New Delhi, May 23
The Sunny Deol-starrer ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’ was today withdrawn from most Delhi theatres as well as in other parts of the country.

However, Bomb blasts in two cinema halls last night, which left one person dead and several injured, failed to dent the collections of other Hindi films being screened in the Capital.

Though the day after the blasts in Delhi’s Liberty and Satyam cinema halls saw a slight dip in collections in several cinema halls, trade observers say this fall is short-lived.

‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’ has been withdrawn from all theatres screening it. ‘’The film has been withdrawn from all theatres screening it and has been replaced by other films,’’ a spokesperson of the Wave cinemas said.

Owners of all major theatres in the Capital today assured viewers that “the show will go on”, claiming that security had been tightened at all theatres in consultation with the police.

The Delhi-based National Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors (NAMPE) in a press meeting this afternoon said local police officers had been invited to all 65 theatres in the city this morning to see the arrangements. Additional metal detectors had been acquired from the market or from the police and every viewer was being frisked before being permitted into the theatre.

MUMBAI: Multiplexes in Mumbai and Pune have pulled out Jo Bole So Nihaal in the wake of bomb blasts at Delhi theatres screening the movie.

Most of the multiplexes screening the film belong to chains of companies listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and were not willing to take risks.

However more than 20-single screen theatres in Mumbai alone were continuing with the film, according to its distributor Amod Mehra.

Reports from several theatres indicated that security was tight with police personnel and private security guards searching the bags of cinema-goers.

Meanwhile, Sikh organisations in Mumbai have condemned the blasts. Mr Kulwant Singh, member of the Sikh Guru Singh Sabha, here said setting off bombs in theatres screening the movie was not a solution. He said some scenes in the movie hurt the feelings of Sikhs, but he called for a dialogue to resolve the issue.

KOLKATA: West Bengal Government has banned the screening of the film in the state.

The state Home Secretary, Mr A.K. Deb, said the government had taken the decision as a precautionary step.

Reports of the screening of the film being banned were also received from Nasik, Goa, Lucknow, Chennai, Indore, Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

In Bangalore Jaipur and some other cities, police security was tightened in cinemas showing the movie.

LUCKNOW: ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’ has been removed from cinema houses in Lucknow and other cities across the state, said state DG Yashpal Singh.

Intensive search operations were carried out in the two cinema halls in the city where the movie was running. The dog squad and the bomb detection team were also pressed in operation. The DM and SSP supervised the operation.

According to SSP of Lucknow Navneet Sakera, vigilance at cinema halls was being increased. Additional police personnel would to posted to rule out any untoward incident. Similar operations were carried out in Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur and Agra.

Meanwhile, Lucknow Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee president R.S. Bagga condemned the twin blasts in the national Capital in which an innocent life were lost. Speaking to The Tribune he said, While the LGPC had protested against the film, we had maintained that our protest would be peaceful and democratic. We had made it very clear that we do not intend to harm the cinema houses as they were in no way responsible for our grievances.

He wondered why the film was not removed from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh just as it was removed from Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab following a meeting with the producers and the President of the SGPC.

While the co-producer and distributors of the film has assured the Lucknow Gurdwara Prabahndhak Committee president on May 20 to remove the film within three days, the blasts in New Delhi forced the administration to remove the film on Sunday night to preempt any violence.

The Sikh community in the city had set posters of the film aflame in front of the Naka Hindola Gurdwara last Sunday demanding deletion of certain parts of the film which hurts their sentiments, including the changing of its name.

New Delhi, May 23
An angry NDA today described the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly by the UPA government as a “murder of democracy” and a “fascist step” aimed at pre-empting the installation of a popular government in the state.

The Opposition NDA alliance also demanded recall of Bihar Governor Buta Singh, accusing him of politicising his office in a “blatant manner”.

Former Prime Minister and NDA Chairperson Atal Bihari Vajpyee said that “they (UPA) have murdered democracy and hijacked the right of the people to have a popular government (in Bihar)”.

Addressing a crowded press conference after a meeting of the NDA leaders at his residence, Mr Vajpayee, flanked by JD(U) leaders Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes and BJP President L. K. Advani, condemned the imposition of President’s rule and the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly.

In the wake of Centre’s decision, NDA leaders, who had gathered to finalise their charge sheet against the one-year-old Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, deferred it by a day to focus on Bihar developments.

“When it was clear that a popular government of the NDA was about to be formed, the UPA government took this pre-emptive undemocratic step which is highly condemnable,” Mr Vajpayee said.

