|
|
Nandita’s new
avatar NEW DELHI, Apr 23: After imprinting Bollywood and Indian theatre with her talent, dusky beauty Nandita Das has turned an Ad-director with a social ....more Tourism
badly hit in HARDWAR, Apr 23: The Uttaranchal Government’s decision to divert the waters of Ganga from Har-Ki-Pauri to nearby Neeldhara, known as ...more India’s
technology policies NEW DELHI, Apr 23: A US scientist has described India’s technology policies as "stupid" which have "crippled and......more Cycle
pumps being used NEW DELHI, Apr 23 : Cycle pumps were being used to carry out sterilisation of women in Uttar Pradesh due to lack ....more |
|
Centre mulls hiking NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Government today told the Rajya Sabha that a model act for police modernisation and reforms has been framed and it is .....more Dept
of Posts raise Chandigarh, Apr 23: The Department of Posts through itstwo year old International Money Transfer Servive (IMTS) having anetwork of around 5000 ....more Journalists
enjoy no NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Journalists and lawyers were obliged to divulge sources as well as information relating to....more Questions
calling of CHANDIGARH, Apr 23: Voices of freedom, a Human Rights Organisation, today......more |
Nandita’s
new avatar NEW DELHI, Apr 23: After imprinting Bollywood and Indian theatre with her talent, dusky beauty Nandita Das has turned an Ad-director with a social cause, beginning with a 90-second spot on rainwater harvesting. "I have floated a company, ‘Leapfrog’, which will make Ads on social issues. I plan to do socially-relevant spots on women, child labour, aids and other issues," Nandita told UNI at the preview of her public service advertisement here. The directorial debut of the actress, who shot to fame with her brilliant performance in Mira Nair’s ‘Earth’ and ‘Fire’, revolves around the concept of catching every drop of rain to mitigate water crisis. "Rainwater harvesting must capture people’s imagination for it to work. I have tried to do just that," Nandita said. The peppy Ad begins with an old, bespectacled man with innumerable wrinkles catching rain water in an inverted umbrella, symbolising the need to conserve water in every possible way. He is soon joined by a woman with a bucket, a lad with empty tea tumblers, a child holding gum boots and a policeman with his helmet — all trying to catch rain in their own ways. Nandita, who directed the spot with her husband Soumya Sen, said, "the Ad is symbolic, showing that rainwater harvesting can be done by each of us. In the spot, people begin to collect water in a variety of objects, in fact anything they can lay their hands on. At the same time, it also says that community efforts are required in water management." Nandita said social Ads tend to be dull and people quickly change channels on seeing them. "To avoid this, I have tried to keep it light and will continue to make similar Ads in future." The depth in Nandita’s interpretation of characters she plays on the screen is visible in the spot also, which has a medley of emotions - wonder, comic and even absurd she has subtly woven the idea that rainwater harvesting is about building a sharing and caring society. The spot has been done for the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the NGO which hit the headlines with its startling study on the presence of pesticides in bottled water. Nandita faced a lot of difficulties while filming the Ad, shot over two days in a Kolkata lane. "I am used to being pampered as an actress. Direction is very different. We did not have adequate money. Moreover, there was no location, cast, role or Art Director. I tripled as Director, Art Director and Spot Girl," she said with a dazzling smile. "When the shoot finally began, we saw the camera had fungus, creating artificial rain was a problem, we had only one storm fan and 300 junior artists looked at me for being selected for the spot. There were some very emotional moments," she added. Made in English and Hindi, the Ad will be available in other Indian languages soon. Shot by Ravi K Chandran of the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ fame, the Ad also has 40-second and 20-second versions. CSE has been working for many years to highlight the importance of rainwater harvesting, both for rural and urban areas. Yesterday, CSE also unveiled a website on the issue - rainwaterharvesting.Org. It comprehensively covers the complex dimensions of water and its use in society. The website highlights traditional and contemporary rainwater harvesting technologies specific to India’s 15 eco-regions. In the new website, the inverted umbrella has been repeatedly used to collect water, putting forth the message of change in social thinking. It also tackles persisting doubts and queries on technique, implementation, costs, space requirements and efficacy. (UNI) |
