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‘Jagan-for-CM’ Campaign |
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Chiru gets closer to Cong
CPM, Maoists in cahoots: Mamata
Telecom Scam
Gloom, glee together at Pushkar Fair
I-T dept to summon Koda for questioning
Separate Statehood
Centre mulls special drive to recruit IPS officials
12 dead as truck rams into train
Big B gets clean chit in land row
President, PM greet nation on Gurpurb
RPF men paucity hits rly security plan
Tackling Maoist Violence
Devadasi tradition dying in Puri temple
Centre for Case Development set up in ISB
A winter theatre treat in offing for Delhi
Andhra order on Telugu song triggers row
Army dishes out bonanza, doubles house rent
UN hails India’s offer to host biodiversity summit
Won’t ever join politics, says Baba Ramdev
Rosaiah launches pension plan
Woman acquitted of pushing girl into flesh trade
7 militants killed in Manipur
Techies team up to help poor
rural students
3 foreigners arrested with hashish worth Rs 43 crore
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Lalu mulls Left turn in Jharkhand poll
Patna, November 1 The Left parties, the CPI and the CPM, do not have much political significance in the present day Jharkhand polity. Both parties could not even win one out of 81 seats in the last assembly elections. In the name of left wing, the Forward Bloc and CPI-ML had won just one seat each. But despite being fully aware about their political base, Lalu Yadav has been making hectic efforts to form an alliance with them in Jharkhand. Both Lalu and his ally LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan have held a series of meetings with the top CPI and CPM leaders of Jharkhand during the past couple of days. The alliance between them has reportedly been finalised but the formal announcement would be made in a day or two. Jharkhand state unit president of RJD, Gautam Sagar Rana, admitted before the mediapersons that there was no hitch over seat adjustment between his party and the left. CPI’s state secretary of Bihar, Badri Narayan Lal, also said the top leader of his party in Jharkhand, Bhuvaneshwar Mehta’s talks with Lalu Yadav over seat sharing was quite fruitful and his party was already preparing for the polls. It has been learnt that the CPI wanted 14 seats, but consensus had been reached on eight seats. The CPM has also staked its claim on 12 seats but the actual number of seats conceded to them by the RJD and the LJP is yet to become public. In reply to a question, Rana admitted that his party (RJD) wanted a long-term alliance with the Left parties not only in Bihar and Jharkhand but also in national polity. Having just four MPs, including the party president in the Lok Sabha had reduced the tall and visible politician like Lalu Yadav to a back bencher. But for the liberal hearted Congress, the RJD chief may not have found a seat in the front row. However, other than accommodating him in the front row, the Congress has bluntly turned down all pleas of Lalu to be together. The beleaguered Lalu was in urgent need of an ally in the Lok Sabha who could support him on different issues. In the name of forming an alliance with the Left parties for Jharkhand elections, the RJD hopes to establish a long-term friendship with them. Having been abandoned by the Congress, Lalu would be a suitable ally for the left in Bihar and Jharkhand where his party certainly has a stronger caste base than the CPI and the CPM. The RJD had won seven out of the 81 seats in Jharkhand during the last assembly polls.
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Raje’s Rajasthan tour may add to BJP’s woes
Jaipur, November 1 A day after her return, Raje held hectic parleys with her supporting MLAs and MPs at her Civil Lines residence on Wednesday, and reports from her camp suggested that she was working out a detailed programme of her tour in the state. However, the Raje camp has not yet come clean on the schedule of her tour. Ganganagar MLA and Raje’s aide Radheshyam said they were yet to decide the exact date for the launch of her state tour. “We’ll surely let you (media) know when a decision is reached in this regard,” he said. Interestingly, it seems that Raje is giving a second thought to her proposed state tour. In a fresh development, her personal secretary Mahendra Bharadwaj on Sunday said Raje was not planning any state tour while accusing the media of misquoting her. “She had only stated that she will be there for the people of Rajasthan to share their joys and sorrows. For instance,
she visited the injured in on Sunday’s fire tragedy at IOC depot,” he said. On her return from New Delhi on Tuesday, Raje had clearly said she would undertake the state’s tour and start it from Pushkar and Ajmer. Going by Bharadwaj’s statement, it seems Raje doesn’t want to annoy the BJP top brass by officially undertaking a state tour and she may instead opt for visiting different areas at different point of time without any schedule, but that too will be no less harmful for the party. Meanwhile, Raje’s plans to remain active in the state seem to have upset her detractors who were hoping that she would make a quite exit from the state’s politics after being shown the door. However, they are still putting up a brave face, claiming that she will have little impact on the party workers. They are also drawing solace from the fact that only 30-odd MLAs were present on her side when she returned from New Delhi while at one stage she had claimed the support of 56 BJP MLAs. As far as her activities in the state are concerned, they say they are not worried as the party high command is keeping a close watch on every move of her. The activities of the Raje camp are not restricted to only evolving its future strategy. The leaders from the Raje camp are also openly making statements against the senior party leaders. However, none of the state BJP leaders has come out with their reaction over the issue. A senior party leader said they had no choice but to keep mum in view of the forthcoming Assembly bypoll and civic body poll, adding that any statement from their side or disciplinary action against any of Raje’s aides might take a toll on the party’s prospects.
