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| Tuesday, January 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Govt ‘inaptitude’ blamed for farmers’ woes
Govt examining plea on Bleach sentence BJP: Malkani didn’t intend to hurt |
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| Did Nepal film world offer Dawood supari? Elephant killings trigger stir Curfew extended without relaxation Three hand grenades seized KBC may go off air for some time Mauritius minister arrives on Jan 4 Ajit Jogi champions tribal cause Shanta announces 150 scholarships Vajpayee to continue ayurvedic treatment Real life hospital drama on TV 4 of family die in landslide DEHRA DUN, Jan 1 — Higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon hills experienced the season’s heaviest snowfall last night, intensifying cold conditions in Uttaranchal. 
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| Govt ‘inaptitude’ blamed for farmers’ woes NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — The Congress today took a strong exception to a reported statement of the BJP President, Mr Bangaru Laxman, that the imports of agricultural commodities cannot be prevented under the WTO regime and charged that the present problems of farmers were due to the Vajpayee government’s “inaptitude” and not due to the WTO agreement. “Either he (Mr Laxman) has not understood the WTO agreement or he is deliberately misleading the country to gain political mileage,” the Congress spokesman, Mr Prithviraj Chauhan, told newspersons here. Stating that the present problems of farmers are entirely due to government’s “inaptitude” and not because of the WTO agreement, he accused the Central Government of mishandling the food economy, tampering with PDS prices and promoting unwarranted import of agricultural commodities by keeping the import duties low. “The current problems of Indian agriculturists is nothing to do with the WTO agreement. The government has enough instruments at its disposals to stop import of agricultural commodities, such as imposition of high tariffs within the permissible WTO limits and initiating of anti-dumping measures,” he said adding the Government chose to impose low import duties. Citing examples of “mishandling” of imports, Mr Chauhan said while the WTO import duty sealing on sugar is 150 per cent but the government imported sugar from Pakistan during the Kargil conflict at 0 per cent import duty. Millions of tonnes of sugar was imported when India had a record sugar production and godowns were full. While the maximum import duty that could be imposed on most of the edible oils under the WTO agreement is 300 per cent, the government had imposed a much lower rate, the spokesman said pointing out that this has resulted in Indian farmers not getting remunerative prices and they have shifted to other crops. “India had become self-sufficient in edible oils but because of NDA government’s policies we now have a shortfall of over four million tonnes,” he said. Even the import duty on soyabean oil was raised to permissible rate of 45 per cent from the earlier rate of 5 per cent only on November 19, just one day prior to the Congress adjournment motion on the farmers problem in the winter session of Parliament, he said. On the reported statement of the Janata Party President, Dr Subramaniam Swami’s alleging that the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi’s mother was indulging in smuggling of Indian Shahtoosh shawls, the Congress Spokesman said “the allegations were motivated and outpouring of overfertile imagination.” Mr Chauhan said the Janata Party President was a habitual offender making scurrilous personal attacks to draw publicity and media attention. “Dr Swami’s allegation does not deserve a reaction from the largest national party. But, if it is not responded to, then the silence will be miscontrued by others,” he said. On the Bofors pay-off issue, Mr Chauhan said the party was always in favour of fair and lawful probe into the case. “Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had declared on the floor of Parliament that neither he nor any member of the family was involved in the Bofors case,” the spokesman said, adding, “We deny each and every allegation of Dr Swami and feel that the Janata Party President is indulging in cheap sensationalisation.” |