 |
Tourism badly hit in Hardwar by diversion of Ganga HARDWAR, Apr 23: The Uttaranchal Government’s decision to divert the waters of Ganga from Har-Ki-Pauri to nearby Neeldhara, known as ‘Gangabandi’, has drastically hit tourism here. There was nearly 80 per cent fall in tourist traffic this month affecting business of shopkeepers, hoteliers and others who used to thrive during the month of April, considered to be the peak season for religious tourism, official sources said. "The tourist inflow has fallen drastically. Normally in this season, 30-40 lakh pilgrims come to the holy city but this time only 10-20 per cent tourists have come so far,` Ram Kumar Mishra, president of Ganga Sabha, a representative body of nearly 2000 purohits at Har Ki Pauri, said. Today is the sixth day without the waters of Ganga, which is being diverted to Neeldhara area because the Government has decided to build a permanent bridge costing Rs three crore over the river in view of the ‘Ardh Kumbh’ mela next year and also to clean the river bed at Har-ki-Pauri. For the next seven days, Har-Ki-Pauri will go without the river water due to construction activities but the Government has made arrangements to make available the river water for puja and arti purposes, through two pipes. Mishra said Gangabandi is an annual feature at Hardwar in the month of October to clean river bed but claimed that the facility of water through pipes was never provided before. The priests, hoteliers and shopkeepers are however facing a tough time with business being lax. "No one is coming here these days due to the Gangabandi (diversion of the river). We are the worst hit," says Pandit Yogendra Kaushik, a Purohit at Har-Ki-Pauri. Initially, purohits were upset and lodged a strong protest with the Government against the move. Buckling under pressure from the Ganga Sabha, the authorities have now provided water of Ganga at Har-Ki-Pauri through two big pipes to fulfill the demands of priests, officials said. Despite the Government’s decision, quite a few tourists continue to trickle in. Chetan Aswani and his family, who came all the way from Ujjain, could not believe their eyes after seeing the Ganga waters flowing only through two pipes at Har-Ki-Pauri. "I was going to Vaishno Devi but came here only to take a holy dip in Ganga. Had I known that the Ganga has been diverted, I would have surely not come here," Aswani, a businessman, said. (PTI) |
|
India’s technology policies ‘stupid’, says UN scientist NEW DELHI, Apr 23: A US scientist has described India’s technology policies as "stupid" which have "crippled and hurt" Indian developmental process by making the agencies responsible unable to use the GIS data. Mr Jack Dangermond, founder-president of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a world leader in GIS technology, said here today that India is confusing politics on one hand with security restrictions on the other. Elaborating, he said the geographic data freely available on the internet, could not be published in India but is freely available outside. "Indian agencies are hurt and crippled, unable to use the GIS data which could otherwise be helpful in developmental plans. People elsewhere can actually but that data...This is India’s spatial data irony that you get it backwards while the entire world gets it forwards. It is stupid," he told UNI. Mr Dangermond was talking to UNI after signing two Memoranda Of Understanding (MOUs) between the ESRI and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for providing GIS software by the ESRI to DST for their national spatial data infrastructure division and the ambitious programme ‘mapping of the neighbourhood’ launched by DST under the ‘great arc.’ Earlier, Mr Dangermond while addressing a press conference, said he was not satisfied with the kind of technology policies that India had. "You are not taking advantage of technology because you keep maintaining laws on security of general data. That is wrong." "Do you think that 9/11 happened because terrorists got the data from the internet. No. There is enough information available elsewhere," he added. The DST is working in collaboration with the department of space and other departments to create a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). According to the MOUs, 90,000 students will be trained in mapping technologies. The DST and ESRI, the world leader in creation of geographic information software, would pool their resources and experiences in taking the concept of the NSDI beyond access to standardised geo-spatial data to operationalising embedded applications and solutions to cater to societal needs. In the phase one, the two parties will determine a comprehensive project document detailing the proposed work including