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| Sunday, February
25, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Maran allays fears on ‘Chinese threat’ State finances crucial for FRA House bids adieu to Basu Hrithik show: thieves strike gold Fresh tremors in Kutch |
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Salvage quake-hit monuments: Intach Junk dealers thrive on debris Daler Mehndi to paint for quake-hit Ezhimala Naval Academy work begins today Naval dockyards
ill-equipped: panel Legal-aid cell for undertrials Modelling lure lands girl in soup Shelter homes no better than brothels: HC Judge Number of poor less in North 17.5 cr
connections by 2010: Paswan Open jail — bid to reform criminals Sudarshan kicks up fresh row Pesticide spraying destroys village: CSE Gowda seeks probe Disturbed areas act to be extended ‘Redraw border to
prevent
poaching’ Constable hit by van, dies
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Maran allays fears on ‘Chinese threat’ Kolkata, February 24 “There is no use of crying over that China is taking away our market. We should improve our competitiveness...we should target for an export share (in world market) of at least one per cent by 2004-5,” he said. Addressing an open house meet on the Exim Policy here, the minister said the government was closely monitoring the Chinese imports, which flooded the market following removal of quantitative restrictions, and was “fully committed to protect domestic industry and provide them a level-playing field.” But, the industry also needed to improve its competitiveness to sustain the impressive export growth of about 20 per cent achieved so far this year, he said. On the Exim Policy, 2001, he said “I need to do a delicate balancing of safeguarding the interests of domestic industry and providing adequate incentives to our exporters”. Pointing out that poor infrastructure and high transaction costs were the main hurdles for export growth, he said the Centre was committed to further rationalisation of procedures to reduce transaction costs. Steps would also be taken to encourage the states to take part in export promotion and the forthcoming Budget is expected to make a sizeable allocation of funds to that end, he said. On the country’s share in international trade, Maran said it had dropped from a 1.04 per cent in 1960s to 0.646 per cent in 1998-99. The figure, however, increased to 0.709 per cent last year. With a target of bagging one per cent share in
worlds market, there was need to expand the export basket as also to improve the country’s trade relations with neighbouring countries. The Eastern region, which has a 4,500 km-long border with Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan, could increase its trade manifold with these countries. Quoting a recent CII study, he said the country’s exports to Myanmar alone could be increased to $ 2 billion.
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State finances crucial for FRA New Delhi, February 24 From a purely macroeconomic point of view, the main objective of the legislation is to manage the expenditure of the government and, in the process, rein in the fiscal deficit. However, in the current context, any legislation of this order may not yield the desired results if it does not have enough teeth to control the fiscal behaviour of the individual states. While the Central fiscal deficit is hovering around the 6 per cent level in recent years, it is the states’ deficit which is a major area of concern. As it stands, the FRA seeks to put a cap on the Centre’s expenditure by placing limits on the Central Government borrowings, debt and deficits and emphasises greater transparency in fiscal operations. But, as analysts pointed out, imposing a cap on Central Government expenditure is bound to have some effect on the fund inflow of state governments, as Central grants and loans constitute a major part of these funds. Moreover, the Central fiscal deficit is partly due to the assistance in the form of loans and grants to respective states. Even the Economic Survey for 2000-01, which was placed in Parliament yesterday, has said that the combined (Centre and states) fiscal deficit to THE GDP ratio need to be reduced. “This (the upward trend in the combined deficit) has led to accumulation of public debt which ultimately leads to high interest rates, adversely affecting private investment, increases servicing cost of public debt and leads to lower growth”, the Survey said. Another area of interest, is that if the FRA enjoys enough teeth to control state deficits, it may impinge upon the autonomy of the state governments in individual budget preparations. Under the current legislative framework, the Central Government has indirect powers to control the state fiscal deficits by reducing the cap of market borrowings as enunciated in Article 293 of the Constitution of India. In addition, the limit to borrowing by the Centre is envisaged under the Article 292 of the Constitution. In India, in recent times, there has been talk of providing greater autonomy to respective states, even as not many State Chief Ministers have talked of the financially more prudent principle of doing away with fertiliser and food subsidies. |
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House bids adieu to Basu Kolkata, February 24 Socialist Unity Centre of India member Debaprasad Sarkar was the lone occupant of the Opposition bench. Justifying the boycott decision, the Congress chief whip Abdul Mannan told newspersons that felicitating Basu had no meaning since law and order sharply deteriorated during his Chief Ministership and the state’s development process was stalled in the past 24 years.” In his last speech in the House, Mr Basu who had been a member of the Assembly since May 1946, recalled his 55-year-long association with the Assembly since pre-Independence days when the Muslim League was in power. Bidding adieu to the House, the 87-year-old Basu said, “I don’t know who will get nominations from the Left Front for the coming assembly election, but one thing is certain, I’m not contesting”. He asserted that the ruling Left Front would remain with the people and return to power after the ensuing Assembly poll. The veteran leader said he was not in favour of any felicitation to him as “it has no meaning to me.” Mr Basu was presented a shawl, a plaque and a bouquet by Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim on behalf of the House.
