Mr Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chief Ministers of Northern States for the construction of Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project in the Upper Yamuna.
The MoU will be signed with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh – Yogi Adityanath: Rajasthan – Ms Vasundhara Raje: Uttarakhand -Mr Trivendra Singh Rawat:  Haryana- Mr Manohar Lal: Delhi – Mr Arvind Kejriwal, and Himachal Pradesh – Mr Jai Ram Thakur.
 The Rs 3,966.51 crore Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204 m high concrete dam across river Yamuna near Lohari village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 MCM. This storage will provide irrigation for 33,780 hectares land and availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in the six basin states. The project will also generate 300 MW of power. The project is to be executed by M/s Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVL).
 Of the total project cost of Rs. 3966.51 crore, the power component of Rs. 1388.28 crore will be borne totally by the Uttarakhand government. Uttarakhand will also get the benefit of total power generation once the project is complete.
From the remaining cost of Rs. 2578.23 crore which form the irrigation and drinking water components, 90% will be borne by the Centre (Rs. 2320.41 crore) and 10% will be divided between the States of Haryana -Rs.123.29 crore (47.82%), Uttar Pradesh/ Uttarakhand -Rs. 86.75 crore (33.65%), Rajasthan-Rs. 24.08 crore (9.34%), NCT Delhi -Rs. 15.58 crore (6.04%) and Himachal Pradesh -Rs. 8.13 crore (3.15%).
 Storage created as a result of implementation of Lakhwar project will be shared by the basin States in proportion to their overall annual allocations as given in the mother MoU signed between the six states on 12.05.1994. Allocation of water from storage created by Lakhwar Dam Reservoir will be regulated by UYRB as per this MoU. Except the sharing of stored water all other resultant economic benefits including generation of hydropower due to construction of the dam are assigned to Uttarakhand.
 Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi are the six Upper Yamuna Basin states. Upper Yamuna refers to the stretch of River Yamuna from its origin to the Okhla Barrage in Delhi. The six states had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 12th May 1994 regarding allocation of surface flow of River Yamuna. The agreement had recognized the need to create storage facilities in Upper Yamuna Basin to conserve and utilize the monsoon flows of the river in a regulated manner. The MoU had also laid down the interim seasonal allocation of the annual utilizable flow of the river pending creation of the storage facilities.
 Besides Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project, there are two other major projects being envisaged in the Upper Yamuna reaches which are Kishau Multi-Purpose project and Renukaji Multi-Purpose project. A fourth project is the Vyasi project, a run-of-the-river scheme under which a concrete dam across River Yamuna is being constructed near Vyasi village in Dehradun district. The Vyasi project is scheduled for commissioning by December 2018.   
 The Kishau Multi-purpose project which includes construction of a 236 m high concrete dam across River Tons, a tributary of River Yamuna in Dehradun district with a live storage capacity of 1324 MCM, will create  irrigation potential of about 97000 hectares, make available 517 MCM drinking water and generate 660 MW of power. The Renukaji Multi-Purpose project which has been conceived as a storage project on River Giri, tributary of Yamuna, in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh, envisages construction of 148m high rock filled dam for supply of 23 cumec water to Delhi and generate 40 MW of power during peak flow.
 As per the MoU of 1994, separate agreements will have to be done between the six basin states for each water storage project in the Upper reaches of River Yamuna. After completion of all these storage projects in Upper Yamuna Basin (including Lakhwar), the total benefits in terms of  additional irrigation potential created will be 130856 hectares, water availability for various uses will be 1093.83 MCM and power generation capacity will be 1060 MW.