| Govt examining plea on Bleach sentence NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — The government is examining the request of the British Government for the remission of sentence awarded to Peter Bleach, the only convicted accused in the Purulia arms-drop case still undergoing sentence in India. “We have started examining the request received for remission of sentence awarded to Bleach,” a Home Ministry spokesman told newspersons here today. A formal request for the remission of Bleach’s sentence was received by the Ministry for External Affairs on December 4, 2000, from the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook. The letter written by Mr Cook to the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, was a follow-up of the concern expressed to the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, by the visiting British Home Minister, Mr Jack Straw, in September, 2000. Bleach, who is serving his sentence at Presidency Jail in Calcutta, has been convicted of offences Under Section 121-A of the IPC (conspiracy to wage war against India), Arms Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act and Aircraft Act in the Purulia arms-drop case. He has been sentenced to life imprisionment by the sessions court in Calcutta. An appeal petition of Bleach is pending before the Calcutta High Court. On the night of December, 17/18, 1995, a huge consignment of sophisticated arms and ammunition were air-dropped over some villages in the jurisdiction of the Jhalda, Police Station, Purulia district of West Bengal by an AN-26 aircraft. The act of the accused was tantamount to waging/attempting to wage a war against the Government of India as well as commission of an act with intent to facilitate design to wage a war against the Government of India. Of the 14 accused who were chargesheeted, seven were absconding and the other seven were in custody and faced trial. After the completion of the trial, six foreigners, Peter Jems Giffran Von Kalkstein Bleach (British), Alexander Klichine (Latvian), Igor Moskvitine, alias Alexandre (Latvian), Oleg gaidaoh (Latvian), Evguent Antimenko (Latvian) and Igor Timmerman (Latvian) were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The seventh accused, Vinay Kumar Singh (India), who faced trial was not found guilty by the court vide its order dated February 2, 2000. The convicted persons filed appeals against their conviction in the Calcutta High Court. The appeals have been listed but the date of hearing is yet to be fixed. In July, 2000, the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, remitted the sentence of the five Latvians and they were released from Presidency Jail. BJP: Malkani didn’t intend to hurt NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — In a demage-control exercise, the BJP today made clear that its senior leader K.R. Malkani never intended to hurt the sentiments of the people in Nepal through his “casual remarks” on five-decade-old events. Talking to newspersons, the BJP Vice President, Mr K. Jana Krishnamurthi, said Mr Malkani had conveyed to the party that he had never imagined that his remarks would have such an adverse impact. Mr Krishnamurthi said the event should be forgotten in the interest of the deep relationship between the two neighbours. The government had made it clear that India respected the sovereignty and integrity of Nepal, he added. Yesterday, both the Indian Government and the BJP had distanced themselves from the views of Mr Malkani.
Did Nepal film world offer Dawood supari? PATNA, Jan 1 : Did the Nepal film world offer a “supari” to Dawood Ibrahim to fan the ‘Hrithik trouble’ in the Himalayan kingdom? Was the controversial newspaper owner in league with the don in managing the show? Are some opposition leaders of Nepal dummies in the hands of the ISI and Maoists? As the Hrithik trouble in Nepal gets mired into controversy and mystery, it shall be next to impossible for the Bhojraj probe committee formed to ascertain the causes behind the incidents to point the needle of suspicion on any individual or group. There is confusion whether Dawood made the Nepal filmmakers trigger the incident or the latter prompted the don to do the same. Dawood, popularly known as SAD or the South Asian Don in Nepal, was the first underworld don to have financed Bollywood movies. He is known to have extended his movie business interests in Nepal after the Mumbai police and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) zeroed in on his life and property in Mumbai. It is believed that a Nepal film producers’ group offered him a “supari” to fan anti-Bollywood sentiments in the Himalayan kingdom. It may be mentioned that the Nepal film industry have been less popular than the Bollywood movies. The Nepal movie producers face a virtual blackout of their movies in the wake of flooding of Bollywood ones. Hrithik was the natural target as he is the Nepal youth’s idol. It is believed that the producers contacted some ISI men who sent a “supari” to the South Asian Don and he planned the affair, ‘executing’ it with the help of a newspaper “Space Times”. The External Affairs Ministry of India is learnt to have conveyed to its Nepalese counterpart information of the ISI plan to create a rift between India and Nepal so that it could have a ‘safe operation zone’ away from Pakistan. Dawood seems to be now the front man in ISI operations from Nepal. Meanwhile, despite normalcy limping back in the Himalayan kingdom, markets have not opened. The attacks on Indians and their property have stopped and buses are gradually leaving for their destinations after four days.
