New Delhi Archive

Second disaster management conference begins Wednesday

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – The second India Disaster Management Congress will be held in New Delhi from Wednesday and is expected to bring together 1,500 scientists and scholars from various global universities for interaction and integration of knowledge on various aspects of disaster risk reduction and management.

The congress will focus on disaster risk reduction, management, emergency response and various cross-cutting issues during disasters.

It will have participants from various government and non-governmental, international organisations, research and academic institutions which are concerned with issues related to disaster management, an official statement said.

International experts have been invited as guest speakers from across the globe.

The valedictory session will be chaired by the former president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

The congress is being organised by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) in collaboration with the ministry of home affairs.

The first India Disaster Management Congress was held in New Delhi in November 2006.

Hostel for northeastern students in south Delhi: Dikshit

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Education, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – A hostel for northeastern students will be set up in south Delhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday said and assured the students from the region of full security in the national capital.

‘No Delhiite should have any feeling of insecurity. We are here to integrate everyone, not to isolate anyone,’ she said after a meeting with the office bearers of North Eastern Students Union (NESU).

The NESU office bearers along with three member of parliament – Oscar Fernandes, Takom Sanjoy and Thokchom Meniya – met Dikshit at the Delhi secretariat here.

Last week, the students from the northeastern states held a protest against the rising crime against their community in Delhi. While there have been several cases of molestation and crimes against the community members, the angry protests were triggered by the murder of a Naga girl a few days ago.

Ramchanphy Hongray, 19, was strangulated by her neighbour Pushpum Sinha, a PhD scholar of IIT, in her Munirka home in south Delhi.

That time, Dikshit had promised them immediate action to ensure their safety and assured them that the government will ‘do its best’ to check crime against the community.

In the meeting , the northeastern students stated that they expect that all Delhiites must continue to behave in good sense with them.

Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Kashyap, who was also present at the meeting, said four officers of assistant commissioners of police (ACP) level have been deployed to take care of issues related to northeastern students.

‘Four round-the-clock toll free numbers are also functional to provide the facility to the students to inform any untoward incidence, if any, immediately. It has also been decided to intensify patrolling of PCR vans to instill confidence in students,’ he said.

The chief minister said her government will make all efforts to promote cultural heritage and cultural activities of northeastern states.

‘In fact, cultural items based on NE folk dances have also been included in extravaganza to be presented during the 2010 Commonwealth Games,’ she said.

Dikshit exhorted NESU office bearers to avail of great opportunities being provided by her government under different cultural schemes.

Lalit Modi gives nod for biopic

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Business, Cricket, Entertainment, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi Tuesday gave his nod to Bollywood production house Percept Picture Company (PPC) for a ‘fictional biopic’ on his life, said a top official of PPC.

‘We had to wait for a bit but its through now. I had a meeting with him (Lalit Modi) in Mumbai at 11 in the morning and he is now very excited that he has committed for the film. It’s a fictional biopic like ‘Guru’ on Dhirubhai Ambani,’ joint managing director of PPC Shailendra Singh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

‘The film is a great mix of entertainment, sports and a whole emotional vibe. Lalit’s story has all the ingredients – rags to riches, fame, money and all that Indian audiences are going to enjoy watching. Indians at large would love to watch a good cricket marketing film,’ he added.

Titled ‘The Commissioner’, the script of the biopic is being written by Shridhar Raghavan and is ‘under development’.

‘We’ve got all the information and the research has been done. He (Raghavan) will take a couple of more months to be ready with the story and we should do the principal filming in 2010 and should be in a position to release the picture by end of the year,’ said Singh.

Asked about the director and the cast, he said: ‘We can’t announce the director yet because we are still to finalise the choice, as it’s first the script, then the director and then the casting for us. However, other than the lead, casting won’t be much of an issue.’

‘But the apt choice would be Shah Rukh Khan. He is India’s number one superstar and the minute we have the product in its true form of presentation, we would approach him for sure,’ he said.

Other actors in consideration for Modi’s role are ‘Irrfan Khan and Shahid Kapoor’.

Singh is also keeping a no holds barred budget for the film.

