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Kalam asks scientists to develop low cost drugs NEW DELHI, Oct 8: President A P J Abdul Kalam today asked the scientist community to work towards finding effective drugs against diseases specific ...more Cong making strong bid to regain Bidar LS seat BIDAR (KTK), Oct 8: SPulling out all the stops, the Congress is seeking to wrest the Bidar Lok Sabha seat from BJP by its hard sell of Chief Minister N ....more Keen
contest on the SANGLI, MAHARASHTRA, Oct 8: A keen tussle is in the offing in western Maharashtra’s Sangli city constituency,.....more I would have loved to perform in Kashmir: Munnizae Jehangir SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Her dance guru is none other than the internationally acclaimed Kathak ......more |
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Dhruv’s aerial ballet steals the show at IAF’s 72 anniversary NEW DELHI, Oct 8: A meticulously-organised flypast by the Indian Air Force’s fighter aircraft at the force’s 72nd anniversary today was overtaken ...more Former IB DG files second affidavit before riot panel AHMEDABAD, Oct 8: Gujarat Government’s attempt to "downplay the role of the state intelligence bureau during the...more Gujarat gears up for Navratri, tourist extravaganza AHMEDABAD, Oct 8: ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ is again on the move for the second . . ....more Congress urges Governor to withhold consent to three bills CHANDIGARH, Oct 8: Haryana unit of the Congress today urged the State.......more |
Family courts fail as instruments of women’s redressal..... Rebellion may not affect Maharashtra Home Minister’s chances ...... |
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Kalam asks scientists to develop low cost drugs NEW DELHI, Oct 8: President A P J Abdul Kalam today asked the scientist community to work towards finding effective drugs against diseases specific to the region at affordable prices. "Since, majority of the population in the country falls below poverty line, drugs for common diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and coronary heart diseases should be made available at affordable prices," he said giving away `Ranbaxy Research Awards’ to scientists for their contribution in the field of medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Among the awardees, for the year 2002-2003, were C P Thakur, Dinakar M Saluke, Subroto Chatterjee, V M Katoch, Chella David and Bansi Lal. Stressing on the need for research aimed at finding affordable solutions to region-specific disease, Kalam said "it’s we who have to find effective drugs against the problems that prevail in our country such as malaria and tuberculosis." Though there are drugs which have proved to be effective against malaria, the cost comes out to be about 20 times higher that the common drugs used in the country, he said adding "we need to bring the cost as low as possible." Kalam asked the scientists to work on "gene chip" to fight against coronary heart disease as it is an emerging problem especially in the younger generation. "Gene chip technology could help identify the Mutated Gene even at an early stage thereby preventing the disease to grow," he said. The President also asked the researchers to work on stem cell due to its inherent potential to reverse the growth of diseases which are currently "untreatable". (PTI) |
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Cong making strong bid to regain Bidar LS seat BIDAR (KTK), Oct 8: SPulling out all the stops, the Congress is seeking to wrest the Bidar Lok Sabha seat from BJP by its hard sell of Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, who hails from north Karnataka, even as it takes on its own ruling coalition partner JD(S) in the October 13 by-election. Singh, the second leader of north Karnataka to be Chief Minister after late Veerendra Patil, a power lingayat leader, is leading his party campaign, seeking to woo 13.72 lakh voters saying a vote for Congress would boost his leadership. At every election rally addressed by Congress leaders or by Singh himself, pleas such as "Dharam Singh, a backward class leader’s hand should be strengthened" are made to the electorate who had chosen BJP’s 96-year-old Ramachandra Veerappa. The by-election is caused due to the death of Veerappa who had turned Bidar an impregnable fortress, winning the seat consecutively from 1991. Singh, accompanied by his favourite friend, Water Resources Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge and other prominent leaders drawn from all communities, has been fanning out in the constituency in a bid to unseat the BJP. Another emotional card being played by the Congress is to project the defeat tasted by its nominee Narasingharao Suryawanshi five times consecutively at the hands of Veerappa in 1991, 1196, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Bidar comprises eight Assembly segments—Aurad, Bhalki, Hulsoor, Bidar, Humnabad, Basavakalyan, Kamalapur and Alanda. The constituency has sizeable Lingayat, Kuruba and Muslim population apart from Lamabani tribals. The poll scene provided an interesting tussle as JD(S) has chosen to contest the election after talks between the two parties to put up a united fight against BJP failed. Asserting that it was inevitable for it to contest the election to maintain the party in tact, the JD(S), which won three Assembly segments from this Lok Sabha constituency, remained firm on contest. Out of the eight Assembly segments, the JD(S) won the Assembly segments of Basavakalyan, Humnabad and Aland and BJP wields influence in