[Grapevine] For June 22, 1999

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______Headlines_______
(Details below)

News:
 Nine killed, 80 injured in Jalpaiguri railway station blast
 India all out on the diplomatic front too
 Indian troops consolidate gains in Batalik, Drass sectors
 Pak will get 'bloody nose' if it opens more fronts: India
 Centre asks Guj govt to examine water pumped out by Pak
 Pulses to be imported, onion declared essential commodity
 Quake of slight intensity rocks konkan
 Bollywood actress Neelam to furnish fresh bail
 MTNL releases phone directory on CD
 1 killed, 10 hurt in Bhendi Bazar building collapse
 Vikhroli resident, who set his family afire, dies
 Wimbledon: Paes knocked out by 'latin flavour' in first round
 India's Bhutia named Asian player of the month
 We are all as disappointed as the countrymen , says Tendulkar


Markets:
 Equities continue upward march on sustained FII purchases


Forex and Weather below


______News_______
(From various agencies)

 Nine killed, 80 injured in Jalpaiguri railway station blast
   New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Jun 22 (PTI) Nine people, including two
   army jawans heading for Kargil, were today killed and 80 injured, 42
   of them critically, in a powerful bomb blast triggered by extremist
   ulfa outfit of Assam, having alleged links with Pakistan's ISI, at
   the railway station here.

   Intelligence sources claimed the United Liberation Front of Assam had
   caused the blast at the behest of the ISI to disrupt Indian troops
   movement to Kargil.

   The deafening blast, which blew off the roofs of two platforms,
   occurred at 1215 hrs when the New Delhi-bound Mahananda link express
   had just arrived, divisional railway manager (Katihar) Somnath
   Mukherjee said, adding nine people were killed and 80 injured.

   The ULFA claimed responsibility for the blast which was heard within
   a radius of one kilometre.

   Earlier, intelligence sources in Assam had said quoting intercepts
   that the ULFA was providing sensitive information on troops movement
   to Kargil to ISI.

   The two dead soldiers, Ram Bahadur Gurung and Jhim Bahadur Thapa of
   the 4/5 gorkhas regiment, were among 12 armymen travelling on board
   the Mahananda Express.

   The bomb went off between platform number two and three and the
   victims included some passengers who had arrived by the Mahananda
   Express.



 India all out on the diplomatic front too
   Jammu, June 22 (PTI) India is activating its foreign missions abroad
   to expose and apprise the world community of Pakistan's nefarious
   designs, minister of state for external affairs Vasundhara Raje today
   said.

   Pakistan stands isolated as world opinion after the former's action
   in Kargil is in favour of India. The country has 'already won a major
   victory on the diplomatic front and we are activating our missions
   abroad to expose and apprise the world community about the nefarious
   designs of Pakistan', she told reporters at Jammu airport before
   leaving for the army command hospital at Udhampur to meet army
   personnel injured in Kargil sector.

   India was satisfied with the G-8 countries' statement at the Cologne
   summit, the minister said and described it as a diplomatic
   'achievement'.

   The minister, who was recieved at the airport by top army, police and
   civil officers, said she wanted to convey to the army jawans and
   officers fighting at the borders that the whole nation was with them
   at this crucial juncture.

   The country, she said, 'is also appreciative of the people of Jammu
   and Kashmir for with standing all difficulties and hardship during
   all these years'.

   Reports from Udhampur said Vasundhara Raje enquired about the well
   being of the injured jawans at the command hospital and assured them
   that the nation acknowledged their sacrifices. Distributing fruits,
   she wished each one of them a speedy recovery.

   The injured soldiers assured the minister that they were ready to
   resume their duty once they recovered.



 Indian troops consolidate gains in Batalik, Drass sectors
   Drass, Jun 22 (PTI) Indian troops today started consolidating gains
   made in operations in Batalik and Drass sectors killing three
   Pakistani soldiers while losing seven jawans, as fierce battle
   continued in the Batalik-Yaldor region to recapture three strategic
   heights.

   An army official here said three strategic ridge lines in
   Batalik-Yaldor region were yet to be cleared of intruders. 'We are
   progressing well and we hope to dislodge the intruders soon,' Colonel
   Avtar Singh of 121 brigade based in Kargil said.