PTI |
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Hrithik show: thieves strike gold New Delhi, February 24 Soon after the show was over, there was a veritable queue outside the Lodhi Road Police Station, with people complaining about thefts. Five persons reported about their wallets having been stolen in the overcrowded enclosures at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where the show was held. Some said their mobile phones had been stolen. The miscreants seemed as active inside the stadium as outside. A boy told the police that the boot of his motorcycle had been broken into and two mobile phones stolen. Windowpanes of a car were smashed to take out its stereo. Owners of at least four cars were left stranded as their vehicles had been taken away by thieves. A youth complained about the theft of his motorcycle. More than anything else, it was poor management of crowd that aided the miscreants’ designs. The enclosures closest to the stage (where people had paid up to Rs 2,000 for a seat) were overflowing with people even before the show began. Many in the reserved enclosures were without the stipulated tickets and cards. By the time Hrithik appeared, people were almost falling over one another, with some standing on the chairs and sofas to have a better view. Some families were forced to leave mid-way, fearing a stampede. Policemen, who remained mute spectators for most of the show, finally used arms and legs to restore some order. Police officials blamed the large number of thefts to their insufficient strength and inadequate cooperation from the organisers of the show. They said that parking areas did not have sufficient light about which they had written earlier. “We were also not provided with public address systems at the entry gates. As a result, huge crowds accumulated at certain gates even though there were a number of entry points.’’ a police official said. The live show, packed with delightful laser-affects, colourful pyrotechnics and powerful dance performances by Hrithik, had the audience riveted. The police, however, disallowed people from dancing. Amisha Patel and Namrata Shirodkar accompanied Hrithik on the dance floor. Baul Suprio, Alka Yagnik, Mohammad Aziz and Udit Narayan sang some haunting melodies. Hrithik landed through a crane which took him high above the 10,0000 sq foot stage. A Maruti WagnoR bearing Hrithik’s signatures was auctioned for Rs 12 lakh in aid of Gujarat earthquake victims. |
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Fresh tremors in Kutch New Delhi, February 24 The tremors with magnitude ranging between 3.0 and 3.4 were recorded from 12 midnight to 8.19 a.m., taking to 428 the total number of aftershocks measuring more than 3 on the Richter scale since the January 26 earthquake. The worst-hit Kutch area has been convulsed by frequent aftershocks in the past few days after being jolted by a 5.3-magnitude quake on February 8, in which 40 persons were injured. Dr S.K. Srivastava, Additional Director General, IMD, said the aftershocks would not subside till tremors measuring less than 4.5 on the Richter scale were recorded for three days at a stretch.
