Vice President felicitated

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the Rajya Sabha in felicitating Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on becoming Chairman of the house and recalled his services and contributions to the nation-building.

Lauding Shekhawat for undertaking measures for betterment of the poor and needy, the Prime Minister said his initiation of the food for work programme shall always be remembered.

Recalling his association with Shekhawat for over 50 years, Vajpayee lauded the courage with which he as leader of the Jan Sangh took a lead role in eradication of the jagirdari (ownership of land) system.

Vajpayee said despite belonging to Rajasthan where aristocracy moorings were strong, Shekhawat played a major role in reducing incomes of rajas and maharajas to a meagre level.

The Prime Minister said when many fled the scene while undertaking this revolutionary step, Shekhawat stood the ground.

"You emerged from the mud and become the sandalwood of the forehead", Vajpayee said.

Vajpayee said Shekhawat during his stint as Chief Minister of Rajasthan had taken various steps for the poor.

The Prime Minister said while preventing the deprived from begging for food, Shekhawat took the noble step of food for work programme in the state. He coined the phrase "food for work movement", Vajpayee said.

"You are also a very capable administrator and a representative of farmers and can carry everyone with you," he said adding even if a person is standing at the end of the queue, Shekhawat would ensure he is attended to.

Vajpayee said Shekhawat was among the first to implement the Antodaya scheme for the poorest of the poor.

The Prime Minister said when he saw the Who’s Who to go through Shekhawat’s achievements, he saw a lot written about him.

"You are also a brave person and prepared to face any odds in your political life," the Prime Minister said.

"In my over 50 years of political life I was very close and affectionate to him,"he said adding he was associated with the new Rajya Sabha Chairman since 1952. (PTI)

SC relieves HC appointed administrator of MCI

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: In a bid to restore and enahance the image of Medical Council of India (MCI), which suffered in the wake of allegations of corruption levelled against its sacked president, the Supreme Court today restored the reins of its management to its vice president Dr Keshavan Kuttynayar and the executive committee.

Relieving the high court appointed administrator Maj Gen (Rtd) S P Jhingon of his job, a bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice D M Dharmadhikari also set up a "watch dog" committee of four eminent doctors to monitor the appointment of inspectors and the process of grant of recognition to private medical colleges by the MCI.

Regarding the allegation of corruption against the then elected president of MCI Dr Ketan Desai, who was removed from the post by the high court, the bench directed CBI to file either the closure report or the chargesheet before the appropriate court if the agency had completed investigations into it.

The four members of the "watch dog" committee, appointed on the suggestion of amicus curaie Harish Salve, were Padma Bhushan Dr N Rangabhasham, neurologist Prof P N Tandon, orthopaedician Dr Bhabsali and former Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi Health University Dr S Kantha.

Meanwhile, keeping in view the large number of vacancies of members in the MCI, the court directed the Union Government to "take appropriate steps to deal with the situation."

The high court taking into account the allegations of corruption against Desai and the malfunctioning of MCI had sacked him and appointed Maj Gen Jhingon as administrator of the apex body for doctors.

The court had also ordered CBI probe into the allegations against Desai and directed that he be prosecuted.

Salve submitted before the court that the explanations given by Desai in receiving gifts from different quarters had not been properly explained but the agency had not found any substance in the other allegations.

The president and vice-president of MCI were elected in June last year but the members of the executive committee were elected in July this year under the orders of the Supreme Court with Justice K Ramamoorthy supervising the same.

Referring to the acrimonious situation prevailing in the MCI, the bench, in its interim order, said "it appears to us that if the vice-president is allowed to continue as acting president of MCI, the council may work smoothly."

"However, for monitoring the functions which are to be discharged by the acting president as well as the executive committee regarding appointment of inspectors and grant of recognition to medical colleges, a committee of four eminent doctors is suggested to be appointed," the bench said adding "that will be a proper step for restoring confidence in MCI." (PTI)

Bharatpur bird sanctuary - a paradise on earth

BHARATPUR, Nov 20: The Koyal cooes gently in the mid-morning air as the blue breasted robin takes flight the pink-headed painted storks squabble loudly roosting on the high treetops.

As one enters the Keoldeo Ghana national park, one is mesmerised by the exotic beauty of these birds.

