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7,000 SP workers court arrest against price rise
Deemed status issue |
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Engineering college ransacked in Chennai
Two ‘suspicious’ men held near BARC
First indigenous influenza vaccine by April
Best-ever WC in Delhi: FIH chief Gadkari:
BJP will not allow Kashmir autonomy Bt brinjal safe: Govt Opposition due to fear, say experts Govt for separate cadre of rural docs
Haryana SP in soup over fake SC tag
HC verdict on Mathur panel: Rajasthan may move SC
India-Malaysia ties to witness new beginning
Phalke award for cameraman VK Murthy
First Person Account
Indian-origin scientist bags top Australian award
Brave kids call on Prez
Delhi fog may ground IAF’s R-Day flypast
Family ties help in politics: Rahul Gandhi
2 students end life over Telangana Army chief suffers hearing loss
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7,000 SP workers court arrest against price rise
Lucknow, January 19 In Lucknow, 67-year-old Mulayam emerged in his previous ‘dhartiputra’ (son of the soil) form. In the chilling foggy morning, he broke the police barriers set up outside his party office and residence. Leading from ahead, he came out to squat at the busy Hazratganj crossing for over 40 minutes. When he courted arrest and was being taken into police custody, he even refused to get into his personal car and preferred to board the bus in which hundreds of party workers were already packed full. The bus could not move due to overloading and after much persuasion some enthusiastic workers agreed to get down. As the convoy crawled towards the police lines, hundreds of party workers joined in. By the time the SP president reached the police lines, the mass of red cap-wearing crowd had grown to several thousands. Traffic in the city came to a standstill as all major roads had been taken over by SP workers shouting slogans against the Mayawati government’s law and order situation and failure to control prices. In the morning, District Magistrate AK Ghosh and DIG Prem Prakash were seen strolling casually on the Vikramaditya Marg -- where the SP state headquarters is located -- after being assured by party leaders that ‘netaji’ would come to the party office, deliver the customary speech and court arrest. Attempting to infuse the old spirit in the party, Yadav, however, chose to speed off to Hazratganj crossing, even jumping the barriers and deciding to squat on the road, virtually taking the administration off guard. Speaking on the occasion, Yadav charged the BSP government of attempting to crush his democratic right to protest against spiralling prices and deteriorating law and order situation. “If this government believes that it can deter me by tearing off party hoardings, setting up barricades all over the city or by preventing party workers from entering the city, then they do not know us. My party and I will continue this agitation till the government is shown the door,” he declared. “Holding a peaceful agitation is our democratic right and we don’t need any permission for that,” was Yadav’s reply when some party leaders pointed out that the Lucknow district authorities had not given permission to organise the agitation. In Lucknow, the police resorted to “light use of force”, admitted ADG (Law and order) Brij Lal. He said lathi-charge had to be resorted to when SP workers reportedly indulged in stone pelting. The 7,084 SP workers arrested across the state today were all released by evening, except for workers in Pratapgarh district, said Brij Lal. Expressing solidarity with the SP agitation, Congress spokesperson Subodh Srivatstava, in a release, condemned the BSP government’s attack on SP workers protesting peacefully against price rise in Lucknow today.
