Tuesday, August 18, 1998
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Jaya's charges: Cong for
high-level probe |
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Govt formation: TMC to
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Regimental
accounts frozen |
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Jaya's charges: Cong for high-level
probe NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — Playing its role as the principal opposition party, the Congress today sought to take advantage of the crossfire between the BJP and its ally, by demanding a high-level probe into charges of corruption in the Prime Minister’s Office levelled by the AIADMK supremo, Ms Jayalalitha. Expectedly the BJP dismissed it as "baseless". The Congress demand came in the wake of allegations by the AIADMK General Secretary, Ms Jayalalitha, that some persons close to the Prime Minister were paid hefty bribes by owners of a group of publications to effect the transfer of the Chief of Enforcement Directorate, Mr M.K. Bezbaruah, last week. The Congress spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, said while it is ‘tragic’ that the Atal Behari Vajpayee government had allowed the transfers of senior bureaucrats, what was "more serious" is the "extremely grave allegations and charges of corruption levelled by the leader of the most important ally of the present government against the office of the Prime Minister himself". The BJP spokesman, Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, on his part said the charge was baseless and did not merit an inquiry. He defended the transfers and said "decisions have to be taken by the government and it is for the government to go into details". He said the charges by Ms Jayalalitha were made just a day after Mr Vajpayee announced from Red Fort that the office of the Prime Minister would be within the purview of the Lok Pal. Mr Jogi said in addition to a high-level probe into the charges of corruption, the government should also inquire and reveal the identity of the person in the office of the Prime Minister mentioned by Ms Jayalalitha. The party also demanded that the government should also publish details of background and rationale behind the recent massive reshuffle. The Congress also rejected the official denial to Ms Jayalalitha’s charges stating that it was not satisfied with what the government had said. "The denial reveals less and conceals more", he said. Mr Jogi said the Congress took the allegations of the AIADMK supremo seriously and wanted a thorough probe into the episode. He said in India the time-honoured principle and convention was that postings and transfers of civil servants had never been allowed to be controversial since it disturbed the confidence of civil servants. In a statement issued in Chennai yesterday, Ms Jayalalitha, urged the Prime Minister to cancel the transfer of the bureaucrats at the Centre for which she was blamed. The transfers should be
cancelled because the government effected them without
the consent of the Union Minister of State for Personnel,
Mr K.M.R. Janardhanan and he was not even consulted on
it. |
Govt formation: TMC to back Cong MADURAI, Aug 17 (UNI) — Tamil Maanila Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram has said the TMC will extend support to the Congress if it forms an alternative government at the Centre. Talking to newsmen here last evening, he, however, clarified that the TMC would never join or merge with the Congress. There was no confusion among the TMC leaders in this regard, he added. On AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha’s repeated threat to the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre, Mr Chidambaram said she would not withdraw support to the BJP but would only take some concessions. The present situation exposed the differences among the coalition partners, he added. Referring to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s Independence Day speech that he would not succumb to pressure for remaining in power, Mr Chidambaram hoped that he would live up to his words. On the Lankan issue, Mr Chidambaram said there was no change in the TMC’s stand on a united Sri Lanka. Asked about the report of the Srikrishna Commission, he said though the Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra had rejected it, the people would reject the Sena in the next elections. He lauded the judge for his impartial approach and urged the Union Home Ministry to go through the documents thoroughly. Mr Chidambaram hoped that the TMC would form the government in Tamil Nadu by 2001 and provide a better administration. He, however, said the ruling DMK in the state was doing its best. He said due to the prevailing uncertain political conditions, foreign investors were hesitating to invest in the country. The present finance policy would affect the country’s balance of payment position. He said he was
instrumental in increasing the foreign reserves from $
1,700 crore to $ 2,600 crore and keeping inflation at
around 4 per cent. |
