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| Friday, November 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Northern Railway justifies felling Many don’t know Jharkhand is born Striking advocates liable to bear
litigation cost: SC PCC chiefs to be elected |
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Govt accepts proposals for scribes ‘Converge communication technologies’ CPI vows ‘secular alternative’ They even drank
urine to survive Student’s death
sparks violence Preference for sons remains
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Northern Railway justifies felling NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — Northern Railway today justified the felling of trees in Ambala Division, saying it had received frequent requests and representations from the Works Manager, Kalka
Workshop, residents of colonies and recognised unions to fell dangerous, dead and old trees. It stated that a joint survey was done in the division in consultation with the Forest Officer and 177 eucalyptus and 91 trees of other species were identified as matured/dangerous. A statement issued by Northern Railway here claimed that the Railways was “very environment conscious” and would ensure planting of three trees for every tree that was cut. It further claimed that of the 16 lakh trees planted, one lakh had been planted by the Ambala Division. Northern Railway said that Kalka had a very big railway establishment which was very green. It said some of the 1000 trees in the Railway Colony and workshop were very old and were endangering the safety of colony residents. It pointed out that five dangerous trees fell in the last rainy season and caused snapping of wires, road blocks and damaged property. The statement, however, contradict the Minister of State for Railways, Mr Digvijay Singh’s version that the trees had not been felled to generate financial resources. Northern Railway spokesperson Chandralekha Mukherjee stated that NR had been giving maximum emphasis on developing greenery on its land and on environment protection. It further stated that NR had taken action to sell trees which were very old and dead and likely to endanger the safety of track/workshop and railway colonies. It further said that NR had planted two crore trees and had brought about 10,761 hectares of land under
afforestation. |
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Many don’t know Jharkhand is born PATNA, Nov 16 — In a remote village of Dumka district, the constituency of Babu Lal Marandi, the first Chief Minister of newly created Jharkhand state, Deenu Murmu, a tribesman, does not even know that he is living now in different state. He knows Laloo Prasad but not Marandi. Oblivious of the political changes around him, he battles out with his attack of asthma and sets his foot to the jungle early morning to collect the firewood for his daily meal. Like Deenu, there are lakhs of him in the new state for whom Jharkhand has not meant anything. They still live in their dark lives and struggle with the hardship of lives. In the past 50 years after independence, they have not seen the electric light. Few years back, a hand pump was installed in the small village where Deenu lives even that does not work now. Jungles were the lifeline when his grandfather was born, it still is when his grandchild accompanies him into the same jungle. For those busy celebrating the birth of the new state, there is the need of spare a thought for these
impoverished and illiterate lot. Jharkhand was created for the upliftment of the tribesmen and the power brokers out at Ranchi must not forget that Babu Lal Marandi in his maiden interview with ‘The Tribune’, after being named Chief Minister, had emphasised on the need to provide facilities to the tribesmen but actually empowering them will not be an easy task. The tribal society and its superstitions are the prime problem. Sanatan, a Gotwa village in West Singhbhum district, recently was thrown out of his society for taking drugs for leprosy. He, like his many village folks follows a religious cult called ‘kripasindhu’. Leprosy in these parts is quite common and some NGOs and government medical staff are attempting to educate the tribals to persuade them to take drugs against the curable disease. Sanatan, too, was treated by local medical staff and given drug. He was on the path of recovery when religious heads of his village got to know of it. They forced him out of the religious order and society. Later, when Sanatan offered them five chickens, a goat, five metre red cloth and Rs 40 cash, he was pardoned and taken back. Black magic is very popular among tribesmen. The ‘ojhas’ (witchdoctors) virtually rule the roost in society. Education is missing as there is no primary schools. Some schools have been opened but teachers never come. Christian missionaries have done a lot for the education but there is the need for big network of schools. The other big problem is the politicisation of the tribal vote bank. As there are too many political “sympathisers” already for the tribals, ultimately, there might only be ‘sympathies’ left for them. It has happened in Bihar. The parties ruling in the name of Dalits and backwards have not helped them ‘inch forward’ even one step. Jharkhand faces the same prospect. |
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Striking advocates liable to bear
litigation cost: SC
NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (PTI) — In a stern warning to lawyers, the Supreme Court has categorically told them they will be answerable for the consequences suffered by litigants due to the non-appearance of advocates in courts solely on the ground that they were on strike. “We put the legal profession to notice that in future the advocate would also be answerable for the consequences suffered by the party if the non-appearance was solely on the ground of a strike call,” a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi said yesterday. The court while giving this ruling imposed a cost of Rs 5000 on a litigant, whose case was dismissed by a Delhi court when his advocates did not appear before it due to a strike call on August 26, 1998. However, while restoring the case the Bench gave liberty to the litigant to realise half of the cost from the advocate. Mr Justice Thomas said, “It is unjust and inequitable to cause the party alone to suffer for the self-imposed dereliction of his advocate.” “We may further add that the litigant who suffers entirely on account of his advocates non-appearance in court has also the remedy to sue the advocate for damages....,” the Bench said. |
