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BJP set to form govt in K’taka
Victory a milestone, says Rajnath
Results humble JD-U
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Celluloid stars unlucky at the hustings
Bangarappa clan routed
Karnataka Poll Loss
Inflation not to impact UPA’s prospects: Chidambaram
JD(S), SP to tie up in Kerala
Gujjars can’t hold state to ransom: Raje
Cong seeks govt’s dismissal
Gujjar Samaj stops milk supply to Hadauti
Effigy of Rajasthan CM burnt
Aarushi Murder Case
Need for special law to combat terrorism: Justice Sinha
Train service resumes in violence-hit Assam
Unholy doings of Kerala “godmen”
Elimination of yaws
Over 4 million wells for recharging groundwater
World-class dental care at Rs 5
Reality plays make a comeback
Online frauds: HDFC cautions costumers
SHG movement transforming households in rural Nagaland
Gogoi’s gift on 2 years in office
Russian academies luring students
CBSE Class XII Result
NIH develops software for flood estimation
IV fluids will be easy to administer now
Register FIR against 3 TV channels: Court
Rise in institutional deliveries
Book on consumer law released
Homosexuals network for support
IPS officer found guilty of copying
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BJP set to form govt in K’taka
Bangalore, May 25 The BJP, which secured 79 seats in the last assembly elections in 2004, bettered its tally to 110 in the 224 member house. Another three MLAs would have given it a simple majority, but that was not to be the case. Yeddyurappa, former union tourism minister Ananth Kumar and BJP’s Karnataka unit president Sadananda Gowda, while jointly addressing a press conference at the party office here today, refused to divulge the party’s plan for overcoming the shortfall. Yeddyurappa indicated that the problem would be managed by 12 noon tomorrow when a meeting of the party’s legislative wing would take place in his official residence in Bangalore. “After the meeting we will meet the Governor and request him to invite us for forming the government in the state,” Yeddyurappa, who defeated former Chief Minister Bangarappa in a straight fight in the Shikaripura assembly segment, said. Ananth Kumar was also diplomatic when the question of managing the additional MLAs was put before him. “People of Karnataka have given us a clear mandate. A lot of participants in the electoral process will come to us in deference to the mandate,” he said. Party chief Sadananda Gowda ruled out seeking support from the Janata Dal (Secular) and said the party would rope in Independent MLAs to form the government in the state. Six Independent candidates (including one BJP rebel) have won in Karnataka this time round and the BJP could form the government with their support. There is also the possibility of the BJP engineering a split in the JD(S), whose strength dipped to 28 in the present elections from 58 in 2004. The Congress bagged 80 seats, 15 more than the 65 seats it won in 2004. While the 80 seats of Congress, added up with 28 of the JD(S) and the six Independents would make a combined strength of 114, it is unlikely that any such things will be attempted. Congress leader and former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna said the result would be analysed by them to understand the reason for the party’s electoral debacle.
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Victory a milestone, says Rajnath
New Delhi, May 25 Even as the BJP workers were busy bursting crackers and dancing to beats of the traditional dhol at the party headquarters at 11 Ashoka Road here on Sunday, party president Rajnath Singh proudly announced: “After independence so many political parties came into existence. However, it is only the BJP that has succeeded not just in sustaining itself but also growing bigger than the Congress today.” The BJP president pointed out: “Today we have our own governments in seven states and in another five states we are in coalition governments with our allies. Today we are bigger than the Congress party.” Complimenting party leaders and workers for BJP’s first victory in a southern state, Singh described it as a ‘milestone’. “This victory signifies that we have not just expanded our mass base but also expanded geographically. The BJP now truly represents the entire country.” “Now the BJP is the frontrunner for the next general elections. We are anxiously waiting for the day when we will similarly assemble here to congratulate Shri Advaniji as our next Prime Minister.”
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Results humble JD-U
New Delhi, May 25 Leader of Opposition Advani had invited Yadav and Nitish Kumar for lunch at his residence today. But since Advani was preoccupied with Karnataka Assembly celebrations, last minute lunch was put off and the meeting postponed to 3 pm. The two leaders patiently waited for Advani to find time for them and said nothing critical or controversial while driving out. They sufficed to say, “We are in alliance in the NDA sharing a government in Bihar. We have come here for routine discussions.” At this meeting apart from Advani and these two JD-U leaders the only other person was BJP president Rajnath Singh. When reporters asked them about the current political crisis in Bihar, they dismissed it as “minor irritants.” Ever since Nitish Kumar reshuffled his council of ministers about a month back, several BJP leaders from this state are up in arms more against their leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi than against the JD-U. Only a day earlier a senior JD-U leader had said they were not interested in discussing Bihar “since that is their (BJP’s) internal problem. On Karnataka, Sharad sufficed to say, “Yes, we contested Karnataka elections separately” and said nothing more. Yesterday, a JD-U leader was privately pleased with this invitation believing that this indicated a certain climb down in the BJP’s big brotherly attitude. He had interpreted the invitation on the eve of Karnataka Assembly results as an indication of the fact that the BJP was unlikely to do very well. He had hoped that the JD-U contesting on 73 seats would have damaged the BJP sufficiently to prevent it from forming a government on its own. But by the time the JD-U big two went to meet Advani it was clear that there was no stopping the BJP from forming a government in that state this time. And so the JD-U leaders meekly accepted a last minute change of schedule and came out from their meeting looking very tame. After the meeting the JD-U leaders switched off their phones and remained incommunicado.
