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UP Tourism Dept to MATHURA, dec 23: A Kargil victory tower is to be built along with a 500-foot statue of Buddha. ....more Cash-strapped
Kerala THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 23: For Kerala, 2002 opened on a promising note, but as it draws to a close a deep sense . .....more India
a ‘soft state’ in NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The mild approach of the Indian Government towards terrorists ...more Deterrent
laws no NEW DELHI, Dec 23: With Parliamentarians, including the Deputy Prime Minister,.....more |
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Danger of defection LUCKNOW, Dec 23: Nothwithstanding the recent meeting between the Uttar Pradesh Congress ....more Charge-sheet
served JODHPUR, Dec 23: A charge-sheet has been served upon Rajasthan High Court official, ....more Lakshadweep remains a distant dream for tourists KAVARATTI, LAKSHADWEEP, Dec 23: The Laskhadweep islands, known as the Emeralds in the Arabian Sea, is...more Modi allocates portfolios, keeps Home with himself GANDHINAGAR, Dec 23: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today allocated....more |
MATHURA, dec 23: A Kargil victory tower is to be built along with a 500-foot statue of Buddha in Uttar Pradesh as martyrs join historical figures to attract tourists. The Kargil tower will come up in Shahjahanpur and the Buddhist statue in Kushi Nagar, Tourism Minister Suresh Khanna told UNI. Both the towers will be built by the State Tourism Department. The state Government has decided to bring martyrs at par with historical, religious and cultural personalities in whose honour the Tourism Department build sites, he said. A Buddhist circuit to attract religious tourists is at the top of the department’s agenda. The circuit will run between Sarnath, a major Buddhist pilgrimage centre, and Kushi Nagar, he said. The Government will spend Rs 2,500 crore to build an international airport, a tourist centre, the Buddhist statue and roads and hotels as part of the circuit, he said. The circuit, he said, would get the financial support of the Central Government, but collaboration would be sought from countries which have substantial Buddhist population. Mr Khanna said the Department was encouraged by the heavy influx of tourists to the pilgrimage centre of Varanasi this year and has decided to improve tourist facilities in Mathura by building a Yatri Niwas and a tourist complex in Vrindaban. A Rs 42.70 lakh Tourist Reception Centre is nearing completion, he added. To boost tourism, the state is spending Rs 11 crore on laying roads to tourist sites, for renovating the Vishram Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna river and for improving power and water supply. Mr Khanna said the private sector would be encouraged to invest in Tourism.(UNI) |
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Cash-strapped Kerala in economic and fiscal morass THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 23: For Kerala, 2002 opened on a promising note, but as it draws to a close a deep sense of belied hope is palapable in the air. There was no dearth of political high drama, intrigues and factional feud with sulking senior Congress leader K Karunakaran sniffing and sneering at his arch rival and Chief Minister A K Antony at the drop of a hat or a Congress MLA Sobhana George getting entangled herself in the web of a "forged intelligence document," designed to fix Tourism Minister K V Thomas. The pro-reform A K Antony Government took some bold policy initiatives but the cash-strapped State is yet to drag itself from the economic and fiscal morass. The situation was worsened by the failed monsoon with its predictable fall-out in the power sector. In February-March, the State saw its biggest ever strike by Government employees and teachers protesting the Government’s cost-cutting measures which deprived the salaried class of their perks like leave encashment. The employees held on for 32 days virtually paralysing the Government machinery before they ended the strike clutching face-saving concessions. While the handling of the staff strike earned Antony the reputation of a resolute administrator capable of pushing ahead with his reform agenda, within months his image took a beating when forced to roll back a steep hike in power tariff in the face of strong public resentment. Though the Government often sent investment-seeking missions abroad, some of them headed by senior ministers, they have far not met with any major success. The State is now pinning its hopes on the much-hyped global investors meet planned for January in Kochi, projecting information technology, tourism, bio technology and infrastructure creation as key areas of potential investment. The Government is also hopeful of overcoming stagnation on the developmental front with it securing a Rs 3000 