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| Saturday, September 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Bengal flood toll shoots up to 129 India emerging as ‘arms route’ Cabinet expansion not Atal’s priority PM’s surgery likely on
Oct 10 Pawar re-elected NCP chief CPM’s warning to Vajpayee
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Basu lashes out at Mamata Pawan Hans to get more helicopters Ayodhya panel summons
Joshi, Uma Bharti Dams’ benefits exaggerated: study Plastic bags in
ITBP units banned Complete bandh paralyses life
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Bengal flood toll shoots up to 129 CALCUTTA, Sept 22 (UNI) — With reports of 69 deaths from the worst affected Murshidabad district, the toll in floods in West Bengal has risen to 129. The Army and the Air Force carried out rescue operations for the fifth day today. Official sources said IAF helicopters dropped food packets on the severely-hit areas of Katwa in Bardhaman district and Salar, Bharatpur, Baroan and Kandi in Murshidabad district for the second day. At least 10 columns of Army are engaged in relief operations in Burdwan, Murshidabad and Birbhum Districts. Official sources said discharge of water from the Massanjore dam and Tilpara barrage was regulated during the day, with an improvement in the weather. Because of their overflow yesterday, the authorities had to open all sluice gates, discharging over 500,000 cusec of water. The Damodar Valley Corporation also discharged 150,000 cusec of waters from its Maithan and Panchet dams. The state government had earlier ordered evacuation of people from 26 police station areas in six districts of south Bengal following heavy rains and huge discharge from reservoirs and barrages. The district authorities had been asked to help the people move to safer and higher places in these areas. Besides Murshidabad, Birbhum accounted for 26 deaths, followed by Bardhaman 14, Midnapore 10, Nadia five, North Dinajpur and Bankura two each and Howrah one. Sources said power supply to the affected areas had been snapped as sub-stations of the state electricity boards had been inundated by the rain and flood waters. Eightyone blocks have been badly affected in the current wave of floods and of them, 26 are in Murshidabad, 22 in Bardhaman, 17 in Nadia and eight each in Birbhum and Hooghly districts. The state government has sounded a high alert in 26 police station areas in six districts, asking the people to move to safer places following high spate in the Ajoy, Mayurakshi, Bhagirati and Damodar rivers. Rail and road communication with north Bengal and the north-eastern states remained disrupted as the tracks, national highways, state highways and expressways were inundated at several points in the affected districts. Many areas of Katwa in Bardhaman district, Mohammad Bazar, Labpur, Rampurhat and Nalhati in Birbhum district and Salar, Bharatpur, Baroan and Kandi in Murshidabad
district are still under neck deep water. |
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India emerging as ‘arms route’ PATNA, Sept 22 — In line with the notorious drug-routes of the
"Golden Triangle" and the “Golden Crescent”, the Eastern corridor of India is emerging fast as an arms route to South Asia with a small pocket of Bihar-Uttar Pradesh establishing its position as the “safe nodal centre”. The triangular region of north-eastern states, Nepal and southern states form the “arms trade triangle” and Bihar and UP playing hosts, facilitating shelter and safe passage of the arms and the men. The “safe” and “trusted” smuggling routes are being used for the arms trade. The local gangs and police and Customs men are the part of the huge network of “conduits”. There are ample evidences of the arms trade as over the years occasional big hauls of arms have been made. Recently, huge quantities of poisonous gas D. flouromithyle in 68 cylinders was seized along the Nepal border by the Bihar police. The nodal position of Bihar and its role came to light when two different consignments of arms were seized in Bihar, which was parcelled from Nagaland to Bihar. The weapons were highly sophisticated. The state government has admitted of such recoveries and the probe was launched. The CBI had been tipped off about the number of Customs officials supporting the smugglers. As part of the joint efforts of the governments of Bihar, UP and West Bengal, a new task force has been mooted to man the 720km-long stretch along the Indo-Nepal borders to check the ISI activities and pumping in of arms and narcotics in India. The proposal is likely to be cleared by the Union Government any day. The Union Government will bear the Rs 60 crore cost of policing and will also provide the man power. As part of this scheme, 53 police checkposts will be created along the borders covering the three states. The proposal has already been endorsed by the Union Finance Ministry. The way global weapons like AK 47s and AK 56s have abundantly been available to even petty criminals of Bihar and UP, there is need to take stringent measures to check the arms flow. If not done, Bihar will turn into another Peshawar. |
