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PATNA, Dec 22: A spate of abductions of eminent professionals, sensational killing of IIT engineer Satyendra Dubey who blew the whistle on .....more Court
allowes Sarabhai AHMEDABAD, Dec 22: A local Court today allowed noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, the prime accused in an....more New crafts maps provide glimpses of Indian heritage MUMBAI, Dec 22: Art lovers can now explore India’s rich heritage of handicrafts and handlooms through the ‘crafts maps of India’. ......more Assaults
on women NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Frequent assaults against women highlighted by the ghastly......more |
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Fernandes hands NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Defence Minister George Fernandes today handed over complete possession of the...more Conflicts
shadow THIRUVANANTHARAM, Dec 22: Conflicts - political, social and economic - overshadowed ......more Opposition
walkout NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Agitated Congress and other opposition members today .....more LS passes bill giving additional benefits, allowances to MPs NEW DELHI, Dec 22: The Lok Sabha today passed a bill that will allow MPs air journey ......more |
Govt draws PAC flak over delayed Sukhoi induction ...... Forex earnings rises by 23 pc in tourism sector this year ..... Taj, Ghats captivate tourists in 2003 amid scams and floods ..... |
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PATNA, Dec 22: A spate of abductions of eminent professionals, sensational killing of IIT engineer Satyendra Dubey who blew the whistle on corruption in the highway project, combative State Police Chief taking on his political masters accusing them of patronising criminals and a Government drawing frequent stinging criticism of the Court —2003 was an eventful year for Bihar. The murder of Dubey, who had alerted the highest level of the Government about corruption in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream Golden Quadrilateral Highway Project, hogged the media limelight towards the end of the year after a newspaper expose into the circumstances of his killing. The Centre denied that there was any leakage from it about the confidential letters written by Dubey about corruption and instead attributed his killing to the law and order situation in Bihar, a charge denied by the State Government which in turn accused the Central Government of trying to shift the blame. The year saw a sudden spurt in abductions, often with alleged connivance of politicians, of renowned professionals, including neurosurgeon Dr Ramesh Chandra, Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Bharat Singh, Water Resources Department Engineers Dinesh Kumar Chaudhary and Harendra Dubey and many others resulting in widespread public outcry over the incidents. Even the politicians were not spared with Siddhant Parmar, the nephew of sugarcane development minister being snatched away from the hands of his grandfather while going to school only to return home after nearly a fortnight in captivity. These kidnappings cast a shadow over public representatives with Samata Party MLA Sunil Pandey arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Dr Chandra, who after being rescued left for the United States. Bihar Minister of State for Excise Surendra Yadav and RJD MLC Azad Gandhi were jailed for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and torture of a businessman Atul Prakash in police custody. Yadav was sacked in connection with an incident in which Pappu Yadav, brother-in-law of Chief Minister Rabri Devi’s legislator brother Subhash Yadav, is also an accused. In something that was unprecedent in its history, Bihar saw its Police Chief D P Ojha attacking politicians before being unceremoniously shown the door. The state was rattled by an acrimonious verbal duel between Ojha and RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, who got the DGP thrown out of office but not before great damage was done to the reputation of the ruling establishment. Addressing a series of public functions, Ojha launched a scathing attack against politicians and went to the extent of alleging that the power in Bihar has gone into the hands of "rascal politicians", something which greatly irked RJD leaders and ministers and the state cabinet sought sacking of the DGP, besides departmental action against him. A defiant Ojha was axed on December six and while exiting from office he announced his resignation and taking the matter to the Supreme Court. (PTI) |
