INDIA ON Thursday 

Smart intelligence smashed top terror leadership

What is India News Service, 17 June 2004, 1730 hrs

Alert security forces, aided by luck, have succeeded in destroying the top leadership of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. Work on the Bangalore international airport will begin in September. An express train hit a boulder and jumped tracks, killing 14 and injuring 62.

A newspaper has secured information on a secret hunt that trapped top Jaish militants. In an exclusive report, The Hindu said a traffic accident, an alert radio signals monitor, and a superbly-crafted intelligence operation helped avert bloody suicide-bombings in Srinagar. 

Karnataka is all set to begin work on the international airport near Bangalore. Officials said the project could take off in September. The state government, a Siemens-led consortium, and the Airport Authority of India now need to finalise their contracts, now that the central cabinet has cleared all hurdles.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs to discuss the dispute on sharing of Cauvery waters between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Fourteen people were killed and 62 injured on Wednesday morning when the Mangalore-Mumbai Matsyagandha Express hit a boulder and jumped tracks. The engine and eleven coaches were derailed. They plunged down a bridge. Railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has announced compensation for the victims, and promised better safety measures.

Oxford-educated economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia was today appointed deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission. He succeeds K C Pant, who resigned soon after the United Progressive Alliance came to power.

Overall:

Alert forces averted bloodbath: They also succeeded in trapping the top leadership of a Pakistan-based terror ring. 

PM called meeting: He wants to broker a water sharing agreement between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Train jumped tracks: A Mumbai-bound express hit a rock and derailed, killing 14 and injuring 62.

Ahluwalia took office: The Oxford-educated economist is deputy chairperson, Planning Commission.