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Cabinet expansion not Atal’s priority NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — Expansion of the Cabinet seems a low priority for the time being with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, according to official sources. The priorities are dealing with the increased political violence in West Bengal, spiralling oil prices and the official visit of the Russian Federation President, Mr Vladimir Putin. Sources said the Cabinet expansion is not an elaborate exercise which can be done at short notice and in about five minutes. The Prime Minister has to short-list the BJP nominees that he wants to induct in his Council of Ministers. Indications are that he has not found the time to apply his mind in this regard. After Mr Putin’s official visit, which concludes on October 6, Mr Vajpayee has to undergo a knee-surgery the date for which has been fixed as October 10. The Prime Minister is actively considering having the surgery done by New York-based orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Chitranjan Ranawat, either at AIIMS, New Delhi, or Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. The Prime Minister is suffering from osteoarthritis because of which there is a constant pain in his left knee and he faces difficulty in walking. Though no official announcement has been made regarding the exact date of the operation, Mr Vajpayee is understood to have been advised the operation at the earliest. Since Dr Ranawat has been carrying out the majority of operations at the Breach Candy
Hospital, he considered the facility in Mumbai hospital as more suitable. However, AIIMS sources said that Dr Ranawat has also carried out the operation at the institute. One of the reasons for which AIIMS seems suitable is the long drawn post-operative treatment. |
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PM’s surgery
likely on Oct 10 NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (UNI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is likely to be operated for his knee ailment on October 10 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), informed sources said today. The sources said Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital was also being considered, but keeping in mind the long-drawn post-operation treatment, AIIMS being in the Capital appears to be best suited. According to doctors, normally in such cases, a patient takes about two months’ time to become absolutely fit for carrying out his normal day-to-day activities. The Prime Minister is suffering from osteoarthritis because of which there is a constant pain in his left knee and he faces difficulty in walking. Though no official announcement has been made regarding the exact date of the operation, Mr Vajpayee is, understood to have been, advised to undergo the operation at the earliest. New York-based physician Dr Chittranjan Ranawat will carry out the operation. Since Dr Ranawat had been carrying out the majority of his operations at Breach Candy, he considered the facility in the Mumbai hospital as more suitable. However, AIIMS sources say Dr Ranawat has also carried out the operation at the institute. AIIMS Director P.K. Dave refused to confirm whether the operation would be conducted at the institute. He said the institute had all facilities and expertise to carry out any such operation. Several operations of similar nature had been carried out by the hospital. |
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Pawar re-elected NCP chief NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — The Maratha leader and former Union Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, was today re-elected as the President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) unanimously for the second consecutive year. Announcing this here, the Chairman of the party’s central organisational election authority Mr T P Peethambaran Master, said Mr Pawar would preside over the party’s national convention slated to be held on October 1 and 2 at Nagpur. The proposers of Mr Pawar’s nomination, included former Lok Sabha Speaker Mr P A Sangma, Mr Tariq Anwar and Mr Devendra Nath Dwivedi. The process of electing the party president had begun on September 16. There were only four valid nominations and the only name proposed in all these papers was that of Pawar, Mr Peethambaram said. The election and nomination of 12 members and 11 members, respectively, for the Central Working Committee of the party will be undertaken during the two-day national convention, he said. Over 4,000 delegates are expected to participate in the convention of the party with a membership of around 50 lakh. He also released the list of those who have been elected as the state presidents. While Principal Gurbachan Singh has been elected from Chandigarh, Swaran Singh has been elected as State unit president from Punjab, Mr Jagjit Singh from Haryana, Capt. Gian Chand Minhas from Himachal Pradesh and Thakur Randhir Singh from Jammu and Kashmir. |