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‘Jagan-for-CM’ Campaign
New Delhi, November 1 While the party leadership is aware that the resignation is one of the pressure tactics employed by Jaganmohan’s supporters to see him installed in the CMO, it is clear that no such strategies will now work in favour of the son of late YS Rajashekhara Reddy. “It was a personal decision according to her...we would like to leave it at that,” party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said, responding to questions whether pressure was being mounted on the party high command to install Jaganmohan as Chief Minister in place of K Rosaiah. On how the party viewed the resignation, Natarajan said: “Whatever decision she took was her personal decision. We have nothing to add to it.” Party leaders say, “pressure tactics” employed by Jaganmohan’s supporters will not yield any result for the 37-year-old first time MP from Kadapa. “With Sonia Gandhi, this (pressure tactics) will not work. Jaganmohan will just have to learn to be patient,” a senior party leader said. Surekha resigned from her post on Thursday, demanding Jaganmohan be made Chief Minister. Her resignation was accepted by Governor ND Tiwari on Thursday. Jaganmohan, who recently met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, was categorically told by the party president to leave the issue of leadership change in Andhra Pradesh to her. After meeting the party president, he expressed his allegiance to the party and said: “I will work to strengthen the party…I am with Sonia Gandhi and the party”. “I have a lot of faith in her. Whatever will be her decision we will abide by it,” he added. He also dismissed as “speculation” when asked whether the campaign to make him the Chief Minister after his father’s death was true. Political observers, however, say Jaganmohan knows fully well that public memory is short and he is not left with much time to fulfil his dreams. “After YSR’s death, the Congress appointed Rosaiah as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Now if Rosaiah manages to establish himself, Jaganmohan will become redundant for the party. After all how long will he be able to keep YSR’s memory alive in people’s and party’s minds,” they say.
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Chiru gets closer to Cong
Hyderabad, November 1 Signaling a major re-alignment of political forces in Andhra Pradesh in the post-YSR scenario, Chiranjeevi’s fledgling Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) and the Congress are coming together in what appears to be a long-term electoral understanding. “We feel that working together with Chiranjeevi will serve our long-term interests. We had preliminary discussions with PRP leaders including Chiranjeevi and details of poll pact will be worked out soon,” state Congress President D Srinivas said here today. After taking the political plunge in August last year, Chiranjeevi had projected himself as an alternative to the two main contenders for power - the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party. However, his party came a cropper in the April-May elections, managing to win just 18 seats in the 294-member Assembly and drawing blank in the Lok Sabha. Since then, the party has been facing an identity crisis with questions being raised over its sustainability till the next elections in 2014. As a sense of despondency crept into its rank and file, several seniors have deserted the party while a section of leaders even favoured merger with the Congress. On its part, the Congress needed a booster in the wake of gloom following the sudden demise of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy who was the tallest leader of the party in the state. The prestigious elections to Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation (GHMC), the second biggest urban conglomerate after New Delhi, provided the backdrop for the two parties to hold consultations for a tie-up. “Chiranjeevi himself had spoken to me. His brother-in-law and party general secretary Allu Aravind also called me. We have agreed to work together for mutual benefit,” Srinivas said. The AICC general secretary in-charge of AP M Veerappa Moily and Chief Minister K Rosaiah gave their nod to the alliance. Chiranjeevi, currently camping in Kerala with family, is expected to return to the city shortly and make a formal announcement about the alliance. The actor’s well-publicised meeting with the Chief Minister at the temple town of Tirupati recently and his comments showering encomiums on the Congress veteran had provided indications of his coming closer to the ruling party.