“Their (UPA’s) fascist character was first visible in Goa, then in Jharkhand, where their designs got defeated through people’s movement, and now in Bihar,” Mr Vajpayee charged.

Mr Nitish Kumar, whom the NDA had projected
as chief ministerial candidate during the last elections in Bihar, demanded the appointment of an “apolitical” person as
Governor to ensure a free and fair poll. He accused Mr Buta Singh of acting as a “spokesman of the UPA” and said “we have lost confidence in him”.

Asserting that the people of Bihar would give a befitting reply to this “undemocratic decision”, Mr Kumar demanded early elections in the state. “The government, which showed such haste in dissolving the state assembly to pre-empt the formation of a popular government should facilitate speedy conduct of fresh elections,” he said.

Asked whether the NDA would resort to legal remedy against the Centre’s decision, Mr Kumar said he had some indications that some Independent MLAs were taking legal opinion in this regard.

Claiming that more than 130 MLAs, including MLAs of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and 17 Independents, had on their own pledged support to the JD(U) to form a government, Mr Kumar said but for the dissolution of the House, he would have staked claim.

He, however, did not answer as to how the NDA would have triggered a split in the Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party to cobble up a majority. “Where is the question of us triggering a split? An overwhelming number of MLAs belonging to the LJP had themselves expressed their desire to move towards government formation,” he said.

The JD(U) leader also took a dig at LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan for holding on to an “extreme posturing” and finally falling to the dictats of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, against whom he contested in the last Assembly elections.

Mr Nitish Kumar also declared that the NDA would launch a powerful mass struggle, both in Bihar and other states, against the onslaught on democracy.

Mr L. K. Advani said the “ominous significance of the UPA government’s decision transcends the boundaries of Bihar.”

“The nation is being pushed towards the kind of situation that prevailed in the country prior to the imposition of the Emergency Rule in 1975. After all, it is the same kind of extreme intolerance towards the opposition
and willingness to mount repeated assaults on the Constitution, which had led the Congress to curtail democracy and establish its authoritarian rule,”
he said.

The hour-long meeting of the NDA was attended among others by NDA Convener George Fernandes, Mr Advani, NTC leader Dinesh Trivedi and IFDP leader P. C. Thomas, BJD’s B. J. Panda and senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, V. K. Malhotra and Arun Jaitley.

Kolkata, May 23
The giant 11-month-old baby boy Lokman, who weighed 24 kg, died at the SSKM hospital here.

Lokman, who was admitted to the hospital a few days ago for some medical check-ups to know the reason behind his abnormal weight, developed hiccups as he was being fed by his mother.

As the hiccups continued for some time, he was rushed to the attending pediatrician but to no avail as he breathed his last soon afterwards, hospital sources said last night.

Lokman, the only child of a landless farmer in Murshidabad district, recently became the centre of media attraction because of his size. Lokman, who used to drink at least 10 litres of milk everyday, became a household name not only in his district but also in the entire state.

After local doctors failed to diagnose the reason behind his weight, Lokman was brought to the city and admitted to the hospital at the behest of state Sport Minister Subhas Chakraborty and Animal Husbandry minister Anisur Rahman who also donated Rs 25,000 for his upkeep last week.

Meanwhile, expressing grief over the death, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee said: “This is terribly sad. Whenever I think of it, I feel grief,” a visibly upset Bhattacharjee told reporters here.

The Chief Minister said he had discussed the matter with Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra.

He, however, could not say whether the baby’s death was due to negligence. — UNI

New Delhi, May 23
Former US President Bill Clinton will meet AIDS patients at the Anto Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital during his three-day visit to India this week.

The Director-General of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Dr S.Y. Quraishi, told TNS here today the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Anbumani Ramadoos, will call on Mr Clinton at Maurya Sheraton on Wednesday, the first day of his visit. This would be followed by an interaction with the NACO team. On Thursday, the former US President would address a CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) meet on HIV/AIDS at Taj Palace. “We want the corporate sector to be involved in efforts to combat HIV AIDS. In the next one year, we would like every company to have a work policy on HIV AIDS. About 400 delegates are expected to attend this meet. He will also inaugurate a workshop for training private doctors. The Clinton Foundation is funding a programme aimed at training 1.5 lakh private medical practioners through short-term courses over the next 10 months. By March 2006, we have to train these doctors. We will conduct these courses with cooperation from the local chapters of the Indian Medical Association.’’

