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Price Rise Mamata rules out privatisation of Rlys
Gen Handa is new DG-Infantry
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Govt agencies working overtime for BSP’s ‘maharally’
M’rashtra plans fresh cases against Raj Thackeray
Two get 7 yrs for infecting minor girls with HIV
Assam NGOs under lens for ‘links’ with Maoists
Chameli Devi Jain Award announced
Women's Bill
Quota for Muslims: SC to
hear AP plea on March 22
SC rejects pleas on change of land use in Mohali
MIT alumnus comes up with
all-season jacket Fernandes’ brothers allege police high-handedness India, Russia to sign
defence, nuclear pacts Blood donation to mark Rohtak Capt’s last rites Lankan refugees complain of atrocities FTV banned again
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Price Rise
New Delhi, March 11 Both the CPM and the CPI plan to demand discussion on food and commodity inflation in both Houses tomorrow, with party leaders saying they would move motions for the adjournment of Question Hour in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Left parties have also given a call to hold a protest in Delhi against price rise tomorrow. They will hold a rally leading to the Parliament Street. Back in Parliament, CPM leader in the Rajya Sabha Sitaram Yechury said the Left had planned to again seek a discussion on rising inflation by demanding adjournment of Question Hour tomorrow. “Despite discussions, the government has failed to control rising prices. Food inflation has touched 20 per cent. This situation is not acceptable,” Yechury said, adding that he, along with BJP’s Arun Jaitley, had proposed to the Rajya Sabha Chairman to revoke the suspension of suspended SP, RJD and JDU members. That sounded strange considering on the day of the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in RS, Yechury specially got up to demand that the House complimented the marshals who had physically ousted the agitating members and contributed to the passage of a historic law. As for the rally, it will see participation by all four Left Parties - the CPM, the CPI, the All-India Forward Bloc and the RSP. The march will end with Left leaders addressing a public meeting.
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Mamata rules out privatisation of Rlys New Delhi, March 11 Separately, she said there was need to involve the private sector to mop up resources but ruled out outright privatisation. Replying to a debate on the Railway Budget in Upper House, Banerjee said she had issued instructions that the entire allocations must be
utilised. “Otherwise, we will take action,” she warned. Banerjee was at her best as she questioned those MPs who had raised objection on involving the private sector with the Railways. “…If we don’t give land, it will be encroached...It is our asset,” Banerjee said. Banerjee’s ‘Vision 2020’ unveiled for the Railways hinges significantly on revenue generation through commercial utilisation of surplus land. According to estimates, the Railways has about 43,000 hectares of surplus land. The Minister rejected the Opposition’s charge that she was privatising the Railways. However, for generation of money and creation of infrastructure, surplus space had to be utilised for commercial use, she said. Banerjee said the Railways need huge resources for clearing pending projects worth Rs 1 lakh
crore. “Where will the money come from? It will not drop from the heavens,” she said. Different departments and ministries are coming forward to partner with the Railways for use of this land for building hospitals, colleges and housing. The Secretary Railway Board will head a cell for developing business opportunities with the help of the private sector. There would be a single-window system to clear the projects within three months. Banerjee said the recommendations of Prime Minister’s Advisor on Innovation and IT Sam Pitroda on laying of fibre optics along Railway routes have been accepted. It would be used for linking gram
panchayats. The Minister said Naxalites, bandhs and strikes have dealt a blow of nearly 40 per cent to the business of the Railways. Later, the House returned the Appropriation bills concerned, as passed by the Lok
Sabha, enabling the Railways to withdraw money from the exchequer for a part of 2010-11, and some authorisations for the current fiscal and 2008-09.
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Gen Handa is new DG-Infantry
New Delhi, March 11 He commanded his battalion at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab at the peak of militancy in the state from 1990-93. He has also commanded a brigade during Op Parakram.
