 |
|
|
SC refers SIMI case to larger Bench
All-party effort vital to check communal
violence, says Badal
|
|
|
NIC Meet
Advani stays away, Modi mum
Centre acting against federal spirit: Dhumal
Communal harmony in Haryana, says minister
Tackling Terror
Rizwanur's mother moves HC Dasmunsi on ventilator after heart attack
Part II
Fear grips people in Bhainsa
AGP Unification
Militants fire at houses of 2 docs in Manipur
Kosi Fury
Sonu pulled out dead from borewell
Army personnel carry the body of Sonu, who fell into a borewell four days ago, at village Lehrapur in Agra on Monday. — PTI
Prez advocates precaution in digging borewells
Chandrayaan aims at exploring moon’s energy potential
Govt outsources passport services to TCS
Singur land: CPM for other industries, auction
Soon, Eurocopter training institute in India
Moga Sex Scandal
JD(U)-BJP rift widens in Bihar
Toiling to make Rajasthan green
30 lakh Indians suffer from mental illness: Report
Amitabh responding to treatment, says Abhishek
Pay issue of Armed forces to be resolved soon: Pranab
Africa to replicate Indian dairy model
Checking Spurious Drugs Treat
VHP, Bajrang Dal as terror outfits: Lalu
|
|
SC refers SIMI case to larger Bench
New Delhi, October 13 The apex court had, on August 25, extended the ban on SIMI by six weeks while hearing a fresh petition filed by the
centre, challenging the Delhi High Court Tribunal’s recommendations for lifting the ban on the body. Appeal dismissed The Supreme Court today dismissed Delhi University's appeal against the high court order, upholding the power of St Stephen's College to appoint its own principal. The apex court ruled that minority educational institutions had a constitutional right to appoint their own heads and the government could not encroach upon this right. The apex court upheld the ruling of the Delhi High Court that the right of minority educational institutions could not be taken away by any rule, regulation or any enactment made by the state even if the institute was receiving 100 per cent aid. The university had appealed against the high court order on the ground that Article 30, which granted minorities the right to establish and administer their own institutions, was “not an absolute right.” The Supreme Court today refused to restrain the Gujarat government from taking any action on the Nanavati Commission’s interim report on the Godhra train fire. A Bench headed by Chief Justice
K.G. Balakrishnan also observed that there was nothing in law that could have prevented the commission from submitting an interim report. The court asked the Gujarat government to file its counter affidavit to the petition filed by an NGO, Citizen for Justice and Peace, run by social activist Teesta Setalvad. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Rajinder Sachar contended that the commission had erred in giving an interim report, giving a clean chit to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Senior advocate Soli Sorabjee, arguing for the Gujarat government, said there was no recommendation in the report and that the cases in trial courts would in no way be affected by the report. The court said it was not aware whether the report contained any recommendations. Notices issued
The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and others on petitions challenging government’s notification facilitating pool pricing of re-gasified liquefied natural gas. A Bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari while seeking reply from the Centre, Petronet LNG and oil PSUs - Indian Oil Corporation, Gail (India) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation - said it would give directions on November 18. Essar Steel, Essar Power and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd have challenged the Gujarat High Court's judgment, which upheld the Union government's notification facilitating pool pricing of re-gasified LNG. Amicus curie
The Supreme Court today appointed an amicus curie on a petition seeking medical and technical courses in Hindi and other regional languages of India. The petition has been filed by 82-year-old Pramod Raig Yagnik who after retiring from Delhi Electricity Board
(DESU) has settled down in a small town in Rajasthan’s Banswara district.
|
|
|
All-party effort vital to check communal violence, says Badal
New Delhi, October 13 Badal also warned the countrymen against violence due to ideological extremism. There was a need to remove the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor. Deviating from the text of his prepared speech and speaking impromptu at a meeting of the National Integration Council here today, Badal also bemoaned that a fora such as the council had also become nothing more than a photo-opportunity for politicians and a platform for declaring known positions based on communal and class interests of the speakers concerned. “As a result, even this august body functions more as a national disintegration council than a platform for unity,” Badal chided the NIC. Urging politicians to rise above the vote bank politics cutting across the party lines for redeeming the condition of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in a true spirit. The Chief Minister struck a highly personal and emotive note on the issue of national unity. “As someone who was a witness to Partition and the holocaust that followed it, I can say that the country’s tomorrow looks even more worrisome than its present,” he said. He advocated a major all-party initiative to address the issues of communalism and extremism. Speaking for the minorities, Badal said they were feeling alienated because of the failure of the Centre to provide effective safeguards and to protect, preserve and promote their identity. He said the “highly ill-advised move to redefine the concept of minorities as state specific was fraught with serious dangers to our national unity. The Chief Minister appealed to all political parties in the country to tailor their political philosophy and agenda in a manner that these promote the cause of communal harmony, social justice and equitable development, with special emphasis on the poor and the downtrodden. Badal wanted that the formula for the devolution of Central funds should be recast in such a way that states, which contributed to the central kitty more, should also receive more. |
|
|
NIC Meet
