Driving to Thailand from India could be a reality by 2016

May 29, 2012

drive

Nay Pyi Daw, May 29: As India sought to expedite its infrastructural projects in Myanmar, PM Manmohan Singh and President U Thein Sein for the first time set a deadline, 2016, for trilateral road connectivity which will make it possible to drive right up to Thailand from India via Myanmar. After the PM's "restricted" meeting with Thein Sein, who received Singh at his resplendent palace wearing the traditional Burmese gaung baung head gear, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai announced that "efforts would be made to establish seamless trilateral connectivity by 2016".

Singh, who had a one-on-one with Thein Sein before the delegation talks, said India would undertake the repair of 71 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa Friendship Road. India had earlier helped Myanmar build this road and the plan now is to link it with a place called Yargyi which will effectively link Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand.

"The two leaders decided that India would undertake upgradation of the Kalewa-Yargyi road segment to highway standard while Myanmar would undertake upgradation of the Yargyi-Monywa stretch to highway standard by 2016," Mathai said, adding that the two leaders welcomed the revival of the Joint Task Force on the trilateral highway. Indian officials believe that this highway will truly become the bridge between India and Asean countries and place it at the heart of India's Look East policy. Myanmar is the only Asean country with which India shares land boundary.

The two leaders decided to constitute a Joint Working Group to determine the technical and commercial feasibility of cross-border rail links and the commercial feasibility of direct shipping links between the two countries. The two sides also discussed the possibility of Indian participation in development of key infrastructure projects like the Dawei port in Myanmar.

However, one of India's most ambitious projects in Myanmar, Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project which will also link India's northeast with the mainland through Sittwe port in Myanmar, barely found a mention in the joint statement. "They expressed satisfaction at the steady progress being made on the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project," it said. It is well known though that the road component of the project leading to south Mizoram is getting delayed.

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News Network
February 28,2020

New Delhi, Feb 28: The months of March, April and May are "likely to be warmer than normal" over northwest, west, central and parts of south India, the India Meteorological Department said today in its summer forecast.

Above normal heat wave conditions are also likely in the core heat wave (HW) zone during the season (March-May), the weather department said.

The core heat wave zone covers the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana and parts of Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

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News Network
March 30,2020

New Delhi, Mar 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with Indian ambassadors and high commissioners abroad and urged them to remain alert to developments in global efforts against COVID-19 including breakthroughs to help the country's fight against the coronavirus.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also present during the interaction through video-conferencing.

"Coming together for India PM interacted with Indian Ambassadors/High Commissioners abroad and urged them to remain alert to developments in global efforts against COVID-19 including breakthroughs to help our national efforts to fight COVID19," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

"PM appreciated the efforts of our missions in helping Indians abroad, in particular, students and workers," he added.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in the country stood at 1,071 on Monday. It includes 29 deaths and 99 people, who have been cured of the highly contagious virus.

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Agencies
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: The Congress on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why has not India gained anything from the "strange bonhomie" which it claimed he shared with China.

Seeking to turn the tables on the ruling party, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the BJP also shared bonhomie with the Communist Party of China (CPC) with several party-level exchanges taking place in the past.

He sought to know whether India's borders have become safe after these exchanges in the last many years.

The Congress leader asked what has the country gained out of these exchange delegations and why are the borders insecure despite the bonds that the two ruling parties of India and China share with each other.

"There is a strange kind of bonhomie between Narendra Modi and China, a two decade old bonhomie. Why doesn't the country get the benefit of that bonhomie," he asked at a virtual press conference.

Khera said all that the Congress will continue to question is about the political will that just does not get visible when it comes to China.

"Whatever is happening on the border today, is it despite the bonhomie which you have with China, or is it because of the bonhomie which you have with China. The country needs to know," he asked.

"We do want to ask you, if as president of the party, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah have been sending delegations,  strengthening the bonds between the Communist Party of China and the BJP. What has the country gained out of these bonds? Why are the borders insecure despite these bonds that you have," he also asked.

The ruling has hit out at the Congress for signing an MoU with China's Communist Party and has questioned its "bond" with the ruling party in China.

Khera also asked what role did the India Foundation, an organisation run by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's son has in strengthening the bonds with China.

"Why does India Foundation keep visiting these countries? Who do they meet? What's the outcome? What's the role of NSA Ajit Doval's son- Shaurya Doval? He keeps attending these meetings through India Foundation? These are important questions in the light of what is happening," he asked.

Khera said the prime minister is showing "red eyes" to those who are asking him questions instead of showing them to the enemy.

"It is time to stand with the Army and show red eyes to China," he said.

The Congress leader said questions will be asked to Modi especially when there are definitive reports, satellite images of incursions in the Ladakh region of India by the Chinese.

He alleged that China laps up the comment of Modi and uses it across the world that the Indian prime minister says that China is in its own territory and Galwan is theirs.

"After a lot of pressure, PMO contradicted what the prime minister said. This kind of a goof up is unpardonable," he alleged.

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