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| Elephant killings trigger stir DEHRA DUN, Jan 1 — The killing of two pachyderms during the past two days in Corbett National Park has set alarm bells ringing while poachers are still active in this nature reserve. After the discovery of an elephant carcass in the tiger reserve on the night of December 29, tourists visiting the prestigious park were in for a shock on New Year’s Eve. A second carcass lying unclaimed in the dense forests for more than a day was found by a team of forest officials on the night of December 30, in a routine patrolling. Officials of the park said the pachyderms might have been poisoned. The viscera of the dead bodies have been sent to the veterinary hospital for examination. A detailed report is expected on Tuesday. According to Mr P.C. Joshi, Director of the park, the first carcass was found with its trunk and foot chopped off and also its tusk missing. The second was found lying in the forests bordering the neighbouring Bijnore district in an unmutilated state. Officials of the park are of the view that the killings of two elephants could be the handiwork of professional poachers who have been operating in the region with the help of locally hired people. The poachers were unable to take away the ivory after the second attack. There might be fears in their mind about the information being leaked by some hired persons. Reports that reached here in the capital say the people of Ramnagar woke up on Saturday morning and staged a demonstration in front of the forest officials to save the lives of the wild animals. There were rumours of poachers being camping in the area. But the officials did not take notice of the request. And in the night another elephant was found dead. The local people, who are dependent on tourism, reacted to the killings of the elephants in the morning of December 31 by blocking the entrance gate to the park at Bijrani close to the Ramnagar office of the Park Director. A large number of tourists flock the tiger reserve during the winter vacations. This week a government guest house was specially booked for the family of Mr Surjit Singh Barnala Governor of Uttaranchal and Mr Nityanand Swami, CM of the state. Those who joined the protests against the killings included nature guides, taxi drivers, local people and even few tourists. The gate was opened by the activists later in the evening of December 31 only after the assurance given by the Park Director that he will mark an official inquiry into the alledged activities of the poachers. Apart from this, a couple of other wildlife casualties in Rajaji National Park over the past week have caused concern among nature lovers in the Hardwar and the Dehra Dun region. |
| Curfew extended without relaxation RANCHI, Jan 1 (PTI) — With the situation remaining tense, the curfew, clamped on the town on Friday, continued to remain in force with no relaxation today, Chief Secretary V.C. Dubey said. The curfew, which was relaxed for a few hours yesterday to enable people to buy rations, was not relaxed “as the administration do not want to take any chance”, he said. The situation has turned tense afresh, especially in the Heavy Engineering Corporation, Dhurva and Jagannathpur areas as the news of the death of Hatia DSP U.C. Jha, critically injured by a mob on Thursday, spread last night. Mr Jha had received serious head injuries while trying to control a mob that stoned the police prior to Thursday’s firing killing three persons. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the CRPF were patrolling the town, while the Army stood by to assist the administration if required. Mr Dubey said, “The situation though still tense is well under control.” A shop selling cotton and wool in HEC sector II was torched last night, he said. There were also reports of some commotion in Dhurva and Birsa Chowk areas, official sources said adding the RAF intervened and brought the situation under control. Mr Jha, who died at hospital here yesterday, will be cremated here later today. Chief Minister Babulal Marandi has announced a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh for the family of the DSP, official sources said. Mr Jha’s family would continue to draw the officer’s full salary with applicable increments till the date of his retirement, they said. His wife would also be given a government job and their children free education, the Chief Minister said. UNI: Mr Dubey said five columns of Army called from Deepatoli staged flag marches last night to instil confidence in the people. Mr Dubey said the situation in the capital city had returned to normal during the past 48 hours. No incident was reported during the few hours of curfew relaxation in the five police station areas. Three hand grenades seized NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — The Delhi police has seized three hand grenades from Jamia Nagar, following the interrogation of Lashkar-e-Toiba militant who was suspected to be involved in Red Fort shoot-out incident. The police is expecting to arrest more militants from different areas of the Capital whose names have been disclosed by Ashfaq during interrogation. Raids are being conducted by the sleuths of the special cell, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr Ashok Chand said. The bombs were seized from a waste land behind a computer institute “Knowledge Plus” of Ashfaq, in Ghafoor Nagar. The grenades were defused by the bomb disposal squad of the Police, the DCP said. Ashfaq was arrested from Ghazipur in East Delhi on December 26, following which he disclosed the name of his accomplice, Abu Shamaal, who was killed in an encounter at Batla House in Jamia Nagar area of South Delhi. |
| KBC may go off air for some time NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (PTI) — Star TV’s cash cow Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) might go off air for some time in 2001 to prevent the onset of boredom and revive audience as well as advertisers’ interest. “KBC might go off air for some time this year if we find that the show is getting to be boring. Or else, we might at that time introduce Junior KBC, where only children will participate, to revive audience interest,” Star TV spokesperson Yash Khanna told PTI on phone from Mumbai. While he declined to give further details about the proposed ‘holiday’ of KBC, Mr Khanna said this would be in keeping with what was the norm worldwide, where gameshows were time-bound, for 13 weeks or more, and routinely went off air for the same length of time before returning to revived audience interest and advertising. The possibility of KBC going off air comes even as buoyed by its unprecedented success and revenue generation, the channel is eyeing break even sooner than the 2002 target it had set for itself in India. KBC, which generates a gross advertising revenue close to Rs 2 crore per episode with 10 minutes of advertisement, is the sole reason for this optimism, and media baron and promoter of Star Rupert Murdoch had admitted as much at the last annual general meeting of News Corporation, of which Star TV is a subsidiary. “Star TV is reducing losses and even though I keep telling you that, the fact is that in the established broadcast business, we are probably breaking even overall and making money in India,” Mr Murdoch said at the AGM. |
| Mauritius minister arrives on Jan 4 NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — Indo-Mauritius ties will come under sharp focus this month when Foreign Minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan arrives here on January 4 on a six-day official visit to prepare for the forthcoming official visit of his Prime Minister Anerrod Jugnath. Mr Jugnath is expected to visit India after January 15. Briefing reporters, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, said Mr Gayan would have bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on January 8. Apart from exchanging views on bilateral, regional and international issues, the two Foreign Ministers would explore avenues for expanding economic ties. Mr Jugnath was invited to visit India by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when he visited Mauritius last year in March. During his stay in the Capital, Mr Gayan would also attend the international conference of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) which is scheduled to be inaugurated by Mr Vajpayee. |
| Ajit Jogi champions tribal cause CHIEF Minister of Chattisgarh Ajit Jogi has consolidated his position in the party by championing the tribal cause. He faced no threat to his ministry from the hopelessly divided BJP. It is true that earlier there was division in the Congress over the induction of Mr Jogi as the Chief Minister of the new state. The Congress has a strength of 48 members in the 90-member Chattisgarh Assembly. The BJP was expected to take advantage of the division in the Congress to create problems for Mr Jogi, who is a tribal Christian. It is known that the Shukla brothers were not happy over the election of Mr Jogi as the leader of the CLP. However, Mr Vidya Charan Shukla later clarified that he would have no truck with the BJP. At present, the BJP is fighting for its survival. On the eve of the maiden Assembly elections, factional leaders in the BJP clashed over the election of the Leader of the Opposition. Mr Brij Mohan Agrawal, a senior BJP leader, was an aspirant for the post. But his claim was ignored by the BJP high command, which proposed the name of Mr Nand Kumar Sai for the coveted post. On this, Mr Brij Mohan Agrawal’s followers, including MLAs, went berserk. Infuriated