indian express [0918]

Nalini Ravichandran | ENSChennai, September 17

THE newly-inaugurated Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram is drawing large crowds of bibliophiles from all age groups. But a special group among them — the visually-challenged — seems particularly happy about the facilities the book room has to offer.

The ramps and escalators alone don’t make the library disabled-friendly, the specia-lty lies in the high-technology Braille system found in the visually-impaired section.

The section is situated right near the entrance on the ground floor for the con-venience of the visually-chal-lenged. On day one, 900 people visited the library and the

rush continued on day two.“Now one need not go to

the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (at Poonamallee) to access qual-ity books,” gushed S Bala-krishnan, one of the visitors. “They are available here un-der one roof.” What’s more,

the library features an adva-nced version of the Braille refreshable reader, which can store up to 1,000 books.

Said R Shankar, the librar-ian: “Using this special equi-pment, five people can read the same book at a time. And, well, this facility is available only in this library.”

Visually-challenged read-ers were overwhelmed that the bibliotheca had in store for them storybooks and journals too, as other librar-ies stocked only textbooks.

N Janardhanan said, “I am impressed with the text to Braille conversion and not just that, Braille printouts can be taken too. Visually-challenged kids can also have a good time here as they can listen to audio CDs for help with reading the books.”

AYODHYA DISPUTE

Published from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa

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C H E N N A ISaturday, September 18, 2010

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SEXUALITIESHoshang Merchant on accepting the man and woman in all of us PAGE | 2

THE MUSIC BOXSara Bareilles on being in the spotlight and pleasing her fans and herself PAGE | 8

Cover: Filling emotional gaps with food PAGE | 1

zeitgeist

Gaming + Graphic NovelMafia II is dark and gritty; Malik Sajad, a young Kashmiri cartoonist P4-5|

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HAMILTON AT HOME

Will the Court give a clear verdict on the Ayodhya title suit on September 24?

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P O L L O F T H E D A Y

Other top stories

All-party tour from Monday, MPs will try to meet moderates and separatists

HC firm, says verdict won’t be put offCourt finds no merit in application for deferring of judgment, slaps penaltyAnand Raj Singh & AgenciesLucknow, September 17

AT least, the date part of the sus-pense is over. The Allahabad High Court said it would pronounce its verdict on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute on the orig-inally-slated September 24, invit-ing reactions that ranged from acrimony to caution to silence.

The Lucknow Bench of the court on Friday turned down a plea for deferment of judgment on the 60-year-old title suit. A three-judge special Bench rejected the petition that sought direction for an amicable out-of-court settle-ment of the issue centering the 1992-demolished Babri Mosque all eged to have been built in 1527 on the foundations of a Ram tem-ple. Noting that the plea lacked merit, Justices S U Khan, D V Sha-rma and Sudhir Agarwal slapped costs of `50,000 on applicant Ram-esh C Tripathi, an ex-bureaucrat.

Undaunted, one of the main parties to the dispute filed an app-lication seeking time till Septem-ber 27 to arrive at a compromise. While moving the same court, the Nirmohi Akhara sought the appo-intment of a retired SC or HC judge as a mediator.

Religious leaders and scholars of both Hindu and Muslim com-munities appealed for peace. Ram Janmabhoomi temple’s chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das Mahraj and Janmey Sharan, who is mahant of Janki Ghat in Ayod-hya, asked the community to acc-ept the court verdict. Ditto was the reaction from Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, besides the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Islamic semi-nary Darul Uloom Deoband.

The RSS described the defer-

ment plea as unnecessary, while the Opposition BJP refrained from reacting. The Left said the verdict should be respected. The Congress is worried if the Sep-tember 24 verdict would trigger a flare-up in UP, and impact the polls in neighbouring Bihar besi-des add to the tension in J&K.

The Centre, fearing unrest after the September 24 judgment, is planning to issue a tough advisory to the electronic media, asking them not to show disturbing or provocative scenes that could cre-ate communal tension.

Leading lawyers hoped none would incite passions. Harish Salve, K K Venugopal, Shanti Bhu-shan and Rajeev Dhavan said ver-dicts must not be delivered under duress. K T S Tulsi said a solution could still be attempted. More, P 7 >

J&K VISIT

Pak view irks IndiaIndia ticked off Pakistan for meddling in its internal affairs, after Islamabad chose to comment on the “deteriorating situation” in Kashmir, and blamed Indian security forces of “brutality”.

ALL-INCLUSIVEBJP’S ARUN JAITLEY WILL BE THE PRIME DELEGATE FROM THE OPPOSITION

Three queriesOn September 24, the HC will address 3 issues: if there was a temple at the disputed site prior to 1538; whether a 1961 suit by the Babri committee seeking possession of the site is barred by limitation; whether Muslims perfected their title through adverse possession

EAGERLY AWAITED

Manan Kumar & AgenciesNew Delhi, September 17

THE all-party delegation on Jam-mu and Kashmir will leave on a two-day trip from Monday to the strife-torn state where its 40 MPs will try to meet people and lead-ers of varied opinions including S A S Geelani, even as his sepa-ratist APHC(G) is going ahead with its September 21 protests in the Valley which reported vio-lence on Friday as well.

Top government sources said an invitation was being sent to “Geelani and many others” on the visiting team’s behalf. “It is for them to decide whether they want to be part of a constructive dia-

logue,” a senior official said.The delegation — it’s a master-

stroke, say analysts — will have ministers P Chidambaram and P K Bansal besides BJP’s Arun Jait-ley. Slated to leave early on Mon-day for Srinagar, it will hold deli-berations with all stakeholders possible. The exercise will be rep-eated in Jammu the next day bef-ore its return to Delhi on Wed-nesday, a Congress core commit-tee meeting here decided.

The Centre wants the delega-tion to “soon” submit its recom-mendations, also being referred to as the “Sense of the House” to help it announce the much- delayed Kashmir package at the earliest by convening the CCS.

The invitees, other than Gee-lani, would include moderates like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yas-een Malik and Sajjad Lone. “This is besides the region’s political parties, the state’s chamber of commerce and industry, NGOs, human rights groups and student bodies. In fact, anybody wanting to come with suggestions or ideas is welcome — we’ll issue them curfew passes,” an official said.

In Srinagar, Geelani made a U-turn within hours of dropping plans to march to army camps on September 21 in the Valley, where two persons were killed and 16 injured in firing and stone-pelting in central Kashmir on Friday.

More, P 11 >

Nil pension for 34,000 transport dept staff after 8 yrs: reportGangadhar S Patil | ENSChennai, September 17

MORE than 34,000 pensioners of the State’s transport department covered under the pension sch-eme launched by DMK govern-ment in 1998 will not get a paisa eight years from now.

This was the observation of a Pension Regulatory Committee set up by the DMK government two

years ago. The panel submitt ed its report the same year, but the gov-ernment has not made it public.

Express has a copy of the re-port, according to which the pen-sion fund account would have a negative balance of `578 crore by 2018, if were not taken over by the Tamil Nadu government. Reason: the cash outflow (month-ly pension and commutation of pension) is more than its inflow

(employer’s contribution). And the outflow-inflow gap is a whop-ping `1.40 crore per month. “The average shortfall of funds per month is about `1.40 crore and the estimated shortfall by 2008 is `4,589 crore,” the report says.

The 1998 pension scheme was intended to benefit 1.35 lakh em-ployees who were on the State transport department’s rolls in 2000. For, those who joined the

State’s transport department be-tween 1972 and 1998 were not en-titled to pension because the State transport undertakings were reg-istered as companies in 1972 un-der the companies Act.

Before 1972, they were govern-ment entities. That status ended after they became companies. Un-der the 1998 scheme, the govern-ment directed that a trust be floated to hold the pension funds.

After setting up the trust, the trustees wrote to the Union gov-ernment seeking exemption from income tax.

Smug in the belief that it would get the Centre’s nod, the transport department started releasing pen-sion from its own resources. But six years after the trust sought ap-proval for tax exe mption, Central Board of Dir ect Taxes in 2006 res-ponded in the negative. Dud: P 4 >

Minus `578 croreExpress has a copy of the report, according to which the pension fund account would have a negative balance of `578 crore by 2018, if it were not taken over by the Tamil Nadu government

BALANCE IN 2018

Scotland Yard submits proofLondon: Scotland Yard on Friday handed

evidence on the ‘spot-fixing’ scandal to Crown Prosecution Service and left it to

the prosecutors whether to frame charges on Pakistani cricketers alleged to

have been involved in it. P 16

No to stand-alone census Chennai: Justice M N Rao, chairman of

the National Commission for Backward Classes, on Friday opposed the Centre’s

move to hold a caste census. P 3

Visually challenged find light and delight in Anna Library

Sensitively planned

DAVIS CUP: With both Bopanna & Somdev (in photo) going down in five-setters on Day 1, India trails Brazil 0-2. PAGE | 16

D SAMPATH KUMAR

H o t W h e e l s , B u r n i n g R u b b e r , R a c e t r a c k O n F i r e

P JAWAHAR

VROOM TIME: 2008 F1 champ Lewis Hamilton, after a few scorching laps in an AMG Mercedes SL63 car at the Madras Motor Sport Track in Irungattukottai on Friday, said he looked forward to the Indian GP next year and promised to return to Chennai with his girlfriend, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger P 16, 17 >

J MANOHARAN

Private schools face government ire for stir PAGE | 5

Pochampalli violence city2 Fonseka sentenced to three years in jail Page | 6

Suspension of driving licence for causing fatal accidents upheld PAGE | 4

y o u r s a t u r d a y n e w s p a p e rThe New Indian Express I Saturday, September 18, 2010 I Chennai ✵

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A trust floated to hold pension funds of the State transport department has become dysfunctional due to the failure to get tax exemption from Central Board of Direct Taxes. This, along with the inability to build a big corpus, has put the scheme in jeopardy, reports Gangadhar S PatilDUDThe pension scheme is not at all viable and sustainable. Even if we get the

tax exemption, it will not work— J LAKSHMANAN, Pension Regulatory Committee member

Minister optimistic,

panel was not

A trust floated by the State’s trans-port department to hold pension funds under a scheme launched in 2000, has been reduced to a dud

affecting over 34,000 pensioners. The rea-son: The trust failed to get income tax ex-emption from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

Had the trust parked money into its ac-count without seeking IT exemption, it would have ended up paying an estimated Rs 300 crore as income tax, according to a report of the Pension Regulatory Commit-tee that was set up to examine the fiasco. CBDT comes under the finance ministry that was under P Chidambaram’s watch at that point in time.

