Rs 30 crore Central aid for boosting tourism

AMRITSAR, Oct 9: In view of the increase in tourist activity in the holy city, the Union Government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 30 crore to upgrade the tourism infrastructure in the city of the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.

This announcement was made here today by State Tourism Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Dass, who founded this city.

Addressing mediapersons, the minister said that in the first phase of this project, a sum of Rs five crore would be spent on beautifying the landscape of the historic Ram Bagh gardens, which had once been the summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.The landscaping task would be entrusted to Ms Gurmit Rai, a well known archeologist.

The second phase of the project involving an expenditure of Rs 25 crore would involve the overall development of the city, he said. In this phase, for the facility of tourists, parking spaces in the city would be developed and other development activity would also been undertaken, he added.

Regarding the development of the Ram Bagh gardens, he said the museum of Maharaja Ranjit Singh would be repaired and beautified and a new entrance gate would also be constructed.

Mr Kang said that the Government had also chalked out a plan to repair the historic Gobindgarh Fort, which is preently occupied by the Army and the historic village of serai Amanat Khan.The work of upgrading the Wagah checkpost was also being taken up with Central funds, he added. (UNI)

Over 1,500 bandh supporters arrested, bandh affects life

KOLKATA, Oct 9: 0ver 1,500 people were arrested from different parts of West Bengal for trying to enforce the 12-hour statewide bandh called by Trinamool Congress which affected normal life.

Although Government buses and trams ran, roads wore an empty look as the number of private buses, mini buses and taxis was much less.

Train services at Howrah Station, disrupted for some time due to squatting by bandh supporters, resumed but in the Sealdah main section was disrupted till noon.

Train services in the Sealdah south section was normal, Eastern Railway sources here said.

Underground railway services in the city was normal, metro railway control said.

IT Minister Debesh Das said that the bandh did not hit work at the IT hub at Salt Lake Sector-V. Attendance was almost normal in the it establishments.

IGP (law and order) Raj Kanojia said that over 1,500 bandh supporters were arrested for blocking road and rail traffic in the state.

The bandh has been called to protest ‘police excesses’ on TC supremo Mamata Banerjee during an agitation at Singur on September 25 against farm land acquisition for the Tata Motors small car project.

The TC-sponsored bandh united the entire opposition in the state with Congress and BJP and Samajwadi Party extending support. (PTI)

GSI plans to hunt for caves in the Himalayas

DEHRADUN, Oct 9: Could there be Ajantas and Elloras in the Himalayas? Well the geological survey plans to explore possible caves and hot springs in the Himalayan region to boost geo-tourism.

With most of the caves remaining unexplored, the Geological Survey of India(GSI) has mooted an idea to unravel the mystery of these caves by including them in the geo-tourism sector along with hot-springs and other interesting geographical features.

"The concept of geo-tourism has picked up momentum in the American and European continents. We can also identify several caves that can become geo-tourism attractions in India," said P C Nawani, Director, GSI, here.

As part of this move, the GSI has also approached the Uttaranchal Government to work on the exploration of new caves in the Himalayas, citing the example of Ajanta and Ellora, which are big tourist attractions, Nawani said once this concept picks up in Uttaranchal it can be replicated in other parts of the country.

For this purpose, Nawani has held talks with top Government officials.

According to a survey, the chances of finding caves are more in the limestone belt in the lower Himalayas. "As you proceed further east from Mussoorie, the entire limestone belt along the lower Himalayas in places like Nainital may be full of caves," said Nawani.

Besides caves, the GSI also wants to include hot-springs in the geo-tourism features. It has also identified nearly 63 such sites in Uttaranchal alone.

The GSI has also identified several sites as national geological monuments. A special publication on national geological monuments has already been released.

The highly controversial 2400mw Tehri Dam can also form part of the geo-tourism. "In Tehri, we can tell tourists about the importance of geological formations of the area which are very fragile," said Nawani.

The Indian subcontinent exhibits imprints of varied geological processes through ages and is a storehouse of interesting features, scientists say. (PTI)

First cyber police station to establish soon at Mohali:DGP

JALANDHAR, Oct 9: Revealing that the state’s first cyber police station would be established at Mohali, where an information technology park was being developed within three months, S S Virk, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab today said that efforts were being made to hire technical experts for the purpose.

