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| Monday, January 29, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Survivors fleeing
Bhuj
400 schoolchildren buried alive A steady stream of
injured They await news of
kin |
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| PM appeals for
contributions NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee today made a fervent appeal to the people to generously contribute to the National Relief Fund in view of the devastating earthquake that rocked Gujarat on Friday. Quake breaks
communal barriers Jostling for wood
at
crematoria Beating Retreat cancelled R-Day function saved their lives Quake monitoring device for
Delhi 31 aftershocks in
Rajasthan Peninsular region ‘not’ safe
seismically Hrithik show profits
for relief fund IFFCO staff at Kandla, Kalol safe Kakrapar atomic plant safe A-I gesture Shankaracharyas float new
manch Pilgrims descend on
Kashi A woman DC at Sriganganagar Kiran Bedi in patriotic film V.P. to auction paintings
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BHUJ, Jan 28 (PTI) — A natural calamity is a great leveller. The worst earthquake that hit this city on Republic Day may prove the saying right with the rich and poor survivors fleeing from this prosperous business town which now looks like a ghost city. It was as if a hurricane has swept across this coastal township flattening homes and business establishments and taking a toll of at least 15,000 persons and several thousands more still trapped in the rubble of a city known for its flourishing-commerce from the ancient days. Collapsed buildings, petrol stations and hotels razed to the ground present an eerie picture in this city of 1.5 lakh persons which the state Chief Minister said looked like a graveyard. In the city itself most of the multi-storeyed buildings have been razed to the ground and rescuers were virtually struggling with bare hands, iron rods, hammers and other material they could lay hand on to remove the debris. With panic and grief looming large in their face, residents of this city and adjoining areas — rich and poor alike — are seeking to migrate to other parts of the state. With trucks, trailers, bullock-carts and other means of transport laden with their belongings and valuables, people are making a beeline to go to some “safe places”. Vimla Sharma, a 56-year-old woman, who was travelling on a trailer said, “I cannot stay in my house again. The huge cracks and collapsed portion of the building will not allow me to reside there”. Rescue operation equipment like gas-cutters, cranes and bulldozers are not available with the local administration. The slow pace of the rescue operation is further hampered due to narrow lanes. Similar is the situation in other adjoining areas and villages which this correspondent visited. People vent their anger at what they perceived as the administration’s apathy. However, they have a word of praise for the Army which with its limited resources is struggling hard to reach to the trapped people. The two-storeyed G.K. Civil Hospital in the town has collapsed with patients, doctors and nurses feared trapped under the rubble. A make-shift hospital has been set up in the sprawling Jubilee Ground, otherwise used for sporting and cultural activities, where private doctors both from the city and NGOs were treating the injured. Meanwhile, the Surajbari Bridge on the Ahmedabad-Bhuj national highway, which developed huge cracks due to the quake, has been reopened for light-vehicle traffic. Police personnel are manning the bridge. The 130-kv power station of the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) in Shyamkheri caved in due to the calamity. GEB officials said: “It is not possible to say when the electricity supply will be restored.” Doctors treating victims in the area stressed the need for more orthopaedic surgeons.”Most of the victims have developed fractures. If they are not treated soon they can develop gas gangrene and tetanus Dr Hemant Shah, belonging to a charitable trust, said. |
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400 schoolchildren buried alive ANJAR, Jan 28 (PTI) — In one of the more poignant incidents in the earthquake tragedy that devastated Gujarat, nearly 400 children were buried alive when they were in a Republic Day parade in a narrow lane of this small town. Barring eight children, who have been rescued, all others were still trapped under the debris of houses, on both sides of the narrow lane, that collapsed on the tiny tots. Nearly 50 teachers were also believed to have perished. Three days after the quake, rescuers have now given up hope of retrieving the children alive. Mahima Patel was among the very few lucky ones to have survived. Swathed in a bandage, she was staring at the sky and humming a tune that she must have practised for the Republic Day celebrations. “They were right in the middle of Mochi Bazaar and marching when two-storeyed buildings on both sides toppled on them,” said an elderly man, who has lost 32 of his relatives, including a child. Anjar with a population of 75,000 is believed to have lost 3,000 persons in this
