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Sonia accepts Musharraf’s invitation
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Joint statement delayed
News Analysis
Sariska may happen in other reserves
UP to develop 10 more tourist spots
Filth-free rail tracks may not be a distant dream
Telgi willing to ‘come clean’
‘Tango Charlie’ perverse: says BSF DG
Dharmendra to start film city in Jaipur
Stamp on Bandung Conference
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Vishnukant Shastri dead
Kolkata, April 17 Shastri (78) was the Governor of Uttar Pradesh during Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s primeministership. He resigned from the post following the fall of the NDA government. A permanent resident of the Burrabazar area here, he was vice-president of the BJP and an active member of the party’s national committee. His last rites will be performed here tomorrow. According to BJP sources, his body will be brought to the city tonight and kept at the party headquarters in the College Street area. Shastri, who was known to be a perfect gentleman by his numerous friends and foes, was a close associate of late Haripada Bharati of the Jan Sangh and he had been a disciple of Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee at the time of the formation of the Jan Sangh in the pre-independence period. He was twice the MLA in the West Bengal Assembly. He had been a professor of Sanskrit at Calcutta University for a decade. The President, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and the Bengal Governor, Mr Buta Singh (officiating for Bihar also) expressed deep sorrow at the sudden demise of Shastri. A former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Prime Minister, Dr Mamohan Singh, sent condolence messages to the bereaved family. Lucknow: Expressing grief at the demise of his immediate predecessor Governor T.V. Rajeswar said in the passing away of Vishnukant Shastri a prominent litterateur was gone who would be remembered for long by the Hindi lovers of the country. Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, in his condolence message, recalled the multidimensional personality of the former UP Governor. Underlining his contribution, Mr Yadav said Shastri had maintained the dignity of his office by safeguarding the constitutional and democratic values. “Instead of clash of ideologies, Shastri believed in the view that importance should be given to the interests of the common man.” The BJP and the RSS, at its ongoing chintan baithak at Nirala Nagar adopted a resolution expressing sorrow at the passing away of Shastri. BJP state chief Kesharinath Tripathi recalled his contribution in making the RSS and the BJP presence felt in the Left party’s stronghold in West Bengal. Bahujan Samaj Party state president Barkhu Ram Verma called it a loss for the BJP in particular and the world of Hindi literature in general. Born on May 2, 1929, in Kolkata, Shastri remained the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from November 24, 2000, to July 2, 2004. |
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Sonia accepts Musharraf’s invitation
New Delhi, April 17 During his discussions with the visiting Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, Mr Kalam was insistent that all CBMs should be put in one basket and nurtured without anyone kicking it over. Mr Kalam recalled his interaction with schoolchildren from Pakistan as well as with people from other walks of life, including politicians, and said ‘‘it was everyone’s desire to live in a healthy, happy and prosperous country. The children of this country also desired the same’’. He also showed to General Musharraf, through computer generated images, the efforts being made to provide urban amenities in rural areas. General Musharraf explained that a similar programme was being implemented in Pakistan as well. The discussions took place at a luncheon hosted by Mr Kalam in Rashtrapati Bhawan this afternoon. It was attended among others by Vice- President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition and BJP president L.K Advani also met General Musharraf during the day. Ms Gandhi, who was accompanied by External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh, recalled the great fondness and enthusiasm with which her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka had been received in Pakistan last year. After the meeting, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told mediapersons that General Musharraf had extended an invitation to Ms Gandhi to visit Pakistan. The spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said Ms Gandhi had accepted General Musharraf's invitation the dates for which would be worked out through diplomatic channels. During his meeting with the visiting President, Mr Advani regretted that distrust between India and Pakistan was hampering the normalisation of relations between the two countries. After the 30-minute meeting, Mr Advani told mediapersons that the issue of terrorism did figure in his discussions with General Musharraf who cited mutual intransigence as the reason for the delay in resolving issues between the two countries. Mr Advani said the January 6, 2004 joint statement in Islamabad on the sidelines of the SAARC summit had led to the breakthrough. |
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New Delhi, April 17 Informed sources said that differences pertained to wording on a reference to the January 6, 2004 statement issued during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Islamabad during which Pakistan had committed not to allow its territory for terrorist acts against India. Another point of difference is said to be over the wording pertaining to confidence building measures. However, both Indian and Pakistani sources expressed optimism that the differences would be sorted out before Musharraf leaves for the Philippines tomorrow morning. Musharraf said tonight at a dinner hosted by Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan that he was satisfied with the discussions and their outcome. The Pakistani President is scheduled to meet a group of Indian editors over breakfast tomorrow. — PTI