More than 50,000 people were killed by landslides around the world between 2004 and 2016, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Sheffield. Topping this list is India, which accounts for 20 per cent of these events. It is also the country where human-triggered fatal landslides are increasing at the highest rate, followed by Pakistan, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Data compiled on more than 4,800 fatal landslides during the 13-year period, also revealed for the first time that landslides resulting from human activity have increased over time. The most tragic incident was identified in Kedarnath in June 2013 in  which 5,000 people were reported killed.
The research is published in the European Geosciences Union journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.
The researchers found that more than 700 fatal landslides that occurred between 2004 and 2016 had a human fingerprint. Construction works, legal and illegal mining, as well as the unregulated cutting of hills (carving out land on a slope) caused most of the human-induced landslides.
Dr Melanie Froude, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Sheffield’s Department of Geography and lead author of the study, said: “We were aware that humans are placing increasing pressure on their local environment, but it was surprising to find clear trends within the database that fatal landslides triggered by construction, illegal hill cutting and illegal mining were increasing globally during the period of 2004 to 2016.”
While the trend is global, Asia is the most affected continent. Dr Froude added: “All countries in the top 10 for fatal landslides triggered by human activity are located in Asia.”
Professor Dave Petley, Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield, started collecting data on fatal landslides after realising that many databases on natural disasters were “significantly underestimating the extent of landslide impact”. While earthquakes and storms are deadlier, landslides cause a significant number of fatalities.
The researchers identified a total of 4,800 fatal landslides, excluding those triggered by earthquakes that occurred around the world between 2004 and 2016 and caused a total of about 56,000 deaths.
The most tragic event identified by the researchers was the Kedarnath landslide in June 2013 in India, which resulted in over 5,000 deaths. It was due to extreme weather conditions that caused flash floods and massive mudflows, which affected thousands of religious pilgrims trapped in a mountain area.
Since 2004, Professor Petley has painstakingly collected data on fatal landslides from online English-language media reports. To confirm the news stories were accurate, Professor Petley – and more recently Dr Froude, who reviewed all landslide accounts – checked each report whenever possible against government and aid agency articles, academic studies or through personal communication. Details about the landslides, such as location, impacts or cause, were added to their Global Fatal Landslide Database.
Professor Petley said: “Collecting these reports and organising them into a database shows us where landslides are frequently harming people, what causes these landslides and whether there are patterns in fatal landslide occurrence over time.
“The database provides us with an overview of the impact of landslides on society.”
Aside from Asia, where 75 per cent of landslides in the database occurred, the areas most affected are in Central and South America, the Caribbean islands, and in East Africa. In Europe, the Alps is the region with the most fatal landslides.
In support of past studies, the researchers also found that 79 per cent of landslides in their database were triggered by rainfall. Most events happen during the northern hemisphere summer, when cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are more frequent and the monsoon season brings heavy rains to parts of Asia.
The Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences study highlights that fatal landslides are more common in settlements, along roads, and at sites rich in precious resources. They occur more frequently in poor countries and affect poor people disproportionately, the researchers say.
In the Himalayan mountain region, especially in Nepal and India, many of the fatal landslides triggered by construction occurred on road construction sites in rural areas, while in China many happened in urban building sites.
Dr Froude said: “The prevalence of landslides in these settings suggests that regulations to protect workers and the public are insufficient or are not being sufficiently enforced. In the case of roads, maintaining safety during construction is difficult when it is economically unviable to completely shut roads because alternative routes involve substantial 100 mile-plus detours.”
She added: “Landslides triggered by hill cutting are mostly a problem in rural areas, where many people illegally collect material from hillslopes to build their houses.
“We found several incidences of children being caught-up in slides triggered as they collected coloured clay from hillslopes, for decoration of houses during religious festivals in Nepal. Educating communities who undertake this practise on how to do it safely, will save lives.
“With appropriate regulation to guide engineering design, education and enforcement of regulation by specialist inspectors, landslides triggered by construction, mining and hill cutting are entirely preventable.”
Professor Petley concluded: “The study highlights that we need to refocus our efforts globally on preventable slope accidents.”
The University of Sheffield’s Department of Geography has an internationally-recognised record of academic research by staff with wide-ranging interests in both human and physical geography. Geography at Sheffield is ranked within the top 15 UK departments following the results of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.

