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| Wednesday, October 18, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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India, UK to cement ties Veerappan firm on
detainees’ release RSS in catch-22 situation MiGs’ collision:
probe begins ‘Sal’ trees face extinction |
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Evacuation begins in AP as cyclone nears Bail for accused in
Mattoo murder case Christian priest
attacked Rajbhasha shield
for CRPF Economic Editors Conference held
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India, UK to cement ties NEW DELHI, Oct 17 — With bilateral trade expected to touch a record figure of £ 5 billion, India and the UK today agreed to take several steps for consolidating bilateral ties including the visit of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to London next month. A team of Home Ministry officials will visit London shortly to discuss modalities for setting up a joint working group on counter-terrorism, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said here today, adding that a decision to set up such a group was taken during the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani’s visit to the UK in June this year. While London has decided to increase its development assistance to India from £ 120 million to £ 180 million, it has also emerged as India’s second largest trading partner. Addressing a joint press conference at the conclusion of the annual Indo-British foreign office consultations, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Lalit Mansingh, and his British counterpart, Sir John Kerr said the economic ties were growing at a rapid pace with bilateral trade expected to touch £ 5 billion during the current financial year. The two sides discussed bilateral, regional and international issues including the schedule of bilateral visits with India and Britain agreeing on a number of visits in the next few months. The two sides expressed concern over the dangers of terrorism and vowed to tackle it together. They felt that international cooperation was needed to fight terrorism. Disarmament and developments in the region were also taken up. |
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Veerappan firm on detainees’ release BANGALORE, Oct 17 (PTI) — S. A. Govindraj, freed son-in-law of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar, said today that the actor was not likely to be released by forest brigand Veerappan unless his accomplices in jails were set free even as the icon’s family opposed any commando operation to secure his freedom. The four official emissaries, including R.R. Gopal and P. Nedumaran, returned from the forests saying that Veerappan had not raised any fresh demands but was adamant that the 121
TADA detenus in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu jails must be set free immediately if Rajkumar were to be released. Govindraj, who was released last night by Veerappan after 78 days in captivity, reached Bangalore this morning and met Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna and Home Minister
M. Mallikarjuna Kharge and briefed them on the well-being of Rajkumar in the forest. He later told newsmen that Veerappan was insisting on the release of his associates booked under
TADA. He said Rajkumar was keeping good health and was being looked after well by the forest brigand. Rajkumar’s family members, who were expecting him to be freed yesterday, firmly opposed launching a commando operation for rescuing him and the other remaining hostage. “We oppose any commando operation as we cannot risk the life of our father,” Rajkumar’s eldest son Shivarajkumar told reporters in the presence of his brother Raghvendra. Govindraj said the escape of Nagappa was a setback to the negotiations being undertaken by Gopal for the release of Rajkumar. He said negotiations were continuing and he hoped that Rajkumar and Nagesh, would soon be released. |
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RSS in catch-22 situation NEW DELHI, Oct 17 — The compulsions of power politics have gripped the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and it finds itself in a catch 22-situation — should it follow its own agenda or let the parivar ally continue to run the government. Whether it criticises the functioning of the BJP-led government at the Centre, a member of the Sangh Parivar, or voices its own agenda on contentious issues like Ayodhya, Article 370 or the uniform civil code in pursuance of its larger agenda of “Hindu rashtra”, the RSS finds itself in quicksand. The 75-year-old organisation, which has been an enigma to many, feels that it is ‘losing its shine’ and had to organise an “open” conclave at Agra under the guise of diamond jubilee celebrations, to demonstrate its strength, especially in the wake of the coming assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh. Yet, the cadre, the main organisational backbone of the Sangh Parivar, is confused. Its own slogan, “When in power, we would bring about change” or “Say with pride, we are Hindus”, appears to be too heavy for it to handle. The dual role of the RSS in the present scenario was clearly apparent during the Agra ‘shivir’. The criticism of the government’s policies was more stringent than those expressed by the Opposition parties in the recent past. However, the harsh comments were softened by Sangh leaders during their interaction with the media. The choice of the venue, Agra, by the RSS indicated the strategy being planned for the forthcoming poll in Uttar Pradesh. Faced with disillusionment among the RSS cadres, especially in Uttar Pradesh, against the BJP’s ‘neglect’ of the three ‘core’ issues, the top bosses of the organisation attacked the BJP from the Sangh platform at the Agra ‘shivir’ but preferred to present a moderate face during their interaction with