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| Tuesday, February 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Hike kerosene price, rail fare: economic panel Officials operate out of boxes Good-quality
water must: IFRC Crisis handled properly: CM Quake fails to dampen their spirits CJI for legal cells
in Gujarat |
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Monument of love shattered NE prepares to combat quake Ninth
day proved lucky for them Advani unveils strategy to tackle militancy India rebuts Pak charges Notice to CBI on Hindujas’ pleas Karmapa barred from Sikkim ‘for present’ SC
refuses to transfer Narain’s case Venkaiah falls as CPM
activists gherao him Veerappan’s men left a clue Allottees of PWD flats flouting rules Ordinance on
2 pc surcharge
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Hike kerosene price, rail fare: economic panel NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (UNI) — Recommending sweeping changes to accelerate economic reforms, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council advocates a sharp hike in the prices of kerosene, postal services, railway passenger fare and university fees. The far-reaching recommendations, submitted to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee today, also include rationalisation of user charges and a review of food subsidy, only a small part of which goes to the poor or benefit the farmers. According to the report, the present system of pension to retired government employees is unsustainable as pension payments are indexed to the cost of living. “Continuing with such a system amounts to living with an actively ticking fiscal time bomb.” The coming budget should announce decisions on the reports of the Expenditure Reforms Commission, including downsizing of the government. It calls for an urgent review of the present system of administered interest rates for the National Small Savings, the Public Provident Fund and for the Public Account. The administered rates effectively put a floor on the interest rate structure even when the inflation falls. The council says it is essential to adjust kerosene prices substantially so that it is much closer to market prices before April 1, 2002. At present second class railway passenger fares are much below costs, which provide an implicit subsidy of about Rs 3,000 crore. The Railways is also desperately short of resources even to undertake basic safety-related expenditure on track renewal. There is a case for a sharp increase in central university fees. If lead is given by the Centre for central universities it can be picked up by the states. Postal charges are another area where user charges have been kept at very low levels leading to a postal deficit of Rs 600 crore. States should be given an incentive to undertake fiscal reforms. The basic strategy of lowering tax rates and broadening the tax base had worked extremely well in the case of the personal income tax. It recommends the continuing of lowering of tariff rates. However, in the case of agriculture an increase in customs duty is appropriate in anticipation of the removal of quantitative restrictions on April. On indirect taxes, the number of rates should be reduced, and exemptions and deductions eliminated to bring buoyancy in tax rates. A bolder effort is needed to bring down the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the states to 5 per cent by 2007, instead of to 6.5 per cent as recommended by the Eleventh Finance Commission by 2005. Even maintenance of the present growth rate of around 6 per year may be difficult, if real interest rates increase further. |
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Officials operate out of boxes NEW DELHI, Feb 5 — Faced with destruction all around in quake-hit Kutch District, the Gujarat administration has found a new way to operate. The state government officials coordinating the relief operations there are operating from containers meant for transporting goods. Next to follow suit will be bankers. In fact, with the state government asking the banks to open their branches to bring the economic activity back to rails, Dena Bank has already started one of its branches in Bhuj from a container. “State government officers are functioning from containers. Attempts are being made to make banks operational through a similar kind of arrangement. In fact, a branch of Dena Bank has started operating in Bhuj,” Union Agriculture Secretary and Member of Crisis Management Group Bhaskar Barua said here today. On the relief operations, Mr Barua said the local administration had now covered all the quake-hit villages of Gujarat, including the 150 worst-affect villages. “They are adopting the ‘election route machinery’ to reach out to the affected people. The relief materials, including food, water, temporary shelter, medicines are taken to the quake-hit areas in trucks and light motor vehicles in a convoy so that no village is left out,” he said. Claiming that the relief to the quake-hit people was now being extended in a “very planned