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Floods hit life in Singur, Nandigram
N-Deal
Inflation to remain above 7 per cent: FICCI
Key ULFA negotiator held
Truckers watch out!
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No power, no marriage for men in UP village
Gorshkov deal strains India-Russia ties
Negotiators told to define ‘sovereignty’
Ombudsman for journalists?
Plan India’s initiative for child rights
Cong panel suggests steps to revamp strategy
‘4 Ms’ responsible for ‘mehangai’
Army warns ultras-in-truce against flaunting arms
Govt for resuming operations at old HAL airport
Satellite to monitor tiger cubs in Sariska
SINCHAI to aid utilisation of water resources
Bharti to open 500 schools
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Floods hit life in Singur, Nandigram
Kolkata, June 22 The progress of the Tata’s motor plant at Singur was also stalled due to the floods. As a result, all agitations, both by the opposition and the ruling Left over Singur and Nandigram, remained suspended. The flood-affected people in these places are passing through great hardships without any food and shelter as no political party has come forward to help them. Trains operating from Howrah, Sealdah and Kharapur were badly hit following the floods. Most of the south and south-west bound mail and long-distance trains starting from Howrah have been stopped. Railway links between Howrah and Puri were cut off following breaches at several points on the tracks. The state government today sent 50 buses to Puri to bring back about 5,000 tourists in batches who are stranded there. Trinamool Congress MLA Subhendu Adhikery and CPM general secretary Ashoke Guria alleged that inadequate relief material was supplied to the affected areas. They have made an urgent request to the Chief Minister for dispatching the requisite material. The Army has been deployed in these districts for rescue and relief operation. The Chief Minister, accompanied by the relief minister and irrigation minister, had made an aerial survey of the affected areas and held a meeting at Kolaghat guest house two days ago. According to official reports, as many as 30 persons have died in these two districts and over 10 lakh have been adversely affected due to the floods. In low-lying areas near Kolkata, a huge amount of water has accumulated due to incessant rain in the last four days. Home secretary A.M. Chakaborty said the flood situation had improved today in some areas in south Bengal but fresh floods have been reported in North Bengal districts, particularly in Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and East Dinapujore.
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N-Deal
Chennai, June 22 CPI national secretary D Raja and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today held meetings with Karunanidhi at the latter's Gopalapuram residence and explained in detail the Left's stand on the issue and the reasons for their opposition. The two Left parties and the Congress were unrelenting in their stand, with the former opposing it tooth and nail and even threatening to withdraw their outside support to the Congress-led UPA government and the latter determined to ink the pact “in the interest of the nation”. After hectic parleys between the Left and the Congress with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee performing the role of a mediator at New Delhi, the focus shifted to Chennai, with Karunanidhi taking upon himself the responsibility of brokering a truce. Speaking at the IUML's diamond jubilee conference here last night, Karunanidhi, who had brokered peace between the Congress and the Left on the same issue a year ago, said he would mediate again to resolve the differences on signing the nuclear deal with the US. “It is my duty to safeguard the unity of the alliance and iron out the differences between the Congress and the Left in the interest of the nation and prevent communal forces from coming back to power,” he said. An unrelenting Raja, on his arrival for the meeting with Karunanidhi, said there was no change in the stand of the Left parties on the issue. “'We have been trying to make the Congress understand how the nuke deal with the US if signed would adversely affect India,” he said. “The UPA government would stand to lose the support of Left parties, if it takes steps to ink the nuke deal with US. If it (the Centre) goes ahead with signing the deal, then it is impossible for the Left to continue support to the UPA,” he said. — UNI ‘Death threat’ through e-mailNew Delhi: Leaders of the Left parties, who have been strongly opposing the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, have started receiving hate mails now. Four top Communist leaders — Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), A.B. Bardhan and D. Raja (CPI) — have received “death threats” via mail for impeding the Congress-led UPA Government from going ahead with the nuclear deal and “harassing” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. Sources said the mail, written in incorrect English, by Vinay Kateri from Mumbai has accused the Left leaders of “hijacking” national interests and warned them against “behaving like terrorists”. The writer has accused them of suffering from “anti-American virus” and said the “people of the country are tired with their behaviour and harassment of the government for the last four-and-a-half years.” — PTI
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Inflation to remain above 7 per cent: FICCI
New Delhi, June 22 “Rising oil prices, commodity prices and food prices are a global phenomenon and these cannot be influenced through the monetary policy,” said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which studied inflationary expectations in the Indian industry. Inflation touched a 13-year high of 11.05 percent for the week ended June 7. “It is therefore important that the authorities take a re-look at the anti-inflationary package,” it pointed out. The FICCI survey showed that there was a strong feeling among members of the Indian industry that inflationary pressures would remain. Nearly 68 per cent of the respondents felt the current inflation rate would be either maintained or would further increase over the next six months. While 38 per cent of the respondents felt that inflation would continue to be in the range of seven to eight per cent six months from now, 19 per cent felt the inflation rate would be in the range of eight to nine per cent. Around six per cent of the survey participants felt that inflation would be in the range of nine to 10 per cent in six months from now. “These results can be interpretted as an acknowledgement of Reserve Bank of India’s tight monetary stance and of a further tightening of monetary policy in the near term, given the present inflationary situation,” FICCI said. It added that the industry was under pressure owing to the rise in prices of raw materials, oil and oil products, power, wages and salaries and also the rising burden of interest on borrowed sums. “All these factors together have put a huge dent on the margins and on the operating performance of companies, forcing many of them to partially offset this pressure through an increase in prices,” FICCI said. — IANS
