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Stress on training helicopter units for combat
UPA splits in Bihar as leaders fight
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UPA using CBI to save Lalu, says NDA
Uma rules out return to BJP
Cut petrol, diesel prices, says BJP
SC rejects plea to stop JBT classes in HP
Maoist rocket-maker surrenders
DU honours Amitabh with doctorate
NGOs for HIV/AIDS workplace policy
Havildar kills
captain in Manipur
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Stress on training helicopter units for combat
Sarsawa, November 4 “Helicopters have always been in the forefront during war and play a vital role,” Director-General Inspection and Safety, Air Marshal V.K. Verma said. “They ought to have the same psychology, training and orientation as fighter pilots,” he added. He was speaking to mediapersons at exercise ‘Chakravyuh - 2006’, an intra-command helicopter crew competition which concluded here today. The change in perception towards helicopter crew comes at a time when it is speculated that the next Chief of the Air Staff could be a helicopter pilot. Air Marshal Fali M. Major, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, will be the senior-most Air Marshal when the present Air Chief, S.P. Tyagi retires early next year. Instituted by the Western Air Command last year, ‘Chakravyuh’ is being held for the second time. It is aimed to promote competitiveness, professionalism and combat potential among helicopter crew. Air Marshal Verma said that the exercise was a good idea to impart realistic training to pilots and judge their professional acumen. Other IAF commands, he added, should also initiate similar competitions. Helicopter exercises and displays are relatively new to the IAF and have traditionally been the domain of fighters. Commenting on flight safety, he said that it was a by-product of professionalism and quality of work. He stressed upon quality in humans, machines as well as in the processes involved in executing tasks. As many as nine helicopter units from the Western Command participated in ‘Chakravyuh’, which had commenced on October 30. There were a total of seven events in which crew competed. The 152 Helicopter Unit was the overall winner of the exercise. It topped the hover skill as well as the special heli-borne operations competitions. The under slung operations competition was won by 114 Helicopter Unit, while the low level navigation event was won by 131 FAC Flight. The search and rescue competition and the spot para dropping event were won by 132 FAC Flight and the 129 Helicopter Unit, respectively. Demonstration of various events, including winching operations, search and rescue, para drop, special heli-borne operations, slithering and underslung operations were also given. A Dhruv helicopter gave a captivating aerobatic display, which included steep turns, “crop-duster” rolls and reverse take off. There are only two helicopters of this class in the world apart from the Dhruv which can perform such
manoeuvres.
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UPA splits in Bihar as leaders fight
Patna, November 4 As campaigning for the by-elections to prestigious Bhagalpur and Nalanda Lok Sabha seats came to an end today, the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav apparently has a lot at stake in the fray slated for November 6. This is because Mr Lalu Prasad chose to field his own candidate, massacre-tainted Shakuni Chaudhury, in Bhagalpur,and support the dissident JD(U) leader and former MP Arun Kumar in Nalanda against the combined UPA-backed Left candidates in respective seats. Mr Chaudhury was accused of masterminding the massacre in 1995 Assembly poll, killing six persons, including the Congress candidate Sachidanand Singh. The widening gap among UPA partners in Bihar was more evident with the LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan categorically ruling out any possible understanding between the RJD and other UPA partners in 2009 Lok Sabha poll. Charging Mr Lalu Prasad with betraying the UPA to help the NDA in Bihar at a joint election meeting with the Left, Mr Ramvilas Paswan asserted that there would be no electoral alliance within the UPA in next parliamentary poll in 2009. As the RJD`s stand had led to a triangular contest both in Bhagalpur and Nalanda, it now has become a greater challenge for Mr Lalu Prasad to prove that he was still the leading opposition force in Bihar. His aim is to upset the Congress calculation to try explore a third alternative, combining the left, the LJP and the NCP. RJD MLC Bhim Singh was candid to admit that it was a battle for survival for the party in the wake of the resounding defeat in October-November poll. It was reliably learnt that more than winning in Bhagalpur and Nalanda, Mr Lalu Prasad`s main target was to teach the Congress-led UPA a lesson by pushing the respective Left candidates to third position. While in Bhagalpur Mr Yadav wanted to fathom his popularity based on the mythical Muslim-Yadav (MY) equation, in Nalanda by backing Mr Arun Kumar he tried to befriend the upper castes. The MY equation of Mr Lalu Prasad, which had primarily helped him to rule Bihar for 15 years between 1990-2005, was grounded by Mr Nitish Kumar-led NDA. In Nalanda, despite the fact that the dissident JD(U) leader Arun Kumar was a close aide of the NDA convener George Fernandes, the former JD(U) chief did not campaign for him. This indeed came as a reprieve for Mr.Nitish Kumar as Mr Fernandes was vocal against him in the recent past. It was learnt that Mr Fernandes took note of the fact the way Mr Kumar stood by him in the wake of recent Barak missile controversy by vouching for his honesty and integrity. Against a divided UPA house, the two NDA partners, the JD(U) and the BJP,are going to the polls unitedly. Mr Lalu Prasad`s desperation to reassert his position as the pivot of anti-NDA politics in Bihar could be felt from the fact that he not only had betrayed his most trusted ally, the CPM in Bhagalpur, but also chose to back the JD(U) renegade in Nalanda. Mr Lalu Prasad chose to defend his stand by stating that his party gave the Bhagalpur seat to the CPM as part of electoral understanding, but except for one time. “CPM candidate Subody Roy could not win in 2004. On the contrary,the RJD has a strong base here”,he said. For Nalanda, he said that he had offered this seat to LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan to keep the UPA flock together.“After the LJP spurned my offer, I decided to back Arun Kumar. CPI candidate Gaya Singh is not the right choice”, he remarked. Against two separate candidates from the UPA in both the seats, the combined NDA has fielded Shahanawaj Hussain of the BJP from Bhagalpur and Ramswaroop Prasad of the JD(U) in Nalanda. Both Nalanda and Bhagalpur were won by the NDA in 2004 poll and by-elections were being held after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Modi had vacated the seats.
