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Mumbai declared epidemic-hit
Ex-AG concerned over criminalisation of politics PM welcomes lifting of blockade
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Cabinet cleared ATR without discussion
BJP seeks apology from PM, Sonia
Trilokpuri Sikhs disenchanted with Prime Minister
Rajnath puts BJP, Modi in the dock
Exclude persons with NBWs from voters’ list: EC
Centre, TMA asked to act on ‘seepage’ at Tehri dam
Cabinet clears rural job Bill
Four killed, 2 hurt in crossfire
PNDT Act not enforced properly: NCW chief
Lalu Prasad apologises for RJD members’ behaviour
CBI conducts raids in Volkswagen scam case
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Mumbai declared epidemic-hit
Mumbai, August 11 Health Minister Vimal Mundada told reporters that Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivili in neighbouring Thane district had been categorised as epidemic-hit. She announced that 66 persons had died of suspected leptospirosis in these areas in the past few days. However, confirmation from doctors working in various hospitals in Mumbai and other areas was hard to come by as the authorities had barred them from speaking to media. Unofficial estimates, collated from moffusil reporters, indicated that the toll across the state might exceed 150. According to the information gathered from Panve, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Kalyan, Thane, Dombivili and Mumbai, people who came into prolonged contact with last fortnight's floodwaters were coming down with fever. Most of the deaths had been reported in the past two days with the victims dying within few hours of being admitted for treatment. The Bombay High Court has already asked the state government to take effective measures to prevent any outbreak of an epidemic. As most of the deaths came even before tests had been carried out, doctors in various places had begun to name 'fever' as the cause of death. Quite a few people have died of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or ARDS which means sudden lung failure. A number of diseases like dengue, malaria and even leptospirosis, in their final stages, resulted in death due to the ARDS, doctors said. Other symptoms reported by patients included body pain, loss of appetite, vomiting, severe headache and breathing problems apart from high fever. Health authorities in many places had asked people to report to hospitals at the first signs of fever as only about 30 per cent of the patients in the final stages survive. Doctors here had warned that people who waded through flood waters were likely to report leptospirosis in about a fortnight. The disease occurs after faeces of rodents get into the victim's bloodstream via cuts on the skin. With no time for pathological confirmation, suspected victims were being put on a dose of several antibiotics. Meanwhile, the health authorities have warned people of self-medication. At least two persons died after consuming Doxycycline, the medicine for leptospirosis, on their own. It later turned out that the victims were suffering from dengue. So far, around 800 persons had been admitted in Mumbai's 16 public hospitals with suspected leptospirosis, dengue, gastroenteritis , malaria, Hepatitis and high fever. The number of those admitted in private hospitals and elsewhere in the state could be much higher.
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Ex-AG concerned over criminalisation of politics
New Delhi, August 11 “Could the framers of our Constitution have anticipated the nature of the transformation? Could they have dreamt that ministers charged with serious offences against public order or corruption would continue to hold positions involving public trust?” Mr Desai asked. Emphasising that people must rise up to fight these dangerous tendencies before it was too late, the eminent jurist said those who take a plunge into public life follow “seven principles of public morality — selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and good leadership”. Four journalists — Jupinderjit Singh of The Tribune, Verghese K. George and Jaideep Mazoomdar of The Indian Express and Jaideep Hardikar of Hitvada — were given Prem Bhatia awards and scholarships for excellence in journalism for 2004-05 at a function held at India International Centre. It was presided over by noted journalist B.G. Verghese. Describing Prem Bhatia as an eminent political journalist and diplomat with strong views on domestic and international affairs, for which he was widely respected, Mr Desai said he was very concerned about the “erosion of values in politics”, which reflected in his later writings on “Byzantine world of Indian politics”. “Why the aspiration of the Constitution had yielded a very different result from what was contemplated by its framers, because the persons we tried to hold important positions like the Prime Minister, Governors, ministers, speakers, legislators and public servants had not always lived up to the expectations,” he said. It was a matter of concern that as per a survey by a Bangalore-based public affairs centre “almost 25 per cent of Parliamentarians have been charged with crimes. And this is our Parliament! The statistics in certain state Assemblies are too alarming to even contemplate,” he said. The instances of patronage of criminals was not confined to one single party as there seemed to be an “unspoken consensus” on it among all political parties, Mr Desai said, pointing out that no party when in power had dared to touch the N.N. Vohra committee report during the past 12 years, which was the first official document on the government’s “admission” of criminalisation of politics and take some corrective measures. “Our Constitution cannot envisage that ministers facing charges involving destruction of places of worship or of corruption or even murder, can continue to hold office while facing trial,” he said, adding if people hoped for better future, they should not “share the general disillusionment about governance”. |
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PM welcomes lifting of blockade
New Delhi, August 11 Dr Singh appealed to all groups and parties to settle the grievances, perceived and real, through dialogue and discussions in a peaceful manner “in a spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation.” In a statement, Dr Singh lauded the All Naga Students Association of Manipur and other organisations for voluntarily lifting the blockade from Wednesday in view of the difficulties faced by citizens and the sentiments expressed by himself and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.