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Deemed status issue
New Delhi, January 19 But the government today said these varsities would not face “closure” and would be allowed to revert to old status and seek affiliation to the state university or state technical university concerned. In case of government funded Nava Nalanda Mahavidlaya, Bihar, the task force has said the appropriate ministry (Culture) in this case can consider establishing the institute as a statutory university under the law because it was set up to preserve Indian heritage. But the rest would have to seek recourse with state universities. In Haryana, the future of 16, 524 students enrolled in three deficient universities will have to be secured. These include Lingaya’s University, Nachauli, Faridabad, where 968 undergraduates (engineering and B Ed) and 226 postgraduates would be affected. The task force said Lingaya University could revert as an engineering college or technical institution by seeking affiliation to Maharishi Dayanand University. So the enrolled students can continue with their ongoing academic programmes and receive degrees from MDU, Rohtak. Similarly, 9830 students of Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala, can continue their studies as such, with the varsity seeking affiliation to Kukukshetra University. Manav Rachna International University, Sector 43, Faridabad, which runs technical courses, would have to be affiliated to MDU, Rohtak, its relevant state university. In Uttarakhand, about 5296 students will be affected once the listed deficient varsities are made to drop their deemed tag. But the government task force has clarified that HIHT University, Dehradun, with 1269 students, can be affiliated to HNB Garhwal University so can be Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar, where 4027 students study astrology, yoga and pharmacy. Graphic Era University, Dehradun, with 2310 undergraduate and 342 postgraduate students, would have to be affiliated to Uttarakhand Technical University. The deemed universities in Rajasthan which the government panel has declared as unfit to continue as such have a combined enrollment of 50219. While Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur can be affiliated to Mohanlal Sukhadia University to enable the students to continue studying and get degrees, Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Sadarshahar, with its 4130 students, will have to seek affiliation to the University of Bikaner. Incidentally, income tax raids were today conducted at the residence of the University V-C, it is learnt. Mody Institute of Technology and Science, Laxmangarh, Sikar will have to be affiliated to Rajasthan Technical University. Uttar Pradesh has four varsities that could lose deemed status. Among these Jaypee Institute of Information and Technology, Noida can revert to old status by being affiliated to UP Technical University; Shobhit Institute, Meerut can be also be affiliated to UP Technical University, while Santosh University, Ghaziabad would have to seek affiliation to Chaudhry Charan Singh University. Nehru Gram Bharati Vishwavidyalaya, Allahbad must be affiliated to Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj University in students’ interest.
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Engineering college ransacked in Chennai
Chennai, January 19 After hearing the news of the impending loss of deemed university status, more than 100 students living in the college hostel grouped together and ransacked the doors, window panes, tables and chairs venting their anger against the management over the pathetic state-of-affairs at Saveetha Engineering College, affiliated to Saveetha Deemed University here. A group of students also entered classrooms and damaged furniture. Further, they collected all broken materials and created a bonfire on the playground at midnight. Following the violence and arson, the entire campus of Saveetha Engineering College wore a battered look and tension gripped the premises this morning. Hearing the violence and destruction indulged by the students, the police rushed to the college. But enraged students threw stones on the police vehicles. The police did not enter the college following the stone-throwing incidents. However, a large contingent of police personnel was deployed in front of Saveetha College. The college management decided to hold talks with the agitating groups of students. But the students refused to negotiate with the management. It may be noted a number of private institutions are being run under Saveetha Deemed University near Chennai. However, there has been a growing list of complaints against Saveetha Engineering College including the lack of basic amenities, deficient infrastructure and levying of tuition fees higher than those prescribed by the relevant norms of the UGC and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). The Centre, in an affidavit, had informed the Supreme Court that 44 deemed varsities including Saveetha group of institutions would be derecognised. Seventeen of the 44 deemed universities are in Tamil Nadu.
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Two ‘suspicious’ men held near BARC
Mumbai, January 19 People in Anu Shakti Nagar, an area where families of the BARC reside, got suspicious about the activity of the two men on the fringes of the country's high security atomic research facility in Trombay near here recently and handed them over to the police. Later, the duo turned out be two employees who were conducting a survey on behalf of the Survey of India's office but without a proper sanction, official sources said today. The police registered a case against the two for alleged trespassing and misrepresenting the facts and later released on bail after they produced a letter from the Survey of India's Dehradun office showing that they had been assigned to conduct a survey of the area, the sources said. The two persons hailing from a private firm in Bangalore were hired by the Survey of India for conducting survey work, but the letter given had no clear instructions for them to conduct a survey inside Anu Shakti Nagar. Areas around sensitive installations are marked and are usually not shown on any maps but in this case directions and names of roads were being fed into GPRS which in turn could have been connected with a private server. The people in the area were already in a state of caution after it was reported that Headley had conducted a detailed survey of the area and that the BARC could be one of the terror targets. While tracing Headley's movements in Mumbai, investigators had found that he had conducted a proper reconnaissance of not only the BARC but also of some Bollywood studios in the north-eastern suburb of the city. Headley,49, who has been under arrest in the US since October 3 last year, had travelled to Chembur and Trombay several times and filmed the exit and entry points of the BARC besides the movement of employees, investigators said. The terror suspect, who has been charged by the FBI with being part of the conspiracy in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, had also taken video shots of the nuclear facility by hiring a boat from the Gateway of India. The rear side of the BARC, located on a hill top, can be seen from the Arabian Sea. The investigators also comprising officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the role of Headley and his Pakistani-Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana in India, suspect that during his boat ride, the Pakistani-American may have surveyed the mangroves located near the coastline. — PTI
