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N A T I O N

Monday, July 13, 1998

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Troops allege maltreatment
NEW DELHI, July 12 — The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) contingent, which was a part of United Nations peacekeeping troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, say it was discriminated against by the UN troops of other countries, mainly those from the USA...

ATR on Jain report being finalised
NEW DELHI, July 12 — The government is in the process of finalising an action taken report (ATR) on the report of the Jain Commission report which probed the conspiracy aspect of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination...

High court notice to
Power Ministry
NEW DELHI, July 12 - Aggrieved by the worsening power situation in the Capital, residents have moved the Delhi High Court seeking its intervention.
The High Court has issued show-cause notices to the Union Power Ministry, the Delhi Government and the Delhi Vidyut Board on the petition ...

Delhi surgeon’s organ regeneration feat
NEW DELHI, July 12 — Indian surgeons who two years ago helped monkeys and dogs regrow their diseased ureter, fallopian tubes and uterus, now claim to have successfully used their organ regeneration technique in humans for regrowth of abdominal wall and reconstruction of urethra...

Army evacuating marooned persons
GUWAHATI, July 12 — Rain-fed rivers submerged fresh areas in Assam today as troops were pressed into service to rescue hundreds of marooned people at Tezpur in Sonitpur district. After a five-year-old child drowned in flood waters.
Flooring for Laloo
PATNA, July 12 — The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) has detected “beyond norms” supply of a large quantity of furnishing material to former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and other members of his Council of Ministers...
Secy’s extension ‘illegal’
NEW DELHI, July 12 — The decision to grant one-year extension of services to Mr Mata Prasad as the Secretary in the Water Resources Ministry even after his attaining the age of superannuation was made by the caretaker I.K. Gujral Government in "unholy haste", Delhi High Court has been told.

Govt 'committed' to judicial reforms
AHMEDABAD, July 12 — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today castigated the justice dispensation system in India for becoming "further insensitive" to the common man and said the government was committed to initiating "radical" judicial reforms.
Bansi Lal lays foundation stones
NEW DELHI, July 12 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal today laid the foundation stone for a Red Cross Bhavan and a Panchayat Bhavan at Jhajjar today...

Troops allege maltreatment
NEW DELHI, July 12 (UNI) — The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) contingent, which was a part of United Nations peacekeeping troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, say it was discriminated against by the UN troops of other countries, mainly those from the USA.
The 143-member contingent, which returned here recently after a successful year-long mission, said that although Indian troops’ performance was par excellence, still it was not given its due by its counterparts from other countries. “Some of us were maltreated and insulted by our superiors who were from European countries but we never lost our patience,” said a member of the contingent while narrating his experiences at a press conference here.
Mr Gautam Kaul, Director-General of the ITBP, said the treatment could be a result of “jealousy” on the part of other contingents which springs from better performance. Indian contingents’ performance was second to none. It was natural on the part of other contingents to feel jealous, he said.
When asked whether such matters were reported to the Indian government he said it was preferred to resolve them locally.
Indian contingents on UN peace missions in many other countries including Somalia, have also complained of maltreatment and discrimination by their European commanders even though they were very popular with the local population and the forces loyal to rebel commander Gen Farah Mohammed Aideed.
Mr M.K. Singh, Deputy Commandant of the ITBP member of the

delegation, said very few Indians were given top posts despite their better performance. “Most of the top positions went to officials from European countries, mainly of the USA and Britain. However, Indian contingent was the only one to have 90 special appointees.
There were contingents from 43 countries on the mission.
However, Indians received more respect from the local population than their counterparts from other countries did, including Pakistan, whose troops had the disadvantage of being Muslims posted in a country where the main conflict is between Christians and Muslims. “They were looked upon with suspicion,” one of the members said.
He said that on the other hand, Indians were treated with respect by the local population as they came from the country of “Gandhi and Nehru.” “The friendship between Nehru and former Yugoslav President Marshal Joseph Broz TITO is remembered by people all over the country.” Also, there was a general feeling that only Indians could do justice.
Moreover, the Indian contingent’s multi-religious character was also an advantage.
The member said that some UN peacekeepers went to many volatile areas after removing their badges to hide their identity. Only Indian troops did not remove their badges, and they were respected for that. “The reason is that we knew exactly how to handle a situation like the one in Bosnia-Herzegovina where the conflict is communal. We have handled such situations in India a number of times.”
However, the stint with the UN peacekeepers from other countries had its advantages too. They had to learn computers within 30 days of which they had no knowledge. This was in addition to the exposure to and intermixing with the forces of other countries.
The most important thing that they learnt during the year-long mission was to respect human rights, the ITBP personnel said adding that this was the most needed thing in India. “We actually learned how to handle human rights cases. We feel that this needs to be discussed properly in India.”
They also could get Zee television on their TV sets although the picture was blurred but the sound could be easily heard. Moreover, they had access to Internet and they were also taught to operate it. Such things kept them informed about developments back home.

