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Thungon fails to appear in court; seeks exemption NEW DELHI, Aug 5: Fomer Union Minister of State P K Thungon today failed to appear before a Delhi court in a case of corruption registered by CBI ....more Pall
of gloom descends KULUDIHI, BANKURA, Aug 5: This impoverished family in the village of Kuludihi in West Bengal’s Bankura district is in a state of mourning. ...more CAG raps Delhi Jal Board for favouring contractors NEW DELHI, Aug 5: The Delhi Jal Board (DJB), with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as its Chairperson, has come in for severe criticism from the .....more Doctor not criminally liable if patient dies due to error: SC NEW DELHI, Aug 5: In a judgement that would relieve the entire medical fraternity, the Supreme Court has ruled that if a patient dies due to an error ......more |
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Truck drivers: much NEW DELHI, Aug 5: Criss crossing the length and breadth of the country, they support its economy but are relegated to the background by the ......more I will never be a part of titillation in films: Gauri Karnik NEW DELHI, Aug 5: She stands out with her innocent charm and her persistent refusal to ‘itemise’ herself amidst an increasing show of ‘sleaze’ ......more E-governance key to bridging rural-urban divide: I K Gujral NEW DELHI, Aug 5: Information Technology is a revolutionary force that could help .....more Agricultural scientist concern over declining rice productivity CUTTACK, Aug 5: Productivity of rice, the most important crop of India and .......more |
Thungon fails to appear in court; seeks exemption NEW DELHI, Aug 5: Fomer Union Minister of State P K Thungon today failed to appear before a Delhi court in a case of corruption registered by CBI five years ago. Thungon, instead, moved an application before the Special Judge praying that he be exempted from appearance today as he was busy in political activity in Arunachal Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due. His counsel claimed that though Thungon had tried to come to Delhi after being told about the summon, he could not make it due to the incessant rain and flood in the northeast. As the Judge was on leave today, his application was posted for hearing on August 12. Taking cognizance of a CBI chargesheet against them, Special Judge Aruna Suresh had earlier summonned Thungon and co-accused Tali, C Sangit and Mahesh Maheswari, Director of Central Delhi-based S N H India Traders Ltd for today. The agency filed the case after it stumbled on a partly-used Chequebook at Thungon’s residence during raids conducted there on July 10, 1996, in connection with the housing-scam case. Investigations revealed that the chequebook was issued by the Vijaya Bank here against an S B account opened by Thungon in the name of one Prem Kumar, CBI alleged. Scrutiny of the account revealed that Rs eight lakh was transferred to this account from another account opened in the same bank, allegedly by co-accused Mahesh Maheshwari. Maheshwari was known to Thungon and used to visit him to seek favours in the supply of coaltar made in his factory to Goverment departments like CPWD and NDMC, CBI alleged. Tracing the source of this money, the agency alleged it was routed from money sanctioned by the Centre for renovation and upgradation of minor irrigation projects in Nagaland during 1993-94. Nagaland Government had declined to grant CBI sanction to prosecute five others named in the scam, including the then Irrigation Minister Konngam Konyak. (PTI) |
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Pall of gloom descends on Dhananjoy’s family KULUDIHI, BANKURA, Aug 5: This impoverished family in the village of Kuludihi in West Bengal’s Bankura district is in a state of mourning. Embattled by the twin scourges of poverty and deprivation, a Presidential remission of death sentence for Dhananjoy Chatterjee was the last straw his family members had been clutching onto desperately. But not any longer. A visit to their home today revealed scenes of desparation and mourning with his terminally ill parents struggling to find words to express their helplessness. President A P J Abdul Kalam yesterday rejected the mercy petition, moved by Dhananajay’s wife and brother two months ago, of the convict. The plight of Dhananjoy’s family for whom the rapist was the sole earning member, had drawn the sympathy of villages who are pulling in resources to help the family in whatever way they can. The block development officer of Chhatna has sent more than 250 kgs of wheats to the family members. The Chhatra Nagarik Committee has also sent 54 kgs of rice to them. Dhananjoy’s septuagenarian parents are now petitioning the ultimate arbitrator, God, to save their son’s life. A West Bengal trial court had sentenced Dhananjoy to death, a decision which was also upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court, for raping and murdering 14-year-old school girl Hetal Parekh in 1990. The mercy petition was moved by Dhananjay’s wife and brother two and a half months ago. "We can’t think about our future if Dhana is hanged. How do we survive then? He has already been behind the bars for over a decade and now even the President has rejected it," said Banshidhar, father of Dhananjoy. Lying in his bed in the thatched hut, Banshidhar said, "we hoped that the President would show him mercy. We even had a plan to celebrate Dhana’s birthday on August 14. But now there will be no celebration." Asked whether they would come to Kolkata to demonstrate