Saturday, September 12, 1998
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Pawar to carry letter to Jakota NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The Congress today announced that a letter by party president Sonia Gandhi was being personally carried to the President of the African National Congress, Mr Federic Jakota, by Mr Sharad Pawar, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. Child kidnapping racket busted HARDWAR, Sept 11 — A chance raid by the Minister of State for Women Welfare and Child Development, Ms Gulabo Devi busted a child kidnapping racket being run in a juvenile home under the patronage of its staff. |
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BJP: Laloo can't challenge Centre NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The BJP today said that it had taken note of the reported remarks of the Rashtriya Janata Dal president, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, daring the Vajpayee government to take action against the Rabri Devi government in Bihar.
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Sum up Jai Hanuman in 7 episodes: HC NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The Delhi High Court today asked film star-turned director Sanjay Khan to complete the teleserial “Jai Hanuman” in another seven episodes while rejecting his plea seeking extension of the mythological epic by 104 episodes. EVMs for
Delhi elections 34
fresh dropsy cases in Capital Lata,
Udit win MTV award |
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Pawar to carry letter to Jakota NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — In an apparent bid to play a game of one-upmanship with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Congress today announced that a letter by party president Sonia Gandhi was being personally carried to the President of the African National Congress, Mr Federic Jakota, by Mr Sharad Pawar, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. It may be recalled that during the recent summit of non-aligned countries at Durban, South Africa, Dr Mandela had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress decision assumes significance as at the recent Pachmarhi session, party members felt the government was ignoring relations with South Africa. The decision to send a letter to Mr Jakota, also Chairman of South Africa’s Upper House, was announced by the AICC Spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, here today. At Pachmari, during a group discussion, many leaders expressed the opinion that the government was not paying attention to relations with South Africa and following recommendations of the group on international affairs decided to send high-level party delegations to both China and South Africa. Incidentally, Mr Pawar, who is also leader of the Opposition, had planned the visit organised by some sugar cooperatives. It seems the Congress decided to utilise his visit to send a message to the South African leader. The Congress is also encouraged by the visit of a Chinese leader who came to India to attend the recent CPI central committee meeting. Incidentally he has not so far called on the BJP which heads the ruling coalition government at the Centre. Mr Ma Wenpu, at his meeting with Mr Natwar Singh, reiterated his invitation to a Congress delegation to visit China, which was accepted. It remains to be seen when
the visits will materialise but at present the BJP has
not appreciated the stand of its principal opposition
party attempting to establish such relations. |
BJP: Laloo can't challenge
Centre NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The BJP today said that it had taken note of the reported remarks of the Rashtriya Janata Dal president, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, daring the Vajpayee government to take action against the Rabri Devi government in Bihar. Taking exception to Mr Yadav’s challenge, the BJP General Secretary, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, told mediapersons that the RJD President was "misusing the government position". Mr Naidu said Mr Yadav had no locus standi as he held no constitutional authority to challenge the Centre. "This is another reason why action should be taken by the Centre against the Bihar Government", the BJP leader stressed. Asked if the BJP had set a deadline by which the Rabri Devi government should be dismissed, Mr Naidu gave a categorical "no". "The government has to go by the Constitution. No political decision can be taken nor the Article 356 of the Constitution misused", he said. On the PMK leader, Mr
Ramdoss’s suggestion that the meeting of the
coordination committee should be held more frequently, Mr
Naidu welcomed it. "It was a welcome step. This
suggestion will avoid the partners from airing their
views publicly which result in a lot of
misunderstanding". |
Child kidnapping racket busted HARDWAR, Sept 11 (PTI) — A chance raid by the Minister of State for Women Welfare and Child Development, Ms Gulabo Devi busted a child kidnapping racket being run in a juvenile home under the patronage of its staff. The complaint of some newspersons spurred the minister to lead the raiding party to the juvenile home on Wednesday and unearth the racket, the City Magistrate, Mr Jaichand who accompanied the minister, said. The raid resulted in the suspension of the alleged kingpin and the Deputy Superintendent of Home, Mr Devendra Sharma and lodging of an FIR against nine others under Section 41 of the Juvenile Act. One person, suspected to be one of the kidnappers was taken into custody for interrogation. Children abducted from the surrounding districts revealed how they were brought to the home by an accomplice of Mr Sharma and later ill-treated, Mr Jaichand said. The children said that they were tricked and forcefully brought to the home and later beaten up and made to do hard manual labour by the staff of the home. They also complained that their repeated requests to Mr Sharma to inform their parents of their whereabouts was of no avail. The city magistrate said
