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| Sunday, January 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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JD (Samata) merges with Samata Party Efforts on to unite Samata factions Govt blames it on grid indiscipline Jawans to be trained in chemical warfare
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| 19 get Millennium Sikh Award Need to check ISI plans in NE: BJP Anti-terrorist Bill in next LS session likely Rejected chicken legs from USA Jain’s allegations baseless: Mishra SLP for bail to Razak Memon rejected BJP MP, MLA detained Economic package for Delhi units soon Governor seeks legal opinion PM’s Vietnam visit from today 4 cops among 11 killed in mishaps Manipur Govt submits plan NTPC may seek legal help against new tariff Need for sectoral special courts: Jaitley Midnapore SP heckled CBI courts in UP without judges India’s only ape under threat 50 pc of kids are ‘underweight’ Laloo case : witness turns hostile Crime against women rising in Rajasthan Drop charges, pleads Phoolan Clean chit given to Jharkhand Govt
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| JD (Samata) merges with Samata Party NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — The Janata Dal (Samata) with 12 members in the Lok Sabha today merged with the Samata Party headed by Mrs Jaya Jaitley. Samata Party General Secretary and spokesman Shambhu Srivastwa announcing the decision here today said it was taken “unanimously” at a meeting of the JD (Samata) held on December 18 at which all members were present. All these members were elected to the Lok Sabha on the JD (U) symbol. But the merger of the party with the JD (U) was not finalised due to differences among some members. They had also requested Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi to allot separate seats to them after recognising the party. The 12 members include four Union Ministers — Mr George Fernandes, Mr Nitish Kumar, Mr Digvijay Singh and Mr V. Sreenivas Prasad. Meanwhile, Mr Fernandes has “reluctantly” forwarded the letter of resignation of Mr Nitish Kumar as the Agriculture Minister to the Prime Minister. Mr Nitish Kumar had tendered his resignation letter to Mr Fernandes on Thursday for forwarding to the Prime Minister. Mrs Jaitley has welcomed the merger, Mr Srivastawa said. | ||
| Efforts on to unite Samata factions PATNA, Jan 6 (PTI) — Efforts are afoot for a rapprochement between the warring factions of the Samata Party with both sides expressing unflinching faith in the leadership of Parliamentary Party Leader and Defence Minister George Fernandes. The party formally split yesterday over the issue of merger with the JD (U) with Union Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar heading a group and the other faction electing Raghunath Jha as president of the state unit at a parallel convention. Mr Jha, who left for Delhi today along with rebel MPs to meet Mr Fernandes, told PTI that he had “no lust” for the post, but would oppose Mr Nitish Kumar’s “dictatorial style of functioning”. “I have already made it clear that I am not hungry for power or post. But it is our duty to stand up against Mr Nitish Kumar if he wants to thrust a leader on us,” he said. “We are going to Delhi to apprise George sahib what forced us to take such a course of action. If George sahib thinks it fit to keep the flock together and find a solution, we will happily remain with him. Otherwise we have already chosen our path,” he said. Mr Nitish Kumar, who announced his resignation from the Union Cabinet on Thursday and handed over his letter to Mr Fernandes requesting him to forward it to the Prime Minister, also left for the National Capital today. Observers here feel that Mr Fernandes might be able to re-establish unity in the party given the unflinching faith reposed in him by both factions. The faith in Mr Fernandes signals that the doors for forging unity are still open and his intervention may effect a rapprochement, they say. Besides, the delay in announcement by Mr Nitish Kumar as to who would hold the party state presidency and his desire to have consultations with Mr Fernandes are attempts to bring about a truce, they feel. Along with Mr Jha, rebel MPs Prabhunath Singh, Arun Kumar and Mahendra Baitha have left for Delhi.
