CCS DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF KARWAR BASE

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met on Thursday and is understood to have discussed expansion of the Naval base at Karwar in Karnataka and establishment of the first battalion of the proposed “Sikkim Scouts” for the Army in the Northeast. While there was no official word on the decisions taken, news agency reports said the CCS had “cleared proposals worth over '13,000 crores for a major expansion of the strategic Naval air base at Karwar where the Russian-origin aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov will be berthed and raising a new battalion of Sikkim Scouts for the Army”. Defence minister A.K. Antony had told Parliament on Monday that “a proposal to augment infrastructure at the Naval base, Karwar, is currently under the consideration of the government”. The government was also earlier considering the proposal to establish the first battalion of the Sikkim Scouts which will largely comprise of people from the region who know the terrain well. The move is expected to further boost defence preparedness in the eastern sector near the Sino-Indian border.

*** J’khand goes dark for over 24 hrs age correspondent PATNA, DEC. 6 Coal-rich Jharkhand remained plunged in darkness for over 24 hours on Thursday due to a statewide strike by employees of the state electricity board protesting against the government handing over power distribution and maintenance in two major cities to private companies. Most parts of Jharkhand, including cities and big towns such as capital Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Dumka and Chaibasa had a blackout since 3 pm on Wednesday as eight unions having thousands of employees of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) as members went on strike against the BJP-led coalition government’s decision. Water supply to houses in the urban areas was badly affected.

There was little improvement in the situation despite the government invoking ESMA as the unions said they would continue to boycott work till the outsourcing move was withdrawn.