New Delhi, January 10
Faced with repeated shortfall of targets under the Pulse Polio Immunisation (PPI) campaign, India today launched the bivalent oral polio vaccine (BOPV) to simultaneously control the transmission of P1 and P3 strains of the wild polio virus prevalent in the country.

This is the third shift in government’s polio eradication strategy, having begun earlier with the trivalent OPV to control all three strains P1, P2 and P3. After P2’s eradication in 1999, the focus shifted to the eradication of P1 — the more virulent strain — while keeping P3 under check. Because the monovalent OPV, in use until now, has been found to control P1 effectively but compromise the efficacy in case of P3, the Health Ministry today changed to bivalent OPV, to be administered to 25 lakh new children. In round one, starting today, BOPV will be introduced in Bihar. Uttar Pradesh will be covered in the next phase.

Though Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad claims the new polio drops will help achieve the goal of polio-free India, the effectiveness of the strategy would depend largely on the government’s will to hold polio teams accountable and conduct audits to check if the drops are being administered as they should be.

A month ago, the first performance audit by CAG of UPA’s flagship programme National Rural Health Mission put the government to shame on its PPI targets. CAG found that despite two National Immunisation Days (the third started today), six special National Immunisation Days and additional rounds in select districts of Bihar and UP, where polio viruses are endemic, 1640 new polio cases were detected between 2005 and 2008 in 17 states and UTs. The maximum detections — 948 happened in UP followed by 594 in Bihar.

The shortfall in achievements of NRHM’s polio immunisation targets under PPI was the highest in Sikkim at 16 per cent followed by Meghalaya at 9. New polio cases were also detected in Haryana (26); Uttarakhand (20), Delhi (12), Maharashtra (7) and Gujarat (6), among other states.

CAG also detected gross state-level deficiencies in the implementation of PPI. In East Champaram district of Bihar, vaccine carrier of all the 10 pulse polio teams inspected were found containing water instead of ice and OPV vials were kept in the vaccine carrier containing water at a normal temperature, risking the efficacy of the vaccine.

“In Bhojpur (Bihar), no thermometer was available to measure temperature and in 19 out of 23 health units inspected, temperature of the cold box containing vaccine vials ranged between 12 and 19 degree, against the required range of 2 to 8 degree. In two PHCs, temperature was between minus 10 to minus 22 degree Celsius, and vaccine vials were frozen and futile,” CAG audit of PPI notes.

Moreover, auditors found that instead of ice, normal water was kept in ice packs and immunisation was being conducted keeping the vaccine vial on the table at atmospheric pressure.

This explains the reigning failure of pulse polio campaign, on since 1995. Last year, alone the country saw 721 polio cases, of which 641 were wild poliovirus type 3 and 79 were wild poliovirus type 1. Though the government claims 33 states and UTs are now free of indigenous transmission of wild polio virus, it would have to pay attention to PPI implementation if BOPV has to be a success.

Guwahati, January 10
The Journalists’ Forum, Assam, has condemned the ‘callous and irresponsible comments’ of the self-styled ULFA commander in chief Paresh Baruah for threatening journalists and intellectuals of the state who dare to oppose the diktat of the outlawed outfit headed by him.

In a statement, the forum said the ULFA, which is now under severe crisis in the wake of arrest of its most of the top-rung leaders, has been into the habit of imposing ban on the celebration of Independence Day and Republic Day since long back in the name of its ‘revolution against occupation of Assam by Indian state’

“ULFA leaders not only impose ban on the celebration, but also issue threats to everyone who dare to come out on those occasions defying their diktat. It is observed that not only ULFA but a section of the separatist elements in the region have made it a habit to impose a ban on the celebration of both the days,” the forum stated.

“But we must not forget that right from the war of Kurukshetra up to the National Freedom Movement, Assam has always been a part of the history of India. The immense sacrifice of the martyrs from Assam who laid down their lives in the freedom movement needs to be recognised and the Independence Day and the Republic Day are two such occasions to pay our respects to those national heroes.