deliverables to be completed by the end of the project. The project document will be prepared before July 1. In the second phase involving execution of the project, the two parties will determine the software applications to be developed by the teams. The decision support applications currently available and being developed for problem solving in this project, will be integrated into a common format. The software in integrated form should use technologies such as GIS, GPS and remote sensing. This phase will continue for eight months from July 1, 2003, to February 1, 2004. Phase three involves testing and commercialisation. The parties expect that the software will be independently tested by DST and ESRI. Software errors will be corrected and a beta version of the software will be made available to selected users for trial and evaluation. Subsequent to successful evaluation, software can be commercially released and the expertise transferred to other countries in the form of consultancy by the parties. This phase may take about four months commencing from February 1, 2004, to June 1, 2004.(UNI) |
|
|
|
|
Journalists enjoy no better privilege than common man: AG NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Journalists and lawyers were obliged to divulge sources as well as information relating to terrorist activities to police under POTA as it has been universally recognised that they did not enjoy any special privilege in matters of vital national interest, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee today said before the Supreme Court. This submission was made by the attorney before a bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G P Mathur while defending the validity of section 14 of POTA requiring "anyone" to furnish information to police if the investigating officer had reasons to believe that such information would be useful for curbing the menace. Sorabjee said that section 14 of POTA contained nothing new but was a milder version of section 39 of the Criminal Procedure Code which made it obligatory on every person to tell a Magistrate or police any Commission or even intention to commit an offence. On section 21 of POTA, under which MDMK leader Vaiko was arrested for giving a speech in support of LTTE, Sorabjee said mere expression of moral support per se would not fall within the mischief of the anti-terrorism legislation. Virtually giving a clean chit to Vaiko, the Attorney said "section 21 would not cover any expression or activity which does not have the element or consequence of furthering or encouraging terrorist activity or facilitating its commission." Referring to the word "individual" in section 14 of POTA, Sorabjee said the same would include a journalist and added "a journalist has as much an obligation to assist the State as any other individual" in curbing the menace of terrorism. Citing several decision by courts across the globe including India, the Attorney said that where disclosure was essential for the due and effective administration of justice or in order to prevent harm being done to national interest or security, journalists could be compelled to disclose their sources. However, he added that "decided cases establish that protection should be given to journalists’ source of information and courts must be circumspect and cautious in requiring them to disclose their sources." Requesting the court to harmoniously read section 126 of Evidence Act giving immunity to lawyers from disclosing their conversation with clients with the provision of section 14 of POTA, Sorabjee said the right was not absolute. "Even in the absence of section 14, the police could gather information from Attorneys and use it to pursue their investigations - there is no bar on the supply of such information," he said but added it did not compel a lawyer to testify against his client in court.(PTI) |
|
||
Questions calling of meeting by SGPC CHANDIGARH, Apr 23: Voices of freedom, a Human Rights Organisation, today questioned the need for convening a meeting by the SGPC of Sikh organisations here on April 25 to establish "public opinion" on Sikh women’s rights to perform all forms of seva at Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. "The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) does not need to establish public opinion on Sikh women’s right to undertake all forms of seva at Darbar Sahib. This right was established more than 500 years ago by Guru Nanak," voices of freedom director Navkiran Singh told a press conference here. "In this case, the SGPC is being asked by the Sikh community to implement this right, not to debate if this right exists.Gender equality is not negotiable in this case," Singh, whose organisation is spearheading a campaign to secure the implementation of Sikh women’s right to undertake seva, said. A sub-committee