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Govt to
launch ad campaign to make
people aware about HIV/AIDS
NEW
DELHI, Oct 25: In order to create awareness among
people living with HIV/AIDS, the Government has
planned a series of ad campaigns, starting with
information on providing free of cost
Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) drugs in more then
95 state-run hospitals.
"We have been
providing ART drugs free of cost to 45,000
people. But we want to scale the number to one
lakh. Many people are ignorant of this fact and
we want to create awareness among them,"
Director General of National AIDS Control
Organisation (NACO) Sujatha Rao said.
"We have
already received drugs that could treat 85,000
people. These drugs would be available free of
cost in 96 selected government hospitals,"
she said adding plans were afoot to add a few
more centres where these drugs would be made
available.
There are an
estimated 5.206 million people in the age group
of 15 to 49 years who are estimated to be living
with HIV/AIDS in India.
The Government
spends Rs 8,000 per year on each person on drugs.
One of the ADs to
be published tomarrow reads, "ensure you
take every dose, on-time, every time. Remember,
missing even one dose of ART drugs increases
chances of developing drug resistance. It further
lists the names of the Government hospitals where
these drugs are provided free of cost.
"Most people
are not aware that one’s body will not
respond to ART drugs," the ad further says,
adding that one needs stronger and more expensive
drugs if they miss taking these drugs on time.
"Regular
intake of ART drugs improves quality of life and
increases the life span of people living with
AIDS," it concludes.
"The ad
campaigns are aimed to create awareness among
people living with HIV/AIDS. We will be carrying
out a series of such ads to create
awareness," said another NACO official.
(PTI)
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Global
think-tank warns Bangladesh
of ‘violent Islamic fringe’
NEW
DELHI, Oct 25: Indicating that terrorist groups
were being cultivated by those in power in
Bangladesh, a prominent global think-tank has
warned the major political forces in the country
not to allow the "violent Islamist
fringe" to gain political space.
Listing out recent
instances of violence by Islamic fundamentalist
outfits, the International Crisis Group (ICG)
said "circumstantial evidence, as well as
cold political logic, suggest that underground
terrorist groups have been cultivated and
sheltered by those in power".
Stating that the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party government has
denied this, the Brussels-based think-tank in its
latest report said India’s eastern neighbour
"faces twin threats to its democracy and
stability. ... Islamic militancy has flourished
in a time of dysfunctional politics, popular
discontent and violence".
The warning comes
few months ahead of the scheduled general
elections in Bangladesh in January next year.
Maintaining that
the problems were multiplying with the elections
coming closer, the ICG said "none of the
four institutions" of President, Chief
Justice, the Election Commission and the Army,
responsible for conducting the upcoming polls in
the country, were "free from
controversy".
The President and
the Chief Justice were "seen as partial to
the governing BNP, while the Chief Election
Commissioner has damaged his credibility with a
misconceived, and apparently politically biased,
revision of the electoral roll", it said,
adding that the army had kept a low profile.
The think-tank,
which has former and serving Presidents, Foreign
Ministers and top officials of several countries
on its Board, said the ruling BNP has been in
power with the support of religious parties like
Jamaat-e-Islami and has strengthened its hand by
persuading the Jatiya Party of former military
ruler Gen H M Ershad.
The opposition
Awami League, which has gone on a lengthy boycott
of Parliament, has "good grounds for its
complaints of victimization", including the
deadly attack on its President Sheikh Hasina and
the killing of its senior leaders, the ICG said.
"The
principal beneficiary of these messy political
equations has been the increasingly influential
Islamist fringe", led by the Jamaat and
extending to the violently militant Jagrata
Muslim Janata Bangladesh and Jamaat-ul-
Mujahideen Bangladesh.
The prestigious
think-tank asked Bangladesh’s political
leaders to ensure that the people at large should
shape the country’s future "rather than
a violent fringe filling the vacuum created by
moderate parties’ short-term
self-interest".
The ICG called
upon the international community to find ways to
support the working of democracy in Bangladesh
saying "improving democracy is the best
guarantee against the growth of extremism".
(PTI)
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BJP
alleges large scale conversions
HYDERABAD,
Oct 25:
State BJP today alleged that religious
conversions were being held on a large scale in
Tirupati and Nalgonda districts of the state.
"Teams of
Christian missionaries have fanned out in various
tribal areas of Nalgonda district and are
forcibly converting them (tribals) in to
Christianity," BJP state vice president S V
Seshagiri Rao told reporters here today.