Set-up citizens' charter: minister NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — The Union Minister Mr K. Janarthanan, has suggested the formulation of a citizens’ charter by every District Collectorate for various activities directly affecting the people and publicise the redress systems. Inaugurating a conference of Secretaries of state governments and union territories here today, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said that administrative reforms should guide the reorientation of public grievance redressal, easy access of public to information and effective delivery of services. "At every point of public contact, we should be able to provide the user, whether he is a client, an industrialist, an employee or a citizen, with the information that he requires or demands," Mr Janarthanan said. Stressing that "officers with empathy" should be placed in crucial posts to coordinate development activities. He said "We need to provide a visible face to the effort to formulate and operationalise citizens’ charters through information and facilitation counters in all public offices in the Capital and district headquarters." He said such a step, if vigorously followed up, would provide a citizen-friendly administration and restore the credibility of the government in the eyes of the people. Referring to the recently-concluded interim accord on Cauvery, Mr Janarthanan said this had "diluted" the role and function of the monitoring committee set up in 1993 following a demand by Ms Jayalalitha. "The present committee has just become an advisory body and it has no powers," he added. He said the Cauvery waters issue was part of the coalition government’s national agenda for governance and, therefore, his party was within its rights to press for it. "By accepting the new accord, the DMK Government has only compromised the interests of the people of the state," the union minister said. He said his party had played a major role in the formation of the present coalition government and recalled, "we were not keen to join the government. In fact, we were asked to do so." Accusing the DMK of not
pressing the demand for a "better deal" for the
state on sharing of Cauvery waters when the United Front
was in power, Mr Janarthanan said they wanted to remain
in power at any cost. |
Month for shadow boxing NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The first signs of a semblance of normalcy returning to the corridors of power here were available today with the Prime Minister’s Office announcing an elaborate tour programme for Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. The Congress donned the mantle of principal Opposition and shot off a salvo by demanding inquiry into the charges of corruption in Prime Minister’s Office levelled by Ms Jayalalitha; while Mr Chandra Shekhar questioned the ability of the Congress to provide a stable government and opposed Mrs Sonia Gandhi heading a government in the event of the Vajpayee regime’s collapse. It may be recalled that the present round of political fireworks had been started off impromptu by former Prime Minister, Mr Chandra Shekhar, who, at a press conference in the Capital on June 22, had charged the BJP-led coalition with failure on all fronts, and urged the Congress to take the initiative in forming an alternative government of "secular" forces. In the event of the Congress and other like-minded parties coming together an alternative government could be installed in seven days, Mr Chandra Shekhar had said eight weeks ago. Yesterday, he had attended a meeting at the residence of Rashtriya Loktantrik Manch-Samajwadi Party leader, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, in which Congress representatives were also present. A day later, today, speaking from Indore, Mr Chandra Shekhar sounded an entirely different note. The sabre-rattling from Chennai notwithstanding, the BJP-led coalition seems to be limping back to the serious task of governance. The way important transfers were carried out last week will be difficult for it to explain. However, the BJP now seems to be reconciled to the scenario of running even a minority government, in case the AIADMK plays truant. The Congress, on its part, does not want to inherit the handicaps of the BJP in the present House. Ideally it would prefer elections to be held early next year. However, if things go sour for the BJP in the meanwhile, the Congress will have to put together an alternative team, though the hazards of such coalitions are rather too well known. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, will be away to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh tomorrow to survey the flood-affected areas. On Wednesday, he will fly to Raipur in Madhya Pradesh and inaugurate an airport there on Thursday. He will return to Delhi only for the night and on Friday he will be off to Jaipur for a three-day visit to attend the national executive meeting of the BJP. Significantly, both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are due for assembly elections in November. Mr Vajpayee’s itinerary in both the states includes public meetings. Thus, beginning tomorrow, till the end of the week, August 23, the Prime Minister will be virtually out of the national Capital. He leaves on a Nine-day foreign tour on August 28 which takes him to Oman, Namibia, South Africa and Mauritius. The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit is due in Durban, South Africa, between September 1 and September 3. Mr Vajpayee is likely to hold bilateral discussions with his Pakistani counterpart, Mr Nawaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the Durban summit. The Prime Minister returns from abroad on September 5. The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, leaves on a fortnight’s tour to Germany, Turkey, Portugal and Luxembourg on September 6. The President will return to the Capital on September 20. Thus, from now, for a month, there would be a lot of shadow boxing. The Congress is likely to review the scenario by mid-September and decide whether a Congress government at the Centre is desirable before the assembly elections in four states in November or whether favourable election results in November could be used as the fulcrum for return to power in New Delhi. That’s how things
stand, as of now — unless political expediency and
unforeseen circumstances make the Prime Minister and the
President change their plans for the coming five weeks. |
