New Delhi, June 19
As deliberations between the UPA government and the Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear agreement entered the final phase, emissaries from both sides have stepped up efforts to enlist the support of UPA allies, who support the deal but don’t want the government to be sacrificed for it.

There were hectic parleys throughout the day as external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also heads the 15-member UPA-Left joint panel on the nuclear deal, had separate meetings with CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, NCP chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to convince them on why it was imperative to move ahead on the nuke agreement.

CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, on his part, called on railway minister
Lalu Prasad Yadav with regard to the next steps to be taken on the deal and its political implications.

Yechury today declared that the Left would withdraw support to the government if it went ahead with the deal.

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally keen on pushing the deal, the UPA government has told the Left parties that it wants to proceed and seal the India-
specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The pre-scheduled meeting of the UPA-Left coordination committee on the nuke deal was put off till June 25 to allow for more time for wider consultations.

The allies are clearly caught in a pincer as any decision to move ahead with the deal will mean a year-end election.

With the government under pressure on the burning issue of inflation, none of the allies want to go to polls before the scheduled date next year.

Echoing the same sentiment, a large section in the Congress also feels it will be unwise to go for a Lok Sabha election in November as the government needs the extra few months to allow for prices to stabilise.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav illustrated this best after his talk with Yehcury. While coming out firmly in support of the nuclear deal, he also said the government needed to take the allies along as “we need both (the deal and the Left)”.

He, however, sought to play down any threat to the government on this account. Sharad Pawar felt that the Left parties’ views should be taken into consideration before taking a final call on the next step.

The DMK, another UPA ally, has also being convinced by both the sides. Its pointsman here union shipping and transport minister T.R. Baalu has met CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and the Prime Minister yesterday.

Mumbai, June 19
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh may rest easy. Congress president Sonia Gandhi kicked off her two-day tour of Maharashtra by praising Deshmukh for his able leadership and development programmes being carried out by the state government. Addressing a farmers’ rally at Loni in Ahmednagar district, Gandhi praised Deshmukh’s leadership.

“Under the leadership of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra is in the forefront implementing welfare schemes for the underprivileged sections of society,” Sonia Gandhi said. She went on to ask Deshmukh not to relax and keep up the good work.

Deshmukh’s detractors led by revenue minister Narayan Rane and others, who have mounted a challenge against the Chief Minister, are also mobilising their supporters.

Party sources say both supporters and opponents of Deshmukh will try to convey their views to Gandhi later in the day in Mumbai.

Sonia Gandhi is to address party workers in Mumbai later in the evening. She is to conclude the day’s engagement by appearing at the dinner organised by Deshmukh in her honour.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi kicked off her Maharashtra tour by visiting the Saibaba shrine at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district today.

Gandhi arrived a little after 1 pm and went straight to the shrine where she offered prayers and did a puja. From the way Sonia Gandhi’s tour has been organised, it appears that the Congress is in an election mode in the state. Maharashtra goes to the polls next year.

It is very clear that the Congress has been put on the defensive following the hike in petroleum prices.

At her Ahmednagar rally, Gandhi sounded apologetic at having to increase the price of petrol and diesel.

She, however, justified it by saying that the rising crude oil prices forced the government’s hand in the matter.

“Those who are critical of us for raising oil prices should remember that crude prices have risen to $140 per barrel while it was available for just $30 or $40 per barrel when they were in power,” Gandhi said.

She noted that the Congress governments in states were reducing the burden on the common man by cutting down on taxes on oil.

The Congress has been using the occasion to sell the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.

Gandhi said these two schemes had brought about tremendous relief to people across the country.

She told the farmers that the government had waived farm loans as part of an effort to reduce their burden.

New Delhi, June 19
Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who has a point of view on issues ranging from increasing cell phone use to junk food to smoking and drinking, has been approached by environmental and health activists to lend support in their campaign against controversial genetically modified (GM) food in India.

Environmental group Greenpeace knocked on doors of health ministry on Thursday “to remind Ramadoss about health risks of GM foods”.

Its activists piled up a particular brand of corn chips packets, which they said contained GM ingredients, in front of the building housing his ministry along with a banner - Dr Ramadoss, we do not want GM food.