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Court allowes Sarabhai to visit Mumbai for programme AHMEDABAD, Dec 22: A local Court today allowed noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, the prime accused in an alleged visa racket case, to visit Mumbai for a cultural programme on December 24 but deferred to December 29, the hearing on a plea for permission to tour other parts of the country in January next year. Additional City and Sessions Judge P B Desai permitted Sarabhai to visit Mumbai on December 24 but directed her to report to the Naranpura Police on her arrival on December 25. On December 15, the Dansuese had moved an application seeking permission to visit Mumbai on December 24 and several places including Mumbai, Delhi, Trichur, Hyderabad and Kolkata during January, 2004. While granting anticipatory bail to Sarabahi, on October 29, the court had directed her to seek permision for travelling out of Gujarat. Later, on November 17, the Court had also rejected her plea for "modifying" the anticipatory bail conditions that restricted her travelling out of Gujarat and country. The city police has lodged offences under sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of IPC against the Sarabhai, an "agent" Dhimant Upadhyay and Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, after a complaint by one Manushi Shah, who alleged that the Danseuse had defrauded her of a sum payable for cancellation of a cultural tour to the US. (PTI) |
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New crafts maps provide glimpses of Indian heritage MUMBAI, Dec 22: Art lovers can now explore India’s rich heritage of handicrafts and handlooms through the ‘crafts maps of India’. The maps, recently launched in the city, are a ready reckoner for artistic and informative craft maps of different states in the country, incorporating unique informations about the regions and the handicrafts and handlooms. Jaya Jaitly, president of the Dastakari Haat Samiti, launched ‘crafts maps of India’, hosted by Oxford bookstore in association with the Crafts Council of Maharashtra at the Oxford bookstore here. Each craft map depicts peculiarity of the respective state highlighting its craft, contemporary or traditional through various images, stories, symbols. Talking to UNI, Ms Jaitly said these colourful maps painted from the extracts of leaves, flowers, dung as well as by using ‘Haldi’ and ‘Kum Kum’, will transport the people on a virtual journey around the country through the illustrations. "The maps are as easy a read as a newspaper. As you unfold the map pleat by pleat, you go deeper and deeper into the land’s culture and people in general and its crafts and textiles in particular". "The maps, which are extremely handy and useful for those who wish to explore India’s rich heritage of handicrafts and handlooms, are exclusive sources of information on the production, marketing and retail outlets of handicrafts and handlooms across the country", she said. "The Dastkari Haat Samiti has been creating artistic and informative craft maps of different parts of the country, which give the information about handicrafts and handlooms. The maps are an excellent source of information for craft lovers, exporters, tourists (both domestic and foreign), students of schools and colleges, travel agencies, hotels, designers and entrepreneurs", she added. Talking about the purpose of the project, Ms Jaitly said she had started working on it with the objective of promoting rural craftsmen. "The Samiti has been creating illustrations of different parts of the country and intended to boost the rural craftsmen’s skills by doing the same". Ms Jaitely informed that the first map had been released in 1994. "It was the map of Delhi in which mithila style painting was depicted as the first masterpiece. Maps of several states have been completed. However, we hope that every state is covered in this way within the next two to three years, for a complete compendium of informative maps", she added. "Information was gathered through researchers who interacted with artists and various related agencies in each state. The colours on the maps are natural with products like ‘Haldi’ and ‘Kum Kum’ been used. Besides these extracts of flowers, leaves and dung were also being used. It took around three months to complete a single map. The source of outline map of the different states was the survey of India, Dehradun". "The outstanding success of the maiden venture of the Delhi craft map gave rise to the demand for state-wise maps as the wealth of information regarding craft and textile availability across the country was too vast to put on one map", she elaborated. Subsequently, the Samiti produced the maps of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. In total seven maps have been prepared so far. Talking about the project, she said the work was done by a traditional artist. The maps become a reality only after a team comprising an artist, graphic designers and a computer specialist pooled their minds to come out with something spectacular. The colours used on the map are natural, beside these extracts of flowers, leave and dung are also being used. A single map takes around two to three months to complete. Another peculiar feature of these maps was the special thrust placed on the city. The Madhya Pradesh map, for instance, highlights Khajuraho, the city of temples. This treatment goes a long way in promoting tourism in the state. The Orissa map was painted by using