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| Friday,
December 29, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Cyclone crosses TN
coast, weakens DEHRA DUN, Dec 28 — A two-year-old female leopard fell victim to boars yesterday morning in the Hardwar range of Rajaji National Park. With this death, the number of leopards in the park has been reduced to 32 of which only 5 are females. No compromise on Masjid: Imam 8 massacred in Assam Millennium Peace Award for Annan |
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| It's fun time on TV channels NEW DELHI, Dec 28 — As the entry of 2000 was jinxed by the fears of the Y2K bug and news of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 affecting television programming, Doordarshan and satellite TV channels intend to usher in the new year this weekend in the right spirit: with fun and frolic. Manubhai
Shah passes away Blockade derails Mamata’s rail function Amitabh pays half his dues to DD PM readies for ‘ethereal’ boat trip Woman arrested for questioning security
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Cyclone crosses TN coast, weakens CHENNAI, Dec 28 (PTI) — A severe cyclonic storm crossed the South Tamil Nadu coast in the wee hours today, close to Tuticorin, bringing in copious rain accompanied by gale force winds in the coastal districts, and to the relief of officials, wrought very little damage. At the time of the much-delayed landfall at around 3.30 am, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts experienced very heavy rain and gales with speed reaching up to 100 kmph, reports reaching here said. Several low-lying areas in these districts were inundated but well-prepared administrators had by then evacuated the people living there to safer places. The Area Cyclone Warning Centre here said the storm had weakened and turned into a deep depression lying centred close to Palayamkottai. Official sources said from Tuticorin that some trees had been uprooted, and revenue officials had been despatched to various places to look for possible damage to property. The cyclonic storm, described by Met officials as a rain-bearing system, did not leave any casualties, they said, adding that they expected a total picture only by tonight. The police said over 100 small houses were damaged at
Rameswaram when uprooted trees fell on them. The winds also brought down some electric poles. The centre said during the past 24 hours, beginning 8.30 a.m. today, widespread, heavy to very heavy rainfall could be experienced over southern districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Rain could also be experienced over northern Tamil Nadu and northern Kerala during the same period, it said. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Jenefer Chandran said in a statement here that intensive searches were on for tracing the 11 fishermen, who put out to sea from places in Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram district on the Christmas day, but had not returned. The Navy and the Coast Guard had been requested to search them at sea as well as by air, she said. |
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Leopard falls prey to boars DEHRA DUN, Dec 28 — A two-year-old female leopard fell victim to boars
yesterday morning in the Hardwar range of Rajaji National Park. With this death, the number of leopards in the park has been reduced to 32 of which only 5 are females. According to Mr
J.K. Verma, Range Officer, Rajaji National Park, the incident occurred in the Tibri beat of Mayapur compartment No. 1. The District Forest Officer, Mr Paramjit Singh, the Deputy Director of the park, Mr Girja
Shankar, and the Director, Mr C.P. Goyal, reached the spot on hearing about the incident. Although there was a rumour that poachers had killed the leopard, the footprints of the boars on the spot and the post-mortem report clarified that the leopard fell victim to the boars. The report revealed that the boars attacked the leopard on the neck and the soft portion of the stomach which led to its death. Officials say that the death of the leopard has caused immense loss. As the number of leopards was decreasing in the park, there was a hope of breeding from this leopard to increase the number. On October 8 this year, the body of a female leopard was recovered from the Bagri river flowing through the park. Meanwhile, officials of the park have banned New Year celebrations in the government guest houses of the park. There are reports that every year influential people book rooms to celebrate New Year and kill wild animals to prepare food. |
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No compromise
on Masjid: Imam NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (PTI) — A senior Muslim religious leader of the capital today said the community would not compromise on the issues of Babri Masjid and the Muslim Personal Law. “We cannot compromise with any political party regarding Babri Masjid as it was a mosque and should be rebuilt at the same site. There won’t be any compromise on the Muslim Personal Law either,” Imam of Chandni Chowk’s Fatehpuri Masjid Mohammed Mukarram Ahmad said, while addressing a gathering of devotees assembled at the mosque for Id-ul-Fitr prayers. Despite pouring rain and chill, hundreds of Muslims gathered at the historic Jama Masjid and Hazartbal shrine in Srinagar to take part in the prayers. In Jammu, more than 15,000 devotees offered prayers at Idgah and Jai Masjid. Thousands of Muslims offered Id Namaz in Shahjahani mosque at Ajmer while a Lucknow report said the largest congregation was held at Aishbagh Idgah where the state Governor and Chief Minister exchanged greetings. |
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8 massacred
in Assam
GUWAHATI, Dec 28 (PTI) — In another strike on the Bihari community in Assam, unidentified militants tonight shot dead eight persons, including one woman and three children, in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. The police said here. The armed extremists raided Rongnagar village, about 7 km from Bokolia outpost, under Howraghat police station and opened fire killing them on the spot, the sources said. District SP and other civil and police officials have rushed to the spot with reinforcements. More than 100 Hindi-speaking non-Assamese people have been killed by militants in the past two months in the state.
