Friday, April 2, 1999
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One killed in fresh tremors GOPESHWAR, April 1 — One person was killed and several others injured when a fresh tremor measuring 4.8 on the Richter Scale hit the region early today, officials said. Thakre for debate on judiciary PANAJI, April 1 — Expressing concern over the prevailing anomalies in the country’s judiciary, the BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, today called for a nationwide debate on the judicial system with a view to strengthening the democracy. Quattrocchi denies commitment before SC NEW DELHI, April 1 — Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, alleged to have got a huge kickback in the Rs 1,437 crore Bofors gun deal, today denied making any commitment before the Supreme Court to appear before the trial court. |
 While the quake in Chamoli razed the house in the foreground, a newly constructed unit in the background did not develop even a crack. (Courtesy ITBP).
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CBI probe sought into Jehanabad
massacre NEW DELHI, April 1 — Residents of Senari village in Jehanabad district of Bihar, where 34 persons were massacred on March 18, apprehend more killings by the MCC and have demanded deployment of paramilitary forces in the village and a CBI inquiry into the massacre. Oppn
‘slices’ CM’s birthday cake
NCM
for minority status for Hindus in Meghalaya Giani
Puran Singh undergoes tests PPCC
to celebrate Khalsa tercentenary
Millennium’s
last ‘blue moon’ Maneka’s
plan for kids |
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One killed in fresh tremors GOPESHWAR, April 1 (PTI) — One person was killed and several others injured when a fresh tremor measuring 4.8 on the Richter Scale hit the region early today, officials said. Rati Lal (55) was buried alive under debris while he was asleep. His house caved in under the impact of the tremor at Hat Pipakoti village in Chamoli district. The tremor rocked Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts at 2.10 a.m. for the fourth day in succession. Authorities apprehended more damage to life and property in the far-flung areas cut off because of snapping of road links by debris of collapsed houses and landslides. Local residents camping here said even four days after the tragedy struck the area, a number of victims had not received Rs 1,000 as immediate relief announced by the state administration. Officials attributed the delay to the time taken in the identification of affected people, and making the relief amount available to them after completing necessary formalities. As many as 600 ITBP and 180 Army personnel are already engaged in relief operations in the two worst-hit districts of Chamoli and Rudraprayag, district officials said. Even though relief operations have been stepped up, the hapless survivors in as many as 15 far flung villages still await relief, the Chief Development Officer of Chamoli, Mr R.S. Singh, who is supervising the relief work, said. Treacherous mountain terrain, snapped communication links and shortage of personnel have all slackened the pace of relief work, although 33 relief camps have been opened. Meanwhile, reports reaching Chamoli district headquarters from Barai, 20 km from here, said Tuesday night’s quake had destroyed 20 houses while 11 developed wide cracks. In Kotiyal village, on the outskirts of Chamoli, four houses have been destroyed, while 85 have developed, cracks, district officials said. Army Signal Corps have established a special communication link in the area in addition to the hotlines to help ITBP, Army and paramilitary personnel in relief operations, Capt S. M. Baba said. The block pramukh of Jakholi, Maheshi Devi, said Dev Khadora, Niruli, Tilphara, Tilang and many other villages in Jakholi have not received any relief so far. Dheeraj Singh, president of the students union of PG College at Gopeshwar, alleged that there was lack of coordination among various authorities in arranging relief and threatened that students would force choppers carrying VIPs to fly back, if relief work was not improved. Agitated people gheraoed a contingent of Army jawans at Maithana village near here in protest against the government’s alleged apathy towards survivors of the earthquake. They held the army personnel, including a Lt Col and a Major, captive for over two hours and let them go only after assurances were given that relief operations would be launched in these villages soon. In the water crisis-hit distant areas, the Army had yesterday itself pumped some 5 lakh litres of water and another 5 lakh litres were expected to be pumped by this evening, he said. Residents from