the national and international media. While the RSS talked of the “compulsions” of the BJP, which is leading the coalition at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, it preferred not to go all out against the party as the Sangh itself is under compulsion. This dual act of the RSS is apparently to make use of the friendly government at the Centre to further the Sangh agenda, without allowing cadre disillusionment. This point is proved beyond doubt as it would not have been so easy for the RSS to hold its Agra conclave, attended by about 75,000 Swayamsevaks from the “Brij” Pradesh, without the generous support of the state machinery, headed by the BJP. The RSS also realises that though it can at the moment afford to criticise the BJP for not pursuing its agenda as the main opposition Congress has failed to get its act together, it can’t distance itself altogether as the BJP is the only party close to its ideology. During the three-day meeting, the RSS leaders appeared to be speaking in two voices in a “calculated manner” about the BJP-led Government. While some RSS leaders like Mr Mohan Bhagwat and Mr Suresh Rao Ketkar criticised the government on its economic policies and clearly expressed their displeasure at the BJP’s ‘compromising’ attitude on their agenda, moderates like Mr Madan Das and Mr M.G. Vaidya took a softer line, stating that they understood the compulsions of coalition politics. Evacuation begins in AP as cyclone nears BHUBANESWAR/HYDERABAD, Oct 17 (UNI) — Evacuation of people began in four coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and panic buying began in Orissa as another Bay cyclone inched closer to Nellore on the Andhra coast today. The Centre alerted all its departments and ministries to prepare for the worst in view of the cyclone, which was likely to cross the coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam by tomorrow evening. The weather system was centred 400 km east of Nellore this evening, the Alipore Met office in Calcutta said. Orissa’s Ganjam district was experiencing heavy rain since last night and strong winds lashed the east coast elsewhere. The weather office said the cyclone was likely to cause damage in Nellore and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh where the wind speed could touch 100 kmph. The Collectors and other officials of Guntur and Krishna were also alerted. People in the four districts were being shifted to safer places. The Orissa Government had put the administration in all coastal districts on alert though the Met office in Bhubaneswar had not sounded any cyclone warning. Revenue Minister Biswa Bhushan Harichandan called a press conference to calm the people who panicked recalling last year’s supercyclone. The state was not in its path, but the cyclone could change course and the administration was prepared to meet the situation, he said. A general alert sounded by the West Bengal Government in North and South 24 Parganas and Midnapore districts stayed in force and fishermen in the sea were asked to head home. |
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MiGs’ collision:
probe begins
NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (UNI) — The Indian Air Force has begun an inquiry into the mid-air collision of two MiG-21s while they were practising close-formation flight in Assam yesterday, an IAF spokesman said here today. The crash of the fighters, one of them a trainer, took place while four aircraft were involved in a medium-level tactical exercise in Darrang-Sonitpur area of lower Assam. While Flying Officer Jot Singh, who was flying the trainer, died after the plane crashed, his instructor Squadron Leader G. Kago was bailed out safely. |
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‘Sal’ trees face extinction DEHRA DUN: More than three million trees of “shorea robusta,” commonly known as “Sal”, have died during the past few years in the Himalayas and Central India, and lakhs of “Sal” trees in the country are facing extinction. With a massive attack from a parasite, sal heartwood borer, (hoplo cerambys spinicornis newman), the very existence of this species is in danger. Although no permanent solution to the problem has been found but scientists at the local Forest Research Institute (FRI), are working to save “Sal” from the parasite. “Sal” grows gregariously and tends to become dense. Besides its general distribution in the plains, “Sal” extends into the outer Himalayas up to a height of 1,200 metres in a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions under which the species grow. Although “Sal” has the reputation of being one of the most naturally durable timbers and is not easily subjected to decay or attack by termites and borers but the living tree is liable to attack by many wood destroying fungi and parasites. The economic significance of “Sal” — once the strongest and the most important timber of northern India — is now gradually declining. According to Mr R.S. Bhandari, an entomologist at the FRI working on the project of saving “Sal”, insecticides are not viable to kill “Sal” heartwood borers due to environmental hazards. The best possible way out adopted so far to prevent it from attack of this parasite is trapping. Local residents of the forests are trained by the FRI to trap the insects. In lieu of this, the State Forest Corporation of Uttar Pradesh pays them 75 paise per insect. Similarly, other state governments and forest corporations are also paying for trapping the insects. According to the records available with the FRI, so far 2.5 lakh of insects have been trapped in the country. Mr Bhandari state’s that the maximum affected state is Madhya Pradesh but the outbreak has declined after adopting the method of trapping. The FRI has also recommended the removal of the worst-affected trees from the forests to prevent the healthy trees from the attack of the borer. But