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CPM, Maoists in cahoots: Mamata
Kolkata, November 1 “I think that the Marxists and the Maoists are both sides of the same coin. They are working together,” Banerjee told newspersons here. Alleging that the CPM was running the government with the help of the Maoists, she said there was no difference between the violent activities of the Maoists and Marxists. “If Maoists are to be banned, why not the CPM which is also carrying out armed operations in the state?” Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had appealed to the Trinamool Congress yesterday to “sever links with the rebels.” Describing Bhattacharjee as “both a Marxist and Maoist with a double face,” Mamata accused him of inaction in tracing the missing policemen Sabir Ali Molla and Kanchan Gorai reportedly kidnapped by Maoists on July 30. “The Union Home Minister had said the Centre is willing to help in the search of these two policemen. I want to know why they are not being looked for even after this. Does not the Chief Minister have the responsibility to look for them?” she said. She claimed the state government was using CPM cadre to carry out armed operations against opposition leaders and workers. The Union Minister said she had handed over evidence regarding the killing of Trinamool men to Chidambaram. She also gave a list of 14 Trinamool activists, who remained untraced in Nandigarm and its vicinity during the anti-land acquisition campaign there. Mamata said according to locals, they had been killed by CPM cadre and their bodies thrown in the Haldi river. The Railway Minister also accused the CPM of amassing huge sums of unaccounted money, and said this will come to light once the Centre takes the move to unearth black money stashed in Swiss
banks. — PTI
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Telecom Scam
New Delhi, November 1 When asked about the demand for his resignation, Raja said the NDA regime had distributed for free, 250 Mega Hertz of spectrum among the telecom operators. "The scam during the NDA regime could be worth much more than Rs 1.6 lakh
crore," he told reporters here.He asserted that he would not “step down” as was being demanded by the opposition parties. Raja debunked charges of Rs 60,000 crore spectrum scam levelled by BJP against him and said, "Ours is a government that has followed all rules in the letter and spirit by following the recommendations of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)." Seeking to push the ball back into the opposition’s court, the minister pointed out that the BJP leader Arun Jaitley “himself had defended a major operator in court...During the NDA regime, 250 MHz of spectrum was distributed among the operators without any charge. As much as 900 bands of spectrum, which was not to have been allocated, was given as additional spectrum... This is the biggest scam." He also charged the
BJP-led NDA government with reducing licence fees several times and charged it of ignoring rules in allotment of spectrum. "Whereas there was no provision for giving spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz to any single operator, the then government distributed this frequency much beyond this limit and it did not get any revenue share when the spectrum was given beyond 8-10 MHz," the minister said. The Telecom Minister also got support from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday. At the HT Leadership Summit here the Finance Minister came to Raja's
defence, saying allegations of corruption was not proof of corruption. The opposition parties have been calling for Raja's resignation ever since CBI searched offices of the Telecom Ministry and some private mobile operators last week over allegations that spectrum was allocated to new operators at dirt-cheap prices, causing a major loss to the exchequer. The
CPI(M) has been alleging that the loss to the exchequer has been to the tune of
Rs. 60,000 crore as a result of spectrum being handed out to the start up companies late last year at prices much lower than the market.
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Gloom, glee together at Pushkar Fair
Pushkar, November 1 Thousands of pilgrims are converging here from every nook and cranny of the country to take a holy dip in the Pushkar lake on the eve of Kartik Purnima, which falls on November 2, but little do they know that the lake no longer exists. It has dried up completely in less than 12 months, courtesy government apathy and drought. The locals are blaming the state administration for the pathetic condition of the lake. “The lake was full last year and the pilgrims had returned satisfied after a holy dip here. The catastrophe struck when the district administration launched de-silting work at the lake after last year’s fair. The move left the lake wider and deeper, as a result of which the remaining water in the lake too dried up,” laments Parsadi Lal, a retired government employee from Pushkar. Ironically, while the government deepened the lake to ensure adequate water storage, the rainfall this year was much below the normal in the area. As rainfall was the primary source of water for the lake, the administration was left with no option but to construct ‘kunds’ (water tanks made of concrete) in which water from tubewells could be filled on daily basis. The authorities have built 13 ‘kunds’ on different 'ghats' of the lake to facilitate ‘snan’ (bath) for devotees. However, the move has not gone down well with the pilgrims as well as the Sadhus, who are annoyed with the administration. “There is no water in the lake and the authorities seem least worried. All they are focusing on is to how to draw maximum number of domestic and foreign tourists,” rued an angry Brij Tripathi, a Dhanbad resident, who has been visiting the fair for the past many years. Sadhus too have their own sets of reasons for being disappointed. “The lack of water in the lake has discontinued our tradition of taking a bath in the lake. A small dip in a ‘kund’ can’t match a holy dip in a natural lake. Also, we don’t know how the administration will allow devotees to take a dip in the same tank as ours because in the previous years the ‘ghats’ where we took bath were prohibited for women,” said Sachidanand, a member of Sadhu Samaj. Meanwhile, the farmers who are participating in the cattle fair too are facing troubled times. They seem to have been caught between the devil and the deep sea owing to the drought in the state. “With the drought pushing the fodder prices up, I can’t afford to feed my two camels anymore. I brought them here, hoping that somebody who can take good care of them will buy them. However, it was not to be. Even after seeking the price below my expectations no one has evinced any interest in them,” said Dhanjiram of Bajawas village in Nagaur district. Ramkripal Gurjar, another farmer from Beawar in Rajsamand, said it could not have got worse for the farming community. “The camel prices have dropped to nearly half of what they were last year. Low prices have pushed us in a spot. We can neither afford fodder for them nor want to sell them off at such prices,” he said. The scenario is no good when it comes to other animals. Rashid Khan from Churu had come with his three horses, including a mare, but with only a couple of days left he is yet to sell any of his livestock. “Nobody is ready to pay to my expectations. It seems I will have to take them back,” he added.