‘There will be no compromise in this film. Mr. Modi won’t allow me to compromise. It is a typical A-list Bollywood film but we can only get the true perspective of the costing once we have the script in hand,’ he said.

‘However, Lalit Modi practically lives in an aircraft, so that’s one of our headaches. In the IPL, he flew every evening and attended two press conferences in different cities. It involves a lot of filming,’ he added.

Is Modi also going to invest or appear in his life’s story?

‘He will have an option to invest financially if he chooses to… But the only appearance he is making is by allowing us to make the movie on him and subsequently by being present at the press conference to announce the same,’ said Singh.

Singh also hinted at a presence of major cricket players in the movie.

‘They are a part of the script because it happens to be based on IPL that has around 200 cricketers in it. They do happen to be a part of the cast unless any cricketer has a strict objection to being in the film,’ he said.

China changes tack, says Dalai Lama trying to wreck India ties

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Beijing/New Delhi, Nov 3 – In a subtle shift of stance, China Tuesday accused Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of trying to ‘wreck’ Sino-Indian ties by his proposed visit to Arunachal Pradesh, but refrained from condemning New Delhi for allowing the trip.

The Dalai Lama is planning to visit the northeastern Indian state, over which Beijing claims sovereignty, Nov 8.

China has repeatedly criticized the trip and asked India to stop it.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu Tuesday flayed the Dalai Lama for his ‘separatist’ activities.

‘The Dalai Lama often lies and often engages in acts to sabotage China’s relations with other countries,’ said Ma.

‘I am confident that his scheme to wreck China’s relations with the relevant country will come to nothing,’ he said.

Ma went on to say that last month Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had agreed to focus on promoting ‘healthy and stable relations’.

‘We hope that each side will continue striving to make strides in that direction,’ said Ma.

A government source said in New Delhi: ‘We have made our position clear. The Dalai Lama, as prime minister has said, can go anywhere in India, provided he does not indulge in political activities.’

Wen and Manmohan Singh met for formal talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin Oct 24. They discussed the Dalai Lama’s trip during a dinner hosted by the Thai prime minister.

A day after the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists that the Dalai Lama is ‘an honoured guest’ of India.

Manmohan Singh said he was not aware of the travel plans of the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing his Tibetan homeland in 1959, but had explained to the Chinese leadership India’s position.

‘I explained to Premier Wen that the Dalai Lama is our honoured guest. He is a religious leader,’ Manmohan Singh said.

‘(But) we do not allow Tibetan refugees to indulge in political activities. As a proof of that, last year we took resolute action at the time of Olympics when there were reports that some Tibetan refugees might disrupt (the Olympic torch relay).’

China’s reiteration of its opposition to Dalai Lama’s Arunachal Pradesh trip comes at a time when both countries are trying to keep relations on an even keel after mutual recriminations over a host of issues, including reported Chinese incursions, Beijing’s repeated assertions of its claims over Arunachal Pradesh and China’s plan for new projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

NCP will ‘definitely’ join Maharashtra ministry: Praful Patel

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel Tuesday said his party will ‘definitely’ be part of the next government in Maharashtra and said all power sharing issues with the Congress would be solved ‘in a day or two’.

‘We will definitely be joining the government (in Maharashtra),’ Patel, who is the union civil aviation minister, told reporters here.

Admitting that both sides could not reach a ‘definite formula’ on the government formation, he said the ‘NCP won’t deviate from the 1999 portfolios’ formula’, according to which major ministries like home, power and finance were with the NCP.

The assurance came hours after NCP leader and deputy chief minister-designate Chhagan Bhujbal said in Mumbai that if the Congress did not agree to the power-sharing formula decided in 1999, the NCP would offer it ‘outside support’ instead of joining the ministry.

Patel said, ‘All issues would be solved in high-level talks amicably and to the satisfaction of all in a day or two.’

The NCP leader also said ‘there is no constitutional issue at the moment’ in the state.

This is not the first time that the talks between the two alliance partners over portfolio allocation went ‘beyond the stipulated time’, Patel added.

