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Friday,
September 28, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Airport
security steps rigorous, yet comic
Dalai Lama
‘supports’ India on Kashmir 13 PSUs to be
disinvested |
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Pak in for
food crisis Pawar
heads INS 4
Bangladeshis, Indian held for robberies SC stays
proceedings against Tehelka Hinduja brothers
allowed to stay abroad 2 SIs held for taking bribe
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Airport security steps rigorous, yet
comic A three-tier security has been introduced at all airports in the country following attack by air-borne terrorists in Washington and New York on September 11. The ways of the security personnel and the manner in which the drill is carried out is both comic and cumbersome. And no one is disputing the need for utmost caution and safety of passengers at airports. The passengers on domestic flights are required to report at least an hour before departure time. Here are some vignettes of the experience of going through the security systems at Chandigarh, New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, and Kolkata. If ‘’encounters’’ with securitymen and women, were not hassle-free, at least some were hilarious giving a comic touch to grim situations. One learnt many a lesson at the end and felt totally ‘’exposed’’ with privacy ripped open. Co-passengers either looked the other way or would just steal a look or two as the fellow passengers, embarrassed and nervous, hurriedly tried to re-pack the suitcase and zip the handbag. From Chandigarh this reporter took the flight to Delhi at 3.05 pm. Check-in time was 2 p.m. This reporter joined other passengers, jostling (without a queue) at the narrow entrance, clutching their carry-on baggage and tickets in wet hands. While the baggage made its way through the X-ray machine, a securityman gave the passengers a recheck by a hand-held metal detector making him stand within the door-frame with arms stretched out or above as each one is frisked. As one steps forward, the baggage is already stamped or is being opened for physical verification. A few steps ahead, one passes through yet another security check and so does the baggage through yet another X-ray machine while security personnel repeat the drill more thoroughly, if not professionally. Here, all coins, cameras, pens and keys are put into a tray. No, the ordeal is not over: not yet. A woman security cop not only examines all contents in each item, one by one, and continues to run her hands inside the bag from all sides deep down to the bottom, insisting the camera is clicked pointing to the floor. It was quite amusing, even embarrassing to see this airport ‘’entertainment’’ as the cops held up lingeries and lip-sticks or turned-over shaving kits and hair-dryers to ensure there was no explosives hidden in them. After the labels are stamped, one heaves a sigh of relief. One has to go ahead and identify the baggage that is not to go into the cabin. ‘’Please board the plane’’, the announcement is made. Wait. The airlines security men again frisk you, one last time. At IGI Airport in New Delhi, the connecting flight to Chennai was to take off at 7.30 pm. The IA bus transported passengers to the other domestic terminal. The place was crowded and securitymen all over. One wondered if it was a daily routine or a special drive. Securitymen with dragon lights, detectors and steel spikes connected to gadgets looked in the dust-bins, under the seats, behind the photo frames, inside toilets, flower pots etc. As hours ticked, it dawned that Union Home Minister L. K. Advani was scheduled to catch flight. Nevertheless, the security drill for the passengers and their baggage was seemingly routine. No physical rummaging through the contents as in Chandigarh hours earlier. The flight to Port Blair from Chennai was scheduled for 6 am. Bleary eyed, one had to reach the airport by 5 am. There was an eerie silence. The atmosphere looked more relaxed; sleepy, perhaps. Just by looking at the air ticket, passengers were being allowed entry. There were no hassles at the X-ray check machine nor with the hand baggage. The security men smilingly stamped the boarding passes and carry-on labels wishing ‘’happy journey’’. The flights to Kolkata and Chennai from Port Blair are timed close to each other—between 7.45 am and 8 am. The passengers arrived in small groups and lined up at the entrance for the first security check by the CISF personnel. Most of them had been on duty in Chandigarh earlier and were happy to exchange notes. Apologetically, they went through the baggage but not as did their counterparts in Chandigarh. ‘’The security drill has been made three tier”, said a CISF officer. This was a sensitive, protected place, hence, the rather strict vigil, he went on to explain as his men frisked and searched the baggage, booked as well as hand. Having gained entrance into the boarding lounge, there once again was a re-check of passengers before boarding the bus to go to the aircraft. The evening flight from Kolkata to New Delhi at 7.30 pm is invariably heavily booked. It is an A-300 Airbus. This fact became more pronounced as passengers sat sweating