   In a major air attack on administrative and logistical camps of
   intruders in muntho dalo in this sector, at least six Pakistani army
   officers - two majors, two captains and two lieutenants - were killed
   last week when the targets were pulverised in bomb attacks, an air
   force spokesman told reporters in New Delhi.

   A report from Jammu said Indian anti-aircraft guns today opened fire
   on a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) which vioalted the country's air
   space from Pakistan side.

   The low-flying RPV, which crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Khour
   and Kanachak areas in Akhnoor sub-sector at around 0630 hrs, returned
   to Pakistan air space after being targeted by anti-aircraft guns.

   An army spokesman told reporters in New Delhi that Indian troops had
   consolidated gains in areas north-west of 'point 5203 in Batalik
   sector and around 'point 5140' on Tololing ridge in Drass sector.



 Pak will get 'bloody nose' if it opens more fronts: India
   New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI) India today warned Pakistan that efforts to
   escalate the current situation by opening more Kargil like front
   would only result in its armed forces getting a 'bloody nose' as
   Islamabad accused New Delhi of treading a 'war path' by ignoring the
   option of peaceful negotiations.

   A day after G-8 industrialised nations criticised infiltration in
   Kargil and violation of the Line of Control, Islamabad sought to
   interpret their call for a dialogue on the issue as a vindication of
   its stand that the dispute should be resolved through further
   dialogue.

   'They will be waiting for bloody nose,' an army spokesman told a
   special briefing here when asked about Pakistan prime minister Nawaz
   Sharif's remark that Kargil-type fronts could be opened in other
   parts.

   Accusing India of being on the 'war path', a spokesman of Pakistan
   foreign ministry in Islamabad said any 'misadventure' across LoC
   would be 'rued' by New Delhi.



 Centre asks Guj govt to examine water pumped out by Pak
   Baroda, Jun 22 (PTI) The centre has asked the Gujarat government to
   examine water pumped out by Pakistan near Kutch border from Sind
   province and ascertain if the chemical mixed in it was poisonous,
   according to official sources.

   The sources today told PTI on phone from Bhuj that for the past some
   time, the water of indus river in Pakistan was being treated and
   released into Badin port from where it was pumped onto the Kutch
   border. This has made the land saline, the sources added.

   However, with the ongoing fighting in Kargil-Drass sector and arrest
   of ISI agents from the state and Maharashtra, the government did not
   rule out the possibility of water being poisoned.

   The satellite pictures have shown a big chunk of water near Vigha
   coast on the border and enquiries revealed that Pakistan has been
   pumping out treated water there.

   An official of the saline ingress department from Ahmedabad has been
   camping there to ascertain the position, the sources said.

   The specimen of the water near Vigha coast has been collected and
   sent for chemical analysis, sources said.


 Pulses to be imported, onion declared essential commodity
   New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) Government today decided to allow import of
   pulses and place onion under essential commodities act to keep its
   prices under check and prevent hoarding.

   The Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP), which reviewed the prices and
   availability of essential commodities, decided to import pulses as it
   was a lean season for the crop, an official spokesperson told
   reporters after the meeting.

   The first consignment of 12,000 tonnes pulses was expected to arrive
   within a few weeks, she said adding that the decision to import was
   taken despite the fact that there was 30 lakh tonnes increase in
   pulse production in the country.

   The pulse production was 1.51 lakh tonnes as against last year's 1.21
   lakh tonnes.

   Onion will be declared as an essential commodities with the placing
   of the commodity under the essential commodities act, 1955.

   The CCP expressed satisfaction over the availability and stability in
   prices of essential commodities, she said.



 Quake of slight intensity rocks konkan
   Pune, Jun 22 (PTI) An earthquake of slight intensity, having a
   magnitude of 3.6 on richter on of Maharashtra early today, according
   to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here.

   The quake had its epicenter at 17.3 degree north latitude and 73
   degree east longitude about 135 kms from here, an IMD release said.

   There have been no reports of any damage due to the quake so far as
   the tremors were only of slight intensity, a spokesperson of the
   divisional commissionerate said.



 Bollywood actress Neelam to furnish fresh bail
   Jodhpur, Jun 22 (PTI) Bollywood actress Neelam Kothari, one of
   several film stars accused in the black bucks poaching case, will
   seek fresh bail from a city court by appearing before it as the
   person who had furnished the bail bond for her has withdrawn the
   same.

