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GUWAHATI, Feb 12: Mad scramble has begun for party tickets in assam even as the line of alliance is still not clear in this state which ......more Main
source of HIV NEW DELHI, Feb 12: One out of every three children born to an infected mother will be HIV positive, proving that mother to......more Sohail Khan:India has everything to gain from peace with Pak NEW DELHI, Feb 12: With his chocolaty face and natty appearance, this ......more Journalists should not play truant with Court: Magistrate NEW DELHI, Feb 12: The Ahmedabad Magistrate, who had issued warrants....more |
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EC asks State Govts NEW DELHI, Feb 12: The Election Commission (EC) today asked the State ...more ‘Congress
will try to THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb 12: Outgoing PCC chief in Kerala, K Muraleedharan, .....more Steps to curb ticketless travelling inadequate: Report NEW DELHI, Feb 12: Observing that there is substantial loss of revenue from ticketless travel and sale of fake tickets, a Parliamentary committee has . .....more CBI
submits report in NEW DELHI, Feb 12: CBI today submitted its interim status report to the Supreme ........more |
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included in poll manifestos’’ ...... 100,000 signatures reach Ambassador against turban ban ...... |
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GUWAHATI, Feb 12: Mad scramble has begun for party tickets in assam even as the line of alliance is still not clear in this state which will send just 14 persons to the Lok Sabha. If Congress is extra confident, BJP is cautiously optimistic while a new look agp is oozing confidence to erase their humilation. Although in theory a direct contest in likely between the Congress and the BJP-led-NDA, the latter is not a united house so far and the AGP is yet to decide which way it will go. "We will get all but one seats of Assam," claimed Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. His only concern is the Kokrajhar seat where the Bodos would be unstoppable. "Last time we had got ten seats and we should add Nagaon and Guwahati this time to make it 12 and also get the autonomous constituency," said the Chief Minister, who had taken an aggressive posture to take on the resurgent BJP and AGP. Mr Gogoi felt that both AGP and BJP shared the same vote base and unless a major miracle took place, the Congress was once again safe in most seats. Hence there are 123 Congress candidates vying for 14 seats. Barring Koliabor and Silchar, other constituencies have seen huge number of applicants. However BJP remains unfazed. "It is good for us that Mr Gogoi does not know the ground realities. We are getting not less than eight seats," said Mrs Bijoya Chakaravarty, the Union Minister for Water Resources. BJP’s state president Indromoni Bora is more optimistic. He claims that the party would bag all the seats. "Why should we join hands with others only to lose. We have said that to our party high command also. We had a bitter experience last time and there should not be any change," he said. They are wary over the fact that the high command might ask them for seat adjustments with Mr P A Sangma’s newly-formed NEPF who are eager to contest in at least two seats. The BJP at the most would go for seat adjustment under the banner of NDA. There is also the AGP, who are overtly denying the possibility of any alliance with the BJP, but covertly the line of communication has been kept open by its new president Brindabon Goswami. "We have sent all the general secretaries to the districts to come back with ground reports and after that we will formulate our strategy," says Mr Goswami, clearly buying time, realising that the party was not on a strong wicket in any of the constituencies. They drew a blank in the last election as the BJP had cut into their vote bank badly. This time also they are unlikely to improve as BJP has been working slowly behind the scenes through the tea tribes. Meanwhile, the Congress is confident. "You see the results. The BJP has exposed themselves and the AGP is actually a spent force," says Mr Tarun Gogoi asserting that there would be a change in the candidates to ensure victory. (UNI) |
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Main source of HIV infection among children is the mother NEW DELHI, Feb 12: One out of every three children born to an infected mother will be HIV positive, proving that mother to child transmission is by far the main source of HIV infection in children below the age of 15 years. The studies show that the virus may be transmitted during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding. UnAIDS have estimated that approximately 1,70,000 children under the age of 15 years were living with HIV/AIDS in India by the end of 2001, according to the latest official data available. The effects of HIV/AIDS on infants and children are visible earlier than in adults because HIV-infected infants have a much shorter survival time than HIV-infected adults. Since most HIV-infected infants survive the first year of their birth but die before reaching the age of five years, the effect on the under-five mortality rate is much more pronounced than on the infant mortality rate, according to an official report. Official sources said in the absence of preventive measures, the risk of transmission from an infected mother ranges from 15-25 per cent in developed countries and 25-45 per cent in developing countries. The difference in transmission rates is largely because of feeding practices. Breast