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Drinking water within 24 HYDERABAD, Apr 11: Andhra Pradesh Government today decided to provide drinking water to villages hit by drought within 24 hours. ...more Aish,
Ziyi:new faces of NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Bollywood star and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi (of ‘crouching tiger, hidden ......more ‘Most Bangladeshis fail to provide bonafide evidence’ KENDRAPARA, Apr 11: Most of the Bengali-speaking people living in Orissa’s Kendrapara district, who were dubbed as .....more Karat says CPI (M) would continue to fight communalism NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Prakash Karat, who was today elected CPI(M) general secretary, said the party would continue its......more |
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Jaya wants Communists to withdraw support to UPA CHENNAI, Apr 11: The Communists should "withdraw their support" to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for "pursuing several .....more Greater Gir, a larger home to accomodate rising lion populace AHMEDABAD, Apr 11: Aimed at accommodating the increasing population of Asiatic......more "All conditions acceptable if Paswan merges LJP with JD(U)" NEW DELHI, Apr 11: In the continuing war of words between them, senior JD(U) .more SC issues notice to Centre on reservation for dalit Christians NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Paving the way for a high-voltage debate, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on....more |
Drinking water within 24 hrs in drought-hit villages HYDERABAD, Apr 11: Andhra Pradesh Government today decided to provide drinking water to villages hit by drought within 24 hours. Participating in a meeting organised at Himayatsagar village as part of the launch of "Praja Patham", a mass contact programme of the State Government, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy clarified that the Government would provide drinking water and work for the people in drought-hit areas. He said the Government would swing into action within 24 hours wherever a village is affected by drought. He said the Government has organised ‘Praja Patham’ to review the progress of the already launched programmes in the state and see if they were implemented to the satisfaction of the people. Dr Reddy said that TDP and BJP were criticising the work of the State Government and were trying to block the irrigation projects launched in the state. He said TDP, instead of understanding problems of the people in the present scenario was trying to create it for the Government and indirectly for the people. It tried criticising the free power supply scheme the Government was implementing. The TDP was also supporting the big farmers opposed to pay power tariff. But the State Government is determined to give free power to 93 per cent of the farmers, he added. Dr Reddy said that the Government would continue to debate on irrigation projects every Sunday. They were also ready to hold discussions at the proposed irrigation projects site, he added. Earlier, the Chief Minister, who visited the dried up Himayatsagar tank, inspected the desilting work that was being carried out under the Food For Work (FFW) scheme. Each labourer could approximately get Rs 50.50 and 22 kgs of rice in the project. Later, he proceeded for a public meeting arranged under the aegis of Congress MLA and Geology and Mines Minister Sabita Indra Reddy. Rural Development Minister D Srinivas, MP Sarve Satynarayana, major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah, Hyderabad MP Asadduddin Owaisi also participated in the programme. (UNI) |
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Aish, Ziyi:new faces of India, China cultural ties? NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Bollywood star and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi (of ‘crouching tiger, hidden dragon’ fame) clearly the best-known global faces of the world’s two most populous countries on the cultural arena. In what could be seen as a reflection of an upswing in cultural ties between India and China in recent years, Miss World Aishwarya Rai appears on the cover of the current issue of Beijing review alongside Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. In an age when film actors and cultural icons are increasingly acting as bridges between countries, Aishwarya appearing on the cover of the ‘Beijing review’ alongside Zhang Ziyi is being seen in film circles as a warming of relations between India and China moreso since it coincides with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India. This is also clear from the headline that appears besides the photograph of Aishwarya and Ziyi on the Beijing review which goes as China and India are writing an unprecedented chapter in world history . Besides it is written in bold letters: looking good . While Aishwarya has, in recent years, come to symbolise the true international face of Indian culture, after appearing on the time cover, selected as a member of the jury for the prestigious cannes film festival in France and, more recently, finding the pride of place in the Madame tussauds wax museum, Ziyi is the best known international face of China, being a known name in Hollywood after her first film, the Oscar winner crouching tiger, hidden dragon besides having received the honour of presenting the best Oscar for visual effects at the last academy