quake. |
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RAJKOT, Jan 28 (PTI) — The hospitals in the city are attending to a steady stream of injured from nearby districts during the past two days after the powerful earthquake rocked Gujarat on Friday. “We had to rush here as local hospitals were damaged in the quake”, relatives accompanying victims from Bhuj, Morvi and the adjoining rural areas, who suffered multiple injuries following falling of walls and slabs, said. The hospital authorities said two teams of doctors had already been sent to the affected villages of Morvi Taluka and Bhuj. The affected were being given medicines and food and arrangements were being made to accommodate additional 350 patients in the local hospitals. “We saw bodies lying everywhere on the roads while leaving for Rajkot”, 30-year-old Pravinbhai Khuman said. He had come to the civil hospital with his younger brother Mukesh, who suffered severe injuries on the face and body in a wall collapse at Anjar village of Kutch district. Mr Khuman said he had lost 20 members of his family and had no idea about the other 10. MUMBAI: Indian naval ships “Nirdeshak” and “Jamuna” have been temporarily converted into hospitals at Kandla Port in Gujarat to treat quake-affected people. Helicopters from both ships and two additional helicopters from Mumbai have been deployed for relief operations, according to Navy Headquarter sources here. Patients requiring extensive treatment will be brought to Mumbai by “INS Ganga” and will be treated at the naval hospital “INS Ashwini”, the sources said. A naval liaison cell had been established at Kandla to further dispatch the relief material. A team of VSNL/DoT had left on the naval ship to establish communication centres in the affected areas, the sources said. Indian naval and Coast Guard aircraft had been flying medical teams to Jamnagar and Bhuj to augment the existing resources, the sources added. A naval team was assisting the civil authorities at Porbandar and Okha for restoring power and communication. Relief supplies from Maharashtra Government was being dispatched on “INS Himgiri” today. “INS Nirdeshak” earlier carried out a preliminary survey of underwater contour of Kandla Port and facilitated the reopening of the port by 2.30 p.m. yesterday. A UNI report from New Delhi said the Indian Army had set up a 340-bedded field hospital in Bhuj. Four field ambulances were being despatched to the affected areas. Ten self-contained field hospitals had been rushed by the Voluntary Health Association of India. Another 10 would reach on Tuesday. They await news of
kin KOLKATA, Jan 28 — Over 22,000 Gujaratis living in the city and its surrounding areas are worried over the fate of their relatives and friends in quake-hit Gujarat as they are yet to receive information about them. Governor Viren J. Shah, himself a Gujarati, has many friends and close relatives in the earthquake hit state. Despite all-out efforts, he has failed to get any detailed information about them so far. Similarly, Vineeta Devi, a resident of Bhowanipore in south Kolkata, did not know if her daughter, Varsha and her two children, were still alive in Ahmedabad. The 75-year-old Koverji Bhai, whose ancestral house is at Bidada in Bhuj, did not know the fate of his house and its residents. The fate of hundreds of Bengalis living in various parts of Gujarat was also not known to their anxious friends and relatives here in the city. Some of them left yesterday for Gujarat in a special train arranged by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee today cancelled her official programme in north Bengal and left for Delhi to accompany the Prime Minister on his visit to the affected areas tomorrow. Ms Banerjee appealed to 16 lakh Railway employees to donate one-day’s salary to the earthquake victims. She herself donated one month’s salary and requested Trinamool Congress MPs, MLAs and other leaders to do the same. Governor Shah and Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya also appealed to the people to contribute generously for the earthquake-hit people. The West Bengal Government has sent a cheque for Rs 2 crore to Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. Medicines and other relief material as well as an official team will also be sent to the affected areas in a day or two. |
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PM appeals for