like they had done the last time, Banshidhar said, "what’s the use now? We may go and meet Dhana before the final day. But nothing is decided as yet." The family had earlier threatened to commit suicide if Dhananjay was hanged. "It’s not the question of how we do that. But the matter is how do we survive now? We have lost all our resources from running from pillar to post for our son’s life. And now we are left with nothing substantial to survive." Meanwhile, the state police has posted a picket in front of Dhananjay’s house to prevent any untoward incident. Dhananjay’s brother Gangadhar said they were shocked to hear about the President turning down their appeal. "When we told our mother about the President’s rejection, she collapsed," said Gangadhar. And since then Belarani Devi is in a shock. Not in a state to talk much, she only muttered, "why hang dhana? He is already behind the bars for long." However, Dhananjay’s wife Poornima has left the village for her parents’ place at Jamdoba. For Banshidhar, living on people’s alms doesn’s appear to be a respectable option for ever. "At the same time, what else can we do?" asked the hapless father. Just beside the hut of Dhananjay, there is a temple of "Kurudeswari maa", where Banshidhar used to worship everyday. "With all our hopes disappearing now, I am only looking forward to Kurudeswari maa. I believe she will do something to save my son. She won’t let him die," Banshidhar said, tears streaming down his eyes. (UNI) |
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CAG raps Delhi Jal Board for favouring contractors NEW DELHI, Aug 5: The Delhi Jal Board (DJB), with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as its Chairperson, has come in for severe criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for non-implementation of works, inadequate coverage of sewerage system, giving undue benefits to contractors, and making Yamuna dirtier. In its report for year ended March 2003, tabled in the Delhi Assembly yesterday, CAG says the board incurred extra expenditure of Rs 17.46 crore due to delay in processing of proposals and award of works. An avoidable expenditure of Rs ten crore was incurred due to execution of work at higher rates and undue benefit to contractors. In addition, poor utilisation of available departmental resources resulted in avoidable expenditure of Rs 1.58 crore on execution of de-silting and cleaning works through contractors, CAG observes. It has also held the board responsible for the deterioration in quality of Yamuna water. CAG says the board, which had a sewage treatment capacity of 512.60 mgd, could treat only 296.24 mgd of sewage during 2002-03 against sewage generation of 652 mgd. Thus 45 per cent of the sewage was flowing into the Yamuna. The board has also been rapped for non-utilisation of funds. Out of the loans and grants of Rs 326,40 crore released during 1998-99 to 2002-03 by the Delhi Government, CAG says the board could utilise only Rs 185.94 crore. The savings were due to delay in implementation or non-execution of various works and administrative efficiency. The DJB also failed to implement the planned works though, CAG says, funds were not a constraint. Failure of the board to execute works is attributable to defficient planning with the result physical achievements fell short by 57 per cent. Ring road trunk sewer could not be made functional for more than five years despite incurring an expenditure of Rs 13.12 crore, CAG notes. Criticising the board for inadequate coverage of sewerage system, CAG says it failed to trap the sewerage generated from unsewered areas. Sewerage system of sewered areas was also not functioning properly as 18 out of 24 main trunk sewers were not functioning at all or were functioning partially during the past five to ten years due to collapsed and silted sewers. Fifty urban villages and 154 unauthorised regularised colonies out of 135 urban villages and 567 unauthorised colonies either had no sewerage or the sewerage system was not functioning, CAG says. (UNI) |
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E-governance key to bridging rural-urban divide: I K Gujral NEW DELHI, Aug 5: Information Technology is a revolutionary force that could help bridge the digital divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ in India, former Prime Minister I K Gujral said today. "Till now our attention has been focussed only on the export potential of the IT sector. However, far greater potential lies in the extension and application of it to stimulate the domestic economy, of which the development of rural infrastructure is an important part,"Mr Gujral said. Delivering the third Dyal Singh memorial lecture here, the former Prime Minister, reflecting the ideology of the UPA Government at the Centre, said the development of rural infrastructure was the key in bridging the rural-urban divide in the country, which was one of the biggest challenges faced by the Government today. Mr Gujral said the biggest challenge in a continental sized and complex country like India was to bring rural India on the information technology map. "For some years now we are worried and concerned about the very limited development in the eight north-eastern states that are inaccessible in many ways,"he said. Stressing the need to incorporate e governance, the commonly used term for providing citizens immediate access to information, as a tool for rural development in the budgetary allocations of the Government, Mr Gujral lamented that it was still meagre due to a weak infrastructure and limited