three—Hulsoor, Bhalki and Kamalapur, while Congress has hold over Aurad Assembly seat. The JD(S) campaign is being spearheaded by deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, a leader from Kuruba community. The JD (S) received a shot in its arm when Bandeppa Kashampur, an independent who won from Bidar Assembly segment, decided throw his weight behind the party. Kashampur belongs to Kuruba community. The party has fielded Babu Honna Naik, who hails from a tribal community, Lambani, which has sizeable population in parts of this constituency. The Congress and JD(S) have however been avoiding any reference to each other unlike they did during the recent assembly polls when they fought a bitter battle before they joined hands in the post poll scene to give the first coalition Government in Karnataka. Both the parties have been targeting BJP, in an attempt to see that either of the party candidate wins. (PTI) |
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Keen contest on the cards in Sangli city SANGLI, MAHARASHTRA, Oct 8: A keen tussle is in the offing in western Maharashtra’s Sangli city constituency, where the presence of NCP’s rebel Madan Patil has added colour to the contest. The segment will see a triangular contest between Madan Patil, Congress candidate and sitting MLA Dinkar Tukaram Patil and BJP’s Sambhaji Pawar in the October 13 election though there are a total of eight nominees in the fray. Madan Patil, grandson of former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vasantdada Patil, entered the electoral fray as an independent after being denied ticket by the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP, which left the seat for its partner Congress that fielded its sitting legislator. Madan Patil has good influence in Sangli and controls the Sangli-Miraj Municipal Corporation, local co-operative banks and institutes. He reportedly enjoys good rapport with a section of the Congress and NCP. Vasantdada’s son Prakash Patil, the Congress MP from Sangli, is also said to be behind Madan Patil though he is not openly backing him. Dinkar Patil had won the 1999 Assembly election by about 23,000 votes against Sambhaji Pawar, who was then in the Janata Dal (S), but is now contesting on BJP ticket. Till 1985, the Sangli city constituency was traditionally with the Congress represented by Vasantdada Patil in 1978, 1983 by-election and 1985 Assembly election. His wife Shalinitai Patil won the seat in 1980 Assembly election, but in the 1986 by-election the Congress lost the seat to Sambhaji Pawar. Mr Pawar retained the seat in 1990 and 1995 Assembly elections defeating Congress candidates V S Patil and Prakash Patil, Vasantdada’s nephew and son, respectively. He, however, could not achieve a hat-trick and was defeated by Dinkar Patil in 1999. Political pundits and people are divided over which candidate has an upper hand. Some say that the real fight is between Congress’ Patil and Madan Patil, while others feel that the division of Congress and NCP votes will benefit Mr Pawar. All the three candidates have intensified their campaign and are covering the constituency through ‘Padyatras’, door-to-door meetings and street corner meets. Bhahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Mubarak Maulavi, Peasant Workers Party’s (PWP) Ramchandra Ghodake are other prominent candidates in the fray. (UNI) I would have loved to perform in Kashmir: Munnizae Jehangir SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Her dance guru is none other than the internationally acclaimed Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj and she takes pride in saying that. Munnizae Jehangir, the daughter of famous Pakistani Human Rights Activist Asma Jehangir, has been performing the Indian dance in Pakistan and abroad since the age of five. "I learnt the art from Pandit Birju Maharaj. I am proud to be his student... But it was only for a brief period of three months. I wish it had been for a longer duration," she says. Ms Jehangir, who is here as a member of a Pakistani media delegation on its first ever visit to Jammu and Kashmir, says Pandit Birju Maharaj gave Kathak dance a new dimension by developing his own unique style and popularised the classical genre not only in India but all over the world. "He is perhaps the foremost exponent of Kathak." "I would have loved to perform in Kashmir, but...." she says. When asked to elaborate, Ms Jehangir laments that she is not carrying the costumes required for the performance. She has also learnt the art from late Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak of Lahore and Nahid Siddiqui, the first south Asian woman to perform with the royal ballet of England. Ms Jehangir has been honoured with a number of awards, including the President of Pakistan’s pride of performance, the Faiz, and the dance umbrella award given by the international city guide time out. She says Nahid Siddiqui has also been teaching Kathak since 1984 at the University of Surrey in England, where she lived for almost 20 years. She adds that the Nahid Siddiqui and company was formed in 1991 and has toured worldwide, staging some 14 productions. Ms Jehangir has also performed in several countries, including Germany, the UK, the US and Canada. "I am not a professional dancer but dance is my passion... Something which I cannot leave," she told UNI in an interview. Ms Jehangir, 27, is presently working for Pakistan’s independent news network, GEO TV. She had produced and directed ‘search for freedom,’ a documentary recently screened by the amnesty international in Washington and New York. The documentary portrays how