feeding is more common and generally practiced for longer period of time in developing countries than in developed nations. The number of women infected with HIV is steadily rising. One in every four cases reported is a woman. Sentinel surveillance data from antenatal clinics in seven major urban centres of India reveal that HIV rate is rising among young married, monogamous women, a population traditionally considered to be at low risk. The sources said women lacked access to preventive interventions and technologies and to treatment, care and support. A generally lower quality of health of many Indian women also increases their vulnerability to infection, thus becoming a major factor in the spread of the epidemic. Several sample surveys of antenatal mothers indicate infection rate of four per cent. In 2000, HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal clinics was higher than two per cent in Andhra Pradesh and exceeded one per cent in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu and in several major cities, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The mother to child transmission, however, can be reduced by using anti-retroviral drugs . More than 3.97 million Indians are living with HIV and 90 per cent of the total cases are reported from the sexually and productive age group of 15-49 years. The epidemic is moving from high-risk groups to the general population. (UNI) |
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Sohail Khan:India has everything to gain from peace with Pak NEW DELHI, Feb 12: With his chocolaty face and natty appearance, this younger brother of teenage heartthrob Salman Khan seems the most unlikliest of persons to mouth homilies on Indo-Pak peace. An interaction with Sohail Khan, whose endearing presence in the otherwise ‘forgettable’ Maine Dil Tujhko Diya last year swept the youth of the country off their feet, reveals an individual who, like many of his contemporaries in Bollywood, is passionate about furthering amity between India and Pakistan. The director of ‘sweet and youthful’ love stories as Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (Kajol, Salman Khan) and Hello Brother(Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee), Sohail feels that recent moves to further relations between the two countries are steps in the right direction. "The ongoing peace moves between the two countries is a laudable step. Both India and Pakistan have everything to gain from a friendly relationship as no power in the world can match the joint might of the two countries, be it in the realm of art, culture or cricket,"Sohail told UNI here. Sohail feels that the heightened tensions between the two nations is, in part, due to the authorities in the two countries playing in the hands of the western powers . "I feel that Governments of the two countries should not play in the hands of the western powers, who do not want India and Pakistan to come closer as they know that together, the two nations can form a potent force that would be difficult for them to challenge or bend." In fact, it is this message that he seeks to promote through his new film, I proud to be Indian , a film that strives to put across the message of greater unity between people of Indian and Pakistani origin through the subject of racism encountered by Asians settled in the West, specially in the United Kingdom. According to Sohail, whose new film is far removed from the romantic films that he made in the past, the time had come for Bollywood to increasingly reflect real-life issues and problems. "The days for ‘Popcorn Fare’ and ‘Masala films’are passe. Today, the audience is more intelligent and has the world television at its disposal. So, one cannot fool it with simply ‘song and dance’ fare in the name of entertainment. Instead, films should reflect real issues, ones which affect the common man,"Sohail said. In keeping with his desire to reflect reality in his films, sohail was inspired to make I proud.. After he, during his visits to the United Kingdom, heard tales of Asians suffering atrocities at the hand of ‘skinheads’. "Whenever I met my friends in the West, they would recount their bad experiences as well as those of their children studying at local schools and colleges. So, when London-based filmmaker Punit Sira narrated this script to me, I immediately decided that I wanted to make the film," Sohail said. The film stars Sohail in the lead role of the person who, with the help of a local Pakistani (played by Pak actor Imran) fights the skinheads who are committing atrocities on Asians. Like many people in the industry who feel that Pak-bashing in Indian films should come to an end, Sohail is of the opinion that Bollywood films should avoid enhancing bitterness between the two nations through the protagonist in the films mouthing ‘jingoistic’ dialogues. "Such films only add to the bitterness between peoples of the two countries and hence should be avoided,"Sohail said. "Be it the Indians, the Pakistanis, or the Bangladeshis living in the West, all of them are, in an equal measure, victims of the racist discrimination by the ‘whites’ against Asians or non-whites as they call them. The message that we want to put across is that since people of these countries have a similar culture, similar habits as well as similar problems, why can’t we live in peace and bonhomie,"he said. As a filmmaker, Sohail seems to have come a long way since he his directorial debut Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya , which was followed by a youthful love story Hello Brother . In between, he also made his acting debut with