Bangalore, January 10
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda used unparliamentary language today to make a personal attack against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who hit back at the JD(S) supremo, saying that he has “lost his mental balance”.

Gowda’s remarks targeting the BJP leader came over the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Project, promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise during a farmers’ stir against NICE at Hemmigepura village near here, in which he is taking part, “to demand justice” for them. Gowda said this is the man who hid himself behind Shobha Karandlaje to save himself. He said he would resign from the BJP and join the JD(S) to become a minister.

What is this nonsense, “a fuming Gowda pouring vitriol on the Chief Minister, said. Karandlaje, who is considered close to the Chief Minister, resigned at the peak of the crisis in the BJP Government late last year.

“He can go to any extent for the sake of money,” said Gowda, who lost his cool at the mention of the Chief Minister’s name.

Gowda’s remark came in response to a question by a newsman asking for his comments to the Chief Minister calling the infrastructure project a brainchild of the former premier.

Reacting to Gowda’s outburst, Yeddyurappa said: “I am deeply hurt”, adding that the JD(S) chief was “desperate" to hit out at him and was therefore “using such words”. “He has lost his mental balance,” he added.

As his remarks drew flak, Gowda did a somersault denying that his angry words were targetted at Yeddyurappa.

In an apparent damage control exercise, Gowda clarified telling a regional TV channel, “If they (his remarks) have hurt Yeddyurappa, I express my regret”. — PTI 

Jaipur, January 10
Even as the government is allocating huge funds to preserve wildlife in the country, hundreds of abandoned open salt wells near Tal Chhapar wildlife sanctuary in Churu district have turned into death traps for wild animals.

According to sources, these wells were left open by the companies involved in salt extraction after their lease deeds expired. While the companies simply deserted the wells after minting profit, the state administration too seems indifferent to the loss it was causing to the wildlife. The authorities didn’t bother to at least cover these wells let alone closing them. This is appalling in view of the fact that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced development of the sanctuary as a nature tourism destination. These wells, which are as deep as 30 feet, claimed the lives of five deer on December 25 last while the forest officials rescued four others.

While wild animals were facing a serious threat to their lives, the government departments were busy passing on the buck. Forest officials say they have time and again written to the industries department for closure or covering of these wells but they were yet to receive any response from the latter. On the other hand, an official of the industries department said as these wells were dug up by private companies, it was their duty to cover or close them.

Deserted wells were not the only threat to wildlife. Sources said 23 salt wells were still operating in the area, which had led to acute shortage of water and fodder for animals in the sanctuary, as salt extraction was taking place in watershed areas (near the sanctuary). The salt producers have been allotted 46 adjoining plots, which were hampering the flow of water into the sanctuary.

Chief Minister Gehlot, during his visit to the sanctuary in June last, had directed the forest department to prepare a proposal for boosting road connectivity to the sanctuary and developing it as a tourist destination. He had also hinted that the sanctuary may be notified as a protected forest in future. This is not the first time when the sanctuary has witnessed loss of wildlife. Earlier, it was dealt a major blow in June last when 70 endangered black bucks died due to a cloudburst.

Jaipur, January 10
The case of Pakistani national Najmi Rizvi visiting Jaipur without valid visa may have created a lot of stir in the media, but Rajasthan has been witness to a number of visa breach cases in the past as well.

Being home to holy Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer has, obviously, registered the maximum number of cases pertaining to flouting of visa norms, mostly by Pakistani nationals. While at times the norm is flouted as Pakistani national don’t know that they can only visit the places mentioned on their visa, on other occasions it is deliberately violated for pilgrimage. The cases of visa breach increase sharply during the Urs when Pakistani nationals descend on the holy town without bothering to check their visas.

