Deportation of foreign prisoners is among the major issues faced by new Home Secretary John Reid. The issue generated much heat in the House of Commons and in the media when it was revealed that many of these prisoners had committed offences after release.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said in the Commons last week that foreign prisoners would be deported to their countries of origin, irrespective of the nature of their crime.

Opposition MPs have protested that foreign prisoners had been allowed to remain in open jails after the government recently announced their deportation.

However, according to the Prison Service, there were no plans to move the prisoners held in other open jails, as none had absconded this month.

Phil Wheatley, head of the Prison Service, told The Times that many more British citizens had absconded this year than foreign citizens.

Reports say that the Prison Service cannot discriminate against prisoners simply on the ground that they are foreigners. If they are assessed as eligible for open conditions as part of preparation for eventual release, they should be moved to an open jail if accommodation is available.

Latest government figures show that one in eight inmates in jails in England and Wales is a foreign national.

States of origin of the foreign prisoners in British jails: Jamaica 1,633; Nigeria 859; Irish Republic 727; Pakistan 416; Turkey 292; Somalia 284; India 253; Iraq 240; Ghana 212 and China 201. — IANS

The four children of the migrant labourer, Bhagwan Dass, were playing on the river bed last evening when loose earth fell over them killing Savita (13), Hargobind (11), Rupa (4) and Pushagya (1) on the spot. Their bodies were cremated here today.

The SDM, Nurpur, has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5,000 for the parents of the deceased children. However, no case has been registered against illegal miners.

The area where the incident took place has been ravaged because of the illegal mining. Owners of stone crushers in Himachal Pradesh mine the area illegally with JCB machines. Rampant mining has reduced the river bank touching the Air Force station to 10 feet.

The Air Force authorities have written repeatedly to the civil authorities to stop the illegal mining in the area. However, no action has been taken.

The illegal mining was also continuing along the national highway despite the District Magistrate ban under Section 144 of the CrPC. The worst-affected area was along the Pathankot-Mukerian road where the national highway has been threatened due to the illegal mining. Mining was being carried out just about five meters from the national highway.

The District Magistrate-cum-Deputy-Commissioner observes the ritual of passing the ban orders under Section 144 of the CrPC to discourage the illegal mining on the national highway and important Army and civil installations every three months. However, hardly any action has been taken against the culprits.

Owing to the illegal mining the ground level in the area has gone down by 20 or 30 feet. The PWD authorities, speaking on the condition of anonymity, alleged that the illegal mining along the national highways has led to large-scale soil erosion threatening roads and railway tracks.

Sources in the design wing of the Drainage Department said the bed level of the Chaki river, which was the lifeline of the area, has gone down by about 30 feet. It had affected its water-retaining capacity.

The public health authorities have expressed concern about the drop in the water level of various water-supply schemes in rural areas. They have written to the authorities concerned that a number of water supply schemes in the Dhar area are on the verge of closure due to illegal mining. In Pathankot city also the water level has gone down by 30 or 40 feet in the areas alongside the river.

In response to the complaint of the Public Health Department in this connection the Department of Industries have written to the authorities concerned that the matter needs to be referred to the Agriculture Department for a research.