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Wednesday,
October
15, 2003,
Chandigarh, India
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SAD demands Punjab’s share in Nathpa-Jhakri Himachal page: 250-MW Nathpa-Jhakri unit inaugurated Man lynched by mob, clash continues in Agra DMK seeks Jaya’s trial outside
Tamil Nadu
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Gorshkov deal may be finalised next month
Golden Temple project: notice served on firm Infiltration continuing,
says George India, Singapore hold
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SAD demands Punjab’s share in Nathpa-Jhakri New Delhi, October 14 Talking to The Tribune, SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra said, “Asking for Punjab’s share in the Nathpa-Jhakri project is legitimate and reasonable.” He said Punjab had suffered the fury of the Sutlej and should benefit when a dam had been constructed to generate power. Stating that the state should get at least 50 per cent of the share in the power generated or revenue accrued, he said a delegation of the SAD would meet Union Power Minister Anant G. Geete next week. While the first phase of the project had been inaugurated by the Union minister, the project, when completed, would generate 1,500 MW of power, which would meet the substantial power requirements of several north Indian states. As only one of the six generating units had been completed, he said the roads of Punjab were bearing the brunt of the steel and cement which was being transported to Himachal Pradesh for the project. “On this ground, the state should be given adequate compensation, which could be in the form of share in the project,” he said. For the first phase, 3.20 lakh tonnes of steel had been used, which was enough to lay a railway line along the
quadrilateral connecting the four metros in the country. The 14 million bags of cement used in the project would be sufficient to provide a 75 cm wide pavement around the earth. The project had one of the world’s largest underground desilting complexes and the longest power tunnel, besides Asia’s largest underground power house. Six years behind schedule, the project was estimated to cost Rs 4,336 crore, but was likely to cost about Rs 8657 crore. The SAD general secretary also demanded that the Himachal Pradesh Government review its policy of debarring the people of Punjab from acquiring land in the hill state. He said this had been done though Himachal Pradesh had been a part of Punjab. Mr Chandumajra said former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had said the policy of the state would be reviewed, but the present Chief Minister had adopted silence on the issue. |
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Man lynched by mob, clash continues in Agra Lucknow, October 14 With this, at least two persons have died since the trouble began on Sunday night. Sources from Agra said at least one person was killed when a mob attacked some people after today’s clash. “Last night clashes between the warring groups continued and they used stones and petrol bombs. There are reports of shops and houses being gutted in at least seven places,” police sources claimed. Media reports said at least two leather goods godowns were also gutted in the arson last night. What started as a clash between BSP ansd SP supporters took a communal colour with some Jatavs and Muslims clashing with each other, the police said. Curfew was imposed yesterday in some areas of the district after the clash between the two groups over the reception accorded to a BSP defector who was recently inducted into the Mulayam Singh Cabinet. Agra SSP D.S. Chauhan said one person was burnt to death when a mob set his house ablaze. “He failed to come out and died inside while several others were injured,” he added. —
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DMK seeks Jaya’s trial outside
Tamil Nadu New Delhi, October 14 “All 64 witnesses, including Additional Director-General of Police Perumal have turned hostile in the case but the prosecution has not bothered to cross-examine them. What possible result is expected from the court in such a situation when the public prosecutors, who are totally under the control of the Chief Minister, are not doing their duty properly,” DMK’s counsel T.R. Andhyarujina said. Andhyarujina appearing before a Bench comprising Mr Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice H.K. Sema, for DMK general-secretary K. Anbazghagan, who had sought transfer of the cases outside Tamil Nadu and order probe and conducting of trial by the CBI, said all prosecutors were replaced after Jayalalithaa came back to power and four trial judges had been changed. “This is an attempt to secure the acquittal of the accused who is hand in glove with the prosecution. It requires the intervention of the court to prevent the miscarriage of justice,” he said. |
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Lifetime award for Liv Ullmann The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, was scheduled to do the honours but the responsibility was left to Shatrughan Sinha, whom Mr Prasad described as the “most powerful actor that our screen has produced”. In honouring her, Mr Prasad said India was honouring itself and world cinema. Shabana Azmi eulogised the 64-year-old Norwegian actress as an inspiration for all actors, including herself. Without her, Shabana said, cinema would be like a camera without a film. Also present on the occasion was film actress Tabu and the Norwegian Ambassador. ‘Kristin Lavransdatter’, a classic film directed by her in 1995, was