manner”, Barua said over 13,000 personnel of the state government were operating in Kutch district itself. Among the state government personnel are 15 IAS officers, 107 administrative officers, 2,104 technical officers, 6213 non-technical personnel, 1,349 Home Guards, 887 police officers and other personnel, 247 specialist doctors, 2016 para-medical personnel and 256 para-medical officers, he said. Though enough relief material was being provided to quake-hit, in some of the quake-hit villages water supply could be made only on alternate days through tankers, he said. On the power front, Barua informed that with 50 per cent of the feeder lines made operational many parts of the Kutch district are now getting electricity. The constant and consistent effort of the telecommunication officials had resulted in restoration of 68 telephone exchanges and installation of 78 free PCOs in Kutch district alone, he said. As per the official information received from Gujarat, as on 6 p.m. today the total death toll was 16,459 of which 14,912 deaths were in Kutch district, 750 deaths in Ahmedabad, 408 in Rajkot, 117 in Jamnagar and 105 in Surendernagar district, he said, adding the figure of injured was 68,478. Meanwhile, the Red Cross said even 10 days after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, relief is yet to reach several of the 600 villages in the worst-hit district of Kutch due to lack of logistics. “We are still to access villages where destruction has taken place and relief is awaited. Relief measures and medical facilities have not reached these villages due to want of adequate transport facilities and lack of sufficient volunteers,” said Mr Didier Cherpitel, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Crescent Societies. Asked what the region lacked even after so many days of relief operation, Mr Cherpitel told a press conference here that “Access to such
villages is a problem. No relief material unit or medical team has visited these places. Access is the question. Logistics is the issue.” The Red Cross representative, who is in the national capital after visiting the quake-affected areas in the state to review the relief and rehabilitation operations, said though an estimated seven lakh to one million people have been affected by the quake, the Red Cross, keeping its capacity in mind, has targeted about three lakh people. Meanwhile, accusing the Gujarat Government of “utter failure” in providing rescue and relief operations to the victims of devastating earthquake, the residents of the worst-affected Kutch district demanded immediate removal of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Satyanarayan Bansal, president of the Kutch Disaster Hit Residents Welfare Association, said that the district, which was totally razed to the ground by the quake, did not see any relief and rescue operation at all for the first 72 hours as the state government “remained in a state of shock.” Even after that, there was no serious effort to extricate the thousands of people trapped in the debris of buildings and provide medical treatment to injured, he pointed out. Had such steps been taken the number of deaths or destruction due to the quake could have been substantially reduced, he added. “The state government is only interested in getting maximum money in the name of quake relief. State official machinery was only involved in making arrangements for the visits of
VIPs and was not at all interested in saving the lives of people. Even 11 days after the quake all bodies have not been taken out from the rubble neither water, power and communications services restored.” Meanwhile, electricity has been restored in more than 80 per cent of the villages in the quake-affected areas of Gujarat, official said today. Out of the 925 villages in Kutch district that were affected, power supply has already been restored in 750 of them. All three units of the 215 mw lignite-based Panendro thermal power plant are also working, they said. Of the 10 sub-stations given for revival to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
(PGCIL), eight have been charged. The repair and restoration work is being jointly carried out by engineers of the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) and the Central Sector
PSUS under the Ministry of Power. |
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Good-quality