UNI Salvage quake-hit monuments: Intach New Delhi, February 24 The Bhuj quake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale brought down several historical buildings which represent a unique architectural style of the Kutch region. A team of experts from Intach inspected 400 unprotected monuments in the earthquake hit the state in their week-long tour of the region and have come out with a set of recommendations, both short-term and long-term, for the restoration of invaluable heritage structures. The vice-chairman of the Intach, Mr S. K. Mishra, said restoration of the extremely damaged structures should be taken on a priority basis. The Managing Director of the Tourism Development Corporation of Gujarat, Ms C. T. Misra, has said that the quake resulted in the loss of historical monuments, which would be very difficult to quantify in revenue terms from the tourism sector point of view. “More than the short-term revenue loss, as the quake struck during the peak tourist season in the region, it has destroyed several historical monuments and has dealt a big blow to the tourism sector,” she said, adding that in the next three months, the Kutch region would itself lose a staggering Rs 80 crore of tourism revenue. The buildings falling under the extremely damaged category, the INTACH said, include the Jain temple in Wankaner, Morvi’s Darbargarh and Mahindra drive, both privately owned, the Darbargarh in Maliya, Chhatris, Jubliee Hospital, Kutch Museum, Fateh Mohammad Tomb, Alfred School and old settlements, Paragmal Palace in Bhuj and settlement of craftpersons in Dhamadka. “Apart from salvaging important architectural fragments from the debris, dismantling also needs to be done in parts of the building that are unstable, preservation of buildings which have sustained slight damages and can be restored back,” he said while addressing a workshop on disaster management of historical buildings in quake-devastated parts of Gujarat. They visited 56 places in Kutch and 250 buildings were inspected. Forty per cent of these buildings have either collapsed or extensively damaged, 30 per cent damaged and 20 per cent slightly damaged. Ten per cent structures were still intact, he said. In Jamnagar and Junagarh, 128 buildings were studied at 32 places, of which 10 per cent were extensively damaged, 20 per cent damaged, 50 per cent slightly damaged and 20 per cent intact. In Mehsana and Surendranagar district, 24 places were visited and 110 buildings were inspected. Only five per cent of the structures had damaged extensively, while 30 per cent of them were either damaged or slightly damaged. The rest were described as intact. Intach has come out with an three-pronged proposal like recommendations to the ASI and state Department of Archaeology, immediate do’s and don’ts for the local authorities and owners, strategies and conservation plans. Lost in the quake’s fury include the Bhuj fort, the Swaminarayanan temple, numerous dargahs and darwajas of the town and chattedi, umbrella-like structures, around which Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai shot a song for the Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. While the walls of the famous Bhuj fort have crumbled and the main structure damaged, the temple inside the fort is intact. Several darwajas have crumbled in the force of the shaking earth, including the famous Bed Darwaja, under which kings mounted the elephant’s back with hundreds of guards standing by. The 113-year old Kutch museum has been completely destroyed and its valuable collections now lay under the debris. The Museum was originally known as Fergusson Museum after its founder, Sir James Fergusson, a Governor of Mumbai under the Raj. Built in 1877, it’s the oldest museum in Gujarat and has an excellent collection. The well-maintained exhibits include a picture gallery, an anthropological section, archaeological finds, textiles, weapons, musical instruments, a shipping section. Another century-old cultural institution, Madansinhji Museum in Aina Mahal has developed cracks, as also the Prabaspatan Somnath, a well known pilgrimage centre in Saurashtra. Many historical monuments in Mandvi, Morvi Wankaner and Dhangadhra are reportedly teetering on the brink.  |
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Junk dealers thrive on debris Kandla, February 24 Daily countless number of destitutes reach the site with hammers and other crude equipment to sell mangled pieces of iron for Rs 3 to Rs 4 a kg. At least 184 multi-storeyed buildings had collapsed in the earthquake in Gandhidham alone. Not to talk of the damage suffered by low-storeyed structures. The owners of the collapsed buildings are in the know of things, but are dazed with the loss suffered by them. Some have even lost their dear ones. An official of the Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry said: “The speedy removal of debris was resulting in the illegal business of selling debris and it was for the police to check the practice as the survivors were totally broken”. He, however, felt that the illegal practise would save a lot of money of the KPT which was planning to develop the site into a parking area for trucks, bringing and removing cargo from the port. Observers of the catastrophe feel such a practice of rummaging through the debris by the people from the lower economic strata in the area was mainly due to lack of their rehabilitation and less employment opportunities after their work places were damaged. They feel rehabilitation of such people should be urgently addressed. By rough estimates around 10,000 metric tonnes of debris was being daily dumped at the sites by trucks hired by the Kandla Port Trust (KPT). The contract of removal and dumping of debris at the site had been given to private parties at a cost of Rs 75 per metric tonne. Officials of the KPT said around three lakh tonnes of debris was to be removed from Gandhidham and its surrounding areas. Removal of rubble from the Kandla Special Economic Zone — the second free trade zone in world after Shanon in Ireland, which had suffered considerable damage — would add to the total of tonnage to be removed from the area. The work of removal is expected to last for a long time and so will the “business” of the junk dealers. Daler Mehndi to paint for quake-hit New Delhi, February 24 The Punjabi pop singer will be the chief guest at an on-the-spot painting competition for schoolchildren being organised tomorrow at Aadharshila Vidyapeeth School, Pitampura in West Delhi. Organisers of the programme informed that famous painter Jatin Das would grace the occasion as the guest of honour. The canvas to be painted by the two celebrities will later be auctioned and the proceeds given to the quake-hit. In the competition, being jointly organised by Aadharshila Vidyapeeth School and Archies, children from class II to VII have been invited to participate.
