‘Big moment in India-Pak relationship’: Manmohan Singh on Kartarpur corridor

News Network
November 10, 2019

Kartarpur, Nov 10: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal were among the Indian leaders who described the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor as momentous occasion in ties between India and Pakistan.

"It is a big moment in India-Pakistan relationship. It is good for both the countries that the corridor has been opened. The ties will improve significantly as a result of this new beginning,” Singh told reporters.

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said those expressing apprehension that the corridor may be used to encourage separatism in Punjab do not have faith in the “great” Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism.

The Kartarpur corridor facilitating Indian pilgrims to visit one of Sikhism's holiest shrines in Pakistani town of Narowal was thrown open by Prime Minister Imran Khan amid fanfare and presence of several thousands Sikhs.

The corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak. “The apprehensions are by those people who do not have faith in the great Guru Nanak,” Badal said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the corridor while replying to a question.

Earlier this week, Indian government sources said the Pakistan Army was pushing for the Kartarpur corridor with an aim to encourage Khalistani elements in Punjab.

SAD leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal also hailed the initiative of setting up of the corridor and said it will result in better people-to-people ties between the two countries. “Today is the happiest day in my life,” Singh told news agency.

Harsimrat said the entire Sikh community is grateful to both the Indian and Pakistani governments for implementing the Kartarpur Corridor project. “It is a very positive beginning which I am sure with the grace of Guru Nanak Devji will lead to better relations between the two countries. It is a corridor of peace,” she said.

"We have been praying for this for last 72 years. Many governments have come and gone. It has taken Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan-ji and our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji to make this a reality,” she said.

Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri also hoped that the initiative will lead to better ties between the two neighbours. “Hope it will provide an opening for mature counsels to prevail so that peace and brotherhood can be facilitated,” he said.

Member of the European Parliament Neena Gill lauded both India and Pakistan for the initiative. “It is a very auspicious occasion today,” the first woman Sikh MEP said.

Several Indian pilgrims who were part of the first jatha to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor said USD 20 facilitation fee was taken from each of them and that passport had to be shown to enter Pakistan.

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Agencies
May 21,2020

Eminent river engineer and former professor of civil engineering at IIT in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Prof. U.K. Choudhary has said that the judicious use of river technology can help resolve the Coronavirus crisis as well as the plight of Ganga river.

Choudhary, who is also founder of Ganga Research Centre at IIT (BHU), said: "The Ganga water contains a significantly higher proportion of bacteriophages - a kind of virus that kill bacteria. Our ancient scriptures like Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads say that Ganga jal is medicinal water. Scientists later found that Ganga water has bacteriophages capable of killing pathogens."

Explaining further, he said, "Let us analyze the source of bacteriophages. If we take three rivers of Himalayan origin having sources at different heights -the Ganga (Gomukh), Yamuna (Yamunotri) and the Sone river, we find the colours of waters are different. The whitish colour of Ganga water, greenish colour of Yamuna water and the brownish colour of Sone water is also indicative. As Gomukh is the highest among the three, its water comes from lowest depth of aquifer as compared to Yamunotri and Sone river," he explained.

Thus, the quality of river water is proportional to height of origin point. This defines the genetic character of Ganga water. The balanced flow of this water in entire length of the Ganga defines the medicinal property of Ganga water," he stated.

Prof Chaudhary said that the bacteriophages in the Ganga can curb the spread of coronavirus through soil, water and air.
He suggested that the idea is to preserve the medicinal value of Ganga water and to use it to fight Corona. He said that this can be done by opening the gates of all the dams and barrages in a way that the discharge through each is similar to the water at Gomukh. In this way, the concentration of bacteriophage will be enhanced in Ganga water making it more effective against pathogens.

"With increasing diffusion of bacteriophages in water and soil, the spread of Coronavirus will be impacted and reduced. This methodology and technique can also help maintain the quality of Ganga water later when the problem of Corona ends," he said.

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News Network
June 15,2020

New Delhi, Jun 15: Two officials working with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad have reportedly gone missing, sources said.

The two officials are untraceable for the last few hours.

Recently news agency reported on how Pakistan 's spy agency ISI has been tailing and harassing Indian officials and also increased their presence at the residence of Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia.

This incident came in the backdrop when two Pakistani officials were caught red-handed and sent back trying to collect classified information and spying in Delhi.

South block is watching the developments closely, the Indian mission has also launched a complaint with local authorities and taken up the matter Pakistan Foreign Ministry.

This incident can cause a further dip in the already tense India-Pakistan relations.

Earlier in the month, India deported two Pakistani officials for espionage activities in India.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government on Thursday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh, one of the convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya case.

The mercy plea was then forwarded to Lieutenant Governor, who has now sent it to Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The convicts were sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012.

The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment.

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