and using magazines and air safety manuals placed at the back of the seats as fans. Unlike elsewhere, the security personnel appeared relaxed and calm. They neither raised unnecessary hassles nor were the passengers hackled with overdose of security either with their baggage or person. But the baggage booked at airports elsewhere for the evening flight had to be reidentified by the passenger concerned, as per the guidelines. Moreover, posters were put up at strategic places informing passengers that due to ‘’security reasons’’ only one hand-baggage was allowed on the plane. The security check at the hall from where an escalator takes passengers to the boarding lounge was rather strict. Frisking of each passenger was done in a matter of fact way and some passengers were seen re-packing their bags after the security personnel insisted on physical verification even after having passed through the X-ray machine. The experience of air travel during the week following the collapse of the twin World Trade Center towers showed that as against the actual flying time, the time spent on waiting for the aircraft was more. A passenger remarked: ‘’Rather than sulking and cribbing, it is better to take the security drill as entertainment hailing it as ‘three-tear’ experience’’. |
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Scribe held for carrying knife New Delhi, September 27 She was arrested when she was to board an Indian Airlines flight. The knife was recovered from her baggage during routine security check-up. While the correspondent entered the security area to board the flight No 1C-167 (Delhi-Mumbai) of the Indian Airlines, she was asked for X-ray checking of her baggage. During the checking of the baggage a 9.6 inch blade knife was detected. When the baggage was checked manually by a Sub-Inspector, the knife was recovered. A case has been registered. |
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Dalai Lama ‘supports’ India on Kashmir New Delhi, September 27 Presidents of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Regional Tibetan Women’s Association and Tibetan Freedom Movement Association and the chairman of the Local Tibetan People’s Assembly, in a joint signed statement here, said that “deliberate or unintentional” bad reporting by some individual journalists would only strengthen the hands of the Chinese Government “which is desperate to keep Tibet under its colonial occupation.” The leaders said the Dalai Lama believes that any problem concerning Kashmir could be resolved through a peaceful and sincere dialogue within the framework of the Indian Constitution which already provided sufficient space for democratic expression to the people of Kashmir. They said the Tibetan issue and the problem of Kashmir were totally different from each other and had nothing in common. |
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13 PSUs to be
disinvested
New Delhi, September 27 The
CCD, presided over by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, has decided to fix personal responsibility of Secretaries of administrative ministries to ensure that the timetable was adhered to. In view of the assurances given by the ministers of all these
PSUs, who were present at the meeting, the CCD has decided to drop the proposal of shifting the firms listed for sell-off to the Finance
Ministry, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said here after the meeting.
UNI |
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Pak in for food crisis New Delhi, September 27 Pakistan watchers here said that in view of the possible US attacks on Afghanistan and the total diplomatic isolation of the land-locked Central Asian country, the Taliban government had been left with virtually no wheat stocks to meet the demand of its population. As a result, more and more Afghans were reaching Pakistan in search of safety and food. Pakistan’s own wheat stocks are just about sufficient to meet its own food requirements, which is currently pegged at 21 million tonnes including one million tonnes, of strategic reserves for the year 2001. Pakistan’s food reserves for the previous year were between 19 million and 20 million tonnes. Usually Pakistan provides 0.6 million tonnes of wheat every year to Afghanistan in normal conditions. Last year due to bumper crop, the Pakistan Government had tried to sell wheat to Afghanistan through private parties. But the Taliban regime — receiving wheat from illegal channels — had refused to allow them to sell wheat there at the market rate. As a result, the deal could not materialise and the contracts were cancelled by the contractors themselves fearing financial losses. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s cup of woes is spilling over from another side : the highly dangerous and volatile band of jehadis who continue to criticise the Musharraf regime for joining the USA to trace Osama bin Laden and oust the Taliban Government in Afghanistan. Angry outbursts have been reported from Pakistan. Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami (JUI) leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said the USA itself was the biggest terrorist as was evident by its actions in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo and Palestine. A former ISI chief, Lt-Gen Javed Nasir retd has gone on record saying that he would put the blame on the USA itself for the September 11 attacks because Washington had been following “anti-Muslim policies.” |