UNI
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Ezhimala Naval Academy work begins today New Delhi, February 24 It was in 1987 that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, had laid the foundation stone for the project. The scheme was part of the seventh Defence Plan and the project was linked with the Kerala aid package for development of the Malabar region. The project implementation however commenced on January 9, 1998 on account of resource crunch and protracted price
negotiations. The Kerala Government agreed to provide the land (960 hectares) and essential infrastructure facilities like water, electricity, approach roads, bridges, dredging of backwaters, building of sea wall, augmentation of railway station at no cost to the Navy. The state has already spent Rs 50 crore and plans to spend more on these facilities as well as the augmentation of Payyanur railway station located 12 km from the
site. The project has now been given its due importance, with the Defence Minister deciding to complete it by March 2004. The project is being managed by a three-tier management structure. At the apex level, the Project Management Board (PMB) is headed by the Defence Secretary and is responsible for planning, monitoring and implementation of the project. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is headed by the Joint Secretary (Navy) as an intermediary body to expedite the decision-making process. The Project Management Authority (PMA) is entrusted with the actual planning and execution of this work and is headed by an officer of the rank of Commodore designated as Director-General, NAVAC. It consists of personnel from specialist disciplines with requisite background to ensure smooth implementation of the project. |
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Naval dockyards
ill-equipped: panel New Delhi, February 24 The report states that according to the planned refit load of various yards, the present shortfall of 265 matrix units
(MU) will touch 430 mu in 2004-05. The capacity of repair yards is measured in mu and one mu is equivalent to 3,000 mandays. The Navy has two naval dockyards in Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam and two ship repair yards at Kochi and Port Blair. The present combined capacity of all four establishments is 707 mu. The planned load is worked out on the basis of ships due for refits. Further load is created by operational requirements, non-availability of spares, increase in scope of refit and review of the workload. Other issues concerning refit capability included inadequate or non-existent facilities, lack of expertise in certain areas and labour intensive tasks. The Ministry of Defence, while maintaining that the overhaul / maintenance infrastructure of the Navy at present is “just adequate” to meet the refit requirements of the existing fleet, it has admitted that there are shortfalls in the capacity to handle work that is going to come, particularly in newer areas. The committee has recommended that the naval repair work, which is labour- intensive or involves bulk manufacture of low technology items, would be suitably off-loaded to the private sector so that the dockyards and the repair yards can concentrate on high technology tasks, which would prove to be more cost-effective. Further, interaction of naval repair establishments with public sector undertakings concerned and the private sector should be continuous and frequent as it would avoid investments on technology already available in the country. The combined capabilities of the Navy, PSUs and private sector could be adequate to meet the projected requirements of the Navy. The Naval Headquarters has also sought adequate budgetary support on a continuous basis to meet essential requirements for augmenting the repair infrastructure, procurement of equipment and spares and undertaking repair and overhaul work. While the budgetary estimates for the 1999-2000 were Rs 338 crore, the actual expenditure was Rs 527 crore. The budgetary estimates for 2000-01 were projected at Rs 476 crore. The Budget projection by the Navy for augmenting facilities at its four repair establishments in 2001-02 is pegged at Rs 53 crore. Under the Tenth Plan the Navy has projected a requirement of Rs 447 crore spread over five years from 2002-03 onwards. The limitations imposed due to inadequate funding, it was observed, would result in eroding the operational capability of the 137-ship naval fleet, as also reducing their life and the life of the systems fitted on them. |