the Supreme Court has recently ordered to remove only Category I and Category II affected trees, he maintains. A single female sal heartwood borer lays 300 to 500 eggs per year. The larva and grown-up insect makes the stem hollow from inside. The growth of the tree is also hindered by this parasite attack. The insect was first detected in 1899 by Newman. Since 1906 when this disease was found on the “Sal” tree the research is still going on to save the trees. But this is the worst outbreak of the disease during the past few years since its detection. Mr Bhandari further says, The “Sal” tree secretes kairomone — a chemical which attracts the insects towards it. We are doing research to extract the pure compound of kairomone.” Once pure compound of kairomone is extracted from the tree, possibilities are to either destroy this chemical or stop its secretion permanently so that the borers are not attracted to the plant. Interestingly, these insects eat “Sal” resin and attack the tree from the top. They also destroy outer layers of the green stems which cuts supply of food and water to all parts of the tree. Meanwhile, scientists of the FRI have recommended not to store “Sal” timber near the living trees. There should be a distance of at least 5 km from the edge of “Sal” forest from the place where its timber is to be stored. Otherwise, there are possibilities of migration by the insects to the living trees. Mr Bhandari says that on an average 62 insects host in 1.25-metre part of the stem of a “Sal” tree. |
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Bail for accused in
Mattoo murder case NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today rejected CBI’s plea for arrest of the son of a senior police officer, acquitted by a trial court here in the murder of Delhi University law student Priyadarshani Mattoo, while hearing agency’s appeal against his acquittal. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Usha Mehra and Mr Justice K. Ramamoorthy ordered accused Santosh Kumar Singh to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of like amount in the lower court. The bail was granted to Singh, also a former law student of the university, after his counsel assured the court that he was not likely to run away during the pendency of the appeal. The CBI had sought the arrest of Singh and sent him to judicial custody till the appeal was decided by the High Court, saying that he might use his influence further. The court had issued bailable warrants against Singh after he failed to submit his reply to its notice on admission of the CBI petition challenging the trial court judgement. According to the prosecution, Mattoo was allegedly raped and murdered at her Vasant Kunj flat on January 23, 1996, by the accused. |
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Rajbhasha shield
for CRPF NEW DELHI, Oct 17 — The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which secured the first position in the use of Hindi in its various offices for 1998-99 and 1999-2000, bagged the Rajbhasha shield awarded by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The shield was presented by the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, at an impressive function at Vigyan Bhavan here. The Inspector-General of Police , Mr P.P.S. Sidhu, accepted the award on behalf of the CRPF, an official press note said. The Assistant Director, Mr M.T. Sewakramani, SI Devi Singh and ASI G.L. Jat of the CRPF were presented a commendation certificate for their outstanding contribution for extensive use of the national language. |
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Economic Editors Conference held NEW DELHI, Oct 17 — The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr C.P. Thakur, today ruled out another probe into the circumstances leading to the death of former Union Power Minister, P.R. Kumaramangalam. Replying to a question at the Economic Editors Conference here today, Dr Thakur said Mr Kumaramangalam’s family was against any further probe. Asked to comment on the recent demand by 59 MPs that the government take over the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Dr Thakur said, “Ours is a democratic country. The representation is under consideration.” He said the ministry was keen on promoting medical tourism to make India the ultimate healthcare destination for foreigners. “Proposals for seeking affiliations with Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, have been received from the USA, Argentina, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Australia and Japan,” he said. He said the Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy would make suitable packages for marketing the “panchkarma” therapy by tour operators, travel agents and hotels/resorts. Christian priest
attacked BHUBANESWAR, Oct 17 (UNI) — Tension prevailed in Beticola village of Kandhmal district in Orissa after Father Lameswar Kanhar of the local church was attacked by a group of around 15 persons. The police said the villagers yesterday forcibly took their cattle inside the Beticola church field to graze, and when the Father and the cook of the church protested, they were beaten up, following which the incident occurred. Mr Kanhar was first admitted to the local hospital but later shifted to the district hospital as his condition deteriorated. The police has rounded up two people in connection with the incident while others absconded. Kandhmal district Superintendent of Police P.S. Ranapise, along with police forces, visited the spot. The Deputy Superintendent of Police has been camping in the village since yesterday. The police has taken precautionary measures to check any further law and order problem. The situation in the village has been tense for the past one year and the district authorities have deployed police forces there. |
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