Another hot spot for visa norm violators in Ajmer district is Pushkar, where the Pakistani Hindu pilgrims lack the valid perimit to visit religious places but still manage to roam around freely. They first land in Munabao and then visit other parts of the country, mostly with the help of travel agents. The similarity in language and clothing makes it difficult for authorities to distinguish them from Indian citizens. A few months ago, a group of 66 Pak pilgrims were caught in Pushkar without valid visa. Interestingly, in this case too it was a Pakistani woman pilgrim who helped the authorities to identify the group. The intelligence officials then interrogated the group, besides calling up the director of the travel agency which arranged their trip to Pushkar.

Police officials say Pakistanis visiting tourist destinations like Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur are often lured by tour operators to travel to Ajmer for pilgrimage at the Sufi shrine. According to them, in a majority of such cases, the offenders say they were not aware that they could not visit a city which is not mentioned in their visa. However, the cases of visa breach have gone down ever since the ties between India and Pakistan have deteriorated. “Earlier, we would come across three to four such cases every month, but now no case has been reported for the past three months,” said KD Ratnu, DSP (Intelligence). However, police officers say such incidents are seldom reported in Jaipur.

As far as the action is concerned, once they are caught they are sent to New Delhi for their deportation. Also their passport is blacklisted by the state Home Department which also recommends it to the Union Home Ministry for further action. 

Jaipur, January 10
With Kirori Singh Bainsla warning of a huge agitation if the State Government went ahead with any recruitment till a PIL on the Gujjar Reservation Bill is disposed of, the ghost of reservation is back to haunt the desert state.

Bainsla’s statement has come a day after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced that recruitments would continue in the state for SCs, STs and OBCs under the existing provisions. The Gujjar leader said they would meet the CM and urge him to file the government’s reply in the court soon.

“We will stand firm on our demand for five per cent quota and will resort to any means to achieve our objective,” he said while hinting at a possible boycott of the Congress in the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state.

Though he did not gave any deadline, he said the entire community wanted to go in for an agitation immediately, yet it was him who is holding them back. He said they would decide their future course of action after a meeting with the CM. He lamented that they had already suffered a lot, as the Governor kept sitting on the Reservation Bill for almost a year before giving his nod in July last year. He said the government should inform the court that the reservation was granted to Gujjars under special circumstances and get the stay lifted.

Meanwhile, a blame game has started between Gehlot and his predecessor Vasundhara Raje over the issue. While the CM stated that the Reservation Act, facilitating five per cent quota to Gujjars, got stuck in courts because 14 per cent quota for economically backward classes (EBCs) was also included in it by the BJP during its previous regime. On the other hand, Raje said The state government should have included the reservation for Gujjars in the Ninth Schedule, to which Gehlot shot back, saying, “She does not know that now even the Ninth Schedule is subject to judicial review. She should update herself”. 

Chennai, January 10
MDMK leader Vaiko today addressed the funeral gathering of Velupillai, father of LTTE supremo Prabhakaran, through telephone and paid tributes to the 86-year-old man who died in a Sri Lankan military camp two days ago.

In his speech which was made audible to the crowd through loud speakers at Prabharakan's hometown Valvettithurai in North Sri Lanka, Vaiko hailed the LTTE leader as “a great son of Mother Tamil” and described Prabhakaran’s birth place as “the Mecca for Tamils throughout the globe”, according to an MDMK press release here.

“Prabhakaran is alive. Not only in our hearts, but also in this world. He will come back to lead the freedom struggle of Lankan Tamils. You should not give place to confusing statements about Prabhakaran”, he asserted.

He asked why the Lankan government had imprisoned the 86-year-old man in its military camps and what kind of medical treatment was provided to him, when he was battling for life. The Lankan Army released the lifeless body of Velupillai after pressure from the international community, he said, adding that Prabhakaran’s 80-year-old mother should be sent to Tamil Nadu, where the people were ready to provide medical treatment to her.

Recalling Velupillai’s visit to Vaiko’s home in Tamil Nadu, he said the MDMK leader’s grandson was named after Prabhakaran by Velupillai himself. Praising Prabhakaran as a great freedom fighter, Vaiko said: “A separate Tamil homeland would be the only solution and a fitting tribute to thousands of youths who had laid down their lives for freedom”. 

