Namo Brigade offers tea to protest Aiyar barb against Modi

MANGALORE: At time when adverse comments against political adversaries bring forth violent reaction from the aggrieved party cadre, the sight of Namo Brigade volunteers distributing tea freely as a form of protest took all by surprise here on Saturday. The immediate provocation for this political largesse was the barb that senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar made against BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at AICC session on Friday.

Taking Aiyar's barb that Modi would not become the Prime Minister in 21st Century and that he could sell tea at the AICC session for which the Congress would provide the latter space, seriously, Namo Brigade volunteers led by Irfan Iqbal Ghetta, a Gujarati Muslim provided tea to morning walkers at Kadri Park, to auto rickshaw drivers, tender coconut vendors and students at Mahavir (Pumpwell) Circle, much to the surprise of these people.

The argument of Namo Brigade volunteers was simple. Dubbing their protest as 'Chaiwala for PM campaign,' the volunteers, referring to Modi's humble start as a tea seller that Aiyar sarcastically referred to, said, "We are keen to serve the nation even if we are chaiwalas. It is definitely Chaiwala Modi for PM." This protest did take few off guard for they were not aware of Aiyar's statement; nut nonetheless took the free offering in their stride.

Naresh Shenoy, state covenener of Namo Brigade told STOI that similar protest was also held at Majestic in Bangalore and even Davangere. "Violent protests will only create a bad impression and inconvenience people," he said, adding that Aiyar had made such frivolous comments about other Hindu leaders in the past. "It was our way of telling Aiyar that his frivolous comments are not tolerated and people are alive to developments," he said.

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2G scam in telecom sector dented India's image globally: Modi

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has underlined the need to develop an information highway through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve the goal of "One Nation, One Vision and One Mission". He said that only IT sector can "lift" up the nation to an all-round development and inclusive growth with a focus on tapping the fullest potential of the country especially youth and women.

Speaking at a Business Awards function at Delhi, Modi said that the global ICT and Electronics market is ever expanding.

Information Technology is becoming the growth engine which has the potential to transform India into a knowledge-led economy and society, Modi said. Not only are scientists and engineers knowledge workers but so are farmers (who are putting knowledge to their farming activity to maximize the yield). ICT sector can play a major role in bringing a turnaround in agricultural revolution in the country with farmers under the age of 35 employing techniques and innovations to raise their produce, he informed.

Modi alleged that 2G Spectrum scam in telecom sector has dented India's reputation, it is not only in terms of monetary damage due to corruption but has ruined the future of youth talent of our country. Now challenge before us is how we recover from it, he said.

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American literature massively overrated: Jhumpa Lahiri at Jaipur Literature Fest

JAIPUR: Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri believes that American literature is massively overrated and that current reading habits are transformed by the mainstream.

"Our reading habits are transformed by the mainstream and to be frank, I find American literature massively overrated," the 46-year-old author said at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival on Saturday.

Lahiri was in conversation with American author Jonathan Frazen, British writer Jim Crace and Chinese author Xiaolu Guo who has also written books in English during the session "The Global Novel".

"It is shameful that there is lack of translation in the American market. I know I am making a judgment, but I guess that is what it is. Living out of the US gives you a completely different perspective," said the author.

Panelists during Saturday's session were unanimous that the English language served as a common bridge to link different cultures and reach out to more people.

Lahiri's most recent fiction "The Lowland", a tale of two brothers set in Kolkata of the 1960s was nominated for the 2013 Man Booker Prize but did not win it.

The London-born daughter of immigrants from West Bengal who is famed for her novels and short stories about immigrant experiences relocated to Italy two years ago. She said she felt compelled to compare the literary scenario in America and in Italy.

"I was very surprised to find the number of translated books in Italy. Seven of their best books of the year were translations of works from different countries," she said.

The author said she was currently reading in Italian to overcome her superficial knowledge of literature in that language.

"I have lived in America and was exposed to Anglophone literature like many of you. But it was freeing to see such kind of recognition given to other works in other countries," Lahiri said.

Outlining the journey of her books, beginning with an initial rough idea to the ultimate draft, Lahiri said she never knew how a book would eventually turn out or what its climax entailed.

"I never have an idea in my mind beforehand. I just expect to be happy and satisfied when I am finished with the book," she said.

Lahiri is the author of three previous books and with her debut collection of stories, "Interpreter of Maladies", bagging her a Pulitzer Prize.

