Excelsior... Nation

Former Orissa Chief
Minister Nilamani
Routray passes away

CUTTACK, Oct 4: Veteran freedom fighter and former Orissa Chief Minister Nilamani Routray died this morning at the ...more

‘Lack of choice leads
cinegoers to patronise
sex-filled films’

NEW DELHI, Oct 4: "My film has no item songs, no sex and no double meaning dialogues." As one listens to this ....more

Government open to talks
with insurgents, says Patil

GUWAHATI, Oct 4: Describing the serial blasts in Assam as "acts of cowardice", Home Minister Shivraj Patil today .....more

Bhujbal attempts to
re-assert himself in
state polity from Yeola

LASALGAON (MAHARASHTRA), Oct 4: From Yeola constituency of Nasik district in ......more

Blasts intended to derail
Naga talks: Nagaland CM

DIMAPUR, Oct 4: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said the recent twin blasts ...more

Ujjwala Shinde- star
campaigner for Sushilkumar Shinde

SOLAPUR (MAHARASHTRA), Oct 4: He may be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra ...more

Australia moves to
protect "Jaws"

SYDNEY, Oct 4: Australian Rodney Fox was spear fishing off the country’s southern coast when a great white shark attacked him. . ....more

Patil for coordinated
effort to counter
insurgency

GUWAHATI, Oct 4: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today admitted that insurgency in the northeast has turned for the.......more

Former Orissa Chief Minister Nilamani Routray passes away

CUTTACK, Oct 4: Veteran freedom fighter and former Orissa Chief Minister Nilamani Routray died this morning at the S C B Medical College and hospital following protracted illness. He was 85.

Routray, also a former Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Environment and Forest, was undergoing treatment at the hospital for over a month.

Hospital sources said his condition deteriorated last night and he was kept on life support system. The end came at 0725 hours.

Born on May 24, 1920, Routray after graduation became a journalist. He served as editor of langugae daily ‘Prajatantra’ before joining the freedom movement.

He was a dedicated force in the freedom struggle and was imprisoned several times. He had rendered valuable service to the riot stricken industrial workers in 1946 during direct action days of Muslim league.

Routray was elected to the State Assembly six times and became Chief Minister in 1977. Prior to that he had served as deputy Chief Minister twice and minister for twelve times.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and served as Health and Family Welfare Minister and then Forest and Environment Minister.

Routray was one of the founders of Orissa unit of All India Students Federation and also organiser of the state unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress in which he later held the post of secretary and then president.

He was also the president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee during 1967-70 and later joined the Utkal Congress and became its president. Subsequently he switched over to bharatiya lok dal and became its state unit president.

Routray contested the 1971 Assembly elections from Basudebpur as Utkal Congress candidate and became the deputy Chief Minister. He then contested the 1977 Assembly elections as Janata Dal candidate and was the Chief Minister till 1980.

During his three decade old political career, routray held the post of deputy minister from 1952-57, minister from 1957 to 1967, deputy Chief Minister from 1963-1965, minister in 1971 and again deputy Chief Minister in 1973.

He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1976 as Bharatiya Lok Dal candidate, but then returned to Orissa politics in 1977 and became the Chief Minister in February 1977.

During his tenure as minister and deputy Chief Minister, he had held portfolios of home, supply, commerce, political and services, cooperation, forest, labour, employment and housing, mining and geology, state public corporation and undertakings, industries and law at different times.

During his two years tenure in Lok Sabha, Routray served as the Health and Family Welfare Minister from December 5,1989 to April 23, 1990 and then as Environment and Forest Minister from April 23, 1990 to November 10,1990.

Routray’s only son Bijayashree Routray is at present the Health and Family Welfare Minister in the Naveen Patnaik Government. (UNI)

‘Lack of choice leads cinegoers to patronise sex-filled films’

NEW DELHI, Oct 4: "My film has no item songs, no sex and no double meaning dialogues."

As one listens to this debutant filmmaker waxing eloquent about the merits of providing ‘clean entertainers’ in the current scene, flooded with films having sex as their USP, one wonders what chances a film devoid of all these ‘masala elements’ has at the ticket window.

"Films with a liberal dose of sex rule the roost today because the audience does not really have a choice. Give them clean and entertaining films and they will definitely come to the theatres, at least once, to watch them," Kamlesh Bhandari, the producer of the forthcoming film ‘Wife Hai To Life Hai’, which also marks the foray of the Das music company into Hindi film production, told UNI here.