Since there are
many festivals between September and November and
tribals assemble at one place to celebrate these
festivals, the teams are on the prowl in Nalgonda
district which has a big chunk of
‘lambada’ population, he alleged.
"Though the
matter was reported in Gurrampad police station
in Nalgonda district no action was
initiated," Rao said adding, the religious
activity of Christians was intensified in the
temple town of Tirupati. (PTI)
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Karna
proposes common CET from next year
BANGALORE,
Oct 25: Karnataka
Government is considering to conduct a common
examination for Government, aided and private
colleges next year with a view to save students
from the hardship of facing two entrance tests
for seeking admission to professional courses.
The Government
would hold parleys early next month with private
college managements which conduct a separate
Common Entrance Test (CET) under its banner
Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental
Colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K), state Minister
for Higher Education D H Shanakara Murthy told
reporters here.
The students have
to attend the CET conducted by the state for
admission to Government and aided colleges and
also that of the COMED-K, which has more
professional colleges under its umbrella.
The Government
intends to decentralise CET examination by
holding it at divisonal and district
headquarters, Murthy said, adding the existing
period of three months involved in conducting the
test will be reduced to 45 days.
At least 8,000
engineering seats have remained vacant this year.
(PTI)
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Dengue
claims one more person in Delhi; toll reaches 51
NEW
DELHI, Oct 25: A teenager died of dengue in the
national capital taking the toll to 51 even as 62
fresh cases of the viral disease were reported
from various hospitals across the city.
Thirteen-year-old
Ashish, hailing from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh,
died due to complications arising out of Dengue
Haemorragic Fever (DHF), a deadlier version of
dengue fever, at AIIMS late last night, Medical
Superintendent D K Sharma said.
Sharma said Ashish
was admitted to the hospital on October 16 with
symptoms of DHF, which proved to be fatal.
With the fresh
cases, the total number of dengue patients in the
capital this year rose to 2,235.
The official
dengue toll in the capital was 43.
Senior health
department officials said 19 people were
confirmed to have died due to dengue, while 24
deaths were due to suspected dengue.
The falling
temperatures have already sounded the death knell
for the dengue-causing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes,
which cannot survive in cooler climes.
Sixty-nine dengue
cases were reported in the capital yesterday,
while 53 patients with the mosquito-borne disease
were admitted to various hospitals on Monday.
AIIMS admitted 43
dengue patients in the last 24 hours the total
number of cases at the institute to 184.
Another 30 people
have been kept under observation at AIIMS. (PTI)
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Fire at
RIL Jamnagar refinery; may be
shut down for 2 weeks
AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI,
Oct 25: A
major fire broke out at a VGO hydrotreater-II
unit of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) located
at its petroleum complex, near here, this
morning.
According to an
RIL statement issued here, the fire broke out
around 1040 hrs in the Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO)
hydrotreater-II unit.
Following the
fire, RIL shut down a few units at the refinery.
Announcing this, a
RIL statement said the fire, which started at
1040 hrs, had been brought under control within
two hours and that damage at the fire-hit 100,000
bpd vacuum gas oil (VGO) hydrotreater was being
assessed.
"We have shut
only a few adjoining units of the hydrotreater as
a precautionary measure and all other key units
are functioning," a Reliance personnel told
UNI. Responding to a query, he clarified that the
plant may be shut down for about a fortnight.
RIL, which says
its Jamnagar plant with a capacity to refine
660,000 barrels per day is the world’s third
largest refinery, said in a statement that it is
expected to restart shortly, a nearby diesel
hydrotreater that had been shut as a
precautionary measure.
A RIL source said
any fire damage appeared to have been limited to
the VGO unit. One person at the Jamnagar plant in
Gujarat had been seriously injured but there were
no other casualties, the company statement added.
The company gave
no estimate on when the unit, which removes
sulphur from heavy feedstock to make
higher-quality fuels, would be able to restart. A
spokesman said feedstock for the fire-hit unit
would now be diverted into other units.
State and Union
government officials had earlier said the entire
plant had been shut and may remain closed for at
least 10 days but the RIL statement affirmed that
other key units, including the crude and
petrochemical units, were operating normally.
However, a
reliable source at RIL maintained that the
production would be "hit significantly"
as the refinery is a major exporter of
high-quality gasoline and jet fuel.