Maine Dil Tujhko Diya , another love story which was also the debut of Sameera reddy. As the ‘Chocolaty’ hero of Maine Dil Tujhko Diya , he swept the youth of the country off their feet with his endearing presence in the otherwise ‘forgettable’ film. The praise for his performance in the film notwithstanding, the ‘poor’ response to the film at the box office seems to have sworn sohail off handling acting and direction at the same time (Sohail also directed maine.... ), at least for the time being. "The debacle of the film made me realise that handling direction as well as acting simultaneously is not my cup of tea,"Sohail said. So, I proud... , in which Sohail plays the lead role, is being directed by London-based Punit Sira. "It is the first time that an outsider is directed one of my home productions," Sohail said. The film, which also stars Pakistani actress Hina and Pakistani actor Imran Ahmed in key roles, releases tomorrow. (UNI) |
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Steps to curb ticketless travelling inadequate: Report NEW DELHI, Feb 12: Observing that there is substantial loss of revenue from ticketless travel and sale of fake tickets, a Parliamentary committee has slammed the Railway Ministry for taking "inadequate" steps to curb the widespread menace. In its report, the committee pointed out that the ticket checking system had also "susbstantially deteriorated" and the number of touts had been going up, resulting in the denial of tickets to passengers in some trains, even when the booking was done a month before the date of travel. Suggesting a slew of measures to plug the loopholes in the reservation and ticket checking systems, the committee said there should not be any advance reservation for short journey - up to 200 Km. Stressing that all-out efforts should be made to improve the Vigilance system, the committee, headed by Mr K Yerrannaidu, strongly recommended that the ministry should take punitive action against the railway employees conniving with the touts or causing harm to the railway property. The other recommendations include surprise checks by senior officers, adequate number of ticket windows at stations and more open ticket counters in the cities. Another major recommendation the committee made was "the opening of Public Reservation System (PRS) centres at non-railheads district headquarters where the district administration provides free accommodation to the railways." As per the existing guidelines for providing computerised reservation facilities at non-railhead district headquarters, State Governments provide the build-up space free of cost. In the action taken report, the Railway Ministry had reeled out figures of preventive checks conducted by the Vigilance staff in mass contact areas during the three calendar years (2000-02). In 2001, as many as 6,038 Vigilance staff conducted 25,840 checks in mass contact areas while the figures for the year 2002 stood at 6686 and 23,783 respectively. While appreciating "some efforts" by the railways to conduct Vigilance checks in mass contact areas for curbing ticketless travel and touting activities, the report, however, asserted that merely conducting occasional checks in such areas would not stop the menace unless their frequency was substantially increased. Moreover, the statistics did not reveal "if the checks conducted pertain to ticketless travels, fake tickets touts or erring employees. The ministry has not specified any concrete steps to stop revenue leakages through ticketless travel and such other malpractices," said the report. The committee also expressed disappointment over the ministry’s failure to address its recommendations regarding adequate number of ticket windows at stations, more open ticket counters in cities and doing away with the system of advance reservation for short journeys upto 200 Km. "If the Government had addressed these aspects, it would have been effective in plugging the revenue leakages and put a check on ticketless travel," said the report, stressing that sincere and concerted efforts should be made to stop the menace. (UNI) |
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CBI submits report in Bilkis case in SC NEW DELHI, Feb 12: CBI today submitted its interim status report to the Supreme Court in the Bilkis Yaqub gang rape-cum-massacre case, in which the agency told the Court about alleged lapses on the part of Gujarat Police in investigating the matter in the preliminary stage. The 30-page report about the case being probed by Special Investigation Cell of the CBI was submitted to Registrar (judicial) B M Gupta. It details the progress made by the agency in the probe into the case. The report also contains medical report of the Godhra Medical College which indicated that the five-month pregnant Bilkis was gang-raped, CBI sources said. The CBI, which began fresh investigation into the entire case, reported about the probe conducted by its Special Team which camped in village Panivela near Ahmedabad, besides giving interrogation details of 13 people arrested in the case, including a head constable of Gujarat Police. The CBI also stated about the recovery made by the agency with the help of CFSI and forensic department of AIIMS in excavation of bones near a river in the same village. The report said certain tests were being conducted on the bones and that the Court would be apprised about the results in its later reports. CBI registered the first case in the Gujarat riots case and named Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai and Naresh Moriya under various sections of the IPC including rape and murder. The