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India to
repatriate 142 Myanmarese from Andaman
PORT
BLAIR, Nov 3:Andaman and Nicobar Commander of
Coast Guard Inspector General S P Sharma here
today announced to repatriate about 142
Myanmarese poachers, who have already served
their terms in Andaman jail.
He told UNI here
that the repatriation would be done by mid of
November this year.
These poachers
apprehended by the Coast Guard and Andaman and
Nicobar Police are presently living in
poachers’ camp in the territory.
Mr Sharma also
said the officials from Myanmarese Embassy in
mainland India would visit these islands to
confirm the nationality of these poachers before
repatriation.
The Coast Guard
ship would sail from here with these 142 poachers
and handover them to Myanmar Government, Mr
Sharma added.
More than hundred
Myanmarese poachers are still serving their
sentences in Andaman jail.
Recently these
poachers had staged demonstrations, through
hunger strikes, demanding freedom, sources said.
This Union
Territory had always been a target of these
poachers from south Asian neighbouring countries
who come here to poach sea-cucumber, shark and
other costly marine resources. (UNI)
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Three
child-labourers freed; offence against owners
NASIK,
Nov 2:
Three children working at roadside eateries here
were rescued by sleuths of a flying squad and
cases registered against the stall owners for
employing them, official sources said today.
Acting on a
tip-off, the flying squad personnel yesterday
raided three stalls, selling pav-bhaji and tea,
near the city’s Nehru Garden locality, and
rescued the children—Dhanraj Meghwal (13),
Prabhakar Gaikwad (12) and Rahul Kirle (13), the
sources added.
The Child Labour
Preventive Act has come into force all over the
country from last month. (PTI)
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Libraries
to go online in AP: Minister
HYDERABAD,
Nov 3:
Taking a cue from China, the Andhra Pradesh
Government has decided to take up an ambitious
universal digital library project, State
Libraries Minister N Rajyalakshmi said.
"All the
major libraries in the state will go online
shortly", She said while taking part in the
"conference of the chairmen and secretaries
of the Zilla Grandhalaya Samasthas". Under
the projects major state and district libraries
would be computersied and networked to enable
researchers trace books of their choice anywhere
in the state, she said yesterday.
Making it clear
that the Government was not in a position to
release grants to meet all the needs of
libraries, she urged them to take donations from
philanthropists, including Non-Resident Indians
(NRIs), who were eager to make contributions.
Listing out the
steps being taken to bring a large number of
people back to the libraries, the minister said,
in an effort to inculcate book reading habit
among children, many of whom were glued to
television, she would issue an order to ensure
that a library hour was made compulsory in all
schools.
Ms Rajyalakshmi
said recognising the power of the internet, all
text books were made available on its website for
the benefit of students.
Though the number
of people reading books had come down to an
extent due to proliferation of television, value
of books had not diminished at all, she said,
asserting that the Government was committed to
revive the library movement. Some of the major
libraries would be air-conditioned for better
ambience, she added. (UNI)
Munnabhai’s
tryst with Oscars
begins with screening in
California
MUMBAI,
Nov 3: Munnabhai’s
tryst with Oscars began with a screening held at
the university of south California last week.
Sanjay Dutt
starrer ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ which is
competing in the main category for the best film
at the academy awards, was screened before a
capacity audience at the Frank Sinatra Auditorium
on October 27 to a rapturous response, producer
Vidhu Vinod Chopra told reporters here.
Students and
faculty of the university clapped for minutes
after the screening. A lively question answer
session followed with director Raj Kumar Hirani,
writer Abhijat Joshi and myself, he recalled.
Chopra said almost
all questions were prefixed with heartfelt praise
for the film, with one member of the audience
pointing out that the film was in the tradition
of great films of Charlie Chaplin in its capacity
to make people laugh and cry.
Gurinder Chaddha,
Director of ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ and
‘Bhaaji On The Beach’, attended the
screening and spoke glowingly about the film,
Chopra informed.
UTV produced
‘Rang De Basanti’ is, however,
India’s official entry into the foreign film
category.
Both ‘Rang De
Basanti’ and ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’
are this year’s biggest box office grossers
as well critically acclaimed movies. (UNI)
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Traffic
update on SMS now
GUWAHATI,
Nov 3: Live
traffic updates of city roads for denizens of
this city is now a sms away, thanks to the City
Traffic Police Department.
