[ 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.
Showing posts with label Kolkata. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kolkata. Show all posts
Thursday, September 07, 2006
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.
Kolkata: City call centre girl pulls off $4000 cyber fraud for 'fun'
[ 2 Sep, 2006 1131hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Sulagna Ray hardly looks like a criminal. But both the detective department and the CID were hot on the trail of this 23-year-old call centre employee. She was arrested on Friday morning from her Behala home for using credit card details of US consumers to buy goods worth $4,000 (Rs 1.8 lakh).
Sulagna has been charged with fraud and cheating. She has “confessed” but claimed that “she did it for fun and didn’t intend to cheat anyone”. A city court has remanded her in police custody for 12 days.
"A California-based firm, Syssoft Corporation, informed us that they do e-commerce in Kolkata through a portal, calcuttaweb.com. It was flooded with complaints about fraudulent purchases being made through this site during July-August. We were also told that all these purchases were made through credit cards of US residents. The American firm had to pay compensation to all the credit card holders," DC (DD) Gyanwant Singh said.
Sulagna, who has just completed her diploma in fashion designing from NIFT, works in a Salt Lake Sector V call centre — Jaishree Infotech. Her call centre does the back-end operations of another e-commerce site in the US. "Her job involved selling Dish TV to US clients. While doing this, she gathered information about the credit card numbers of some of these clients. She then used these card numbers to make purchases through calcuttaweb.com," said a senior officer.
Sulagna made 52 purchases on the internet, some using her laptop and some from cyber cafes (she never used her office computer). Forty-two items, worth about Rs 1 lakh, were delivered to her home. These included an air-conditioner, microwave, cosmetics, jewellery, saris and even chocolates.
For the detectives, tracking her down wasn’t tough. Calcuttaweb.com, which has an office in Kolkata, provided them with the details of purchases made. "The IP addresses were all logged. Moreover, the delivery challans gave her game up," an officer said.
Sulagna's mother Nivedita, the police said, should have known what her daughter was up to. She earned only Rs 8,000 but was splurging. However, they did not question her mother, who is ailing. Her father Niladri, who worked in a Haryana-based firm, is dead.
Meanwhile, in another e-commerce fraud case, detective department officers arrested the owner of Mumbaibased e-portal NS Shopmart. Sidhartha was picked up from Dadar for cheating Supriyo Ray, a Barasat resident. Supriyo had purchased an LCD monitor from rediff.com for Rs 15,000. A carton reached his home a few days later but it was stuffed with paper. The police later found Sidhartha’s portal made the transaction through rediff.com. He was brought back to Kolkata.
KOLKATA: Sulagna Ray hardly looks like a criminal. But both the detective department and the CID were hot on the trail of this 23-year-old call centre employee. She was arrested on Friday morning from her Behala home for using credit card details of US consumers to buy goods worth $4,000 (Rs 1.8 lakh).
Sulagna has been charged with fraud and cheating. She has “confessed” but claimed that “she did it for fun and didn’t intend to cheat anyone”. A city court has remanded her in police custody for 12 days.
"A California-based firm, Syssoft Corporation, informed us that they do e-commerce in Kolkata through a portal, calcuttaweb.com. It was flooded with complaints about fraudulent purchases being made through this site during July-August. We were also told that all these purchases were made through credit cards of US residents. The American firm had to pay compensation to all the credit card holders," DC (DD) Gyanwant Singh said.
Sulagna, who has just completed her diploma in fashion designing from NIFT, works in a Salt Lake Sector V call centre — Jaishree Infotech. Her call centre does the back-end operations of another e-commerce site in the US. "Her job involved selling Dish TV to US clients. While doing this, she gathered information about the credit card numbers of some of these clients. She then used these card numbers to make purchases through calcuttaweb.com," said a senior officer.
Sulagna made 52 purchases on the internet, some using her laptop and some from cyber cafes (she never used her office computer). Forty-two items, worth about Rs 1 lakh, were delivered to her home. These included an air-conditioner, microwave, cosmetics, jewellery, saris and even chocolates.
For the detectives, tracking her down wasn’t tough. Calcuttaweb.com, which has an office in Kolkata, provided them with the details of purchases made. "The IP addresses were all logged. Moreover, the delivery challans gave her game up," an officer said.
Sulagna's mother Nivedita, the police said, should have known what her daughter was up to. She earned only Rs 8,000 but was splurging. However, they did not question her mother, who is ailing. Her father Niladri, who worked in a Haryana-based firm, is dead.