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Key ULFA negotiator held
Guwahati, June 22 SSP V.K. Ramisetty informed that the PCG member was arrested this afternoon from his office in the city on the basis of revelation made by a senior ULFA sergeant Ashim Goala, who was arrested by the police yesterday. A case under Sections 10 and 13 of the UAP Act was registered against the PCG member. The police official informed that Goala was arrested while he was coming from Byrnihat in neighbouring Meghalaya. Hiranya happened to the second PCG member to be arrested by the police for maintaining links with the banned militants and for involving in unlawful activities. Earlier, the police had arrested chief convener of the PCG and a human rights activist Lachit Bordoloi about six months ago. He is still in the custody of the Assam police. Hiranya’s arrest assumes significance given that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had asked the PCG a few of days ago to clarify its stand on the ULFA’s demand for a ‘sovereign Assam’. Meanwhile, senior ULFA leader and commander of the outfit’s 28th battalion Mrinal Hazarika was released from Dibrugarh jail in eastern Assam yesterday. The ULFA battalion commander, who was arrested by the police from a Siliguri hotel in May 2006, was released from the jail after a court in Tinsukia district granted him bail in a case registered against him at the Bordubi Police Station in the district. Total 15 cases were registered against Hazarika in different police stations in the state. He was granted in all cases. The ULFA leader was whisked away by some unidentified companions in a three-vehicle convoy as soon as he walked out of his cell in the jail.
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Truckers watch out!
Chaibasa (Jharkhand), June 22 It is not a toll agent but a tusker which has got detached from its herd and stands for hours along the road waiting for food-laden trucks to give it its daily quota of food. "We don't mind giving it a bunch of fruits or rice or other eatables. This is its toll tax," a trucker plying on the route says. The tusker fondly called Ramu Haathi is not always friendly. When it cannot spot a food-laden truck the whole day, it raids road-side hotels in search of food. Assistant conservator of forest, Arvind Kumar, said the elephant was detached from a herd several months ago and took shelter in the Saranda forest, nearly 50 km from here. “Normally a detached tusker becomes violent and attacks human habitats, but Ramu is an exception. It has jelled so well with villagers that they take care of it,” said Kumar, posted in West Singhbhum district. Occasionally, elephants in herds emerge from the forests to look for food compelled by human encroachment or other factors and they follow a particular route through which they return. “Now, people sometimes erect barriers on the route to prevent them from attacking villages and crops. The result becomes exactly the opposite. They become ferocious and attack villages,” Kumar explained. But, still Ramu is an exception considering that wild elephants are responsible for death of 168 persons in Jharkhand between 2005 and 2007, the highest in the eastern region. But villagers blame the forest department for the elephants' straying into their homesteads. Kumar, however, denied the charge, saying the forest department had given them all necessary things to protect themselves and their crops from the wild animals. — PTI
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No power, no marriage for men in UP village
Lucknow, June 22 No one wants to marry off their daughters to youths from the village, about 20 kms from the Uttar Pradesh capital, as it remains non-electrified even after 60 years of Independence, villagers say. “Marriage proposals do come but as soon as parents of prospective brides come to know that there is no electricity in the village, they never return,” Atul Awasthi, a member of the block development committee, said. Awasthi, who is a post-graduate and studying law, feels that he would have to remain a bachelor if he continues to reside in the village. “No one wants to send their daughters as brides here as there is no electricity,” said Dinesh Shukla, a farmer with around 20 bighas of land. Over 75 per cent of the youths in Anmolpur are unmarried, according to residents. Though the village, having a population of around 1,500, was selected as an 'Ambedkar village' in 1998-99 and included in integrated development project in 2004-05, there was no change in the fortunes of the “lonely” youths. “An exercise to electrify the village was initiated in 1973 and electric poles were erected with power lines. But power supply was snapped after some years due to reasons unknown to us. There are only seven poles left now in the village,” said Awasthi. The villagers had to run from pillar to post, also meeting local MPs and MLAs, but all attempts were in vain. In the past three decades, Uttar Pradesh have seen governments led by all major political parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, BJP and BSP, but no one cared for this village, which is just a stone's throw from Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, elderly Munni Devi, who had three unmarried sons, said. The village has produced a number of engineers and government officers, who left it to settle in Lucknow, a villager said adding, if the government did not take the situation seriously, Anmolpur could witness a mass exodus in the days to come. But some even do not have the option to leave. Ghanshyam, 42, said his parents had received five marriage proposals for him but none could materialise.