water must: IFRC NEW DELHI, Feb 5 — The International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) has called for immediate augmentation of good-quality drinking water in quake hit Gujarat, even as the relief organisation discounted fears about the possibility of the outbreak of an epidemic due to decomposed bodies. “We are concerned that unnecessary alarm is being created among the disaster-affected population by reports that decomposing bodies contribute to the spread of the disease”, the IFRC said. The Emergency Health Coordinator of the IFRC, Dr Hakan Sandbladh, who was in Gujarat to oversee the relief operations of the organisation, said it was a serious misconception that people held about the possible outbreak of an epidemic from decomposed bodies in the aftermath of a major quake. Past experiences, especially in El Salvador and Turkey, had shown an epidemic had not broken out due to decomposed bodies after a quake, Dr Sandbladh said. Instead, greater emphasis should be given to increase the supply of good-quality drinking water in the quake-hit areas as it posed a larger threat. The Red Cross Society has already set up a water sanitation system near Bhuj with a capacity of 20,000 litres per day. However, supply of raw water was a major hindrance and the facility had a capacity of purifying up to 200,000 litres, the IFRC said. Meanwhile, residents of the worst affected Kutch district have demanded the
immediate removal of Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. Speaking to newspersons here today, the President of the Kutch Disaster Hit Residents Welfare Association, Mr Satyanarayan Bansal, said relief operations started in the district after more than 72 hours the killer quake had
reduced several parts to rubble. The association also called for a greater role of the central government in monitoring relief operations and instead of sending VIPs the Centre should have nominated experienced officials to oversee the relief and restoration work. Meanwhile, the government today claimed more than 80 per cent of earthquake-affected villages had now been reconnected with power supply. As many as 925 affected villages have now been restored with power. All the three units (215 MW) of the Panendro power plant are also working. Out of the 10 sub-stations given for revival to the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), three sub-stations of 220 kv have been charged as well as one of 132 kv. Of the 66 kv sub-stations four of the six given to the PGCIL have been charged. Three sub-stations of 220 kv as well as two sub-stations of 132 kv have also now been charged. Thirty one sub-stations out of the 40 sub-stations of 66 kv have also been charged, an official statement said. The National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI) Secretariat has become operational. The NGDI will provide a base or structure of relationships among the data producers and users to facilitate data sharing, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Bachi Singh Rawat has said. UNI adds: Even 10 days after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, relief is yet to reach several of the 600 villages in the worst-hit district of Kutch due to lack of logistics, the Red Cross said on Monday. “We are still to access villages where destruction has taken place and relief is awaited. Relief measures and medical facilities have not reached these villages due to want of adequate transport facilities and lack of sufficient volunteers,’’ said Mr Didier Cherpitel, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Crescent Societies. |
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Crisis handled properly: CM AHMEDABAD, Feb 5 — The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Keshubhai Patel, today began his battle for political survival by defending his action in handling the earthquake crisis which hit the state on January 26. “Those who indulged in the criticism were not aware of the ground realities and thus doing injustice to the state and insulting the nation,” Mr Patel said in a statement. The state Chief Minister was reacting to the reported remarks by the BJP president, Mr Bangaru Lakshman, who stated that the way Mr Patel handled the Gujarat crisis had “damaged the image of the party.” Mr Patel’s handling of the quake crisis had evoked criticism from the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, who after the all-party meet in Delhi, had stated that “there was lack of coordination” which was hampering relief and rescue operations in the state. The Chief Minister, in the statement without naming anyone, described the “allegations as motivated, baseless and far from truth.” The Chief Minister held an all-party meeting to take the Opposition into confidence in handling the natural calamity which has hit the state. The state Cabinet is scheduled to meet tomorrow in Gandhinagar where the views of the officials coordinating the relief operations would be obtained and the future course of action discussed. Talking to The Tribune, state Home Minister Haren Pandya said the discussions would focus on the second phase of the relief operations. He said the state government planned to set up temporary family tents in the affected areas as the construction of permanent structures would take time. “It is yet to be decided whether the structures would be in the traditional mould or some innovative construction model can be adopted,” he explained. On the criticism levelled by many that the debris was not being removed at a quick pace as decomposed bodies in them could pose a health hazard, he said people in the area requested that they would like to retrieve their valuables from the debris which was causing some delay in the work.
