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Monday,
July 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Where MLAs beat up officials NEWS ANALYSIS Indifference to hills led to tragedy |
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Sikhs burn copies
of controversial book Orissa flood
situation improves Narcotics trade in Bihar alarming
Centre spying
on me: Mamata Janshakti starts
membership drive Woman burnt to death 2 women commit suicide
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Where MLAs beat up officials Patna, July 22 Two BDOs were assaulted and two FIRs were lodged against the two MLAs on Wednesday. The news of MLAs thrashing the BDOs does not make bold in Bihar headlines anymore as it has now been accepted as if it were a routine affair. The Bachwara RJD MLA, Mr Uttam Yadav, reportedly slapped the BDO of the same block in what is being termed as a tactic to terrorise the BDO and make him fall in line with the wishes of the said MLA. The BDO had instituted a case against the MLA under Section 353 of the IPC. The reports emanating from Bachwara maintain that the BDO was not in the good books of the MLA as he was not caring for his wishes. He was apparently manhandled as the BDO had allotted the contract of the bridge construction work to a person against the wishes of the MLA. The MLA had earlier sought the transfer of the BDO on the alleged grounds that he was not ‘suitable’ for the interests of the RJD workers in the area. In another case, the Minapur MLA, Mr Dinesh Kumar Kushwaha, manhandled the BDO of the same block, Muhammad Anzar Ahmad. The MLA reportedly barged into the office of the BDO with his supporters and took away some important papers lying on his table besides threatening him. The BDO later brought the matter to the notice of the senior officers of the Muzafarpur district. The SP, Mr Nayyar Khan, informed later that an FIR under Sections 147, 323, 341, 342, 353, 380 and 120(B) of the IPC was instituted against the MLA and six others in connection with the incident. The incident has, however, sparked off a row in the local unit of the Bihar Administrative Service Association (BASA) that convened an emergency meeting over the incident and demanded immediate arrest of the MLA. |
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NEWS ANALYSIS Hyderabad, July 22 The Chief Minister and TDP supremo who had claimed at the end of the campaign that his party would sweep the elections has expressed disappointment at the results. The BJP which had an alliance with the TDP has also lost heavily. The results have come as a total surprise to the Congress which had given up all hope accusing the Chief Minister of using money and misusing official power. The TDP has lost heavily in the Telangana region retaining only two of the nine districts. The TDP which had captured 20 of the 22 district panchayats in the 1995 elections will be able to retain only 10 district panchayats where it has secured a clear majority to get its candidates elected as presidents in the indirect election to be held next week. The newly-formed separatist Telegana Praja Samithi, though it has secured a clear majority only in two districts, has emerged as a deciding factor in the elections of district panchayat presidents in five other Telegana districts. The Congress has captured four districts while there is a tie with the TDP in one district. The Congress leaders were prompt in claiming that it was a vote against the Chief Minister. A Congress leader, Mr Rosiah, said the election results would lead to major political changes in the state. The Congress legislature party leader, Mr Rajasekhar Reddy, said it was also a vote in favour of the Congress under the leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the trend was visible in the last Assembly elections when the party and its allies had captured power in three states. The TDP which has gone into introspection, in its immediate reaction cited the false propaganda by the Congress promising free power to farmers and mishandling of food distribution system as the two general causes, and local caste factors for the debacle. Though no major political changes in the form of realignments in the state are likely in the near future and Mr Naidu is firmly in the saddle, the panchayat elections will certainly erode his present clout with the ruling alliance at the Centre. Immediately, both the TDP as well as the Congress will have to deal with a growing demand for a separate Telengana state. |
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Indifference to hills led to tragedy Rudraprayag (Uttaranchal), July 22 The Central Himalaya is known for such incidents. In the recent past, various rivers were blocked due to the heavy landslides causing havoc in downstream areas. For example, the Alaknanda river was blocked at many places during the 1970’s leading to landslides and floods. Breach of the blockades resulted in downstream floods reaching Hardwar. During 1978, a tributary of the Bhagirathi was blocked by debris. This lake swept away roads and bridges, transporting enormous quantity of sediments. Thus one can easily visualise the possible threat posed by the current landslide in Bhyungad and other villages. So far, landslides in Rudraprayag district have claimed lives of 22 persons and six are reportedly missing. The tragedy at Bhyungad village in Rudraprayag district is the worst. It has killed 10 persons of the village, a majority of them are children and women. Most of the residents of the village are marginal farmers who are living in poverty. The damage was so alarming that parts of many houses were buried under the debris. The tourists who have visited these parts would know how risky it is to venture out during rain, as there are innumerable spots on the way to the Badrinath where chances of getting hit by cascading boulders are high. “Unless we fix accountability and take preventive steps, such incidents are going to be repeated”, says Mr Harish Rawat, President, the Uttaranchal State Congress Committee. Of late, a new trend has emerged in the central Himalayas in which the river banks are being exploited to attract tourists. In Mandakini basin near Chandrapuri, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has constructed a tourist resort. Currently the river is dammed upstream at Ukhimath. Similarly, at Kudiyala near Blyasi, downstream river rafting is being operated on the banks of the Alaknanda. At Nandaprayag, a tourist colony is located at the confluence of the Mandakini and the Alaknanda. In the early 70s, after witnessing the catastrophic Alaknanda flood, certain environmentalists demanded that in order to save people, there should be legislation such as a Riverside Control Act, similar to the Roadside Act. The recent tragedy in Rudraprayag district should at least open up the eyes of those who seldom bother to appreciate the fragile Himalayan terrain. Many persons outside Dhani, Sem Kurali, Khadia, Tyudi, Tatrsali, Jamu, Khat, Rail, Ravigram, Bhyungad and Phata villages must be cursing the torrential rains for the recent tragedy. “We have been talking in various forums regarding improvement of the eco-system of the Himalayas. However, looking at the ground reality, nothing very substantial has been done to achieve the goal. No authentic database is available with the Uttaranchal Government to earmark the regions which are susceptible to landslides and soil erosion”, says Mr Sunder Lal Bahuguna, a noted environmentalist. |
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Sikhs burn copies
of controversial book Indore, July 22 A large number of Sikhs gathered in front of the Gurdwara at Rajwada chowk and burnt copies of the book, which was recently distributed in the city, the police added. Guru Singh Sabha secretary, Jasbir Singh Gandhi said the contents of the book “Patheykan” published by the RSS in 1998, were derogatory.