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Celluloid stars unlucky at the hustings
Bangalore, May 25 The sole star who was laughing all the way today was Jaggesh, known for his comedy flicks. In Srirangappattana, Ambareesh of Congress was pipped by rival A.B. Ramesh Bandesiddegouda of JD(S) by 5,160 votes, while in Terdal in Bijapur, Umashree (INC) was trounced by Siddu Savadi of BJP by 12,244 votes.BJP's Saikumar was defeated by N Sampangi of the Congress in Bagepally assembly segment. Unlike a regular screen script where the hero tastes success, celluloid hero Shashikumar of Congress was beaten by Tippeswamy of BJP by 289 votes. S Mahender, director-cum-actor, of the BJP lost to R. Dhruvanarayan of Congress by 11,798 votes in Kollegal. In Turuvekere, Jaggesh of Congress and a popular comedian in Kannada films trounced Laxminarayan of the BJP by 9,526 votes, becoming the only star
to make it to the winners’ list. — PTI
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Bangarappa clan routed
Bangalore, May 25 Four time Lok Sabha member from Shimoga and seven-time MLA from Soraba, Bangarappa, fighting the assembly election this time on an SP ticket, suffered a shocking defeat from Shikaripura at the hands of BJP chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa. The SP leader, supported tacitly by the Congress that withdrew its candidate and the JDS, received a stinging blow, the second in his political career. Earlier, he had lost to BJP’s Ayanur Manjunath from the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat. Yeddyurappa defeated the SP leader by a margin of 45,927 votes, polling 83,491 votes. In Sorab, a triangular battle was witnessed between Bangarappa’s sons Madhu (SP) and Kumara (Cong), and BJP candidate H. Halappa. Halappa, who also belongs to Idiga community like Bangarappa, found favour with his own community and other sections that did not approve of the sibling rivalry and Bangarappa’s political machinations. Halappa won by a margin of 21,035 votes.
— PTI
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Karnataka Poll Loss
New Delhi, May 25 As the Manmohan Singh government and the Congress charismatic campaigners, including party president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, came under attack from various quarters for the poor show in the southern state, the party’s crisis managers rushed to defend them. They said no single leader could be blamed for the defeat of the party and it would introspect the defeat of some of its senior leaders. Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, “Ultimately, you cannot sort of put responsibility on this or that leadership. Our leaders were there campaigning.” Congress in charge of the Karnataka elections, Prithviraj Chavan, also gave credit to Sonia Gandhi’s aggressive campaign and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow for improvement in the Congress seat tally from 65 to 80. True to the party’s obsession for the high command culture, no leader dared to be candid in attempting a post-mortem of the Karnataka election results. There are, however, murmurs in the Congress headquarters in New Delhi that the state organisation was in a shambles and that the party could have fared better with a more robust structure. Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan agreed that the party had not done well as it could have. At the same time, she said the defeat by no stretch of imagination was a reflection of the Central government. “It is clearly on local issues.” After facing disappointment in almost a dozen Assembly elections, the Congress has not lost its optimism. It is still hopeful that anti-incumbency factor will work to its advantage in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the BJP-led states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Congress defeat gave its key ally, the Left, just the right handle to remind the leadership that its number two position in the state elections was due to its anti-people policies. The Congress performance in Karnataka is expected to debilitate its debating capacity with the communist parties on a host of issues.
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Inflation not to impact UPA’s prospects: Chidambaram
New Delhi, May 25 In an interview, Chidambaram said the government was doing everything possible within its mean to check prices and indicated that the tolerance level of inflation among the people was
going down. The Finance Minister said the historical level of tolerance of prices was an inflation rate of 4 to 5 per cent and there was discomfort if the price situation goes beyond this. He observed that political parties cash in on this resentment to suit their ends. To a question relating to banning the futures trading in certain commodities, Chidambaram said the Abhijit Sen Committee itself had recommended banning futures in rice, wheat, toor and urad. The Finance Minister was of the view that the ban on futures trading may not bring down inflation rate, but admitted that it was political compulsion which had forced the government to take such a step. ''When the Parliamentary Standing Committee says the same thing, if all political parties, including the BJP, which introduced commodities trading in the first place, demand a ban, if people in villages start blaming futures and commodities trading as the reason for price rise, you have to heed the advice of the majority,'' he said. ''That is what we have done. I'm reasonably sure this ban will have no impact on the prices of these items, but sometimes you do things that may have no positive impact, but hopefully no negative ones either,'' he added. Asked to comment on IMF's observation that there was overheating of the Indian economy, Chidambaram explained that this was a phenomenon relating to demand being far more than excess capacity. ''You can have overheated segments of an economy, but I do not think, in India, that demand across the board is in excess of capacity. For example, there is a demand for steel but we also export steel. The same for cement and rice.'' He, however, agreed that in some markets there was high demand and some bubbles have built up. For example, in the real estate market and possibly in the equity market as well. ''But to say the Indian economy is overheated is something I don't agree with. I think there is still capacity for our economy to grow at a higher rate. The consequence of arguing that the Indian economy is overheated is to slowdown the growth rate. And that would be disastrous for India.'' Chidambaram said achieving high growth rate of 9-10 per cent for the next 20-30 years was the only way to eliminate poverty.
