Excelsior... Nation

Advani rules out White
Paper on ISI
Centre to consider
ban on ISI-linked
Deendar Anjuman

From B L Kak
NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The Union Home Ministry has established contact with the Governments of Andhra Pradesh........more

Parliament

Both Houses adjourned
after paying tributes
to Rangarajan

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Both the Houses of Parliament today adjourned without transacting any of the.......more

Draft tourism policy in
next few months: Official

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The draft tourism policy is likely to be ready in the next few months and is......more

TN Govt plans to
constitute watch
dog committees

COIMBATORE, Aug 24: The Tamil Nadu Government plans to constitute watch dog committees .......more

Gurcharan Singh Tohra

SAD is playing
second fiddle to
BJP in Punjab: Tohra

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is "playing second fiddle" to its alliance partner Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which is "actually" ruling Punjab, says senior Akali leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra...........more

Govt determined
to end proxy
war: Advani

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said today that the Government.....more

Calcutta civic body first
to launch its own portal

CALCUTTA, Aug 24: Giving a gift to Calcuttans on the 311th birthday of the metropolis, the Calcutta .......more

Clearing Harike lake:
A joint effort

FEROZEPUR, Aug 24: The army initiative to clean up the Harike lake in this border district of.......more

Advani rules out White Paper on ISI
Centre to consider ban on ISI-linked Deendar Anjuman

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The Union Home Ministry has established contact with the Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa on the demand for banning ISI-linked Deendar Anjuman, which is suspected to be involved in several bomb blasts on churches in these States.

Giving this information, the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr LK Advani, revealed that investigations by Central agencies and the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had established that Deendar Anjuman was behind the spate of bomb attacks in churches in the two States.

Mr Advani also divulged that the authorities had been able to unravel Deendar Anjuman’s links with Pakistan’s ISI. The Activities of the organisation, Mr Advani pointed out, were part of "larger conspiracy" by the ISI to continue with its proxy war to destabilise the secular character of India.

On the much-talked-about White Paper on ISI activities in India, the Home Minister explained that the intelligence agencies involved in unraveling the activities of the ISI "are opposed" to bring a White Paper as, according to them, it would jeopardise their investigation.

An even more shocking disclosure related to the arrest of a junior warrant officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and his links with the ISI of Pakistan. This officer, Syed Hasan-ur-Zama, is alleged not only to have master-minded the blast at a Bangalore church recently and to have been involved to a lesser extent in bomb blasts in churches in other parts of the State, but also to have been passing secret defence-related information to his contacts in Pakistan.

Even this single arrest, it is officially stated, helps the authorities to substantiate to a large extent the charge often made in the past that the ISI has been pursuing a strategy of targeting minority institutions in India with a view to widen Hindu-Muslim-Christian differences and disrupt communal harmony. The suspicion of the involvement of a "foreign hand" in successive disruptive and subversive events in various parts of India has thus been confirmed.

The IAF officer was arrested from his residence in Gurgaon, Haryana, on August 8 and is reported to have admitted forwarding sensitive information about the location of vital installations, defence establishments, railway bridges and other vulnerable pots to Pakistan. He is said to have attended meetings where "criminal conspiracies" were hatched to set off explosive devices in sensitive areas with a view to kindling communal passions.

Significantly, when questioned whether the ISI and the Deendar Anjuman sect had direct links, the senior Karnataka police officers have informed the Union Home Ministry: "These kind of activities require a lot of money. From where did the money come from? The head of Deendar Anjuman (Syed Zia-ul-Hasan) stays in Pakistan. The arrested persons do not have that kind of money to sponsor these blasts. You can draw your own inference".

The conspiracy to set off blasts in churches in Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka was apparently hatched at the annual Urs held at the Deendar Anjuman Dargah at Asifnagar, in Hyderabad last year. Syed Zia-ul-Hasan, the self-proclaimed leader of the sect, who attended the Urs had a separate meeting with his close followers and announced a programme of jihad against India.

