Wednesday, March 31, 1999
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Congress renews demand for
JPC 12
shops gutted |
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Gowda alleges vested interests NEW DELHI, March 30 — The issue of arms dealers operating and influencing the decisions in the Ministry of Defence was raked up again today with the former Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, alleging that there were vested interests in the acquiring of the T-90 tanks from Russia, a deal for which is on the cards. Spadework
on for Insat-3B launch Another
quake predicted BJP
executive to meet on April 2 Centre
rushes team Dara
interview rocks House ‘Haryana
not releasing raw water to Delhi’ List
of new PPCC office-bearers |
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Congress renews demand for JPC NEW DELHI, March 30 — Buoyed by the persistent stand-off between AIADMK leader J.Jayalalitha and the BJP on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Bhagwat dismissal issue, the Congress today reiterated its demand for the constitution of the JPC and the resignation of the Defence Minister Mr George Fernandes. While on the face of it, the Congress maintained that Dr Subramanian Swamy’s tea party was a "social get-together" behind the facade, it nurtures the hope that after the meeting between its President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and the AIADMK leader, the important ally of the ruling coalition could join hands with it on the Bhagwat episode. Party sources said by consistently demanding a JPC and shifting of Mr George Fernandes, the AIADMK, which was supporting the ruling coalition, had only kept its options open. Not to be left behind, the Congress reiterated its demand today with party spokesman Ajit Jogi saying that "if an ally of the BJP cooperates in national interest, it will be good." "We will continue to raise the demand (for a JPC) both in and outside Parliament", Mr Jogi said. Replying to questions whether the Congress supported Ms Jayalalitha’s demand to shift Mr Fernandes from the Defence Ministry, the Congress said the party was the first to demand a JPC and seek Mr Fernandes’ resignation. Asked if it agreed with the suggestion by the AIADMK for the reinstatement of the sacked Naval Chief, the Congress spokesman said the party would prefer to wait for the outcome of the JPC probe. To a question whether in
view of the stance of the AIADMK, the Congress would now
seek a discussion in the Lok Sabha under Rule 184 which
entailed voting, Mr Jogi said: "The form and mode of
discussion is not important. Our demand for a JPC
stays," he said. |
12 shops gutted NEW DELHI, March 30 — Twelve shops were gutted in a fire in the congested INA market in South Delhi early this morning. Sources in the Delhi Fire Service said that nobody was injured in the fire. However, property worth several lakhs is said to have been gutted. Mr S K Dheri, Chief Fire Officer, said that the fire broke out at about 3.58 am. He said that 34 fire tenders were pressed into service to control the fire which was declared serious at about 4.22 am. The fire was brought under control at 4.50 am. Although the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, shopkeepers say that a short-circuit may have caused the fire. Provoked by the “negligent” attitude of the Delhi Vidyut Board, shopkeepers disrupted traffic on the road in front of the INA market for about an hour in the afternoon. Mr Madan Bhuttani, General Secretary of the INA Traders Association, said that the fire could have been averted had the Delhi Vidyut Board taken serious note of their often-repeated complaints. He said that the fire started from a refrigerator in a departmental store. Other shopkeepers said that in last month, electrical fittings, tubelights and bulbs in their shops were fused due to acute fluctuation. They said that the DVB officers who visited the spot late in the afternoon assured them that the cables would be checked. The shopkeepers said the
Chief Minister was represented by the Minister of Food
and Civil Supplies, Mr Yoganand Shastri and the Health
Minister, Dr A K Walia in the Delhi Government. The
ministers reportedly surveyed the shops which had been
gutted in the fire. |
