Nation at a Glance

Chetan success on maiden flight

Bangalore (PTI): Chetan, the re-engined Chetak helicopter, successfully made its first flight on Tuesday. State-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) also sought to upgrade nearly 200 Chetak helicopters used by the armed forces and the civilian sector.

Chetan has been fitted with a powerful Snecma TM 333 2b2 engine that powers Dhruv, the advanced light helicopter, and is an upgraded version of HAL?s workhorse Chetak, the company chairman, A.K. Baweja told reporters after the 20-minute sortie.

Chetan was flown over Bangalore by project test pilot, wing commander P.S. Rao, and test engineer, squadron leader S. Jain, he said.

Union defence secretary (defence production) Shekar Dutt said the helicopter offered better fuel efficiency and could be flown at higher altitude for rescue and evacuation purposes.

HAL began the Chetan project six months ago by investing Rs 9 crore and it received impetus after the Cheetal helicopter (the re-engined Cheetah) created a world record by landing at an altitude of 25,150 feet on Saser Kangi peak, next to Siachen glacier, Baweja said.

Chetan will be displayed at the Aero India Air Show later this month, he added.

HC extension for organ body

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court has extended by three months the term of a high-level committee set up to suggest measures to end exploitation of the poor in organ donation and examine the feasibility of creating a corpus to give incentives to honest donors.

Justice Manmohan Sarin had on September 6, 2004, asked the committee, headed by the Union health secretary, to review the provisions of Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 and submit a report to the Centre within four months. The court granted time till May 5 after committee member Sanjay Jain informed it that the task would take more time.

The committee met in the office of the secretary (health) on December 7 and members were of the view that data on organ transplants from across the country should be collected and analysed before deliberating upon possible solutions and making appropriate recommendations, Jain said.

The committee has been asked to examine the data and the working of authorisation committees. It will also examine if the jurisdiction of the committees should include the process of certifying a ?near relative?.

Bus mishap kills devotees

Satara (PTI): At least 12 persons were killed and 19 injured when a state transport bus fell into a gorge at Satara district in Maharashtra.

The victims were heading for Bhor Ghat after offering prayers at Mandhardevi temple when the bus fell into the 300-feet-deep gorge. Rescue operations were on and doctors from hospitals in Wai taluka have rushed to the scene, police said.

Cyber porn arrest

Lucknow (PTI): Ten girls and 16 boys were arrested while they were allegedly surfing pornographic websites at a cyber cafe in Krishna Nagar locality. A police party acting on a tip-off raided the cafe. The cafe owner has been apprehended.

Child kidnapped

New Delhi (PTI): A maid servant allegedly kidnapped a 18-month-old girl child of the couple for whom she was working at Srinivaspuri in south Delhi. Bharati Diwan, an executive in a company had employed the servant through a placement agency a few months ago. On returning from work, the couple found their child, the maid and some valuables missing, police sources said. The owner of the placement agency has been detained.

Poison tea death

Ajmer (PTI): Three children of a family died on way to hospital while one is battling for life after allegedly consuming poisonous tea in Baktawarpura village. The victims fell unconscious after consuming the tea on Monday. Hospital sources said the pot in which the tea was prepared had been used for carrying insecticide and was not properly washed.

Poll loss suicide

Rajgarh (PTI): Shanti Bai Tanwar, 40, allegedly consumed poison after she lost the polls for the post of sarpanch in the recent panchayat election at Laxmanpura village in Madhya Pradesh. She was rushed to a hospital in Bhopal. Karan Singh Tanwar claimed that during the elections his wife had announced the suicide move if she lost .

Wildlife enthusiasts are concerned at the decline in the number of giant- sized estuarine crocodiles at Orissa?s Bhitarkanika National Park. However, the latest census shows a 6.7 per cent growth in the reptile population.