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Millennium
Peace Award for Annan NEW DELHI, Dec 28 — United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be presented Millennium Peace Award for his outstanding efforts towards bringing and maintaining world peace through non-violent means. The award instituted by the Bhagwan Mahavir 2600th Janam Kalyanak Mahotsav Samiti carries Rs 1 million and a citation. It would be presented at a function here on April 5 on the eve of the 2600th birth anniversary of 24th Jain Thirthankara Mahavira. In a letter written to Mr Annan recently, samiti president Rikhab C. Jain informed that the award had been extended to him so that Lord Mahavira’s message of love, compassion and non-violence could be sent all over the globe to further the cause of world peace. The samiti has urged the UN Secretary-General to confirm personal acceptance of the award. Lord Mahavira, founder of Jainism, had emphasised non-violence and love for all living beings, Mr Jain has said in his letter and added that from his principle of “anekatawad” arose the idea of equality of all religions and co-existence of all philosophies and religions. |
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Its fun time on TV channels NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (UNI) — As the entry of 2000 was jinxed by the fears of the Y2K bug and news of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 affecting television programming, Doordarshan and satellite TV channels intend to usher in the new year this weekend in the right spirit: with fun and frolic. As usual, Doordarshan takes the lead with two days of programmes devoted to bidding goodbye to the first year of the millennium and welcoming the new year. There will be three New Year Eve programmes this year: for the regional service on, DD I, on the national network, and on the metro channel, DD II. Perhaps for the first time in its history, DD II will telecast as many as seven
Hindi blockbuster feature films starring Amitabh Bachchan (“Deewar” and “Namak Halal”), Aamir Khan (“Ghulam” and “Jo Jeeta Woh Sikandar”), Shahrukh Khan (“Pardes” and “Badshah”), and Salman Khan (“Judwa”). While the main programme is “Millennium Mast 2001”, which will go well past midnight on December 31, DD I will commence its entertainment programmes on the national network at 1 pm on December 31 with a repeat telecast of the three-hour Helen show that had been telecast on DDII some months ago. This will be followed by the hour-long “Hi Dilli 2000 Plus One” on the regional service at 7 p.m. This is an entertainment programme being hosted by the funster Jaspal Bhatti and his wife Savita. Hindi and Urdu poetry by well-known poets will be depicted in a colourful and dramatic manner. Qawwali, poetry symposia, and a programme typically representative of Delhi highlighting the views of the common man and politicians will be telecast. There will also be humorous skits on different segments of Delhites. “Millennium Mast 2001” will start at 9 p.m. Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Twinkle Khanna, Sushmita Sen, and Malaika Arora Khan are performing in the programme, which will highlight various festivals of India that celebrate togetherness. Others starring in the programme are Adnan Soni, Sukhwinder Singh, Kamaal Khan, Sagarika and Shaan. Zee TV will telecast “Millennium 2001” from 8 p.m. on December 31, which will feature several stars, including singers Hans Raj Hans, Jaspinder Narula, Alisha Chinai, Shweta Shetty, and Usha Uthup, and several stars. Recordings from the IMI-Zee Sangeet Awards-2000, the Zee Cine Awards 2000 and the India 2000 Show will be relayed. Zee English, Zee Cinema (with Sunny Deol’s “Dillagi”), Zee MGM and the Alpha chain of language channels of Zee TV are also telecasting entertainment programmes in their respective languages. Apart from a special edition of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee at 9 p.m., Star TV will begin the festivities at 7.30 p.m. with a special episode of “Family Fortunes”. At 10.30 p.m. stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Govinda, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee, Malaika Arora and Amitabh Bachchan feature in a Bollywood bonanza, which goes into the wee hours of the New Year’s Day. CNN Headline News is marking the advent of the new year in a different way, with “2001: A Space Prophesy” which is continuing throughout the day from December 26 to 30. |
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Manubhai
Shah passes away NEW DELHI, Dec 28 — Veteran Congress leader, former Union Minister and freedom fighter Manubhai Shah, passed away here this morning following a cardiac arrest. He was 85. He is survived by his wife Vidyaban Shah, former Chairperson of New Delhi Municipal Council and the Indian Council of Child Welfare, three sons and a daughter. The mortal remains of Mr Shah were cremated at the electric crematorium at Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna. According to family sources, Mr Shah was admitted to Escorts Heart Research Institute here on December 16 following a stroke. After showing some improvement over the past few days, he suffered another stroke last night and died at 3.30 a.m. today. A strong votary of small scale industries, he promoted the setting up of nearly 400 industrial estates in the country. The funeral was attended among others by Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and industrialist Bharat Shah. The President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, deeply condoled the death of Mr Shah. In a message here, he said Mr Shah’s contribution towards our country’s industrialisation during his tenure as Industries and Commerce Minister in Prime Minister Nehru’s Council of Ministers will always be remembered. |
