Rajasthan,
Marriages are made here too!
JAIPUR, Mar 11: What is common
between Madonna, Amitabh Bachchan, Liz
Hurley, Praful Patel and Varadaraja
Perumal? Well, they were among the
celebrities who made it to
Rajasthan-giving the state more
prominence on the global tourism map.
Celebrities
apart, the state has become a favourite
holiday destination even for a common
tourist, trade circles say adding that
recent celebrity weddings have led to a
craze to have marriages held in the
desert state.
When the
whole world was celebrating the New
Year’s eve pop star and actress
Madonna along with her family friends and
two kids came to the state for a week
long stay.
During her
visit she also explored the interiors of
Rajasthan, some new hamlets and villages,
said a Jodhpur-based travel agent.
Such
visits of the celebrities to the
undiscovered areas also put such areas on
the tourist maps. Some of the not so
popular villages of Jodhpur district are
now known to the world after her visit,
said Ashwini a hotelier.
Her
schedule was so secret that even
sometimes the state police did not know
where she was going and when, said a
police official who did not want to be
identified.
Later, in
the month of February, mega star Amitabh
Bachchan whose house was attacked by the
activists of Navnirman Sena in Mumbai,
came along with his friend Amar Singh,
his wife Jaya Bachchan and
daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
It was
just a family gathering of Bachchans on
the occasion of Abhishek’s birthday
who was already shooting for Rakyesh
Omprakash Mehra directed film ‘Dilli
6’ at a village near Jaipur, said a
Jaipur-based travel agent who had
organised peaceful stay of Bachchans.
Earlier
people were only coming to Jaipur and
Rajasthan for tourism but after unusual
visits such as some celebrity weddings in
Rajasthan not to forget Raveena Tandon-
Anil Thadani wedding in Udaipur some
years back, Liz Hurley and Arun Nair last
year, visits of cricket stars like Rahul
Dravid to Udaipur, has actually given a
new ray of hope to those connected with
tourism industry.
Recently
the marriage of Union Civil Aviation
minister Praful Patel’s daughter
brought people varying from business
tycoons, Bollywood celebrities and others
in Udaipur and Patel to acknowledged that
peaceful nature of the state, good food,
and its people were the reasons that
brought him to Rajasthan.
Internationally
famed actor Irrfan who is a local boy
makes it a point to come to Jaipur on
every Makar Sakranti to pursue his
passion for kite flying. "I love to
go on terrace on my house and take part
in this popular rooftop sport. I love it
and wherever I go in terms of
professional life nothing can stop me
from having a peaceful week-long stay at
my house," he said.
But, have
the celebrity weddings proved to be
lucrative in terms of tourism boom in
Rajasthan?
Siddhartha
Chaturvedi, a marriage manger said,
"Till the 90s Rajasthan used to
witness five to to six NRI weddings and
sometimes couples from England and other
countries would come and get married in
Indian style. Now marriage management is
a specialty in tourism business. People
from abroad are coming here and whenever
celebrities from films think of some reel
life or real life marriage sequences they
have Rajasthan in their priority."
Not just
the Indian political bigwigs but for
politicians from neighbouring countries
like SriLanka came to Rajasthan to get
their kiths and kins married in the
state.
The recent
example is of SriLanka’s EPLF leader
Vardaraja Perumal whose daughter
Kanakamma who was studying in
Ajmer’s Sophia college tied the
nuptial knot with Manoj who is a son of a
Ajmer based businessmen in February.
Rajasthan
also gives celebrities a scope to break
out from their hectic schedules as
Karisma Kapoor came here in Udaipur in
February with her daughter Samaera and
both mother and daughter enjoyed boating
in the famous Pichola lake in Udaipur.
(PTI)
West
Bengal tops the list of "Missing
Children" zones
KOLKATA, Mar 11: West Bengal tops
the list of states, where children, below
the age of 18, are increasingly going
missing due to trafficking, with girls
comprising at least 67 per cent.
Releasing
a report today on "Missing Children
in West Bengal" by International NGO
Save The Children, Calcutta and Mumbai
High Court Retired Chief Justice
Chittotosh Mookerjee said, "There is
a need to spread greater awareness among
the people living in poverty or Below
Poverty Line.
"An
immediate action plan needs to be chalked
out to rescue and repatriate these
children, who may have been sold off to
middlemen or are suffering at the hands
of cruel employers as domestic help or
even worse as prostitutes," he
added.
Mr
Mookerjee expressed shock and remorse
over the growing number of children,
mostly girls, being trafficked by agents
or contractors, who in turn hand them
over to "placement agencies" to
be "employed" as domestic
labourers or prostitutes in the red light
areas of different cities like Delhi,
Mumbai, Bangalore or Kolkata.
"A
general awareness among the poor people,
who themselves sell their own children
off against money or are lured by
middlemen who promise them good
‘married’ life or jobs in the
cities, is indeed necessary, but more
importantly, the masses need to be warned
against such rackets, especially in West
Bengal, where the figures are the
highest," he added.
The survey
was conducted in two areas of North and
South 24 Parganas, namely Sandeshkhali
and Pathorprotima, East Midnapore and
Kolkata. According to the report, since
2003, it have been found that about
45,000 children go missing every year,
out of which at least 67 per cent were
girls.
The report
revealed that at least 4,041 children
went missing from the two villages of
Sandeshkhali and Pathorprotima, with only
27 per cent parents knowing where their
children were or that they may be facing
harsh treatment at the hands of household
owners or flesh traders.
While
addressing the programme, State Program
Manager, Save the Children, WB unit,
Manabendra Nath Ray said, "At least
43 per cent children who end up in Delhi
are considered totally lost since their
parents have no idea about their
whereabouts and do not get the promised
reward against their children."
He further
added that most of the time, these
children are taken by known peolpe,
villagers, neighbours, relatives, and
sometimes most surprisingly by their own
parents and sold off to the middlemen.
In fact,
even when the children are totally lost,
the parents do not even bother to find
them, mainly because they cannot afford
to look for them or feed them, the report
said.
Moreover,
only about 16 per cent of the missing
children cases are actually reported to
the local police stations.
Since the
police stations are ill-manned and with
no missing cases being filed by the
children’s parents, the law
enforcement authorities also find
themselves at a loss to handle, check and
balance the situation.
The report
also stated that there is a "social
acceptance" among the poor regarding
children going missing which was making
it more difficult for the authorities to
ensure justice for the victims. (UNI)
Move
to introduce community participation in
policing
NEW DELHI, Mar 11: There is a move to
introduce community policing in the
country, with the Government considering
a draft Model Police Act containing
provisions for it.
The draft
Model Police Act contains provision of
community participation in policing in
metropolitan cities as well as having
village guards, village defence party and
community liaison groups in rural areas,
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in
a reply in Lok Sabha today.
He said
the draft Model Act has been sent to the
State Governments for consideration and
appropriate action.
Patil
added that while there was no specific
scheme to give incentives to the states
for community policing, the need and
importance of involvement of people has
been stressed from time to time during
discussions with State Governments.
"The
Model Act is intended to be humane,
effective and efficient," he said.
The draft
Model Act was prepared by a committee of
experts set up by the Home Ministry to
replace the Police Act, 1861 and it was
submitted to the Centre in October, 2006.
Meanwhile,
responding to a question on increasing
incidence of crimes against children, he
said consultations are being held with
the state governments, NGOs, experts and
social workers to identify measures and
action to constantly strengthen the
implementation apparatus to deal with the
menace. (PTI)
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