contributions NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee today made a fervent appeal to the people to generously contribute to the National Relief Fund in view of the devastating earthquake that rocked Gujarat on Friday. Mr Vajpayee said even though the government would release funds from various schemes, this might not be enough in view of the magnitude of the calamity that struck the nation. “We cannot leave our brothers and sisters to the mercy of fate or the cruelty of vagaries of nature. At this moment, they need our help — to tide over the calamity that has fallen upon them to survive, to rebuild their lives as best as they can”, he said. |
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Quake breaks communal barriers AHMEDABAD, Jan 28 (PTI) — The earthquake has proved to be a mighty leveller with people donating and receiving blood, cutting across the communal divide between Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Over 100 Muslim youths camping at the municipal corporation-run V S Hospital in the city have not slept since January 26, when the state was rocked by the earthquake. The Muslim youths hailing from Behrampura, Jamalpur and Kagdiwad localities of the walled city have saved the lives of nearly 100 Hindu quake victims by donating their blood. Aslam Rangira Bagchi, a Muslim youth from Jamalpur, said “of the 100 Muslim youths camping here since January 26, at least 35 have donated blood a number of times so as to avoid shortage of blood at V S Hospital, which continues to witness an unending stream of quake victims, who are mostly Hindus.” To a question on the first reaction of the Hindu victims on seeing them at the hospital, he said, “Undoubtedly they seem to get reassured on seeing us. (unhe tasalli ho jati hai hume dekh kar.) I have somehow managed to have some winks, my friends even didn’t have that luxury. Some of them have not slept for 24 hours.” Leelatwai Daniel, Assistant Matron at V S Hospital, said, “quake has bridged the gaps between hearts. Of the 153 quake victims admitted to hospital, many had suffered serious injuries in heads and other parts and required surgeries. If the Muslims had not volunteered to donate blood, the situation would have been critical.” Harsh Kapadia, a social worker, who has been helping the hospital authorities in shifting the injured to different wards and also in the identification of the bodies, was very appreciative of the Muslim volunteers. He said they were not only donating blood and helping in the shifting of the injured to wards before and after surgeries but were also providing solace and food to the victims and their relatives. With their Hindu brethren, they were helping the hospital administration in ensuring that the bodies of the victims were handed over to the rightful claimants, said Dr Mitesh Gareshiya, Assistant Resident Medical Officer of V S Hospital. He said had it not been for the volunteers, the situation would have been confounding, at least on the first day. The volunteers brought the bodies to the corridors after post-mortem formalities were completed and took care until these were handed over to the claimants after identification, he said. Meanwhile, teams of Christian youths left today with relief materials for Bhuj, Rapar and Bhachau talukas in Kutch district. Samson Christian, general secretary of the United Christian Association, said some of us were trained in para-medical activities and would stay on in the worst-hit talukas to assist in reaching medical help to the needy. |
Jostling for wood
at
crematoria AHMEDABAD, Jan 28 (PTI) — Even as bodies of earthquake victims continue to stockpile at the city’s crematoria, wood has
suddenly become scarce as the death toll in the city touched over 600. As the rescue operation progressed at a snail’s pace, distraught and wailing relatives queued up at the city’s crematoria to perform the last rites of their near and dear ones. The sudden rush of bodies at the crematoria has made wood a scarce commodity. With the news spreading far and wide, villagers from surrounding areas of Ahmedabad flocked the city crematoria with
wood-ladden tractors, but even that was not enough. Several tractors carrying wood from Dhor village in Kadi Taluka of Mehsana district, about 100 km away from here, were brought by the villagers at the main crematorium here to meet the requirement as the bodies continued to pour in. Mr Janak Patel from Dhor said wood was collected through donations from the villagers and we rushed here to hand over the consignment. |
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Beating Retreat
cancelled NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — Breaking away from tradition, the Beating Retreat ceremony, ceremonising the grand finale to the Republic Day celebrations, has been cancelled tomorrow in the light of the devastating earthquake that rocked Gujarat on Friday. There would also be no illumination of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament House from tonight, an official spokesperson said. Both were illuminated on the Republic Day and also last night. This will be the first time since India became a republic in 1950 that the Retreat, a spectacular display by bands of the three armed forces playing martial music at the Vijay