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I-T dept to summon Koda for questioning
New Delhi, November 1 The department carried out countrywide searches on at least 70 premises associated with Koda yesterday and seized voluminous documents, computer peripherals and other records pertaining to bank details and investments. The department will issue notices to Koda and others for “detailed questioning” after the completion of scrutiny of the seized material, official sources said. Some questioning at the time of searches was done by tax officials but they were largely cursory. A detailed questioning is required, as the documents taken into custody are huge, they said. The notices will be send under section 131 of the Income Tax Act 1961, which authorises the department to issue summons or to force attendance of any person for being examined on oath or to compel production of books of account and other documents. The I-T department yesterday had claimed that they found evidence of Rs 2,000 crore in hawala transactions and investments after searches were conducted at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nasik, Ranchi, Chaibasa and Jamshedpur. I-T authorities said the department would also initiate the unlocking of seized lockers at various places of the former Chief Minister and his associates. “Some documents showed about Rs 100 crore in foreign exchange being sent by hawala transactions to Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia,” tax officials said after the searches on Saturday. The searches were held after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against Koda and his associates Sanjay Choudhary and Vinod Kumar Sinha on October 9 on charges of making huge illegal investments abroad. The ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is equivalent to an FIR, before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Ranchi against Koda and eight others. Koda was chief minister between September 2006 and August 2008. Currently an Independent member of the Lok Sabha, Koda had held the mines portfolio twice in two governments led by Arjun Munda between 2003 and 2006.
— PTI
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Separate Statehood
Hyderabad, November 1 A meeting of the party’s Politburo, held here today, decided to go ahead with the agitation to mount pressure on the UPA government to grant statehood for the region. “We are determined to achieve our statehood goal and this will be our final push,” Rao told reporters. He said the movement for separate Telangana state had now reached a decisive stage. The strident posturing is part of a strategy by the sub-regional party to regain confidence of people after suffering severe drubbing in the elections. The party had recently staged “Jail Bharo” programme to protest against the alleged injustice being meted out to Telangana. “We want to maintain the tempo and organize a series of agitation programmes till the goal is achieved,” Rao said. The TRS, which hoped to play a key role in national politics on Telangana plank, came a cropper in the recent elections, managing to win just two Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. It had contested nine Lok Sabha and 45 Assembly seats as part of the four-party opposition alliance comprising TDP, CPI and CPM. The backward region accounts for 17 LS and 119 Assembly seats. The party leadership feels that the post-YSR political scenario in the state provides the right platform to revive an aggressive campaign for separate Telangana state, a movement that was effectively neutralized by the former Chief Minister. A strong opponent of the demand for bifurcation of the state, YSR was seen by Telangana protagonists as the “main obstacle” in the path of creation of separate state. “In the absence of YSR who was aggressively pursuing the integrated state agenda, we do not expect much resistance from the present leadership to Telangana struggle,” a top TRS leader said. The sub-regional party had suffered big losses during YSR regime following several of its rebel leaders switching over to the ruling Congress. The TRS leadership is also of the opinion that there will be no threat of poaching from the ruling party in the changed political scenario.
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Centre mulls special drive to recruit IPS officials
Also, a competitive examination may be conducted over the next seven years to recruit an additional 448 IPS officials, suggests a report by the one-member committee of former IPS officer Kamal Kumar on “Recruitment Plan (2009-2020) for the Indian Police Service”. The report was submitted to the Home Ministry on October 15. The committee suggests the annual recruitment between 2009-10 and 2019-20 fiscals be fixed at
130 officers. In this connection, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday: “The report confirms my conclusion that there was grave neglect in determining the number of candidates to be recruited to the IPS in the Civil Services Examination between 1999 and 2002.” As against the number of 85 needed per annum, only 36 candidates were recruited each year, resulting in a shortfall of 49 officials a year or a total shortfall of 196 candidates. The damage could be corrected only over a period of 11 years. The Home Minister said he had directed that the report of the committee be processed expeditiously and placed before the competent authority for appropriate action. However, for conducting a special exam, said sources, a cabinet approval might be needed. The matter would be referred to the ministry of personnel. Separately, a mid-career training programme (MCTP) for IPS officials has been approved at an estimated cost of Rs 68.53 crore. Under the programme -beginning January 2010 - selected SP, DIG and IG-level officers would be imparted specialised training at premier Indian and international institutions.
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12 dead as truck rams into train
Lucknow, November 1 The 30 injured were rushed to the Sri Ram Hospital in Ayodhya where several of them were described to be in a critical state. DRM North East Railways Ashok Kumar Singh has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to next of kin of the deceased and Rs one lakh for the seriously injured.
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Big B gets clean chit in land row
Lucknow, November 1 The committee, headed by a sub-divisional magistrate, in its report submitted yesterday, turned down the charges of forgery against Bachchan following which a complaint lodged by son of the Daulatpur village head was quashed, SP Alok Singh said today. The committee, constituted by District Magistrate Vikas Gothwal, in its report said Bachchan had only proposed to donate two plots in Daulatpur village to the gram samaj. “As the process to donate plots to the gram sabha was not completed, it cannot be proved that plot numbers 711 and 793 were to be transferred to the gram samaj,” the report said. As the village head gave her consent to take the land in donation without the approval of land management committee of the district administration, the entire process was "null and void", it said. "The committee, in its inquiry, found that the allegation of fraud against Bachchan was baseless," a senior official said. Two days after the complaint was lodged against 67-year-old Bachchan on October 27, his former representative Vinay Shukla had said the land to be donated to the gram sabha was by "mistake" included in the gift deed towards a foundation for construction of a college named after his daughter-in-law Aishwarya.