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Hindu idols destroyed in Bangladesh's Pirojpur district

DHAKA: Vandals attacked a Hindu temple on Saturday in Bangladesh's Pirojpur district and destroyed many idols.

A devotee said the idols in the temple near Nazirpur area were found smashed in the morning, reported bdnews24.com.

The vandals threw pieces of the idols in the courtyard of the temple.

Police, the Rapid Action Battalion and representatives of the district administration have visited the site.

A probe to find those who desecrated the temple is already under way, said A Khalek, officer in charge of Nazirpur police.

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Yasin Bhatkal's interrogation begins in Bangalore

BANGALORE: City police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar, on Saturday, announced that city police have taken custody of Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM).

Yasin Bhatkal, considered to be the main accused in the Chinnaswamy stadium blast case, was brought to Bangalore within 24 hours after a NIA court in New Delhi remanded him to Karnataka police's custody.

He was produced before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate court in Bangalore in the Saturday afternoon. Following a mandatory medical test at an undisclosed location, he was transferred to an interrogation centre.

Investigators have already started questioning him at an undisclosed location in the city, supervised by a special security force, including officers of both state and central agencies.

Responding to clamour over sensational disclosures Yasin Bhatkal made during the interrogation by the Special Branch of Delhi Police, the city police commissioner said Bangalore police have only begun the interrogation and require more time to get details.

In his statement, that seemed more calculated to release minimum information regarding his custody, Auradkar said the senior officers will interrogate him till January 28, and the call on extending the custody will be taken after that.

"He is the most important catch for any terror investigator in the state," said a senior police officer, in charge of crime. "This is interrogation is not just about adding details to the chargesheet of the Chinnaswamy blast case, but getting fresh leads, pointing at players and plans we did not know about in the past," he said.

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Sikh bodies demand British Parliament to pass resolution against Thatcher

AMRITSAR: With the information going public that Special Air Service (SAS) of United Kingdom (UK) was involved in planning to attack Golden Temple in 1984 to help Indian army to flush out armed terrorists, " Sikhs For Justice" (SFJ) an international human rights group with the support of Sikh groups across the world has demanded that British Parliament should immediately pass a "Resolution that action of the then British Prime Minister M Thatcher of colluding with Indira Gandhi to attack the holiest of holy Sikh shrine was wrong."

The demand to pass resolution in British parliament was being supported by Sikh organizations from Punjab, UK, United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. American Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (AGPC), an umbrella organization of Gurudwaras across United States, "Canadian Sikh Coalition" (CSC), an umbrella organization of Gurudwaras across Canada, Sewa 84, a UK based human rights NGO, "Movement Against Atrocities and Repression", a Swiss based human rights group, "Supreme Sikh Council of Australia", "Voices For Freedom", a US based human rights NGO, and All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), a Punjab based Sikh social organization, informed attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannu who is also legal adviser to SFJ on Friday.

Citing the statement of Winston Churchill who stated the "British people are highly indebted and obliged to Sikhs for a long time. I know that within this century we needed their help twice and they did help us very well. As a result of their timely help, we are today able to live with honor, dignity, and independence", Pannun said that unfortunately when the Sikh's needed the United Kingdom's help, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher betrayed the Sikh interests and assisted Indira Gandhi in planning the invasion of Harmandir Sahib " He said the British parliament must publicly acknowledge with a resolution that the assistance afforded to the Indians in 1984 and the participation of SAS Officers was wrong .

SFJ announced that a "Rally's would be held in America, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand in the month of February to mark the 30th year of UK's collusion with Indian government to attack Golden Temple and to push for a resolution in British parliament declaring that PM Thatcher's action was wrong.

In Delhi All India Sikh Student Federation handed over a memorandum to British ambassador demanding passing of resolution by British parliament.

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AAP victory set good example of democracy, Amartya Sen says

JAIPUR: Debutant Aam Aadmi Party's victory in the recent Delhi assembly elections has set a good example of the strength of democracy in India, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said at the Jaipur Literature Festival(JLF) on Friday.

Addressing the keynote session of a jam-packed session at the opening day of the seventh edition of JLF, Sen said "the ice has been broken" for the party even though it had a long way to go.

"They have a long way to go, but the ice has been broken and the dire need to witness some administrative reforms, can't be denied," he added.

Praising the new party, which shook the politics of the country, Sen said it sent an example of how grassroot problems could be rightly raised as electoral issues.

"Democracy is an important part of our country, we have to put it to apt use. The power of democracy has been skillfully been used recently by Aam Admi Party," he said.