screened on the occasion. Even today, the direction and the photography of the film (Sven Nykvist) evokes admiration. Speaking on the occasion, Ullmann said she was at an age when actresses are bound to get lifetime achievement awards. But that did not mean her life was over. She has a lot of work still to do. She did not sit through the screening, for the simple reason that “when somebody coughs or goes out for a second, it is near-death for the maker”. If Shabana said Ullmann was her idol, the latter reciprocated by complimenting her on her immense popularity in India. She would be going to Bollywood, which she said was her dream destination. Her breakthrough role was that of catatonic actress Elisabeth Vogler in Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Persona’ (1966), a role she had landed primarily because of her striking resemblance to co-star Bibi Andersson. He was also her mentor and they lived together for several years, during which time Ullmann and Bergmann’s daughter Linn Ullmann was born. Ullmann did some of her best roles for Bergman. Ironically, her attempts to establish herself in Hollywood films were largely unsuccessful, though she got the Golden Globe nomination for her preformance in ‘40 Carats’ (1973). Ullmann was honoured with numerous New York Film Critics Awards during the early 1970s. She also earned Oscar nominations for her work in ‘The Emigrants’ (1971) and Bergman’s ‘Face to Face’ (1976) and has received eight honorary degrees. She was perhaps certain that her acting career was over in 1977 when she wrote her memoirs, ‘Changing’. But the later years were to be quite productive. She turned to direction in 1990s and has several films, theatrical features and a TV mini-series to her credit. Her recent directorial venture was ‘Trolosa’ (Faithless) which hit the big screen in 2000. The celebrated actress has been UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador for 15 years. *** Women-oriented topics are aplenty in the 34th International FilmFestival of India. The most powerful symbol of this feminism is Ullmann’s ‘Kristin Lavransdatter’. Based on the novel ‘Kransen’ by the Nobel Prize-winning author Sigrid Undset, it is set in the 14th century. Laurans lost three sons while one daughter was maimed in an accident. His other daughter, Kristin, is the apple of her father’s eye. Wanting only the best for her, he has arranged her marriage to Simon, the son of another landowner. Kristin (Elizabeth Matheson) is sent to a convent after she turns 18. She meets Erllend (Bjorn Skagested), a handsome knight who conquers her heart. But he has a mistress and out-of-wedlock children by her. And yet, Kristin refuses to give in to her father’s orders to marry Simon. *** Fortyfour-year-old writer-director Jorge Furtado studied psychology and medicine before switching over to films. Small wonder that his films delve deep into human motivations and aspirations. ‘The Men Who Copied’ by the Brazilian genius, explores the relationship between a 20-year-old photocopier operator and his girlfriend who sells women’s clothes with exceptional insight and clarity. The real story comes out during the last few minutes of the film. The cast includes Lazaro Ramos and Renata de Lelis. *** ‘Fine Dead Girls’ by young Croatian director Dalibor Matanic is a tragi-comedy that portrays the never-ending struggle between traditional values and putrefied modernism of lesbians and abortionists. The film has won the Grand Prix for Best Croatian film, critics’ prize and audience prize). His earlier short films too have focussed on intimacy among girls. *** ‘Eila’ by Jarmo Lampela is a powerful socially oriented film from Finland that again has a woman in the central role. It is the story of Eila who ventures to take a risk, as an employee, as a loving woman and as a mother. Eila and her colleagues bring action against the state for illegal discharges. The men in Eila’s life, her son, her boyfriend and her ex-husband all think that it is foolish to take on the state but the women press on regardless. The 2003 film has been to festivals at Berlin, Cannes, Moscow, Montreal, Quebec and Stockholm. |
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Gorshkov deal may be finalised next month New Delhi, October 14 “The price negotiations took a lot of time, but all negotiations and the paperwork being done here are on the verge of completion ... some technicalities had arisen and it will now be possible to resolve those,” Mr Fernandes said after inaugurating the two-day Commanders’ Conference of the Coast Guards here. Mr Fernandes said if price negotiations and other details were worked out earlier, a decision could be taken during the Prime Minister’s Russia visit. However, the finalisation of the deal was not connected with it and there was no time-frame fixed, he added. Prime Minister Vajpayee is due to visit Russia from November 11, while Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov will be here next month. Mr Fernandes said the Coast Guards would also place orders for 16 modern ships before the end of the current fiscal. Asked about the Scorpion submarine deal with France, he said, “It is yet to be finalised”. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy is also considering its choice of a maritime reconnaisance aircraft, with the US ‘P3-C Orion’ leading the reckoning. Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, the Chief of Naval Staff said, “We are in dialogue with the US Navy regarding the ‘Orion’ and if we consider it suitable for our needs, we will start formal negotiations”. |