+For the purpose of establishing state’s first cyber station and to meet the challenge of new trend of crime in the field of information and technology, a special workshop will be organized at Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur on October 11 to apprise the state police force about the new trend+,DGP, who was chief guest on the inauguration ceremony of 55th All India Police Games at PAP campus here.

Even we have already initiated efforts to hire the experts in the field of information and technology to impart the special knowledge in the field to the police officials, he added.

Asked about his view point on bring reforms in the Police Act 1861, DGP said that reforms were need of the time as on certain points like community policing the act was silent and for make it compliant to the current times it was much to amend the act.

+Process to get the suggestions for the amendments from the grass root level of police was on and after compilation of the valid suggestions, efforts will be made to amend the existing act+, he added.

On the departmental action against the controversial Inspector Gurmit Singh Pinky against whom a murder case was pending in Ludhiana court, DGP said that let the court delivers its judgment, appropriate action would be taken against the inspect if found guilty in the case.

Regarding the media reports about missing of important file related to famous kidney racket of Amritsar, Virk ruled out that any such file was missing and said that the case was already pending in the court and police would take it to its logical conclusion.

Commenting on the alleged misbehaviour by the cops with veterinary doctors in Ludhiana recently, he said that magisterial enquiry in the case has already been ordered and on the basis of report action would be taken against the erring policemen.

On the preparation for the coming Assembly election, DGP revealed that recently a meeting with the Election Commission was held and the state police has already apprised the Commission about the preparation of the force to conduct election free and fair. (PTI)

Infant mortality rate not declining
fast enough: UNICEF report

LUCKNOW, Oct 9: At the current rate of decline in the under-5 Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), India is not likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of bringing down the IMR to 40 per 1,000 live births for the year 2015, according to a UNICEF report.

The MDG for India for the year 2015 is 41 per 1,000 live births which cannot be attained at the current pace of decline, the report said.

Though the IMR had been declining for the past years, it stood at 60 per 1,000 live births currently, it said adding the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)is currently 407 per one lakh live births in the country.

The highest number of child and maternal deaths occur in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa, the report said.

The Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI)which was based on India’s ambitious new health initiative- National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)-would be focussing on these five states, it said.

These five states together contribute almost 60 percent of infant deaths and pose an enormous challenge in implementation because of the socio-economic status, large inequalities, weak health system and poor programme management capacity, the report said.

India’s success in achieving MDG depends on the effectiveness of the child health programmes in these five states, it went on to add.

The report said NIPI for MDG would provide technical cooperation at a cost of around 80 million US dollars for five years from 2006-2010.

According to the report, the input would complement the national efforts and stimulate acceleration of the NHRM implementation for MDG by providing flexible support to enable implementation and innovation to resolve bottlenecks.

The initiative would test and introduce new ways of scaling up quality services by community health workers known as Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)at the village level in the five focus states, it said.

It is proposed to develop a Child Health Resource Network (CHRN)with nodes in the five focus states linked to a national centre, the report said.

The CGRN will conduct rapid and in-depth studies in select areas considered crucial to the effective scale-up of the child health strategies, it said.

The report has expressed serious concern over the unsatifactory pace of Integrated Management of New-born and Childhood Illness (IMNCI)scaling up owing to a lack of understanding and a severe shortage of trainers.

It also said the time had come to introduce imnci in the curriculum of undergraduate medical (MBBS)students.

A significant feature of NIPI was to rope in the private sector for delivering MDG-related services, the report added. (PTI)

SC against Judges’ personal visit to Taj for inspection

NEW DELHI, Oct 9: The Supreme Court today turned down the Government’s suggestion that the Judges should visit Taj Mahal for an on the spot inspection of the state of affairs in and around the historical monument.

A bench comprising Justices S B Sinha, S H Kapadia and D K Jain declined the suggestion of the Supreme Court Judges going on a personal visit to the 16th century monument saying it would create problems for the state administration and that they did not want any fresh controversy in the matter.

The bench, however, directed Solicitor General G E Vahanvati to visit the historical shrine in Agra and submit his report.

The court rejected the affidavit filed by the UP Home Secretary A K Sinha which dealt only with the internal security arrangements, a responsibility of CISF, under the control of Centre.

The bench also directed Mr Sinha to file a fresh affidavit within three weeks giving details of contingency plan prepared by the state administration to deal with extraordinary rush on some occasions like Ram Baraat and Urs procession and also to provide external security to the monument.