especially constituted by the SGPC to look into the issue of Sikh women’s right to undertake all types of seva at Darbar Sahib has called on Sikh organisations to attend a public meeting to establish "public opinion" on the issue here on April 25. The issue came to light in February this year when two UK-based Amritdhari Sikh women Mejindarpal Kaur and Lakhbir Kaur were refused by the SGPC authorities to participate in a ritual in Darbar Sahib.The two women later lodged a complaint with the Akl Takhat Jathedar and the SGPC seeking an immediat erestoration of the right of Sikh women to undertake all types of seva at Darbar Sahib. Mejindarpal Kaur, who was also present on the occasion, demanded that the discriminatory practices against women in Darbar Sahib should end. Claming that she would attend the April 25 meeting, Kaur said that the sub-committee set up to look into the issue of Sikh women’s right to undertake all types of seva at Darbar Sahib was competent to advise the SGPC. "When I met SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar on this issue, he has agreed on Sikh women’s particiption in seva at Darbar Sahib," she claimed. Navkiran said that if the sub-committee needed assistance to formulate an implementation plan, it should engage experts in the field of human resource management."Public opinion obtained in an open meeting of diverse organisations is not the answer," he added. The voices of freedom would submit a petition endorsed by 132 sikh organisations abroad and 64 in India to the SGPC sub-committee during the meeting. The petition urged the SGPC to take immediate steps to ensure that sikh women can undertake all forms of seva at Darbar Sahib and all Sikh religion institutions.(PTI) Restored environs of Humayun’s tomb charm visitors NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Humayun’s tomb, the 16th century marvel of architecture, which is said to have inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal, has been restored its original environs, much to the delight of nature lovers and those interested in preserving the past. To recreate the old aura, as many as 2,500 trees and plants, including mango, lemon, neem, hibiscus and jasmine mentioned in Mughal text have been planted in the premises of the tomb, which houses 100 graves of members of the imperial dynasty. For the first time after four hundred years, water is flowing in the channels crisscrossing the gardens laid out in the classical ‘Chahar Bagh’ pattern.The gardens are divided into quarters by raised causeways. The quadrants are divided, in turn, into eight plots, each with walk ways. At the intersection of these walkways are octagonal or rectangular pools. As many as 128 ground-water recharge pits and other wells have been created in the tomb premises as part of the largest rainwater-harvesting system scheme in any heritage site in India. The tomb was built around 1565 at an estimated cost of Rs 15 lakh, and its construction was probably supervised by Humayun’s grieving widow Haji Begum during the emperor Akbar’s rule. The work of restoration of the tomb, jointly taken up by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, had cost 650,000 US dollors. The project, taken up by the trust as part of its worldwide historic cities support programme, aimed at revitalising the gardens, pathways, fountains and water channels of the Chahar-Bagh, or four-part paradise gardens surrounding the tomb. The revitalisation of gardens required a variety of activities, from masonary to archival and included excavations, archival research, earth removal, pathway repair, edging stones and planting. The project included removal of 3,000 truckloads of earth, planting of 12 hectares of lawn, re-setting and alignment of over 3,500 km of path kerbstones. A new water-circulation system for the walkway channels has been stalled. Use of traditional techniques and material was extensivly made in the restoration of the tomb’s feature. Lime mortar was used for all masonary work. The pathways, channels, platforms, minor structures and wells were all repaired using lime mortar mixed with traditional material such as gur(molasses), Bel-Giri(fruitpulp), Surkhi(brick dust), in addition to coarse sand. Red sandstone from selected quarries in Agra region was brought for a variety of purposes as part of the project. The essential use was for water channels. Over 3,000 metres of sandstone was hand-chiselled using traditional tools and techniques and over 50 stonecutters worked for almost two years to prepare the sand stone elements. Approach to the tomb has been made disabled-friendly. A sensitively designed ramp has been provided at the entrance to the garden for wheelchair users. Bridges have also been built across the water channels to make garden accessible to the disabled. This was the first