Quake-resistant norms ignored NEW DELHI, March 30 — High rise buildings in the Capital face a threat even if an earthquake of lesser intensity than the Chamoli quake were to hit the city, experts said. Several buildings here, including Shastri Bhawan, which houses Central ministries like Human Resources Development, Information and Broadcasting, Chemicals and Fertilisers, developed cracks due to the Chamoli earthquake. A number of residential complexes in East Delhi developed cracks due to the shockwaves sent by the Chamoli quake, which was recorded as 6.8 on the Richter scale, located a few hundred kilometres from Delhi. Seismologists stated that the buildings in Delhi needs to adhere to the standards set up by the Bureau of Indian Standards for constructing quake resistant buildings. “The cracks that several buildings developed due to the Chamoli quake indicate that the structures in the Capital needs to have a second look to find out whether these could withstand a quake of greater magnitude,” a seismologist said. MCD Standing Committee chairman, Mr Shanti Desai, said there are adequate building bylaws under which a building should be constructed so that they are able to withstand such tremors, but what is required is proper implementation of these laws. Delhi is placed in “zone 4” in the seismological zonal map of the country thereby indicating that the Capital is prone to earthquake of “moderate” intensity. At present the country is divided into five seismic zones and in “zone 4” along with Delhi, Haryana and Punjab are placed in it. Earthquakes are classified as “very great” (magnitude of eight or more on the Richter scale), “great” (seven to 7.9), “moderate” (five to 6.9) and “slight” (upto 4.9). In the past one year alone, Delhi has experienced quakes of “slight” and “moderate” intensity. On September 15 last year, a quake of 2.7 magnitude hit Delhi which was preceded by a quake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale on May 29 same year. On February 21 last year, a quake of 6.5 magnitude shook the Capital and other parts of North India, which had its epicentre in Hindu Kush mountains. Western Uttar Pradesh experienced three earthquakes of “slight” intensity in the last week. While the region experienced two quakes on Monday, another earthquake took place on Tuesday, the Met office said. In the most quake prone area “zone 5” in which Chamoli falls, other parts of the country which fall in this zone were large parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, the North East, Kutch and Andaman Islands. The worst quake experienced in the recent past, Latur and Jabalpur, fall in the seismologically safe zones. While Latur has been placed in Zone III, Jabalpur has been marked under Zone I, Dr Bhattacharya said, adding that the zonal mapping were being revised. The intensity of the quake in Jabalpur (6), Latur (6.3) and Uttarkashi (6.6) in recent times had claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands injured. The earthquake map of the country is being redrawn as seismic activity has been witnessed in those zones which were considered to be less prone to earthquakes, the Deputy Director General (Seismology), IMD, Dr S.N. Bhattacharya, said. In a terrain like the Himalayan region, the intensity decreases at a much faster rate with distance than in the plains. The rapid attenuation at low frequency implies that only high rockfill dams should be constructed in those areas, Dr Srivastava said. What makes the Himalayan region quake-prone is the North and North-eastern movement of the Indian plate at the rate of about 5 centimetres per year and its collision with the Eurasian plate which is relatively stationary. The movement gives rise to accumulation of stress and as it exceeds the bearing capacity of the rocks, quakes occur due to rock-slippage. According to a statistical
analysis carried out by Dr Srivastava and Director
(Seismology) Mr R S Dattatreya in 1986, a quake measuring
more than seven on the Richter scale may occur in a
particular area once in 40 years and more than eight once
in 200 years. |
Proposed T-90 tanks deal NEW DELHI, March 30 — The issue of arms dealers operating and influencing the decisions in the Ministry of Defence was raked up again today with the former Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, alleging that there were vested interests in the acquiring of the T-90 tanks from Russia, a deal for which is on the cards. Mr Gowda, who in the past had also raised the issue, said the government had promised to discuss the issue in Parliament before taking a final decision. But now it seems that the Defence Ministry had already made a decision in this regard, he said. Referring to reports suggesting that the Defence Ministry was planning to go ahead with the deal to buy over 300 T-90 tanks, Mr Gowda said, “this leads us to draw the inference that some vested interests are working behind this.” The former Prime Minister said through such statements, “the Defence Ministry is behaving as if they have already come to a conclusion.” He added that he would “expose the hallowness of such statements,” in Parliament. This is not for the first
time that the Defence Ministry headed by Mr George
Fernandes has come under attack for what is being
