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| Sunday, May 7, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
‘Love bug’
virus hits India 6 of family commit suicide 60 corrupt UP officers suspended India should ‘use good
offices to end strife’ ‘Cheated’ Mehdi returns
without performing |
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Ruling on convert’s marriage Attacks on Christians not
communal: NCM Cong goes slow on WB probe CBI registers case against VC
Govt to form task forces on
defence 2 RAF companies for Kosovo
|
‘Love bug’ virus hits India NEW DELHI, May 6 (UNI) — India was today hit by the ‘copycat’ versions of ‘love bug’ with as many as 131 complaints received till 5 p.m. this evening, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) president Dewang Mehta said today. ‘’Just when you thought you had cured the ‘love bug’ on your computer.... Watch out for copycats,’’ Mr Mehta said. He said the copycat versions of ‘I Love You’ continued to haunt Indian users. However, NASSCOM estimated that no major damage had been done today in India as most of the users did not open the file attachments. But, the loss due to time loss as well as time spent on removing the virus was quite evident. However, NASSCOM said, "New variants of "love bug" virus continued to hit India.’’ Mr Mehta said "One example is popping up in e-mails with the subject line ‘’fwd: joke’’ or ‘’forward: joke.’’ that contains a virus named ‘’very funny,’’ another copycat is circulating with the subject line’’ susitikim shi vakara kavos puodukui...’’ Yet another knock-off virus has the subject line "mother’s day order confirmation,’’ said Mr Mehta. A new variant today was
mother’s day virus.’’ The mother’s
day version of this worm is quite cunning,’’ Mr
Mehta said. ‘’this e-mail appears to be a
confirmation of an order for ‘mother’s day
diamond special,’’ and the (infected) attached
file, ‘mothersday.vbs’ is portrayed as if it
were an invoice... With only eight days (May 14) to go
until Mother’s Day, this attack is quite
dangerous’’ explained Mr Mehta. |
6 of family commit suicide NEW DELHI, May 6 — Driven by penury due to the closure of a factory, a 30-year-old man along with his wife and four children committed suicide in West Delhi, the police said here today. Chandrakant, a factory worker, was found hanging in his room at Nangloi with his wife and children lying dead in the same room. The other deceased are Munshi Devi, 25, Sunny, 12, Neeraj, 9, Vijender, 7, and Raja, 5. The Additional DCP, Mr S.K. Gautam, ruling out foul play, said there seemed to be no struggle. However, he added that "we are investigating all possible angles, including a property dispute. The police found empty glasses in the room and suspect that Chandrakant mixed poison in water and gave it to his children and wife. The police found a suicide note in the house which said he was committing suicide due to a domestic quarrel. The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem and further investigations were on, the police said. Chandrakant and his family were living in the house along with his five brothers and their families. He came home at around 8 p.m. yesterday and had dinner with others as usual. All family members usually go to the terrace to sleep. But, yesterday, Chandrakant and Munshi Devi told others that they would sleep on the ground floor itself, the police said. In the morning, when his
brothers knocked at the door, nobody responded. After
repeated attempts, when nobody opened the door, it was
broke open, the police said, adding that the family
members found the factory worker hanging and others lying
dead on the floor. |
60 corrupt UP officers suspended LUCKNOW, May 6 (UNI) — The Uttar Pradesh government today suspended 60 corrupt officers, including one IAS and two IPS officers, Chief Secretary Yogendra Narain announced here. The Vigilance Department had recommended their prosecution after holding an inquiry against them. A departmental inquiry would be initiated against the suspended officers, he told newspersons here. Prosecution of 148 officers was recommended by the Vigilance Department while chargesheet against 24 had already been filed. Mr Narain said the list of suspended officers included government engineers and other senior officers as well. The Chief Minister had
asked the authorities to expedite the prosecution of 300
officers, pending for quite some time and action against
the rest of the officers in the vigilance net, Mr Narain
added. |
