Saturday, October 10, 1998
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BKU moves court for farmers’
relief NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Centre on a PIL by the Bharti Kisan Union seeking compensation of Rs 5 lakh to kin of each farmer who committed suicide recently in various parts of the country. Cong criticised on US Nagar issue |
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Onion
prices fall |
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Sena blames govt for onion crisis NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Shiv Sena, a constituent of the BJP-led coalition, today accused the Vajpayee Government of failing to take timely action for importing onions which, it alleged, had resulted in sky-rocketing prices of the commodity. Advani endorses RAF’s rapidity Metro
rail systems “not suitable for big cities”
Bank
guard killed Museum
exhibits Egyptian mummy Three
persons shot at Mishra
for action under Art 356 |
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BKU moves court for
farmers’ relief NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Centre on a PIL by the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) seeking compensation of Rs 5 lakh to kin of each farmer who committed suicide recently in various parts of the country. A Division Bench, comprising Justice Anil Dev Singh and Justice Mukul Mudgal, asked the government counsel, Mr H.S. Phoolka, who accepted the notice, to file reply by December 9, the next date of hearing. The BKU also sought immediate action like waiver, moratorium or deferment of loan repayment advanced to farmers by the finance agencies and banks in view of crop failure in various parts of the country due to “indifferent weather”. The BKU counsel, Mr Praveen Singh Aron, requested the court to issue direction to the government for making arrangement for a waiver and deferment of repayment of loans by the farmers as heavy “indebtedness” had forced them to commit suicides in states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab. He said if immediate remedial measures were not taken many more farmers might resort to this “unfortunate and tragic” action as indebtedness was staring at them while their crops had failed. Mr Aron said that the BKU had no option but to approach the court as neither the Centre nor the state governments have taken any serious measure to mitigate the sufferings of the poor farmers. “It is ironical while the hapless farmers are committing suicide, the Centre and the state governments are attempting to pass the buck on each other for this tragedy,” the BKU said. “The Union government instead of announcing its own package of relief and preparing an action plan to prevent reoccurrence of suicides in future, has apparently left the matter to the state governments,” the petition said. Accusing the government of not formulating proper action plan all these years for ensuring some safety to the farmers in the event of natural calamities like flood and drought, the BKU said the Centre appeared more than willing to grant moratorium on loan to the privileged sectors. Mr Aron alleged that the Ministry of Communications recently has shown its willingness to grant such moratorium to the tune of Rs 2000 crore to cellular phone companies. Many incentives and budgetary support were being given to the industries and the private sector even though they had been incurring losses over the years. “But in absence of
such moratorium available to the farming sector, the
country has shockingly witnessed hundreds of poor farmers
committing suicide. Responsibility for this directly or
indirectly lies with the government,” he said. |
Cong criticised on US Nagar
issue NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Shiromani Akali Dal today criticised the ‘dual policy’ of the Congress over the Udham Singh Nagar issue and charged the party was ‘’disturbing peace and harmony in the state to secure narrow political gains’. In a joint statement issued here, the SAD Secretary General, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa MP, and General Secretary, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, hit out at the statement of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President, Mr Amarinder Singh, who termed the three-member panel on Udham Singh Nagar issue an “eye wash’’. Defending the formation of the high-powered panel, the SAD MPs said it has been entrusted with a task of resolving the issue after wide consultations, keeping in mind the interest of all sections of Udham Singh Nagar district. “It is well-known that the vast majority of the people of Udham Singh Nagar do not want to be a part of the proposed Uttaranchal,’’ the statement said. Criticising the Congress, they said the party does not want the issue to be resolved so that they can exploit it for ‘’narrow political gains’. The SAD leaders said the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh has voted in favour of inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal “disregarding the interests of the people of the district including Punjabis’’. They said Mr Amarinder Singh and the Congress state unit wants to “exploit the issue to serve narrow interests’’. They said the Congress Party and its leaders, both at the national level and state levels, have pursued policies which have consistently hurt the interest of Punjab, both economically and emotionally. “Under the Congress rule innocent people of the state have suffered atrocities.’’ “Any attempt to