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Govt agencies working overtime for BSP’s ‘maharally’
Lucknow, March 11 Being held on BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s birthday, it would mark the 25th anniversary celebrations of the BSP. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), Public Works Department (PWD), Jal Sansthan and the Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA) are all engaged in the preparation for the rally, which is officially being described as a party affair for which the BSP is hiring services. However, senior officers are tight-lipped about the amount being spent by the party in making these arrangements for the BSP workers who are expected to start arriving from March 12. According to unconfirmed sources, around Rs 150 crore are being spent on the function. With just four days to go a tented township has come up at Smriti Upvan on Bijnore Road where party workers from distant places will be accommodated. The city has been decked up with all roads leading to the venue decorated with party blue buntings and life-size hoardings of Dalit icons. Tiny blue bulbs decorate every major roundabout in the city. Even the fountains in the various parks in the city would squirt blue water during the rally. According to ADG Law and Order Brij Lal security arrangements for the rally has been completed. Working overtime the bomb disposal squad used mine detectors and sniffer dogs to check the various venues. After levelling 70 acres of area at Smriti Upvan, the LDA is constructing temporary township Several 25-beded tented hospitals have come up there equipped with medicines and equipments to meet any eventuality. A control room is also being set up where the district health officer would personally be present. The LMC is constructing over 3,000 temporary toilets and bathrooms at the Upvan and near the Ramabai Ambekdar Maidan reportedly at the cost of Rs 3 crore. Around 800 safai karmacharis will remain present at the Upvan round-the-clock working in three-shifts to ensure clean toilets and cleanliness at the venue. The LDA is also developing 35 temporary parking lots along the road connecting Transport Nagar with the rally venue. The PWD has been assigned the task of repairing the roads and painting the dividers on the stretch between the rally ground and Kanshiram Memorial. According to Lucknow District Magistrate Anil Kumar Sagar no reimbursement would be claimed for infrastructure related work like roads as all this will come in use for the public after the rally. He, however, said for other services like road cutting, water tanks, buses and electricity, the BSP is paying the departments concerned.
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M’rashtra plans fresh cases against Raj Thackeray
Mumbai, March 11 At a function to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the party, Thackeray asked his followers to beat up North Indians who pilfer water from Mumbai’s pipelines. Thackeray also hit out at mobile service provider Airtel for not including Marathi in the list of languages in which customer services were provided. Hours after Thackeray’s speech, MNS workers attacked two showrooms of the company. Sources said the Mumbai Police had sought opinion of the Maharashtra Government’s legal department about filing cases against the MNS chief. The state government is expected to grant approval by the next week. Incidentally, Thackeray’s speech came barely a day after the Supreme Court warned him against spreading hatred against North Indians. The estranged nephew of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has been in and out of courts across the state as he faces 73 criminal cases across Maharashtra. He is accused of inciting riots and violence against North Indian migrants. Thackeray has had to make personal appearances in six cases so far to seek bail. According to his lawyers, Thackeray would appear in other cases as well. He may have to appear again before the courts and stand trial, if charges are framed against him.
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Two get 7 yrs for infecting minor girls with HIV
Chennai, March 11 Victims’ mother had alleged that Velankanni, with whom she fell apart after a dispute during a local body election, assisted her brother Ayyapppan to develop sexual relationship with her daughters, with the intention of spreading the virus to them. The incident occurred at Kathangulam village in Virudhunagar district.
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Assam NGOs under lens for ‘links’ with Maoists
Guwahati, March 11 According to information, the police has been keeping a watch on at least two NGOs and Ganasakti party, which claim to be the champions of the cause of farmers, especially the landless ones. These bodies are involved in mobilising support against an under-construction mega dam project of National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) in Dhemaji district. The police suspects these bodies to be working allegedly on behalf of Maoists to create disturbance in the state. Ganasakti party has also come under scanner for its close links with these NGOs much to the chagrin of its only legislator Bhuban Pegu, who today alleged that Assam government was trying to frame him up in charges of sedition and was “plotting to eliminate him”. The police, it is learnt, gathered specific information that some youths from the state had even visited Jharkhand in batches for undergoing training with Maoists. A confidential Assam police memo (No.C.20/2009/16) issued in August last to SPs in three districts of Golaghat, Nagaon and Lakhimpur mentioned that a group of 16 youths from Golaghat district had gone for the training. Subsequently, 300 other youths from Golaghat, Kaki in Nagaon district, North Lakhimpur district, Sadiya in Tinsukia district and Simen Chapori in Dhemaji district had gone for the training. Those youths came back to the state and were involved in propagating Maoist ideology.