awards. Infact, Aishwarya Rai is on the verge of becoming a global superstar, Following her being cast in Gurinder Chaddha’s ‘Bride and Prejudice’ alongside New Zealand actor Martin Henderson as also in Gurinder’s next film ‘Mistress Of Spices’, the shooting for which is currently on in the US besides, she is also said to have bagged Michael Douglas’next film based in India. At the same time, Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi has already bolstered her position in Hollywood. Besides playing the second lead in the Hollywood film ‘crouching Tiger hidden dragon’, Ziyi, also featured in the March 2005 vanity fair’s annual Hollywood issue along with top Hollywood actresses like Uma Thurman, cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet. Recently, Zhang Zhiyi presented the best Oscar for visual effects with jake gyllenhall at the last academy awards. Incidentally, earlier it was reported that Ash would present an award. Observers feel that in the last few years, India and China have been looking towards each other on the cultural arena. While last year saw China hold a festival of Indian films, India, of late, has also shown interest in a festival of Chinese films in India. In fact, at IFFI, 2004, held in Goa, there was a special China segment for the audience. "China is emerging as a potential market for Indian films outside the country,"Mr Supran Sen of the film federation told UNI. A Chinese delegation led by the country’s Minister of State Administration of Radio, film and television Xu Guengchun was in India recently during which it held discussions with various film bodies like the film producers guild of India and the Film Federation of India (FFI) on increasing collaboration between the two countries in the field of entertainment. Issues like theatrical release of Indian films through Chinese distributors as well as their release through other lucrative outlets like TV, VCD and DCD were also discussed during the parleys. At the same time, the Chinese side also talked of possibilities of Chinese films and content entering the Indian market. Though over the years China has imported several films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Anand’, Dharmesh Darshan’s ‘Raja Hundustani’, Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Bandit Queen’ and Santosh Sivan’s ‘Asoka’, till date, China has had no mechanism for releasing Indian films in theatres, and the only way the audience gets to see them is on DVDs. However, all this may be changing. In fact, Aamir Khan’s Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’ recently became the first film from India in recent years to get a theatrical release in that country. Recent years have also seen a surge in popularity of Indian films among the ‘Hollywood crazy’ Chinese public. A series of Bollywood concerts held in five cities of China-Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenving and Gnangzhon) - last year generated an overwhelming response from the local public. Based on popular songs from Indian films, the ‘Bollywood Dhamaka concerts’, as they were known, ran to packed houses. More recently, ‘Koshish Ek Aasha’, a popular Hindi TV serial became the first Indian soap opera to be shown on Chinese television. ‘Koshish Ek Aasha’ is the first Indian TV serial to be imported to China. The Chinese penchant for Indian films is, however, not an altogether new phenomenon. 25 years ago, in 1979, veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra’s ‘Noorie’ also got a theatrical release in China and did roaring business there. Also, in 50s and 60s, Indian films like Raj Kapoor’s ‘Awara’, ‘Sangam’ and ‘Mera Naam Joker’ enthralled the Chinese. Today, stars like Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee are huge favourites among the local Chinese. In fact, many local Chinese have, in recent years, been learning Hindi in order to understand and enjoy melodious songs of Bollywood films and the breathtaking dances accompanying them. Observers feel that given their rising global popularity, stars like Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Zhang Ziyi could promote a greater meeting of hearts between the two countries. (UNI) |
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‘Most Bangladeshis fail to provide bonafide evidence’ KENDRAPARA, Apr 11: Most of the Bengali-speaking people living in Orissa’s Kendrapara district, who were dubbed as Bangladeshi infiltrators and asked by the Orissa Government to individually submit relevant documentary evidence to prove their bonafide Indian citizenship on or before April 10, have failed to do so, official sources said here today. The district administration, however, has extended the time for submission of documents by one more day. Only 201 of the 1548 "infiltrators" residing in Mahakalapada block of the district had come forward to submit documents seeking to strike off their names from the enumerated list of "Bangladeshis". But only around two dozen of these people were found to have submitted documents in support of their claim about Indian citizenship. The rest of the papers were "mere petitions" Devoid of documentary proof stating they were natives of West Bengal and had migrated to Orissa to earn their livelihood, sources said. Some also claimed that they were refugees from east Pakistan who were settled by the Indian Government in the undivided Koraput district and had subsequently migrated to Kendrapara district. The State