Chowk, would not take place. While an Army spokesman cited “technical reasons” for the calling off of the full dress rehersal on Saturday, the Defence
Ministry were unsure about the fate of the final retreat tomorrow in the absence of Defence Minister George
Fernandes, who was away in Gujarat to oversee relief and rescue operations. R-Day function saved their lives SAMLA (Gujarat), Jan 28 (UNI) — The 1,500 persons in this village, where 80 per cent of the houses came crashing to the ground on January 26, owe their survival to the Republic Day. Except for minor bruises to three persons, not a single child, woman or man was hurt when the earthquake struck the village, about 150 km from Ahmedabad, bringing down their houses. Almost every soul in this agricultural village with some 200 houses was outdoors in the school ground taking part in the Republic Day celebrations when the earthquake struck. “We are still shell-shocked. It was fate and the Republic Day celebrations that saved us”, village sarpanch Jadeja Ghanshyam Sinh told UNI. Since January 26, the villagers have been in the open in makeshift tents, awaiting relief. With food slowly running out, the Sarpanch is hoping that having escaped the quake, the villagers do not die of starvation. |
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Quake monitoring device for Delhi NEW DELHI, Jan 28 (UNI) — A state-of-the-art digital seismic telemetry system is being set up for the National Capital Region for accurate and quick assessment of earthquakes in Delhi which is in earthquake-prone zone. Under the project being implemented by the Indian Meteorological Department, 16 field monitoring stations have to be set up in Delhi and adjoining region as the area falls in zone four on the seismological map. Ten of these have already been set up while six others would be set in next few months, Mr A. K. Shukla, Director of IMD told UNI. The 10 stations, including the one located at Bahadurgarh and Sohana, have started functioning and these send the recordings of movements in the earth crusts every half-an-hour to the Centre located at the Mausam Bhavan here. If there was any marked abnormality in the recording, a more detailed data was obtained through computers and then thoroughly analysed. All these takes only a minute, he said. This was one of the most modern seismic monitoring system in India and the world, he said and added that through it a 24-hour close monitoring of seismic activities was being kept for the national capital region which was quite high, he said. Moreover, the Department of Science and Technology was implementing a World Bank-assisted project under which an upgraded seismological network was being developed. Under it geophysical correlation was studied and gravity, magnitude studies were carried out to ascertain whether geological changes, said Mr G. D. Gupta, DST Adviser on Earth Sciences and Seismology. Paleo-seismological studies were also being carried out to study the geological record and try and work out reference intervals of major earthquakes. This helped in the study of present and predict future earthquakes, he added. |
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JAIPUR, Jan 28 (UNI) — As many as 31 aftershocks were felt in the Rajasthan so far following the Friday’s major earth-quake in the neighbouring Gujarat that left the trail of massive loss of lives and properties. A total of 17 aftershocks were recorded at seismological observatory at Ajmer, a report said today. Of this two shocks were stronger and the rest of mild intensity said observatory in charge I.P. Singh. Earlier, 14 shocks were registered between Friday evening to 7.30 p.m. yesterday, he said. At the border district of Jaisalmer people felt strong aftershocks today morning that created panic and fear in the city. The shocks were experienced at Udaipur and Doongarpur in Udaipur division of the state also. Mr Srivastava said although there was no machinery or method available in the world to exactly predict earthquakes, the only way was to mitigate and “we are doing that”. He said the structures which had been weakened by the January 26 quake, may get further damaged by the aftershocks. Replying to a question about the “discrepancy” between the different Richter scale measurements of the quake ranging between 6.9 and 7.9, Mr Srivastava said the US observatories had measured the quake according to the USGS system which was far from the epicentre. The 6.9 table was given by the Meteorological Department observatory close to the epicentre. “We have a reasonable network which is very close to the epicentre, 20 km north-east of Bhuj. Cong session
