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| Monday, December 25, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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CBI ‘not trained’ to handle RDX Israeli night sights for IAF choppers Jogi changes portfolios of 13 ministers ‘Mercy killing’ for wife sought Ayurveda hits pay dirt in Singapore VHP for communal electorate |
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National
Akali Dal opposes ceasefire Nine judges allotted non-judicial works Bouquets, brickbats for Kolkata Scrap 71 Acts: UP academy Samata not to merge with JD (U) New portal takes law to the common man Builder’s murder: police draws flak Lata, Suraiya
mourn Noor Jehan’s death Management
group to tackle drought Hanumangarh
in grip of famine HAS aspirants
meet Dhumal I never tried to
shield Jadeja: Jaya
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CBI ‘not trained’ to handle RDX NEW DELHI, Dec 24 (UNI) — The CBI lacks expertise and facilities to handle RDX and other explosives, seized by the sleuths in various operations, the government has admitted. Because of the failure to handle the explosives, the 30 kg of RDX, besides 15 detonators and six timers, seized by the sleuths recently, was sent to the National Security Guard (NSG), Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Vasundhra Raje said in the capital earlier this week. The explosives were shifted to the NSG headquarters at Manesar for ‘safe custody’ after seeking permission from the court dealing with the case of the seizure. She said the government has taken necessary steps to improve the efficiency of the CBI, which include sanction of 183 posts for strengthening the CBI’s in-house expertise. Ms Raje said the CBI was taking up cases for investigation in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, and guidelines laid down in the CBI Crime Manual. The cases are investigated as per the procedure laid down in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Prevention of Corruption Act,1988, and other relevant acts. The CBI is presently investigating cases against 40 Indian Administrative Services officers and four Indian Police Services officers all over the country for commission of crimes and dereliction of duty. The minister said these cases have been registered during the past four years. According to the figures available with the agency, the highest number of cases against IAS officers were from the Madhya Pradesh/ Chhattisgarh cadre (eight), followed by Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh/Uttaranchal (five each) and Andhra Pradesh (four). Two IAS officers each from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan were brought under the CBI net. The agency filed cases against one officer each from Assam-Meghalaya, Bihar/Jharkhand, Haryana, Maharashtra, Manipur-Tripura, Sikkim and West Bengal. An IAS officer of the Union Territory cadre was also under the CBI’s net. Two IPS officers from the Union Territory and one each from Haryana and Sikkim have been charged with offences under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. |
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Israeli night sights for IAF choppers CHANDIGARH, Dec 24 — After years of virtually groping in the dark, the IAF’s anti-tank capability and close air support to rapidly advancing Army formations is getting a shot in the arm — courtesy Israel. With the incorporation of Israeli advanced target acquisition aids, the IAF’s Mi - 25 and Mi - 35 helicopter gunships will now be able to see and fight at night as well as in adverse weather conditions — a capability crucial in today’s battlefield scenario and in keeping with the emerging concepts of integrating two or more services to carry out offensive operations. As a pilot project, two Soviet-origin Mi-25 choppers have been modified by 3 Base Repair Depot here, to carry TV cameras and infra-red sights, being acquired from Israel. While the process of integrating the weapon sights with the aircraft’s system has been going on for almost a year now, the actual trials started about three months ago. “We are just getting over with the trial phase,” Air Officer Commanding, 3 BRD, Air Cdr Arvinda Agrawal, commented. “The fleet modification in this direction would be starting in the next three or four months,” he added. The entire Mi-25 and Mi-35 fleet will be modified at 3 BRD. Israeli technicians have made several visits to 3 BRD over the past few months to help carry out the integration of the target acquisition aids with the chopper’s systems — a time-consuming and tedious process. After initial glitches, several modifications had to be carried out by the Israelis on their equipment to make it compatible with the Soviet-origin machines. Certification of the sights required three missiles out of four hitting the target. The TV cameras and infrared (IR) sights, said to be of the “Tamam” series, being manufactured by the Israeli Aircraft Industries, are being incorporated on the forward, right hand side of the fuselage, just below the weapon system operator’s cockpit. Though the exact specifications and ranging figures obtained during the trials are being kept under wraps, the sights are estimated to identify a vehicle-sized target at 8-10 km. Once the trial phase is