Dr Quraishi said the President would visit Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Thursday to interact with AIDS patients.

Delhi has two NACO-funded ART Centres, one at RML and another at Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. The ART centre at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has day care and OPD facilities and has the infrastructure to treat 595 patients.

The Clinton Foundation and NACO signed an agreement for collaboration last September in three key areas — help in buying anti retroviral drugs and testing equipment at cheap rates, training of doctors and development of standardised treatment protocol.

Dr Quraishi said the prime objective of Clinton’s visit was to carry forward the Clinton Foundation’s partnership with NACO.

Chennai, May 23
Dredging for the Rs 2427-crore Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project, off the Tamil Nadu coastline, will begin next month and the foundation stone will be laid in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Shipping Minister T.R. Balu said here 
on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, a day after the SSCP was formally approved by the Union Cabinet, he said there would be growth of traffic at all major ports in the country.

“I do not foresee any negative impact of the project except some inconvenience for the fishermen,” he added.

Mr Balu said the Sri Lankan Government had sought clarification regarding the project on environment issue and it was resolved.

Currently the ships coming from the west coast of India and other western countries with destination in the east coast and also in Bangladesh and China have to navigate around the Sri Lanka coast.

The existing waterway is shallow and not sufficient for the movement of the ships. This is due to the presence of a reef, known as Adam’s Bridge, located south-east of Ramseswaram, which connects the Talaimannar coast of Sri Lanka.

In order to reduce the steaming distances between the east and west coasts of the country and to improve the navigation the SSCP will be dredged connecting the Gulf of Mannar with the Palk Bay.

Mr Balu said the 167 km-long channel would involve dredging of 82.5-million cubic metres of dredge quantity and would be completed within three-and-a-half years.

Though the project has been a long-standing demand of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is a constituent of the ruling United People’s Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, and as such approved by the Union Cabinet, it is yet to receive the no-objection certificate from the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board.

Asked to comment on the issue, Mr Balu said all necessary documentation regarding the project had been taken care of as it was a Central Government project and there were no obstacles.

New Delhi, May 23
India has not so far and does not intend to respond to Nepal’s demarche handed over to the Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu, Mr Shiv Shanker Mukherjee, by the Nepalese Foreign Office on May 20.

Kathmandu had taken exception to the Indian Government’s publicly-stated support to the Nepalese political parties in their struggle for the restoration of democracy and accused India of interfering in its internal affairs. Authoritative sources said here today that New Delhi would not bother to respond to the demarche, a signal that the Indo-Nepal relations seemed to be back to square one.

A small window of opportunity for the two countries to do some repair job with regard to their strained relations is likely to open up later this week when a key Indian diplomat travels to Kathmandu. Mr Ranjit Rae, Joint Secretary-In charge of Nepal-Bhutan division in the Ministry of External Affairs here, is scheduled to visit Nepal from May 26 to 31.

Though Mr Rae’s visit is primarily to attend the board meeting of B. P. Koirala Medical Institute in Dharan in the Terai region of Nepal, his tentative itinerary includes a visit to Kathmandu as well. Once in Kathmandu, Mr Rae would be requesting for a meeting with the Nepalese Foreign Secretary. Mr Rae, who is on the Board of the BP Koirala Medical Institute, is also scheduled to travel to Birganj where India had recently opened its Consulate.

Sources stressed that too much should not be read into Mr Rae’s Nepal visit. Moreover, the Indian diplomat’s proposed visit should not be construed as implying that India was bending over backwards to accommodate King Gyanendra’s political interests. The King is already in a precarious situation with the seven-party combine launching its campaign yesterday for restoration of democracy.

Despite scores of political leaders still behind bars and despite other restrictions, the Nepalese political parties’ rally in Kathmandu was attended by more than 10,000 persons yesterday.

New Delhi, May 23
On the completion of one year in power, the UPA government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may pat on their back, and declare themselves getting first class by getting six out of ten marks, but the rural constituency seems to have not given it even passing marks.

Except increasing the farm credit by 30 per cent, the government has failed to take any major step to improve the lot of rural population.

The industrial chambers like Assocham have given 65 per cent marks to the government for implementing the economic reforms agenda, though at a slow pace under the pressure of the Leftist parties, and keeping the momentum of pro-industrial policies.

The Opposition, as expected, has given zero marks on the development front and 10 out of 10 marks on the front of political vendetta. But the rural constituency comprising 70 per cent of the population on whose back the government claims to have come to have power has been more or less disappointed.