privately funded restoration of a world heritage site in the country. The work, which began in 2001 was completed in March this year. The work was conceived on the 50th anniversary of Indian independence in 1997. Besides the Agha Ghan Trust for Culture and the ASI, three other parties have also contributed to the success of the project: The National Culture Fund of the Department of Culture, which is part of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Indo-British Fiftieth Anniversary Trust and the Oberoi Group of Hotels. The Trust is part of the Agha Khan Development Network which is a group of private development agencies established by Agha Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam(spiritual leader) of Ismaili Muslims. The trust coordinates programmes in the domian of culture focusing on the built environment in societies where Muslims have significant presence. (UNI) Genetically impaired lion cub battling for life KANGRA, HP, Apr 23: Six-month-old lion cub Rraju is battlingfor his life at the Dhauladhar Nature Park at Gopalpura in thisdistrict, following paralysis due to a genetic disorder. During a visit to the zoo, UNI witnessed a scene of love andaffection between the ailing cub and his mother Kunti, who had beenprotecting him from human interference. It took veterinary expertsfrom Palampur Agriculture University Veterinary College nearly twohours to separate the mother from her cub before Raju could begiven medical treatment. Ailments arising from inbreeding among lions are common inthe zoo. District Forest Officer (Wildlife) B S Rana, who was inthe zoo to take stock of the situation, told UNI that Raju’s parentsGopal and Kunti were from the same offspring and were brought to theGopalpura zoo from Renuka Lion Safari. They had given birth to sixoffspring, out of which five had died due to the genetic inbreeding disorder. Expressing concern over inbreeding among the lions in the park,wildlife health specialist R S Kishtewaria said inbreeding causedgenetic disorders that led to diseases such as high power paralysisand weakness due to lowered immunity. "The animal goes down day by day and does not respond to thetreatment because of depression," Dr Kishtewaria explained. Hehad little hope that Raju would respond to the treatment and survive. The zoo houses three lions including Raju, seven leopards, 18sambars, six Himalayan black bears, eight holk deer, two barkingdeer, six black bears, six kalij pheasants and 14 red jungle fowls. It caters to the needs of seven districts - Kangra, Chamba, Una,Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi and Kullu - by providing shelter to thewild animals caught in these districts. However, it lacks theinfrastructure to house so many wild animals, Mr Rana confessed. Two leopards died in their enclosures last year after fightingamong themselves, he said. Another leopard, who was brought to thepark from Mandi, succumbed to his injuries on arrival. A sambar thathad died during a fight and a black bear that had a natural deathwere also among last year’s casualties. Meanwhile, the zoo did not have a treatment room or a veterinarydoctor or para-veterinary staff to provide immediate medical care tothe animals and services of doctors from the Palampur VeterinaryCollege were sought when the need arose. Mr Rana said the zoo’s treatment room was under construction andwould be completed by next year. The zoo authorities were alsoplanning to construct a rescue room within the zoo for sick and weakanimals that were brought to the zoo, he said adding that theseanimals would not be exhibited. Gopalpura Dhauladhar Nature Park was established in 1992 by thethen Chief Minister Shanta Kumar to boost tourism in thispicturesque area of Palampur sub-division and to provide protectionand better care for the wildlife. Spread over 3.5 hectares, thezoo is among the two major nature parks of the state, but lacks theinfrastructure to cater to the needs of seven districts. A local resident Anoop Sharma said the state Government’s apathywas responsible for the gradual reduction of animals in the zoo andthe zoo had failed to serve the purpose for which it was establisheda decade back.