— UNI
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JD(S), SP to tie up in Kerala
Kozhikode, May 25 “The state council of the party, led by Surendramohan at the national level, has unanimously resolved to merge with the SP,”
JD(S) state President M.P. Veerendrakumar told reporters here. In a meeting held in New Delhi recently, the national leadership of the party had directed the state units to take a decision to either merge with the SP or Lalu Prasad’s
RJD, he said. “That is because the JD(S) feels that the SP and the RJD are the only two formidable formations at the national level of the old Janata
parivar,” he said. The JD(S) national council, scheduled to meet in June, would take a final decision after consulting the state units and it was likely that the party would merge with the SP totally, Veerendrakumar said, adding that Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh, during their recent visit to Kochi, had already welcomed the move. Noting that the merger with the SP would have nothing to do with its partner status in the ruling LDF in the state, he, however,said the issue was yet to be discussed in the front. The
JD(S) in Kerala separated from Gowda after the latter decided to join hands with the BJP in Karnataka to form a ministry headed by his son
H.D. Kumaraswamy. — PTI
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Gujjars can’t hold state to ransom: Raje
Jaipur, May 25 "It is shocking that notorious dacoits and goonda elements, wielding arm and ammunition, have joined Kirori Singh Bainsla and are indulging in arson and violence. Such things will not be tolerated," Raje told reporters at her residence here today. The government will not allow anyone to take the state to ransom and law and order into their own hands, she warned. Raje alleged, “A political party from a neighbouring state was instigating and pumping money to fuel the violence in the state”. She said the government was open for talks to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner and regretted that Bainsla had been rejecting her appeals. Expressing anguish over the violent incidents that have rocked the state since the past two days resulting in death of 37 persons, Raje said there was limit for bearing such violence and arson and warned of stringent action against those who take the state to ransom. She said it was very unfortunate that the violence came in the wake of the May 13 serials bombings that rocked the city and claimed 66 lives. Giving details of yesterday's violent incidents in which the Sikandra police station was set ablaze prompting police to fire and resulting in the death of 20 persons, Raje said the police had to fire in self-defence since the gun of a personnel was snatched by an agitator who shot at a constable, injuring him. She said after the Gujjars began their stir, the government held several discussions with Bainsla and other leaders over the relief package. "After the Ramadas Agrarwal committee looking into their demands submitted its report, a relief package of Rs 282 crore was announced.” “Everything was done with the consent of Bainsla and all their (Gujjars) demands were fulfilled a letter recommending four per cent reservation for the community. But I fail to understand why such a time was chosen (for the agitation) when the state is yet to get out of the shock of the serial blasts." She said, adding that Bainsla had betrayed her trust. — PTI
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Cong seeks govt’s dismissal
Lucknow, May 25 BJP's election manifesto in Rajasthan promised reservation to Gujjars, but it failed to do so....the Governor should dismiss the government,” UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said in a press statement here today. She also demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of those killed in the police firing and Rs 5 lakh for the injured.
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Gujjar Samaj stops milk supply to Hadauti
Kota, May 25 The HGS took the decision yesterday afternoon after the district administration started making alternative arrangements for the milk supply to Kota
city. Divisional convener of the Gujjar Sangarsh Samiti Rajesh Gujjar had announced that the HGS would prevent other dairies to make the supply. However, the samiti’s announcement did not have much impact today morning in Kota city except in some isolated areas. The district administration said arrangements were being finalised to make effective supply of milk through Saras Dairy to face any reduction in availability following the HGS’s decision. Sources said Saras had enough stock for three days and facilities to manufacture milk powder.
— PTI
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Effigy of Rajasthan CM burnt
Roorkee, May 25 Shouting slogans against the Rajasthan government, Gujjar protesters took out a procession along the Gorganpur road and later disrupted the vehicular traffic by blocking the road at the railway crossing. Mahsabha state secretary Sanjeev Chaudhary said the Gujjar community in Rajasthan had been fighting for schedule tribe status for the past many years, but the government had been turning a blind eye towards their genuine demand. “The opening of fire by the police was carried out on the behest of the Rajasthan government, which is solely responsible for the heinous act,” he alleged.
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Aarushi Murder Case Dental
fraternity backs Rajesh The Indian Dental Association, an
apex body of dental surgeons, has backed Rajesh saying he was a
“respectable man” and was being “implicated” in the case. “We are dismayed and anguished
at the way poorly investigated case is being projected to millions
of people across the country implicating a senior respectable
member of society without proof,” the association said in a
release.
Noida, May 25 The police
conducted searches at the residence of the Talwars today and confiscated
the central processing unit (CPU) of the computer used by 14-year-old
Aarushi from the room where she was found murdered on May 16. The police
had earlier confiscated her laptop. Investigators questioned Nupur for
about an hour after the searches, two days after her dentist-husband
Rajesh was arrested for allegedly killing Aarushi and Hemraj. “We
have confiscated the CPU of Aarushi’s computer for further probe. Our
cyber experts will analyse the information stored in the computer. We
have some more clarity in the case and more arrests are likely,” a
senior police officer said. The police are also considering moving the
court for conducting a narco-analysis test on Rajesh, the officer said,
adding they would seek police remand of the accused. Investigators
claimed they had collected “crucial evidence” to link Rajesh to the
murders like entry of time of death of Aarushi as 2 am by Rajesh at the
temple in Hardwar where her ashes were immersed. Talwars had claimed
before the police that they found Aarushi’s body at 6 am. Meanwhile,
the wife and brother of Rajesh, main accused in Aarushi-Hemraj murder
case, visited him at the Dasna Jail here on Sunday. Talwar has been
lodged in the jail since his arrest on Friday. After visiting his
brother, Dinesh Talwar said the family believed Rajesh to be innocent.