India should ‘use good offices to end strife’ CHENNAI, May 6 (PTI) — India should use its good offices for bringing about a negotiated settlement to end the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka, AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha said today. Welcoming the Centre’s rejection of the Sri Lankan Government’s request for military intervention in the island republic to bail out its army in the Jaffna peninsula, she said India should extend humanitarian assistance to the suffering Tamils. The assistance could be routed through the International Red Cross Society, she said. Condemning Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee’s action of consulting the constituents of the National Democratic Alliance alone on the issue, she said Mr Vajpayee should have convened an all-party meeting to discuss the "important national issue". The AIADMK, as a major party in Tamil Nadu, should have been consulted by the Prime Minister, she said. She said AIADMK’s stand on Sri Lanka was that peace should be brought in the island republic and Tamils should be given their legitimate rights. "This could be achieved only by a political solution through negotiations. The Indian Government should use its good offices to bring about a political solution through negotiations", she said. The AIADMK Executive, which met here today for over one hour, passed a resolution criticising the "improper action" of Mr Vajpayee in not consulting all parties and AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalitha on the issue. Asked whether the Sri Lankan Government should hold talks with the LTTE, which was waging war against the Sri Lankan army, to bring about a peaceful settlement, Ms Jayalalitha said the modalities for bringing about a settlement should be worked out by the island republic government. On Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi’s statement after his talks with Mr Vajpayee in New Delhi yesterday that he would not tie the hands of the Centre on the issue, she said Mr Karunanidhi did not have any concrete suggestion to solve the problem. She said the ban on the
LTTE should continue in India. "Our stand on this
remains unchanged", she said when asked whether the
ban should be lifted. |
Fast not disrupted, says Uma Bharati BHOPAL, May 6 (PTI) — A BJP leader and local MP, Ms Uma Bharati, said here that her indefinite hunger strike since May 1, in protest against the retrenchment of daily wage employees of the Madhya Pradesh Government, had not been disrupted by the police action in the wee hours today. Ms Bharati, who managed to slip away from the site where she was camping even as the police arrested 150 persons, including Congress MLA Kalpana Parulekar, supporting her agitation, made a surprise appearance at the state BJP office. Addressing a press conference, she said she had received information from some sources last night that the police might swing into action and, therefore, she managed to slip away and succeeded in denying the government any opportunity to claim that her indefinite hunger strike had been broken. The BJP leader said she would again go underground today and appear tomorrow at 11.00 at the local Mayur park to continue with her indefinite hunger strike in public. Lambasting the manner in which Ms Parulekar was arrested from the site of the hunger strike, she alleged that this showed that the the Digvijay Singh government did not know how to treat women with respect and dignity. Ms Bharati described the Chief Minister as being highly insensitive to problems of the families of the daily wage employees. They had lost their jobs because of the state government’s decision to terminate those recruited after 1988, which, she claimed, was in violation of the rules and procedures. Ms Bharati said she had received support in her struggle from representatives of other parties, including the Congress, the Janata Dal (United), the Samata Party and the Ajeya Bharat Party. The firebrand MP said she would not end her strike till the Chief Minister agreed to her three demands. She has been demanding
alternative employment to daily wage employees before
they are sacked, non-imposition of professional tax on
those who do not pay income tax and issuance of a White
Paper on terminating those who have completed 50 years of
age or 20 years in service. |
‘Cheated’ Mehdi returns without performing CALCUTTA, May 6 (PTI) — Pakistani ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan left the city today a dejected man without performing, disappointing his fans and accusing a local organiser of cheating. "I could not imagine this could happen to me in Calcutta", Hassan said before leaving the city, known as the country’s cultural capital. Hassan stayed for a week here during which he was unable to give a single performance. He alleged that a city based organiser, Pradip Sarawgi, had invited him to Calcutta to perform at a felicitation function for him. "But he (Sarawgi) did not fulfil the promises he made when he spoke to my son in Karachi and invited us", Hassan said. Hassan looked sad because this was the first time that he had to leave the city without performing during his innumerable visits to it in more than 20 years. But he promised to return to the city in three months to compensate for this. "I will return in three months and will give an unforgettable performance", the ghazal