Sunday, September 13, 1998

Santushti account in
order: AFWWA
NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — In a last ditch effort to get back the prestigious shopping complex, Santushti, the Air Force Wives Welfare Association today denied that it was yet to account for over Rs 4 crore out of the total proceeds of Rs 9.5 crore from the complex.

Rivers in spate hamper
relief work
PATNA, Sept 12 — With 14 more deaths reported, the toll in current spell of floods in Bihar rose to 320 today with the overall situation remaining grim. State Relief and Rehabilitation Department sources said 14 more deaths were reported from flood-hit areas since yesterday.

• PM offers help to
  flood-hit B'desh

DUSU poll: ABVP shares honours with NSUI
NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the National Students Union of India shared honours in the Delhi University Students Union election results which were declared this evening.

17 more dropsy cases, 39 discharged
NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — Seventeen persons with symptoms of dropsy were admitted to various hospitals in the Capital during the past 24 hours.

Medical teachers’ stir on
JAIPUR, Sept 12 — The statewide strike by medical college teachers demanding a career promotion scheme and other benefits on a par with their central government counterparts entered its third day today in Rajasthan.

Pilot: no pact with communal parties

BARODA, Sept 12 (PTI) — Senior Congress leader Rajesh Pilot today refuted the charge of Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav that Congress was softening its stance towards the BJP and asserted that his party would never align with communal and fundamental forces.

"The Congress has never done this and will not do so", Mr Pilot, who along with former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma made a brief halt at Harni airport here before proceeding to Jankhava village in Surat to address a party meeting.

It was Mr Mulayam Singh and former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav who had taken the support of the BJP in 1989 for the formation of the government at the Centre, he said.

Mr Pilot said the Congress would try to strengthen its position in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and it does not want any alliance with any regional party.

The BJP-led government had failed to address the rise in prices of essential commodities and control the law and order situation which, he said, was deteriorating everyday.

Mr Pilot also criticised Union Minister for Agriculture Surjeet Singh Barnala for amending the Essential Commodities Act and reducing the jail sentence awarded to blackmarketeers and hoarders.

He said India should not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and expressed surprise over the manner in which foreign affairs were being handled.

"Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s adviser Brajesh Misra is making statement on behalf of the Prime Minister. Mr Vajpayee should speak on foreign affairs", he said.

Mr Pilot said the Congress would not stake its claim for the formation of government in Rajasthan after the defection of some BJP and Independent MLAs to the Congress.

Amitabh desires to act in art movies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Sept 12 (PTI) — A superstar of commercial Hindi cinema for many years, Amitabh Bachchan now wants to act in art films and is already in touch with legends of art movies including, Shyam Benegal.

"I would like to act in the so-called art films. My doors are open," Amitabh told a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club here today and said he had been in touch with art directors like Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Ramgopal Varma and Priyadarshan.

Expressing his aversion to prefixing epithets like "legend" to his name, he said "I am just a human being like any other. An actor’s job is basically to act".

Asked how he felt about his "comeback," Amitabh said: "I don’t like the word comeback as I have never gone away".

"I stopped working for four-five years since 1990. It was a personal desire as I wanted some time for myself," he said, adding that he had been streamlining his firm A.B. Corporation, which had suffered some losses due to "bad management".

"We are mainly concentrating on film production and distribution. The process of streamlining is on," he said.

Referring to the Indian film industry, he said it could make a breakthrough in world market through professional marketing.

The entire East African belt, West Asia, South America and Asian republics of the erstwhile Soviet Union hold prospective market for Indian cinema, Amitabh said, adding "Language may be a barrier for foreign viewers. But there are ingredients in Indian films which would be appealing to them."

Santushti account in order: AFWWA
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — In a last ditch effort to get back the prestigious shopping complex, Santushti and its land, the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) today denied that it was yet to account for over Rs 4 crore out of the total proceeds of Rs 9.5 crore from the complex.

In a statement issued here today, the AFWWA said, “The insinuation that AFWWA was yet to account for Rs 4 crore out of total proceeds of Rs 9.5 crore from Santushti complex is factually not correct”.

The Delhi High Court had on Thursday asked the Union Government to take a decision on the use of the shopping complex as the AFWWA was not able to account for Rs 4 crore. The Division Bench had asked the government to take at least a tentative decision on the use of the complex and the land which might help the court in the adjudication of the matter.

Giving four weeks’ time to the government, the court said it should keep in mind how the funds were made available to the AFWWA for its welfare programmes.

In the statement, the AFWWA said that the actual facts were that in April last the Defence Minister had inter alia ordered that information regarding the amount of money which had been spent from Santushti complex on welfare activities be furnished. In response, a detailed information regarding income and expenditure incurred by it from its date of inception to the date of handing over of the complex to the government on February 28, 1998, had been submitted. The AFWWA said that it had a total income of Rs 9.5 crore of which the income from Santushti complex accounted for about Rs 4 crore only.