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UPA using CBI to save Lalu, says NDA
Patna, November 4 Mr Chaudhary, CBI SP, applied for VRS on Thursday last owing to some family problems. Sources claimed that Mr Chaudhary’s possible retirement could have a negative impact on the fodder scam case trial. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said the UPA had been trying to replace upright officials busy in the probe. Mr Modi said despite the Nanavati Commission holding Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar guilty, the CBI had been dilly-dallying on advancing the probe.
— TNS
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Uma rules out return to BJP Patna, November 4 On the contrary, the firebrand sanyasin charged both Mr Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee with being in the grip of “power brokers”. Ms Bharti came here to campaign for Pradeep Joshi, a VHP-backed independent candidate, for the November 6 bypoll to Bhagalpur Parliamentary seat against former Union Minister and BJP candidate Shahnawaz Hussain. She chose to compare the plight of Mr Advani and Mr Vajpayee in the BJP to that of widowed aunts whose feet were being touched by everybody, but whose advice nobody listened to. Talking to mediapersons here, she said it was her “good luck” that she was not in the BJP as it had “shunned” its Hindutva ideology. She also accused the present BJP Chief Rajnath Singh of indulging in crime and corruption-based politics.
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Cut petrol, diesel prices, says BJP
New Delhi, November 4 “On one hand, the government has failed to check the spiralling prices of essential commodities and on the other, it is looting the common man by not reducing prices of petrol and diesel despite a sharp fall in crude prices in the past two months”, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told mediapersons here. “Current prices of petrol and diesel were fixed when the price of the crude was hovering around $ 78 per barrel. The government continues to maintain this high pricing even as the price of crude in the international market has fallen to $ 50 per barrel”, Mr Javadekar said. “The wheat is being supplied to people in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala through the PDS, but its quality is so poor that stocks have been just lying in PDS shops as there are hardly any takers for it”, Mr Javadekar claimed. On the organisational poll, he said of the 33 states and union territories, organisational elections had been completed in five states.
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SC rejects plea to stop JBT classes in HP
New Delhi, November 4 The state government had recently started JBT classes for nearly 2,000 candidates selected in 2005, which was delayed due to litigation on the issue of selection criteria, specially on the provision of 10 special marks earmarked for candidates who had got their education in institutions situated in rural areas. A Bench, headed by Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan declined to pass any interim order to this effect, rejecting a fresh application by some unsuccessful candidates after the state’s Additional Advocate General J.S. Attri said that the selection criteria had already been modified by the government by the dropping of the provision of 10 marks for the candidates from rural areas. The government had decided to go ahead with the classes during the pendency of matter in the apex court after modifying the selection criteria struck down by the HP High Court on the ground that the provision of special marks for rural candidates was discriminatory and amounted to a kind of reservation not permitted under the law. Following the High Court order, the government had laid fresh criteria for the selection process by omitting the provision of 10 marks for rural candidates but retaining the 15 marks for interview for all candidates. Though the High Court had also struck down the 15 marks provision for interview but its order to this effect had been challenged by the government in a special leave petition moved earlier in the apex court. The state government’s stand was that the interview was compulsory as the admission to JBT institutions was as good as an appointment because after finishing the training, the candidates are given appointment letters as per available vacancies without going through the selection process again. Even when the court was yet to give its final verdict on the government’s special leave petition, several unsuccessful candidates filed a fresh application for an interim stay on starting of the classes till the final disposal of the case.