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Hyderabadi sherwanis for Pervez
Hyderabad, April 17 Hameed Mohiuddin, a city-based trader of the famous drapers and tailors "Maqdoom Brothers" (110-year-old store) said he had sent two sherwanis, one black and the other cream coloured to be presented to the Pakistan President as a gesture of goodwill from the people of the city that had ancient links with the neighbouring country. He said he also chose to present the famous Hyderabadi Lad Bazar's gleaming 'zardosi' and crystal bangles to the First Lady of Pakistan, Ms Sehba Musharraf. He said president of the All-India Religious Leaders Association Moulana Peerzada Shabbir Nakshbandi had got the measurements of the Pakistan President. Nakshbandi had approached him with the order offering to pay for the sherwanis. But he had declined to receive the payment and instead decided to gift the sherwanis to the President and bangles to his wife. Sources said each sherwani cost Rs 75,000.
— UNI |
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156 Pak fishermen released from jails
Ahmedabad, April 17 This step comes in the backdrop of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s three-day visit to India as part of confidence-building measures. “These fishermen will be escorted up to the Indo-Pak border and handed over to officials across the border at Wagah,” Jamnagar
District Superintendent of Police Manoj Shashidhar said. One of the fishermen, 40-year-old
Ahmetullah, who was caught by Indian Coast Guard in 2002 said: “I feel happy to go home as a free man after 18 months. My family comprising two children, a wife and aged parents await me eagerly”.
— PTI |
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No breakthrough on contentious issues
Rajeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 17 It was because of the three issues mentioned above that the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf overshot by nearly an hour their slotted schedule of two hours, so much so that President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who hosted lunch in honour of Gen Musharraf, was kept waiting for about an hour. The intensity of the Indo-Pakistan diplomatic engagement could be gauged by another indicator: back-channel diplomatic efforts were on till late this evening, ostensibly to thrash out a joint statement to be released tomorrow. The proposed joint statement is a diplomatic and political compulsion of Gen Musharraf — not India’s — because the General’s visit under the garb of cricket diplomacy has been undertaken at his initiative and it is the Pakistani President who has been dropping feelers to his domestic constituency that it is he who has been setting the agenda for talks with the Indian leadership. Pakistan’s response to the Indian proposals for additional transportation linkages between the two countries was fraught with diplomatic symbolism. There was total readiness on part of Islamabad to start the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail service this year, though the Pakistani side expressed its inability to start the service by October 2 as India had desired. The Pakistani side indicated that the rail service linking Rajasthan (India) with Sindh (Pakistan) could start from December this year. An unmistakable fact here is that this confidence building measure (CBM), proposed by India, found accpetance from Pakistan because it relates to transportational connectivity on international boundary (IB). The Pakistani response on LoC-specific additional transportational linkages did not break any new grounds. Though the Pakistanis did not reject these CBMs, they said they wanted some time to study these. Even Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, in his post Pervez-Manmohan meeting briefing, remarked that the two sides had decided to continue discussions on LoC-specific transportational and other linkages. These CBMs were as follows:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly took up the issue of terrorism with Gen Musharraf and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran made it very clear in his briefing that India was not prepared to give a go-by to Indian concerns on terrorism. He brilliantly summed up the flavour of Pervez-Manmohan talks thus: “The two sides had a forward-looking approach. Yes, we have problems which need to be tackled. At the same time there is a sense that we have come a long way in past one and a half years. It is in this context that the issue of terrorism was taken up. If this (peace process) has to be continued, the issue (of terrorism) has to be taken up. There is no getting away from the issue of terrorism.” On Siachen (Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was significantly part of the Indian delegation at today’s talks), the two countries reiterated their stated positions. On the issue of the Baglihar dam, there was no forward movement at all. The Indian side did not get any indications from the Pakistanis that they were prepared to get out of multilateralistic approach and get back to bilateralism. Despite the familiar bumps, both India and Pakistan see President Musharaf’s visit as “successful” and much different from the failed Agra Summit of July 2001. There was a win-win content for both the countries in these talks. Gen Musharraf can go back home and say that he discussed Kashmir issue with India. New Delhi, on its part, is happy that continuity remains the buzz word in the Indo-Pak peace process.