crore loan from ADB, the first tranche of which is expected soon. The LDF opposition, however, has accused the Government of hiding the conditionalites on the loan from the people. Eager to project the State as a favoured investment destination, the Government brought in a bold legislation to curb militancy among headload workers, hailed by entrepreneurs as well as commonman but bitterly opposed by trade unions. Professional education was the lone area where the State made decisive moves with the sector being thrown open to the private sector in a big way. On July 24, a private Malayalam channel broke a sensational story linking State Tourism Minister K V Thomas with an inster-state hawala racket, based on a police intelligence report which turned out to be a ‘forged one.’ Soon, the story took a more sensational turn with Congress MLA and ardent Karunakaran supporter Sobhana George figuring in as a major suspect in the ‘forged document’ case. The forged document case was seen as an offshoot of the Congress faction-feud which found no respite with senior Karunakaran attacking his arch rival day in and day out. Sobhana, her personal assistant and a close aid were arrested in connection with the case. Sobhana was suspended from the party for five years for lashing out at Chief Minister A K Antony in the wake of the ‘forged document’ case. In Kerala, factionalism seems not the bane of politics alone. The schismic tendencies in the Mala, one of Asia’s anicent Christian denomications, reached a flash-point with the Orthodox and Jacobites factions openly quarrelling for supremacy in spiritual and temporal matters. (PTI) |
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India a ‘soft state’ in fight against terrorism NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The mild approach of the Indian Government towards terrorists despite the fact that militants, in recent years, have attacked several strategic targets in the country with impunity, indicates that it is a "soft-state" and lacks the mindset to deal with terrorism, experts say. Unlike Israel, US and Russia, India neither has the capability nor the mindset to deal with the ultras and it has a history of succumbing to the demands of the militants, they say. Despite having borne the brunt of militancy for nearly two decades, "the State has not yet evolved any concrete policy to deal with ultras," eminent security expert Brahma Chellaney pointed out while talking to UNI. "The trend of succumbing to the demands started when militants were freed to secure the release of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Union Home Minister and current Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was kidnapped by the Kashmiri separatists," experts point out. Since then India has been negotiating with secessionists, whether from Kashmir or the Northeast. This has led to disastrous consequences for the country as evidenced by the various deadly strikes by militants, including the attack on Parliament by the Jaish-e-Mohammad, an outfit floated by Maulana Masood Azar who was released during the IC-814 crisis in 1999. "The way we deal with terrorists is a reflection of the Indian mindset," former Chief of Army Staff General Shankar Roychowdhury told UNI. "It is imperative to deal with the terrorists in a harsh manner and not compromise. We should not negotiate with the militants beyond a point," Gen Roychowdhury said. "The manner in which President Putin secured the release of 700 Russians held hostage by Chechen rebels in a Moscow theatre is praiseworthy. Although in the process 106 lives were lost, he did not yield to the demands of the ultras and also ensured the release of the hostages," the Rajya Sabha MP said. Echoing similar sentiments, Dr Chellaney cited the example of the US and Russia that have a stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists despite being prime targets for militant attacks. Regarding civilian deaths during counter-insurgency operations and high handedness of the security forces, former CBI Director Samit Kumar Dutta, talking to UNI, said, "force must be applied to release the hostages if negotiations fail. During rescue or counter-insurgency operations, casualties are inevitable. But Indians are not tuned to this philosophy." Gen Roychowdhury too seconded this and said forces should make efforts to minimise the number of such incidents and compensate civilians who suffered losses during the operations. Also, since the police and para-military forces were being increasingly involved in the war against terrorism it was necessary to educate and sensitise the forces, experts said. They stressed that the fight against terrorism involved a whole gamut of complexities and there was no one solution or easy way out. It had to be fought at multiple levels — military, political, economic, legal, cultural. Sustained efforts at all levels were needed