The arrest of IAF man, Hasan-ur-Zama, and of some 40 others in the southern States clearly points to the existence of a Pakistan-funded network in various parts of the country assigned to carry out various kinds of subversive activities, it was also officially stated. In the case of Deendar Anjuman, the objective was to plant bombs at places of worship and create enmity among various religious groups.

Both Houses adjourned after paying tributes to Rangarajan

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Both the Houses of Parliament today adjourned without transacting any of the listed business after paying homage to Power Minister P Rangarajan Kumaramangalam who passed away yesterday after a brief illness.

In the Lok Sabha, the list of mourners who spoke of their association with Ranga, as Mr Kumaramangalam was popularly known, was led by Speaker GMC Balayogi. The Upper House was adjourned soon after Chairman Krishan Kant read out a brief obituary reference.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said Ranga was not only a political person, but a many faceted personality whom he would miss very much. He was full of praise for Mr Kumaramangalam’s organisational ability and administrative acumen and service to the working class.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the opposition leader, said Ranga’s death was a personal loss to her. She recalled the long standing ties with Mr Kumaramangalam’s family and praised his exceptional ability to reach out to the people.

Mr Somnath Chatterjee (CPM) recalled that Ranga, a young man with brilliant mind, was an exceptional Parliamentary Affairs Minister who carried along the opposition in Parliament on many issues of national importance.

Mr K Venugopalachary (TDP) said Mr Kumaramangalam was a brilliant performer in the Power Ministry. The best tribute to him would be the resolve to carry forward the reforms he was carrying on in the power sector, he added.

Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) commended Mr Kumaramangalam’s contributions to the service of the nation .

Mr Chandrasekhar, former Prime Minister, and Mr P A Sangma paid tribute to Ranga and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family.

Mr Rashid Alvi (BSP) urged the Prime Minister to inquire into the allegations of wrong treatment given to Mr Kumaramangalam by a private hospital in the capital. Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) said that it had complicated the health conditions of the late minister. Mr G Vaiko (MDMK) said the Prime Minister lost a trusted colleague in Mr Kumaramangalam’s death. Mr P H Pandian (AIADMK) also expressed condolences on behalf of his party. Subsequently, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day. (UNI)

Draft tourism policy in next few months: Official

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The draft tourism policy is likely to be ready in the next few months and is expected to be enforced within the current fiscal, a top Tourism Ministry official said here today.

"The draft tourism policy is at the last stage now. We should be able to ensure that it comes into force this financial year itself," Director General, Ministry of Tourism Atul Sinha told reporters here.

Admitting that the draft policy had been delayed due to frequent change of ministers holding the tourism portfolio, Sinha said the policy would be in alignment with the civil aviation policy which has a major impact on the development of the tourism sector.

However, Sinha said the final draft of the civil aviation policy had not been sent to the Tourism Ministry for its comments.

"The final draft of civil aviation policy has not been sent to us. But we have had consultations with the civil aviation in the past," he said.

"The two policies will not work at cross purposes - they will be in tune with each other. But integration of the two policies is necessary. The problem of restricted air capacity is hampering international tourist arrivals," he said.

The tourism sector has been demanding an open skies policy allowing more foreign airlines to land in India as against the arrangement of reciprocal flights between Air India (AI) and foreign airlines which restricts the number of seats available to foreign tourists flying to India.

Outlining the ministry’s strategy to attract more international travellers to India, Sinha said it was launching a portal containing information on tourism sites in India and related data in different languages to tap the market abroad. The Tourism Ministry is sponsoring an international conference on "India: tourism and heritage -challenge 21" along with Confederation of Indian Industry scheduled for September 13 and 14, 2000 at Agra as part of its plans to raise international arrivals to 40 million by 2020.

At present, international tourist arrivals in India are only 2.4 million and india is 43rd on world list of international arrivals.

In his address, Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Ashok Yadav said UP State Government had launched a scheme entitled "discover your roots" for ethnic Indians settled in countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Kenya over several generations to visit India and trace their original villages and hometowns. (PTI)

SAD is playing second fiddle to BJP in Punjab: Tohra

Mr Tohra, who is president of the rival Sarab Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD), told journalists here today the BJP had succeeded in pushing its own agenda, "sidelining Sikh and Punjabi interests in numerous issues taken up by the SAD".

