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| Thursday,
November 16, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Central team visits MP Sonia: new Cong agenda at AICC session Oil price hike: decision on Nov 19 Advani needn’t quit, says Venkaiah IA hijacking: conspiracy hatched in Dhaka Govindacharya flays economic policies India rejects OIC resolution on Kashmir Jharkhand: will poll politics work? |
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Nityanand hints at prohibition Jogi gives key
portfolios to Raigarh ministers HC order on teachers’ appointments upheld Are Sonepur cattle meant for
Sheikhs’ tables? HC seeks details
on unauthorised colonies Kidnapped boy
returns home Conference on child neurology tomorrow
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Central team visits MP BHOPAL, Nov 15 (UNI) — The central team that visited the drought-affected areas of Madhya Pradesh has urged the government to rush financial help to the state. The team that studied the situation last week has described it as “serious’’. The state had sought Rs 715 crore from the Centre to supply drinking water, seeds, fertilisers and give jobs to the needy. Chief Minister Digvijay Singh held meetings with political parties and had met the Prime Minister, the Union Agriculture and the Finance Minister to seek help. Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee urging his personal intervention to combat the drought. The state had already began relief work after a preliminary assessment of the situation. The government cut its expenditure, borrowed money and started employment generating works and water supply schemes from September, according to official sources. The state has Rs 128.9 crore available with it in the state calamity relief fund for 2000-1 of which Rs 52 crore was spent by October 30 in the state and Rs 20.37 crore given to Chhattisgarh leaving a balance of a mere Rs 56 crore. Dr Gauri Shankar Shejwar, leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, meanwhile, demanded the supervision of drought relief by the Centre. Mr Shejwar, who led a BJP delegation to the Prime Minister on Monday, said his party had also submitted a memorandum to Mr Vajpayee demanding central assistance. He said central monitoring was sought as the state government had not spent Rs 58 crore of the Rs 128 crore given by the Centre to deal with the situation caused by rain last year. The Prime Minister had assured the delegation of sufficient financial help after studying the central team’s report, Mr Shejwar said. He said the actual figure of drought-hit areas was far above than the official record of 108 tehsils in 29 districts. The Centre had been asked to give sufficient grants through rural development, agriculture and tribal ministers to tackle the drought, he added. He said the proposal of the state government for building warehouses in the rural areas would also be considered by the Prime Minister as the Centre had sufficient stock of foodgrains. Sonia: new Cong agenda at AICC session NEW DELHI, Nov 15 — Congress President Sonia Gandhi said today that new agenda of the Congress would be unveiled at the forthcoming AICC session. Speaking at her residence after her massive victory in the party elections, Ms Sonia Gandhi said some new initiatives were likely at the AICC session to be held within two months of the election of Congress President. The AICC session would also elect members of the Congress Working Committee. Asked about demand by certain Congressmen, specially Mr Prasada to bring together Congressmen like Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr G.K. Moopanar who had left the party, Ms Gandhi said all this depended on the workers of the party. “It is they who will decide on the matters,” she said. To a question about whether resolutions passed by several PCCs authorising her to nominate the PCC chiefs was a healthy sign, she said this had been happening over the years but she had not applied her mind to the issue. Ms Sonia Gandhi asserted that no action would be taken against Mr Jitendra Prasada for contesting the election. “It is not unconstitutional,” she said. When asked if she was surrounded by a coterie, she said media reports had suggested that now there were two-three coteries. “That’s an improvement on one,” she said light-heartedly. Asked if she would take into account issues raised by Mr Jitendra Prasada, Ms Sonia Gandhi countered by asking “which issues.” Meanwhile, indicating that he was willing to carry forward the issues he had raised, Mr Prasada shot off a letter to the CEA Chairman, Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha today reminding him of his assurance on looking into complaints regarding organisational elections. “As the Congress president’s election is over, expeditious disposal of these complaints in a fair and transparent manner is of paramount importance. For this purpose, a review of the elections should be undertaken,’’ he said, demanding immediate steps in this direction. Reminding Mr Mirdha of his dispparoval of the practice of PCCs authorising an individual, Mr Prasada urged him to ensure that elections of all PCCs and AICC members held according to the constitution of the party. |