During the hearing, amicus curiae Krishan Mahajan also suggested the city of Agra be declared a "City Of World Heritage". The court, however, said such a move had already been rejected by UNESCO way back in 2004 on the ground that, Agra did not fulfil the requisite conditions to be a world heritage city in view of its unplanned and chaotic growth.

The court also directed the monitoring commitee to visit Taj and suggest sites for setting up facilitation centre outside the monument to control and regulate the entry of visitors. (UNI)

‘Wadali brothers’ injured in accident

MANAWALA, AMRITSAR, Oct 9: ‘Wadali brothers’, famous sufi singers, were injured in an accident here, 15 kilometers away from Amritsar, in the early hours today when the vehicle in which they were travelling rammed into a truck.

Puran Chand Wadali, his younger brother Piyare Lal Wadali and five other musicians were injured in the accident which occured at around 5 am. When their vehicle rammed into a truck parked on the middle of the road at the national highway on G T Road, police said.

A passer by identified the brothers and rushed them to the hospital, they said.

All the injured have been admitted to a private hospital in Amritsar with serious multiple internal injuries and bone fractures.

Condition of Puran Chand Wadali, who received multiple injuries besides two-bone fracture, is stated to be out of danger but serious, they said.

Lakhwinder Singh, son of Puran Chand Wadali who stays in Mumbai, is also a noted singer. (PTI)

Congress walkout on female foeticide issue

JAIPUR, Oct 9: The ruling BJP in Rajasthan today faced a piquant situation in the Assembly as the opposition Congress staged a walkout and the Speaker put two ministers in the dock over the issue of female foeticide.

The Congress accused the Government of failing to bring to book doctors allegedly involved in conducting pre-natal sex determination tests after a TV news channel aired footage of a sting operation early this year.

Speaker Sumitra Singh told Medical and Health Minister Digamber Singh and Home Minister G C Kataria to answer the supplimentaries on the issue despite completion of question hour.

She asked them whether cases were filed against Government doctors, the accused punished or diagnostic centres shut down.

The ministers said some 20 doctors, both Government and private, were suspended but action could not be taken due to lack of evidence. The TV channel did not furnish an original CD to the police and the woman in the newcast had not been traced so far, they said.

The Speaker asked them to get the evidence with the help of the CID-Crime Branch and complete the investigation.

The Health Minister blamed the previous Ashok Gehlot-led Congress Government for the rise in female foeticide cases in the state, leading to a furore and a walkout by the Congress.

Before the walkout, Kataria said 18 FIRs were lodged but the statements were not completed due to absence of evidence. (PTI)

Amended Consumer Protection Act to
strengthen insurance claims

NEW DELHI, Oct 9: Insurance companies will find it difficult to deny claims to policy holders on ‘flimsy’ grounds once the Parliament approves the amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, a ministry official said today.

The consumer affairs ministry, which is preparing the draft, would strive to introduce the amendment bill in the next session of Parliament, Consumer Affairs Secretary Lalit Mansingh told PTI on the sidelines of an insurance seminar.

The move would protect policy holders from certain clauses incorporated in the detailed policy documents.

The proposed bill is meant to empower consumer courts to strike down ‘unfair’ clauses in the agreement between customers and companies, Mansingh said here.

Citing an example, he said there is a general impression that mediclaim was being abused by some but that cannot be a pretext for denying claims to genuine customers on ‘flimsy’ clauses in the policy agreement.

The amendment will not relate to the insurance sector only and will be applicable across sectors, Mansingh added.

The amendment will basically give powers to consumer courts to strike down what is technically called "unfair terms of contract," on the basis of which companies may deny due share to consumers.

At the seminar M B Shah, President of National Consumer Disputes and Redressal Commission and former Supreme Court Judge, said the commission had received complaints that policy holders were being denied mediclaim on grounds that the insured had shown symptoms of the particular disease before the signing of the insurance agreement.

The pre-existing disease clause in mediclaim could be stretched to deny payment of full claims, he stressed.

Speaking about the much-hyped crop insurance policy, Shah said revenue records were not being relied upon and insurers tend to send investigators one or two years after the report of crop-loss to know whether that particular crop was cultivated or not.

Noting this, Mansingh suggested that remote sensing techniques along with the revenue records be utilised to know the veracity of claims.