the ‘Patachitra’ style and the colour extracted from local stones and minerals. The map of Jammu & Kashmir reflects the State’s natural resources. The Gujarat map has been painted in the ‘Rathwa’ tribal style. While, one side is typical of the Pithora mode of expression, the textile side produces the rich embroideries of Kutch and Saurashtra through the painters’ palatte. The Tamil Nadu map demonstrates the rich gilded Thanjavur style of painting and the typical ‘Haldi’ and ‘Kum Kum’ colours of its textiles. This style is a combination of art and craft. Most shopping outlets mentioned on the maps are State and Central Government emporiums. Director General, Tourism and Ministry of External Affairs have already distributed the first map. It is being sent to embassies and tourist offices all around the world. These maps are not only aesthetic delights but are high on utility. Unlike books on crafts, which end up as coffee-table items or artifacts that become wall-hangings, maps attract a wider audience and exposure. These maps has received appreciation for its simplicity and illustrations from across the nation. (UNI) |
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Opposition walkout in Lok Sabha over Haj subsidy issue NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Agitated Congress and other opposition members today staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha protesting against Government’s refusal to remove restrictions on subsidies for Haj pilgrims. The walk out came immediately after Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy told the Lok Sabha that the three conditions imposed by Union Cabinet for a Haj pilgrim to get subsidy would continue. There was a furore after Rudy made the Government stand known with opposition members reacting angrily and condemning it for sticking to the restrictions. Members from Left parties, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Muslim league walked out along with those from Congress. Rudy spoke after Speaker Manohar Joshi reminded the Government that the members had raised the Haj pilgrim issue last week and wanted to know whether it would like to react. Recalling the conditions imposed by Union Cabinet, Rudy said the subsidy for Haj pilgrims would be once in lifetime, their stay would be arranged by the Haj committee and lastly Income Tax payees would not be entitlted for any subsidy. He said the matter was taken up again at the last meeting of the cabinet which reiterated that the conditions would continue. The minister said all the 72,000 Haj pilgrims going this year had been asked to file affidavits confirming whether they fulfilled the conditions and so far 55,000 of them had done so. Rudy said affidavits could be filed after check-in at airports where notaries would be present to help them. Taking strong exception to the Government stand, Congress chief whip Priyaranjan Das Munsi described it as "absoutely improper" and said it was for the first time that such conditions have been imposed on the pilgrims. "The conduct of the Government is condemnable," he added. BSP leader Rashid Alvi and RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said they condemned the Government decision. Muslim league member G M Banatwala said the action was an encroachment on the rights of a person to perform religious duties. Samajwadi Party member Ramji Lal Suman said it was "uncalled for." (PTI) |
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LS passes bill giving additional benefits, allowances to MPs NEW DELHI, Dec 22: The Lok Sabha today passed a bill that will allow MPs air journey by private airlines for their official purposes instead of using only Indian Airlines, provide for national roaming facility on their mobiles and enable them avail 1.50 lakh free local telephone calls every year. The salary, allowance and pension of members of Parliament (amendment) bill, piloted by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj provides for additional benefits and allowance to sitting and former members and their dependents. Pension will now be given to all former MPs irrespective of their period of membership in Parliament. With effect from the commencement of the act in this regard, a pension of Rs 3,000 per month will be paid to those who have served the provincial Parliament. A pension of Rs 1,500 will be paid each month for a five year period to the spouse or any dependent of a member who dies during his term. The bill has accepted a number of recommendations by a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament. They include rounding off the period of more than nine months of membership of Parliament to one year for the purpose of determination of additional pension payable to former MPs. It allows the spouse or companion or relative to join an ailing MP for air travel subject to adjustment against the 32 air journeys entitled in a year by such members. MPs, who have had to fly by Indian Airlines for official purposes, will now have the option of using private airlines. They will also be allowed