Mr Chengal Reddy, Chairman, Federation of Farmers Associations, an apex body representing various farmer orgainisations, said, " Except fulfilling its promise to increase farm credit by around 30 per cent within one year, the UPA government has failed to take any concrete step for implementing crop insurance, adequate compensation to the families of 30,000 farmers, who committed suicide during the past 5-7 years.”

The government will not get passing marks, he said, if it had to receive a reporting card from the rural constituency.

The government has neither brought the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill nor it has succeeded the state governments to implement the marketing acts, which would have benefited the farmers in a big way.

“I wonder how the government would meet its target to add 10 million hectares under irrigation without the consent of the state governments. It should try to bring agriculture under the concurrent list,” said Mr Reddy.

Dehra Dun, May 23
In the narrow alleys crisscrossing the hillocks in Hardwar there is a rare artist at work. Ravindra Mishra is a barefoot sculptor who renders extraordinary pieces of art through the termite-infested wood. Mishra has spent the past 18 years of his life wandering in the jungles around him, hunting for ‘termite-infested logs “that have something to say”.

Menagerie of termites scattered all over welcomes the visitors at Mishra’s house at Bheemgoda. Some of Mishra’s sculptures are also neatly showcased at his workplace, the Mansa Devi ropeway, where he works as the operational manager.

His passion for the unique art has led Mishra to convert his surroundings into a virtual open-air art gallery. Tall trees with a little bit of termites are definitely not a reason for damage control, he says. Not surprisingly his take on termites is different. “They are the artists, I let the termites work on wood while I just monitor the shapes and every artifact takes years to complete”, he says. The family of four is literally living with termites that have infested a lot of wood in the house.

It all began when he used to go deep into jungles with his mother to pick wood. He get fascinated by the diverse nature of trees infested by termites and a few years on, he began noticing art in them, he says. “On one such visit in June 1987, I saw a distinctly carved out lion on a tree infested with termites which I took home, cleaned, coated and polished”, he says.

This was something which surprised my friends because termites are usually associated with their destructive side, he adds. He later discovered ways of manoeuvering the growth of termites by using deterrent bio-chemicals found in other plants to get the desired shape in a piece of art he was working on.

With a wide range of work ready, Mishra says he is not looking at any financial benefit from it. I do it for my satisfaction, all these shapes talk to me whether it is Mother Teresa or the dinosaur, he says. Besides, the goddess of wisdom refuses to stay where goddess of wealth lives, he laughs. But what he is keen on doing if he has more money someday is begin a school to pass on his art, he says.

Besides his works of art, the award he was given by the President, the NIF 2002 award and a copy of Limca Book of World Records where his art finds a mention, are the family’s prized possessions.

New Delhi, May 23
A Chinese delegation, that took an eight-hour journey to the Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal on Friday, is flying back to Beijing with narratives of its wonderful experience of “coming face-to-face with tigers.” One of the six members of the delegation even claimed to have seen a tiger at 2 a.m. on Saturday. The delegation led by Jian Wel Chen, Director-General of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Flora and Fauna) Authority of China, was here on a week-long visit to take part in the CITES tiger enforcement task force meeting.

Professor Li Zhang Aster, China Country Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), told The Tribune here on Sunday that his three-day trip to the Corbett National Park was “wonderful” and he would like to revisit the park with his wife and son in the hope of sighting a tiger. “I had never seen a tiger in the wild and consider myself fortunate to have seen a tiger. We also saw langur which we had never seen before besides elephants in the wild, three species of deer, two species of crocodiles and a python.’’ Professor Aster said he is thrilled about his visit and the memories that he captured in his camera.

Mr Ashok Kumar, senior adviser and trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India who guided the delegation to the national park, said members of the delegation expressed their joy with hugs and handshakes. “The experience of coming face-to-face with a tiger was very electrifying. The tiger is the most charismatic of all species. They saw the tiger twice, once very clearly and once only caught a glimpse of the tiger’s face when it was hiding behind the bushes.’’

They were very fascinated by the langur and also got a chance to see nearly 100 wild elephants, fishing eagles and crested serpent eagles that they had not seen before. The head of the delegation was carrying a camera with a telephoto lens and took some amazing pictures. Others were delighted with pictures on their digital cameras. Mr Kumar said census figures for last year show that there are about 100 odd tigers in the entire Corbett tiger reserve.