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Quake fails to dampen their spirits AHMEDABAD, Feb 5 (PTI) —Bubbling 13-year-old Bhoomi is engrossed in painting on the sprawling ground of Gujarat University here, oblivious of the fact that her house has been damaged by last week’s devastating earthquake. “I do not want to go home now. I am very much enjoying my stay here”, Bhoomi says. Her feelings are shared by several other children in the age group of 5-15, staying at ‘Visamo’ (shelter) provided to over 1,000 quake-affected people of this commercial city. Says Meeta, who studies in the eighth standard, “I have made so many new friends here, I simply do not want to go back now. Otherwise also my house is totally damaged in the quake”, she says in a sad tone. But ask her about the activities being conducted at the relief camp, smile comes back on her face. “We do painting, engage ourselves in group singing, story telling and debating.” The activities are specially designed for the camp children to help them overcome the mental trauma of the natural disaster, Dr C.R. Kakani, one of the co-ordinators at the camp, told PTI. “We have engaged psychiatrists, who conduct counselling sessions in the camp every evening to remove the fear psychosis among the people”, Kakani added. Puneet Makwana, a 14-year-old boy, who manages the library at the camp, says, “I provide books in various languages to fellow children, women and men at the camp.” Puneet’s sister, Sonu is sitting nearby providing materials needs to camp inhabitants. Teachers from nearby schools have also volunteered to teach the children for two hours a day. Members of the Gujarat State Arts Teachers’ Association are also visiting the camp and providing necessary articles to the camp children to keep them busy. NCC volunteers are managing the security of the camp, says Kantibhai Kakar, a volunteer at ‘Visamo’, which has been jointly set up by the Delhi Public School and Calorex Foundation. Manoj Onkar of DSP says, “We will be running the camp for another two months till people can go back to their places.” However, after the initial fear psychosis, the people have started visiting their places, but still come to sleep at the camp during the night, says Onkar. |
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CJI for
legal cells in Gujarat NEW DELHI, Feb 5 — The Chief Justice of India (CJI), Dr Justice A. S. Anand, has requested the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court to issue immediate directions to the State Legal Services Authority to constitute Special Legal Assistance Cells in the earthquake affected areas for extending legal aid to those who are trying to retrieve their future out of the rubbles of the past. “This should go a long way in preventing dissipation or squandering of the assets and valuables of the dead and exploitation of the survivors, who may not be in a position to safeguard their own interests”, the CJI said. The suggestion was made today by the CJI in his capacity as Patron-in-Chief of the National Legal Services Authority in a letter to the Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court. “Please ensure that qualitative, effective and meaningful legal aid network is established in this regard and its functions are properly supervised”, the letter stated requesting that the CJI be informed of the action taken in this regard. |
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A quick marriage BARAR NANI (Rajkot), Feb 5 (PTI) — What would a groom do on the D-day if a morning quake jolts him into fear and the whole day aftershocks drive him off the house? A quick marriage in open — was the solution for Balwant Patel, who got married to Amrit on January 26. “The dhartikamp (earthquake) almost threatened to cancel my marriage. My father did not know what to do. My relatives were worried about the damage that the quake could have caused to their property and pressing for the postponement of the marriage,” said Patel, whose house suffered major cracks and who now lives in a tent. “The only solution was to give a go by to the elaborate rituals and have a quick marriage,” he added. Many marriages were performed in the area as January 26 was an auspicious day, says Chaganbhai, father of Balwant. Whether they live happily after or not, the newly weds will never forget their wedding date — a quake that shook a republic. |
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Monument of love shattered MORBI (RAJKOT), Feb 5 (PTI) — It is a tragic end to an 80-year-old royal love story, which was shattered on January 26 by the tremors that ripped apart the capital city of the erstwhile princely state of Morbi established first in 1698 by the Jadejas. Mani Mandir, a beautiful monument with intricate carvings on red stone walls which can match the best in the country, was built by Thakor Saheb Sir Waghji to immortalise his love for a girl named Mani, whom he could not marry. Right at the centre of the Mani Mandir complex, overlooking the river Machhu, is temple of Radha and Krishna, the eternal lovers. A rectangular double-storeyed complex with over 130 rooms encompasses the temple. Waghji completed the structure at a cost of Rs 3 lakh in 1922 and died in the same year, probably reassured that his subjects will remember his love story for generations. The 25-metre-high structure survived the massive flood that hit the Morbi town in 1979 when the Machhu dam broke. The water level inside the complex was 4 metre, which is marked by a bold white line by the authorities. |