far-flung areas today assembled at the District Magistrate's office and lodged their complaints against the authorities alleging that adequate and timely relief was not reaching the survivors. NEW DELHI: Meanwhile, a high-level expert committee has been set up by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to study the Chamoli earthquake and the group's preliminary report is likely to come in 10 days' time. The committee, headed by the Director-General of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mr R.R.Kelkar, will recommend measures to be taken in future for enhancing the scientific and technical responses during such events, Dr S.N. Bhattacharya, Deputy Director-General (Seismology), IMD, said here today. The committee which has been set up to examine all technical and scientific aspects of the Chamoli earthquake, will consolidate the data generated by various agencies to study the March 29 quake and its aftershocks, he said. Apart from Dr Kelkar, the
committee would consist of representatives of the
Geological Survey of India, Roorkee University, Wadia
Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Geophysical
Research Institute, DST and Delhi University. |
Thakre for debate on judiciary PANAJI, April 1 — Expressing concern over the prevailing anomalies in the country’s judiciary, the BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, today called for a nationwide debate on the judicial system with a view to strengthening the democracy. Talking to newspersons onboard Rajdhani Express, Mr Thakre said there were three pillars of democracy and if any one was weakened, the entire structure would come under threat. In an obvious reference to the ongoing controversy between the judiciary and the legislature, the BJP President said a fight between the pillars of democracy does not enhance the prestige of either the judiciary or the legislature. Expressing concern over the delay in the delivery of justice, he said: "We have to protect the interest of the common man. If we are going to fight for our own rights and let the interest of the common man suffer, then it would not be a happy situation". Referring to a threat from the AIADMK to the BJP-led coalition government, Mr Thakre said the government was moving towards "greater stability". AIADMK chief Jayalalitha’s statements were only "speed-breakers and roadblocks and not car-breakers", he said while dismissing threats from the AIADMK. Earlier, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, also dismissed any threat to his government stressing that "there was no threat to the stability to the government even in case of a withdrawal of support by the AIADMK". " We have the numbers", he said, declining to identify the support he expected for his government’s survival. Earlier, Mr Thakre said
the Congress was acting out of frustration. The Congress
was re-emerging as a principled party after the Pachmarhi
declarations but it had again hit the course of
opportunism. "it has no grassroots leaders and Ms
Sonia Gandhi has not worked at grassroots", he said.
It was only interested in weakening the Vajpayee
government, he said adding that even foreign powers did
not want a government which could take independent
decisions, he added. |
Where waterlogging spells doom SURATGARH (Sriganganagar): The Sikh migrant farmers who converted sand dunes and mounds of earth into a fertile land after they migrated to this area about 25 years ago are now a devastated lot. They are facing migration yet again to nearby cities and towns as incessant rain, accompanied by enormous waterlogging, has left their crops and houses damaged. A survey reveals that waterlogging has affected about 40,000 acres of land in Dawali-Klan, Dawali-Khurd, Dasuwali, Naga Gandhali, Khandsari, Kumharo Wali, Lunawali, 6 BSM, Ranjit Pura, Molan Magaria, Kalan Wali, Salem Kharh, Ram Puria and Kehar Wala villages, among others. The magnitude of the problem of waterlogging in Rang-Mahal village 7 km from here, is so vast that the village resembles a ghost place, with houses damaged and crops wiped off. More than 75 villages of Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar district, which once was considered as grain basket of the state, are today victims of human mismanagement and nature’s fury. The problem of waterlogging in the region has a chequered history. Over a period of time, varied factors contributed to the menace. The continuous seepage from Indira Gandhi Canal and the Ghaggar, which pass through this region, has resulted in a rise in the area’s water table. “The residents are left to fend for themselves,” rues Mr Sohan Singh Beloda of Man Katheri village. Mr Nikku Ram of 11 SPD village