— PTI
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President, PM greet nation on Gurpurb
New Delhi, November 1 In her message, the President said: “… I extend my greetings and good wishes to all my fellow citizens.” Stating that Guru Nanak’s message of universal harmony, unity and human concord is ever relevant and eternal, Patil said: “Let us on this day resolve to follow the path laid down by him”. The Prime Minister, in his message, hailed the teachings of Guru Nanak of peace and unity saying they are relevant in today’s world. “A society without discrimination and distinction, the vision of Guru Nanak, is the vision towards which we should strive,” the Prime Minister said. Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari in his message said Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is an apostle of universal love, piety and spiritual faith. His divine teachings guide us on the path of social harmony and unity.
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RPF men paucity hits rly security plan
New Delhi , November 1 Officials at the railways agree that there was a major shortage of men in the RPF, including that at the officer level and it needed to be addressed to augment security on the trains. The shortage of men in RPF has come into sharp focus following the daring attack on the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Rajdhani Express by Maoist-backed agitators earlier in the week. On Tuesday, demanding withdrawal of the joint security forces engaged in flushing out Maoists from the Lalgarh region in West Midnapore and release of some of their arrested leaders, Maoists-backed agitators stopped the train at Bashthala and then kidnapped the driver. According to reports there is a shortage of at least 2000 men in the RPF, including that the officer level. RPF men play a major role in providing security on trains even though the constitutional responsibility of a crime being committed on the train would fall in the jurisdiction of the state government. Railways supplements the efforts of the state governments in controlling crime on Railways by deploying RPF staff to escort trains for the security of passengers. Officials point out that elaborate plans have been made in the past to improve security on the trains but not much has been implemented. These include not only upgrading the weapons which the RPF staff carries, but also upgrading the equipment along the routes and at the stations. According to officials, security will be enhanced not only on the trains but also at sensitive stations. As part of upgrading the security electronic gadgets like CCTV, door frame metal detectors have been installed at all important and sensitive railway stations. Hand held metal detectors have also been provided to RPF personnel for frisking of passengers. Procurement of more modern security gadgets for installation at sensitive and important railway stations would done on priority basis, officials said. While officials agree that there was a major intelligence failure at Bashthala, they point out that close liaison is normally maintained with State Police for taking suitable preventive measures in vulnerable sections of affected States to avert incidents of terrorist attacks. Periodical meetings with State Administrations of affected States and police authorities are being regularly held by Railway Administration to formulate effective joint strategy to combat the problem of terrorist attack over Railway system. Sharing of intelligence between Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and Intelligence Bureau of affected States have been given priority to combat attacks on Railways. However, all this came to naught at the Maoists-backed villagers took charge of the train. Officials point out that there was an urgent need to upgrade security along the Maoists affected areas.
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Tackling Maoist Violence
Patna, November 1 Sources in the state police headquarters revealed that the plan was already finalised in consultation with the Union Home Ministry and quite a few meetings between the officers of the Bihar police and the Army officials had been held in this connection. Four battalion headquarters of the Bihar Military Police (BMP) had been selected as training schools for the purpose. The Centre had already provided Rs 1.5 crore to each of these upcoming schools for developing infrastructure and procuring equipment. Around 250 police personnel selected from the District Armed Police and the BMP would be trained in one batch at each of these training schools. The state Home department will constitute a team of senior police officers who would select the policemen for this special training and also their trainers. The IG (operations) and Brigadier of Danapur cantonment would be permanent members of this committee. The local sub-area office of the Army has already provided a list of retired Army officials to the state government for the selection of trainers. In all likelihood, the training schools would become functional by December 2009, said ADG (Headquarters) Neelmani. After undergoing rigorous training for three months, the trained police personnel would be included in the Special
Task Force (STF) raised by the state government exclusively to take on the Naxals. As a part of its anti-Naxal operation, the Centre had also provided Rs 18.90 crore to Bihar government for creating special infrastructure, strengthening security around police stations, building roads and helipads in Naxal-dominated areas. The money would also be spent on providing armoured vehicles and bulletproof jackets, besides latest weapons to the police. Maoists are also reported to have raised an exclusive women’s brigade to counter the Centre’s offensive against them. The Centre has decided to deploy its newly raised COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) force against the Naxals in Bihar very shortly. The strategy of the Maoists, as indicated by intelligence agencies, is to put their specially trained women commandos in front to keep the COBRA force engaged in a gunbattle while their armed squad comprising men would be put on ambush duty from behind. Naxals had recently demonstrated their newly recruited women commandos by making them parade with their weapons in a combat outfit in a forest under the Dumaria police station of Gaya district.
