300 illegal immigrants still missing off Andamans

Some bodies of illegal Bangladeshi and Myanmarese immigrants were washed ashore in the Andaman islands on Tuesday, even as the Indian Coast Guard and local police continue search and rescue operations for the 300 people missing in the seas off Andaman coast after they reportedly jumped from a rickety boat that had been drifting for 13 days and tried to swim to the Little Andaman island.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Port Blair, IG S P Sharma, Commander, Coast Guard (A&N Region), said so far 105 people had been rescued, and two confirmed dead. “The survivors include both Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals. As per their account, 412 of them were adrift for nearly 15 days on the high seas after leaving from Cox Bazaar in Bangladesh for Malaysia in mid-November. They were without food and potable water for nearly 12 days. Upon spotting a lighthouse on the Andaman coast, most of them dived into the sea in a bid to swim to the shore,” Sharma said.

He added the rescued immigrants were in a boat without an engine, cabin, sails or oars. “There was no way to steer the boat as the rudder and tiller were also broken. It appears to be of the type used for cargo,” said Sharma.

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May be Raj missed this: UP boy brought U-19 Cup, guarded it in tiny Kurla flat

NIYAZ and Azra Khatoon Ahmad were more than a little nervous when the Mahanagari Express brought them to Mumbai's Dadar railway station late on Wednesday.

The elderly couple were coming from Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh, traveling Sleeper Class, worried if Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists would be on the prowl targeting passengers from north India.

At the station, they were welcomed by a large group of youngsters led by their son Iqbal Abdulla - the only Mumbai player in the India Under-19 team which won the World Cup in Malaysia.

"Back home we had read a lot about whatever is happening in Mumbai. If not for Iqbal's celebration, it would have been a difficult decision to take the train to Mumbai, the fear was at the back of the mind," Niyaz told The Indian Express. Abdulla was brought to Mumbai more than four years ago by an eager coach and the left-arm spinner made his Ranji debut last year. He took 10 wickets in Malaysia and was also a member of the U-19 team which toured South Africa.

This week, being the only player from Mumbai, the Class 12 Arts student was given the responsibility of carrying the World Cup trophy from Bangalore, where the team arrived from Kuala Lumpur, and handing it over to the BCCI headquarters. He kept it in the kitchen of his 350-sq ft Kurla house since that was the only free space available in his tiny dwelling, but was worried


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