A year in which script kept changing in TN

CHENNAI, Dec 29: The script, in cinema-loving Tamil Nadu, seemed to be favouring the then Chief Minister M Karunandihi of the DMK at the beginning of the year with his arch rival J Jayalalitha enmeshed in several corruption cases.

However, like all good screenplays, it took a sudden twist and jayalalitha coasted to power at the helm of her All India Anna DMK (AIADMK) party worsting Karunandihi’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) at the Assembly elections. This was despite the fact that Jayalalithaa, having been convicted in one of the cases, was barred by returning officers from filing her nomination papers from as many as four constituencies.

Jaya was unanimously elected as the legislative party leader of the AIADMK and became the Chief Minister, five years after being voted out of power.

The next turn in the plot was when she was forced to step down following the Supreme Court invalidating her appointment. Mr O Paneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister. He declared that he would hold the post only till such time that ‘Amma’ returns.

Now, she has cleared the last legal hurdle towards regaining the post when a special court acquitted her on Thursday in the multi-crore coal import scam case holding that the charges against her and nine others were "very fragile" and "pointed fingers at none."

The acquittal, only weeks after similar judgements on the TANSI land deal and pleasant stay hotel cases, has come as a morale booster for the ruling AIADMK, which would in all probability be fielding Ms Jayalalithaa as its candidate for the February 21 Assembly by-election in Andipatti constituency.

Meanwhile, all is not lost for the DMK as the party regained much of the lost ground in the local body polls.

Earlier, after assuming the reins of the Government, she lost no time in going after Mr Karunanidhi on the same issue of corruption. One of the first decisions he had taken after assuming office in 1996 was to arrest Ms Jayalalithaa.

Karunanidhi was arrested on June 30 night in connection with a 12 crore flyover scam. His son and Chennai Mayor, M K Stalin, who was also accused in the case surrendered in court. Karunanidhi was shown being dragged, screaming and kicking, out of his residence by a private TV channel.

The subsequent arrest of Central Ministers Murasoli Maran and T R Baalu for obstructing the police from taking Mr Karunanidhi away provoked a Centre-state confrontation.

The Centre demanded transfer of three police officers— Chennai Police Commissioner K Muthukaruppan, Joint Commissioner (Central) S George and Deputy Commissioner (Ticplicane) Christopher Nelson—but the state rescued to relieve them to take up their new assignments in the Cabinet Secretariat in New Delhi. The officers also approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Tamil Nadu, seeking the quashing of transfers.

In other incidents, as many as 28 mentally challenged inmates were burnt alive when a fire broke out at an asylum in Yerwadi. The fact that the unfortunate victims were chained and hence could not escape caused nationwide revulsion and concern at the manner in which the disabled were being treated in the county.

A blast in a state-owned factory at Katpadi killed 25 people while several incidents of illicit liquor claimed nearly 100 victims during the year.

The death of Ramesh, a confidant of Mr Stalin, his wife and three daughters shocked the city. Police initially described it as a suicide case but later began considering the possibility of murder. During the year, the state lost political veteran and Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) president G K Moopanar, thespian Shivaji Ganesan and Indian National League general secretary M A Latheef.

Dalit leader and Puthiya Tamizhagam president Dr K Krishnasamy was arrested on murder charges. He had till then managed to remain free despite a court warrant for non-bailable arrest in two murder cases.

The year saw the formation of political alliances and subsequent break-ups. The AIADMK and the Congress fought the Assembly election as allies. The Congress drifted away from the AIADMK in the local body poll forming a third front and is now gravitating towards the DMK.

The TMC, an ally of the AIADMK, is now uncertain about its own future. It has so far rejected overtures from the Congress for merger. But the party is critical of the AIADMK on certain issues such as the reinstallation of the statue of the mythical Kannagi.

Mr Moopanar was one of the two trustees of the TNCC trust which controls properties worth over Rs 100 crore. As the party was collecting the ashes of Mr Moopanar, Congress president Sonia Gandhi appointed five new members to the trust virtually taking away the TMC’s hold over it.

The media took the issue to the Human Rights Commission and the Press Council and now want a CBI probe into the assault on the media personnel.

Two heads of the Police Department as also two city police commissioners were shifted during the year. Mr Ravindranath, the second DGP to be replaced, was also placed under suspension. The elusive brigand Veerappan who has killed over 100 people and over 2000 elephants still rules the forest out of the reach of the combined force of the Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka Police.

The Border Security Force deployed during the year to hunt for Veerappan left the forest to guard India’s borders again after drawing a blank.

The brigand made another unsuccessful offer for a negotiated surrender during the year. The arrest of Nakkeeran journalist Sivasubramanian evoked a mild protest from the media initially. The Karnataka Police stated that Sivasubramanian had a role in the abduction of Dr Rajkumar last year.

The magazine editor Nakkeeran Gopal himself had obtained anticipatory bail from Madras High Court fearing arrest in connection with the abduction episode. Gopal was one of the Government mediators to get Rajkumar released.