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Legal-aid cell for undertrials Jaipur, February 24 The jail currently has 2,000 inmates, half of whom are undertrials. The chairman of the Rajasthan Vidhi Seva Pradhikaran, Justice Shiv Kumar Sharma, says many undertrials have been languishing in the jail for over 15 years. The main difficulty is that a large number of undertrials are unable to get
prompt and adequate legal assistance for speeding up their trials. With the setting up of legal aid cell, this bottleneck will be removed. Rajasthan Chief Justice A.R. Laxmanan formally inaugurated the legal-aid cell in the jail yesterday. The pradhikaran has prepared a panel of 17 advocates. These advocates will be available twice a week and any undertrial wanting to take legal help will be able to meet the advocates in the jail itself. Besides giving them legal advice, the advocates will also prepare their applications for submission in the court. If any prisoner wants the advocates will fight his case in the court too. The Chief Justice says that after providing free legal advice and services, the advocate will see that the hearing of the case is not delayed unnecessarily. The high court will ensure it, he says. Justice Sharma says that the fee of the advocates will be paid by the pradhikaran. The pradhikaran will monitor the progress of each undertrial’s case so that justice is imparted speedily. The Director-General, Prisons, Rajasthan, Mr S.P. Singh, says that such cells will be set up at all divisional headquarters in the state. |
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Modelling lure lands girl in soup New Delhi, February 24 For the final year Bachelor’s degree student of Jesus and Mary College of Delhi University, her desire to make big in the world of modelling resulted in a three-month-long ordeal at the hands of a “film producer”. The man, whose identity as a filmmaker has been doubted by the police, lured her on the pretext of launching her into the world of modelling. He fraudulently got her to his house in the posh Alakanand Apartments in the Saket area of South Delhi, drugged her and took her nude photographs. This was the beginning of the long blackmailing trauma the daughter of an executive of a top industrial house of the country had to undergo. The “filmmaker” is absconding though the police is tightening the noose around him and is hopeful of catching him soon. Special teams have been formed to deal with the man. The case came to the fore when the girl, in her early twenties, recently reported the matter to the police. The girl, a resident of adjoining Chitranjan Park, got admission to Jesus and Mary College in July, 1998, after her father was transferred to the Capital. Soon she got acquainted with one of her classmates who introduced her to the “filmmaker” Pushpmitr. In her complaint to the police, she said on November 3 last year her classmate invited her for lunch at Pushpmitr’s residence and when she reached the Alakanand flat, she was stunned to find the producer alone. He assured her that her classmate would join them soon. Meanwhile, Pushpmitr offered a soft drink and by the end of the drink, she felt dizzy and lost her consciousness for about four hours. Taking advantage of her loss of consciousness, Pushpmitr took her nude photographs. Thereafter Pushpmitr started making threatening calls and demanded a sum of Rs 5 lakh and asked her to go around with his friends. He in fact prepared posters of her photographs and got them pasted on houses around her residence and college.