NEW DELHI : The government on Saturday approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore in a significant decision under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model that seeks to boost the “Make in India” programme.
The decision was taken at the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The DAC cleared procurement proposals worth about Rs 46,000 crore including anti-submarine capable 24 Multi Role Helicopters (MRH), 14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile System and 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun system.
“The DAC, in a landmark decision today, approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore. This is the first project under the MoD’s prestigious Strategic Partnership model that aims at providing significant fillip to the government’s �Make in India’ programme,” an official release said. 
The SP model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign original equipment manufacturer, acquire niche technologies and set up production facilities in the country.
The SP model has a long-term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment, enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an industrial and research and development (R&D) ecosystem, capable of meeting the future requirements of the armed forces. 
The contract, when finalised, is expected to result in a widespread defence industrial eco-system in the Indian aviation sector with the private industry and MSMEs as major stakeholders. 
While 16 helicopters are expected to be procured in a fly-away condition from a foreign vendor, the remaining 95 would be built in India by an Indian partner through joint ventures. The utility helicopters are expected to replace the aging fleet of Chetak helicopters. 
Those expected to compete for the Naval Utility Helicopter programme include firms from the US, Europe and Russia. The utility helicopter programme is expected to pave the way for several big-ticket projects, including for building modern submarines, fighter planes and helicopters in the country.
The government has identified four segments for acquisition under Strategic Partnership route – fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles and main battle tanks. 
The DAC also approved procurement of anti-submarine capable 24 Multi Role Helicopters, which are an integral part of the frontline warships like aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.
The MRH would contribute to the Navy’s anti-submarine, anti-ship warfare and airborne early-warning capabilities.
“Availability of MRH with the Navy would plug the existing capability gap,” the release said. 
The DAC cleared procurement of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364.78 crore.
These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO and will be manufactured by production agencies nominated by DRDO. They are likely to be the mainstay of artillery in the near future. 
Of the 14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile Systems cleared for procurement by the DAC, 10 systems will be indigenously developed. 
These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles. 

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to name its new Capital as Atal Nagar in memory of the former Prime Minister and BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee. 

This decision was taken by the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh during motion of condolence at the Cabinet meeting. It was also decided to rename some places after him.

The Chief Minister said that acknowledging the crucial role played by late Atal Behari Vajpayee in the formation of Chhattisgarh, the cabinet decided to rechristen Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar. A memorial would also be made at Naya Raipur, his statue installed and the central park also to be named after him.

He said Mr Vajpayee’s statue will be installed in all 27 district headquarters. Also a decision was taken to rename Bilaspur University and Rajnandgaon Medical College after Mr Vajpayee. 

A national award would also be instituted in the name of Mr Vajpayee to honour national level poets. The second phase of vikas yatra would now be known as Atal Vikas Yatra.   

He said that the cabinet has decided that Madwa Thermal Power project and Raipur Expressway will be renamed after Mr Vajpayee and Narrow Gauge Line as Atal Path, keeping in mind Mr Vajpayee’s contribution to Pokhran Nuclear Test, a police battalion would be named as ‘Pokhran Battalion.’

New Delhi : With technology derived from the Czech Republic, portable petrol pumps will soon make their presence felt in India. 

Cost-effective and easy to install in two hours, portable pumps can come handy in hilly regions, rural areas and urban areas where land is at premium. The technology from Petrocard, a Czech company, is being brought to India by Alinz Group India, an electronics company based in Delhi. 

Addressing a press conference here, Alinz Group chief Inderjit Pruthi said that portable petrol pump would be a self-service dispensing machine for various types of fuel like petrol, diesel, kerosene and at a later stage CNG and LPG. He added that it would accept payments through credit or debit cards, electronic wallet and there would not be any cash transaction. 

The device consists of a tank capacity of 9,975 litres to 35,000 litres  with 220v inbuilt power back up.  For tracking and safety,  camera, GPRS system, satellite internet communications has been facilitated. 

The machine is built keeping in mind health, safety, environment and fire protection system. “We are in talks with various State governments after the Centre approved this project on August 10. The allotment and location will be decided by the public sector oil companies along with State governments as per their existing policies,” Mr. Pruthi said. 

He said the company plans to supply nearly 8,000 portable petrol pumps over the next five or six years. Each such pump would require an investment of Rs. 90 lakhs to Rs. 1.20 crore for which banks can also provide loans. “Our role is that of technology provider. We are not here to distribute portable petrol pumps,” he added. 

As the machine is portable and meets emergency needs at a location, petroleum products can easily reach rural areas and farmers and entrepreneurs can benefit from it. 

Presentations have been made to Indian Railways, Oil Marketing companies, State government and other authorities in the country, Mr. Pruthi said. The company also plans to establish the manufacturing units in at least four States with a total investment of about Rs. 1600 crores, he added.