New Delhi, October 13 The government, however, steered clear of both the demands, courtesy political pressure from partners like the NCP, PMK and DMK, who are opposed to the imposition of Article 356 in Orissa. What emerged at the end of the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a resolution condemning all acts of violence…and all forms of extremism and terrorism, and a decision to constitute the standing committee of select government and non-government NIC members, who would monitor the situation in India and advise the government accordingly. When such a committee would be set up was not mentioned; all that home minister Shivraj Patil said was, “shortly”. The meeting resolved to deal with communalism and terrorism “firmly and in accordance with the rule of law.” There was, however, no clear thought on how these challenges would be met, with Patil remaining non committal on the major issues. He said about banning the Bajrang Dal: “Suggestions have been received and we will see what action can be taken.” His remark was an extension of the PM’s closing observations on the subject. Singh said, “The challenge has to be met effectively but targeting of particular communities and their profiling has to be avoided. It has to be recognised that terrorists have no religion.” The home minister, however, admitted there was a need to widen the definition of terrorism (read to include outfits like the Bajrang Dal). On the Bajrang Dal issue, interestingly, a reverse consensus seemed to have emerged within the Christian community, with John Dayal, secretary general of the All India Christian Council saying they would rather the Bajrangis were jailed than banned. Archbishop Delhi Vincent Concessao, however demanded an urgent ban on the extremist Hindutva outfits like the Bajrang Dal and the VHP. On Article 356, too, Patil remained evasive, claiming no demand was made to impose President’s Rule in Orissa. Here again, he echoed the sentiment of the PM, who stated in his closing remarks that a democratic process in search for solutions could not be suspended. Also, It had to be done in a manner that respected the Constitutional bounds of a federal polity. Although Patil justified the Centre’s unwillingness to act tough with erring states, Christian members of the NIC clearly voiced their anger over the state’s and centre’s failure in containing anti-Christian violence in Orissa, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. On terrorism again, Patil repeated the UPA stand: “There is no need for a new anti-terror law. Existing laws are enough, though some amendments could be brought in,” said Patil. As for the resolution, it sounded routine: “The meeting expressed concern at the recent incidents of communal and terrorist violence. It resolved that the foundations of our civilisation lie in secularism, equality, justice-social, economic … fraternity amongst all communities, and these must be preserved at all costs.” The resolution incidentally called upon all political parties, civil society organizations, religious and social leaders, and the media to “rise above narrow interests, and act together to defeat extremism.” |
|
|
Advani stays away, Modi mum
New Delhi, October 13 In tune with the overall mood at the NIC, the BJP leaders and their alliance chief ministers all condemned communal violence. The UPA government was coaxed by certain members of the NIC to summon this meeting to draw a national consensus against such organised and planned attacks on Christians in Orissa. Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani stayed away from the meeting apparently on account of some prior commitment, which took him out of town. Hindutva mascot of the BJP, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi gave several sound bytes to the TV channels, but did not speak a word in the meeting though home minister Shivraj Patil conducting the meeting called out his name twice. The prepared text of his 12-page speech though was available for the perusal of the media. Patil said in reply to a question, “I asked him twice to speak but he did not speak.” BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Sushma Swaraj, who spoke briefly on behalf of the party, told newsmen later “the BJP does not condone communal violence. Naturally, we condemn such violence.” But Rajnath Singh said: “If communal violence in Orissa is being caused by conversions then it is necessary to formulate a policy and law to check unethical and fraudulent conversions.” Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was the focus of all attention, defended his government even clashing briefly with the home minister on the quantum and quality of force required to quell the attacks on Christians in Kandhamal district. |
|
|
Centre acting against federal spirit: Dhumal
Shimla, October 13 Speaking at a meeting of the National Integration Council in New Delhi today, he said the Union Government had developed a tendency to treat education as a subject on the Central list. Recently, seats in various professional colleges for the native students were drastically reduced, affecting the prospects of students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities, who were unable to compete at the national level due to historical reasons. He said the state was being handed out step-motherly treatment in the expansion of the Railways and only 33 km of new track had been constructed in the state after Independence. The state government had proposed the Pathankot-Leh railway line keeping in view of the strategic importance of the area bordering Tibet to facilitate easy movement of defence forces and boost economic activities in the region. He pleaded for early completion of the Nangal-Talwara railway line and also requested for taking up the Chandigarh-Baddi and the Bhanupali-Barmana rail lines on priority. “The previous NDA regime had sanctioned industrial package for the state for 10 years, but it has been curtailed from 2013 to 2010 by the present UPA regime,” he said. He demanded the package should be restored up to 2013. He also demanded restoration of the original quota of rice to the state claiming that the eating habits of the people could not be changed overnight. He said moral education and yoga should be introduced as compulsory subjects at school and college levels throughout the country to inculcate moral values and strengthen unity and integrity of the country. He requested the Centre to provide liberal financial assistance for the modernisation of the police force to meet the growing challenges and ensure peace and safety in the border areas of the state. He thanked the Centre for sanctioning two India Reserve Battalions for the state and sought liberal financial assistance to create modern infrastructure for these. He urged the Centre to enact POTA-type laws to effectively deal with terrorist and those indulging in disruptive activities. |
|
|
Communal harmony in Haryana, says minister