Since the trust was dysfunctional, the pension funds were parked with three different organisations: Employ-ees Provident Fund Organisation, STUs and the State government’s Public Deposit Account. Had the trust not been a dud, it would have had a total corpus of Rs 1,400 crore now despite regular fund outflow, the panel points out.

“We are trying to get this money to the trust account,” says Arumuga Nainar, deputy general secretary of CITU, who is one of the 12 trustees of the pension fund trust.

“Only after this happens, will the trust actually start functioning,” Nai-nar adds.

When the crisis figured in the State Assembly in April this year, Transport Minister K N Nehru reportedly assured the House that the problem would be sorted out if the State succeeded in getting the tax waiver. Oh, really?

The committee clearly thought otherwise. “The scheme is not at all viable and sus-tainable. Even if we get the tax exemption, it will not work,” says J Lakshmanan, one of the 13 members of the panel.

Besides, as early as in 2004, the State gov-ernment had in a letter to the managing directors of all the seven State Transport Undertakings said it was finding it difficult to implement the pension scheme for re-tired employees because of non-exemption from income tax.

SO, why does the Pension Regulatory Committee think that the 1998 pen-sion scheme for State transport em-ployees is unviable? The answer lies

in the small corpus size: Rs 1,400 crore. Had the trust accumulated a bigger sum, say in the region

of Rs 6,000 crore, the story would have been completely dif-

ferent.The corpus didn’t swell because

of various factors, including diversion of funds, non-re-cruitment of new employees,

introduction of a new pension scheme in 2003 and a major drop in

interest rates, according to State and Union government watchdogs.

The Comptroller and Auditor Gen-eral (CAG) in its stinging indictment in March this year pointed out that the em-ployer contribution for the pension

fund, which the corporation is supposed to set aside, was being utilised by the STUs as

working capital (daily expenses) because they were bleeding. In addition, the contribu-tions to the provident fund and gratuity fund were diverted by STUs towards working cap-ital.

Sources in CAG say the STUs have not in-vested the money in any securities. “During the audit, we demanded evidence of invest-ment but they failed to produce it,” reveals a source. Besides, when the trust was floated, STUs had decided to pool a sum of Rs 340 crore — parked with the Employees Provi-dent Fund Organisation (EPFO) before 1998 — in the pension fund. When the EPFO was asked to release the amount, it flatly refused, saying it would do so only if the trust got IT exemption.

That amount is currently out of reach. The government also perhaps naively thought that the contribution of employees recruited after 1998 would help keep the pension scheme afloat. But there was no recruitment for five years after 1998, the report points out.

The final nail in the coffin, according to the report, was the State government’s deci-sion to include employees recruited after 2003 under a different pension scheme. With the fund flow shrinking the writing was on the wall for the 1998 pension scheme. You didn’t need a rocket scientist to predict its demise.

When the scheme was conceived in 1998, the bank interest rate on investment was 13.5 per cent. By 2008, the corresponding rate was down to 7-9 per cent, further hurting income generation, the report points out.

In conclusion, the committee recommend-ed that the government drop the idea of a trust and “make a legislation by which the STUs will be mandated to contribute to the State government instead of the trust.” This was the majority view of the 12-member panel. The dissenters included the one rep-resenting the government’s finance depart-ment on the panel. Their logic: it would re-sult in a huge financial burden on the gov-ernment.

Low corpus, fund diversion killing it

Retd staff run from

pillar to post for pension

IT is a long wait for K Karsan ev-ery month. His pension is his family’s sole income for survival. But the transport corporations do

not mind it. They disburse the money as per their convenience.

“We never get the pension on time,” says Karsan (62), who retired in 2005 as Selection Grade Assistant after serving the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) for more than 30 years. Also the general secretary of Retired Employee Welfare Associa-tion, he says there is a government order directing the disbursal of pen-sion on the last working day of every month.

It is not only the pension that we have to fight for, even disbursal of post

retirement benefits like gratuity, en-cashment of leave and Provident Fund are also delayed.

“Like me, several retired employees have not received their gratuity for months together,” said S Krishanana, who retired in 2005 as Checking Inspector.

Retired employees are also agitated over the delay in the pay-ment of the commut-ed value of pension.

Sources agreed that there was a backlog in this regard as the State Transport Undertakings were cash-strapped.

“Several pensioners, especially those who retired from the State Ex-press Transport Corporation, are yet to get their commuted pension,” says

S Gajendran, gen-eral secretary of the MTC wing of All In-dia Trade Union Congress.

Gajendran retired in 2006 from MTC as Selection Grade Se-nior Assistant after putting in a service of 37 years.

He says he received his commuted pension 15 months after retirement. “Every retired person is supposed to get that in the first month of retire-

ment,” he notes. His case is better as some of his for-

mer colleagues got the amount only after 36 months.

Trade unions have already insisted in a pension regulatory meeting that the government to take over the entire fund. “We don’t want this trust and pension scheme. We want the govern-ment to take the whole pension re-sponsibility,” says J Lakshmanan, general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress.

“If the government fails to meet the deficit, all the retired employees will be on the road. We have been fighting for our pension for many years, but the government is not at all bothered,” he adds.

Hard timesSeveral pensioners, especially those who retired from the SETC, are yet to get their commuted pension.

LONG WAIT

ILLUSTRATION: TUHIN CHAKRABORTY

Express News ServiceChennai, September 17

THE Malaysian nexus to the fake credit card racket flourishing in leading metros through gangs oper-ating from Chennai emerged in sharper contours after Central Crime Branch sleuths busted a ma-jor five-member network in the city on September 12.

A Malaysian national, suspected to be the kingpin, has been export-ing blank cards and particulars of genuine foreign credit cards to the arrested gang leader Manoj Kumar and his associates, who used them for cloning.

Police said the South East Asian country is the hot-bed for genuine and fake credit card manufacturing. While cards issued by international banks originate in Malaysia, so do blank cards and stolen data, which make their way into the hands of racketeers in India. The Malaysian connection first came to light, with the arrest of marine engineer Um-esh alias Jatti (25), a Sri Lankan Tamil settled in Canada, and three of his associates in October last year. During interrogation, Umesh revealed that he obtained blank cards and credit card data from agents in Malaysia. He engraved and embossed the details on blank cards and used them to purchase goods.

However, the identity of the kingpin still eluded them. The breakthrough came when they probed into a com-plaint filed by a Citibank official, alleging that credit card details of customers had been stolen and were being used in other states, resulting in a loss of `8.83 lakh.

Investigations led to Justin alias Sudhanandan, an employee of a pet-

rol station in Anna Nagar.Justin’s modus operandi? He stole

the data from customers using a skimmer machine and passed on the same to his friend Udayakumar, who relayed the particulars to Sabarisan alias Sabarirajan, a Keralite, staying in Palavakkam. Using the equip-ment from Mumbai, Sabarisan printed the fake cards and passsed

data on Indian credit cards to Manoj. It was through Manoj that the CCB were able to figure out the identity of the Malaysian kingpin - Akbar alias Abdullah. “Manoj, a graduate in business administration, worked in Malaysia for a few years and es-tablished contact with Abdullah,” a police official said. “On his return, he obtained details of foreign credit cards from Abdullah through e-mails and SMS and also imported blank cards through him and ma-chines from China to make the fake cards.”

He distributed the cloned cards to his Bangalore-based friends, Sunil Kumar alias Ajit Kumar, Idayatul-lah, Nayaz Ahmed and Vishali Tahl-vi in Mumbai, who used them to purchase goods. Manoj and his gang were arrested on September 16 and two laptops, two embossing ma-chines, two encoding machines, two tipping machines, 407 fake credit cards, 868 blank credit cards and a car were seized.

The police also arrested a 10-mem-ber gang headed by Gouthaman Elangovan and Kelvin in Anna Na-gar on September 12. They used data supplied from accomplices working in petrol pumps to make fake credit cards. Goods purchased were also seized. “These gangs were behind 80 per cent of such cases in the State,” CoP Rajendran said here on Friday.