postponed NEW DELHI, Jan 28 — The Congress plenary session, scheduled to be held at Bangalore from February 14 to 16, has been postponed in view of the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, party President Sonia Gandhi announced today. She said a new date for the session would be announced later. Schools in Gujarat
closed till Feb
4 AHMEDABAD, Jan 28 (PTI) — Primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Gujarat will remain closed for another week in view of relief operations in progress at the worst earthquake-hit areas, Education Minister Anandiben Patel said today. In order to put the teaching staff on relief operations in the quake-affected areas and use school premises for relief operations, the Education Department had decided to keep the schools closed till February 4, she said. |
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Peninsular region ‘not’ safe seismically BANGALORE, Jan 28 (PTI) — The Indian peninsular region, considered seismically safe until recently, was no longer so after the Latur and Bhuj earthquakes in a span of just over seven years, a leading seismologist has said. “After the Latur (Sept, 1993) and Bhuj (Jan 26, 2001) earthquakes, it is very clear to seismologists that the Indian peninsular region, considered seismically safe until recently, is no longer so,” a former director of the National Geological Research Institute, Prof V.K. Gaur, said. The Deccan plateau now required a second look regarding its safety and the inadequate seismic data in one of the most active regions only made precise earthquake predictions more hard to achieve, he said, delivering a lecture here yesterday. Seismologists now made precise earthquake predictions more hard to achieve, he said delivering a lecture here yesterday. They believed that frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan-Garhwal belt and the Indo-Gangetic plains could have a telling effect on the Deccan plateau, the oldest Indian land formation and the Indian Plate, he said. The Latur and Bhuj earthquakes in a span of just over seven years (a very little time span in geological terms) indicated that the Indian plate was strained with the constant pushing against the Euro-Asian or the Himalayan plate, he said. The system works like a spring being constantly compressed and the developed strain could be released even along the spring’s body (the Indian plate) and not necessarily at the ends (edges of the plates). This explained the two devastating earthquakes. IFFCO staff at
Kandla, Kalol safe CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — There has been neither any loss of life nor any injury to any of Indian Farmers Fertilser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) personnel at its plant or the township at Kandla and Kalol, Mr S.K. Mahajan, Chief Manager (PR), of the company said. In a fax message to The Tribune, Mr Mahajan said Mr U.S. Awasthi, Managing Director of the company, had reached Kandla and was personally supervising the relief operations in the nearby areas of Kutch namely Bhuj, Gandhi dhan, Kandla and Anjar. IFFCO has pressed into service cranes, fork lifters, pay loaders and bull dozers in an attempt to clear the debris and rescue people buried underneath. Tarpaulins, blankets and food packets were being distributed among the victims. Arrangements were also being made to open a relief camp at IFFCO’s Kandla township. Paramedical and medical staff of IFFCO at Kandla and Kalol had also been pressed into service. |
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Hrithik show profits
for relief fund NEW DELHI, Jan 28 (PTI) — The organisers of the upcoming “Hrithik Live Show” have decided to donate a major chunk of their profits to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to help quake victims in Gujarat. The show is scheduled to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on February 3. Announcing the decision here today, Iqbal
Attarwala, director, Showbiz, said “Hrithik has said he would donate for the welfare of quake victims.” “Seeing Hrithik’s sympathetic gesture, the organisers also decided that a large part of the profits of the show will be donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund,” Attarwala added. |
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Kakrapar atomic plant safe MUMBAI, Jan 28 (UNI) — The Kakrapar atomic power station, situated near earthquake-ravaged Surat, is safe and continues to generate power normally, supplying the much-needed electricity to the grid. A spokesperson of the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) here said two units of 220 mw-each capacity at the plant were operating at full power. The safety systems and the entire plan of the plant was designed to withstand high-intensity earthquake, the spokesperson said adding that the other nuclear plants in the country located at longer distances from the killer quake’s epicentre in Bhuj were also in “healthy status” and operating safely. A-I