says that they have turned pauper since the problem hit this area. “There has been no crop yield for the last five years and we are not able to send our children even to school”, he laments. “The Rs 8-crore Rang Mahal escape” scheme launched in June, 1997, to check the problem of waterlogging was a total flop as breaches started appearing in the reservoir within days of the start of the scheme. although the Central Government also installed 232 tubewells to drain out accumulated water, it failed to redress the problem in the region. Infuriated over the administration’s failure to check the problem, about 60,000 residents of the area of 84 villages decided to boycott the last Lok Sabha elections. “We have filed a writ
petition against the state government for its
irresponsible attitude towards checking the
problem,” Mr Dilatmak Parkash Jain, President of the
“Sem Bachao Samiti”. |
Quattrocchi denies commitment before SC NEW DELHI, April 1 (PTI) — Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, alleged to have got a huge kickback in the Rs 1,437 crore Bofors gun deal, today denied making any commitment before the Supreme Court to appear before the trial court. "I have never instructed my counsel to agree that I will come to India for interrogation. In this circumstance, therefore, it cannot be alleged that any commitment was made by me, directly or indirectly to that effect," Quattrocchi said in a faxed press note signed at Milano in Italy. He claimed that this was stated in his application seeking modification of February 22 order of the Supreme Court and added that his counsel "did not have the chance to discuss" during the March 26 proceedings. The Supreme Court on March 26 had upheld the arrest warrant issued against him while strongly disapproving his approach towards the court. "We firmly disapprove the manner in which petitioner Ottavio Quattrocchi has conducted himself," a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.T.Nanavati and Mr Justice S.P.Kurdukar had observed when the Attorney-General, Mr Soli Sorabjee pointed out that the accused had failed to honour his word before the apex court to appear before the trial court on March 15. Quattrocchi reiterated
that he was ready to be interrogated by the CBI either at
Kuala Lumpur, his place of residence, or in Italy while
saying that the CBI should treat him equally along with
other persons, whom the investigating agency had
interrogated in foreign countries. |
CBI probe sought into Jehanabad massacre NEW DELHI, April 1 (UNI) — Residents of Senari village in Jehanabad district of Bihar, where 34 persons were massacred on March 18, apprehend more killings by the MCC and have demanded deployment of paramilitary forces in the village and a CBI inquiry into the massacre. In a memorandum to president K.R. Narayanan they said they had lost faith in the Bihar police, administration and politicians. When the massacre was on, the nearest police station at Saharsa in Aurangabad, barely a km away, was informed, but the police failed to take action. The memorandum said officials of the Saharsa police station had "misguided’’ police officials from other stations because of which the massacre could not be prevented and safety measures were not taken up. "As soon as the officer-in-charge of the police station was informed, he ordered firing in the air. Police station in-charge of Saharsa misguided all police stations by sending wireless messages that MCC extremists attacked the police station at Saharsa,’’ the memorandum said adding that immediately after the wireless message, the police officials from other stations rushed to Saharsa police station. The residents demanded a CBI inquiry into the police failure alleging that the officials had colluded with the killers. The memorandum submitted by Mr Vidyanand Sharma, on behalf of the nearly 2000 population of the affected hamlet, said the local police had registered a case on a complaint by a woman whose husband and the only son were also gunned down. The complainant had named 16 persons in the fir whom she had recognised at the time of the incident. Mr Sharma said in the memorandum that his three grandsons were also killed by the MCC extremists on the fateful night. The memorandum alleged that the killers had police patronage because the MCC followers were involved in production and sale of illicit liquor at Azad Bigha in Senari Village, half a km from Saharsa police station, "under the protection of officers from Saharsa and Bansi police stations.’’ Despite the massacre, only 12 police personnel had been deployed by that police for the safety of three villages which was inadequate, it said. Also, some countrymade