In this context,
when asked Mr P Raghavendran, head of RIL’s
refining business merely said that as of now it
has enough product stock for the next few days.
The total product availability and the extent of
the damage to the VGO Hydrotreater II unit, which
is one of the 40 units in the refinery complex is
being assessed, he added.
The Jamnagar plant
had been set up in mid-1999 and is currently
among the world’s most complex refineries,
allowing it to use cheaper high-sulphur crudes to
produce more profitable, ultra-clean fuels that
meet the higher environmental Euro standards.
RIL is the
country’s largest private sector company on
all major financial parameters with turnover of
Rs 89,124 crore (USD 20 billion), cash profit of
Rs 13,174 crore (USD 3 billion), net profit of Rs
9,069 crore (USD 2 billion), net worth of Rs
49,804 crore (USD 11 billion) and total assets of
Rs 93,095 crore (USD 20.9 billion). (UNI)
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Two
Bihar police officials test HIV-positive
PATNA,
Oct 25:
Two senior police officers of Bihar have tested
HIV-positive after Elisa test, state Home
Secretary Afzal Amanullah said today.
The officers
tested positive after a test conducted at a
laboratory here, he said without revealing their
names.
Describing the
reports about the two police officials as
"absolute rubbish and bogus", state
police chief Ashish Ranjan Sinha said "You
better ask the Home Secretary".
A senior police
official on condition of anonymity said "The
officials went to Delhi recently for follow up
test but the reports are still awaited".
Chief of Patna
Police Hospital Dr P Ojha did not have any
information about it.
"You know
very well that senior police officers will never
visit us if they are suffering from such disease
and will choose corporate hospitals in New Delhi,
Mumbai or elsewhere for further check-up",
he replied to a question whether the two
officials had visited him.
Six HIV positive
cases had been detected at the hospital, Dr Ojha
said of them a constable and his wife had been
found to be suffering from full blown AIDS.
He said in the
light of detection of these cases, he had
recently written to the state police headquraters
to make Elisa test mandatory before recruiting
aspirants who qualify for police jobs.
The state police
headquarters plan to make Elisa test mandatory
for jobs of constables and officials below the
ranks of deputy superintendents of police to
detect HIV.
"The army has
already made the test mandatory for its recruits.
The test will help the state police prevent more
policemen from falling into death trap", Dr
Ojha said.
He said the
constables and police officers posted in naxal
strongholds and also along the areas bordering
Nepal were "more vulnerable" to
contracting AIDS/HIV as they stayed away from
their wives for months on end.
"There are
reports that the Maoists are now supplying
HIV-positive sex workers to policemen in some
parts of the state for trapping them", a
senior official said on condition of anonymity.
The police
headquarters had recently made some necessary
changes in the welfare plan after several
HIV-positive persons approached it for financial
help.
The headquarters
now provides Rs 25,000 as financial assistance
from its welfare fund to the policemen found
HIV-positive. (PTI)_
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HP urges
Centre to set up Corpus Fund for hydel projects
SHIMLA,
Oct 25:
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh
has urged the Centre to set up a Corpus Fund of
Rs 1,000 crore for preparing detailed project
reports (DPRs) of hydro-power projects, saying
this was necessary to ensure good DPRs are
prepared.
"Since the
implementation of the hydro power project depends
on the DPRs, it is essential they are of good
quality and are reliable," he told reporters
here.
Mr Singh said all
other conditions besides 12 per cent free power
to the state should form part of the DPR so that
all input costs form a part of the financial
closure.
The relief and
rehabilitation provision for any project should
also be decided before the financial closure to
avoid resettlement and rehabilitation problems
like that the state has in Bhakra and Pong Dam,
he said.
He said the new
hydro power policy of the state also provides for
releasing 15 per cent water downstream during the
lean season to protect aquatic life, vegetation
and wildlife besides safeguarding the water
rights of the people living in the downstream
areas.
Expressing concern
that a few central undertakings have contested
the state government’s decision on the issue
in the courts, he said this was against the
interests of the state.
"Our only aim
while framing the was to preserve the Himalayan
ecology and environment and nothing more,"
he said
The chief minister
said Himachal was also the only state in the
country that had made it compulsory for the
promoter to provide 1.5 per cent of the project
cost for local area development.
Mr Singh said the
State Government had already appraised the Centre
about its decision to seek 30 per cent equity
participation in various hydel projects being
implemented by the central undertakings in the
state besides other projects likely to the
allotted in the future.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh was also aware of the state
Government’s view on the issue, he said.