disturb peace and communal harmony in Punjab by the state
Congress will surely fail because the people have seen
through the real intentions of the Congress and its
leaders during their long years of suffering,’’
the statement added. |
CPM for better ties with CPI EMS NAGAR (Calcutta), Oct 9 — Unperturbed by the criticism of its tilt towards the Indian National Congress by its Left Front allies, the Forward Bloc (FB) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the CPM today emphasised the need for better understanding with the Communist Party of India (CPI). "Cooperation between the two Communist parties is essential", the CPM General Secretary, Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, said today. Left unity was important but more important was greater cooperation between the two Communist Parties, he explained. As for the FB and the RSP, Mr Surjeet did not sound worried. Everything could be sorted out through discussion, he said, adding that he would be talking to these parties after the 16th party congress. The CPM’s tilt towards the Congress has already been endorsed by the CPI. Both parties are prepared to back a Congress government in case the BJP-led coalition "collapses". The organisational report is being discussed by the party congress today. The "historic blunder" thesis of Mr Jyoti Basu will be taken up on Saturday. While officially announcing a 12 per cent growth in the party’s membership, from 6,33,171 in 1994 to 7,17,525 in 1998, Mr Surjeet observed, "the growth of our party is not commensurate with the growth of its prestige". The figures released by Mr Surjeet show the CPM’s membership has declined in Haryana, while it has registered marginal growth in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. There are 1,264 CPM members in Haryana, 892 in Himachal and 12,307 in Punjab, according to the party document. Membership in Jammu and Kashmir has more than doubled, from 212 in 1994 to 515 now. Kerala has the maximum number (2,68,183) followed by West Bengal (2,24,468). Other states’ membership runs into five and four figures. The programme of the CPM adopted in its first party congress held in Calcutta in 1964 is coming up for review. According to Mr Surjeet, when the Communist movement split in India in 1964, the question before his party was "revisionism". Now the "threat" of "rightist forces" has become the priority. And thus, perhaps, in this very city where the CPI had been dubbed "right wing revisionist" 34 years ago an olive branch is being offered by CPM. The CPI and the CPM have co-operated with each other over the past two decades. The CPI is a member of the CPM-led Left Front. But so far the CPM equated the CPI with other allies. Now it is envisaging a closer relationship. Significantly, when the CPI took out a rally in Chennai last month on the concluding day of its party congress, according to reports, CPM workers in large numbers gathered at important points on the rally route and raised slogans in favour of Left unity and cheered the CPI cadres. While on the question whether to take part in the government at the Centre, or to support it from the outside, the CPM may look to the Italian Communists for their experience. While formulating a new party programme, it is drawing from the experience of the Communist Parties in South Africa, Japan, Portugal, China and Vietnam. The souvenir published on the occasion of the 16th party congress has two sections. The first has articles by important politburo members. The second section entitled, "March towards Socialism", has reproduced recent documents on party programme adopted by these five Communist Parties abroad. According to sources, the document from South Africa, "Programme discussion of South African Communist Party" prepared in July 1998, may receive special attention during the debate. The Russian Communist
Party is not attending the 16th congress. The CPM is
apparently in no mood to draw from the experience of the
comrades in Moscow. |
Onion prices fall NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (PTI) — Onion prices crashed both at the primary market in Nashik and in the wholesale market here today as the government announced that the first consignment of 500 tonnes of imported onions would be available in the Capital from October 16. Following government’s decision to import 13,000 tonnes of onion besides banning its export, prices of onion in Nashik declined to Rs 1000-1100 per 40 kg bag from Rs 1250-1350 yesterday, while for the Mahuva variety, it declined to Rs 800-1000 for the 40 kg bag from Rs 1100-1200. In the capital, wholesale prices for the best variety onion declined to Rs 2750 a quintal today from Rs 3375 yesterday. Arrival of onions in Delhi increased to 496 tonnes yesterday from 232 tonnes on Wednesday with stocks arriving from Nashik, Kolhapur and Mahuva (Gujarat). The consignment of 500 tonnes of imported onions from Dubai will reach Mumbai port on October 14, at a landed cost of around Rs 16 a kg, government said today in a press release. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Surjit Singh Barnala also reviewed the availability and price situation today. The release also said new