Regimental accounts frozen NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The Army units stationed in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir are being forced to fight another battle besides taking on the insurgents being pushed into our country from across the border. In this battle, with their own brethren, the Army units have been paying a heavy price. This too for safeguarding the frontiers of our country and keeping the situation under control in the terrorist infested state. All their bank accounts have been frozen, affecting several thousands of soldiers. The fault of these soldiers is that compensation has not been paid by the authorities for the land acquired for the Army in the state. In addition, private or regimental accounts have also been attached. What however is interesting is that the land itself was acquired for the Army by the Directorate General of Defence Estate (DGDE) which is the nodal agency that acquires land for the armed forces. But in this case, a lower court in Pathankot "attached" the unit accounts in the region last year, rendering them inoperative, because full compensation had not been paid to the people whose land was acquired for establishing the key location plan (KLP). This includes accommodation, infrastructure for stores, storage of equipment among other things. According to sources innumerable requests have been made by Army Headquarters to the Ministry of Defence to take appropriate action against the DGDE, which is a civilian organisation. But there has been no response from South Block, which has also caused a lot a resentment in the Army. While there have been several cases since the trouble began in the state in 1993, as of now accounts of seven units remain attached. According to an Army spokesman these units are the RHSD Pathankot, 5021 ASC Bn, 39 EME Bn (MI), HQ 21-Sub Area, GE Mamun, OTG Pathankot and the 217 Med Regt. According to sources the attachment of accounts has affected the salaries, ration supplies and finances for equipment for the Army. This, according to sources, was not only affecting the morale of the soldiers stationed in the troubled state but was also increasing differences between the Sena Bhavan and the MoD. Sources said the Army top brass had shot off several letters to the MoD seeking action against the DGDE, which is responsible for acquiring land wherever the Army units have to be set up. The Army on its own cannot own any land and it is merely acquired for it by the MoD through the DGDE, which is also under the MoD. As per the procedure, once the plans for setting up of the units have been cleared, the DGDE takes over and completes all the other formalities. These include deals with the land owners and revenue officials and includes the completion of the formal transfer procedure and acquires the land for military units. Sources pointed out that while the DGDE was actually at fault for not completing the procedure, the Army units on the other hand had been taken to task by the lower court. What was further bothering the Army officials was that the order was not even challenged in the High Court by the DGDE. The Army officials were also of the opinion that the bureaucrats in the MoD were also shielding their colleagues in the DGDE. Sources however pointed out that the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes was apparently still in the dark about these developments, which had affected the vital services to the J&K sector. An Army spokesperson here
officially stated that the problem started in 1993 and
since then several units had there accounts attached. He
further said MoD had been apprised of the problem and
instructed the DGDE to "make early payment for
release of these accounts from attachment". |
J&K leader decries decision on his visit NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (UNI) — A Kashmiri separatist leader, who was allegedly denied permission by the Centre for attending a UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva, today criticised the government for granting the permission too late. Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, general secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, heading a two member delegation, was to attend the UN sub-commission on human rights in Geneva from August 3 to 28. He was, however, allegedly denied permission to leave by the immigration authorities at the airport when he was about to board the flight to Geneva. Mr Shaheen, whose views on Kashmir opposed to India’s official stand and favours the Pakistani viewpoint, had also approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the government decision describing it as “undemocratic, unlawful, unwarranted and condemnable.’’ Mr Shaheen said he had come to know about the government’s “belated decision’’ only through newspaper reports but officially nothing had been communicated to him. He said they would nevertheless, consider attending the conference once they received some official communication. In a statement, he described the government decision as “farcical and misleading’’ aimed at “hoodwinking’’ the public opinion and to circumvent diplomatic pressures. He said the government decision was never communicated to the delegation officially and it was given when all relevant topics about Kashmir and related issues which were to be discussed at Geneva, had already been deliberated upon. He refuted the government stand that it was a delegation of the banned All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHD) saying it was a human rights delegation from Kashmir whose visit to Geneva was sponsored by a Los Angeles based NGO. Jammu and Kashmir has a
separate human rights commission which probes into
various allegations of human rights violations in the
state. |
