GENERAL NEWS INDIA – JUNE 2009

Tuesday, June 02nd 2009
Train halts in parts of Bihar to be restored
The East Central Railway was informed by the Railway board on Monday to restore the train halts which had been suspended in parts of Bihar earlier. The decision to cancel 33 halts was taken at a local level. The decision to withdraw halts had caused public unrest in many parts of Bihar. The withdrawal led to arson in Islampur last week; on Monday, a 400-strong mob in Khusrupur set on fire the AC coach of the Darbhanga-Patna express and an empty coach of the Rajgir-Danapur passenger train.

Wednesday, June 03rd 2009
26/11 mastermind set free by Pak court
The Lahore high court on Tuesday ordered the release of Hafiz Muhmmad Saeed, chief of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawa and founder of the LeT citing lack of material evidence against the accused . Saeed was under house arrest for the past six months in connection to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The UN security council has designated Saeed as a terrorist and also banned JuD. The Punjab government in Pakistan has stated that it would appeal against the oreder.

Thursday, June 04th 2009
15th LS has its first dalit woman speaker
Meira Kumar nominated as the candidate for the Lok Sabha speaker by the UPA was unanimously voted to the speaker's post. Ms. Kumar will be the first dalit woman to become a Lok Sabha speaker. Before beginning her political career this four time MP had joined the IFS in 1973 armed with a law degree and a masters in English. The new speaker presided over the first Lok Sabha session held on Wednesday. The 15 Lok Sabha has 59 women MPs, which is the highest in Indian parliamentary history.

Friday, June 05th 2009
UPA promises a huge deal for women and the poor
At the first parliamentary session of the re elected government, the UPA set out a five year 'Transformative agenda for governance'. As per the agenda, the government aims to put in huge amount of resources into roads, ports, education, rural development, telecom and health. The government also hopes to bring in the matter of disinvestment onto the reform agenda. The UPA will also execute a National Food Secutiry Act through which it aims to fulfill the food needs of families below the poverty line. In order to ensure more representation of women in governance, a bill which provides 50% reservation for women in the panchayats and urban local bodies is expected to be passed.

Tuesday, June 09th 2009
Centre to activate 16 more labs
In an attempt to improve measures to contain the H1N1 flu, the government stated that it would activate 16 more laboratories across the country. It would also set up a state level rapid action forces of medical personnel to deal with the viral disease. As of now 10 people have been affected by swine flu in India. Doctors have however said that there is no reason to panic and the flu is treatable using Tamiflu.

Monday, June 15th 2009
India reports 23 cases of swine flu
The WHO has declared the H1N1 flu to be a pandemic and India has reported a total of 23 confirmed cases of swine flu. Six new cases of swine flu were identified on Sunday, three in Hyderabad, two in Bangalore and one in New Delhi. Mos t of the flu victims have come from the US. The government has stated that there is no reason for panic as the disease hasn't spread locally.

Thursday, June 18th 2009
Maoists on war in Bengal
Wednesday witnessed an audacious raid launched by the Maoists in Jhargram town where three CPM men were killed. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has ordered a crackdown on the Maoists to contain the volatile situation. The center asked the Bengal government to use its own police to tackle the law and order situation rather than depend on para military forces on being approached for help. CPM offices in Lalgarh, Belatikri and Dharampur have been razed in the last three-four days by guerrillas. The Maoists in their showdown with the security forces are likely to use women and children as human shields. The state in the meanwhile has drawn ire from the center over not tackling the worsening situation with its own security forces. So far a unit of 'Cobra-the elite anti-naxalite force in Jharkhand arrived on Wednesday and twelve more companies of central forces are expected to come in phases to Midnapore town.

Friday, June 19th 2009
Operation Lalgarh begins
Anti-naxalite forces and the state police have geared up for the onslaught on the Maoists who have taken over few of the tribal villages in West Bengal. As operation Lalgarh gathers momentum the police have already made way to a village near the trouble-torn Jhargram region. The operation will continue in all 18 police stations spread over West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, stated the home secretary. In spite of the military style onslaught Maoists continue their attacks on CPM cadres.

Friday, June 26th 2009
The final offensive at Lalgarh begins
Final operations by the central forces to flush out Maoists from the Lalgarh area have begun. Marking the beginning of the last lap of the offensive has been a land mine blast and firing at Pingoni near Goaltore. The 'Operation Lalgrah' from Goaltore, which is 18 km from Lalgarh, began on Friday. Six companies of CRPF and a huge state police force have planned to march towards Lalgarh.

Sunday, June 28th 2009
Law criminalizing homosexuality to be reconsidered
A 150 year old law under section 377 of the Indian penal code which treats private consensual sex between same sex adults as crime, now appears to have changed its stand. The home minister P Chidambaram seems to be in favor of a move to repeal section 377. The government will however take its time to consider such a move.

Tuesday, June 30th 2009
Maoist bases conquered
Some of the major Maoist bases have been recaptured by the central security forces. Forty eight hours after Ramgarh was captured the Maoist stronghold of Kantapahari was seized. The inner circle of the area that was lost to Maoist control has now been won back. The 25-Km road connecting Lalgarh and Goaltore has also been opened up.