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Oil price hike: decision on Nov 19 CALCUTTA, Nov 15 — Oil price hike may be rolled back to a certain extent which will be announced after the meeting of the NDA in Delhi on November 19. This was indicated to the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, now in Calcutta by the Chairman of the NDA, Mr George Fernandes, the Defence Minister over phone last night. Mr Fernandes requested the Railway Minister to be present at the meeting, which the Trinamool Congress earlier boycotted. Ms Banerjee today left for Hyderabad on an official visit. During her stay there, she will hold talks with the state Chief Minister, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, whom the Railway Minister considers as her true friend and guide. Ms Banerjee wants to discuss with him about the strategy to be adopted jointly to protect the interest of the common people against any injustice done to them by the government’s “faulty policies.” The Railway Minister already announced yesterday that she would fight to the last for the interest of the Muslims and other minority communities. Though Ms Banerjee refused to elaborate anything further about her talks with Mr Fernandes, circles closed to her, said she had been hinted by the NDA Chairman that the diesel and kerosene prices would be lowered down at least by 10 per cent through reduction of central excise duties, while LPG price would be cut by Rs 10 per cylinder. Petrol price, however, will remain as it is for the time being. The new price structure will be discussed and acceptable to all partners of the NDA and then only the final decision will be taken. Both the Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, and the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, however, still had reservation against the price reduction. This exemption will cost the government exchequer a loss of Rs 500 crore. Earlier, Ms Banerjee and Mr Ajit Kumar Panja, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, had resigned, demanding the withdrawal of price hike of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG which the NDA government had forced to do, due to oil price rise in the international market. The ministers, however, later had withdrawn their resignation following written assurance by the Prime Minister of lowering down the prices considerably after reviewing the situation, though there were strong objections from Mr Ram Naik and Mr Singh. But like the Trinamool Congress, some other partners of the NDA including the TDP, the Akali Dal and the Haryana Vikas Party strongly protested against the price rise of these essential items, which would hit the poor and common people. Both Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister of Haryana and Mr Parkash Singh Badal of Punjab not only publicly protested, they also sent written note to Mr Vajpayee against the oil price rise. Mr Chautala earlier forced the NDA government to lower down the price hike of
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Advani needn’t quit, says Venkaiah CHENNAI, Nov 15 (UNI) — The BJP leader and Union Rural Development Minister, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, today said there was no question of Union Home Minister L.K. Advani and two other Union Ministers resigning in the wake of their being charge-sheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case, saying that the cases were “politically fabricated.” Addressing a press conference here, he said “everyone knows” that Mr Advani and other leaders were dissuading those present at the disputed structure from demolishing it. The Congress had renewed its earlier demand for the resignation of Mr Advani “only to divert the attention of the people from the challenges to the leadership of party President Sonia Gandhi from within and her inability to provide leadership to the party,” he claimed. The Congress also wanted to divert the attention of the people from the achievements of the Vajpayee government at various fronts by raising such demands, Mr Naidu maintained. Substantiating his claim that there was no need for a Union Minister to quit office in the event of a pending case, he recalled that there were “several cases” pending against late Congress leader Indira Gandhi when she became Prime Minister in 1980. On the happy end to the Rajkumar abduction crisis today, he said now that the Kannada actor was released, the Centre and the state governments, besides all political parties, should evolve a consensus on crushing terrorism, extremism, hijacking and abduction. “No civilised society will tolerate such acts.” “Let us show that India is not a soft nation,” he added. Appreciating the patience displayed by the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments in handling the hostage crisis, Mr Naidu said he would wait for the return of the emissaries to get a complete picture before suggesting any future course of action. Ruling out any direct action against Veerappan by the Union Government, he said the Centre should act as a “facilitator and not as a complicator.” To another question on the Opposition allegation that a supply route had been opened to the Veerappan hideout in Tamil Nadu forest by the LTTE, Mr Naidu said there was “no visible sign” of any LTTE activity in the state. Militancy and terrorism in other parts of the country were also on the decline, he added. |