The Nobel laureate economics professor said the current need of the government was to introspect on certain issues.

"Do subsidies waste economic resources? What is 'fiscal responsibility' of any government? Will subsidising diesel, electricity, food and offering low cost cooking gas among others help country grow both democratically and economically? We really need to think deeply on it," he said.

He advocated the smart use of available resources by the people of the country to help build a healthy environment to sustain economic growth.

Sen, who has been vocal on a number of contemporary issues used the platform to voice his criticism of the recent Supreme Court judgment which criminalised homosexuality.

"Article 377 of the penal code was turned by the court. The apex court 'reversed a reversal' and made a strictly private behaviour, a public crime. Is it democratic?" asked Sen.

The seventh edition of the five-day festival is set to host another Nobel laureate Harold Varmus. The line up of speakers include Jhumpha Lahiri, Jim Crace, Jonathan Franzen, Shashi Thraoor, Irrfan Khan, Javed Akhtar among others in the 175 sessions spread over six venues at the historical Diggi Palace here.

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HC asks UP chief secretary to verify about two blocked news channels

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad high court on Friday directed Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to verify whether two news channels were blocked by cable operators on state government's orders.

The Lucknow division bench comprising Justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and D K Upadhyay passed this order on a PIL alleging that due to negative coverage of Saifai Mahotsava, on orders of SP government two news channels were blocked by the cable operators.

However, standing counsel I P Singh termed the allegations in the PIL as baseless and said that no directions to block channels were given by the government.

The bench has asked the chief secretary to verify the issue at his level and submit a report to the court on January 22.

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Chinnaswamy blasts: Karnataka police get Yasin Bhatkal's custody

NEW DELHI: A special NIA court on Friday allowed the plea by Karnataka Police and remanded Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal in its custody till January 28 in connection with the blasts at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in April, 2010.

District Judge IS Mehta allowed the application in which Karnataka Police had sought Bhatkal's custody for his alleged role in the blasts at Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 17, 2010, hours before an IPL cricket match between Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians.

Police had informed the court about a magisterial court in Bangalore having issued a production warrant against the 30-year-old Bhatkal in connection with the case in which other suspects of the banned IM, including one of its co-founders, Riyaz Bhatkal, and Fasih Mehmood, are accused. Mehmood has been arrested.

Fifteen people, including some security personnel, were injured in the low-intensity blasts at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Meanwhile, during the proceedings, Tihar Jail authorities submitted their report on the plea filed by Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar in which they have claimed there was a threat to their lives inside the high-security prison.

Both accused were kept in judicial custody in Tihar Jail in connection with various terror attack cases.

In the report, the superintendent of Tihar Jail No. 4, where Bhatkal and Akhtar were lodged, said, "A detailed inquiry was conducted and it is revealed that the accused had never brought the matter before jail authorities regarding any threats that they would be killed in the jail."

The jail superintendent added that, "Both the accused are lodged in the high-risk ward with special security deployed there round the clock."

Bhatkal and Akhtar, in their plea, had claimed that the Tihar Jail superintendent had "threatened" that they would be killed and alleged that the "attitude and behaviour" of prison authorities towards them had been abusive.

The accused (Bhatkal and Akhtar) claimed that, "The superintendent has threatened that they would be killed in jail. The attitude and behaviour of jail authorities... is abusive and they are being treated even worse than animals."

The NIA's Hyderabad unit had earlier taken Bhatkal and Akhtar to Hyderabad in connection with the Dilsukhnagar blasts after their arrest last year on September 21 and September 17, respectively. The blasts in Hyderabad had claimed 16 lives.

The accused duo were arrested by NIA from the Indo-Nepal border on the night of August 28 last year.

Bhatkal, who hails from Bhatkal village in Udupi district of north Karnataka, was allegedly involved in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad, the NIA had said.

Bhatkal, who was earlier associated with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), is alleged to have hatched a conspiracy with others to wage a war against India.

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WHO’s initiative to ensure medicine quality suffers funding crunch

NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation's initiative to ensure good quality of medicines for UN and for public procurement, the WHO Prequalification of Medicines Programme (WHO-PQP), is suffering from uncertainty of funding even though its annual budget is just $15 million. Despite large medicine procurers with billion dollar budgets, including governments and international organizations, depending on the WHO-PQP, few are contributing financially to the programme.

This was revealed in a paper published in the Journal of Public Health Policy which pointed out that the WHO-PQP ensured that "donor money was not wasted on products of unknown quality with potentially devastating effects for public health".