The AFWWA also claimed that it being a registered society, its accounts were duly audited every year by chartered accountants. It said that it was not correct that the Santushti complex had given a return of Rs 9.5 crore and the fact was that the total income from the complex was about Rs 4 crore.

It said that the allegation that the AFWWA was yet to account for over Rs 4 crore was not only factually incorrect but had also tarnished its image.

Such a statement from the AFWWA comes in the wake of reports that the shopping complex may finally not be handed back to the association. The complex is at present under charge of the Director General of Defence Estates (DGDE) after orders were issued for it to be handed over to the government.

The loss of the complex would be a major blow to the AFWWA, which has been running the complex over the years and managed to churn out big profits from the shops operating from there.

Rivers in spate hamper relief work

PATNA, Sept 12 (PTI) — With 14 more deaths reported, the toll in current spell of floods in Bihar rose to 320 today with the overall situation remaining grim.

State Relief and Rehabilitation Department sources said 14 more deaths were reported from flood-hit areas since yesterday.

The eight-member Central team which arrived here from New Delhi on Thursday was still assessing the extent of damage, the sources said. The district-wise break up of the death toll was, however, not available.

The state government has already demanded immediate Central assistance of Rs 700 crore to step up relief operations.

Over 1.3 crore people in 7600 villages under 241 blocks of 28 districts were affected by floods that had submerged 33.40 lakh hectare, the sources said.

Standing crops in 14.5 lakh hectare worth Rs 295 crore were destroyed, the sources said adding that the deluge had also caused damage to public and private property worth over Rs 50.38 crore.

Water Resource Department engineers continued to work round-the-clock at over 120 critical points along embankments of major swollen rivers to prevent breach or further erosion, officials said.

Major rivers like the Ganga, Budhi Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda, Kamala Balan, Bagmati, Sone and the Adhwara group of rivers were still in a spate flowing above the danger mark at different places along their course.

Over 2,500 relief and health centres were functioning day and night to provide relief to affected people.

Army personnel were engaged in relief work in Katihar and Darbhanga districts.

BHUBANESWAR: Incessant rains for the third consecutive day in Orissa have triggered floods in several rivers according to official reports received here.

Heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of the Hirakund reservoir in undivided Sambalpur district flooded the Ib river, which opens into the huge man-made lake resulting in a flood situation in the Mahanadi, the state’s largest river.

The Subarnarekha river was flowing just below the danger mark of 10.36 metre at Rajghat this morning. The river was rising further.

While floods in the Ib and Bheden rivers threatened large areas in Jharsuguda district and the Subarnarekha posed problems for Balasore district, the Mahanadi could spell danger for the coastal areas of Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts, the sources said.

Official reports said 34 villages under eight panchayats and two local bodies in Jharsuguda district were affected by floods.

About 5,000 people were shifted to 17 flood shelters in the area, they said.

Heavy rains affected life in Sambalpur city where low-lying areas were submerged forcing the people to take shelter in school buildings nearby.

The affected areas were Badabazar, Chandan Nagar, Charbhati and Kuluthkani.

A large number of wild animals have perished in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park in this year’s floods, reports received here said.

A rhino which was washed away by the Brahmaputra from the park died at a riverine area in Barpeta district, raising the death toll to 19.

Earlier, the carcass of 18 rhinos were recovered from the park. Unofficial estimates, however, put the loss of deer and other animals in the floods to more than a thousand.

Though all the rivers continued to recede and the situation was improving in the worst affected Dhemaji district, road communication remained disrupted affecting relief work.

CALCUTTA: The flood situation in South Bengal worsened today with discharge of water from DVC barrages following incessant rain in catchment areas submerging vast areas in Hooghly and Howrah districts, while rivers were receding in North Bengal, as the toll rose to 174.

The release of 1.27 lakh cusecs from the Damodar valley corporation’s Maithon, Panchet and Tenughat reservoirs submerged large tracts in Arambagh, Khanakul and Goghat in Hooghly district, as a red alert was sounded in Udainarayanpur and Amta in Howrah district, Irrigation Minister Debabrata Bandhopadhayay told newsmen here.

In Murshidabad district rain-fed Tilpara barrage flooded Kandi subdivision. About 15 lakh people were hit and 60,000 dwellings damaged in 23 blocks.

PM offers help in relief work to flood-hit B'desh

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, has offered India's help in carrying out relief work in flood-affected parts of Bangladesh and post-flood rehabilitation.

Mr Vajpayee said in a letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Ms Sheikh Hasina, the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka would remain in close touch with her government in this connection.

The Prime Minister's letter despatched in the last week of August was followed by a telephonic conversation with his Bangladeshi counterpart.

The External Affairs Ministry here said the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh had been in close touch with the Bangladesh Government regarding its requirements.

India has decided to gift 20,000 tonnes of rice to the neighbouring country.

Earlier, an emergency supply of medicines had commenced, with the first shipment of 750 kg arriving in Bangladesh last week.

Chicken price may shoot up in Delhi
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — The price of chicken in the Capital is likely to shoot up following a week-long strike from today by commission agents at the Ghazipur mandi.