   Judicial Magistrate Laxman Dutt Kiradu had issued fresh arrest
   warrant against Neelam yesterday after one, Rajesh, who had furnished
   a bail bond of Rs 50,000 for the actress in october last year,
   withdrew it.

   The court granted permission to Rajesh to withdraw the bail bond on
   the ground that he was shifting out of Rajasthan and also that the
   actress had failed to appear before the court even once during
   hearing of the case.

   Stayed the same when the counsel Hastimal Saraswat for the actress
   submitted that the accusd would personally appear before the court
for
   executing fresh bail on the next hearing on july 24.

   The main accused in the poaching case actor Salman Khan alongwith
   three actresses Neelam, Tabbu and Sonali Bendre were arrested for
   allegedly killing black bucks near here in october last year.

   The film stars, who were here for shooting a Rajshree production film
   Hum Saath Saath Hain , were later released on bail.


  
 MTNL releases phone directory on CD
   Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited(MTNL), Mumbai, has released the
   latest compact disc(CD) telephone directory with information updated
   till April 20. The CDs priced at Rs 100 each are on sale at all quick
   customer service centres, area service centres and the office of the
   assistant general manager(directory). This was stated by S. Ramani
   Iyer, chief general manager of MTNL, at a press conference on
   Saturday. The printed directory is expected to be released by
November
   and will contain 20 lakh entries. MTNL has asked subscribers to
inform
   it about amendments, corrections or omissions to be carried out in
the
   directory. The directory will have three volumes of residential
   numbers and one volume of commercial numbers. It will cost Rs 225.
"We
   are making every attempt to upgrade the directory and make it as
   current and accessible as possible," said Mr Iyer. MTNL has also
   introduced an on-line directory information service. By dialling
   4316197 from a personal computer via a modem, a subscriber can get
   connected to the computerised directory information system at the
cost
   of just a local call.
  


 1 killed, 10 hurt in Bhendi Bazar building collapse
   The middle portion of the first floor of the Raj Garah building at
   Bhendi Bazar collapsed at about 5.30 am on Saturday, killing a man
and
   injuring ten others. The injured have been admitted to KEM and GT
   hospitals with fractures and head injuries. The deceased has been
   identified as Prakash(25). The police have registered a case against
   the owner of the building, a septuagenarian, Abdullabhai Topiwalla.
   According to the police, the accident happened because the rusted
iron
   beam that was holding up the first floor gave way.
  

 Vikhroli resident, who set his family afire, dies
   Shashikant More who allegedly set himself and his family on fire
   succumbed to his injuries in Rajawadi Hospital on late Friday night.
   More's wife Sheetal also died a few hours later.
  

 Paes knocked out by 'latin flavour' in first round
   London, June 22 (PTI) India's tennis spearhead Leander Paes
   floundered a perfect chance of scoring his first men's singles win at
   the wimbledon tennis championships when he lost to qualifier Andre Sa
   of Brazil here yesterday.

   Paes, world ranked 102, was stunned by the Brazilian who played a
   perfect grass court tennis foiling the Indian's ambition of reaching
   second round at the All England club with a 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7/4) win.

   India number one Paes, who sneaked into the main draw of men's
   singles event here with his two title triumphs in ATP challengers
   back home, had nothing but himself to blame for the loss.

   He served, returned and volleyed well, but his Latin American
   opponent was one step ahead in smashing amazing groundstrokes down
   the line.

   Earlier this year Sa played in Delhi challenger and was knocked out
   in the first round. Paes, who eventually won the event, however, had
   no clue to Sa's style of play and paid the price for it.

   The defeat should not put off Paes as nothing much was expected of
   him in the singles. He and fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi start their
   doubles campaign tomorrow where the world number one pair has been
   top seeded.



 India's Bhutia named Asian player of the month
   Kuala Lumpur, June 22 (AFP) Bhaichung Bhutia was today named Asian
   player of the month for may after leading India to their second
   straight south Asian title.

   The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said the 22-year-old striker,
   recently on trial with English side Aston Villa, gave a superb
   performance in the SAFF cup semi-finals and final in Goa.