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Devadasi tradition dying in Puri temple
Puri (Orissa), November 1 Anticipating the scenario, the temple administration in the early 90s had attempted to enrol new Devadasis to keep alive the tradition, but the efforts failed due to nationwide protest against the system and also because no girl volunteered. Among 36 different services (seva) in the 12th century Vishnu shrine here, the rituals performed by Devadasis, locally known as Maharis, was the only category where women were allowed to serve the Lord. “This is the only Vishnu Temple in the country where women were allowed to perform specific rituals other than dancing and singing,” said Rabi Narayan Mishra, a researcher. Mahari seva was the only service where women had a big role to play. “Without a woman, the ritual cannot be performed,” said Rabindra Pratihari, a priest. “This time during the Nanda Ustav that is celebrated during Janmastami, the woman service could not be performed,” Bhaskar Mishra, deputy administrator at Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, said. The Devadasis play role of the Lord’s mother during celebration relating to birth of Lord Krishna, he said. The temple, which had dozens of Devadasis 80 years ago, is now left with just two of them - Sashimani and Parasmani. But, 85-year-old Sashimani is bedridden with her left leg fractured and Parasmani had stopped coming to the temple since a long time, he said. Confined to a bed in a dingy room close to Sri Jagannath Temple, Sashimani says that she is now unable to participate in the rituals she had been performing ever since she was eight years old. “I became a Mahari at the age of eight. I had been participating in temple rituals since then,” said Sashimani. Though they were exposed to exploitation in other parts of the country, Devadasis here had been commanding respect from the people, she claimed, adding Devadasis were considered the “living wives” of Lord Jagannath. “The Lord is my husband and I am his wife. There is no dispute about it,” a frail Sashimani said. Sashimani belongs to the second category of Devadasis. While the first set of Devadasis were known as ‘Bhitar Gayani’, singers of sanctum sanctorum, there was another set ‘Bahar Gayani’ who had rituals to perform outside the inner temple. The practise of Bhitar Gayani has ended with the death of Kokilaprava in 1992, recalls Debadutta Samant Singhara, a researcher on the Sri Jagannath cult. While no one knows the name of the first Devadasi of Puri, Sashimani is considered as the last “wife” of Lord Jagannath. According to the tradition, a girl can become a Devadasi before she attains puberty, Sashimani said. They were supposed to sing and dance in the temple on a daily basis. When Bhitar Gayani dances during ‘Badasinghara’ (bedtime ritual), a Bahar Gayani sings devotional songs to appease the Lord in other functions. Apart from daily rituals, Devadasis had a special role in the Rath Yatra, Navakalebara (change of wooden body of the deities every 14 years) and Nanda Utsav. Samant Singhara says the practise of dancing in the temple ended some 60 years ago. Kokilaprava, who lived till 1992, had her duty confined to singing ‘Gita Govinda’ during bedtime rituals of the Lord, he said, adding that as none of the Devadasis adopted any girl, the Mahari tradition would come to an end after Sashimani. “No one has offered to become a Devadasi. No girl should be forced to become Devadasi as it is against the wishes of the Lord,” Sashimani says. Sashimani gets an old-age pension of Rs 300 per month from the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration besides some ‘prasad’. While the Record of Rights (RoR) of the temple indicated that there were about 25 Devadasis here about 100 years ago, Orissa Gazette of 1956 lists nine Devadasis and 11 musicians in Puri temple. By 1980, only four Devadasis’ namely Harapriya, Kokilaprava, Parshmani and Sashimani were left.
— PTI
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Centre for Case Development set up in ISB
Hyderabad, November 1 The MoU was signed by ISB Dean Ajit Rangnekar and Carol Stephenson, Dean, Ivey. The Centre will support and mentor faculty and research scholars from B-Schools in India through a comprehensive process of case development-from generating ideas to publishing case studies globally. “Indian companies have, in this past decade, developed new business models that have the potential to be replicated in other parts of the world but there is a significant shortage of case studies to understand these best practices. With its academic and industry affiliations, the ISB will support and mentor faculty from other B-Schools in India, to create a knowledge repository of case studies for India and the world,” Rangnekar said. The ISB’s knowledge of best practices in India combined with Ivey’s vast experience in producing global case studies would ensure that case studies produced by the Centre comprise indigenous learning and global methodologies, he said. Ivey at the University of Western Ontario is the second largest producer of case studies and the leading producer of Asian cases globally. “We are proud to be partnering with ISB in an ambitious case development and training programme which will transform the educational environment in India,” Stephenson said. The Centre is currently developing case studies on corporates, planning bodies, NGOs, SMEs and sports organisations among others.