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his new Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan that India desires “constructive engagement” with Islamabad but Pakistan quickly clarified that there was no offer of a bilateral dialogue.  Modi wrote to Imran Khan expressing India’s commitment to build good neighbourly relations and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement with Islamabad.   He also talked about a shared vision to bring peace to make the subcontinent free of terror and violence.   Informed sources said in New Delhi that Modi wrote to Khan on Saturday, congratulating him after he took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.  Modi expressed India’s commitment to build good neighbourly relations between New Delhi and Islamabad and pursue meaningful and constructive engagement for the benefit of the people of the region.  He expressed the belief that the smooth transition of government in Pakistan would strengthen people’s belief in democracy.   Modi recalled their telephonic conversation in which they spoke of a shared vision to bring peace, security and prosperity in the subcontinent to make it free of terror and violence.  In Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry denied that Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had stated that Modi made an offer of a dialogue.  “In response to a query regarding the controversy being unnecessarily created by sections of the Indian media, the Foreign Minister had not stated that the Indian Prime Minister had made an offer of a dialogue,” the Ministry said in a statement.  “The Indian Prime Minister in his letter to Khan had mentioned something similar to what the Foreign Minister elucidated earlier that the way forward was only through constructive engagement.”  Earlier on Monday, Qureshi said that there was a need for “continued and uninterrupted” dialogue with India, which was the only way forward for the two neighbours to resolve outstanding issues.  Qureshi, the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Vice Chairman, was sworn-in earlier in the day along with 15 other members from Imran Khan’s 21-strong cabinet, Dawn news reported.  “Pakistan looks forward to a mutually beneficial, uninterrupted dialogue with India to resolve all issues,” the Ministry said.   “Any attempts to instigate controversy and vitiate the environment are counter-productive and against the spirit of responsible journalism.” 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) hopes to see major improvement in treatment outcomes and quality of life of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) following changes in the treatment regimes.

The first important change is a new priority ranking of the available medicines for MDR-TB treatment, based on a careful balance between expected benefits and harms. Treatment success for MDR-TB is currently low in many countries. This could be increased by improving access to the highest-ranked medicines for all patients with MDR-TB.

The second important change is a fully oral regimen as one of the preferred options for MDR-TB treatment, with injectable agents proposed to be replaced by more potent alternatives such as bedaquiline (the first-ever medicine to be developed specifically for the treatment of MDR-TB). Injectable agents cause pain and distress to patients, with many experiencing serious adverse effects that often lead to treatment being interrupted, a statement issued by WHO has said.

“The treatment landscape for patients with MDR-TB will be dramatically transformed for the better with the announcement,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Deputy Director-General for Programmes. “Building on the available new data, and with the involvement of a large number of stakeholders, WHO has moved forward in rapidly reviewing the evidence and communicating the key changes needed to improve the chances of survival of MDR-TB patients worldwide. Political momentum now needs to urgently accelerate, if the global crisis of MDR-TB is to be contained,’’ she said.

The WHO rapid communication aims to encourage and prepare countries to implement the upcoming new consolidated, updated and more detailed WHO policy guidelines on MDR-TB treatment which will be released later this year. WHO is also establishing a multi-stakeholder Task Force to coordinate support to national TB programmes in their rapid transition to the key changes envisaged.

The announcement follows an in-depth assessment of the latest evidence on the efficacy and safety of medicines available to treat MDR-TB by an independent panel of experts convened by WHO. The outcomes of the meeting, held 16-20 July, also have major and immediate implications for countries, donors and technical partners as clinical care, national diagnostic and treatment policies, medicine and diagnostic procurement strategies, and training plans will require rapid review and adaptation.

TB is among the oldest diseases known to mankind, yet remains one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide today, as well as the leading global infectious disease killer. About 600,000 new cases of MDR-TB (or other rifampicin-resistant TB) emerge each year and about 240,000 people die of these forms of TB each year according to WHO estimates.

MDR-TB is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance worldwide and threatens hard-earned gains made in the global TB response over the past twenty years. Diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB remain a major challenge, with only one in four affected people currently being detected and even fewer being treated successfully.

Heads of State, Government and other global leaders are also meeting at the first-ever United Nations High-level Meeting on TB in New York on 26 September 2018.

NEW DELHI: Former President Pranab Mukherjee is all set to don the mantle of a teacher, giving lessons and valuable insights to the management students of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

Pranabda as he is fondly called will take six classes at IIM Ahmedabad beginning September and continue with his favourite teaching assignment in October and November as well, sources close to the former President said.

A veteran Parliamentarian who had presided over all important ministries like Finance, Commerce, Defence and External Affairs in the successive Congress governments, Mr. Mukherjee is known for his sharp memory and is a storehouse of knowledge on the government affairs, public policy, Constitutional matters, politics and Parliamentary and financial affairs.