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| Govt blames it on grid indiscipline NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (PTI) — The government said today that grid indiscipline was one of the major causes responsible for the collapse of the northern grid on January 2. Power Minister Suresh Prabhu said that as per preliminary analysis, grid indiscipline was one of the main causes for the power breakdown that affected five northern states. The Minister has now asked states to ensure that their state electricity boards (SEBs) maintain grid discipline by resorting to load shedding when the situation warrants. In a letter to all Chief Ministers, Prabhu has said if necessary SEBs should be asked to resort to load shedding if and when necessary to maintain grid discipline, an official press note said here. Issuing instructions to Regional Load Dispatch Centres to enforce grid discipline and ensure operations according to the grid code, he said the nation could not tolerate past indiscipline which had led to grid collapses causing tremendous losses to the economy. Prabhu has also asked chief ministers to take an immediate review of the pattern of drawls from the regional grids and ensure that the drawls under no circumstances should exceed the quantum as scheduled by the RLDC. The minister would also visit the RLDCs beginning with the Maharashtra centre. Blackout ‘due to’ high frequency situation NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — The Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC) under the Power Grid Corporation of India in its initial report on grid disturbance, which resulted in the total snapping off of all power network in the entire northern region on January 2, said that the failure was due to prevailing high-frequency situation in the northern regional grid. According to the NRLDC report submitted to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), some power stations had already been backed down and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) stations at Singrauli and Rihand were also asked to back down from 1840 mega watts (mw) to 1620 mw and from 910 mw to 810 mw respectively, at 11.49 p.m. It was not possible to transfer the surplus power to the western region because the latter was also having a high-frequency situation. The report said the northern regional grid was operating normally till 11 p.m. on January 1, 2001, except for outage of Rihand-Dadri high voltage direct current (HVDC) pole-2 due to inordinate failure of converter transformers. Due to inclement weather, there were transient faults on the operating pole-1 on HVDC Rihand-Dadri line starting from 11.21 p.m. The above line continued in operation with successful auto-restarts at 11.21 p.m., 11.33 p.m., 11.41 p.m. and 00.02 a.m., respectively. To restrict such transient faults, the Rihand-Dadri pole-1 was put on reduced voltage mode of operation at 00.17 a.m. on January 2 this year and the power flow on this line was consequently reduced from 750 mw to 500 mw It further pointed out that the 400 kilo volt Obra-Panki line of the UPPCL tripped at 1.30 a.m. and could not be brought back apparently due to a persistent fault. Since the frequency continued to be above 51 hurtz, Singrauli and Rihand super thermal power stations (stps) were again given backing down instructions at 01.07 a.m. from 1620 mw to 1540 mw and from 810 mw to 730 mw, respectively. The loading of 400 kv Kanpur-Agra line went up to 814 mw. The 400 kv Unnao-Agra line of UPPCL also tripped at 3.12 a.m. to reduce the overloading of the remaining 400 kv lines, Singrauli STPS was asked to back down from 1540 to 1480 mw at 3.18 a.m. The NRLDC report further said that a sudden dimming of control room lighting was noticed in NRLDC at 4.36 a.m. It is likely that there was some tripping in the system at the time the details of which will be known only when the data from all important substations and power stations in the grid was available. Just after about two minutes at 4.38 a.m., the northern regional grid separated in two parts, with the tripping of 400 kv Kanpur-Agra and 400 kv Kanpur-Ballabgarh, but with the excess generation in the eastern part, the frequency rose to above 52.5 hz, in Singrauli-Rihand complex. The unit-2 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station-A got islanded successfully and survived with a local load of about 170 mw, the report said. |
| Jawans to be trained in chemical warfare SABATHU, Jan 6 — With a change in the security environment and threat perceptions following the nuclearisation of the Indian subcontinent, the Army is incorporating aspects of nuclear, chemical and biological (NBC) warfare into basic training for jawans. Army recruits will now be “oriented” in NBC warfare. In his brief on training activities, Brig Kamal Sood, Commandant, 14 Gorkha Training Centre here, today stated that facilities for NBC training were being set up at the centre. These are expected to become functional in a month. The centre is the home for 1 Gorkha Rifles as well as the 4 Gorkha Rifles and is responsible for training new recruits. The centre is also responsible for maintaining their records, pensions and undertaking other regimental activities. Though the Army has already incorporated NBC warfare capsules into basic training for officers at the Indian Military Academy and the Officers Training Academy, incorporating this in basic training for jawans is significant as it indicates the threat levels of a nuclear strike as it is being perceived by military planners. Officers mention that this comes in the backdrop of Pakistan issuing a veiled threat of using nuclear weapons during the Kargil conflict as well as Gen Parvez Musharraf’s recent statements that Pakistan would use nuclear weapons if it felt the need to do so. Sources say the training capsule on NBC warfare will include its basic concepts only. Besides lectures and films on NBC warfare, the training capsule would also include on-ground demonstrations on defensive measures against NBC weapons and its fall-outs. A separate demonstration area within the centre is being built up for the purpose. “The recruits will be taught the basic concepts of NBC warfare and will be explained what are the types of NBC weapons and their effects,” an officer said. The capsule would be included in the advanced training level. The 40-week basic training of recruits at 14 GTC has three levels — the first six weeks of Hindi learning for Gorkhas and information technology training, the next 19 weeks consisting the basic level and the remaining 15 weeks of advanced training. The major feature of this capsule is defensive measures in an NBC environment. “NBC training would encompass defensive measures in the field against radiation, both with and without