— PTI
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Gorshkov deal strains India-Russia ties
New Delhi, July 22 India has publicly expressed its unhappiness with Russia over a host of issues, particularly the inordinate delay in refurbishing the Gorshkov aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. Amid the two countries' attempts to repair their defence partnership, Russian Ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov gave ample indications that Moscow would not budge an inch from its position that the deal for Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier (renamed INS Vikrmaditya) must be renegotiated, keeping in view of the current global financial situation. The deal for the aircraft carrier was signed in 2004 when Russia was going through difficult times and was badly in need of money to support its industry. However, Moscow now wants India to pay another $1.2 billion over and above the $1.5 billion that was agreed upon when the deal was struck for refurbishing the aircraft carrier but New Delhi is reluctant. “When the Gorshkov deal was signed, the financial situation was entirely different. The Indian side got the deal at such a cheap price. However, the global financial scenario has changed dramatically. The price for the deal has to be renegotiated. Negotiations are on between the two sides and we will be find a mutually agreeable solution,” the Russian envoy said. Experts say the two sides will have to do a tightrope walk in rescuing the deal. Russia is trying to do hard-bargaining as it knows fully well that the Indian Navy desperately needs the aircraft carrier because its sole functional carrier, INS Viraat, is on its last legs. An indigenous but smaller carrier than Gorshkov is still in the docks and might take a few more years to complete. High-level delegations from the Defence Ministry and Indian Navy have visited Russia in February and May to inspect the refit work on the 44,570-ton Kiev Class aircraft carrier and to discuss the escalation in the price. Sources here said that Russia will be prepared to take a second look at the cost estimates presented but India does not want to pay more for a task that has already suffered extensive time overruns. Meanwhile, on the delay in the supply of T-90 tanks to India, Trubnikov said the two sides have to reach a mutually acceptable timetable on the subject. “There has been no delay in the supply of tanks. India should not be in such a hurry as we have a lot of orders from other countries also for these tanks," he said.
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Negotiators told to define ‘sovereignty’
Guwahati, June 22 Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the PCG must make its stand clear on the issue of sovereignty. “The government wants to know the views of the PCG whether they are in favour of a sovereign Assam. If it is, what is the point in talking about holding discussions and allowing things to prolong?” In reaction to allegations levelled by members of the PCG at a citizens meeting here that the government lacks political will, Chief Minister Gogoi said, “Our stand is clear. Let the militant outfits eschew violence and discuss their demands within the ambit of the Constitution.” “The pre-conditions set by the counter-insurgency Unified Command in its last meeting are not our own but in line with the policy of the Government of India.” The Unified Command had decided that direct talks with the ULFA or any militant group would be possible only within the ambit of Indian Constitution.