FM radio stations
had been providing live updates on traffic
situation in the metros for a long time. In
absence of any such service in guwahati, the
traffic police have unrolled a service where one
could get live traffic news on their mobile
phones.
Informing this at
a press meet here yesterday, City Traffic
Superintendent of Police Ranadeep Baruah said,
‘’ the SMS service will help in traffic
management as the people can now choose the route
after updating themselves on the current
congestion scene.’’
Mobile phone users
would get the updates by sending SMS’s to
75756. Besides containing updates of traffic
congestion in all parts of the city, the sms
would also provide updates on accidents and road
conditions, in case of repair works.
Mr Baruah informed
that the service had been developed in
partnership with Ontrack System Ltd, Kolkata, and
had been operational for about a fortnight.
The service will
help in movement during the national games in
february next year and also during peak hours, he
added. He said all bus stoppages in the city
would don same colours and signboards soon, ahead
of the games.
He informed that
proposals for introduction low floor city buses
and small ac city buses on select routes were in
process.
He said, "
people travelling in small cars for longer
distances within the city limits on a daily basis
are the target of the ac buses. It will solve the
traffic congestion problem to a great deal."
The traffic SP
further informed that Apollo Hospitals would soon
be providing first aid kits at all the traffic
points in the city. (UNI)
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Aishwarya
my ‘Helen Of Troy’, says J P Dutta
DUBAI,
Nov 3: For
war movie veteran J P Dutta it was Aishwarya Rai
who made him change the genre of his films
leading to the remake of the 1981 Muzaffar Ali
classic ‘Umrao Jan’.
"Aishwarya is
my helen of troy whose face stopped me from going
to war again," quipped Dutta, director of
war-zone magnum opuses like `Border’ and
`LoC’.
At the premier of
the film here yesterday attended by the
film’s stars Abhishekh Bachchan and
Aishwarya, the Director said the former Miss
World made him change his genre when she finally
consented to do the movie, he had been planning
for 13 years.
On her part
Aishwarya, who flew in from Mumbai after
celebrating her 33rd birthday on November one,
laughed off queries as to whether she would be a
contender for the Oscars in future.
Asked when he and
Aishwarya were getting married, Abhishek said
"you tell us, since you have been telling us
that since the past year."
Questioned on his
being branded the "sexiest man in
Asia", Bachchan Junior said, "it is not
true, but thank you for making me feel
embarrassed."
Abhishekh topped
the list of the "50 sexiest men" in
Asia in a survey by eastern eye, Britain’s
most popular Asian newspaper.
"It’s
shocking. Are people blind?" He had
responded then. (PTI)
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Haryana
to achieve 100% birth,
death registration
before 2010
CHANDIGARH,
Nov 3: The
Haryana Government has adopted a multi-pronged
strategy to achieve the national target of 100
per cent registration of births and deaths before
the stipulated period of achieving this level by
2010 and facilitate people to get such
certificates easily.
The strategy
included computerisation of record of births and
deaths, adoption of an effective monitoring
system and making health workers responsible to
ensure registration of all births and deaths in
the state, Chief Registrar (Deaths and Births),
Dr N K Sharma said here today.
As a result of the
effective steps taken, the registration of births
and deaths has enhanced to 88 and 87 per cent
respectively as compared to 78 and 77 per cent in
the year 2004.
Dr Sharma said
with growing awareness among the people about the
necessity and utility of birth and death
certificates, the demand of such certificates has
increased considerably.
While the
Department of Urban Local Bodies has provided
computers to the municipal councils for the
purpose, the Health Department has started the
process, to computerise the births and deaths
record available in the offices of the Civil
Surgeons.
A decision has
been taken to get the births record computerised
from 1999 and that of deaths from the year 2001.
This, he said, would facilitate the people in
getting such certificates quickly.
He said
registration of births and deaths was being
monitored every month at district level and at
the state headquarters.
Dr Sharma said the
data of registration would prove useful in
detecting the places of low sex ratio, for which
appropriate corrective measures would be taken.
Apart from using this data for effective
implementation of family welfare programme, the
registration of births would also prove useful in
recording the number of institutional deliveries,
he added. (UNI)
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Sanya
Ansari: From Lollywood to Bollywood
NEW
DELHI, Nov 3: Right from Salma Agha of 80s
to Meera of the 21st century, Bollywood has
lured many Pakistani actress to cross-over the
borders and try their luck here. The latest
Pak-import to join the bandwagon is Sanya Ansari,
attracted as she is by the fame and glamour
associated with the Indian filmi industry.