New Delhi, October 13 Addressing the National Integration Council meeting here, Haryana agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said, “Haryana is a peaceful state with rich tradition of social cohesiveness and mutual tolerance...any disturbance in the law and order in any of the neighbouring areas, especially Delhi, inevitably affects the state.” Chatha claimed that despite provocation, the people of the state had maintained peace and communal harmony. He said to instil confidence in the weaker sections of society and minorities, and to ensure their protection and safety, several effective steps had been taken by the government, including stringent policing and creation of an efficient intelligence network. “The state has also taken steps in bringing greater sensitivity and awareness towards minorities and vulnerable groups during police training,” he said. Community policing is being given higher priority as public cooperation is vital for collection of intelligence and maintaining communal harmony, Chatha added. Muslims, who constitute 5.70 per cent of Haryana’s population, are largely concentrated in Mewat district. Sikhs, who constitute 5.54 per cent of the total population of the state, are concentrated in Sirsa district. He said special development packages had been provided to the two districts. Chatha was representing Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is out of country, at the NIC meeting. — PTI |
|
|
Tackling Terror
Lucknow, October 13 Besides reiterating a dozen-odd, mainly educational, sops announced in recent months, Chief Minister Mayawati had little to offer to the Muslim clerics who had taken the risk of attending a convention called by a political party to discuss the problems being faced by the Muslim community, their reasons and solutions. What was unprecedented, however, in today's convention was the fact that Mayawati patiently heard speaker after speaker drawing her attention to the sense of insecurity in the community before she spoke for a good 90 minutes. Among the speakers was Naib Imam of Tilewali masjid in Lucknow Maulana Fazle Rahman, Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad, Naib Imam Aishbagh Eidgah Khalid Rashid Firangimahali, head of Nazmia madarsa Hamidun Hasan, representative of Nadva Qader Nadvi, Hazrat Siddiq Baba of Bahraich. Eminent Shia cleric and vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Kalbe Sadiq pointed out that the Central Government's refusal to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Batla House encounter confirmed the fear of the Muslim community that there was something to hide. "If the government had nothing to hide, it would not have refused an impartial probe". Later Mayawati cited the Batla House encounter to hit out at both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party but stopped short of demanding an inquiry herself. While she agreed with the clerics that the Central Government's refusal to conduct an enquiry proved that there was something irregular in the Batla House encounter, yet she hit out at her arch rival Samajwadi Party for drawing political mileage by demanding a judicial enquiry into the encounter. Admitting that the Muslim community was feeling insecure much like the Sikh community post-1984, Mayawati said, "It would be unjust to view the entire community with suspicion going by a few persons who may have strayed". However, all that she told the clerics in the name of stopping the harassment of Muslims while ostensibly curbing terrorism was repeating what she had told her senior police officials some weeks ago - her resolve to pick up only terrorists and harass no innocent Muslim. She said she had instructed the police not to detain anyone unless there was concrete proof. She also reminded the audience that she had asked the police not to indulge in fake encounters. She chose not to respond to some of the serious grievances that emerged during the presentations of the clerics. Maulana Jawwad had said that even Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse and Indira Gandhi's killers had a right to defend themselves. This right was being denied to those arrested on the suspicion of being terrorists. His uncle Kalbe Sadiq went a step further and said that Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi's killers were allowed to defend themselves, as the government was sure to win those cases. "The government was not on such sure grounds in these recent cases of alleged terrorism; that is why it was not allowing the alleged terrorists the right to defend themselves". Mayawati released a booklet authored by her titled "Who is the real well-wisher of the Muslim community in India, the decision is yours". |
|
|
Rizwanur's mother moves HC
Kolkata, October 13 Jahan's counsel moved the petition before a division bench, presided over by Justice Amit Talukdar, seeking cancellation of bail to the officers claiming that they might try to influence the witnesses in the case. Alleging that former deputy commissioner (detective department) of the Kolkata police Ajoy Kumar, former assistant commissioner Sukanti Chakraborty and sub-inspector Krishnendu Das of his then department could influence the police force to intimidate the witnesses, she sought their incarceration during the trial. The three officers were sent to judicial custody by a city court for 14 days on September 30, only to be released on bail a day after by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate. Rizwanur, who had married Priyanka, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, was allegedly forced to send back his wife to her father owing to pressure exerted by the officers at the Lalbazar police headquarters here. The computer graphics teacher was found dead beside the railway tracks at Patipukur, far from his Park Circus home, a few days later. The death led to a public furore and following a petition by his mother, the high court had directed the CBI to probe the cause of his death. The CBI had concluded that Rizwanur had committed suicide and had already chargesheeted seven persons, including Ashok Todi. — PTI |
|
|
Dasmunsi on ventilator after heart attack New Delhi, October 13 Dasmunsi was rushed to the hospital around 2.30 am today after he complained of breathlessness due to lung congestion caused by heart failure, Sharma said. He was put on the ventilator. Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Dasmunsi, 63, and spent some time with his family, hospital sources said. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and health minister Anbumani Ramadoss also visited the hospital to enquire about his health, officials said. The senior Congress leader has a 10-year history of diabetes. “Improvement in his health since he has been admitted has been minimal. He is under close observation,” Sharma said. “His condition is being closely monitored by a team of doctors,” he added.