by the Government to integrate the alienated people in militancy affected areas into the mainstream. Such efforts in the Northeast had been by and large successful. Similar endeavours were required in Jammu and Kashmir as well, the experts said. "Federal assistance alone will not end the alienation among the Kashmiris. Employment generation should be the first priority of the central and the State Governments," Mr Dutta suggested. The experts, however, cautioned that the model which worked in the Northeast would not necessarily be successful in Jammu and Kashmir as the two situations could not be equated. Unlike Jammu and Kashmir, militancy in the Northeast is no longer externally driven, they noted. Touching upon the legal lacunae, Gen Roychowdhury said, "sometimes encounters are the best possible way to deal with the terrorists as the country’s archaic laws fail to bring them to justice. The criminal justice system needs immediate overhaul." however they all opposed stage-managed encounters. "Witness protection programmes like in the US, day-to-day witness examinations and recording of statements and protection of judges are ‘de rigueur’ in the trial of militants," Mr Dutta said. Mr Dutta, while admitting that the TADA was misused, however, advocated POTA saying it had provisions to ensure that the guilty were brought to book. For example, the act allowed detention of an accused for more than 15 days and the period of investigation had been increased to 90 days. Moreover, intercepts were admissible as evidence under POTA. The recent death sentence by a special POTA court to three of the four accused in the Parliament attack case within a year proved the efficacy of the act as an effective tool in the fight against terrorism. (UNI) |
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Lakshadweep remains a distant dream for tourists KAVARATTI, LAKSHADWEEP, Dec 23: The Laskhadweep islands, known as the Emeralds in the Arabian Sea, is caught in a paradoxical situation in that it needs tourist arrivals to boost the economy but remains apprehensive that a large number of tourists would play havoc with its delicate ecology. Adopting a cautious approach to preserve and maintain the fragile environment, the administration is adopting a cautious approach and staying away from opening the "flood gates" for visitors. Inadequate transport facilities from the mainland and poor boarding and lodging are among major factors responsible for the decline in tourist flow during the years just gone by, sources told a visiting UNI correspondent. Paucity of potable water and power were also restricting the islands’ carrying capacity and hampering tourism growth, they added. Officials attribute the steady fall in visitors’ flow to the limits placed on their numbers in order to prevent overcrowding and consequent damage to the environment. While there was a 100 per cent drop in foreign arrivals from 1,223 in 1997-98 to just 539 in 2001-02, domestic traffic also showed a slight fall from 3,502 in 1996-97 to 3,259 last year. The low priority being accorded to the tourism sector is also indicated by under-utilisation of budgetary allocations. As against the allocation of about rs 70 lakh from last year’s total plan outlay of Rs 97 crore, the actual expenditure was Rs 35.68 lakh. While recognising the immense potential tourism has for employing literate people (about 9,000 are registered with employment exchanges), the authorities are determined not to sacrifice one of the world’s biggest coral treasures to promote this economic activity. However, Lakshadweep administrator K S Mehra felt that more visitors could be allowed in if the experts gave the nod. "The flow has been restricted in keeping with the islands’ carrying capacity and our efforts to maintain and preserve the fragile eco-system, in deference to the findings of experts. We cannot allow anyone to tinker with the ecology, particularly marine life and corals, which are very sensitive and delicate and have taken millions of years to form," he said. Located 220 to 440 km from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, the country’s tiniest union territory is an archipelago comprising a dozen atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks. With an area stretching over 32 square km, it consists of ten inhabited islands, 17 uninhabited ones with attached islets, four newly formed islets and five submerged reefs. Though the land area is extremely limited, Lakshadweep is one of the country’s largest territories considering its lagoon area of about 4,200 sq km, 20,000 sq km of territorial waters and about four lakh sq km of economic zone. Even as there is no conclusive theory about the formation of coral atolls, the most accepted one is by Sir Charles Darwin who said that subsidence of a volcanic island resulted in formation of a fringing reef and the continual subsidence allowed this to grow vertically. Once the volcanic island submerged completely, the atoll was formed encircling the lagoon, where, with the action of winds, waves, reef to currents and temperature, the coral islands were formed. Sand banks were first formed in an atoll. They became the nestling grounds for birds and continued to be their exclusive preserve till, as a result of fertilisation by droppings, ground vegetation became possible and man took over, forcing birds to seek another sanctuary. However, some others consider the submerging of volcanic islands was caused by the melting of pleistocene ice-sheets. (UNI) |
