Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs. 125 crore relief packaged for the Leh cloudburst victims and said all houses destroyed by the natural calamity will be reconstructed within the next two-and-a-half months. Singh, who arrived in Leh on a day-long visit to take stock of relief and rehabilitation undertaken in the aftermath of flash floods in this mountainous region, said relief will be given from the Prime Minister's National Relief...

EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders. The manner in which Amit...

Small and medium farmers in the State will get energy efficient motors for their pumpsets free of cost to replace the existing inefficient high energy consuming motors, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi announced on Sunday. “In the case of other farmers, motors will be given at 50 per cent subsidy. This move will save 20 per cent of electricity,” the Chief Minister said in his Independence Day address from Fort St George. He...

The farming community has welcomed chief minister M Karunanidhi's promise to supply free motors to small farmers. Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association secretary, S Ranganathan, said, "We appreciate the chief minister's gesture. I request the government to give submersible motors instead of mono-block ones. Also, a majority of small and marginal farmers don't have power connection. The state should look at the possibility of providing motors and power connections to...

Nearly 1200-1500 farmers from across Punjab, under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), on Tuesday began their indefinite protest on the Mohali-Chandigarh border after they were denied entry to Chandigarh. They sat on the road leading from Sector 43-44 in Chandigarh towards Phase VIII in Mohali But a large contingent of police, from both Chandigarh and Mohali, had since early morning closed the road even for regular traffic. The...