Gujarat, Andhra chosen as sites for United States nuclear reactors

Days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives In India on her first official visit after taking charge, India is learnt to have firmed up a site each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh that will be dedicated for the first US nuclear reactors after the nuclear deal.

While this has already been indicated to Washington, sources said, a formal announcement could happen during Clinton’s visit.

The identification of the sites flows from a commitment India had given, through a letter of intent under the nuclear deal, which commits India to purchase 10,000 MW from US nuclear companies and mark “at least two sites” for this purpose.

Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh were the two states that offered sites for this and have now been approved.

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Beating the heat: Gujarat polling to start an hour early

The Election Commission has put in place an elaborate plan to beat the scorching summer heat, allowing voting to commence one hour earlier than normal in the morning and making medical arrangements to tackle emergencies for its polling officers.

Polling for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state on Thursday will start at 7 am instead of 8 am, and end at 5 pm, State Chief Electoral Officer Anita Karwal said on Wednesday.

She said the 182 teams of medical and paramedical personnel would fan out across all the constituencies to treat polling officials in case they are hit by the heatwave.

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Shoe-blitz continues:Prime Minister escapes ‘impulsive’ attack

An engineering student hurled a shoe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while he was addressing his first election meeting for the Congress in Gujarat at the Sanskar Kendra grounds here on Sunday.

The shoe fell some 15 feet away from the dais and the PM continued to speak without a break as the Congress workers overpowered the youth and security personnel whisked him away.

Hitesh Chauhan (21), a resident of Bapunagar who studies computer engineering at a government college in Gandhinagar, reportedly told the police that he was not connected with any political party and was just trying to gain some attention after watching reports on earlier shoe-throwing incidents.

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In pirate season, tension in Saurashtra as no word from three Gujarat ships

In the port town of Salaya on the Saurashtra coast, all ears are tuned to news from the Gulf of Aden where Somali pirates are calling the shots,boarding ships and holding crewmen hostage for ransom.At least three ships from Gujarat have gone“missing”in the region with 15 men from Salaya.Though the ship owners and Gujarat maritime board officials believe that bad weather may be behind the loss of contact with the ships, there are growing fears in Salaya that their men may have run into Somali pirates.

The three ships — Shiv Shambhu (it sailed from Mumbai on October 3), Bashir and Zuber — carrying sugar and rice were headed for ports on the African coast. There is talk in Salaya that Shiv Shambhu may have been boarded by pirates near Ras Hafun on the Somalia coast and people are counting on naval deployment in the region to bring word on the Gujarat ships.

The Mandvi-Kutch Vahanvata Association of seafarers is not sure whether it is the pirates or bad weather that is responsible for the radio silence. But the MKVA is willing to wait and so is Ashok Bhanushali, owner of Shiv Shambhu. “It could be the weather. We are not sure if there are looters or pirates on board the ship.

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Modi refuses to speak at National Integration Council, hands speech text slamming UPA on terror

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today stunned the meeting of the National Integration Council, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, when he “declined” to speak and submitted for the records the text of his written speech.

Belying expectations, Modi sat quietly, listening to the verbal duel between Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over deployment of paramilitary forces in the state which is battling a wave of anti-Christian attacks.

Asked about Modi, P K Gera, Gujarat’s Resident Commissioner in Delhi, confirmed that the CM declined to speak.“Yes,he did not speak. Perhaps he didn’t find any reason to speak with so many airing their views.”

Modi’s “reluctance” to speak surprised the large gathering because he was expected to raise a storm over the issue of terror. “We were expecting he would create an uproar. We were taken a back when he refused to speak,” said a Union Minister.

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