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| Friday, September 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Tamil Nadu
removes DGP Rs 50 cr ‘monthly bribe’
given to police, MCD ICRC: Afghanistan situation
grim
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President okays six
Bills New Delhi, September 20 President has given his assent to six Bills, including the Manipur Appropriation (Vote on Account) Act, 2001, which would enable money to be drawn from the consolidated fund of the Manipur Government for a period of four months.
PM, Advani watch film on Veer
Savarkar 2 temple caretakers found
murdered Early poll to DSGMC sought
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Tamil Nadu
removes DGP
Chennai, September 20 The next posting for Mr Ravindranath had not yet been announced. Mr Nailwal is currently the Director of Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau, Chennai, whose place is being taken by Mr V.K. Rajagopalan, now Additional Director General of Police and member of the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board. Mr Rajagoplan has been promoted to the grade of Director General, an official press note said here. Mr Ravindranath took over as the new Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, a few weeks after Ms Jayalalitha came to power in May.
PTI |
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Rs 50 cr ‘monthly bribe’
given to police, MCD New Delhi, September 20 This sensational revelation was made by Ms Madhu Kishwar, a social activist who has been working with the downtrodden for the past several years. In a survey conducted in the Capital, Ms Kishwar noted that the extortion rates varied between Rs 500 and Rs 3,000 a month for ordinary markets. In areas like the Connaught Place, the rates were as high as Rs 10,000 per person. This she alleged, was the “protection money” which these small vendors had to pay to the MCD. “The Prime Minister had taken note of these shocking reports and consequently had ordered the formation of a pro-poor policy which will provide respite to these affected people. The PM had also issued orders for the scrapping of the issuing of licences to rickshaw pullers and vendors”, said Ms Kishwar addressing the media at a function “Liberty and livelihood” organised in the Capital on Tuesday. According to Mr Maxwell Perierra, Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, there were at present 10 lakh cycle rickshaws plying in the Capital. However, the MCD maintains that there were only 6 lakh and has thus fixed an unrealistic number of 99,000 licences to be issued out of which 73,000 have been issued so far. “The PM has already said that there will be no quantitative limits, but the MCD wants to assert its supremacy by flouting even the PM’s order”, points out Ms Kishwar. Every now and then these rickshaw pullers are rounded up and their vehicles confiscated. The rickshaws are then destroyed unless the owner affords to pay Rs 325, which amounts to 10 per cent of the cost of a new rickshaw. “Even the ones who have a licence are harassed. If my son pulls my rickshaw, it is a violation and the police can seize our vehicle”, said a rickshaw puller on condition of anonymity. According to the rule, a licence is issued only to the puller, even if the puller’s son, leave aside a hired puller, plies the rickshaw, the vehicle is confiscated and destroyed. The MCD on its part says that this has been done to save the poor rickshaw pullers from exploitation of the contractors. These MCD employees, however, admit to destroying 20,000 seized rickshaws each year. Though people in the trade allege that nearly 50,000 rickshaws remain in the municipal custody and a good number are sold surreptitiously by the MCD employees. |
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ICRC: Afghanistan situation
grim New Delhi, September 20 In its recently released annual report for the year 2000 which paints a dismal picture of the mountainous country riddled with strife, the ICRC claimed that to improve the health services in the areas under the control of the Northern Alliance, support for the surgical department at Gulbahar Hospital was increased bringing it to the level of the ICRC assisted hospitals in Kabul, Jalalabad, Ghazni and Kandahar to take care of a large number of wounded. Despite all this, the people of Afghanistan experienced a further decline in their already desperate living conditions, the report says. Industrial production and formal job opportunities continued to be non-existent. Resources badly needed to provide succour to the thousands were consumed by the conflict and much of the population remained dependent on foreign aid. Fierce fighting continued to drive the people from their homes swelling the ranks of those seeking immediate assistance. The report claimed that the ICRC distributed more than 11,250 tonnes of food and 300 tonnes of other relief supplies to nearly 22,000 headed by widows and disabled persons and institutions housing 2,236 oprhans in Kabul alone. It also helped in improving the basic sanitary requirements like improving the quality of drinking water and constructing latrines in the war ravaged country. |