Doubts over war crime court role NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — Even as a relentless campaign for an international judicial institution to try and punish war criminals has resulted in the adoption of a statute to set up a world crime court, questions have been raised on its jurisdiction and on its potency in bringing war criminals to book. While it has been alleged that the proposed international crime court to try those accused of war crimes could prove to be a threat to several countries, including India, and also that the culprits might go scot free taking advantage of many loopholes in the statute, others have supported the idea of such a court, refuting the suggestions as “misinterpretation”. “Going by the way the world court’s statute has been approved, India could face claims that Kashmir is an occupied territory, China could face claims that Tibet is occupied and Kurds could claim that they have been occupied by Iraq,” says John Bolton, former US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisations. However, Savita Varde-Naqvi of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), regional headquarters (South Asia) here, counters the allegation as “a gross misinterpretation of the statute. We sincerely hope that this statute will allow the court to fight efficiently against those criminals who mock the international community and whose impunity is an invitation to crime”. On July 17, the statute for establishing the permanent International Crime Court (ICC) was approved with 120 countries voting in favour, seven against and 21 abstentions, including India. “Definitely we need a world crime court to deter and punish for atrocities committed against humanity as it happened in Bosnia, Rwanda and many other places.” “However, India had valid reasons for abstaining from voting. India has made it clear that it supports the idea of a world crime court in principle, but it also wants weapons of mass destruction — including nuclear, chemical and biological — to be included in the list of weapons whose use constitute a war crime,” says M.K. Balachandran, Executive Director, Indian Centre for Humanitarian Laws and Research here. “These are very valid reasons. Moreover, the Security Council of the UN has been given disproportionate importance in the world body. In that sense, it’s also discriminatory in nature. Naqvi also has reservations on certain clauses of the statute. “The ‘opt-out’ clause for war crimes contained in Article 111-B of the statute is a major obstacle to a strong and efficient court. This clause gives even a state party to the statute the right — albeit temporary — to exclude from the court’s jurisdiction war criminals of its nationality throughout the world and for conflicts taking place on its territory. Calling the Article a ‘hollow stone’ in the constitution of the court, she says “Another obstacle is Article 12, requiring a non-party state to give its consent if the crimes which the ICC is competent for have been perpetrated on its territory or by one of its nationals.” Balachandran also expresses serious doubts about the implementation of the court’s judgement. “The idea of a world
crime court is definitely welcome. But it remains to be
seen how the judgements of the court can be implemented.
How will you enforce the accused to be brought before the
court, who will bring them before the court,” he
asks. |
Colonel’s wife killed by
robbers in NOIDA NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The wife of a retired Colonel was bludgeoned to death and the family members seriously injured by four armed robbers who broke into their house in NOIDA, which borders Delhi. The police said Ms Kusum Pandit (56), wife of retired Colonel Ravi Pandit was killed and her husband sustained serious head injuries when they were brutally attacked by the four men armed with clubs and rods who entered their house in Sector 14, which is a prime residential area. Col Ravi Pandit’s sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv, and daughters-in-law, Vinita and Niti, sustained injuries when they were hit on their head while they were asleep. The incident took place at about 2 am. The police said the men, who are believed to be Bawaria denotified criminal tribe members, entered the house after breaking open the main gate of the house. The assailants first attacked Col Pandit and his wife Kusum Pandit with clubs and rods, injuring both of them. Thereafter, the suspects attacked their sons and daughters-in-law who were sleeping in different rooms. The police said the family was moved to the Kailash hospital by them and Niti’s brother, Navneet, who rushed to the spot after his sister called him up after informing the police. Mrs Kusum Pandit who received serious head injuries died after reaching hospital. While the Colonel has received several blows on his body and head, Rajiv and Sanjiv are in a critical condition with head injuries. Their wives, who received blows on the body and arms, are also admitted to the general ward where their condition is stated to be stable. Leaving the family bleeding and injured, the gang then proceeded to ransack the house in search of valuables. The assailants spent close to an hour ransacking the house. The police said Mrs Kusum Pandit was a heart patient and most probably died of shock and injuries. An
unestimated amount of cash and gold jewellery items is
reported to be missing from the house. |
Delhi CM seeks more time for
