PANAJI: The 312-metre long Banastarim bridge linking north and south Goa will be opened for vehicular traffic on May 30 the eve of Goa Statehood Day -- by Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane. The project, constructed at a cost of Rs 8.7 crore, was financed by the Union Surface Transport Ministry, official sources said. The new bridge has a 7.5 metre clear carriageway (two lane traffic) and 1.5 metre wide footpaths on either side.

Scribe better

NEW DELHI: The condition of senior journalist and associate editor of Outlook, Padmanand Jha who was seriously injured in a road accident near here last Saturday was ``improving'', hospital sources said on Tuesday. Jha was admitted to a private hospital in Noida in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar district with at least three blood clots in his brain.

Border firing

JAMMU: INDIAN and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy fire at two places along the international border in Jammu region since Monday night, a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said on Tuesday. The spokesman said Pakistani rangers using light machine guns to heavy machine guns opened unprovoked firing .

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