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Kochi, June 22 Differing views were aired by participants at a one-day workshop here on “reporting of court proceedings by media” for journalists and legal correspondents here yesterday. The Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice K.S. Radhakrishanan, felt that there was a need for an ombudsman for journalists so that any citizen could walk in, register a complaint against any journalist or newspaper organisation. He said statutory bodies control professions like law and architecture. “However, there is no professional body to control journalists,” he said. Justice Arijit Passayat of the Supreme Court opined that there could not be a codified set of rules for journalists. It should come from within, he said. Some participants also pointed out that newspapers like Times of India and The Hindu had their own internal ombudsmen. The Press Council of India (PCI) chairman, Justice G.N. Ray, said it was often said that PCI was a “toothless” body. There had been a sea change in the functioning of the press and Indian media was no exception. The electronic media does not come under the PCI. He said the council had suggested to the Centre that if a newspaper was adjudicated, then a government agency should not give advertisements to it for three months. Another suggestion was that the admonishment should be published on the front page of the newspaper prominently so that people should know that the press had gone wrong. If there was recurrence, it should be left to the council's discretion on punishment to be meted out, he said. Journalist, media critic and MP, Sebastian Paul, said he disagreed with the view of having a statutory code of conduct for journalists. “Journalism is a peculiar profession with peculiar features”. The PCI has also decided not to evolve a statutory code of conduct, Paul, a council member, said. “Journalism like other professions is not a closed profession. So a licensing system for journalism is abhorrent as it is against the basic tenets of press freedom,” he said. — PTI
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Plan India’s initiative for child rights
New Delhi, June 22 The beginning, in this case, has been made from the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which is not doing too well, if accounts of child witnesses are anything to go by. In the capital today, 20 such children associated with Plan India’s initiatives told real tales from grassroots. Not all of them were happy ones, revealed child-led audits conceived as part of Plan India’s media advocacy programme on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD). The programme was implemented through workshops in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nizamabad (Andhra Pradesh), Muzaffarpur (Bihar) and Lunkaransar (Rajasthan). As part of the programme, children visited ICDS centres in their areas and reported the cases in the media. Every narration led to change. “In most cases, anganwadi centres have not made adequate physical infrastructure or are plagued by problems like lack of toilets, proper cleanliness and hygiene. There is still a long way to go in terms of making the community realise the need and importance of anganwadi centres,” said children, whose reporting has helped many anganwaris improve. After we reported what we saw, changes happened, mostly for the better. In the bargain, however, we displeased the community which felt we did the wrong thing by going public,” said a member of Babu Bahini Manch, supported by Gram Niyojan Kendra in Uttar Pradesh. Some anganwadi centres are, however, doing well, particularly the ones in Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh. “Here Samskar, an NGO, has handed over anganwadi centres to the government along with trained teachers. In many centres, therefore, teachers are able to involve children and create a joyful environment for learning and growth,” children said. They had for company the joint director of ICDS in Nizamabad district Sarla Kumari, who admitted she had taken up in her meetings the problems raised by children. In Muzaffarpur, the revelations of children helped another NGO — Adithi — improve their relationship with the ICDS authority and make a case for improvement of centres based on their findings. At Lunkarnasar, the children even wrote stories on the status of anganwadi centres under a unique fellowship programme. Their stories have now been compiled into a book titled “Meri Anganwadi”. The stories are heartfelt, their approach innocent; therefore the impact.
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Cong panel suggests steps to revamp strategy
New Delhi, June 22 The panel, set up post-Karnataka Assembly elections for re-energising the party, submitted its report to party president Sonia Gandhi yesterday. The committee had been asked to draw up a strategy to reverse the pattern of defeats following Karnataka poll and was given 15 days to submit its report. Sources said the panel, headed by defence minister A.K. Antony, suggested early declaration of party candidates for the Lok Sabha as well as the Assembly elections to give them a good chance of winning. The committee recommended that the Congress should declare candidates for the Assembly poll 45 days before the Election Commission’s notification. And in the case of Lok Sabha elections, candidates should be declared at least three months in advance before the notification. The Congress is known not to announce the list of candidates till the last date of filing the nominations, which insiders says is one of the main reasons for recent electoral failures of the party. The committee also said the declaration of candidates should be preceded by a survey among elected representatives right from local bodies like block and district office besides micro-management of polls, including setting up of booth committees. Another recommendation was adhering to the “one man one post” principle with the stress that those in the government should not be given party work. However, the committee, comprising AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Mukul Wasnik, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, could not form a unanimous view on whether a chief ministerial candidate should be projected in the elections. The decision to form the committee was taken at the CWC meeting held on May 31and the report will be taken up for discussion at a CWC meeting to be held next month.