described as the growing influence of arms dealers in the
South Block. Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Vishnu
Bhagwat had categorically stated that arms dealers were
operating freely in the Ministry of Defence and recently
the chief of AIADMK, Ms Jayalalitha, an ally in the
BJP-led coalition government at the Centre had also made
allegations of massive corruption against the Defence
Minister. |
Spadework on for Insat-3B launch BANGALORE, March 30 (PTI) — Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) here are readying Insat-3B for a launch later this year, even as Insat-2E, the last of the second generation satellites in Insat series, is scheduled to blast off into space on April 30. ISRO sources said the launch of Insat-3B had been advanced to precede that of Insat-3A, the first of the third generation satellites, to quickly augment the extended C-band capacity of the Insat system. Insat-3B would provide fixed satellite service (FSS) in extended C-band and KU-bands and mobile satellite services (MSS) in S-band. ISRO had planned to launch the satellite, weighing about 2000 kg later this year. It would generate about 1,650 W of power from a double F sided solar array configuration, they said. ISRO said work on Insat-3A
and Insat-3C has also commenced. Insat-3A would be a
multi-purpose satellite providing communication,
meteorological and search and rescue services. |
Another quake predicted NEW DELHI, March 30 (PTI) — The Chamoli earthquake could trigger another one in the Himalayan belt, according to an expert who says major quakes have been observed to set off another one in quick succession. The observation tallies with a new theory reported internationally that big quakes can trigger other quakes thousands of kilometres away and sometimes decades later, according to scientists. A rupturing fault that triggers a big quake communicates with neighbouring faults thousands of kilometres away to hasten or delay distant earthquakes, a recent report in the US journal “Science” said. Agreeing with US scientists’ findings, Mr Janardhan Negi, Scientist Emeritus at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad, said the Chamoli quake could lead to another one in the Himalayan belt. He said the entire Indian shield, including both the Himalayas and Deccan peninsula, has become active since 1988, experiencing a quake of magnitude more than 6.0 on the Richter scale almost every two years. The active period started since 1988, with an earthquake along Bihar-Nepal border, followed by one in Uttarkashi in 1991, Latur in 1993, Jabalpur in 1997 and Chamoli two days ago. The occurrence of five quakes in 11 years is a “danger signal” for India, he added. This chain release of energy in short periods indicates that India has become very active seismically and needs to be carefully monitored, Mr Negi said. Concurring with the US scientists’ findings on big quakes triggering smaller ones, he cited the recent example of the Afghan quake last year that was followed by one in Turkey about a month later. Earlier, a team from University of California Davis and UC Berkeley, presented calculations that show how stress travels through deep, viscous rock. They found that great
earthquakes that struck the far North Pacific in the
1950s and 1960s could have set off a wave that triggered
a pulse of seismic activity in California in 1980s. |
BJP executive to meet on April
2 NEW DELHI, March 30 — The three-day National Executive meeting of the BJP, beginning from April 2 at Panaji in Goa, will discuss the situation in the country, particularly in the context of emerging political equations. The BJP leadership will deliberate upon the AIADMK chief, Ms J. Jayalalitha’s, demand for the reinstatement of the former Naval Chief, and shifting of the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, from the present portfolio. The draft of the political resolution, which will be adopted at the meeting, was today cleared by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. Sources said the resolution launched a scathing attack on the Congress, the Left and the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha for their efforts to forge an unprincipled alliance for dislodging the first-ever non-Congress government and thus thwarting the popular mandate. The resolution would also hail various initiatives of the Prime Minister, including his historic visit to Pakistan, which had created new possibilities for resolving five-decade old issues. The office-bearers would meet a day earlier to give final touches to drafts of various resolutions. Disclosing this, the party
spokesman, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, said the Executive would