Meanwhile, in another e-commerce fraud case, detective department officers arrested the owner of Mumbaibased e-portal NS Shopmart. Sidhartha was picked up from Dadar for cheating Supriyo Ray, a Barasat resident. Supriyo had purchased an LCD monitor from rediff.com for Rs 15,000. A carton reached his home a few days later but it was stuffed with paper. The police later found Sidhartha’s portal made the transaction through rediff.com. He was brought back to Kolkata.
Kolkata: Your city does not care for girl child
Arnab Ganguly
[ 5 Sep, 2006 0304hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: For Halishahar's Sonali Das, a second daughter was unwanted. So she killed and buried her newborn with her mother's help. From far-off Halishahar to tony Kolkata enclaves, the story is the same.
The girl child is redundant. The fact is reflected in the deteriorating male-female ratio across the city's wards.
If Halishahar and neighbouring Bidyadharpur register a paltry 951 and an astonishing 389 females per thousand males respectively, upmarket Bhowanipore and Gariahat in the city return equally dismal figures — 812 and 916 females per 1,000 males.
And these figures are only till 2001. In another five years, when the next census is due, the scenario may be far worse. Of the five instances of abandoned babies in the city in the past year, three were girls.
Many more did not make it to the headlines. Till 1991, however, the scenario was different. At least 17 wards then showed a healthy sex ratio of 1,000+ females per 1,000 males.
Take high-profile Gariahat (ward 68). There were 1,006 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991. By 2001, the number of girls was down to 916. In Bhowanipore, the number of girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 was 1,028.
In 10 years, the ratio was down to 812:1000. In the decade between 1991 and 2001, the city average itself fell from 955 to 927 girls per 1,000 boys. The trend has experts worried.
"More parents are keen to find out their child's sex while it is in the womb, particularly those who already have a daughter," said a leading gynaecologist. The introduction of regulations against sex determination has helped, say gynaecologists.
"The prescription specifies why USG was done. So, the ultrasonologists know that records are kept. But there is always the fear of para-clinical staff passing on the information for a few bucks," said another gynaecologist.
If some clinics in Kidderpore, Rajabazar and other areas have flourished, offering an "easy way out of unwanted pregnancy", availability of over-the-counter abortion pills has made it even easier to get rid of the unwanted child.
"But these drugs are dangerous. If someone takes the pill a second time, it can be life-threatening," said gynaecologist Gouri Kumra.
[ 5 Sep, 2006 0304hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: For Halishahar's Sonali Das, a second daughter was unwanted. So she killed and buried her newborn with her mother's help. From far-off Halishahar to tony Kolkata enclaves, the story is the same.
The girl child is redundant. The fact is reflected in the deteriorating male-female ratio across the city's wards.
If Halishahar and neighbouring Bidyadharpur register a paltry 951 and an astonishing 389 females per thousand males respectively, upmarket Bhowanipore and Gariahat in the city return equally dismal figures — 812 and 916 females per 1,000 males.
And these figures are only till 2001. In another five years, when the next census is due, the scenario may be far worse. Of the five instances of abandoned babies in the city in the past year, three were girls.
Many more did not make it to the headlines. Till 1991, however, the scenario was different. At least 17 wards then showed a healthy sex ratio of 1,000+ females per 1,000 males.
Take high-profile Gariahat (ward 68). There were 1,006 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991. By 2001, the number of girls was down to 916. In Bhowanipore, the number of girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 was 1,028.
In 10 years, the ratio was down to 812:1000. In the decade between 1991 and 2001, the city average itself fell from 955 to 927 girls per 1,000 boys. The trend has experts worried.
"More parents are keen to find out their child's sex while it is in the womb, particularly those who already have a daughter," said a leading gynaecologist. The introduction of regulations against sex determination has helped, say gynaecologists.
"The prescription specifies why USG was done. So, the ultrasonologists know that records are kept. But there is always the fear of para-clinical staff passing on the information for a few bucks," said another gynaecologist.
If some clinics in Kidderpore, Rajabazar and other areas have flourished, offering an "easy way out of unwanted pregnancy", availability of over-the-counter abortion pills has made it even easier to get rid of the unwanted child.
"But these drugs are dangerous. If someone takes the pill a second time, it can be life-threatening," said gynaecologist Gouri Kumra.
Kolkata: Girls in cities reach puberty earlier
Prithvijit Mitra
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0258hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Girl, you'll be a woman soon, sang Neil Diamond. In India, the 'soon' has just got 'sooner'. Across cities and towns, girls are reaching puberty faster than before.
