2 BSF jawans held in child ‘sacrifice’ case

Manosh Das, TNN Oct 9, 2011, 12.50AM IST

Tags:

• Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills|
• child sacrifice

SHILLONG: Two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were arrested in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills for suspected " child sacrifice" in a temple in the 121 battalion camp. The BSF on Saturday instituted a court of inquiry to investigate the case. The jawans belonged to BSF's 121 battalion.

A senior BSF officer told TOI, "We handed over head constable Chandra Bhan Das and constable Babu Khan to Meghalaya police. They are suspected to be involved in the case." The BSF jawans are among the five people being interrogated by the police.

Gujarat, green activists stand divided

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, October 14, 2011


The 1965 battleground between India and Pakistan in Rann of Kutch is now a war zone between security forces and environmentalists over protecting Indian flamingoes and Harappan site of Dholavira. Gujarat's public works department has proposed an elevated road to provide better access to 

the BSF's last point in Rann of Kutch, where Indian and Pakistani troops fought a bloody battle in 1965, in addition to existing road along the Indo-Pak border.

That is what Gujarat has told the environment ministry to get the clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife that meets on Friday.

What it didn't say is tourism potential by providing wildlife, prehistoric creates and unique archeological site along side the road.

The elevated road will pass through Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, India's only dry protected area, bringing the famous Flamingo City closer to vehicle access. Every year, thousands of flamingos transcend in this site in South Asia to raise their broods.

Close to Flamingo City is Tangdi Bet, the last refuge of wild ass in the Rann. Their other home in south Asia is in Rajasthan. South of the proposed road is one of the most diverse mangrove system of 7,000 sq meters at Sharavan Kavadia. 

The proposed road will cut through archeological site of Jurassic and Cretaceous ages, where relics of dinosaurs, prehistoric crocodiles and whales have been found and fifth largest Indus Valley civilisation site at Dholavira.

India now flooding Pakistan with liquor, heroin

From Pakistan Press

The Nation

By: Ashraf Javed | Published: October 14, 2011

LAHORE – Indian smugglers in connivance with their Border Security Force (BSF) are flooding Pakistan’s Punjab province with liquor and heroin-chemicals as Pakistan Rangers have busted an international racket involved in pushing drugs from India to Pakistan. 

The smugglers use various drug tunnels and even managed to smuggle chemicals used for preparation heroin from India to Pakistan through the border gates, supervised and controlled by the BSF, it was reliably learnt here on Thursday. 

Well-informed sources further revealed that Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) has already shared this information with Indian BSF during different border meetings held in the recent past. 

Road to Rann down Kutch heritage!

From The Daily pioneer

THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2011 23:29

MOUSHUMI BASU | NEW DELHI

Should the proposed road of the Gujarat State Public Works Department (GSPWD) “said” to promote border security be approved at the cost of natural and cultural heritage at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat? This crucial decision is expected to be taken in a meeting of the Standing Committee of National Board For Wildlife (NBWL) on Friday.

According to experts, the proposal for the roadway threatens the rarest breeding grounds of flamingos in South Asia and the last surviving habitat of Indian wild asses besides a unique mangrove system and the Harappan site of Dholavira.

The GSPWD has maintained that the purpose of this road is to provide increased access to the Border Roads Organisation (BSF). It is about 30 to 40 km inland of a road running parallel to the fenced international border between India and Pakistan across the Rann of Kutch. But though it is the BSF that draws its own proposals for construction of frontier roads, in this case, the proposal has been mooted by the GSPWD.