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NE prepares to combat quake GUWAHATI, Feb 5 (UNI) — Authorities here have declared all high-rise buildings as unsafe as the first step towards streamlining measures in the wake of the North-East being bracketed as “sensitive” to quakes. Having recorded two of the greatest earthquakes of the last century, measuring well above eight on the Richter scale and going by the 50-year cycle, scientists were predicting another tremor in the north-east region in near future, making city planners here jelly-feet in search for a face-saver. After having declared all high-rise building as “unsafe” the authorities have cried hoarse with having no open ground for the people to pitch in in case of a disaster. Further, in Tripura, all high-rise constructions have been banned. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar yesterday said his government would not allow construction of more than three-storeyed buildings in the state. However, the existing high-rise buildings in the state would not be disturbed, he added. In Guwahati, where most of the high-rise buildings of the region are located, authorities are drawing contingency plans to save the residents of some 51 buildings, identified so far as unsafe, in case of another tremor. |
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Ninth
day proved lucky for them BHUJ, Feb 5 (UNI) — Nine days after being buried in the debris of their house in the Karsana area of quake-devastated Bhuj, a man and a woman were brought out alive in a miraculous operation here this morning. Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who rescued the two lucky survivors, described their condition as “hale and hearty’’. The BSF personnel deployed on salvage operations in Karsana locality of Bhuj rescued the two after hearing faint cries for help. |
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Advani unveils strategy to tackle militancy GUWAHATI, Feb 5 (PTI, UNI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today said the Centre was willing to hold talks with ULFA militants on their genuine grievances if they abandoned violence and a four-pronged strategy had been put into operation to tackle militancy in the state. The first step was to deal with violence and terrorism pro-actively while the next approach was to appreciate the fact that people take up militancy due to economic problems, he said. “Schemes for economic development would be taken up to prevent youth from joining underground outfits”, Mr Advani told mediapersons here. Mobilising world opinion against Pakistan-sponsored militancy was also necessary because “in recent years militancy has been promoted, boosted and financed in some parts of the country by Pakistan”, he said. Many countries including the USA, the UK and Israel had agreed to have joint committees with India on mobilising world opinion, he said. On the fourth strategy, the Home Minister said: “We want to convey to them (ULFA) that we are willing to hold discussions with them on their grievances if they abandon violence.” “ The Centre’s stand is that it is willing to discuss the grievances of these elements. But discussions and violence cannot go together. Violence has to cease for discussions to start,” the Union Home Minister said. To a question on the possibility of holding talks with ULFA, Mr Advani said the Assam Government had informed the Centre that ULFA was not willing to discuss as many of its leaders were residing outside the country. Asked if a Kashmir-like ceasefire gesture could be extended to Assam, Mr Advani said: “It has no relevance as the insurgents are killing and attacking. What Pakistan is doing is crucial and decisions on Kashmir are depending on it.” Addressing a press conference, Mr Advani said the BJP would shortly finalise its election strategy for all the five states going to the polls in April. Mr Advani said party President Bangaru Laxman would convene a meeting of the representatives of these states to finalise the election strategy. When asked about any possible alliance with the AGP in the coming Assembly polls, Mr Advani said the party high command and the party parliamentary board would take a final decision only after the meeting of the state representatives, keeping in mind the state unit’s view. |
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India rebuts Pak charges NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (PTI) — India today brushed aside Pakistan military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf’s charge that there was inordinate delay on New Delhi’s part in responding to its peace initiatives and asserted that “our position remains unchanged”. “We have made our position clear from time to time. Our policy is consistent and our position remains unchanged,” an External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters. He was asked about General Musharraf’s strong comments in Islamabad coming two days after he telephoned Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to express sympathies for victims of the Gujarat earthquake. General Musharraf had attacked India for “oppressive rule” in Kashmir, demanded permission to Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan and asked New Delhi to “without any further delay, respond positively to our peace initiatives”. The