"Punjab CMief Minister Parkash Singh Badal succumbed to BJP pressure to abandon the Akali stand on the Udham Singh Nagar issue, reverse his Government’s decision to submit a memorandum to the constitution review panel and appoint a number of BJP men heads of several important city improvement trusts in the State," Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, SHSAD general secretary said.

Echoing Mr Chandumajra’s views, Mr Tohra said the development work of important cities of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bhatinda, Barnala and Batala had been virtually handed over to the BJP.

"The use of Hindi is now being preferred to the State’s official language Punjabi by most BJP office-bearers as one can, for instance, easily spot Hindi nameplates outside Amritsar Mayor’s and Improvement Trust chairman’s workplace," Mr Tohra said.

He alleged that the BJP wanted to rule Punjab not as natives of the State but as an extended arm of the Centre. "This perception made BJP Cabinet Ministers disagree with the Akali demand for more powers to States and federalising the country’s polity, forcing Mr Badal forgo his public commitment on presenting a memorandum on Constitution review on behalf of his Government."

in this connection, added mr chandumajra, the punjab government ‘’wasted a lot of funds and time on drafting the memorandum by an expert committee that held a series of meetings under the chairmanship of mr badal himself.’’

The Badal Government had also failed to pursue the Centre to announce a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy which should have been declared two months before at the time of the crop sowing.

Besides, the Centre had made no commitments to procure paddy from farmers in the State, but was rather "forcing private millers to purchase the produce from mandis despite the fact half of mills are already in the red,"he added. (UNI)

Calcutta civic body first to launch its own portal

CALCUTTA, Aug 24: Giving a gift to Calcuttans on the 311th birthday of the metropolis, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation today became the country’s first civic body to launch its own portal.

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who clickstarted the web portal calmanac.Org, hoped that it would bring garency in the Corporation’s functioning and improve the efficiency of the services rendered by the civic body.

"This project will cater to the need of the Calcuttans and increase the direct contact between the civic administration and the people," newly elected Mayor Subrata Mukherjee said.

The interacte portal, dubbed ‘the official site of the city of Calcutta’, contains a wealth of information about the Corporation and the metropolis and is divided into two distinct sections ‘calmanac’ and ‘calpedia’.

The section ‘calmanac’ provides useful information on the Corporation and its services. At the click of a mouse, citizens could now get printouts of forms for a host of services including payment of taxes, sanction of building plans and trade licences, as also registration of births and deaths.(PTI)

The other section ‘calpedia’ chronicles the history of the city and provides vital data on a host of topics including its heritage, tourist spots, cultural life, streets, details on emergency services, business houses, as also shops, hotels and restaurants.

Profiles of the city’s luminaries in various fields like sports, entertainment, arts and culture also find a place in the portal.

Now in English, the portal would soon offer a host of Bengali web pages, Corporation source said.

To make the benefits of the portal available to all Calcuttans, the civic body has joined hands with the Calcutta telephones in setting up seven calmanac acess centres at telephone exchanges across the city. More such centres are expected to open soon, the sources said.

Speaking on the occasion, Basu said the state Government was endeavouring to stimulate the Information Technology sector in a big way. "Facilities like e-Governance, e-Commerce, distance education have to be availed of," he added.

He said the state Government, which has already announced its IT policy, was now updating its web site.

Municipal Commissioner Asim Burman said following the launch of the portal, even non-resident Calcuttans would now be able to be in close touch with the city.(PTI)

Clearing Harike lake: A joint effort

FEROZEPUR, Aug 24: The army initiative to clean up the Harike lake in this border district of Punjab of water hyacinth, a major problem threatening its very existence, with the locals’ help is a fine example of what joint efforts can do towards ecology.

