Chunkey Pandey turns
hostile, Salman and Shah
Rukh discharged

MUMBAI, Nov 1: Film actor Chunkey Pandey, a key witness in Gulshan Kumar murder case, today turned hostile in the trial court following which two other bollywood stars, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, were discharged by the prosecution. ...more

HC reserves orders on
appeals filed by Jaya

CHENNAI, Nov 1: The Madras High Court today reserved its orders on appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and others against their convictions in two TANSI land deal cases. ....more

Make Chhattisgarh most prosperous state: Sonia

RAIPUR, Nov 1: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today urged the people of Chattisgarh to make all out efforts to turn the state into the most prosperous....more

Pak, POTO, Afghan, Ayodhya to dominate
BJP’s Amritsar meet

AMRITSAR, Nov 1: The two-day national executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party begins here tomorrow with a heavy agenda..more

SPECIAL REPORT
Mounting pressure on surface transport
Massive slump in air passenger traffic

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI: The pattern is disturbing. It is, in fact, so worrying that the . ....more

Make Chhattisgarh most prosperous state: Sonia

RAIPUR, Nov 1: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today urged the people of Chattisgarh to make all out efforts to turn the state into the most prosperous one in the country. .....more

Coastal belt of Orissa to
face more climatic hazards

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1: Environmentalists apprehend that coastal belt of Orissa will experience more climatic hazards including catastrophic oceanic cyclones accompanied by rise of sea level in the near future. .....more

Patnaik announces judicial inquiry into police firing

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced a judicial inquiry into Tuesday’s .....more
 

Chunkey Pandey turns hostile, Salman and Shah Rukh discharged

MUMBAI, Nov 1: Film actor Chunkey Pandey, a key witness in Gulshan Kumar murder case, today turned hostile in the trial court following which two other bollywood stars, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, were discharged by the prosecution.

In response to summons issued by Sessions Judge M L Tahilyani, Pandey and Salman Khan appeared before him to tender evidence. Pandey turned hostile while Salman was not examined by the prosecution thereafter. Shah Rukh Khan did not appear as he was busy with a professional assignment.

Pandey is the first witness in Gulshan Kumar murder case to turn hostile. The prosecution has examined so far 40 witnesses in the trial, which has reached its fag end.

The actor did not admit the conspiracy meeting of prime accused Abu Salem and music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee in his presence at Dubai before the murder of Gulshan Kumar.

He also denied that he had disclosed this incident to the police in September 1977 and added he could not assign any reason why police had recorded this information in his statement.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam declared Pandey hostile and subsequently cross-examined him. (PTI)

HC reserves orders on appeals filed by Jaya

CHENNAI, Nov 1: The Madras High Court today reserved its orders on appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and others against their convictions in two TANSI land deal cases.

The outcome of the appeals could well determine the political future of the AIADMK supremo.

After hearing extensive arguments, spread over 16 working days commencing from October one, from counsel for Jayalalithaa and those for the other accused and K V Venkatapathi special public prosecutor, Justice N Dinakar reserved his orders on the appeals and also on the one filed by the State Government challenging Special Judge P Anbazhagan’s acquittal of Jayalalithaa.

On September 20, Chief Justice B Subhashan Reddy had nominated Justice Dinakar to hear the appeals in keeping with a directive from the Supreme Court.

Jayalalithaa’s conviction in the cases had led to the Supreme Court, on September 21, setting aside her appointment as Chief Minister on the ground that a person convicted of criminal offences and sentenced to more than two years of imprisonment could not be appointed as Chief Minister.

She was sworn-in as Chief Minister on May 14, after her party had swept the May 10 Assembly polls.

The convictions had also barred her from contesting the polls under provisions of the represenation of the people act. On September seven, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice S P Bharucha had ordered that the appeals be heard afresh and asked Justice Reddy to nominate a judge to hear them.

The apex court orders had come in the wake of a petition filed by the special public prosecutor K V Venkatapathy, appointed by the High Court, who had alleged that he was not supplied with all documents and the atmosphere was such that he could not expect a fair hearing of the appeals.

