Archana Patni, NDTV
Saturday, September 9, 2006 (Bangalore):
The central district in Bangalore is probably one of the most expensive properties in the entire country.
17, Rajbhavan Road is the only residential complex, apart from the governor's house on the Rajbhavan road in Bangalore.
Mantri Alitus is everybody's dream home. Imagine waking up every morning, walking out to your balcony and getting this beautiful view of the city of Bangalore.
But owning these bungalows in the sky is not that easy. You don't only have to be really rich; you also have to be extremely lucky to get chosen to own this property
"This property was designed only for high class people, on invitation only. We called the people. We made a selection so that we could have like-minded families with us," said Snehal Mantri, Director, Marketing, Mantri Builders.
Luxuries galore
A 17-floor building with each floor housing just one apartment of about 5,600 sq ft each, every house give you a panoramic view of the city of Bangalore.
"Amenities-wise, we have taken care and pampered our owners. They have the luxury of 11,000 sq feet of clubhouse, which is being designed on seven-star hotel standards.
"From the main lobby to the swimming pool to the club house, the sauna, jacuzzi and billiards, all the luxuries they want they will get," said Mantri.
While the first flat was sold for Rs 3 crore, you can now only own one of these apartments for a whopping Rs 12 crore, and guess what, it's already all sold out!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
Its telephone telepathy; "Hello! I was thinking of you.... "
[ 7 Sep, 2006 1352hrs IST REUTERS ]
NORWICH: Many people have experienced the phenomenon of receiving a telephone call from someone shortly after thinking about them -- now a scientist says he has proof of what he calls telephone telepathy.
Rupert Sheldrake, whose research is funded by the respected Trinity College, Cambridge, said Tuesday he had conducted experiments that proved that such precognition existed for telephone calls and even e-mails.
Each person in the trials was asked to give researchers names and phone numbers of four relatives or friends. These were then called at random and told to ring the subject who had to identify the caller before answering the phone.
"The hit rate was 45 per cent, well above the 25 per cent you would have expected," he told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. "The odds against this being a chance effect are 1,000 billion to one."
He said he found the same result with people being asked to name one of four people sending them an e-mail before it had landed.
NORWICH: Many people have experienced the phenomenon of receiving a telephone call from someone shortly after thinking about them -- now a scientist says he has proof of what he calls telephone telepathy.
Rupert Sheldrake, whose research is funded by the respected Trinity College, Cambridge, said Tuesday he had conducted experiments that proved that such precognition existed for telephone calls and even e-mails.
Each person in the trials was asked to give researchers names and phone numbers of four relatives or friends. These were then called at random and told to ring the subject who had to identify the caller before answering the phone.
"The hit rate was 45 per cent, well above the 25 per cent you would have expected," he told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. "The odds against this being a chance effect are 1,000 billion to one."
He said he found the same result with people being asked to name one of four people sending them an e-mail before it had landed.
Pak's first Miss Bikini breaks all barriers
Bharti Dubey
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0200hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0200hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
Mariyah Moten, a 22-year-old US-based Pakistani, is being billed as "Pakistan’s first Miss Bikini". This after she won the title of Best in Media Category at the Miss Bikini Universe 2006 pageant in China on August 26.
In an email interview with TOI , Mariyah talks about the ‘amusing’ hardliners who make 'some noise', but can't really do anything to prevent people from projecting Pakistan as a "moderate place".
Talking about actress Meera, she says that while her kiss in a Bollywood movie may have kicked up a fuss, it has actually made the Pakistani star quite popular in her home country, which has also taken part in other beauty pageants. Yet, the fiesty woman says she wants to return to Pakistan and try her luck in Lollywood.
Q. How do you react to being called Pakistan's first Miss Bikini?
A. I have broken all barriers, and in the coming years there will be other Pakistani contestants, who will carry this title. My intention was to project Pakistan is a very modern way.
Q. Pakistan has never had a beauty pageant. How do you think people back home have reacted to you parading in a bikini?
A. Actually, Pakistan has participated in several beauty pageants. All the information on Pakistan's participation is on www.misspakistanworld.com . Hardliners are basically people who try to impose their thoughts on others. We are not affected by people like them. We believe Pakistan is a country that is made up of moderate Muslims like myself. And yes, some people may not like the idea of a Pakistani girl in a bikini, but alas, we have done it and there is no way they can change anything about it.
Q. Pakistani actress Meera had to face the wrath of conservatives in Pakistan after she wore skimpy clothes and did a kissing scene in a Hindi film.
A. See, fundamentalists are everywhere. Even when the Miss World pageant took place in India, there were fundamentalists as well as feminists stalling it. Meera is doing very well, she is now more in demand, and has more people lining up to see her in Pakistan. She is very happy where she is, and conservatives could do nothing to her. This is simply noise made by people who have nothing better to do... it's actually amusing how they are always so ready to react.
Q. Would you be interested in acting in movies, especially Hindi films?
A. Well, I would like to complete my education first (she is a management student). I am getting a lot of offers from Lollywood, and I may go to Pakistan this year to check these out. I am not sure how well it will go, but at the moment acting interests me.
Q. What do you intend to do now?
A. As I said before, my main aim is to project Pakistan to the world as a moderate place. I have succeeded in educating many girls who compete in these pageants about Pakistan, and cleared a lot of doubts people have about the country. I will do this in the coming year as well.
Photographs from the web
Laden's taped meeting with 9/11 plotters aired
[ 8 Sep, 2006 1142hrs IST AP ]
CAIRO: An Arab television station broadcast previously unseen footage of a smiling Osama bin Laden meeting with the top planners of the Sept. 11 attacks in an Afghan mountain camp and calling on followers to pray for the hijackers as they carry out the suicide mission.
The sections shown on Al-Jazeera TV on Thursday were part of a video that al-Qaida announced it would release later on the Internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the airborne attacks on the United States.
The video includes the last testament of two of the hijackers, Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. It shows bin Laden strolling in the camp, greeting followers, who Al-Jazeera said included some of the hijackers. But their faces are not clear in the video, and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.
In one scene, bin Laden addresses the camera, calling on followers to support the hijackers.
``I ask you to pray for them and to ask God to make them successful, aim their shots well, set their feet strong and strengthen their hearts,'' bin Laden said. The comments were apparently filmed before the attacks but never before released.
The footage was the fourth in a series of long videos that al-Qaida has put out to memorialize the suicide hijackings against the Pentagon and World Trade Center, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a private US company that monitors militant message traffic and provides counterterrorism intelligence services for the American government.
The previous ones were issued in April and September 2002 and September 2003, each showing footage from the planning of the suicide hijackings and hijackers' last testimonies, Venzke said.
The latest full video probably lasts from 40 minutes to two hours, based on the past ones, he said. Al-Jazeera did not say how it obtained the video, which bore the logo of As-Sahab, al-Qaida's media branch.
``They produce long videos like these not just for 9-11, but for any significant events they feel warrant their attention,'' Venzke said.
One aim is to boost recruitment, but such videos have several purposes --``to speak to their supporters, to raise morale within their own group, to facilitate fundraising, and to serve as a psychological attack,'' he said.
In the footage shown by Al-Jazeera, bin Laden is shown sitting outside in what appears to be a mountain camp with his former lieutenant Mohammed Atef and Ramzi Binalshibh, another suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, was killed by a US airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001. Binalshibh was captured four years ago in Pakistan and is currently in U.S. custody, and this week US President George W. Bush announced plans to put him on military trial.
Bin Laden, wearing a dark robe and white head gear, strolls through the camp, greeting dozens of followers, some masked, some barefaced, many carrying automatic weapons.
Other scenes show training at the camp. Masked militants perform martial arts kicks or learn how to break the hold of someone who grabs them from behind. Several militants are shown practicing hiding and pulling out fold-out knives.
A voice-over narration with the video praises the mujahedeen for leaving their comfortable lives to survive in the mountains ``on the soil of Kandahar'' –a southern Afghan city. Men are shown chopping wood and cutting up vegetables for dinner.
There was no confirmation of the tape's authenticity by the White House. ``One by one we will bring the 9/11 plotters to justice for their vicious acts, including Ramzi Binalshibh, who is now in DOD custody,'' said Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino.
An advertisement from As-Sahab on an Islamic militant Web forum said the full video would be posted on the Web soon. In the past, such teasers have come a day or two before the video was posted.
Venzke said the full version of the video was believed to include a message from Azzam al-Amriki, the nom de guerre of Adam Yehiye Gadahn, an American who the FBI says has associated with al-Qaida. Gadahn appeared in an al-Qaida video released last week in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam.
It also likely includes a message from bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, though it may not be new, Venzke said, without elaborating on why he believed that. Like the previous long videos, Thursday's footage included last testimonies by some of the hijackers.
Al-Shehri and al-Ghamdi were each shown speaking to the camera, their image superimposed over background pictures of the crumbling World Trade Center towers and the burning Pentagon, as well as a model of a passenger jet.
They both spoke of how Muslims must stand up to fight back against the West.
``If jihad now is not an obligation (on Muslims), when will it be?'' said al-Shehri, pointing to attacks on Muslims in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Chechnya.
``If we are content with being humiliated and inclined to comfort, the tooth of the enemy will stretch from Jerusalem to Mecca, and then everyone will regret on a day when regret is of no use,'' al-Ghamdi said.
Al-Shehri was on American Airlines Flight 11, which was the first to hit the World Trade Center. Al-Ghamdi was on United Airlines Flight 175, which hit the second tower.
The footage was broadcast on the same day Al-Qaida in Iraq released what was purported to be the first audiotape by its new leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, in which he vowed victory was coming and condemned Sunni Muslims cooperating with the Iraqi government.
Al-Muhajer was named leader of Iraq's most feared terror group after his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a June 7 airstrike north of Baghdad. The US military has put a US$5 million (euro3.9 million) bounty on al-Muhajer's head.
CAIRO: An Arab television station broadcast previously unseen footage of a smiling Osama bin Laden meeting with the top planners of the Sept. 11 attacks in an Afghan mountain camp and calling on followers to pray for the hijackers as they carry out the suicide mission.
The sections shown on Al-Jazeera TV on Thursday were part of a video that al-Qaida announced it would release later on the Internet to mark the fifth anniversary of the airborne attacks on the United States.
The video includes the last testament of two of the hijackers, Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. It shows bin Laden strolling in the camp, greeting followers, who Al-Jazeera said included some of the hijackers. But their faces are not clear in the video, and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.
In one scene, bin Laden addresses the camera, calling on followers to support the hijackers.
``I ask you to pray for them and to ask God to make them successful, aim their shots well, set their feet strong and strengthen their hearts,'' bin Laden said. The comments were apparently filmed before the attacks but never before released.
The footage was the fourth in a series of long videos that al-Qaida has put out to memorialize the suicide hijackings against the Pentagon and World Trade Center, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a private US company that monitors militant message traffic and provides counterterrorism intelligence services for the American government.
The previous ones were issued in April and September 2002 and September 2003, each showing footage from the planning of the suicide hijackings and hijackers' last testimonies, Venzke said.
The latest full video probably lasts from 40 minutes to two hours, based on the past ones, he said. Al-Jazeera did not say how it obtained the video, which bore the logo of As-Sahab, al-Qaida's media branch.
``They produce long videos like these not just for 9-11, but for any significant events they feel warrant their attention,'' Venzke said.
One aim is to boost recruitment, but such videos have several purposes --``to speak to their supporters, to raise morale within their own group, to facilitate fundraising, and to serve as a psychological attack,'' he said.
In the footage shown by Al-Jazeera, bin Laden is shown sitting outside in what appears to be a mountain camp with his former lieutenant Mohammed Atef and Ramzi Binalshibh, another suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, was killed by a US airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001. Binalshibh was captured four years ago in Pakistan and is currently in U.S. custody, and this week US President George W. Bush announced plans to put him on military trial.
Bin Laden, wearing a dark robe and white head gear, strolls through the camp, greeting dozens of followers, some masked, some barefaced, many carrying automatic weapons.
Other scenes show training at the camp. Masked militants perform martial arts kicks or learn how to break the hold of someone who grabs them from behind. Several militants are shown practicing hiding and pulling out fold-out knives.
A voice-over narration with the video praises the mujahedeen for leaving their comfortable lives to survive in the mountains ``on the soil of Kandahar'' –a southern Afghan city. Men are shown chopping wood and cutting up vegetables for dinner.
There was no confirmation of the tape's authenticity by the White House. ``One by one we will bring the 9/11 plotters to justice for their vicious acts, including Ramzi Binalshibh, who is now in DOD custody,'' said Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino.
An advertisement from As-Sahab on an Islamic militant Web forum said the full video would be posted on the Web soon. In the past, such teasers have come a day or two before the video was posted.
Venzke said the full version of the video was believed to include a message from Azzam al-Amriki, the nom de guerre of Adam Yehiye Gadahn, an American who the FBI says has associated with al-Qaida. Gadahn appeared in an al-Qaida video released last week in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam.
It also likely includes a message from bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, though it may not be new, Venzke said, without elaborating on why he believed that. Like the previous long videos, Thursday's footage included last testimonies by some of the hijackers.
Al-Shehri and al-Ghamdi were each shown speaking to the camera, their image superimposed over background pictures of the crumbling World Trade Center towers and the burning Pentagon, as well as a model of a passenger jet.
They both spoke of how Muslims must stand up to fight back against the West.
``If jihad now is not an obligation (on Muslims), when will it be?'' said al-Shehri, pointing to attacks on Muslims in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Chechnya.
``If we are content with being humiliated and inclined to comfort, the tooth of the enemy will stretch from Jerusalem to Mecca, and then everyone will regret on a day when regret is of no use,'' al-Ghamdi said.
Al-Shehri was on American Airlines Flight 11, which was the first to hit the World Trade Center. Al-Ghamdi was on United Airlines Flight 175, which hit the second tower.
The footage was broadcast on the same day Al-Qaida in Iraq released what was purported to be the first audiotape by its new leader, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, in which he vowed victory was coming and condemned Sunni Muslims cooperating with the Iraqi government.
Al-Muhajer was named leader of Iraq's most feared terror group after his predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a June 7 airstrike north of Baghdad. The US military has put a US$5 million (euro3.9 million) bounty on al-Muhajer's head.
Faridabad: Irate commuters target Rajdhani in Faridabad
[ 8 Sep, 2006 1235hrs IST PTI ]
FARIDABAD: Angry over delay in clearing lines for local trains, hundreds of irate passengers on Friday pelted stones at Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at the railway station and disrupted rail traffic.
No one was injured in the incident. However, rail traffic through the station was disrupted for nearly three hours this morning, delaying trains to and from Delhi.
The trouble started at around 8:00 am as passengers at the railway station started protesting against railway officials allegedly giving clearance to the Express trains by delaying the departure of local trains.
As the atmosphere got charged up, some passengers pelted stones at the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani which was approaching the station and another local train.
Though some window panes of the trains were broken, no injuries were reported.
At least 12 trains, including six Express services, were delayed. A large posse of police has been deployed at the station.
The train services resumed after three hours.
FARIDABAD: Angry over delay in clearing lines for local trains, hundreds of irate passengers on Friday pelted stones at Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at the railway station and disrupted rail traffic.
No one was injured in the incident. However, rail traffic through the station was disrupted for nearly three hours this morning, delaying trains to and from Delhi.
The trouble started at around 8:00 am as passengers at the railway station started protesting against railway officials allegedly giving clearance to the Express trains by delaying the departure of local trains.
As the atmosphere got charged up, some passengers pelted stones at the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani which was approaching the station and another local train.
Though some window panes of the trains were broken, no injuries were reported.
At least 12 trains, including six Express services, were delayed. A large posse of police has been deployed at the station.
The train services resumed after three hours.
Chennai: Raid at former Tamil Nadu CM's residence
[ 8 Sep, 2006 1230hrs IST PTI ]
CHENNAI: The officials with Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday raided the residence of AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Pannerselvam at Periyakulam in Theni district.
The raids began at 7 am and would continue till evening, officials said.
The officials also conducted raids at the residence and business establishments of former AIADMK minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan at Tuticorin.
The raids, the reason for which were yet to be ascertained, came as a surprise even to the police as the DVAC officials kept their plan a secret till they began the operation.
These were the first raids conducted by the DVAC after the DMK government took office in May last.
CHENNAI: The officials with Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday raided the residence of AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Pannerselvam at Periyakulam in Theni district.
The raids began at 7 am and would continue till evening, officials said.
The officials also conducted raids at the residence and business establishments of former AIADMK minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan at Tuticorin.
The raids, the reason for which were yet to be ascertained, came as a surprise even to the police as the DVAC officials kept their plan a secret till they began the operation.
These were the first raids conducted by the DVAC after the DMK government took office in May last.