On Saturday, Nupur had come out in defence of her husband claiming his
innocence in the murder of their daughter and domestic help. Rajesh’s
lawyers have filed bail applications in a local court for his release,
saying there was no evidence to link him with the crime and that he
suffered severe asthma. — Agencies
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Need for special law to combat terrorism: Justice Sinha
Dehra Dun, May 25 Justice Sinha was speaking at the inauguration function of the 5th post graduate diploma course in Human Rights for SAARC countries under the aegis of the Indo-Sri Lanka Human Rights Centre run by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), here yesterday. Justice Sinha said in the light of the recent Jaipur bomb blasts, it had become important to debate whether terrorists need different laws. “It is a big question. How to deal with them? Are we going to apply different laws to deal with them and different set of laws to deal with murderers during riots,” he asked the distinguished gathering of jurists and human
rights students. He said the question had been agitating the minds of the jurists even in the USA and the UK. Justice Sinha said the Supreme Court of the USA in three judgements had stated that the Apex Court had the right to enforce human rights. Referring to the famous case of Hamadan versus Rumsfield, Justice Sinha said the USA Supreme Court ruled that the accused could not be tried by the military tribunal or by special laws other than the criminal law of the country. “In a similar case of equality before law, a UK court has ruled that the state cannot distinguish between its’ own national and that of another
country,” he added. He said the Apex Court in India by creative interpretation of the human rights has expanded the sphere of the human rights. “From interpreting, right to development to socio-economic development and right to the core need of clean water, housing and better hygiene and sanitation of the citizens, the Supreme court has expanded the horizons of the human rights,” he said. Later, Justice Pradeep Kant of the Allahabad High Court gave a talk on “Human Rights: Origin, Issues and Role of Judiciary,” while Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Delhi High Court gave a talk on “Crime against Humanity and International Criminal Tribunals.” Prof Faizan Mustafa, senior vice-president of the RLEK said the course offered was one of the best and comparable with the best in the world. Avdhash Kaushal of the RLEK said students from Sri Lanka and Nepal were participating in the course.
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Train service resumes in violence-hit Assam
Guwahati, May 25 The decision has come as a major relief to Northeastern states of Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur, which depends heavily on the vital Lumding-Badarpur section for the supply of essentials. The suspension of trains since May 15 precipitated crisis of food and other essentials in certain parts of these states. NFR spokesman Samir Goswami informed that the train services in the section resumed today morning with the running of a security special train from Lumding. Normal passenger and goods train services would be resumed only after the safe return of the security special train. The train services in the hill section came to a grinding halt after the banned Black Widow or Dima Halam Daogah (J) ultras mowed down 22 persons, including two railway staffers and eight construction workers, within one week since May 10. The NFR agreed to resume the train services only after the Assam government gave assurance to provide adequate security. A meeting was held at the NFR headquarters here yesterday, which was attended by the Inspector General (Law & Order) of Assam Police, Inspector General of the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF), senior officials of the Railways and the NFR. After the meeting, the NFR decided to run train services on the 185-km long Lumding-Badarpur Hill section. The NFR authorities had earlier evacuated its staffs and their families from all stations within violence-hit North Cachar Hills to safer places in Lumding and South Assam. The Railways in the meantime has initiated steps to get at least four train engines running in that hill section protected through bulletproof steel sheets with about 2.5 inches thick and bulletproof glasses in the driver’s cabin as a precaution. It will take at least 30-40 days to get the engines fortified.
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Unholy doings of Kerala “godmen”
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, May 25 The “holy war” began with the arrest of Santhosh Madhavan, a temple priest-turned-astrologer, who was charged with rape of a teen as well as cheating in Alappuzha district earlier this month. The swami turned out to be fake and a benami real estate bigwig. A tiger skin and pornographic films were recovered from his house in Kochi. Madhavan's arrest seemed to have opened a can of worms. Since then the state police have raided the homes of several swamis-Divya Joshi, a self-proclaimed sanyasi in Thrissur district, Swamy Thapasyananda, a godman in Panthalam (Pathanamthitta), Swamy Almachaithanya in Kannur district, Matha Prasanna, who runs a ‘charitable’ trust, and Amma Thaya Mahamaya-both in Kottayam district. Police have recovered documents of fraudulent land deals involving huge amounts, fake passports, bogus passbooks and cheque leaves of various banks from their possession. Many of them have been accused of taking money from “devotees” by promising to heal them of fatal diseases and remove their “bad luck”. Among those under the scanner is self-proclaimed Christian spiritual leader, Brother Thanku, who has been accused of fraud. With more and more complaints against “holy men” being reported from different parts of the state, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has announced that it would not spare any “spiritual leader” against whom there are complaints. “If there is any complaint of fraudulence, cheating or exploitation against any spiritual leader, the government is ready to initiate an investigation,” said state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who was in Delhi earlier this week. He said the state police were preparing a detailed report on the “fake godmen” across the state. The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing organisation of the CPI-M, has publicly demanded that the government probe the source of income of all the “godmen”, including Mata Amrithanandamayi, a leading spiritual leader from the state, who has followers across the world. “We are not against spiritual leaders. But we cannot accept a situation where only small fish are caught and big sharks are let free. There should be an inquiry into the past lives of all these spiritual leaders and their sources of income in the state,” said DYFI president P. Ramakrishnan. “There should be a white paper on the issue,” he demanded. The CPI-M central leadership has also given a green signal to the state government. “There should not be any criminal activities in the name of spirituality. The party is not against any genuine spiritual leaders or sanyasis,” CPI-M politburo member S. Ramachandra Pillai said here yesterday. On Saturday, offices of Thanku “brother”, who has established an independent church, Heavenly Feast, in Kottayam district, were searched by the police. The Kottayam municipal corporation has already issued a notice to the sect to demolish its temporary structure built in the heart of the city.