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PCC chiefs to be elected NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — Having had a contest in which a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family faced the ballot for the top post the first time, the Congress is set to break with many other conventions of the past regarding organisational elections. The PCC chiefs, it seems, would not be “imposed” from Delhi, but “elected” in respective state capitals in the presence of central observers this time. Though almost all Pradesh Congress Committees have left it to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to make the choice of PCC chief, Mrs Gandhi does not seem willing to give the impression that the chiefs have been selected in Delhi. The Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha, has said repeatedly the Congress constitution does not allow choice of PCC chief by authorisation to a leader. “It has to be an election whether by consensus or otherwise,” he said. Despite the authorisations to Mrs Gandhi to name PCC chiefs, Mr Mirdha has told all Pradesh Returning Officers (PROs) to draw a schedule for elections to PCC chiefs, AICC members and other organisational posts. These elections were delinked from the November 12 Congress presidential elections at the request of states mainly to stave off contests for PCC chiefs. Though the PROs were advised by Mr Mirdha to hold these elections at the earliest, most of them are yet to announce their election schedules. Congress leaders say that rather than nominating PCC chiefs, Mrs Gandhi would prefer a more democratic way of making a choice. Such a step would be in keeping with the spirit of internal democracy on which so much emphasis was laid on the party’s presidential elections. Mrs Gandhi’s win was described as victory of internal democracy by her supporters. Asked how the choice of PCC chiefs would be made when she had been urged to make the choice by almost all PCCs, Mrs Gandhi said yesterday this was a long practice in the Congress. She, however, hastened to add that she had not applied her mind to the issue. With rival group in almost all PCCs sending feelers about their claim for the top PCC post, senior Congress leaders apprehend that any contests could lead to vertical split in the PCCs. The thinking is to name the PCC chief after a consensus is evolved following talks with all groups in the state unit of the Congress. The choice would be formally made in the respective state capitals in the presence of central observers on the dates announced by the PROs, the leaders indicated. |
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Govt accepts proposals for scribes NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — The long-awaited recommendations of the R.K. Manisana wage boards for journalists and non-journalists were approved today by the government with six minor changes and improvements in the proposals relating to revision of wages and allowances. The Union Cabinet at its meeting this morning took up the issue which the journalists have been pressing for a long time and approved the recommendations after some changes. The notification of the recommendations is expected within the next few days. The government approval came on the day which is celebrated in the country as “Press Day”. The major unions of journalists, which had been threatening to hold demonstrations today protesting against the delay by the government had actually put them off in anticipation of the Centre’s decision. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters after the Union Cabinet meeting that dearness allowance may be linked to the all-India consumer price index for industrial workers and neutralisation percentage might be enhanced for three pay scale groups. Giving details, Mr Mahajan said house rent allowance in classes six to nine would be fixed as recommended by the wage boards or the one already being drawn by employees, whichever was higher. Leave travel allowance shall be determined at the actual basic pay in place of minimum pay scale which was recommended by the boards, he said. The Cabinet further decided that the rate of increment payable to working journalists would be enhanced to the increment payable to non-journalists, thereby removing the disparity of 1 per cent, he said, adding that this would lead to parity between journalists and non-journalists. Scanner operators would be placed in the working journalist category in group III-A along with planners and proof-readers, he said. The payment of arrears would be staggered over a period of 18 months in three equal instalments in blocks of six months each, Mr Mahajan said. Wages for part time correspondents/photographers may be raised to not less than 50 per cent of the basic pay plus DA applicable to a full-time correspondent/photographer at similar level if he is working at district headquarters and above provided that no part-time correspondent/photographer will work for more than two newspaper establishments. The wages would be not less than one third if he is posted at a place below district level subject to the condition that he would not work for more than three newspapers. In addition, payment shall be on column basis, the rate of which is to decided by mutual negotiations. ‘Converge communication technologies’ NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — President K.R. Narayanan today called for convergence of all communication technologies (like the print media,