   Bhutia scored in both matches and India defeated Bangladesh in the
   final to retain the trophy they won two years ago. Bhutia confirmed
   his status as South Asia's top soccer star.

   The team of the month award went to the beaten finalists Bangladesh,
   in recognition of their vast improvement, the AFC said.

   The coach of the month was South Korea's Huh Jung Moo. The AFC
   praised the way the 43-year-old Huh led South Korea comfortably
   through the first round of the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament.

   The goal of the month was scored by Iranian midfielder Sirous
   Dinmohammadi for Esteghal against Jubilo Iwata in the final of the
   Asian Club Championship.

   The 28-year-old picked the ball up 30 yards from the goal, evaded
   three Jubilo challenges before firing through a group of players into
   the top right corner of the net. Jubilo still won the match 2-1.



  We are all as disappointed as the countrymen , says Tendulkar
   Mumbai, Jun 22 (PTI) Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who returned
   home early today from London, expressed his as well as the other
   Indian players' disappointment with their show in the world cup.

   I am not supposed to talk to the press, as I am bound by the Board of
   Control for Cricket in India's contract. All I can say is the
   (Indian) players are as disappointed as our countrymen. We tried our
   best , the ace batsman told PTI.

   Tendulkar said that his back feels fine now and he did not face any
   problem on that front during the world cup.

   Tendulkar, who underwent treatment for his back spasms prior to the
   cup from a London specialist, had a disappointing tournament during
   the course of which he also suffered a personal tragedy when he lost
   his father who died on the eve of India's second match against
   Zimbabwe on may 19.

   He airdashed home for his father's funeral and then returned to
   England in time for the team's third encounter against Kenya when he
   made a brilliant 140 not out putting behind his personal grief.

___________________________________________________________
               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
___________________________________________________________


______Market_______

 To get today's complete NIFTY (the NSE index) listing send an e-mail to
                    get-nse@mumbai-central.com


 Equities continue upward march on sustained FII purchases

   Mumbai, Jun 22 (PTI) Equities moved further upwards with
   pharmaceutical and sofare scrips hogging the limelight on the stock
   market today on sustained buying from operators as well as Foreign
   Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Indian Financial Institutions
   (IFIs).

   FIIs had shifted their focus on pharma and software sector and were
   reportedly net buyers in Wockhardt, E Merck, German Remedies,
   Ranbaxy, Rhone Poule, Parke Davis, Burroughs Welcome, NIIT, Pentafour
   Software, Infosys Technologies and some others from b1 group. IFIs
   extended support to cyclicals stocks and were also seen booking
   profits at higher levels.

   The BSE sensitive index opened firm at 4236.01 and rose further past
   the 4265-resistance hitting the yearly high of 4274.30. In volatile
   movements, it touched the day's low of 4204.73 and closed below the
   resistance level at 4254.86 as against yesterday's close of 4210.36,
   netting a gain of 44.50 points or 1.06 per cent.

   The BSE-100 index also spurted to 52-week high of 1830.84 during the
   trading before closing at 1822.86 from previous close of 1805.52,
   showing a rise of 17.34 points.

   Dealers said the market witnessed brisk activity despite the last day
   of the current settlement on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

___________________________________________________________
               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
___________________________________________________________

______Forex_______

      
  1 DMark  = 22.80743    INR    
  1 FFranc  = 6.800327    INR    
  1 U.K. Pound  = 68.62821    INR    
  1 US $  = 43.19500    INR    
  1 Yen  = 0.354668    INR    
  1 Singapore $ = 25.41 INR
  1 UAE Dirham = 11.76 INR
  1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 11.52 INR

___________________________________________________________
               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
___________________________________________________________


______Weather_______
(From the Weather Underground)
 
Humidity
N/A%
Wind
SSW  at 7 mph / 11.3 km/h
Pressure
N/A
Conditions
Heavy Rain
  
Tonight: Low: 75 F / 24 C Thunderstorm 
Wednesday: High: 82 F / 28 C Thunderstorm 
Wednesday Night: Low: 73 F / 23 C Thunderstorm 
Thursday: High: 82 F / 28 C Thunderstorm 
Thursday Night: Low: 73 F / 23 C Thunderstorm 

___________________________________________________________
               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
___________________________________________________________

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