|
|
|
Part II
New Delhi, October 13 Take the case of the proposed “Participation of Workers in the Management Bill, 1990”. Clearly a relic from the pre-liberalisation era, it suggested 25 per cent seats in the board of a company for its employees. Various managements as well as industries opposed it. Post-1991, the economy opened up and the government disinvested stake from its companies and offered stock options to private players. The Bill may not have lost its relevance but needs some serious touching up. For example, on the one hand it gives wide powers to inspectors to enter premises, examine books, registers and documents pertaining to employees, and on the other hand successive governments have promised that “inspector raj” would come to an end. In the 18 years since 1990, five elections have been conducted but the Bill remains pending. Suggesting the formation of a committee that should lay down a road map for clearing the backlog of pending Bills, BJP MP from Hoshiarpur Avinash Rai Khanna says either drop the pending Bills or reintroduce them with changes. Another such relic is the Bill to ban lotteries. Introduced in 1999 during the BJP-led NDA rule, this continues to be on the pending list. It had polarised the states with some maintaining that lotteries were a source of revenue and opposed a complete ban. The Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998, enacted by Parliament, had banned single digit and pre-announced number lotteries. However, the Act was weak and the government prepared the Lotteries (Prohibition) Bill, 1999, to wipe out single-digit and instant lotteries that was the undoing of many a family. A parliamentary committee could not reach a consensus on banning lotteries. What is weighing on the mind of the government is the tax revenue, the earning of the lottery agents and even the paper and printing industry - which prints lakhs of tickets daily. Again, the government proposed to amend the Medical Council Act in 1987. This was aimed at increasing the accountability of the Medical Council of India towards the Central government. After various modifications, it was re-introduced in 2005 and it now proposes to empower the government to give directions to the MCI in public interest. Separately, in the health sector the “Clinical Establishments Bill” is pending. This aims to regulate and set standards for clinics, hospitals and blood-testing laboratories that have sprouted across the country. The Bill will lay down the minimum facilities required at clinics and qualifications for the employees. All clinics and hospitals will have to be registered under a nodal agency and in case of non-compliance of the minimum standards, the licence can be cancelled. Unregistered quacks are to be fined Rs 50,000 for the first offence. The proposed change to the British time Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is yet to be enacted. It suggested pro-farmer policies like acquiring land at market rates. It proposes to bar acquisition by companies unless they purchase up to 70 per cent of the land from the market. It proposes to give a share of the profits to the farmers in case a land is resold say for a housing project or to hotel, etc. A disputes settlement authority is also proposed. This is one Bill over which all parties had taken a “pro-farmer” stance but its enactment is yet to be carried out. Despite being regarded as an “IT power”, India does not have laws to prevent irritating commercial e-mails from reaching the inbox of users. Also India does not allow authentication of electronic records by an electronic signature technique. Two years ago, a Bill was introduced to amend the IT Act, 2000, and it suggested all this. It wanted fines on companies negligent in implementing security measures. It suggested that the Central government be enabled to intercept computer communication for investigation of an offence. Some of the other pending Bills are: the Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2005, which was to provide more teeth to the Reserve Bank of India in running banks; the 107th Amendment to the Constitution that will allow the creation of autonomous self-governing council for the hill areas of Darjeeling within West Bengal; an amendment to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act that was to include men who traffic in human beings, including women, under the ambit of the law; and an amendment to the Delhi Rent Bill and an amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. (Concluded)
|
|
Fear grips people in Bhainsa
Adilabad (AP), October 13 Though tension prevailed in Bhainsa town, the situation in Nirmal and Asifabad towns was under control, he said adding the curfew, which was in force in Bhainsa town, would be lifted once the normalcy was restored. He said the Rapid Action Force personnel (RAF) were positioned in the sensitive areas to maintain law and order along with the local police and to prevent further clashes. Andhra Pradesh roads and building minister T. Jeevan Reddy visited the riot-hit areas of Bhainsa and Vottoli today and assured the people that the government would take all steps to bring normalcy in the town and surrounding areas. He said the state government had decided to order a CBI inquiry into the incidents and stringent action would be taken against the perpetrators as per the law. Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu visited Bhainsa and Vottoli village, where six persons of a family were burnt alive by miscreants allegedly in connection with the communal clashes. Alleging that the government had failed to take precautionary measures he said there were no communal clashes in the state during the nine-year TDP rule. The TDP leader met the families of the deceased and offered Rs 50,000 to the family of one of the deceased, killed in communal clashes. — UNI
|
|
AGP Unification
Guwahati, October 13 On the eve of the AGP’s conference where reunification of the AGP with its breakaway factions will be concretised at Golaghat in Upper Assam, Mahanta said: “There is no scope to doubt the patriotism of the AASU. I request the students’ organisation to review their resolution to oppose my re-entry into the AGP in the greater interests of indigenous people of Assam and over all development of the state.” Mahanta said re-unification of regional groups with the parent AGP would go a long way in strengthening the regional politics in Assam to fight the ‘misrule’ of Congress that had led to fissures in social fabric in the state as was reflected in the recent communal riots in Udalguri and Darrang districts of the state. On the other hand, the AASU has remained unmoved in its firm stand against Mahanta’s come-back to the AGP and said it also wanted merger of regional political groups sans Mahanta. The AASU has issued a long chargesheet against the former chief minister highlighting how he had betrayed the people of Assam during his two tenures as chief minister of the state heading the AGP-led governments during 1985-90 and 1996-2001. Meanwhile, though the AGP leadership has put up a brave front in the face of AASU’s warning against giving a red carpet welcome to Mahanta to the party, there is under current of tension within the party that was basically an off-spring of the students’ organisation post-Assam Agitation against illegal Bangladeshi migrants. The AGP, Lok Sabha member and senior leader Dr Arun Sharma said the AGP couldn’t afford to take a collision course with the AASU and the party leadership would take serious note of the issue vis-à-vis Mahanta and the AASU. The AGP, so far, hasn’t made any request to the AASU to soften its stand against Mahanta’s comeback to the party.