The apex body for the regulation of genetically engineered food products, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), is expected to meet on June 25 and activists want Ramadoss to speak to the GEAC and take up the issue of “illegal GM food in India”.

Demanding a immediate stop on “illegal GM food”, they say it is a serious health issue that needs the health minister’s intervention.

Last month, Greenpeace had alleged that corn chips manufactured by a leading MNC and sold widely in India contained GM ingredients.

Campaigner Rajesh Krishnan said, “There is no doubt that presence of such illegal GM food products in the market is a threat to public health. But the GEAC has been deferring a decision on the matter for want of trivial details”.

“It is confirmed that the chips contains MON863 variety of corn which caused liver and kidney toxicity on rats. Ramadoss is known to take strong positions on health issues and has shown his concern about junk food. We wonder why he is quiet on such a serious issue,” he questioned.

Environmentalists say India has a law prohibiting the sale of any GM food products without the permission of the GEAC.

Greenpeace received RTI responses from the director-general of health services, director-general of foreign trade and the GEAC — the three agencies involved in
the regulation of import of GM food in the country — declaring that no permission had been granted for the import and sale of any GM food in India other than
purified Soya oil.

According to Amit Sengupta of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, the Food Safety and Standards Authority was supposed to take over regulation of such processed foods.

Last September, the GEAC notified the transfer of jurisdiction to this authority even before it became functional.

Kolkata, June 19
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today sent a fresh invitation to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung for talks while the move of the GJM to recruit some 2,200 young men and women for the “Gorkhaland police force” in the hills took the state government by surprise.

These “policemen” would be trained by the ex-servicemen of the Gorkha Regiment from June 22 onwards in the Tiger Hill area.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri admitted they had received a letter from chief secretary A.K. Deb who had invited them on behalf of the Chief Minister for bilateral talks for solving the Gorkhaland issue.

But they had turned down the invitation stating that they had no faith and confidence in the Chief Minister and the CPM.

However, they were ready to hold talks with the state government at a tripartite meeting in Delhi and accordingly, they had already requested the Prime Minister and the home minister, he said.

He added that their indefinite strike, which entered its fourth day today, would continue till their demand was fulfilled.

Giri denied that the GJM was setting up any new police force in the hills. He said they had recruited about 2,200 hill people in the voluntary force who would be trained for undertaking emergency services, in fire-fighting, rescue and relief operations during floods and other natural disasters and several other emergency works for protecting the lives and properties of the hill people.

Giri said a 10-member delegation of the GJM would visit Delhi soon which meet the leaders of different political parties, intellectuals, writers, poets and other littérateurs and professionals to explain to them why they were demanding for a separate state under the present framework of the Constitution.

He said they had plans to meet Sonia Gandhi, L.K. Advani, Mulayum Singh Yadav, former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and other political leaders.

Home secretary A.M. Chakraborty said he had asked the DM to send a detailed report about the reported formation of the special police force by the GJM.

He said that under the Constitution, it was not permissible. He said that the government would take appropriate action after getting an official report from the DM in this regard.

The security forces deployed in the area have taken control of the track and the Railway authorities have started repairing the damaged portions. — PTI

Ghaziabad, June 19
The CBI Special Court extended the judicial remand of Rajesh Talwar, the key suspect in Arushi and Hem Raj murder case, by 14 days here today.

The CBI told the court that it needed to conduct another polygraph test on Rajesh Talwar, as the previous tests had been found to be defective according to experts.

The court directed the Dasna jail authorities to allow Talwar to be taken to the CBI headquarters for a polygraph test on June 20 morning.

Meanwhile, Joint Director, CBI, Arun Kumar told the media that a lie detection test on Durranis’ domestic help Raj Kumar was conducted in AIIMS, New Delhi, today.

CBI sources said Krishna could help them recover the dagger used in the murders and the cell phones of Arushi and Hem Raj. Arushi’s mobile phone is crucial as of the 23 pictures, 18 pictures from this cell phone had been erased.

The investigative agency feels the pictures obliterated from Arushi’s cell phone could have provided crucial evidence.

She might have clicked the killers while murdering Hem Raj and one of the suspects might have erased the pictures to destroy the evidence.