Justice R Balasubramanian, who had commenced hearing of the appeals on August 27, was mid-way through when the highest court directed the appeals be heard by another judge.

On October nine last, special judge P Anbazhagan had found Jayalalithaa and Sasikala and others guilty of irregularities in the purchase of land and buildings of state-owned Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) by ‘Jaya Publications’ and ‘SASI Enterprises’ and sentenced them to three years RI and two years RI respectively.

Former TANSI CMD T R Srinivasan, former Rural Industries Minister Mohammad Asif, Deputy Collector (Stamps) S Nagarajan and R Karpoorasundarapandian, then Chief Minister’s Joint Secretary, were the others convicted in the case. Except for Mohammad Asif, the rest had also been convicted in the case pertaining to ‘SASI Enterprises. (PTI)

Make Chhattisgarh most prosperous state: Sonia

RAIPUR, Nov 1: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today urged the people of Chattisgarh to make all out efforts to turn the state into the most prosperous one in the country.

Reminding the people that the formation of the state this day last year was a "dream come true", she said they had a harder task ahead of developing it.

Come forward and make the state a most prosperous one, she exhorted the people as she inaugurated a function to mark the first foundation day of the state.

"The state has its own culture and tradition but it has a scope for further development", Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahay said on the occasion.

Chhattisgarh can look forward to a prosperous life due to its abundant mineral and rich human resources, Sahay added.

Presiding over the function at the police parade ground, Chief Minister Ajit Jogi said the over two crore people of the state wanted it to prosper and assured his Government’s allout co-operation in this regard.

Gandhi earlier planted a sapling in memory of her late husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Rajiv Smruti Van to launch the week-long celebrations. (PTI)

Pak, POTO, Afghan, Ayodhya to dominate BJP’s Amritsar meet

AMRITSAR, Nov 1: The two-day national executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party begins here tomorrow with a heavy agenda on its hands, including the loss of civilian lives in the continued bombing of Afghanistan, the war of words by Pakistan, the opposition to the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) and the Ayodhya issue.

The meeting to be attended by the top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee whose previous appearance at a party meeting was marred by controversy, will have to draw a line between the killings of innocent Afghani men, women and children and the need to harden the fight against international terrorism in the context of the terror export in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Vajpayee’s letter to the heads of states of 12 countries on the Afghan situation will come up for discussion at the conclave.

But a host of important domestic issues would seize the attention of the highest decision-making body of the BJP. The party will be called upon to find a strategy on the Ayodhya issue in the wake of the storming of the make-shift temple by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders.

With the winter session of Parliament less than three weeks away, the VHP’s threat to go ahead with the temple construction and the union Government’s resolve to maintain status quo till it was decided by the Supreme Court will come up for discussion as the party will have to clarify its stand before the crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh on which the survival of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre depends.

The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttaranchal also are to take a considerable amount of the national executive which will discuss among other issues the farmers’ issue, the Rajya Sabha domiciliary issue and the report of Shekhawat committee on agriculture reforms. The party strategy on POTO, which was described by Congress president Sonia Gandhi as "tantamount to the constitution", also will come up for discussion.

All these issues will be part of the political resolution the conclave would adopt at its meeting.

As the venue of the conclave is Amritsar and Assembly election is due in Punjab in February-March next year, the executive would like to send the right signals to the farmers by discussing the Shekhawat Committee report on agriculture. The committee has given suggestions to improve the lot of the farmers who were badly affected by the implications of the World Trade Organisation agenda. Punjab is the wheat basket of the country and farmers of the state have been suffering for want of buyers when the godowns are overflowing. Problems related to agriculture would dominate the economic agenda as it a burning problem faced by Punjab. The Shekhawat Committee has recommended cutting of costs of production and protection to traditional agriculture.

The tough stance of the Punjab Cabinet in questioning the rationale behind the signing the World Trade Organisation agreement and its intention to question it before the Supreme Court will be a dicy issue that too coming on the eve of the next WTO ministerial conference at Doha, Qatar.

Uttar Pradesh elections would undoubtedly be on the top of the agenda of the party which has already held a series of meetings to formulate its poll strategy. These meetings were preceded by the mass contact programme by six top BJP leaders including its president K Jana Krishnamurthi to know the minds of the grass-root level workers on the political situation. The meeting may finalise the pre-poll alliances.