spokesman said India had been stating for a long time that there was encouragement and abetment to cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan. New Delhi has held that Pakistan had to stop cross-border terrorism and anti-India propaganda to help create conditions for resumption of the composite dialogue process. The spokesman said the Prime Minister had articulated India’s stand during his conversation with the Pakistani military ruler. This had been clearly reflected in remarks made by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in his just concluded visit to Cairo. He also sought to dismiss speculation in a section of the media about whether General Musharraf called Mr Vajpayee or it was the other way round. “The statement issued by MEA on that makes it clear that General Musharraf had telephoned Prime Minister Vajpayee”. |
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Notice to CBI on Hindujas’ pleas NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (PTI) — The Hinduja brothers, eager to go home, will have to stay here at least a week more as the Delhi High Court today issued notice to the CBI on their petitions challenging a trial court order barring their exit from the country pending CBI investigation. Mr Justice S.K. Aggarwal directed the CBI to file its reply by February 14 on separate revision petitions by three Hinduja brothers — S.P. Hinduja, G.P. Hinduja and P.P. Hinduja — seeking quashing of the trial court order. They also had sought interim stay on the trial court order till their petitions were decided by the high court, but their counsel did not press for the same today after Mr Justice Aggarwal said, he was not passing any order. The Hindujas sought amendment of their bail order to the extent that the condition that they could not leave the country
without the court’s prior permission be removed. CBI counsel U.S. Prasad, who accepted the notice on behalf of the agency, said he would file the reply within a week. |
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Karmapa barred from Sikkim ‘for present’ NEW DELHI, Feb 5— Even while the Government has granted “Karmapa” Lama Ogyen Trinely Dorjee the status of Tibetan refugee with freedom of movement, he is not permitted to travel to Sikkim “for the present”. In response to questions, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed here today Lama Ogyen Trinley Dorjee had been registered as a Tibetan refugee who is free to move in India subject to rules and regulations in force from time to time. When asked if Lama Dorjee can travel to Sikkim, the spokesman said “not for the present”. However, the spokesman consciously avoided addressing Lama Dorjee as Karmapa. It took the Government of India over a year to arrive at the decision. It was on January 5 last year, that the 14-year-old Lama Dorjee , who is the 17th Karmapa, had suddenly arrived in McLeodganj, which is the headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. His arrival took the Indian Government by surprise as the Karmapa was staying under heavy Chinese security. During his stay in McLeodganj, Lama Dorjee, who is said to be the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, was not allowed to go to any monastery, not even within Kangra district. The Centre had turned down numerous requests by the Tibetan Government-in-exile to permit the Karmapa to settle down at Bhatau near Baijnath. The present decision to grant Lama Dorjee the status of Tiebetan refugee, the sources said, had been taken after careful deliberations as this would not adversely affect the growing Sino-Indian relationship which had started improving after the May 1998 Pokhran tests. Even the Chairman of the National Peoples’ Congress of China, Mr Li Peng, who was on a visit here last month, had described the handling of the Karmapa issue by the Government of India as “prudent”. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama had personally requested the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to grant permission to the young Lama to stay in India. BEIJING: China on Monday issued a veiled warning to India against granting ‘refugee’ status to 17th Karmapa Lama Ogyen Trinlay Dorjee and hoped that New Delhi would prudently handle the issue and abide by its promise. “The Indian Government has clearly expressed that it will not allow the Karmapa to engage in or will it allow any foreign force to use him in such activities,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said. |
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SC
refuses to transfer Narain’s case NEW DELHI, Feb 5 — The Supreme
Court today declined to transfer from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court
to the Delhi High Court the contempt case initiated suo motu by the
former against fortnightly Kalchakra Editor Vineet Narain for
publishing a news item relating to the Chief Justice of India, Dr