— IANS
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Elimination of yaws
New Delhi, May 25 A chronic skin infection that affects skin, bone and cartilage, yaws can cause irreversible destruction of tissue and deformities in late stages. The disease can be prevented and cured by a single shot of long-acting Penicillin. Although India has not reported a single case of yaws since 2004, official declaration on elimination of the disease came in September 2006. Experts are keeping their fingers crossed as there is still a full calendar year to go before India can press its claim before WHO for certification of yaws eradication. Nearly 30 years after yaws re-emerged in India, the government has approved a project document submitted by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) for the Yaws Eradication Programme. The programme was started in 1996 with a pilot project in Orissa’s Koraput district and was expanded in 1999 to cover all endemic areas of the country. The NICD continues to keep a close watch on the 49 districts in 10 yaws-endemic states. These include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. The weekly epidemiological record of WHO has featured India’s success story in its recent edition. Citing India’s achievement, the WHO publication has expressed the hope that other countries would emulate India’s example to rid themselves of this disease. “Following India's example, the WHO South-East Asia Region has set a target of 2012 for the elimination of yaws in the remaining two endemic countries, Indonesia and Timor Leste, the epidemiological record reads. Jai P. Narain, director, communicable diseases, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office said: “India's achievement in yaws elimination has been quoted as a powerful example for other countries to follow.” Dr Akshay Dhariwal, joint director, NICD, said here yesterday: “Yaws eradication programme was conceptualised by the NICD after eradication of small pox in 1980 and guinea worm in 2000. To encourage accurate reporting of any fresh case of yaws, the government had last year announced a cash incentive scheme of Rs 5,000 for a confirmed case of yaws and Rs 500 to any person who is the first to report such a case.” Dhariwal said that the NICD undertakes independent surveillance to ensure that there are no active cases of yaws.
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Over 4 million wells for recharging groundwater
New Delhi, May 25 The Artificial Recharge of Ground Water through wells scheme was launched keeping in view the concerns of over exploitation of groundwater resources in the country as well as to ensure sustainable water resource management and irrigation facilities in the affected areas. The scheme, approved for a total cost of Rs 1,798.71 crore with net cost of subsidy to the government in terms of civil works being Rs 1,499.27 crore, provides 100 per cent subsidy to marginal and small farmers and 50 per cent subsidy to other farmers. According to the water ministry officials, many areas of the country underlain by hard rock aquifers having limited storage potentials are facing acute problems of over exploitation and depletion of groundwater resources. About 80 per cent of these groundwater stressed areas- over-exploited, critical and semi-critical areas are located in hard rock areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu where rapid decline of groundwater levels have been observed on long-term basis. It is a state sector scheme and will be implemented by the respective states government in association with the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), the NABARD and NGOs. The officials add that any farmer who have dug well in their agricultural land in the identified areas is beneficiary for the scheme. The scheme provides 100 per cent subsidy to “marginal farmers” (0-1 hectare land holding) and “small farmers” (1-2 hectare land holding) and 50 per cent subsidy to “other farmers” (more than 2 hectare land holding). 4.455 million wells would be taken up for recharge of groundwater in 110 blocks of the identified states. The total cost of the scheme in respect of 4.455 wells is Rs 1871.10 crore. An amount of Rs. 1,499.27 crore is to be provided by the government as subsidy to the farmers, which will be disbursed by the NABARD through the lead bank of the district concerned to identified beneficiaries.
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World-class dental care at Rs 5
Puducherry, May 25 The area was deprived of basic dental care for several years until a French dental surgeon Jacques Verre made Auroville his home and established Auroville Dental Centre. Dr Jacques Verre soon became the most sought after dental surgeon and was fondly referred as Auroville dentist by the villagers. Today his centre is extending world-class dental treatment to the poorest of the poor families in 18 villages in Auroville at just Rs five per patient under the dental rural programme. The centre, equipped with well-trained dentists, dental health workers, hygienists and a team of volunteers had established 13 sub-centres in the remotest parts of various villages and had been treating thousands of villagers, particularly children for various dental disorders for the past few years. Dentists and technicians use the not-so-popular but cost-effective ART (atraumatic restorative treatment) technique for removing carious tooth tissue with hand instruments, without using the conventional drilling equipment for extraction and filling the cavities with a special cement (glass-inomer), which releases fluoride to stop further decay. This technique, promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), solves problems of unaffordable or out-of-reach treatment. “It is a simple technique that does not require local anaesthesia. Drilling equipment that requires power supply is also not used in this technique for removal of carious tooth tissues. This technique is effectively used in rural hamlets without electricity and adequate facilities for medical treatment. We are the first and only centre in the country that adopts this technique for treating poor rural populace, particularly children with milk teeth,” Auroville Dental Centre dentist Dr S. Amar Raja said. The centre had also adopted 17 government and private schools in the villages and had been organising dental health camps periodically. Another highlight of the centre is that the dental team follows a human-centered concept called ‘zero concept’ in dentistry, developed by American dentist Dr Daryl Beach after 30 years of research in ergonomy (extreme simplification of required movements with the maximum effectiveness), in collaboration with the WHO. “This concept creates more open space and allows free movements and a natural position of the operator, contrary to conventional dental chairs and other cumbersome equipment. Combined with the self-awareness of the balanced body of the performer, dentistry becomes stressless and optimised through ‘gentle hands’,” said Dr Wolf, a voluntary dentist from Germany. Dentists could adopt this new treatment approach without any sophisticated instruments and could treat patients with ease. A school desk, bench, wooden chair or basic furniture material are enough for the dentist to extend the highest quality of treatment adopting this technique. The centre had also launched an insurance scheme providing complete dental care to a family for three years for just Rs 150. Over 200 families from these 18 villages have enrolled in this scheme.