over, the IAF is expecting to upgrade these choppers’ fighting capabilities at the rate of two or three aircraft a month. The IAF had, during the 80s, acquired one squadron of Mi-25 attack choppers, followed by two squadrons of the more advanced Mi-35 version from the erstwhile Soviet Union. Though maintained and operated by the IAF, the Mi-25 and Mi-35 squadrons come under the operational command of the Army. Interestingly, these are the only aircraft with the IAF which have been paid for by the Army. Also referred to as gunships, these choppers are heavily armed and armoured, and are meant to provide close air support to rapidly advancing armoured and mechanised infantry formations during an offensive thrust. Equipped with a four-barrelled rotary 12.7 mm machine gun and six external “hardpoints” to carry rockets or anti-tank missiles or a combination of both, these gunships are manned by a crew of two and can carry up to eight combat equipped troops in their cabin. |
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Jogi changes portfolios of 13 ministers RAIPUR, Dec 24 (PTI) — Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has changed portfolios of 13 ministers following Cabinet expansion on Friday. Mr Jogi last night withdrew portfolios of Tourism from Dehru Prasad Dhritlehere and Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs from Satya Narayan Sharma, an official statement said here today. Besides them, another Cabinet Minister Geeta Devi lost Labour Department whereas state minister Badruddin Qureshi’s General Administration, Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Public Grievance were withdrawn. Tamra Dhwas Sahu lost Agriculture portfolio and Tuleshwar Singh Tourism, it said. Rabindra Choube was allotted additional portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs and Law and
K.K. Gupta got General Administration and Grievance as Cabinet ministers. Finance Minister Ram Chandra Singhdeo has been given additional charge of 20-point programme. Dharmendra Sahu who took oath on Friday has been given Tourism and Culture as Minister of State (independent charge). |
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‘Mercy killing’ for wife sought PATNA, Dec 24 — The impoverished husband of a 32-year-old woman who has been in coma for the last 14 months has petitioned the Patna High Court seeking “mercy killing” for his wife, in what appears to be the first such case in Bihar. Mrs Kanchan Devi slipped into coma after she was admitted to a nursing home to deliver a baby. Doctors told her husband, Tarkeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi, that a surgical intervention was needed for safe delivery of the child. However, after being taken to the operation theatre, Kanchan slipped into coma. “I admitted her October last in the nursing home. Soon after being taken to the operation theater,
the doctors said she had gone into coma on seeing the surgical equipment,” Chandravanshi says. The hapless woman remained there for several days. She was then moved to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) where she delivered a female child while still in coma. The baby, however, died the next day. Mrs Kanchan was later brought to her Sheikhpura residence in Patna where she has remained for the last six months. She does not have any control over her body or brain and has been kept on a liquid diet. Unable to help her recover, he has now moved the Patna High Court, seeking “mercy killing” for her. Legal experts say this is perhaps the first such case in Bihar’s judicial history. “She is neither dead nor living. Her life is completely useless and it is not sure now that she would ever recover from illness,” says Mr Chandravanshi who used to be a small businessman, but sells tea at a roadside stall today. He says he has spent Rs 100,000 already on Mrs Kanchan’s treatment. As his family does not have any other source of income, he has pleaded he will not be able to bear the expenses any longer. The husband claims to have written to several authorities like Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the state governor, the chief minister, the (NHRC) for financial help. But to no avail.
— IANS |
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Ayurveda hits pay dirt in Singapore BANGALORE, Dec 24 (UNI) — Singaporean masseurs are nowadays treating tired muscles using Indian oils and herbs. Nothing unusual, considering the increasing popularity of ayurveda abroad. The brain behind the Atreya Resorts for Traditional Healing (ARTH) in Singapore is Indian. Two Bangalore-based doctors S. Sanjay and S. Prashanth have managed to strike gold in a place where ayurveda is not even a recognised mode of treatment. The two doctors have been quite ingenuous when it comes to conforming to the strict import rules in Singapore, yet retaining the core of ayurveda. So while some heavy metals like gold and silver, that fall in the restricted goods category, have been left out of the formulations sourced from India, replacements giving the same effect have been included. The duo, already running ARTH successfully in Bangalore, were invited by a couple of NRIs who owned an ayurvedic spa in Singapore when they wanted to relaunch it. Postgraduates from Government Ayurveda Medical College here, the doctors recently