national roaming facility in respect of mobile phone connections of MTNL and BSNL. The MPs have been allowed to use any number of telephones for availing 1.50 lakh free local telephone calls in a year subject to the condition that rental charges of more than three telephone connections shall be borne by them. They will be permitted to carry forward unutilised telephone calls pertaining to the preceeding year for adjustment during the susequent years. A minimum pension of Rs 3,000 per month is being provided for all formers MPs irresepective of their period of membership of Parliament. While travelling by private airlines for their official journeys, the MPs can claim airfare and incidental charges which will be one-fourth of the airfare. The bill allows take over of private mobile phones of members subject to the condition that registration and rental charges for such phones shall be borne by them. Telephone calls from such private mobile phones may be adjusted against the entitled telephone calls in a year. Unutilised free local calls can be carried forward from April 1, 2002 for adjustment to any succeeding year. It provides for travelling allowance to newly elected or nominated members, who reach Delhi prior to publication of notification of the official gazette and allows transit accommodation for a period not exceeding ten days. The bill allows road mileage to the nearest airport from their residence in their constituency or the state, as the case may be, to mps from north eastern states and their spouses. It permits road mileage to those MPs who reside within a distance of 300 Kms from Delhi for coming to the capital by road. A similar road mileage is being provided for their spouses. (PTI) Govt draws PAC flak over delayed Sukhoi induction NEW DELHI, Dec 22: The Government today came under fire from a Parliamentary Committee which expressed serious concern over the slippage in the delivery of the upgraded versions of the Russian made frontline fighter Su-30 MKI to the Indian Air Force. Rapping the Government for failing again in their joint development mission to accomplish the induction programme of sukhois, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Defence Ministry had failed to tone up the induction schedule despite seeking repeated revision in the delivery time. Asking the ministry to gear up their monitoring mechanism for expeditious completion of the joint development programme, the PAC asked the Government to submit a status report on the delivery status of the fighters within a period of three months. In two action taken reports tabled in both the Houses of Parliament, the committee also took the Defence Ministry to task for not finalising the warranty clause with the Public Sector Defence Major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for manufacture and overhaul of all fighter and transport aircraft in the inventory of the IAF. The committee said even after a lapse of eight years when it had called for speeding up the warranty clause, the ministry was yet to finalise the warranty. Welcoming the Government decision to induct 66 British aerospace hawk jet trainers, PAC asked the ministry to initiate timely action to procure the AJTs at the earliest and also finalise the planned schedule of licensed manufacture of advanced trainers at Hal. The PAC said the Government had informed it that as per the revised delivery schedule effected in February 2001, 10 fully upgraded multi role aircraft (Su-30MKI) were expected to be made availble between July-December 2003 and 22 partially upgraded aircraft including 10 received earlier were to be delivered latest by June 2003. "As against this only 10 Su-30MKI aircraft were received and inducted into the IAF by September 2002," the report said adding that the revised delivery schedule also stiuplated that the 22 partially upgraded aircraft, 10 Su-30MKI and 12 Su-30MK2 were to be fully upgraded with integration of increasing number of avionics in India by the third quarter of 2004. "The ministry have neither spelt out the details about the delivery of Su-30MK2 and Su-30MK3 nor furnished the current status of envisaged upgradation", said the report . It said that considering that only 10 Su-30MK1 fighters had been received so far, it is apparent that there is slippage in the delivery schedule. "It is unlikely that the revised upgradation programme of Su-30 aircraft in India would materialise", the committee said. The PAC observed that the delay in induction of the upgraded Sukhois has already had a cascading impact on the proposed fighter phase out plans of IAF, which had already been complelled to extending technical life of MIG-21 and MIG-23, besides procuring more Mirage 2000 and upgrading Jaguar aircraft to contain major shortfall in the combat fleet strength. (PTI) Forex earnings rises by 23 pc in tourism sector this year NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Foreign exchange earnings in tourism sector shot up by about 23 per cent while the number of domestic tourists soared by a record three crore this year, Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan told the Lok Sabha today. Addressing the House during the question hour, the minister said from January to November this year, the number of foreign tourists in the country registered an increase of about 15 per cent as a result of the implementation of several schemes aimed at promoting tourism. This resulted in the increase in foreign exchange earnings from 2594 million dollars recorded during the same period last year to 3175 million dollars this year, indicating a rise of 22.4 per cent, Mr Jagmohan said. He said the increase of three crore domestic tourists was a record in the country’s tourism sector. Mr Jagmohan said according to figures compiled by the Reserve Bank of India for the tourism sector, the share of foreign exchange earnings through tourism as compared to the overall industry sector during 2002-03 was 3.2 per cent. He said the department of tourism carried out tourism promotion activities overseas through its 13 foreign offices and helped create tourism infrastructure and human resources development activities. The minister said in its initiative to promote tourism the Government had put thrust on areas like Ajanta which represented the profundity of Indian culture and philosophy. (UNI) Taj, Ghats captivate tourists in 2003 amid scams and floods LUCKNOW, Dec 22: Former US President Bill Clinton during his visit to India in February, 2000 said, "the world is divided between those who have seen Taj and those who have not. Very soon I hope to be on the side that has seen Taj..." and every year the number of tourists visiting the ‘pride of the country and one of the seven wonders in the world’, the Taj Mahal, keeps on increasing . The year 2003 recorded an overall seven per cent rise in the profits of the up Tourism Department with the international visitors coming to the state to visit Taj and other tourist places. The Taj Heritage Corridor (THC) controversy and the Taj expressway scam which led to the downfall of the previous Mayawati-led Government in the state earlier this year, however, could not cast a shadow on the number of tourists visiting the architectural marvel this season. On December 16, UP Tourism Minister Naresh Agarwal met Union Tourism Minister Jagmohan, who promised Mr Agarwal all assistance for enhancing the tourist opportunities in agra while later the state minister camped in Agra for a couple of days where meetings were held with various leaders, the highlight being to collaborate with the department of culture to promote the cultures, traditions, folk arts and handicrafts of the state in a sophisticated manner. UP Tourism Department Director General Neeraj Kumar Gupta told UNI here that for the last couple of years, the number of tourists have not only shown a remarkable jump, but have also maintained loyalties and are ready to explore the adventurous and lesser-known interiors of one of the most populated state. This has tremendously increased the responsibility of the department which is now gearing up to showcase UP in a better and a more sophisticated way to compete with other states who have already made their stronghold in the field in field of tourism. "Luckily the THC, which created lot of unrest in the political spheres, did not come in way of the tourists, particularly those from foreign who come with a lot of enthusiasm to catch a glimpse of the breath-taking monument. Incidentally, about 70-80 per cent of the tourists coming to India go to visit Taj, therefore our stakes are high." With the encouraging response, the Taj Mahal will remain the highlight next year during the celebrations of 350 years of its existence. Gala celebrations with the onset of 2004 are on the anvil with agra being promoted as the ‘International Destination For Autumn - 2004’. According to the statistics provided by the UP Tourism Department, this year 7.20 crore domestic tourists came to UP while 7.10 lakh foreign tourists visited the state. Out of these 1.20 lakh domestic tourists alone went to see the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders in the world, while 24,980 foreign tourists visited the monument. The number of foreign tourists increased by about 55 per cent this year as in 2002, 13,050 foreign tourists had come to see Taj Mahal. Another tourist hub in UP, Varanasi, the city of ghats and famous for its temples including the world renowned Kashi Vishwanath Temple recorded 3.71 lakh domestic tourists and 64,263 foreign tourists which are about 10 per cent higher than in 2002. The city of Nawabs, Lucknow, which also attracts a number of tourists at its historical places including the Bara and Chhota Imambara, the Bhool Bhulaiya - for its unique architectural style and for the rich Awadhi cuisine including mouth-watering Kebabs recorded 1.38 lakh domestic tourists this year as compared to 59,370 last year while 5,525 foreign tourists came as against 1,209 last year. The city of Allahabad, famous for the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati at Sangam, Anand Bhawan and Allahabad Fort received 