Five killed, Four injured in blast at Cochin Shipyard

In Kerala, five workers were killed and four injured in a blast that occurred in the maintenance dock of Cochin Shipyard today. The blast occurred inside ONGC ship, Sagar Bhusan which was under maintenance in the dock.
All the injured workers have been admitted to hospital. The condition of one injured is reportedly critical. The situation is under control now as per official reports. The deceased were believed to be contract workers.
Minister of Shipping, Nitin Gadkari has directed MD Cochin Shipyard to provide all medical support to victims and initiate enquiry into the incident. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of the five persons in the blast.

Three injured people have been admitted to a private hospital here, a CSL official said adding that the condition of one of them, who suffered 40 per cent burns, is stated to be critical.
The CSL spokesperson earlier today said 11 people trapped inside the ship were evacuated and rushed to city hospitals.
City Police Commissioner M P Dinesh visited the accident site and said those trapped on the ship were evacuated and the situation was under control now.
The blast reportedly occurred in a water tank on the front side of the ship docked in the yard for repair.
The incident occurred at around 10 AM when those on the vessel were about to deboard it for breakfast break.

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A Barbaric and Dastardly Act

The suicide blast that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 others in Kabul is a barbaric and dastardly act. It reminds us that Taliban terrorism has not disappeared from the war-ravaged country Afghanistan completely. This follows the cowardly terror attack on the children and civilians in Jalalabad on 24 January.

India has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The attacks have targeted innocent civilians and the wounded under treatment. There can be no justification for such reprehensible attacks. The perpetrators of these attacks and their supporters should be brought to justice. Indians stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan at this difficult times of mindless violence and terror imposed on them.

The attackers drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint into a street that was only open to government workers. The driver passed through one checkpoint by claiming to be escorting a patient to the hospital. He set off the explosives at the second checkpoint. It happened near the old Interior Ministry building and offices of the European Union and High Peace Council.

Government offices, businesses, a school and a hospital are close to the site of attack. The vibrations of the attack could be felt several kilometres away.

Witnesses say the area - home to foreign embassies and the city's police headquarters - was crowded with people when the bomb exploded today. Plumes of smoke were seen from around the city. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the use of an ambulance was harrowing.

Just four days ago, explosions and heavy gunfire rocked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday killing at least 40 people. The victims also included a number of foreigners. The heavily-guarded luxury hotel was popular among foreigners and Afghan officials.

The siege started on Saturday night and lasted 13 hours. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which saw more than 150 guests flee.

Witnesses said the gunmen were dressed in army uniforms, but it was unclear how many were involved. The government said three gunmen were killed while witnesses said four were involved and the Taliban said five.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011. While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that "the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980".

The assaults being carried out by Haqqani Network terrorists underlines the need to effectively deal with the issue of safe havens to terrorists in our neighbourhood.   

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Andhra's WhYSR?

The twin city of Hyderbad has been shocked second time whithin a span of three months. The twin blasts have taken a toll of more than 45 persons with casualties including women and children. The day of the blast coincided with the 100th day of the fateful bomb blast in Mecca Masjid in the older part of Hyderabad.On the same day, prior to these blasts, Andhra Police has seized fake currency worth Two Crores and 70 Lakhs Rupees. The feat, though reported widely in local media in Andhra, got rare place in the media form North, which deemed it more important to report the misforun of Salman Khan! I could have easily lost on these news items, but for the Telugu channels which I chanced upon to see on that day. All the media organs in Andhra Pradesh have dwelt on these two aspects relating them to the latest blasts.

People in Andhra Pradesh have more enraged now with the undue comments coming from none other than the Chief Minister of the State himself. Y. S. R. Reddy has been quoted as saying, "idi aantarjaatiy ugravaadam...Pak, Afghanisthanlo man nighu network vistarinchlem kadaa?" Reddy's comments have invited flak from the largest circulating daily in Telugu "Eenadu." The newspaper has compared his statement with the statement of George W. Bush immediately after the attack on World Trade Centre on 11 Sept. 2001. The paper describes YSR's statement as "this is the counterattack launched by CM in his unique style, the way he does after each attack." His statement has rubbed salt on the already wounded public psyche, says Eenadu. "The terrorist attacks happen even in Bangalore, Malegaon, London, Baghdad...," this is how YSR defended failure of the Intelligence organs in predicting and prohibiting the incident. Eenadu while commenting on this, says "how can the CM compare Hyderabad with Baghdad of Iraq, which is engulfed in the Civil War? How dare CM speak like this even when he knows there has been no terrorist strike on US soil after 9/11.

The AP govt. has categorized these blasts as an act aroused out of the frustration on the part of the terrorists. But, in the words of the paper, the blast occured on account of the failure of the government. The Andhra Pradesh is comparatively a poor state. It was at least peaceful in the tenure of then CM Chandrababu Naidu. The Naidu govt. succeded, to an extent, in minimalising the Naxalite activities. The Reddy government has failed to achieve anything substantial in any direction. It had announced an amneity for the naxalites within few days after coming to power. That has yet to bear any fruit till now. Last month, some seven policemen were killed during a Bandh called by Naxals. Reddy government has unnecessarily induldged itself in non-issues like giving lands in Tirupati to the missionaries, announcing reservation for Muslims...

That has really turned AP in Iraq.

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