that Mr Sharma’s sole aim behind abducting these
children and thereafter lodging them at the home was to
claim Rs 500 given as aid by the government for the
upkeep of children every month. |
Tiger surviving, but how long? NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (PTI) — Twenty eight years after Project Tiger was launched, the striped feline no longer faces the threat of extinction, but in some areas the situation is alarming due to rampant poaching and steady loss of habitat. Despite the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which extended total legal protection to tigers in India, poaching poses a new threat to the big cats as tigers are killed for skin, bones and other body parts, say conservationists. The last decade has seen a rise in commercial demand for tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine in South Asia, says Manoj Mishra of the Traffic India, which monitors wildlife trade. “Although available trade data does not indicate India as a supplier, by virtue of the number of tigers here and the extent to which hunting appears to be taking place, it could be a major country of supply”, says Mr Mishra. A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency — a London-based International Conservation Organisation — says poaching for Chinese medicine which has a lucrative market in the West, is responsible for the death of at least one tiger in India every day. “The figures are exaggerated,” says environmentalist Dr Iqbal Malik, according to her the figure could be one tiger a week. The tiger population was less than 2000 when the first census was undertaken in 1972. The figure in 1993 was 3,750. “The species would have been closer to extinction in the country had it not been for Project Tiger,” she says. However, according to a Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) report, after an initial rising trend there has been a decline in tiger numbers, which is now of major concern. The report says the 1993 figure shows an alarming dip in the tiger population at 3,750 compared to 1989 when they numbered 4,334. Citing specific examples, it says their number fell drastically from 94 in 1989 to 34 in 1995 at Nagarjuanasagar Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh, and from 28 to 15 at Indravati in Madhya Pradesh. At Palamau in Bihar, their figure came down to 47 from 55, by six at Ranthambhore in Rajasthan, while at Periyar in Kerala the decline was from 45 to 39 during the same period. The scene is equally alarming at Buxa in West Bengal where the tiger population is down from 38 to 31 or at Pench Sanctuary in MP where there were 27 tigers in 1995 compared to 39 two years earlier. Approximately 1.15 million hectare of forests were lost in development projects in India from 1952 to 1980. Even the Forest Conservation Act in 1980, which regulates the transfer of forest land for non-forest purposes, failed to check its transfer for other purposes, says Brigadier Ranjit Talwar of the WWF. This has impacted their population immensely, he notes. Realising that poaching has endangered the tiger, its habitat and food chain, the Project Tiger Directorate has recommended setting up of a participative fund to contain the threat, government officials say. But tigers cannot be saved unless the eco-system as a whole is protected, says Malik calling for greater coordination between agencies working for tiger conservation. Strict measures need to be enforced to ensure resources allocated for tiger conservation are not siphoned off for other activities, she says. Tiger conservation has been rarely supported by the local communities living in and around the protected areas. With the declaration of protected areas, restrictions were imposed on access and use of resources like fuelwood, fodder, small timber, grazing areas and non-timber forest produce bringing the humans in direct conflict with the animals, she notes. “Support structures like training Forest Department staff in management of protected areas and the material support required by them for effective protection and management should be provided on a priority basis”, says Dr Malik. To ensure public participation in saving tigers, people are now being educated on human-animal coexistence and of the need to save them by implementing various measures, including habitat protection, officials say. The government also needs to gear up its machinery and ensure that compensation to villagers, who fell victim to tiger attacks, is paid at the earliest, says Talwar. Between December 1997 and January 1998, nine tigers were lost to cattle poisoning by villagers angered over delayed or inadequate compensation. Suggesting establishment of an agency to counter illegal trade, Mishra says only such a measure can put a check on reckless killing of the striped feline. Things need to be
mobilised, and fast, before we lose the big cats for
good. |