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First indigenous influenza vaccine by April
New Delhi, January 19 The rest - the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech - have got approvals for phase I trials and will be begin them from tomorrow. “If all goes well, we should be producing our first influenza vaccine by April this year,” Drug Controller General of India Surinder Singh said today. But before the Indian stocks of the swine flu vaccine come into the markets, the government will receive 1.5 million doses of the inactivated, non-adjuvanted single dose H1N1 vaccine currently being produced by Sanofi Pasteur India Limited, the world’s largest producer of influenza vaccines, which supplied over 170 million doses in 2008. The vaccine, tried and tested in Europe earlier, is being especially procured for health workers, who are handling H1N1 cases in the country. “Sanofi’s vaccine is an established vaccine and will be the first one to arrive this February. This is not an indigenous vaccine,” Surinder Singh said. Human trials for Sanofi’s swine flu vaccine are going on at three centres in India - PGIMER, Chandigarh, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, and Bhartiya Vidapeeth Medical College, Pune. As regards the indigenous firms, the government today said Zydus Cadila’s stocks were expected at the earliest as it had been a fortnight into trials. When asked about the delays in indigenous manufacturing of the swine flu vaccine, the DCGI said the subject being sensitive, government wanted to take no chances with safety. A lot of toxicity data had to be generated and analysed to ensure the finest standards of safety, with the government today saying it has given, for the first time ever, en bloc approval of human trials of vaccine for all three phases. Phase 1 trials have been approved for healthy volunteers above 18 years, with Panacea Biotech (which will manufacture double dose vaccine) to conduct the same on 72 subjects in Phase 1 and 1080 subjects in Phase 2. Bharat Biotech is manufacturing an adjuvant vaccine. With the indigenous capacity being anticipated shortly, the government today said it could gradually have export potential in the sector.
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Best-ever WC in Delhi: FIH chief New Delhi, January 19 Negre said the National Stadium would be one of the best hockey stadiums in the world and he complimented Sports Minister Dr MS Gill and the CPWD engineers for mounting such a magnificent structure, though the stadium would be fully ready only in the second week of February, which will enable the Indian players to have just a few days’ acclimatisation before the big event. Chief coach Jose Brasa had expressed his desire to shift the camp to Delhi in the second week of January, but it now transpires that the Indian team will have at the most around two weeks practise at the match venue. The FIH president also did not give much credence to the “controversy” surrounding the Hockey India elections as he said India was a democratic country and it had it own system of doing things. Negre, who addressed the media at a hurriedly called press briefing along with Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, said the present controversy would not affect the successful conduct of the World Cup as the FIH was monitoring, on a day-to-day basis, the election process of Hockey India so as to “minimise the negative impact” in the media and ensure a transparent election. Kalmadi, who is also the chairman of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, dispelled any about regarding Australia’s participation for the CWG assuring that a 450-strong contingent from Down Under would participate in the Games.
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Gadkari:
BJP will not allow Kashmir autonomy New Delhi, January 19 He also declared that his party would adopt a resolution in its national council meeting slated to be held in Indore, a month from now. Gadkari said, “We will build pressure on the Government of India through mass mobilisation and will never allow any further autonomy for Kashmir.” The meeting was called to oppose any further autonomy of Kashmir, as recommended by the Justice Saghir Ahmad Committee. This committee or group was one of the five groups formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh way back in 2006 to solve the several tangled issues bothering the Kashmiri people. Justice Saghir Ahmad chaired once such group to discuss the issue of greater autonomy for Kashmir, as demanded by parties in the Kashmir valley, particularly the National Conference and PDP. Gadkari said, “Kashmir is our identity since 1947. The first martyr in the cause of Kashmir was Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and I assure you that your sacrifices will not go waste either. We are standing firmly with you. Things have come to such a pass because of the Congress. The tragedy is that politicians cannot think beyond the next elections. This Saghir Ahmad report, we will never allow it to be implemented.” He said, “The BJP is committed to secularism and justice, but that means justice to all and discrimination against none.” The meeting, however, started on a sour note when the convenor of the Foundation Tarun Vijay invited Manushi editor Madhu Kishwar to speak. Immediately a couple of women, including a known Delhi journalist rushed to the dais and prevented her from speaking, protesting against the fact that she had earlier shared a platform with the Hurriyat activists at another function on the Kashmir issue. They stalled the proceedings for nearly half an hour. Later speaking from the dais, chairman of the foundation and BJP vice-president Bal Apte criticised former Supreme Court judges. Justice Saghir Ahmad is a retired judge of the Supreme Court. He said, “The Supreme Court has delivered some great judgements. But I do not know what happens to them once they retire. We all know what they end up as. There is need for judges also to stick to the right path. We have to fight against not just the administration, but such mindset of the judges as well.”
