India announces Rs 4,500 crore assistance to Bhutan
New Delhi, Dec 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday announced a Rs 4,500 crore financial assistance to Bhutan for its 12th five-year plan after holding wide-ranging talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.
In his media statement, Modi said hydropower cooperation with Bhutan is a key aspect of bilateral ties and that work on the Mangdechhu project will soon be completed.
Tshering arrived here on Thursday on his first foreign visit after taking charge as PM of the Himalayan nation last month following his party's victory in the general elections.
Modi said he has assured the Bhutanese prime minister that India, as a trusted friend, will continue to play an important role in Bhutan's development.
India will contribute Rs 4,500 crore in Bhutan's 12th five-year plan, Modi said.
Tshering on his part noted that Prime Minister Modi was the first head of state to to congratulate him on his electoral victory. He also thanked India for its continued support to his country's developmental needs.
The new five-year plan of Bhutan began this year and will continue till 2022. Earlier in the day, Tshering was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the Bhutanese premier this morning.
Swaraj congratulated Tshering on the assumption of the high office of Bhutan's prime minister and the two leaders had a "warm exchange of views" on important aspects of the bilateral relationship, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
Tshering also laid a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's 'samadhi' at Rajghat.
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