The authors of the paper which included many academics WHO have worked with the WHO's PQP, pointed out that the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria spent around $160 million per year on medicines and other pharmaceutical products and that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) spent 1.2 billion on medicine procurement over five years. "The $15 million annual budget of the WHO-PQP represents less than 2% of the annual amount spent on medicines by just these two organizations alone," stated the paper. It further urged that a consortium of public and private global health donors be created for a sustainable funding base for the programme.

The WHO-PQP survives almost entirely on support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNITAID as the WHO's own resources are not enough. The two contributed 80-90% of the WHO PQP budget in 2013. "A narrow funding base brings risks, including donor-driven priority setting," pointed out the paper. For instance UNITAID's mandate is to focus on HIV, TB, and malaria, but from a public health perspective, other priorities for prequalification, such as insulin and low-cost medicines for chronic diseases gets ignored.

There are several therapeutic areas where hardly any good-quality generic medicines are available in low- and middle-income countries, and whose national regulators lack experience in evaluating those products. The same problem exists for 'new' products produced or marketed only in countries without stringent regulatory agencies, such as the dapivirine vaginal ring, a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission.

As most large medicine procurement agencies like the Global fund and UN agencies started insisting on quality assurance for the medicines, it helped the growth and survival of the WHO PQP. Prequalification by the WHO became obligatory for pharma companies to compete in the international market. The WHO PQP has prequalified over 200 products for treatment of HIV/AIDS. Of 8 million people receiving treatment for HIV in 2012, 6.5 million were receiving WHO-prequalified ARVs.

According to its mandate to set international pharmaceutical norms and standards, WHO-PQP focused first on low-cost generic versions of medicines to treat HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. However, now the programme has expanded to make available quality and essential medicines for reproductive health, diarrhoea, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), quality control laboratories, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), review of clinical research to prove the equivalence of generic medicines with their comparators and to build the capacity of medicines regulators and pharmaceutical manufacturers in developing countries of Asia and Africa.

The WHO-PQP which helped generics find acceptance in markets across the world has been criticized harshly by high income countries and multinational pharma giants for helping commercial generic producers gain access to new markets. At the same time it has often been criticized by activists "for having colluded with industrialized country interests to make the quality standards so high that generic products manufactured in low- and middle-income countries were largely excluded from prequalification".

To establish financial sustainability for WHO-PQP, WHO has introduced a fee-based system whereby companies applying for prequalification of their products may be charged a fee. However, the authors of the paper wondered if such a fee-based mechanism of funding would jeopardize WHO PQP's full independence.

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Our struggle is for peace and religious freedom, says Dalai Lama

SIRPUR: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said on Tuesday that he was against causing unnecessary inconvenience to anyone except on some occasion with China for the "interest of peace, democracy, religious freedom and our own rights".

Talking to TOI at Sirpur-the famous Buddhist archaeological stite in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh, Dalai Lama said, "I came to know that some local tribes have reservation over my visit to the caves. But I have no intention to hurt anyone's sentiments and cause unnecessary inconvenience".

"But sometimes, 'inconvenience' become necessary with friends and people in China. It's not for my own interest but for the interest of peace, interest of democracy, interest of religious freedom and our own right", he added.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said the Buddhist countries like China, Japan, Korea, Mongoliya and Tibet, great philosophers like Nagarjuna have written important texts which are hard to understand and need lot of effort to understand the comparison made by philosophers.

"But once people in this country know this place, I am sure, locals would be happy to see this place as a famous tourist place," he added. Located on the banks of River Mahanadi, Sirpur has gained international highlight recently as a Buddhist archaeological centre as excavations revealed that it was an important centre of Buddhist from the 6th the 10th century AD and was visited by Hieun Tsang, the 7th Century Chinese Pilgrimist and Scholar.

The 7th century Laxman Temple, dedicated to lord Vishnu, is considered as one of the finest brick temples of India with a stone doorframe. Recent excavations have uncovered 12 Buddh Viharas, one Jain Vihara, monolithic statues of Buddha and Mahavira, 22 Shiv temples and 5 Vishnu temples.

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Holy dips, prayers, kite-flying mark Makar Sankranti

NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Tens of thousands of faithful on Tuesday took holy dip in rivers and ponds and offered prayers in temples on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti which was celebrated across the country with gaiety and fervour. Braving early morning winter chill, devotees in North India bathed in sacred rivers and ponds and made a beeline to temples to offer prayers.