equipment,” the officer said. No army can hope to equip its troops fully with NBC protection gear as it is extremely costly and has a limited shelf life. “There are ways and means to protect oneself in the field against radiation without NBC suits and this will be disseminated among recruits,” he added. While 14 GTC will have its NBC training area soon, sources say that some regimental training centres have already initiated NBC training capsules, and remaining centres are expected to catch up soon. 19 get Millennium Sikh Award NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — Noted author and journalist Khushwant Singh said today that if the country was fair to the Sikhs, they would contribute with all their mite to make it the strongest country in the world. Mr Khushwant Singh, who was among the 19 distinguished persons honoured today with the Millennium Sikh Awards, said that every community had a self-image that did not always tally with reality. In the case of Sikhs, he said self-image had been partly because of the inheritance from the last Guru, specially his words “Sawa lakh se ek ladaun, tabai Gobind Singh naam kahaun.” Sikhs, who constituted 2 per cent of the country’s population, had some justification for self-glorification as they had left a mark in every field of their endeavour, Mr Khushwant Singh said. Identifying agriculture and defence as the two areas to which Sikhs had contributed in a big way after Independence, he said the country had become food-surplus from a hunger-ridden nation in a few years. He said the only negative demand in the Sikhs’ service to the nation was that of Khalistan. “I entered into a dialogue with men like Ganga Singh Dhillon and Jagjit Singh Chauhan but they never answered my queries,” he said, asserting that the demand was totally against the interests of Sikhs. Home Minister L.K. Advani, who gave away the awards, said that the awardees spanned almost the entire area of human endeavour. He said the credit for restoring peace in Punjab actually belonged to the entire Sikh community and not to the security forces alone. Referring to Mr Khushwant Singh’s remarks about the need for being fair to the community, Mr Advani maintained that such feelings had erupted after the unfortunate happenings of 1984. Mr Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Shiromani Institute, which organised the function, presented a memento to Mr Advani. Eminent jurist L.M. Singhvi also spoke about the contribution of Sikhs to nation- building. Besides Mr Khushwant Singh, Sikh personalities given the award today included Mr Bishan Singh Bedi (cricketer), Mr Daler Mehndi (singer), Mr Davindar Singh Brar (Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ms Harjeet Kaur (Chairperson, Hotel Le Meridien; Mr H.S. Narula (NRI philanthropist); Yogi Harbhajan Singh (religious leader); Mr Harbhanjan Singh (journalist); Lt-Gen J.S. Aurora (retd), (war hero); Mr J.J. Valya (fashion designer); Mr Joginder Singh (former CBI Director); Dr M.S. Gill (Chief Election Commissioner); Justice R.S. Narula (former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court); Justice R.S. Sarkaria (former chairman of the Press Council of India); Mr Sartaj Singh (social worker); Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Union Minister of Fertilisers and Chemicals); Mr Tarlochan Singh (Vice-Chairman, Minorities Commission); Seth Tarlok Singh Chawla (freedom fighter) and Mr Vikramjit Singh Sahney (corporate president, Sun Group). The award comprises a memento and a gold medal.  |
| Need to check ISI plans in NE: BJP NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — The BJP today cautioned the government that unless some strong and effective measures were taken against ISI activities in the North-East, the region would turn into another hotbed of terrorism and separatism. The party’s national executive, which concluded yesterday with adoption of a resolution on the situation in the north-eastern states, emphasised that the Central forces should be used to curb ISI activities and the situation should not be allowed to ‘fester’ any longer. “India can ill-afford to have yet another distraction from its nation-building efforts,’’ it said. Expressing serious concern at the recent killing of non-Assamese, the party called upon the government to thwart “the current conspiracy of the ISI and ULFA’’ to divide the society and drive out non-locals from the area. It said the BJP would extend all help to the government in all its initiatives in this direction and said it would also mobilise its cadre to fight “extremist and separatist violence.’’ In its five-point suggestions to the government to tackle the situation, the party said the continuous flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had dramatically altered the demographic balance in the region besides serious political, social and economic impact. The resolution drew attention towards the SULFA (Surrendered United Liberation Front of Assam) cadres, who were terrorising voters and extorting money from innocent people. It called for rehabilitation of Riyang refugees who had been driven out of Mizoram. The three-page resolution, issued today, while expressing concern over the spurt in terrorist and separatist violence in Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, noted that the continuous violence and the virtual abdication of authority by some state governments had resulted in a terrible toll of innocent people. While observing that the state governments of Assam and Manipur were responsible for the present situation, the resolution said the two governments failed to use effectively the Central forces provided to them. Besides, they also failed to utilise effectively “ample allocations’’ made to them by the Centre for development. “Thousands of crores of rupees meant for development activities routinely disappear; while some of them end up in with the pockets of corrupt local politicians and the bulk of them land in the hands of extremist outfits...,’’ it said. |
| Anti-terrorist Bill in next LS session likely SIRSA, Jan 6 — The Central Government will try to bring anti-terrorist Bill in the coming Lok Sabha session after considering objections raised by the Human Rights Commission in its draft. This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Home, Mr I.D. Swami, here today. Mr Swami said it was strange that the Human Rights Commission had found the Anti-Terrorist Bill 2000 wanting in spite of the fact that it was drafted by the Law Commission. The Central Government will try to rectify the same accordingly and present it without further delay, he said. On the women’s reservation issue the minister said that National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP had tried to introduce the Bill in the Lok Sabha but some political parties were opposing the Bill. Mr Swami later addressed rural gatherings in the district under the BJP’s jan jagran campaign. |