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Modi allocates portfolios, keeps Home with himself GANDHINAGAR, Dec 23: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today allocated portfolios to his newly-inducted cabinet members, giving the Finance portfolio to Vajubhai Vala while keeping the key Home and some other portfolios with himself. While Mr Ashok Bhatt has been given the portfolio of Law and Judiciary, Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs, Mr Narottam Patel will hold the charge of the Water Supply Ministry besides additional charge of water resources (except Kalpsar project). Mrs Anandiben Patel has been allocated the portfolio of Education, Higher and Technical Education, Women and Child Welfare, Sports, Games and Youth and Cultural Activities while Bhupendrasinh Chudasma has been given charge of the Agriculture Minsitry as well as Housing and Rural Development. Kaushik Patel is the Revenue Minister in the Modi Cabinet, with additional charge of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, while I K Jadeja has been given the charge of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with additional charge of Roads and Buildings, capital project, urban development and urban housing. Mr Modi allocated the portfolios in the first formal meeting of his newly-inducted Cabinet here. He later left for New Delhi to participate in the BJP national executive meeting. A short session of the newly-elected 11th Gujarat Assembly is likely to be held later this week. Chief Minister Narendra Modi will handle several portfolios including the General Administration department, Industry, Energy, petrochemicals, ports, information, narmada and kalpasar projects, policies of departments related to mines, minerals, agriculture, cooperatives, water, women’s development and all other policies besides every such department that have not been allocated to a minister. According to official sources, following were the portfolios allocated to the ministers by Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari at the recommendation of Mr Modi: Cabinet ministers:- Vajubhai Vala: Finance Ashok Bhatt : Law and Judiciary, Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs, Coordination with NGOs, Department of Non-Resident Gujaratis, Cow Progeny Development, Pilgrimage Mr Narottam Patel: Water Supply Additional Charge of Water Resources (except Kalpsar project) Mrs Anandiben Patel: Education (primary, secondary and adult), higher and technical education, Women and Child Welfare, Sports, Games, Youth and Cultural Activities Bhupendrasinh Chudasma: Agriculture, Animal Husbandary, Cooperatives, Fisheries additional Charge of Panchayat, Housing and Rural Development Kaushik Patel: Revenue additional charge of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs I K Jadeja: Health and Family Welfare additional charge of Roads and Buildings, capital project, Urban Development and Urban Housing Ramanlal Vora: Social Justice and Empowerment (with Scheduled Castes Development, Social, Educational Development of OBCs) additional charge of Labour and Employment Mangubhai Patel: Scheduled Tribes Development additional charge of Forests and Environment. Ministers of State:- Amit Shah: Home, Police Housing, Border Security, Civil Defence, Home Guards, Gram Rakshak Dal, Jail, Prohibition, Excise and Transport Saurabh Dalal: Energy and Petrochemicals, Planning and Protocol Dilip Thakore: Animal Husbandary and Fisheries Bavkubhai Ughad: Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Anil Patel: Industry, Mines, Minserals, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Village Industries, Salt Industry, Printing and Stationary Prabhatsinh Chouhan: Cow Progeny Developnment, Pilgrimage Development. (UNI) Govt to provide telecom connectivity in rural areas NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will tomorrow launch a pilot project called the Grameen Sanchar Sewak (GSS) to provide cheaper telecom connectivity in rural areas. This project has been conceptualised to provide rural population access to public telephone at their doorsteps by using latest Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) technology. The scheme will be implemented through the Grameen Dak Sewak (GDS) delivery agents of the