3city✵ The New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai

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ON A DAY when the DMK government released a letter of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi infor ming Chief Minister M Karunanidhi that a stand-alone caste cen-sus would be held in June next, Justice MN Rao, chair-man of the National Com-mission for Backward Class-es along with the chairman of the BC Commission of TN and former chairman of Karnataka BC Commission opposed the move.

Justice Rao issued a joint statement here after partici-pating in the birthday cele-brations of Periyar EV Ra-masamy, a votary of com-partmental reservation for all castes. The statement was released from the office of the Viduthalai daily, run by Dravidar Kazhagam.

The statement said: “the Centre’s move may result in indefinite postponement of caste-based enumeration and that would be detrimental to the interests of OBCs who constitute 60 per cent of In-dia’s population. We strongly urge the Centre to roll back the decision to separate caste census from the main census and hold them together.’’

Expressing satisfaction that the Centre had recogn-ised the need for caste-cen-sus, they expressed surprise at Centre’s move to earmark `2,000 crore for a separate enumeration of castes in-

stead of giving the task to the Census department.“This move is untenable both from the functional point of view to ascertain the socio-econom-ic data and also from the point of view of the State in-curring wasteful and avoid-able expenditure. PMK found-er S Ramadoss has been ac-cusing the DMK of not con-ducting a separate caste enu-meration on its own to ensure 69 per cent reservation in the light of the recent verdict of the SC while the CM is yet to react to the Centre’s move.

Hold caste census in one go: BC panelSays Centre’s move may lead to indefinite postponement of the drive; calls it wasteful expenditure


CHIEF Minister M Karunanidhi on Friday named one of the three white tiger cubs born at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, in Vandalur, on June 6, as Indira in memory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The three cubs, a male and two females, were born to Bhishma and Anu, the white tiger couple brought here from the Delhi Zoo in 2006.

The Chief Minister named the male cub as Sembian in memory of Chola Kingdom, which had tiger as a symbol on its flag.

Karunanidhi named another female tiger cub as Valli after freedom fighter Valliam-mai, who had fought for freedom in South Africa, with Mahatma Gandhi.

The three cubs, which are a major attrac-tion in the Vandalur zoo, were recently adopted by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Devel-opment Corporation (TTDC) under the ‘’Adopt an animal’’ programme of the For-est department.

Forest Minister N Selvaraj, SSVP Reddy, director of Vandalur Zoo, were present on the occasion at the Secretariat.


AIADMK general secretary J Jay-alalithaa demanded a probe into the incident of suspicious death of M. Murugan (48), an Assistant Quality Control Officer, Civil Supplies godown, Milavittan, in Tuticorin.

In a statement, she said the culprits should be punished and the family of the deceased be com-pensated. The former CM reiterated her de-mand for a probe on smuggling of the c o m m o d i t i e s from the civil

supplies outlets.Saying that the attacks on Dalit

officers were on the rise during the four-and-half years of rule by the DMK, she said the family of the deceased Dalit official sus-pects foul play in his death and the matter should be immediately probed.

Murugan left for workplace on September 7 and his wife

received a phone call say-ing he had been admitted at the Tuticorin govern-ment hospital after taking ‘poison.’ His wife, who no-ticed a wound below his

left shoulder made a complaint to the

district Police.

Murugan died on September 11.Suspecting foul play, his wife

complained to the district collec-tor. She had mentioned that her husband had told her that he ex-pect some problems as he made a complaint against some officers of the TN Civil Supplies Corpora-tion and also to the police about the smuggling of commodities that were supplied through it.

In her complaint, she demand-ed a proper enquiry to find out the reasons for her husband’s death. She also claimed that a di-ary and a bag, which her husband used to carry, were not restored to her. The AIADMK leader said the death of Dalit official should be probed to dispense the doubts.

City beat

DGP Letika ‘safe’

Chennai: Director-General of Police (L&O) Letika Saran, who suffered mi-nor injuries in a car accident in Orissa, is safe. Sources said that the DGP was travelling from Bhubaneswar to Puri to attend a conference when the acci-dent occurred. She has since then re-turned to Chennai ■ ENS

SI attackedChennai: Activists of a Hindu outfit were picked up for questioning in connection with an attack on a sub-inspector at Washermenpet on Thurs-day. Nazeer Ahmed (55), an SI at-tached to the Washermenpet station, was posted for duty at Irusappa Mais-try Street, where a Vinayakar idol was installed. Around midnight, he was chased and attacked by two men armed with knives. As passers-by rushed to his help, the assailants es-caped in a motorbike ■ ENS

Engineer ends life Chennai: An engineer committed sui-cide at Puzhal on Thursday after he was allegedly scolded by his parents for being jobless. Police said Manoj Kumar (22) of Puzhal, a B Tech gradu-ate, was in search a job for four months. On Thursday, he committed suicide by hanging with a nylon rope at his house

Doubts over woman’s deathChennai: A father of a 22-year-old woman lodged a complaint with the Porur police that he suspected foul play in the death of his daughter, Sathya. A few days ago, Durairaj of Tiruchy received a call from Sathya’s husband Manikandan (25) of Lakshmi Nagar, Porur, informing that his daughter had died. The couple had been married for two years ■ ENS

Man commits suicideChennai: A 40-year-old man identi-fied as Kuppuswamy committed sui-cide by hanging from a tree at Thilaga Nagar Ennore on Thursday. Police said that Kuppusamy of Ennore and his wife Kala often had fight. On Thurs-day, Kuppusamy left home after an altercation and did not return till late in the evening. Later he was found dead. Police are investigating ■ ENS

‘Tamil tigers’ on the prowl

CREDIT CARD RACKET BUSTED

Probe Dalit civil supplies

official’s death: Jaya

Move untenable The joint statement expressed surprise at the Centre’s move to earmark `2,000 crore for a sepa-rate enumeration of castes. This move is untenable from the functional point of view and also from the point of view of incurring wasteful expenditure

EXPERTS’ VIEW

TRIPLE ALLIES: ‘Indira,’ ‘Sembian’ and ‘Valli’, the three white tiger cubs at their habitat in Vandalur zoo

EXPRESS

Cops have almost cracked the case; claim the entire network is rooted in Malaysia

Commissioner of Police T Rajendran looking at the equipment used for mak-ing fake credit cards in the city on Friday

EXPRESS

This move will be detrimental to the interests of OBCs who constitute 60 per cent of the population in the country

cityThe New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai ✵4

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SPECIAL CLASS RAILWAY APPRENTICES’ EXAMINATION, 2010

ADDENDUMReference Commission’s Notification dated 28th August 2010 for Special Class Railway Apprentices’ Examination, 2010, it is notified that the closing time limit for submission of online applications in respect of this examination has been extended upto 27th September, 2010 (till 11.59 pm).

(Kuldeep Kumar Saharawat)Deputy Secretary

Union Public Service Commissiondavp 55101/14/0016/1011 MO/G/8221/10

Sirpurkar received gifts from Dinakaran, alleges petition C Shivakumar/ENSChennai, September 17

THE demand for recusal of the chairperson of the panel that is probing into the grounds for the impeachment of former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dina-karan gathered tempo on Fri-day with a petition by group of NGO alleging that Justice V S Sirpurkar received gifts from the latter.

A petition filed by People’s Watch executive director Henri Tiphagne and Human Rights Research and Advo-cacy Foundation director Ossie Fernandes said they were concerned about the composition of the committee as Dinakaran intimately knew its chairperson Sir-purkar as “the former used to regularly send as gifts, bas-kets of mangoes from farms situated in the lands in the village of Kaverirajapuram at Tiruvallur District which are subject of enquiry by this panel.”

“The allegations of land grabbing centre around the vil-lage lands where the farms are situated. Sirpurkar had re-ceived gifts from the very same lands. Thus Sirpurkar has had past knowledge of and affinity towards the judge whose con-duct is being enquired into,” the petition alleged.

The Petitioners said they along with a few other social activists met several residents of Kaverirajapuram and vis-

ited the lands in question. The visit revealed shocking inci-dents of human rights viola-tions and land grab by Dina-karan. The petitioners were therefore constrained to ad-dress representations dated 28.09.2009 to the SC Collegium placing on record the findings of such inquiries and were prepared to produce evidence regarding the allegations dur-ing the course of any inquiry.

“The composition of the panel has created a genuine apprehension in the minds of the petitioners who are lay persons. We believe that there is a real danger that the chair-person’s friendship and close association with Dinakaran will influence the course and outcome of the proceedings. In these circumstances, as bodies representing the civil society, and concerned citi-zens, we seek recusal of the chairperson, as what is at stake is the integrity and in-dependence of the judiciary,” the petition stated.

The petition alleged that the allegations of land grabbing centred around the village lands where the farms are situated. Sirpurkar had received gifts from the same lands


A network of NGOs has decided to take the first step towards self regu-lation by adopting a set of guidelines on financing, administration and ethics to be followed in running an NGO. The guidelines, proposed at a conference of NGO leaders, aim to at-tain sustainability through self regu-lation and also expected to build con-fidence of the NGOs with banks, thereby boosting the microfinance sector.

“Along with the growth and spread of microfinance organisations come concerns over quality and sustain-ability of the various NGOs and SHGs in question. That’s why we have come together to develop a self regu-lation framework,” said M Kalyana-sundaram, Chief Executive of the International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI), that organised the conference on Friday.