Hyderabad, January 10
With consensus evading an all-party meeting on Telangana, the statehood issue appears to be back to square one.

The only solace from the high-profile meeting, convened by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, was that it provided an elbow room for the Centre to buy time and cool down the tempers in Andhra Pradesh. Both the ruling Congress and the Opposition, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) found themselves travelling in the same boat as they were vertically divided over Telangana. This resulted in a political logjam.

Hit by bitter regional divide, the two parties remained ambivalent at the all-party meeting. By sending one representative each from Telangana and coastal Andhra, the main political players sought to protect their interests in the respective regions.

While Telangana leaders of both parties pitched for a specific time frame for creation of Telangana state and introduction of a bill in the Parliament, the leaders from the coastal Andhra rooted for integrated state. After raking up regional passions and triggering political unrest, the Telangana agitation now looks uncertain of its future as the meeting, attended by eight political parties, made no headway on creation of the new state.

As expected, the parties presented a divided opinion on the contentious issue. At the end of a much-hyped, four hour long meeting, the parties issued an appeal for peace and harmony in the state rocked by violence and disruptions for several weeks now.

The meeting, the first in a series of talks being planned by the Centre to evolve consensus on the raging issue, provided nothing to cheer about for both the protagonists and opponents of state’s bifurcation.

“We will continue our peaceful agitation till the Centre announces a specific time frame for creation of Telangana state,” Prof Kodandaram, convener of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of various parties, said. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been in the forefront of the statehood movement, said his party would wait for the Union Government’s final response.

However, the integrationists in the Congress and the TDP were hopeful that the state would not be divided. “We are certain that 90 per cent of the people will vote for the united state if a referendum is held,” the Congress MP from Vijayawada L Rajagopal said.

Though the Congress had never opposed the demand for Telangana statehood, it had, however, advocated Constitution of the States’ Re-organisation Commission (SRC) to go into the issue in its totality, he said. There are indications that the UPA government will appoint a high-level panel to hold consultations with various stakeholders on Telangana issue.

While all parties, including the TRS, were signatories to a joint statement after the all-party meeting calling for restoration of normalcy, the JAC of students of Osmania University here, the nerve centre of Telangana movement, vowed to continue the stir till the Centre introduced a bill in the Parliament for creation of separate state. Of the eight parties that took part in the meeting, three supported statehood for Telangana, two opposed it, while three were undecided.

The TRS, the BJP and the CPI are in favour of Telangana state. The CPM and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi’s the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) are strongly opposed to the state’s division. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a key political force in Hyderabad, said it would spell out its stand only after the Centre appoints a high-level committee for eliciting the opinions.

The MIM MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi demanded imposition of President’s rule in the state in view of the collapse of law and order and an imminent financial emergency.

Kolkata, January 10
Trinamool chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today warned the UPA leadership that she would resign if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not stop hobnobbing with the CPM against the interests of the people of the state.She warned the PM against treating her as their stooge saying the TMC was supporting the UPA under compulsion and for the larger interest of the nation. “My first loyalty is to the people of the state and then to the PM and the UPA,” Mamata said. Never before in the past the TMC supremo had made such challenging attack against the PM and the UPA leadership.

The TMC leader’s sudden outburst against Manmohan Singh was said to be the outcome of the PM inviting Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in his car while driving to the hospital at Salt Lake from the airport for seeing ailing Jyoti Basu at the hospital on Thursday, when the Railway Minister, though in the city, was not even informed about the PM’s visit.

Meanwhile, the Railway Minister today left for New Delhi for holding meetings with the Railway Board and the Planning Commission in finalising the Railway Budget for 2010-11. During her stay in the capital, she would also meet Sonia Gandhi and the PM.Talking to mediapersons last evening, the TMC supremo admitted that she was not happy that the PM would be hobnobbing with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who had been misusing his police and the cadres against the TMC and the Congress.

New Delhi, January 10
The CBI has finalised its chargesheet against senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and was likely to submit it to the designated court here "soon".

