latin America and its Implications for India.' Her thesis, where she scored 95 per cent marks, would be published by the MEA, sources said.

At her first appearance in the UPSC exa in 2003, Muanpui was conferred Audit & Accounts Service (IA&AS), then she went on to get Indian Revenue Service in 2004, and finally the IFS in 2005.

Women threaten to agitate for unconditional release of KSU members Shillong, June 30 (UNI): The Synjuk Ki Seng Longkmie(SKSL) today threatened to take to the streets if the Meghalaya government refused to release the jailed Khasi Student's Union (KSU) members unconditionally by July 2.

Last week, Chief Minister D D Lapang had ordered the Home department to release all the arrested student activists on the recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Public Grievances' to release the arrested KSU activists and refrain from further crackdown on them.

However, the SKSL, a federation of Mother's Union said that the government violated its assurance by not releasing the 17 arrested KSU activists unconditionally.

"The government should release them unconditionally within Monday or otherwise we have to resort to democratic movement for their release," SKSL General Secretary W Jyrwa told UNI here.

The state government refused to release the KSU activists "unconditionally", as most of arrested KSU have been booked under the Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act(MPDA) and non-bailable cases.

"The family members of the detenus should submit bail applications to the respective courts to secure their release as per legal process based on the offences committed by the KSU members," East Khasi Hills District Deputy Commissioner B Dhar said.

Meanwhile, the North East Students' Organisation reiterated its demand for immediate unconditional release of the KSU activists and condemned the 'repression unleashed' by the Meghalaya government against the people protesting the proposed uranium mining by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in the Domisiat / Wahkaji area of West Khasi Hills district of the state.

"The imposition of the 'draconian' laws like MPDA to suppress democratic expression and movement was a serious threat to the rights of the indigenous people of the region," NESO chairman Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya said.

The government had arrested 17 KSU activists and booked seven others under the MPDA for holding the state at ransom, imposing strikes, office-picketing and road-blockades to demand the release of their jailed activists.

The student's body, which spearheaded the movement against uranium mining since June 4, had been agitating in the Eastern region of the state demanding the release of the arrested activists.