Highway horror in Moga; 18 dead

Moga, May 7
Eighteen persons, including six women and five children, were killed in a head-on collision between a Canter and a truck near Ghal Kalan village on the Moga-Ferozepur national highway in the wee hours here today.

The victims hailed from Daulatpura Uchha and Daulatpura Niwan villages of the Moga district. They were returning home in the Canter (HP-73-1054) after paying obeisance at the Nanaksar Kaleran gurdwara situated in the Jagraon subdivision of Ludhiana district.

The accident took place around 2 am. While 14 persons were killed on the spot, four others died in a Moga hospital. No one travelling in the Canter could survive.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the speeding truck (PB-29G-9765) crashed head-on with the Canter while trying to overtake some vehicle. Satpal Singh Bhangu SP (D) said the truck driver fled from the spot leaving behind his vehicle.

A criminal case under Sections 304, 427 and 279 of the IPC has been registered against the truck driver. He has been identified as Sukhwinder Singh of Kotkaror village of Ferozepur district.

Owner of the Canter Pala Singh was also killed in the accident. Eleven members of Pala Singh’s family, including him, were killed in the accident. The other members of his family who were killed included his wife Charanjit Kaur, sons Surjit Singh and Ranjit Singh, daughters-in-law Inderjit Kaur and Ranjit Kaur, grandsons Gurpreet Singh, Taranbir Singh and Ranbir Singh and granddaughters Manpreet Kaur and Sanpreet Kaur.

Another family of Daulatpura Niwan village lost five members in the accident. The two other persons killed in the accident were identified as Jaswant Singh and Surinder Kumar. Moga DM Arshdeep Singh Thind announced that the administration would bear expenses for the cremation of victims.

SSP BURSTS INTO TEARS

Moga SSP Surjit Singh burst into tears while meeting family members of the deceased at the district hospital. “I can understand the pain of losing family members in tragic incidents,” he said.

Delhi to Dhaka: Efforts on to build consensus on Teesta

New Delhi, May 7
India today told Bangladesh that it was trying to evolve domestic political consensus for an early conclusion of the Teesta river water-sharing accord with the neighbouring country.

With West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee still not on board with regard to signing what has now become a controversial pact, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told her Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni that since water was a sensitive issue, internal consultations were on amongst various stakeholders in India in accordance with the country's tradition of consensual decision-making.

''We are trying to develop a political consensus in India. It is important that the views of all those who are dependent on water are taken into account and burden is shared equitably. Meanwhile, there is no change in the situation...the waters are flowing,'' Krishna said at a joint press conference with Moni after the two ministers co-chaired the maiden meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission (JCC).

The Teesta agreement was to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh last year but Mamata raised objections at the last minute, saying her state's interests were not being protected. This led to stalling of the much-anticipated pact.

Issues like Teesta water sharing, extradition treaty and the implementation of the land boundary accord are understood to have figured prominently during the meeting of the JCC, set up during Prime Minister Singh's visit to Dhaka. The two sides also discussed the implementation of the projects Bangladesh has launched under the $ 1 billion Line of Credit (LoC) extended to it by India.

The Bangladeshi minister described her talks with Krishna as productive and useful while reiterating Dhaka's demand that the Teesta agreement be signed as soon as possible.

Moni also noted that the Indian side has reassured her that "there will no unilateral undertaking of linking the Himalayan rivers without consultations with Bangladesh". She expressed the hope that India and Bangladesh would expedite their trade agreements and protocols.

The two sides also reviewed the 24-hour unfettered access to Bangladeshi nationals at Dahagram and Angarporta through the Tin Bigha corridor, the signing of the bilateral boundary strip maps under which a few areas are still to be covered, and the coordinated border management plan to reduce illegal and criminal activities.