The age of attaining sexual maturity among girls in urban India has dropped to 11 from 13. The reverse is true in rural India, where girls are reaching puberty even later than 13.
These are the results of a first-of-its-kind survey being conducted by the Federation of Obstetrics' and Gynaecologists' Society of India (FOGSI).
"So far we had accepted the global average (around 13 years). But we always felt the age could be different in India and that it has dropped, especially in cities.
So, this survey is an important one, for it also reveals that girls are becoming sexually active earlier than before," said Dr Duru Shah, all-India president of FOGSI.
More than 80% of the girls in cities are reaching puberty around age 11, indicates the survey that is being carried out in 100 centres — both urban and rural — across four regions.
The procedure involves distributing questionnaires among college students in cities and young girls in rural areas. The federation is yet to analyse the feedback, which is still coming in. But the initial reports have already set them thinking.
"We are yet to collate and study the responses, but the information collected so far is quite enlightening. It seems the average age of puberty in cities has come down to 11. This could be one of the reasons why girls are now becoming sexually active earlier than before," explained Dr Shah.
According to the experts, there could be several reasons behind this drop: better nutrition, changing hormonal patterns, new food habits, genetic factors, environmental changes and upbringing.
"This is a sign of prosperity, though there are other factors as well. In rural areas, the age has gone up marginally, which indicates that health has deteriorated. But we will have a better idea when the survey is complete, hopefully by year-end," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay, state vice-president of FOGSI.
The federation, though, is more worried about the fallout of this change. It believes more young girls are now exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.
It has, therefore, stepped up its awareness campaign on women's sexual health and extended it to schools.
"This is a race against time. Our aim is to reach out to as many youngsters as possible. That is why we are trying to build a network of school teachers who will play a key role in the campaign," said Mukhopadhyay.
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0258hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Girl, you'll be a woman soon, sang Neil Diamond. In India, the 'soon' has just got 'sooner'. Across cities and towns, girls are reaching puberty faster than before.
The age of attaining sexual maturity among girls in urban India has dropped to 11 from 13. The reverse is true in rural India, where girls are reaching puberty even later than 13.
These are the results of a first-of-its-kind survey being conducted by the Federation of Obstetrics' and Gynaecologists' Society of India (FOGSI).
"So far we had accepted the global average (around 13 years). But we always felt the age could be different in India and that it has dropped, especially in cities.
So, this survey is an important one, for it also reveals that girls are becoming sexually active earlier than before," said Dr Duru Shah, all-India president of FOGSI.
More than 80% of the girls in cities are reaching puberty around age 11, indicates the survey that is being carried out in 100 centres — both urban and rural — across four regions.
The procedure involves distributing questionnaires among college students in cities and young girls in rural areas. The federation is yet to analyse the feedback, which is still coming in. But the initial reports have already set them thinking.
"We are yet to collate and study the responses, but the information collected so far is quite enlightening. It seems the average age of puberty in cities has come down to 11. This could be one of the reasons why girls are now becoming sexually active earlier than before," explained Dr Shah.
According to the experts, there could be several reasons behind this drop: better nutrition, changing hormonal patterns, new food habits, genetic factors, environmental changes and upbringing.
"This is a sign of prosperity, though there are other factors as well. In rural areas, the age has gone up marginally, which indicates that health has deteriorated. But we will have a better idea when the survey is complete, hopefully by year-end," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay, state vice-president of FOGSI.
The federation, though, is more worried about the fallout of this change. It believes more young girls are now exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.
It has, therefore, stepped up its awareness campaign on women's sexual health and extended it to schools.
"This is a race against time. Our aim is to reach out to as many youngsters as possible. That is why we are trying to build a network of school teachers who will play a key role in the campaign," said Mukhopadhyay.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Kolkata: Parents quarrel, child pays with his life
[ 4 Sep, 2006 0247hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Twenty-two-year-old Ramzan Gazi was in the middle of a heated argument with wife Mumtaz. Both were standing on the edge of the platform at Dakshin Barasat station on Sunday evening.
Mumtaz was holding the couple's 18-month old child Mosiul. In a fit of rage, Ramzan pushed his wife. Mumtaz lost her balance and fell on the rail tracks along with her son.
The Down Laxmikantapur local was just pulling into the station. Passengers watched in horror as Mumtaz somehow managed to scramble out, but the child's limbs got crushed under the train.
The severely bleeding boy was rushed to a hospital, where he died within two hours. Agitated locals thrashed the couple mercilessly. Both were seriously injured and are in critical condition at the Padderarhaat hospital in Joynagar.
Mumtaz regained consciousness a few hours later, but is in shock. She was unable to reconstruct the event for police. Husband Ramzan is still unconscious.
Police sources said both Ramzan and his wife worked in a garment factory at Akhra, Santoshpur. The couple lived in Kultali.
On Sunday, they had taken their son, who was suffering from jaundice and high fever, to a doctor near Mumtaz's parents' home in Joynagar.
They were on their way back to Kultali when the tragedy took place. "Soon after the incident, locals assaulted Ramzan and Mumtaz severely. The police had to intervene to take them to hospital," said Barun Mullick, railway police superintendent, Sealdah.
"We are initiating two cases. One against the parents for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and the other against those who assaulted the couple."
KOLKATA: Twenty-two-year-old Ramzan Gazi was in the middle of a heated argument with wife Mumtaz. Both were standing on the edge of the platform at Dakshin Barasat station on Sunday evening.
Mumtaz was holding the couple's 18-month old child Mosiul. In a fit of rage, Ramzan pushed his wife. Mumtaz lost her balance and fell on the rail tracks along with her son.
The Down Laxmikantapur local was just pulling into the station. Passengers watched in horror as Mumtaz somehow managed to scramble out, but the child's limbs got crushed under the train.
The severely bleeding boy was rushed to a hospital, where he died within two hours. Agitated locals thrashed the couple mercilessly. Both were seriously injured and are in critical condition at the Padderarhaat hospital in Joynagar.
Mumtaz regained consciousness a few hours later, but is in shock. She was unable to reconstruct the event for police. Husband Ramzan is still unconscious.
Police sources said both Ramzan and his wife worked in a garment factory at Akhra, Santoshpur. The couple lived in Kultali.
On Sunday, they had taken their son, who was suffering from jaundice and high fever, to a doctor near Mumtaz's parents' home in Joynagar.
They were on their way back to Kultali when the tragedy took place. "Soon after the incident, locals assaulted Ramzan and Mumtaz severely. The police had to intervene to take them to hospital," said Barun Mullick, railway police superintendent, Sealdah.
"We are initiating two cases. One against the parents for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and the other against those who assaulted the couple."
Kolkata: Satyam dreams big in Kolkata
[ 1 Sep, 2006 1939hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Satyam Computer Services on Friday assured the state government that its Kolkata plans are on track and it will soon start construction at its proposed facility at Salt Lake's Sector V.
"Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju promised us on Friday that construction on the 2.77-acre plot allotted to them at Sector V will start after the monsoons," state IT minister Debesh Das said.
"Raju also said that the company will hire 800 associates in the first phase," the minister added.
Raju, who is also chairman of Nasscom, was in the city on Friday in connection with a programme organised by the eastern India regional council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
However, Das could not elaborate on the built-up space that Satyam would create at Sector V. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in February.
"Raju did not ask us for additional land when we spoke on Friday," the minister pointed out. Sources said Satyam has received the necessary clearances for starting construction at Sector V.
In July, Satyam senior vice-president V Murali had told TOI that operations at Sector V would start by October 2007. Murali had then said that Satyam would develop around 300,000 sq ft at Sector V in two phases.
During the first phase, 120,000 sq ft would be established, he had added. In the past, Satyam had said that 2,000 associates would be employed at Sector V once the facility was complete.
Last year, Satyam officials had visited Rajarhat and Bantala with the objective of establishing a larger presence in Kolkata. However, the high price of land at Rajarhat had come in the way.
KOLKATA: Satyam Computer Services on Friday assured the state government that its Kolkata plans are on track and it will soon start construction at its proposed facility at Salt Lake's Sector V.
"Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju promised us on Friday that construction on the 2.77-acre plot allotted to them at Sector V will start after the monsoons," state IT minister Debesh Das said.
"Raju also said that the company will hire 800 associates in the first phase," the minister added.
Raju, who is also chairman of Nasscom, was in the city on Friday in connection with a programme organised by the eastern India regional council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
However, Das could not elaborate on the built-up space that Satyam would create at Sector V. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in February.
"Raju did not ask us for additional land when we spoke on Friday," the minister pointed out. Sources said Satyam has received the necessary clearances for starting construction at Sector V.
In July, Satyam senior vice-president V Murali had told TOI that operations at Sector V would start by October 2007. Murali had then said that Satyam would develop around 300,000 sq ft at Sector V in two phases.
During the first phase, 120,000 sq ft would be established, he had added. In the past, Satyam had said that 2,000 associates would be employed at Sector V once the facility was complete.
Last year, Satyam officials had visited Rajarhat and Bantala with the objective of establishing a larger presence in Kolkata. However, the high price of land at Rajarhat had come in the way.
Bangalore: The best place to live in India
Rema Nagarajan
[ 4 Sep, 2006 0019hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: When it comes to choosing the city you would like to work and live in, it seems you cannot have it all. If a city is great for earning and investing in, it is not necessarily the best for living, as in the case of Surat.
On the other hand, there is Kolkata that ranks quite high as a city to live in but is the worst when it comes to making money or investing it.
Your best bet for a city that ranks fairly high on all three counts — living, working and investing — is Bangalore. It ranks as the top city to reside in and second best to earn.
As an investment destination, however, it's mediocre, ranking sixth. Delhi, by contrast, ranks high — fourth — only for earning.
Analysis of the top 10 cities of the country for earning, investing and residing is given in a study, The City Skyline of India 2006, published by Indicus Analytics.
The study is based on official statistics and online surveys conducted by Indicus in these cities. It yields interesting information on how often a citizen would have to haggle with an autowallah, what percentage of people own invertors, the city’s water and power supply, public transportation etc.
Surat with its low unemployment rates, high job growth rates and one of the highest per capita small business credit is the top destination for seeking jobs and business.
However, it is at the bottom in the list of Alpha cities (the top 10) in terms of good living, with nearly half the people expressing the need for more entertainment and better educational facilities.
It also has the lowest share of households in the top socio-economic category (SEC A) among the Alpha cities. One third of its households fall in SEC C.
Coimbatore strikes a decent balance: it's the best city to invest in but ranks fifth on the earning and good living front. The most pressing problem for residents seems to be water supply — which comes just once in two days.
On most other counts, the city offers a decent life though with relatively few avenues for entertainment.
With one of the lowest unemployment rates in this group of cities and per capita income comparable to the highest in the group, Pune too does well on all three counts of earn-in, invest-in and reside-in indices.
The metros, interestingly, are not the best performers in this list. Chennai is high up as a place to invest in and to live in.
The citizens are satisfied with the educational infrastructure, low crime level and efficient management of infrastructure. But with unemployment rate as high as 27%, do not head there if you are looking to earn good money.
[ 4 Sep, 2006 0019hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: When it comes to choosing the city you would like to work and live in, it seems you cannot have it all. If a city is great for earning and investing in, it is not necessarily the best for living, as in the case of Surat.
On the other hand, there is Kolkata that ranks quite high as a city to live in but is the worst when it comes to making money or investing it.
Your best bet for a city that ranks fairly high on all three counts — living, working and investing — is Bangalore. It ranks as the top city to reside in and second best to earn.
As an investment destination, however, it's mediocre, ranking sixth. Delhi, by contrast, ranks high — fourth — only for earning.
Analysis of the top 10 cities of the country for earning, investing and residing is given in a study, The City Skyline of India 2006, published by Indicus Analytics.
The study is based on official statistics and online surveys conducted by Indicus in these cities. It yields interesting information on how often a citizen would have to haggle with an autowallah, what percentage of people own invertors, the city’s water and power supply, public transportation etc.
Surat with its low unemployment rates, high job growth rates and one of the highest per capita small business credit is the top destination for seeking jobs and business.
However, it is at the bottom in the list of Alpha cities (the top 10) in terms of good living, with nearly half the people expressing the need for more entertainment and better educational facilities.
It also has the lowest share of households in the top socio-economic category (SEC A) among the Alpha cities. One third of its households fall in SEC C.
Coimbatore strikes a decent balance: it's the best city to invest in but ranks fifth on the earning and good living front. The most pressing problem for residents seems to be water supply — which comes just once in two days.
On most other counts, the city offers a decent life though with relatively few avenues for entertainment.
With one of the lowest unemployment rates in this group of cities and per capita income comparable to the highest in the group, Pune too does well on all three counts of earn-in, invest-in and reside-in indices.
The metros, interestingly, are not the best performers in this list. Chennai is high up as a place to invest in and to live in.
The citizens are satisfied with the educational infrastructure, low crime level and efficient management of infrastructure. But with unemployment rate as high as 27%, do not head there if you are looking to earn good money.
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