A Delhi-bound Air India flight on Sarturday made an emergency landing at Amausi airport in Lucknow after one of its tyre burst soon after it took off, officials said in Lucknow.
All the 137 passengers on board were safe, they said.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
RJD, TC demand salaries for Imams
With Bihar and West Bengal [ Images ] assembly elections in sight, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Trinamool Congress [ Images ] on Saturday demanded implementation of a 17-year-old Supreme Court order to provide salaries to Imams (clerics) of government-aided mosques.
"Congress has only indulged in vote ki rajniti (votebank politics). It only seeks votes from the minorities but does little for their welfare," RJD chief Lalu Prasad told mediapersons outside Parliament House.
RJD, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress had raised the issue of salaries for imams during Zero Hour. Prasad said as per the 1993 Supreme Court judgement, a law was to be framed within six months to provide salary to Imams (clerics) of government-aided mosques and remuneration to Imams of unaided mosques.
"Once we return to power in Bihar, we will implement the decision in the state," Prasad said. To a question on some Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] members opposing the move, Prasad said, "If they have any problem, they too can approach the apex court for granting similar facilities to sadhus and saints."
He also threatened a 'mass agitation' if the SC directives were not implemented at the earliest.
Expressing similar sentiments, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said his party supported RJD on the issue as 'imams in West Bengal were in a bad state and facing economic crisis.'
He rejected suggestions that TC raised the issue keeping in mind the coming assembly elections.
"Minorities are already with Mamata ji...I defeated a Muslim candidate to reach the Lok Sabha though my constituency has 4 lakh linguistic minorities," he said.
The TC leader said after Jammu and Kashmir [ Images ] and Assam, West Bengal has the maximum number of Muslims in the country.
"They constitute 28 per cent of the state's population," he said.
In the Lok Sabha, government said it would take appropriate action to implement Supreme Court's observations regarding payment of salaries to imams of government-aided mosques.
Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ] gave the assurance to the Lok Sabha on a Zero Hour mention made by RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Prasad wanted to know the reasons for the delay in implementation of the 1993 Supreme Court judgement on a petition of the All India [ Images ] Imams Organisation relating to salaries of imams in government-aided mosques and remuneration to clerics in non-aided places of worship.
There was uproar in the House after Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid spoke of differences among Imams on drawing salaries from the government.
"Congress has only indulged in vote ki rajniti (votebank politics). It only seeks votes from the minorities but does little for their welfare," RJD chief Lalu Prasad told mediapersons outside Parliament House.
RJD, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress had raised the issue of salaries for imams during Zero Hour. Prasad said as per the 1993 Supreme Court judgement, a law was to be framed within six months to provide salary to Imams (clerics) of government-aided mosques and remuneration to Imams of unaided mosques.
"Once we return to power in Bihar, we will implement the decision in the state," Prasad said. To a question on some Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] members opposing the move, Prasad said, "If they have any problem, they too can approach the apex court for granting similar facilities to sadhus and saints."
He also threatened a 'mass agitation' if the SC directives were not implemented at the earliest.
Expressing similar sentiments, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said his party supported RJD on the issue as 'imams in West Bengal were in a bad state and facing economic crisis.'
He rejected suggestions that TC raised the issue keeping in mind the coming assembly elections.
"Minorities are already with Mamata ji...I defeated a Muslim candidate to reach the Lok Sabha though my constituency has 4 lakh linguistic minorities," he said.
The TC leader said after Jammu and Kashmir [ Images ] and Assam, West Bengal has the maximum number of Muslims in the country.
"They constitute 28 per cent of the state's population," he said.
In the Lok Sabha, government said it would take appropriate action to implement Supreme Court's observations regarding payment of salaries to imams of government-aided mosques.
Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ] gave the assurance to the Lok Sabha on a Zero Hour mention made by RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Prasad wanted to know the reasons for the delay in implementation of the 1993 Supreme Court judgement on a petition of the All India [ Images ] Imams Organisation relating to salaries of imams in government-aided mosques and remuneration to clerics in non-aided places of worship.