The main points of the Arushi-Hem Raj murder investigation continue to (1) motive, (2) recovery of weapons of murder, (3) recovery of cell phones and (4) Arushi’s cell phone with a camera from which pictures were taken on the faithful night.

This phone was presented to Arushi on May 14 and was believed to have been taken away from her room by one of the suspects.

The one feet long steel rod recovered by the CBI from the drains around Talwars’ residence could have been used in the murders.

Guwahati, June 19
Suspected militants abducted Gettem Apang, the youngest son of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and a leader of ruling Congress Gegong Apang, from Itanagar last night.

Papumpare district superintendent of police Hibu Tamang informed over the phone from Itanagar that the 29-year-old youngest son of Gegong Apang was coming out of his music school in the capital town of Arunachal Pradesh when he was abducted by suspected militants and has remained missing since then.

The police official informed that the vehicle of Gettem Apang was found abandoned near Holongi Reserve Forest near Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary across Gohpur in Sonitpur district of Assam. The Gohpur area in Assam is considered a stronghold of Bodo militants.

The family of Gegong Apang lodged an FIR with the police in Itanagar this morning informing that their youngest son Gettem had been missing since last night.

Unlike his siblings, Gettem is not interested in politics though he comes of a political family in the hill state.

He is deeply into the arena of music and culture and owns a rock band in Itanagar. He used to run his own music school in the hill city.

The police official informed that ‘hands of some groups’ were suspected behind the abduction. He, however, refused to disclose details about the suspected groups.

The abductors were yet to contact the family of Gegong Apang and no ransom demand had been received by the family as yet.

The Arunachal Pradesh police have contacted their Assam counterparts over the incident even as an operation has been launched to trace the missing son of the former Chief Minister.

Bangalore, June 19
The BJP and the Congress today bagged two seats each in the Rajya Sabha election to four seats in the state.

The polling for the seats was slated to take place on June 26. However, as only four candidates were in the fray for the four seats, all of them were declared elected unopposed today, which was the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

The candidature of two Independent aspirants, who too had filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha, were rejected during the scrutiny of papers, as they lacked the requisite number of legislators to propose their names.

This left S.M. Krishna and Anil Lad of the Congress and M. Rama Jois and B. Prabhakar Kore of the BJP in the contest for the four seats. All four of them were declared elected unopposed today.

Both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress had sprung one surprise each in the selection of candidates for the Rajya Sabha.

The saffron party’s decision to field Kore for the second seat flummoxed many in the state as Kore, a Lingayat from north Karnataka, was till recently with the Congress.

From the Congress side, the surprise candidate in the fray was Anil Lad, a mine owner from Bellary. Lad, who had left the BJP and joined the Congress on the eve of the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state, was given the ticket by the Congress on the insistence of the Janata Dal (Secular).

Without the support of the JD(S), the Congress would not have been able to get its second candidate elected to the Upper House.

JD(S) leader Deve Gowda was also against the candidature of former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna but the Congress refused to entertain Gowda’s demand.

Rama Jois, the first candidate of the BJP, is a former Bihar Governor and also a well-known jurist.

Lucknow, June 19
The Allahabad High Court today pulled up the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) for demolition of Sahara Sahar without prior notice and asked the Uttar Pradesh government to restore possession of land to the Sahara Group company.

Taking strong exception to the demolition drive being carried out by the LDA late last night, the Lucknow bench of the HC directed the state government not to carry out such drives after 5 pm and before 9 am.

The division bench comprising Justice Devi Prasad Singh and Justice Balkrishna Narain passed an interim order on a writ petition by Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL) and gave the Chief Secretary a day's time to comply.

Reacting to the HC order, LDA standing counsel P.N. Gupta said the civic body would file an special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the order. "We have yet to receive a copy of the judgment. We will file an SLP in SC", Gupta said.

In its order, the HC also permitted the SICCL to carry out construction work to safeguard its property while asking the government to restore possession of land.

Earlier, LDA's counsel contended that they had demolished structures at Sahara Sahar to pave way for a road and as per the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning Act they could do so without serving notices.

On behalf of Sahara, its counsel Virendra Bhatia contended that no further demolition should be taken and status quo should be maintained.