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Reality plays make a comeback
New Delhi, May 25 The Actor Factor Theatre Company is one such. Part of a non-profit
organisation, the Actor Factor Theatre Society comprises nine actors, who work by the day and act by night. The group believes in theatre with a message. “We are serious about three core values - doing plays which reflect contemporary social realities, inviting change and promoting histrionic talent without props,” Sunit
Sinha, president of the theatre company, said. The group staged the play ‘Aakaar’ at the LTG auditorium here today. The 60-minute play, the company’s flagship production, is a complex one. On the surface, it is the story of a schizophrenic,
Prakaar, who commits a murder in his imagination. The victim of his rage is nobody but himself. The play is a journey of the tragic character, who aspires to break free of the fetters or
‘Aakaar’, the established notions we live our lives by. It dares us to challenge our mundane existence to enjoy
freedom. Originally a 15-minute platform performance for young actors in Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre written by Bollywood director Anurag
Kashyap, Sinha added form and substance to ‘Aakaar’ to make an hour-long script. “All our productions, ‘The Indian Wants the Bronx’, ‘The Red Corridor’ and ‘Circus 2007’ are reflections of everyday life and its complexities,” says
Sinha, the creative director of an advertising firm who has worked with heavyweights like
M.K. Raina, Joy Micheal and Habib Tanvir. Reality plays with strong messages also feed the regional stage, especially in Maharashtra and Gujarat, which have vibrant theatre cultures. “I can’t say for other states, but in Maharashtra and Gujarat most of the plays deal with contemporary themes that people can connect to. The plays are all people-oriented," Bollywood actor Harsh Chhaya said. The actor was recently in the capital to stage a play at the India Habitat
Centre, ‘Kachche Lamhe’, based on a short story by Gulzar. “I have been doing
'Kachche Lamhe' for the past one-and-a-half year. It is a social drama, rather a relationship story about a husband and wife,” says the actor. Concurs Sinha of Actor Factor. “The Indian stage is in a state of confusion. Fifty different persons are trying 50 different things," he says. “They are doing real crazy stuff and spreading poison. And we are all in the same pool. Most of the commercial plays being staged are like C-grade Bollywood movies. Someone should talk to these directors,” says
Sinha. The art of creativity, says the writer-actor, is to make complex realities simple and treat it with compassion and understanding. Plays with strong social themes were first made popular by journalist-turned-writer Vijay
Tendulkar, who died this month, in the 1950s and 60s. — IANS
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Online frauds: HDFC cautions costumers
Dehra Dun, May 25 The e-mail on safe banking practises being sent by chief information security officer of HDFC Bank, Vishal Salvi to HDFC Net-banking customers read, “You may get messages that seem like they are coming from HDFC Bank seeking confidential information. This activity is commonly known as ‘phishing’. Through such messages, you may be directed to websites appearing to be genuine and asked to key-in your confidential information. Beware of such messages.” While disclosing that HDFC Bank never asks for any confidential information such as password, customer ID and so on over an email, the Bank official further informed that the fraudsters send genuine-looking emails that contain viruses and trojans (A trojan refers to a program that appears to be safe, but hidden inside is usually something harmful, probably a virus). “These viruses/trojans install a malicious code on your PC without your knowledge. They extract your confidential information that the fraudsters use to access your bank account”, reads the mail. While advising the bank customers to not transfer funds to or share account details with unknown sources, Salvi mentioned in his message to the bank customers that many phishing fraudsters are located overseas. “They need a money mule to route the money into their country of origin. A money mule is someone who receives the illegal funds into his account, withdraws it and sends it to the fraudsters after keeping his commission. This may be easy money, but is illegal. Such requests could come to you through emails, advertisements on genuine recruitment web sites, instant messaging/SMS, and advertisements in newspapers and even on social networking websites”, mentions the mail sent by the bank.
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SHG movement transforming households in rural Nagaland
Kohima, May 25 Set up in August 2006 with the motto "growth and prosperity", Women Ahead is a network of over 60 SHGs spread across Kohima, Dimapur and Peren districts in the state and now intends to start working in Mokokchung district. Members of SHGs are involved in various activities such as weaving, piggery, bee-keeping, making of detergent powder, pickles and decorative items at Vidima, near Dimapur. Gifted with dexterous hands, the weavers in the village have developed unique weaving pattern and designs on their looms. They claim to have participated at exhibitions and fairs of handlooms and
handicrafts. Members of another SHG in a village near Dimapur, manufacture a detergent powder with caustic soda and other locally available materials which has good demand among customers as the price is much cheaper than the branded products. "Such initiatives of providing alternative income-generation to women have not only improved living condition of their families in areas of nutrition, health care, education and access to other services, but also confidence to participate in larger community-driven activities in their villages," the group President Neilazono Terhuja said. The Women Ahead with seven members now acts as vital link between commercial banks and SHGs, undertakes capacity-building initiatives and also regularly monitors the activities of women's groups. The creation of a revolving fund of Rs 10,000 for each SHG has been an encouraging experience for the group. Without any financial assistance from the government, this fund was created with the contribution of individual members.