In the capital for the promotion of his film, which he described as an ‘entertaining family drama’ with a lot of comedy and emotions-which will bring back to the cinegoers memories of Sooraj Barjatya’s 90s classic ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’, Kamlesh Bhandari said, "our main purpose of making this film, which is the story of three kids looking for a beautiful wife for their uncle Bharat, was to demonstrate that in today’s times a film with ‘purely entertainment value’ can also do well despite the absence of the so called masala elements. Basically, we wanted to bring back the ‘old world charm’ to cinegoers who, we feel, are tired of watching films like ‘Murder’ ‘Hawas’ and ‘Julie’ and are looking for something new and fresh."

Another feature of the film, slated for release in mid-November, is the fact that it has wholly newcomers associated with its working. While the film casts newcomers Bharat, Shruti and Rupali in the lead roles, it has been directed by a newcomer Jainendra. At the same time it is the debut venture for producers Kamlesh and co-producer Virendra Rathore.

As the film’s co-producer Virendra Rathore told UNI: "We have made the film with newcomers as including stars in the film would not have allowed us to make the film the way we wanted to, ie, as a ‘clean entertainer’. Working with newcomers ensured that the film has shaped up exactly the way we wanted, as also enabled us to complete the film in just 28 days shooting."

On whether he thought the film stood a chance amidst several multi-starrers and big budget films like ‘Veer Zara’, ‘Aetraaz’, ‘Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo’ and many others which are releasing in November, Virendra said, "no doubt films like ‘Veer Zara’ and ‘Aetraaz’ will get the initial draw on the strength of its star-cast. But if our film is good, the audiences will, sooner or later, come to the cinema halls to see it. I personally believe that if there are multiple releases on the same day all can do well if they are well made. As for my being a small budget one, I would say that spending more money is no guarantee for success. History has shown that amidst big-budget releases a small budget venture turns out to be ‘The Dark Horse’."

‘Wife Hai To Life Hai’ also marks the entry in the film production scene of, Das music, a recently launched company which, in the six months of its operations, has released 42 music titles across categories like pop, films, ghazals, devotional and folk in Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Gujarati languages. (UNI)

Government open to talks with insurgents, says Patil

GUWAHATI, Oct 4: Describing the serial blasts in Assam as "acts of cowardice", Home Minister Shivraj Patil today said the Centre would do everything to support the Assam Government and its door for talks with insurgent outfits like ULFA was "still open".

"These are dastardly and cowardly acts Government of India will do everything to help the Assam Government," Patil said at a hurriedly convened press conference here.

He said "if anybody comes with any condition and wants to hold talks, we will not accept. The talks should be held without any condition".

According to official figures, there have been 15 blasts in the state so far and three incidents of firing. At least 36 people have been killed and 194 injured in these incidents since yesterday.

Asked whether the Government was still willing to hold talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), he said "we have not closed the doors for talks, but it is our duty to save human lives and innocent people".

Patil said a multi-pronged strategy was being worked out to check terrorism.

On the multi-pronged strategy to counter insurgency, the Home Minister said there was a proposal that every state in the northeast would have a nodal officer who would coordinate among themselves on various related issues.

"This is a proposal and we will consider it," Patil said.

He said those involved in these attacks "will be dealt with firmly. We will concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not take place in future".

The Home Minister said the Assam Government had asked for more security forces which would be given.

Asked whether the twin blasts in Nagaland were aimed to derail the peace process, Patil replied in the negative and said stern measures would be take in that state too against those indulging in violent activities.

He said the people were angry at those behind the blasts and other violent incidents.

The Home Minister said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had drawn up long and short term plans for developmental activities in different parts of the State and the Centre would also play a role in these activities.

Earlier, Patil, accompanied by Gogoi and top officials of the Home Ministry, visited the violence-hit areas of lower Assam to take stock of the situation. (PTI)

Bhujbal attempts to re-assert himself in state polity from Yeola

LASALGAON (MAHARASHTRA), Oct 4: From Yeola constituency of Nasik district in north Maharashtra, former Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader, Chhagan Bhujbal is trying to re-assert himself in the state polity, this time as a leader who represents rural Maharashtra.