maestro, who played a pivotal role in popularising ghazal in the subcontinent said. Meanwhile, the city police has arrested Sarawgi on charges of cheating and several incriminating documents have been seized from his office, Mr Narayan Ghosh, the Deputy Commissioner (Detective Department) of the police said. Mr Ghosh confirmed that Sarawgi had invited Hassan to felicitate him along with some other Indian artistes like Anup Jalota at a function in the city and even sold tickets for the function. Hassan, who had not visited Calcutta for the past several years, said he was planning to come down on a personal visit when the offer from Sarawgi came and he agreed to perform. He said since 1977 he had been visiting various cities of India and giving performances but he never had this sort of experience. But he was all praise for the Calcutta Police who acted on their own after getting reports about his experience in the city from other sources. Hassan, who is
accompanied by his son, would be giving at least three
performances in Delhi and another in Ludhiana on his way
back to Pakistan. |
Dikshit dares dissidents NEW DELHI, May 6 - The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, has dared Congress dissidents, who levelled corruption charges against her, to move the Lokayukta. The Lokayukta, Mr R N Aggarwal, dismissed a complaint against Mrs Dikshit alleging corruption and inefficiency, filed by former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma. Without penalising Mr Sahib Singh Verma, the Lokayukta, dismissed the complaint saying it had been filed merely on the basis of press reports and no attempt was made to verify their correctness. "Hamare paas lokayukta hai. Jiske paas bhi proof hai, woh de do. Mujhe koi isse shikayat nahin hai aur wahan spasht ho jayegi baat" (we have a Lokayukta. Anybody having proof can provide it to him. I have no problems and the matter will be cleared there, Mrs Dikshit told Star TV’s "Janata ki Adalat’ programme to be telecast tomorrow, according to a release from its producers. Denying the dissidents’ charge that she administered the government like a private limited company, Mrs Dikshit said, "I consult whomsoever I have to. No government can be a private limited company. Mrs Dikshit said she was willing to listen and correct shortcomings, if any, "but there was a way of going about it (airing the grievances)". On the CNG bus controversy, she said a global tender had been floated for the buses as they were not available in the country. "By March 2001, we will have enough buses." She, however, said it was still not clear whether CNG was the alternative fuel and whether it was efficient. "If we spend crores of public exchequer money and if CNG buses do not run, it will be a problem. Out of the 29 CNG buses in Delhi, some are okay, some other buses have broken down, engines of some have ceased to work." Claiming that drinking water had been managed better this year, she said "a 117 km pipeline has been laid. Tankers have been increased from 800 to 1100. We are requesting Haryana to provide us 125 cusecs water for the Nangloi plant. The previous government had spent Rs 70 crore on it but it is lying idle." Denying any plans to convert Delhi into a pub city, she said the government has only extended the timings of liquor shops. "There is a lot of
smuggling from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh borders. It is
practical to increase an hour or two, so that going
across the border and that which comes in by smuggling is
stopped," Mrs Dikshit said. |
Ruling on convert’s marriage NEW DELHI, May 6 (UNI) — The Supreme Court has reiterated that the second marriage of a Hindu man after conversion to Islam without having his first marriage dissolved under the law would be invalid. The second marriage would be void in terms of the provisions of Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the apostate husband would be guilty of the offence of bigamy under Section 494 IPC, the court added. The ruling was handed down by a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice S. Saghir Ahmed and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi in separate but concurring judgement while dismissing a review petition and writ petition filed by various persons and Jamiat-i-Ulema-Hind. It was contended in these petitions that the judgement in Sarala Mudgal case was contrary to the fundamental rights as enshrined in articles 20, 21, 25 and 26 of the Constitution. The court noted that the petitioners had not made out any case within the meaning of Article 137 of the Constitution read with order XL of the Supreme Court rules and order XLVII Rule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Court for reviewing the judgement in Sarala Mudgal case. The petition is misconceived and bereft of any substance. The judges said that they were not impressed by the arguments that the law declared in Sarala Mudgal case could not be