discuss the political and economic situation in the
country, review the progress of the Vajpayee Government
and finalise the strategy for the forthcoming Assembly
elections in Goa, Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim. |
Centre rushes team NEW DELHI, March 30 (PTI) — A central team, led by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission K.C. Pant will visit the quake-hit Chamoli and Rudraprayag areas of Uttar Pradesh tomorrow to assess the damage. Minister of State for Agriculture Som Pal would also be part of the two-member team, Planning Commission sources said. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had asked Mr Pant and Mr Som Pal to rush to Chamoli and the adjoining areas to assess the damage caused by the earthquake which has taken a toll of over 100 lives. The team has also been
asked to ascertain how best the Centre could help in
relief and rescue operations, the sources said. |
Dara interview rocks House BHUBANESWAR, March 30 (UNI) — The interview of Dara Singh, a prime accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons, to a private TV channel yesterday, rocked the Orissa Assembly today. Raising the issue during zero hour, the Janata Dal member, Mr Ranendra Pratap Swain, said the interview of Dara Singh, whom the state police was yet to arrest, raised doubts over the law and order machinery in the state. Mr Swain wanted to know how Dara Singh could give an interview to a local journalist when the police was still searching for him in connection with the murder of Staines and his sons. The JD member demanded
that the Chief Minister should make a statement in the
House in this regard. He was soon supported by his party
colleague, Mr Ashok Das, who said Biju Janata Dal member
Bijaya Mahapatra had a copy of the cassettes of the
interview. |
‘Haryana not releasing raw water to
Delhi’ NEW DELHI, March 30 —The Delhi Power and Education Minister, Dr Narendra Nath, yesterday claimed that “the Government of Haryana has stopped releasing raw water to Delhi.” “Haryana has breached it’s promise to provide raw water to Delhi. We have met the Prime Minister to ensure that Delhi’s share is released soon. We will make efforts to see that the release of water to Delhi is restored,” a release issued by the Delhi Government’s Directorate of Information and Publicity stated. A senior Delhi Jal Board official, however, stated that the Haryana Government was yet to release raw water for the newly commissioned 40 MGD water treatment plant at Nangloi. While inaugurating
augmentation of two booster pumping stations constructed
in Bhola Nath Nagar and Vivek Vihar in Trans-Yamuna area
yesterday, Dr Narendra Nath said Delhi had reached an
agreement with the Haryana Government over supplying of
raw water which had not yet been released. |
List of new PPCC office-bearers NEW DELHI, March 30 — The list of new office-bearers of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee has been cleared by the party high command and is expected to be released by the PPCC President, Mr Amarinder Singh, shortly. Sources in the AICC said the list had been handed over to the PPCC Chief who had a meeting with the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the party General Secretary, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, during the past two days. During his meeting with Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the PPCC chief had raised the situation arising out of activities of former PPCC chief. The sources said Mr
Amarinder Singh has been ‘’fully
authorised’’ to deal with the situation. |
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| India self-sufficient in
vaccines NEW DELHI: India is self-sufficient in all vaccines meant for infants and pregnant women under the immunisation programme except for BCG and oral polio vaccine (OPV). OPV is currently being blended from imported concentrate, while indigenous capacity of BCG is being enhanced to 550 lakh doses to meet the requirement, says an official report of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Immunisation coverage at the beginning of the programme in 1985-86 was quite low. But by the end of March, 1998 coverage levels rose to 79 per cent for tetanus toxoid for pregnant women to 96 per cent for BCG. However, significant drop-out between the first and third dose of OPV has been observed in some of the states. In Arunachal Pradesh, the drop-out rate is 25 per cent, in Chandigarh 28 per cent, Delhi (27 per cent), Manipur (18 per cent), Meghalaya (36 per cent) and Pondicherry (16 per cent). — UNI GNLF bandh 9 charged with
stripping woman Mumbai Mayor case:
accused shot Snake bite cure
centre faces closure Judgement reserved
in Purulia case |
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