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Bt brinjal safe: Govt However, making it clear that the country’s biotechnology regulator, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), had cleared Bt brinjal for regular agriculture purposes in October last, Chavan said his ministry stood by trials done by the regulatory body. Asked to specify his stand on the issue, the minister said: “The Ministry of Science and Technology stands by the clearance given by the GEAC. It is safe for all.” Lending him support was secretary in the Department of Biotechnology MK Bhan who said: “Thirty best scientists have cleared it and we stand by it. I am a health professional and have discussed it extensively. Let me tell Bt brinjal is absolutely safe for humans and environment.” Samir Bramhachari, chief of India’s apex body of research institutions, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, also endorsed the point of view, saying: “I don’t know whether people will like the taste or not, but it is safe for all humans. Adopting this technology will help thousands of farmers.” The GEAC had approved the commercialisation of the genetically modified crop. Bt brinjal’s detractors say that the variety may have passed the yield test and the pest-resistance analysis, but its edibility is yet to be confirmed. Three major brinjal producing states, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, that account for nearly 60 per cent of the produce have also refused to endorse the product. The governments of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have already specified that they would not have Bt Brinjal in their states. The variety has been developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds. It has been created by inserting gene from the soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis into brinjal, which is said to give the plant resistance against insect pests.
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Opposition due to fear, say experts Bangalore, January 19 Announcing the date of the annual biotechnology fare, Bangalore Bio, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said genetic engineering carried out to produce Bt brinjal was a “safe technology”. “Such things will spur the future economic growth of the country,” she said. Shaw, chairman and managing director of biotechnology firm Biocon, said opposition to Bt Brinjal was reminiscent of the resistance shown earlier to introduction of Bt cotton. “Now India is a leading producer of Bt cotton,” she said. “What I want to emphasise is that Bt Brinjal is an optional technology. Farmers will adopt it if they find it useful,” she said. Sharat Chandra, chairman of the governing body of the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), said he found the controversy over Bt brinjal “baffling”. Opposition to the technology did not augur well for a country like India where there was a shortage of food, he said.Referring to the opposition to Bt brinjal witnessed in a recent meeting in Kolkata, former president of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) KK Narayanan said “the truth was drowned by emotional outbursts” at the meeting. Narayanan said besides Bt brinjal, 22 other crops, including Bt rice, were being tested to pave the way for introducing these crops for commercial cultivation.
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Govt for separate cadre of rural docs “We will have a course called Bachelors in Rural Medicine and Surgery for doctors, who will get an equivalent of MBBS in 3.5 years. But this degree will not be equivalent to MBBS, which is a five-year degree and will remain so. This is, especially meant to train rural doctors to cater to rural needs. This course will prepare the doctors for basic requirements at the village level,” Azad told the 10th conference of social editors that concluded in the capital today. The syllabus for the special course is ready and would be soon circulated to states for a feedback. Meanwhile, Azad reiterated the steps the government was taking to attract medical talent to villages. “We will pay a rural doctor three times the salary he gets in a city; an MBBS, if he opts for a one year rural stint, will get 10 per cent extra marks in national entrance for MD; similarly the one who spends three years in a village will get 30 per cent extra weightage. Also, in the PG diploma courses, we will reserve 50 per cent seats for anyone who has spent three years in a village,” Azad said.