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Cabinet cleared ATR without discussion New Delhi, August 11 Several UPA ministers revealed that the Nanavati Commission report and the accompanying ATR, prepared by the Home Ministry, was the last item on the agenda when the Cabinet met last Thursday. It was, however, cleared with none of those present asking for a discussion on the report, sources informed today. It has been revealed that some ministers did want to seek clarifications on the ATR but were constrained from doing so by Mr Jagdish Tytler’s presence at the meeting. They also felt discouraged as they sensed a reticence on part of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to have wider consultations on the ATR. Dr Manmohan Singh, it was explained, probably chose to remain aloof from this exercise since he belongs to the Sikh community. Fresh suggestions on handling of the ATR could have emerged if a detailed discussion had been held, it is felt. These reports, it is learnt, were discussed by the “core group” which meets every Friday at Prime Minister’s official residence to discuss key issues. The group comprises Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil, Arjun Singh and Ghulam Nabi Azad and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her political secretary Ahmed Patel. The “core group” also endorsed the home ministry’s ATR which cleared Mr Tytler and others named by the probe panel. Although the curtain came down on the Nanavati episode in Parliament today after Mr Tytler tendered his resignation and the Prime Minister apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the blame game in the Congress has only just begun. While Home Minister Shivraj Patil has emerged as the main target of attack with several party leaders blaming him for authoring the controversial ATR, there are murmurs in the party that the situation was poorly handled by the leadership at every stage. The party’s political managers, they feel, miscalculated badly as they failed to forsee the political consequences of this decision. Even after the report was tabled, the Congress persisted with the line that it had no reason to be defensive or apologetic about the 1984 riots as the Nanavati inquiry commission had absolved the Congress and its top leadership of any involvement in the carnage in which 4,000 persons were killed. Once again, the party misread the situation and was completely unprepared for the hostile public reaction evoked by its decision to give a clean chit to those perceived to be involved in the bloody riots. Panic set in when the Left parties also expressed their displeasure over the government’s response to the Nanavati report.
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BJP seeks apology from PM, Sonia
New Delhi, August 11 "Tytler's resignation and Sajjan Kumar's stepping down as chairman of Delhi Rural Development Board does not absolve Congress of its role in the carnage. It will not wash off their sins. The chapter is not closed", BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman V K Malhotra told mediapersons here. Contradicting media stories about the party being "soft" on the Nanavati panel report as the judge was presiding over another panel on the Gujarat riots whose findings were awaited, Mr Malhotra said, "We don't agree with the clean chit given by it to the then PM and the then Home Minister". "The people of this country will not be satisfied until all FIRs are taken up and pursued in the court of law and the PM and Sonia apologise on behalf of the party", he said. |
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Trilokpuri Sikhs disenchanted with Prime Minister New Delhi, August 11 “We were delighted on the day when Ms Sonia Gandhi announced to make Dr Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister. We thought the people responsible for the riots would be punished,” a group of families residing in Trilokpuri told The Tribune today when asked about their reaction to the Nanavati report and government’s action taken report on it. Trilokpuri, inhabited by poor Sikhs mostly doing petty jobs like carpentry and auto driving, had witnessed a worst form of violence. “Finally I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister before the marriage of my daughter in January this year requesting him to arrange some government financial aid for the marriage of my fifth daughter. I thought as a father he would understand how difficult it is to marry a daughter for a widow,” says Gurcharan Kaur (50) with tears in her eyes. “I had never asked for any help. Only the God knows how I raised my six daughters and a son after the killing of my husband, Naik Teja Singh, who had left for his duty in military uniform on November 2, 1984, at 5 am. He was brutally murdered by the crowd led by leaders of our locality,” she said. “My daughter finally got married, but even today I am waiting for government assistance from the first Sikh Prime Minister of this country.” “My husband showed the mob his identity card, pleaded for mercy but in vain. He was attacked by swords and lathis. He ran for a while but was overpowered. The protesters threw kerosene on him and pushed the body in the drainage. Someone even threw a stone on his half burnt face,” she said. “Today I am getting a pension of Rs 2,200 per month and the compensation of Rs 3.30 lakh received a few years ago was spend on the marriage of two daughters,” she said. Another letter was written by Riazu-din, a Supreme Court clerk, on the behalf of Nazar Singh, who lost his father Santokh Singh in the riots. |
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SAD stages dharna
New Delhi, August 11 “We are not satisfied with Tytler’s resignation. We want four Congress leaders, whose names have appeared in the Nanavati Commission report and suspected police officials to be booked under the Section 302 of the IPC, ” General Secretary of SAD Onkar Singh Thapar said. As per Mr Thapar, workers and victims, led by Akali Dal Delhi unit president Avtar Singh Hit had been sitting on a dharna since yesterday, after a demonstration against the action taken report on commission’s findings. Expressing dissatisfaction at the assurance given by the Prime Minister in Parliament yesterday, Mr Thapar said it was not a question of money or compensation.” We want punishment for the guilty,” he said. The protesters also burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and raised slogans against the Congress as well as the UPA government. Former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, Ms Jaya Jaitly, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and social activist Nafisa Ali also joined them during different parts of the day to show their support.