Among the guidelines adopted were maintaining transparency in book keeping, promotion of financial lit-eracy among microfinance clientele and the facilitation of inclusive fi-nancial growth. The guidelines also insist SHGs and NGOs to campaign against usurious lending practices in the microfinance sector.

Banking officials welcome the self regulating initiative with enthusi-asm. “SHGs need to keep in mind that banks and other institutional lenders are worried over the repayment of loans. In the absence of regulations, banks can only do so much,” said N S Mishra, GM of Indian Overseas Bank. He suggested that collectives, like IN-AFI, that bring SHGs and NGOs un-der a single banner could help en-force self regulation.

Self regulation for a sustainable future, says SHG collective

IN THE HIGH COURT


THE Madras High Court has up-held the action of the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) in suspending the driving li-cences of two drivers for causing fatal accidents.

A Sekar of Tiruppur, while driving a private four-wheeler caused an accident killing o n e p e r s o n . P Ganapathy of Ho-sur, a government transport corpora-tion bus driver, ki l led a person while driving the

bus.The RTOs of Tiruppur and Ho-

sur suspended their licences for six months from the date of the respective accidents.

Contending that the RTOs could not suspend their licences before orders finding them guilty of the offences passed by the

lower court concerned, the duo moved the Madras High

Court with writ petitions.Rejecting their conten-

tion, Justice N Paul Vas-anthakumar observed

that the suspension or-ders were passed in public interest and to prevent danger to the

public. Therefore, the provisions contained in

Sec. 19(1)(f) of the Motor Vehicles Act empowered the RTOs to sus-pend the licences.

The accidents data indicated a gradual increase of fatal and grievous injuries accidents. The percentage of accidents caused by driver’s negligence was 90.13 per cent. Strict implementation of the provisions of Motor Vehi-cles Act was the present day re-quirement. Then only it would have deterrent effect on the driv-ers and definitely they would be careful in future, which would minimise the number of acci-dents. Therefore, the orders should be treated as a right deci-sion taken by the RTOs con-cerned, the judge said and dis-missed the writ petitions.

Suspension of driving licence upheld for fatal accident


A father has moved the Madras HC with a petition seeking to pro-duce in the court his daughter, who was allegedly abducted and married by a rowdy element in UT. And a division bench compris-ing Justice C Nagappan and Jus-tice PR Shivakumar, before which the habeas corpus writ petition from M Rajagopal alias Jayakan-nan of Palli Thennal village in Villupuram district came up for hearing, ordered notice to the in-spector attached to the Kanda-mangalam police station, Viji alias Korangu Viji of Villiyanur, Puducherry and the inspector of

the All Women Police Station (AWPS) in Periyakadai, Puduch-erry.

According to Rajagopal, “Ko-rangu’ Viji, a well known rowdy, fell madly in love with his daugh-ter Lokeswari (22), while she was working in the Venkateswara Hos-pital in Aiyur near Palli Thennal village, in 2009. Unable to bear the advances and torture of Viji’s constant stalking and not wanting to take the risk of confronting him, Logeswari joined another hospital in Chennai and stayed in the hospital hostel.

While so, Lokeswari’s marriage was fixed on September 3, this year in Avadi in Chennai. Viji and his henchmen, armed with deadly

weapons, barged into his house and forcibly took away Lokeswari on August 23, 2010, in petitioner’s presence. He lodged a complaint with the Kandamangalam police. The very next day, Viji took Lokeswari to the All Women Po-lice Station in Periyakadai and told the cops that he had married Lokeswari with her consent.

Petitioner contended that the AWPS inspector forcibly obtained a letter from Lokeswari to the ef-fect that she had willingly married Viji. She also expressed her inabil-ity to interfere in the matter. Al-leging that his daughter had been forcibly abducted and married by Viji and was being tortured, Ra-jagopal filed the present petition.

Man files HCP seeking to produce daughter

CHAMPION OF THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi paying floral tributes to Periyar on his birth anniversary near the Secretariat complex in the city on Friday

A RAJA CHIDAMBARAM

A UNITEDFRONT● On the occasion of Periyar’s

132nd birth anniversary on Friday, M Karunanidhi offered floral tributes to the portrait of Periyar, kept below the Periyar statue at Anna Salai

● Accompanying him on the occasion were Finance Minister K Anbazhagan, Agriculture Minister Veerapandi Arumugham and Information Minister Parithi Illumvazhuthi

● AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa offered floral tributes to the portrait at Kodanadu

● AIADMK presidium chair-man E Madusodanan and other office bearers, offered floral tributes to the portrait of Periyar at Periyar statue at Anna Flyover

● MDMK general secretary Vaiko paid respects at the party headquarters at Thayagam


THE Dravidar Kazhagam celebrated its founder’s 132nd birthday on Friday by screening Telugu version of the film ‘Periyar’. The 2006 film, starring Sath-yaraj, Kushboo and Jyotirmayi, has been dubbed in Telugu and released in select theatres in Andhra Pradesh.

“Periyar is a leader whose ideas tran-scend language. The Telugu version is being received well in AP”, said DK president K Veeramani.

National Commission of Backward Classes Chairman Justice MN Rao, Con-venor of the Parliamentary Forum for OBC MPs Hanumantha Rao, General Secretary of the All India Federation of Backward Classes Employees Welfare Association G Karunanidhy and the film’s director Gnana Rajasekar were among those present at the screening.

Telugu version of ‘Periyar’ screened

LEADERS FROM ALL POLITICAL PARTIES TOOK TIME OFF TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO THE VISIONARY


A 14-year-old boy, who left home to play cricket with his friends at Maraimalar Nagar, has been reported missing since Wednes-day.

The boy identified as Vicky alias Vignesh,a VI Standard student, did not go to school on Wednesday saying that he was not well. However, he had gone to play cricket with his friends in a nearby area and did not return home.

When the boy’s father, Sekar, approached the po-lice to file a complaint along with a photograph of his son, the cops identi-fied him and said that Vi-gnesh was brought to the station by his friends after he was found sitting on top of a tree. Later the po-lice chased them out to the playground. Police have registered a case and are investigating.

14-year-old boy goes missing

Vignesh alias Vicky played hookey to school and went off to play cricket with his friends and did not return home, worrying his parents

Call to amend CVC Act for transparencyExpress News ServiceChennai, September 17

EMINENT citizens of Chennai city on Friday called for an amendment to the Chief Vigilance Commission Act to ensure more transparency in the process of appointing new CVC and that the composition of the committee for selecting new CVC does not give a steam-roller majority to the govern-ment.

Besides, they suggested that the panel should include the Vice-President of India as the Chairman and a nominee of the Chief Justice of India as a member apart from the exist-ing members. They also demanded that the proceedings of the committee for the selection of the new CVC should be published with full particulars of persons considered for the preparation of the panel and the reasons based on which the final selection was made.

The statement was signed by B S Raghavan,former Policy Adviser to UN (FAO), N Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner, Era Sezhiyan, former MP and M G Devasa-hayam, former Principal Secretary,Haryana government and many others.

Expressing concern over the controversy surrounding this year’s appointment to the post of the CVC, the citizens said that “the aim should be to fill the post with the best available person endowed with the essential qualities of fairness, im-partiality and independence, whether from within the gov-ernment or from public life.’’

“We consider it imperative that the panel of names from out of which the committee comprising the PM, Home Min-ister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha makes the selection for appointment to the post of the CVC should not only conform, but also be seen to conform, to the above fundamental criteria,” it said. Although there is no statutory requirement about the selection having to be unan-imous or based on consensus among the members of the com-mittee, there is an undeniable moral obligation on the part of the representatives of the government on the committee not to proceed with the appointment in case the Opposition lead-er, on any reasonable ground, disagrees with the selection of any particular individual, the statement further said.

Chennai: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Friday grant-ed financial assistance of Rs ten lakh to the family of Tamil scholar P V Somasundaranar who died in 1972. Af-ter coming to know through media reports that the heirs of the scholar were fighting poverty, he ordered the pay-ment to help the family, an official release here said ■ ENS

Aid to Tamil scholar’s family


CHIEF Minister M Karu-nanidhi on Friday an-nounced that bananas would be served five days a week to vegetarian stu-dents along with their noon-meal.

The decision to serve boiled eggs and bananas would benefit 57.75 lakh boys and girl students in the state and cost the ex-chequer Rs 125.35 crore.

Two days ago, the Chief Minister announced that under the Nutritious Meal Scheme, boiled eggs would be served to students for five days instead of three. The new announcements would come into effect im-mediately, said an official release here.

Apart from eggs and ba-nanas, the students are also served boiled ‘channa’ or green ‘dhal’ on Tues-days and boiled potatoes on Fridays.

Banana in noon-meal menu for students


REMEMBER the Battle of Buffet you participated in last year, where you had a whole array of finger-licking food

on a platter?The fund raising event for

NGOs is back with its second edition. This year’s target: `1.5 crore. It would be held at the Chennai Trade Centre on September 30. Last year’s

event saw 65 NGOs raise `90 lakh. Around 80 organisa-tions would participate in the Battle of Buffet 2010 that would offer finest cuisines by various participating hotels, including five-star hotels in

the city. Also on the agenda is a light music entertainment extravaganza by playback singer Srinivas. For their part, to experience the Joy of Giving, both the hotels and the artistes would offer their services free of cost.