— PTI
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Gogoi’s gift on 2 years in office
Guwahati, May 25 Addressing a public function to observe the Congress-led coalition government’s completion of second year in office, the Chief Minister also announced a hike in the dearness allowance for employees and pensioners from the existing 91 per cent to 97 per cent. The Chief Minister further announced that one lakh youths would be provided government jobs by the next year and all girl children born in below poverty line families would be gifted with a fixed deposit of Rs 5,000. “My government has initiated several measures to ensure development of the state during the past seven years in office and we plan to take it further ahead by providing several initiatives in the coming years,” Gogoi said. In the education sector, schools and colleges, which are more than 100 years old, would be provided with grant for the construction and repair of their buildings while more than one lakh meritorious students would be provided with scholarships. Schoolchildren in rural areas would be provided with uniforms while the state government would create a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore to encourage public private partnership (PPP) for employment generation. More medical and engineering institutes would be set up in the state, he said. Gogoi further announced that all village headmen in the state would be provided with mobile phones so that they could keep in touch not only with the villagers but also with the authorities at the sub-divisional and district levels. The state government would also spend Rs 1,000 crore in three years under the Chief Minister Development Project Fund in addition to the present Rs 500 crore, he said. The government has so far spent Rs 450 crore for flood control during the current year. “This was not enough as the problem of flood cannot be solved in a day but we are trying to contain it,” he said. Gogoi further said he was grateful to the Centre, particularly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, for allocating schemes and the required funds for developing the state. The Chief Minister said a major achievement of his government was proper financial management, which had helped in all-round development with Assam being judged as a fastest growing in the country.
— PTI
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Russian academies luring students
New Delhi, May 25 Many Russian institutes are holding education fairs in the metros to enable students to get admission into medical and technical universities in Russia. As Russia grapples with the reality of dwindling number of Indian students in their technical institutes post Soviet Union break-up, the need for such fairs is felt all the more. ''Though the number of Indian students in our medical institutes has increased phenomenally over the years, we are not getting many students in the technical field,'' says Head of the Russian Centre of International Studies Prof Sayed Kamruzzaman. One reason could be the reduced stipends for students after Russia came out of the Communist mould. The other could be aggressive marketing by the universities of the United Kingdom, France and Australia in recent years. ''But education in our country is cheaper. It costs between $2,500-10,000 per annum to study in Russia.... and the standard of our higher education is also considered one of the most advanced in the world,'' vice-chairman for foreign students, Tve State Medical Academy Prof Dmitry Bazhenov asserts. The expanding Indian economy is also prompting Russian academies to hold education fairs in India. Also, the demand for aviation engineers in India is rising fast and Russia wants to encash on it. Prof Sergey Lutin of the Moscow Institute of Aero-space Technologies is among the ones who have come to lure Indian students to his institute. ''We have real samples of airplanes, the five-year course at our institute cost only 25,000 dollars. We hope to produce good aviation engineers for India'', he says. The academics have already held fairs at Delhi and Kolkata. The academics will be in Bangalore tomorrow and in Mumbai on May 28 and 29. With bilateral economic and commercial ties requiring well-trained personnel in space research, technology, medicine and other fields, Russia believes these students can be crucial in reviving friendship with India which ebbed after the Soviet Union split.
— UNI
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CBSE Class XII Result
Roorkee/ Dehra Dun, May 24 Harshit Garg, a student of St. Gabrials School, Roorkee, stood first by scoring 96 per cent marks in the state while, Upasana from St. Annes Senior Secondary School, Roorkee, stood second by getting 93.8 per cent marks. Rusheel Agarwal of Doon International School, Dehra Dun, with an aggregate of 93.4 per cent marks stood third. Jubilant over his accomplishment, Harshit believes that there are no shortcuts to success. “To achieve such a feat is delightful experience, however, all this has followed as a result of hard work,” he says. With a brilliant academic record throughout his school career, he now aspires to pursue doctorate in medicine. “My aim is to become a doctor,” said Harshit. Son of Pankaj Garg, a scientist in the National Institute of Hydrology, Harshit asserts that the blend of commitment, dedication and devotion is the key to success in any field. Sharing the experience of examination preparatory days, Harshit said he consistently pursued with his studies throughout the year, however, during the last three months before the final examinations it was almost around the clock study schedule that helped him to bring laurels. Harshit scored 89 in English, 96 in Physics, 96 in Chemistry, 99 in Mathematics and 100 in Biology. Brother George, principal St. Gabriel’s School was delighted to witness the performance of Harshit. He said, “Harshit has always been a sincere student and he is one of the best students of the school. I wish him all the best and success in life.” Upasana, second topper of the state, scored 99 in Biology, 95 in English, 95 in Chemistry, 90 in Physics and 92 in Mathematics. Like Harshit, Upasana also aspire to be a medical student. Rusheel Agarwal of Doon International Scool, who stood third, secured 93.4 per cent marks.