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Haryana SP in soup over fake SC tag
Chandigarh, January 19 Sources said the action comes nearly two years after the Haryana government sent Bhatia’s case for retirement from service at the age of 50. Under the All- India Service Rules, the performance of every officer, on reaching the age of 50, is re-assessed to see if he is “fit” to be retained in service. In Bhatia’s case, the government decided against retaining him following which his case was forwarded to the ministry where it lay buried for the past two years. Sources said the ministry, while reviewing all cases pending with it, “stumbled” upon this case and decided to act. Sources said the government had prepared Bhatia’s case for retirement based on the officer’s “record”. When the case came to light, it was initially handed over to the CBI for investigation into allegations of a fake SC certificate. According to the CBI, Bhatia had appeared in the civil services examination in 1986 as a Scheduled Caste candidate and was appointed to the Haryana cadre the same year. Before obtaining the fake SC certificate, Bhatia had appeared in the civil service examinations in 1979, 1980 and 1982 as a general category candidate, but had failed to get selected. Police Department sources said the officer was imprisoned and went into appeal.
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HC verdict on Mathur panel: Rajasthan may move SC
Jaipur, January 19 According to sources, the appeal will be filed on the ground that the office of the Lokayukta cannot inquire into the charges of corruption against a former CM. Interestingly, the government had earlier taken the stand that the Mathur panel was not probing charges against any particular political figure. Based on this, the court had referred the matter to Lokayukta, which can probe charges against public servants. Following the HC order, the government has sought the legal viewpoint of law department whether former Chief Minister, former ministers, former MLAs and retired officials come under the purview of the Lokayukta. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also admitted that the government has been examining the high court verdict. “We are looking into the key points of the HC order and what formed the basis of the judgment,” he said, adding that they are taking legal opinion and if it is in favour of an appeal in the Supreme Court, the state would decide accordingly. He also brushed aside allegations against members of the Mathur Commission while stating that their honesty and integrity can never be questioned. He said nobody, including those who are leveling charges against them now, had objected when they were appointed as the panel members.
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India-Malaysia ties to witness new beginning
New Delhi, January 19 Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak’s decision to visit India from today in the first year of his government is being seen in the South Block as an event reflective of growing bonds between the two countries. Apart from an extradition treaty, the two countries are expected to sign nearly a dozen agreements after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting leader tomorrow. Indian officials said the FTA between the two countries was still some distance away. The two sides have held two rounds of negotiations so far and hope to conclude negotiations by the end of the year. Significantly, Malaysia was one of the toughest negotiators on the India-ASEAN FTA, blocking its conclusion on quite a few occasions due to its tough stand on palm oil exports. But now that the India-ASEAN FTA has come into force, Malaysia is eager to enter into such an accord with New Delhi. The FTA between India and Malaysia is expected to open up vast opportunities for business between the two nations. It is worthwhile to note that bilateral trade between the two countries rose from $5 bn in 2005 to $10 bn in 2008, registering a two-fold increase in three years. The singular achievement of the Malaysian PM’s visit could be the extradition treaty, if it is inked tomorrow. Indian criminals, particularly from southern states, have in the past taken refuge in Malaysia after committing crimes in India. Who can forget that Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi had also escaped to Malaysia in 2006. In recent media reports, Najib has been quoted as saying that nearly 40,000 Indian nationals have gone “missing” in Malaysia after the expiry of their tourist visas and that he would take up the issue with the Indian authorities during his visit to New Delhi. However, New Delhi believes that the issue could be resolved amicably as it concerns the Indians overstaying in Malaysia on tourist or work visas. Cooperation in the field of defence could be another subject that may come up during talks between the two PMs. Since Malaysia has invested in the Russian-made Sukhoi aircraft, New Delhi has been training its pilots for nearly two years now. The two sides could also take up issues like road construction, education, information and communication technology, oil and gas exploration, pharmaceuticals, tourism and green technologies. The Malaysian PM, who will be accompanied by some of his key ministers and a large business delegation, will meet President Pratibha Patil, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj. However, there is a curiosity about a stand-alone meeting between the visiting leader and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. This is perhaps the first time that the scion of the Gandhi family is holding a meeting with a top visiting foreign dignitary. Officials say Rahul Gandhi is keen to learn more from the Malaysian PM about his country’s success story.
