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Persons associated with tiger protection awarded NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today gave away the World Wide Fund Tiger Conservation....more
Kalyan launches LUCKNOW, Dec 10: A day after his expulsion from BJP, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh today ....more Dara Singh gives BARIPADA, Dec 10: Dara Singh, the prime accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines ...more ‘Criminal justice system needs immediate reforms’ NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Criminal justice system in India needs immediate reforms as many things in its three ....more |
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Women’s Reservation NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Government today assured Lok Sabha that the Women’s ......more
Parliament approves NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Parliament has approved a bill seeking to reduce age of. ....more GoM for payment of NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Government will soon reconstitute the Group of Ministers ....more Oppn demands more land around Sabarimala temple NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Opposition members in Lok Sabha today demanded that the Centre should provide adequate .....more |
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Persons associated with tiger protection awarded NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today gave away the World Wide Fund Tiger Conservation Programme (WWFTCP) awards-1999 to recognise outstanding achievements in protecting the tiger and its habitat. Eleven awards were presented, at a function here, to people managing or associated with tiger protection areas in the country. In this second edition of the awards, Kaziranga National Park was selected for one of the two specially created categories — The Millennium Award. The other award, ‘Saving Forests from Fires’ went to Panna National Park. While Kaziranga got a cash prize of Rs 200,000 Panna got Rs 50,000. This is the second successive award for Kaziranga. Last year it was awarded the team effort in fighting exigencies. Though constantly battling the fury of floods and poachers, Rihno, tiger and other wildlife population has thrived in the park thanks to the relentless efforts of its managing personnel. Five forest officials were awarded for special acts of bravery, including two from the Manas Tiger Reserve one of whom is a ex-poacher-turned-forest guardian. Santen Barkachari, became a forest gaurd in 1984 after turning a new leaf and since then killed 28 poachers and apprehended many. Two awards, of Rs 10,000 each, were given away under the category ‘Suppression of Trade in Tiger Derivatives’. Project Tiger Director P K Sen received the exemplary/innovative contribution to tiger conservation. He pledged the Rs 20,000 cash prize he received for the staff of Palamau Tiger Reserve which was facing a severe financial crunch. Mr S Guruvayurappan, a sociologist, was awarded for his work in involving the local people in tiger conservation in Periyar Tiger Reserve. Md. Naseen, a diver at the Dudhwa National Park, was given a special prize for showing all round abilities and contributing in all the works at the park. Congratulating the awardees, Ms Dikshit said such recognition would inspire more people to do good work. All awards, besides cash prizes consisted a citation and a medallion. Ms Dikshit released the WWFTCP report ‘Three years and beyond’ and handbook on tracking tigers for the public and the forest staff on the occasion. The selection jury consisted Mr S C Sharma, Additional IG (Wildlife), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Mr H S Panwar, former Director of Project Tiger and the Wildlife Institute of India, Ms Vijaya Zutsh, Collector Customs, IGIA, Mr Salaudin Ahmed, Forest Secretary, Rajasthan, Dr M K Ranjitsinh, Director WWFTCP and Mr Samar Singh, Secretary-General WWF-I. (UNI) |
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Kalyan launches new party, changes stand on Hindutva LUCKNOW, Dec 10: A day after his expulsion from BJP, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh today announced the launch of a national level party effecting a dramatic shift in his hardline ‘Hindutva’ stand, snapping ties with RSS and dissassociating himself from the controversial temple issue seeking to give his party wider acceptability. Announcing the launch of the yet-to-be-named party at a croweded press conference here, Singh said it would follow a liberal concept of Hindutva and made it clear that BJP would be the number one political enemy whose defeat his new outfit will ensure in elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The party would work on a six-point resolution mainly for uplift of poor and farmers and advocate strongly for 33 reservation for women from backward classes, Scheduled Caste and Tribes in Parliament and State Assemblies, he said. Declaring that he would have no truck with RSS, the organisation he has served since his childhood, Singh said The RSS has disowned me on the concept of hindutva.....There is no sense in my unilateral commitment to it. Although Hindutva would be his party’s plank, Singh, who had recently criticised the BJP for putting on backburner the temple issue, said he was dissociating himself from Ram Janambhoomi movement as RSS and VHP have disowned him on the Ayodhya issue. The way VHP and RSS have disowned me on Ayodhya issue, I think it is proper time to dissassociate myself, he said. Stating that his definition of Hindutva was based on the philosophy of ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhav’, Singh said this did not mean that rights of minorities should be curtailed. Asked if he had shifted his stand on Ayodhya issue in an attempt to woo backwards and dalits and move towards Samajwadi Party, he said nothing should be read between the lines on this count. Replying to a question, Singh denied having any understanding with RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav for Assembly polls in Bihar due early next year. He virtually appealed to BJP MLAs in the state to reassess their allegiance to the party keeping in view the emerging political scenario and their own assessment of how confident they were to face the electorate or even they would get party tickets in future polls. Singh claimed his expulsion would cost BJP dearly both in UP and Bihar and said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be solely responsible for these reverses. He said he had no plans to topple the Ram Prakash Gupta Government in the state as it would fall automatically because of inner contradictions. Predicting a mid-term poll in the state, he said his party would contest all the 425 Assembly seats. (PTI) |