at high command’s decision, they set two cars ablaze and damaged the BJP building. The violence unleashed by supporters of Mr Brij Mohan Agrawal was unprecedented. Later, the party high command suspended eight BJP activists, including Mr Brij Mohan Agrawal, to restore semblance of discipline in the party. But the BJP has lost its popular image as a disciplined party. The BJP, therefore, was on the defensive during the debate, outlined a programe for the speedy development of the backward Chattisgarh state which has vast natural resource. He also announced Rs 408 crore package for the development of the Bastar region predominantly inhabitated by the tribals. He said he would give priority to education and irrigation in the Bastar region. He revealed that irrigation facilities were almost non-existent in Bastar. Only 0.76 per cent of the total arable land enjoyed irrigation facilities. It may be mentioned that in Bastar, Naxalities have secured a firm foothold. And Mr Jogi is of the view that the Naxalite problem can be tackled only by bringing about socio-economic changes in the region. Tribals are living in poverty with no basic facilities. Mr Jogi even offered unconditional talks with the PWG Naxalites to end violence in the area. But so far no initiative has been taken as a follow-up of the Chief Minister’s offer to hold talks with the Naxalities. The Chief Minister also embarrassed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh by reinstating daily wage workers. Mr Digvijay Singh had terminated the services of daily wage workers to curtail expenditure in Madhya Pradesh. But Mr Jogi will have to concentrate on tackling drought which has overtaken all the 16 districts of the new state. Chattisgarh is known as the rice bowl but this year 60 per cent of the paddy crop has been damaged for want of rains. The small and landless farmers are in distress. They have already started migrating to the adjoining states. The people will also face acute water scarcity during summer months as rainfall recorded last year was only 50 per cent of the average normal rainfall. The new Chattisgarh Government thus faces the worst drought which is posing a major challenge to the Ajit Jogi government. — IPA |
| Shanta announces 150 scholarships NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr Shanta Kumar, has announced a special New Year gift to the poor, but brilliant students of the Kangra parliamentary constituency. According to a press note, Mr Shanta Kumar’s family has decided to give 150 scholarships to poor and deserving students of the area. Mr Shanta Kumar, who could not go to college due to financial constraints and completed his education as a private student, feels that many brilliant students fail to get higher education because of poverty. Mr Shanta Kumar said the scholarships would be given to students of 150 schools in the Kangra-Chamba parliamentary constituency. Headmasters of the identified schools have been requested to sponsor names of deserving students for the purpose. Mr Shanta Kumar will contribute Rs 10,000 per month from his income towards the scholarships. |
| Vajpayee to continue ayurvedic treatment KUMARAKOM (Kerala), Jan 1 (UNI) — Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee will continue ayurvedic treatment he received for his knee ailment during the six-day vacation here. He expressed his desire to continue the treatment before leaving the lake side resort this afternoon after a six-day stay in the Taj Garden Retreat. “Visit to remember to the God’s own country. I particularly benefited from ayurvedic oil treatment and would like to continue it.” thus wrote Mr Vajpayee in the Visitors Diary of the hotel. Starting from the first day on December 26, Mr Vajpayee had oil massage by physicians from the Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Research Institute. The elaborate oil massage lasting nearly an hour in the morning every day was followed by bath in lukewarm water. Luckily for Mr Vajpayee, the winter chill, coupled with spells of rain on the first four days of his sojourn was ideally suited for ayurvedic therapy. The Taj Retreat also has a good ayurvedic massage parlour. Though it was announced earlier that Mr Vajpayee’s choice of Kumarakom for his annual sojourn was also to get ayurvedic treatment, the officials had denied the report and said that Mr Vajpayee was not undergoing any treatment but only “routine oil massage for rejuvenation”. The Prime Minister also congratulated the Taj Garden on providing him maximum comfort during his stay. “The hospitality at Taj Retreat is excellent. I felt like home”, he recorded in his diary. |