The two parties – the Congress with 82 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 62 seats in the 288-member assembly – are locked in a bitter squabble over allocation of portfolios, causing a delay in the formation of the new government.

The issue apparently caused some concern to Governor S.C. Jamir, who Tuesday advised the Congress and the NCP to form the ministry ‘without delay’.

The results of the assembly polls came Oct 22.

Ranji Trophy: Zaheer, Agarkar restrict Punjab

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Cricket, National, SportsTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Comeback paceman Zaheer Khan took three wickets and discarded all-rounder Ajit Agarkar four wickets as Mumbai restricted Punjab to 242 for nine on day one of the Super League Ranji Trophy match at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh Tuesday.

Electing to bat, Punjab were propelled by a century from Ravi Inder Singh (104) after their batsmen failed to get their act together.

Zaheer had sustained a shoulder injury in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May-April which kept him out of action for four months. He bowled 16 overs and gave away 45 runs.

At Meerut, Karnataka piled up a massive 372 for five after being sent in to bat by Uttar Pradesh. Manish Pandey, who shot to limelight with a century for Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL, made an unbeaten 194.

Test star Rahul Dravid was run out three short of a century. When Karnataka were struggling at 27 for three, Dravid and Pandey put on a 273-run stand to take their side to safety.

For Uttar Pradesh, Bhuveneshwar Kumar took two for 97 while R.P. Singh finished with 1-75.

At Delhi, Railways were 242 for four after they won the toss and decided to bat against Tami Nadu. Sanjay Bangar made an unbeaten 111 and Faiz Faizal scored 70. R. Ashwin took 2-84.

At Ahmedabad, Gujarat were reduced to 237 for seven by Orissa after they decided to bat first. Gujarat were stuggling at 89 for four when skipper Parthiv Patel(83) and Rujul Bhat(46) joined hands to steady the scoring. Ashraf Makda produced some late fireworks, smashing four sixes and a four in his unbeaten 23-ball 31 when stumps were drawn.

For Orissa, Dhiraj Singh took 4-88 and Debasis Mohanty 2-26.

At Poona Club Ground, Maharashtra were bowled out for 179 by Bengal. Winning the toss and batting, Maharashtra batsmen fell like nine pins with Azhar Ansari(52) and Sangram Dilp Atitkar (44) being the exceptions.

Ranadeb Bose was the best bowler for Bengal, taking five wickets for 67 while Ashok Dinda took 3-65. Bengal were 52 for two at stumps.

At Vadodara, Delhi posted a massive 300 for two after it decided to bat against Baroda. Opener Shikhar Dhawan was batting at 122 and Rajat Bhatia was unbeaten at 70.

At Hyderabad, Hyderabad (India) scored 237 for six against Himachal Pradesh. Electing to bat, the hosts were soon reduced to 121 for five before a 77-run stand between wicket-keeper Abhinav Kumar (70 not out) and Syed Quadri (47) pulled Hyderabad out of troubled waters .Vikramjeet Malik took two for 58 for Himachal Pradesh.

Brief scores:

Punjab vs Mumbai: Punjab 242 for nine (Ravi Inder Singh 104; Ajit Agarakar 4-41, Zahir Khan 3-45, Dhawal Kulkarni, 2-68)

Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh: Karnataka 372/5 (Manish Pandey 194 (batting), Rahul Dravid 97; Bhuveneshwar Kumar 2-97)

Railways vs Tamil Nadu: 242/4 Railways( Sanjay Bangar 111 not out, Faiz Faizal 70; R Ashwin 2-84)

Gujarat vs. Orissa: Gujarat 237/7 (Parthiv Patel 83, Rujul Bhat 46, Ashraf Makda 31 not out; Dhiraj Singh 4-88, Debasis Mohanty 2-26).

Bengal vs. Maharashtra: Maharashtra 179 all out (Sangram Dilp Atitkar 44, Azhar Ansari 52; Ranadeb Bose 5-67, Ashok Dinda 3-65); Bengal 52/2 (Arindam Das 38).

Delhi vs. Baroda: Delhi 300/2 (Shikhar Dhawan 122 not out, Rajat Bhatia 70 not out. Guarav Chabra 65; Salim Veragi 1-34).