High court notice to Power Ministry
Tribune News Service
NEW DELHI, July 12 - Aggrieved by the worsening power situation in the Capital, residents have moved the Delhi High Court seeking its intervention.
The High Court has issued show-cause notices to the Union Power Ministry, the Delhi Government and the Delhi Vidyut Board on a petition filed by Mr Vinod Kumar Jain.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice K S Gupta has asked the respondents to reply within two weeks.
The petition alleged that the respondents had made no real effort to execute what had been stated as the objectives of Electricity (Suppy) Act, 1948.
The objective states that the government was responsible for power production, transmission and distribution. As the respondents had failed to abide by the objectives, there was a constant shortage of power in the city.
Though there was an increase in the production of electricity, demand outpaced production and the shortage, especially in summer, caused great discomfort to the people, Mr Jain stated in the petition.
Almost 50 per cent of the power supplied to the city was stolen, claimed the petition and alleged that the thefts took place with the active connivance of the DVB officials.
The petition sought direction to the respondents to make public the complete details of power projects which were being set up to supply electricity to the Capital in future.

ATR on Jain report being finalised
NEW DELHI, July 12 (PTI) — The government is in the process of finalising an action taken report (ATR) on the report of the Jain Commission report which probed the conspiracy aspect of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
Besides the Union Home Ministry and the Law Ministry, central agencies like the Intelligence Bureau, the research and analyses wing of the Cabinet Secretariat and CBI are involved in the ATR preparation, official sources said today.
The nine-volume report, submitted on March 7 by the commission to Home Secretary B.P. Singh, is likely to be tabled in the current session of Parliament, the sources said, adding that the report had to be tabled within six months of submission.
The commission in its final report, which runs into over 1,000 pages, is understood to have suggested further probe into several aspects, including allegations and evidence against controversial "godman" Chandraswami in the assassination.
The panel, the sources said, has said that materials and circumstantial evidence with it had raised “serious doubts” about the “complicity and involvement” of Chandraswami in the killing.
Suggesting a probe into the alleged role of US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel’s Mossad, the panel is understood to have pointed towards certain transactions made by the LTTE, in accounts held by its supporters in the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
The panel has quoted reports suggesting that huge amounts were transferred by Chandraswami’s disciple and international arms dealer, Adnan Khashoggi, into the BCCI accounts held by the LTTE supporters, just before and after the killing.
The commission has also noted that Rs 10 lakh were allegedly paid by Chandraswami’s aide Vikram Singh to a Sri Lankan national, identified as Anura Fernando. It has raised doubts about this transaction, which came to light from diaries and other documents seized from Chandraswami’s posh ashram in south Delhi by the income tax and enforcement directorate.
The sources said the panel had also recommended further probe into several aspects relating to conspiracy which came about during the trial of 26 persons convicted and awarded death sentence by the special court in Poonamallee in Tamil Nadu. The judgment of the trial court was submitted to the panel by D.R. Karthikeyan, who was heading the special investigation team (SIT) a month before the commission’s term was to expire.

Delhi surgeon’s organ regeneration feat
NEW DELHI, July 12 (PTI) — Indian surgeons who two years ago helped monkeys and dogs regrow their diseased ureter, fallopian tubes and uterus, now claim to have successfully used their organ regeneration technique in humans for regrowth of abdominal wall and reconstruction of urethra, the tube that drains urine from the bladder.
“This is the first time our tissue regeneration technique has been used in humans’, says B.G Matapurkar, senior surgeon at Lok Nayak Hospital whose work is soon to be published in the World Journal of Surgery (WJS).
According to Matapurkar, the technique being developed by his team in which diseased organs could be regenerated inside the body — using certain specific cells present in the body itself — could potentially provide an alternative to organ transplantation which was plagued by inherent problems of rejection and scarcity of donors.
In the study being published in the WJS, Matapurkar and his colleagues reported successful tissue regrowth in some 60 patients suffering from “incisional hernias”, a condition in which internal organs hang out of gaping holes in the abdominal wall.
According to the surgeons, the hernia problem was permanently solved by helping the patents grow new tissue to cover these holes.
The technique has also been successfully used for reconstruction of urethra in nine males and seven females, according to their report published recently in the Indian Journal of Urology.
The technique was being patented, he said.

