Forty Years Ago, August 11, 1981: UN energy meet

The United Nations conference on new and renewable sources of energy opened on August 10 with a call by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for equal distribution of conventional energy and help to the developing world in its crippling crisis. Both Mrs Gandhi who delivered the keynote address and the Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi who inaugurated the 10-day conference asked industrialised nations to stop reckless use of fossil fuels and help poor countries get the energy they need to develop. The Prime Minister said that energy should become the focal point of contemporary international cooperation to facilitated development of new and renewable sources of energy such as wind power, solar power wind power and biomass energy.

Flying rules

The departmental enquiry into the Pitts crash which killed Sanjay Gandhi has recommended that rules governing grant of “open rating” licenses should be tightened and only qualified pilots should fly acrobatic planes. At present, any pilot who has flown four types of light planes get an open rating which allows them to fly all kinds of planes including light ones.

Opposition merger

Leaders of the Lok Dal, Janata Party and Congress (U) have agreed to merge their outfits into a “united party”. Lok Dal general secretary Madhu Limaye said that the BJP president Atal Bihari Vajpayee had informed that his party was against merging with any other party but would extend cooperation to the united party. He said Chandrashekar had expressed his willingness to work with Charan Singh.

Dacoits held

The Delhi Police has arrested three dreaded dacoits of eastern Uttar Pradesh. A large stock of arms, including a foreign-made pistol, was recovered from them.