the conflicts of Afghanistan affected the lives of four Afghan women, from 1920s to the present day. It was among the 16 films chosen from around the world to be screened at Amnesty international’s film festivals across the US. She has been a freelance journalist for the past 10 years and reported on environmental issues, child labour and human rights abuses. Ms Jehangir attained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and English from Mcgill university, Montreal, Canada and did her Master’s in Media Studies, with concentration in film and video from New School University, New York. She is very critical of the situation of classical arts in Pakistan. "Dance was a taboo in the Pakistani society. It was banned in the country for ten years. But now the image is breaking and the mindset is changing. We have world class dancers in Pakistan." However, she laments that Kathak is a dying art form in Pakistan. "We need to do something seriously about reviving it." Coming to politics, Ms Jehangir says Pakistan must give up Kashmir as a core issue. "The Kashmir issue is not a priority for the people of Pakistan and India... It is the matter of survival for all. It has been an issue since over a decade but today is held hostage to respective political compulsions in the two countries." "The country must have democracy in the real sense if it has to walk along with the rest of the world towards progress." "A democratic Government is the desire of every Pakistani but it eludes them today since they are victims of not only military dictatorship but also of the international gameplan," she claims. She says there is a general feeling among the Pakistani youth that the focus on Kashmir and the continuing conflict between the two countries would hamper the development of both the nations. About the atrocities on women and violation of women’s rights in Pakistan, Ms Jehangir says, "women’s rights are being crushed all over the world but it is unfortunate that Pakistan has laws that discriminate against women." Ms Jehangir calls for more people-to-people contact to strenthen ties betwen the two countries. "There should be no negative political intervention," she adds. (UNI) |
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Congress urges Governor to withhold consent to three bills CHANDIGARH, Oct 8: Haryana unit of the Congress today urged the State Governor to withhold assent to three bills passed recently by the State Assembly providing for curtailment of tenure of Panchayats, Municipal Committees and Municipal Corporations by 120 days. A party delegation, led by secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala in a memorandum submitted to Governor A R Kidwai here today, requested him to refer the three bills to the president for his consideration "in the light of the gross and total violation of the constitutional scheme, legal provisions as also political malafides involved." Surjewala said that since the five year tenure of the three local bodies had been fixed by the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments in 1992, the Haryana Assembly was not empowered to pass the three bills. "The Om Parkash Chautala led INLD Government is throwing to the winds the nation’s law and constitution in a totally undemocratic manner by indirectly trying to curtail the tenure of the Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samities, Zila Praishad, Municipal Committees and Municipal Corporations," he said at a press conference later. Surjewala said that the elections to the three bodies were due in March-April next year and the Assembly elections were due in February next year. "By curtailing the tenure by 120 days, Chautala wanted to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state by holding the elections of three local bodies before the Assembly elections," the Congress leader alleged. He said that Chautala wanted to hold the local bodies’ election before the Assembly poll as his defeat is writ large in the elections to the Vidhan Sabha. "Chautala proposes to misuse the official machinery to capture the important grassroot democratic institutions with a view to alter the verdict (in his favour) of the forthcoming Assembly elections," the memorandum said. The Congress leader said that Chautala’s defeat was imminent as the ruling INLD had secured just 18 per cent votes during the recent Lok Sabha elections and all its 10 nominees, including two sons of the Chief Minister, were defeated. He said that youth Ccongress workers will hold protest dharnas at all the 19 district headquarters in the state on October 15 and submit memorandum to the deputy Commissioners opposing curtailment of the tenure of the three local bodies. (PTI) |
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Family courts fail as instruments of women’s redressal KOLKATA, Oct 8: Family courts were set up over a decade back to act as instruments of redressal for women facing discrimination within the family. But meagre funds, lack of monitoring mechanism and absence of ‘sensitised’ judges and counsellors have rendered them vestigeal to the legal system. Women’s rights experts are wary with the way 34 family courts in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have been functioning — without giving much credence to the very ideals upon which they were set up. "In order that women are not subjected to harassment in regular civil and criminal courts due to legal delays, women’s movement had raised the demand for setting up of family courts in the country. But these institutions have failed to serve their purpose in the long run," says Jasodhara