Government had earlier served "Quit India" notice on 1548 "Bangladeshis" in accordance with section 3(c) of the Foreigners’ Act 1946, asking them to quit the country on or before February 23 last. The matter was kept in abeyance after the Centre intervened a fortnight before the stipulated date. Kendrapara Collector Hemant Sharma said "those who failed to submit evidence by April 10 will be excluded from the re-examination process commencing today". The poor turn out of Bangladeshis to submit documentary evidence proved that the enumeration process was not wrong and majority of the applications were devoid of documentary proof which showed that they were genuine settlers, he said. The re-verification process would be conducted under the supervision of executive magistrates and it would continue till May 15 next, if required, he said. During this inquiry, only specific cases of individuals who sought reconsideration of their foreign national status would be looked into, the sources said. The deportation notice served on the "settlers" had caused a furore with the ruling BJP and the Sangh Parivar strongly objecting to the move. The CPI(M) had also opposed the Government move to deport the residents strewn across ten villages of the Mahakalapada block. (PTI) Karat says CPI (M) would continue to fight communalism NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Prakash Karat, who was today elected CPI(M) general secretary, said the party would continue its two-pronged approach of fighting communalism and the economic policies of liberalisation and privatisation. It would also wage a "determined struggle" against imperialism and "all aggressive manoeuvres of US imperialism," he said shortly after he was elected to the post in place of Harkishen Singh Surjeet. While fighting this battle, the CPI(M) would also place before the people alternative policies to safeguard national sovereignty and ensure the interests of the working people, Karat said. Adressing the concluding session of 18th Congress of the CPI (M) here, veteran marxist leader Jyoti Basu, asked the UPA Government as well as the Left parties to be "more tolerant and patient" with each other. He also called for concerted steps by his party to unite more democratic forces on a common platform to present "another alternative" before the people in the coming days. "The Left has to unite more and more democratic forces so that sooner, rather than later, we can present another alternative before the people", Basu, who was the chairman of the presidium of the Congress, said. "We have been telling the UPA Government to listen to us because the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) neither belongs to Congress, nor us. Both should be more tolerant and patient," Basu said, adding that the Left would go to the people if it thought any move of the Government went against their interests. Expressing satisfaction over the emergence of CPI(M) as the "biggest Left contingent in the country and the third largest party in Parliament", Karat said "we want to make CPI(M) a strong all-India force". Calling for "rapid expansion" of the party across the country, the new CPI(M) general secretary said the Congress had worked out specific organisational tasks to achieve that end. "About nine lakh party members will now spread all over the country and spend their energies to go to the people and the working class to mobilise them", he said. Describing the prevailing political situation as "very complex", Basu said the Left and the CPI(M) had a "crucial" role to play in it and Congress was "a non-communal party, though we have serious differences with it on economic matters". "We wanted to have a secular Government at the Centre, but we were not strong enough. Who could do it except for Congress," he said. Referring to the foreign policy of the Government, Basu said CPI(M) had supported the Congress’ non-aligned foreign policy right from the days of Jawahar Lal Nehru. "Today we have to pursue an independent foreign policy". (PTI) |
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SC issues notice to Centre on reservation for dalit Christians NEW DELHI, Apr 11: Paving the way for a high-voltage debate, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on petition raising the sensitive issue of grant of reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes even after their conversion to Christianity. A bench comprising Chief Justice R C Lahoti and Justice G P Mathur issued the notice after briefly hearing counsel Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL). It then posted the matter for final hearing in August. The court on February 11 had brushed aside the Centre’s stand opposing court’s intervention in matter saying it was the sole prerogative of Parliament to determine which communities were to be included in the Scheduled Caste list. "It is matter of policy and legislation and the courts should keep out of it," Attorney General Milon Banerjee had said on the last hearing. However, today he requested the court to issue formal notice to the Centre so that a response could be filed. Bhushan said when reservation benefits were available to dalits following Hinduism, Buddhism or Sikhism, there was no reason why dalit Christians be not given similar benefit. The court on October 25 last year had asked the Attorney General to ascertain the Centre’s view on the petition which challenged the legality of paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) orders, 1950 by which people professing and converting faith in religions other than Hinduism, Sikhism and Budhism were deprived of reservation benefits.(PTI) |