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Shelter homes no better than brothels: HC Judge New Delhi, February 24 This damning indictment of shelter homes, which are supposed to provide succour to hapless children and women, comes not from a politician or an NGO activist but a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice Usha Mehra. “That is why we have started to refer girls, who have been victims of trafficking, to the homes run by non-government organisations. These are the only source left now for creating suitable and independent mechanism,” she said, addressing a workshop on “Trafficking of Women and Children and Law Enforcement”, organised here by Prayas, a voluntary organisation, in collaboration with the UNIFEM. But the police usually did not have a choice, but to send such victims to the government-run Nari Niketans, as those run by NGOs were not many, said DCP Police (Central Delhi) Uday Sahay. As per rules, the statement of the victim has to be recorded in the presence of a magistrate, and if the latter keeps his appointment 2-3 days later, in the interim period the victim has to be sent to a shelter home, which mostly is a government-run one. The two-day workshop was attended by senior police officials from different states, NGO activists from across the country and also Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Globally, trafficking was a $ 5-billion industry. About 2 million children were abused or trafficked every year. The most lucrative routes of trafficking were South Asia to India, from South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan) to West Asia and further abroad, from South to Japan, Hawaii via Hong Kong, China and beyond, enumerated Ms Roma Debabrata, who heads a voluntary organisation STOP, in her presentation. Ms Debabrata, whose organisation is involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking, said young children running away from home, impoverished people both in the rural areas and urban slums, migrants and refugees were among the most vulnerable sections who fell victim to this menace. Though there were innumerable laws to protect children and women from such exploitation, she said there was need for a practical approach to implement them. Calling for a combined effort involving the police, NGOs, government and non-government agencies concerned, Prayas general secretary and senior police official Amod K. Kanth, said the problem of trafficking should not be limited to prostitution alone and should encompass a broader canvas including bonded labour, begging and child labour. To tackle inter-country trafficking, laws related to repatriation should be based on bilateral agreements and be made victim-friendly, he said. DCP Sahay, under whose jurisdiction the capital’s red-light areas like G.B. Road and Kamla Market fall, said “one problem that we face when victims are from Nepal, Bangladesh or any other country is to reunite them with their families. And if they are sent across, getting them back to testify against the pimps or touts, is very difficult. In such cases, the police is not able to carry the case to its logical conclusion.” Citing her experiences in the rescue efforts, Ms Debabrata said it was difficult to find many police officers who would give rescue of such victims a priority in their scheme of things. “We need to sensitise the police on the issue. A special cell should be created within the police organisation comprising rescue teams and the men should be motivated to take it up with all sincerity.” On the issue of closure of brothels, which many a time act as crime syndicates, while many of the delegates endorsed it, there were others who objected to it. Bangladesh’s Mizanur Rehman, Coordinator of ATSEC (Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children) terming the step as a “short-sighted one”, said the closure of a brothel in Dhaka did have a negative fallout — sex workers filtered out all over the city. Instead of the brothel, homes and hotels became their scene of operation. Shyamala Ashok, who works for the cause of sex workers in Pondicherry, said instead of closing down brothels, it would be appropriate to provide education and other amenities to the children of sex workers who by virtue of their birth end up in unenviable circumstances.
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Number of poor less in North New Delhi, February 24 According to the latest estimates released by the Planning Commission, Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest percentage (3.48) of people living below the poverty line followed by Goa (4.40 per cent), Punjab (6.16 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (7.63 per cent) and Haryana (8.74 per cent). Orissa has the poorest track record with 47.15 per cent of the state population living below the poverty line, closely followed by Bihar (42.60 per cent). The often-proclaimed positive correlation between industrialisation and poverty reduction has been refuted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) figures, with more than 25 per cent of the population in the country’s most industrialised state, Maharashtra, living below the poverty line. Karnataka, the state housing the Indianised version of Silicon Valley in Bangalore, does not fare any better, with more than 20 per cent of the province’s population identified as poor. On a nation-wide basis, 26.10 per cent of the population live below the poverty line as of 1999-2000 — a significant drop from 36 per cent in 1993-94. The incidence of poverty continues to be more in rural areas, with 27.09 per cent of the total rural population being identified as living below the poverty line. As many as 23.62 per cent of the urban population lives below the poverty line. The significant reduction in poverty, may, however, have something to do with the methodology adopted by the 55th Round Survey of NSSO. Even the Economic Survey for 2000-01, which was released today, has said that in this Round, the NSSO has introduced certain innovations in the manner and method of data collection which may have a bearing on the comparability of the poverty estimates. |