PTI |
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Orissa flood
situation improves Bhubaneswar, July 22 Official sources said people were returning to their villages in Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts following recession of flood waters. Heavy rains and floods, which have claimed 59 lives since the arrival of the monsoon this year, had already affected a population of over 70 lakh people. Fresh floods in the two major rivers would affect a number of districts including Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Cuttack. The administration expressed concern over the forecast by the weather office here of the possibility of heavy rains in the catchments of most rivers and also neighbouring Jharkhand state amidst the reports about rise in Baitarani and Brahmani water level.
PTI |
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Narcotics trade in Bihar alarming Patna, July 22 The Laheriasarai police arrested Mahendra Yadav of Madhubani district and seized 2.5 kg of ‘hashish’ from his possession near Darbhanga railway station when he was about to board a train. The border district police has been alerted of the flourishing narcotic trade following the Union Home Ministry request to the Bihar government on possibility of the ISI sneaking in the narcotics to India through the Nepal route via Bihar. Earlier, the Customs officials of Kishanganj had recovered nine quintals of ganja worth Rs 24 lakh from the two boxes being carried away by a truck used for carrying daily consumption items for the IAF. |
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Tearful homage paid to Sivaji Chennai, July 22 Union Ministers T.R. Baalu and Pon Radhakrishan, former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, veteran Kannada film star Raj Kumar, PMK founder S. Ramadoss, Pondicherry Chief Minister P. Shanmugham, TMC President G.K. Moopanar, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko and many others placed wreaths at the glass receptacle encasing Ganesan’s body. The body was brought from the hospital to the T Nagar residence of the actor early today. Lata Mangeshkar spoke to the family members over phone from Mumbai. The funeral will take place tomorrow morning when the body will be taken in a procession to the crematorium at Besant Nagar. There was a near stampede at the entrance of the actor’s house and police had a tough time in regulating the crowd, which wanted to have a last glimpse of the legendary figure. Sivaji’s son Prabu was seen standing near the receptacle and people going up to him and expressing their condolence.
PTI, UNI |
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Centre spying
on me: Mamata Kolkata, July 22 She alleged that while the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharyya, had engaged detectives to shadow her movements the BJP minister, Mr Tapan Sikdar, indulged in the tapping of her phones. Reacting to Ms Banerjee’s allegation of spying on her, the CPM leadership said she had lost her normal senses. “She has a habit of making baseless statements hence they don’t give any importance what she says or does,” remarked the CPM chief whip in the Assembly, Mr Lakshmi Dey. |
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Janshakti starts
membership drive New Delhi, July 22 To consolidate its Dalit votes it has also reconstituted its state committees. Speaking to mediapersons here on Friday, Mr Paswan said as many as five ministers in the current UP Government had been nominated as office-bearers of the UP State Committee of the Lok Janshakti Party, with Dr Ram Asre Kushwala being the president of the committee. |
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Woman burnt to death Noida, July 22 According to information available from police headquarters Lajjavati (27) was married to Suman, a shopkeeper of Usmanpur village under the Jahangirpur police station area in Greater Noida six years ago. As per the report lodged by the woman’s father, it has been said that at the time of the marriage everything demanded by the in-laws was given in dowry. But after some time the in-laws started demanding a colour TV, a CD player and a new scooter as dowry. As Lajjavati refused to cooperate with her in-law’s dowry demand because of poor financial position of her parents kerosene was poured on her and she was set ablaze last night. However, smelling some foul play some neighbourer informed the woman’s parents who lodged an FIR against the husband and uncle of the deceased who are said to be absconding. |
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2 women commit suicide Noida, July 22 According to information available from police headquarters, Shushma (19), consumed poison because of poverty. In second incident Rajrani (26), a resident of Sector 9 killed herself when her husband was away from home. According to the police, reason behind the suicide was the poor financial conditions, resulting in tense relations between husband and the wife. The police has initiated an inquiry into the cases and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. |
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