regularisation NEW DELHI, Aug 17 - Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, appeared in person before the Delhi High Court today and sought the extension of cut off date for the regularisation of unauthorised colonies on private land. Mr Sahib Singh urged the court to extend the cut-off date from March 31, 1993 to December 31, 1997. A Division Bench comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice K.S. Gupta, after hearing the Chief Minister directed him to take a final decision on the cut off date within 10 days, as time and again no fresh request could be made for extending the cut off dates. “We have to put an end to this exercise at some stage of time, otherwise if today 383 colonies are there, tomorrow another 5000 would come up,” the bench observed, adding that “considering the state of affairs in Delhi, some cut-off date has to be strictly adhered to.” The move, if approved, would facilitate the addition of 383 more colonies to the present list of 1071 unauthorised colonies in the Capital. Mr Sahib Singh submitted that the High Court treating March 31, 1993, as the cut-off date had imposed a ban on approval of any fresh colony. The High Court also directed Mr Sahib Singh to take a definite decision within 45 days whether to demolish or regularise the unauthorised colonies settled on government land saying that “a status quo in this regard was encouraging corruption at the official level.” The petitioner in person, Mr H D Shourie, urged the court to not to allow any extension of time as the elections to the Delhi Assembly were round the corner. He contended that he had moved the public interest litigation in 1994 against the regularisation of the colonies on private lands as the government with the sole motive of influencing voters in the elections, was contemplating regularisation of the colonies where the requisite civic amenities were not available. Mr Sahib Singh submitted before the court that there was a “thinking” that the unauthorised colonies set up till December 31, 1997, might be regularised subject to the rider that the colonies should have requisite services. The Bench permitted the Chief Minister to carry out drainage and road construction work in the private unauthorised colonies in the absence of which the areas were faced with severe health hazards. The directions came after the Delhi Chief Minister made a request stating that the government should be allowed to provide drainage and roads in private unauthorised colonies where about 20 lakh persons reside. The court also directed Mr Sahib Singh to provide electricity and water connection to all the unauthorised colonies, whether on private or government land. But, clarified that the facilities were subject to the government decision to demolish or regularise the colonies. Moreover, the court allowed the government to charge and levy development charges for providing facilities. The court was informed on May 13 by the Delhi and the Central Government that the matter on the regularisation of the colonies was in an advanced stage between the Delhi Chief Minister and the officials concerned of the Centre. In response to the court’s query about the plan for the settlement of the colonies, Mr Sahib Singh submitted that the report specifying the plan for regularisation and monitoring of the colonies had been formalised by the National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, and received by the Delhi Government. Central Government standing counsel, Mr Maninder Singh, stated that the terms and condition for the regularisation of these colonies would be submitted today. The Bench further asked the Chief Minister to place on record its detailed action plan, including cut off date, within 10 days and clarify whether the date would again be extended. About no water and electricity connection at Sainik Farms and Anant Ram Dairy, the judges said there was no justification for not providing the facilities when its earlier order clearly stated that the connections would be cut only if the government decided to demolish them. Directing the government
to take a definite decision on the regularisation or
demolition of the colonies on government land, the Bench
made it clear that whatever decision was taken, it had to
be uniform and non-discriminatory. |
Nutritious new potato NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — Genetic engineers at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi have turned the starchy potato into a wholesome nutritive food in what they believe to be a step toward eradicating protein malnutrition in developing countries where potato is a staple diet. Transgenic potatoes grown at JNU’s Centre for Plant Molecular Biology (CPMB) have a much higher amino acid content than ordinary potatoes. “They contain all the essential amino acids the body needs, including some that ordinary potatoes do not have,” says Ms Subhra Chakraborty who, with her husband Niranjan and CPMB Director Asis Datta, produced the transgenic tuber. What made the nutritious potato possible was a unique gene isolated by Mr Datta and his team from grain amaranthus. This gene which has been patented in the USA codes for a seed storage protein named AMA1 which is rich in all essential amino acids. Mr Datta and his colleagues transferred this gene into ordinary potato to make it nutritious. The JNU potato will take
some time to reach the consumers since large-scale field
trials are yet to be done. Meanwhile, Datta says a yeast
variety (saccharomyces pombe) in which the gene has been
introduced can be fermented in commercial scale and used
as a protein supplement to poultry feed in place of
cereals and soyabean currently used. |
Plan to modernise soil testing NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — The government proposes to launch a scheme on modernisation of soil testing during the current plan period. It has been tentatively proposed under this scheme to modernise the existing “static” soil testing laboratories through the supply of required equipment and other measures, says the Standing Committee report on agriculture. The proposal will include setting up laboratories in areas which are not at present adequately serviced by the existing laboratories besides creating mobile soil testing services in interior and specified areas and organising training programmes for the staff. The training programmes will apprise them of the latest techniques of soil analysis and bring in more accurate results, says the report presented to Parliament recently. The committee members wanted the proposed scheme to be made a national campaign where farmers should be educated to use only fertiliser nutrients found deficient in their land and also up to the extent required. Noting that only a token