Justice A.S. Anand. A three-judge Bench, comprising Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal, Mr Justice M.B. Shah, and Mrs Justice Ruma Pal, however, gave Mr Narain liberty to file an application before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court within 10 days seeking transfer of the contempt case from Srinagar to the Jammu Bench of the high court. The judges ordered that the transfer application would be decided by the Chief Justice of the high court. The petitioner may not appear before the court tomorrow when the case comes up for hearing but he will appear before the high court on the next date of hearing, they said. The special leave petition (SLP) and a writ petition filed by Mr Narain in connection with the matter were dismissed. The SLP sought quashing of the contempt notice and the writ petition sought protection of his fundamental right of life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Earlier, Mr Shanti Bhusan, senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, contended that his client was a “sworn enemy” of the Kashmir militants for exposing their funding through the Jain Hawala case. There was every danger to his life if the case was not transferred and he was forced to go to Srinagar, he said. Mr Bhusan submitted that the Apex Court had powers under Article 139-A of the Constitution to transfer any case from one high court to another. The judges, however, did not agree to the contentions and declined to interfere with contempt notice. |
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Venkaiah falls as CPM
activists gherao him VIJAYAWADA, Feb 5 (UNI) — Union Rural Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu today escaped unhurt after he fell during a fracas at the railway station here. A tense situation prevailed at the station for some time when more than 300 CPM activists, led by party leader V. Umamaheswara Rao, surrounded Mr Naidu as he was about to board Tirupati-Hyderabad Krishna Express. When Mr Naidu accused the CPM activists of behaving like ‘rowdies’, workers of both the parties jostled with each other and the minister fell down. |
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Veerappan’s men left a clue COIMBATORE, Feb 5 (PTI) — Three telephone numbers against a name beginning from “R” have been prominently written in a pocket diary reportedly recovered from the spot of encounter between the Special Task Force (STF) and the Veerappan gang at Sambhandikkaddu three days ago, police sources said here. The seven digit numbers — two office and one residence — start from 225, 226 and 334 respectively. However, there was no mention of the area or the places to which the telephone numbers belonged, they said. Meanwhile, drugs recovered by the STF were mostly pain relievers, used for common cold and fever, anti-biotics and for controlling sugar and blood pressure, the sources said. Plaster of paris used for bandage, ethicon needles and imported suture threads, besides some readymade shirts were also recovered, they said. The gang, which had exchanged fire with some STF intelligence personnel on Friday, had left behind eight haversacks. Meanwhile, combing operations to nab Veerappan continued with the help of sniffer dogs. The Walayar-Coimbatore border has been sealed. |
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Allottees of PWD flats flouting rules HANUMANGARH, Feb 5 — Out of the 200 quarters in the local PWD colony, some are in possession of the employees who have either retired or have been transferred. Some employees have even rented the quarters allotted to them. The government has not taken any action yet against the guilty and the deserving employees are suffering. Families of some employees who have been transferred are retaining the flats. Some employees have made these quarters a source of income by giving them further on rent. Official sources say these employees charge twice or thrice the amount from tenants. Employees having their own houses are also minting money by renting out quarters allotted to them. After two months of retirement or transfer, an employee has to pay the market rent, but employees have flouted this rule also. An amount of about Rs 1,50,000 is pending with such employees. Reminders have been sent time and again to them but to no avail. Sources said the rent amount could not be recovered from them as they left the place without any information. |
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Ordinance on
2 pc surcharge NEW DELHI, Feb 5 — The President has promulgated an ordinance to further amend the Finance Act, 2000, and the Income Tax Act, 1961 levying 2 per cent surcharge on corporate tax and income tax during the current financial year. The ordinance amending the Taxation Laws comes into force with immediate effect. The ordinance seeks to amend Section 2 of the Finance Act, 2000, to increase the surcharge, on income tax and corporate tax. Under the new dispensation, the surcharge on total income exceeding Rs 60,000 but not exceeding Rs 150,000 goes from the present 10 per cent to 12 per cent and for income exceeding Rs 150,000, from 15 per cent to 17 per cent. |
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Pension doubled
in MP in 4 years BHOPAL, Feb 5 (PTI) — The amount of pension paid to state government employees and their dependants in Madhya Pradesh has more than doubled in the past four years even as the money spent on wages paid to employees has gone up by Rs 2,500 crore during the same period. According to state Finance Department sources here, pension paid during 1997-98 was Rs 79.92 crore and it went up to Rs 1,624.80 crore in 2000-01. |
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Indian scientist gets
AIDS research award Journalist shot dead Cong leader dies in police custody 16 Bhuj escapees arrested Social worker dead Prabhat Dabral is Press Club chief Bihar's first woman minister
dead |
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