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Dara Singh gives slip once again BARIPADA, Dec 10: Dara Singh, the prime accused in the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, gave police a slip once again when security forces raided an area under Thakurmunda police station in Mayurbhanj district last night, police said today. Dara, along with another associate identified as Abhi Mahanta, had taken shelter in the area when the police party arrived. But the duo managed to escape, police said. However, another associate of the fugitive was arrested and some clothes belonging to Dara and few other items were seized, police added. Dara is the main accused in the gruesome killing of Staines and his two minor sons in January and a Muslim trader Shaikh Rehman in Mayurbhanj district in August this year. (PTI) |
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‘Criminal justice system needs immediate reforms’ NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Criminal justice system in India needs immediate reforms as many things in its three wings -police, trial system and prison administration - have crossed acceptable limits, former Chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Justice M N Venkatachaliah said today. In regard to the three wings of criminal justice system - detection and investigation of crime, criminal trial system and the prison administration, many things have crossed and gone beyond acceptable limits, he said at a function organised here by NHRC to observe Human Rights Day. No civilised society can continue to accept them. If steps are not initiated today in the right direction, tomorrow may perhaps be too late, he said, adding all our political institutions are in a moral shambles because they have not brought human rights to centre-stage. Suggesting hard measures and strong laws to tackle terrorism, Justice Venkatachaliah said there is rising tendency to achieve political objectives by resort to violent methods. Strong laws granting adequate powers to the law enforcement machinery may also be necessary to protect the society, but such vast powers should not be abused, he said. NHRC Chairman Justice J S Verma said the Commission is examining the report of the high-power A M Ahmadi Committee to remove certain inadequacies in the law for effective protection of human rights. Director of United Nations Information Centre, Feodor Starcevic, read out the message of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the occasion. Expressing concern over vast powers always tending towards appalling misuse, Justice Venkatachaliah said when strong laws are sought to be brought forth, the state must pause to think about the kind and quality of men into whose hands the law is entrusted for its enforcement. Experience has shown that law enforcement agencies have not attained the state of ethical and moral responsibility that ought to go with the possession of such vast powers, he said, adding unbridled authority has always tended towards abuse .... Unregulated power degenerates into tyranny. Stressing the need for setting up of a police security commission, he said it is necessary to ensure protection to the policemen from political interference. Besides, there should be a police complaints authority in every police jurisdiction for redressal of complaints from the public of police high-handedness, incivility, arbitrary arrests, intimidation and false implications. Stating that policing the police from outside is a difficult task, he said police must accept a degree of objective scrutiny of their performance. He said those engaged in crime investigation must be insulated from other duties and should receive intensive and periodic training in modern methods of investigation. Justice Venkatachaliah also presented awards for creative writing on human rights to six distinguished persons including two former senior police officers and released two booklets on dose and don’ts regarding arrest in police station and children’s rights. (PTI) |
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GoM for payment of dues to PSU workers NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Government will soon reconstitute the Group of Ministers (GoM) to work out details of payment of dues to workers of Public Sector Units (PSUs), Labour Minister Satyanarayan Jatiya told Rajya Sabha today. The earlier GoM constituted in 1997 and 1998 could not work out a plan of action and take a final decision due to the dissolution of the previous two Lok Sabhas, he said in a statement in response to a calling attention motion moved by Gurudas Das Gupta and P Chitaranjan of CPI. He said the outstanding statutory dues of workes of Central Public Sector Units (CPSUs) was around Rs 2,000 crore as on June 30 this year. The figure was based on information furnished by various Ministries and departments, he explained. The wage and wage-related dues were almost Rs 350 crore, Jatiya said, adding the Government could not take any action against defaulting PSUs under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. Initiating the discusion, Gupta charged the Government with abdicating its responsibility towards its own employees. Later, responding to various points raised by members, Jatiya assured that the Government would consider their suggestions while working out the details of the strategy for payment of staturory dues to workers. (PTI) |
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Oppn demands more land around Sabarimala temple NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Opposition members in Lok Sabha today demanded that the Centre should provide adequate land around Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala to allow the State Government to make proper arrangments for pilgrims as several of them had died in an accident last year. Raising the issue during zero hour, Congress member Ramesh Chennithala said lakhs of pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other parts of the country visited the temple during the festival season and wanted the centre to extend help to the State Government to provide facilities on the lines of the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu. Chennithala said special trains should also be run to accomodate the pilgrims. He was supported in his contention by P C Thomas (Kerala Congress-M) and Mohan Rawale (Shiv Sena). V Radhakrishna (CPI-M) wanted the Government to clarify whether it was contemplating despatching central funds directly to panchayats bypassing the State Governments. He said such a move would create a rift in centre-state relations and reflect on the integrity, sincerity and honesty of the State Governments. Vilas Muttemwar (Cong) voiced concern over the alarming decline in ground water level in 13 districts of Maharashtra and demanded that the recommendations of the Central Ground Water Board be implemented. (PTI) |
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