Contesting from a relatively unfamiliar yeola constituency, Bhujbal wants to shun the tag of being an urban face of the party. Finding time between campaigning in rest of the state for his party candidates, Bhujbal is moving in his constituency known for being largest producer and exporter of onions in the country.

He will take on a political lightweight, but two-time legislator, Kalyanrao Patil of the Shiv Sena. Bhujbal has a tough task ahead. With the 1995 defeat at the hands of Shiv Sena youth leader Bala Nandgaonkar not erased from is memory, Bhujbal has to prove himself in the electoral politics and consolidate his position in the party and states politics.

"If one has to do politics in Maharashtra, one has to represent the rural Maharashtra", Bhujbal told PTI here today.

His constituency Yeola consists of south-eastern parts of Nasik district that are known for onion and grapes cultivation. Although rich in agricultural produce, development has not reached the region.

Lack of irrigation infrastructure, drinking water problem, bad roads, lack of industries are some of the issues which people lament about, and blame it to absence of strong leadership from the region.

"People want a strong leader who can move things in the Government and deliver goods, and they see it all in Bhujbal," party sources said.

"People have a lot of expectations from me and I will ensure that I do not let them down", Bhujbal said. By presenting Bhujbal in Yeola, NCP wants people to choose between a leader like Bhujbal who can make a difference or a two-time Sena legislator who missed the bus although the people chose him twice.

In the 1999 Assembly polls, sitting legislator, Kalyanrao Patil won by a narrow margin of 211 votes, defeating Narendra Darade of the Congress. Ambadas Bankar of the NCP had stood third. Going by the Arithmetic calculations, the total votes of Darade and Bankar were more the twice what Sena MLA bagged that time.

With the Congress-NCP alliance this time, and both Darade and Bankar actively supporting Bhujbal, the NCP leader should have a smooth sailing. (PTI)

Blasts intended to derail Naga talks: Nagaland CM

DIMAPUR, Oct 4: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today said the recent twin blasts here were intended at derailing the Naga talks and asked the Centre to hasten the peace process.

"As the Home Minister (Shivraj Patil) has said, it is moving in the right direction. But I would say that the process should move much faster because if we delay, there will be more trouble which may interfere with and jeopardise the peace process," Rio said here.

Hastening of the peace process "would also bring more and more underground leaders to the dialogue table", he said adding that the Home Minister’s visit had "instilled a sense of confidence... The support showed by the Centre is tremendous."

Asserting that normalcy will definitely return, Rio said delay in the political dialogue would lead to more violence.

"I appeal to the Government of India to hasten the process.

"Nagaland Government acts as a facilitator for underground groups (to join the peace process) and to hasten the process of political dialogue. We also enjoy the support of the civil society. Now it is for the two parties - Centre and NSCN (IM) - to come to a logical conclusion," he said.

Rio said "many agencies and elements may be working against a solution" but did out elaborate.

Replying to a question, Rio said the intention behind the blasts was "very bad. Whatever the intention, the peace process will not be derailed."

He said the north-east had been affected by insurgency for about five decades but "a terrorist act, a bomb blast like this, which caused civilian casualty is the first of the kind.

On the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he said peaceful atmosphere was prevailing in Nagaland and AFSPA had not been exercised in the state.

"It is for the Government of India to assess the situation. We are no one to judge their decision," he said.

On insurgent camps in Bangladesh, Rio said "it is for all to see what interference they are doing."

He also said illegal immigration was also a problem.

"From time to time, we check, arrest and deport but there are still many illegal immigrants," Rio said.

Twenty six people were killed and nearly 100 injured in the twin blasts on Saturday in the commercial city. (PTI)

Ujjwala Shinde- star campaigner for Sushilkumar Shinde

SOLAPUR (MAHARASHTRA), Oct 4: He may be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra but in his Assembly constituency she plays the role of a star campaigner with Elan.

May it be conducting door-to-door meetings, explaining the electorate about Congress-led DF Government’s achievements or fine-tuning strategy with senior party activists—Ujjwala Shinde is undoubtedly the force behind her husband, Sushilkumar Shinde, who is seeking a renewed mandate from south Solapur Assembly constituency.