CBI report also told the Court about the recovery of some cloth pieces and packets of salt used for quick decomposition of bones. (PTI) "Concerns of elderly must be included in poll manifestos’’ NEW DELHI, Feb 12: The agewell foundation, a consortium of over 1500 NGOs, has asked the various political parties to include issues concerning over 80 million senior citizens in their election manifestos for the Lok Sabha polls. The foundation regretted that political parties today are trying to tailor all their policies and attention towards the young and seem to have forgotten that there was a very large constituency of not so young amongst the Indian voters. It has asked the parties to show their commitment to the welfare of the elderly and highlight in their manifestos the problems being faced by millions of older people and reassure them of their commitment. This could be done by including issues like providing social security and financial support to older people. The foundation said that it was important for society as a whole and the political parties in particular to appreciate the decisive role being played by the most experienced section of the society. "They are the people who have worked for the progress of the country as a whole and so contributed in upbringing and moulding of the professional competence and sense of responsibility of the present generation which is their children and grand children. In fact now they are working for the betterment of the society without any charge on the social resources by providing help to their immediate family, social service in their local circles and providing guidance at different levels." Taking up the cause of the elderly would be an important political move for the parties as they constitute about eight per cent of the total population and 12 per cent of the voters. Since senior citizens have far more faith in democratic system almost 90 per cent of them assert their right to cast votes. "Statistics prove that the average number of total votes cast during any elections is only 50 to 55 per cent. It is quite obvious that the so-called minority amongst voters i.e. older persons constitute 20 to 25 per cent of the actual voters,"the foundation pointed out. According to the Agewell foundation’s research and advocacy centre for needs and rights of older persons, the important issues concerning the elderly was the need to secure a firm social security network. Another important concern was trouble free and sustained financial support system. They want focus on gerentological research and specific healthcare assistance facility. The need older persons friendly policies at all level of governance. In all the developed countries a special social security net has been provided to look after the useful section of the society but in india they were totally at the mercy of social morass, the foundation pointed out. It said that the disintegration of the joint family system in cities and moving away of younger generations in search of jobs have compounded the problem. With the rise in life expectancy this section of sociey would be much larger in the coming years and would have an influential say in the vote bank politics and hence it was prudent for the political parties to nurture the constituency, it observed. (UNI) 100,000 signatures reach Ambassador against turban ban NEW DELHI, Feb 12: Leaders of several Sikh organisations have submitted with the French Ambassador an appeal signed by 100,000 people to exempt the turbaned community from a proposed ban on religious emblems in public schools. They have also sought an audience with President Jacques Chirac after France’s lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a Government drive to reinforce secular traditions. "On behalf of 20 million sikhs in India, a delegation met Ambassador Dominique Girard and submitted with him a memorandum with 100,000 handwritten signatures in an appeal to the French Government to reverse its drive against religious symbols in public schools," World Punjabi Organisation (WPO) International president Vikramjit Singh Sahney said. United Sikhs Director Jaspal Singh, Human Rights Advocate H S Phoolka, former Vice-Chancellor Anup Singh and SGPC member Jaswinder Singh were part of the delegation that called on the French Ambassador yesterday. "The turban is an integral part of the Sikh way of life and not just a religious symbol. We are confident that the French Government will revisit the premise on which this issue is based and revise its decision," the WPO Chief added, citing historical links his community shared with the French. He recalled the presence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Military Generals in the Army of his contemporary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. More than 100,000 Sikhs died with their turbans on while fighting for the French and other allied forces during the world wars, Mr Sahney said. "Banning turbans from French schools will tantamount to rejecting religion which does not appear to be the rationale behind the proposed law." The French Ambassador has promised to forward the 100,000-signature memorandum to his Government, Mr Sahney said. The signatories include Sikhs particularly from Punjab, Delhi and Kanpur. United Sikhs had last month started a global online signature campaign for a petition titled "right to turban". "The comments on the online petition carry a single message: Sikh turban is a non-negotiable article for the community," said Mr Sahney. In the memorandum, the Sikh leaders said a ban on religious garments stood in violation of Article 9 of the