The State Government has recommended to the Centre to ban the TNLA and TNRT both of which were linked to the forest brigand. The TNLA had sent an e-mail to the police and the media threatening to assassinate Ms Jayalalitha in court premises.

Underworld gangsters linked to Chotta Shakeel were arrested from the outskirts of the city and whisked away to Mumbai. Two functionaries of the Student’s Islamic Movement were also detained.

The Dravida Kazhagam, said to be pro LTTE and supporting the AIADMK found itself at the receiving end when the Periyar centre in Delhi was demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) without warning. The centre was built without proper sanction in an area earmarked for another purpose according to DK’s critics.

The city received copious rain easing the drinking water shortage as the year came to a close. People jokingly say that it is the rain god shedding tears over the Kannagi statue removal.

However, for the political parties starved of issues, the statue provided an almost god-sent opportunity. In the Tamil classic ‘Silapathikaram’, the heroine Kannagi’s rage at the unjust killing of her innocent husband by the Pandya king had reduced the city of Madurai to ashes. (UNI)

One third of farm animal breeds face extinction

NEW DELHI, Dec 29: Every week, the world loses two of its valuable domestic animal breeds, according to estimates just published in the 3rd edition of the world watch list for domestic animal diversity.

The publication, issued by the FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme, results from ten years of data collection in 170 countries, covering 6 500 breeds of domesticated mammals and birds: goat, sheep, buffalo, yak, pig, horse, rabbit, chicken, turkey, duck, geese, pigeon and even ostrich.

In the past 100 years, we have already lost about 1,000 breeds, says Keith Hammond, senior officer of FAO’s animal genetic resources group. Our new findings show that domestic animal breeds continue to be in danger: One third are currently at risk of extinction.

Domestic farm animals are crucial for food and agriculture, providing 30 to 40 percent of the agricultural sector’s global economic value. Around 2 billion people — one third of the global population — depend at least partly on farm animals for their livelihoods. Meat, milk and egg production will need to more than double over the next 20 years to feed the growing world population.

The fao global databank for farm animal genetic resources contains information on 6,379 breeds within 30 mammalian and bird species. Data on population size are available for 4,183 breeds. Already, 740 breeds are recorded as extinct, and 1,335, or 32 percent, are classified at high risk of loss and under threat of extinction.

These are conservative figures, says Mr Hammond. Since 1995, the number of mammalian breeds at risk of extinction has risen from 23 to 35 percent. The situation facing bird breeds is even more serious. The total percentage of breeds at risk of loss increased from 51 percent in 1995 to 63 percent in 1999.

Without adequate action, more than 2,000 domestic animal breeds could be lost within the next two decades. Domestic animal diversity is unique and cannot be replaced. As much as novel biotechnology may attempt to improve breeds, it is not possible to replace lost diversity , says Mr Hammond. Extinction is forever. Biotechnology will not be able to regenerate breeds if they are lost.

The greatest threat to domestic animal diversity is the export of animals from developed to developing countries, which often leads to crossbreeding or even replacement of local breeds. In developing countries, breeds from the industrialized world are considered more productive. The problem, however, is that these animals are only suited to conditions of the countries they come from they can hardly survive under the often harsh environment of developing countries.

Estimates indicate that 4 000 of the world’s remaining breeds are still popular with farmers, but only about 400 are the subject of breeding programmes — almost all of them in developed countries, says Mr Hammond.

In many countries, there are also no market incentives for farmers to use local breeds. Despite their advantages, these breeds have a negative image because they are not considered as productive as those from developed countries. As a result, they are economically undervalued.

Many developing countries have hot, stressful climates, either dry or humid, that require particular breeds, says Mr Hammond. We need to maintain those local breeds. This allows farmers to select stocks or develop new breeds in response to environmental change, diseases and changing consumer demands. Genetic diversity is insurance against future challenges and threats such as famine, drought and epidemics.

Using as many different breeds as possible is likely to be the most cost-effective way of conserving and developing the animal gene pool for the future. Sustainable development and conservation are critical elements of the FAO’s global strategy for the management of farm animal genetic resources. The FAO is now embarking on a major five-year project that will assist countries to evaluate the state of their farm animal genetic resources.

The following breeds are at risk of being lost:

In Madagascar, the renitelo cattle is nearly extinct. It is particularly well adapted to the different climate zones in Madagascar and provides meat and draught power.

Another breed facing extinction is the chiapas sheep in Mexico where it has been reared for almost 500 years in the highlands of the state of chiapas. Indigenous women produce wool for their clothing and for sale. Sheep are considered sacred, and people do not consume lamb or mutton.

In Vietnam, the importance of H’Mong cattle was only discovered in 1997. For many years, these animals have been kept isolated. The breed is very well adapted to mountain regions up to 3,000 meters. The current population is estimated at 14,000 cattle.

In Germany, the hinterwdlder rind cattle, found primarily in the black forest, is endangered. It is very robust and highly fertile. In the Russian Federation, the yakut cattle is adapted to the freezing climate in Siberia. Its numbers are estimated to be less than 1,000. (UNI)