|
|
Militants fire at houses of 2 docs in Manipur
Imphal, October 13 The militants came in an auto-rickshaw before the private residence of Dr T Yumjao, a senior surgeon at the Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital at Kwakeithel Mayaikobi area in Imphal West district late Sunday night and opened fire, injuring a maid, official sources said. The maid identified as Naobi (20) was hit by a bullet in her chest and was now in serious condition. In an earlier attack, unidentified militants fired at the house of another doctor M. Bira Kumar, an associate professor at the RIMSH, on Saturday last at Kwakeithel Moirangpurel area near here, the sources said. However, no one was injured in Saturday's incident. — PTI
|
|
Kosi Fury
Roorkee, October 13 Sharing his expert views with The Tribune over managing the Kosi, on his return from the flood-affected Kosi site, Nayan Sharma of the water resources development & management department, IIT, and a member of the high-level expert team of the Centre for the Kosi management, maintained that the embankment breach of about 1,700 metres at Kusaha in Nepal needs to be plugged urgently. “The nascent river course can not be allowed free play as it may take years for the new course to stabilise, which may cause frequent relocation and instability of the riverine population. Gabion structures made of polymer rope or hexagonal wire could be used to plug the breach," he said. Nayan believes that river behaviour is required to be investigated and constantly monitored using hi-tech tools of remote sensing with morphological and flow simulation models of the Kosi, along with digital terrain model of the watershed from Nepal to its confluence with the Ganga. “The guiding principle for durable solution of the Kosi problem should be to confine the stream-flow by flow modifying structures for imparting adequate capacity to transport sediment inflows. It is imperative to build suitable flood detention dams in Nepal to hold back sediment and flood waters.”
|
|
Sonu pulled out dead from borewell
Agra, October 13 A postmortem revealed the cause of death as a heart puncture and multiple injuries caused by the 70ft fall, according to N C Prajapati, principal of S N Medical College where the doctors declared the boy brought dead this morning. Army and paramilitary personnel had joined locals in digging a parallel tunnel, as the borewell was too narrow, soon after the incident on Thursday in Lehrakapura village but the rescue work was hampered by frequent mudslides due to the soggy nature of the soil as the site was located near a pond. The child was stuck in the borewell at the depth of about 70-ft for the last 98 hours. No movement had been noticed or any sound heard from him two hours after he fell into the well but oxygen was being supplied through a pipe, rescue workers said. "There were no signs of life when we pulled him out. The body was blue and swollen," one of the workers said. "Legal action will be taken against the contractor who allegedly left the borewell uncovered," additional district magistrate Rajiv Rautela told reporters. The district administration had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Rautela said legal action would also be taken against a UP Jal Nigam's assistant engineer and junior engineer, who were responsible for the boring. The two officials have already been suspended. Sonu's family will be given Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, district magistrate Anil Kumar said here, adding that strict instructions had been given not to leave any borewell open in future. — PTI
|
|
Prez advocates precaution in digging borewells
New Delhi, October 13 "The President is deeply saddened by the death of the young child. Her prayers are with Sonu's family," a spokesperson for the President said. The President's office sent an advisory to the ministries concerned asking them to issue guidelines to all its field formations for taking precautions while digging borewells. Patil had earlier expressed concern over the increasing cases of children falling into deep borewells in different parts of the country and asked the authorities to take preventive steps. — PTI
|
|
Chandrayaan aims at exploring moon’s energy potential
Sriharikota, October 13 “We sometimes face the question why India is attaching so much importance to this mission, nearly 40 years after man first landed on the Moon. The reality is that there is now a renewed interest in the Moon for a variety of reasons,” director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) K. Radhakrishnan and his counterpart in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre M.C. Dathan said. For one thing, the Moon could be a major source of energy for human beings, grappling with the grim question of how to overcome the critical situation caused by fast depleting fossil fuel reserves on earth. Earlier, Moon missions had detected the presence of helium in the celestial body's surface. In future there could be explorations to bringing it (to earth), harness and process it, they said. The ongoing Moon missions include China's Chang programme, Luno-Globe of Russia and Japan's SELENE, Radhakrishnan said. Though these were missions sponsored by the space agencies of different countries, many of their findings were shared for the benefit of the world as a whole, they said. “Even in the case of Chandrayaan-I, we will be carrying payloads from NASA, European space agency ESA and one from Bulgaria,” Dathan, who heads the spaceport from where the mission is launched, said. “There are long-term goals, dreams and technological heights to be scaled. But if you ask us what is the challenge now on hand, our answer is, it is the mission “For any mission, putting it in orbit successfully is the first and foremost challenge,” the leading technocrats, here to monitor the final stages of preparations for the launch on October 22, said. India had developed its space technology capabilities on a firm footing and proved its success over the years. “This is going to be a major step forward as the first inter-planetary exploration,” they said. Chandrayaan, which involves a total cost of Rs 386 crore, is the result of the persistent and collective endeavour of various units of ISRO. The mission's principal objectives are high resolution remote sensing of the Moon in the visible coma near infrared, low and high energy X-ray regions to prepare a three dimensional atlas of the lunar surface and chemical mapping of the entire A key Indian payload to be carried by the mission is the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) to prove technological elements for future landing missions. The first Moon mission would be followed by Chandrayaan-II, planned to be launched by mid-2010 for which the government had given approval, they said. — PTI