A visibly tired Ujjwala, on her return from the tour of villages falling in this constituency, told PTI at Shinde’s ‘Jai-Jui’ residence in the city that it is not only during elections alone that she keeps in touch with the electorate as Saheb (Shinde) is preoccupied with other responsibilities

The Chief Minister, who was away in the state capital, appears to have full faith in his star campaigner, when he told PTI over phone that he would be touring the constituency in the last two days of campaigning.

When asked is he not worried about the challenge posed by a 20 something independent candidate, Uday Patil, nephew of independent MLA in Karnataka Ravi Patil, and Shiv Sena’s Shivaji Pise, Shinde says in every election there is bound to be a challenge.

But defeat of Congress nominee Anand Deokate in the by-poll to Parliamentary seat after Sushilkumar Shinde vacated it to become the Chief Minister and later Ujjwala Shinde’s defeat in the general elections has forced shinde camp not to take the election lightly.

"We are making an all round effort so that Shinde’s victory margin is increased," says Ujjwala Shinde. She, however, quickly adds "I do not criticize the opposition candidates but my campaign is positive highlighting the development carried out by the Congress regime."

Nearly 60 per cent of the population comprises of Dhangar and Lingayat community to which Pise and Patil respectively belong.

The rest of the population is a mix of other backward classes, minorities, Marathas and Brahmins.

While both Pise and Patil are expected to secure major chunk of their votes from their respective communities, the Congress camp is banking on the support of OBCs and minorities to tilt the balance to their side. (PTI)

Australia moves to protect "Jaws"

SYDNEY, Oct 4: Australian Rodney Fox was spear fishing off the country’s southern coast when a great white shark attacked him.

The shark, an ocean predator made famous in the movie "Jaws", tore open his abdomen, broke all the ribs on his left side and ripped open one of his lungs.

Fox’s main artery from his heart was exposed and he was minutes away from his veins collapsing from the massive loss of blood. He survived but needed 462 stitches.

Today, with part of a shark tooth still embedded in his wrist, fox has become one of the world’s foremost champions of the great white, arguing an animal that strikes fear into the hearts of swimmers needs urgent protection.

"Since my attack in 1963 I have dedicated most of my life to the appreciation, preservation and research of the great white shark," says Fox, who now runs rodney fox shark experience, submerging divers in cages to come face-to-face with great whites off southern Australia.

Fox’s dive operations also include a conservation programme where people can adopt a great white, with money going towards research into a shark that scientists know very little about.

His foundation raises funds for research and tags the sharks off southern Australia to identify individuals and give some estimate on their number, biology and social behaviour.

"We must learn to live with and understand all sharks, including the great white sharks, and not kill them simply out of fear," says Fox, who believes he was not maliciously attacked but simply mistaken probably for a seal or sea-lion.

The Australian Government, backed by Madagascar, will seek to have the great white shark (carcharodon carcharias) given global protection at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Bangkok that began on Saturday.

Placing the shark onto CITES appendix II listing of animals, those in need of protection to prevent them from being threatened with extinction, will impose strict quotas on the trade in great whites by 166 countries.

The animal is fully protected in Australian waters, where it is listed as vulnerable, and is protected in waters off South Africa, the United States, Namibia, Malta and the Maldives.

But the great white is one of the world’s great migratory fishes, travelling thousands of kilometres (miles), leaving it targeted by trophy hunters and commercial fishers elsewhere.

"Despite being one of the fiercest predators in the ocean, the great white shark is extremely vulnerable," says Australian Environment Minister David Kemp.

"The great white shark is a highly migratory species and unless global action is taken to protect it and its habitat, it could face extinction," says Kemp.

It is already classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has been placed on its "red list" of threatened species that face a high risk of global extinction.

Nobody knows the number of great whites in the world’s oceans, but it is accepted that it is extremely rare.

Scientific evidence suggests the known global population has declined by at least 20 percent in the past 60 years, with a 60-95 percent decline in specific areas such as the northwest Atlantic, the Adriatic, South Africa and Australia in 50 years.

The problem great whites face is that they mature very slowly and females give birth to a small number of young only every two or three years, which means they are unable to quickly replenish numbers taken by fishermen.

And the international trade in shark products — jaws, teeth, fins for Chinese shark fin soup, and shark cartilage for traditional Chinese medicines — is booming.

Great white jaws and teeth are regarded as trophy items with recent reports that a single jaw fetched us 50,000 in South Africa and US 600 for individual teeth. Shark meat fetches up to US 7.60 a kilo in southeast Asia.