(UNI) Haryana BJP to contest Fatehabad bypoll ROHTAK, Apr 23: The Haryana state unit of the BJP which is extending support from outside to the Om Prakash Chautala-led Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Government in the state, has decided to contest on its own the Fatehabad Assembly byelection slated for May 21 next. Announcing this at a press conference at the state party headquarters here today, Haryana BJP president Rattan Lal Kataria informed that the state election committee of the party would meet at his New Delhi residence tomorrow to prepare a panel of candidates for the Fatehabad Assembly byelection, necessitated due to death of the ruling INLD party MLA Leela Krishen. The decision to field the BJP candidate was taken at meeting of the core committee of the Haryana BJP held at the residence of Union Minister of State for Home I D Swami on April 20 last on the basis of the report of the two-member BJP committee, which visited Fatehabad recently to study the party’s prospects in the forthcoming byelection, Kataria said. He said that the decision of the state BJP core committee was endorsed by state party leaders yesterday. Naidu asked the state party leaders to finalise a panel of party candidates for the Fatehabad by election and send it to the party high command for final approval of the party candidate by the Central Parliamentary Board of the BJP, Kataria said, adding that the state election committee of BJP at its meeting tomorrow would prepare a panel of three candidates out of over six probable candidates. Kataria said that the BJP would contest the byelection on the basis of the achievements of the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre. Referring to the reported observations made by the Chief Minister and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala that the BJP could go for a friendly contest in the byelection, the BJP leader asserted that it would not be a "friendly contest" and the BJP would fight the byelection to win.(PTI) Hospitals should have humour
dept for faster NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Laughter is the best medicine the ancient proverb would now be put to use for healing patients as the Indian Medical Association and the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) join hands to advocate the need for a department of humour in hospitals. Humour is therapeutic and could not only reduce pain, but also shorten the hospital stay of patients by relieving anxiety and stress and thus healing them faster, according to Indian Medical Association Delhi president Dr K K Agarwal. "Humour in any setting has great healing power. It is a stress reliever and good for health. It works as a tool for relieving stress, both psychologically and socially. Be it a smile or a good belly laugh, it helps a person physically and mentally. Laughter is a good exercise," the Heart Care Foundation of India Executive Vice Chairman said. Until now humour and hospitals seemed paradoxical, but in the last decade, more and more hospitals have become convinced about the therapeutic powers of humour. It has been recognised as a science the world over, he said. To popularize the concept of humour in hospital settings, a talk on humour and health, followed by a ‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’ would be jointly organised by the HCFI, Maheshwari Club and IMA (Delhi) here on April 27. Eminent poets Surender Sharma, Ashok Swatantra, Dr Sunil Jogi, Rajesh Chetan and Praba Kiran would interact with the public and help to relieve their anxiety and stress levels through humourous poetry. "Humour causes muscle relaxation, reduces stress hormones, enhances immune systems by increasing immunoglobulin a in the blood and the activity of B cells, T cells and natural killer cells. The levels of endorphins and gamma interferon also increase in the blood, Dr Agarwal explained. He said patients. Who arrive at hospitals in a state of stress and anxiety, now want a more personalised relationship with the healthcare professionals. This could be established by using humour. Many hospital all over the world are appointing humour coordinators whose job was to ensure that humour was made available to all those who want it. "A hospital can have a department of humour in multiple ways. They can use clowns, humour carts, a separate humour room, humour books based on cartoons or cartoon-based TV programmes," he said. Humour test programmes carried out in hospitals have shown that it leads to shorter hospital stay, reduces pain, blood pressure and use of nausea medicines and also results in a more positive response to surgery, he added. "Humour accompanied with prayer or education health tapes has the best result," Dr Agarwal said. According to a study conducted by the HCFI recently, 85 per cent patients felt that nurses should laugh more often, 78 per cent felt that they should make their patients laugh and 90 per cent felt that laughing helped them while going through difficult times. Significantly, more than 90 per cent of the patients denied that nurses sharing a laugh with patients would be considered unprofessional, or that they would be considered as being insensitive to the patients’ suffering or that laughter should not be a part of a hospital’s rehabilitation programme, he pointed out. However, he cautioned against injudicious use of humour. Laugh with, not at a patient, he advised. (UNI) |
||
|
||
|
| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports | |