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Rajnath puts BJP, Modi in the dock
New Delhi, August 11 Mr Rajnath Singh, who initiated the debate on the Opposition-sponsored motion on the Nanavati Commission report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, said if the then government wanted the riots could have been prevented from spreading within a few hours. “I had been a Chief Minister of a state. I can say with authority that if a Chief Minister really wished the riots could have been controlled in two hours to four hours or maximum eight hours,” Mr Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha, giving opportunity for the Congress, Left and Samajwadi Party members to attack the BJP and Gujarat Chief Minister over Gujarat riots. Top BJP leaders, including former Union Ministers Jaswant Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, Pramod Mahajan and Ravi Shankar Prasad, who were present in the House, were visibly embarrassed and were virtually looking for cover. |
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Exclude persons with NBWs from voters’ list: EC
New Delhi, August 11 The DGPs from states and union territories have been directed to furnish to CEOs by September 10 full details of residential addresses against whom the NBWs have remained unexecuted for more than six months. The whole exercise should be completed by October 10, the EC said in its order. EC sources said here that in a communication to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all states and union territories, the commission has asked them to initiate immediate action in this regard. Observing that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) would take action on the basis of laid down procedure, the EC asked the state government to furnish to the Chief Electoral Officer by August 19 a complete list of such persons. Under Section 22 of the RP Act, the name of a person who has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency could be deleted by the ERO at any time before the last date for the nomination of candidates from the constituency, the EC said. The commission’s decision comes close on the heels of its directive to Bihar to remove names of electors declared as absconders by September 19 to ensure fair elections in the sensitive state later this year. The move assumes significance as it comes ahead of assembly elections in key states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Pondicherry due next year. The commission’s directive came in the wake of large number of unexecuted non-bailable warrants and low recovery of illegal arms and ammunition in Bihar. The commission had earlier directed the state administration to step up efforts in this regard. It had noted that as on July 14, 23,616 non-bailable warrants remained pending for execution.
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Centre, TMA asked to act on ‘seepage’ at Tehri dam
New Delhi, August 11 While issuing notices to the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests, TMA and Uttaranchal Government on an application moved by ex-commodore S.D. Sinha, a Bench of Mr Justice Y. K. Sabharwal, Mr Justice B.N. Srikrishna and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar directed that a committee of experts would examine the matter immediately. If it was found that the water of Bhaghirathi river, on which the dam was built, was actually seeping into earth, then the authorities should take immediate action required without waiting any further direction form the Court, the Bench said. The Ministry and the TMA were directed to submit a report by August 17, when the matter would be taken up for hearing again. Mr Sinha, who had been actively involved in environmental matters, told the Court that as per the findings of experts, nearly 10,000 cusec meters of water was finding its way deep into the acquifer due to release from dam’s discharge tunnels. He said though the collection of water in the dam from up-stream of the river during the current monsoon was much heavier but it was not filling up in that proportion. On the other hand, the TMA authorities had only opened one tunnel to discharge the excessive water. This had posed a serious threat to the entire area and steps were required to be taken to maintain the surface flow of Bhagirathi.