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CPM’s warning
to Vajpayee government NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today warned the Vajpayee government against taking any step on West Bengal having a bearing on the Centre-State relations. Referring to the reported scheduled meeting of the Union Cabinet on September 23, a CPM politbureau statement said “the continuous barrage of baseless charges about the situation in West Bengal, by the Union Home Minister, seems designed to justify the misuse of the Central Government’s machinery”. Among the various steps being considered is the application of the Disturbed Areas Act, by amending the law through an ordinance, the statement pointed out adding that such an action “will be patently undemocratic and illegal”. “It will expose the Vajpayee government to public ignominy for putting a coalition partners’ narrow political interests above democratic norms”, the CPM said adding “any such act will not be tolerated by people all over the country”. |
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Basu lashes out at Mamata CALCUTTA, Sept 22 (UNI) — West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today lambasted Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for criticising the state government for allegedly providing inadequate relief to the flood-affected people. “She should blame God instead of blaming us,” Mr Basu told reporters here and remarked that it was a foolish statement. “She is a fool if she has made such a statement. I hope she has not said such things. But since you are saying I am accepting it as a truth,” he added. He dismissed Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s observation on his comment about the Railway Minister, saying that it mattered little whether Mr Advani liked it or not. |
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Pawan Hans to get more helicopters NEW DELHI, Sept 22—The government-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) is on way to expansion with the addition of two medium class and two light helicopters during 2000-2001 specially to cater to the requirements of new customers. Addressing the Consultative Committee meeting of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Minister, Mr Sharad Yadav, said that the corporation had achieved a total flying target of 18,563 hours and 18,104 hours during the financial years 1998-99 and 1999-2000, respectively. As per the estimates for the year 2000-2001, the company is likely to achieve a total flying task of 19,620 hours. The average flight hours per helicopters is the highest compared to the world average. Elaborating on the financial performance of Pawan Hans, Mr Yadav said the PHHL had shown continuous improvement during the past 15 years. The net profit after tax for 1999-2000 was Rs 67.47 crore (provisional). The company had been paying dividend from fianancial year 1992-93. During the first quarter of the financial year 2000-2001, the company had achieved a total revenue of Rs 46.14 crore and the net profit after tax of Rs 14.7 crore. The Minister told the members of the Committee that the organisation had successfully carried out helicopter support services for the second successive year for the 19th Indian Antarctica Expedition. Pawan Hans was now planning to venture into Electronic News Gathering
(ENG), law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire fighting, maintenance of power lines and Inter-city services. Mr Yadav also informed members that the Sub-Committees for Air -India, the Airports Authority of India, Indian Airlines, Hotel Corporation of India and PHHL had been constituted. Replying to the
suggestions made by some of the members, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta ,said Pawan Hans was trying to improve its performance and trying to achieve 100 per cent utilisation of helicopters. |
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Ayodhya panel summons
Joshi, Uma Bharti NEW DELHI, Sept 22—The Justice M. S. Liberhan Commission, probing the sequence of events leading to demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, today issued summons to the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi , and a BJP MP ,Ms Uma Bharti, to testify before it as witnesses. “Let Dr Joshi and Uma Bharti be summoned for October 9, the next date of hearing,” Justice Liberhan said. The Commission, however, did not initiate any action regarding appearance of a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kalyan Singh, who has challenged the summoning order of the Commission in the Delhi High Court. Mr Kalyan Singh has challenged the summons issued by the Commission on the ground that his giving evidence before it would be prejudicial to him as he has been facing prosecution relating to demolition in a CBI court in Uttar Pradesh. The former Chief Minister, who had also challenged his summoning as a witness by the Commission in 1993 before the Allahabad High Court, had recently told the Delhi High Court that he would seek direction from the Supreme Court for transfer of his case from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court. Dr Joshi, Ms Bharti and Mr Kalyan Singh are among over 40 persons facing trial in a court in Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in the demolition of the disputed structure. |