However, crop yield could not be known this way, he said adding that weather derivatives issued by commodity exchanges could prove handy in such situations. (PTI)

PM appeals people to abolish child labour

NEW DELHI, Oct 9: As the ban on child labour comes into force tomorrow, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today appealed to the people to abolish this practice and warned firm action against those violating the law.

Addressing concerns expressed by NGOs about the future of the children released from work, Singh said in a statement that arrangements have been made by the government in all states to educate them under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Observing that the nation has solemnly pledged that children were not engaged in any form of work at the cost of their right to education, Singh said as a major step in this direction "I call upon each one of you to stop employing children as workers and actively encourage children to join schools".

The Government has added employment of children as domestic help or servants at dhabas (roadside eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts or in other recreatinoal centres to the list of occupations prohibited under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, he said.

"The Government will take a firm action against those violating the law", Singh said. (PTI)

Ramadoss says 3,000 people across
country affected by dengue

CHENNAI, Oct 9: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today put the dengue death toll at 47 and said that more than 3,000 people have been affected by the disease across the country.

"So far 47 people died of the disease while around 3,000 people have been affected," Ramadoss told reporters at the airport here.

Reports had yesterday said 56 people died of dengue, with Delhi accounting for 22 deaths since its current outbreak.

Ramadoss said diseases like dengue and chikungunya cannot be considered just health issues. "It is also concerning sanitation and environment."

Awareness should be created on keeping the environment clean to avoid breeding of mosquitoes responsible for spreading both the diseases, he said.

The diseases could be treated at home and hospitalisation was needed only if patients developed secondary complications, he said, adding that stagnation of water should be avoided.

On steps being taken to control the disease, he said sufficient medicines had been provided and measures were being taken to control breeding of mosquitoes.

A meeting of state health ministers would be held on October 11 to deliberate on measures to contain chikungunya, he informed.

He also commended the efforts made by the present Tamil Nadu Government in controlling dengue and Chikungunya. (PTI)

Boman Irani hopes ‘Lage Raho’ will bring glory at Oscars

NEW DELHI, Oct 9: ‘Lucky Singh’ Boman Irani is confident that ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai" will do well at the Oscars, where it has entered in the ‘independent category’ after losing the official entry status from India to "Rang De Basanti".

"One of the script writers of the movie Abhijat Joshi, who teaches in the US, showed it to film critics there, and they were completely bowled over and said that it deserved to be at the Oscars," he says and adds, " we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Irani also sniggers at the controversy over the word ‘Gandhigiri’ in the sequel to "Munna Bhai MBBS"

"Gandhigiri’ is an idiom that today’s masses can associate, hence its popularity. Even Gandhiji used common man’s language to express his views," says Irani who was here to participate in a ‘public conversation’.

Irani who himself played Gandhiji in a play, "Mahatma vs Gandhi" says "I read that the simplicity of the language Gandhiji applied to connect with the masses was deliberate, Director Rajkumar Hirani used the same logic here," he says.

Talking about his various characters, whether it is Doctor Asthana in "Munna Bhai MBBS," or Lucky Singh in ‘Lage Raho" or Kishan Khurana in "Khosla Ka Ghosla, he says that all these characters were based after research on real life characters. "Life is the biggest show on earth, and I get inspired by it," he says.

For ‘Dr Ashtana’s’ role, Irani says that he went to various medical colleges to learn how deans played their roles, and for ‘Lucky Singh’ his favourite haunt was auto parts market in Mumbai. "I met so many sardarjis there, and tried to understand them. I depend on research a lot to do my characters," he says.

Irani who started off with his ancestral Irani Bakery selling wafers, gave it up to pursue a career in photography as this was his first love. "I was simply not enjoying what I was doing. Photography was what I wanted to do, and decided to follow my heart," he says.

From photography, he jumped to theatre, but this time by accident, after Alyque Padamsee offered a role of a pimp in the play "Roshni." There was no looking back after that. One followed the other and after featuring in scores of ad campaigns, he landed the role of "Dr J Asthana."

But Irani says that theatre is still his first love. "The reaction of the audience is instant. You anticipate the audience reaction, and if they react better than your expectation, the high you feel cannot be expressed in words," he says.

About his philosophy towards life, he says. "I work for the man in the mirror. I believe in the concept of going for anything where my heart is for I do not want to look back and regret that I could not do something when I am old," he says. (PTI)