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NIH develops software for flood estimation
Roorkee, May 24 The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, has developed a package called “FLPACK” to estimate the flood for large, medium and small sized catchments by putting in use hydrograph approach and reservoir and channel-routing procedures. The package provides online help for using various options and sub-options to estimate flood. “For the flood estimation for large catchments, the package utilises networking approach, in which flood of individual catchment is calculated and routed through individual channel or reservoir to get final flood hydrograph of the catchments,” says Rakesh Kumar, head of the surface water hydrology at the NIH. “Flood estimation has always remained a challenging component of the water resource project planning. The in-practice unit hydrograph theory for flood estimation can calculate flood for small catchments with reasonable accuracy. However, for the areas having area over 5,000 sq km, the principle of unit hydrograph cannot be applied and therefore the need for developing new technique was felt," he adds. The FLPACK software deals with various options of flood estimation for catchments of different sizes, besides dealing with processing and analysis of rainfall and runoff data. The choice for calibration of unit hydrograph parameters of various sub-catchments and for calibration of routing parameters for different river reaches from historical records are provided in the package that helps in accurate estimation of flood. "The estimation of flood for small or large catchments is pre-requisite for the success of any water resource project. Overestimation of flood could result in construction of uneconomical structures while underestimation of floods could lead to failure of project. The reasonable accurate estimation of floods by using the methodology and software developed by NIH would certainly be helpful in designing and the construction of economically as technically feasible structures,” he asserts.
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IV fluids will be easy to administer now
Jaipur, May 25 Thirtysix-year-old Trebhuvan Singh Raman has, who has developed six new medical devices during the last 15 years, said his new intralock IV cannula has been granted a patent certificate recently. The intralock IV cannula is a soft rubber tube valve fitted structure which overcomes several disadvantage of the existing IV cannula. It is more comfortable in handling and removes the problem of using tapes, micropores or adhesives, Singh said. Two of his other devices “blood transfusion set” and “measured volume fluid administration set” have been sent to the United States for international patent right. The young scientist’s another equipment “Ryle’s tube protection belt and Raman’s airways” has also been submitted for patenting. The oropharengial airways (Raman’s airways) is absolutely ultramodern in its manoeuvring technology, according to Raman. It has three openings instead of one and make suctions easily. His other innovative inventions included micro intravenous fluids administration set and measured volume fluid administration set
(burette set). “All prominent surgical medical equipment and disposable healthcare products, I have invented have
revolutionary techniques,” Raman said. — PTI
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Register FIR against 3 TV channels: Court
New Delhi, May 25 “The report prima-facie shows that India TV, Sahara Samay and IBN have committed the offence punishable under Section 228 of the IPC. Accordingly, the SHO has been directed to register the FIR and investigate the matter,” metropolitan magistrate M. Devender Kumar Jangala said. Section 228 of the IPC states that whoever telecasts or prints a name, which reveals the identity of the rape victim, shall be punished with imprisonment of two years or fine or both. As per the report filed by the SHO of the Swaroop Nagar police station on May 9, some media personnel from Sahara Samay, India TV and IBN had allegedly entered into the police station and took interview of the victim and her parents despite objection by the juvenile officer. Even though the interview of the victim was telecasted with a blurred face, the interview of the parents was telecast without any blurring effect, it said. The court had earlier on April 24 directed the media personnel not to disclose the identity of the victim. However, despite its directions, the interview of the victim and her parents was allegedly telecast by these channels.
— PTI
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Rise in institutional deliveries
Dehra Dun, May 25 According to the recent statistics, during 2003-2004 the number of institutional deliveries recorded was 3,393, which has increased to 6,753 in 2007-2008. But the rate of abortion has gone down significantly. During 2003-2004, the hospital has undertaken 262 abortion cases. This number kept on increasing with 265 cases in 2004-2005, 297 cases in 2005-2006 and 285 cases in 2006-2007.
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Book on consumer law released
Dehra Dun, May 25 Justice Rajesh Tondon of Uttarakhand High Court; Justice Madan B. Lokur of Delhi High Court; Justice K.D. Shahi, former chairman, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Uttarakhand; and R.R. Agarwal, district judge, Dehra Dun, also attended the function. Speaking on the occasion, Justice Sinha said the book would be beneficial to consumers, practicing lawyers and various forums and organisations working in this field.
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Homosexuals network for support
New Delhi, May 25 Online social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook and MySpace are getting flooded with hundreds of communities advocating “natural rights” of gays and lesbians and inviting “like-minded people” to pour out their views and emotions with anonymity. Forums like Indian Gay Liberation Movement, Glad To Be Gay, Anti-Homophobia (India) and Support Gay Rights are among hundreds others, which are actively discussing several problems being faced by the homosexuals.
— PTI
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IPS officer found guilty of copying
Ahmedabad, May 25 However, Rai, who appeared before the reform committee, said he was not aware of the decision and was not told about the penalty even after a meeting. Announcing the verdict, one of the members of the five-member GU Reform Committee J.J. Patel said: “We have examined 23 cases of cheating today, including that of IPS officer Rajnish Rai.” “Based on the evidence and independent statements of individuals we found him guilty under GU rules,” Patel
said. — PTI
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Trader ‘kidnapped’ 5 lakh houses for poor PM undergoes eye surgery ‘Godman’, disciples jailed 10-year jail for teacher
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