Hyderbad (India) vs. Himachal Pradesh: Hyderbad (India) 237/6 ( T.Suman 45, Abhinav Kumar 70 batting, Syed Quadri 47; Vikramjeet Malik 2-58)

Rice yield to fall 15 mn tonnes this kharif season: Estimates

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Business, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – India’s rice output is expected to be around 69.45 million tonnes this kharif season, or about 15 million tonnes less than in the previous season, according to the government’s first advanced estimates for foodgrain production released Tuesday.

During the 2008-09 kharif season, rice production stood at 84.5 million tonnes.

The first advance estimates of production of major crops grown in the country during the kharif season gains significance as the summer crops, mainly paddy, have been hit by drought.

Earlier Tuesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee acknowledged as much, saying that the erratic monsoon this year, followed by floods in some parts of the country, could have lowered India’s foodgrain output by some 14-15 million tonnes.

‘I’m waiting for a hard assessment of the sub-normal southwest monsoon and the impact of floods in some parts of the country,’ the finance minister said at the annual Economic Editors’ Conference.

‘There are some estimates that grain production will be less — 14-15 million tonnes. But we will have to wait for the inputs,’ he said during the interactive session.

India had logged record foodgrain output in 2008-09 (July-June), estimated at 233.87 million tonnes. But the failure of monsoon — on which depends 60 percent of India’s agriculture — has cast a shadow on this year’s crop.

The latest estimates put the total kharif foodgrain output at 96.63 million tonnes.

Of this, coarse cereals accounted for 22.76 million tonnes, maize 12.61 million tonnes, jowar 2.55 million tonnes, bajra 5.83 million tonnes, kharif pulses 4.42 million tonnes, tur or arhar 2.47 million tonnes, urad 0.88 million tonnes, and moong 0.52 million tonnes.

The estimates were earlier expected to have been released in September, but the process was deferred on account of the drought in several parts of the country.

‘The estimate is delayed as drought-affected states have not been able to provide figures in time,’ Agriculture Secretary T. Nanda Kumar had said then.

The government releases four advance estimates of farm production across the year apart from making a final projection.

Two swine flu deaths take India’s toll to 477

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Health, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Two more people succumbed to the contagious swine flu Tuesday, taking the toll in India to 477, health authorities said here.

At least 76 new cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of people affected with the virus to 14,049.

One death was reported from Maharashtra and Kerala each.

With the latest casualty, the toll in Maharashtra has gone up to 204 – the highest in the country.

In Kerala, 16 people have died.

Of the 76 new cases, 22 were reported in the national capital alone. With this the total number of people affected with the virus in the Indian capital rose to 3,488.

However, it is Maharashtra that records the highest number of people who have been tested positive for the flu. As many as 3,675 people have been detected with the virus in the state. It is the highest in the country.

New cases were also reported from Karanataka (23), Tamil Nadu (16), Maharashtra (12), Goa (2) and Kerala (1).

Urea scam accused man’s wife questions 12 years of trial delay

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – The Supreme Court Tuesday demanded the union government’s explanation as to why a Brazilian national has been left facing trial in Delhi for the last 12 years for his alleged role in the Rs.13.3 million urea scam.

A bench of Justice Tarun Chatterjee issued the notice to the external affairs ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a habeas corpus lawsuit, filed by the urea scam accused Brazilian A.E. Pinto’s Pourtagese wife Engenia Teles Pinto.

For his alleged role in the 1995 urea scam, the British-resident, Brazilian national Pinto was arrested in London in 1997 and was later extradited to India to face the trial here in the designated CBI court.

He was granted bail after staying in Delhi’s high security Tihar Jail for five years, two months and nine days, said the lawsuit filed by Pinto’s wife, Engenia Teles Pinto. She is here in India on a 180-day tourist visa to secure freedom for her husband.

In her lawsuit, Engenia Pinto contended that despite grant of bail, her husband has been denied permission to visit their home in London and has been restrained in New Delhi to face the trial, which is on for the last 12 years.

Her counsel Wills Methew contended before the bench that a foreign national, extradited to India from abroad, can be accorded a jail term no longer than seven years.

