Patna, July 31 (IANS) A joint team of Special Task Force (STF) from West Bengal and Bihar along with local police conducted a raid and busted a mini-gun factory in Rahimpur village in Bihar’s Saran, officials said on Tuesday.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Saran, Kumar Aashish said that the team has arrested five individuals. Of them, four are natives of Bihar’s Munger.

During the raid, authorities seized a substantial cache of partially built guns, barrels, and equipment used in the manufacture of country-made pistols and “kattas” (country-made firearms).

“We have confiscated 75 partially built firearms, 15 barrels, 36 partially built barrels, 6 cutters, 14 drill machines, 2 building machines, 1 generator, 1 mobile phone, 1 lathe machine, 1 milling machine, 10 tons of iron bars, and other equipment,” the SP said.

The mini-gun factory was illegally operating in a house owned by one Akhilesh Singh. Police have arrested Singh and four others, identified as Mohammad Chand, Mohammad Parvez, Irfan, and Mohammad Parwala — all four are natives of Munger and are believed to be workers at the factory.

The team also recovered a large amount of raw materials at the factory during the raid.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) An Indian-origin woman, who has been allegedly deserted by her Pakistani husband, has sought help from the governments of both countries to get her children back.

Farzana Begum, a resident of Mumbai, said that she married Yusuf Mirza Ilahi, in Abu Dhabi in 2015, and after two to three years, he deceitfully brought her to Pakistan. However, later, he returned to Abu Dhabi with their two children.

Farzana also claimed that Yusuf had married multiple times in the past and had hidden this fact from her. She further claimed that Yusuf had deserted his previous wives and children in a similar manner.

She has now filed a plea in a Lahore court seeking justice. The plea is scheduled to be heard on August 15.

Farzana has pleaded for help from Pakistan and the Indian government to get her children back. She has urged the Indian Embassy to speak to Abu Dhabi authorities on this issue.

The victim’s Pakistani lawyer said that Farzana is the wife of a Pakistani citizen and the mother of two Pakistani children. Therefore, Farzana has the same rights in the country as any Pakistani citizen. It is the duty of the Pakistani government to help Farzana in this matter, the lawyer said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reached New Delhi late on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit which is expected to further strengthen the age-old ties between the two countries.

“Warm welcome to PM Phạm Minh Chinh of Vietnam as he arrives in New Delhi on a State Visit. India and Vietnam share civilisational links and a longstanding friendship based on mutual trust. The visit will further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

The Vietnamese PM is scheduled to participate in various programmes and business events on Wednesday. He will receive a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

On the same day, Pham Minh Chinh will visit the Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and then hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also host a luncheon in honour of the visiting delegation.

Chinh is also scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar during the course of his visit.

“India considers Vietnam as a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hanoi in 2016.

PM Modi has maintained Vietnam’s importance as an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship – including defence partnership – besides working for expeditious progress on the existing initiatives.

–IANS

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Jammu, July 30 (IANS) A terrorist associate was apprehended in a joint operation by the army and police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Tuesday, police said.

The individual, identified as Mohd Khalil Lone, of Bandipora district in the Kashmir Valley, was apprehended after a meticulously planned and executed operation.

“Preliminary investigations reveal that Lone is associated with the proscribed terror organisation Hizbul Mujahideen as a logistic provider and Overground Worker,” police said.

“He was deputed to receive a consignment of arms and ammunition. Further investigation is going on.”

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) In a major policy initiative, the Maharashtra Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday approved to carry out renovation, modernisation, degradation, and life extension (RMU&LE) of the old hydroelectricity plants on lease, renovate, operate and transfer (LROT) basis.

The move will initially cover hydroelectric power projects of over 167 MW which are mainly irrigation projects where power generation is incidental. The government will initiate the RMU&LE process later for projects of 2411,5 MW which are used mainly for power generation.

For the implementation of this policy, two categories of hydroelectric power projects have been made based on water consumption. Category one will include projects whose main objective is power generation. Renovation and modernisation of such projects will be done by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco).

Category two will include irrigation and power generation projects. The renovation and modernisation of these projects will be done through competitive bidding.

The Chief Minister’s Office said that the government will not make any capital investment, but it will annually earn a revenue of Rs 507 crore through threshold premium, upfront premium, 13 per cent free electricity, lease, and intake maintenance charges.

Out of the 25 projects owned and constructed by the Water Resources Department (WRD), nine are independent hydropower projects (IPP) of 2411.5 MW capacity. In these, water is used only for power generation and the projects are important for stability and management of the grid.

“Considering the strategic importance of these projects, MahaGenco will carry out RMU&LE works of these IPPs after the expiry of their 35 years of normative life,” read the Cabinet note.

In the remaining hydroelectric projects of 167.45 MW and six others with 9.575 MW capacity, where power generation is incidental to irrigation and/or water supply, releases will be carried out on LROT basis.

Some of the major projects which can be leased out to private players include Yeldari (22.5 MW), Bhatghar (16MW), Paithan (12 MW), Pawna (10 MW), Khadakwasla (8MW+8MW), Ujani (12 MW), and Bhatsa (15 MW), among others.

The project shall be allotted through a bidding process where MahaGenco is also allowed to participate. The term of the lease will be 25 years from the commercial operation date.

According to the objectives of the policy, it will give about 25 years beyond the project’s normative life; improve the performance of the over-lived hydroelectric projects in terms of efficiency, output, availability, and reliability; converting existing base load stations to peaking stations for the benefit of the electricity grid; reducing maintenance requirements and ensuring ease of operation and safety; and protection of consumer interests by timely completion of RMU&LE works without cost overrun and minimum loss of generation.

The projects to undergo RMU&LE will be identified based on their performance records. A residual life assessment (RLA) study will be carried out to assess the health and residual life of every component of the hydro generating unit. A detailed project report (DPR) will be filed to avoid further complications, especially related to the cost.

–IANS

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