Sum up Jai Hanuman in 7 episodes: HC NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (UNI) — The Delhi High Court today asked film star-turned director Sanjay Khan to complete the teleserial “Jai Hanuman” in another seven episodes while rejecting his plea seeking extension of the mythological epic by 104 episodes. Jai Hanuman had been sanctioned 52 episodes and its producer ‘AAA Film Motion Picture Producers’ were asked to complete the serial within that limit, but Mr Khan could cover only one-third of the story in the stipulated limit. Though the producer made several representations before the Prasar Bharati and its then chief executive officer S.S. Gill for 104 episode extensions, all its requests were rejected. In a 43-page judgement, Mr Justice Anil Dev Singh directed the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan to permit Mr Khan and his production company seven more episodes to complete the serial, which was linked to belief and faith of the people. “Keeping in view the interests of the viewers, I consider it appropriate to direct the respondents to permit the petitioners to complete the serial within the next seven episodes,” Mr Justice Singh said while disposing of the petition earlier this week. Mr Justice Singh held the producer of the serial Sanjay Khan responsible for not completing it within the sanctioned 52 episodes and also blamed Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan for showing scant responsibility towards viewers by not allowing the storyline to be completed through permitting possible extensions. Mr Justice Singh left it to the discretion of the present Prasar Bharati chief executive officer (CEO) the decision of extending the serial beyond these seven episodes. “The court order shall not come in the way of the CEO (if he feels that the serial needs more extensions to complete the story)” the order said. In case the petitioner, Sanjay Khan’s ‘AAA Film Motion Picture Producers’, does not complete the story within seven further episodes, it would be open to the respondents to take action against the petitioner’s in accordance with law. Mr Jaitley had pointed out that Jai Hanuman was to be replaced by a film song-based programme ‘Nehle Pe Dehla’ which has been sanctioned 104 episodes. Mr Jaitley while stating that the mega serial was a revenue earner for Doordarshan pointed out that Mr Khan had already prepared another 33 episodes of Jai Hanuman at a cost of about Rs 16 lakh per episode and denial of an extension will cause irreparable injury. Mr Mittal had argued that
the ploy of first asking for sanction for a serial of 52
episodes and then apply for extension on the ground of
the story being incomplete was wholly unethical and
unprofessional. He submitted that Mr Gill had taken a
policy decision not to give any extension to serials
being telecast at prime time. |
EVMs for Delhi elections NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for the first time in Delhi during the assembly poll in November. The EVMs would be used for polling and counting in six assembly constituencies covering 711 polling booths during the forthcoming poll. The Chief Electoral Officer, Mr O. P. Kelkar, briefing mediapersons here today said the EVMs would be used in the Sarojini Nagar, Gole Market, Minto Road, Kasturba Nagar, Jangpura and Delhi Cantonment constituencies. The elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly are likely to be held in the last week of November and the term of the present assembly comes to an end on December 12. Mr Kelkar said the “use would be on a full-fledged scale and not on an experimental basis.” In 1983, the EVMs were used in two polling stations in Gole Market during the Delhi Metropolitan Council poll. But the practice was discontinued thereafter. The EVM, provided by the Bangalore-based Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL), was a reliable system for conducting elections, Mr Kelkar said. The EVM consisted of two units — control and balloting. A balloting unit caters to 16 candidates: four balloting units, when linked, could cater to a maximum number of 64 candidates with a single control unit. The EVMs used modern micro-computers and other large-scale integration chips. They were operated on a special battery and were tamper-proof, error-free, easy to operate and portable. The machine had been designed on the lines suggested by the Election Commission, a company official said. There was a blue button against each candidate’s name and symbol, access to which was through an opening in the ballot box. All a voter would be required to do was to press the button against the candidate of his choice in order to record his or her vote. When the voter pressed the button, the corresponding lamp against the name and symbol of the candidate glowed “red.” At the same time, a beep emanated from the control unit indicating that the vote had been recorded. When the vote was recorded, the lamp went off. The “clear button” was required to be pressed before the start of the poll to show that no votes were already recorded in favour of any candidate. There was also a “total button” which, when pressed, showed the number of candidates and votes recorded. Finally, the “close button” was pressed to communicate that no further voting was possible. When this button was pressed, the number of candidates and votes were displayed on the panel. “The moment the Chief
Election Commissioner decides, the result can be
announced,” he said.@When the “result
button” was pressed the names of candidates, were
displayed followed by the total number of votes polled in
favour of each candidate. |
34 fresh dropsy cases in
Capital NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — Thirtyfour persons with symptoms of dropsy have been admitted to various hospitals in the Capital during the past 24 hours, though no death has been reported from any hospital. The Minister of Health, Dr
Harsh Vardhan, said the dropsy toll of 57 stood
unchanged. He said 42 patients of dropsy had been
discharged from various hospitals in the past 24 hours.