opened shop in Singapore, offering ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, unani, reiki, pranic healing, music therapy, chromotherapy, yoga meditation, pranayama and shodhana therapy. Talking to UNI, Dr Sanjay said they initially offered packages for travellers, stress management and computer professionals. Later, they planned to introduce the well-being package, rejuvenation package and pregnancy and infant care package. Indian herbs and techniques have so far helped heal 420 persons , including 40 foreign nationals, he said. In a workspace spread over 1,800 sq ft, six persons stand by for technical support and four for administration. The therapists are all locals. The mantra of ARTH has been the advancement of ayurvedic therapies through critical review of ayurveda’s scientific basis and clinical application of its principles. Since they already have a base in India, the doctors are able to source well-trained, dedicated and committed professionals in the field of ayurveda and traditional medicine from India. All raw materials are cultivated in India and then exported to Singapore, as it is more economical. Once cleared by the Singapore government, transportation does not pose too much of a problem. Government policies dictate that the materials must be easy to store and transport. It also bans export of natural herbs, so most of them are sent in the form of powders, tablets or oils. In Singapore, ayurveda practitioners are not allowed to prescribe any medicine or therapy. So qualified professionals stand reduced to the status of dieticians, nutritionists or masseurs and can only advise their patients, says Dr Sanjay. |
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VHP for communal electorate AHMEDABAD, Dec 24 (UNI) — The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today advocated communal electorate in the country if Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s proposal of disenfranchisement of the Muslims could not be implemented. Working president of the parishad Ashok Singhal said one way to end vote bank politics was to switch over to communal electorates. He was addressing a press conference at the end of a two-day meet of the VHP’s International Coordination Committee here. “Even communal electorates would help end the vote bank politics as the Muslims would be electing people of their own community and there would be no need for the majority to woo them for votes,” Mr Singhal said. Mr Singhal said separate electorates would ensure the interests of the Muslims and other minorities since they would then be assured of their representation in the elected bodies. Mr Singhal said the Hindus had no vote in Pakistan while in the neighbouring Bangladesh, which emerged as an independent country solely due to the sacrifices of the Indians, the Hindus were being discriminated against. Citing an instance he said that in Bangladesh, the property of the Hindus that was confiscated under the Enemies Properties Act, 1965, passed by Pakistan, was yet to be restored to them, therefore, the Muslims were better off in India. Mr Singhal refused to comment on the Ayodhya issue saying all decisions in this regard would be taken by the Ninth Dharma Sansad (Religious Parliament) to be held at Prayag (Allahabad) during the Mahakumbh Mela next month. When asked how could the construction of the Ram Temple begin on a land acquired by the government through an Act of Parliament eight years ago, he said about 5,000 sadhus would march from Ayodhya to Parliament to demand the land back. The date of the march would be decided next month, he said. “We will start a large scale mobilisation in support of our demands.” Lambasting whom he called the so-called secular forces, Mr Singhal said Ayodhya was purely a religious issue which they had politicised for their vested interests. Architect of the Ayodhya Temple, Mr Chandrakant Sompura, who was also present, said 40 per cent of carving work on the temple’s pillars and other structures had already been completed and the rest would be completed within the next two years. Replying to a question, he said the temple’s cost, which was estimated to be about Rs 10 crore in 1992, was now likely to go up. He said the temple complex would come up over an area of 65 acres and would include four “gopurams” and temples dedicated to Sita and Laxman, Bharat and Hanuman, besides other additions like Katha Kunj and Victory Pillar (Vijay Stambh). |
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National
Akali Dal opposes ceasefire NEW DELHI, Dec 24 (PTI) — The National Akali Dal (NAD) today staged a demonstration near Parliament House in protest against the Centre’s decision to extend ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir by a month. Dal president Paramjeet Singh Pamma described the Centre’s decision as “wrong” and said militants had become so fearless that they stormed the historic Red Fort, killed our jawans and ran away, according to an NAD release. Warning the government against further indiscretion, Pumma said the extremists’ next target could be Parliament House. Terming this attack as a blatant warning to the government, senior party leaders asked it to rescind the ceasefire extension and permit the Army to deal with the miscreants. |