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Blockade derails Mamata’s rail function CALCUTTA, Dec 28 — The Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, could not flag off a new local train linking Calcutta
with Kakdwip last evening following blockade on the railway track. Incidentally, Kakdwip is a stone’s throw from her Lok Sabha seat in south Calcutta. Ms Banerjee just waited for some time at the new venue for the train to arrive from Sealdah yard. The Railway Minister blamed the CPM and the state government for disrupting her inauguration function at Kakdwin. She alleged that the police deliberately had not taken any steps to remove the squatters from the railway track which disrupted normal train services in the section for several hours. The Trinamool Congress alleged that the demonstration and squatting on the railway line had been organised by the CPM. However, CPM denied the charge stating that villagers blocked the track demanding due compensation to the evicted people at Kashinagar, following acquiring of land to set up a new rail link between Sealdah and the Sunderbans. |
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Amitabh pays half his dues to DD NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (PTI)— Superstar Amitabh Bachchan today paid to Doordarshan nearly half of the Rs 20.31 crore dues, his company
ABCL owed to the channel. Bachchan presented a cheque for Rs 9.65 crore to Prasar Bharati
CEO Rajiva Ratna Shah at a press conference here. He had recently given a cheque for Rs 50 lakh to Prasar Bharati. Mr Shah said Amitabh Bachchan had promised to return the remaining dues in three instalments next year during March, June and September. He said to pay the interest amounting to Rs 12.35 crore, Amitabh would participate in Doordarshan’s public interest programmes. Speaking after presenting the cheque, the superstar said the
ABCL was producing three films at present, but he himself would be active on the small screen and work for advertisements for reputed firms. Despite the
ABCL being referred to the Board of Industrial Financial and Reconstruction as a sick company, Amitabh said he would pay off all outstanding dues. Replying to a question on the alleged mafia involvement in the film industry, he said the foundations of the industry were very strong and the mafia could not make a dent in it. Among the 75 companies which had outstanding dues against Doordarshan, the
NFDC topped the list owing more than Rs 63 crore followed by the ABCL and Multi Channel as on November this year. |
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PM readies for ‘ethereal’ boat trip KOTTAYAM (Kerala), Dec 28 (UNI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will get a feel of the placid ambience of the sprawling Vembanad Lake in Kumarakom, as he has finally agreed to a ride in a specially-erected houseboat within the next two days even if the wet weather in Kerala continues. The boat, named “Vaikundam” (abode of Lord Vishnu), being kept ready for Mr Vajpayee by the Kerala Tourism Department, has a unique huge deck to facilitate him to catch a clear glimpse of Vembanad, the swirling backwater that stretches more than 70 km southward from Kochi. The 10-room boat has a thatched roof to withstand both hot and rainy weather. It is battery-operated as security officials had refused to allow the usual system of operating it by four to six oarsmen. The interior is fitted with traditional Kerala lamps and filled with cane chairs to create an ethnic ambience. “Our objective is to create a lifetime experience for the Prime Minister. An ethereal experience,’’ Tourism Secretary Amitabh Kant told
UNI today. Mr Kant said the deck in the boat was unusually spacious so that the Prime Minister could relax and see the magnificence of the lake. “The boat is the best eco-tourism product of Kerala,’’ Mr Kant said. Though the exact time of the scheduled ride of the Prime Minister in the houseboat is not known, tourism officials hope that the ride will take place on December 29 or 30. “Even if the rain continues, the ride will happen,’’ an official said. Mr Vajpayee yesterday enjoyed the magic touch of the lake during his stroll along the courtyard of the Taj Retreat, but had to withdraw to his room within minutes due to a drizzle. A major problem facing the authorities was the presence of the “African paayal’’ (a floating weed) which is considered to be a “security risk.’’ Though a large portion of the weed overlooking the Taj Retreat — where Mr Vajpayee is staying — had been removed with tremendous effort a week ago, still more area has to be cleared of the weed to facilitate the Prime Minister to have a ride in an expanded area. Meanwhile, it was officially announced today that the Prime Minister had not undergone any ayurvedic treatment, as reported by a section of the Press. “It is a vacation and not a stay for treatment,’’ a top official said. |
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Woman arrested for
questioning security KOTTAYAM, Dec 28 (PTI) —A 27-year-old woman was arrested by the special branch police near Kumarakom for questioning the need for providing such a tight security to the Prime Minister, who is spending the year-end at the Taj Garden Retreat here. The police said Sakkeena, hailing from Aluva in Ernakulam district, was taken into custody for questioning the necessity for the tight security for the Prime Minister and the need to spend so much money on his visit. A law graduate, Sakkeena was later produced before a magistrate and remanded to custody under Section 151 of the CrPC (Apprehension of an Unlawful Act). |
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