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VAT to affect the production of rail coaches: Minister KAPURTHALA, Apr 11: Minister of State for Railways N J Rathwa today said that implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) would adversely affect the production of coaches in the railway production units as the vendors are reluctant to supply the coach components. Talking to mediapersons after inaugurating the first roof mounted air conditioned meter gauge chair car manufactured by Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in a simple ceremony, the minister expressed his inability to solve the problem of vendors due to the implementation of VAT. Replying to a question regarding the proposed plying of high speed Shatabdi train at 150 kmph on Delhi-Bhopal section, Rathwa said work on the upgradation of signaling system was going on and after its completion, the high speed Shatabdi train would be introduced on this track. He said there was no plan to increase the speed of Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi . Replying to another question, he said fire retardant material is being used in the manufacturing of coaches after the successful experiment on the prototype fire proof coach manufactured by RCF and ICF. Narrating the salient features of roof mounted air condtioned meter gauge coach, RCF officiating general manager Ravindra Sharma said roof mounted AC becomes effective when the train attains the speed of 30 kmph as compare to the under slung AC which gave effective cooling at the speed of 55 kmph in the meter gauge coaches. The Meter Gauge (MG) coach is lighter in weight having a seating capacity of 52 in the chair car and is able to run at the speed of 75 kmph. The MG coach is manufactured at a cost of Rs 60 lakh. The meter gauge coach was sent to Bikaner for plying in the north western zone. (PTI) Ghising gets call from Union Home Ministry for talks SILIGURI, Apr 11: GNLF chief and the administrator of the caretaker Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) Subash Ghising will participate in a meeting in New Delhi on April 14, expected to be attended by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee. The GNLF supremo, who was on way to Delhi after getting an urgent call from Union Home Ministry earlier, was expected to raise the demand for an ‘alternative’ to the DGHC as per the provisions of Constitution which alone could meet aspirations of the hill people, the GNLF MLA from Kurseong Shanta Chhetri told PTI over phone. Political observers feel the talks could be crucial as the West Bengal Chief Minister’s objective could be to ensure that DGHC election was held by September next which he had promised on the floor of the State Assembly while extending the DGHC term as caretaker by another six months, i.e. upto September 2005 and installing Ghising as its sole administrator. But, Chhetri maintained that Ghising in no case would agree to hold the election until and unless his demand for an ‘alternative’ to the Council was met. Stating that the GNLF supremo had accepted the DGHC in 1988 on a ‘trial basis’ as ‘requested’ by the then Union Home Minister Buta Singh, Chhetri said it was enough as an experiment which lasted for 16 years. Buta Singh along with then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had signed the DGHC agreement. Reiterating that the Council’s ‘alternative’ was nothing less than Gorkhaland, Chhetri said that the GNLF rank and file had now launched an extensive ‘Gorkhaland first, election next’ campaign in the hills and people in the hills were responding ‘very positively’ to the party’s stand. GNLF was now looking forward to the development and outcome of tripartite talks, Chhetri added. Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattercharjee is already in Delhi while ghising is being accompanied by former vice-chairman of DGHC Hangoo Subba and two of his body guards. (PTI) Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh visits Tripura AGARTALA, Apr 11: Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Veena Sikri arrived here today to discuss bilateral issues, including border trade and communications between India and Bangladesh, with Tripura Government officials. She held discussions with customs officials of Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh about development of infrastructure for furthering border trade and communication between the two countries and would also discuss the matter with State Government officials, Sikri told reporters on her arrival at Akhaura check post here. She said they had also taken up the issue of giving transit facility to the people of the north-eastern region through Bangladesh and the facility of using Chittagong Port for promoting border trade between the two countries. To a question she said the matter had been taken up at a high level and India was looking forward to a positive development. Sikri said the issue of introduction of a direct bus service from Agartala to Kolkata via Bangladesh and transhipment of goods through land and waterways also have been taken up with Bangladesh at the appropriate level. The distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh was just 350 kilometres which could be traversed in 12 hours but