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Nine judges allotted non-judicial works NEW DELHI, Dec 24 (PTI) — Two weeks after being stripped of their judicial powers by the Delhi High Court, nine judges and metropolitan magistrates of the Capital have been allotted non-judicial works by the District and Sessions Judge. In an unprecedented move, the High Court had on December 8 withdrawn all judicial works with immediate effect from Additional District Judges (ADJ) R.K. Tewary, Rakesh Garg and V.K. Malhotra, Additional Sessions Judges (ASJ) R.S. Khanna and R.S. Verma and four metropolitan magistrates (MM) R.B. Singh, Archana Sinha, Barkha Gupta and Suraj Bhan. The High Court had also ordered an inquiry into the alleged misuse of powers by these judicial officers. Following a Delhi High Court order, District and Sessions Judge R.K. Jain on Saturday asked ADJ Tewary to look after Copying Agencies (Civil, Sessions and Criminal) at Tis Hazari. While Mr Garg will take care of record rooms and copying agencies at Karkardooma courts, Shahdara, Mr Malhotra will look after the general branch, accounts branch and cash branch at Tis Hazari courts. ASJ Khanna has been assigned works relating to record rooms and copying agencies at Patiala House courts while Mr Verma will be in charge of record rooms (Civil, Sessions and Criminal) at the Tis Hazari courts. The four MMs have been asked to weed out work of old records in record rooms. While Ms Archana Sinha will weed out the work of old records at the Patiala House courts, Mr Suraj Bhan, Mr Barkha Gupta and Mr R.B. Singh will do the same work relating to Sessions, Criminal and Civil, respectively at the Tis Hazari courts, the order said. |
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Bouquets, brickbats for Kolkata CALCUTTA, Dec 24 — Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, who is also the State’s Minister for Culture, and his predecessor, Mr Jyoti Basu, expressed happiness about the Centre’s approval for renaming Calcutta as Kolkata. While, Mr Basu commented it was long overdue, Mr Bhattacharya remarked “better late, than never.” “Calcutta has been renamed Kolkata and our next step will be to rechristen West Bengal as Bangla or Bangodesh”, the Chief Minister said. Mayor Subrata Mukherjee of the Trinamool Congress also welcomed the Centre’s decision. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and WBPCC president Pranab Mukherjee said they are happy that Calcutta had been renamed. Bengali film director Mrinal Sen and Sahitya Akademi award winner Mahasweta Devi, however, were cynical about the renaming. “Changing of name will not certainly mean changing of history, then what does it matter if it is Calcutta or Kolkata”, remarked the film director. “It does not matter by what name you call it, Calcutta or Kolkata — the problems of the city remain the same. We should better see how those problems are to be solved so that people have a better life in the city”, said Mahasweta Devi, who has been fighting for the cause of the tribals and other Backward Classes in the state. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, now at Santiniketan and writer Sunil Gangopadhya welcomed the decision. Gangopadhya, who is also the president of the Banga Bhasa Smarak Samiti in fact, was the person who first suggested the renaming of Calcutta. Gangopadhya felt the name Calcutta was a reflection of the colonial hangover and hoped the people would gradually be able to overcome it. Two separate proposals for changing the names of Calcutta and West Bengal had been sent to Delhi in June, following unanimous decisions taken at meetings of the Cabinet and the Left Front committee. Yesterday, the proposal of renaming Calcutta was approved. Changing of the name of West Bengal, however, still hangs in the balance. |
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Scrap 71 Acts: UP academy DEHRA DUN: The Uttar Pradesh Administrative Academy, Nainital, has come out heavily on the Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal Governments for still following laws and rules which have become non-practical. The Centre for Development Studies (CDS), a project run by the academy, has recommended to scrap 71 Acts and 23 rules applicable in the state and Uttaranchal. It has also recommended to amend another 54 Acts and 55 rules to make them suitable in the present environment. These recommendations have been made at the instance of reports given by 32 different departments of Uttar Pradesh before the CDS. The state government had earlier constituted a committee of various departments to send proposals for making the administrative procedure easy. Following a report of the committee, the Uttar Pradesh Government has already begun the exercise to reduce the number of departments from 78 to 31. During the initial stage this committee studied the administrative set-up in eight districts, including Dehra Dun. This study was conducted under the instructions of the administrative academy. The academy further created a special cell, the CDS, for this work. The CDS and the committee jointly studied the existing acts and rules. After careful study of chosen eight districts the CDS recommended to scrap 71 Acts, 23 rules and amend 109 Acts and rules. The CDS found that there are many such Acts and rules which were drafted during