Department of Posts (DoP), to be called as the Grameen Sanchar Sewaks. These employees will work as the franchisees for the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in the rural areas. This initiative of the Government is expected to strengthen the rural telecom network in the country, where currently about 30.3 per cent of the total telephones are in operation. In the initial phase, this pilot project would cover about 8,000 villages in 21 telecom circles, covering all the States except Andaman and Nicobar, Haryana and Punjab. This scheme would currently engage the services of 1800 GDS. Grameen Dak Sewak will carry the wireless based telephone in his area of operation and make available instant telephone communication facility to the villagers while delivering their letters. For this additional service offered by GDS, they will get a commission of 20 per cent of the value of calls made by the villagers while (additional) 5 per cent commission will go to the Department of Posts. Since there are a number of small hamlets and villages in a revenue village, by this method the telecom facility will be extended to every villager at the doorsteps. The existing rural WLL infrastructure will be used except for the purchase of FWT (Fixed Wireless Telephone) phone with display units. Under the scheme, the FWT with display facility, to be carried in a bag, will be provided to a GDS who will now be called grameen sanchar sewak also or GSS. When the GSS goes to a house to deliver a letter, he will carry the FWT phone with him. Since the GSS practically reaches every house, the scheme will enable the phone service to be made available practically to all the citizens in his area. The FWT phone is capable of operating normally within a radius of 5kms from the WLL tower. The FWT phones have a display screen on which the call units will be displayed. All the FWT phones shall be provided with STD/ISD facility. The cost of the pilot project is estimated to be Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore. The FWT phone has been provided by BSNL to the GSS on a very nominal charge of Rs 20 per month as insurance cover. The GSS must earn a minimum of Rs 20 per month as commission for outgoing calls. In case, the GSS fails to earn the minimum amount, the BSNL shall have the option to terminate the agreement with GSS. Extension of facility for incoming calls or for outgoing messages and passing on the same to the concerned person in the village has been allowed and a charge of Rs 5 per message will be levied for conveying any incoming call/message. This amount shall be retained by the GSS. For easy calculation of call charges by the GSS, steeady reckoner has been pasted on the FWT phone itself in local language also. In addition, the scheme provides an alternate means of livelihood possible under the relevant provisions of Grameen Dak Sewak (conduct and employment) rules. (UNI) HC declines to intervene in MCD’s Rs 65 crore toll tax bid NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The Delhi High Court today declined to stop opening of the tender, scheduled for the day by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in a Rs 65 crore toll tax collection contract for the capital, saying it has limy matters. Rejecting the petition of one of the bidder, a bench comprising Justice A K Sikri and Justice M A Khan said "this is a policy matter and we don’t find any reason to interfere in it at this stage." The bench sitting in vacation, was not satisfied with the contention of Delhi Medicos Pvt Ltd (DMPL), one of the bidders, that various queries raised by it about the contract in a meeting with MCD officials on December 16 and in a susequent letter next day to the corporation, had remained unanswered. The court accepted the MCD counsel Anil Grover’s stand that every precaution had been taken by the corporation before arriving at a decision to fix the "minimum reserve" price of the tender for collction of toll tax at Rs 65 crore. DMPL counsel Sandeep Sethi argued that while the toll tax collection had been declining for the past few years, there was no justification of fixing a minimum reserved price at Rs 65 crore. "The current collection level is at Rs 53 crore and the contractor has to spend huge anmount on administrative expenses," he contended. Seeking deletion of solvency clause in the bid, DMPL alleged that MCD had not disclosed the expenditure incurred by it on collection of toll tax ruing previous years. The DMPL stated that it had sought various clarifications about the contract, which the corporation failed to answer. The most important questions were whether the contractor would be compensated if the collection "is banned, stopped or ceases to exist at any collection centre." It said the mcd remained silent on the query if one more pre-bid meeting should not be called in which representatives from the National Highway