L A T E S T      N E W S

2G: Govt defends Chidambaram 

New Delhi: Coming out in strong defence of Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal today attacked the BJP-led NDA of attempting to "foist" culpability on him in the 2G scam, saying it was a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.

Sibal held a press conference to say that the government rejected all allegations against Chidambaram, Finance Minister at the time of spectrum allocation, and alleged that elements in the NDA were trying to malign and defame him.

He also said the then Telecom Minister A. Raja did not hold any meeting with Chidambaram prior to the issuance of the Letter of Intent (LoI) to telecom operators (2G spectrum allocation) on January 10, 2008.

"In fact, the record will show that the Ministry of Finance had no no knowledge that the LoIs would be issued on January 10, 2008," Sibal said.

He said Chidambaram as Finance Minister was in no way responsible for issue of Letter of Intent by Telecom Ministry then headed by A. Raja in January 2008.

He said no official of the Finance Ministry, including the then Finance Minister, had committed any "irregularity or misconduct" in the spectrum allocation.

"People in NDA are trying to malign and defame P. Chidambaram. We reject all allegations against him in the 2G scam. Chidambaram is a valued colleague. He discharged his duties without any fear or favour," the Minister said.  — PTI

AMRI directors sent to 10-day police custody

KOLKATA: A court in West Bengal on Saturday ordered six directors of the city's AMRI Hospital, where fire claimed 90 lives, to 10 days in police custody. Six of the seven directors arrested on Friday were presented before the court.

One director, R.S. Agarwal, could not be presented before the court on medical grounds.

Alipore Chief Judicial Magistrate S.M. Shahnawaz Khan, accepting the plea of the prosecution, ordered the six directors, including Shrachi Group chairman S.K. Todi and his counterpart in the Emami Group R.S. Goenka, to 10 days in police custody.

Seven directors were arrested on Friday for several non-bailable offences, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Agarwal got himself admitted to a private hospital Friday evening and has been kept under arrest there.

The accused were brought to court premises under tight security as hundreds of people had gathered around, shouting slogans and demanding death penalty for them.

The Alipore Lawyers Association also joined the demonstrations and said they would not allow any legal practitioner to stand in defence for the directors.

"We have decided that no lawyer will stand for defence for these people. We not only demand death penalty for them but also urge the court not to grant bail," said Kalachand Talukdar, secretary of the association.

Accusing the hospital authorities of being reckless and causing deaths deliberately, government counsel Kalyan Bandopadhyay said: "The directors were rightly sent to custody by the court. They had deliberately switched off the fire alarms and had locked the exit doors. They had blatantly violated fire safety norms."

In the worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 90 patients and three staffers were killed in the city's well-known AMRI Hospital when a blaze started in the basement of the annexe building early Friday and quickly spread, trapping hundreds of people. — IANS

Punish the guilty, Kolkata echoes in one voice

KOLKATA: It was a collective chorus of anger and shock in Kolkata as intellectuals, celebrities and commoners demanded exemplary punishment for culprits and a mechanism to keep a tab on the working of private hospitals Saturday, a day after India saw its worst hospital fire tragedy.

As many as 90 patients and staffers died a horrible death in Kolkata's well-known Advanced Medicare Research Institute (AMRI) Hospital when a blaze in the basement engulfed its annexe building early Friday with noxious smoke, trapping helpless patients while doctors and others fled to safety.

It was a sorry saga of ignorance in basic firefighting norms, leading to the second major fire in Kolkata in 20 months after the March 23, 2010 blaze at the British-era Stephen Court in the heart of the bustling Park Street claimed 43 lives.

“The culprits should be given an exemplary punishment so that from next time, nobody even thinks of ignoring basic fire safety norms for saving some money. The culprits should be punished as early as possible,” fashion designer Agnimitra Paul told IANS.

“Punishment should be given but at the same time, the government should also prepare a mechanism to keep a tab on private hospitals who charge enormous amount of money for treatment and that too by confusing people,” writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhay said.

Time and again there have been allegations against private hospitals that they charge huge amount of money from patients. Last year, a renowned private hospital was rampaged after it denied basic treatment to a poor local as he could not arrange the money the hospital demanded.

“Harsh punishment is a must and government should also wake up after the death of these 90 people. They should keep a strict vigil on private hospitals which charge astronomical amounts for even basic treatment. The deaths should not go in vain,” actor Kaushik Sen told IANS.

In the last few years, many incidents of callousness in private hospitals have come to the fore.

Two years ago, a renowned hospital here declared a newborn as dead. Later, when the baby was about to be taken out for cremation it was found that he was alive. By way of explanation, the hospital said since the delivery took place at night, there were no specialised doctors to give a thorough clinical check to the baby.

“It is true that private hospitals charge in an inhuman way. I have heard that licence of the hospital has been cancelled. It is a good decision. But I would like to request that on that same hospital ground, a new government hospital come up for the poor,” noted writer Sunil Gangopadhay told IANS.

“A system should be brought into force to ensure private hospitals and other public places follow security and fire safety norms,” theatre personality Bihbas Chakroborty echoed.

After the death of 43 people in the Stephen Court fire last year, the Trinamool Congress and the then ruling Marxists were at loggerheads with Mamata Banerjee blaming the latter for negligence.

Since then political power has changed hands and Banerjee is now the Chief Minister. But little seems to have changed in terms of acquiring modern equipment and infrastructure to fire brigade personnel or imparting proper training to civil defence staff to deal with such emergent situations.

The announcement of compensation on the part of the hospital seems to have added more fuel to the public rage.

“Deaths cannot be counted against the money given by the authority or the government. A strict check should be kept at all hospitals to avert such incidents,” fumed Jayanta Das, a private bank official.

“The most sickening part is that after killing so many people, AMRI is talking about compensation. How can these businessmen be so insensitive to the shattered families by literally equating death with compensation,” Sangeeta Sengupta wrote on social networking site Facebook. — IANS

Sreedharan not to head Kochi Metro

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan, who demits office on December 31, will not head the proposed Kochi Metro Rail project, contrary to speculation in his home state of Kerala that he has been chosen for the job.

The Congress government in Kerala has been very keen on using the services of Sreedharan, who revolutionised the way Delhi travels through the Metro, for building a similar new-age transport system in Kochi.

"No, no," Sreedharan said when asked whether he would be heading Kochi Metro, the approval for which is likely to be given by the Union Cabinet soon.

"Kochi Metro will be handled by the Delhi Metro. If I am here, yes, I will be involved. If I am not here I don't get involved," he told PTI here.

The comments by 79-year-old 'Metro Man' puts at rest all speculation about his heading the project which envisages constructing a nearly 20-km Metro network.

Speculation was rife for the past few months that Sreedharan would head the Kochi Metro after he steps down as the Managing Director of Delhi Metro on December 31, 2011.

Chief Minister Oomen Chandy had also expressed his interest in roping in experts like Sreedharan for the Metro project.

However, Sreedharan gave ample indications that he was not going to take up any offer after his tenure comes to an end.

He said he was eager to go back to his village in Thrissur district and spend his post-retirement days there with his family.

Sreedharan joined the Indian Railways in 1953 and headed the Konkan Railway project after his retirement and finally, he was made the Managing Director of the DMRC in 1995. — PTI