awareness of its potential among officials, particularly at lower levels. However, he noted that efforts in this direction were now under way. For example, some states had now focussed attention on it and provided a connectivity upto block levels that takes e governance to rural areas. "It is encouraging to note that 20 states and Union Territories have now an it policy in place. While Andhra Pradesh has taken a lead in this regard with various projects with an application of it, other states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Karnataka have also introduced e-governance in several areas,"he said. To take some examples, while Bihar has introduced e-governance in sales tax administration, Karnataka has digitised 20 million rural land revenue records covering approximately 6.7 million people in the state. "Also, some steps have been taken in increasing accessibility to the north-east states with the setting up of information centres all over the region. This should help in provision of services and also tackling various insurgencies plaguing the region,"Mr Gujral said. Mr Gujral said that apart from generating employment opportunities, the application of it could vastly extend access to education, health care, markets, financial services etc. To many people at the same time at far lower costs. "It can dramatically reduce the cost of communications, improve access to technology and marketing capabilities for the rural poor,"he said. Expressing optimism about the future of e-governance in the country, Mr Gujral said despite the fact that it was in its infancy in the country, the limited progress offered hope. In this context, he pointed out that the ranking statement of 2003 released by the international telecommunications union index placed India in the category of middle access economies and also the global international technology report 2003-04 ranked India at number 37. However, he guarded against complacency in the regard. "The fact remains that a majority of our rural population still do not have access to it and electricity, health care facility and even the drinking water. Such imbalances in socio-economic development and the persisting urban rural divide can be arrested only of the four pronged infrastructures in rural areas are speedily built,"Mr Gujral said. (UNI) |
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Agricultural scientist concern over declining rice productivity CUTTACK, Aug 5: Productivity of rice, the most important crop of India and staple food for more than half of the world’s population, is declining. Rising population and declining growth rate of rice have worried the agricultral scientists as in Asian countries of the 840 million people suffering from chronic hunger more than 50 per cent live in areas dependant on rice for food, income and employment. Central Rice Reserch Institute(CRRI) acting director S G Sharma said while the world’s population was continuing to grow rice growth had declined from 2. 3 per cent in 1980 to 1.1 per cent during the 1990s. Interestingly, Dr Sharma said, in Asian countries declined rice productivity was seen in favourable irrigated rice growing regions. He attributed the reason to limited possibilities of expanding arable land due to rapid industrilistion and urbanisation, depleting water resources and increased wages of farm labour. Decline in native soil productivity, increase in salinity, alkanity and water logging were further adding to producity decline. Concern over the problem the FAO had already declared 2004 as the international year of rice, he said. Dr Sharma said research had to be geared up to surmount the technological challenges in breaking the genetic yield barrier, improve the input and develop environmentally acceptable strategy for increasing rice productivity. He said in order to develop a rice-based farming system for sustainable production keeping in view the small and marginal farmers a symposium on’’ recent advance in rice-based farming systems’’ would be organised here from November 17 to 19 by the CRRI Association of Rice Research Workers. Dr Sharma said the symposium among other things aimed at assembling and compiling latest research results on rice based farming systems,collecting feed back of field problems from commodity system scientists, promoting collaborative research on rice based farming system and socio-economic constraints. (UNI) Sant Tukaram’s ‘abhangs’ influenced Tagore’s poetry PUNE, Aug 5: Researchers from Pune university recently found nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali translations of 12 ‘abhangs’ (devotional songs) written by medieval Saint Sant Tukaram. The first three translations tell how he was initiated and inspired to write poetry while seven are a dialogue with his wife, Jeejai. The last two are farewell verses. Tagore transliterated the Marathi poems before translating them. The translations were in the manuscripts ‘Navratna’ and ‘Malati Pothi’, which were later compiled in his complete works ‘Rabindra Rachnaabali’. Among the 12 ‘abhangs’ are ‘Mazhiye Manicha Jana Ha Nirdhar’, ‘Namdeve Kele Swapna Majhi Jage’, ‘Goni Aali Ghara’, ‘Aata Pora Kay Khachi’, ‘Bare Jhale Gele’, ‘Aamhi Zato Amchya Gava’ and ‘Tuka Utarla Tuki’. The researchers, who have been looking for the "literary treasure" for the past ten years, finally succeeded last week. Researcher Dilip Dhonde said, "we were in touch with Kolkata university and Shantiniketan, but there was little response. However, Gayatri Chatterjee, the great granddaughter of freedom fighter Ashwini Kumar Datta who