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‘4 Ms’ responsible for ‘mehangai’
New Delhi, June 22 In an apparent reference to the reported insistence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to quit his post if his government was not allowed to sign the Indo-US nuclear deal with the Marxists threatening to pull the rug threatening the very survival of the multi-party coalition, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said these ‘four Ms’ which had lent their support to the UPA’s anti-people’s policies and could not hope to run away their responsibilities. These forces had left the common man to fend for themselves converting the era of surpluses to era of shortages with the inflation breaking 13-year record, he said. The common man had been crushed mercilessly by the ruling alliance, which was more interested in extracting their pounds of flesh at its cost. Now it is the turn of the common man to retaliate when these very forces would be at the doorsteps begging for votes, he said. — UNI
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Army warns ultras-in-truce against flaunting arms
Guwahati, June 22 The warning is primarily aimed at the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) given that the group is involved in extortion and clashes with a rival Bodo faction of late. Major-Gen Chandra Prakash of the GOC 21 Mountain Division of Indian Army said, “Insurgents in ceasefire, particularly those from the NDFB, should not expect for any mercy from the Army if they are found moving about with weapons outside their designated camps.” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had also said earlier that insurgents in ceasefire must abide by the ground rules. He said the state government had become wiser after witnessing blatant violations by the NDFB militants. The last meeting of the strategy group of the three-tier unified command (UC) that fights insurgent groups in Assam, took a firm decision that all militants in truce must stay in designated camps. It had also prohibited collection of any sort of donations by the militants to prevent extortion bids by these elements.
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Govt for resuming operations at old HAL airport
Bangalore, June 22 Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of the fourth India Innovation Summit 2008 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, IT, excise and information minister Katta Subramanya Naidu said the industry wanted two airports for Bangalore. "We, too, are of the view that it is feasible to operate the old HAL airport and the new Bangalore International Airport (BIA) simultaneously," he said. Naidu said while short-haul flights could operate from the HAL airport, BIA could be used for the international flights. The Union government should step in and ask HAL and BIA to have a dialogue on the issue, he said. The HAL airport, located in the heart of the city, was closed down on May 23 following the inauguration of the BIA that is situated more than 30 km away from the city. The corporate sector had vociferously protested against the closure of the old airport saying that the new airport was too far and that nobody in his right mind would shut down a functional airport. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the project promoter, however, refused to budge and said that keeping open the HAL airport would hurt the business interest of the new airport. The government had earlier entered into a pact with the BIAL saying that the old airport would cease to exist after the new airport would become functional. The government holds 26 per cent stake in the new airport project. However, the new BJP government in the state has decided to toe the industries line. Naidu said many cities were having two airports. “There is absolutely nothing wrong in retaining the old airport,” he said. On the agreement that prevents operation of any other airport in Bangalore, Naidu said talks on the subject could be held with BIAL. He said Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel should interact with all the stakeholders so that the old airport could be kept open. The central government had earlier told the Karnataka High Court that it would take a decision on retaining the HAL airport after making a capacity assessment of the BIA. Naidu said the state government was committed to address all the infrastructure inadequacies of the state. He said within a year’s time the BJP government would give a huge facelift to the Bangalore city.
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Satellite to monitor tiger cubs in Sariska
New Delhi, June 22 The satellite which is operated by Argos system (1978) and having the support of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the French Space Agency will be picking up data from radio-collars fitted on cubs. Two satellite-collars costing Rs 8 lakh each have already been procured from Lotek, a Canada-based firm, They will be attached to the striped animals, sources said. Moreover with the onset of monsoon and the Gujjar agitation tapering off in Rajasthan, the officials are busy expediting the groundwork to ensure smooth and hassle-free trans-location process. Drugs to be used to tranquilise the animals have also been specified, the sources said. Besides, an IAF helicopter has also been shortlisted to fly the animals from Ranthambore to Sariska while a team of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has reached Ranthambore to lookout for the cubs to be shifted to the new habitat. — PTI
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SINCHAI to aid utilisation of water resources
Roorkee, June 22 The model- Simulation of Integrated Network of Channels for Irrigation (SINCHAI) integrates the information regarding the actual irrigation demands in a particular command area, available canal water at the system head and the groundwater scenario in the area and suggests a possible plan of canal system operation at weekly time step.
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Bharti to open 500 schools
New Delhi, June 22 President Pratibha Devisingh Patil yesterday inaugurated one Satya Bharti School at Lordi Dejgara village in Jodhpur district. The foundation has already set up 25 Satya Bharti Schools in districts of Jodhpur, Jaipur,
Alwar and Pali and also adopted 49 government primary schools under its School Improvement Program in Amer and
Neemrana. The foundation’s flagship programme is aimed at benefiting over two lakh children across the country by 2010 by giving them access to quality education through innovative teaching material and classroom processes. Apart from the regular curriculum, these schools will impart professional skills to the students and equip them for future employment opportunities within their own villages and communities. Also present on the occasion were managing director of Bharti Enterprises Rajan Bharti Mittal and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
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Films Division to make
documentary on Rafi Kashi Vishwanath temple to have biometric security UN award for community participation in Nagaland BARC develops ‘instrumented’ steam generators Women scavengers to stage cultural show at UN Kisan samiti launches campaign 
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