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Sariska may happen in other reserves
Dehra Dun, April 17 If corrective measures are not put in place, tiger is likely to disappear from tiger reserves like Sariska that have island population and lack of connectivity of habitat, said Yadvendra Dev Jhala who was on the Sariska panel. The immediate cause of the disappearance of tigers from Sariska certainly is rampant poaching but the ultimate causes are a complex mix of island population with lack of habitat connectivity, which was destined to go, he said. While poaching was the final blow to the dwindling tiger population in Sariska, the Sariska case in the larger perspective is the failure of the system, said Qamar Qureshi who was a part member of the CBI team that carried out investigation in Sariska. The apathy of the park management was telling on the tigers and even the census did not match the number of sightings by the park’s own staff, he said. The park remained grossly short staffed over the years and remained without a director for two years, the scientists said. Apart from these factors that affect the tiger population adversely, certain parks and sanctuaries like the Kaziranga in the northeast are faced with the problem of insurgency, the experts said. In Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal, where the largest tiger presence is in Kanha, Pench, Satpura, Bandhogarh and Corbett poaching is rampant, they said. Unless these sensitive zones are dealt with due care, Sariska would repeat itself, they added. |
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Satellite to spot tigers in reserves The scientistsat the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehra Dun are rushing with a project to bring more foolproof tiger estimation in place. A wholesome assessment of the tiger population will be carried out in the tiger habitats all over the country in November, using the new spatial mapping method the scientists are working on. Back after a meeting with the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the experts said the spatial mapping project that was underway for the past couple of years had been accepted by the government. With the Sariska case raising uncomfortable questions on the traditional ways of counting tigers, the scientists would use satellite images and computers to map the tigers. The project would map the forest cover of the tiger habitats, the prey base and the density of tiger presence. “The project was started two years back in Madhya Pradesh, which is home to the Panna Tiger Sanctuary but now we are mapping reserves, tiger densities, poaching and even seizures to see the national network of trafficking”, said Mr Qamar Qureshi, a scientist at the WII and the project team leader. The scientists would use satellite images, survey maps and the reports of the ground patrolling to make a dynamic digital picture of the tigers and their habitats. According to the reports there may be only 3,600 tigers are left in the country out of about 40,000 tigers 60 years ago.
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UP to develop 10 more tourist spots
Lucknow, April 17 These tourist spots include Ferozabad, Dewa Sharif Dargah (Barabanki), Piprawa (Siddharthnagar), Chitrakoot, Etawah, Chambal, Katarniaghat (Bahraich) and Dudhwa National Park, official sources said today. Besides the famous religious places of Varanasi, Allahabad, Ayodhya and Agra, there was a need to develop other places of tourist attraction, the sources said. If the Centre gave its approval, these places would be given a facelift and facilities for tourists, including lodges and hotels would be set up, for which private sector participation would also be sought, they added. Special attention would also be paid on advertising and marketing of these tourist destinations, they said. The state Tourism Department was also gearing up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence in 2007. All districts in the state, which played any role in the 1857 mutiny, had been asked to send details for incorporation in the special programmes to mark the occasion, they added.