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Chameli Devi Jain Award announced
New Delhi, March 11 Nominations for the award were received from all parts of the country. The jury that made the selection consisted of Madhu
Jain, columnist and author, Bhaskar Ghose, former director-general Doordarshan and secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Professor Dipankar Gupta, formerly with JNU and now senior fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. The awards will be presented on March 17 at the IIC Auditorium.
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Women's Bill
New Delhi, March 11 Congress president Sonia Gandhi is aware of problems within the party on the issue and is trying her best to resolve them. She is hosting a dinner for party MPs today. Sonia is also meeting PCC chiefs on Friday to discuss celebrations for 125 years of party’s formation. Apart from the official agenda, party sources say the meeting may also be utilised to discuss the Women’s Bill, which also requires to be cleared by at least 14 state Assemblies after it is passed by the Lok Sabha. Sources say the Congress chief is likely to tell state party presidents to give a correct portrayal of the Bill at their level and assuage growing discomfort within male party legislators as the Bill, when and if it becomes a reality, will also affect them. Other issues likely to come up for discussion are the membership drive and party elections. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, however, dismisses reports about disquiet in the party echelons about the Bill as speculations. “There is absolutely no unease among male party MPs about the possibility of the Bill impacting their political future. Today’s event is an annual dinner hosted by the Congress president when Parliament is in session. The tradition is being maintained, there is nothing more to it,” he says. However, the announcement by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the Women's Bill would be introduced in the Lok Sabha only after consultations with “all sections concerned” has certainly come as sweet music to the ears of those Congress MPs opposed to the Bill. It is an open secret that the unhappiness is stemming from the fact that some MPs may loose their constituencies, which they have carefully nurtured for years, if the Women’s Reservation Bill becomes a reality.
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Quota for Muslims: SC to
hear AP plea on March 22
New Delhi, March 11 A Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan fixed the date on a plea by the state for an urgent hearing even as senior counsel Ravi Shankar Prasad, appearing for a person opposed to the quota, contended that there was no urgency as the Constitution had no provision for reservation based on religion. According to the appeal, the HC had wrongly observed in its February 8 judgment that the quota amounted to discrimination on the basis of religion. “On the contrary, it is submitted that the impugned legislation removed the discrimination on the basis of religion that existed against the socially and educationally backward communities (SEdBCs) of the Muslim community of Andhra Pradesh,” the state said.
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SC rejects pleas on change of land use in Mohali
New Delhi, March 11 “We do not find any fault with the state government’s decision not to sanction such a change” as it had the power to take “appropriate decision” on the proposal made by the corporation for change in land use, from industrial to housing, a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and BS Chauhan ruled in the verdict delivered on Tuesday. The Bench did not agree with the petitioners invoking the doctrines of promissory estoppel and legitimate expectation that they were “reasonably sure” of getting residential plots because the corporation had undertaken a similar exercise and allotted 138 freehold plots in the Mohali focal point area by inviting applications and holding draw of lots in 2002. It pointed out that the application form had made it clear that the acceptance of the application and earnest money would not put the corporation under an obligation to allot plots to the applicants.