The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, as the park is popularly known, is full of foreign winged visitors who migrate here from all across the globe during the winter months. The birds come from as far as Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Holland and the US.

The peak season is from October to March when the foreign birds are present in addition to the resident species. The other seasons too have their atrraction for the birds. Spring is the time for courtship and mating when all species become loverbirds. The rains are for rearing and breeding the young ones.

The park derives its name from the Keoldeo Shiva temple built in its midst. The name Ghana implies a thick and dense area of forest cover. Situated barely 185 km southwest of Delhi, the park is a mere two km away from the Agra Jaipur national highway. Once the hunting ground of the Maharaja of Bharatpur, the 29 sq km Keoldeo was later turned into a sanctuary with artificial lakes and ponds created for the birds and animals.

The sanctuary is home to nearly 380 species of birds, making it one of the most inviting destinations in the world for ornithologists, wildlife lovers and amateurs. The sanctuary is also thronged each year by professional photographers affiliated to prestigious magazines abroad who spend hours by a poolside watching the birds for the ‘exclusive pic.’

Various species of indigenous water birds, migratory water birds, land migratory birds, and domestic land species are found here. A large area of the sanctuary comprises scrublands, marshlands, woodlands and more than 44,000 centuries old trees that are used for nesting by birds each year.

One third area of the sanctuary is filled with water for the birds and animals. This rather intricate blend of marshes, woodland and flora and fauna represents the density and diversity of the region’s forest cover.

One third of the birds in the sanctuary are migrants, many of whom spend their winter here before returning to their breeding grounds in the artic and central asia. The birds start migrating by August and leave the sanctuary by February.

The visitors include coot snipes, spanish sparrow, red crested parhard, rosy pelican and flamingo.

The star visitors to the sanctuary are the pure and white siberian cranes .These birds arrive in December and stay until March. They are known to travel a distance of upto 6,500 km, migrating from the OB river basin region in the Aral mountains in Siberia.

Conservationists are working hard to protect the Siberian cranes as they are on the verge of extinction. Scanty rainfall and dried up forest cover has destroyed the natural habitat of these birds. Apart from Feredunkenar in Iran, Bharatpur bird sancutuary is the only place where the Siberian cranes migrates.

According to ornithologists, the Siberian Cranes unlike their Indian counterparts feed on ‘rotents grass’ which is an underground aquatic root. The Siberian Cranes have a mixed diet of vegetation, fish and other small creatures, but they adopt a vegetarian diet during their stay in India. The other guests to the sanctuary include the Dalmation Pelicans, which are one metre in length, and small ones like the Siberian leaf warbler which is the size of an index finger.

Several other species of cranes, cormorants, egrets, darters herons, storks, geese, ducks, agles, hawks, agtails, larks, spornbills, kingfishers, owls and pipits make bharatpur their temporary abode.

The Bharatpur sanctuary is host to mammilian species like the nilgai, sambhar, jungle cat and the wild boar. The large rock python is often spotted at the the python point beyond the keoldeo temple. Turtles are also seen in large numbers inside the sanctuary.

To take in the essence of the sanctuary a visitor needs to visit it at different times of the day. One can experience the early morning birdlife and birdsong of larks, thrushes and warblers at the crack of dawn or take in the spectacular sights of waterbirds such as cormorants, geese and storks in broad daylight or catch the elusive birds like night herons, owls and bitterns at dusk. The maximum sightings are on the paths bordering the swamps. No motor vehicles are allowed inside the sanctuary and the only sensible options are bicycles and rickshaws.

"These birds shy away from human contact if disturbed or teased," says a richshaw-puller working at the sanctuary. These birds are best viewed from a distance with the help of a pair of binoculars, says the rickshawpuller. It is important to watch their movement, colour, shape and size carefully to identify the different types of birds, he says. These silent creatures can be friendly if treated with affection, he says.

We make good money in winters but business is very lean in summers, complains a guide who has been working for the past 15 years at the sanctuary. Very few tourists come to the sanctuary during summers and the birds retreat deep into the jungle. In all these years of watching the birds, no bird or animal has ever harmed me, he says.