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Dams’ benefits exaggerated: study BHOPAL, Sept 22 — The contribution of large dams to the increased foodgrains production in India has been less than 10 per cent. This is the finding of the India Country Study (ICS) on large dams conducted by a consultant team of five Indian experts for the World Commission on Dams (WCD). The team comprised Mr R. Rangachari, Mr Nirmal Sengupta, Mr Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Mr Pranab Banerji and Mr Shekhar Singh. The findings of the study will be incorporated into the final report of the WCD, a body endorsed by various stakeholders ranging from the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the Government of India to the World Bank. The 12-member WCD will present its report and recommendations to the international community by November, 2000. It comprises: chairman — Prof. Kader Asmal (Education Minister of South Africa; vice-chairman — Mr Lakshmi Chand Jain (former Indian High Commissioner to South Africa); secretary-general — Mr Achim Steiner (Germany); members — Mr Don Blackmore (Australia), Ms Joji Carino (Philippines), Prof . Jose Goldemberg (Brazil); — Dr Judy Henderson (Australia), Mr Goran Lindahl (Sweden), Ms Deborah Moore (USA), Ms Medha Patkar (India), Dr Wolfgang Pircher (Austria), and Prof. Thayer Scudder (USA). The study has found that “costs are systematically underestimated and benefits exaggerated so that the requisite B-C ratio is shown to have been arrived at. Further, during the actual implementation there are enormous escalations in costs, considerable delays and changes in design and scope of projects. Benefits, on the other hand, fall well below anticipated figures as actual irrigated area and achieved yields fall below projected levels.” The study estimates the number of human displacement due to large dams at 56 million. Even by the most conservative estimates based on the Central Water Commission (a Government of India body) figures, large dams have submerged over 5 million hectares of forests, affecting the tribals and other poor sections of society. It says, “Together nearly 62 per cent of the population displaced were tribals and members of the Scheduled Castes. Considering their population nationally is only a little over 24.5 per cent, clearly their representation among those displaced was disproportionately high. For tribals this was particularly significant as their proportion in the national population is
only a little over 8 per cent, while their proportion among the displaced was over 47 per cent”. Even the electricity and irrigation benefits of large hydel projects routinely bypass the dam-affected and other poor communities and are disproportionately consumed by landed farmers and urban consumers of well-to-do families in rural areas. Thus, on distribution aspects of large dams, the study concludes: “Also, the distribution of most of the costs and benefits of large dams seems to accentuate socio-economic inequities. This seems primarily due to a lack of policy direction regarding the equity aspects of the projects”. |
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Plastic bags in
ITBP units banned NEW DELHI, Sept 22 — In tune with the government policy, the ITBP Directorate has instructed its field formations to stop using plastic recycled bags in their canteens with immediate effect and use paper bags instead. The ITBP expects to switch over completely to paper bags in the next three months. According to the ITBP-Director General, Mr Gautam Kaul, paper bags would be manufactured in the Unit Welfare Centres from reusable newspapers, and other paper materials. Instructions for the purchase of machines required for manufacturing paper bags, have also been issued to field formations. The ITBP is also examining the possibility of stitching jute bags in its Welfare Centres, for use by the family members staying within the battalion campus, for carrying purposes, Mr Kaul said. According to ITBP sources, they are also envisaging proper schemes for the collection and disposal of garbage properly to ensure good public health within their premises. This scheme is expected to be finalised by the end of this year, the sources said. |
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Complete bandh
paralyses life MYSORE, Sept 22 (PTI) — Normal life was paralysed in the city today as it observed a total bandh protesting the delay in securing the release of Kannada film icon Rajkumar from the clutches of forest brigand Veerappan. All business establishments were closed and autorickshaws and buses were off the roads giving a deserted look to the city. Banks and government offices were also forcibly closed by supporters of the bandh called by the Rajkumar Fans Association and backed by pro-Kannada organisations. |
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