The court also expressed anguish over the way in which the LDA conducted the drive, especially demolition of portions of a hospital inside Sahara Sahar in which 15 patients were stated to be admitted.

In a late night operation yesterday, a team of the LDA and PWD demolished outer walls and watchtower of Sahara Sahar, which were alleged to be encroachments.

LDA officials had said the civic authority was planning to construct a 30-metre wide road alongside Sahara Sahar but walls "illegally" built by the Sahara group was creating hindrance in the project. — PTI

New Delhi, June 19
Even as the UPA government is touting the Indo-US nuclear deal of paramount importance to India for its energy security, the Left parties have called upon the government to expedite the Indo-Iranian gas pipeline project, “if this concern for our energy security is so paramount.”

The CPM, in the latest issue of its party organ People’s Democracy, has asked, “If this concern for our energy security is so paramount, why is the Indo-Iranian gas pipeline not seeing the light of the day?”

People’s Democracy editorial has also accused the government of deliberately delaying the Iranian Gas pipeline at the behest of the US.

It says, “One cannot escape the obvious connection between the Indo-US nuclear deal and the reluctance to proceed and concretise this gas pipeline which is widely accepted to be economical as well as important to augment energy requirements.”

It tries to substantiate its argument by stating that “the 123 agreement is deeply anchored in the US Hyde Act, which on three occasions mentions specifically that the USA expects India to toe its line vis-à-vis Iran.”

New Delhi, June 19
Government may consider an umbrella scheme for the protection and relief of women victims of violence.

This means victims of rape, acid attacks and other forms of sexual and physical assault may fall under one consolidated category when considering claims of financial relief. The idea is to have in place a swift response system.

Indications to this effect came today from minister of women and child development Renuka Choudhury, who admitted that convergence of existing and proposed schemes might be required for maximum delivery and impact.

Stating that no one could compensate a victim of rape, Choudhury said the government’s attempt was only to financially facilitate the sufferer.

“We will not use the term compensation in our treatment of this subject. We can’t commodify rape. Using this word only dilutes and diverts from the intent of the scheme,” Choudhury said, referring to the proposed law of relief for rape victims, pending before her ministry for consideration.

Ironically, it was the committee of secretaries set up earlier to review the draft scheme prepared on the subject by National Commission for Women (NCW), which first used the term “compensation”. The draft has been pending for finalisation
since 1995.

Choudhury today dissociated herself from the term “compensation for rape victims” and said the government would frame a watertight scheme that could stand the test of law.

“We don’t want to rush into the scheme but we certainly want it to come into operation as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we are debating whether the scheme needs to be altered into an Act,” Choudhury said, ruling out the provision of
relief in retrospect.

The scheme was today extensively debated during the first national consultation organised by the ministry to discuss loopholes.

Drafted by NCW, the scheme provides for Rs 20,000 immediate relief to a rape victim, regardless of conviction in the case. It offers a maximum relief of Rs two lakh to the victim, even her heir in case she has succumbed to criminal injuries.

Interestingly, the consultation came a day after the task force set up by government to study the need of judicial impact assessment of new legislations mandated budgetary provisions with every new law.

The government’s proposal for relief of rape victims will require a special
financial allocation of at least Rs 300 crore, sources in the National Commission
for Women said.

Dehra Dun, June 19
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the glaciers of Uttarakhand like the 30.2-km-long Gangotri have been receding at an average rate of 7.3m every year.

The IPCC has pointed out the fact that this alarming trend of glacial melts may lead to many rivers becoming seasonal rivers in the future, thus affecting the economic potential in their basin areas.

It is also mentioned that as the Ganga originates from the Gangotri, increased glacial melt due to climate change would have consequences on livelihoods of the people and the ecological balance in the state of Uttarakhand as well.

Dr R.K. Pachauri, director general, TERI, and chairman, IPCC, was present in the state capital Dehra Dun to head a workshop based on 'Uttarakhand Sustainable Development Summit'.

He said, "Climate change in Uttarakhand is resulting in increased melting of glaciers. One of the major effects of climate change is the change in ‘tree line’ from Terai region to upper areas."

He said the impact of climate change is expected to range from reduced genetic diversity of species to glacial melt in the Himalayas leading to increased flooding, which will ultimately affect water resource availability within the next few decades.