Yet her husband is in virtual jail term in Delhi for the last 12 years, facing the trial and suffering with various old-age diseases.

The Rs.13.3 million urea scam – involving former (late) prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s relative B. Sanjeeva Rao, former union minister Ramlakhan Singh Yadav’s son Prakash Chandra and seven others – dates back to November 1995 when National Fertiliser Limited had paid a contract amount of $37.62 million in advance to a Turkish firm for the purchase of urea.

But the accused persons involved in the scam had shared the amount amongst themselves without honouring the contract.

The CBI had chargesheeted nine people, including Pinto, for their alleged role in the scam. Among the others chargesheeted were Turkish firm Karsan Ltd’s executives Tuncay Alankus and Cihan Karanci, former National Fertilisers Limited managing director C.K. Ramakrishnan, its former executive director Dilbagh Singh, Karsan’s Indian agent M. Sambasiva Rao, and D. Mallesam Goud.

BJP struggles to solve Karnataka impasse

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags: ,

New Delhi/Bangalore, Nov 3 – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday struggled to end the nine-day old crisis in it Karnataka with rebels insisting on the removal Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, ignoring party chief Rajnath Singh’s assertion that he would continue to lead the state.

Yeddyurappa sent out contradictory signals while talking to reporters in Bellary, stronghold of Tourism minister G. Janardhana Reddy and his elder brother and Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy, who are leading the campaign against him.

The Reddy brothers are mining barons in Bellary, which is rich in iron ore and is 400 km from Bangalore. Yeddyruappa hoped the crisis would be resolved in a day or two as the BJP leadership was talking to the Reddys.

He blamed assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar, propped up by the Reddy brothers and supporters as an alternative leader, for the crisis, simply because he was not made a minister. Shettar holds Yeddyurappa responsible for depriving him of a political post.

Janardhana Reddy in New Delhi and Karunakara Reddy in Bangalore dismissed talk of the party favouring Yeddyurappa continuing as chief minister.

‘It is media creation,’ Karunakara Reddy said when asked whether there was any change in their stand since Rajnath Singh had said Yedyurappa would ‘definitely’ continue as chief minister.

‘The central leadership has not given us any such indication,’ he asserted.

Janardhana Reddy also maintained the same stand after talking to senior leader Sushma Swaraj, considered close to the Reddy brothers as they joined BJP just ahead of the 1999 Lok Sabha polls and canvassed for her when she took on Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Bellary.

Yeddyurappa continued to talk tough. ‘There is no need for me to get a certificate on the work I am doing,’ he said, clearly in response to Reddy brothers repeated statements that the state BJP needed ‘good leadership’ if it wanted to continue to be in power in Karnataka.

The chief minister said he would visit Delhi Nov 5 and 6 to meet party central leaders and also Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over central funds for the rehabilitation of the flood hit in north Karnataka.

While Yeddyurappa Tuesday toured north Karnataka and participated in foundation stone laying ceremonies at several places for relocation of flood-prone villages, Karunakara Reddy, as Revenue Minister, held a video conference in Bangalore with senior officials of 12 affected districts to review the rehab work.

In related developments, Energy Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, who has also been unhappy with Yeddyurappa, left for Delhi to meet central leaders. ‘There is problem in the party. We will impress on our central leaders the need for an early solution,’ he said at the airport. He is accompanied by party legislator and spokesperson C.T. Ravi.

A large number of legislators supporting the Reddy brothers and staying in a star hotel in Hyderabad for the last one week also plan to visit Delhi in the next two days if the crisis persists.

The two opposition parties, the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, have stayed aloof though strongly attacking the ruling party for ignoring the plight of the flood hit and indulging in power games.

The Reddy brothers have sought Yeddyurappa’s removal on the ground he is dictatorial, does not give them free hand to run the ministries, does not consult them on posting of officials, allows his favourites to interfere in the functioning of other ministries.

The Reddy brothers are upset that their younger sibling G. Somashekara Reddy, a legislator, has been slapped with a case of kidnapping in mid-October. They want the case to be dropped.

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