The devout offered goods made of "til" (sesame) to the poor, an act of charity believed to bring spiritual benefit on Makar Sankranti when the Sun enters the Tropic of Capricorn. In Allahabad, thousands converged at the Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, to take holy dip on Makar Sankranti which marks the decline of winter.

The worshippers had to walk on foot for a long distance due to traffic and security restrictions. Long-winding queues of devotees were seen outside the temples in the vicinity of the Sangam as nearly 5,000 police personnel kept a hawk-eye vigil to maintain law and order.

Vendors selling goods made of sesame and jaggery did roaring business. Colourful kites dotted the skyline of many towns on the occasion with children, young and old camping themselves on rooftops to enjoy the festival. In Pink City Jaipur, where Makar Sakranti is celebrated as a festival of kites, enthusiasts perched themselves on the roof of their houses at the break of dawn to fly kites.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greeted the nation on the occasion, hoping the festival would usher in prosperity, growth and progress.

Pongal celebrated in Tamil Nadu

Pongal, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, was celebrated with traditional fervour across the state on Tuesday.

Variously hailed as "Tamilar Thirunal,"(festival of Tamils), "Uzhavar Thirunal" (farmers' carnival), and "Aruvadai Thirunal," (harvest festival)" the Pongal celebrations got off to a colourful start early in the morning.

In both urban and rural regions, streets in residential localities were decked up with colourful ornate drawings out of flour (Kolam in Tamil).

Houses were decorated with mango leaves and festoons. Prayers were held and sweet rice (Pongal) was the main offering to the Sun God.

In several towns like Agastheeswaram in Kanniyakumari district, "Community Pongal" was celebrated in which people cutting across social strata come together to observe the festival.

While traditional sport like "Jallikattu", "Rekla" race, involving bulls, and Kabbadi were attractions in rural and semi-urban areas, in cities like Chennai, people preferred to visit amusement parks and beaches besides cinema houses for new films.

Special prayers were held in temples on the occasion. Temple elephants, now at a rejuvenation camp in Thekkampatti on the foothills of Nilgiris district, prostrated before Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, and they were offered Pongal.

Another added speciality to Pongal is that it falls on the first day of the Tamil month 'Thai' which is considered as harbinger of hope, signified by the old Tamil saying "Thai piranthal vazhi pirakkum'(you will find a way, with the birth of Thai)', and new endeavours can be taken up.

Pongal celebrations will continue for two more days.

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Eid Milad-un-Nabi celebrated across Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, was today celebrated across Kashmir with thousands of devotees thronging the Hazratbal Shrine which houses the relics of the prophet of Islam.

More than 20,000 devotees offered afternoon prayers at the Hazratbal Shrine today as part of the celebrations of Eid Milad-un-Nabi, officials said.

They said the holy relic of Prophet Muhammad was displayed by its custodian after the prayers.

The officials said many devotees from far flung areas of the Valley had arrived at the shrine last night in order to offer morning prayers.

The Muslim Auqaf Trust, which manages the affairs of the shrine, had made arrangements for these devotees.

Reports of celebrations were received from other parts of the Valley also. Last year a huge Milad procession was taken out through the city but this year no such event has been organised.

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Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra to rejoin Congress

KOLKATA: The Congress is planning a grand "welcome back" for Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra, who is likely to join the grand old party on January 31. Mitra will submit his resignation as MP that day and the Congress is planning an elaborate programme to mark his comeback at the Pradesh Congress office. Sources said invitations have been sent to Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath.

Sources said quite a few national leaders are likely to fly down from Delhi and participate in the event. Mitra's joining the Congress will be a major boost for the party given that the Trinamool Congress has been tom-toming every other defection from the Congress.

Political observers feel more defections from the Trinamool will follow Mitra's joining the Congress. State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said, "We have organised an event near the State Congress headquarters on January 21 and directed Congress activists to be present there in large numbers. Somen Mitra will officially join the Congress there."

Mitra recently went to Delhi and met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and it is at the latter's instance that his party wants to highlight the event in such a way. The return of the former president of the State unit of the Congress to the party is the beginning of disintegration of the Trinamool Congress, Bhattacharya said, adding that it will pave way for other disgruntled leaders of the Trinamool Congress to turn to the Congress.

The 70-year-old Mitra and his wife Shikha joined the Trinamool Congress ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and won the Diamond Harbour seat, riding on the pro-Trinamool wave. Even as Mitra had announced his return to the Congress, his wife, a dissident Trinamool MLA from the Sealdah Assembly constituency is not severing her ties with the ruling party, saying that she had been elected by the voters and must stay on in their interest.