| Rejected chicken legs from USA NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — Beware chicken eaters! From April 1, you may end up eating chicken legs rejected by affluent Americans as “ black meat” and which may flood the Indian market at throwaway prices. These rejected chicken legs, likely to be sold at not more than Rs 18 a kg, are on the verge of being transported to India after being preserved in the cold storage, once the quantitative restrictions (QRs) are removed on April 1, 2001 as mandated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This was potentially dangerous for the sustainability of the Rs 10,000 crore Indian poultry industry, an expert participating in the Indian Science Congress (ISC) has cautioned. Speaking at a session in the ISC, the chief of the Pune based Venkateshwara Hatcheries Limited, Ms Anuradha J Desai, said the development could render approximately 16 lakh people employed in the Indian poultry industry jobless. Ms Desai called upon the Indian government to impose the highest tariff barrier against these imports, which enjoy huge subsidies. The Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Dr Amrita Patel said, unless established institutions came forward, developments made in scientific research may not go beyond laboratories. “It is well conceived and responsibly led institutions that can provide the services necessary to adopt and disseminate new technologies and can also inform the scientists about the actual needs of the people”, Dr Patel said while speaking at the ISC. Regarding the dairy industry, Dr Patel said it “empowered women” as never before and there were no milk cooperatives whose members were exclusively women. According to a study by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Dr Patel said the domestic per capita consumption of milk in the poor members of the cooperatives had risen from 280 grams per day in 1988-89 to 310 grams in 1995-96. Expressing grave concern over the degradation of environment, Dr Patel said one must follow ecological imperatives and work within the constraints that nature offers. “We must learn to work with the omnipotent forces and not against them”, Dr Patel said “scientists and technologists must however appreciate the ecological imperatives”. |
| Jain’s allegations baseless: Mishra NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (PTI, UNI) — Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra today hit back at former BJP MP J.K. Jain for allegations against him that he had misused official position to brand Mr Jain as an ISI agent and described the charge as “scurrilous and aimed at character assassination”. Calling the allegations “baseless”, Mr Mishra, in a statement here, said no evidence has been offered by Jain TV, owned by Mr J.K. Jain, to even remotely suggest that there was any truth behind the charges. In a point-by-point rebuttal of Mr Jain’s charges, Mr Mishra denied that any doctored report was produced by RAW to prevent the appointment of Mr Aftab Hussain Saikia, advocate, as judge of the Guwahati High Court. Stating that there was no report by RAW in this regard, he said: “In fact, on the basis of a report by another central intelligence agency, the objection regarding his appointment raised by a state government on the basis of a state police report, was overruled by the Union Government. Mr Saikia went on to become a judge of the Guwahati High Court.” On the charge that he had favoured his niece Vibha Mishra with government advertising contracts, Mr Mishra said nothing could be further from the truth. Mr Mishra said she had been running an advertising agency since 1992. “I have not used my official position so as to favour her through any out of turn contract. It is totally baseless to say that she has been given any government contracts worth Rs 10 crore.” Mr Brajesh Mishra further said he was neither related to nor knew Arun Mishra who left the Army to join Maruti Udyog. In a separate statement, Mr A.K. Mishra denied that he was related to Mr Brajesh Mishra and said he had never met the latter. He claimed that he had applied for a job with Maruti Udyog as early as March 1999. He was selected by due process and was asked to join as Chief General Manager (Vigilance) by June 15, and left the Army only on May 31. Meanwhile, the BJP today said the expulsion of its former MP J.K. Jain from the party was left to the district unit concerned. Asked why the party had not taken this action against him after having expelled him from the National Executive on January 4, party Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy said “Mr Jain happens to be an ordinary member of the party and it is for the concerned district unit to take action deemed fit.” He said: “The disciplinary action committee takes action only against MPs and members of the National Executive. In this case, Mr Jain is only an ordinary member of the party and therefore it is up to the district unit of the party to decide what action to take.” |
| SLP for bail to Razak Memon rejected NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has rejected a special leave petition for bail to Essa Abdul Razak Memon, an accused in the Bombay serial blasts. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Mr Justice B.N. Agarwal passed the order yesterday. The CBI, which is probing the 1993 serial blasts in the commercial hub of the country, has charged Essa Memon, brother of Tiger Memon (absconding accused), for criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts punishable under the Indian Penal Code and TADA. The serial blasts left 257 dead and 713 injured, besides damaging property worth crores. Essa Memon was arrested by the CBI on August 25, 1994 on his arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport after which the designated court in Mumbai had remanded him in judicial custody. MUMBAI: Designated TADA court Judge P.D. Kode on Saturday permitted Mohammad Kasam Lajpujya, who is accused of being involved in the transportation of RDX for the 1992-93 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, to attend the “Akika” ceremony of his daughter. “Akika” is a ceremony among the Muslims, celebrated during the birth of a child. Granting permission on an application moved by defence advocate Farhana Afzal Shah, the judge directed Superintendent of Arthur Road Jail to provide adequate security cover to the undertrial during his two-hour visit to his residence in North Mumbai. |