|
|
Govt outsources passport services to TCS
New Delhi, October 13 An agreement to this effect was signed here today between foreign secretary Shiv Shanker Menon and S. Ramadorai, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services. The Passport Sewa Project is one of the Mission Mode Projects under the National e-Governance Programme. It aims to deliver passport related services to the citizens in a timely and transparent manner and in a comfortable environment, through streamlined processes. The entire project is being implemented on the public private partnership (PPP) mode. Speaking on the occasion, Menon said about 5 million passports were issued last year all over India by the Central Passport Organisation. The total demand for passports is expected to grow to over 10 million in 2011. To meet this rapidly growing demand, the ministry of external affairs conceived the Passport Sewa Project, which is expected to be completed in phases by January 2010. It would result in the issue of passports within three days, and where police verification was required, within three days after the completion of the verification process. Tatkal passports would be issued on the day of submission of the application. Seventy-seven Passport Sewa Kendras would be opened all over the country. The pilot locations for the project are Bangalore and Chandigarh and the pilot sites would be functional by June 2009.
|
|
Singur land: CPM for other industries, auction
Kolkata, October 13 Notably, Mamata twice received threat calls from a public phone booth in Hooghly district today, but said she was not worried about her life. She alleged that the CPM had now hired a professional killer for her, but she would not cow down. Mamata said she would re-launch massive agitations all over the state, demanding the return of lands to the farmers. On the other hand, members of the CPM-controlled ‘Nano Bachaoo’ committee today met the state Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi at Raj Bhavan and urged him to persuade the Tatas to restart the work at Singur since 80% of it had already been completed. Earlier, the committee organised a rally in the Esplanade area when Mamata Banerjee’s effigy was burnt and several leaders, including the Kolkata mayor Bikahs Bhattacharyya, held her responsible for the Tatas moving out of Singur. Meanwhile, the party’s central committee, on the second day of its meeting, discussed about the post-Nano situation besides reviewing the country’s present political situation vis-à-vis the stand the party would take during the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sources said that the central committee unanimously endorsed the stand that state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had taken in dealing with the Singur problem, and wanted that a widespread campaign be launched for countering Mamata’s aggressive movement. CITU president Shyamal Chakraborty said the acquired lands at Singur would be auctioned if they are not utilised for any other industries.
|
|
Soon, Eurocopter training institute in India
New Delhi, October 13 Refusing to divulge the name of the Indian companies, he said the move was being taken in the wake of less number of pilots being trained to fly the helicopters in the country. Ducrot said the institute will have all the facilities, including training the pilots on simulators. The Eurocopter team, which is here to attend the Air Show at Hyderabad, said their company was looking at three segments of civilian market in India - emergency medical services, off-shore and corporate world. There were as many as one dozen firm orders from corporates in the country. “The Eurocopter has an advantage of providing maintenance, services and customer care in India,” Ducort said. — PTI
|
|
Moga Sex Scandal
New Delhi, October 13 The court, however, asked Barjinder to seek regular bail as it has already provided him protection against arrest till the case comes up for hearing in the trial court next week. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Arun Jaitley said his client was being implicated in the case due to political rivalry arising from his refusal to cross-vote. This was evident from the contradictory statements given by the accused in the case, he said. Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had turned down Barjinder's anticipatory bail plea, observing that his custodial interrogation was "extremely necessary to unravel the fathoms of the conspiracy" in the sex scam.
|
|
JD(U)-BJP rift widens in Bihar
Patna, October 13 The latest provocation is the continuing threats from JD(U) MLA from Chhapra Ram Pravesh Rai to the minister of urban development Bhola Singh. Bhola Singh is one among the 13 BJP ministers in the 36-member cabinet of Nitish Kumar. Rai has not only been levelling serious allegations against the minister but has also threatened not to allow him enter Chhapra. The minister, on his part, said Rai was angry with him for not allowing him 'swindle' the money of Chhapra municipality. Interestingly, the leadership of both BJP and JD(U) remained mute spectator to the on going war of words between the MLA and the minister. The misbehaviour of a constable with the son and daughter-in-law of PHED minister and senior BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Chowbey in the state capital recently and the state administration's decision not to take any punitive action against the erring cop even after Chowbey meeting the Chief Minister, added further fuel to the simmering fire. Raising a strong voice against the state BJP leadership during the party's core committee meeting here on Sunday, Chowbey said he could not bear the humiliation any more. He urged the party leadership to allow him quit the ministry. After giving a patient hearing to the grievances of all leaders present in the special meeting, party in charge of Bihar affairs, Kalraj Mishra, said the Chief Minister should have taken cognizance of the utterances of his party MLA from Chhapra. Mishra also told newsmen that he would apprise the top party leadership in Delhi about the discontent in Bihar BJP against the state BJP leadership, particularly deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. The aggrieved BJP MLAs cited similar humiliating incidents which the then minister of sports and culture Janardan Singh Sigriwal and senior party MLA Falguni Yadav had to face earlier. Sigriwal was roughed up by the same JD(U) MLA from Chhapra who is now threatening Bhola Singh and Falguni Yadav was pushed out of the dais by JD(U) minister Narendra Singh in a public meeting at Banka. Both Sigriwal and Yadav had lodged complaints with the party as well as the police in this regard but no action was taken against the JD(U) leaders in either of the cases.
