Excelsior... Nation

K P S Gill

Gill flays pol leadership

JALANDHAR, May 28: Former Punjab police chief K P S Gill has said that the political leadership .....more

VHP leader, 4 injured
in bomb attack

AYODHYA (UP), May 28: VHP leader and vice-president of Ram Janambhoomi Trust......more

National Research Centre
to come up at Muzaffarpur

NEW DELHI, May 28: With a view to promoting litchi research and production......more

Has the magic
bullet arrived?

HYDERABAD, May 28: Indian cancer researchers have taken a giant step on the road to discovering .....more

Delhi HC accepts
unconditional apology
of ‘Wah India’ editor

Workshop on sexual
harassment at
workplace organised

MUMBAI, May 28: When a female employee with Air India was subjected to harassment by her male....more

Girls outshine boys,
CBSE’s pass percentage
decreases

NEW DELHI, May 28: Girls outshone boys once again in this year’s Central Board of Secondary .....more

RSS says no harm
in talking to
Musharraf

NEW DELHI, May 28: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) today said there was no harm in.....more

Gill flays pol leadership

JALANDHAR, May 28: Former Punjab police chief K P S Gill has said that the political leadership has forgotten the brave Punjab police personnel who fought terrorism to bring normalcy back to the state.

Speaking at the 85th Shaheed Parivar Fund function yesterday here, Mr Gill said that instead of paying tributes to the martyred policemen, politicians were talking about Jarnail Singh Bhinderwala and other slain terrorists.

Mr Gill said that instead of talking about Bhinderwala and others, politicians should help those policemen who are either behind bars or are fighting judicial cases pertaining to the period of terrorism.

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that a terrorist had no religion and all acts of terrorism must condemned. He said that the very same nations who had criticised India after the Pokhran tests, have now accepted India as a major power. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta hoped Pakistan would respond positively to the peace initiative taken by India.

Tributes were paid to Lala Jagat Narain, founder of the Hind Samachar Group and Mr Ramesh Chander, both of whom fell to terrorists’ bullets. On the occasion Rs 13.15 lakh worth unit trust bonds were distributed amongst terrorist effected families. (UNI)

VHP leader, 4 injured in bomb attack

AYODHYA (UP), May 28: VHP leader and vice-president of Ram Janambhoomi Trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, and four others were injured in a bomb attack early today at Ahilya Ghat on the bank of Saryu River, VHP sources said.

Mahant Gopal das along with six disciples and his private securitymen was going for a bath in the river when a group of five unidentified persons surrounded them and hurled bombs at about 0510 hours, they said.

The miscreants escaped after the attack.

The Mahant, hit by splinters in his legs and back, was admitted in the Faizabad District Hospital and stated to be out of danger, they said.

The other persons injured in the attack, including one of his securitymen, were admitted to the hospital.

Meanwhile, VHP senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore, who is in Guwahati, condemned the attack describing it as a "dastardly act".

The district president of VHP, Bhagwan Jaiswal, alleged it was the "handiwork of ISI agents active in Ayodhya" and demanded security for all prominent trustees of Ram Janambhoomi Trust.

Media incharge of VHP Sharad Sharma said it was the second attack on a VHP leader in a year and demanded restoration of security to Nritya Gopal Das, which was withdrawn by the Government on May 10.

Another VHP leader, Mahant Ram Chandra Paramhansa, had been the target of attack at Faizabad District Hospital in May last year. (PTI)

National Research Centre to come up at Muzaffarpur

NEW DELHI, May 28: With a view to promoting litchi research and production in the country, the Central Government is setting up a National Research Centre at Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

Union Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to lay the foundation stone when he visits there in the first week of June.

Besides, the Directorate of Extension, Ministry of Agriculture, with its counterpart in Bihar is organising an All India Litchi Show at Hazipur from June five to seven.

The directorate has been organising such shows focussing on agriculture, in various parts of the country since 1955.

The organisers are showcasing various type of litchi as they feel there is a good potential for its cultivation in the country, which also happens to be the largest market.

"The purpose of the litchi show is to expose farmers to newer and better varieties and technologies so they can adopt these for better yields," Farm Information Director Y R Meena said.

The succulent fruit, which is very much a part of Indian homes in summer, is not native to India. It originated in South China, where it is known as ‘Li Chih’, and was introduced in India in the 18th century through Myanmar.

Litchi (litchi chinensis sonn), is an evergreen fruit tree of the family spindaceae. China is the largest producer, followed by India, Thailand, Australia and Vietnam. In fact, the Asia-pacific region accounts for 95 per cent of the world’s production. South Africa, Madagascar, and florida in the United States are some other areas where litchis are cultivated.

