The “very severe cyclone” over the Bay of Bengal has lost its strength and is now being treated only as a “severe cyclone”, Andhra Pradesh revenue minister D. Prasada Rao said on Sunday.
Quoting the bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) before noon on Sunday, Mr Rao told reporters that the cyclone, Jal, lay centred 300 kms of Chennai and 420 kms of Nellore.
The cyclone is expected to hit land between Chennai and Nellore by Sunday evening or night and the wind speed is likely to be between 80 kms to 100 kms, he said. “We have conveyed the information to administration in the concerned districts and told them to take all appropriate measures. We are setting up 56 relief camps in Nellore district, 108 in Prakasam and 65 in East Godavari,” the minister said.

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Extortion, abduction ails Assam
MANOJ ANAND
Guwahati

Nov. 7: Even after a significant drop in level of violence, the rampant extortion and kidnapping remain a major area of concern for the security forces in Assam.
Security sources claimed that if anti-talk faction of outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) is indulging into large-scale kidnappings for ransom, the outlawed Ulfa was carrying out extortion drives by suspending their offensives for the time being.
Defence sources however claim that drop in militant violence was due to success of the security forces during the current year.

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Andhra girls rescued from Nepalese men
Age correspondent
Lucknow

Nov. 7: Two teenaged girls, belonging to Andhra Pradesh, were rescued from three young Nepalese men who were arrested by the police in Jhansi district on Saturday night.
The girls, aged 14 and 15, had been kidnapped about a week ago from Hyderabad and the police see this as an attempt in human trafficking. A local police official said that the UP police had contacted its counterparts in Hyderabad and arrangements were being made to send the girls back to their homes.
“We have informed our counterparts in Nepal about the arrest of the three young men and action is being initiated against them too. The interrogation of the youth is underway and we are trying to ascertain whether there is a larger racket in human trafficking,” the official added.

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‘Goat bank’ making news in Allahabad
Amita Verma
Lucknow

Nov. 7: Goats are sure making news these days. After the birth of goat twins through the test tube in Mathura, it is now a goat bank in Allahabad that is making news. Set up by a group of women in Korawan in Mirzapur district, this bank deals with goats, it accepts the animals as savings and lends them out as loans. Goat breeding in this area is a major economy and women are actively involved in this. Prema, who has set up the goat bank, says, “We lend the goats for breeding and when the goat babies are born, one of them has to be deposited in the bank.”
The bank, which was started about six months ago, already has 20 goats to boast of. “Our goats are medically examined every week and are given good quality fodder. More and more people are joining the bank and we have about 40 women as members,” says Prema.
Since the bank has a large number of female goats too, the women sell goat milk for extra income which is equally divided among the members. Goats that get old or are ailing are taken out of the bank and sold in the market.
The “business” is attracting a lot of women since it does not require them to venture out of their homes and does not disturb their family routine either.