was an expert on Tukaram, found the works. "We will be studying the rhythm in Tagore’s translations, literary as well as lyrical. We will be transliterating the ‘Kirtans’ in Devnagri, which may take upto a year," he added. Tagore was motivated into learning Marathi by his elder brother, Satyendranath Tagore, who was in the Indian Civil Service and posted in Bombay. The Paarthna Samaj, where the Tagores were regular visitors, worked to spread the teachings of Sant Tukaram, functioning on the lines of the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal, Mr Dhonde said. Satyendranath wanted his younger brother, Rabindranath, who was then 17 years old to become refined and gentle in manners. Rabindranath also stayed with Dr Atmaram Pandurang Tarkhadkar, who was the president of the Prarthna Samaj. (UNI) Taj gets set to offer wildlife enthusiasts unique experiences MUMBAI, Aug 5: India is exploring new avenues to attract international tourists with fascinating ‘wildlife experiences’ within India, with an ecologically sustainable model. To provide wildlife enthusiasts with the unique experience, the Taj hotels, resorts and palaces is entering into a joint venture with the Conservation Corporation of Africa (C C Africa) and Cigen corporation, part of the Chaudhary group. Announcing this joint venture at a press conference here, Raymond Bickson, managing director, Indian Hotels Company Limited, said with the expertise of C C Africa, one of the most comprehensive Safari operators delivering in-depth interpretive wildlife experience in Africa, the Taj Group of Hotels will make concerted efforts to improve quality of Safari management in India at par with international standards while promoting wildlife tourism. This collaboration will be initiated with the launch of Safari lodges from the next season in September initially at three destinations of Rathambore, Bagalpore and Tatoba National Park, informed Steve Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer, C C Africa. The lodging for the Safari, at 350 US dollars per night, will be designed on a light footprint and will offer guests luxury, personalised service and expert guides, he said and added that the total cost of the project is Rs 30 crore in the first phase of three years, while the second phase will be of two years. The joint venture will offer a mix of game sighting, nature walks through jungle and meditative experiences in solitude. It will also be a collaborative effort where the high-end wildlife tourism will be promoted in India with emphasis on the preservation of ecology and natural environment of the country, he added. In this initiative, the Taj and C C Africa will actively work with the Central and State Governments, Mr Bickson said. A wildlife advisory group comprising environmentalists, forest officials and NGOs will also be set up, which will serve as a certification body endorsing the authenticity of the experience, he said. Wildlife tourism is an important segment of ecotourism and, in recent years, the natural wealth of the Indian sub-continent has begun to offer naturalists, tourists and researchers a fascinating alternative to Africa, which is the Mecca of Wildlife and Nature Tourism. With approximately 485 sancturies and 87 national parks in India, it offers every possibility of sighting a variety of exotic flora and fauna, he added. (UNI) UPA Govt busy politicking while ‘aam aadami’ is suffering: Venkaiah THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Aug 5: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, BJP president Venkaiah Naidu today accused it of "deceiving" the common man and said while it was "busy" changing Governors and disbanding commissions, inflation was "rising unabated". Accusing the UPA of forgetting the "aam aadami" (common man), in whose name it had sought votes, Mr Naidu said at a press conference here that inflation had risen to 6.52 per cent from an average of two to three per cent during the NDA rule. The prices of essential commodities like wheat, rice, sugar, edible oils, petrol, diesel and LPG were shooting up. But neither the Congress nor the Left parties, which supported the UPA Government, was concerned about it. "They are more interested in politicking than in governance. The common man is no where in their vision. This is ‘aam aadami ko dhoka’ (deception)," he added. Mr Naidu also berated the A K Antony Government in Kerala for the "barbaric and atrocious" police attack on Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists here earlier this week. He said he had visited the injured activists at the medical college hospital this morning and was "shocked beyond disbelief" after seeing them. Demanding a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court Judge into the lathicharge and the immediate suspension of police officials involved in the action, Mr Naidu said this was for the "first time" in his 27-year-long political career that he had seen such "brutality" unleashed by the police on "innocent and unarmed" youths in the country. Stating that this was a fit case for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take notice, Mr Naidu said the BJP would also take up the matter with the Commission. If the Antony Government did not take action, the BJYM would launch a nation-wide agitation, he added. "After all, they were not terrorists or Lashakar-e-Toiba militants. They were youths leading a democratic protest against a Government policy. Either the police went mad or they had instructions from above," he said. The BJP president also questioned the left parties’ silence on the police action on BJYM activists and pointed out that the Leftist activists, who indulged in large-scale vandalism while protesting against the Antony Government’s education policy, were Left virtually untouched by the police. The BJP youth wing activists were lathicharged by the police while trying to ‘gherao’ the halcyon castle at Kovalam earlier this week. "The Left party activists burnt buses and public department vehicles and ransacked banks. A tainted UPA minister accused of murder is dodging police. But, no action was taken against them. The message is clear. If you are a Congressman or a communist, nothing will happen to you. But if you are general public, you will be beaten black and blue." Talking about the coordination and cosultation committees being formed by the UPA Government, Mr Naidu claimed that the Left party leaders were openly declaring that the Congress had no mandate to rule on its own and was functioning at the mercy of the Left parties. "If the Left parties tell the Government to stand, it will have to stand, and if they tell it to sit, it will have to sit," he quipped. The Left parties, however, were not using their influence on the Government to benefit the common people, Mr Naidu said. The BJP president said that the much-touted pro-rural and pro-poor budget of the UPA Government had actually reduced the allocation for the rural development ministry to Rs 15,999 crore from Rs 19,000 crore. It had also not allocated a single rupee for the Finance Minister’s "dream project" of reviving the thousands of traditional water harvesting bodies in the country, he added. Talking about the Goa ‘Chintan Baithak’ of top BJP leaders, which was held recently, Mr Naidu said the analysis of the leaders had indicated that the general election results were "an aggregate of state-level politics and there was no anti-NDA wave across the country". "Also, there was no pro-Sonia wave in the country, as could be seen from the fact that the Congress was routed in states like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan," he said. On the emerging differences between the BJP and its allies over the ‘Hindutva’ issue, Mr Naidu said these "so-called differences" were only a creation of a section of the media. "No allies are threatening us. There are no problems between the BJP and its allies," he claimed. Observing that for the BJP, development and cultural nationalism were inseparable, Mr Naidu declared that there was no question of the party working under threat. "It would never ever leave its ideology." On the party’s equation with the minority communities, the BJP president stated the efforts of the party to woo these sections would continue. Expressing optimism about the BJP’s prospects in Kerala, he said the party was on the "take-off stage" in the state after crossing the ten per cent vote share mark in the general polls. A three-day camp for senior state-level BJP leaders would be held in September-October to hone the strategies for the 2006 Assembly elections, he said. (UNI) Verma reviews failure of drainage system in city CHANDIGARH, Aug 5: Devastation caused by unprecedented rains from August 1 to August 3,2004 and failure of storm water drainage system especially in the southern sectors, slums and rehabilitation colonies came for thorough review in the coordination meeting of officers chaired by Punjab Governor and Administrator, Chandigarh, O P Verma here today. Regarding the failure of a storm water drainage system especially in a planned city like Chandigarh which has a complete network of storm water drainage system laid down since its inception, Verma said that these rains have exposed the chinks in our weaknesses. He said that he had been emphasizing since last one year that keeping in view gradient of city towards southern sectors there was an urgent need to upgrade the storm water drainage system in these sectors. He said that though some work was done in this direction but more is yet to be done, an official release said. Refusing to agree to the contention of the Commissioner Municipal Corporation that rains especially on August 3 were unprecedented causing failure of drainage system, Verma said that rain was not so extre-ordinary as to give us an excuse of whole planning getting collapsed. He said that instead of finding excuse we should identify the structures stopping the natural flow of water. It was felt in the meeting that un-planned growth especially in the rehabilitation colonies and slums hindered the natural flow of storm water in the storm drainage causing the flood. The expansion of the these slums and colonies especially the banks of natural choes or nallas diverted the whole storm water towards these slums causing a flood. It was felt in the meeting that keeping in view the flow of water from Shivalik ranges to the city, the administration should also explore the possibility of having another small Sukhna lake on Patiala-Ki-Rao-Choe and in southern sectors which could be created by eracting a smalldam to harvest rain water. The administrator asked the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation to implement four - pronged stratgy in totality rather than in phases for upgrading the storm water drainage system of the city. While upgrading the system, increasing rainfall due to climatic changes especially due to global warning, aforestation should also be taken into consideration. The Finance Secretary was asked to ensure proper funding for the storm water drainage system. (PTI) |
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