New design for Bangalore airport
[ 7 Sep, 2006 2328hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: Two months after the construction work at redesigned portions of the Bangalore international airport began, the Union cabinet formally endorsed the changes on Thursday.
The project — redesigned at the behest of Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel — will now be able to accommodate 11.4-million passengers annually in the sprawling 7-acre terminal.
The projected traffic is 8.4 million by 2010. The Union cabinet also approved amendments to the concession agreement with BIAL, allowing the joint venture firm to re-design the airport.
As against the initial forecast of 41,000 aircraft movements per year in 2010, the latest projection has increased it to 1, 06,000, forcing BIAL to re-design the airport by merging the second phase of construction with the first phase, to be completed by 2010.
The projected cost after redesign goes up from Rs 1,411.79 crore to Rs 1,930.29 crore. The additional amount would be raised by BIAL through loans and advances from third-party service providers, like cargo handling or fuel supplies, and not through additional equity or state support.
About Rs 450 crore would be taken from lenders and Rs 68.5 crore from service providers, raising the debt-equity ratio from 2.25:1 to 3.63:1, an official spokesperson said.
Under the new design, the total built-up area for the passenger terminal building would be increased to 71,000 sq metre as against 55,850 sq metre.
BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: Two months after the construction work at redesigned portions of the Bangalore international airport began, the Union cabinet formally endorsed the changes on Thursday.
The project — redesigned at the behest of Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel — will now be able to accommodate 11.4-million passengers annually in the sprawling 7-acre terminal.
The projected traffic is 8.4 million by 2010. The Union cabinet also approved amendments to the concession agreement with BIAL, allowing the joint venture firm to re-design the airport.
As against the initial forecast of 41,000 aircraft movements per year in 2010, the latest projection has increased it to 1, 06,000, forcing BIAL to re-design the airport by merging the second phase of construction with the first phase, to be completed by 2010.
The projected cost after redesign goes up from Rs 1,411.79 crore to Rs 1,930.29 crore. The additional amount would be raised by BIAL through loans and advances from third-party service providers, like cargo handling or fuel supplies, and not through additional equity or state support.
About Rs 450 crore would be taken from lenders and Rs 68.5 crore from service providers, raising the debt-equity ratio from 2.25:1 to 3.63:1, an official spokesperson said.
Under the new design, the total built-up area for the passenger terminal building would be increased to 71,000 sq metre as against 55,850 sq metre.
Bangalore: Mason held for murder
[ 7 Sep, 2006 2325hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
BANGALORE: A mason who had killed a woman and buried her near her aunt's house was arrested on Wednesday. He was nabbed after the deceased's aunt came to know about the murder.
The deceased is Nagarathna (28) from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh. She had come to her aunt,Gowramma's house in Raghavendra Nagar, HBR Layout, on August 17 along with her sister and brother-in-law.
Later, Nagarathna's sister and brotherin-law left for Kuppam and the former continued to stay with Gowramma. Three days later, Gowramma left Nagarathna alone at home and went to Kuppam.
A mason identified as Muniraju, who reportedly had a relationship with Gowramma, visited the house in a drunken state. On seeing Nagarathna alone at home, Muniraju made sexual advances towards her and when she refused, he picked up a wooden plank and hit her on the head.
Following this, she died and he buried her near Gowramma's house in a trench dug by him. He also cleaned the blood stains and fled the scene.
Two days later, Gowramma returned home and found Nagarathna missing and started a search for her. On Wednesday, foul smell emanated from the trench and Gowramma noticed Nagarathna's clothes buried underneath.
She informed the police who exhumed the body. Gowramma suspected Muniraju's involvement and told the police who in turn questioned Muniraju who confessed to the crime.
Woman conned: A stranger conned an elderly woman of her gold chain on Thursday afternoon after promising her to get a loan.
When Lakshmidevi (88) was returning to her house located near Janavahini Educational Trust, Girinagar, a stranger identifying himself as a relative approached her and told her that he could help her get a bank loan.
He took her to an isolated spot and asked her for the chain. He took away the chain and fled the scene. Credit card forgery: Byappanahalli police have arrested a person who used to buy expensive gold ornaments from shops using stolen credit cards and recovered valuables worth over Rs 8 lakh from him.
According to police, Anil Kumar (23) used stolen credit cards and forged signatures to buy valuables.
Live band joint raided: Talaghattapura police raided a live band joint at a farm house near Tataguni village on city outskirts, Kanakapura Road, on Wednesday.
At least 14 girls have been arrested, the police said. The police also seized a television set and other electronic gadgets from the farm house.
BANGALORE: A mason who had killed a woman and buried her near her aunt's house was arrested on Wednesday. He was nabbed after the deceased's aunt came to know about the murder.
The deceased is Nagarathna (28) from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh. She had come to her aunt,Gowramma's house in Raghavendra Nagar, HBR Layout, on August 17 along with her sister and brother-in-law.
Later, Nagarathna's sister and brotherin-law left for Kuppam and the former continued to stay with Gowramma. Three days later, Gowramma left Nagarathna alone at home and went to Kuppam.
A mason identified as Muniraju, who reportedly had a relationship with Gowramma, visited the house in a drunken state. On seeing Nagarathna alone at home, Muniraju made sexual advances towards her and when she refused, he picked up a wooden plank and hit her on the head.
Following this, she died and he buried her near Gowramma's house in a trench dug by him. He also cleaned the blood stains and fled the scene.
Two days later, Gowramma returned home and found Nagarathna missing and started a search for her. On Wednesday, foul smell emanated from the trench and Gowramma noticed Nagarathna's clothes buried underneath.
She informed the police who exhumed the body. Gowramma suspected Muniraju's involvement and told the police who in turn questioned Muniraju who confessed to the crime.
Woman conned: A stranger conned an elderly woman of her gold chain on Thursday afternoon after promising her to get a loan.
When Lakshmidevi (88) was returning to her house located near Janavahini Educational Trust, Girinagar, a stranger identifying himself as a relative approached her and told her that he could help her get a bank loan.
He took her to an isolated spot and asked her for the chain. He took away the chain and fled the scene. Credit card forgery: Byappanahalli police have arrested a person who used to buy expensive gold ornaments from shops using stolen credit cards and recovered valuables worth over Rs 8 lakh from him.
According to police, Anil Kumar (23) used stolen credit cards and forged signatures to buy valuables.
Live band joint raided: Talaghattapura police raided a live band joint at a farm house near Tataguni village on city outskirts, Kanakapura Road, on Wednesday.
At least 14 girls have been arrested, the police said. The police also seized a television set and other electronic gadgets from the farm house.
Bangalore: Soon, you can zip through Tumkur Road
Sowmya Aji Mehu
[ 7 Sep, 2006 2323hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
BANGALORE: In keeping with Bangalore's image of embracing anything new, the NHAI has designed the IT city's first access-controlled road project on the highly accident-prone Tumkur Road.
Tumkur Road's shocking figures of an accident a day and a death once in five days have spurred the authorities to action.
The road has one of the highest traffic density of incoming/outgoing traffic to and from Bangalore — 1.30 lakh passenger carrying units per day — making travel to Nelamangala a matter of an hour from Bangalore city.
The plan to ease this is: A 4.5 km elevated road beginning immediately after the ring road, and beyond that a 15.5 km six-lane road up to Nelamangala that will have walls or railings on both sides to prevent any traffic from crossing the highway. Result: Travel time across the stretch is a mere 15 minutes!
"Access control will reduce accidents on this road. The elevated stretch will also contribute by easing the congestion on this road," NHAI sources told The Times of India.
Designed to be built at a cost of Rs 440 crore, the Bangalore-Nelamangala stretch of Tumkur Road is to match the dream-scape of the Mumbai-Pune, Ahmedabad-Vadodra stretches.
There will be no interruptions, with six flyovers and several pedestrian/cattle underpasses built to ferry people across wherever there is need.
The project was planned over an year ago, but ran into trouble because it clashed with the Bangalore Metro. Both projects were eying the same land, the NHAI for expanding the existing road, Metro to put up its rail line and stations.
"That issue has been sorted. Both projects are essential, but ours is planned and ready, so we are going ahead. The Metro will acquire land next to ours," sources added. Bids have already come in from the private sector for the project and are being processed.
The project, planned in the public-private partnership (PPP) model, is to be awarded within a month and take off in another six months with a two-year construction period.
[ 7 Sep, 2006 2323hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
BANGALORE: In keeping with Bangalore's image of embracing anything new, the NHAI has designed the IT city's first access-controlled road project on the highly accident-prone Tumkur Road.
Tumkur Road's shocking figures of an accident a day and a death once in five days have spurred the authorities to action.
The road has one of the highest traffic density of incoming/outgoing traffic to and from Bangalore — 1.30 lakh passenger carrying units per day — making travel to Nelamangala a matter of an hour from Bangalore city.
The plan to ease this is: A 4.5 km elevated road beginning immediately after the ring road, and beyond that a 15.5 km six-lane road up to Nelamangala that will have walls or railings on both sides to prevent any traffic from crossing the highway. Result: Travel time across the stretch is a mere 15 minutes!
"Access control will reduce accidents on this road. The elevated stretch will also contribute by easing the congestion on this road," NHAI sources told The Times of India.
Designed to be built at a cost of Rs 440 crore, the Bangalore-Nelamangala stretch of Tumkur Road is to match the dream-scape of the Mumbai-Pune, Ahmedabad-Vadodra stretches.
There will be no interruptions, with six flyovers and several pedestrian/cattle underpasses built to ferry people across wherever there is need.
The project was planned over an year ago, but ran into trouble because it clashed with the Bangalore Metro. Both projects were eying the same land, the NHAI for expanding the existing road, Metro to put up its rail line and stations.
"That issue has been sorted. Both projects are essential, but ours is planned and ready, so we are going ahead. The Metro will acquire land next to ours," sources added. Bids have already come in from the private sector for the project and are being processed.
The project, planned in the public-private partnership (PPP) model, is to be awarded within a month and take off in another six months with a two-year construction period.
Mumbai: Attack on woman sparks fear in Andheri
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0317hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MUMBAI: In yet another attack on a woman, a 23-year-old was assaulted by an unidentified person who attempted to rob her while she was climbing the staircase of a building in Andheri's Manish Nagar area on Thursday.
The incident follows an attack on a 21-year-old MBA student who was targeted in a similar manner in the colony last month.
While police claim both incidents were attempts at robbery, residents are edgy and have demanded more patrolling.
According to witnesses, Thursday's incident took place in building number 44. The victim, Nishtha Patel, a physician at a charitable clinic in JVPD, was returning home in the afternoon. Nishtha lives with her parents on the fourth floor of the building.
"Around 12.30 pm, after Nishtha had climbed two floors, an unidentified man appeared in front of her and tugged at her handbag. When she resisted, he picked up a cement pole and hit her on the head," said inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi. However, Nishtha put up a tough fight.
After unsuccessfully trying to steal her handbag, the man fled, clambering over the society's compound wall to escape. Nishtha was rushed to Sujay hospital where she was given medical treatment and discharged.
Nishtha described the assailant to the police and said he was about five feet in height and in his twenties. Police suspect he was loitering on the building terrace and keeping a watch. Officials have started preparing a sketch of the offender.
Locals voiced concern over the attacks. "The problem is an under-construction transit camp that has sprung up at the edge of our colony," said gemology student Rovina D'souza.
"The labourers are hired on a temporary basis and keep a watch on movements of residents. There are very few watchmen in the area and trespassers walk in and leave whenever they want."
Rovina's friend, MBA student Vailani Varella, sustained 16 stitches to her head after an unidentified assailant had struck her repeatedly with a hammer on August 21. Varella was in building 48, which is only a block away from where Thursday's incident took place.
The police had acted swiftly and arrested a 19-year-old welder from the nearby construction site but residents remain dissatisfied.
"We believe there are 3-4 men involved in these attacks and they work in groups. The real culprit is still at large," said resident Jitendra Jain. He added that a month ago an 80-year-old woman was robbed in Block B, but the case remains unsolved.
Another resident Mangala Patil said local college students usually return to their homes in the afternoon and in the wake of these attacks, the police need to take stringent measures.
MUMBAI: In yet another attack on a woman, a 23-year-old was assaulted by an unidentified person who attempted to rob her while she was climbing the staircase of a building in Andheri's Manish Nagar area on Thursday.
The incident follows an attack on a 21-year-old MBA student who was targeted in a similar manner in the colony last month.
While police claim both incidents were attempts at robbery, residents are edgy and have demanded more patrolling.
According to witnesses, Thursday's incident took place in building number 44. The victim, Nishtha Patel, a physician at a charitable clinic in JVPD, was returning home in the afternoon. Nishtha lives with her parents on the fourth floor of the building.
"Around 12.30 pm, after Nishtha had climbed two floors, an unidentified man appeared in front of her and tugged at her handbag. When she resisted, he picked up a cement pole and hit her on the head," said inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi. However, Nishtha put up a tough fight.
After unsuccessfully trying to steal her handbag, the man fled, clambering over the society's compound wall to escape. Nishtha was rushed to Sujay hospital where she was given medical treatment and discharged.
Nishtha described the assailant to the police and said he was about five feet in height and in his twenties. Police suspect he was loitering on the building terrace and keeping a watch. Officials have started preparing a sketch of the offender.
Locals voiced concern over the attacks. "The problem is an under-construction transit camp that has sprung up at the edge of our colony," said gemology student Rovina D'souza.
"The labourers are hired on a temporary basis and keep a watch on movements of residents. There are very few watchmen in the area and trespassers walk in and leave whenever they want."
Rovina's friend, MBA student Vailani Varella, sustained 16 stitches to her head after an unidentified assailant had struck her repeatedly with a hammer on August 21. Varella was in building 48, which is only a block away from where Thursday's incident took place.
The police had acted swiftly and arrested a 19-year-old welder from the nearby construction site but residents remain dissatisfied.
"We believe there are 3-4 men involved in these attacks and they work in groups. The real culprit is still at large," said resident Jitendra Jain. He added that a month ago an 80-year-old woman was robbed in Block B, but the case remains unsolved.
Another resident Mangala Patil said local college students usually return to their homes in the afternoon and in the wake of these attacks, the police need to take stringent measures.
Navi Mumbai: Nerul murder shrouded in mystery
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0316hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NAVI MUMBAI: Twenty-six-year-old housewife Kamini Manojkumar Giri left home on an errand on Tuesday and never returned. Even as the Nerul police found her body on Thursday, they continue to search for her infant son.
After two nerve-wracking days, the Giri family of Nerul, as also the entire Oriya community here, were plunged into grief when Kamini's body was found in a pond along Palm Beach Road.
Even as the police were doing the panchanama, Kamini's distraught husband arrived at the scene and was so shocked by the sight of her body and overcome by emotion that he began vomiting. He was rushed to a local hospital immediately.
While the Nerul police located her bloated body in the pond, there is still no sign yet of the couple's nine-month-old son. The two had been last seen at around 11.30 am on Tuesday.
Kamini had taken the boy along with her when she left their Gharkul society residence in Sector 16, Nerul, to buy some medicines. A missing complaint had been subsequently lodged at the Nerul police station by her husband.
The police themselves discovered the body in the pond. The grieving Giri family is now waiting for news of how Kamini died. "We will get the post-mortem report on Friday and only then can we comment on the cause of death," said the deputy commissioner of police (Zone 1), Amar Jadhav. Kamini's father-in-law Surendra Giri has told TOI, "There was no marital dispute between the husband and wife, and all of us were living very normally in Nerul. Only God knows how this has happened."
The entire Oriya community of Navi Mumbai has expressed shock at the mysterious death of the housewife, who was known to regularly interact with other members of the community.
"Kamini would without fail attend the holy satsangs in Nerul that were organised by the Oriya community. This tragedy in the Giri household has shaken everyone in Navi Mumbai," said one Oriya, S Das.
NAVI MUMBAI: Twenty-six-year-old housewife Kamini Manojkumar Giri left home on an errand on Tuesday and never returned. Even as the Nerul police found her body on Thursday, they continue to search for her infant son.
After two nerve-wracking days, the Giri family of Nerul, as also the entire Oriya community here, were plunged into grief when Kamini's body was found in a pond along Palm Beach Road.
Even as the police were doing the panchanama, Kamini's distraught husband arrived at the scene and was so shocked by the sight of her body and overcome by emotion that he began vomiting. He was rushed to a local hospital immediately.
While the Nerul police located her bloated body in the pond, there is still no sign yet of the couple's nine-month-old son. The two had been last seen at around 11.30 am on Tuesday.
Kamini had taken the boy along with her when she left their Gharkul society residence in Sector 16, Nerul, to buy some medicines. A missing complaint had been subsequently lodged at the Nerul police station by her husband.