Sources in the agency said the chargesheet was finalised after receiving a nod from Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna recently to prosecute the Congress leader, an accused in the riots that shook the country 25 years ago after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards.

“We have finalised the chargesheet and it will be filed soon,” a senior CBI official said requesting anonymity. The sanction was required in the case of Sajjan Kumar as he was also charged under Section 153-A of the IPC (spreading enmity between two communities).

The CBI has completed investigations or re-investigation of seven cases, including that of Sajjan Kumar and another Congress leader, late Dharam Das Shastri. The case against Kumar was registered after the GT Nanavati Commission's report of February 2005, which had recommended fresh examination of complaints in which the Congress leader had been named and no chargesheet had been filed.

The agency had sought prosecution sanction for four cases of rioting in Sultanpuri and Mongolpuri on November 1, 1984. It has also filed a closure report in connection with another Congress leader, Jagdish Tytler, for want of evidence. The witnesses questioned by the CBI in the US were cited by the agency as unreliable. The court is yet to take cognisance of the CBI report.

In four cases, the probe agency had sought permission from the competent authority — the LG of Delhi — to prosecute the accused persons. — PTI

Chennai, January 10
Members of the pro-Eelam outfits and other political parties gheraoed the convoy of Sri Lankan Speaker WJM Lokubandara when he visited the coastal district of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and threw chappals at him. Lokubandara was on a pilgrimage to famous temples along with his family.

When the Speaker arrived at Vaitheeswaran temple, famous for astrological predictions using ancient manuscripts, a large number of activists belonging to the MDMK, the VCK, the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and the Thamizhar Padukkuppu Peravai gathered outside the temple and shouted slogans against him accusing the Lankan government of human rights violations against Tamils in the island nation. The crowd threw chappals at Lokubandara and his car, while he was being escorted towards his convoy by the police.

Eleven persons were arrested in connection with the incident, police said. The Speaker proceeded to Tirunallar temple in Karaikal district to offer worship. But, he cancelled his visit to other temples and flew back to Sri Lanka.

Another Lankan leader, Neomal Perera, deputy Minister for Fisheries, too faced a similar treatment when he visited Tamil Nadu last month. Following protests by pro-Tiger outfits and Hindu organisations, the minister cancelled his visit. Hindu organisations alleged that the Lankan military had demolished Hindu temples and was building Buddhist shrines in their place.

Bhubaneswar, January 10
Described as South Asia's biggest monastery, a new Buddhist place of worship, is set to be unveiled by the Dalai Lama at Chandragiri in Orissa's Gajapati district on January 12.

The spiritual leader, who is arriving in Orissa tomorrow on a four-day visit to the state, would consecrate and inaugurate the monastery, built at a cost of Rs 8 crore, religious chief of Tibetan settlement at Chandragiri, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche told reporters here.

About 4,000 guests from across the world are likely to witness the opening of the monastery, spread over an area of 10 acres and constructed in Atanpuri style of architecture of Nalanda, he said.

The rituals and consecration ceremony at the monastery with 70-feet high five-storey edifice would continue for four days during the Dalai Lama's ninth visit to Orissa, which has carved a niche for itself in Buddhism map, he said.

The monastery, named after Acharya Padmasambhav who was born in Orissa and believed to have spread Buddhism to Tibet in 7th century, is an architectural marvel and a dream project of the Tibetan people in exile settled in Orissa, Rinpoche said adding architects from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, besides local masons took over six years to build it.

With a 21-feet high Buddha idol, the monastery would act as a link between Orissa's history and that of Buddhism. — PTI

Chennai, January 10
A day after actor and DMDK leader Vijaykanth declared that he was ready to align with any party other than the DMK and AIADMK, in an apparent invitation to the Congress, TNCC leader KV Thangabalu rejected the offer, saying his party's alliance with DMK would continue in the 2011 Assembly elections.