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Phalke award for cameraman VK Murthy
Murthy is credited to have provided some of Indian cinema’s most breathtaking visual moments embedded in the collective memory of the nation. He broke new grounds, ushered in modern and highly sophisticated techniques and brought in rich visual artistry into Bollywood. Murthy shot India’s first cinemascope movie ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’ and is best remembered as the cinematographer for all of Guru Dutt’s films. Murthy is also one of the pioneers of coloured cinematography. His picturisation of the title song of ‘Chaudavin ka Chand’ mesmerised the audience. Murthy in fact started his career in cinema as a violinist. Classics like ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’ and ‘Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam’ won him Filmfare Awards. Murthy’s other known works include ‘Baazi’, ‘Jaal’, ‘Pyasa’, ’12 o’Clock’, ‘Ziddi’ etc. He also partnered for ‘Pakeezah’ and ‘Razia Sultan’. Born in 1923 in Mysore, Murthy earned his diploma in cinematography from S J Polytechnic, Bangalore, in its very first batch 1943-46. As a student, Murthy also took part in India’s freedom struggle and was jailed in 1943 and is a recipient of freedom fighter’s pension. Having spent nearly five decades in Mumbai, the ace cinematographer is now based in Bengaluru. He is a recipient of the IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award at Amsterdam in 2005.
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First Person Account
Haridwar, January 19 This, although, was strange, but it gave me an opportunity to walk in the cramped and crowded lanes of the holy town and get a feel of the city away from the comfortable environs of my tented housing, a new concept introduced by Leisure Hotels. Living in the tents had given me an opportunity to be on the banks of the country’s most revered river 24x7 and even take a holy dip whenever I wanted. However, the walk made me notice a 16-year-old boy perched on the edge of one of the many bridges here on the
Ganga. He was armed with almost a 15- metre nylon rope, with two heavy magnets on one side and a metal basket on the other.His actions made a curious and I stood next to him as he threw the rope into the river. What are you doing, I asked him. Kanhaiya (he disclosed his name later) refused to answer but gestured me to stay there. The moment the rope was pulled out of water, I was amazed to see a string of coins --- from Re 1 to Rs 10 --- all around the magnets. Pulling out the coins offered in prayers to “Maa
Ganga” was one of Kanhaiya’s jobs. “How much do you make everyday,” I asked? But before he could answer, his younger brother, probably of 10 years, shouted: “Woh aa raha hai (there comes
one)”. Kanhiya rushed towards the middle of the bridge and this time hurled the basket side of the rope into the river. I noticed there was a coconut floating on the river. Skillfully, Kanhiya pulled his basket out with the coconut inside it. Fishing for coconuts offered to the river by the pilgrims was his other job. I asked him again, how much did he make every day? This time he was forthright and said the magnets fetch him Rs 500 to 600 rupees per day. As for coconuts, he captures around 400 everyday. He proudly said that on January 14 when the sea of humanity had descended on Haridwar as the Maha Khumbh got underway, he had captured more than 800 coconuts. Though Kanhaiya refused to accept that he sells the coconuts back to the shopkeepers, but his another associate accepted that they sell them back for Rs 10 per piece, a neat income for the day indeed. As I walked further, I finally managed to get a rickshaw, but he asked for an exorbitant amount for a distance of just about a
kilometre. When I asked him for the reason for this high rate, he replied that with such large number of people descending on the city, the local administration had blocked most roads. As a result they were allowed to ply only along certain routes, which was affecting their daily wages and hence the high rates.“During normal times I earn more,” said Ram
Khilawat. More people, less business, did not make sense to me. After a sumptuous lunch at Haveli Hari
Ganga, I reached back to my place of stay. Local administration officials said that on January 14 and 15, the number of pilgrims who took bath in the Ganga touched the 50- lakh mark in Haridwar and
Rishikesh. At the end of the four-month fair (April 28), the number of pilgrims is expected to cross the 50-million mark, an official added.
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Indian-origin scientist bags top Australian award
Chandigarh, January 19 An Indian-origin Australian researcher Professor Ralph Martins who has been conducting research on Alzheimer’s disease, has been named western Australia’s Australian of the
Year. He will join recipients from all other Australian states and territories, along with three other western Australian award winners, for the national awards that are to be announced on January 25 in Canberra. Born in India, Professor Martins had moved to Perth when he was 16.“The award signals Professor Martins’ contribution to research on Alzheimer’s disease. It is a recognition of his contribution,” says Peter
Varghese, Australian High Commissioner to India, who himself is an Australian of Indian origin. “I am particularly delighted that Professor Martins has been
honoured. His Indian background speaks of the contribution of the diaspora in Australia and stands testament to the multi-cultural nature of Australian society,” he adds. Incidentally, Professor Martins shares his breakthrough research with specialists in India. Currently, he is collaborating with Dr Jacob Roy, founder president of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India
(ARDSI), a body involved in running Alzheimer-related clinics and research centres in India. He is also working closely with researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences,
Bangalore; the National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon; and with Benny Antony of
Kerala-based Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd. He has also collaborated with Dr. Radha Murthy and her Nightingales Foundation, which studies the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease among Indians.