New Uttranchal Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiari will brief the party about its prospects in the coming election in the hill state. The change of leadership in the state came just four months ahead of elections in order and was aimed at improving the party’s prospects.

The conclave will begin with the opening remarks by the party president and conclude on saturday with Mr Vajpayee’s remarks. Mr Vajpayee has been chosen deliberately on the concluding day to dispel impressions about the much-publicised "communication gap" between the party and the Government.

The Prime Minister, who leaves for Russia on Sunday, will seek the party’s approval of his agenda for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with US President George W Bush in Washington later next week.

Mr Vajpayee, along with other senior leaders like Home Minister L K Advani, Mr Shekhawat and former president Kushabhau Thakre, is also scheduled to address a BJP’s worker’s rally tomorrow. The party feels that it would tantamount to kicking off its campaign for the coming elections which it fights in alliance with the Akali Dal. (UNI)

SPECIAL REPORT
Mounting pressure on surface transport
Massive slump in air passenger traffic

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI: The pattern is disturbing. It is, in fact, so worrying that the entire airline industry is wondering whether the sceptre of September 11 attacks over New York and Washington will ever go away.

Statistics available with official agencies show that outward traffic from India has gone down substantially. Most Indians appear to have switched back to trains and long-route buses.

Why all this? A reply to this question is nor far to seek. The fear of flying, that emerged at the sight of passenger aircraft slamming into buildings, has evidently done the damage. And while railways have registered a substantial upsurge in bookings even for long distance, flights, both domestic and international, are having one of the most horrifying times in recent years.

The tourism industry, which had hoped that the fear psychosis will die out in time for the Indian tourist season to start, now hope that the railways will come to their rescue in terms of getting people around. The decreased load factor has been talked about since September 11, but the fear of flying and economic regression of airlines operating multiple flights are spelling doom for the industry.

Around 55,000 passengers boarded 342 flights from the Indira Gandhi International Airport on international sectors between September 1 and September 10. The maximum load factor for these flights would be around 79,000. And this was in good times.

In stark contrast, 10 days after terror struck the United States, the numbers that left Delhi for trips abroad plummeted. Between September 21 and 30 the number of people that flew off came down to 40,000 and that too in 375 flights. In normal circumstances, some 90,000 people would have flown out of Delhi during this period.

More than 50 days have rolled by since America was struck by terrorist attacks. But the situation is hardly one that raises hopes. The number of flights, it is officially admitted, has gone down considerably as international airlines have decided that they cannot sustain the losses and cut frequencies while the number of passengers continues to be low.

Just 230 flight have flown off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport between October 20 and 31. And the number of passengers who flew out was a dismal 29,350. There are also reports that speak of flights taking off from New Delhi with a load as low as 30-odd passengers on an aircraft designed to carry 300 passengers.

The world’s best-known airlines are still cutting flights because of the huge costs of security and insurance which are just not compatible with the sudden drop in load factor. Lufthansa German Airlines has been reported to have revealed that owing to present economic conditions and the sustained drop in demand, it is scratching more of its flight schedules from the coming winter timetable. The airline is thereby reducing its capacity by a total of 43 aircraft.

Similar decisions are said to have been taken by other international airlines. Singapore Airlines has been forced to cut its flights since the bookings have declined, while costs in particular insurance premiums and security cost have sharply increased. Incidentally, an insurance surcharge of 5 dollars per passenger is being levied on all services.

The Royal Dutch Airlines KLM has also reckoned that capacity had declined by 24 per cent in the days after September 11. And while it lifted again subsequently, the load factor remained substantially lower than normal. KLM is calculating a drop in its load factor to 76 per cent from over 82 per cent last year during September-October.

United Airlines and North West have already taken Delhi off their list and Swissair and Virgin are hinting at the same eventuality. The big ones like Lufthansa and British Airways are said to be facing serious resource crunch.

Make Chhattisgarh most prosperous state: Sonia

RAIPUR, Nov 1: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today urged the people of Chattisgarh to make all out efforts to turn the state into the most prosperous one in the country.