|
|
Toiling to make Rajasthan green
Chirahwa (Jhunjhunu), October 13 Following footsteps of Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the "Paani wale Baba" (the saint of water), whose efforts rejuvenated hundreds of wells, baulis and ponds in the desert state, these yodhas have been toiling day and night for years to revive water bodies. Five such yodhas converged in this village to be honoured for their efforts and to spread the movement further. Their real moment of pride came when none other than Rajendra Singh called them the “real jewels” of Rajasthan. Prime among those, Lakshman Singh of Lapodia village in Mauzmabad tehsil, has led different groups of villagers to turn 35 km of parched earth by reviving dried wells, baulis and ponds in 105 villages. Lakhsman Singh began it from his native place Lapodia village 28 years back and today heads a core group of 80 villagers. "There was a time when due to persistent drought, thousands of natives were migrating to big cities like Delhi for doing menial labour work. Today, two buses full of children go to schools in Jaipur, thanks to the prosperity brought by the revival,” said Lakshman. Owing to the revival of rivers, the production of crops and fodder has also increased. The efforts have infused new life in fauna also. “The number of birds, insects, animals, and reptiles have increased manifold after water resurfaced. We have given separate places for them to feast on nature," he said. Vimla Kaushik of Kolayit village in Bikaner district has shown that it is not only men who can take up the challenge. Her efforts of past several years have rekindled nearly 600 wells and ponds in the arid state. Bhanwar Singh, a folk artist and popular composer for save environment songs, has taken up the onus of saving water in Ajmer district. Under his leadership, residents of Tilonia village in Kishangarh tehsil of Ajmer district constructed a check dam that revived a seasonal rivulet and 60 dried up wells. Then there is Balbir Singh of Naseedpur, who, through his efforts, have changed the environment of the village by growing hundreds of trees. Satya Naryan Gautam of Sawai Madhopur district has checked exodus of nearly 20 villages by reviving Morrel river through rainwater harvesting. Their inspiration, Rajendra Singh, honoured them for their work at a function held in the village under the aegis of Sri Ramakrishna Jaidayal Dalmia Seva Sansthan yesterday. Lakshman Singh was presented the state award of Rs 1 lakh while others were presented Rs 11,000 each for their efforts in water conversation. Well-known industrialist Sanjay Dalmia, whose family runs the trust funding several such projects, called upon the people of the state to end water scarcity by next five years by following such methods.
|
|
30 lakh Indians suffer from mental illness: Report
New Delhi, October 13 “About 30 lakh to 35 lakh people need hospitalisation at any time for mental illness. In contrast, there are about 29,000 beds available in various hospitals for treatment,” the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) has said. The NHRC, expressing concern over the rise in the number of mentally ill people, said there was need to augment the healthcare infrastructure in India to protect the rights of such persons. “The huge treatment gap with 50 per cent to 90 per cent people not being able to access services is a serious human rights issue,” it said. The human rights body said morbidity on account of mental illness would overtake heart diseases by the year 2010. “According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), there are over 2 crore people in India who are in need of treatment for serious mental disorder and about 5 crore people who are affected by common mental diseases,” the report said. Noting that there was a dearth of facilities in India to provide treatment to these people, it said stigma-related discrimination faced by persons with mental illness also made it a “matter of deep concern” to the commission. The commission said there was a need to focus on preventive, curative and the other dimensions of mental health to protect the rights of persons with mental illnesses. — PTI |
||||||
|
Amitabh responding to treatment, says Abhishek
Mumbai, October 13 Abhishek said the recurring pain suffered by his father was on account of indigestion after food particles ingested by him remained stuck on his intestine walls. A number of associates of the Bachchan family have been visiting the actor at the hospital. So far it is not clear when the actor would be discharged from the hospital. Even the hospital has refused to comment on the actor’s health, saying it wanted to respect his privacy. However, reports emanating from hospital sources said the actor continued to suffer from the pain and an endoscopy had been performed on him. |
||||||
|
Pay issue of Armed forces to be resolved soon: Pranab
New Delhi, October 13 External affairs minister Mukherjee told mediapersons here today that he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister A.K. Antony. “Shortly, I am going to discuss with finance minister P. Chidambaram,’’ he said. Without giving details of his discussions with the Prime Minister, Mukherjee said: “I do hope we will be able to sort out the issue shortly.” The committee, which also includes Antony and Chidambaram, was set up by the Prime Minister on September 25 in the wake of resentment in the armed forces, which had complained that there were anomalies in the 6th pay commission recommendations that had lowered the status of their officers. After the government notification was issued on August 29, the issue of anomalies in the pay for officers was first raised by Air Chief Fali Homi Major in his letter in his capacity as acting chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). The Chiefs of Navy and Army too have been voicing their resentment. |
||||||
|
Africa to replicate Indian dairy model