kharif crop was expected to arrive in the markets in 10
days time and it was expected to bring down prices
considerably. |
Sena blames govt for onion crisis NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (PTI) — The Shiv Sena, a constituent of the BJP-led coalition, today accused the Vajpayee Government of failing to take timely action for importing onions which, it alleged, had resulted in sky-rocketing prices of the commodity. “If timely action had been taken by the Centre, there would not have been any problem regarding the availability of onions and control on its prices’’, leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, Madhukar Sirpotdar and convenor of the party’s action committee for essential commodities, K.L. Gidwani, told mediapersons. Shiv Sena had demanded a ban on export of onions two months back but the government did not pay any attention and about 40,000 tonnes of onions were exported mainly from Gujarat and Maharashtra between April and June this year, they said. If the export of onions had been banned at that time, the commodity could have been available for less than Rs 10 a kg. They also claimed that in
spite of the Centre’s announcement regarding the
import of 15,000 tonnes of onions on September 19, the
Union Commerce and Agriculture Ministries had failed to
come out with the necessary import procedures till
yesterday. |
Advani endorses RAF’s
rapidity NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — If there is a threat to secularism, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) must act promptly to prevent it, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, said here today. Addressing RAF personnel on the sixth anniversary of the force at Wazirabad, Mr Advani said among all forces, RAF was known for its rapidity. “The quick response to any law and order situation is the speciality RAF and it must keep this up,” he said. Mr Advani pointed out RAF officers and men must maintain affinity with the civilian populace whose interests they safeguard. He said the nation would not accept such ancient traditions where the kings failed to empathise with the people. The Director General of CRPF, Mr M.N. Sabharwal, while lauding the role of RAF said, six years ago the action force, a specialised component of the CRPF was raised in conformity with the promise of the Government of India to deal with communal riots and other emergent law and order situations. He said, “no doubt, the creation of RAF has given the people a sense of confidence in the government’s determination to maintain the secular character of the nation.” “In the true traditions of the CRPF, this force has also acquitted itself creditably in all its duties and obligations, wherever and whenever it is deployed,” he added. An impressive parade consisting of six contingents including a women’s contingent and an investiture ceremony marked the occasion. Tableaux depicting the welfare works undertaken by RAF were also shown. Bhangra, gidda and bihu
were some of the dances shown by the cultural troupes
during the march past. Martial arts experts displayed
their skills in unarmed combat where they showed how a
person being attacked by armed men can tackle them
without getting hurt. |
Metro rail systems “not
suitable for big cities” NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — The Minister of State for Railways, Mr Ram Naik, said here today that the Metro Rail Systems were unable to meet requirements of commuters in metropolitan cities. Inaugurating a two-day “workshop on “Emerging Trends in Mass Rapid Transit System,” he said inadequate passenger capacity was evident from the fact that on an average 10 commuters were crammed together in each square metre space on such trains in Mumbai. About 400 delegates from within the country and abroad are attending the workshop organised under the aegis of the Institution of Railway Electrical Engineers. The Minister also called for the development of indigenous technology required for the railways developed countries were increasingly becoming averse to the transfer of technology. Metro railsystems should be improved to such an extent which would ensure that the commuters on reaching offices or factories by train were left with sufficient energy for productive work. Delhi Transport Minister, Rajendra Gupta, however, blamed the railways for shortcomings in the metro rail systems. The Railways had backed out from providing local railway facilities in cities, leaving the job to urban affairs departments which had little expertise in the field. Urging the Railways to take over again the responsibility of running trains in city areas, he said “If the railways continued to play a passive role in metro rail projects, the Delhi Government will have to do a rethinking on the whole issue.” Even road transport was unable to cope with the increasing passenger demands as the city planners had not given much thought to bus tracks while laying roads. City roads were only “car-friendly”. Railway Board Chairman V.K. Aggarwal called for standardisation of MRTS in various cities. The workshop, being