Pranabda will take classes on  “Public Policy” at IIM, Ahmedabad, an assignment which he gladly accepted as teaching remains one of his favourite passions apart from reading and writing. He has recently authored books on politics about coalition years, dramatic decade, turbulent years .

“I am 83 now and with the age I have slowed down in many things,’’ Mr. Mukherjee said with his characteristic charming smile.   

After demitting office of the President of India a year ago, his daily routine keeps him busy with a lot of reading, meeting people from a variety of backgrounds, and writing. He is working on his next book which should be ready in another four to five months.

During his years in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Pranabda had taken classes on “Political History of India” in Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in the President’s Estate on the eve of Teachers’ Day which is celebrated on September 5 to mark the birthday of former President Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan who himself was a distinguished teacher.

 Â“I am not your President today, call me Mukherjee sir,” President Pranab Mukherjee had told the students of 11^th and 12^th grades at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya when he taught them nearly three years ago.

In his hour-long class Mr. Mukherjee had spoken  to the students about his childhood, the writing of the Constitution and the first general election.

“Till today, I have the urge of teaching somewhere. A teacher gives himself to the students and the job of a student is to draw from him as much as possible. I am explaining history as I have seen it,” Mr Mukherjee had been quoted in news reports as having said.

Recalling his stint in the school, Pranabda had told students, “I was a naughty child. I was just an average student. I had to walk 5km for my school and I used to complain to my mother about the distance. She used to tell me that she had no other option and always advised me to work hard.”

Producer Â– Mohan Pictures, Director Â– Sohrab Modi, Music Director Â– Mir Sahib, Cast – Prithviraj Kapoor , Sheela, Sadiq Ali, K. N. Singh, Meena, Shakir, Yakub, Jilloo, Vanmala, Sohrab Modi, Zahur Raja, Abu Baker

The epic, Sikandar ( 1941), directed and produced  by Sohrab Modi  remains till date one of the most lavishly mounted  Hindi films with  its sets and battle scenes competing in grandeur and sweep with the best of Hollywood epics like Ben Hur and Ten Commandments, which incidentally followed nearly two decades later. It was the third biggest hit of 1941, and 20^th biggest hit of the 40s. 

The majestic battle scenes were shot in open fields of Kolhapur with thousands of extras in costume. The deployment of tuskers, rows of cavalry and batteries of soldiers with spears, swords and shields, bows and arrows during the filming of the battle of Hydaspes makes you realize the width and depth of such a huge canvas and the strategy and discipline required especially when raging elephants stormed towards the camera!

The release of the film coincided with World War II at its peak and India following Gandhi’s call was grappling with Civil Disobedience. Sikandar further aroused patriotic feelings and national sentiment and though approved by the Bombay censor board, it was banned from theatres in army cantonments. The film was great at rousing patriotic fervour even after two decades when it was rereleased in Delhi during Goa’s liberation from the Portuguese in 1961.

Sikander dubbed in Persian version reached to huge audience with one of Prithviraj Kapoor’s best known roles, surpassed in popularity only by his role as Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Rusi K Banker’s magnificent art design and backdrop settings, power-packed dialogues penned by Pandit Sudarshan, who also wrote the story and doubled up as the lyricist. The music was composed by maestros Meer Saheb and Rafiq Ghaznavi (grandfather of Salma Agha). Three of the seven songs in the film deserve mention- Menaka Bai’s Uth jag jawani aati hai, Sheela’s Jeete desh hamara and H Khan Mastana’s Zindagi hai pyaar se.

The leading lady of Sikandar Vanmala Devi or Vanmala (1915-2007) a double graduate, began her film career when she was already a teacher in Agarkar High School of Poona. She starred in several films produced and directed by Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre – Payachi Dasi, Shyamchi Aai and Moruchi Mavshi. Shyamchi Aai (1953), was a film she produced besides being the female lead, and received the first ever Golden Lotus Award for Best Film at the National Film Awards in 1954. Vanmala had met Sohrab Modi at the premier of Marathi film Lapandav when he was was scouting for a new face for the lead role of Rukhsana in the film Sikandar. 

Sikandar’s tremendous success propelled Vanmala into stardom. But Vanmala’s foray into films was objected maximally by her father cutting off all ties with her and he barred her from coming to Gwalior. After Sikandar, Vanmala did about 22 Hindi films. Interestingly, late Shashi Kapoor’s first ever crush at six, was on Vanmala after he saw the first film of his life, Sikander (1941) in which she was the heroine. He would go on to ask her co-star, his father, for permission to marry her!