City NGOs could make use of fundraising platform, which would be available to them at zero cost.

Any donor making a con-tribution of `5,000 to their cause would be invited to the event and 100 per cent of what the organisation raises would go back to them.

Mahadevan, MD, Oriental Cuisines and one of the or-ganisers of the event, said: “This is a unique opportunity for the NGOs to raise money through a completely spon-sored event. It will be an eve-ning of the finest cuisines by all participating five-star ho-tels coming together under one roof at the same time.”

5state✵ The New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai

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Finest hotels line up to enjoy joy of giving

Pvt schools shut, face govt ire

Swine flu claims 2 lives


STATISTICS point out 69 per cent of children in India have reported abuse, out of which 50 per cent were abused by “people they trusted”.

A three-day National Con-ference on “Child abuse for multi disciplinary profession-als” here comes at the right time to provide a platform to take forward the dialogue in making a “world fit for the child”. Doctors, social work-ers, activists, nurses, policy makers, lawyers all got to-gether to share ground reali-ties and how a convergence could be achieved in creating an environment where a child felt and was actually safe.

At the conference Shantha Sinha, Chairperson of Na-tional Commission for the Protection of Child Rights,

narrated shocking incidents of child abuse.

She said, “At the Commis-sion, we receive shocking cases. One them, a four-year-old boy sexually abused by a bus driver and conductor, who dropped him home.”

An eight-year-old, whose rape had made her lose her uterus, was now crying for justice. Two days ago we re-ceived two cases of gang rapes by the Railway Police. These cases are indicative of the magnitude of the issue.”

Dr Sinha recalled all the articles related to child rights from the Constitution as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She also highlighted, “It is high time we look a child as an equal. We need to evolve frame-works from the child perspec-tive and move away from adult-centric views.”

‘Turn India into tech power house’


A SECTION of residential plot owners of Morai village near Avadi on Friday alleged massive land grabbing by un-scrupulous elements with the active connivance of officials and politicians.

K Alagan told reporters that his three 0.75 ground plots in the village had been usurped by a group of power-ful ruffians who had the bless-ings of an MLA. “I bought the plot on installment from my hard earned life long savings. Today, the thugs do not even allow me to go near my plot. The pathway is blocked and there is a real threat to our

property and lives.”S Buvaneswaran, another

landowner, said his plot too had been taken away by the goons.

“Four men including me were jailed on fabricated charges for taking up the is-sue with the revenue and po-lice officials,” he said.

Explaining the background, P Pugalenthi, advocate for about 1,000 affected plot own-ers said a group of persons claiming to be power of attor-ney holders of the original landlord of Morai village — a Zamindar — had been un-leashing terror.

“These people claim that they are the owners. They contest the ownership of the

plot-owners and are threaten-ing these people to give up their claims or face conse-quences.”

Others said how govern-ment failed to provide a rem-edy and charged that officials acted in connivance with the land grabbers. A demonstra-tion was held on August 31 and several representations had been made to the Tiruval-lur district administration. Despite a court direction in response to a plea of plot owners, the district adminis-tration had not completed a survey of the village.

“We would agitate in front of Memorial Hall on Septem-ber 21 seeking justice,” the plot owners said.

Express News ServiceCoimbatore/Puducherry, September 17

SWINE flu has claimed two lives, one each in Coimbatore and Puducherry on Friday.

M Ponnusamy, a cotton trader from Nallichettypa-layam village near Annur, was brought from a private hospital to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital late on Thursday after he tested positive for the A(H1N1) vi-rus. He had been undergoing treatment in the other hospi-tal for sometime.

According to the sources, when doctors at the CMCH saw that Ponnusamy was in a very critical condition, they tried to provide artificial res-piration. However, he died within an hour.

While 120 persons have tested positive in Coimbatore for the A(H1N1) virus this

year, Ponnusamy, a father of two, is only the second person to have died of swine flu. Last year 930 persons were detect-ed with the virus and four among them had died.

Saraswathi (56) from Mu-dalairpet died of A(H1N1) infection at JIPMER due to respiratory failure. The wom-an, who was brought to JIP-MER on Thursday, was suf-fering from excessive pneu-monia, said JIPMER authori-ties.

This is the fourth death in Puducherry due to H1N1 and second patient from Puduch-erry to succumb to the dis-ease. The other two patients are from Cuddalore and Vil-lupuram in Tamil Nadu.

Another patient Dora Vandhana (20) tested positive for H1N1. She came to JIP-MER OPD and after taking treatment she left. The girl is now being traced.


STATE government issued notices to about six schools in the city and many more in Tamil Nadu, that was shut on Friday to protest ran-sacking of school in Pochampally in Krishnagiri district despite warning by the government against the closure.

The school authorities had said they would close down to protest ransacking of a school in Pocham-pally after a student was run over by the school bus on September 13. Director of Matriculation Schools K Devarajan told Express that ex-

cept for six schools in the Chennai the rest stayed open. Throughout Tamil Nadu, 71 per cent of schools remained open. Notices have been sent to all the school that remained closed asking them for an explana-tion, he added.

Prince Gajendra Babu, State Platform for Common School Sys-tem, condemned the action by the private schools. He said in Po-champally school, there has been no destruction to life but only the school infrastructure, which can be retrieved. The school should pay compensation to the family of the deceased boy, he pointed out.

In many schools no announce-

ment were made, even though some schools authorities changed their decision to remain open only on Thursday night. In fact, har-ried authorities of a particular school in the suburban areas had sent SMSes to the parents on Thursday night that the school would be open as usual.

Meanwhile in Salem over 500 persons including correspondents, teachers, office staff of private matriculation schools met the col-lector and gave a memorandum seeking security for schools and their students. In Madurai, 27 ma-triculation schools and the one in Sivaganga remained closed.

29 pc institutions in Tamil Nadu remained closed to protest ransacking of a school in Krishnagiri districtExpress News Service

Chennai, September 17

MAJOR R Senthil Velan has been con-ferred with Sena medal (Gallantry) for his professional excellence in an op-eration in Jammu and Kashmir during which he foiled the infiltration bid by terrorists.

Major Velan, who completed his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tambaram, graduated from the Ma-dras Christian College in 2000 and joined the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned on June 2002.

The Major and his men detected a large group of terrorists in a dense for-est and eliminated a few from close quarters. He sustained serious splinter injuries during the encounter.

Army Major from city awarded Sena Medal

Land grabbers linked to an MLA: Owners

5-member teamTiruvallur collector T P Rajesh in an official release issued on Friday, announ-ced the setting up of a panel to probe charges of land grabbing in Morai vil-lage. The five-member panel would comprise of the district revenue officer, deputy director, (land sur-vey), thasildhar (Ambat-tur), revenue divisional officer besides the addi-tional assistant to the col-lector (land). The panel has been asked to immediately start the probe and submit the enquiry report.

PROBE PANEL

Battle of Buffet

(From left) Sashi Kumar, general manager Hotel GRT; Karan Berry, general manager Courtyard by Marriott; Srinivas, singer; Lemuel Herbert, associate vice president and area manager, The Park Ho-tels; Aneesh K Deepak, manager-branding & corporate communications, NAIHAA; Latha A Kumaras-wami, managing trustee, Tanker Foundation; Nina Reddy, CMD, Hotel Savera; and Mahadevan, MD, Oriental Cuisines at a function held to announce the Battle of Buffet 2010 in the city on Friday

‘69% kids subjected to abuse in India’

V NarayanaMurthi | ENSVellore, September 17

IQBAL SINGH, Lt Governor of Puducherry, exhorted upon students to make the country into a technology power house of innovation.

Making this appeal in his inaugural address at the second edition of the three-day international knowl-edge festival, ‘graVITas10’, at VIT university here on Friday, Dr Singh said that today’s young generation had the potential and knowl-edge to provide solutions to several deep-rooted prob-

lems and challenges that the nation was encountering.

Pointing out that even though India possessed one third of the world’s scien-tific and technological man-power, Dr Singh regretted that only a few opted for re-search as a profession.

Chancellor G Viswanthan in his address wanted all universities to emerge as sources of innovation that would help improving the living conditions of the people.

CMD of the Indian Bank T M Bhasin also addressed the students.