The show is open to Government as well as private growers. There will also be a competition in various varieties of litchi and litchi products between the growers, with the best ones being awarded. The private participants include Kissan, Maggi, Pachranga and others. The judges include scientists from Indian Council of Agricultural Research and State Agricultural Universities, senior Government officials and some retired Government officers.

The show will also host a seminar where experts would elaborate upon the latest developments in the field and answer questions by farmers pertaining to difficulties they face in various spheres.

"The show will provide a common platform to farmers and experts to discuss their problems and see the various varieties on the spot," said Farm Information Joint Director A N Rai.

In India, the commercial litchi producing states are Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab. Of these, Bihar contributes 74 per cent of total production.

However, Horticulture Commissioner H P Singh said, "the harvesting period can be extended by two to three months as it can be grown in different zones of the country according to climatic variability."

Litchi has various varieties like Shahi, Chiana, Dehra Rose, Bedana, Longia, Mandraji, Elaichi, Calcuttia and Kalyani. Besides the juicy fruit, the various products obtained include squash and juice, canned litchi, litchi fig or nut (dried litchi), and litchi pickle.

Though India exports Litchi and its various products, there is little incentive to export the juicy fruit as the domestic market is very large, Mr Singh added. (UNI)

Has the magic bullet arrived?

HYDERABAD, May 28: Indian cancer researchers have taken a giant step on the road to discovering the ultimate cancer cure by developing a drug that selectively targets the cancer cells without harming the healthy ones.

Researchers in Kolkata claim that patients in ‘very advanced stages’ of cancer for whom all other treatments had failed have been brought back to ‘excellent’ health with the help of a drug formulation they have developed after research spanning more than a decade.

‘We have what we think magic bullet against cancer’, says Manju Ray, a biochemist at the Indian Association of the Cultivation of Science (IACS) where the drug was developed under a project funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Most currently available anti-cancer drugs are toxic because they also damage the normal cells. Ray says the iacs formulation, containing ‘methylglyoxal’ as the lead ingredient, combats only the diseased cells, the cherished goal of cancer researchers worldwide. Methylglyoxal is a metabolite in the human body produced during glucose breakdown.

Others involved in the project are Swapna Ghosh of IACS, Manoj Kar and Subhankar Ray of the University College of Science, and Santajit Datta, a medical practitioner. Results of human trial conducted by them with the new drug have recently appeared in the Indian Journal of Physics. (PTI)

Delhi HC accepts unconditional apology
of ‘Wah India’ editor

NEW DELHI, May 28: The Delhi High Court in a 3-2 split decision today accepted the unconditional and unqualified apology of newsmagazine ‘Wah India’ editor Madhu Trehan, its publisher and three journalists for committing the contempt of court by grading the High Court judges on the basis of their integrity and other qualities.

While Chief Justice Arijit Passayat, Justice Arun Kumar and Justice D K Jain accepted the apology saying that they did want to be seen as "vindictive", Justice Anil Dev Singh and Justice O P Dwivedi of the five judge bench differed on the issue saying that action should be taken against the contemnor as they had cast serious aspersions on the judiciary.

However, the bench was unanimous in its opinion that Wah India magazine in its April 16 issue had cast serious aspersions and doubt on the integrity of the judges and caused great harm to the institution of judiciary.

Stating that freedom of the press did not allow media to indulge in "reckless" reporting on any issue especially on the institution of judiciary, the bench said "prima facie the respondents had committed contempt of court".

"It has caused serious aspersions on the integrity of judges", the bench said.

Any imputations like this against the judiciary is likely to be believed by the commonman in the streets and would cause serious damage to the judiciary and disposal of justice.

The editor of the magazine was directed to publish the unconditional and unqualified apology in five leading national dailies within two weeks and submit copies of the same to the court within three days of doing so, it said.

Failing this, the court will put up the case for further hearing, the majority judgement said. (PTI)

Workshop on sexual harassment at workplace organised

MUMBAI, May 28: When a female employee with Air India was subjected to harassment by her male colleagues, she was perplexed at her next step. She decided to fight it out and complained to the higher authorities. But to her surprise, instead of punishing the defaulters, she herself was transferred to another department and the matter was hushed up.

So, when the women, at a workshop on ‘sexual harassment at workplace’ held recently at the old airport complex of Air India, demanded that such workshops were more necessary for men than women, it did not remain a laughing matter any more, and the point was accepted by all present on the occasion.

Sexual harassment at workplace is not new to women and the workshop dealt mainly with the ways and means to curb and fight against it and to enlighten women on their rights in case they face such incidents.