applied to persons who had solemnised marriages in violation of the mandate of law prior to the date of judgement. This court had not laid down any new law but only interpreted the existing law which was in force. It is settled principle that the interpretation of provision of law relates back to the date of the law itself and cannot be prospective from the date of the judgement because concededly the court does not legislate but only gives an interpretation to an existing law, the judges observed. The judgement had only interpreted the existing law after taking into consideration various aspects argued at length before the bench which pronounced the judgement. The review petition alleged violation of Article 20 (1) is without any substance and is liable to be dismissed on this ground alone, the judges held. Even under the Muslim Law, the judges pointed out, plurality of marriages is not unconditionally conferred upon the husbands. It would, therefore, be doing injustice to Islamic law to urge that the convert is entitled to practice bigamy notwithstanding the continuance of his marriage under the law to which he belonged before conversion. The court said the violators of law, who have contracted the second marriage, cannot be permitted to urge that such marriage should not be made subject matter of prosecution under the general penal law prevalent in the country. "The progressive outlook and wider approach of Islamic law cannot be permitted to be squeezed and narrowed by unscrupulous litigants apparently indulging in lust sought to be quenched by illegal means and who apparently are found to by guilty of the offence under the law to which they belonged before their alleged conversion", the judges observed. "The court said
Islam, which is a pious progressive and respected
religion with rational outlook, cannot be given a narrow
concept and as has been tried to be done by the alleged
violators of the law", the court noted. |
Attacks on Christians not
communal: NCM NEW DELHI, May 6 — The National Commission of Minorities (NCM) has said that the incident of attack against two nuns in Rewari on April 22 was a ‘simple road accident’’ and that no communal meaning be attributed to it. In its report on five incidents of attacks against minorities including four in Uttar Pradesh, the Commission termed most of them as law and order problem. The report was prepared by the Commission after a four-member team led by its Chairman Mr Justice Mohammed Shamim visited Kosi, Mathura and Agra for on the spot assessment following news reports relating to attacks on Christian educational institutions. According to news report, three nuns who were on their way to an Easter-eve midnight Mass in Rewari on April 22, were attacked by an unidentified scooter-borne youth who attacked one nun and attempted to run over the other. He fled the scene when the trio cried for help, the news report had said. On the Rewari incident, the Commission had requested the Deputy Commissioner of the area and those affected by it to brief it on the incident. The Deputy Commissioner was of the view that the case was an accident and there were no communal overtones. This was corroborated by Father Phillip and the two nuns. "They said some western ‘forces’ were trying to give it a political colour to create a wedge between Hindus and Christians residing in the town. On the incident in Kosi, the Commission said Father K K Thomas stated that there was no communal angle to the incident which took place on April 11, the report said. "Near about 8 to 10 lungi wearing miscreants suddenly came and attacked him (Father Thomas) several times in the school compound itself and left him thinking that he was dead. Thereupon, they forcibly took away about Rupees 100,000 in cash, a camera and two taperecorders from various staff members. The motive behind the incident was clearly robbery’’, the report said. Apart from its Chairman,
the NCM team included Vice-Chairman, Mr Tarlochan Singh,
and two members Lt Gen A M Sethna and Mr John Joseph. |
Coimbatore blasts: SC rejects plea on case transfer NEW DELHI, May 6 (UNI) — The Supreme Court has held that the convenience for the purposes of transferring a criminal case means the convenience of the prosecution, other accused, the witnesses and the larger interest of the society. "The convenience of the parties do not necessarily mean the convenience of the petitioners alone, who approach the court on misconceived notions of apprehension," the court observed. The ruling was given on Thursday by a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi while dismissing petitions of prime accused Abdul Nazir Madani and some other accused in the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blast case seeking transfer of the case from Tamil Nadu to any other Sessions Court in Kerala allegedly on the ground that fair trial was not possible in Tamil Nadu. "The present petitions which are totally