The police themselves discovered the body in the pond. The grieving Giri family is now waiting for news of how Kamini died. "We will get the post-mortem report on Friday and only then can we comment on the cause of death," said the deputy commissioner of police (Zone 1), Amar Jadhav. Kamini's father-in-law Surendra Giri has told TOI, "There was no marital dispute between the husband and wife, and all of us were living very normally in Nerul. Only God knows how this has happened."
The entire Oriya community of Navi Mumbai has expressed shock at the mysterious death of the housewife, who was known to regularly interact with other members of the community.
"Kamini would without fail attend the holy satsangs in Nerul that were organised by the Oriya community. This tragedy in the Giri household has shaken everyone in Navi Mumbai," said one Oriya, S Das.
Mumbai: Nothing but the BEST (buses)
Yogesh Naik
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0054hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MUMBAI: Commuters who catch their BEST buses along the Eastern or Western Express Highways are a step closer to a whole new experience.
The design for swanky new bus shelters—which will cost Rs 7 lakh each to build—was cleared by a high-powered committee of officials-cum-citizens on Saturday.
Fresh tenders will now be issued by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which presented the updated design, and 85 shelters on both highways are expected to come up in six months.
Later, other roads—like LBS Marg, SV Road and the underconstruction Santa Cruz-Chembur, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli and Andheri-Ghatkopar link roads—will also get the bus shelters.
Compared to the current drab bus-stops, the new shelters will have features that will make waiting for a bus a more aesthetic and comfortable experience (See graphic).
In addition, hi-tech features, like electronic displays, will allow commuters access to information about BEST services. However, commuters will have to wait longer for the most eagerly awaited feature.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) will be linked to the new stops later. The GPS will allow commuters to know exactly where a bus is along a route, making it possible to know if it will be on time.
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0054hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MUMBAI: Commuters who catch their BEST buses along the Eastern or Western Express Highways are a step closer to a whole new experience.
The design for swanky new bus shelters—which will cost Rs 7 lakh each to build—was cleared by a high-powered committee of officials-cum-citizens on Saturday.
Fresh tenders will now be issued by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which presented the updated design, and 85 shelters on both highways are expected to come up in six months.
Later, other roads—like LBS Marg, SV Road and the underconstruction Santa Cruz-Chembur, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli and Andheri-Ghatkopar link roads—will also get the bus shelters.
Compared to the current drab bus-stops, the new shelters will have features that will make waiting for a bus a more aesthetic and comfortable experience (See graphic).
In addition, hi-tech features, like electronic displays, will allow commuters access to information about BEST services. However, commuters will have to wait longer for the most eagerly awaited feature.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) will be linked to the new stops later. The GPS will allow commuters to know exactly where a bus is along a route, making it possible to know if it will be on time.
Patna: For Nitish, 'charity' begins at home
Radhika D Srivastava
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0330hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: The wheel of development is moving fast in the state, and fastest in Nalanda. A private sugar mill, piped water in villages, new power stations, super highways, hospitals, rural electricity, new colleges... you name it and it's all happening in Nalanda, the home district of CM Nitish Kumar.
The remaining 37 districts are in the queue, waiting for the state government's largess to befall them. The worst-affected are Supaul, Madhepura, Araria, Saharsa, Madhubani, Purnia and Jamui.
For, most of these districts are flood prone and in dire need of development. That Nalanda is special is an open secret in the corridors of power in Patna.
"If a new state-wide scheme is to be implemented, it is an unwritten code that it has to be first implemented in Nalanda," a bureaucrat said.
In their bid to please the boss, even cabinet ministers end up focussing more on Nalanda. A politician said, "Nalanda is a pampered district. First it was former Union minister George Fernandes who benefited the district and it got, among other things, an ordnance factory project. Now it is the turn of Nitish."
In the last two months alone, the state government has okayed development projects worth Rs 700 crore for Nalanda. On the eve of Independence Day, Nitish himself announced projects worth Rs 500 crore, including Rs 257 crore for a rural electricity project and Rs 130 crore for setting up a milk powder processing plant.
A few days ago, the cabinet gave its nod to a private enterprise to set up a sugar complex in the district.
The complex, to be set up at a cost of Rs 122.4 crore, will produce sugar, alcohol and even about eight megawatt of electricity. The government has also approved the formation of a municipal corporation at Biharsharif.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0330hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: The wheel of development is moving fast in the state, and fastest in Nalanda. A private sugar mill, piped water in villages, new power stations, super highways, hospitals, rural electricity, new colleges... you name it and it's all happening in Nalanda, the home district of CM Nitish Kumar.
The remaining 37 districts are in the queue, waiting for the state government's largess to befall them. The worst-affected are Supaul, Madhepura, Araria, Saharsa, Madhubani, Purnia and Jamui.
For, most of these districts are flood prone and in dire need of development. That Nalanda is special is an open secret in the corridors of power in Patna.
"If a new state-wide scheme is to be implemented, it is an unwritten code that it has to be first implemented in Nalanda," a bureaucrat said.
In their bid to please the boss, even cabinet ministers end up focussing more on Nalanda. A politician said, "Nalanda is a pampered district. First it was former Union minister George Fernandes who benefited the district and it got, among other things, an ordnance factory project. Now it is the turn of Nitish."
In the last two months alone, the state government has okayed development projects worth Rs 700 crore for Nalanda. On the eve of Independence Day, Nitish himself announced projects worth Rs 500 crore, including Rs 257 crore for a rural electricity project and Rs 130 crore for setting up a milk powder processing plant.
A few days ago, the cabinet gave its nod to a private enterprise to set up a sugar complex in the district.
The complex, to be set up at a cost of Rs 122.4 crore, will produce sugar, alcohol and even about eight megawatt of electricity. The government has also approved the formation of a municipal corporation at Biharsharif.
Patna: Rs 3500-cr plan to develop city
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0329hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: If the city development plan prepared by various government agencies is implemented fully, Patna will join the league of well-planned cities.
A development plan worth Rs 3,500 crore has been drawn up to revamp the drainage, sewerage, drinking water, power and roads sector in the state capital.
Of this, the Patna Municipal Corporation and Bihar Rajya Jal Parshad have already prepared a detailed project report worth Rs 1,600 crore.
PMC commissioner Atul Prasad said the project duration is for seven years. A year has already passed. By the time the required clearances are obtained, this year will end. "So effectively we will be left with five years to implement the project," he said.
Prasad said about 50 per cent of the funds will be provided by the Union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Modernisation Mission. The remaining 50 per cent will be given by the state government.
He said it is high time the old and crumbling sewerage system was upgraded. "Our capacity to treat sewage is not enough. Against a generation of 170 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage, the city's sewage treatment plants have a combined capacity to treat 107 MLD only."
All drinking water pumping stations do not work as the water pipes do not have the strength to withstand the pressure generated by these pumps. "We have 96 pumping stations. But at a given time only 82 are operated. If we switch on all of them, the water pipes may burst," he said.
So first on the priority list is the revamping of drainage and water systems. A new network of storm water drains is to be laid keeping in mind the increase in population over the next 15 years. Drinking water pipes will also be re-laid.
Besides, the city development plan envisages uninterrupted power supply to the water pumping stations so that these are not dependent on the local power networks.
Prasad said there is a plan to provide a dedicated and uninterrupted power supply to the pumping stations. Underground cables will be laid so that there is no pilferage from these lines.
There is also a provision for constructing roads and relaying them so that they are able to face the vagaries of nature.
Prasad said, "All departments need to work in complete co-ordination so that there isn't a situation in which a freshly-laid road is cut open for laying water pipes or even power lines."
PATNA: If the city development plan prepared by various government agencies is implemented fully, Patna will join the league of well-planned cities.
A development plan worth Rs 3,500 crore has been drawn up to revamp the drainage, sewerage, drinking water, power and roads sector in the state capital.
Of this, the Patna Municipal Corporation and Bihar Rajya Jal Parshad have already prepared a detailed project report worth Rs 1,600 crore.
PMC commissioner Atul Prasad said the project duration is for seven years. A year has already passed. By the time the required clearances are obtained, this year will end. "So effectively we will be left with five years to implement the project," he said.
Prasad said about 50 per cent of the funds will be provided by the Union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Modernisation Mission. The remaining 50 per cent will be given by the state government.
He said it is high time the old and crumbling sewerage system was upgraded. "Our capacity to treat sewage is not enough. Against a generation of 170 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage, the city's sewage treatment plants have a combined capacity to treat 107 MLD only."
All drinking water pumping stations do not work as the water pipes do not have the strength to withstand the pressure generated by these pumps. "We have 96 pumping stations. But at a given time only 82 are operated. If we switch on all of them, the water pipes may burst," he said.
So first on the priority list is the revamping of drainage and water systems. A new network of storm water drains is to be laid keeping in mind the increase in population over the next 15 years. Drinking water pipes will also be re-laid.
Besides, the city development plan envisages uninterrupted power supply to the water pumping stations so that these are not dependent on the local power networks.
Prasad said there is a plan to provide a dedicated and uninterrupted power supply to the pumping stations. Underground cables will be laid so that there is no pilferage from these lines.
There is also a provision for constructing roads and relaying them so that they are able to face the vagaries of nature.
Prasad said, "All departments need to work in complete co-ordination so that there isn't a situation in which a freshly-laid road is cut open for laying water pipes or even power lines."
Lucknow: UP's peaceful tribute to'Vande Mataram'
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0338hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
LUCKNOW: Barring reports of stone pelting in Meerut, centenary year celebrations of Vande Mataram passed off peacefully despite all the heat that the issue had generated.
In many an educational institutions, even a few'madarsas' in Varanasi, the national song was recited with enthusiasm and ferver on Thursday morning.
In Meerut police used force to disperse two groups indulging in stone pelting. The situation was however promptly brought under control.
In Gorakhpur too, police remained on their toes throughout the day as local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Mahant Adtiyanath's had issued a threat to recite the song from a place of worship.
He remained untraceable on Thursday.In Faizabad, reports said that the Saryu Yamuna Express train was detained for two hours by students of Saket Degree College to protest against the attempts of certain sections to prevent the recital of Vande Mataram.
In Lucknow a special function was organised at City Montessori School, Gomtinagar, where students turned up in large number to sing Vande Mataram. According to school authorities, Muslim students were also participated in the program."I do not find anything against any religion in the national song," said Mohammed Tariq, a class 12th student.
Tariq's classmate Adil Usman felt that the spirit of the song was important and not the words.National song and National Anthem are the part of the daily prayers in Colvin Taluqdar's College.
Therefore students and staff recited Vande Mataram with all devotion and passion as they do everyday.
LUCKNOW: Barring reports of stone pelting in Meerut, centenary year celebrations of Vande Mataram passed off peacefully despite all the heat that the issue had generated.
In many an educational institutions, even a few'madarsas' in Varanasi, the national song was recited with enthusiasm and ferver on Thursday morning.
In Meerut police used force to disperse two groups indulging in stone pelting. The situation was however promptly brought under control.
In Gorakhpur too, police remained on their toes throughout the day as local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Mahant Adtiyanath's had issued a threat to recite the song from a place of worship.
He remained untraceable on Thursday.In Faizabad, reports said that the Saryu Yamuna Express train was detained for two hours by students of Saket Degree College to protest against the attempts of certain sections to prevent the recital of Vande Mataram.
In Lucknow a special function was organised at City Montessori School, Gomtinagar, where students turned up in large number to sing Vande Mataram. According to school authorities, Muslim students were also participated in the program."I do not find anything against any religion in the national song," said Mohammed Tariq, a class 12th student.
Tariq's classmate Adil Usman felt that the spirit of the song was important and not the words.National song and National Anthem are the part of the daily prayers in Colvin Taluqdar's College.
Therefore students and staff recited Vande Mataram with all devotion and passion as they do everyday.
Lucknow: Beware of make-believe doctors
Shailvee Sharda
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0339hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
LUCKNOW: An apron-clad person with a stethoscope dangling around his neck need not be a doctor, at least in Balrampur hospital. Crooks and touts don this attire to fleece patients and their attendants here.
These cheats fake as interns medicos. They go around the wards, examine patients and build a rapport with attendants. The real game starts after winning the confidence of the patients and attendants.
Attendants are conned into buying costly medicines, getting a useless diagnostic test done or even getting the patient shifted to a private nursing home. These fake doctors get into their act when the real ones are not around. In the late hours they have a free field and a fair chance of a'successful operation'.
Medical superintendent, Dr DP Mishra says,"This issue is of grave concern as four touts have been found operating in the hospital in the past six months." An attendant Ashraf fell in the trap of a fake doctor on the night of September 2/3 - a weekend. His grandmother was having breathing problems.
He rushed to find a doctor and bumped into one who identified him as an intern Hasan Rizwi. After examining his grandmother,'Dr Hasan' told Ashraf to get certain medicines urgently from a particular medical store located outside the hospital. The medicine cost Ashraf Rs 1,200, almost double their market price.
His grandmother's condition did not improve. A senior consultant examined her the following morning. He discovered that redundant medicines and injections had been prescribed to the patient. A probe was ordered and it was found that there was no intern by the name of Hasan Rizwi in the hospital.
Another attendant Ramadhin on August 6 - a Sunday became a victim of a similar prank. His wife was admitted in the female ward.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0339hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
LUCKNOW: An apron-clad person with a stethoscope dangling around his neck need not be a doctor, at least in Balrampur hospital. Crooks and touts don this attire to fleece patients and their attendants here.
These cheats fake as interns medicos. They go around the wards, examine patients and build a rapport with attendants. The real game starts after winning the confidence of the patients and attendants.
Attendants are conned into buying costly medicines, getting a useless diagnostic test done or even getting the patient shifted to a private nursing home. These fake doctors get into their act when the real ones are not around. In the late hours they have a free field and a fair chance of a'successful operation'.
Medical superintendent, Dr DP Mishra says,"This issue is of grave concern as four touts have been found operating in the hospital in the past six months." An attendant Ashraf fell in the trap of a fake doctor on the night of September 2/3 - a weekend. His grandmother was having breathing problems.
He rushed to find a doctor and bumped into one who identified him as an intern Hasan Rizwi. After examining his grandmother,'Dr Hasan' told Ashraf to get certain medicines urgently from a particular medical store located outside the hospital. The medicine cost Ashraf Rs 1,200, almost double their market price.
His grandmother's condition did not improve. A senior consultant examined her the following morning. He discovered that redundant medicines and injections had been prescribed to the patient. A probe was ordered and it was found that there was no intern by the name of Hasan Rizwi in the hospital.
Another attendant Ramadhin on August 6 - a Sunday became a victim of a similar prank. His wife was admitted in the female ward.
Hyderabad: Narco test scares Krushi scamster
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0324hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: Krushi Bank scam prime accused K Venkateshwara Rao has reportedly refused to undergo the narcoanalysis test as he feared the drug being used in test may pose a risk to his life. However, CID officials claim Telgi’s revelations may have influenced him to do a U-turn.
As Rao refused to take the test, the CID officials brought him back to the city from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon and sent him back to the Chanchalguda jail.
"If the CID wants to conduct a narcoanalysis test at any cost, why should they seek Venkateshwara Rao’s consent? Due to the drug given during a narco test, the subject may slip into a coma and it may pose a risk to his life too,’’ G Ashok Reddy, counsel for Kosaraju Venkateshwara Rao, told TOI on Thursday.
Before conducting a surgery or a procedure on a patient, doctors take mandatory medical consent from the patient or relatives, making it clear they are not responsible for any eventuality during the event. Similarly, the CID and doctors want to escape from their responsibility by way of getting his assent, Reddy said.
CID sources said Venkateshwara Rao was all right till Tuesday night and they thought he would cooperate and undergo the test.
Suddenly, he changed his mind and refused to sign after completing the mandatory health check, they added.
"Some news channels aired fake stamp scam kingpin Telgi’s revelations during the narcoanalysis on Tuesday night and that could have scared him. He may have thought he would drop names too under the influence of the drug and that may pose a threat to his life,"the sources added. The CID officials would approach the court again for an order.
"Consent of the accused is not mandatory for conducting the truth serum test. There are several judgments delivered by courts in Karnataka and Maharashtra on this. The FSL experts might have refused to do the test because their guidelines insist on subject’s consent,"a CID officer said.
Police officers also dismissed the argument that the truth serum test drug ‘sodium pentothal’ could induce coma. "The drug is given in small doses during many medical procedures and it will not harm the person,” he said, adding it was a tactic adopted by the accused to avoid the test.
Hyderabad: Ganguly Dada ko itna gussa kyon ata hai!
Solomon S Kumar
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0327hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: The dreadful red thing with a four-letter name irked Sourav Ganguly so much on Thursday that the rattled southpaw went marching to umpire I Sivaram.
What got Ganguly’s goat was the umpire’s decision to change the ball within the first 10 overs and then a couple of overs later during Bengal’s innings against Mumbai in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup match at the Gymkhana here. Throughout the day Mumbai fielders were seen showing the ball to the umpires as they did not seem too happy with its shape.
As the umpires were waiting to change the ball a second time, Ganguly decided to take things in hand. The shirt-waving southpaw marched towards the umpire and after a short animated chat was seen gesticulating towards the Bengal dressing room.
Within minutes one of the players ran out with a couple of used balls. But the umpires preferred to rub a new ball to a used one.
Later, Sivaram told TOI: "He was unhappy when we had to change the ball a second time. He said there was no need to replace it with a new ball and instead an old one should be used," Sivaram said.
"I told him that there were no used balls in the association and, hence, we had to sandpaper a new ball. He insisted that we find a used ball. He said, 'An umpire of your calibre should know things better’. I told him to suggest a solution to the problem as there were no old balls. Ganguly then had some used balls brought from the dressing room. But they could not be used as they were too old."
Sivaram, one of the best umpires in the country, said Ganguly remained unhappy. "So I told him that both teams should have a level playing field. But when he inisted we continue with the same ball, I told him that once the umpires made a decision, it would be unfair to the fielding side if we did not go ahead with it."
Even when play resumed Ganguly seemed irreconcilable to the idea. "I told Ganguly that such a small issue should not affect him so much. If a player of your experience is disturbed by the change of ball then what will a newcomer do. This seemed to have an effect on him and he got down to business," Sivaram said.
The Hyderabad umpire added that the balls used in first class cricket in the country have been causing a lot of problems. "This is happening everywhere. Even in Ranji Trophy matches, umpires are having a problem with the balls, which lose shape fast." he said.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0327hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: The dreadful red thing with a four-letter name irked Sourav Ganguly so much on Thursday that the rattled southpaw went marching to umpire I Sivaram.
What got Ganguly’s goat was the umpire’s decision to change the ball within the first 10 overs and then a couple of overs later during Bengal’s innings against Mumbai in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup match at the Gymkhana here. Throughout the day Mumbai fielders were seen showing the ball to the umpires as they did not seem too happy with its shape.
As the umpires were waiting to change the ball a second time, Ganguly decided to take things in hand. The shirt-waving southpaw marched towards the umpire and after a short animated chat was seen gesticulating towards the Bengal dressing room.
Within minutes one of the players ran out with a couple of used balls. But the umpires preferred to rub a new ball to a used one.
Later, Sivaram told TOI: "He was unhappy when we had to change the ball a second time. He said there was no need to replace it with a new ball and instead an old one should be used," Sivaram said.
"I told him that there were no used balls in the association and, hence, we had to sandpaper a new ball. He insisted that we find a used ball. He said, 'An umpire of your calibre should know things better’. I told him to suggest a solution to the problem as there were no old balls. Ganguly then had some used balls brought from the dressing room. But they could not be used as they were too old."
Sivaram, one of the best umpires in the country, said Ganguly remained unhappy. "So I told him that both teams should have a level playing field. But when he inisted we continue with the same ball, I told him that once the umpires made a decision, it would be unfair to the fielding side if we did not go ahead with it."
Even when play resumed Ganguly seemed irreconcilable to the idea. "I told Ganguly that such a small issue should not affect him so much. If a player of your experience is disturbed by the change of ball then what will a newcomer do. This seemed to have an effect on him and he got down to business," Sivaram said.
The Hyderabad umpire added that the balls used in first class cricket in the country have been causing a lot of problems. "This is happening everywhere. Even in Ranji Trophy matches, umpires are having a problem with the balls, which lose shape fast." he said.
New Delhi: New power tariff coming this weekend
Saurabh Sinha
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0308hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: The Capital would be spared last year's trauma of having to fight an 'unjustified' power hike. After an exceptionally long and hot summer this year when the city reeled under long power cuts, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has sought a firm stand from the government on the issue of continuance of last year's subsidy.
While verbal assurances are learnt to have been made in this regard, the commission is going to announce the tariff for 2006-07 after getting a written reply from the government. And this could happen over the weekend, probably on Friday.
"The commission has written a letter to the government over its stand on last year's subsidy of about Rs 90 crore. The reply is expected by Friday. The discoms would also be told to extend their matching rebate on consumer bills of 5%. They will continue to get their assured 16% return on investment. Their share will come from savings made by cutting losses more than the level fixed at the time of privatisation," said highly placed sources.
They point out that the benefit of overachievement in reducing losses had to flow back to the consumer and what better way of doing it than to provide discount on bills.
In fact, one discom has asked DERC to allow discounts to consumers in areas where their help has led to reduction in theft.
Both the discoms and government would be required to give discount and subsidy, respectively, of Rs 90 crore each.
Armed with an assurance of extension of subsidy from the government, DERC could actually announce a surplus in the power sector this fiscal.
The massive gap of Rs 1,303 crore submitted by Transco is learnt to have been drastically pruned down by disallowing the Rs 450-crore arrears of DVB time, it shows as a liability.
In addition, the refund of Rs 300 crore to Transco from NTPC on power purchase payments of the past few years has also helped reduce this loss.
"The surplus shown by discoms and the reduced losses of Transco could actually lead to a surplus which would be kept as contingency fund. This would be used to factor in the high power purchase cost this year and also the disputed depreciation issue that can lead to an extra burden of several crores," said sources.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0308hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: The Capital would be spared last year's trauma of having to fight an 'unjustified' power hike. After an exceptionally long and hot summer this year when the city reeled under long power cuts, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has sought a firm stand from the government on the issue of continuance of last year's subsidy.
While verbal assurances are learnt to have been made in this regard, the commission is going to announce the tariff for 2006-07 after getting a written reply from the government. And this could happen over the weekend, probably on Friday.
"The commission has written a letter to the government over its stand on last year's subsidy of about Rs 90 crore. The reply is expected by Friday. The discoms would also be told to extend their matching rebate on consumer bills of 5%. They will continue to get their assured 16% return on investment. Their share will come from savings made by cutting losses more than the level fixed at the time of privatisation," said highly placed sources.
They point out that the benefit of overachievement in reducing losses had to flow back to the consumer and what better way of doing it than to provide discount on bills.
In fact, one discom has asked DERC to allow discounts to consumers in areas where their help has led to reduction in theft.
Both the discoms and government would be required to give discount and subsidy, respectively, of Rs 90 crore each.
Armed with an assurance of extension of subsidy from the government, DERC could actually announce a surplus in the power sector this fiscal.
The massive gap of Rs 1,303 crore submitted by Transco is learnt to have been drastically pruned down by disallowing the Rs 450-crore arrears of DVB time, it shows as a liability.
In addition, the refund of Rs 300 crore to Transco from NTPC on power purchase payments of the past few years has also helped reduce this loss.
"The surplus shown by discoms and the reduced losses of Transco could actually lead to a surplus which would be kept as contingency fund. This would be used to factor in the high power purchase cost this year and also the disputed depreciation issue that can lead to an extra burden of several crores," said sources.
New Delhi: Curtains for shops around school
Ambika Pandit
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0309hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0309hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: With godowns, a screening press and 100-odd shops dealing in junk, timber and building material circling its boundary wall, it was hard to spot the government-aided senior secondary school at Old Double Storey area in Lajpat Nagar IV.
When MCD sealed eight shops here on Thursday, the authorities at Shradharam Sanatan Dharam Senior Secondary School said this has come as a major relief to students.
"These shops have all along been a cause of pollution and distraction to students," said Ramesh Sharma, the manager of the school. He added that all these shops had been running illegally on school land for years now.
From the outside, it seems that the shops are located outside the school boundary. But once you enter the premises, it becomes clear that the shops have eaten into the playground.
At one place, the iron grill has brokwn down, owing to the junk pressing against the wall. Sitting inside the classroom, you can only see rows of tin roofs strewn with junk.
Protesting against the sealing drive, the shopkeepers claimed that they have been paying rent to the Shradharam Trust. They even produced legal documents to show that they were tenants, which however read that, "lesee will not carry out any business which will create nuisance and pollution in the area."
When contacted, the Pandit Shradharam Trust Committee labelled all these shops as unauthorised and pointed out that they were occupying the school land.
Three acres of land had been allotted to the trust to run a school in 1953.
"But the previous manager of the committee in connivance with some others had allowed these shops to come up between 1995 and 2002.
He was arrested in 2002 in connection with a case of misappropriation of funds and a fake degree racket. The case is still on. The school land was allotted by Land and Development Office (L&DO) to the Trust.
But despite complaints from the new trust committee, the authorities are yet to rid the land of encroachments," one of the trust members told Times City.
The trust and residents of the area have complained about these shops to the MCD and L&DO.
"Responding to numerous complaints, L&DO carried out a survey here a few months back, and assured school authorities that it would initiate demolition action to bring respite to people. But nothing has happened so far," said a trust member.
New Delhi: Vande Mataram's echo in city schools
Sonia Sarkar
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0311hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: For some, it was an occasion to pay tribute to the nation. While for others, it was a special day to remember the freedom struggle. Understanding the meaning of the National Song was probably not so important for the students who sang it during morning assembly on Thursday to mark the 100 years of Vande Mataram.
"I am not too sure about the meaning of the song, but probably it talks about freedom struggle and mother. Our teachers asked us to sing it and we obeyed," said P V Rahul, a Class XI student at KV, R K Puram.
To understand the Sanksrit version was not an easy thing, felt G Sidharth, a Class XI student of Tagore International, Vasant Vihar. "I think the song is about the Motherland," he said. His teachers made a 15-minute presentation on the history of song and the three tunes which had been composed so far.
If those studying in Class XI don't understand the meaning, one can't blame Shiv Sharma, a Class I student at Birla Vidya Niketan. "I don't know the meaning of the song. Our teachers sang it first, we repeated," he said.
Though there was no official direction by the state government to sing the song at 11 am, almost all schools across the city sang in unison. "We organised a special assembly at 9 am just to sing Vande Mataram. After the assembly, we distributed English and Hindi translations of the song and pasted a copy of the same on the notice board. We want students to understand the essence of the song," said Vinay Kumar, principal, DPS Vasant Kunj.
Students of two Urdu schools, Fatehpuri Muslim School and Anglo-Arabic School, also joined the choir. "Our students sang the song in the assembly along with the teachers.
This song should be sung by all irrespective of the religion," said Firoz Bakht Ahmed, a governing body member of the Anglo-Arabic School.
Even though the Muslim clergymen were not in favour of singing the song in madarssas, an all girls Madrassa Niswan at Kashmere Gate reportedly sang it.
Imam Bukhari said: "I have neither asked any madrassa to sing the song nor had instructed any not to sing it." Despite the SGPC officials declaring it optional for its schools to sing Vande Mataram, schools run by the management did not sing it.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0311hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: For some, it was an occasion to pay tribute to the nation. While for others, it was a special day to remember the freedom struggle. Understanding the meaning of the National Song was probably not so important for the students who sang it during morning assembly on Thursday to mark the 100 years of Vande Mataram.
"I am not too sure about the meaning of the song, but probably it talks about freedom struggle and mother. Our teachers asked us to sing it and we obeyed," said P V Rahul, a Class XI student at KV, R K Puram.
To understand the Sanksrit version was not an easy thing, felt G Sidharth, a Class XI student of Tagore International, Vasant Vihar. "I think the song is about the Motherland," he said. His teachers made a 15-minute presentation on the history of song and the three tunes which had been composed so far.
If those studying in Class XI don't understand the meaning, one can't blame Shiv Sharma, a Class I student at Birla Vidya Niketan. "I don't know the meaning of the song. Our teachers sang it first, we repeated," he said.
Though there was no official direction by the state government to sing the song at 11 am, almost all schools across the city sang in unison. "We organised a special assembly at 9 am just to sing Vande Mataram. After the assembly, we distributed English and Hindi translations of the song and pasted a copy of the same on the notice board. We want students to understand the essence of the song," said Vinay Kumar, principal, DPS Vasant Kunj.
Students of two Urdu schools, Fatehpuri Muslim School and Anglo-Arabic School, also joined the choir. "Our students sang the song in the assembly along with the teachers.
This song should be sung by all irrespective of the religion," said Firoz Bakht Ahmed, a governing body member of the Anglo-Arabic School.
Even though the Muslim clergymen were not in favour of singing the song in madarssas, an all girls Madrassa Niswan at Kashmere Gate reportedly sang it.
Imam Bukhari said: "I have neither asked any madrassa to sing the song nor had instructed any not to sing it." Despite the SGPC officials declaring it optional for its schools to sing Vande Mataram, schools run by the management did not sing it.
New Delhi: RTI New Bill to give more teeth
NIDHI SHARMA
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0312hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: In a bid to give fillip to the Right to Information (RTI) Act and bring errant government officials to book, Delhi is preparing a new legislation — Delhi Public Grievances Act 2006.
The draft bill, which is likely to be introduced in the next Assembly session, attempts to give more teeth to the Public Grievances Commission (PGC) — the appellate body for RTI.
The legislation will make the commission a statutory body and will bring many administrative changes to help in checking corrupt practices and harassment by government officials.
At present, PGC is a non-statutory body comprising one chairman and three members (one full-time and two part-time members).
It addresses grievances of the people and hears appeals under the Delhi RTI Act 2001. However, the government takes a long time in the implementation of the commission's decisions or recommendations and can even reduce the quantum of punishment.
If the government ignores PGC's recommendations, which it has regularly been doing, the commission has no powers to take any action.
The new legislation aims at making PGC a statutory body. This would give the commission powers of a civil court. It would be able to summon any officer on a complaint of the common man and order production of government records.
PGC chairman Baleshwar Rai said: "The draft legislation is ready. We have incorporated the suggestions made by the law department. Now we will send it to Delhi government. Through this legislation we have aimed at giving more powers to the commission for effective grievance redressal of the common man."
The draft Bill empowers the commission to levy heavy penalties if there is delay or violation of its directions. PGC, under the legislation, levies a fine of Rs 250 per day extending to a maximum of Rs 10,000 on an officer for dereliction of duty or even harassment.
Even civic bodies, corporations or departments can be directed to pay damages to an individual in case they are found violating rules or causing harassment. The draft Bill lays down that PGC would review grievance redressal system of different departments at least twice a year.
One of the biggest changes proposed would be in the administrative set-up. The draft has tried to nudge out retired bureaucrats from PGC.
So far, there has been a tradition to post retired bureaucrats as the chairman and members. The draft says that any public servant would be given the responsibility of PGC.
The commission would be headed by a chairman. It would have a member secretary and three full-time members. They would have a fixed tenure of three years, unlike the present members who can serve till the age of 65 years.
If the Bill comes through in its present form, PGC would not be dependent on Delhi government for its day-to-day budget. It would be given an annual grant, which will be earmarked at the beginning of the financial year.
It would also have an annual accounting and auditing system.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0312hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: In a bid to give fillip to the Right to Information (RTI) Act and bring errant government officials to book, Delhi is preparing a new legislation — Delhi Public Grievances Act 2006.
The draft bill, which is likely to be introduced in the next Assembly session, attempts to give more teeth to the Public Grievances Commission (PGC) — the appellate body for RTI.
The legislation will make the commission a statutory body and will bring many administrative changes to help in checking corrupt practices and harassment by government officials.
At present, PGC is a non-statutory body comprising one chairman and three members (one full-time and two part-time members).
It addresses grievances of the people and hears appeals under the Delhi RTI Act 2001. However, the government takes a long time in the implementation of the commission's decisions or recommendations and can even reduce the quantum of punishment.
If the government ignores PGC's recommendations, which it has regularly been doing, the commission has no powers to take any action.
The new legislation aims at making PGC a statutory body. This would give the commission powers of a civil court. It would be able to summon any officer on a complaint of the common man and order production of government records.
PGC chairman Baleshwar Rai said: "The draft legislation is ready. We have incorporated the suggestions made by the law department. Now we will send it to Delhi government. Through this legislation we have aimed at giving more powers to the commission for effective grievance redressal of the common man."
The draft Bill empowers the commission to levy heavy penalties if there is delay or violation of its directions. PGC, under the legislation, levies a fine of Rs 250 per day extending to a maximum of Rs 10,000 on an officer for dereliction of duty or even harassment.
Even civic bodies, corporations or departments can be directed to pay damages to an individual in case they are found violating rules or causing harassment. The draft Bill lays down that PGC would review grievance redressal system of different departments at least twice a year.
One of the biggest changes proposed would be in the administrative set-up. The draft has tried to nudge out retired bureaucrats from PGC.
So far, there has been a tradition to post retired bureaucrats as the chairman and members. The draft says that any public servant would be given the responsibility of PGC.
The commission would be headed by a chairman. It would have a member secretary and three full-time members. They would have a fixed tenure of three years, unlike the present members who can serve till the age of 65 years.
If the Bill comes through in its present form, PGC would not be dependent on Delhi government for its day-to-day budget. It would be given an annual grant, which will be earmarked at the beginning of the financial year.
It would also have an annual accounting and auditing system.
Chandigarh: MCC to merge five villages
Sukhbir Siwach
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0339hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
CHANDIGARH: Despite protests by some sarpanches and BJP activists, the UT administration has decided to go ahead with its plans to merge villages with the Chandigarh municipal corporation.
The administration has turned down the objections raised against the move and a notification will be issued soon to merge five villages with the civic body.
These villages are Dadu Majra, Kajheri, Maloya, Hallomajra and Palsora. The UT administration had decided to merge the villages in phases. Later, other villages in the UT would also be made a part of the civic body.
The administration had invited objections to its proposal a fortnight back and subsequently received nine.
Sources said many of those who had raised the objections had demanded that first better infrastructure should be provided in these villages. Some had demanded that these villages should be declared as 'model villages'.
Mayor Surinder Singh asserted that the civic body would insure improved infrastructure and facilities in these villages.
Talking to Times of Chandigarh, a senior UT officer said, "Villagers had raised some apprehensions regarding the importance of 'gram sabhas'. But there would be no vacuum as the municipal corporation would replace these bodies after the villages become a part of the civic body."
A few days back, in the wake of the UT administration's decision, a delegation led by Mam Chand Rana, sarpanch of Maloya and president of the BJP's Kisan Morcha, had met with the home secretary and had filed objections to the merger move in respect of Maloya and Dadu Majra villages.
"The UT administration's decision is not all in the interest of the residents of these villages and they should not be merged with the municipal council, as this would be a glaring violation of the Panchayati Raj Act as well as the Indian constitution", Rana said.
The delegation had told the home secretary that "the UT's move seems to have been taken hurriedly without taking into consideration the exact position of each village.
Most of the land in Maloya and Dadu Majra is agricultural and the residents' main source of livelihood is farming". BJP activists had recently staged a demonstration against the administration's move.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0339hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
CHANDIGARH: Despite protests by some sarpanches and BJP activists, the UT administration has decided to go ahead with its plans to merge villages with the Chandigarh municipal corporation.
The administration has turned down the objections raised against the move and a notification will be issued soon to merge five villages with the civic body.
These villages are Dadu Majra, Kajheri, Maloya, Hallomajra and Palsora. The UT administration had decided to merge the villages in phases. Later, other villages in the UT would also be made a part of the civic body.
The administration had invited objections to its proposal a fortnight back and subsequently received nine.
Sources said many of those who had raised the objections had demanded that first better infrastructure should be provided in these villages. Some had demanded that these villages should be declared as 'model villages'.
Mayor Surinder Singh asserted that the civic body would insure improved infrastructure and facilities in these villages.
Talking to Times of Chandigarh, a senior UT officer said, "Villagers had raised some apprehensions regarding the importance of 'gram sabhas'. But there would be no vacuum as the municipal corporation would replace these bodies after the villages become a part of the civic body."
A few days back, in the wake of the UT administration's decision, a delegation led by Mam Chand Rana, sarpanch of Maloya and president of the BJP's Kisan Morcha, had met with the home secretary and had filed objections to the merger move in respect of Maloya and Dadu Majra villages.
"The UT administration's decision is not all in the interest of the residents of these villages and they should not be merged with the municipal council, as this would be a glaring violation of the Panchayati Raj Act as well as the Indian constitution", Rana said.
The delegation had told the home secretary that "the UT's move seems to have been taken hurriedly without taking into consideration the exact position of each village.
Most of the land in Maloya and Dadu Majra is agricultural and the residents' main source of livelihood is farming". BJP activists had recently staged a demonstration against the administration's move.
Chandigarh: These students want to vote for 'nobody'
Garima Talwar
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0340hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
CHANDIGARH: "In the ballot papers, there should be an option as I vote nobody", said vigilant students of Punjab University.
Has the recent display of incidents between students unions, where they play dirty to outnumber each other, drilled fear in the minds of students?
Keeping in account the recent case where a neutral person got stabbed or the latest incident outside Mata Gujri hostel, where on the name of politics, personal rivalry between two girls came to the fore in the most obscene manner and student unions took the charge of bubbling up the situation to strengthen their vote banks, students certainly feel that none of these people are really fit to become their leaders.
"I really wish that we were given the choice to vote for 'nobody' to express our disapproval against the leaders. We want someone who can fight for the real cause. Calling a strike over petty issues like attendance or mess food is so whimsical. Why can't we have leaders who can think beyond this", said Naresh (name changed), a student of mass communication at PU.
Echoing his views, Supriya of English department said, "An option of 'nobody' in ballot papers would surely go with my expression of antipathy and resentment towards the present political scenario, both at university and national level."
In the abyss of gaining power, political parties seem to have swayed from the very purpose for which they had come into existence.
According to Maninder (name changed) of law department: "It is a sheer wastage of university funds. We can put this money into something productive like building an open-air auditorium or setting up various societies. Most of the leaders are amateurs who can go to any length to fill their vote banks. I have lost faith in them completely."
Harleen Sidhu, a pass out of English department, who completely complies with the situation, said, "PU politics is really dirty and not a single person is fit to be a student representative in the real sense since nobody is fighting for students. They are just fighting amongst themselves."
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0340hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
CHANDIGARH: "In the ballot papers, there should be an option as I vote nobody", said vigilant students of Punjab University.
Has the recent display of incidents between students unions, where they play dirty to outnumber each other, drilled fear in the minds of students?
Keeping in account the recent case where a neutral person got stabbed or the latest incident outside Mata Gujri hostel, where on the name of politics, personal rivalry between two girls came to the fore in the most obscene manner and student unions took the charge of bubbling up the situation to strengthen their vote banks, students certainly feel that none of these people are really fit to become their leaders.
"I really wish that we were given the choice to vote for 'nobody' to express our disapproval against the leaders. We want someone who can fight for the real cause. Calling a strike over petty issues like attendance or mess food is so whimsical. Why can't we have leaders who can think beyond this", said Naresh (name changed), a student of mass communication at PU.
Echoing his views, Supriya of English department said, "An option of 'nobody' in ballot papers would surely go with my expression of antipathy and resentment towards the present political scenario, both at university and national level."
In the abyss of gaining power, political parties seem to have swayed from the very purpose for which they had come into existence.
According to Maninder (name changed) of law department: "It is a sheer wastage of university funds. We can put this money into something productive like building an open-air auditorium or setting up various societies. Most of the leaders are amateurs who can go to any length to fill their vote banks. I have lost faith in them completely."
Harleen Sidhu, a pass out of English department, who completely complies with the situation, said, "PU politics is really dirty and not a single person is fit to be a student representative in the real sense since nobody is fighting for students. They are just fighting amongst themselves."
Gujrat: Buttermilk sells, cola given thumbs down
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0301hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PALANPUR: Cola ban or no ban, it was butter milk and other such 'swadeshi' products that ruled the roost at the annual fair in the temple town of Ambaji which concluded on Thursday.
The sales figures of butter milk and related products during the fair, say it all. According to sales manager Ghemarbhai Bhatol of Banas Dairy, Palanpur, a record sale of 66,500 litres of milk, 36,000 litres of butter milk, besides large quantity of other milk products has been registered during the mela.
Ambaji-based Pepsi distributor, Mohanbhai Sindhi, who unloaded 5000 crates during the earlier mela , was a disappointed man as he was unable to dispose even one crate containing 20 bottles.
Similarly Ashok Patel, a seller of Coke, waited in vain for a customer to turn up to his stall this time. Among retailers, while Ashokbhai Sindhi said, "This time we were taken aback as I could sell only three bottles", Dinesh Mehta, had to remain satisfied with sale of four bottles and Mukesh Agarwal was luckier to have sold seven bottles during the fair.
Aniket Srimali, a reveller from Khatana in Valsad district, echoed the prevalent feeling, "We have decided not to taste colas even if it is provided free of cost".
Sunil Patel, from Denap village in Visnagar taluka of Mehsana district and Pavan Kumar Acharya,who was here with 35 members from Dungarpur claimed, "We have stopped consuming colas ever since we came to know of the possibility of pesticides in them".
Of course, the ones who were smiling were the Rabaris (local cowherds), who raked in the moolah by selling home-made butter milk.
PALANPUR: Cola ban or no ban, it was butter milk and other such 'swadeshi' products that ruled the roost at the annual fair in the temple town of Ambaji which concluded on Thursday.
The sales figures of butter milk and related products during the fair, say it all. According to sales manager Ghemarbhai Bhatol of Banas Dairy, Palanpur, a record sale of 66,500 litres of milk, 36,000 litres of butter milk, besides large quantity of other milk products has been registered during the mela.
Ambaji-based Pepsi distributor, Mohanbhai Sindhi, who unloaded 5000 crates during the earlier mela , was a disappointed man as he was unable to dispose even one crate containing 20 bottles.
Similarly Ashok Patel, a seller of Coke, waited in vain for a customer to turn up to his stall this time. Among retailers, while Ashokbhai Sindhi said, "This time we were taken aback as I could sell only three bottles", Dinesh Mehta, had to remain satisfied with sale of four bottles and Mukesh Agarwal was luckier to have sold seven bottles during the fair.
Aniket Srimali, a reveller from Khatana in Valsad district, echoed the prevalent feeling, "We have decided not to taste colas even if it is provided free of cost".
Sunil Patel, from Denap village in Visnagar taluka of Mehsana district and Pavan Kumar Acharya,who was here with 35 members from Dungarpur claimed, "We have stopped consuming colas ever since we came to know of the possibility of pesticides in them".
Of course, the ones who were smiling were the Rabaris (local cowherds), who raked in the moolah by selling home-made butter milk.
Ahmedabad: No time limit for buying booze
Tina Parekh
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0304hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
AHMEDABAD: Gujaratis and tourists who hold liquor permits are in for a treat. The police has tweaked timings for buying liquor for permit holders, practically making it possible for them to buy liquor at all times.
The timings were 10.30 am to 6.30 pm, but will be changed to 12 am to 8 pm for buying liquor at licensed shops. Those who want liquor later than that would have to pay an additional charge.
The change comes as a boost to the hotel industry, where tourists will now be able to buy liquor at all times. Even as the government gave its nod to the changes, a resolution will be issued soon.
"The changed timings are more suited to tourists who check into hotels in the evening. We will issue a resolution in a couple of days," says additional director general of police RMS Brar.
The new timings will apply to 29 licensed liquor shops in the state except those at the international airport. Hoteliers welcomed the move.
"Many of our guests go for work in the morning and return at night. The changed timings will allow them to have a drink even late in the evening," says GM, Taj Residency Ummed, Shekhar Valavalkar.
But hoteliers feel the timings for issuing permits too should be extended — these are still issued between 10.30 am and 6.30 pm.
"Our guests complain that often there are no officials present to issue permits at the licensed shops during office hours. So these changes will mean something only if permits too are easily available," says proprietor of Hotel Grand Bhagwati, Narendra Somani.
Health permit holders of the state feel the changes will benefit them. "The changes are more practical. Nobody buys liquor in the morning and it makes more sense to extend evening hours," says Dinesh Pancholi who has had a health permit for 20 years.
[ 8 Sep, 2006 0304hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
AHMEDABAD: Gujaratis and tourists who hold liquor permits are in for a treat. The police has tweaked timings for buying liquor for permit holders, practically making it possible for them to buy liquor at all times.
The timings were 10.30 am to 6.30 pm, but will be changed to 12 am to 8 pm for buying liquor at licensed shops. Those who want liquor later than that would have to pay an additional charge.
The change comes as a boost to the hotel industry, where tourists will now be able to buy liquor at all times. Even as the government gave its nod to the changes, a resolution will be issued soon.
"The changed timings are more suited to tourists who check into hotels in the evening. We will issue a resolution in a couple of days," says additional director general of police RMS Brar.
The new timings will apply to 29 licensed liquor shops in the state except those at the international airport. Hoteliers welcomed the move.
"Many of our guests go for work in the morning and return at night. The changed timings will allow them to have a drink even late in the evening," says GM, Taj Residency Ummed, Shekhar Valavalkar.
But hoteliers feel the timings for issuing permits too should be extended — these are still issued between 10.30 am and 6.30 pm.
"Our guests complain that often there are no officials present to issue permits at the licensed shops during office hours. So these changes will mean something only if permits too are easily available," says proprietor of Hotel Grand Bhagwati, Narendra Somani.
Health permit holders of the state feel the changes will benefit them. "The changes are more practical. Nobody buys liquor in the morning and it makes more sense to extend evening hours," says Dinesh Pancholi who has had a health permit for 20 years.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Patna: Campus placement in PU soon
B K Mishra
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0252hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: It seems lady luck is smiling on Patna University (PU) students these days. While the prospect of campus placement has already brightened with the willingness expressed by several organisations to visit the campus and select the suitable candidates, PU students are also in for some prestigious overseas scholarships.
American consul general Henry V Jardine will be visiting Patna University on Thursday with a view to meeting the vice-chancellor and interacting with the students on emerging Indo-US relations.
Post-graduate students of PU, especially those studying history and political science, have been invited to interact with the visiting dignitary.
PU VC S Ehteshamuddin, when contacted, pointed out that the American consul general would also apprise PU students of various courses available for them in US universities and the scholarships available for them. Fulbright scholarship would also be discussed in detail.
Meanwhile, a number of public and private sector undertakings would be visiting PU campus within a month or two for recruiting students.
While a two-day campus placement exercise would be held by a reputed Delhi-based organisation at Patna Science College auditorium on September 8 and 9, another undertaking from Bangalore would be visiting PU on September 14 to select suitable candidates as campus ambassadors for Progeon, a subsidiary of the Infosys.
PU Employment and Guidance Bureau have taken all the pains for organising campus placements and securing suitable jobs for university students.
Different colleges and post-graduate departments of PU have also, of late, launched placement cells in their respective institutions with a view to providing jobs to students.
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0252hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: It seems lady luck is smiling on Patna University (PU) students these days. While the prospect of campus placement has already brightened with the willingness expressed by several organisations to visit the campus and select the suitable candidates, PU students are also in for some prestigious overseas scholarships.
American consul general Henry V Jardine will be visiting Patna University on Thursday with a view to meeting the vice-chancellor and interacting with the students on emerging Indo-US relations.
Post-graduate students of PU, especially those studying history and political science, have been invited to interact with the visiting dignitary.
PU VC S Ehteshamuddin, when contacted, pointed out that the American consul general would also apprise PU students of various courses available for them in US universities and the scholarships available for them. Fulbright scholarship would also be discussed in detail.
Meanwhile, a number of public and private sector undertakings would be visiting PU campus within a month or two for recruiting students.
While a two-day campus placement exercise would be held by a reputed Delhi-based organisation at Patna Science College auditorium on September 8 and 9, another undertaking from Bangalore would be visiting PU on September 14 to select suitable candidates as campus ambassadors for Progeon, a subsidiary of the Infosys.
PU Employment and Guidance Bureau have taken all the pains for organising campus placements and securing suitable jobs for university students.
Different colleges and post-graduate departments of PU have also, of late, launched placement cells in their respective institutions with a view to providing jobs to students.
Howrah: Court tells 8 Besu boys to pay Rs 1 lakh each
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0257hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HOWRAH: A Howrah court has directed eight students of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Shibpur) to pay Rs 1 lakh each as bail bond for "committing public nuisance" — walking in a group inside the campus on August 22 night with the intention of creating trouble.
The Besu registrar has been asked to pay the Rs 8 lakh on the students' behalf within 15 days. The amount, rarely heard of in such cases, has created a flutter among lawyers and students.
The Independent Consolidation-controlled students' union has called a strike on Monday. The eight second-year students — all boys — were arrested on August 22 night and granted bail a day later.
They were directed to appear at the Howrah first court on Tuesday, when executive magistrate Prasanta Mullick directed them to sign a bond assuring that they wouldn't be involved in trouble-making. The students refused.
"Why should we sign a bond? We've done nothing wrong. We are prepared to take the legal route to clear our names, but we won't sign the bond," said Rajasree Das Bhowmik, one of the students.
The magistrate then told the students to shell out Rs 1 lakh in a fortnight, failing which they would be arrested again.
"The registrar will have to arrange the money on their behalf within 15 days. We will move the high court against this order," said Goutam Dhang, defence lawyer. Apart from calling a strike, IC is agitated over the police picket on campus.
"The university authorities should immediately remove it. Police intervention in matters involving students should be stopped. Besu must solve the problems on its own, not take outside help," said Abhigyan Bera, IC spokesperson.
HOWRAH: A Howrah court has directed eight students of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Shibpur) to pay Rs 1 lakh each as bail bond for "committing public nuisance" — walking in a group inside the campus on August 22 night with the intention of creating trouble.
The Besu registrar has been asked to pay the Rs 8 lakh on the students' behalf within 15 days. The amount, rarely heard of in such cases, has created a flutter among lawyers and students.
The Independent Consolidation-controlled students' union has called a strike on Monday. The eight second-year students — all boys — were arrested on August 22 night and granted bail a day later.
They were directed to appear at the Howrah first court on Tuesday, when executive magistrate Prasanta Mullick directed them to sign a bond assuring that they wouldn't be involved in trouble-making. The students refused.
"Why should we sign a bond? We've done nothing wrong. We are prepared to take the legal route to clear our names, but we won't sign the bond," said Rajasree Das Bhowmik, one of the students.
The magistrate then told the students to shell out Rs 1 lakh in a fortnight, failing which they would be arrested again.
"The registrar will have to arrange the money on their behalf within 15 days. We will move the high court against this order," said Goutam Dhang, defence lawyer. Apart from calling a strike, IC is agitated over the police picket on campus.
"The university authorities should immediately remove it. Police intervention in matters involving students should be stopped. Besu must solve the problems on its own, not take outside help," said Abhigyan Bera, IC spokesperson.
Partial lunar eclipse tonight
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0222hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: Another celestial event is about to enthral all astronomy lovers in the city when the partial lunar eclipse occurs on Thursday night.
Though the earth will 'technically' start shadowing the moon by 10.12 pm, the moon will be seen partially covered only by 11.35 pm. "If the skies are clear, then people can watch less than 20 per cent of the moon covered as it is only a partial eclipse.
The eclipse will be visible to the naked eye from 11.35 pm to 01.07 am by when the moon will, for all practical purposes of viewing, come out of the earth's shadow.
However, technically it will remain in the partial shadow of the earth until 02.30 am, but one cannot see this," said B G Sidharth, director, B M Birla Science Centre.
Since it is a Full Moon Day, the moon will rise exactly at sunset and set exactly at sunrise, he added. Meanwhile, the Planetary Society of India has indicated two other celestial events on the same day.
According to its general secretary, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar, the moon will be the closest to earth on Thursday and hence will appear to be 14 per cent larger in size than the normal.
"On February 12, this year the moon was the farthest from earth, and on Thursday it will be closest to earth," he said. He also said the otherwise elusive planet Uranus will also be visible beside the moon on Thursday as a bright blue dot on its right side.
However, B G Sidharth denies that this can happen especially on a Full Moon Night when the moon is brightest and can overshadow any object around with its luminance.
Also, one can look forward to another celestial event on September 22, when the annual solar eclipse will occur. But this is unlikely to be visible in India, Sidharth said.
HYDERABAD: Another celestial event is about to enthral all astronomy lovers in the city when the partial lunar eclipse occurs on Thursday night.
Though the earth will 'technically' start shadowing the moon by 10.12 pm, the moon will be seen partially covered only by 11.35 pm. "If the skies are clear, then people can watch less than 20 per cent of the moon covered as it is only a partial eclipse.
The eclipse will be visible to the naked eye from 11.35 pm to 01.07 am by when the moon will, for all practical purposes of viewing, come out of the earth's shadow.
However, technically it will remain in the partial shadow of the earth until 02.30 am, but one cannot see this," said B G Sidharth, director, B M Birla Science Centre.
Since it is a Full Moon Day, the moon will rise exactly at sunset and set exactly at sunrise, he added. Meanwhile, the Planetary Society of India has indicated two other celestial events on the same day.
According to its general secretary, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar, the moon will be the closest to earth on Thursday and hence will appear to be 14 per cent larger in size than the normal.
"On February 12, this year the moon was the farthest from earth, and on Thursday it will be closest to earth," he said. He also said the otherwise elusive planet Uranus will also be visible beside the moon on Thursday as a bright blue dot on its right side.
However, B G Sidharth denies that this can happen especially on a Full Moon Night when the moon is brightest and can overshadow any object around with its luminance.
Also, one can look forward to another celestial event on September 22, when the annual solar eclipse will occur. But this is unlikely to be visible in India, Sidharth said.
Hyderabad: Now, a fatwa to sing Vande Mataram
Md A Basith
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0217hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: In a volte face that will help reduce communal tension, the All India Sunni Ulema Board on Wednesday issued a fatwa saying that Muslims can sing Vande Mataram but only its first two stanzas.
Earlier in June last, the Board had issued a fatwa by which Muslims were asked not to sing Vande Mataram .
Acting suo motu on the issue, four muftis of the Sunni Ulema Board's Dar-ul-Ifta on Wednesday issued the diktat asking Muslims to sing the first two stanzas of the national song.
"Singing the entire Vande Mataram is a Shirk (unIslamic) because some of the stanzas make you believe in 'Ghairullah' (other than Allah). But the first two stanzas are just praise and respect for the land which will make you bow towards it with respect," the fatwa said.
"If you bow at the feet of your mother with respect, it is not 'shirk' but only respect," said Board president Moulana Mufti Syed Shah Badruddin Qadri Aljeelani and other muftis Naseem Ahmed Ashrafi, Hasnuddin and Sajid Hussain.
The muftis asked politicians to prefer practices which bring people of all religions closer. But insisting on something that hurts the sentiments of one religion is not proper.
"The national song should unite people and should not separate them," Aljeelani told TOI. The All India Sunni Ulema Board claims itself to be a national body.
This body formed 10 years back follows the teachings of Jamia Nizamia, the city-based religious university and they follow the Ahl-e-Sunnatul Jamaat school of thought.
The Board with head office in Andhra Pradesh has branches in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. But several religious scholars believe that the Board is a local organisation and does not have much followers in other states.
While this is so, with school education department issuing circular for compulsory singing of Vande Mataram in all the schools on Thursday and the government being firm on this issue, some Muslims have decided not to send their children to schools on Thursday.
Religious scholars gave a call to Muslim parents not to send their children to schools where children would be forced to sing Vande Mataram .
"If the government is so adamant on forcing students to commit a sin of 'shirk' then there is a need for the parents to counter it in a fitting way," said Moulana Hafez P Shabbir Ahmed, Jamiat Ulama Hind state president.
Jamaat Islami Hind state president Abdul Basith Anwaar said the country got independence long ago and now everyone should think of development rather than indulging in useless controversies.
"I don't see any controversy in not singing Vande Mataram and do not understand what our leaders want to achieve by resorting to unconstitutional practice of forcing Muslims to sing a national song," Anwaar said.
Moulana M A Raheem Qureshi of All India Muslim Personal Law Board also gave a call to Muslims not to send their children to school on Thursday.
But MBT leader Amjadullah Khan said students must go to schools and strongly oppose if they were asked to sing the "objectionable song".
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0217hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: In a volte face that will help reduce communal tension, the All India Sunni Ulema Board on Wednesday issued a fatwa saying that Muslims can sing Vande Mataram but only its first two stanzas.
Earlier in June last, the Board had issued a fatwa by which Muslims were asked not to sing Vande Mataram .
Acting suo motu on the issue, four muftis of the Sunni Ulema Board's Dar-ul-Ifta on Wednesday issued the diktat asking Muslims to sing the first two stanzas of the national song.
"Singing the entire Vande Mataram is a Shirk (unIslamic) because some of the stanzas make you believe in 'Ghairullah' (other than Allah). But the first two stanzas are just praise and respect for the land which will make you bow towards it with respect," the fatwa said.
"If you bow at the feet of your mother with respect, it is not 'shirk' but only respect," said Board president Moulana Mufti Syed Shah Badruddin Qadri Aljeelani and other muftis Naseem Ahmed Ashrafi, Hasnuddin and Sajid Hussain.
The muftis asked politicians to prefer practices which bring people of all religions closer. But insisting on something that hurts the sentiments of one religion is not proper.
"The national song should unite people and should not separate them," Aljeelani told TOI. The All India Sunni Ulema Board claims itself to be a national body.
This body formed 10 years back follows the teachings of Jamia Nizamia, the city-based religious university and they follow the Ahl-e-Sunnatul Jamaat school of thought.
The Board with head office in Andhra Pradesh has branches in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. But several religious scholars believe that the Board is a local organisation and does not have much followers in other states.
While this is so, with school education department issuing circular for compulsory singing of Vande Mataram in all the schools on Thursday and the government being firm on this issue, some Muslims have decided not to send their children to schools on Thursday.
Religious scholars gave a call to Muslim parents not to send their children to schools where children would be forced to sing Vande Mataram .
"If the government is so adamant on forcing students to commit a sin of 'shirk' then there is a need for the parents to counter it in a fitting way," said Moulana Hafez P Shabbir Ahmed, Jamiat Ulama Hind state president.
Jamaat Islami Hind state president Abdul Basith Anwaar said the country got independence long ago and now everyone should think of development rather than indulging in useless controversies.
"I don't see any controversy in not singing Vande Mataram and do not understand what our leaders want to achieve by resorting to unconstitutional practice of forcing Muslims to sing a national song," Anwaar said.
Moulana M A Raheem Qureshi of All India Muslim Personal Law Board also gave a call to Muslims not to send their children to school on Thursday.
But MBT leader Amjadullah Khan said students must go to schools and strongly oppose if they were asked to sing the "objectionable song".
Hyderabad: Ganesha laddu fetches Rs 9.01 lac
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0224hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: A Ganesha laddu at Tummuluru village in the "happening" Maheshwaram mandal was reportedly bought for a record Rs 9.01 lakh in an auction on Wednesday.
Most of those who bought the laddus for huge amounts are real estate dealers and farmers who made it big by selling their land after prices hit the roof when several projects landed in Ranga Reddy district.
There are reports that in Maheshwaram another laddu was auctioned for Rs 7.22 lakh while at other places in the mandal also laddus were sold for lakhs of rupees.
The Ganesha laddu auction at Badangpeta at Saroornagar on the city outskirts also fetched a whopping Rs 6.25 lakh. In all this is hidden the tale of prosperity of people on the city outskirts, thanks to the fast-paced development there.
With projects such as the outer ring road, Shamshabad airport and Fab City coming up, real estate prices have rocketed skywards turning landowners into crorepatis overnight.
In the last several years, the only talked about laddu has been the Balapur laddu, the auction of which is watched keenly. The main Ganesha nimmajan day starts at Balapur beyond the Old City every year.
Even this year, the Balapur laddu weighing 21 kilos fetched a record price of Rs 3 lakh. But this paled in comparison to the price laddus fetched at Ganesha pandals on the city periphery.
It's believed that these laddus bought in auctions from Ganesha pandals can bring good fortune to the family, village and even improve the fertility of farmland.
The weight of laddus vary from pandal to pandal but the price is not fixed according to the weight. A laddu weighing 111 kilos could fetch only Rs 25,000 in an auction at Secunderabad.
One had never heard so much of the auction at Saroornagar before but this time, a laddu fetched Rs 6.25 lakh.
In the auction in which 12 people participated, the winner was Peddabavi Parvathamma, whose family reportedly owns considerable land in Badangpeta village.
The auction was organised by the Veeranjaneya Bhaktha Samajam. Last year, the laddu was sold for Rs 1.5 lakh. While at the auction at Nammeta in Chevella in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district, the laddu fetched Rs 5.11 lakh.
In another auction at Maheshwaram, which is near the proposed Fab City, the laddu fetched Rs 4 lakh. The auction of laddus on the city periphery began only in recent times after the attention the Balapur auction got.
When it was conducted for the first time in 1994, the Balapur laddu fetched Rs 8,000. In 2003, it got as much as Rs 1.55 lakh and in 2004, it fetched Rs 2.01 lakh.
In 2005, the laddu was sold for Rs 2.08 lakh to the village sarpanch Ibrahim Sekhar. This year the laddu weighing 21 kg was bought by Chiruginti Tirupati Reddy for Rs 3 lakh.
Reddy, who is a farmer and real-estate dealer said he bought the laddu because money was not an issue for him. "Moreover, the sprinkling of the laddu in the fields results in a good yield," he claimed.
HYDERABAD: A Ganesha laddu at Tummuluru village in the "happening" Maheshwaram mandal was reportedly bought for a record Rs 9.01 lakh in an auction on Wednesday.
Most of those who bought the laddus for huge amounts are real estate dealers and farmers who made it big by selling their land after prices hit the roof when several projects landed in Ranga Reddy district.
There are reports that in Maheshwaram another laddu was auctioned for Rs 7.22 lakh while at other places in the mandal also laddus were sold for lakhs of rupees.
The Ganesha laddu auction at Badangpeta at Saroornagar on the city outskirts also fetched a whopping Rs 6.25 lakh. In all this is hidden the tale of prosperity of people on the city outskirts, thanks to the fast-paced development there.
With projects such as the outer ring road, Shamshabad airport and Fab City coming up, real estate prices have rocketed skywards turning landowners into crorepatis overnight.
In the last several years, the only talked about laddu has been the Balapur laddu, the auction of which is watched keenly. The main Ganesha nimmajan day starts at Balapur beyond the Old City every year.
Even this year, the Balapur laddu weighing 21 kilos fetched a record price of Rs 3 lakh. But this paled in comparison to the price laddus fetched at Ganesha pandals on the city periphery.
It's believed that these laddus bought in auctions from Ganesha pandals can bring good fortune to the family, village and even improve the fertility of farmland.
The weight of laddus vary from pandal to pandal but the price is not fixed according to the weight. A laddu weighing 111 kilos could fetch only Rs 25,000 in an auction at Secunderabad.
One had never heard so much of the auction at Saroornagar before but this time, a laddu fetched Rs 6.25 lakh.
In the auction in which 12 people participated, the winner was Peddabavi Parvathamma, whose family reportedly owns considerable land in Badangpeta village.
The auction was organised by the Veeranjaneya Bhaktha Samajam. Last year, the laddu was sold for Rs 1.5 lakh. While at the auction at Nammeta in Chevella in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district, the laddu fetched Rs 5.11 lakh.
In another auction at Maheshwaram, which is near the proposed Fab City, the laddu fetched Rs 4 lakh. The auction of laddus on the city periphery began only in recent times after the attention the Balapur auction got.
When it was conducted for the first time in 1994, the Balapur laddu fetched Rs 8,000. In 2003, it got as much as Rs 1.55 lakh and in 2004, it fetched Rs 2.01 lakh.
In 2005, the laddu was sold for Rs 2.08 lakh to the village sarpanch Ibrahim Sekhar. This year the laddu weighing 21 kg was bought by Chiruginti Tirupati Reddy for Rs 3 lakh.
Reddy, who is a farmer and real-estate dealer said he bought the laddu because money was not an issue for him. "Moreover, the sprinkling of the laddu in the fields results in a good yield," he claimed.
New Delhi: Rape; Docs discuss grey areas
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0002hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Is an underage girl, who has had consensual sex but is now under parental pressure because of the act, a victim of rape?
What is the role of a doctor when he/she discovers in course of routine physical examination of a patient that there has been sexual assault though the family is not willing to press charges?
These were some of the questions raised by doctors attending a workshop on "Role of Medicos in Handling Cases of Rape", organised by the NGO Pratidhi on Wednesday.
While the workshop aimed at equipping gynaecologists and general duty medical officers with counselling skills necessary as they are the first step of organised help for a victim, the legal and social grey areas came up time and again during the discussions.
According to Raaj Mangal Prasad, vice-president (programme), Pratidhi, however, lack of sensitivity, rather than legal loopholes is the core problem in handling rape victims.
"Our survey done in 2003 revealed that the average waiting period in a government hospital for a rape victim is one and half hours. There have been cases when the ward boy has been asked to help the doctor examine the patient," Prasad said.
Dr Kishore Rajurkar, gynaecologist with Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, said, "Rape statistics furnished by Delhi Police are extremely misleading because bulk of the cases they bring for examination are cases where an underage girl had eloped, had consensual sex and then parents lodged a complaint.
Legally, it is rape but the counselling protocol does not quite apply here the way it happens in sexual assault. The cases that leave us groping for ways to handle are when routine investigations reveal sexual assault but the family is unwilling to press charges."
Agreed many others like Dr Seema Prakash of Geeta Colony Hospital.
"Some 15% pregnancies are in underage girls, we have had sterilisation requests from 19 and 20-year-olds and there is no protocol to handle the problem. There is a lack of legal and social clarity."
Dr Kavita Arora, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Sparsh, stressed on the need for an area in the casualty of every hospital for victims' examination.
NEW DELHI: Is an underage girl, who has had consensual sex but is now under parental pressure because of the act, a victim of rape?
What is the role of a doctor when he/she discovers in course of routine physical examination of a patient that there has been sexual assault though the family is not willing to press charges?
These were some of the questions raised by doctors attending a workshop on "Role of Medicos in Handling Cases of Rape", organised by the NGO Pratidhi on Wednesday.
While the workshop aimed at equipping gynaecologists and general duty medical officers with counselling skills necessary as they are the first step of organised help for a victim, the legal and social grey areas came up time and again during the discussions.
According to Raaj Mangal Prasad, vice-president (programme), Pratidhi, however, lack of sensitivity, rather than legal loopholes is the core problem in handling rape victims.
"Our survey done in 2003 revealed that the average waiting period in a government hospital for a rape victim is one and half hours. There have been cases when the ward boy has been asked to help the doctor examine the patient," Prasad said.
Dr Kishore Rajurkar, gynaecologist with Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, said, "Rape statistics furnished by Delhi Police are extremely misleading because bulk of the cases they bring for examination are cases where an underage girl had eloped, had consensual sex and then parents lodged a complaint.
Legally, it is rape but the counselling protocol does not quite apply here the way it happens in sexual assault. The cases that leave us groping for ways to handle are when routine investigations reveal sexual assault but the family is unwilling to press charges."
Agreed many others like Dr Seema Prakash of Geeta Colony Hospital.
"Some 15% pregnancies are in underage girls, we have had sterilisation requests from 19 and 20-year-olds and there is no protocol to handle the problem. There is a lack of legal and social clarity."
Dr Kavita Arora, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Sparsh, stressed on the need for an area in the casualty of every hospital for victims' examination.
Bangalore: No state order on Vande Mataram
[ 6 Sep, 2006 2337hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
BANGALORE: The state education department on Wednesday said it has forwarded the HRD ministry's circular to all schools to compulsorily sing Vande Mataram on Thursday at 11 am.
"The Karnataka government has not issued any other direction to institutions. We've just sent the HRD ministry's circular. Neither has the department pondered about punishment to schools which don't comply with the circular," sources said.
Last month, primary and secondary education minister Basavaraj Horatti had refused to toe HRD ministry line. " Vande Mataram is the National Song and no caste or communal colour should be given to it," he had said.
Not only did Horatti accuse his coalition partner BJP of playing politics over the issue, but had also said he would write to the Centre that state would not abide by the diktat. But everything fell silent on Wednesday.
Officials said no specific circular had gone out. The Bangalore University registrar has asked BU departments to sing the first two stanzas of the song.
The BJP appealed to everyone to sing the song on Thursday in all streets and villages. The Students Islamic Organisation of India said making the song mandatory is unconstitutional.
" Vande Mataram includes elements that are very offensive against the religious belief of Islam and Muslims," its president Hashmatulla Khan said.
BANGALORE: The state education department on Wednesday said it has forwarded the HRD ministry's circular to all schools to compulsorily sing Vande Mataram on Thursday at 11 am.
"The Karnataka government has not issued any other direction to institutions. We've just sent the HRD ministry's circular. Neither has the department pondered about punishment to schools which don't comply with the circular," sources said.
Last month, primary and secondary education minister Basavaraj Horatti had refused to toe HRD ministry line. " Vande Mataram is the National Song and no caste or communal colour should be given to it," he had said.
Not only did Horatti accuse his coalition partner BJP of playing politics over the issue, but had also said he would write to the Centre that state would not abide by the diktat. But everything fell silent on Wednesday.
Officials said no specific circular had gone out. The Bangalore University registrar has asked BU departments to sing the first two stanzas of the song.
The BJP appealed to everyone to sing the song on Thursday in all streets and villages. The Students Islamic Organisation of India said making the song mandatory is unconstitutional.
" Vande Mataram includes elements that are very offensive against the religious belief of Islam and Muslims," its president Hashmatulla Khan said.
Rajkot: Patient deaths; Blood bank's licence suspended
[ 6 Sep, 2006 2014hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RAJKOT: The Food and Drugs Authority on Wednesday suspended the licence of Young Star Blood Bank when officials found errors in the way blood was stored at the bank.
The licence was suspended following an outcry after five persons died after being given blood from here.
A team of FDA officials was in the city, for two days, to investigate the problem and submitted their report to state FDA commissioner, SP Ardesara.
Confirming the development, Ardesara said that the blood bank has been ordered not to sell blood till investigation is over and the licence has been suspended temporarily.
Ardesara confirmed that according to the report submitted to him, the Young Star Blood Bank did not follow the norms required for storing blood. The blood bank had stopped its activities ever since the first death was reported.
The department has also served a showcause notice to the blood bank for negligence, said the commissioner.
Rajkot district collector Pradeep Sharma said that the district administration was also waiting for the report of blood samples taken by the authorities.
A police complaint would be lodged if contamination is found in the blood. He said that around 300 patients, who were given blood collected from Young Star Blood Bank, are under observation.
The five victims are Samajuben Sojitra, Puja Gorasia, Dayaben Bagtharia, Anal Rajani and Kantaben Shigala.
According to Ardesara, that he will not lodge a police complaint against anyone immediately and will wait for a detailed report.
Doctors and hospitals who had treated the patients were given clean chit by the investigating officials.
The team had also gathered the history of patients who died after blood transfusion. The team had taken statements of blood bank technicians, doctors of the hospitals where death cases registered, relatives of the victims and trustees of the blood bank.
RAJKOT: The Food and Drugs Authority on Wednesday suspended the licence of Young Star Blood Bank when officials found errors in the way blood was stored at the bank.
The licence was suspended following an outcry after five persons died after being given blood from here.
A team of FDA officials was in the city, for two days, to investigate the problem and submitted their report to state FDA commissioner, SP Ardesara.
Confirming the development, Ardesara said that the blood bank has been ordered not to sell blood till investigation is over and the licence has been suspended temporarily.
Ardesara confirmed that according to the report submitted to him, the Young Star Blood Bank did not follow the norms required for storing blood. The blood bank had stopped its activities ever since the first death was reported.
The department has also served a showcause notice to the blood bank for negligence, said the commissioner.
Rajkot district collector Pradeep Sharma said that the district administration was also waiting for the report of blood samples taken by the authorities.
A police complaint would be lodged if contamination is found in the blood. He said that around 300 patients, who were given blood collected from Young Star Blood Bank, are under observation.
The five victims are Samajuben Sojitra, Puja Gorasia, Dayaben Bagtharia, Anal Rajani and Kantaben Shigala.
According to Ardesara, that he will not lodge a police complaint against anyone immediately and will wait for a detailed report.
Doctors and hospitals who had treated the patients were given clean chit by the investigating officials.
The team had also gathered the history of patients who died after blood transfusion. The team had taken statements of blood bank technicians, doctors of the hospitals where death cases registered, relatives of the victims and trustees of the blood bank.
Bangalore: Infosys to expand staff in Czech Republic
By Reuters
Wednesday September 6, 04:31 PM
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Second-largest software services exporter, Infosys Technologies Ltd., said on Wednesday it would more than double its staff at a facility in the Czech Republic to boost operations in Europe.
Nasdaq-listed Infosys will increase the number of employees at the Brno facility to 350 by the beginning of 2007 from 130 now, the company said in a statement.
Set up in 2004, the facility handles business process outsourcing related to finance and accounts and market research for clients across 16 European countries.
Infosys, whose clients include ABN AMRO, Goldman Sachs and Airbus, said the expansion would help boost services for customers.
"The expansion of Infosys' European facilities reflects the 60 percent growth Infosys has experienced in the region for the past three years," B.G. Srinivas, head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said in the statement.
Clients in North America accounted for 64 percent of Infosys' revenue in the June quarter, nearly flat from a year ago, while customers in Europe made up 26.2 percent, up from 23.9 percent.
Shares in Infosys ended little changed at 1,833.55 rupees in a slightly firm Mumbai market.
Chandigargh: Mobile towers sending out some unfriendly waves too
The effects of health of electromagnetic radiations from mobile towers are debated; but the city is getting a chunk of those waves, says a new study
Express India, Revathi Ramalingam
Chandigargh, September 6: A study by the Centre for Environmental Studies, Panjab University, has detected very high levels of Electro-magnetic Radiation (EMR) caused mainly by the city’s mobile phone towers.
According to the study, Sector 46 recorded the highest levels of EMR - 97900 microwatts per square metre - followed by Sectors 42, 51, 21, 40, 30 and 18.
The world over, there has been an intense debate over the possible health hazards posed by EMR. Research studies have indicated that prolonged exposure to EMR could cause neurological, cardiac, respiratory and ophthalmological disorders. Some of the long-term effects include brain damage, nerve damage, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s disease, genetic damage and increased risk of cancer. Studies have also shown that the radiation affects teenagers and children more.
Despite this, mobile towers continue to be erected near schools, residential areas, universities, markets and parks not only in Chandigarh but across the country.
Talking to Newsline, Dr R K Kohli, coordinator of the Centre said the study was conducted over a period of three months. Several readings were taken in each Sector using an RF Field Strength meter at different heights - six feet, chest level and ground level. The data was then compiled and an average taken to give the readings.
According to the study, Sector 1 recorded the lowest reading of 500 followed by Sector 4 at 1,300. In addition, popular hangouts such as Sector 17 recorded a figure of 15,500 while the reading at Panjab University in Sector 14 was 2,600. Interestingly, the readings were found to be much lower near trees as the trees absorb the radiations to a large extent. The effects of EMR on health continues to be a widely debated topic with some experts saying that the studies done so far are not conclusive and more long term data is needed to determine effects.
Express India, Revathi Ramalingam
Chandigargh, September 6: A study by the Centre for Environmental Studies, Panjab University, has detected very high levels of Electro-magnetic Radiation (EMR) caused mainly by the city’s mobile phone towers.
According to the study, Sector 46 recorded the highest levels of EMR - 97900 microwatts per square metre - followed by Sectors 42, 51, 21, 40, 30 and 18.
The world over, there has been an intense debate over the possible health hazards posed by EMR. Research studies have indicated that prolonged exposure to EMR could cause neurological, cardiac, respiratory and ophthalmological disorders. Some of the long-term effects include brain damage, nerve damage, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s disease, genetic damage and increased risk of cancer. Studies have also shown that the radiation affects teenagers and children more.
Despite this, mobile towers continue to be erected near schools, residential areas, universities, markets and parks not only in Chandigarh but across the country.
Talking to Newsline, Dr R K Kohli, coordinator of the Centre said the study was conducted over a period of three months. Several readings were taken in each Sector using an RF Field Strength meter at different heights - six feet, chest level and ground level. The data was then compiled and an average taken to give the readings.
According to the study, Sector 1 recorded the lowest reading of 500 followed by Sector 4 at 1,300. In addition, popular hangouts such as Sector 17 recorded a figure of 15,500 while the reading at Panjab University in Sector 14 was 2,600. Interestingly, the readings were found to be much lower near trees as the trees absorb the radiations to a large extent. The effects of EMR on health continues to be a widely debated topic with some experts saying that the studies done so far are not conclusive and more long term data is needed to determine effects.
Chandigargh: Polish dancers present a vibrant fusion
Members of Ziemia Myslenicka are in city under an exchange programme
Express News Service
Chandigargh, September 6: It was a visual treat at Ryan International School, Sector 49, as 23 delegates from Poland participated in a cultural bonanza of songs and dances. Dolly Guleria, eminent Punjabi singer, presided over the function.
Comprising mainly students, the visitors were in India as part of a cultural exchange programme. Beginning with a group dance called Goralski, which is a folk dance of the highlanders, the group performed dances and songs from their native land. They surprised everybody by presenting Bhangra, which was the final act of the evening and for which the dancers dressed up in the traditional Punjabi costumes.
Meanwhile, the students of the host school presented a Bharatnatyam performance dance followed by Rajasthani and Punjabi dances.
Talking to Newsline, one of the visitors said that the group was called ‘Ziemia Myslenicka’, which means the land of Myslenicka — a part of Poland where they all hail from.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the group, Anna Pietrak, said the team had arrived in India on August 29 to participate in the International Festival of Performing Arts organised by Ryan International in Delhi.
Following that, they had came to Chandigarh on Tuesday for a two-day stay. ‘‘From here, it’s onto Ludhiana and Amritsar, before we leave for Poland on September 11,’’ Anna said.
In the two days that they spent here, the Poles got the chance to experience a slice of life in Chandigarh as they stayed with the families of the students. Though the change in weather and food were two of the biggest challenges, Anna said the group had slowly gotten used it. ‘‘They’re enjoying the stay now,’’ she said with a smile.
Meanwhile, apart from taking a sightseeing tour, the visitors also got a chance to learn some nuances of Indian art, craft and dance today. Earlier today, the school organised workshops where the visitors learnt block printing, glass painting and classical dance.
Express News Service
Chandigargh, September 6: It was a visual treat at Ryan International School, Sector 49, as 23 delegates from Poland participated in a cultural bonanza of songs and dances. Dolly Guleria, eminent Punjabi singer, presided over the function.
Comprising mainly students, the visitors were in India as part of a cultural exchange programme. Beginning with a group dance called Goralski, which is a folk dance of the highlanders, the group performed dances and songs from their native land. They surprised everybody by presenting Bhangra, which was the final act of the evening and for which the dancers dressed up in the traditional Punjabi costumes.
Meanwhile, the students of the host school presented a Bharatnatyam performance dance followed by Rajasthani and Punjabi dances.
Talking to Newsline, one of the visitors said that the group was called ‘Ziemia Myslenicka’, which means the land of Myslenicka — a part of Poland where they all hail from.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the group, Anna Pietrak, said the team had arrived in India on August 29 to participate in the International Festival of Performing Arts organised by Ryan International in Delhi.
Following that, they had came to Chandigarh on Tuesday for a two-day stay. ‘‘From here, it’s onto Ludhiana and Amritsar, before we leave for Poland on September 11,’’ Anna said.
In the two days that they spent here, the Poles got the chance to experience a slice of life in Chandigarh as they stayed with the families of the students. Though the change in weather and food were two of the biggest challenges, Anna said the group had slowly gotten used it. ‘‘They’re enjoying the stay now,’’ she said with a smile.
Meanwhile, apart from taking a sightseeing tour, the visitors also got a chance to learn some nuances of Indian art, craft and dance today. Earlier today, the school organised workshops where the visitors learnt block printing, glass painting and classical dance.
Solan: Amarinder may find himself in trouble over rare birds issue
Arvind Kashyap, Express India
Solan, September 6: The rearing and breeding of rare birds by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at his Dochi farmhouse near Chail may land him in trouble if violations of the law and the norms of the Central Zoo Authority of India are established.
Reliable sources in the state Forest Department revealed that as per the law and the norms, the Central Zoo Authority of India could only give permission to an individual for establishing a zoo across the country on certain conditions. Sources further revealed that as per various sections of the Wild Life Protection Act, any person violating the law may face a sentence of six months to six years besides fine.
Sources revealed that the department had asked the Punjab Chief Minister to furnish the details concerning the number and species of all birds including exotic ones within a fortnight, failing which action would be initiated under the provisions of the law. The letter was written after noticing some violations at the farmhouse.
‘‘We have written a letter to Amarinder Singh asking him to provide necessary information within 15 days,’’ said Chail Range Forest Officer (Wild Life) Sanjeev Sood.
Notably, the Dochi farmhouse of Amarinder Singh came into the limelight after some persons intimated officials of the state wildlife wing that the owner of the farmhouse had allegedly kept nearly 40 rare birds in captivity. However, the officials during a visit to the farmhouse had found that these birds were imported by the forefathers of Amarinder Singh from France and Germany, many years back. The employees at Dochi had informed the officials that the forefathers of the owner had imported only two-three birds but later the number had increased after breeding.
Surprisingly, even after the spotting of rare birds at the farmhouse, none of the officials of the Central Zoo Authority of India has visited Dochi till date, leaving many questions unanswered. Also, no senior officer of the state Forest Department has visited the farmhouse.
Meanwhile, state BJP spokesman Dr Rajeev Bindal today demanded a high-level probe into the entire issue so that the truth could come before the public. Bindal said that the government and the Central Zoo Authority of India should immediately take the needed action if violations had been noticed.
On the other hand, Range Forest Officer Sanjeev Sood said that the picture would be clear only after receiving the reply of Amarinder Singh in this connection. He, however, refused to comment on the purported violations at the Dochi farmhouse.
Solan, September 6: The rearing and breeding of rare birds by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at his Dochi farmhouse near Chail may land him in trouble if violations of the law and the norms of the Central Zoo Authority of India are established.
Reliable sources in the state Forest Department revealed that as per the law and the norms, the Central Zoo Authority of India could only give permission to an individual for establishing a zoo across the country on certain conditions. Sources further revealed that as per various sections of the Wild Life Protection Act, any person violating the law may face a sentence of six months to six years besides fine.
Sources revealed that the department had asked the Punjab Chief Minister to furnish the details concerning the number and species of all birds including exotic ones within a fortnight, failing which action would be initiated under the provisions of the law. The letter was written after noticing some violations at the farmhouse.
‘‘We have written a letter to Amarinder Singh asking him to provide necessary information within 15 days,’’ said Chail Range Forest Officer (Wild Life) Sanjeev Sood.
Notably, the Dochi farmhouse of Amarinder Singh came into the limelight after some persons intimated officials of the state wildlife wing that the owner of the farmhouse had allegedly kept nearly 40 rare birds in captivity. However, the officials during a visit to the farmhouse had found that these birds were imported by the forefathers of Amarinder Singh from France and Germany, many years back. The employees at Dochi had informed the officials that the forefathers of the owner had imported only two-three birds but later the number had increased after breeding.
Surprisingly, even after the spotting of rare birds at the farmhouse, none of the officials of the Central Zoo Authority of India has visited Dochi till date, leaving many questions unanswered. Also, no senior officer of the state Forest Department has visited the farmhouse.
Meanwhile, state BJP spokesman Dr Rajeev Bindal today demanded a high-level probe into the entire issue so that the truth could come before the public. Bindal said that the government and the Central Zoo Authority of India should immediately take the needed action if violations had been noticed.
On the other hand, Range Forest Officer Sanjeev Sood said that the picture would be clear only after receiving the reply of Amarinder Singh in this connection. He, however, refused to comment on the purported violations at the Dochi farmhouse.
Pune: Defence body moots handing over of 4 road stretches to PMC
Shweta Desai, Express India
Civic authority to compensate defence by way of cash-cum-amenities package
Pune, September 5: THE Defence Estate office of the Pune Circle has put up a proposal suggesting that four road stretches passing through defence land and aggregating some 72,000 sq metres, be handed over to the Pune Municipal Corporation for road widening projects. The PMC on its part has been for a while been demanding that all 14 roads passing through various establishments be handed over to them. There will not be any transfer of land ownership but it would only be leased out to the civic authority, it is understood.
As per the proposal, the PMC would compensate the Defence for loss of land by way of cash-cum-amenities offer. The cost of the land of all the 14 roads stretches aggregating two lakh sq metres is estimated at Rs 50 crore, though the authorities are yet to make a valuation of the four road stretches.
Says Defence Estate Officer Sewak Nayyar, ‘‘We have forwarded the proposal for four roads to the Director General, Defence Estate, C R Mohapatra. Currently the proposals are at the scrutiny level after which they would be sent to the Ministry of Defence for final approval. The defence authorities would still have the ownership of the land.’’
The road stretches include: Pune Nagar road, Yerwada (survey number 202, 205), Sangamwadi to Sadalbaba chowk, Yerwada (survey number 28,31 to 44), Pune-Alandi road, Yerwada (survey number 84, 86, 94) and Nagar road to Airport (VIP) road, Yerwada, Lohegaon (survey number 233, 204).
For transferring or leasing out the defence land to another authority, an NOC is required at two levels: Local Military Authority and the Defence Estate. In case of these four roads, the defence estate has already forwarded the proposals to the director general while the station head quarters of Khadki and Pune too have given their NOCs in this regard.
Mumbai: 'Filmi dacoits are bunkum'
[ 5 Sep, 2006 2009hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
Seema Parihar is a real-life dacoit who was married to the dreaded Nirbhay Gujjar.
The life of dacoits, shown in films like Sholay or even the 'realistic' Bandit Queen, is bunkum. That's the verdict of Seema Parihar, a real-life bandit. "It's hardly a romantic life. In reality, you don't have bandits shooting around on horses or cabaret shows in the evening. On the contrary, it's scary and full of struggle. You are running from the police all the time," says Seema.
After Seema's surrender, it was during her incarceration that Krishna Mishra decided to make a film on her life. "Convincing the authorities, and of course Seema, besides getting her bail organised was tough, but now that the film is ready, it's all been worth it," says Mishra.
But before signing on the dotted line, Seema had a set of conditions. "One of these was not to romanticise my life, the way Phoolan Devi's was done. I wanted a realistic portrayal of what I've been through," she says. And replaying her life on the screen was "a heart-rending experience" for the former bandit who was kidnapped from her home at the age of 13. The reason? Her father refused to give her hand in marriage to someone from a "lower-caste community. They took their revenge thus and I was married off to Nirbhay Gujjar who was recently killed in an encounter," she informs.
For six years, Seema could not meet her parents because "this would have put them in great trouble. You can imagine my state, what I went through. And this made an apradhi out of me. The men's atrocities forced me to pick up the gun for survival," she says.
Life in the jungle was tough, she says. "We moved around on foot, sometimes covering 60 to 70 kms in a day. And no, there were no horses. Where can you hide yourself with horses? If you're on foot, and being pursued by the police, you can quickly hide behind a bush or trees. So, being on foot is safer."
And now that she has a son, Sagar, she has surrendered and is at peace. Ask her if she has any regrets and she says, "I wish our villagers were with us. If they'd been, I wouldn't have undergone the ordeal I did."
Seema Parihar is a real-life dacoit who was married to the dreaded Nirbhay Gujjar.
The life of dacoits, shown in films like Sholay or even the 'realistic' Bandit Queen, is bunkum. That's the verdict of Seema Parihar, a real-life bandit. "It's hardly a romantic life. In reality, you don't have bandits shooting around on horses or cabaret shows in the evening. On the contrary, it's scary and full of struggle. You are running from the police all the time," says Seema.
After Seema's surrender, it was during her incarceration that Krishna Mishra decided to make a film on her life. "Convincing the authorities, and of course Seema, besides getting her bail organised was tough, but now that the film is ready, it's all been worth it," says Mishra.
But before signing on the dotted line, Seema had a set of conditions. "One of these was not to romanticise my life, the way Phoolan Devi's was done. I wanted a realistic portrayal of what I've been through," she says. And replaying her life on the screen was "a heart-rending experience" for the former bandit who was kidnapped from her home at the age of 13. The reason? Her father refused to give her hand in marriage to someone from a "lower-caste community. They took their revenge thus and I was married off to Nirbhay Gujjar who was recently killed in an encounter," she informs.
For six years, Seema could not meet her parents because "this would have put them in great trouble. You can imagine my state, what I went through. And this made an apradhi out of me. The men's atrocities forced me to pick up the gun for survival," she says.
Life in the jungle was tough, she says. "We moved around on foot, sometimes covering 60 to 70 kms in a day. And no, there were no horses. Where can you hide yourself with horses? If you're on foot, and being pursued by the police, you can quickly hide behind a bush or trees. So, being on foot is safer."
And now that she has a son, Sagar, she has surrendered and is at peace. Ask her if she has any regrets and she says, "I wish our villagers were with us. If they'd been, I wouldn't have undergone the ordeal I did."
Bangalore best to live in ?
GEETHA RAO
[ 6 Sep, 2006 2239hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
This city tops the list for quality of life. Is that really true?
A recent study across Indian cities had people saying Bangalore's the best city to live in and the second best to earn in. Is that really so? BT asked Bangaloreans who'd lived in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Wildlife expert Saad Bin Jung lived in Hyderabad for 22 years, followed by Bangalore for 22 years, and says, "The weather in Bangalore was fantastic then. And the quality of life, the best. Now, the very people who have destroyed Bangalore are making politically correct noises about putting it back on track again. It's like wildlife. First you finish the animals and then try to bring them back again. Bangalore's been destroyed by a small percentage that's gained dramatically by it, but there's nothing for the common man, like me, today. You can't change Bangalore because those who have benefitted by it are extremely powerful. Bangalore was a thousand times better than Hyderabad earlier."
Hyderabad, he says, is a very old and civilised city and the people care enough for the city to reinvent it. "But in Bangalore, there are too many people from outside who have settled here, and don't care for the city." Opportunities-wise, Bangalore and Hyderabad are similar.
Chippy Gangjee, who's lived in Kolkata before he moved to Bangalore 22 years ago says Bangalore weather's the best.
"But if the infrastructure was as good as in SM Krishna's time, it'd be even better to live here. We may crib like hell about the traffic, but go to another city, and you just want to come running back."
Gangjee deals with some of the worst roads in LB Shastrinagar where he lives: "They are horrendous, I travel on them some four times a day, yet the amount of peace that Bangalore offers is something you can't get anywhere."
And the people. In Chippy Gangjee's apartment block, there are a dozen Bengali families among the 200 living there and 30-40 more in the locality, but both Bengalis and non-Bengalis have decided to celebrate Durga Puja together. "People are so cosmopolitan," he says.
However, Kolkata is less expensive: "a great city, costwise, whether it's vegetables or rentals or eating out."
Gagan Bindra, marketing manager with a multiplex, who's lived in Delhi for seven years, and Bangalore for six, says Delhi being the capital, has the edge in terms of infrastructure.
"I'm not saying Delhi's perfect, but you can see a lot of development. Now with the Commonwealth Games coming to Delhi, there's even more focus on infrastructure."
And traffic? Bindra says, "Even if you are caught in a traffic jam in Bangalore, it's much better than being caught in the scorching heat in Delhi."
And the people here are welcoming of outsiders, he says. In Delhi, more or less, the attitude is we belong here, may be we know better than you do. Danseuse Vani Ganapathy who's travelling constantly to Mumbai says what we lack here is discipline.
"I was in Mumbai during Janmashtami, which is celebrated in a grand manner there. Despite that, there was disciplined traffic movement. I stay in Chennai only for two days so I don't really know, but my cousins there say it's quite calm. Here, though, I was caught in the traffic jam during Sonia Gandhi's visit, and there was chaos. Some hooligans actually turned on the police."
[ 6 Sep, 2006 2239hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
This city tops the list for quality of life. Is that really true?
A recent study across Indian cities had people saying Bangalore's the best city to live in and the second best to earn in. Is that really so? BT asked Bangaloreans who'd lived in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Wildlife expert Saad Bin Jung lived in Hyderabad for 22 years, followed by Bangalore for 22 years, and says, "The weather in Bangalore was fantastic then. And the quality of life, the best. Now, the very people who have destroyed Bangalore are making politically correct noises about putting it back on track again. It's like wildlife. First you finish the animals and then try to bring them back again. Bangalore's been destroyed by a small percentage that's gained dramatically by it, but there's nothing for the common man, like me, today. You can't change Bangalore because those who have benefitted by it are extremely powerful. Bangalore was a thousand times better than Hyderabad earlier."
Hyderabad, he says, is a very old and civilised city and the people care enough for the city to reinvent it. "But in Bangalore, there are too many people from outside who have settled here, and don't care for the city." Opportunities-wise, Bangalore and Hyderabad are similar.
Chippy Gangjee, who's lived in Kolkata before he moved to Bangalore 22 years ago says Bangalore weather's the best.
"But if the infrastructure was as good as in SM Krishna's time, it'd be even better to live here. We may crib like hell about the traffic, but go to another city, and you just want to come running back."
Gangjee deals with some of the worst roads in LB Shastrinagar where he lives: "They are horrendous, I travel on them some four times a day, yet the amount of peace that Bangalore offers is something you can't get anywhere."
And the people. In Chippy Gangjee's apartment block, there are a dozen Bengali families among the 200 living there and 30-40 more in the locality, but both Bengalis and non-Bengalis have decided to celebrate Durga Puja together. "People are so cosmopolitan," he says.
However, Kolkata is less expensive: "a great city, costwise, whether it's vegetables or rentals or eating out."
Gagan Bindra, marketing manager with a multiplex, who's lived in Delhi for seven years, and Bangalore for six, says Delhi being the capital, has the edge in terms of infrastructure.
"I'm not saying Delhi's perfect, but you can see a lot of development. Now with the Commonwealth Games coming to Delhi, there's even more focus on infrastructure."
And traffic? Bindra says, "Even if you are caught in a traffic jam in Bangalore, it's much better than being caught in the scorching heat in Delhi."
And the people here are welcoming of outsiders, he says. In Delhi, more or less, the attitude is we belong here, may be we know better than you do. Danseuse Vani Ganapathy who's travelling constantly to Mumbai says what we lack here is discipline.
"I was in Mumbai during Janmashtami, which is celebrated in a grand manner there. Despite that, there was disciplined traffic movement. I stay in Chennai only for two days so I don't really know, but my cousins there say it's quite calm. Here, though, I was caught in the traffic jam during Sonia Gandhi's visit, and there was chaos. Some hooligans actually turned on the police."
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Kolkata: BES Uni (BESU) student sends lewd SMS to V-C, arrested
[ 4 Sep, 2006 0216hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.
Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.
When the disgusted varsity top gun stopped taking the calls, he started receiving dirty SMSes. The same happened with registrar I N Sinha. The perplexed varsity officials lodged a complaint with Shibpur police. The cops then traced the calls and the SMSes to Dey.
The metallurgy department student was picked up from his Barasat residence on Saturday. He was released on bail on Sunday.
During interrogation, Dey, an inmate of hostel number 11, told the police that he was upset with the treatment meted out to his best friend Tanmoy Chatterjee, also a student of Besu.
Tanmoy was among the eight students picked up by police on the night of August 22 for attempting to rag some juniors.
"These students were picked up by the police patrolling the campus for violating peace. Tanmoy was among the eight. Somnath was upset with this. He thought of taking revenge by sending abusive messages to the vice-chancellor,"said Howrah SP N K Singh.
After the death of Soumik Basu a few weeks ago, police have stepped up security vigil on campus to prevent further clashes.
Vice-chancellor Banerjea refused to comment on the episode. "The matter is sub judice. I have called for a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday. The committee will decide on the kind of action to be taken against the student,"Banerjea said on Sunday.
KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu).
On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes. Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone.
This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls. When the disgusted varsity top gun stopped taking the calls, he started receiving dirty SMSes.
The same happened with registrar I N Sinha. The perplexed varsity officials lodged a complaint with Shibpur police. The cops then traced the calls and the SMSes to Dey.
The metallurgy department student was picked up from his Barasat residence on Saturday. He was released on bail on Sunday.
During interrogation, Dey, an inmate of hostel number 11, told the police that he was upset with the treatment meted out to his best friend Tanmoy Chatterjee, also a student of Besu.
Tanmoy was among the eight students picked up by police on the night of August 22 for attempting to rag some juniors. "These students were picked up by the police patrolling the campus for violating peace. Tanmoy was among the eight. Somnath was upset with this. He thought of taking revenge by sending abusive messages to the vice-chancellor," said Howrah SP N K Singh.
After the death of Soumik Basu a few weeks ago, police have stepped up security vigil on campus to prevent further clashes.
Vice-chancellor Banerjea refused to comment on the episode. "The matter is sub judice. I have called for a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday.
The committee will decide on the kind of action to be taken against the student," Banerjea said on Sunday.
KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.
Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.
When the disgusted varsity top gun stopped taking the calls, he started receiving dirty SMSes. The same happened with registrar I N Sinha. The perplexed varsity officials lodged a complaint with Shibpur police. The cops then traced the calls and the SMSes to Dey.
The metallurgy department student was picked up from his Barasat residence on Saturday. He was released on bail on Sunday.
During interrogation, Dey, an inmate of hostel number 11, told the police that he was upset with the treatment meted out to his best friend Tanmoy Chatterjee, also a student of Besu.
Tanmoy was among the eight students picked up by police on the night of August 22 for attempting to rag some juniors.
"These students were picked up by the police patrolling the campus for violating peace. Tanmoy was among the eight. Somnath was upset with this. He thought of taking revenge by sending abusive messages to the vice-chancellor,"said Howrah SP N K Singh.
After the death of Soumik Basu a few weeks ago, police have stepped up security vigil on campus to prevent further clashes.
Vice-chancellor Banerjea refused to comment on the episode. "The matter is sub judice. I have called for a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday. The committee will decide on the kind of action to be taken against the student,"Banerjea said on Sunday.
KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu).
On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes. Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone.
This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls. When the disgusted varsity top gun stopped taking the calls, he started receiving dirty SMSes.
The same happened with registrar I N Sinha. The perplexed varsity officials lodged a complaint with Shibpur police. The cops then traced the calls and the SMSes to Dey.
The metallurgy department student was picked up from his Barasat residence on Saturday. He was released on bail on Sunday.
During interrogation, Dey, an inmate of hostel number 11, told the police that he was upset with the treatment meted out to his best friend Tanmoy Chatterjee, also a student of Besu.
Tanmoy was among the eight students picked up by police on the night of August 22 for attempting to rag some juniors. "These students were picked up by the police patrolling the campus for violating peace. Tanmoy was among the eight. Somnath was upset with this. He thought of taking revenge by sending abusive messages to the vice-chancellor," said Howrah SP N K Singh.
After the death of Soumik Basu a few weeks ago, police have stepped up security vigil on campus to prevent further clashes.
Vice-chancellor Banerjea refused to comment on the episode. "The matter is sub judice. I have called for a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday.
The committee will decide on the kind of action to be taken against the student," Banerjea said on Sunday.
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