Reminding the people that the formation of the state this day last year was a "dream come true", she said they had a harder task ahead of developing it.

Come forward and make the state a most prosperous one, she exhorted the people as she inaugurated a function to mark the first foundation day of the state.

"The state has its own culture and tradition but it has a scope for further development", Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahay said on the occasion.

Chhattisgarh can look forward to a prosperous life due to its abundant mineral and rich human resources, Sahay added.

Presiding over the function at the police parade ground, Chief Minister Ajit Jogi said the over two crore people of the state wanted it to prosper and assured his Government’s allout co-operation in this regard.

Gandhi earlier planted a sapling in memory of her late husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Rajiv Smruti Van to launch the week-long celebrations. (PTI)

Coastal belt of Orissa to face more climatic hazards

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1: Environmentalists apprehend that coastal belt of Orissa will experience more climatic hazards including catastrophic oceanic cyclones accompanied by rise of sea level in the near future.

Such climatic hazards will cause submergence of many coastal villages as witnessed in the past, more particularly the October 29, 1999, super cyclone which ravaged the entire coast rendering lakhs of people homeless, according to environmentalists.

In a research paper presented at the ongoing national workshop here on ‘mangrove conservation and restoration’, Dr B P Choudhary, a retired Professor of Botany, Utkal University, has warned that the disappearance of mangroves has become a causative factor for a number of environmental hazards, severely affecting life in various forms and devastating cash crops.

The scientist said during the last 80 years the number and effects of cyclones have considerably increased in the coastal belt of the state owing to widespread destruction of mangrove forests.

Dr Choudhary said from the statistical record it has been found that Orissa’s coastal regions have experienced at least four major oceanic cyclones during 1960-85. The inhabitants had experienced the severity of the cyclones wherever the mangrove trees had been destroyed to meet human needs, he said.

Dr Choudhary said of the 32 major forest types within the geographical boundary of Orissa, Mangrove in the Estuarian regions and littoral forests in the sandy sea shore deserve special mention since they play a pivotal role in maintaining the environmental equilibrium in the 480 km long sea coast.

He said there are controversies regarding the mangrove spread in orissa but whatever may be the cause of such anomaly, one could not deny that the mangroves in Orissa are disappearing at an alarming rate.

This is largely due to the reclamation of mangrove forest land for paddy cultivation, prawn culture, establishment of port and factories, deforestation for human settlement and over exploitation of economically important mangrove to meet the ever increasing human greed.

The gregarious and luxuriant mangroves of orissa are now confined to Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary only and partly in Paradeep-Hukitola terrian while some remains are found within the estuaries of Budhabalang, Devi and Jumbu rivers.

Dr Choudhary said soil erosion in Mahanadi Delta in general and Paradeep Port region in particular is a matter of concern. So also is the case of Hukitola island and the false point where erosions had been taking place constantly since 1960 largely due to the depletion of mangrove vegetation in the coastal zone.

Dr Choudhury said in 1978 between February and May, the wind velocity in the coastal tracts of Cuttack district was recorded very high associated with hail stones while in June 1992, the wind velocity was 220 kmph which brought wide spread devastation in as many as 6700 villages.

The maximum wind speed recorded at false point near Paradeep Port was 250 kmph during the cyclone of 1985. The water level in Kathjori river raised upto 8.63 meter.

He said during 1963-92 more than ten thousand people belonging to Rajnagar, Marshaghai, Mahakalpada and Patkura block died in Oceanic cyclones.

The scientist said significantly the Gopalpur and Paradeep regions have been experiencing heavy oceanic cyclones since 1960 when mangrove were cleared up in Madhuban-Gangolia complex for establishment of Paradeep Port and Paradeep phosphate factory.

He regretted that the mangroves in Mahanadi Delta regions are still subjected to various types of biotic interference such as reclamation of forest land for paddy cultivation, settlement for the immigrants, prawn culture and establishment of factories.

As a result the mangroves were now found in highly degraded state while those in the estuaries were almost on the verge of disaapearance, he said.