The mandi is the biggest poultry market in northern India. Poultry farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh come to this market to sell their chicken. From here, the chicken is then supplied to hotels, restaurants and shops located in the northern region.

The commission agents decided to go on a strike from today to protest against an order of the Delhi Government. The Public Grievances Commission of Delhi had directed these agents to adopt the weight method to purchase the chicken.

The agents have been following the traditional system in which “kori” is used as a unit for determining the price of the product. According to this traditional system 20 chicken constitute one “kori”.

However, these commission agents resort to weight method while selling their product to the buyers.

The Poultry Federation of India had been protesting against this method of the commission agents, the president of the federation, Mr B.M. Chadha, said, adding that the agents had resorted to the strike after the Public Grievances Commission order went against them.

He said the method of selling chicken by weight was practised throughout the country and would be beneficial to the poultry farmers.

About 1.5 lakh chicken come to the mandi everyday and monetary transaction between Rs 50 and Rs 60 lakh takes place each day. The Delhi Government earns 1 per cent of the sale proceeds from these agents.

Mr Chadha alleged the commission agents had for the past few days been preventing the poultry farmers who wanted to sell their chicken through the weight method.

He claimed the farmers who tried to sell their product directly to the market were also being prevented by these agents.

DUSU poll: ABVP shares honours with NSUI
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) shared honours in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election results which were declared this evening.

While the ABVP won the posts of president and general secretary, the NSUI bagged the posts of vice-president and joint secretary.

Jaiveer Singh Rana of the ABVP was elected president. He polled 10,245 votes compared to his nearest rival, Ms Nidhi Puri of the NSUI, who got 9,818 votes. The total number of votes polled for the post of president was 26,028.

NSUI candidate, Anil Solanki, was elected to the post of vice-president. He polled 8,139 votes compared to 5,486 votes polled by the ABVP’s Ravi Tripathi.

The post of general secretary was bagged by the ABVP whose candidate, Ritu Verma polled 7,246 votes. Her rival, Ved Pal of the NSUI got 7,053 votes.

Mr Sanjay Chaudhari of the NSUI won the post of joint secretary by beating ABVP candidate, Arvind Garg. While the former polled 7,159 votes, the latter polled 5,516 votes.

17 more dropsy cases, 39 discharged
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 — Seventeen persons with symptoms of dropsy were admitted to various hospitals in the Capital during the past 24 hours. For the second consecutive day, no death due to dropsy was reported from any hospital.According to the Delhi Government’s dropsy control room, Thursday’s toll of 57 remains unchanged. In the past 24 hours, 39 persons have been discharged from various hospitals. According to the control room, 302 persons are under medication for dropsy in various hospitals. Of these, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in Hari Nagar has the maximum number of patients, followed by 53 in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Dilshad Garden.

Medical teachers’ stir on

JAIPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) — The statewide strike by medical college teachers demanding a career promotion scheme and other benefits on a par with their central government counterparts entered its third day today in Rajasthan.

Teaching work in all six medical colleges in the state, and the services in the attached hospitals have been paralysed in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ajmer and Kota, the convener of the action committee of the Rajasthan Medical College Teachers Association, Dr R. P. Garg, claimed today.

However, Health Secretary M. D. Korani in a Press release said the “medical and health services, including emergency services, are being adequately maintained by deputing other government doctors.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Health Rajendra Singh Rathore appealed to the medical teachers to end their strike in the interest of patients as the government was considering their demands.

However, the striking doctors said they wanted concrete decisions before ending the agitation.

“We have been ditched four times in the past when the government failed to do anything even after signing written agreements”, Dr Garg said.

One killed in encounter
NEW DELHI: A person accused of a double-murder in UP, was killed while his accomplice was critically injured in an encounter with the police in north-west Delhi on Friday. While Jeetendra Kumar died on the spot, Munna Bajrangi, allegedly involved in a number of cases of murder and extortion and carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, was injured in the encounter with a joint team of Delhi and U.P. Police, Delhi Police Commissioner V.N Singh told mediapersons. A police constable was also injured. — PTI

SC upholds minority school choice
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that management of a minority school is not inhibited by any legislative or executive fiat while choosing and appointing any qualified person as headmaster. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Saghir Ahmed and Mr Justice K.T. Thomas while dismissing an appeal by a teacher in a Kerala school challenging management’s decision to bring from outside a qualified person as headmaster, said the qualification and conditions of service alone could be fixed through a legislative or executive directive. — PTI

Time-bound steps needed: UDP
SHILLONG: The United Democratic Party (UDP), while reiterating its support to the fledgling Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum (MPF) ministry headed by B.B. Lyngdoh, has asked the government to chalk out time-bound programmes to solve the state’s economic and social problems. The UDP and the Congress are the constituents of the MPF.—PTI

7 die as bus overturns
SILIGURI: Seven persons were killed and 30 others injured when a bus overturned and fell into a ditch near Ghughmari in Coochbehar district on Friday night, official sources said here. The Mathabhanga bound bus met with the accident when its driver lost control. — PTI