the British era. The Central Government had also constituted the Jain Commission for this purpose at the central level which recommended to scrap 382 Acts. The CDS has divided its report into four parts. First one deals with the Acts which are not practical in nature and requires to be scrapped. Second one deals with the Acts which need to be amended partially or as a whole. Rules and by-rules have been placed in the third and the fourth parts, respectively. Earlier, the Jain Commission divided them into five parts. Four years ago, the World Bank asked the state government to bring reforms in the administrative set-up. Facing an acute financial crisis the state government had no option other then to follow World Bank recommendation and it directed the academy to prepare recommendations for scrapping the non-practical acts and rules. |
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Samata not to merge with JD (U) LUCKNOW, Dec 24 (UNI) — The Samata Party today ruled out re-merger with the Janata Dal (United) in the near future. “There is no question of merger with the
JD (U), which has lost its national party status as per the Election Commission’s guidelines,” Samata Party President Jaya Jaitley said. The JD(U) itself was engulfed with problems in the wake of Mr Ram Vilas Paswan quitting the party and forming a separate political group. Ms Jaitley told mediapersons here that her party, the
JD (U), and the Lok Jan Shakti were united in one way or the other as partners in the National Democratic Alliance. She said the new Samata Party chief would be elected at Mysore on January 9 but she evaded a direct reply on her candidature. “I will do whatever the party leadership wants me to do,” she quipped. Lambasting the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal for obstructing the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, she lamented that these parties had always been a hurdle in the passage of the Bill. “They raise controversial issues only to divert public attention.” An all-party meeting should be convened to sort out differences on the issue, she said. Commenting on the recent terrorist attack on the Army base inside the Red Fort, she said: “The incident was unprecedented. Now the security has been tightened in the area to avoid recurrence of any such incident.” Regarding the Prime Minister’s controversial statement on the Ayodhya issue, the Samata Party President said: “Mr Vajpayee has already clarified his position and the issue is in no way a part of the NDA agenda.” Ms Jaitley said she was in the state capital to chalk out the party’s strategy for the coming Assembly elections in UP. On the party affairs in UP, she said: “We are trying to build a strong party base in the state before the elections and for the purpose training camps will be organised for the workers.” |
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New portal takes law to the common man BANGALORE, Dec 24 — A group of young lawyers and management professionals in Bangalore have come together to demystify law for the common man in a bid to bridge the gap between lawyers and litigants. The newly launched portal www.indialawinfo.com will help to “bridge the gap between the need for information and understandable information,” says Lawrence Liang, consultant and spokesman for the group, many of whom are alumni of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in the city. The portal provides a single-point access to services and information on subjects as varied as divorce to sexual harassment to specifics applicable to each industry. “Very often, legal information is not accessible because it is a complex presentation. The amount of litigation is huge today because there is no clear understanding of the procedures involved. Our attempt is to demystify the complexity of law and help reduce litigation,” says Liang. “It is mystification of law that keeps millions of people away from lawyers and policemen alike,” says B.K. Chandrasekhar, Karnataka’s Information and Publicity Minister and a Professor of law. “The culture of legislation and law that is understood only by the legal fraternity and not by the common man has to be broken. Perhaps, this is the first attempt,” he told IANS. The legal portal provides replies to queries from prospective litigants by a panel of lawyers. It later becomes the platform for the prospective litigant to meet up with the lawyer. “We are very clear about it. We are not practising on the Net. We have no intention of running foul of the Bar Council’s regulations. The site is in the nature of a legal information service. We are only acting as facilitators,” says Liang. The portal is structured to the needs of customer segments like the common man and software companies, dotcom companies and NGOs. And, this strategy appears to have already clicked. “About software companies in the small and medium enterprise sector have already signed up with us as corporate subscribers,” adds Liang. Corporate subscribers are provided value-added services that include detailed information and analysis in areas like business organisation, incorporation, venture capital funding, SEBI regulations, intellectual property, cyber laws and labour laws. In effect, the portal earns revenue from corporate subscribers to fund its
activities.