Australia originally listed the great white on CITES appendix III in 2000 in the hope of encouraging countries to control the shark trade, but this has been ineffective says Australia.

Environmentalists say Australia’s proposal to add the great white to CITES’ appendix II faces strong opposition at the Bangkok meeting from China and Japan.

The humane society international says Japan, a major fishing nation, generally opposes cites regulating trade in commercial fishes and China is a major importer of shark fin.

"The species is naturally rare and all available data points to serious population declines in recent decades, with no signs of recovery," says the society’s Australia spokeswoman Nicola Beynon.

There are 350 species of sharks worldwide. But the great white, which can grow to 7 metres and over 3 tonnes, arguably has the worst reputation, particularly since the 1975 Hollywood movie "Jaws" sent swimmers worldwide fleeing from the surf.

An attacking great white with rows of razor-sharp teeth is a fearsome sight as the animal does not chew its prey, but rips it into mouth-sized pieces to swallow whole.

In the past three years the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide have fallen, according to the international shark attack file at Florida university.

The ISAF investigated 100 shark attacks in 2003 and found 55 were unprovoked, less than the 63 recorded in 2002. Of those only four were fatal attacks in 2003, compared with three in 2002.

And great whites accounted for only a few of these attacks, but given their size, their bites are usually fatal.

Rodney fox, who filmed live great white footage for "Jaws", is among the few to survive a great white attack. He struggled with the shark, at one stage poking it in the eyes until it released its bite.

Luckily for fox, who was attacked during a spear-fishing competition, he received swift medical treatment.

Fox’s son Andrew, who has worked with his father for 20 years in researching great whites, says most attacks on humans are a case of mistaken identity as large sharks such as great whites and tigers sharks usually prey on seals, sea-lions and dolphins.

"This shark doesn’t have a malicious intent to eat people. It is just out there doing a very important job of balancing the ocean’s ecosystem," says Andrew Fox.

"It (the fear of sharks) is based on a primeval fear of being eaten alive by a monster," he said. "The more we studied this shark, the more we realised they were not monsters and how vulnerable they were as a species." (AGENCIES)

Patil for coordinated effort to counter insurgency

GUWAHATI, Oct 4: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil today admitted that insurgency in the northeast has turned for the worse and underlined the need for inter-state coordination in the region to fight the ultras.

Talking to newsmen at Guwahati airport this noon, immediately after his arrival from Makrajhar village in Dhubri district of Assam where NDFB militants killed 14 villagers on Saturday, Mr Patil stated that the NE states should coordinate more intensely in fighting the militants.

He suggested that every state in the region should appoint an experienced as well as capable officer as nodal officer to co-ordinate with other states in the region to facilitate coordinated counter-insurgency operations.

"All the states in the region should deal with insurgents separately, as well as jointly in view of the changed situation and the Centre would extend all possible help to the states in this regard," he said.

Mr Patil, however, declined to term the situation in Assam, Nagaland and other NE states alarming and blamed the security and police forces for failing to contain activities of ultras.

"The insurgents can always attack soft targets like innocent civilians, including women and children anywhere anytime. But in the wake of the latest spurt in violence we can’t describe the situation as emergency," he said adding assistance from the people was required to fight the insurgents more effectively.

"The people in the violence affected area at Bogoribari in Dhubri district, while talking to me have not blamed the police or the army for the attacks. They have expressed their anguish against militants only," Mr Patil said.

Regarding demands from Assam and Tripura Governments to mount pressure on neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar to evict NE militants taking shelter in those countries, Mr Patil said, both the Chief Ministers of Assam and Tripura were experienced persons and they knew the reality about the relation with the neighbouring countries.

"At this momenmt we haven’t excluded anything, but we should not also jump to any conclusion," he said.

When asked whether the twin-blasts in Dimapur was going to affect the on-going Naga peace process, he said,’’we should not allow a situation to develop which will lead to more violence in the society.’’

The Home Minister further said that the Centre had not closed the door for talks with the banned ULFA and NDFB ultras in view of the spurt in violence in Assam. "We are ready to discuss issues of militants, but they should not put any condition for talks," he added.

He, however, candidaly stated that at this moment the Government was more concerned about the strategy to fight militants than to hold talks with ultras. "Today I am here to discuss a strategy, not the issue of talks with insurgents," he said. (UNI)