| BJP MP, MLA detained NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — BJP MP Lal Bihari Tiwari and party MLA Naresh Gaur were among several people detained today as they were protesting against the suicide of a factory owner in the Chhajupur area of Shahdrara in East Delhi where the sealing operations of polluting industries were on. While the protesters alleged that Prem Rajput (35) shot himself dead this morning out of frustration after an enforcement team sealed his factory, the police said an illicit relationship of the deceased was the reason behind the suicide. Deputy Commissioner of Police S.K. Gautam told UNI that a married Rajput was reportedly having an affair with the daughter of his landlord and the latter had recently asked him to mend his ways. Rajput’s factory was sealed two months ago and that could not have been the reason behind the suicide, he added. Mr Gautam said the East Delhi MP and the area MLA were detained along with several others at 11 a.m. as their protest was creating tension in the area. |
| Economic package for Delhi units soon NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (UNI) — The Delhi Government will soon announce an economic package for those facing hardship due to eviction and closure of polluting small scale industrial units, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said. She said the package would be announced within three-four days and would commensurate with the period by when the new units were relocated. The former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana criticised Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan for his ‘adamant’ attitude of not amending the Delhi Master Plan to evolve a solution to the present industrial imbroglio. Participating in STAR TV’s ‘Janata Ki Adalat’ news programme to be telecast tomorrow night, Mr Khurana said, “The people who say the Master Plan cannot be changed, were speaking against the manifesto of the BJP.” Ms Dikshit said, “Mr Jagmohan is adamant on not changing the Master Plan. The Master Plan has been changed 100 to 200 times. Why not amend it again. Anyway, it is due for change in 2001.” “Is the Master Plan important or Delhi and its people,” she asked while inviting Mr Khurana to accompany her to meet the Prime Minister over the issue. Mr Khurana, however, blamed the Chief Minister for not calling an all-party meeting on the issue. If she had taken a delegation of all parties to the Prime Minister, things would have been different, he said. Ms Dikshit said her government had sought three things — change in the Master Plan, widening the definition of household industry and the definition of a polluting industrial unit. The absence of a clear definition of polluting industry was resulting in problems. “The problem is serious. We have to understand what the Supreme Court says and what the nodal agency says. We are repeatedly asking for clarification on this,” she said. |
| Governor seeks legal opinion DEHRA DUN — The Governor of Uttaranchal, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, has sought legal advice from experts regarding the possible violation of law by giving the oath of office to eight Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) of the parent state Uttar Pradesh as Members of the provisional Legislative Assembly of Uttaranchal. The oath taking ceremony of the MLAs is slated for January 11. A delegation of former senior bureaucrats, who formed a regional party, had met Mr Barnala, the constitutional head of the new state, this week pointing out that the induction of the MLCs of the parent state into the provisional Legislative Assembly of Uttaranchal would amount to a gross violation of Article 170 of the Constitution. According to Mr Surendra Pangti, former Principal Secretary (Uttarakhand Development), the members of a Legislative Assembly should necessarily be chosen as representatives of “territorial constituencies” through “direct elections”. The only exception to the rule specified under Article-170 happens to be the single nominated representative of the Anglo-Indian community. Mr P.C. Thapaliyal, General Secretary of the Uttarakhand Jan Vikas Party, and a former Naval Engineer feels that the Union Home Ministry has misguided Parliament, which passed the “anomalous” Uttar Pradesh Re-organisation Bill, 2000 in August last year. He says that there is no provision of a provisional Legislative Assembly in the Constitution. Therefore, the provisional Legislative Assembly of the new state under the provisions of the Article-170 of the Constitution very much falls within the definition of the elected Legislative Assembly. The delegation of former bureaucrats was not only heard by the Governor alone but also by Mr Qazi Mohiuddin, the pro-tem Speaker, who is scheduled to give the oath of office to the members of the provisional Legislative Assembly of Uttaranchal on January 11. While the pro-tem Speaker was not available in the state for comments but an official posted with the Governor told this correspondent that the Governor would form his opinion on the controversy latest by Wednesday after consulting the legal experts. The UP Re-organisation Bill has facilitated the entry of eight MLCs into the provisional Legislative Assembly of Uttaranchal, including the Chief Minister Mr Nityanand Swami. He was elected by a proportional representation from the Garhwal-Kumaon Graduate constituency. And he does not require to face direct elections for six months after assuming the office of the Chief Minister, according to the Bill. Four other MLCs of the ruling party enjoy berth in the Council of Ministers. Mr Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Mrs Nirupma Gaur and Mr Isham Singh are likely to be sworn in as the MLAs of the provisional Legislative Assembly though they do not even represent territorial constituencies. They were inducted into the UP Legislative Council by nomination. |
| PM’s Vietnam visit from today NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (PTI) — Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, will embark on a week-long visit to Vietnam and Indonesia tomorrow giving a new dimension to the bilateral ties with the signing of several agreements on agriculture, tourism and culture. The visit will bring into sharper focus India’s “look east” policy aimed at consolidating relations with the south-east Asian nations witnessing rapid economic growth. Mr Vajpayee, who reaches Hanoi tomorrow on the first leg of his three-day official visit, will hold wide-ranging discussions on regional, international and bilateral issues with the Vietnamese President Mr Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister, Mr Phan Van Khai, and the Communist Party Secretary- General, Mr Le Kha Phieu. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Vietnam in six years. Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao had visited Hanoi in 1994. The Vietnamese President had visited India in December, 1999, and its Prime Minister in March 1997. The Prime Minister’s visit would help further consolidate the “special and unique” relationship between New Delhi and Hanoi which dates back to the close ties between Jawaharlal Nehru and Ho Chi Minh. The visit also assumes significance as it is the first after India brought in a powerful cultural dimension to its ties with south-east Asian nations through the six-nation Ganga-Mekong project last year. The visit would also feature discussions between the two sides on identification of more products for exports to India as also new areas of investment. Trade between the two countries last year was worth around $150 million, with India enjoying a large surplus. Mr Vajpayee would also address a meeting of the Indo-Vietnam Joint Business Council. The Prime Minister’s four-day visit to Indonesia, beginning on January 10, is a landmark one in relations between the two countries and is the first such high-level contact since Indonesia became a democratic state. The last Prime Ministerial visit to Indonesia was by Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. A highlight of the visit is an agreement on setting up a Joint Commission aimed at intensifying cooperation in various fields. During the visit, the Prime Minister would take time off from his hectic schedule and pay a visit to the picturesque island of Bali. Mr Vajpayee would spend an evening to witness a cultural performance of Balinese art. He would also visit the famous Tanah Lot temple. |
| 4 cops among 11 killed in mishaps BHUBANESWAR, Jan 6 (PTI) — Eleven persons, including four policemen, have been killed in two separate road accidents in Orissa, the police said today. Four policemen died when their jeep dashed against a truck near Panapana under Khantapara police station, about 25 km from Balasore, in the wee hours today, the police said. Two policemen were also injured in the mishap which occurred when the jeep collided with the truck. The team was going to Kolkata in connection with the investigation of a case. The policemen belonged to Dargha Bazar police station at Cuttack. Those killed included Sub-Inspector G.B.Nanda, Havildar Balaram Mohanty and two drivers, Bidyadhar Nayak and J. Rout. The Inspector incharge of the police station Gopabandhu Acharya and Sub-Inspector P.K.Mishra, who were injured seriously, were first taken to the government hospital at Balasore. They were later shifted to S.C.B. Medical College Hospital at Cuttack. In another mishap yesterday, seven persons were killed when a car collided head-on with a bus near Kapur Singh Chak under Gurudijhatia police station on NH-42. | |
| Manipur Govt submits plan NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — After much deliberations, the Manipur Government today finally submitted to the Centre a time-bound action plan to tackle insurgency and also agreed to a CBI probe into scams relating to state lotteries and fake government appointments. Preparation of a counter-militancy plan, setting up of a special security apex committee and an independent VIP security review committee find place in the action plan, which was finalised after days of deliberations between officials of the Union Home Ministry and the state government. “I am extremely optimistic that the situation will be tackled well through this plan,” the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani told newspersons after the Chief Minister, Mr W. Nipamacha Singh, submitted the plan to him this morning. The state government also agreed to authorise the CBI to probe into scams relating to Manipur lotteries and the alleged fake appointments in the State’s Education Department in which at least six ministers were reportedly involved. The investigation into both cases would be carried out from 1990 onwards, Home Ministry sources said. After much dithering, the Manipur Government also agreed to complete probe into alleged nexus between politicians including ministers and legislators with militants, besides procurement of police uniforms and web equipment. These probes, which were ordered by the state government, would be completed by this month end and reports sent to the Centre. In case the Union Home Ministry found the reports unsatisfactory, the state government would issue notifications to entrust these cases to the CBI, the sources said. Under the action plan, the state government would expeditiously set up Joint Interrogation Centres (JICs) in all eight districts, tone up prison administration and ensure strict implementation of the jail manual. Administrative changes would also be carried out in the police set-up within a timeframe. It was also decided to airlift all militants arrested under the National Security Act, who had over three months of jail term left, to high-security prisons in other parts of the country, they said. Out of 12 Manipur Rifles Battalions, two would be deployed exclusively for counter-insurgency activity, two others would be replaced by CRPF battalions for the same purpose. Strict action, including dismissal from service, would be taken against those police personnel who surrendered their arms to militants without any resistance, while a security plan would be worked out for entry into state Secretariat and state government offices at Imphal where the CRPF would be deployed. The State government would restore screening of Hindi films and programmes on TV and cable networks, which was earlier banned in the State. | |
| NTPC may seek legal help against new tariff NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — Government-owned power major, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) may consider taking legal recourse against the recently announced Availability Based Tariff (ABT) of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). “We are examining the legal position and will take steps at the appropriate time”, Chairman of the NTPC, Mr C.P. Jain told newspersons here today. Declining to divulge further on the issue, Mr Jain said the tariff norms were against the Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs). For the NTPC alone, this would result in the reduction of internal resources of Rs 18,000 crore. Consequently, the proposed capacity-addition programme of the NTPC, of 20,000 mw within a time frame of 12 years would receive a severe jolt. The NTPC has drawn elaborate plans to set up an additional generation capacity of 20,000 mw by 2012 through a 70:30 debt: equity financing equation. However, the new ABT norms announced by the CERC may now put a severe strain on the internal resources.” This will force the NTPC to reduce its 20,000 mw capacity addition programme to 6,000 mw in the next 12 years”, Mr Jain said. “The NTPC is not opposed to ABT in principle. ABT was intended to improve grid discipline and its implementation should not reduce the returns to the NTPC”, Mr Jain said. The norms for incentive and disincentive should be common for all, he noted, pointing out that the CERC had fixed 80 per cent target availability for the NTPC alone while the Government’s notified policy of 1992 provides for full fixed charge recovery at 68.5 per cent for all generating companies. Giving details about the ABT, the NTPC Chairman said while the return to the NTPC on 80 per cent equivalent availability was 16 per cent, those of independent power producers were 24 per cent. “On the basis of figures of 1999-2000, the new norms will reduce our internal resources by a minimum of Rs 11,000 crore during the next 12 years”, Mr Jain said. | |