Chandigarh, October 13 A new initiative is being launched in Africa under the World Bank that will see dairy farmers from India working in Tanzania and Uganda to demonstrate how to replicate country’s Operation Flood. Earlier, many advanced countries, including Australia, introduced innovative schemes to attract farmers from Punjab for developing farm sector there. Many may still be remembering how Indian artisans in general and Punjabis in particular had worked under the British regime to build great African rail. Now again, Africa is looking towards India for ushering in a White Revolution. This innovative exchange of practical experience is being funded through the South-South Experience Exchange Facility, officially launched by World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick. “In their quest to accelerate growth and improve living standards, policymakers in the developing world are constantly in search of innovative ideas. They see the experiences of their counterparts in emerging economies as increasingly relevant,” Zoellick has been quoted saying that “knowledge is key to development, and the World Bank group can share not only its own knowledge but also the expertise and experience of other developing countries with our clients.” Seven donors (China, India, Mexico, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK) have already pledged support to the fund, and others have expressed strong interest. According to a World Bank report, interested practitioners first introduced the Indian model to Africa in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. “Dairying is a very good means of improving livelihoods, especially for poor farmers,” says Simon Bell, World Bank sector manager in the South Asia region. “In both East Africa and India, most rural families, even landless ones, own at least one or two cows and buffaloes, and it is generally the women who look after them,” says Bell. “With food prices rising, milk can play an important role in improving the diets of the poor. Linking profitable, private enterprises with these people at the bottom of the pyramid can produce real win-win situations for the rural poor, as well as for the business sector.” Anand model of Gujarat, successfully replicated in Punjab by Verka and Vita in Haryana, has impressed Africans. According to the World Bank document, non-interference by the government in the formation and control of cooperatives was a key to the Indian success. “We thought we needed large herds of high-quality cows. But now we’ve seen it can work if a lot of people bring in a little milk each,” D.K. Mmari from Tanzania, who plans to start producing enough milk in his own dairy to supply the fast-growing city of Dar-es-Salaam, has been quoted in the document. By bringing together Indian and African dairy experts, the facility will help support this type of work and move forward South-South collaboration. |
||||||
|
Checking Spurious Drugs
New Delhi, October 13 Another amendment on the cards is the Central Drug Authority Amendment which will enable India to have a decentralised system of dealing with drug related issues. Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss today said the Central Drug Authority will serve not just as a regulatory body but will also promote operators in the sector. Meanwhile, those engaged in food and drug sector will no longer have to go through the red tape to access the regulator’s office. In its bid to streamline regulatory processes, the government today dedicated to the nation the Food and Drug Administration Bhavan which will house the offices of both the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the Central Drug Authority as and when the related Bill is passed in Parliament. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee today inaugurated the building, saying India’s international relations in the future would be determined by its global image in the food and drug sector, which is why it is important for the government to ensure the quality if both. Mukherjee called for strengthening the drug regulatory framework with the assistance of WHO and countries like Canada and the USA. “Food and drugs occupy an important position in India’s international trade. The regulators must be efficient to see that all imported products are of high quality and all exported products are safe,” Mukerjee said. The health minister for his part said the FDA building was not just designed to provide conventional office space, but was a a modern office building where functional aspects have been taken care of. “It shall have all the modern tools making it easy for domestic as well as international pharmaceutical companies to approach the regulator’s office. This will provide edge over our competitors in the world in the field of food and drugs,” Ramadoss said. A decentralised system had been a long standing demand of the pharmaceutical, growing at the rate of 10 to 15 per cent annually. Currently the size of the pharma industry is estimated at more than Rs 60,000 crore and India is fast emerging as a hub for pharma and biotech products. |
||||||
|
Treat VHP, Bajrang Dal as terror outfits: Lalu New Delhi, October 13 Narayanan in a TV interview last night had refused to put SIMI on a par with the Bajrang Dal and the VHP and had defended intelligence reports that resulted in the encounter in Batla House here on September 19. Lalu regretted that there was absence of proper intelligence before terror acts and demanded the strengthening of intelligence wing. He asked for greater attention on intelligence strengthening and police modernisation. In an implicit reference to the Batla House encounter, the RJD president also cautioned against victimising the innocents in the process of catching the terrorists. Lalu was one of the last speakers at the NIC, though he along with LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan occupied the podium with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other distinguished members like Sonia Gandhi. He charged the VHP and the Bajrang Dal with spreading terror in states like Orissa and Karnataka, and strongly pleaded for a ban on both outfits. |
||||||
Govt alerts mobile operators 10 die in accident Rs 50,000 cr for NE TN to curb accidents ‘Chhaiyya’ train turns 100 Fake passport: One held
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Adilabad (AP), October 13
Agra, October 13