"Bollywood
is big industry, the money and fame involved here
is much more than in Lollywood," Ansari told
PTI on the sidelines of the South Asian Film
Festival here.
Her movie
‘Javaid Shampoo’ whic was screened
during the festival.
Acknowledging
the fact that Bollywood not only gives an artist
a chance to excel, it also has space for the
talented she says, "It’s great to be a
part of Bollywood. Though at present I’m not
acting in any Hindi movie, I am working with
Mukta Arts in their post production unit."
On her
interest in acting, Ansari says she would love to
work on good scripts. "I love movies that
are satirical in nature and can comment on the
society."
Though an
Overseas-Pakistani, Sanya has seen a number of
Hindi movies and aspires to act in the near
future.
"It all
happened when I joined a theatre programme in
Toronto and got to know the various aspects of
film making. Right from acting to
post-production, I got to know a lot about films.
Hence, when I wanted to join the entertainment
industry, I had no qualms about the work that I
was asked to do," she says. (PTI)
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Three
more convicted in serial blasts case
MUMBAI,
Nov 3: A
TADA court today convicted three more persons in
the 1993 serial blasts case.
Designated TADA
Judge P D Kode found Ashrafur Rehman Shaikh alias
Lallubhai, Asif Shaikh and Mohammed Yunus, guilty
of posessing deadly arms and explosives.
The trio were
found guilty under various sections of the TADA
Act. All three were found guilty under section
3,7,25-1(a)(b) of the Arms Act. However, they
were not found guilty of participating in the
conspiracy of the serial blasts under section 120
(b).
Ashrafur Rehman
Shaikh was found guilty of posessing 85 hand
grenades, 350 detonators and 327 cartridges of
AK-56 rifle.
Although the court
did not accept his confessional statement as it
was not properly recorded and the panch-witnesses
had turned hostile, the court accepted the
evidences provided by two police officers. The
court, however, said that the confessional
statement was "unbelievable."
Ashrafur Shaikh
was found guilty under section 5,6 of the TADA
Act.
Another blast
accused Asif Shaikh was found guilty of posessing
four hand grenades given to him by another
convict Nasim Barmare in the notified area of
Greater Mumbai.
According to the
prosecution, Asif Shaikh had agreed to keep the
arms and ammunition in the notified area and also
concealed the same in a public toilet at
Musafirkhana at Crawford Market in South Mumbai
and the charges stated that the concealed arms
was part of the consignment smuggled by
absconding accused Dawood Ibarahim Kaskar, Tiger
Memon and Mohammed Dossa at Shekhadi in Raigad
district.
The court,
however, said it was not proved the arms and
ammunition recovered at the instance of the
accused was part of the consignment smuggled by
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Tiger Memon and Mohammed
Dossa in India.
He was found
guilty under section 5,6 of the TADA Act. He was
also found guilty under section 3(3) of the TADA
Act to a certain extent as he had received arms
from a convict who had actively participated in
the conspiracy of the blasts.
Meanwhile, Mohamed
Yunus was found guilty under section 5 of the
TADA Act. Though there was no confessional
statement made by him, the court relied upon the
recovery evidences - one AK-56 rifle and 980
cartridges - which were gathered at that time. He
had concealed these arms at a cemetry in Naupada
in Bandra.
Following the
conviction of these accused, the court has so far
found 61 people guilty and 19 have been acquitted
for lack of evidences. (UNI)
DU to
confer honors casual degree on Amitabh Bachchan
NEW
DELHI, Nov 3: The Delhi University (DU)
will confer a honors casual degree on its alumnus
Mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan
tomorrow for his
contribution to the Indian film industry.
Noted Cartoonist R
K Laxman, Principal Scientific Adviser to the
Prime Minister C N R Rao and Delhi Chief Minister
Sheila Dikshit will also be presented the degree
at the special convocation, a DU official said.
"Four people,
including Bachchan, will be presented the degree
on the date.... This is in recognition of their
work in their respective fields," he added.
The University
will also honour historian Romila Thapar,
industrialist Ratan Tata and prominent writer
Mahashweta Devi at a convocation to be held
later, the official said.
