New Delhi/Srinagar, Nov 20 (IANS) Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is slated to travel to China, has said Beijing has a “direct link with Kashmir”.

The Mirwaiz, who is set to visit China on the invitation of an NGO, said China has “a huge influence in the region and has a direct link with Kashmir as certain parts of Kashmir are in China’s control”, he said in reference to the Aksai Chin area.

Ghaziabad, Nov 20 (IANS) The Hindon river can literally breathe easy now. Civic authorities here Friday launched a huge ‘prayer chamber’ along the river banks especially designed to immerse puja ritual materials like flowers and ash – in a move to clean up the river and reduce pollution.

Called ‘Hawan Kund’, the chamber has been filled with water from the Ganga river, considered sacred to the Hindus. Apart from constructing a separate chamber, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation has also introduced special carrier vehicles to pick up the left-over prayer materials from temples and homes across Ghaziabad.

Lucknow, Nov 20 (IANS) The six new medical colleges and two para-medical colleges coming up in Uttar Pradesh would be run under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

A decision to this effect was taken by the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati here Friday.

Kolkata, Nov 20 (IANS) Noted Bengali singer Kabir Suman, a Trinamool Congress MP, Friday said all issues with the party following his criticism had been resolved and described himself as a “party slave”.

“The matter has been resolved,” Suman told reporters after a meeting with senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chattapadhyay.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) The Dalai Lama Friday said here that India should be seen as one of the most important Asian countries. He also stressed that while he no longer considered himself the temporal leader of Tibetans, China had “revitalised” him as a politician.

“For many years, whenever I was in Washington and Europe, I always told leaders that when you think about Asia, you must think of India too,” he said, answering a query on the recent US-China joint statement that China should help in the stability of South Asia.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) Tamil Nadu crushed Punjab by an innings and 45 runs on the fourth and the last day of the Ranji Trophy Super League match at Amritsar Friday.

After deciding to bat, Punjab were trailing by 293 runs in their second knock, after Tamil Nadu piled 529 for nine declared in reply to hosts’ 228 all out in the first innings.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar met Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee here Friday to convey her opposition to certain provisions of the land acquisition bill that is to be introduced in the winter session of parliament.

The government has included the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill as proposed new legislations in the agenda of the winter session of parliament.

Hyderabad, Nov 20 (IANS) Top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested in New Delhi two months ago, was Friday brought to a court in Karimnagar town of Andhra Pradesh in the case of the murder of former Assembly Speaker D. Sripada Rao.

The London-educated top leader of the proscribed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was brought to Ramagundam railway station amid tight security by Kerala Express. He was then taken to Karimnagar town by road and taken to the court. After the court posted the next hearing for Nov 23, he was shifted to Charlapally central prison near Hyderabad.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its ideological fountainhead, was not interfering in choosing the next party president.

BJP leader and former party president Venkaiah Naidu said that while both the organisations share an “ideological bond”, structurally and functionally, they are “independent and autonomous”.

Coimbatore, Nov 20(ANI): Green house technology is getting popular among the farmers in Tamil Nadu, where a farmer has reaped rich dividends by growing tomatoes with this technology.
Vivekanandan, tomato farmer from Coimbatore, had a yield that was four times more in comparison with open field cultivation, and now wants to extend this technology to other areas of his farmland.