Witchcraft law to protect women

Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government will soon enact a law making witchcraft a non-bailable offence.

Also, those who harass women for witchcraft will be slapped a rigorous prison term up to five years and a fine.

“For the first time, Chhattisgarh has come forward in this direction and we have decided to bring in a legislation next week in the monsoon session to stop harassment and atrocities on women in the name of witchcraft,” law minister Brij Mohan Agrawal said.

The law will cover those who claim to possess powers of black magic, evil eyes or who claim to be witch doctors, sources said. Those who allege others to be witches will face prison term up to three years and a fine.

Anyone claiming to be a witch herself will be subjected to a year’s imprisonment and a fine, a source said.

Ship canal to open in 2008

Chennai (PTI): The Sethusamudram ship canal will be opened to traffic in November 2008.

A Sethusamudram Corporation statement said the pre-qualification and tender process for dredging would be completed by August and contracts would be awarded in September.

Trial runs through the 167-km ship canal that will cost the government Rs 2,427-crore and which will dredge a direct route between the Indian east and west coasts will commence in September 2008, it said.

The canal will remove the need of a detour around Sri Lanka, thereby saving a day’s time for sea vessels.

Ticket fraud

Kochi (PTI): A man from Mumbai has been arrested here on the charge of forging round-tour tickets issued by the railways.

Anoop Kumar Makia had allegedly counterfeited six tickets to travel with five others on the Mumbai-Goa-Bangalore-Thrissur-Ernakulam-Nagercoil-Mumbai route. He had charged Rs 30,000 for the five tickets.

Heritage railway

New Delhi (PTI): The Unesco has declared the Nilgiri Mountain Railway a world heritage site at its 29th World Heritage Committee meeting in Durban, South Africa. The
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was given similar status in 1999 and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 2004.

Bombs in station

Pathankot (PTI): Two high explosive bombs were found at a railway station in Punjab on Monday. The bomb disposal squad of the army was called to defuse the explosives.

People of both Muslim and Hindu religions thronged the Nagore Dargah at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, early on Monday to witness the sandal oil anointment ceremony.