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Laloo predicts hung PATNA, Feb 7: RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav today predicted a hung Assembly after the elections in Uttar Pradesh but expressed confidence that ....more Andipatti:
Pauper ANDIPATTI (TAMIL NADU), Feb 7: If you vote for Jayalalithaa, Andipatti (Pauper village) will turn into "Arasipatti" (queen’s village). ....more INSAT-3C
in final BANGALORE, Feb 7: India’s INSAT-3C communication satellite has been successfully placed in its geo-stationary orbit, Indian Space Research ...more Salary
increases NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Despite the gloomy global economic outlook, salary increases in India are expected to remain fairly stable this year, according to ......more |
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Nasik gears up for NASIK, Feb 7:As many as 728 candidates including those of Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena (SS), BJP, RPI and Hindu Ekata Party and independents . ......more ‘A
life in dance: MUMBAI, Feb 7: "A life in dance", an hour-long documentary on noted dancer Daksha Seth, is the debut of 25-year-old Antara Kak as a film....more New
system of Police BHOPAL, Feb 7: The new system of Police Commissioner is likely to be introduced in the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh, Indore, from April. .....more ‘Wearing
the face’ gets MUMBAI, Feb 7: "Wearing the face", a 15 minute film by Joshy Joseph probes the truth behind the masked faces of the Manipuri rickshaw . .....more |
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Laloo predicts hung Assembly in UP PATNA, Feb 7: RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav today predicted a hung Assembly after the elections in Uttar Pradesh but expressed confidence that a secular dispensation would replace the communal one in the state. "Uttar Pradesh is heading for a hung Assembly as no party will secure even a simple majority," Yadav said a day ahead of his programme to launch the campaign for Congress and RJD candidates in Uttar Pradesh. RJD national spokesman Shivanand Tiwari said Yadav would share the dais with senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at an election rally in Aligarh tomorrow marking the beginning of a joint campaign by Congress-RJD combine in Uttar Pradesh. Yadav said he was determined to overthrow the BJP Government in the state with the help of like-minded secular groups. RJD chief’s recent meeting with Congress national president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi has paved way for a joint campaign in the ensuing up polls. Yadav said his party would contest 25 seats in Uttar Pradesh and asked the 16 other party candidates out of a total of 41 to withdraw from the fray. "We are ready to withdraw more party candidates if we feel that they are weak," he pointed out. Reacting to rejection of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi’s demand for according special status to Bihar by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during his visit on Sunday, Laloo said, "Bihar is a sick state. We are held responsible for everything that has gone wrong. Without the help of Delhi, we can’t expect development in the state due to resource crunch." He said the Prime Minister should reconsider Rabri’s demand and provide a special financial package at the earliest. RJD supremo also charged the Governments of H D Devegowda and I K Gujral for ignoring the interests of Bihar during their tenure. (PTI) |
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Andipatti: Pauper village to queen’s village? ANDIPATTI (TAMIL NADU), Feb 7: If you vote for Jayalalithaa, Andipatti (Pauper village) will turn into "Arasipatti" (queen’s village). That is the dream being conjured by supporters of AIADMK as the party supremo tries her luck in the Assembly bypoll next month to regain Chief Ministership of Tamil Nadu. Already, there are signs that Andipatti is on way to leaving behind its impoverished past. Away from media glare, crores of rupees from MP and MLA funds have been spent for this constituency to relay roads, provide drinking water, spruce up school building and illuminate village roads. Neglected village temples have been taken up for renovation. The rural consituency panchayat is flooded with money for taking up development works. Most of the AIADMK ministers are camping here to ensure there is no complaint about their departments and to monitor development work. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam campaigned here for three days and Jayalalithaa herself will take an intensive tour of the constituency from Feb 13. But the flurry of activities have also triggered charges by almost all opposition parties, including DMK and MDMK, that official machinery is being misused and election code of conduct is being violated. As allegations fly thick and fast, the electioneering too is picking up momentum with each passing day. The two main rival contenders for Andipatti—AIADMK and DMK—are, however, campaigning in contrasting styles. AIADMK MP T T V Dinakaran is visiting every nook and corner of the constituency, meeting village elders, caste leaders and local politicians belonging to "neutral" parties. He does not allow many cars to join his convoy during the campaign. "He takes only the local partymen in every village," says Ramu, an AIADMK functionary. The AIADMK leadership is avoiding show of pomp and grandeur in the campaign. On the other hand, DMK Campaign Manager and party chief M Karunanidhi’s son K Azhagiri put up a grand show on the day party candidate Vaigaisekhar filed his nomination. He seeks to impress the small crowd with a short speech which drives home the the message that ruling AIADMK is "anti-people." One key component of DMK’s offensive against Jayalalithaa is that if she is elected then present Chief Minister Panneerselvam belonging to Mukulathor community, which constitutes 30 percent of Andipatti’s nearly three lack electorate, would be dethroned. The DMK campaign is also focussing on rise in prices of of milk for children and that Government has stopped supplying Dhoti and saree free of cost. A visit to the constituency reveals that memories of late filmstar-turned-politician M G Ramachandran (MGR), political ‘Guru’ of Jayalalithaa, hang heavily. Gopalakrishnan, a shop-owner, recalls it was MGR who had made Andipatti Taluka headquarters and undertook several developmental works, including setting up of a mill. "AIADMK’s two leaves symbol is MGR’s symbol," adds he. (PTI) |