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Maoist rocket-maker surrenders
Hyderabad, November 4 Warangal Superintendent of police Soumya Mishra said that Tech Madhu alias Thota Kumara Swamy and his wife Sudha Rani gave themselves up following their “deep feelings” against the Maoist leadership. Tech Madhu (34) came into prominence following the recovery of a massive cache of rockets and rocket launchers from local transport service warehouses in Mahboobnagar and Prakasam district in September. As many as 600 rocket launchers were seized at Achmapet in Mahabubnagar district, a Naxalite stronghold. Following the trail of these arms, the police raided a transport company at Giddalur in Prakasam district and seized 275 rocket launcher spare parts. Though the police officially claimed that the duo surrendered before the SP today, local media carried reports at least four weeks earlier that Tech Madhu and his wife were in police custody. The police were said to have made Madhu lead them to all arms dumps, land mines and camp sites of the Maoists across the state during this period. According to the police, in a bid to ramp up their weaponry, the Maoists set up a technical team to design rockets and rocket launchers with Tech Madhu as one of the members in 2003. He was sent to Chennai in 2003 to work on rocket and rocket launchers. During his term in Chennai, two projects were planned namely “Rocket Launchers - I and “Rocket Launchers - II”. Rocket Launchers - I was a pilot project before the 2004 Assembly Elections, designed to manufacture 25 rockets with launch pad. Rocket Launcher - II was a project for development of shoulder mounted rocket launchers and rockets. On the instructions of the party leadership, Tech Madhu manufactured 1550 rockets and 40 rocket launchers, which were distributed in various places in Andhra Pradesh. The Maoists spent Rs 35 lakh on this project. After the police stumbled upon these consignments during their transit, the Chennai police raided as many as seven engineering workshops and foundries including that of Tech Madhu, which were engaged in supplying rockets to the Maoists.
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DU honours Amitabh with doctorate
New Delhi, November 4 Amid thunderous applause, the DU Vice-Chancellor, Dr Deepak Pental, conferred the 'honouris causa' degree to Bachchan, Dikshit, Laxman and Rao, the scientific adviser to Prime Minister, for their exemplary contribution in their respective fields. This is the first time that a movie star has been so honoured with a doctorate degree by Delhi
University. Industrialist Ratan Tata, historian Romila Thapar and writer Mahashweta Devi, who were also chosen by the University for conferring the degree, could not make it to the function for various
reasons. Receiving the degree, a nostalgic Bachchan, who studied in the capital's Kirori Mal College in the mid-sixties, said it was at the DU where he first received "serious" encouragement as an actor. "It goes without saying that there is a palpabale nostalgia about the hours spent at the coffee house, at the bus stop outside the Miranda, yes, yes, always outside the Miranda House," Bachchan said as the audience erupted into laughter. Miranda House, a well known women's college is situated near Kirori Mal College where Bachchan pursued the B.Sc (general) programme. Dedicating the honorary degree to Delhiites, Ms Dikshit said she was humbled by the gesture of the university. "I am overwhelmed. I never dreamt of it. But I would also like to tell you that not many in my field of life achieve anything to deserve this kind of honour," she said. While the attendance at the function was restricted only to pass holders, which included about 50 students from the Big B 's alma mater, the Kirori Mal College, hundreds of his fans including Delhi University students gathered outside the venue. The police had a tough time in keeping the fans in control as the super star arrived there accompanied by his friend and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, wife Jaya and son Abhishek.
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NGOs for HIV/AIDS workplace policy
New Delhi, November 4 The Population Foundation of India, Delhi, and the Institute of Health Management, Pachod, Maharashtra, have initiated a debate on the issue by holding a two-day workshop here. Experts say such a policy is imperative for the large NGO sector as HIV/AIDS affects people in the most productive age group of 15 to 49 years. They argue that many NGOs work in high-prevalence states and their staff are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Dr A. Dyalchand, director of the Pachod-based institute is of the view that there is an urgent need to formulate an HIV/AIDS workplace policy for the NGO sector on the lines of the International Labour Organisation’s Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. The code suggests 10 key principles around which workplace policies can be developed. These are recognition of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue, non-discrimination, gender equality, healthy work environment, social dialogue, screening for purposes of employment, continuation of employment relationship, prevention of HIV/AIDS through information and education, confidentiality and care and response. Dr Santosh Mathew, regional director (east), Emanuel Hospital Association, Delhi, recommends that universal precautions should become a part of workplace policy in any situation where people at risk or people with blood-borne infections are cared for or attended to. Dr Shalini Bharat, dean, School of Health System Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, says although the Confederation of Indian Industries has formulated an HIV/AIDS workplace policy for the corporate sector.
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Havildar kills
captain in Manipur
Imphal, November 4 The police said the deceased Captain was Asom Rifles Company Commander SJR Choudhury from Hyderabad and the Subedar was Ranjit Momin. According to the police Havildar Awidesh Sharma first shot at the Captain and then the Subedar after which he shot himself with his service rifle. The Captain and the Subedar died on the spot and the Havildar succumbed to his injuries last night at Military Hospital, Ukhrul. The Captain was to get married on December 8 and had distributed the invitation cards to all his colleagues, sources said. Earlier, four personnel of Asom Rifles were killed in a similar fashion in the state's Chandel district.
— UNI |
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