| Need for sectoral special courts: Jaitley MUMBAI, Jan 6 (UNI) — Union Law, Justice and Company Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley today stressed the need for more sector-wise special courts to be set up to avoid piling up of cases. Participating in a discussion on the proposed competition policy, organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Jaitley said special courts or quasi-judicial bodies, headed by retired judges, for various sectors could help in expediting the legal process. This could have legal, financial and technical experts as members, he said. The minister said the parties concerned could appeal against the decision of the special court or the quasi-judicial body before the Supreme Court in keeping with the fairness of the judicial system. Delivering the keynote address on “Competition policy: will it provide a level playing field ?”, Mr Jaitley said that the government was yet to take any final decision with regards to the competition policy or law. “We are now in the process of generating an opinion before taking any final decision,” he said. Since the last several months, the minister said, the government was in the process of “run up” to law making and was inviting suggestions from academics, business community, lawyers and chambers of commerce. “The draft legislation, which is being revised is on the web,” he said and asked legal experts to go through it in detail. Mr Jaitley lamented that at times those who have not studied the draft fully had made “casual references and arguments” without actually knowing the details. “We are not in a hurry....Please go through it in detail,” he said. “Such laws are not enacted in a hurry,” he said. He said law was intended to prevent anti-competition practices, prohibition against use of dominant position, regulation of combination and setting up of competition commission for the country. “We are studying each and every aspect in detail,” he said, adding that the government wants enough debate on the subject before taking it up in the Cabinet and then Parliament. Midnapore SP heckled MIDNAPORE, Jan 6 (PTI) — A mob heckled the Midnapore SP and damaged his car at Garbeta last night when he was returning to the district headquarters after visiting Chotoangra village where the Trinamool Congress claimed that 18 of its supporters were massacred on January 4, the police said. The mob, comprising supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, alleged that no action had been taken to “control the CPM-sponsored terror’’ in the district. The police said it still had no evidence related to the massacre. The interrogation of Trinamool Congress member Abdul Rahaman, who had filed an FIR at Garbeta police station regarding the massacre, was still on, the police added. Meanwhile, the ruling NDA is sending a team to the village for an on-the-spot study of the situation. | |
| CBI courts in UP without judges LUCKNOW, Jan 6 (UNI) — The Lucknow unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is facing handicaps in the prosecution of corruption and criminal cases due to the absence of judges in its special courts. The CBI cases related to the Lucknow region are dealt by two courts of special judges and both of them have remained ineffective for the past nine months for want of judges. A court source said the High Court had recommended the names of the two judges about one month back. However, the matter was still pending as the state government had not yet notified their names, due to which there was no trial in the cases related to the CBI, country’s pioneer investigating agency. The sources pointed out that at least 300 cases of corruption and criminal acts were pending for trial by the special courts. A judge earlier appointed for the special CBI court had not joined the new office for some reason or the other. The cases related to western Uttar Pradesh were also gathering dust as no judge had been notified for the western districts which was necessary after the creation of new state of Uttaranchal, where the CBI had an office manned by an officer of SP rank. The much-talked about multi-crore ayurveda scam cases were also yet to take off in the absence of a judge for the special trial court despite the fact that the scam cases were being regularly monitored by a special two-judge Bench of the Allahabad High Court, comprising Mr Justice Polak Basu and Mr Justice U.K. Dhawan. | |
| India’s only ape under threat NEW DELHI, Jan 6 (PTI) — Survival of the only ape found in India, the hoolock gibbon or white browned gibbon, is under threat with its population in decline. Changing environmental conditions have made hylobates hoolock or the hoolock gibbon an endangered species and its average family size has dropped down to two-three individuals from four-seven, Zoological Survey of India Director J.R.B Alfred said at the science congress. The ape is confined to the forests of North-East - restricted to the South-East of the Brahmaputra river and extending up to the South-East of Dibong in Arunachal Pradesh. Except in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, the ape’s population has dwindled. The animals are now restricted to very limited areas, Alfred said. Habitat loss due to cutting of trees and jhoom cultivation has resulted in loss of the feeding trees for the animals. These gibbons are highly dependent on fruits. With loss of habitat they are driven towards peripheral villages where they usually get killed, Alfred said. Besides, the loss of habitat is also leading to prevention of formation of new groups of animals, which are highly monogamous and after reaching puberty leave their original family to form new groups. | |