According to Orissa Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) S K Pattnaik, nature had placed mangroves in those areas prone to cyclones and tidal surges as they act as a natural green barrier or natural cyclone shelter belt against devastating natural calamities.

But wherever mangroves have been degraded for example Kujang Coast and Paradeep, enormous loss of lives and properties have occured, he remarked.

The Chief Conservator said although the coastal zones had been experiencing frequent cyclones of different magnitude each year, the October 29, 1999, super cyclone destroyed the very base on which the state’s economy depended.

Mr Pattnaik said as per the latest report Orissa was now left with mangroves covering 215 sq kms and there has been a loss of over 20 sq kms of mnangrove forest during the last three decades. He said it was high time that both the state and the Central Governments took immediate measures to protect, conserve and regenerate the mangroves.

"Time has come to put a ‘price tag’ on the existing wealth of mangroves in the state so that the lost glory of Orissa mangroves could be restored to prevent the calamities originating from the sea," Mr Pattnaik said.

Dr Choudhury said the conservation of the mangrove vegetation is the need of the hour for the coastal environment. He suggested that germ plasm bank should be established for the rare and threatened texa and rehabilitation of mangrove in the denuded areas could be attempted as successfully happened in South of Ho Chi Minh city of Vietnam, to save the coastal region from the fury of the oceanic cyclones in future. (UNI)

Patnaik announces judicial inquiry into police firing

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 1: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced a judicial inquiry into Tuesday’s police firing at Rengabhati village under Raighar Police Station in Nabarangpur district.

At least three tribals were killed and 15 injured when police opened fire to disperse a tribal mob, armed with bows and arrows, which attempted to attack Bengali settlers in the village.

The Chief Minister, who had earlier announced that the State Government would bear all medical expenses of the tribals injured in the police firing, ordered an ex-gratia of Rs.1 lakh to the next of the kin of the victims killed in police action.

Mr Patnaik made the announcement after holding a discussion with a three-member ministerial team which toured Raighar block yesterday to make an on-the- spot investigation into the incident.

The Chief Minister said the judicial inquiry would be conducted by a sitting judge of Orissa High Court.

State Revenue Minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, State Tribal Welfare Minister Mangala Kissan and Minister of State for Food Supply and Consumer Affairs Rabi Narayan Nanda had visited the Raighar block to get first hand information about the incident.

Sources said the ministers could not enter the villages as the tribals blocked the road by cutting down big trees protesting against the police firing.

At least eleven platoons of Orissa State Armed Police had been deployed in the Raighar Police Station area and senior police officials were camping since October 30 last in view of tension prevailing in the area following the clash between the police and the tribals.

Official sources said eight policemen were also injured in the incident as the armed tribals attacked them after they were prevented from setting afire the houses of Bengali settlers.

The Raighar area has been witnessing frequent clashes between the tribals and Bengali settlers over raising of crops on the disputed land.

This is the second incident in Orissa when the BJD-BJP coalition Government had ordered judicial inquiry into police firing on the tribals. Earlier, the Government had ordered a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of Orissa High Court when four tribals were killed in police firing at Maikanch village in Rayagada district on December 16.

The authority has clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 cr p c in the entire Raighar Police Station area to prevent any further law and order problem.

State Director General of Police N C Padhi said the situation in the area was tense but under control. All the tribals injured in police firing had been admitted to Koraput hospital.

The police have so far arrested three tribal leaders who led the procession to the Rengabhati village to attack Bengali settlers. The tribals had earlier threatened the Bengalis not to cut the crops cultivated on the disputed land.

Meanwhile, State Revenue Minister B B Harichandan, who led a three-member ministerial team to the troubled village yesterday, told newsmen here today that appropriate measures would be taken against the guilty.

He said the district administration has been asked to take firm action against land encroachers. The ministerial team would submit a detailed report on the incident to the Chief Minister.

Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief Sarat Pattnaik has also asked a five-member Congress team headed by former Minister Bhagbat Mahanty to rush to the village to collect all details about the police action on the tribals.

The Orissa Janata Dal (Secular) has condemned the police firing on the innocent tribals and accused the Government of handling the economic issue of the tribals lightly. (UNI)

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