radio, TGV, IT and space technology) at the national level to ensure mass action for dealing with natural calamities and to avoid recurrence of the post-Orissa cyclone situation of last year. Inaugurating the National Press Day the seminar on the “Role of Media: Preparing People to Cope with Disasters”, he pointed out that in the absence of a communication systems convergence strategy, links with cyclone-hit Orissa, including the capital Bhubaneswar, was impossible. Only the HAM Radio came to the rescue of the situation. “It is indeed a pity that the technologies, which are available in our country, are not widely used by the agencies concerned”, he said. The seminar is organised by the Press Council of India in association with the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) to highlight the role of the media in sensitising people for disaster prevention and management. It would examine the interim report of the high powered committee that has been constituted by the Central Government to prepare a national disaster management plan. Mr Narayanan felt that the magnitude of the impact of the cyclone in Orissa could have been minimised if people had access to appropriate information in time. The President pointed out that the strategic use of media for alerting the public was crucial to avert the problem and at the same time critically examine the actions of people for its management. “To a large extent, the functioning of modern society depends on the fast spread of information through the media”, he added. Mr Narayanan said India was particularly vulnerable to disasters in the face of its immense population, geographical extent, vast coastal belt and spread of rivers and mountains. Apart from manmade disasters, natural calamities like floods, droughts, heat and cold waves and tropical cyclones occurred in the country almost 30-40 per cent of the days in a year. The President suggested giving special consideration to women in disaster prevention and management as they played a greater social role in dealing with such situations. Justice P.B. Sawant, Chairman of the Press Council, said the press was the “eyes and ears” of society and through its “wide and intimate contact with the people” could sensitise and educate society. |
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CPI vows ‘secular alternative’ NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — Holding the BJP-led NDA government responsible for compromising on the economic sovereignty of the country, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today pledged to work for building a “secular, democratic and left” coalition government as an alternative to the BJP and the Congress. Addressing the four-day National Council plenum of the party, the CPI General Secretary, Mr A.B. Bardhan, urged party leaders to discuss ways to strengthen the party as a fighting and militant force so that it could meet the challenges. Mr Bardhan said coalition was the order of the day and effort should be made to replace the present government which was destroying the pluralistic society and polity of the country. In an obvious reference to the efforts for achieving unity of left forces, Mr Bardhan said it was the patriotic duty of all communists and secularists to discuss as to how this could be brought about. Stating that it was time for a full-fledged party programme, Mr Bardhan promised that a draft redefining the goals and objectives would be ready within a year. He said the next CPI congress which would be held next year in Kerala either in October or November would approve it. Lashing out at the economic policies of the NDA government, the CPI General Secretary said while the Congress had initiated these policies, the present government was going ahead at a frenzied speed to implement the agenda of international financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank, the WTO and MNCs. These policies were resulting in rural indebtedness leading to suicide by farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. Even bank branches were being closed in the countryside, he pointed out. Even while international financial institutions had begun to talk of poverty, the NDA government continued to follow the same path. Criticising the Congress’s ambivalent attitude towards economic policies that were initiated by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and his Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Bardhan said the Congress was often using different language on vital economic policies. Wherever it was in the Opposition, the Congress was opposing the pro neo-liberal economic reforms, but it was implementing the same in states where it held power, he pointed out. |
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They even drank
urine to survive BHUJ (Kutch), Nov 16 (UNI) — After the ill-fated mi-8 helicopter crashed in a swamp of the Rann of Kutch on November 12, junior warrant officer S.K. Mohanty was the first to regain consciousness. He found himself and his eight colleagues who survived the crash lying in the marsh with the debris of the helicopter strewn all around. As many as 12 persons were on board the Indian Air Force helicopter. Though he was injured, Mr Mohanty pulled other wounded persons out of the mud and dragged them to rest on floating pieces of wreckage. As the hours crawled by, they fought against hunger, thirst and the pain from wounds reassuring themselves and each other that help would certainly arrive and they would live to see another day. Then began an arduous struggle for the survivors. Recounting the trauma from his hospital bed,
BSF Deputy Commandant Swaran Singh said they had nothing except their life jackets to shade them from the unrelenting heat of the sun.
The salty water of the marsh made their open wounds all the more painful. When the thirst became unbearable, they drank each other’s urine, all the while scanning the skies for a rescue helicopter, Mr Swaran Singh said.