Army evacuating marooned persons
GUWAHATI, July 12 (UNI) — Rain-fed rivers submerged fresh areas in Assam today as troops were pressed into service to rescue hundreds of marooned people at Tezpur in Sonitpur district. After a five-year-old child drowned in flood waters.
A Tezpur report said the Jiabharali river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flooded several villages in the eastern part of Tezpur town. The Army started operations last night to rescue about 2000 marooned people. A number of country boats were used to evacuate the affected people to safer places. The swollen river also threatened its embankment and bridges at different points.
The Brahmaputra also maintained its rising trend at different locations and was flowing above the danger marks at various points.
The situation in Nalbari district, Dhemaji and Lakhimpur remained unchanged. Road and rail communication also remained cut off in different parts of the districts.
Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has expressed concern over the situation and directed the authorities to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.
The government has also requested the Centre to extend financial assistance immediately to meet the situation.
A major part of the Kaziranga National Park was submerged by the surging waters of the Brahmaputra forcing the animals to take shelter in the high lands or migrate to nearby hills.

Flooring for Laloo
PATNA, July 12 (PTI) — The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) has detected “beyond norms” supply of a large quantity of furnishing material to former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and other members of his Council of Ministers.
The CAG in its report (ending March 1997) tabled in the Bihar Assembly on Friday, said a test-check of records (May and June 1997) of four divisions of the state Building Construction Department “revealed” that the divisional officers procured furnishing material worth Rs 23.45 lakh and issued the same to the Chief Minister and 20 ministers during 1990-95 which, it said, was “far in excess” of the prescribed scale.
According to the scale, prescribed under the Bihar Ministers Salaries and Allowances Act 1953, the Chief Minister and other ministers are entitled to furnishing material valued at Rs 38,500 and Rs 33,500, respectively.
The life of iron, wooden and clothing materials supplied to them was also fixed by the government as 15 years, 13 years and three years, respectively.
The CAG report said a well furnished rent-free residence was provided in 1990 to the then Chief Minister Laloo Yadav, with all modern amenities.
Additional furnishing material worth Rs 16.73 lakh was issued to Mr Laloo Yadav’s official residence during 1990 and May 1997 by the Executive Engineer, Central Division, Building and Housing Department, Patna, which included 25 “palangs”, 26 sofa sets and curtain cloth measuring 3,920 metres, the report said.
It said altogether 141 curtains, vacuum cleaners and other material were issued to the then Chief Minister “in excess of the scale prescribed (Rs 38,500) and without receiving back the material supplied earlier (1990-94).”
Acknowledgements for the receipt of these materials were not obtained from the officials concerned and requisitions for the supply of such materials were also not available for most of the items, according to the CAG.
The report said it was noticed in the audit that issue of furnishing material and electrical equipment like ac machines in huge quantity did not match with the space of the Chief Minister’s residence which had 10 rooms in all and “thus misappropriation by the misusing authority could not be ruled out.”

Secy’s extension ‘illegal’
NEW DELHI, July 12 (UNI) — The decision to grant one-year extension of services to Mr Mata Prasad as the Secretary in the Water Resources Ministry even after his attaining the age of superannuation was made by the caretaker I.K. Gujral Government in "unholy haste", Delhi High Court has been told.
In a 29-page written submission filed before the High Court, petitioner B.L. Wadehra submitted that besides, the decision was in violation of the code of conduct prescribed by the Election Commission for the general elections in February this year.
The written submission was filed in pursuance of the court direction for disposing off the matter quickly. Dr Wadehra, in his public interest petition, had challenged the then United Front government’s decision to grant the extension on the ground that it was "illegal and motivated".
Dr Wadehra said while the decision in this regard was taken on January 5, the EC’s code of conduct had come into play from January 1. Therefore, after the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll, the central government was rendered as a caretaker one and as such was prevented from taking any policy decision, he added.
The petitioner alleged that the government’s contention that the documents pertaining to Mr Prasad’s extension could not be disclosed as they were "secret" did not hold good since not revealing these details would hurt the public interest.