There was uproar in the House after Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid spoke of differences among Imams on drawing salaries from the government.
NATO to airlift relief supplies from Europe to flood-hit Pakistan
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has announced plans for a large-scale airlift of relief supplies from Europe for the survivors of the devastating floods in Pakistan, as donors pledged more assistance after a slow start of aid efforts.
German NATO General Egon Ramms said on Friday that the alliance could deliver up to 500 tonnes of aid material a week for millions of people who are in desperate need of food, clean drinking water and shelter.
Preparations are already underway to set up a "clearing centre" at an air base in Pakistan to handle the aid supplies from Europe.
"We want to bring the aid supplies to the country, but their distribution will be the responsibility of the Pakistani government and the army," Gen Ramms told a TV channel.
Since last Sunday, the NATO has been conducting reconnaissance missions in the flood-ravaged areas in cooperation with Pakistani authorities to find out to what extent the alliance could help in the relief efforts, the four-star general said.
The United Nations estimate that as many as eight million people are in desperate need of assistance, a large part of them are still cut off by the devastating floods and thousands of villages submerged under the flood waters.
In Brussels, the NATO said the airlift of relief supplies for the flood victims in Pakistan will get underway tomorrow.
"In response to a request by the government of Pakistan, the North Atlantic Alliance decided to provide airlift and sealift for the delivery of aid donated by nations and humanitarian organisation," the alliance said in a statement.
A trainer cargo aircraft of the NATO airborne Early Warning and Control Force will transport relief goods donated by the Republic of Slovakia. The flight will leave for Islamabad [ Images ] from the Geilenkirchen air base in Germany [ Images ] and will carry aid items, including tents, water pumps and power generation equipment donated by the Republic of Slovakia, the statement said.
NATO's work for the flood relief operations "will be conducted in accordance with specific request from Pakistan authorities and in coordination with other stakeholders engaged in the humanitarian relief efforts," the statement said.
Since the Pakistani authorities made their first request for humanitarian assistance in early August, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre at the NATO headquarters in Brussels has been acting as a clearing house for humanitarian aid by its allies and partner nations, it said.
Donors pledged more assistance after the special session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
German NATO General Egon Ramms said on Friday that the alliance could deliver up to 500 tonnes of aid material a week for millions of people who are in desperate need of food, clean drinking water and shelter.
Preparations are already underway to set up a "clearing centre" at an air base in Pakistan to handle the aid supplies from Europe.
"We want to bring the aid supplies to the country, but their distribution will be the responsibility of the Pakistani government and the army," Gen Ramms told a TV channel.
Since last Sunday, the NATO has been conducting reconnaissance missions in the flood-ravaged areas in cooperation with Pakistani authorities to find out to what extent the alliance could help in the relief efforts, the four-star general said.
The United Nations estimate that as many as eight million people are in desperate need of assistance, a large part of them are still cut off by the devastating floods and thousands of villages submerged under the flood waters.
In Brussels, the NATO said the airlift of relief supplies for the flood victims in Pakistan will get underway tomorrow.
"In response to a request by the government of Pakistan, the North Atlantic Alliance decided to provide airlift and sealift for the delivery of aid donated by nations and humanitarian organisation," the alliance said in a statement.
A trainer cargo aircraft of the NATO airborne Early Warning and Control Force will transport relief goods donated by the Republic of Slovakia. The flight will leave for Islamabad [ Images ] from the Geilenkirchen air base in Germany [ Images ] and will carry aid items, including tents, water pumps and power generation equipment donated by the Republic of Slovakia, the statement said.
NATO's work for the flood relief operations "will be conducted in accordance with specific request from Pakistan authorities and in coordination with other stakeholders engaged in the humanitarian relief efforts," the statement said.
Since the Pakistani authorities made their first request for humanitarian assistance in early August, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre at the NATO headquarters in Brussels has been acting as a clearing house for humanitarian aid by its allies and partner nations, it said.
Donors pledged more assistance after the special session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
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