— PTI |
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Filth-free rail tracks may not be a distant dream
Kochi, April 17 Teamsustain, the Indian arm of the US-based Dewcon Instruments Inc, which has already built some conventional seweage treatment plants in India, has submitted a proposal to the Railway ministry to improve sanitation and hygiene of railway compartments. The proposal envisages installation of mechanical waste collection systems in each compartment and re-cycling the waste into water which can be used for gardening. Under the system, the solid waste is not thrown out. Instead, it is stored in a seweage tank with bio-enzymes under the compartment. The enzymes convert the solid waste into an odourless mass reducing it to one-fourth the quantity, the Kochi-based Teamsustain's marketing manager Ravi Shankar said. As the train chuggs into a major railway station, the contents of the sewage tank is flushed into the main sewage tank on the platform with the help of fresh water and bio-enzyme tank through electrically operated valve and vacuum pump. Within 15 minutes, the sewage tank beneath the compartments is flushed out for the treatment process and the train can embark on its onward journey. Some other companies have also submitted similar proposals but Teamsustain's was the only proposal which envisages re-cycling the waste into usable water, he claimed. If the project gets approval, it would improve the hygiene conditions of people living near the main tracks and cleanse railway tracks. Cleaner railways would help in improving tourism also, Mr Shankar said. He said a demonstration would cost about Rs 25 lakh for a 15-compartment train carrying 1200 to 1400 persons for a 24-hour journey and the net cost per passenger would work out to Rs 4.
— PTI |
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Telgi willing to ‘come clean’
Pune, April 17 Telgi’s lawyer Harshad Nimbalkar said today that he met Telgi at Yerwada yesterday where he expressed desire to make a confessional statement provided the Central Bureau of Investigation gave him conducive atmosphere to “come clean”.
Telgi wanted the central investigating agency to provide him with proper treatment and good medical attention so that he could be in a better mental condition to make the statement, Mr Nimbalkar told reporters here. He said his client had noted down the names of all people he had met in the past seven years. When asked whether the statement would have an impact on Maharashtra’s politics, he said it was possible because Telgi had given and taken help from the police in Maharashtra and Karnataka and politicians in the
state. Telgi, who is suffering from HIV/AIDS, told him that he was not getting medication as per the recommendations of National AIDS Research Institute.
— UNI |
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‘Tango Charlie’ perverse: says BSF DG
Guwahati, April 17 "The director of the film had asked me to see the movie in New Delhi but what I saw is really bad for the Bodo community as a whole", Mr Mooshahary, himself a Bodo, said at BSF headquarters at Patgaon near here. Mr Mooshahary said the depiction of Bodos as ultras was really "perverse" and the director had no knowledge of the region. "Otherwise how can you account for the presence of the Bodo militants in a place in Manipur as shown in the movie which is really ridiculous," he said. The Assam Government had already announced the banning of the film in the state as it portrayed the Bodo community in a bad light.
— PTI |
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Dharmendra to start film city in Jaipur
Jaipur, April 17 The Rajasthan Government has made a provision of Rs 5 crore for the purpose, while the Jaipur Development Authority has initiated the proceedings to acquire about 600 acres of land in the identified area. Sources said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has assured the film star-turned- politician to provide all necessary facilities for this venture. Dharmendra had offered to set up a film city 1986 and deposited Rs 60 lakh as seed money, but later withdrew because of certain obstacles. |
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Stamp on Bandung Conference
New Delhi, April 17 The stamp would be in the denomination of Rs 15. The release of the postage stamp would mark 50 years of the first meeting of leaders of newly independent states of Asia and Africa. The conference, held from April 18 to 24, 1955, in the Indonesian city of
Bandung, heralded the start of South-South cooperation and was the result of a collective effort by Afro-Asian nations to assert their presence on the world stage. |
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