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Two more UP assembly constituencies reserved for schedule tribes

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh will now have two assembly constituencies - Obra and Duddhi - reserved for scheduled tribes, while the number of its assembly seats reserved for scheduled castes will go down from 85 to 84. As per an Election Commission order issued under the Readjustment of Representation of SC and ST in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Ordinance, 2013, the Delimitation Order of 2008 stands amended in respect of Uttar Pradesh, with Duddhi being shifted from SC category to ST category, and Obra from general category to ST category.

There is no change in reservation status of other assembly seats or any parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh. The EC order, notified on Monday, followed its December 5 proposal to redetermine the seats reserved for SC/ST in UP in line with census figures, 2001, followed by holding of public sittings across Varanasi, Saharanpur, Jhansi to hear complaints and objections to the proposal.

Both Duddhi and Obra are located in the Sonbhadra district. As per 2001 census figures, Duddhi has 38.24% STs and Obra 18.93% STs. The major demographic change has much to do with shifting of 10 tribes from the SC list to ST category between 2001 and 2010.

EC had initially proposed wider changes to the 2008 delimitation order with respect to UP. Apart from proposing to reserve Duddhi and Obra for STs, the Commission sought to de-reserve Robertsganj(SC) parliamentary constituency, while proposing SC status for Mirzapur Lok Sabha seat. Among the assembly constituencies for which a profile change was proposed were Saharanpur (to be reserved for SCs), Mehroni (SC) (to be dereserved), Salempur(SC) (to be dereserved), Barhaj (to be reserved for SCs), Saidpur (SC) (to be dereserved) and Ghorawal (to be reserved for SCs).

As per the notification relating to EC order amending Schedule II and Schedule XXVIII of the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, Robertsganj(SC) parliamentary constituency would comprise the assembly segments of Chakia(SC), Ghorawal, Robertsganj, Obra(ST) and Duddhi (ST).

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CNG price may rise by steep Rs 8 per kg from April

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Jan 13, 2014, 04.50PM IST

GREATER NOIDA: Close on the heels of the biggest-ever increase of Rs 4.50 per kg, the cost of CNG may go up by a steep Rs 8 per kg from April 1 when natural gas prices will almost double.

The government on Friday notified the pricing of all domestically produced natural gas at an average of global gas trading hub rates and the cost of imported LNG. Accordingly, the price of gas is expected to be in the range of USD 8.2 to 8.4 per million British thermal units (mBtu) in April as against the current $4.2.

Oil ministry officials said a $1 per mBtu increase in the price of domestic gas would result in a hike of Rs 2.93 per kg of CNG in cities that are entirely dependent on domestic gas.

While Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the supplier of compressed natural gas (CNG) in New Delhi, procures 72 per cent of its needs from domestic fields, Mahanagar Gas Ltd in Mumbai buys almost all of its gas from domestic producers. CNG retailers in Gurgaon and Faridabad get almost all of their gas locally.

For cities such as Mumbai, the $4 per mBtu hike in natural gas price will translate into an increase of Rs 11.72 per kg, while in Delhi the rate may go up by Rs 8.2 per kg, they said.

Last month's Rs 4.50 per kg hike in CNG rates in Delhi to Rs 50.10 kg led to strong protests, with even new Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal summoning officials of IGL and its parent firm GAIL India for an explanation.

The officials said a $1 per mBtu increase in gas price would result in a $24.893 per tonne hike in urea production cost. This additional production cost would be the increase in subsidy the government paid on urea.

On power, a USD 1 per mBtu increase in gas cost would result in the cost of electricity generation going up by 45 paisa per unit.

"The impact of increase of gas price and likely measures to minimize the burden on power sector is being carried out by the ministry of power," an official said.

Oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Sunday defended the gas price hike decision, saying out of the $1 billion in additional revenue that operators would get, $400-500 million would accrue to the government in the form of higher taxes and royalty.

Moily said the price increase was needed to incentivise production from new fields, which were not economically viable at the current rate of $4.2.

The higher revenue that the government gets can be used to subsidise power and fertilisers, he said, adding that the scheme for this was to be worked out by the power ministry.

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Monkeys poisoned to death en masse at Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a shocking incident, seven wild monkeys have been poisoned and killed allegedly by a farmer in a village under the Palode Forest Range near here.