From Our Correspondent DEHRA DUN, Nov 16 — Tension mounted here today following the death of a Nepalese student of the local DAV College after being hit by an auto-rickshaw last evening. More than 20 scooter-borne youths damaged eight auto-rickshaws and broke windowpanes of some local buses. According to police sources, the student, Himanshu, was returning home after his classes on his motorcycle when he was hit by the auto-rickshaw coming from the opposite direction on the Rajpur road. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he died. The driver of the auto-rickshaw has been arrested. Reports said auto-rickshaws and buses were also damaged in the Claimantown, Raipur, Aisley Hall Road, Jakhan areas. The local administration reacted late to control the growing tension in the city. Later, Rapid Action Force was deployed in the city to control the situation. According to the SSP, Mr K.K. Saxena, the police is hunting for the scooter-borne youths who damaged
buses.  Preference for sons remains NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — The crusade against female infanticide remains unsuccessful. Preference for sons is still strong in Indian homes, according to the National Family Health Survey-2 conducted by the Indian Institute for Population Sciences. The survey report was released here today by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr C.P. Thakur. The survey findings indicate that this preference is the strongest in Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar and Rajasthan. The two-child norm has become stronger since 1993. Field investigations in the area of population growth have reported that more than 70 per cent of married women with children do not want more compared with 60 per cent in 1992-1993. It further says that although fertility is declining, some of the most populous states still have fertility rates ranging between three and four children per woman. The report also draws attention to early marriages and early childbearing. Other noteworthy findings are rise in the literacy level, improvement in school attendance among the youth, widespread undernutrition, anaemia among women and children, non-adherence to breastfeeding practices and susceptibility to iodine deficiency. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare entrusted the second phase of the survey to the IIPS. The survey provides information on living conditions, educational qualifications, women’s status and health, family planning, nutritional status, immunisation, child health and awareness regarding AIDS. Its main objective is to provide policy makers and programme administrators a comprehensive snapshot of the demographic and health status of women and children. The survey points out improvement in survival of infants, decline in infant mortality at an average rate of two infant deaths per 1000 live births per year. It points out that child mortality levels are higher among girls and more children are being protected from vaccine preventable diseases. It also reports an increase in the use of contraceptives. It fsays few women are given a chance to make an informed choice about the methods of spacing births that would best suit their needs. The survey funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through US-based ORC Macro had a sample of 90,000 married women in the 15-49 age group from all 26 states of India. The UNICEF provided additional financial support for the nutritional components of the survey. The IIPS Director, Dr T.K. Roy, said an assistance of Rs 4 crore was given to the project. The first such survey in 1992-1993 proved to be a major landmark in the development of a comprehensive demographic and health database for India. The present survey expands the database, providing information on trends over a period of time and meeting new needs in areas of population and health. The new issues covered are reproductive health, women’s autonomy, domestic violence, women’s nutrition, anaemia and salt
iodisation. |
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Body of missing
boy found NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — The body of a 15-year-old boy,
Vikas, who was reportedly missing since November 13 from his residence in Patparganj area in East Delhi, was found at Link Road by the Ghaziabad police and handed over to the Delhi police today. The body was found in a bag which was tied and lying on the roadside. The post mortem, which was conducted in
Ghaziabad, said the boy was beaten up mercilessly and then strangulated to
death. |
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India welcomes
Fiji HC ruling NEW DELHI, Nov 16 — India today welcomed Fiji High Court ruling which has upheld the 1997 Constitution and declared Parliament of Fiji consisting of the
President, the Senate and the House of Representatives to be still in existence. In a statement, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said the government “regards this as a victory for the democratic forces in Fiji.” |
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No other temple
at dam site: CM DEHRA DUN, Nov 16 — Mr Nityanand Swami, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, has announced that no other temple would be allowed to be constructed at the Badrinath dham site. Since long the Jain community has been demanding a site for the construction of a temple in the area. Mr Swami, who visited Badrinath yesterday, offered prayers in the Hindu temple there. He said centres for expecting mothers would be opened, one each for every two villages, so that women from hilly areas did not have to travel too long for delivery. |
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SC woman burnt alive in Rajasthan KOTA, Nov 16 (UNI) — One person was arrested today on the charge of burning alive a Scheduled Caste (SC) woman after he allegedly tried to rape her at Bardia Beerji village in Jhalawad district in Rajasthan. The DIG, Mr Vasudev Verma, said the 22-year-old victim, Prema Bai, was admitted to a hospital last evening with severe burn injuries at Jhalawad, where she succumbed to her injuries. In her dying statement to the police, the victim said the suspect, Umrao Singh, on November 14 tried to rape her and later poured kerosene on her. |
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