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IA hijacking: conspiracy hatched in Dhaka NEW DELHI, Nov 15 (UNI) — The conspiracy to hijack the Indian Airlines plane ic 814 between Kathmandu and New Delhi on December 24 was hatched in Dhaka in August, 1999, cbi investigation so far has revealed. “We have concrete inputs to show that the conspiracy to hijack the Indian airliner was hatched at a house in the Sabzi Mandi area of Dhaka in August 1999,” sources close to the investigators told uni. The conspiracy was hatched by about seven-eight persons, the investigation show. The sources said the interrogation of Abdul Latif, one of the four persons arrested by the agency so far, revealed that it was at this meeting that the hijackers decided which flight to target and from where the hijacking should be done. Kathmandu was then identified by them as a soft target considering that it was comparatively easy to sneak into the airport with the weapons. Latif was picked up from Mumbai on December 30. The other arrested persons, who are in judicial custody, are Bhupalmar Damai, Dalip Kumar and Balal, a suspected Bangladeshi. They reached Kathmandu weeks before the hijack and held another conclave to decide about the exact plans to execute the hijacking. It was in Kathmandu where the hijackers decided who would carry the weapon, the sources said. The inquiry also revealed that initially the hijackers did not have sophisticated weapons and they had only pistols and revolvers. But after the plane landed in Lahore for refuelling sophisticated weapons were supplied. In Lahore, the hijackers were supplied with many things, including communications equipment. |
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Govindacharya flays economic policies NEW DELHI, Nov 15 — Former BJP General Secretary K.N. Govindacharya today launched a broadside on the Vajpayee governent’s economic policies saying that it hurts the national pride to see ministers and chief ministers “prostrating” before World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn. In his first public discourse on “globalisation and swadeshi” after his two year sabatical from the party granted two months back, Mr Govindacharya said the present economic policies, which had been framed and were being implemented on the prescriptions of the IMF and the World Bank, were only meant for the 10 per cent elite sections of society ignoring the interests of rest of the 90 per cent. “The shift to market economy has nothing to do with 70-80 per cent of our people. We were ruled by the aliens (British) and we continue to be ruled by the alienated.The decision making remains the same”, he said, addressing a meeting organised by ‘Pragya Sanstha’. Standing firmly on the ideological pedestal of the RSS, the former BJP General Secretary, who had developed serious differences with Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, strongly defended the demolition of Babri Masjid and modernisation and economic liberalisation. Terming the Vajpayee government’s globalisation policy as “ill thought, indiscriminate and not on our terms”, Mr Govindacharya said as a result of the impact of globalisation unemployment has increased. Small-scale industries were on the verge on closure. Non-essential items were being imported in the name of catering to middle class aspirations. Economic sovereignty of the country was under serious threat”, he pointed out. Ridiculing the government’s propensity to quote figures and numbers, the BJP leader said “Statistics do not feed stomachs. We can only deceive ourselves with them. Even the drivers of globalisation has started developing doubts over their approach”. Urging for the adoption of a “Swadeshi model”, Mr Govindacharya sought to redefine it, saying that “it was not isolationist, protectionist or obscurantist”. It does not seek to run away from others but to engage them on our terms”. The policies would have to be people-centric and not merely serving the interests of a limited section of society, he said. “Over dependence on the government is very negative as it amounts to surrender of our rights”, he pointed out. |
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India rejects OIC resolution on Kashmir NEW DELHI, Nov 15 —India today categorically rejected the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) resolution on Kashmir saying that the conference has “no locus standi on matters relating to internal affairs” of the country. In response to a question, a spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said:”We reject all such resolutions outright. The OIC has no locus standi on matters relating to India’s internal affairs.” A resolution on Kashmir, adopted at the OIC meeting in Doha yesterday, has called for appointing of a Special Representative to deal with the issue and sending a fact-finding team to the region. The OIC, which concluded its summit yesterday, has asked its Secretary General Azzedine Laraki to appoint a Special Representative to deal with Kashmir problem and also send a fact-finding team to the region. The organisation has also expressed concern over the situation in the Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC) and urged the international community, including the UN to mediate. The OIC has been adopting a resolution on Kashmir even in the past but New Delhi, which has excellent ties with majority of the OIC members, has been rejecting the resolution on the advise of its friends in the organisation. As a matter of fact, Islamabad had been pressing the OIC to adopt a resolution equating Kashmir issue with Palestine but Qatar, which presided over the meeting in its capital Doha, rejected Pakistan’s demand, the sources said.