Carcasses of the monkeys, aged between one-and-half to 10 years, were exhumed from a rubber plantation owned by a villager at Senanipuram on Sunday.

Forest officials carried out a search in the area based on information that a number of monkeys had been killed and the carcasses dumped en masse in a pit.

"The informers told us that they had seen the carcasses of 15 monkeys. But, we could find carcasses of only seven monkeys as of now. Prima facie, the animals were fed with food mixed with a pesticide," forest range officer Abdul Jaleel said.

Forest and police personnel have zeroed in on a person as the prime suspect behind the crime and he would be tracked and arrested soon.

"Wild animals especially monkeys used to stray into the area and destroy crops and trouble the people. The culprit might have done this cruelty to end the menace," the official said.

The carcasses have been sent to the Veterninary Biological Institute at Palode for chemical analysis and postmortem, the official added.

Monkeys are included under Schedule 3 of the Wildlife Act and their poachers are liable to get three years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000.

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Muzaffarnagar DM sends report on relief camps to UP govt

MUZAFFARNAGAR: The district authorities have sent a report to the state government about the rehabilitation measures undertaken for Muzaffarnagar riots victims living in relief camps after Supreme Court sought a reply in this regard.

District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said a report has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh government about relief measures taken for the victims living in camps.

The state government had sought a report from district authorities to present its reply in the Supreme Court in a case filed by an NGO about alleged lack of proper measures for riot victims in relief camps, hearing for which is fixed on January 21, Sharma said.

Many NGOs have criticized the state government for its alleged failure to provide proper rehabilitation for those living in relief camps which had reportedly led to deaths.

Several persons died in the district between September 7 and December 20 last year as the winter chill was increasing. Over 10 children died in the camps, while more than 20 died in hospitals or nursing homes where they were taken for medical treatment.

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Veteran south Indian film actress Anjali Devi passes away

HYDERABAD: Veteran actress Anjali Devi who has acted in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada movies died at the age of 86 in Chennai. She had been under treatment for a heart ailment in a private hospital.

Anjali Devi has acted in more than 350 movies having made her screen debut with a role in "Raja Harischandra" as Lohitasya in 1936. From then it was no turning back for the versatile actress. Anjali Devi acted as Mohini in "Gollabhama" as a film which went on floors with her as the heroine was abandoned.

Apart from acted in several films, Anjali Devi also produced as many as 17 films. She is most known for her role in "Lava Kusha" wherein she acted as Seetha.

Before she ventured into films, Anjali Devi was a stage artiste. She was born in East Godavari district and her name was Anjani Kumari. However, her name was changed to Anjali Devi by director C Pullaiah who cast her as a heroine. Anjali Devi subsequently moved to Chennai where she pursued a film career in different films. She was a recipient of the Raghupathy Venkaiah national award in 2005 given by the Andhra Pradesh government.

Anjali Devi's films included "Big Boss", "Badi Pantulu", "Devata", "Bhishma", "Palnati Yudham", "Rangula Ratnam", "Keelugurram", "Suvarna Sundari", "Brundavanam", "Anna Vadhina" and "Police Alludu".

The films that she produced included "Annai Oru Alayam", "Sarvadhikari", and "Marmayogi" in Tamil, and "Sati Sakkubai", "Suvarna Sundari", and "Chandi Priya" in Telugu.

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Amnesty International India sensitizes young minds on human rights

MANGALORE: If the world lets go of such atrocities and if people do not actually learn to stand up and act, I fear one day my home may also be faced with similar horror and no matter how much I beg and cry for help, it may not come,'' said Mathhew Arnold Mata, 16, from Legacy School, Bangalore.

This was the student's reaction when he was shown the plight of civil rights activist Irom Sharmila, in an effort by Amnesty International India to bring Human Rights Education programme into the classrooms.

The organisation, in its pilot phase, has engaged with 27 schools in Bangalore city, with an aim to help them integrate human rights values and principles into their daily school life.

Tara Rao, Director of Amnesty International India says the programme works with different kinds of schools - government, top end private schools, low budget private schools, private schools in slum areas etc. These schools have gone through a self-assessment process where they have assessed their human rights friendliness. They have then built vision statements and action plans for themselves,'' she said.

This exercise is done in the four areas of school life - Curricular and Co-curricular activities, School Environment, School Relationships and School Governance, which constitutes a whole school approach.