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Cabinet clears rural job Bill New Delhi, August 11 Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy told reporters that the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cleared amendments to the 2004 bill. “It will be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and sought to be passed in the monsoon session itself”. Reddy, however, refused to divulge the salient features of the legislation in view of the ongoing Parliament session. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee and later to a Group of Ministers. The Employment Guarantee Bill, one of the flagship promises of the Congress-led UPA government, has been hanging fire due to several contentious clauses in the original Bill including the lack of universality limiting the project to only 150 districts. After facing the opposition onslaught over the Nanavati Commission report in the Parliament, the government is expected to regain the lost ground by clearing the Employment Guarantee Bill. The National Advisory Committee (NAC), chaired by Sonia Gandhi, and the Standing Committee on Rural Employment had unanimously recommended implementation of the scheme for all rural people without any distinction of income class. The scheme being a centrally-sponsored scheme, the scheme should be fully funded by the Centre. The committee has also recommended that for the implementation of the scheme at the village level, the limit of 50 labourers be reduced to 10. Besides, the implementing authorities would be empowered to take up new work with even less than 10 labourers. The committee has also recommended that any official who contravenes the provisions of the Act shall on conviction be liable to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 or undergo a three-month imprisonment. To bring transparency and accountability in the scheme, the committee has recommended the involvement of village panchayats and gram sabhas in the implementation of the scheme. It has also recommended that for the implementation of the scheme at the village level, the limit of 50 labourers be reduced to 10. Besides, the implementing authority may be empowered to take up new work with even less than 10 labourers. In addition, the government has been asked to ensure the payment of at least 75 per cent of the Central Minimum wages (roughly Rs 66 per day) or the state minimum wages, to the workers whichever was higher. The minimum wages in the state varies from Rs 25 in Nagaland to Rs 134 in Kerala. As per preliminary estimates Rs 1,00,464 crore would be required annually for 100 per cent coverage of the rural people. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a hike in minimum support price of sugarcane to Rs 79.50 per quintal. The statutory minimum price (SMP) of sugarcane at Rs 79.50 per quintal would be linked to a basic recovery of nine per cent, subject to a premium of 88 paise for every 0.1 percentage point increase in the recovery for sugar season 2005-06. The CCEA also gave a go-ahead to the ONGC Videsh Ltd’s proposal for exploration of an oil block in Sudan with an estimated investment of $ 100 million. The Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy told reporters tonight that quota of pilgrims for the annual Haj next year has been increased to one lakh from the present 82,000.
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Four killed, 2 hurt in crossfire
Imphal, August 11 They said the militants used rocket launchers and rifles to attack a group of Assam Rifles (AR) personnel moving in four vehicles in the Umathel area, around 60 km south-east of here, around 9 pm. The AR men, belonging to 33rd Battalion, also retaliated. A mini truck following the vehicles was caught in the crossfire and four of its occupants were killed on the spot and two seriously injured, the sources said here. The deceased were identified as A. Ibomcha Meitei (a businessman), A. Sadananda Meitei (second driver of a mini truck), W. Gouramohan Meitei (a rickshaw-puller) and Lalpi Zou (a porter). Two others, M. Rojit Singh (driver) and H. Biren Singh, sustained serious injuries. Ibomcha Meitei had hired the mini truck to transport essential items from Imphal to Sugnu, near Umathel, the sources said. A newly-formed Joint Action Committee constituted by local residents called a bandh in Sugnu market and the nearby Umathel area today in protest against the killing of innocent civilians by militants, reports from the district said. — PTI
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PNDT Act not enforced properly: NCW chief
New Delhi, August 11 Speaking at the all-India conference of state Secretaries of Health, Women and Child Development Ministries and DGPs, organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW), he called for a prompt action to deal with the problem. “Or else we will have to suffer the consequences of a skewed sex ratio as millions of girls will not be allowed to take birth,” he cautioned. The conference on the implementation of the PNDT Act is aimed at framing concrete recommendations which would be later fowarded to the government. The Health Minister also promised to look into the recommendations emerging from the conference. Earlier, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Kanti Singh urged the enforcement agencies and government officials to ensure that female foeticide and infanticide does not take place in the country. But it was not just an issue concerning the government alone, the society, NGOs, medical fraternity and the media too should contribute in the effort to prevent female foeticide, she added. Delivering the keynote address, NCW chairperson Girija Vyas lamented that the PNDT Act had not been implemented properly in the country. “We should begin the campaign from states like Punjab and Haryana, which have alarmingly adverse sex ratios , only then we will be able to make a difference,” she added.
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Lalu Prasad apologises for RJD members’ behaviour
New Delhi, August 11 As RJD members, including Raghunath
Jha and Ram Kripal Yadav, repeatedly disrupted the House to raise an issue,
without giving notice, Chatterjee warned that every challenge to the Speaker will be seen as a breach of privilege. “Sir, they don’t mean to challenge you. In their eagerness to raise issues relating to Bihar and the affection for you, they sometimes take liberties,” Lalu Prasad said while apologising to the Speaker for the behaviour of his party
members.
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CBI conducts raids in Volkswagen scam case New Delhi, August 11 The searches were also conducted at the residence of Ashok Jain, the chief of Volkswagen India Project, at Agra. A large number of incriminating documents seized during the raids were being scrutinised. — UNI
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