provision of Rs 1 crore had been made for the 1997-98
period for the purpose of creating the required budget
head and formulating the scheme for its approval, the
committee members favoured raising of the amount if funds
under this scheme were found inadequate. |
Major reshuffle of senior IAF officers NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — In a major reshuffle of senior officers of the Indian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) M.M. Sehgal will replace AVM J.S. Sisodia as Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans) at the Air Headquarters here. AVM Sisodia will be the new Commandant of the Air Force Academy (AFA) at Hyderabad, a Defence Ministry release said. While AVM A.R. Ghandhi has taken over as Director (Personnel) at the Air Headquarters, replacing AVM S. Pingali who has been posted as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), Southern Air Command. AVM M.B. Madon, who was commandant at the AFA, will take over as senior Air Officers in charge (Administration) at the Central Air Command, Allahabad. He will replace AVM J.K. Pathania who has been posted Staff Officer Administration (SOA) of the Western Air Command here. Outgoing SOA of the Western Air Command AVM G.C.S. Rajwar has taken over as Additional Director General of National Cadet Corps here, replacing AVM K.K. Sangar who has been posted as SAASO, Headquarter Maintenance Command at Nagpur, it said. AVM T.H. Asthana has been
posted from the Advanced Headquarter of Western Air
Command as Air Officer Commanding, ADCC. in mutual
posting, AVM M.S. Brar will take over as AOC, Advance
Headquarters, it added. |
Delhi teachers join strike NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — The academic life in the Capital came to a standstill as the central universities in Delhi joined four lakh striking teachers nationwide in demanding implementation of the UGC recommended pay scales. Teaching remained suspended in all the universities and colleges as teachers in response to the call of indefinite strike given by teachers’ body boycotted classes. The strike call has been given by the Federation of Central Universities Association (FEDCUTA) and All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (AIFUCTO). Classes were suspended in Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, Indira Gandhi Open University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and National Council Education Research and Training. The teachers sat in dharna outside the UGC building in the Capital and began their relay hunger strike. The nationwide university
and college teachers stir entered its seventh day today
and according to activists would continue indefinitely as
the government was not showing any willingness to
negotiate the pay scale issue within the parameters of
the UGC pay scales recommendations. |
Country liquor ‘more harmful’ than IMFL NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — People consuming country liquor are more prone to alcoholic liver diseases than those taking Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), according to a study. The study, conducted on 328 patients by doctors of KEM Hospital in Mumbai, says illicitly brewed country liquor, though low in alcohol, is responsible for high incidence of alcoholic liver diseases in Mumbai. The smaller build of Indians, relative to westerners, is one reason for the quick development of liver diseases even if less alcohol is consumed, the doctors report in the Journal of Associations of Physicians of India (JAPI). Unknown individual susceptibility factors and adulterants add to the early development, the report says. The study found patients with liver diseases consumed relatively less alcohol per day compared to that consumed in the West. About three-fourth of the
328 alcoholics suffered from liver diseases and were
older than those with normal liver. Normal liver patients
consumed less liquor for shorter period compared to those
with liver diseases. |
Short distance STD rates reduced NEW DELHI, Aug 17 (PTI) — The government today reduced the tariff for short distance STD calls by treating them on a par with the local calls with immediate effect. Calls to adjacent Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) which were charged on STD rates would now get the facility of inter-dialling on the basic rate of three minutes per call, an official press note said here today. With this, the anomalies in the present system which restricted the local area to a 5-km radius from the telephone exchange or the municipal boundary have been rectified. Rural subscribers would now get the facility of local charges in a larger area as in the case of urban subscribers. This would help the Department of Telecommunications to save expenditure on operation and maintenance of smaller exchanges and enable to incorporate technology developments. Prominent cities that
benefit from this decision include Mumbai, Delhi,
Calcutta and Chennai. |
| In
brief Give funds for water, HC tells
Centre Ganapati smiles on
the commuter Plant that treats
domestic sewage Derailment
disrupts trains 5 die in road
mishap Hoping for a
record in coconuts TDP activist, 2
Naxals killed Parliamentary
panel to study Bill |
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