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17.5 cr connections by 2010: Paswan Chennai, February 24 Presently, there were nearly 3 crore telephone lines in the country and the target was to provide 7.5 crore lines by 2005, when the tele-density would go up to 7 per 100 from the existing 3.1 per 100, he told a press conference here today. By 2010, the tele-density would go up to 15 per 100, he said. Mr Paswan said out of the 6.07 lakh villages in the country, 4 lakh villages had telephone facilities. By the end of next year, all indian villages would have telephone facilities, he said. He said the Wireless Local Loop (WLL) technology would become available in almost all states by the end of March. As of now, states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana had 100 per cent telephone facilities, Mr Paswan said. There would be a substantial increase in rural telephony with the introduction of Global Service Mobile (GSM) technology in September this year, he said. On the introduction of mobile telephones by the DoT, he said a pilot project was now on for providing 4,000 connections in Chennai. Mr Paswan, while inaugurating the founding state conference of his Lok Jan Shakti Party, said the party would spread to more states with the increased number of units to be formed by the end of the year. He said state units of the party had already been formed in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
PTI, UNI
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Open jail — bid to reform criminals Open Jail, Jaitsar
(Sriganganagar) It is indeed a pleasant experience chatting and having a cup of steaming tea at a panchayat of 60 murder convicts at this reformatory set amidst the sprawling farmlands of the Central State Farms here. Rajasthan is one of the states which zealously took up the prospect of Open Jails for lodging convicts in a home like atmosphere besides facilitating their homecoming after they had served their sentence. It has six such jails all over the state and is one of the successful experiments in criminals reforms. As one drives past a signboard indicating the dusty track leading to the jail, one keeps a lookout for imposing walls, barbed wire fences and armed guards patrolling the parameters. But nothing of this sort happens and it is a bit of a surprise when a small child shyly acknowledges that the hamlet is indeed the jail. By this time, small groups of men working in the fields, who later reveal themselves to be the convicts, start converging on the village alerted by the arrival of an outsider. Another child leads us to the two rooms that serve as the police post manned by a few policemen. After exchanging pleasantries, the four-member jail staff reveal that there are 60 inmates living in the village with their families. Only those murder convicts who have completed eight years of sentence and have had good conduct all these years are eligible to be shifted to such jails. The only exception being those who murdered their victims in rape, dacoity or drug related crimes. In the jail, set up in 1997 — 78, the prisoners are free to move about for work in the farm but have to report for the morning and evening roll call. However, there are no such restrictions on their families, children or even, visitng relatives. It is surprising to know that the marriages of many of the inmates children have been solemnised in the jail itself. The prisoners are escorted by the staff to Jaitsar for buying provisions on Saturdays and Mondays. “We all live as one large family and small matters are sorted out by the panchayat presided over by me,” reveals Shiv
Bhagwan, the sarpanch, who will be a free man in just six months. Reluctant to talk about his past, he simply says it was a land dispute which had to end this way. “There is no interference in this context from the jail staff. In fact, they care for us and we hardly realise that we are living in a prison but there were some tense moments when a convict escaped last year. It is one of those rare happenings, “ he informs. While the inmates laud the idea of setting up the open jails, they claim to be victims of official apathy. For instance, this camp does not have water or electricity connection ever since its exception. It has no road, no dispensary and only recently that a school up to second standard was opened under the Rajiv Gandhi Swarn Jayanti Yojna. The elder children have to travel to Jaitsar for primary and higher secondary classes, a drain on the meagre finances of many of the inmates. It is the mandatory that all convicts have to earn their livelihood from the wages earned on the farm irrespective of the financial status of their family back home. Secondly, their wages are not paid on time due to the poor financial health of the Central farm. Each convict is paid Rs 61 per day for work done in the fields. Electricity and clean drinking water too are major problems. The studies of the children suffer on account of the former and the health on the latter, laments a convict. In the absence of a doctor, the sick inmates and their families have to be rushed to the hospital in Jaitsar on foot or as there are no means of transportation. Sometimes critical time is lost in arranging for jeeps from the nearby villages to shift very sick patients, lamented another convict. The jail authorities at Sriganganagar admitted the shortcomings but added that it takes sometime to set things right but added that the facilities would be in place in the next six months. Regarding the extra time spent, the officials said it is on account of the irregular meetings of the advisory board whose reccomendations are mandatory for the release of prisoners in the open jails. Inspite of all shortcomings, the convicts are a happy lot and feel that “ life is definitely more fruitful and comfortable in the open jails.”