— IANS |
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Builder’s murder: police draws flak PATNA, Dec 24 — The Rabri-Laloo duo is not taken aback as the special branch reports had warned of a sudden spurt in violence and criminal activities in the state. But two incidents have exposed the complicity of lawmakers in the kidnapping trade and the police force. The recovery of the vehicle that was used to kidnap an industrialist of Jharkhand, Mr Ashok
Jalan, from in front of the official residence of a legislator and the prompt fleeing of policemen from the site of the killing of a renowned builder of the capital have come as a shock for the masses. The blue-coloured Armada vehicle that the kidnappers of Mr Jalan had used was recovered from the VIP area of Circular Road, which is the high-security zone, marked by police outposts and mobile police vans. The driver of the abducted industrialist had identified the vehicle and the number (WB-38E-5932) was given to the police. The cops of Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal were on the look out for the vehicle and its recovery despite claims that all state and district borders were sealed, has exposed the “patronage” of police-politicians to the kidnappers. The vehicle was stolen from the Asansol. The kidnappers have asked for a ransom of Rs 10 crore and have threatened to kill the industrialist in case of non-payment. The Patna police is tight lipped about the recovery of the vehicle. They claim that the legislator himself had informed them that the vehicle was parked there. No evidence has been found in the vehicle. Meanwhile, the role of the police in the killing of a builder has caused much embarrassment to the top brass. In a shootout between the rival groups, a builder, Kamal Kishore Tiwari, was shot dead on Tuesday. The policemen, who reached there after being reported of the exchange of fire, ran away to protect their lives. The relatives of the deceased stormed the Chief Minister’s residence and abused the top police officers. Later, the police officers were called and the DGP had to admit that the police ran away. He admitted that the police force had become “impotent”. Already, the public anger against the cops is on the rise. If such incidents continue to happen, the masses may start taking to task the police itself. The trend has already
started. Many cops have been thrashed in this month in the capital and elsewhere. The traders of capital have already employed private guards for their security. |
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Lata, Suraiya mourn Noor Jehan’s death KOLHAPUR, Dec 24 (UNI) — Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar today expressed deep sorrow over the death of renowned Pakistan singer and actress Noor Jehan, who passed away at Karachi yesterday. “Sangeet has lost a great singer and caused a great loss in the field”, Lata Mangeshkar said. “Noor Jehan had treated me as her younger sister and I learned a lot from her,’’ she said MUMBAI (PTI):
Renowned singer actress Suraiya described Noor Jehan, as the most affectionate person, an ideal mother and a top class career woman. Suraiya who acted with Noor Jehan in “Anmol Ghadi” paid rich tributes to her ideal and role model. |
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Management
group to tackle drought NEW DELHI, Dec 24 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, has given instructions for setting up a Management Group under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary to coordinate efforts to deal with the drought conditions in various states. The group will comprise secretaries of Union Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food, Women and Child Development, Railways and Drinking Water Supply. The group will meet fortnightly to assess relief measures being undertaken by the state governments concerned and coordinate these with the Union Ministries’ efforts. The focus will be on schemes sponsored and assisted by the Centre such as the ICDS, mid-day meal and pension for destitutes. The group will also monitor the supply of fodder, drinking water and other items to the drought-affected areas, besides reviewing the performance of the food-for-work programmes. The information technology will be used in an innovative manner to tackle drought. |
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Hanumangarh
in grip of famine HANUMANGARH, Dec 24 — For the third year in continuation, the district is under the grip of famine. The region is heavily dependent on agriculture and due to it, the economy of the district has worsened. As the supply of water from Punjab in the Bhakra drain is not quite well and the level of water in the Indira Gandhi Canal has gone down to its lowest level ever because of less amount of rain, the famine has threatened to spread over to the irrigated areas also. Last year, in about 19 per cent villages of the district while the percentage of the affected areas has gone up to 22 this year. The state government has declared 406 villages as
drought-affected, out of the 1,912 villages in the district this year, whereas the number was 353 last year. The worst affected is Nohar tehsil where out of a total of 224 villages, 197 have dried up. In the Rawatsar tehsil, out of 55 famine-affected villages, 53 are those where the condition of famine is 75 to 100 per cent and in two villages the famine is 50 to 74 per cent. In Bhadra tehsil the number of villages affected by the drought has risen to 154 this year from 124 last year. Most of the drought-affected villages have become deserted. The younger generation is migrating to the cities in search of employment. |
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HAS aspirants
meet Dhumal NEW DELHI, Dec 24 — The joint action committee of aspirants to the Himachal Administrative Service (HAS) has appealed to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to raise the upper age limit to 40 for the general category students keen on appearing in the HAS examination. In a press note, they said the age
limit for various services in the state had been raised to 40 two months back. Raising the age limit for the HAS examination for the general category would be specially useful to students from rural areas. They said the upper age limit for the state administrative examination was 40 years in several other states. The committee members, led by their convener Dinesh Kumar, also met state BJP President Suresh Chandel here regarding their demand. |
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I never tried to
shield Jadeja: Jaya LUCKNOW, Dec 24 (PTI) — Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly today said she had never tried to shield former test cricketer Ajay Jadeja but added the ban imposed on some cricketers for their alleged involvement in match-fixing was not justified. “I have never tried to shield Jadeja,” she told reporters here, adding charges levelled against her in this regard were the creation of the media. She said the ban imposed on certain players on the basis of the CBI report was unjustified as the players concerned did not get an opportunity to present their case before the investigating agency. |
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