weapons, including pistols, were being sold to the MCC,
it added. |
Oppn ‘slices’ CM’s birthday cake NEW DELHI, April 1 (PTI) — The birthday bash of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit came in for a blistering attack in the state assembly today, with the Opposition demanding an apology from her "for slicing a cake which resembled the Tricolour". As soon as the House assembled, Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Mukhi and other BJP members were on their feet, holding newspaper clippings showing Mrs Dikshit slicing the cake on her birthday yesterday. Mr Mukhi demanded that Speaker Prem Singh should "direct" the Chief Minister to tender an unqualified apology on the floor of the House for allegedly "showing disrespect to the national symbol". As Mrs Dikshit sat in silence, Mr Harcharan Singh Balli and Mr Harsh Vardhan, (both BJP) also supported Mr Mukhi’s demand while a number of Treasury Bench members — Meera Bhardwaj, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Raj Kumar Chauhan and Ajay Maken — also stood up, charging the Opposition of raising a "non-issue". The din continued for over 20 minutes, with members trading charges till Speaker Prem Singh directed Balli to leave the House. This angered the Opposition which, led by Mukhi, staged a noisy walkout. Mrs Dikshit later in a letter to the Speaker denied having insulted the national flag and said "some (party) workers brought a cake with a flag on a corner. I cut a small piece from the other corner.’’ She also said the whole
controversy was politically motivated. The Speaker has
accepted her explanation. |
Tea lowers cancer risk: report NEW DELHI, April 1 (PTI) — The cup that cheers also keeps cancer away, according to scientists who say drinking tea, especially green tea, is linked to lower the incidents of the disease. Tea has been shown to inhibit the growth of several types of tumours in animals, a report says. Researchers from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in Sweden wrote in the latest issue of the British journal — Nature — that green tea, and one of its components — a substance called epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG — prevents the growth of new blood vessels. This process, called angiogenesis, is particularly important for tumour growth and spread. Other diseases that depend on angiogenesis, such as diabetic retinopathy, could also be hindered by drinking tea, the report in Nature says. Sounds like a good excuse
— if any were needed — for putting the kettle
on. |
NCM for minority status for
Hindus NEW DELHI, April 1 (PTI) — The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has recommended state-level minority status for Hindus in the "Christian-dominated" state of Meghalaya, while expressing concern over attempts to cause communal disharmony in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The commission, which met here yesterday, unanimously endorsed four special reports each on Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, prepared by its chairman Prof Tahir Mahmood after visiting all places, a NCM release here today said. The report on Meghalaya, calling the staff a "Christian-dominated region having Hindus as the largest local minority", also recommended recognition of Shillong central puja committee as the representative body of Hindus to interact with the state government in respect of the community’s religious and other rights, the release said. The special report on Assam, which examined the state Governor’s recent "controversial" report on Migration and the Illegal Migrants (Determination of Tribunals) Act of 1983, recommended that the act be retained in force but its working be reviewed by an impartial committee of jurists and social scientists. It also recommended
immediate nomination of a minority representative to the
newly-elected Darjeeling Hill Council in terms of the
1994 amendment of the council’s law of 1988. |
Giani Puran Singh undergoes
tests NEW DELHI, April 1 — Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Puran Singh underwent tests for his heart problem at the cardiology department of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here. Giani Puran Singh had undergone "routine evaluation" and there was no cause for concern, a doctor who attended on him said today. The acting Jathedar had suffered a heart attack soon after his installation to the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs, last month. Giani Puran Singh had been undergoing treatment at an Amritsar-based hospital for the past few weeks. The doctor here said the
acting Jathedar had been referred to AIIMS by the
Amritsar hospital and he was discharged today afternoon.