Pachauri accepted that the contribution of Uttarakhand towards Green House
Effect was negligible.

He also admired the step of former IIT professor G.D. Agarwal who is into the sixth day of fast unto death over 'Save Ganga' project in Uttarkashi.

Dr Prodipto Ghosh, distinguished fellow, Centre for Global Environment Research, TERI, supported the idea of working towards poverty alleviation.

Roorkee, June 19
The planning, development and management of water resource projects on snow-fed rivers, originating from the glaciers of the Himalayas, can now be accomplished with an enhanced precision.

The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, has developed a conceptual “snow melt model” (Snowmod) for simulating the stream flow of the snow-fed rivers.

The snow and glacier melt runoff contributes substantially to the annual flow of rivers and therefore its accurate estimation is required for the success of any water resource project.

Given the fact that Himalayan basins have very high potential of hydropower generation due to its topographical characteristics and available water resources, particularly in form of snow and glaciers, the NIH has developed Snowmod that can help make a reliable estimate of water availability at potential sites for small, medium and large hydro and irrigation based projects.

“The model has been designed to simulate daily components, including rainfall, snow melt and base flow for mountainous basins, having contribution from both snow melt and rainfall. The model has been primarily designed for the snow fed basins and conceptualises the basin as a number of elevation zones depending upon the topographic relief. Various hydrologic processes relevant to snow melt and rainfall-runoff are evaluated for each zone,” says NIH scientist.

“Keeping in view the poor availability of meteorological data in the high altitude region of the Himalayan basins, the data pertaining to precipitation, temperature and snow cover area are used as inputs to the model,” he adds.

Notably, the ability of the model to simulate snow melt runoff and rainfall runoff separately enables the user to estimate the contribution of each component to the seasonal and annual stream flow.

This will be done in the presence of Union minister of information and broadcasting P.R. Dasmunsi.

The award citation underlines Tapan Sinha’s amazingly down-to-earth cinematic depiction of the struggles of the common man.

His reputation as an uncompromising filmmaker, a celluloid iconoclast, puts him in a class of his own.

A storyteller par excellence, Tapan Sinha’s films such as Kabuliwala (1957), Haatey Bazarre (1967), Safed Haathi (1977) are well-crafted in terms of structure and technique, exhibiting his virtuosity and capability to handle a range of subjects with equal e’lan and sensitivity.

BRIEFLY

Karuna: Take action against fundamentalist groups
Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday asked the police to take stringent action against fundamentalist groups, contract killers and anti-social elements, as well as those desecrating statues. Speaking at a two-day conference of district collectors and high-ranking police officials, he said they should exercise vigil against fundamentalist groups that could lure "unemployed and unstable" youth. The sole motive of such persons was to disturb peace and "create unnecessary law and order problems", he said and asked the police to book the defaulters. — PTI

Stamp paper convict moves HC to reduce sentence
CHENNAI: One of the convicts in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam on Thursday moved the Madras High Court seeking to reduce the sentence awarded by the CBI Special Court. The petition was filed by C S Balaji, who was awarded seven years’ imprisonment in the fake stamp paper scam case, involving the kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi. Balaji was lodged in the Bangalore Central Prison. — UNI

11 fall ill after consuming adulterated food
AGRA: As many as 11 members of a family fell ill, four of them critically, after consuming adulterated food in the Achnera area of the city. The incident came to light in Kachora Colony, where Shibbu's family consumed the contaminated food at dinner on Wednesday. As per the reports on Thursday, Shibbu's wife had bought the cooking oil from a neighbouring shop and prepared the food. — UNI

Maoists kill three cops
Raipur: Maoists have killed three policemen, including a head constable, a top police officer said on Thursday. After a gunbattle, seven other security personnel were missing in Chhattisgarh, Bastar Range IG A.N. Upadhyaya said, adding, a combing operation in that area had been launched to trace missing forces. — PTI

Andolankari samiti protests
ROORKEE: Criticising the policies of the state government, the Uttarakhand State Andolankari Sangarsh Samiti has accused the government of ignoring the unemployed youth.The Samiti members who staged a dharna here alleged that the local youths were not being given enough employment opportunities in the industrial units that were coming up in the region. — TNS