He said the Centre
was likely to respond positively to the state
Government’s decision and allow equity
participation in various hydropower projects in
which the state had no equity so far.
Of the 21,000 MW
hydel power potential identified in Himachal, the
state was harnessing 6,067 MW, while harnessing
of another 7,025 MW power potential was under
execution at various stages.
He said several of
power projects were being executed by the NTPC,
NHPC and in joint venture with the Satluj Jal
Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL). (UNI)
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SP a
party of ‘dancers and singers’: Lalu
KANPUR,
Oct 25:
Accusing the Samajwadi Party of deviating
from its socialist ideology, Rashtriya Janata Dal
chief Lalu Prasad has said it was on the
downslide as it had become a party of
"dancers and singers".
"The
Samajwadi Party has now became a party of dancers
and singers and has nothing to do with the
policies of Ram Monohar Lohia and other
socialists leaders," the Railways Minister
told reporters at Kanpur railway station while on
his way to Patna from New Delhi last night.
He said the party
was on the downslide and even NDA Convenor George
Fernandes would not be able to help SP supremo
and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh
Yadav "because he has himself became a tired
person".
He however,
refused to comment of the corruption charges
relating to the Barak missile deal against the
former Defence Minister and said a case was
already pending in court against Fernandes.
Prasad said the
RJD would also make efforts to became stronger in
Uttar Pradesh. (PTI)
BSF
jawans to be sanctioned emergence leave: BSF IG
FEROZPUR,
Oct 25:
Taking serious note of the two recent suicide
cases of Border Security Force (BSF) jawans in
the Ferozpur sector, BSF Inspector General
(Punjab Frontier) Arvind Ranjan has ordered that
emergency leave to jawans be granted immediately
on receipt of application.
"The grant of
emergency leave to the jawans will help to
mitigate there grievances", he said while
addressing mediapersons here today.
He admitted that
more often than not, BSF jawans take this extreme
step due to the indifferent attitude of officers
towards their welfare.The duties of BSF jawans
are more strenuous as compared to their army
counterparts, he added.
"BSF jawans
have to keep a strict vigil every moment to watch
the nefarious activities of the enemy and any
negligence on their part will be harmful to the
security of the nation", he said.
He further said
that he had issued immediate orders to BSF
officers to arrange interaction programmes with
the jawans posted at Border Outposts (BOP) and
alleviate their hardship on the spot. He stated
that special camps would be held next month in
the Ferozpur and Amritsar Sectors to get an
overall picture of the difficulties and problems
of the jawans posted at the BOPs.
Meanwhile Ferozpur
sector DIG S S Shah claimed that the two recent
suicide cases of BSF jawans could be attributed
to personel problems of the jawans. (UNI)
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Don’t
curtail interest rate on EPF: Left tells
Fernandes
NEW
DELHI, Oct 25: The Left parties and their labour
wings today set an 11-point agenda for the new
Labour Minister which includes no further
curtailment of interest rate on EPF, removal of
ceiling on bonus, restoration of trade union
rights in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and
immediate holding of the Indian Labour
Conference.
In separate
interviews to UNI, the Left leaders also
regretted that the previous Minister did not even
hold the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Labour during the current year which
has only two months left.
As part of a minor
expansion and reshuffle, Mr Oscar Fernandes, the
Minister without portfolio, has been given the
independent charge of Labour and Employment.
Mr Fernadnes, who
is on a visit to Mizoram, is expected to assume
office tomorrow.
Drawing Mr
Fernandes’ immediate attention, CPI General
Secretary A B Bardhan said, "So many issues
are pending as the previous Labour Minister
remained engaged in the Telangana movement and
did not have time for the workers."
The veteran
Communist said the issues relating to EPF, bonus
and trade union rights in the proposed SEZs
needed urgent attention.
CPI(M) Polit
Bureau member M K Pandhe, while recalling Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh’s assurance to the
trade unions on August 19, called for immediate
setting up of a Review Committee on Consumer
Price Index, the revival of sick industries and
the removal of ceiling on bonus.
Mr Pandhe, who is
also CITU president, made a strong case for
changing the proposed approach to labour issues
in the Eleventh Five Year Plan .
He also asked the
new Labour Minister to take steps to ensure that
the long pending Bills on unorganised workers and
agricultural workers were introduced in the
Winter Session of Parliament, beginning late next
month.