He had undergone tests to find out the condition of the
heart following the attack and was admitted to the
cardiology unit. |
PPCC to celebrate Khalsa
tercentenary NEW DELHI, April 1 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) is holding a function here next week to herald celebrations of the tercentenary of the founding of Khalsa where the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, is expected to give her message to the community. Perhaps utilising the opportunity of having the only Congress government in the region, the function is being organised jointly by the Delhi Government and the PPCC. The function is being organised to receive the “Jyoti” which the PPCC delegates would be carrying from Patna Sahib to Delhi enroute to its final destination at Nanded Sahib. The Old Secretariat Complex, the seat of Delhi Government, will be the venue for the function which will be attended by Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Shiela Dikshit and the PPCC Chief, Mr Amarinder Singh, among others. Party leaders are planning to utilise the opportunity so that it comes closer to the community which has drifted away from the Congress after 1984. It may be recalled that the PPCC had made and announced plans on several occasions that Ms Sonia Gandhi would visit Amritsar and pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. However, till date the visit could not materialise. The idea is to ensure that the Congress party takes the lead and renews support to the community ahead of others. The importance of the timing is not lost since the Congress function in Delhi is exactly two days ahead of the official function being organised by the Punjab Government at Anandpur Sahib which will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. The PPCC and some former
MPs including Ms Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, Mr H.S. Hanspal
and Mr Surinder Singla are also engaged in organising an
inter-faith conference in Delhi, later this year. |
NHRC directive on drugs NEW DELHI, April 1 (UNI) — Taking strong exception to the reports of supply of contaminated dextrose to some government hospitals, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the government to take immediate steps to revamp the entire system of licensing, new product approvals, certification and handling of complaints regarding spurious and substandard drugs and IV fluids. NHRC sources told UNI that the commission had also asked the government to upgrade its analysts and approved testing laboratories both in terms of infrastructure and trained staff. The NHRC gave these directions taking suo-motu cognisance of a report appearing in a leading national daily about seizure of three bottles of fungus contaminated dextrose from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in September, 1997 and a similar complaint regarding Indus Hospital of Shimla. The NHRC has asked the government to review schedule of the drugs and cosmetics rules for upgradation of GMP guidelines for manufacture, storage and distribution of IV fluids both in glass and plastics and ensure its effective implementation in a time-bound fashion. For maintenance of the
highest quality and purity of drugs at various stages
from manufacture to the point of administration to the
patients, the commission made some recommendations to the
Central Drugs Controller General of India, the Gujarat
Government, the company which supplied the contaminated
dextrose bottles, the RML hospital and medical stores
depots. They were asked to comply within one year and
submit quarterly reports to the NHRC. |
NOIDA rentals higher than
Tokyo’s NOIDA, April 1 - It might come as a surprise to most of the people that rental charges for offices and residential houses, in NOIDA are so high that it comes seventh in the world. Even more surprising is the fact that though land and property rates have fallen, the rent for residential houses has sky-rocketed. This information was given by C.R. Ellis Company which has recently conducted a worldwide survey on the increasing rental charges of official and residential property. Among the major cities of the world in which Delhi figured seventh in the list, and Noida has been included in Delhi as it is more of a Delhi suburb than anything else. According to report on the highest rental charges, Hong Kong city is on the first position, London comes second, Mumbai third, Singapore fourth, Moscow fifth, Beijing sixth and New Delhi (including Noida) seventh, Tokyo eighth and New York ninth. According to a local
survey, for an ordinary middle class family in Noida 30
to 40 per cent of the salary goes towards paying the
house rent. |