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Jharkhand: will poll politics work? PATNA, Nov15 — Mr Babu Lal Marandi, in his maiden interview to ‘The Tribune’, said that ending extremism was his priority number one. The self-styled CM of Jharkhand, Mr Shibu Soren, too speaks of the need to end the menace. The killing of Archana, the wife of Hazaribagh DC has made once again all parties to realise that Jharkhand dream could not be realised till the ultra menace lingers. However, the killing of top officials at the sweet will of ultras is a matter that needs a retrospective assessment of the Jharkhand background and its remedy. First it speaks of the power of the Left wing ultras and their level of armed preparedness and secondly, it exposes how weak the state power stands vis-à-vis the parallel rule of the ultras. In the past one decade, in his self- styled one-man rule over Bihar, the cow belt cult leader Laloo Prasad virtually neglected the administrative needs of the south Bihar and this created a political and administrative vacuum in the now Jharkhand region. The virtual collapse of authoritative power structure in the Jharkhand areas made ultras it a fertile breeding ground of their parallel rule. Extremism in south central Bihar is nothing but an alternative power centre established by the ultras in the absence of state power. The justice-hungry locals naturally fell to the laps of the ultras as they imparted quick and on the spot justice. The ‘Kangaroo courts’ of the MCC and the PWG are so popular in the Jharkhand region that it will be a challenge for the new government there to create a powerful and effective state alternative. It is the masses who encouraged the ultras to rule. The MCC, the PWG and the PU have the “mandate” of the local populace. The first government and early officials will face the alienated masses and as the masses are with ultras, simple use of brute state force will not help curb the ultra menace. Blame it on Laloo Prasad for “killing” the local body election process in Bihar. The first priority of the Jharkhand government shall be to hold panchayat polls in Jharkhand and invite the Left wing ultras for talks to assimilate them in the authoritative and constitutional power structure. The masses must get the feel that justice is in their own hands and the ruling machinery is for their aid and not oppression. If the new government fails to act on these lines and keeps its political ambitions above the need of the masses, the extremist killings will not stop. Ms Archana was unfortunate to have come in the line of MCC bullets meant for her husband. The scores of other top officials, whose names are in the hit list, will not be. |
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Nityanand hints at prohibition DEHRA DUN, Nov 15 (UNI) — Uttaranchal Chief Minister Nityanand Swami has reiterated that he may slap prohibition on liquor in the new state from April 1 next year. In a public address yesterday, Mr Swami however said before taking such a step, the government would take all relevant factors in consideration. “My government would assess why in Haryana, the government had to go back on its decision to ban liquor. All factors will be taken into consideration before implementing the decision.’’ Till March, 2001, licences for liquor have been issued by the Uttar Pradesh Government. The Chief Minister said though such a step would mean losing Rs 150 crore as annual revenue, “we would not give it any thought.” “We want our children to drink milk, not liquor. Revenue cannot be a deciding factor in banning this poison,” he said. Mr Swamy also stressed the need for basic education in the hilly districts of Uttaranchal. The Chief Minister said he would ensure that every child attended school and that every two villages in the region had a primary school very soon. In the schools, the government would start by providing “gur” (jaggery) and “chana” to the children, at first, as midday meal. “But we will soon try to ensure that they are given milk and fruits,” he said yesterday at an “open forum” of women Panchayati Raj functionaries from all 13 districts of the state, organised here by the RLEK, a Doon-based NGO working for the guidance of elected women representatives of panchayats in the hills. |
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Jogi gives key
portfolios to Raigarh ministers RAIGARH, Nov 15 (PTI) — Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has allocated important portfolios to four ministers from this tribal dominated district, which was once represented by him in the Lok Sabha in 1998. Although Mr Jogi did not appoint any Deputy Chief Minister in his 24-member Cabinet, Mr Nand Kumar Patel, a strong contender for the post, has been given charge of important Home, Jail, Transport and Aviation portfolios. Mr Chanesh Ram Rathia, who won for the sixth time from the Dharmaiaigarh constituency, has been given Food and Civil Supply while Mr K.K. Gupta, who won for the fifth time from the Raigarh constituency, has been given Health and Medical Services. Both Mr Rathia and Mr Gupta were ministers in the MP Cabinet before the bifurcation. |