gesture NEW DELHI, Jan 28 (UNI) — Air-India will transport
relief material urgently required in Gujarat free of cost from its
on-line stations worldwide. An Air-India spokesman said the relief material would be transported to Mumbai for onward despatch. The airline’s offices have been advised to liaise with the Indian Missions abroad and organisations wishing to donate relief have been asked to contact Air-India offices. |
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Shankaracharyas float new
manch KUMBHNAGAR (Allahabad), Jan 28 — Saints assembled here under the leadership of Swami
Swaroopanand, Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth, yesterday and formed another forum of saints for the construction of the Ram Temple at
Ayodhya. The formation of the forum seems to be aimed at containing the Vishv Hindu Parishad
(VHP) from stealing the limelight on the Ram Temple issue. The new forum has been named as Sanatam Dharam
Manch. The meeting to form this manch was attended by three
Shanracharyas, Shankaracharyas of Badrika Ashram and Puri and prominent saints who had assembled on the banks of Sangam here. Nine resolutions were passed by the new
manch. The deliberations of the manch continued for three hours to discuss the thorny issue of temple construction. The resolution relating to it said that the real issue was not confined to the temple-mosque dispute. The only question was that of the Ram janmabhoomi and the construction of temple here. The manch would make an all-out effort to get the Ram janjmabhoomi land and construct a temple
there. Criticising the activities of the VHP in this respect, the speakers at the first meeting of the
manch, stated that the VHP was not even a party to the dispute in the court. It maintained that the stand taken by the Ram Janjmabhoomi Nyas Samiti chief, Paramhans Ramchandra
Dass, that he had himself placed the statues of the lord there, had weakened the case. The resolution said that the efforts of the VHP in this respect were only aimed at deriving political mileage out of it. It said that the matter of temple construction was that of the “dharamacharyas” and not that of any socio-political
organisation. It said the manch was ready for making joint efforts for the temple construction. However, the manch was of the view that the temple should be constructed only under the aegis of the Nirmohi
Akhara. The Nirmohi Akhara is the main party in the temple-mosque land dispute pending in the court. The disputed land belongs to the Nirmohi
Akhara. Speakers at the manch meeting said that only two ways were open for the temple construction. The first was through negotiations and the second was to wait for the verdict of the court. Pilgrims descend on
Kashi VARANASI, Jan 28 — Pilgrims broke all previous records in visiting the holy Kashi Vishwanath Temple here during the past two days. Officials of the temple management told TNS yesterday that over one crore pilgrims visited 40 famous temples to have darshan of Lord Shiva-jyotirlingam here. The Kashi Vishwanath lingam is one of the twelve jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva spread all over the country. Officials said for the last two days the police was having a tough time in controlling the surging crowds. In fact, almost half of the three crore pilgrims, who visited the sangam at Prayag Raj to have a holy dip on the Mauni Amavasya Day on January 24 on the occasion of the Mahakumbh, headed straight to Varanasi. The authorities were caught unawares as they had not expected such a big crowd. The task to control such a huge rush became difficult as the majority of police force in Varanasi was on duty at the Kumbh mela. Therefore, the authorities had to enlist the services of the social and religious organisations of the city to control the on rush of pilgrims. All normal passages and streets leading to the temple were sealed. Only one way entry through the back lanes of the temple was allowed. Pilgrims raising slogans like “Har Har Mahadev Shambu-Kashi Vishwanath Gange” could be seen in a long queue spreading almost up to 4 km. It took at least three to four hours for a pilgrims to enter the gold domed sanctum of Kashi Vishwanath and make offerings of Gangajal, milk and flowers at the
jyotirlingam. |