Bachchan completed
his three-year B Sc degree in 1967 from Delhi
University's Kirori Mal College.
Britain's
prestigious De Montford University in Leicester
conferred the honorary doctorate degree on the
Indian superstar on July 19.
The Government of
France has decided to honour Bachchan with its
highest civilian award 'The Legion d'Honneur'
(Officer of the Legion of Honor) at an award
ceremony to be held later. (UNI)
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Infrastructure
sector grows 9.9 pc in Sept
NEW
DELHI, Nov 3: A rebound in crude oil
output and power generation propelled overall
infrastructure growth to 9.9 per cent in
September this year compared to 6.3 per cent in
the same month last year.
Cumulatively, the
six core industries - crude oil, petroleum
refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and
steel - registered a growth of 7.3 per cent in
April-September this year as against 6.1 per cent
in the corresponding period last year, according
to government data released today.
In September,
crude oil production surged to 9.3 per cent from
a negative 7.3 per cent in the same month of
2005. Power generation grew by 11.5 per cent
during the month as compared to a negative 0.7
per cent in September 2005.
Refining
throughput also increased by a strong 13.5 per
cent during September 2005 as against a mere 4.9
per cent last year, while cement production shot
up by 15.9 per cent from 4.9 per cent in the
corresponding month of 2005-06.
However, coal
production declined to 0.6 per cent as against a
growth of 4.3 per cent, while steel output rose
by a much slower rate of 8.4 per cent as against
23.3 per cent in September last year.
During
April-September 2006, crude petroleum production
showed a growth of 4.1 per cent as compared to a
negative 5.0 per cent in the corresponding period
last year, as per the provision data released by
the Government.
Refinery
production grew by 12.3 per cent so far this
fiscal against a negative 0.7 in April-September
2005-06.
Coal production
grew by 5.3 per cent in April-September 2006-07
against 6 per cent during the same period in
2005-06, while electricity generation grew by 6.7
per cent in the first six months this year as
against 4.7 per cent in the corresponding period
of last year.
Growth in cement
production slowed down to 10 per cent in
April-September this year from 11.4 per cent in
the same period last year, while that in steel
output declined to 7.2 per cent against 13.7 per
cent in the same period last year. (PTI)
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TCIL
denies involvement in UNPD bribery case
NEW
DELHI, Nov 3: State-owned telecom company
TCIL today denied any involvement in the alleged
United Nations Procurement Division bribery case,
in which an Indian official on deputation to the
world body has been arrested.
"After
gaining adequate experience in UN operations,
Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd had set
up its own office in New York to service
UNPD’s orders with its own senior officer
posted there," a top TCIL official told PTI.
The official said
even when TCIL was executing orders through a
consultancy firm Guru Trust Investments (GTI),
the responsibilities of the two companies were
clearly defined.
"The
arrangement with GTI clearly provided the matrix
of their responsibilities and that all legal
requirements in India and the UN regulations were
to be fully complied with without any
default," TCIL said.
Sanjay Bahel, an
Indian Defence Auditing Services official, was
arrested in New York yesterday for allegedly
steering 50 million dollars worth of UN contracts
to Indian firms in return for valuable real
estate in Manhattan.
Bahel was the
chief of the UN commodity procurement section and
was suspended in August on charges that he bent
rules to help TCIL get contracts worth millions
of dollar.
But the TCIL
official said that the PSU was considered
favourably for the orders from UNPD only because
the company was both technically compliant and
commercially competitive.
Since 2003 all
orders from UNPD were executed directly without
the association of GTI, TCIL said.
"Even in the
case of on-going orders obtained with the
association of GTI, the arrangement with them was
being progressively terminated with the lapsing
or full execution of the on-going orders,"
the TCIL official said.
TCIL had
registered with the UN Procurement Division in
November 1999 so as to be able to execute orders
in the field of telecom and IT for the
prestigious institution.
UN operations
require very quick response to the UNPD’s
enquiries. Hence, the company had tied up with
GTI with approval of TCIL’s Board in
December 1999, as GTI had their offices in
Washington and New York for their consultancy
services in UN Staffing and Procurement, the
official said.
GTI’s terms
under the arrangement were progressively
renegotiated to TCIL’s advantage to take
account of increased experience of TCIL in UN
operations, he said, adding that since 2003 all
orders were being executed directly by TCIL
without any consultancy firm’s involvement.
(PTI)
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