| 50 pc of kids are ‘underweight’ NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — Almost 50 per cent of the children under three years of age in the country are underweight, Dr V. Ramalinga- swami of the AIIMS revealed at the ongoing Indian Science Congress here today. Retardation of growth is followed by failure of growth, gastrointestinal disturbances, diarrhoea, susceptibility to infection, skin and hair changes besides the depression of activity of several plasma and tissue enzymes. The organs with high protein and high cell turnover, like liver, pancreas and mucous lining of the small intestine, bear the brunt. Dr Ramalingaswami said the attack to the problems must, therefore, be on multiple fronts aiming at improving child nutrition from becoming malnourished before he or she reached the age of two. The role of the community, family and the household factors should necessarily include the mother. He felt the issue of malnutrition should be moved from the agenda of welfare to the agenda of rights. Dr N. Kochupillai of the (AIIMS) explained that the human thyroid gland got enlarged in people living in iodine deficient environment. Iodine was a micro-nutrient required for making the thyroxine, hormone a key bio-molecule that helped the growth and development of human brain and body early in life. Dr Mahtab S. Bamji of the Dangoria Charitable Trust, Hyderabad, discussed her experience on combating malnutrition with scientific intervention and community participation. Diet surveys done among rural and urban poor reveal that in Indian diets, protein deficiency was secondary to calorie deficiency. She said that a new project on combating micronutrient deficiencies through enhanced production and social marketing has been initiated. | |
| Laloo case : witness turns hostile PATNA, Jan 6 (PTI) — The designated CBI Judge has declared yet another prosecution witness hostile in the disproportionate assets case against RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi. The witness, then Circle Officer of Phulwaria block in Bihar’s Gopalganj district Tribhuwan Nath, was declared hostile by the judge yesterday considering the prayer of the CBI in the case which charges Yadav with having accumulated wealth worth over Rs 47 lakh disproportionate to his known sources of income when he was the Chief Minister between 1991 and 1996. | |
| Crime against women rising in Rajasthan JAIPUR, Jan 6 (PTI) — Rajasthan ranks fourth in the country in atrocities against women with the number of these cases, including rape, registering a substantial increase last year, a police report said yesterday. The state registered the highest number of rape cases after Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Mr Shantanu Kumar, DGP, said while circulating the annual crime report to the media. The number of cases of atrocities against women was 9,746 in 2000 against 9,680 in 1999 and 9,102 in 1998, the report said. Cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribe also registered a phenomenal increase with 1,154 cases reported against 1,119 in the previous year, the DGP said. Under the IPC the state has recorded altogether 1,50,934 cases which included 1,161 rape cases, about 34 per cent higher than the previous year, he said. | |
| Drop charges, pleads Phoolan KANPUR, Jan 6 (UNI) — Former dacoit Phoolan Devi today prayed before a trial court to drop charges of dacoity against her in the infamous Behmai massacre case and that “the case be transferred to a juvenile court since she was a minor when the incident took place.’’ Ms Phoolan Devi, currently a Samajwadi Party member in the Lok Sabha, had allegedly killed 20 persons in broad daylight in Behmai village on February 14, 1981. Phoolan’s counsel Mr S. Naqvi, also reiterated before Additional District and Sessions Judge (Sixth) R.S. Yadav that on February 14, 1981, the day of the Behmai massacre, Ms Phoolan Devi was 17 years and five months old. Therefore, the case was beyond the trial court’s jurisdiction and should be transferred to a juvenile court, the counsel submitted. | |
| Clean chit given to Jharkhand Govt JAMSHEDPUR, Jan 6 (PTI) — Archbishop of Ranchi Telesphore P. Toppo today gave a clean chit to the Babulal Marandi government saying that it was not responsible for the recent attack on nuns at Kurpania in Bokaro district, but said the incident did not augur well for the new Jharkhand Government. “It (attack on nuns) was an accident, but the government should have taken proper measures later,” Archbishop told newsmen here. A nun working as a cook at a missionary school was allegedly raped and three others were assaulted by about a dozen miscreants on December 2. The officer in charge of the police station concerned was suspended for dereliction of duty and four others were arrested in connection with the incident. Archbishop said that the Christian community was an inseparable part of society and would continue to provide its services. | |
| Bomb threat on AI plane a hoax THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan 6 (UNI) — The authorities frantically evacuated an Air-India flight soon after it landed at the international airport here from Dubai and carried out a thorough search following an anonymous call about a bomb on the plane. All passengers are safe. The threat has turned out to be a hoax, an airport spokesman told UNI. | |
| Ruchika case: march planned NEW DELHI, Jan 6 — The All-India Democratic Women’s Association plans to hold a demonstration in Ambala on January 11 to protest against the non-inclusion of Section 306, IPC, (abetment to suicide) in the charge sheet against former Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore. AIDWA general secretary Brinda Karat said here today that Mr Rathore was to appear in the court of Mr A.K. Tyagi, Special Magistrate for CBI cases in Haryana, on January 11. The date has been fixed for the framing of charges in the Ruchika molestation case. | |
| Bihar cold wave death toll 62 PATNA, Jan 6 (UNI) — The cold wave sweeping Bihar has claimed 62 lives so far. A Hajipur report said 14 persons had died in Vaishali district during the past eight days in Nawada, 18 persons had lost their lives during the past one week. Five had died under Barh subdivision in Patna district and 10 in Gaya during the past one week. A Biharsharif report said 15 persons had died from cold in Nalanda district during the past one week.
Naidu’s wife escapes unhurt in stampede TIRUPATI, Jan 6 (PTI) — Ms Bhuvaneswari Devi, wife of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, and several devotees had a miraculous escape when they fell down during a stampede at the Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala today. According to eye witnesses, Ms Bhuvaneswari Devi was among thousands of devotees who pulled the ‘Swarna Radham’ (golden chariot) carrying Lord Venkateswara on the occasion of the Vaikunda Ekadasi. As the chariot was being pulled, many people suddenly lost their grip on the rope and fell down leading to a stampede. A TTD security personnel, however, managed to rescue Mr Bhuvaneswari Devi while two women devotees were injured in the incident. |
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