Dispelling speculation in a section of the media that the Congress was planning to break its ties with the DMK and form a different alliance for the 2011 Assembly elections, the Congress leader said the tie-up could not be broken by anyone and it would emerge victorious this time too.

Referring to Vijaykanth’s speech that his party was ready for ties with any party that did not have truck with the DMK, Thangabalu said Karunanidhi was the alliance leader in Tamil Nadu and he alone would decide about new parties joining the front. “Those parties who respect Congress are free to join the DMK-Congress alliance, with Karunanidhi's consent,” he said. He also came down heavily on Vijaykanth's comment against the ruling DMK and said people supported the DMK-Congress front as the fruits of welfare schemes reached the people. Much significance need not be attached to a party which is continuously losing elections, he said, citing the DMDK's drubbing in recent elections.

Vijaykanth, who faced successive defeats in elections, had announced last night that his party was ready to work with democratic forces and forge alliances. However, he said this did not mean that he was ready for an alliance with the DMK or AIADMK, Vijaykanth said while addressing cadres at his party’s general council meeting here.

Earlier, a resolution mentioning that DMDK was open for alliance with democratic forces was passed at the general council meeting. The council authorised party founder Vijaykanth to hold discussions with like-minded parties on the issue of forging electoral alliances. It also authorised Vijaykanth to have parleys with leaders of those political outfits who share a common vision with the DMDK and expressed their wish to align with them.

DMDK’s latest resolution was a major shift from its earlier stand that it would not align with any party and would provide an alternative to all other parties. Vijaykanth’s party polled about eight per cent votes in the 2006 Assembly elections and increased it to 10 per cent in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. His DMDK split the opposition votes in more than a dozen Parliament seats and played a crucial role in altering the results. 

New Delhi, January 10
The chief architect of Burj Khalifa has a special word of thanks for his old engineering guide Srinivasa ‘Hal’ Iyengar for various last-mile suggestions on the world’s tallest building.

Years after his retirement, Iyengar had stopped by at William F Baker’s Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) office in Chicago and had offered his observations on several aspects of the design of the 828-m skyscraper.

Iyengar had served at SOM for 32 years, and is reputed for designing structures like 241-m John Hancock Tower in Boston and the 442-m Sears Tower in Chicago.

Being on the top of Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure on earth, and at the height of a towering career, it is easy to lose sight of the ground and forget the people you had met on the way up. But, Baker is of a different league! Baker is not, however, a man given to nostalgia.

When he told PTI the story of the building of Burj Khalifa over a phone call, he made it out more as a study of engineering, making a case for taller buildings in the world.

In fact, his company, which has designed five of the tallest buildings in the world, is now competing for the contact to build Kingdom Towers in Saudi Arabia, the most likely successor to the title of the tallest tower.

Its promoter, the Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, wants the building scaled to 1.1 km, over 200 m above Burj Khalifa.

Baker agrees everyone today, from promoters to builders to buyers of property, aspire for the tallest address.

But, he thinks it is as much to do with the viability and profitability of such a project as it is to do with human aspiration and desire.

Burj Khalifa itself is a good case. But, for a few floors left to be sold, the 160-storied tower is a heavily booked property.

“No doubt, it is a beautiful structure,” he says, “but I believe it has also exceeded all other the expectations of its promoters.” The best cities of the world are growing vertically, seeing the advantages of having its people live and spend their spare hours at the place and site in which they work.

“The Burj Khalifa, (for instance) contains an Armani Hotel, several housing blocks and recreation areas, offices, shops, showrooms, besides a mosque on the top floor. It is a self-contained world inside there.” Whereas, cities supporting flatter and spread-out structures have enormous costs to bear for transporting its people, in terms of fuel spendings, man-hours wasted at traffic jams, stress on people and environmental pollution.

There are, of course, the engineering challenges to be met as the buildings push skywards. The effect of an earthquake on the tall buildings is limited. It is, however, the sheer force of wind at such heights that is dangerous. Fire safety is a challenge and even general security is. The Burj Khalifa in that sense is an engineering marvel.— PTI