Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and State Government of Maharashtra are jointly organizing ‘Krishi Vasant’ a farmer centric Fair-cum-Exhibition from February 9th to 13th at Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is associated as a strategic partner with this grand event. The event is organized as a platform to acknowledge the contribution of Indian farmers in the nation’s economy.

This national convention will witness the participation of more than 3 lacs farmers in person and reach out to more than 5 million farmers through web-cast at a District/Block level. Government Institutions, research organizations, private players, international organizations and other important stakeholders will also be participating in huge numbers. The conference cum fair, will have theme based conferences and seminars in the area of Mechanization & High-Tech Horticulture; Self-reliance in Pulses & Oilseeds; Best Integrated Pest Management Practices; Post-Harvest Management & Marketing; Sustainable Livelihood through Dairy, Poultry & Fisheries and ICT & Extension. Approximately hundred successful farmers from different states will display best practices in the areas of Agriculture, Horticulture and Fisheries.

Nearly one thousand exhibitions and live demonstrations of crops, livestock and technologies spread over 50 acres which include 307 varieties of 54 crops, 42 breeds of buffaloes, cattle, sheep, goat, duck, poultry and varieties of wool, feed, medicine and vaccine will also be showcased. Concurrently Kisan Goshthies, buyer seller meets, access to latest technologies and cultural shows will be organized. During the breakout session farmer-scientist interactions in regional language will also be organized.

‘Krishi Vasant’ will be the biggest national agriculture fair cum exhibition to be organized at the beginning of 2014. The eventful initiative of Government of India was launched on 12th January 2014 in Mumbai in the presence of Shri Sharad Pawar, Hon’ble Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Government of India; Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra; Shri Radhakrishna Eknathrao Vikhe Patil, Minister for Agriculture and Marketing, Government of Maharashtra. The mega event will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 9th February 2014 at Nagpur, Maharashtra. The event will continue for a period of 5 days. This event also coincides with centenary celebrations of Late Shri Vasant Rao Naik, who steered agriculture development in Maharashtra during Green Revolution era. The event will also be graced by many dignitaries from Central and State governments and International organizations.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday refused to comment on Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement that he would like to see him as the Prime Minister.

When asked about the same at a press conference here this morning, Pawar said, “This (event) is to make announcement about the Krishi Vasant exhibition, and I am not contesting the Lok Sabha election.”

Yesterday, during a public interaction with editors of a Marathi newspaper in his hometown Solapur, Shinde had said he would be happy if Pawar became the Prime Minister.

“I would be happy if Pawar becomes the PM. He is my political guru. I entered the politics because of him,” Shinde said.

Four toll plaza booths were vandalised in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur on Sunday after a dispute over collection of toll tariff.

The hooligans in large number vandalised the booths and burnt down the toll plaza property.

While Shiv Sena workers are being blamed for the attack, agitators claim that since roads are poorly constructed, there is no question of paying the toll. Shiv Sena, on the other hand, has called for a bandh in Kolhapur tomorrow.

Police claim to have detained some protesters vandalising the booths.

Although there are no reports on anyone getting injured in the protest, Maharashtra Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has appealed to maintain peace.

Six days ago, several members of anti-toll action committee had launched a hunger strike against toll collection. Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Satej Patil and Labour Minister Hasan Mushrif had met the activists and assured them that government would ask the company to stop toll collection. However, collection continued till today’s morning. This led to protest today.

An engineering company IRB infrastructure had established the toll plaze in October 2013. IRB Kolhapur Integrated Road Development Co Pvt Ltd, wholly-owned SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) of the company and had commenced the collection of toll at the Kolhapur highway.

The Bombay High Court has upheld the life sentence awarded by the lower court to a 26-year-old man who murdered his friend following a row over a wristwatch.

Trial court had convicted Imtiyaz Shoukat Sayed of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code in September 2003.

According to the prosecution, on March 19, 2000, Sayed had a row with his friend Imtiyaz Javed. Javed had borrowed a wristwatch from him, and had refused to return it.

Sayed slapped him, and there was a fight. Then Javed handed him the watch and started walking away.

However, Sayed called him back, and stabbed him with a knife.

Advocate Prakash Wagh, Sayed’s lawyer, argued in the High Court that his client could not have been convicted for murder as he had no intention to cause the death. At the most he could have been charged for ‘culpable homicide’, a lesser offence, as he had assaulted his friend in a fit of rage.

But the division bench of Justices P V Hardas and A S Gadkari noted that “the stab wound was not delivered by the appellant in the heat of the moment during the fight”.

“The deceased had returned the watch and was walking away when the accused called him and intentionally stabbed him. The ferocity and the force of the blow was such that practically all the vital organs had been damaged,” the bench said, upholding the trial court’s verdict.

A couple has been arrested for allegedly abducting and trying to sell a 32-year-old local woman to a family in Gujarat, the police said on Saturday. Thane district rural police arrested the duo — Ajay Kumar Gupta (28) and Priya Vinod Bansode (30) — both residents of Palghar on Saturday.

According to API Walmik Patil of the Palghar police station, the couple forcibly took the victim from Palghar to Navsari on the pretext of getting her some domestic work, but handed her over to some persons and returned. They promised her that she would earn wages between `10,000-12,000 per month for domestic work. However, the woman learnt that she was sold off to the family in Narora for `1.30 lakh and they were planning to get her married to some person in the locality. Following this, she managed to escape and filed a police complaint after which, offences under various sections of the IPC were registered against the duo, who were subsequently arrested.

Since the complainant was not in a position to give specific details or names of persons to whom she was sold, a police team is likely to visit Gujarat where she was taken to probe as to who all were party to the crime, the officer said. The arrested were produced in a local court, which remanded them into police custody till Friday. The police will now probe if the arrested were engaged in trafficking of women.

A Kerala resident, coming from Dubai, has been arrested by Customs Department at the city’s international airport for allegedly trying to smuggle in one kg of gold worth Rs 24.44 lakh, an official said today.

Passenger Mahamood Mohammed Irshad, a resident of Kerala and holding Indian passport, was today intercepted at the international terminal of CSI airport and two gold rods, weighing a kilogram, and concealed in the cavity of handle of trolley bag were recovered, the officer with Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs told PTI.

“The gold rods, which collectively weighed one kg, are valued at Rs 24.44 lakh. The yellow metal was confiscated from the passenger, who arrived here on an Emirates flight from Dubai,” the officer added.

The accused was arrested under relevant sections of the Customs Act, the officer said.

One more person wanted in connection with the alleged gangrape of a 26-year-old woman dancer from Mumbai was arrested by the police here today.

Hari Krishna, surrendered before the Bowenpally police, who handed him over to the Central Crime Station (CCS), after which he was arrested, a senior police officer told PTI.

The city police cracked the case yesterday by arresting P Venkat Raju, a trader and ‘Happy’ alias Nitin Yadav, an event manger, who were remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody today, the officer said, adding that two others involved in the case were still at large and a manhunt was on to nab them.

The incident took place on the intervening night of December 31, 2013 and January 1 this year, after which the victim registered a case with the Mumbai police.

The victim, who had been offered Rs 1 lakh by ‘Happy’ to perform at an event here on New Year’s eve, was given a soft drink spiked with a sedative after she arrived here from Mumbai.

Later, she was taken to a house in Nizampet area and allegedly gangraped. They also stole her ATM card and withdrew Rs 57,000, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma had told reporters earlier.