Kanimozhi launches eye donation driveChennai: Kanimozhi, MP, said that women were the eyes of the country in a symbolic way and their active role in the eye donation campaign was in-dispensable.She said this while inau-gurating a eye donation campaign at Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital here on Fri-day.About 102 persons, including DMK councillors, Anna Varsity students and cadre of the DMK women’s wing, took pledge for eye donation ■ ENS

Enthiran release postponedChennai: Rajinikanth-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer ‘Enthiran’ will be re-leased on October 1, said a release from Sun Pictures. The Tamil, Telugu and Hindi versions of the film will be released world over, including the USA, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia ■ ENS

Train rescheduledChennai: Train No 5629 Chennai Egmore - Guwahati Weekly Express scheduled to leave Chennai Egmore at 22.30 hrs. on September 20 (Monday)has been rescheduled to leave Chen-nai Egmore at 00.05 hrs. on Septem-ber 21 (Tuesday) due to operational reasons ■ ENS

Police exam results outChennai: Results of the written test held for the post of Grade II consta-bles, jail warders and firemen on Au-gust 8 will be available on the website www.tn.gov.in/tnusrb The next stage of recruitment will be held from Octo-ber 4, a press release said ■ ENS

TAHDCO initiative: 32 underprivileged get jobChennai: It was a proud and grateful moment for 32 underprivileged youth, as they received employment offers from one of the largest banks in the country. The youth, belonging to SC/ST categories, completed a PG Diploma course in Banking Operations, and were offered employment by ICICI on Friday ■ ENS

Fill vacancies: Bank staffChennai: Bank Employees Federation of India activists took out a march near the Chennai Collectorate on Fri-day demanding to to fill up existing vacancies ■ ENS

Free IAS coaching Chennai: Sri Krishna Sweets, in association with www.jeywin.com, will offer free coaching for 50 students appear-ing for the Civil Services examinations as part of a new campaign called ‘In-dia Needs You,’ launched here on Fri-day. The campaign to increase the state’s output of Civil Servants, will include support by Sri Krishna Sweets in the form of latest study material, coaching in reputed institutions and other support. The students will be selected through an online exam to be on October 2. Candidates can regis-ter free of cost at www.jeywin.com till October 1 ■ ENS

State scan

S p a r e w h e e l

EXPRESS

The wheel of a chariot that was found when the Mangaliamman Koil Street at Pallavaram was dug up for subway construction on Friday

F e l l e d

J MANOHARAN

A tree that was felled for widening the storm water drain on M G Road in Adyar on Friday. It held up traffic on the road for quite sometime

stateThe New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai6

Agence France-PresseColombo, September 17

A COURT martial in Sri Lanka convicted former army chief Sarath Fonseka on Fri-day of corrupt military supply deals and sentenced him to three years in jail, a top military official told AFP.

The military court, whose decision must now be ratified by President Mahinda Raja-paksa, found that Fonseka favoured an arms company run by his son-in-law, the official said, asking not to be named.

Last month, Fonseka was stripped of his rank and pension after another court found him guilty of dabbling in politics while in uniform. Fonseka, 59, who led the military to victory over LTTE in May last year, fell out with the government and unsuccess-fully tried to unseat Rajapaksa in January polls.

“The chairman of the court read out its decision and it must now be ratified by the President,” the official said, adding that the closed-door court would make no formal an-nouncement. Rajapaksa is expected to ratify the decision - seen as a for-mality - when he returns from the UN general assembly session this month.

Fonseka’s lawyers had refused to make final submissions in his defence after accus-ing the court of serious irregularities. He was arrested two weeks after his defeat in the presidential elections and has remained in military custody since.

He won a seat in parliamentary elections in April, however, allowing him to attend Parliament. He has said the government is

seeking revenge for his decision to stand against the president and to keep him from speaking in Parliament. The first court mar-tial ordered the withdrawal of the medals

he earned during his 40-year mili-tary career and also stripped him of his rank and pension.

The former four-star general quit the military in November to become an opposition politician, but has since been embroiled in numerous court cases, which he says are orchestrated by the government. He faces charges of employing army deserters, as well as revealing state secrets - offences

that carry a 20-year jail term.The victory over the LTTE boosted the

popularity of Rajapakse among the ethnic Sinhalese majority, but the campaign has since been dogged by war crime allegations.

Fonseka had angered the government by saying he would willingly to testify before any international war crimes tribunal. Rajapakse however, has vowed to prevent any such probe.

Fonseka sentenced to 3 years in jail

NEPOTISM CHARGES

UN panel on Lanka begins workUnited Nations: A panel of experts, that was set up to advise UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the LTTE era, has started its work amidst Colombo’s refusal to allow its entry to the coun-try. This was after a meeting with the UN Secre-tary-General. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said in a statement. Despite Colombo’s protests, the Secretary-General had set up the panel in June ■ PTI

Express News ServiceSivakasi, September 17

THE Inspectorate of the Factories De-partment on Friday banned 12 fire-works units from functioning in Si-vakasi for violating factory rules. A flying squad constituted to inspect fire-works factories, in view of the Deep-avali festival, is conducting inspection in at least ten units everyday. Under the Factories Act, 12 fireworks units found to be stocking more chemicals than the authorised quantity, were banned from functioning, within the past 15 days.

The owners of the factories have to appeal to the head office of the Facto-ries Department in Chennai and prove that they stocked only the authorised quantity. The Chief Inspector of Facto-ries would then visit the units and and if he is convinced that no norm had been violated, he will permit the re-opening of the factories.

This process would take at least 45 days during which, the factories would remain shut. Of the units in Sivakasi, 200 had licence from the district admin-istration and the others have authori-sation from the Explosives Control Department in Nagpur.

Many units that had obtained licence from the district administration lease their factories to outsiders and it is said that these units violate norms. The foremen in the factories have to be appointed with permission from the Department of Explosives, which is not enforced in the case of factories with licence from the district. The control of fireworks units should be vested only with the Department of Explo-sives Control, social activists feel.

12 fireworks units banned for violating norms

M Rafi Ahmed | ENSCoimbatore, September 17

COIMBATORE station of All India Radio (AIR) is again in the news for wrong reasons. This time, the delay in going on air for nearly 30 minutes. However, the authorities hushed up the whole episode.

It was an ardent listener Palani-chamy, a handloom weaver from Annur, who brought to the notice of this paper that both primary channel and FM Rainbow com-menced its transmission half an hour late on September 4.

“Usually, I used to switch on the radio at 5.45 am itself since I start my daily chores in the early hours. On September 4, I was unable to tune into neither primary channel nor FM Rainbow,” he said and add-ed that he was under the impres-sion that there was some technical snag for the delay. And the trans-

mission began behind schedule.What went wrong at Coimbatore

station of All India Radio on Sep-tember 4 and who was at fault for the delay? Express probed the mat-ter threadbare to get a lead that the engineering assistant after closing of transmission on Sep-tember 3 (Friday night at 11 pm) locked and took the keys since there was no security personnel to hand it over.

Sources said that there was an anxious wait for both the trans-mission executive and announcers the next day as the entrance to the station was found closed. Frantic efforts were made to get the keys. At last, it came only to the embar-rassment of the waiting staff.

Admitting the delay in transmis-sion on September 4, S Kalanche-zhiyan, Assistant Station Engi-neer, Coimbatore AIR told Express that the engineering assistant had

to take the keys as the security personnel failed to report for duty. No doubt there were some discrep-ancies. However, the transmission started at 6.11 am. (23 minutes late as per log book entry).

When asked about the normal time for commencing the transmis-sion, a programme executive pre-ferring anonymity told this paper that the tone is switched on at 5.45 am and signature tune is played at 5.48 followed by opening announce-ment at 5.50 am. This is the usual practise.

A cross section of the listeners whom this paper spoke to were of the view that it’s the first time in the history of public broadcasting service that transmission was de-layed not due to technical problem, but due to the lethargy of the staff concerned. This only proves to show that all is not well at Kovai AIR.

Kovai AIR tunes in late to transmission

Express News ServiceCoimbatore, September 17

DEPUTY Chief Minister M K Stalin ordered for setting up a high-level panel for shifting of the Central Prison paving way for developing Semmozhi Poonga (botanical gar-den to commemorate World Classi-cal Tamil conference).

Discussing the development ac-tivities at Coimbatore airport, he said that attempts should be made to complete work on Semmozhi Poonga as soon as possible. He or-dered setting up a committee to identify suitable place for the Cen-

tral Prison and directed for conven-ing an advisory committee meeting of high-level panel for execution of shifting it. A decision should be taken at the earliest, he added.

Stalin said that work on flyover at a cost of `100 crore at Gan-dhipuram would be tak-en up during the first or last week of October. Dis-trict Collector P Umanath apprised him of the detailed report for the flyover project.

He was also in-

formed about the ongoing works of Samathuvapuram at Arasur. Sourc-es said Stalin would inaugurate

Samathuvapuram, laying of foundation for flyover and

commencement of develop-ment work at government hospital at `50 crore next month.

Rural Industries Minis-ter Pongalur N Palanisamy,

Khadhi Minister Ramachan-dran, Corporation Com-

mi ssi oner A nshul M i s h r a , C o P C

S y l e n d r a B a b u were present.

High-level panel on shifting of Kovai prison

Sarath Fonseka

India ticks off Pak for meddling in Kashmir PAGE | 11

Terror across bordernation 7A Metro train on a trial run between Nehru Place

and Okhla in New Delhi

A Muslim boy offers cake to a BJP supporter sporting a mask of Narendra Modi on the leader’s 61st birthday

✵ The New Indian Express I Saturday, September 18, 2010 I Chennai

Anita Saluja | ENSNew Delhi, September 17

THE RSS has come out against any move for deferment of the judgment in Ayodhya title-suit by the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, which is slated for September 24.

Given the hard positions on both sides, the RSS seems to recognise that a negotiated settlement is unlikely.

Reacting to the rejection of the de-ferment plea by the court on Friday, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav wel-comed it.

Describing the petition as an unnec-essary and an unwarranted attempt to delay the verdict, Ram Madhav said the court did well to reject it. Respond-ing to the Government’s appeal to maintain peace and order after the de-livery of the judgment by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, Ram Madhav said, “The Government is doing its duty. As law-abiding citi-zens, we shall do our bit to maintain peace and calm.”