CPI National
Secretary Shamim Faizi said the Parlimentary
Consulatative Committeee on Labour had made
several meaningful recommendations that needed to
be translated into law.
"The issues
like continued violation of labour laws, attempts
to retrench a larger number of employees and
closure of industrial units need to be tackled
without further delay," Mr Faizi, the editor
of party weekly ‘New Age’, added.
CPI Floor leader
in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta said, "We
want the new Labour Minister to see with open
eyes the problems and miseries of the
workers."
Mr Dasgupta, who
is also AITUC General Secretary, said they wanted
Mr Fernandes to re-convert his department from a
"Ministry of Corporate Houses to Department
of Workers".
Forward Bloc
National Secretary G Devrajan, while welcoming
the appointment of Mr Fernandes, said his Party
had placed its demands both before previous
Labour Ministers Sis Ram Ola and Chandra Shekhar
Rao, but nothing concrete came out.
"We had also
presented the 15-point detailed charter of
demands to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which
pleaded for no further curtialment of interest on
EPF," Mr Devrajan added.
The Left leaders
also asked the new Labour Minister not to carry
forward further privatisation of banking and
insurance sectors.
They also drew Mr
Fernandes’ attention to the ongoing process
of privatising at least 100 post offices in
various parts of the country and called for a
course correction in this regard.
The National
Federation of Postal Employees unions would soon
observe an indefinite strike to oppose the move,
Mr Devrajan added. (UNI)
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Mann
injured in clash with SAD (Badal) supporters
KATHUNANGAL,
AMRITSAR, Oct 25: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD-Amritsar)
President Simranjit Singh Mann was seriously
injured in a clash with SAD (Badal) and Shiromani
Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) officials at
a function here today, police sources said.
According to the
police, five to six others from both the sides
also sustained injuries. They had been rushed to
hospitals in Amritsar.
Mr Mann who was
attacked with ‘kirpans’ by members of
the SGPC task force, sustained head injuries and
has been rushed to a hospital in Amritsar, an
eyewitness said. His condition was described as
serious.
Police sources
said the clash took place inside the premises of
the historic gurdwara of Baba Buddha Sahib on the
occasion of the 500th birth anniversary
celebrations of Baba Buddha at a village on the
Amritsar-Pathankot national highway.
The village
is the birthplace of Baba Buddha, who was the
first Head Granthi (priest) of the Harmandir
Sahib, during the period of the fifth Sikh Guru
Arjan Dev.
According to
police sources, the clash took place when Mr Mann
and his supporters were stopped by the SGPC task
force from attending the birth anniversary
function organised by the SAD (Badal) and the
SGPC. Mr Mann and his supporters insisted on
moving towards the platform on which were seated
former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, former
Haryana Chief Minister O P Chautala, BJP MP
Navjot Singh Sidhu, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar
and a number of other senior leaders.
A verbal duel
ensued between the Task Force and SAD (Badal)
supporters on the one hand and Mr Mann on the
other. At this stage supporters of both the
groups drew out their swords and advanced at each
other.In the meele that followed Mr Mann was hit
by a sword on the head and he immediately
collapsed in a pool of blood.
Mr Mann, a
former MP from Sangrur, is the brother-in-law of
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
It is not for
the first time that Mr Mann has insisted on
attending a function organised by the SGPC and
the Badal Dal. An unsavoury situation had erupted
when unsheathed swords were brandished during the
quadricentennial celebrations of the foundation
of Akal Takht at Gurdwara Manji Sahib inside the
Golden Temple Complex in June when the SGPC
refused to give time to Mr Mann to address the
Sikh congregation after Mr Badal had finished
speaking.
Later in
July, during a function to mark the 400th
martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev at Tarn
Taran, Mr Mann raised a voice for reviving the
Anandpur Sahib draft of 1973 from the stage of
SGPC in the presence of BJP national president
Rajnath Singh thereby putting Mr Badal in an
embarrassing position.
The SGPC
chief Jathedar Makkar had yesterday warned that
the Punjab Government would be responsible for
any disturbance on the occasion of the birth
anniversary celebrations of Baba Buddha.
Mr Mann had
earlier declared that under no circumstances
would his party tolerate that the glorious
history of Sikhs be tainted by the participation
of Mr Chautala and Mr Sidhu in a religios
function.
He had stated
that the politics of these two political leaders
was ‘inimical to Sikh and Punjabi
interest". (UNI)
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