Govt 'committed' to judicial reforms
AHMEDABAD, July 12 (PTI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today castigated the justice dispensation system in India for becoming "further insensitive" to the common man and said the government was committed to initiating "radical" judicial reforms.
"The core of the problem can only be addressed by undertaking radical and deep-going judicial reforms at all levels," Mr Advani said inaugurating the first state conference of legal aid orientation organised by Gujarat State Legal Services Authority here.
Mr Advani said the government’s commitment to initiate judicial reforms, as stated in the BJP’s manifesto as well as the national agenda for governance, "remained strong and undiluted."
The Home Minister said there had been a considerable dent in the credibility of the Indian judiciary. "The result is that the legal system instead of being a part of the solution has ironicallly become a part of the problem," he said.
He stressed that comprehensive judicial reforms could not be accomplished by the government alone, but the people within the judicial system — judges, lawyers, bar associations, litigants and associations — would also have to build a powerful opinion and climate in favour of reforms.

Bansi Lal lays foundation stones
Tribune News Service
NEW DELHI, July 12 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal today laid the foundation stone for a Red Cross Bhavan and a Panchayat Bhavan at Jhajjar today.
These two projects will cost nearly Rs one crore and are expected to be constructed by March next year, a state government release said here.
The Red Cross Bhavan, besides providing facilities will also have a dispensary while the Panchayat Bhavan will provide board and lodging for panches, sarpanches and those from rural area.

In brief

Lightning kills 6 in UP
AZAMGARH: Six persons including, a woman, were killed and seven injured due to lightning in three villages of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh on the night of Saturday. According to the police five persons succumbed to their injuries after they were struck by lightning while a woman belonging to Fatehpur-Barohi village was also killed due to lightning when she was taking shelter under a tree. Seven women received serious injuries in Barohi village while planting paddy saplings. The administration has granted an ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of each person killed. — PTI
Woman, kids jump into well, die
JAIPUR: A woman Sanjana (28), committed suicide by jumping into a well along with her two sons Mahendra (7) and Ramesh (2) at Mundawa village of this district on Saturday, according to the police. A “family feud” was stated to be the cause of her suicide. — PTI
2 killed in police firing
MADURAI: Two persons were killed and seven injured when the police opened fire to quell a mob during a temple car festival at Sakkottai, near Karaikudi, in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu on Saturday night. The police resorted to firing after a lathi charge proved ineffective, as the mob indulged in stone throwing in which 29 police personnel were injured. The police said of the seven injured in firing, four were admitted to Karaikudi Government Hospital, while the rest were rushed to Tanjore Medical Hospital. — UNI
‘Declare financial emergency’
KOHIMA: Three non-Congress parties in Nagaland have urged Governor O.P. Sharma to send a “factual report” on the state’s financial situation. Presidents of the Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), the Naga Peoples Council (NPC) and the BJP State Unit, Mr Hokeshe Sema, Mr Shurhozelie and Mr N. Rhetso, respectively in a joint statement here urged the Governor to recommend financial emergency in his report. “While development activities have come to a grinding halt in Nagaland, the Congress ministers continue to purchase buildings and other properties in Delhi and Calcutta,” they alleged. The NDM in a resolution at a meeting asked the Chief Minister, S.C. Jamir to “voluntarily step down” in the wake of his government’s failure in managing state’s financial position and for pushing Nagaland to the brink of financial collapse.” — PTI
India 10th in Physics Olympiad
MUMBAI: India has secured the 10th position in country-wise ranking in its first year of participation in the international physics olympiad held at Reykjavik, Iceland. According to the Director of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Dr Arvind Kumar, who was also the national coordinator for the olympiad programme, the olympiad was officially an individual event and five Indian students — Abhishek Kumar (Delhi), Vijay Bhatt (Calcutta), Shivi Shekhar Bansal (UP) Dilys Thomas (Pune) and Saikat Guha (Patna), participated in the programme, which concluded on Friday. — PTI
Cataract among kids on rise
HYDERABAD: The incidence of cataract among children was on the rise in India, especially in the south, specialists attending a two-day conference on clinical ophthalmology said here on Sunday. In the south a number of children had blurred vision because of early formation of cataract. This was mainly due to consanguineous marriages and other genetic factors. Dr Satish Gupta, a specialist in the field, said treating juvenile cataract was more tough and required sophisticated equipment and skill. — PTI
AP novel employment scheme
NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to expand the Chief Minister’s Empowerment of Youth programme among 1.5 lakh youth in the state during the current financial year. The government has earmarked Rs 200 crore for this self-employment programme. The programme aims at providing financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to each youth association of five to 15 members in the age group of 18-35 for taking up viable income-generating projects. The programme would provide adequate training and infrastructure to the youth. — PTI