Daily News Notes: 23rd Feb, 2012

· In the Kashmir valley, twelve army jawans have been killed and ten injured in two separate incidents of snow avalanches. Twenty two jawans were buried in the incident. The rescue operations are going on as this is a most difficult terrain and there is no road connectivity to the area. Mr. Antony said the government will provide all relief and rehabilitation measures to the affected families.
· More than 25 agriculture and allied activities have been included in the new version of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gaurantee Act, MGNREGA, which will be implemented from 1 st of April this year. Mr. Ramesh said the new guidelines will also respond to demands of the states for location specific flexibility in permissible works as valuable suggestions from the states are incorporated in the guidelines. The Operational Guidelines for MGNREGA was prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission Member Mihir Shah.
· The Supreme Court today blamed both Baba Ramdev and Delhi Police for the mid- night crackdown at Ramlila Maidan last year. It further said Ramdev' s negligence lead to midnight crackdown. The court observed that there was abuse of power by the Delhi Police and violation of fundamental rights of people. It said the incident shows might of the state which strikes at the foundation of democracy. The Supreme Court directed criminal prosecution against police personnel and Ramdev's supporters who behaved violently during the incident.
· Mumbai will today get its own, fully operational National Security Guards (NSG) regional hub. This base is situated very close to the Mumbai International Airport, to facilitate quick airlift to the places of emergency. This will be the Manesar-headquartered NSG’s fourth regional hub. The other three are in Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The Centre first suggested the idea of setting up regional NSG hubs after terrorists attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
· India virtually seal its place in the final of the men’s hockey Olympic Qualification tournament after defeating Canada in a hard-fought round-robin match at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi. With four wins out of four matches, India more or less are through to the summit clash of the tournament unless some surprising results in the last round of games hurt their cause. A draw in the final match against Poland on Friday would be enough for the hosts to secure their place in the title clash.