| Real life hospital drama on TV NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (PTI) — Imagine a hospital. The casualty. Long queues that start at 3 a.m. Stretchers carrying the fatally wounded. A child groaning in pain. A successful operation. Now imagine cameras capturing all these and much more, live. This is what BBC World’s new series ‘Hospital’ set in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hitting the small screen from today is all about. It is the life in an Indian hospital, captured as and when it unfolds, heralding in India a genre of reality TV tried successfully abroad, where ordinary happenings in institutions like airports, jails or schools are caught in the camera. Because truth is stranger than fiction. “The 13-episode series will show AIIMS as it is, will capture the real-life drama that unfolds in it everyday,” says Mr Narendhra Morar, Commissioning Editor, BBC World. “Hospital belongs to the fly-on-the wall documentary of the reality TV genre. It is about real human drama.” “Reality TV documentary takes the cameras into a place, like a jail, a hospital or an airport to see what happens there. Like a magnet the camera follows stories of people.” “In the process of capturing AIIMS, we show the running of the hospital and how the people in it work.” But isn’t such a programme trying to create a story out of human sufferings, to make real people just characters in a television show? Mr Morar accepts the possibility of such allegations and is ready to face criticism. According to him, the way people look at a programme depends on the treatment given to it. He explains that there were problems from the moment of conception to the real shooting. “We did not shoot when patients objected to it.” “It is a high risk project. Every time the response may not be positive. There were problems getting the permissions. As expected, there was a lot of suspicion whether ours is a negative show, trying to dig out the dirt.” But Mr Morar claims the aim of the programme is different. “We want to reflect the reality. Individuals may resist being captured in camera. But we do not insist. And mind you, there are no hidden cameras.” The process of getting the act together was not easy. The crews were shooting loads and loads of film, in conditions totally different and unconducive, even hostile to TV programmes. “There were times when we went on shooting for long hours when nothing happened,” says Mr Morar. “Reality TV involves an enormous amount of shooting. We had to get cooperation from administration, doctors and patients.” Even when one goes for reality TV which is more of a spontaneous and live programme without any script, the need to have a sensible story remains, without which the audience will lose interest. Therefore, says Mr Morar, “We try to tie up a story at the end of every episode. The way is to have stories with a beginning, a middle and an end.” “There are two kinds of stories: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal stories overlap across episodes, like say, the story of a doctor. Vertical stories are self-contained ones, which end in one or two episodes.” “While doing it, we also undertake the task of explaining how the hospital works.” DEHRA DUN, Jan 1 (PTI) — Five persons, including four of a family, were killed in sleep when their hotel situated in a cave was destroyed in a massive landslide, which demolished several houses in Pithoragarh district of Uttaranchal on Saturday, officials said yesterday. Several persons were still trapped under the debris and rescue operations were on to extricate them. Police sources told PTI at Pithoragarh that one Pooran Singh, who was running a temporary hotel inside a cave, his wife and two sons were buried alive in their sleep when the hotel caved in. Another person was also killed. ITBP jawans and personnel of the Kumaon Scouts extricated five bodies, they said. The state government has sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 25,000 to the next of kin of the deceased. At least 200 persons, including danseuse Protima Bedi, were killed in heavy landslides in the area in 1998. |
| Season’s heaviest snowfall in Kumaon DEHRA DUN, Jan 1 (PTI) — Higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon hills experienced the season’s heaviest snowfall last night, intensifying cold conditions in Uttaranchal. The snowfall which began on Saturday continued for the third day today with pilgrim places, including Gangotri, Yamnotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, recording 3 to 5 ft of snow, officials said here today. The famous tourist resort of Auli and “valley of flowers” were also receiving intermittent snowfall with tourists flocking these areas for skiing. The plain areas, including the capital Dehra Dun, recorded the winter’s first rainfall today that brought in further chill in the entire Doon valley. Heavy rainfall, accompanied by hailstorm, lashed Mussoorie. |
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