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HC order on teachers’ appointments upheld NEW DELHI, Nov 15 (UNI) — The Supreme Court has affirmed the judgement of the Kerala High Court upholding the validity of the state government order specifying the procedure for the appointment of teachers for class XI and XII. A two-judge Bench comprising Mr Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal, while passing orders on a batch of appeals and writ petitions yesterday, held that the appointment of all teachers since the government order was passed on May 13, 1998, would be valid and that their services would not be annulled. The Bench, however, said there would be no further appointment from any source, either in private schools or in government schools, for a period of three months. Meanwhile, the Bench directed the Kerala Government to bring into force the statutory requirement rules within three months, whereafter recruitments to the higher secondary grade could be dealt with in accordance with the said statutory rule. In case of any unforeseen circumstances the statutory rule could not be notified and brought into force within three months and if there exists any necessity for immediate recruitment of teachers then it would be open for the parties to move the court for appropriate direction, the Bench added. The order, passed by the Kerala government, stipulated the procedure to be adopted for the appointment of teachers in higher secondary grade in 95 government schools and 178 aided schools. While 25 per cent of the vacancies would be reserved for appointments from qualified high-school assistants and primary school teachers, the remaining 75 per cent of the posts in government schools would be filled by direct recruitment through the public service commission and in private schools by respective managements. This order was assailed in the high court through a batch of writ petitions on the grounds that the order contravened the statutory rules, particularly Rule 43, and that it had to be struck down. The high court upheld the validity of the order and hence the present appeals and writ petitions filed directly in the apex court under Article 32 of the Constitution. The apex court while affirming the HC judgement, held that the state government had the power to issue administrative order governing the service conditions of its employees in the absence of any statutory provisions governing the field. In the present case, the government appeared to have issued the impugned order in exercise of such power, as in its opinion the provisions of the Act and the rules would have no application to the institution imparting education to standard XI and XII which was a concept subsequent to the enactment of rules on account of the national education policy, the court observed. |
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Are
Sonepur cattle meant for Sheikhs’ tables? PATNA, Nov15 — The largest animal trade fair of the world at Sonepur, 50 km from the state capital, that started few days back is haunted by a strange fear and enigma. It is feared that animal flesh smugglers are out in the Sonepur mela to buy the cows and other milch animals in bulk for the sale of their flesh in Bangladesh and Middle East. The trade has been rampant in the border districts of north Bihar. The Mafiosi buy them from poor peasants at throwaway prices, kill and smuggle them to the neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh from where their flesh is transported to Middle East countries. Bihar’s cattle wealth finally lands on the dinner table of the Shiekhs! The Sonepur mela is in full bloom. An estimated 40,000 animals have been put for sale, including elephants, cows, buffaloes, camel, horses and cattle. The local media has flashed stories of cattle smugglers on the prowl for cheap and old cattle in the mela. RSS and VHP activists have raised the alarm over the killings of cows in Bihar for local consumption. There have been communal flare ups in recent times at some places in Vaishali and Samastipur districts of Bihar over the open sale of cow flesh in rural areas and small towns. The border districts of East and West Champarans, Supaul, Samastipur, Katihar and Purnia have been notorious for the smuggling of cattle into Nepal and Bangladesh. It is alleged that the police and border officials are hand in glove with the smugglers. An estimated 10,000 head of cattle