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A winter theatre treat in offing for Delhi
Guwahati, November 1 The National School of Drama (NSD) is going to host a famous mobile theatre group called Kahinoor Theatre from Assam in the third week of April in the national capital to facilitate select audiences from rest of the country to have a taste of the unique drama tradition. Ratan Lahkar, producer of Kahinoor, said as per the invitation from the NDS, the theatre group would stage six shows of three of its most popular dramas in New Delhi. He said besides staging dramas, the group would also hold an exhibition to showcase the indigenous techniques of stage designing, script planning, choreography, lighting and sound innovations. The mobile theatre movement, which is compared with famous “yatras” parties of neighbouring West Bengal by a school of drama critics, struck roots in Assam way back in 1963 and since then it has been a glorious journey, thanks to the support from the common people in the state. The mobile theatre groups, besides presenting dramas on some topical issues concerning the people of the state, also stage famous Shakespearian plays, dramas based on popular novels as well as blockbuster Hollywood movies. The Kahinoor Group earned tremendous accolades for successful presentation of “Titanic,” the famous Hollywood movie, a few years back. The group as well as the entire mobile theatre movement in Assam, caught notice of the NSD authority after a team from the institution under an extension project recently spent quite sometime at the Kahinoor Theatre headquarter at Pathsala in Barpeta district of Assam to study drama preparation methodology adopted by the mobile theatre groups. These groups which have been earning bread for thousands of poor artistes, technicians besides supporting frontline actors in Assam, will be immensely benefited from the exposure facilitated by the NSD for the Kahinoor Group, Lahkar said.
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Andhra order on Telugu song triggers row
Hyderabad, November 1 As per the government order, all students, irrespective of their mother tongue, will have to render the song during the morning assembly every day. The rule applies uniformly to English and Telugu medium schools, both in private and government sectors. The diktat came close on the heels of public outrage over a Christian missionary school meting out a bizarre punishment to its students recently for not speaking English in the classroom. The teachers at St Joseph’s School in Mydukur town in Kdapa district hung placards around the necks of the erring students. The placards read “I will not speak in Telugu”. “Telugu is the official language of AP. It has been accorded the classical language status. We will not allow anyone to degrade it,” Secondary Education Minister D Manikya Vara Prasad Rao said. Penned by freedom fighter and poet Shankarambadi Sundarachari, “Maa Telugu Talliki Malle Poodanda” (Floral Tribute to Mother Telugu) was an inspirational song during the movement for formation of Andhra Pradesh, the first state in India to be carved out on linguistic basis. The education minister directed the district education officers to ensure that all schools followed the orders. There are more than 70,000 government and 25,000 private schools in the state. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), spearheading the movement for separate Telangana state, strongly opposed the order on the ground that it would hurt the sentiments of the region. “With what authority and whose permission, the song is being used at official functions. We demand that playing the song is stopped immediately,” TRS president and MP K Chandrasekhar Rao said. The TRS argues that Telangana has a distinct set of culture and traditions, which are sought to be invaded by the people from other regions. The party does not accept the idea of “Telugu Talli”. “This song is an insult to Telangana region and its culture,” Rao said. Some English Medium schools in the city have termed the government’s decision as hasty though they agreed to implement the order. “We will take the suggestion positively but we have mostly non-Telugu speaking students and it may be a problem for them,” said Nageshwar Rao of Sri Nidhi International School here.
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Army dishes out bonanza, doubles house rent
New Delhi, November 1 Orders of the Army Headquarters in this regard have been circulated to all regiments, officials said while adding that these have been implemented with immediate affect. A number of officers and jawans are forced to take places on rent in civilian areas, especially in cities like Delhi and Chandigarh, where accommodation is not enough and is very expensive to rent out a decent two-room place. The Army also ramped up the scales of accommodation applicable to all its officers and jawans. Notably in case of barrack style accommodation for “single-living” jawans, that is the pattern of living in most forward bases, the jawans will have more space. This will be bigger living area and in some case the increase is 40 per cent of the existing area. The common room will be doubled while the jawans will have bigger bathrooms and more number of urinals. Provision for desert coolers, educational rooms and computer rooms have been made. For varying seniority of officers geysers, AC and Kota stone flooring will be the new standard of fittings allowed in homes. The kitchen will have a proper utensil and cutlery storage cabinet. As of now, officers get it done with their own money. The review of the new scales of accommodation was carried out after 20 years or so and since then living conditions have changed considerably.
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UN hails India’s offer to host biodiversity summit
New Delhi, November 1 “The secretariat of the convention on biological diversity welcomed the Indian offer to host the summit in 2012,” a Ministry official said. Welcoming the offer, Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the convention said, “This will allow us to continue the strategic partnership of the presidencies of the conference of the parties (to the biodiversity convention) started at the eighth meeting, held in Brazil in 2006. I look forward to India joining Brazil, Germany and Japan in the quadruple presidency.” The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) pointed out that 2012 will be a very important year for the international green community as it will mark the 20th anniversary of the Rio Conference on Environment and Development, as well as the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The 11th summit will also be crucial as it will be the first opportunity for the international community to review post-2010 biodiversity conservation targets, the revised strategic plan of the UNCBD, and the international agreement on access and benefit-sharing. India is among the 17 mega-diverse countries that are custodian of 70 percent of the world’s biodiversity. It is home to the three of the 34 ‘global biodiversity hotspots,’ biologically rich areas facing severe conservation threats. India’s biodiversity is of immense economic, ecological, social and cultural value and its potential future value is far greater. The ecosystem services from the forested watersheds of two major mountain chains — the Himalayas and the Western Ghats — indirectly support several million people and non-timber forest products alone have been estimated to be worth $200 million a year.