The Human Rights Education team interacts with teachers and management equipping them with activities and tools to implement their action plans and take it forward with their students. Some of the activities that schools have been working on are building student leadership through Student Councils, working on relationships issues in the school such as bullying or bringing awareness among students about issues such as right to housing and how it applies to their lives.

Tara points out that one example of how schools have been active in taking up Human Rights issues is through the recent Letter Writing Marathon which was conducted in schools where students wrote letters of solidarity to Irom Sharmila who has been declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International India.

Based on the learning's from this pilot, we are now looking to scale up this programme with schools across India. We are looking to collaborate with organisations and chains of schools on integrating this programme into their approach and activities,'' she added.

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Congress provides justice to all: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

BANGALORE: The Congress appears to have informally kicked off it selection campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state.

A day after chief minister Siddaramaiah participated in a mammoth rally of the Nayaka community organized by excise minister Satish L Jarkiholi, the CM on Sunday took part in another caste-based rally organized by the backward classes federation involving nearly 100 BC communities. Interestingly, as a part of wooing young voters, AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi also held an interaction with the students on Saturday.

Siddaramaiah's networking with backward castes, which he belongs to, comes at a time when elections are round the corner and used the plank that Congress and social justice go hand-in-hand. "No other party in the country follows the social justice system like Congress. If a person like me belonging to Kuruba (Shepard) community can become chief minister, it is because of social justice principle followed by Congress party and its top leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," he said addressing over a lakh crowd at Madavara near Nelamangala, outskirts of Bangalore.

The inauguration of the rally started formally by weaving symbolizing Devanga, a backward community, profession.
Siddaramaiah further said that persons like - S Bangarappa, M Veerappa Moily, N Dharam Singh -- belonging to backward caste had also become CMs earlier and all were from Congress. Appealing to people to vote for Congress, the CM accused the JD(S) and the BJP as communal parties.

Maintaining that his government was not for Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward and dalits), but for poorer section of all the communities, the CM said he would make all the efforts to provide reservation proportional to the population of the SC/ST, OBCs and minorities.

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AAP membership drive in Mangalore evokes good response

MANGALORE: People of different age groups and different walks of life thronged BEM High School here on Sunday to register themselves as members of Aam Aadmi Party during its membership drive programme. In all, as many as 410 new members registered their names in the two-hour drive, while more than 700 people participated in the informal gathering that was held as part of the drive, S Nandagopal, spokesperson of the party said.

The new members were drawn from diverse sections of society including professionals, students, retired personnel and sizeable number of women. The number of senior citizens out-numbered the other sections of people present. The gathering stressed the need for strengthening the party at the grass root level and look forward to fielding a strong candidate in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Mangalore parliamentary constituency.

The new members along with the already registered members shared their opinions on the way forward. AAP Dakshina Kannada district unit office bearers Dharmendra, Rohan Shiri and S Nandagopal spoke.

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Suicide attacker strikes police in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan : Police say a suicide attacker has struck a bus carrying police recruits in eastern Kabul, wounding at least six police.

Kabul Police Chief General Mohammad Zahir Zahir says three civilians were also very slightly wounded in the attack, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).

Police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said Sunday that the attacker, who died in the attempt, rode a bicycle packed with explosives and targeted a bus from the Kabul police training center.

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Suicide attacker strikes police bus in Afghanistan, 6 injured

KABUL, Afghanistan : Police say a suicide attacker has struck a bus carrying police recruits in eastern Kabul, wounding at least six police.

Kabul Police Chief General Mohammad Zahir Zahir says three civilians were also very slightly wounded in the attack, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).

Police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said Sunday that the attacker, who died in the attempt, rode a bicycle packed with explosives and targeted a bus from the Kabul police training center.

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Congress party workers exchange blows in Mangalore

MANGALORE: That all is not well within the Congress party came to the fore when they exchanged blows at a protest meet organised by Gurupur Block Congress on Sunday condemning RSS supremo Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat's hate speech at Gurupur a few days back.

The meet was being addressed by senior leader Janardhan Poojary when miffed Congressmen questioned why Bhat was not arrested despite Congress being in power in the state.

The matters became worse when some party workers climbed the platform where Poojary was delivering his speech and also shouted slogans against him. This irked his supporters and they exchanged blows creating an embarrassing situation for local Congress leaders.

Police had a hard time controlling the situation and had to resort to mild caning to control the situation going out of hand, sources said.

Mangalore City Police had registered cases against Hindu leaders Bhat and Chakravarthy Sullibele under sections 153 A and 295 A for their alleged hate speech at Gurupur during Hindu Sangama.

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