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Bhubaneswar, February 24 “The Muslims in India should realise that they belong to the same ancestry. They need to adapt to Indian culture,” Mr Sudarshan told a public gathering here last night. “If Muslims in Indonesia can adopt Sanskrit names, why can’t there be a Mohammed Prasad or Mohammed Das in India,” the RSS chief asked while pointing out that Salabeg, a Muslim poet, had penned several songs in praise of Lord Jagannath in the 14th century. About 90 per cent of Indonesian Muslims who had Hindu ancestors still studied the Ramayana and Mahabharata and had not abandoned their Hindu roots, he claimed, saying that efforts like this alone could ensure India’s unity. Reiterating his earlier call to Indian churches to sever their links with foreign churches and become “swadeshi”, Mr Sudarshan claimed his views had been supported by many Christians. On Indo-Pak ties, he said: “India’s efforts to improve relations with Pakistan will never yield result as its rulers feel their country will disintegrate if peace is restored to the sub-continent”. “Pakistan has not yet shown any genuine interest to improve its relationship with India”, Mr Sudarshan said referring to Atal Behari Vajpayee’s decision to further extend the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir. “Pakistan has been thriving on anti-Indian’s sentiments and it will cease to exist if such feelings are removed,” he said.
PTI
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Pesticide spraying destroys village: CSE New Delhi, February 24 Presenting a report on the situation at Padre village of Enmakaje Grama Panchayat here, Mr Anil Agarwal, Chairperson of the CSE, an NGO comprising Iitians, said unusually high levels of the hazardous Endosulphan was found in all samples of blood, milk, water, soil and food from the village. Besides Mr Agarwal, Ms Padma Vankar, adviser to the CSE Environment Monitoring Laboratory, Mr Shree Padre, environment journalist and Dr Y.S. Mohana Kumar (both from Padre village) and Mr Sapan Joshi, a journalist were present at the meeting. They said most of the villagers suffered from cerebral palsy, congenital anomalies and mental retardation. The seriousness of the matter could be guaged from the fact that the children were the worst affected. There were only four or five of them below the age of 20 who appeared normal. People above 20 years had a plethora of cancers, from skin to renal. The amount of Endosulphan in one woman’s blood was found 900 times the limit set for water. The PCK has been spraying Endosulphan for more than 25 years till today in its cashew plantations to banish tea mosquitoes which harm the cashew output. Ariel sprays were done thrice a year. The CSE activists said Endosulphan being denser than air results in its particles settling at a height of a metre or half above the ground mixing with the air breathed in by the people. They also presented slides, video clippings and some footage from a news clipping done by a private TV news channel on the traumatised village. In an interview to the TV channel, the head of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala is shown denying that Endosulphan was responsible for the widespread diseases. Dr Mohana Kumar said he had been investigating the root cause of these maladies for the past 10 years. While it is mandatory to cover all water bodies, like wells, before undertaking aerial spraying, this is more observed in the breach.
UNI
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Bangalore, February 24 He told newspersons here that Mr Gowda, who had authorised him to speak, had written to the government expressing apprehensions against any inquiry as his relative was involved in the incident and not out of fear to face an impartial probe. However, Mr Srinivasa opposed the judicial inquiry as the culprit had been caught while committing the offence. Further investigations would only create confusion and delay the probe, he said. Mr Srinivasa said he was not firm on his demand for a CBI probe into the incident. The CID probe was acceptable if it was for ensuring speedy investigation, he added.
UNI |
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Disturbed areas act to be extended Roing (Arunachal Pradesh), February 24 “I have assured the Arunachal Chief Minister that the Act would be further extended for six months, after its expiry in March,” he said after inaugurating the Brahmaputra darshan festival on the banks of Dibang, a tributary of Brahmaputra, here. Reports of extortion and other activities by insurgents had come in from the two districts in recent
times. PTI |
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‘Redraw border to
prevent
poaching’ Dehra Dun, February 24 “This arrangement will prevent incidents of poaching to a large extent,” he said. “Preliminary investigations show poachers make their way into the Corbett Park from Bijnor area of UP. Poaching incidents will come down if rearrangement of boundaries is done,” he added.”
PTI
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Constable hit by van, dies New Delhi, February 24 The Constable, Rajinder Singh, was on duty at NOIDA barricade when the van hit him from behind. He was taken to a
hospital by a PCR van, where he was declared brought dead. The window-panes of the van were broken when the accident occurred. The police raided a Maruti workshop in the area to find out whether any van with broken windowpanes came for repairing, the police
added |
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Pak Hindus to boycott poll New Delhi, February 24
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