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Won’t ever join politics, says Baba Ramdev
Plans to sue
HLL Taking strong objection to the Surf Excel advertisement which shows a boy posing like a dog to please his teacher, Baba Ramdev on Saturday said he was in consultation with legal experts to see how promoters of the advertisement - Hindustan Unilever Limited- could be taken to court. “MNCs are trying to breed old British traditions which treated Indians and dogs with contempt. We will not allow any profit-driven foreign firm to misuse our children for their selfish motives. The ad is in very bad taste and needs to be withdrawn,” Ramdev said.
New Delhi, November 1 But earlier in the day, the yoga guru said he had pledged to himself that he would never accept any political post ever in life. “But I would do everything for bringing about a change in the system and for better administration. In the process, I would expect the support of people and will help people who back my agenda for change,” said Ramdev, hinting at a parallel RSS-like body some years into the future. “Right now, we are launching a movement for better governance of India. We hope to mobilise people towards this goal and complete our task by 2013. After that we will think what to do,” he said when asked if he was planning to set up a body like the RSS. The yoga expert, who works in tribal areas for the development and mental peace of people, in fact sympathised on Saturday with the cause of Naxals. “Naxals are also for change. But their manner of seeking that change is not correct. We will hold yoga camps in Naxal areas to bring mental peace to these people. That way, they will be inspired to shun violence,” Ramdev said.
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Rosaiah launches pension plan
Hyderabad, November 1 Chief Minister K Rosaiah launched the scheme named after his predecessor YS Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash on September 2. The scheme was a brainchild of YSR. Under the scheme, a minimum monthly pension of Rs 500 will be paid to women members of Self-Help Groups (SHG) after attaining the age of 60 years. Each woman SHG member has to contribute Rs 365 a year towards the scheme while the state government will provide a matching grant. The monthly pension ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 2500 per month, depending on the contribution by the beneficiaries and their age. The state government had signed a MoU with LIC in this regard. The eligible SHG members will be provided with a life cover of Rs 30,000 in case of natural death and Rs 75,000 in case of death due to accident.
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Woman acquitted of pushing girl into flesh trade
New Delhi, November 1 “In view of serious contradictions in the testimony of the prosecutrix and statement failing to inspire confidence, it is difficult to accept and believe it to base conviction of the accused,” Additional Sessions Judge J R Aryan said. The court absolved Baby Singh, alias Priya, a resident of Sangam Vihar here, of charges of under Sections 366 A and 372 of the IPC. The girl first said she was brought by the accused from her native place in West Bengal and was forced to have sex with 40 persons. However, in her cross examination, she said a woman other than the accused brought her to Delhi and was forced to have sex with five persons, the court said, highlighting the flip-flops in her testimonies.
— PTI |
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7 militants killed in Manipur
Guwahati, November 1 A spokesman of Assam Rifles based in Imphal said a search party of Assam Rifles was challenged by a group of about 15 militants at Androsenapat in Imphal East district at around 11 pm yesterday and seven of the militants were killed in the ensuing gunbattle. The bodies of the militants who are yet to be identified were later handed over to police at Yairipok police station. The Assam Rifles party recovered two AK 47 assault rifles, one US-made rifles, three .9 mm pistols, one .32 pistol with a magazine, three bombs, one RPG, two grenades., one radio set and lots of assorted ammunition.
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Techies team up to help poor
rural students
Porayar (TN), November 1 It all started a decade back at Anna University, Chennai, when a group of final year Engineering students came together under banner ‘Helping Minds’ to teach technical subjects to first year students from rural areas, who found it difficult to cope with the curriculum. During the process, they found that some students were unable to pay their college fees and started helping them financially. Slowly, their helping hands touched the lives of many students within the varsity campus and in 2001, they registered ‘Helping Minds’ as a public charitable trust. Balasubramanian, a member of Helping Hands, said they were inspired by Kalam’s appeal to help poor rural students. The trust extends financial help to students identified and validated by the members. Those having consistent good academic record and hailing from poor families are given priority, Sankaranarayanan, founder-trustee of ‘Helping Minds’, who works with Infosys, Chennai, said.
— PTI
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3 foreigners arrested with hashish worth Rs 43 crore Bangalore, November 1 Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari told reporters here that the trio had travelled by train to the city from Delhi and were about to fly out to London via Dubai in an Emirates airliner before they were arrested for allegedly trying to transport the drug. The narcotics were concealed in the false bottom of their suitcases. They were identified as Merke Ased of Poland, Reubi Walter of Switzerland and Johnn Touchier of Austria. “Johnn had travelled from Nepal to Delhi and joined the other two. The trio travelled on the Karnataka Express and landed in the city and were about to fly out when the police officers of intelligence wing of the city police with the help of customs officials nabbed them," he added. Bidari said this was the seventh narcotic haul in the city airport. "They were arrested when they were about to board the Emirates flight to London via Dubai at 6.30 pm today," he added. — PTI
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Maoists kill villager
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New Delhi, November 1