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Brave kids call on Prez
New Delhi, January 19 They would have been victims of child marriage at the age of eleven years, had they not shown exemplary courage to revolt against their parents and say no to their proposal in September 2008. Their ambition is to study and choose their own path. All of them, natives of the same village in West Bengal, took the help of their schoolteachers and classmates to change their parents’ decision of getting them married at an early age. “I wanted to study and did not want to get married, as our teacher had told us that one should not marry before 18 years,” said Afsana Khatum. In all, eight girls and 13 boys, who won the National Bravery Award, met President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtripati Bhawan today. The award winners included Gaurav Singh Saini (13) of Haryana, who received the Bharat Award, Baby Maibam Prity Devi (11) of Manipur, who was awarded Geeta Chopra Award and Karan Nishad (11) of Uttar Pradesh, who received Sanjay Chopra award. While, Bapu Gaidhani award was given to Ranu Mishra (11) from Uttar Pradesh and Narendrasinh Solanki (17) from Gujarat. “Afsana, Rekha and Sunita’s courage had a positive effect on their communities and is leading more girls to resist child marriage,” said the president. The President of Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), Gita Siddhartha, and secretary general of ICCW SC Dobhal were also present at the occasion.
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Delhi fog may ground IAF’s R-Day flypast
New Delhi, January
19 “Fog is a recurrent feature in this season. If the weather is bad, there are certain limitations clearly laid down. And if it does not meet the criteria, obviously the flying won't happen,” IAF's Vice Chief (Space) Air Vice Marshal M Matheswaran told reporters here today. However, he said flight safety would not be compromised. "So, only if the weather permits, everything will go as planned. In different weather patterns, some formations will be watered down," Matheswaran said, to a specific query in this regard.
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Family ties help in politics: Rahul Gandhi
Bhopal, January 19 Rahul said, “The fact is that if my grandmother, my father and my great grandfather would not have been in politics, I wouldn’t have been here. This is the reality.” Speaking on the issue of price rise, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured him that the prices would be brought under control soon. “Price rise is a big issue. I have spoken to Prime Minister on the issue. He has told me that the pressure on prices will come down in some time,” added Gandhi. Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Madhya Pradesh, also met students in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar and Bhopal.
— ANI
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2 students end life over Telangana Hyderabad, January 19 Meanwhile, a 18-year-old girl student set herself ablaze in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh tonight. Hundreds of activities of various student bodies and Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Osmania University students staged demonstrations at the OU campus and demanded the legislators and ministers from Telangana region resign immediately. The protesting students did not allow the police to remove the body from spot and insisted on conducting post-mortem from where the body was found after which the authorities were forced to conduct the autopsy in the campus. A suicide note purportedly written by Venugopal was recovered from the scene in which he demanded UPA leaders to immediately initiate measures towards formation of Telangana state. Inspector Anjaiah said it had received a complaint from Venugopal’s family members that he committed suicide. The deceased girl was identified as Suvarna, a BSc first-year student at a private college in Kothakota town of Mahabubnagar district. — PTI
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Army chief suffers hearing loss New Delhi, January 19 The disability, which puts him in a low medical category, will fetch him 20 per cent extra pension after his superannuation in March, the army sources said. Kapoor realised about his hearing impairment after he underwent examination at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in November last year. The sources said the General visited the hospital after he experienced difficulty in hearing in his left ear. Kapoor told the doctors that he had been experiencing problem in hearing from the left ear ever since his visit to the US in July last year. He said it could be because of exposure to booming sounds of small weapons and gunfire during a demonstration by US troops on anti-terror operations. Kapoor himself had fired from a few weapons during the demonstration. — PTI
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New Delhi, January 19
New Delhi, January 19
New Delhi, January 19