misconceived are hereby dismissed with the direction that the trial court would expedite the trial and if possible hold trial on the day-to-day basis so that the cause of justice is achieved without any further delay," the court said. The Bench observed that it cannot lose sight of the statement made on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government that in the Coimbatore central prison separate cells had been built to accommodate the 168 accused in the case and such a facility is not available elsewhere. The court noted that the petitioners in the present case had made wild and general allegation of the surcharged atmosphere against a particular community in the whole of the state. "The state government is responsible for ensuring free, fair and impartial trial to the accused persons notwithstanding the nature of the accusation made against them," the court added. On February 14, 1998, Home Minister L.K. Advani, then the BJP President, was to address an election meeting at 4 p.m. when the whole city of Coimbatore and its suburbs were hit by 12 powerful bomb blasts killing 47 people and injuring 218 apart from causing extensive damage to properties primarily owned by a particular section of the society. Mr Advani was planned to
be targeted by a suicide squad. However, the suicide
squad could not penetrate the police cordon and reach the
place of public meeting nor Mr Advani at the venue of the
speech at the scheduled time due to delay of his flight. |
Cong goes slow on WB probe NEW DELHI, May 6 — With murmurs and disquiet growing in the party especially in the West Bengal unit, the Congress high command has been silent over the inactivity of the probe team constituted to go into the issue of cross voting during the Rajya Sabha elections. Soon after Mr D.P. Roy, the hand-picked nominee of the Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi lost the Rajya Sabha elections to Mr Jayanta Bhattacharya, an independent who benefited due to cross-voting by Congress MLAs, the AICC had announced a three-member probe team. The team, including Mr Kamal Nath, Mr R.K. Dhawan and Mr Vylar Ravi, was to visit West Bengal to enquire into the incident which was viewed as a snub to the Congress chief. However, even a month after its constitution, the team is yet to pay a visit to Calcutta. Apparently, the party high command does not want to precipitate matters in West Bengal where a large section of the party responded enthusiastically to the Trinamool Congress offer to join a Mahajote (grand alliance) against the Left Front. The Congress’ first priority was to ensure that the party under the leadership of its state chief, Mr A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chaudhary, does not align with the Trinamool whose chief, Ms Mamata Banerjee, had given a call for "Mahajot", ahead of assembly elections next year. Another section of the state unit led by its working President, Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, was against any tie-up with the Trinamool while some senior leaders were of the opinion that any tie-up would mean the Congress was aligning with the BJP. Having managed to convince Mr Ghani Khan Chaudhary to defer the proposal for the time being, the Congress high command does not want to be seen pushing on the issue. It may be recalled that Mr Ghani Khan Chaudhary was summoned to Delhi by Mrs Gandhi to find out about the reasons for ‘crossvoting’. The WBPCC chief blamed Mr Dasmunshi for the result stating that the MLAs wanted the party to field a former PCC chief Mr Somen Mitra, and not Mr Roy. Even as the Congress high command managed the vocal section in the WBPCC, the same group has now floated another idea of a "mini-Mahajot". Mr Chaudhary and his supporters are advocating that the Congress leave the Panskura Lok Sabha constituency where a byelection is being held this month to fill the vacancy caused by the death of veteran CPI leader Geeta Mukherjee to the Trinamool Congress. Mr Dasmunshi has countered stating that the Trinamool Congress should leave the seat for the Congress since an Independent backed by it won in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress high command has to decide soon as May 9, is the last day for filing of nomination. The AICC has called a meeting of WBPCC members to sort out this matter. The AICC Secretary, Mr Pawan Bansal, who is coordinating and assisting Ms Prabha Rau, General Secretary in charge, on the issue said the party would soon arrive at a decision. However, he was
categorical that under no circumstances will the Congress
align with the BJP. |
CBI registers case against