Adjoining Bharatpur is a charming Rajasthani town ‘Deeg’. It has a massive fort and a magnificent palace, which was once considered the second capital of the state of Bharatpur. It was here that Maharaja Surajmal defeated a combined Mughal and Maratha army of 80,000 men. The massive 28 metre high walls of Bharatpur with 12 bastions are fun to explore. (UNI)

Advani failed to disapprove BJP, VHP’s attack on EC: Sonia

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today regretted that Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani had failed to disapprove BJP and VHP’s attack on Election Commission but expressed confidence that people of Gujarat would reject the forces that spread hate and bigotry.

"The BJP, the VHP apart from disrupting peace and hampering progress, have launched a systematic attack on constitutional institutions such as Eelection Commission. Sadly, the Home Minister in his reply to the debate in Lok Sabha (on Monday) failed to disapprove of this most dangerous trend", Gandhi said.

Addressing a general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Gandhi while emphasising the importance of Gujarat Assembly elections said she was confident that the State would reject the forces that "have done so much to damage its fair name, its legacy of religious tolerance and understanding".

Noting that Gujarat was the economic pride, she said econmic success cannot be sustained if society sought to be polarised and subjected to continuous violence.

Gandhi, who is the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, asked partymen to devote their full strength and might as the next 12 months were going to be "elections-intesive" with nine States scheduled to go to polls. Of these nine, five are ruled by the Congress.

"I have set up an election strategy group in the AICC to prepare plans, manifesto and strategies in those States. Undoubtedly, the momentum is with the Congress and gradually but definitely we are being acknowledged as being the natural party of governance and administration," she said.

The leader of opposition in Lok Sabha assailed the BJP-led NDA Government for its utter failure on all counts during its three-year tenure and said it had no clear agenda to revive country’s economy.

"Last month, the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre marked three years in the office. The Government has been in office — just that and no more. Three has been no purposeful governance, no coherent leadership, no clear sense of direction", Gandhi said.

Accusing the Central Government for being "unsympathetic" towards the states severely affected by droughts, Gandhi said farms and factories are both suffering immensely, industries have come to a virtual stand still.

"We on our part have spared no effort to arrive at a working arrangement so that politics does not interfere with relief prgrammes", she said adding Central Government woke up suddenly and announced a relief package two days before the current session "which is too late and too little".

Gandhi accused the Centre of its inadequate support to drought affected States. Citing example of Rajasthan, which is reeling under severe droughts for the fourth consecutive year, she said the State had asked for 57 lakhs mt of foodgrains, but so far it has been given only two lakh mt of foodgrains.

Referring to the contradictions within the NDA and the BJP, she said the coalition Government has reduced economic reforms to a matter of just disinvestment and that too in profitable and healthy public sector companies.

Gandhi described the recently announced 10th five year plan as "bold and aim high", but said "entire basis of the plan is untenable and threfore, calls into serious question of its very credibility".

The Government has sought Congress’s support in the passage of economic legislation, she said adding Congress as main opposition party had assured it of constructive cooperation. "We can cooperate only if the legislative measures are in tune with the interests of the people".

The party while exposing the weaknesses of the Government and its policies, would do its best to ensure that Parliament functions in such a manner that important legislative business was trasacted, she said.

"But let me also say that this depends mostly upon the approach and attitude of the Government", Gandhi added. (PTI)

Film actor Bundela named accused in assault case

BHOPAL, Nov 20: Three days after film actor Raja Bundela allegedly "stage managed" an assault on himself, police today named him as an accused in the case.

A case with regard to the incident that occurred on Sunday in front of a cinema hall here where Bundela’s film ‘Pratha’ was being screened, had already been registered and Bundela has been named an accused in the case, Superintendent of Police Arun Pratap Singh told PTI.

The actor was named an accused on the basis of evidence collected during investigations, he said, adding the actor would now be asked to surrender before police.

In case Bundela fails to turn up, a police team would be sent to Mumbai to arrest the actor, the official said.

Suspicion against the actor arose after he refused to file a case and press charges against the three persons arrested for their involvement in the incident, Singh said.

The trio was let off on bail yesterday afternoon with one of the culprits giving a written statement that he was Bundela’s friend and the whole incident had been "stage-managed", he said.

An Assistant Conservator of Forest and a friend of Bundela had also alleged that the actor had hatched the conspiracy of attack at his house, he added. (PTI)

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