Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nov. 25: A temple dedicated to the Sun God and having a number of old idols here, is close to losing its grandeur because of continued official apathy.

Located in Turkpatti Village, the Sun Temple is about 18 kilometres from Kushinagar. It was built by the local villagers after a huge and exquisitively carved idol of Surya (the Sun God) made of black stone, was discovered while tilling a piece of land.

The temple has idols belonging to the 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th centuries and is visited by villagers and tourists with deep respect and revernce.

Agra, Nov 24 : The ongoing global recession is taking its toll on Agra’s tourism industry.

There has been a marked decrease in the numbers of foreigners visiting the Taj Mahal this season.

Tour operators in India have already reported a 20 to 30 per cent drop in the number of tourists this year.

The global financial meltdown has hit the pockets of tourists, some of whom are wary of splurging on vacations. For those traveling to India, the budget is of paramount concern.

Lucknow, Nov 23 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K. S. Sudarshan on Sunday said punish terrorists but don''t coin the term ''Hindu Terrorism'' and defame Hindus.

Amidst growing allegations of the involvement of Hindu outfits in acts of terror, various Hindu organizations are taking part in a five-day meeting in Lucknow to mull over ways and means to counter terrorism and the allegations against the Hindu organizations.

Sudarshan accused the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of playing a political game ahead of the Assembly and the general elections.

The state government of UP is likely to give pay scale to school teacher in accordance with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. After the pay hike, school teachers would get pay scale equal to central government employees. 

The decision would put extra burden of Rs 1,500 crore on the state exchequer but politically prove beneficial for BSP in the wake of forthcoming general elections.

According to the police, Priyanka Singh, the 25-year-old former Miss Meerut, along with her friend Anju, killed her parents in a fit of rage, under “sudden provocation.” Priyanka and Anju, who were produced at a court in Meerut, have been charged with murder and loot, and have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody.

Ahmedabad, Nov 19 : The summer campus placements at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) remain unaffected for the present by the global economic meltdown, says director Samir Barua.

All 300 students in the Post-Graduate Programmes (PGP) in the management and the entire 21 PGP Agri-Business management 2008-10 batch have been placed for the next year''s on-job training projects, as per officials.

Barua said that the major recruiters of the previous years were present for the placements reaffirming their commitment to select talent from IIMA campus but actual position would be clear only after long-term recruitment commitments are out.