Bagchi chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women (WBCW). The problem, she says, lies in the root. For one, the preamble of the family courts, a central legislation enacted in 1984, did not contextualise women, but emphasised that the family as an institution needed to be saved. "This absence of the centrality of women’s needs has manifested in the actual organisation of the family courts," Bagchi says. Flavia agnes, eminent legal scholar and practicing advocate of the Mumbai High Court has just completed a national study on the functioning of the family courts and published the first part of the research on the two courts of West Bengal. "Judges approaching retirement are appointed to the family courts, for which the retirement age is 62. The postings are viewed as a humanitarian service to the district level Judges at the end of their career. Whom are we intending to do a service to — women or Judges?" Agnes asks. Sensitisation of the Judges prior to their appointment is also a major issue, agnes, an activist in the area of gender-just jurisprudence, says. "How do the judges cope with these changes from the system they are used to, in regular civil and criminal courts? well set in adversarial pattern of dispute resolution, how do they adapt to the needs of emotionally laden arena of family disputes, crucial rights of women and domestic violence?" she points out. The family courts in West Bengal are assigned a lower position within the court hierarchy by situating them within the Magistrate court complex at its near end in a dilapidated portion. "This defeats the purpose for which family courts have been set up — to shift the litigation fora away from the regular criminal and civil courts," Bagchi points out. Though Maharashtra enjoys a high budgetray allocation of over Rs 31 lakh per court (it has 16 courts), West Bengal allocates a dismal Rs 7.4 lakh to each of its two courts. "Unless this is posed as a preliminary concern and rectified, the condition of the family courts of the state can not improve," Agnes says. (PTI) Rebellion may not affect Maharashtra Home Minister’s chances TASGAON, MAHARASHTRA, Oct 8: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Maharashtra unit chief and State Home Minister R R Patil is likely to retain the Tasgaon Assembly constituency in Sangli district in western Maharashtra despite rebellion. The October 13 Assembly polls will see the NCP leader taking on independent candidate Sanjay (Kaka) Patil, a rebel from the Congress party, who may split the votes and affect the outcome of the election. Among the eight candidates contesting from this constituency the two other prominent candidates are Pratap Patil of the Shiv Sena and BSP’s Dattatraya Pandare. The fate of the candidates will be decided by about 1,74,000 voters, including around 86,000 women. The NCP leader has represented the constituency, famed internationally for its grapes, in 1990 and 1995 as Congress nominee. In the 1999 elections he retained the seat on the NCP ticket beating then Congress official candidate Sanjay Patil by a margin of around 3,500 votes. The minister, though, has some points in his favour. Firstly, western Maharashtra is considered a traditional bastion for the Congress-NCP alliance. Also unlike last time there is no official Congress candidate in the fray. The Congress party machinery is also working in his favour this time around with Congress MP from Sangli Parliamentary constituency Prakashbapu Patil, the son of ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vasantraodada Patil campaigning for the NCP state unit chief. The seat had earlier been represented by Congress strongman Dinkar Patil, uncle of Sanjay Patil. But in the 1990 election NCP Mr R R Patil then a Congress nominee won the seat by a margin of about 32,000 votes against independent D M Patil. He then went on to retain the seat in 1995 defeating former MLA Dinkar Patil, an independent, by over 50,000 votes. However, in the last elections the NCP leader retained the seat for the third time with a narrow margin. Sanjay Patil, the runner-up in 1999 election, was keen on fighting the elections on the Congress party ticket, but on being denied a nomination he has entered the fray as an independent. Mr Patil has been active in the region since his defeat in the election, leading agitations on various issues like the drought situation, farmers’ debt, electricity bills for agricultural pumps. In an effort to counter his growing influence in the constituency, the he local NCP activists claim that the Home Minister has done substantial work for the constituency like the implementation of the drinking water schemes in various villages, sanctioning budgetary provisions for irrigation projects, speeding up Rs eight crore expenditure for spinning mill works, and has also extended his help to grape producers during the severe drought situation over the last two years. Sanjay Patil has been electioneering in a low-key manner on a door-to-door basis on the poll plank of the region’s development and its alleged neglect by the Home Minister. Political observers believ that despite the presence of Sanjay Patil, the NCP state unit chief has a good chance of retaining the seat as top leaders and activists of the Congress-NCP-RPI coalition are campaigning for him, reducing the possibility of votes being split. NCP president Sharad Pawar has also toured the constituency and addressed a rally in support of R R Patil. (UNI) NDA Govt responsible for people’s suffering: Sonia SANGLI, Oct 8: Blaming the previous NDA Government for the suffering of the public during the severe