Authority of India, State Transport Authority, Public Works Department and other authorities concerned should take part so that an assurance is sought from them that they would not raise any objection about the tax collection in future. A clarification was needed from the corporation as to what would be the consequences of the Supreme Court order banning entry of certain commercial vehicles in Delhi in respect of the toll tax collection, it said. Whether the contract should not be given for three years, instead of one year as a contractor had to invest lot of money on raising the administrative machinery, the petitioner asked. "The MCD had given evasive reply to these queries, scuttling the relevant issues by merely stating that there is no change in the terms and conditions," the DMPL alleged. (PTI) De-mining work starts along IB in J&K SAMBA (IB), Dec 23: The de-mining work along the 187 kms of International Border in Jammu and Kathua sectors of Jammu and Kashmir has started, official sources said here today. Armed with men and machines of army’s engineering regiment, referred to as "pioneers", the first-phase of de-mining started in Samba-Manguchak area of Jammu along IB on Friday, sources told PTI. "The engineers and techinical men of army regiment, armed with equipments, have started de-mining process of anti-tank mines (ATMs) and anti-personal mines (APMs) in its first phase of de-mining along 187 kms of ib in Jammu sector," they said. The de-mining process will be complete in a four-phased programme lasting over two months, sources said, adding in the first phase de-mining will take place in Samba, Ramgarh, R S Pura and Kanachak sub-sectors. However, de-mining will not take place along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri, Poonch, Kargil, Leh, Baramulla and Kupwara sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, they said. Along IB, army had acquired 31927 hectares of land in Jammu and Kathua districts in the wake of "Operation Prakram" in December 2001 for mining and other purposes, they added. Of the total area, 23078 hectares of land, falling along IB, was used for mining of ATMs and APMs in Jammu and Kathua sectors, sources said. The army engineers are using "slip maps" and mathematical calculations to carry de-mining in agriculture lands at forward areas, they said. "Total area of Mangu-Chak has been cleared of mines, mostly ATMs and APMs during the last two days," sources said, adding there was no casualty or injury in the process. There is no threat to human life while removing anti-tank mines as it needs one tonne of force/weight for an explosion, they said. But APMs, which needs only 12 to 13 kgs of weight/force, are "deadly" to mine-removing persons, they added. Eleven people have been killed and 43 injured due to mine blasts after army build up in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. Army authorities, pied the land for mining purpose, have compensated the border dwellers till December this year after paying them Rs 29 crore in all, they said. (PTI) Socio-eco uplift can control extremism: Murmu JAMSHEDPUR, Dec 23: Founder of Jharkhand Disom Party (JDP) and dissident BJP MP Salkhan Murmu today said deploying of para-military forces or setting up of special task force alone could not help uproot the extremist problems in Jharkhand. Referring to the incident of killings of several policemen and civilians by the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) cadres in Saranda forest on December 19, Mr Murmu told newspersons here that as long as the Adivasis and Moolvasis were deprived of justice in their own land there would be recurrence of such incidents. He said the root of extremism was in the socio-economic crisis and mere deployment of force could not resolve the problem. Mr Murmu said the cadres of the banned Naxalite outfit MCC were mostly local unemployed youths, who took the path of violence out of frustration as they failed to get a job. Criticising the JMM’s programme to gherao the Jharkhand Assembly on December 24, Mr Murmu said, being the main opposition party, JMM should raise the voice inside the House. "Gheraoing of assembly was ridiculous and nothing but a publicity stunt," Mr Murmu added. Mr Murmu said JMM’s policy to oppose for the sake of opposition, would not serve anything till the party comes out with a clear-cut policy on domicile and reservation issues. He said the electoral failure in the just concluded Godda Lok Sabha bypoll had exposed the JMM and its supremo Sibu Soren. The results proved that the JMM had become irrelevant, Mr Murmu opined and alleged the JMM had totally disillusioned the hopes and aspirations of the people of Jharkhand. Mr Murmu stressed the need for able leadership, transparent policy and strategy to unite the pro-domicile and pro-reservation parties and organisations. (UNI) |
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