the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Assam was about 1700 km — a journey which took about three days. The Bangladesh Government had recently sanctioned double entry visa to Indians enabling people of the north-east to visit Kolkata by the Agartala-Dhaka and Dhaka-Kolkata bus service but under the existing system it required about 20 hours to reach Kolkata from here. Land locked Tripura is girded by Bangladesh on three sides with a 856 km long porus border and has seven Land Custom Stations (LCS) of which only three are operational. The land custom stations include Akhaura and Srimantapur in west Tripura and Raghna in north Tripura district, official sources said adding that the state exported goods worth nearly rupees two crore and imported goods worth about rupees ten crore in the last financial year. Sources said the unofficial trade between Tripura and Bangladesh was at least ten times more than the official trade and added the Government now laid importance on legalising the unofficial trade by enhancing border trade to earn more revenue. (PTI) Ministry intends to encourage setting up of 2 shipyards: Baalu KOCHI, Apr 11: The Shipping Ministry intends to encourage setting up of two new international-size shipyards, and the expansion-cum-modernisation of existing shipyards, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, T R Baalu, said today. Speaking after the ‘steel cutting ceremony’ of the first indigenous aircraft carrier for Indian Navy at the Cochin Shipyard (CSL) here, Baalu, without specifying the location where the new shipyards would come, said one would come up on the east coast and the other on the west. He said the ministry was committed to encourage the growth of ship building under the proposed maritime policy regime. "We are inviting Indian private investment and foreign direct investment in this sector. We are determined to use the present global ship building scenario fully to make india a vibrant ship building nation", he said. Stating that china had embarked on a major ship building programme by identifying three ship building regions, he said "I have an almost similar vision for India. We want to develop two or three ship building hubs in the country to give boost to ship building industry". Speaking on the occasion, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said this was the second mega project coming to the state after the international container transhipment terminal, for which the foundation stone was laid recently. Chandy said the state had the right climate for faster industrial and economical development. Admiral Arun Prakash, Chief of Naval Staff, said the design and construction of aircraft carrier would mark the ‘coming of age’ of our indigenous warship-building capabilities as this would be the largest as well as the most complex warship to be ever built in India. Baalu said CSL was exploring the possibilities of additional infrastructure creation in the same premises and was also looking at the area earmarked in the Vallarpadam ICTT project for creation of a green field international class modern shipyard. The minister said huge domestic private investment as well as foreign direct investment was likely to come to our country in general and to Kerala in particular, if the vision of the Ministry in the Shipbuilding sector materialised. CSL has been seen as a leader among the ship building yards in the country due to its highly professional outlook and cohesive work culture, he said adding there was a long road ahead and the facilities at the shipyard must be upgraded continuously to keep it globally competitive. He emphasised the need for CSL to take urgent steps to acquire the capacity to construct ‘Very Large Crude Carrier’ (VLCC), implement ship repair expansion projects in the existing facilities and build additional infrastructure to simultaneously cater to the requirement of merchant navy while building aircraft carrier for the Navy. On the major policy initiative taken by the ministry, he said tonnage tax has been introduced for shipping sector including dredging. On account of this, the gross tonnage had increased to 8.1 million, he said. The minister said steps have been taken for the revival of the Hindustan Shipyard Limited and the Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Limited. For promoting seafaring as a career, the ministry had plans to start the Indian Maritime University, Baalu said. Baalu said approval for the ICTT project at Vallarpadam with an ultimate capacity of three million teu and investment of Rs 2118 crore had been given and the project was expected to be commissioned in four years. Approval was accorded for the third container terminal at the Jawaharlal Nehru port on ‘build-operate-transfer’ basis with an estimated capacity of 1.3 million teu and an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore, he said. Environmental clearance for the Rs 2233 crore Sethusamudram ship channel project has been received. Indian ports have handled 383.77 million tonne of cargo traffic in 2004-05, which was the maximum in the last 10 years. A comprehensive maritime policy was being formulated by the ministry. "To give concrete shape to the vision and strategy laid down in the maritime policy, NMDP with an estimated investment of Rs one lakh crore - Rs 60,000 crore for ports and Rs 40,000 crore for shipping sector - was likely to launched soon", he said. (PTI) |
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