VC NEW DELHI, May 6 — The CBI has registered a case against the Vice-Chancellor of Meerut University and three officials of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and a university assistant for allegedly securing the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor’s daughter in the DPCC through fraudulent means. The CBI alleged that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ramesh Chander, in order to secure the appointment of his daughter Seema as Assistant Environmental Engineer (AEF) in the DPCC attested her forged marksheets and a false experience certificate knowingly. The Member Secretary of the DPCC, Mr R K Goel, had facilitated this appointment, the CBI alleged. During the course of raids, documents relating to the appointment of AEE, including the photocopies of forged marksheets and false experience certificates, were seized from Seema’s possession. Rs 16.34 lakh in cash and documents pertaining to various assests/investments amounting to over Rs 30 lakh were also seized, the CBI said. The assets and investments were suspected to have been acquired recently by the AEE and her husband, who is at present a News Editor in All-India Radio. The original files
concerning selection of the candidates, including the
daughter of Vice-Chancellor, as AEE were seized from the
residence of the Member Secretary, the CBI said. |
‘Heroes’ of Keoladeo National
Park BHARATPUR, May 6 — Thousands of tourists come to Keoladeo National Park better known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, during winters to watch rare birds, especially the Siberian crane. Apart from the birds, the ‘heroes’ of the sanctuary are the rickshaw-pullers, who have been given licences to act as guides. With the knowledge about almost all birds that come to this sanctuary and the flora and fauna of the park, tourists, after departing, remember the ‘guide’ as much as the birds they watched. Siberian cranes, which come here covering a distance of over 6,400 km, are the most sought-after birds in this sanctuary. There are only two wintering places for this rare species — one in Iran and the other Bharatpur. These beautiful birds with their distinctive red beaks and facial patches come here from their summer retreats in Siberia. Over the years, the number of Siberian cranes coming here has reduced. "Last year only a pair was sighted," says Sajan Singh, who is the first guide-cum-rickshaw-puller of the park. The idea of using rickshaw-pullers in Bharatpur as guides first came up in 1981 when Keoladeo was converted into a bird sanctuary. It was late Dr Salim Ali, the country’s best known ornithologist, who hit upon the idea of training the poor and illiterate rickshaw pullers of Bharatpur town to serve as guide-cum-transport providers for tourists. To start with, eight rickshaw-pullers were chosen for the first of a kind "guide training programme". Says Sajan Singh, "We were interviewed by none other than Dr Salim Ali. He wanted rickshaw-pullers, who were in love with nature, keen to learn about birds and their habitat and never tired of taking tours around the park." "Ali saheb taught us how to react to birds and earn their confidence. Go close to them without disturbing them or their young ones. In a short time, we could identify birds by sight or sound and also tell if they were happy or in trouble." Sajan Singh, whose family migrated during partition from Sind, Pakistan, says he has been ferrying tourists for the past 18 years. Given the large number of foreign tourists that visit Keoladeo, the rickshaw-pullers have become pretty savvy when dealing with their clients. They know the names of all birds in a handful of European languages. A Spaniard, for instance will be shown the Ruddy Sheduck and a French visitor will be shown birds like Mallard. Immense knowledge about birds and a licence to cycle through the park helps rickshaw-pullers earn a living only during the tourist season, that is October to Mid-April. For the rest of the year, they try to find other work. Impressed by their knowledge of birds, some visitors reward them with liberal tips and gift them with presents like a camera or a pair of binoculars. As a result one comes across several guides sporting expensive Zeiss, Minolta or Pentax binoculars. Ram Prakash, another guide and a rickshaw-puller, carries a pair of binoculars given to him by a French tourist. Says he, "I carry these with me all the time inside the park. They are invaluable when it comes to spotting birds." Visitors can hire a bicycle or hire a cycle-rickshaw, as all other means of transportation are banned inside the park. A brief history of Asia’s best-known bird sanctuary, which is spread over an area of 29 km, follows soon after one is picked up at the main gate of Keoladeo by these ‘guides’. The natural depression was flooded after the Ajan bund, situated west of the park, was constructed between 1726-1763 by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the then ruler of Bharatpur, at the confluence of two rivers Gambhir and Banganga. The inundation resulted in the production of a lot of aquatic vegetation which attracted large number of migratory birds. Marshes of Bharatpur were developed as a duck-shooting reserve and the then Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, shot a maximum of 4,273 birds on November 12, 1938, as shown in a record inscribed on the pillar near the Keoladeo temple. Keoladeo Ghana was notified as a bird sanctuary in 1956, and, in 1985, it was declared as a World Heritage site under the World Heritage Site Convention. The park is named after the Keoladeo (Shiva) temple located at the centre of the park. It was earlier known as "Ghana," which means dense forest. The park has diversity of habitat and as the visitor reaches the heart of the sanctuary, the rickshaw-puller is well into a running commentary on the topography, which ranges from marshes, woodlands, scrublands, grasslands to denuded saline patches, and varieties of plant and animal species. The birds’ paradise has been visited by 375 recorded species of birds and each season attracts certain species of birds. During the monsoon the birds which could be spotted in large numbers include ducks, moorhens, jacaas, white breasted waterhens, sarus cranes, herons, darters and storks. During winter, which is
the peak tourist season here, migratory birds like Ruddy
Shelduck, Northern Pintails, Common Teal, Eurosian
Wigeon, Garganey, Northern Shovelle can be spotted. |
BJP ridicules move to revive third front HYDERABAD, May 6 (PTI) — The BJP today pooh-poohed the efforts by former Prime Ministers to revive the third front and said it was yet another attempt to "deceive people". "The third front was a tried and failed experiment and has no relevance now," the party General Secretary M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here. He attacked the CPM-backed move to revive the third front on the ground that its leaders lacked credibility as they were "instrumental in propping up the leadership of Congress President Sonia Gandhi". "Some of these
leaders are feeling shy to openly align with the
Congress. What is this "tamasha" of a new front
after having accepted the leadership of Mrs Sonia
Gandhi," Mr Naidu asked. |
George rules out talks with Pak JAIPUR, May 6 (UNI) — Defence Minister George Fernandes has ruled out any dialogue with Pakistan in the wake of Islamabad resorting to shelling on the border every day. "I have made this point clear to Pakistan," he said while talking to mediapersons here last night. On the formation of an India-Pakistan confederation, the minister said tension between the two neighbours had gone up to such a extent that holding a talk in this regard too had become difficult. He, however, maintained that there was no Kargil-like situation at present though Pakistan had amassed its troops considerably in its area in Rann of Kutch. To a question about
India extending military help to Sri Lanka, Mr Fernandes
asserted that "1987 will not be repeated." |
Govt to form task forces on defence NEW DELHI, May 6 (UNI) — The government will shortly constitute four task forces on defence, intelligence, border management and internal security as a follow-up to the Kargil committee’s recommendations, official sources said today. The task forces, to be preferably headed by retired defence officers, would submit their reports within six months. They would also have experts from outside, the sources said. The task forces would not confine themselves to the Subrahmaniam Committee’s report which had made 25 recommendations but take up all security matters in their entirety, they added. The task forces will submit their reports to the government within six months after constitution, the sources said. This was decided at the Group of Ministers meeting held here, they said. The formation of the task forces would be the first step towards translating the committee’s recommendations into action. The four task forces have been set up to monitor the system failure, the sources said. Defence Minister George
Fernandes had recently hinted at forming such groups
which would help in making available real time
intelligence to the armed forces. |
2 RAF companies for Kosovo NEW DELHI, May 6 — Two companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) consisting of specially selected, trained and equipped 240 personnel, including 14 officers, will be leaving here on Monday for a special U N peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. The contingent, to be led by Commandant J S Gill, was given a send-off at the CRPF headquarters by its chief, Mr M N Sabharwal, here today. In his address, Mr Sabhawal said during the last 12 years the CRPF had to go beyond the frontiers on a number of occasions carrying the message of peace. Mr Tashi Dawa, Inspector-General of the RAF and Mr M L Sharma, DIG of the RAF, and Mr S S Sandhu, Additional DIG also spoke on the occasion. The role of this special
police unit includes crowd control, providing security
and operational support and back up to UN international
police, responding to threats to public order and
assisting humanitarian agencies. |
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