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A woman DC at Sriganganagar SRIGANGANAGAR: For the first time in its history, Sriganganagar has got a woman District Collector. She is Mrs Kiran Soni Gupta, a 1985 batch officer who took over in December last. Her husband, Mr Madhukar Gupta, also of the same IAS batch, is posted at present as a UNDP facilitator at Jaipur. Mrs Gupta belongs to Ludhiana. She was born there, studied there — first in Sacred Heart, later in Government College, then did M.Sc. in sociology at PAU and also obtained a Ph.D on “social legislation and status of women” from Haryana Agricultural University. Quite early in life, Kiran Soni had set her eyes on the IAS. She recalls: “I was in class 6 or 7 when at a prize distribution function I got a prize from the Deputy Commissioner who had come to preside over the function. Later I asked my father who the chief guest was and how one reaches that position.” Her father, Mr H.L. Soni, a noted Ludhiana lawyer whom she lost recently, nursed her dream. Hers is a family of lawyers — her grandfather was also in this profession while her brother, Stevon Soni, practises in Ludhiana. Kiran’s father wanted that someone from the family should join the Civil Service. Her sister, Archana, took to law. She is now a Chief Judicial Magistrate, married to a CJM, Mr Vivek Puri, and both are posted at Hoshiarpur. So it was left to Kiran Soni to fulfil her father’s desire. The family now has several representatives in the service. Kiran’s brother-in-law, Mr Dinkar Gupta, is a known IPS officer in Punjab. His wife, Vinni Mahajan, is an equally well-known IAS officer. She is currently in Washington on a Fulbright scholarship. Before going abroad, she was MD, Punjab Tourism. Does she want her children — seven-year-old daughter Narayani and four-year-old son Vishnu — too join the IAS or the IPS? Laughing, she says: ‘‘I would let them take their own decisions’’. After IAS training, her first posting was in Kerala. “It was a different culture altogether. Like another country. I picked up Malayalam.” She worked on a significant low-cost housing project that was later adopted by HUDCO. How does she find Sriganganagar? “I feel at home here. It is virtually Punjab”, she says. She talks of agriculture, irrigation, famine relief work in Suratgarh, status of women, child marriages in Rajasthan. She believes in meritocracy — “Decide every issue on merit, which should prevail” — and denies ever submitting to pressure, political or any other. Her work motto: empathy. Her approach: psychological management. Asked about role models, she named only IAS officers — Mr C.V. Anand Bose, Mr A.R. Bandopadhya, Mr S.P. Gupta and Rajasthan Chief Secretary Inderjeet Khanna. She also admires K.J. Alphonse of the demolition fame. What are her interests? Painting and writing. She has held painting exhibitions in Delhi and Jaipur. Pointing to her painting on the drawing-room wall, she said this had found favour with M.F. Husain. Her articles have appeared in various newspapers, including The Hindu and The Tribune. Now she plans to try her hand at short stories. The Sriganganagar District Collector’s residence is massive, spread over an acre and a half. Although it was a holiday, visitors trooped in. They were served juice, tea and “gajar ka halwa”. As I walked out of the sprawling residence, I admired her power and status. But for this, there was a price to pay: she was here with her son, away from her daughter and husband. IAS couples often don’t get enough time for their families. |
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Kiran Bedi in patriotic film CHENNAI, Jan 28 (PTI) — Total respect to the concept of retrieving the honour of the National Flag and giving it pride of place prompted Dr Kiran Bedi to act in a three-minute patriotic film, “The Real Salute”, a preview of which was shown to newsmen here today. Speaking to reporters at a press meet after the show, she said “the Indianness drove me to act”. Produced by city-based Malar Network, the concept and direction has been handled by two brothers, Guna and Sakthi. “I think we should bring patriotism to the centrestage. The first generation of freedom fighters were slowly going and we were taking our Independence for granted. It is important we link the second generation to all that went into attaining freedom”, she said. The film revolves around a ragpicker woman (Bedi), who finds a National Flag in a dustbin with a hole in it. She then tears off a small portion of her green saree and stitches the area. Asked if she had charged any money for the role, Bedi said “I acted with gratitude. It is a powerful responsibility to hold the flag and hoist it”. |
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V.P. to auction paintings CHENNAI, Jan 28 (PTI) — Former Prime Minister V.P. Singh will auction his paintings to raise funds for the families of Gujarat earthquake victims. Participating at a function organised by the Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Trust, Mr V.P. Singh said everybody should contribute to mitigate the sufferings of those affected by the earthquake, which he described as “a national calamity.” |
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