The lake at the confluence of Satluj and Beas rivers, which serves as a waterhead for the Indira Gandhi canal, has 80 per cent covered with deceptive free flowing water weed.

This raised the alarm bells for the Punjab Government, which requested the army to initiate steps to save the lake.

"Though we were contemplating action is this regard for quite some time, it was in march this year that we drew a comprehensive plan to check the hyacinth," says Lt Gen L M Tewari, Commander of the Project.

The lake, considered a wetland of international repute, had a total surface area of 86 sq kms, including 41 sq kms of open water, but over the years, its water area has been reduced to only 28 sq kms, due to a number of reasons, and 80 per cent of which is covered by hyacinth.

In the past, it used to be a favourite resort of the migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia, last winter only 8-10 per cent of the area was available for the winged visitors.

Harike, thus, was dying a slow death due to dwindling heronry, weed infestation, encroachments and siltation, till the initiative to restore it came.

Nobody is very sure when the water hyacinth entered the lake and grew to dangerous proportions.

Locals say it was perhaps from somewhere in South America that this plant was imported for beauty around the lake but subsequently spread into the waters.

The Vajra Corps of Army’s Western Command, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of guarding this border state, after scientific planning with the state’s Technology & Environment Dept, the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and other NGOs, began work on it in July.

The work, ‘Operation Sahyog’ was, however, formally inaugurated by the Punjab Governor Lt Gen JFR Jacob, and Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal.

The initial costs of the project estimated at Rs 75 lakh are to be met by the army, State Governments, Centre and a number of NGOs, for which the WWF is already making efforts.

The army has designed a variety of unique equipment to check the spread of this "deceptive weed".

The equipment designed by the engineers unit of the army, would be handed over to the Punjab Government, once the work at the lake is over successfully.

These equipments at a cost of about Rs 45 lakh, is used for segregating the hyacinth, then removing it and and finally lifting it out of water for disposal.

The Harike was declared a wetland in 1952, and was granted the status of a sanctuary in 1982, and further extended in 1992.

Harike, which never faced such a grave threat was given a lifespan of barely 80 years , given its present state, by experts.

The army with its "integrated management plan" has taken up the onerous task, and has in fact till now successfully cleared about five-six sq kms area also.

Giving details of the operation, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi GOC-in-C Western Command said, "we have taken up the task in two phases, first from August to November, then it will resume again in march to be completed till May. The intervening period will be for migratory birds to rest, roost and feed."

The scientific equipment innovated by the army, apart from cleaning up the lake of hyacinth, also do not allow its regrowth.

Since hyacinth is a free flowing plant without roots, can multiply within a fortnight and gains momentum with water currents and wind, the army is taking no chance and has designed "booms" to check its return. Infact the "dynamic booms", designed here, are unique and are being used for the first time in the world.

Booms are a strings of rope tied to wooden logs and rubber tubes which keep floating on water and prevent hyacinth movement.

The Punjab Technology and Environment Department, which is actively involved in the project is trying biological means also to destroy the weed.

"We intend to release about 58,000 weaver insects which can eat the leaves of the hyacinth", says principal secretary of the department Rajan Kashyap.

Hyacinth being the major problem is not the only one being faced by the lake, encroachment by the locals, fishing and poaching are also compounding matters.

The army has devised the method of social fencing to deal with the problem, which means making locals aware of the intensity of the problem and involving them in the process.

It has already yielded results with the main sevadar of the Gurudwara Isherdham Nanaksar in the lake complex, Baba Madho Singh coming forward to ensure local participation by "social fencing".

Impressed with the Baba’s effort, Chief Minister Badal has announced transfer of Gurudwara land being looked after by the Baba in his name.

The army helped by the locals is clearing about 500 tonnes of hyacinth from the lake. It estimated that not less than 50,000 tonnes of the weed float on the water body.

Its disposal is also a challenging task, though the state Governor has suggested its usage as a natural resource.

The army and the State Government are making efforts to see that the water going to Rajasthan canal is hyacinth free.

The Punjab Government has been assured help by the Australian Government and the World Bank also in this regard. (PTI)