New Delhi, May 23
Upholding the nomination of a judge for appointment as Chairman of the Haryana State Consumer Commission sent by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and rejecting the name suggested by the state Chief Minister, the Supreme Court has held that the appointment of the head of such an important body cannot be left to a committee of bureaucrats as it will erode its judicial independence.

“Nothing could be more erosive of judicial independence than such interpretation of the provisions of sub-section (1A) of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA),” a Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna ruled while terming the decision of the High Court collegium recommending the name of Justice R.C. Kathuria to head Commission in August 2003 and rejecting the proposal of the then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in favour of Justice R.S. Mongia as perfectly legal.

The Chief Minister, in his communication to the High Court, had sought to clear the name of Justice Mongia on the grounds that the amended provision of Section 16 (1A) of the CPA provided for making the selection of the incumbent chief of the Commission by a selection committee comprising its outgoing Chairman, the Law Secretary and the Secretary of Consumer Affairs of the state government.

But the situation in Haryana was different as the post of the Commission’s Chairman was vacant in August 2003 and there was no question of his being a member of the selection committee.

Section (1A) also has a rider that in the absence of the Chairman of the Commission to be a member of the selection panel, the state government “may refer the matter to the Chief Justice of the High Court for nominating a judge to act as the Commission’s Chairman or President”.

The Union Government had also defended the decision of the Haryana Government purely on the legal ground. The Chief Minister, in his communication to the High Court Chief Justice, had asked him to reconsider the collegium’s decision but the latter had reiterated that the collegium had stood by its earlier recommendation in favour of Justice Kathuria.

The High Court had said that it had considered the names of three judges for the post, including Justice Mongia, and come to the conclusion that Justice Kathuria was the 
“most suitable and fit for appointment”.

Describing the stand taken by the High Court as perfectly correct, the apex court Bench said “we cannot accede to the contention that the Chairman of the State Commission, who is or has been a judge of the High Court, can be selected by a selection committee comprising two secretaries of the state government,” the Bench ruled.

The court said that the stand of the Centre and the Haryana Government could not be accepted, as that would mean that if the Chairman had to be appointed for the first time in a state, he would merely be appointed by a committee of two bureaucrats.

It also termed as “incorrect” the interpretation of law given by the Centre on the issue in its circular notified after the amended Act came into force on March 15, 2003.

Patna, May 23
Calling for a bandh in Bihar tomorrow against the dissolution of the Assembly, the NDA today resolved to parade 130 MLAs pledging support to a Nitish Kumar-led Government.

The legislators — 92 of the NDA, 17 Independents and 21 of the LJP — would be paraded before the media, Raj Bhavan and the President within three or four days, BJP state president Gopal Narayan Singh said.

The state leaders of NDA met here to chart out agitational programmes against the UPA government’s decision to dissolve the house.

He said the NDA would observe a bandh in Bihar tomorrow to press for the immediate recall of Governor Buta Singh and also to protest against the dissolution of the House to prevent senior JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar to form the government.

He said the meeting also decided to consider exploring legal options against the dissolution.

Meanwhile, defending the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly, RJD President Lalu Prasad today said he favoured an early Assembly poll in Bihar.

“I have already stated that we want elections as early as possible,” Prasad told reporters here on arriving from New Delhi.

Mr Prasad, who earlier locked horns with the Election Commission, said he had full faith in the commission and refused to be drawn into the controversy over the issue of the Election Commission’s role in Chapra.

“The Governor was left with no other option than to recommend dissolution of the House keeping in view of the sinister bid by the NDA to buy LJP MLAs to cobble together a majority,” he said, adding that the President and Governor had ‘saved democracy’. — PTI

Mumbai, May 23
With small nuclear power plants proving to be major cash guzzlers, the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) is to concentrate on projects that generate up to 1000 MW, according to sources.

The last of the NPC’s small nuclear power plants will shortly go into operation at Tarapur and Kaiga in the next two years. While Tarapur Atomic Power Station III will generate 540 MW, the third and the fourth unit of the NPC’s plant at Kaiga in Karnataka will generate 220 MW each by 2007.

“Larger nuclear power plants generating more than 1000 MW are common in the developed world”, says a senior NPC official. He points out that France, which depends on nuclear power for 80 per cent of its requirements, has plants that generate as much as 1300 MW.

NPC is already trying its hand at large nuclear power plants. The two units of its Kundamkulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu are being readied to generate 1000 MW.

So far India has built 12 reactors of just 220 MW capacity across the country. The NPC’s TAPP-4 at Tarapur is so far the first project to actually generate power of 540 MW capacity.