drought, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today lauded the work done by Congress-led DF Government in Maharashtra in tackling the drought situation with the resources available. "The previous Government at the Centre did not wanted the DF Government to carry out good work," Gandhi said addressing a rally here in support of Congress-NCP alliance candidates in its bastion in western Maharashtra. She said she was happy with DF Government’s performace in managing difficult situation in the state with limited resources. The Government during its tenure had carried out all round development of the state, Gandhi said cautioning the party leaders not to relax as "lots more needs to be done". Terming opposition’s failure to take notice of good work of DF Government "as their mistake" she said "it is difficult to awake those pretending of going to sleep". Criticising the opposition, the Congress Chief said, "they are only engaged in insulting and criticising the ruling Governments and making people fight among themselves." "Congress never used the kind of the language used by the opposition," she said. The party would work for the upliftment of the down-trodden with special attention to Dalits and women, Gandhi said, adding, "we are seriously planning on programmes for development of women as the country cannot progress without the contribution of women". Gandhi said that the common manifesto of Congress-NCP-RPI (a) alliance is not only for seeking votes, but it would be implemented by the new Government. The people of the region have gone through difficult time during the severe drought but the Government initiated various measures by starting irrigation projects and schemes for the sugarcane and grape growing farmers, she said. Earlier, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde assured that by 2020 the state will regain its top position in the development. He criticised the saffron alliance for its failure to provide free electricity to farmers while remaining in power for five years in the state and Centre. Gandhi refrained from making any statement on the problem of rebel candidates in the region. MPCC chief Prabha Rau, AICC general secretary and state incharge Margaret Alva, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, MP Prakash Patil from Congress, Nivedita mane from NCP and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale were also present on the occasion. (PTI) Wildlife loss due to shrinking habitat: Official VISAKHAPATNAM, Oct 8: Loss of wildlife is more due to shrinking habitat than hunting, Visakhapatnam Circle Conservator of Forests P V Padmanabham has said. Speaking to UNI here yesterday, he said loss of forest cover was also causing a major problem in conserving wildlife in the north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Greater demand for land for cultivation by tribals living in forests had put severe pressure on the wildlife, he pointed out. Visakhapatnam district had a forest cover of 38 per cent which was second only to Khammam in the state. It was a home to 34 types of mammals, 88 species of birds, seven varieties of reptiles and five kinds of lizards. Mr Padmanabham said the Tiger and Bison (Indian Gaur) had become rare in these parts of the state. A 2001 census had revealed the presence of seven tigers, including four males, two females and a cub, in Marripalaka, Sileru and Sapparla ranges. However, it was found recently that only two tigers were left and they had been shifted to the Narasipatnam forests. There was a dramatic decrease in hunting in the recent times as the tribals, who were depending on forests, were now more interested in cultivation. This was due to increase in their population and greater awareness on the need to preserve wildlife, he added. Mr Padmanabham said the need for more land for cultivation from the tribals had turned into a socio-economic problem as they lived in forests. As the five-lakh tribal families were growing in numbers, more land was required for cultivation and this came at the cost of forest cover, he opined. The ‘Podu’ or shift cultivation practised by natives had spelt disaster for the forests. "They shift to a different place for cultivation after each crop. This destroys the forests and they also know it. However, there is no alternative for the present as they depend only on agriculture now," he added. Factors like drought also led to decrease in the numbers of animal population. "If there is shortage of food, wild animals stop breeding. They follow this unique system as rearing offspring during times of scarcity will be very difficult. Spotted deer require good grass and sambar needs variety of fresh leaves. When they don’t find them in abundance, they don’t breed, Mr Padmanabham said. The Forest Department had made all efforts to increase forest cover in the district and nine sq km of new forest area had been added during last year. Efforts were also being made to breed endangered animals and release them in their natural habitat, he added. Visakhapatnam Zoo Curator Vijay Kumar said the zoo had organised various programmes as part of the 50th world wildlife week celebrations which concluded here yesterday. Nearly 9,000 children visited the zoo during the week after the entry was made free for them. He said the zoo would build an exclusive enclosure for white tigers for which funds had been received from the Central Zoo Authority. A separate enclosure for hyenas and a reptile park would also be built soon. The zoo housed 98 species of wild animals numbering 720, he added. (UNI) |
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