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Golden Temple project: notice served on firm New Delhi, October 14 A Bench comprising Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice Ashok Bhan directed the firm, M/s Yoginder Sareen Contractors to submit its reply to the appeal, filed by the state against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, rejecting its petition. The High Court had also rejected the review petition by the project Director on the grounds of limitation, state government’s counsel Mahabir Singh said. The High Court had upheld the order of the lower court referring the matter to the Arbitrator. While directing the firm to submit its reply within four weeks, the apex court restrained the Arbitrator to pass an award till the next date of hearing of the appeal. The project Director had challenged the High Court order referring the case back to the Arbitrator on the ground that the then PWD Superintending Engineer D.S. Sethi ceased to be the Arbitrator after his retirement. The cost of Rs 1 crore project
accelerated to Rs 1.40 crore due to the delay as the firm could only complete the work worth Rs 27.44 lakh till 1996. The remaining work had to be later allotted to some other contractor, who finished the work by spending additional Rs 40 lakh, it said. The High Court had dismissed its petition even when a suit for recovery of Rs 41.31 lakh from the firm for the unfinished work, was still pending before the civil judge. The firm had claimed that the matter was decided by the Lok Adalat on March 1, 1997, on the basis of which an earlier suit for recovery of the money from it was dismissed by the Amritsar civil judge. Under the project, the area around the Golden Temple was to be beautified and the work had to be completed in six months. |
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Memorial to
riot victims demanded New Delhi, October 14 “We urge the BJP to place this demand as part of the manifesto as the issue is revoked by different political parties at the time of elections,” Mr Kuldip Singh
Bhogal, president of the committee said. |
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Infiltration continuing,
says George New Delhi, October 14 Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Coast Guard Commanders Conference the Defence Minister said a slight decline had been noted in infiltration activities but “there was nothing permanent as far as terrorist activity was concerned.” The Defence Minister said India had, in principle, agreed to hold joint military exercises with the Israelis but pointed out that these were not likely in the immediate future. Mr Fernandes also expressed regret over the recent incident of the rape of a teenager, involving certain Army personnel, but added the activities of a handful of individuals should not be used to tarnish the image of the entire force. Meanwhile, the Chief of Naval Staff Madhvendra Singh said India need not have a permanent Naval presence in South Asian seas but must have the necessary capability built around three aircraft carriers and adequate number of surface combatant and support ships. |
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India, Singapore hold defence talks New Delhi, October 14 According to an official press note issued here, the delegation-level talks here between the two countries underscored the warm bilateral relationship between them which encompasses many areas of cooperation in the economic sector as well. Mr Teo, after meeting his host George Fernandes, also met the three service chiefs separately. Mr Teo also laid a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate and was later accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour on the South Block lawns. |
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Delhi boy is NASA’s Student Astronaut New Delhi, October 14 Saatvik Agarwal, a class X student at Amity International School in South Delhi, is among the 16 students selected from all over the world through a global contest and would spend about two weeks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA’s lead centre for robotic exploration of the solar system based at Pasadena, California. He will work, together with 'NASA scientists and other Student Astronauts' as part of the Science Operations Working Group between January-March 2004. Saatvik, son of an Internet Consultant Rajeev Aggarwal, was selected through a global contest organised by the US-based ‘Planetary Society’, A space interest group, in an initiative to involve young minds in NASA’s mission to Mars. —
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