were smuggled last year from Bihar. The cattle smuggling hit the limelight recently when it was reported that around 2,000 cows and bulls were bought by the smugglers at ‘Dubiyahi mela’, an animal fair held near Muzaffarpur town, and sent to Bangladesh. In Bihar animal fairs are common and are held in almost all parts once in a week. The modus operandi of the smugglers is simple. Most of the north Bihar farmers are marginal farmers and the agriculture is sustenance agriculture. Recurring floods and draughts destroy crops. Farmers are forced to take loans. In absence of bank loans they often fall in the trap of the smugglers who offer them ‘soft loans’. Later they are forced to pay back, cajoled and threatened to sell off their cattle at throwaway prices. The smugglers then injure and cripple the cattle so that they could get the certificate of the cattle not being fit for milch and agricultural purposes. They are then killed and their flesh sold at premium rates. The Mid-East people are said to be the bulk buyers. |
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HC seeks details on unauthorised colonies NEW DELHI, Nov 15 (UNI) — The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to explain how the Cabinet’s decision to regularise 1,071 unauthorised colonies here could be implemented against the backdrop of the state government’s objections. The Division Bench of Mr Chief Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice D.K. Jain also asked Additional Solicitor-General Krit Rawal to elaborate how the policy would be effective on various categories of land which do not belong to the Centre. The Central Government’s response must be filed by January 10, next year, the court said. It said the Centre should clearly mark the areas which come under the cut-off date and then work out modalities for the infrastructure to be set up. In early August, the Delhi legislative assembly had passed a resolution at its special session that the Centre’s announcement on regularisation of 1,071 unauthorised colonies with conditions regarding payment of land rate with penalties and additional penalties for the violation of building bylaws was highly unjustified. The House resolved that this was highly unjustified and amounts to penalising the poor people. Therefore, these conditions should be waived off completely. It also recommended that cut-off date for regularisation of unauthorised colonies should be changed to March 31, 1998, against the Centre’s cut-off date of March 31, 1993. |
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Kidnapped boy
returns home NEW DELHI, Nov 15 — A 16-year-old boy who was kidnapped from the Mandawali area of East Delhi returned to his home safely. He was reportedly kidnapped by his friends Subhash, Manoj and Sanjay who released him today after taking Rs 50,000 ransom, the police said. He was kidnapped on November 10 from near his residence when he went for an evening walk. The kidnappers made a ransom call to the parents of the victim and demanded Rs 10 lakh. Later they came down to Rs 6 lakh. When the father of the victim, who works with a private company, told them he could arrange only Rs 50,000-60,000, the kidnappers directed him to come with the money near the Anand Vihar railway station. At Anand Vihar they directed him to reach Ghaziabad by a local train and at last he was directed to throw the bag somewhere near the railway track, the police said. During interrogation, Udai said that Subhash became his friend three months ago. He used to come to meet him with Manoj and Sanjay in a Maruti car. The police has launched a manhunt to nab the absconding accused. |
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Conference on child neurology tomorrow NEW DELHI, Nov 15— The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Mr A. Raja, will inaugurate a three-day international conference on child neurology education here on Friday. The conference is being organised by the Department of Pediatrics, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, in collaboration with the International Child Neurology Association. Sources in the ministry told TNS here on Wednesday the conference would evolve a training module to cope with neurological illnesses such as infections, fits (seizures), mental and developmental handicaps, congenital malformations prevalent among the child population with a holistic approach for simplification of patient management practices. Issues likely to come up for discussion include dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge, creation of data base, provision of a forum inviting experts to share their experience and arranging similar workshops on sustained basis linking specialists all over the world. |
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