European convention on human rights — the right to manifest one’s religion. "Also of potential relevance are Article 8 (respect for private life, which includes dress), Article 10 (freedom of expression, which includes symbolic speech), and Article 14 (freedom from discrimination in the enjoyment of other convention rights)," the memorandum said. The Sikh delegation also request the Ambassador’s assistance to secure an audience with the French President Jacques Chirac, the education and the interior ministers of that country over the issue. (UNI) VHP to ciruclate 11-point pre-poll agenda to parties BANGALORE, Feb 12: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will circulate its eleven-point pre-election agenda to all political parties, urging them to reveal their stand on the matter in their election manifesto, VHP All India Secretary Mohan Joshi said today. The VHP wanted the next Parliament to ban coversion and declare it as a cognisable offence. The State Governments also should enforce a law with provisions for rigorous punishment of ten years and fine of minimum Rs 10 lakh to those involved in conversion, he said while adressing a press conference here. The VHP will start nation-wide service projects in one lakh villages, mainly tribal, to counter conversions, he added. The other major points in the agenda included handing over of the disputed site in Ayodhya to the Hindus, banning of cow slaughter, introduction of a Common Civil Code, making Article 370 null and void and stop taking over of Hindu monasteries and Temples and sale of their properties. Mr Joshi lamented that an administrative policy of appeasement of the Christian and Muslim minorities in the country had made conversion rampant, leading to a situation where Hindus were treated as "secondary citizens". He alleged that it was under under the cover of service projects in the fields of education, health and village development that conversions were taking place in the country. He claimed that muslims were not too behind in conversion, as more that community had over two lakh members engaged in it. "Conversion of Hindus is part of an international conspiracy to divide India. On an average, 18 lakh Hindus get converted a year," he added. (UNI) Women artists dominate Elephanta festival this year MUMBAI, Feb 12: The Elephanta festival on an island off the Gateway of India here, provided a rare opportunity for internationally famed Indian women artists to assemble under one roof and display their music and dance skills. Eminent international artists - Anuradha Pal, N Rajam, Aruna Jairam, Malavika Sarukkai and Shubhada left the music lovers spell bound by their enchanting ragas and dance at the two-day festival that concluded on Sunday at Elephanta caves, about 10 nautical miles from the city. The much-awaited festival, organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) every year, provides an opportunity for artists to showcase their traditional Indian classical art forms in their own unique style. The only exception to all-women affair this time was Raja Reddy. The Raja-Radha Reddy duo enthralled the audience by their lyrical charm and perfect unison in Kuchipudi dance. In precise postures and refined patterns, the duo brought the magnificent sculptures chiseled in rock in ancient Indian Temple tradition, to life. Aruna Sairam, an artist of great fitnesse and rare skill, recited ‘Raag Bhairavi’. Initiated into the niceties of carnatic music by her mother Rajalakshmri Sethuraman, a well known musician and performer, Aruna’s voice is a beautiful blend of resonance and range. She is popular for her renditions of Abhangs, Devarnamas, Tamil songs and folk songs in various languages. Her repertoire includes rare compositions of Syama Sastri and Dikshitar. Her enchanting performances in various noteworthy concerts all over India and abroad have won her rave reviews. The traditional welcome with the catchy tunes of ‘Koli’ fisher folk, the aesthetically erected stage, glittering lighting, delicious ethnic food and the marvellously illuminated ‘Maheshmurti’ cave provide an unforgettable experience to those who attend the prestigious festival. The festival also saw Anuradha Pal, the first and only female professional tabla player in the world, performing with violinist Padma Bhushan awardee N Rajam. A disciple of legendary tabla maestros, late Ustad All Rakha and Ustad Zakir Husain, Ms Pal has been internationally acclaimed as an accomplished soloist and a versatile and sought after accompanist. An ‘A’ grade artist of the All-India Radio and recipient of many prestigious awards, she has performed extensively in India and abroad with top ranking musicians. One of the accomplished Hindustani violinists, Rajam performed the famous Varanasi style ‘Thumri’ along with Ms Pal. She has played a stellar role in bringing the violin into the folds of the ‘Gayaki Ang’ and giving a new dimension and direction to the art in Hindustani style. Shubhada, an exceptionally talented danseuse, performed ‘Thumak Chalat Ramchandra’ in Odissi style. Her dance was a fascinating union of eloquent expressions, graceful movements and captivating postures. Her commitment to this dance form enables her to portray most effectively the intensely emotional and lyrical artistry of Odissi. Malavika Sarukkai, an outstanding performer of Bharat Natyam, narrated an event from ‘Ramayana’ through her ‘Abhinaya’ (acting). She is acclaimed nationally and internationally for her contemporary Bharat Natyam dance style with its innovative-within-tradition choreography. (UNI) |
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