attended by manufacturers of rolling stocks, coaches,
bogies, brake systems and modern pneumatic suspensions,
would discuss, among other things, the role of the
state-of-the-art electric traction based mass
transportation system for various Indian cities. |
NATO’s air-strike moves
worry India NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — Expressing strong reservations over NATO’s proposal of air strikes against Serb targets in the strife-torn Yugoslav province of Kosovo, India today said that dialogue and consultations instead of confrontation should be followed for dealing with such situations. New Delhi believes that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the international borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) must be fully respected by all states, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said. The spokesman said that
the UN Security Council in March and September this year
on the situation in Kosovo had reiterated the commitment
of all UN member states to the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of FRY. |
Bank guard killed NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — A security guard of the State Bank of India was found murdered inside the bank at Sadar Bazaar in North Delhi today. The incident came to light this morning when a sweeper went to the bank and found the gate of the bank was unlocked. When he entered the bank, he saw the deceased, Mange Ram, (40), lying on the floor. He informed the manager of the bank, Brijesh Kumar Jain, who reported the incident to the police. According to the police, there were strangulation marks on the neck of the deceased. Three empty liquor bottles, three glasses, three chairs and some snacks were found near body of the guard. The security guard, who was a resident of Najafgarh in South-West Delhi, was on duty from 4 pm to 12 midnight. But he was allegedly asked by the manager to do overtime till eight in the morning, the police said. The police suspected that he could have called his friends inside the bank to have liquor following which they would have fought in which the security guard was killed. Three almirahs of the bank
were found unlocked. Keys of all drawers were reportedly
missing. However, the strong room of the bank was intact
in which Rs 6 crore were kept. A case of murder has been
registered by the police. |
Museum exhibits Egyptian mummy VADODARA, Oct 9 (UNI) — The century-old Vadodara Museum is exhibiting one of the seven Egyptian mummies lying embalmed in various museums in the country. Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad, the third king of the Gaikwad dynasty had bought the mummy from Cairo in 1832 after paying $ 1 billion. An expert had applied a
vacuum pump six months ago to clean the remains as the
wooden coffin got affected by some insects and the body
started shrinking. |
Three persons shot at NEW DELHI, Oct 9 — An unidentified youth allegedly shot owners of a dhaba and its manager in Geeta Colony in East Delhi today. The owners of the dhaba, Charanjit Gulati, and his brother Onkar Gulati were admitted in LNJP hospital while the Manager, Gulshan, was admitted to Swamy Dayanand Hospital, the police said. Empty cases of five
cartridges were recovered from the spot. An enmity was
suspected behind the incident, the police said. |
Mishra for action under Art 356 NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (PTI) — A former Bihar Chief Minister, Mr Jagannath Mishra, today said the situation in Bihar merits "instant action" under Article 356 to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" and save 10 crore people of the state from "misrule, humiliation and disgrace". In a statement here Mr Mishra cited various grounds for dismissal of the Rabri Devi government like breakdown of constitutional machinery, financial mismanagement, collapse of law and order, misuse of political power and series of political killings. The Bihar Jana Congress
chief said court strictures on law and order, CAG reports
on malgovernance and parallel administration in nine
districts could be the other grounds for sacking the
Rabri Devi government. |
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| ‘Crabs causing coastal
decay’ NEW DELHI: Extensive burrowing by crabs along the coast of the Bay of Bengal is aiding erosion, according to the Geological Survey of India (GSI), which has traced a conspicuous network of burrows in affected areas. The rapid erosion of Digha beach in West Bengal, where coastal decay remained unchecked even after applying remedial measures like gravel barriers and mangrove plantations, had experts worried about the fate of this tourist spot. The GSI in Calcutta studied four areas along the Western and Eastern coasts — Digha, Shankarput, Junput and Bakkhali — and found various crab species in large numbers along the coasts. — PTI Train collision averted Phone sex racket
busted GDA penalised Leopard kills two
children CBI probe sought
in nuns’ rape case Bandh affects
normal life |
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