Inspector Shirish Inamdar, Social Welfare Department of Mumbai Police, pointed out that most of the women are not aware of what amounts to sexual harassment and hence, are unaware of their rights and steps to take in such cases.

"The apex court in its 1993 ruling has pointed out that there is no adequate law to protect women at workplace, which is very true," he said and added that even though the supreme court has stated certain guidelines to follow in sexual harassment cases, nothing has been done so far in this direction.

"We receive nearly 8,000 cases every month in our department, regarding problems at home, but sexual harassment cases are comparatively less may be because in 99 percent of the cases the woman is not supported by her family," he lamented.

Mr Inamdar said that our culture glorifies women as an epitome of ‘Shakti’(power) and ‘Kshyama’(forgiveness), but in reality she is viewed as only a commodity. "We are not ready to give her freedom and status of a human being, while we expect our wives to earn for the household," he pointed out.

He stressed the need for appropriate working conditions for women and setting up of representative bodies which can cater to the complaints of sexual harassment of women employees. "These bodies should be headed by a women, must have 60 per cent women representatives and that too from the employees section," he said.

He was piqued by the fact that most of the workplaces do not offer the luxury of a separate toilet facility to women which also amounts to sexual harassment, especially at places where the women work in shifts.

Indian Police Service Officer, Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya, said that the abuse should be opposed every time it happens. "If it goes unattended, it becomes all the more difficult to resist the harassment next time around," she pointed out.

She lamented that the learned men of the past including Manu and Tulsidas have themselves advocated a lower status for a woman than a man. "Dhol, Pashu Aur Nari, Teeno Taaran Ke Adhikari (drums, animal and women are supposed to be beaten), were the words of Tulsidas, which should be condemned," she said and stressed on the need to empower women with the development of brain.

During discussions, most of the cases which came to the light were those of harassment by male colleagues, who roam scot-free while the victims are punished. A telephone operator of Air India, fed-up with obscene inter-office phone calls, complained to the higher-ups but was disappointed to know that three months after the complaint, the authorities could not even trace the caller.

Noted social worker Kalindi Muzumder also shared her experiences and guided the women to come to a social organisation if all attempts to get justice from the management fail. "There are many women’s organisations in the city to listen to the grievances of the women and guide and fight for them," she said and urged the women to approach the police or these organisations as a last resort.

Ms Choudhary-Bhattacharya said that the women should be given a chance to prove their worth and should be provided with stability, which has been denied so far. "The change will happen only when the society comes together," she pointed out. "Gender should not be an issue," she concluded. (UNI)

Girls outshine boys, CBSE’s pass percentage decreases

NEW DELHI, May 28: Girls outshone boys once again in this year’s Central Board of Secondary Education Class XII examinations even as the overall pass percentage showed a decrease as compared with last year.

Announcing the results here, CBSE Chairman Ashok Ganguly said the reason for the 1.15 per cent decrease in the total pass percentage this year was due to lower pass percentage in the Government and private schools.

"Girls had a pass percentage of 80.22 compared to boys’ 71.42," he said adding that pass percentage of regular students was placed at 79.69 as compared to 32.83 of private and Patrachar candidates.

Ganguly said that the overall pass percentage of Chennai region was at 87.32, which was the highest as compared to other regions.

A total of 2,98,063 students appeared for the Class XII examination this year, an increase of about 7.7 per cent candidates over that of last year.

Giving reasons for the lower pass percentage, Ganguly said "private/patrachar schools showed a four per cent decrease, and the independent (schools affiliated to cbse) 1.9 per cent. But the main reason for the fall is the 138 schools newly affiliated to cbse. We need to concentrate on these schools for better quality education. The Government schools’ performance also went down by two per cent largely due to an increase of about 4000 students."

Ganguly expressed concern over the increase in use of "unfair means" in examinations. "There were a total number of 115 cases as against the previous year’s 44. This year too Delhi had the maximum number of 79 followed by Allahabad with 11," he said.

The results were made available on internet for the individual candidates also, apart from them being e-mailed to schools, he said.

"Last night, we had 6,000 hits per second and by this morning the figure had touched 25,000. Last year, when this was introduced for the first time, the total was 1.5 crore hits. We are making efforts to make the results error-free with multiple checking at various stages," he said.

Regarding verification of marks, the Board chief said the applications must reach the respective offices within 25 days.

"We have reduced it to 25 from 30 days to enable students to apply to colleges as early as possible," he said.

Ganguly said the highest marks of 487 out of 500 were scored by a Chennai student while the topper from Delhi scored 481.

On subject-wise performance, he singled out maths, which had 167 students scoring full marks as against last year’s 77.

Class X results have already been declared for four regions, Ganguly said adding for the rest these would be announced on May 31. (PTI)