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MIT alumnus comes up with all-season jacket
Kolkata, March 11 A postgraduate in Mechanical Engineering and Technology Policy Program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kranthi Kiran Vistakula’s 'heat exchange' technology called ClimaCon has won him the Innovator of the Year honour from Technology Review India. "While pursuing my Masters at MIT, I found the process of putting on and taking off additional layers of clothing in winter very cumbersome. To overcome this, I started working on developing a jacket with the capacity to both heat and cool. "I put the Peltier effect into application for achieving this," says Vistakula. The Peltier effect is a phenomenon discovered in 1834 by J C A Peltier, who found that at the junction of two dissimilar metals carrying a small current the temperature rises or falls, depending upon the direction of the current. "But it was easier said than done," says Vistakula who realised that a new technology would have to be developed to make the jacket lightweight. "I had to work on developing a new heat exchanger or heat sink in order to keep the jacket light. After three years of effort and experimentation, the weight of the jacket now stands at just 650 grams, almost equivalent to the weight of a regular pair of jeans," Vistakula says proudly. —
PTI
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Fernandes’ brothers allege police high-handedness New Delhi, March 11 In their complaint to the Delhi police chief, the brothers said, “When we went to visit George at about 12 noon and 5 pm respectively, we were flatly refused entry by some PSO Jagdish Prasad and PSO Mitten, claiming that they had been asked to do so by Leila Kabir (his estranged wife with whom he has been living for last many months).” A Delhi Police spokesperson, though, declined to comment over the development. The brothers alleged that the Delhi police security personnel “actively sabotaged” their attempts to meet and take their brother for a drive, “under the instructions” from his wife. The 78-year-old ailing socialist leader is said to be living with Leila Kabir at a house in Greater Kailash here. “This was against the expressed wishes of our brother. There cannot be any threat perception that George can have from his brothers,” they said. The brothers requested “immediate” attention of the Delhi Police Commissioner to ensure that security personnel do not “abuse” their position and become “tools” in the hands of Leila
Kabir.
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India, Russia to sign
defence, nuclear pacts New Delhi, March 11 Fully aware of the power equation in Moscow where Putin still calls the shots despite his protege Dmitry Medvedev being the President, New Delhi is leaving no stone unturned to make the Russian leader’s less than 24-hour working visit a grand success. To demonstrate their determination to take their relationship to what it was during the pre-Soviet era, the two time-tested friends will sign accords in defence, energy, trade, economic, banking and other fields. Diplomatic sources said the deals to be signed tomorrow could be worth $10 billion. Signalling the importance he attaches to his visit to New Delhi, Putin is bringing with him two of his deputy Prime Ministers and a host of senior ministers. He will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apart from meeting President Pratibha Patil and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. India is also fielding a high-level delegation at the talks with the Russian PM. The Indian delegation will include External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, Defence Minister AK Antony, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. The two countries will review international political situation, including disturbing developments in Afghanistan, besides bilateral issues.
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Blood donation to mark Rohtak Capt’s last rites New Delhi, March 11 And like their son who had set elimination-of-ultras as his target, they too have set an aim: arranging blood twice the weight of Capt Deepak (62 kg), who joined Signal Corps about four years ago. An unlike tribute though, over 400 donors have already registered themselves for the camp. “It’s like moving beyond tears. The blood donation will signify the value of life,” a family member said while talking to The Tribune over the phone. Earth, an NGO, and Haryana Medical Representative Association members would be assisting the family in the noble act. The camp would be conducted just hours before the religious rites are performed -- from 9 am to 2 pm at the Community Centre in Rohtak. A ‘shradhanjali sabha’ would be held late in the day. Notably, each unit gathered during a blood donation camp weighs 350 ml; and the family target is about 350 to 360. However, the donations are expected to exceed the target. An uncle of Capt Deepak, Dr SK Gaur said he (Deepak) was brilliant from childhood and his talent was acknowledged at school, college and even during his training in the Army. Post-college, said Dr Gaur, Deepak got offers from several multi-national companies, but he preferred the Army over. “The Captain had something different in his mind… He wanted to be saluted as an Army officer. He was an engineer by profession but turned down MNC job offers,” his uncle recollected.
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Lankan refugees complain of atrocities Chennai, March 11 Dharmaseelan, one of the refugees, told reporters at Rameswaram that Tamil people detained in the military camps were living under constant fear of death and they were suffering silently, as they could not mutter a word against the military. "Most of the young Tamil girls and women who ended up at the camps had been taken away by the soldiers and they had never returned. This has become a daily occurrence and no one can say anything against the military. Everyday, they choose some of the Tamil women below the age of 35 and take them away. They are not seen again. Many of those women had left behind their children, aged parents", he said.
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