Millennium’s last ‘blue moon’ CALCUTTA, April 1 (PTI) —Skywatchers relished a celestial feast as the millennium’s last ‘blue moon’ — a full moon seen for the second time in a single month of a calendar year — rose in the eastern sky, last night. The moon, shining bright in a cloudless night, rose at 6.17 p.m. and set at 6.17 a.m. giving the gazers over 12 hours of visual delight. This, however, was ‘twice in a blue moon’ as the world witnessed this extremely rare celestial event two times this calendar year, after 38 years. M.P. Birla Planetarium Director R. Subramanium told PTI that a full moon lit up the last night of January this year after appearing on the first night of that month. “We witnessed the same phenomenon yesterday as a brilliant full moon reappeared after being seen on March 2, marking a once-in-19-year happening,” he said. The event, which inspired the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ about 400 years ago, was last observed in 1961. However, this ‘blue
moon’ was astronomically significant since the event
had failed to occur in 1980, Mr Subramanium said. |
Maneka’s plan for kids NEW DELHI, April 1 — The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms Maneka Gandhi, will inaugurate a Childline India Foundation in Mumbai this month to help needy children. An expansion of the Childline Health Service already in operation in Delhi and Mumbai, the foundation is being set up with financial support of Rs 22.50 crore from the Ministry of Social Justice, UNICEF and the National Lotteries Board of United Kingdom. Sources in the ministry said while the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had sanctioned Rs 18 crore for the project, UNICEF and the National Lotteries Board of United Kingdom had committed support of Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.50 crore, respectively. Sources added that the agreement with the National Lotteries Board of India was signed by Ms Gandhi during her 10-day visit to UK and Italy. The agreement would help extend the service to Bangalore, Patna, Calcutta, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Chennai. The 24-hour toll-free service can be availed of at 1098 and has benefited about 3,750 children, so far. The scheme is aimed at helping street children, apart from those who live somewhere but need help, need a place to stay, are being abused and those who feel like talking to someone. The funds raised so far will be used for helping these children. The sources said another positive outcome of Ms Gandhi’s visit to Italy is that the Italian government has agreed to sanction Rs 70 crore for setting up regional rehabilitation centres for those suffering from spinal injuries. These centres in Calcutta, Chandigarh, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar would be set up on the lines of the Spinal Injuries Research Centre in South Delhi. This centre was set up by Maj H.P.S. Ahluwalia, recipient of the National Lifetime Bravery award for his work in the field of disability, with the help of the Italian government. Part of the funds sanctioned by the Italian Government will be spent on improving the facilities at the centre. Apart from this, the centre has already received Rs 2.38 crore from the ministry for fresh construction and Rs 1.84 crore for running expenses in the current financial year. A series of training
programmes have already been planned in collaboration
with the Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory
body under the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, sources added. |
Hoax caller arrested NEW DELHI, April 1 — The South-West district police has arrested 35-year-old Brahmdev for reportedly making hoax calls from a PCO in the area. The suspect, who belongs to Bihar, telephoned a police control room on March 27, saying that a bomb had been kept in Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was later found to be a hoax. Thereafter, a vigil was kept on all PCOs in the area. PCO operators were also asked by the authorities to keep watch on the callers. The suspect reportedly
again called on March 30 saying that bombs had been kept
in Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Ministers house, the
police said. |
Akharas to take out religious
march HARDWAR, April 1 — In order to celebrate the Khalsa tercentenary and to present a picture of secular India, the Dasnami Akharas of Khat Darshan Sadhu Samaj, have decided to take out a religious march from here to Anandpur Sahib. Mahant Harsh Vardhan Singh of the Nirmal Akhara said the march would be known as ‘nirmal march’. All 13 Dasnami Akharas would participate in the march which would start from April 8. The akharas which would participate are Nirmal, Maha Nirvani, Nirwani, Niranjani, Awhan, Agni, Juna and Vaishnav. Mahants and Sri Mahants of
these akharas would participate. |
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| Gujarat varsity VC
reinstated AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court has dismissed an appeal of the state government challenging an order on the reinstatement of the dismissed Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor, Prof S.B. Vora. He was dismissed in November last on the ground of ‘misconduct and misdemeanous’ by the state government which he challenged in the High Court, following which Justice N.N. Matur gave an order reinstating him. — PTI US-registered craft cleared Idols stolen from
Shiva temple Darjeeling bandh
called off Police-CPI (M-L)
clash: 5 killed 10 Naxals killed
in encounter 11 militants
surrender 8 killed in road
mishap |
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