He said the government was going ahead with its import
order of palmolein but would take special care to have
the samples tested. |
Lata, Udit win MTV award NEW DELHI, Sept, 11 (PTI) — Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and playback singer Udit Narayan have bagged the 1998 MTV video music award "Indian viewers' choice" at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles for the runaway success of their song "Dil To Pagal Hai". The award, now in its third year, honours the favourite music video chosen by MTV viewers across India, an MTV release here said. Lata Mangeshkar, on winning the award at the city's Universal Amphi Theatre last night, thanked MTV viewers for voting for Udit and her and MTV for promoting Indian artistes. Those nominated for the award this year were Asha Bhonsle for "Janam samjha karo", A.R. Rahman for :Maa tujhe salaam", Kamaal Khan for O jaane jaana" and Abhijeet for "Main koi aisa". Last year's winner for the award was Asha Bhonsle for "O mere sona re" and in 1996 Colonial Cousins bagged it for their Sa ni dha pa". Madonna won six awards for
"Ray of Light", including the best video of the
year and best female video. |
IAS officer suspended JAIPUR, Sept 11 (PTI) — The Rajasthan Government has suspended Special Secretary of Animal Husbandry Ashutosh Bhargava, an IAS officer, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a supplier of veterinary medicines. A suspension order to this effect was issued yesterday, according to an official press note. Bhargava was caught by the
state Vigilance Department while accepting the bribe from
the supplier in his chamber on September 3. |
DPCC gears up for poll NEW DELHI, Sept 11 — The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief, Mrs Shiela Dixit, has asked all block Congress committees to start holding meetings and gatherings in their respective areas to set the ball rolling for the Assembly elections. DPCC leaders say they are keenly awaiting the Delhi University Students Union poll results since a good response will indicate that the Congress is gaining ground. Congress leaders are
planning to rope in the National Students Union of India
winners for canvassing for the Assembly poll. |
1999 to be ‘visit India year’ HYDERABAD, Sept 11 (PTI) — The Union Tourism and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Madanlal Khurana today announced to observe 1999-2000 as “visit India year” as part of a drive to promote tourism in a big way. “We have already identified some activities like “Khajuraho millennium” and are in the process of working out other details for the visit India year, Mr Khurana said while inaugurating the annual convention of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) here. He assured convening a special meeting of the TAAI office-bearers to work out other details in this regard. The ministry is trying to facilitate private investment in the tourism sector by providing essential support services and incentives, Mr Khurana said, adding the travel industry has to play a key role in packaging of tourism products and its marketing through innovative methods. Referring to representation from trade and industry associations about certain tax benefits to be provided for tourism, he said these matters were being taken up with the ministers concerned. “Our endeavour is to
have all benefits being extended to exporters,
infrastructure industries and the service sector to be
also made available to the tourism industry,” he
added. |
Vajpayee scores poetic first NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (PTI) — Atal Behari Vajpayee, the nation’s most poetic premier yet, will score a prime ministerial first when an audio cassette containing eight poems written by him is released at a function here on September 14. Titled "Geet naya gata hoon", the cassette of Hindi poems is the first such venture by an Indian Prime Minister and will feature eight of his poems from his noted work "Meri ekkavan kavitayen" (my 51 poems) published a few years ago. The cassette will be released by Jnanpeeth award winner, Ali Sardar Jafri, at a function at which Mr Vajpayee will also be present. The songs are rendered by noted Marathi classical singer, Padmaja Phenany Joglekar, who also makes her debut in the Hindi music world with the cassette. Music has been given by noted Sindhi and Punjabi music director, Mahesh Chander and Padmaja. The launch of the cassette, which is being brought out by HMV, was announced by Padmaja as also Bhalchandra Datar of the Datar Group who has sponsored the project. They said the royalty of the project would be donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. On the occasion, renowned
artist, Usha Pnenany Bhatte, will present the Prime
Minister a portrait of his drawn by her. |
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| Quarrying threatens art
complex CHENNAI: The 3,000-year-old rock art complex at Kilvalai, the oldest to have been found in Tamil Nadu, is now under threat due to incessant quarrying of granite and vandalism by tourists, according to reports received here. Situated on the Villuppuram-Tiruvannamalai road 170 from here, the complex was discovered 25 years ago. It comprises three groups of rocks known to locals as “Rathapparai” or “Rathak Kudaikkal”, or the rocks of blood, probably due to the lac-coloured ancient figures and letters drawn on them, numbering more than 90. The reports said more than 100 workers were engaged in quarrying work under local contractors near the complex. At least one of the three groups of rocks was likely to be directly affected by the quarrying work, the reports added. — UNI 7 die as wall collapses 4 of family
charred to death Identity proof for
IA passengers Bengal to revive
tramways in city HC direction on
banned drugs |
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