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INSAT-3C in final geo-stationary orbit BANGALORE, Feb 7: India’s INSAT-3C communication satellite has been successfully placed in its geo-stationary orbit, Indian Space Research Organisation said today. The satellite, launched by Europe’s Ariane-4 rocket from Kourou Space Station in French Guiana on January 24, is now in the final geo-stationary orbit and located at 74 deg. East longitude, ISRO said. In the last four days, station acquisition manoeuvres were successfully conducted from the master control facility, Hassan, some 180 km from here, by firing the 10 newton reaction control thrusters on board to position the spacecraft precisely at 74 deg. East longitude, ISRO said. "INSAT-3C will be maintained in this location for the rest of its service life," the Bangalore-headquartered ISRO said in a statement. The last set of manoeuvres were carried out by firing the ten newton raactor control thrusters on board to ensure precise positioning of the satellite in its space home. The payload included 24 C band transponders, six extended C band transponders, two S-band transponders and the mobile satellite service transponders. After injection into the geostationary orbit on January 24, scientists at the MCF carried out a series of orbit-raising manoeuvres by firing the 440 newton liquid apogee motor of the satellite to place it in the geostationary orbit. On January 30, the satellite was located at 63 degrees east longitude and was drifting towards its designated orbital slot. In the drift orbit, deployment of anetennas and solar panels of the satellite was carried out on January 31 before it was placed in the three axis stabilised mode on February one. The satellite, a replacement for INSAT 2-C, has a service life of 12 years. With additional fuel onboard the satellite, its lifespan could extend by a further three years. (UNI) |
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New system of Police Commissioner to be introduced in Indore BHOPAL, Feb 7: The new system of Police Commissioner is likely to be introduced in the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh, Indore, from April. In Northern India, the system has already been enforced in the Union Territory of Delhi. With the introduction of the new system, Indore would be the first city of the country to include the concept of "city police authority" on a pattern similar to the british system. The concept has been framed to ensure transparency and impartialy in the system. Introduction of the system that was hanging in balance in the past was recently approved by the state cabinet. The experiment is however not not bereft of oppositions and some Congress legislators have charted a strategy to raise a voice against it during the next session of the Assembly beginning from February 25. A Congress legislator of Indore had recently threatened to resign if the system was implemented in the city. According to official sources the concerned bill "Indore Police Act" had been send to the Law Department. The same would thereafter be send to the Home Department. After completing the essential formalities, the Speaker would decide on a date for discussing the bill in the house. Meanwhile steps would be taken to declare Indore as a metropolitan area through a notification. After passing the bill in the house, the same would be send to the Governor for his signature. The entire process is likely to take more than one month. The members of the city police authority would include people’s representatives and others associated with scheduled caste and tribe and backward communities besides women. Sources said that earlier there was a provision to have five members in the authority but the same had later been modified to ten or eleven. State Women Commission member Dr Sonal K Ameen feels that the Police Commissioner system bill should separately categorise the duties of police towards women. (UNI) |
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‘Wearing the face’ gets best investigative film award MUMBAI, Feb 7: "Wearing the face", a 15 minute film by Joshy Joseph probes the truth behind the masked faces of the Manipuri rickshaw pullers in a humanitarian manner. The social fabric, the collective psyche and the economic and political realities of Manipur emerge as a resultant of this lens-eye witness account, which was screened at the ongoing Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) at the Russian Cultural Centre, Pedder Road, South Mumbai. The film is also the national award winner as the best investigative film of 2001. It was scheduled to be screened in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Bangalore, last year. But, since the festival got cancelled, the panorama package is being shifted to MIFF. Speaking to UNI after the screening yesterday, Joseph said, "identity is the buzzword in Imphal, the capital of Manipur. If you happen to possess an identity card of any sorts, believe me, you are blessed. There is suspicion in the air. To the uniformed military personnel, a human form can have a militant content. So they doubt you." According to the film maker, whether in uniform or in other varied forms, one feels this invisible gaze of the militant touching you, suspecting your very intent of being there. "When I saw the veiled faces of cycle-rickshaw pullers in Imphal, I wondered for myself, when a face itself is distrusted, then why these masks. The film is one of the consequences of my curiosity", he says. Joshy says that most of the cycle rickshaw wallas in Imphal cover their faces to conceal their identity. They are literate. Some attend colleges, others are graduate or undergraduates. These people share the general feeling that plying cycle rickshaws is a low status work. Hence, the cloth masks cover their faces. This in turn denies recognition to them in the society they live in. "The rickshaw pullers earn about Rs 100 per day. As per the records of the Imphal Municipal Council, there are about 6800 authorised rickshaw pullers and with growing unemployment, the number has doubled", Joseph says in the film as part of the commentary. The Municipal Council has also laid down certain norms for the rickshaw pullers as how to behave while on duty — no singing of vulgar songs, and no covering their faces among other things. But, joseph while taking the audience to experience the streets of imphal, says that the rickshaw wallas do not even hum a line. "The only thing they do is to wear a veil while operating their vehicles", he says. Picking up a dialogue with them was a tough task, Joseph points out. "They simply refused to speak rather than their hire charges. Finally, I made friends with some of them and also framed them in my camera", he added. Speaking about the content of documentaries in present times, the film maker noted that these days documentary films were just by-products of what has already appeared in the print. He agreed with Ms Vijaya Mulay’s criticism of present day film makers, for lacking the knack to research. "Speaking for myself, I have found my subject on my own — the ground realities in the society", he says. (UNI) |
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