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BJP chief defends pro-US policy New Delhi, September 20 Referring to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s televised address to his nation in which there are indications of Islamabad’s expectations from Washington, BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi said according to information available to them, the USA had not offered anything to Pakistan which would affect the interest of India. Addressing a press conference, Mr Krishnamurthi said Pakistan should realise that if it was Osama bin Laden today, then tomorrow it could be Dawood Ibrahim. It was an open secret that Taliban and Pakistan’s establishment have been hand in glove in the unleashing of terrorism on India, he said India had been fighting it and would continue to do so. So, the Indian Government has called for a united effort on the international level to fight against terrorism and root it out. It was in this context that our government has promised to extend all help to the USA in the joint fight against terrorism, Mr Krishnamurthi said. In an effort to clarify the US tilt towards Islamabad, the BJP President said, “One can understand that the geography of the area has its own influence on America’s plans for war against terrorism”. |
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President okays six
Bills New Delhi, September 20 The Vote on Account was essential to meet the state government’s expenditure as the Manipur Assembly has been dissolved and the state is under President’s Rule. Another Bill which was given the assent was the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Act, 2001, which amends the principal Act of 1952. It seeks to enhance the allowances for the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers. It enhances on a suitable scale, the travelling allowances for ministers which would not be more than 12 return air journeys performed during each year within India for himself or herself and a member of his or her family, whether travelling together or separately, subject to overall entitlement of 48 single air journeys in each year. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2001, which amends the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeks to discipline the increasing number of militants and check the road accidents by making it mandatory to obtain permits for all vehicles for an effective control by the state governments. It also seeks to remove exemption provided under Sections 66 and 67 of the Act to CNG-operated vehicles so that vehicles which operate on eco-friendly fuels are also covered by the terms and conditions applicable to all other vehicles. The other Bills cleared included the Inland Waterways Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2001, the Central Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2001, and the Appropriation (no.3) Bill, 2001. |
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PM, Advani watch film on Veer
Savarkar New Delhi, September 20 It is learnt that the Centre was keen on honouring Savarkar with the country’s highest civilian award, ‘Bharat Ratna’ this year, but the Left parties had opposed the move. Informed sources said that the rationale for the stiff opposition by the Left parties was premised upon a perception that Savarkar was a rabid Hindu and was instrumental in sowing the seeds of Hindu fundamentalism in India. Incidentally, when Savarkar died in 1966 in Pune, Communist ideologue S.A. Dange was amongst the pall-bearers. Former Defence Minister and NDA Convener George Fernandes was also among them. Veer Savarkar was an extremist freedom fighter, was known for his revolutionary methods and was the founder of “Abhinav Bharat,” a secret society of revolutionaries in 1904. He was among the 186 revolutionaries who were convicted or killed by the British between 1908 and 1918. He was arrested in London and while being shipped to Kala Pani, the prison island in the Andamans, Savarkar jumped off the ship and swam his way through to the shores of France. The British filed a case against him in the International Court of Justice, urging France for the revolutionary leader’s deportation. Britain won the case and Veer Savarkar was kept in solitary confinement in a dingy three-feet by six-feet cell at the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. |
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2 temple caretakers found
murdered New Delhi, September 20 Caretakers Surender Tewari and Ravinder Mishra and his relative, Vidya Mishra, were found in a pool of blood on the premises of the temple, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West), Mr A.K. Ojha, said. The murder of the caretakers came to light early this morning when a devotee of Lord Mahavira came to the temple and saw the caretakers lying in a pool of blood. He informed the police about the incident. The police took them to hospital where they were declared brought dead. During investigation, the police found the body of Vidya Mishra in the temple storeroom. The bodies bore sharp edged multiple injuries. |
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Early poll to DSGMC sought New Delhi, September 20 The term of the Badal-led DSGMC executive had expired on May 12 and that the office should be elected afresh, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna told newspersons here today. He said a written request would be made to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, in this regard. |
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