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Pawar heads INS New Delhi, September 27 The INS 62nd Annual General Meeting held in Bangalore, chose Mr Pawar to succeed Mr Vijay Kumar Chopra (Hind Samachar). Mr Pawar would be the INS President for 2001-2002. Mr Abhay Chhajlani of Nai Dunia is the Deputy President. Mr M.P. Veerendrakumar of Mathrubhumi is the Vice-President and Mr Vishwa Bandhu Gupta of Daily Tej is the honorary Treasurer of the society. Mr P.K. Lahiri is the Secretary-General. A total of 41 other members were elected to the executive committee. They included five women. The members are: Mr Mahendra Mohan Gupta (Dainik Jagran), Mr R. Lakshmipathy (Dinamalar), Dr B.S. Adityan (Vaaraantari Rani), Mr Vivek Goenka (Indian Express, Mumbai), Mr Vijay Darda (Lokmat), Mr Mammen Mathew (Malayala Manorama), Mrs Shobha Subrahmanyan (Ananda Bazar Patrika), Mr Vijay Kumar Chopra (Hind Samachar), Mr Girish Agarwal (Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal), Mr M.J. Akbar (The Asian Age), Mrs Shobhana Bhartia (Hindustan Times, New Delhi), Mrs Mohini Bhullar (India Today), Mr Hormusji N. Cama (Bombay Samachar Weekly), Mr Sunil Dang (Day After), Mrs Sakti Dasgupta (Bartaman), Mr J.S. Dardi (Charhdikala), Mr Pradeep Guha (Filmfare), Mr Ramawatar Gupta (Sanmarg), Mr Shekhar Gupta (Indian Express, New Delhi), Mr R.N. Gupta (The Tribune), Mr C.R. Irani (Statesman), Mr Vineet Jain (Maharashtra Times), Mr Rajan Kohli (Hindustan Times, Patna), Mr Gulab Kothari (Rajasthan Patrika), Mr Atul Maheshwari (Amar Ujala), Mr Jacob Mathew (Vanitha), Mr N. Murali (The Hindu), Mr V. Murali (Kalki), Mr Paresh Nath (Woman’s Era), Mr Thomas Pattara (Deepika), Mr Satya Paul (Samaj, Cuttack), Mr P.K. Roy (Aajkaal), Mrs Indira Rajkhewa (Sentinel), Mr T. Venkatram Reddy (Deccan Chronicle), Mr Bahubali S. Shah (Gujarat Samachar), Mr C.B. Sen (Sananda), Mr K.N. Shanth Kumar (Deccan Herald), Mr Manoj K. Sonthalia (Dinamani), Mr I. Venkat (Sitara Film Weekly), Mr M.Venkatraman (Economic Times, Mumbai) and Mr Kundan R.Vyas (Vyapar).
UNI |
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4 Bangladeshis, Indian
held for robberies New Delhi, September 27 The suspects, Mohammad Jehangir, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Fazlu and Mohammad Jamal, all from Bangladesh and Yunus, a resident of Sultanpuri were arrested yesterday on the charges of dacoity, robbery and other criminal activities. At least 39 cases have been solved with their arrest, the police said. Two country-made firearms, a button-actuated knife, a dagger and seven live cartridges were seized from them. Besides this the police also seized Rs 1.40 lakh, gold jewellery, imitation jewellery, imported watches, decoration items and cameras from them. The police has identified the hawala operators. The suspects lived like vagabonds in North and Northeast districts of the Capital. They were linked to each other through the network of petty scrap dealers in the Capital. During the collection of the rags they used to identify the targets. They used to commit crime during night on cycles, rickshaws, hand carts and cycle carts with country-made firearms. The looted goods were kept under the rags and sold to scrap dealers, the police said. |
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SC stays proceedings against Tehelka New Delhi, September 27 A three-judge Bench of Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal, Mr Justice Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice P. Reddy issued a notice to Mr Prasad giving him two weeks time to respond on the move for the transfer of the case to Delhi and pending the response stayed the proceedings in the case, Mr Siddarth Dave, counsel for tehelka.com said.
PTI |
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Hinduja brothers
allowed to stay abroad New Delhi, September 27 A bench comprising Mr Justice M.B. Shah and Mr Justice R.P. Shetty extended their order of August 8, following a prayer on behalf of the accused to extend the earlier order. Granting permission to G.P. Hinduja and S.P. Hinduja to leave the country, the court asked that at least one of them should remain in the country as surety.
UNI |
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2 SIs held for
taking bribe New Delhi, September 27 In the first case, suspect, Sub-Inspector Rohtas Kumar accepted a gratification of Rs 5,000 from the complainant for helping him to get his brother released on bail. The CBI laid a trap and the suspect was arrested red-handed while accepting the bribe. In the second case, a private bus was involved in an accident and the bus was impounded.
Sub-Inspector Sanjay Verma was arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs
5,000 for filing a suitable reply in the court for the release of the
bus, a CBI spokesman said. |
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BRIDAL TRENDS 2001:
The wedding season is in the offing in India and designers, hairdressers and makeup artists are ready with the
wares.
(