The film heavily inspired by Parsi theatre and the dramatic over the top dialogues for Prithviraj Kapoor and Sohrab Modi gave both future Dadasaheb Phalke awardees an opportunity to showcase their histrionic abilities blow for blow. The film was also the debut of Meena Shorey,who later became famous by her moniker the Lara Lappa girl. 

Modi besides working in the Parsi theatre, specialized in Shakespeare, and Prithviraj Kapoor had acted in Shakespearean touring companies. Both men had started their careers in silent cinema. Prithviraj remained primarily an actor, after Alam Ara (1931) he was in New Theatres before returning to Bombay to appear in films such as K. Asif’s Phool. 

Sohrab Modi, a Shakespearean actor, and his production company, Minerva Movie tone, gave epics like Pukar (1939), Prithvi vallabh (1941), Jhansi ki Rani (1953), and the biopic of the great Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib (1954). However, Sikandar is held to be his greatest film. Sohrab Modi according to his actress wife Mehtab rated Pukar amongst his best, in fact so famous was he for his dialogue delivery that when the couple would return from their trips abroad, the Customs Officers never touched their bags. They would make Mehtab and Sohrab Modi sit down and would start reciting the dialogues of Sohrab Modi’s films in front of the bemused thespian!

NEW DELHI : Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose politics of moderation in a hardline party propelled the BJP to power for the first time in the 1990s, died on Thursday after long illness.

The 93-year-old leader, who had faded from public life for more than a decade following health complications and was admitted to AIIMS with urinary tract infection on June 11, breathed his last at 5.05 p.m., the hospital said in a statement.

“It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated over the last 36 hours and he was put on life support system. Despite the best of efforts, we have lost him today,” the statement said.

Vajpayee, a diabetic, was undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was said to be stable for the last nine weeks but his health suffered a setback on Sunday and worsened on Wednesday.

That things were getting worse could be gleaned from the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made two visits to AIIMS in the last two days.

Rich tributes poured from across the political spectrum for Vajpayee who had the reputation of having no enemies in politics.

Modi described the passing away of Vajpayee as “the end of an era” and every Indian and the BJP worker would continue to be guided by his vision.

President Ram Nath Kovind said Vajpayee was a “true Indian statesman”.

“His leadership, foresight, maturity and eloquence put him in a league of his own.”

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said Vajpayee was loved and respected by millions. “Today, India lost a great son.”

Earlier, as news of deterioration of his health spread, national leaders, including Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP brass — party President Amit Shah, veterans L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, cabinet ministers, chief ministers and opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee visited the hospital during the day.

The body was taken to Vajpayee’s house on Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyen’s Delhi for the public to pay last respects to the departed leader.

The former Prime Minister, whose birthday on December 25 is celebrated as Good Governance Day, was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 2014 at his home.

Vajpayee, whose more than six-year term was marked by peace initiative with Pakistan and the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test that invited US sanctions, was a bachelor and leaves behind a foster family.

Though his long-time associate L.K. Advani, credited for the rise of the BJP from the last 1980s on the Ayodhya temple issue with his hardline politics, it was Vajpayee’s moderate stance that took the party close to power.

He was the Prime Minister for 13 days in mid-1996 at the head of the first short-lived BJP government. He was forced to resign ahead of the confidence vote as he failed to muster the numbers.

However, Vajpayee again became the Prime Minister in March 1998 with improved numbers and new allies like the TDP, the AIADMK, the National Conference and the Samta Party.

But his government fell 13 months later on the floor of the Lok Sabha losing by one vote in the confidence motion after AIADMK headed by the late J.Jayalalithaa withdrew support to the BJP.

The BJP government headed by Vajpayee returned to power in 1999 and completed almost its full term till 2004 when the party lost in the polls called earlier than scheduled.

Vajpayee was known for his lavish praise of Indira Gandhi as Durga on India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war of Bangladesh independence.

He had a flair for foreign policy issues and the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao chose him to lead an Indian delegation to the UN Human Rights conference to counter Pakistan’s campaign for Kashmir. 

Vajpayee had a long association with the RSS and the Bhartiya Jana Sangh which merged to form the Janata Party in the post Emergency period when he was jailed along with numerous opposition leaders.

And in 1980, he, Advani, Joshi and other leaders founded the BJP of which he was the first President.