3.27 lakh domestic tourists as against 2.60 lakh last year while about 1,650 foreign tourists visited the place. Besides, about 2,230 festivals held annually in the state and the visitors shunt between different places to be a part of the traditional customs and rituals. Apart from this, the Union Ministry of Tourism has also included up in its list of the top ten important tourist states in the country, the other important states being Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Mr Gupta said for 2004, apart from the special focus on Taj Mahal, the Bundelkhand-Jhansi, Vindhya-Varanasi and the Buddhist tourist circuits would grab special attention. The other two tourist circuits in the state area the Awadh-Dudhwa and the Agra-Braj circuit. He said the tourists, for quite sometime, have shown more interest in visiting the Bundelkhand and the Vindhyachal areas of the state for its valleys, eye-catching waterfalls and to enjoy being nearer to the nature in the green, serene surroundings of the Vindhyachal mountain ranges. Mr Gupta said the department has targetted to improve the earnings by over 10 per cent in the next year for which a lot of prerequisite works were completed in 2003. A special train from Lucknow to Dudhwa in collaboration with the railways along with lucrative tourist packages for the lovers of adventure were offered even as the golfing facilities for the sports lovers are in the process. In the Bundelkhand-Jhansi circuit easier access to Khajuraho via Jhansi and Mahoba has been worked out while the Deogarh Temple is being built into a huge complex, on similar lines with the Dilwara Jain Temples in Rajasthan. The importance of ayurvedic and its special uses for the tourists will be an added attraction from the next year. In the Vindhya-Varanasi picturesque circuit, the comfort facilities to the visitors are gradually being handed over to the private parties, as their management has been found to be better in quality. The Bbuddhist circuit, which has charmed the young as well as the old visitors is being greatly revamped by providing better connectivity to Kushinagar, Shravasti and Sanhisa in Kannauj. And with Agra and Varanasi still holding the largest number of tourists, Mr Gupta said 2004 would be welcomed with much enthusiasm and high-class facilities and comfort to the tourists. (UNI) Experts call for careful disposal of medical waste MUMBAI, Dec 22: The spotting of body organs at a dumping ground in the Suburban Mulund here last week had alarmed the experts who say that the bio-medical wastes need to be disposed off carefully to avoid the spread of infection. The spotting of organs also generated media reports of bodies being recovered, which prompted the Mumbai Police to contact the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC later clarified that bio-medical wastes were being disposed off there. Mumbai, with a population of over 1.2 crore, has more than 200 big and small hospitals and the bio-medical wastes were sent to incenerator at sewree. However, since the incenerator was out of order, the bio-medical wastes were being disposed off in the dumping grounds, but as per specifications. The city has four dumping grounds, the biggest one being at deonar. The rest are located at Mulund, Chincholi and Gorai. As the city generates around 4,000 tonnes of refuse and about 2,000 tonnes of debris and silt, the percentage of the bio-medical waste is below 10 per cent of the total waste generated in the city per day, according to the civic sources. Municipal Commissioner K C Srivastava Has, however, clarified that the bio-medical wastes were disposed off as per the laid down specifications in pits meant for it. He said the incenerator would be re-commissioned in a month’s time and for the time being bio-medical wastes will be disposed off at the Deonar garbage dump and not at Mulund. Experts pointed out that there are six main types of bio-medical wastes — hospital waste, medical waste, clinical waste, pathological waste, infectious waste and hazardous medical waste. While hospital waste is a general term and refers to waste generated by hospitals, medical waste is generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of human beings or animals. Clinical waste is generated by medical care. Pathological waste includes tissues, organs, body parts and fluids that are being removed as per medical procedures. Infectious waste refers to waste which may transmit viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases. Hazardous wastes are clinical wastes. The association of hospitals said there are collection points in the city and the BMC collects the wastes and disposes it off. "Disposal of waste entirely rests with the BMC," an official of the association said and felt that hospitals too should have their own incinerators. However, the cost of an incinerator is quite high. City-based anti-AIDS cursader, Dr I S Gilada, said that pathological wastes could be dangerous and spread bacterial and viral infections. (UNI) |
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