Signalling readiness to face the ver-dict, the RSS appears to realise that a settlement is not really possible. While the Muslims are insisting on the Mosque at the disputed site, the Sangh Parivar also holds the view that Ram

Temple must come up at the Ram Jan-masthan, or the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The Hindus could not yield even an inch of land and thus there was no scope for compromise, which involved give-and-take. Whatever the verdict, the Sangh Parivar would then weigh the legal options available to it.

“If the verdict comes in favour of the Hindus, it will be welcomed, but if they are denied the privilege of con-structing the Ram Temple at the Jan-masthan, they are ready to uppe the ante against the verdict and ask for legislation.” Ram Madhav said.

Even before the verdict, the Sangh

Parivar is seeing the virtue in enact-ing legislation for this purpose. Ac-cording to them, only if a law is en-acted to hand over the entire Ram Janmasthan complex to the Hindus, will the problem be solved.

Significantly, this was also the posi-tion originally taken by the BJP, when it brought the Ram Temple issue on its political agenda, way back in 1989.

The BJP adopted the Ram Janmab-hoomi resolution at the party conclave in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh from June 9-11, 1989, where it rejected litigation as an option and suggested possibly a negotiated settlement or else legislation in Parliament as the solution.

The BJP resolution stated, “The BJP calls upon the Rajiv Government to adopt the same positive approach in respect of Ayodhya that the Nehru Government did with regard to Som-nath. The sentiments of the people must be respected and Ram Janmast-han handed over to the Hindus - if pos-sible through a negotiated settlement or else by legislation. Litigation cer-tainly is no answer.”

However, now that the judgment day is approaching near, the BJP and the RSS have adopted a cautious approach, keenly awaiting the verdict.

Bhopal, September 17

TO ensure that no untoward incident follows the judgment of the Ayodhya case, which is sched-uled to be delivered on September 24, the ruling BJP Government has stepped up the security forces in the state.

Following the riots, which took place after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, the then BJP Government in the state was dismissed along with the party governments in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

“I don’t think that communal situation like 1992 will occur in Madhya Pradesh post Ayodhya verdict, but we are not taking any chances and the police is maintaining a tight vigil in the state,” Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta said. “We have requested for 50 companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Special Armed Force (SAF) in the state for maintaining law and order,” he said. “We have directed offi-cials to deploy entire police force in the field including those who were not doing field duties at present and also called the 100 percent home guard jawans in the state for maintaining com-munal harmony at any cost,” he said.

The minister claimed that even though there are remote chances of communal disturbance, anybody found indulging in such activities will be firmly dealt with. “Search operation and ar-rest of history-sheeters and anti-social elements is already going on for ensuring peace in the state,” Gupta said ■ PTI

Santwana Bhattacharya | ENSNew Delhi, September 17

WITH the Allahabad High Court rejecting the petition seeking de-ferment of September 24 verdict on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with senior party leaders on Fri-day.

In the meeting, the Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvi-jay Singh briefed the party chief on the current environment in the state and the efforts being made by the party to help main-tain peace and order.

While the Centre has deployed a large contingent of paramili-tary forces in UP at the request of the Mayawati Government, the Congress is worried that any communal flare-up in the state would impact the polls in neigh-bouring Bihar and may lead to more tensions in J&K.

The Congress, which usually side-steps controversial issues especially relating to the courts, on Friday broke the rule by stat-ing that the dispute should be resolved amicably or the court

verdict should be respected.“The Congress stance is either

the issue gets revolved through mutual understanding and talks or everybody should accept the court’s verdict,” Congress gen-eral secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

Denying that the government move to ask to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony was ‘alarmist’, Dwivedi said, “Any government will ap-peal to its people to maintain peace as a precautionary mea-sure. There’s nothing wrong in that.

“It was the government’s re-sponsibility to see that no untow-ard incident happens and that is why an appeal was made,” Dwivedi added.

The government on Thursday appealed to the people to main-tain calm after the September 24 judgment, saying any party not satisfied with the verdict can go for legal remedies available un-der the law.

A three-judge special Bench of the Allahabad High Court is scheduled to pronounce the ver-dict.

Express News ServiceNew Delhi, September 17

FEARING possible flare-up in communal passions because of airing of provocative speeches and views before the court ver-dict on Ayodhya title-suit, the Centre is planning to issue a tough advisory to the electronic media.

“We have told some TV channels not to show and air views that can create com-munal disturbance. If they don’t heed, we may have to take stronger measures against them after issuing a formal advi-sory,” a senior government official said.

The government thinks that there is no reason for any community to get agitated and react, but for the provocative news as even if the verdict goes against it as stay can always be obtained from the Supreme Court within four days.

The Ayodhya verdict is expected to be pronounced on September 24 that happens to be Friday. To get a stay on the verdict, the aggrieved party may approach the apex court on Monday and get the orders on Tuesday.

Apprehensive of the communal ele-ments trying to stoke up religious senti-ments if the verdict goes one way or the other, the Union Cabinet on Thursday passed a resolution asking people to re-main peaceful. To keep the situation un-der control, the Centre has already pro-vided about 4,500 Central Paramilitary personnel to Uttar Pradesh while several companies have been put on the standby.

In anticipation of backlash from reli-gious fanatics, the Uttar Pradesh Govern-ment has already done some spadework by constituting peace committee in vil-lages and towns of sensitive districts.

Advisory likely to e-media on airing provocative content

Sonia holds meeting with senior leaders

Shillong: A woman was on Friday arrested here for allegedly confiscating two children after their mother failed to repay a loan to her, police said.Rosa Mawrie had a few months ago lent `3.25 lakh to Meryline Gatpoh, a resident of the outskirts of Shillong at a rate of 20 per cent interest, according to police.Meryline paid back `1 lakh. However, after she failed to repay the remaining amount, Rosa first impounded her vehicle and later on September 8, allegedly picked up Meryl-ine’s eight-year-old daughter Preeti from her school. Again on September 15, Rosa

took home Meryline’s 12-year-old son Is-mail, they said.Meryline filed a police complaint on Thurs-day night after which the two siblings were rescued and the vehicle recovered.The children told reporters at the police station that they were made to do house-hold chores like sweeping and cleaning utensils and were even bashed up at times.“I did this because I wanted to show her that I was serious about getting back my money,” Rosa told police.Rosa was later produced in the court, DSP (Crime) Vivek Syeim said ■ PTI

Kids ‘abducted’ after mother fails to repay loan

SECURITY BEEFED UP IN MADHYA PRADESH

The outfit feels that a negotiated settlement is unlikely

RSS HAILS HC REFUSAL TO DEFER AYODHYA VERDICT

Other stories

Savarkar’s son passes awayMumbai: Vishwas Savarkar, son of revolutionary freedom fighter Vi-nayak Damodar Savarkar, passed away here on Friday due to old age- related ailments. He was 83 and is survived by his wife and two daughters. Savarkar breathed his last at 11 am on Friday morn-ing at his residence at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, family mem-bers said. Vishwas penned four books and also wrote articles and columns in magazines and news-papers ■ PTI

Rape case registered against SP MLASultanpur (UP): A rape case was on Friday registered against sit-ting Samajwadi Party MLA Anup Sanda. Acting on a complaint filed by Samreen Khan, a case against Sanda under various Sections of the IPC has been filed and a probe is on, ASP Ajay Shankar Rai said. Khan, a resident of Gabhadiya lo-cality here, has alleged in the FIR that she was being subjected to criminal assault since the past three years by Sanda, who had promised her a job and whenever she had objected to it he had threatened to kill her ■ PTI

Rice grain Ganesha seeks to enter world recordsVadodara: A painting, depicting Lord Ganesha on a grain of rice, here is all set to get into the record books for being the tiniest image of the elephant-headed deity. “Installed at a pandal in Chhani Road by NGO Jaago Vado-dara Jago, the Ganesha weighing 0.20 mg is 5mm long,” its presi-dent Narendra Rawat said ■ PTI

Communal harmony

nationThe New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai ✵ 8

Hyderabad, September 17

SEEKING to enforce discipline in the party vertically divided over the Telan-gana issue, the Andhra Pradesh Con-gress on Friday asked its MPs and other leaders to exercise “utmost re-straint” in their actions and while talk-ing to media.

“It is high time we did some soul searching whether it is right on our part to bring in disrepute to the party, either through our actions or contro-versial statements before the press and media,” AP Congress President D Srinivas said in a letter to the MPs.

“As members of a most democratic political party in the country, we have all the freedom to express our view-point at all levels -- from the DCC, PCC to AICC and the High Command.

Hence, we may need to exercise ut-most restraint in such crucial moments to uphold our dignity and the honour of the Congress party. Thereby, strengthening the leadership of Sonia Gandhiji,” he said.

The letter comes in the wake of a war of words and a vertical divide in the Congress state unit between lead-

ers of Telangana and non-Telangana regions.The divide is such that the Congress leaders from Telangana are seeking a separate Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) for the region.Ex-pressing serious concerns over the on-going war of words, Srinivas had ear-lier asked his party members to ob-serve restraint.

The criss-cross criticism and heated exchanges at the level of highest digni-taries like the parliamentarians and other senior party leaders and their occasional expressions in the press and media tend to sow the seeds of region-wise hatred.

“They do cause a real damage to the social fabric of the state, which may become difficult to patch up later,” the PCC president said in the letter.

The Srikrishna Committee, appoint-ed by the Centre, to look into the Telan-gana issue and the UPA Government would give serious consideration once the panel submits its report, he said.

“Congress alone can change the pre-vailing scenario in the state and can bring back normalcy by providing a solution to the utmost satisfaction of the people,” Srinivas added ■ PTI

Cong MPs in AP asked to do ‘soul searching’

It is high time we did some soul searching whether it is right on our part to bring in disrepute to the party, either through our actions or controversial statements before the press and media

— APCC PRESIDENT D SRINIVAS

New Delhi, September 17

A PROMINENT organisation of fishermen has criticised the draft Coastal Regulation Zone notifica-tion prepared by Ministry of En-vironment and forests claiming that it does not recognise the right of fishing community to live along the coastline.

The notification neither pro-tects the fishing communities nor the coastal environment, chair-person of National Fishworkers Forum Matanhy Saldanha said. The draft notification has been put up on the website of Ministry of Environment and Forest. Sal-danha claimed that none of the recommendations made by the fishing communities at the 10 con-

sultative meetings held across the country are reflected in the notifi-cation. At each and every consul-tation fishing communities along with other traditional occupants of the coastline of the country had consistently and very strongly demanded that the notification enshrine their right to live along the coastline, he said ■ PTI

M a k i n g a d i f f e r e n c e

A model displaying the creation of designers Pragya and Megha during the first day of Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai on Friday

‘CRZ norms ignore rights of fishing community’

Accused can move same court more than onceKolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ruled that if a petition seeking antici-patory bail has been rejected, a peti-tioner can move the same court again. A five-judge special Bench headed by Chief Justice J N Patel passed the or-der allowing an accused to move the court seeking anticipatory bail more than once on the plea by petitioners that a Bar on moving the same court curtailed their rights.So far, an accused as per a three-judge Bench order of the high court in 2001, was not allowed to move the same court for anticipatory bail if fail-ing once ■ PTI

Apollo cardiac centre in TirumalaTirumala: Governor E S L Narasimhan inaugurated Apollo Hospital Emergen-cy Cardiac Centre at Aswini Hospital on Tirumala on Thursday. Shobhana Kamineni, director of Apollo Hospital, explained to the Governor that the unit was set up in a span of 12 hours. It will be run round the clock by Apol-lo Hospital, with four doctors and suf-ficient paramedical staff. Tirupati MP Chinta Mohan, TTD executive officer IYR Krishna Rao and chief vigilance and security officer M K Singh were present. Vimala Narasimhan also spoke on the occasion ■ ENS

MBA admissions without CET for 15,000 seatsMumbai: The Maharashtra Govern-ment has decided to give an opportu-nity to graduates from any faculty to take admission in 15,000 vacant MBA seats in the state on the basis of their marks. The decision was taken recent-ly by higher and technical education department enabling students from any faculty to take admission in the MBA course based on their marks, without appearing for the mandatory common entrance test (CET). “This is a student-centric decision and they should take benefit from the educa-tional facilities provided to them in the state,” Higher and Technical Edu-cation Minister Rajesh Tope said.There are over 40,000 MBA seats in Maharashtra. Despite CET and four rounds of common admission process (CAP), about 15,000 seats remained vacant this academic year■ PTI

Other stories

Bhubaneswar, September 17

A NEWSPAPER publisher was arrested here for alleg-edly duping a student, but media groups and the Oppo-sition parties are protesting the move and allege that he has been framed for writing against the government.

Bikash Swain, the owner, publisher and printer of ver-nacular Oriya daily Sury-aprava was arrested on Thursday for allegedly dup-ing a student of `1.5 lakh on the pretext of providing him a job in a public sector un-dertaking. The complainant, Mohit Panda, on Tuesday al-leged that Swain gave him an appointment letter that was not genuine. When he de-manded his money back, Swain allegedly threatened to kill him.

Although the alleged trans-action was done about eight months ago, Panda lodged the complaint only on Tues-day. Swain was arrested and remanded to judicial custody after the court rejected his bail plea. The Opposition parties, including the Con-gress and the BJP and jour-nalists’ organisations see it as an attempt by the govern-ment to suppress the media.

Suryaprava is edited by for-mer CBI director Uma Shan-kar Mishra. “The paper has been exposing the misdeeds of the government since its launch in 2008,” its managing editor Naveen Das said. “He (Swain) was arrested by a group of policemen when he was on his way to attend to his ailing father in a hospital. When he was not avoiding the police, what prompted police to treat him like a criminal?” he said■ IANS

Orissa newspaper owner being framed, say media, Oppn

As teacher, eunuch chooses a life of dignity

Mughalsarai (UP), September 17

DRESSED in a sari and holding a book in one hand, Lata writes a question on the blackboard as her primary class students look on eagerly. There is nothing un-usual in this - except that the 35-year-old is a eunuch.

What is unusual is the profes-sion she has strived to be in, instead of being limited to sing-ing and dancing on social occa-sions like most other eunuchs in India. Lata teaches at the Cen-tral Public School in Mughalsa-rai town of Chandauli district, 300 km from state capital Luc-know.

“A eunuch donning the role of a teacher is highly unlikely, as in Indian society the community is subjected to mockery and ridicule,” Lata said.

“Eunuchs are also human be-

ings, why don’t people realise that? We also have brains and can do much more than dance and sing at weddings and other social functions. Given an oppor-tunity, eunuchs too can do vari-ous jobs, but they need to take an initiative in this regard,” said Lata.

Fondly referred to as ‘didi’ or elder sister, Lata primarily teaches English and mathemat-ics to students from Classes I to IV. Lata, who has shoulder-length hair, dresses in a wom-an’s attire, mostly a g rey coloured sari with a matching blouse. “Lata appears more like a woman. It’s not because of the physical appearance that we call her didi. The main reason is her caring and considerate nature.

Lata come across as an elder sister to students and all of us,” school principal Vinay Kumar

said. Kumar is the person who had inducted Lata as a teacher in the school a year ago. “Around a year back, there were some va-cancies for teachers in our school. Lata approached me in my office and asked me whether eunuchs could apply,” said Ku-mar.

“I replied in the affirmative, thinking she was not being seri-ous. Taking a dig at Lata, I also went on to add that there’s no educational qualification for eu-nuchs and they only need to qualify in a test,” said Kumar.

“To my surprise, Lata not only appeared for the test but also got a good score. Then I de-cided to keep my word and of-fered Lata the job of a teacher,” he added.

Lata, originally a native of Bihar, lived for several years in slums there with other eunuchs.

Chandauli shares a border with Bihar. “My parents were, of course, aware of my natural de-formities. But they still chose to keep me with them for several years. Gradually, feminine traits continued. I could not control myself and neighbours and other relatives came to know, forcing my parents to drive me out,” said Lata.Fortunately, Lata had com-pleted Class 12 by that time.

“My parents were influenced by relatives and neighbours who told them that my presence would adversely affect the mat-rimonial prospects of my older siblings. Later, some eunuchs took me away and would force me to dance and sing at wed-dings,” said Lata. “I had to face many hardships; people used me in many ways. “But with god’s grace, I managed to get a re-spectable job■ IANS

Unique feat

NO HC RELIEF FOR GUTKA BARONS TTD TO PROCURE MALE ELEPHANTExpress News ServiceTirumala, September 17

THE Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is plan-ning to procure a male elephant. In the past, the TTD had some male elephants and the last of them, Ganesh, was sent back to the donor in Kerala.

The role of pachyderms in conducting rituals in the temple is well known.

The celestial bath, abhishekam, to the main deity in the sanctum sanctorum will start after elephants bring water from the Akasa Ganga waterfall, on Fri-days.

Later, priests draw water from the golden well inside the temple, though, by tradition, the temple elephants bring the water in a brass pot.

Besides, elephants are used in processions and other festivities at Tirupati, Tiruchanoor and Srinivasa Mangapuram and other surrounding temples.

Mumbai, September 17

THE Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its order on a plea by gut-ka barons Rasiklal Dhariwal and Jagdish Joshi challenging issue of nonbailable warrants against them by a special court in a case of al-leged nexus with the underworld.

Justice Ajay Khanvilkar and Jus-tice U D Salvi asked the CBI to file written arguments by September 24 and told Rasiklal Dhariwal of Man-ikchand gutka brand and Jagdish Joshi of Goa gutka label to give written submissions by October 4. The warrants were issued in June

2006 by a MCOCA court as Dhari-wal and Joshi were reported to be in Dubai and not available to the CBI. Since then their whereabouts are not known.

Oral arguments by the CBI and the two gutka manufacturers con-cluded on Friday with the CBI

claiming it has enough evidence to show that Dhariwal and Joshi had helped underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in establishing gutka busi-ness in Pakistan. Additional Solici-tor General Darius Khambata and special public prosecutor Raja Thakre submitted that the CBI has proof to show that the duo had gone to Karachi to meet Dawood to settle some business dispute.

“It was during this meeting that Dhariwal had agreed to part with his formula for making gutka and give it to Dawood to help him start a gutka manufacturing unit in Pak-istan,” CBI lawyers submitted■ PTI

INFIGHTING

The notification neither protects the fishing communities nor the coastal environment

— MATANHY SALDANHA

PTI

Fondly referred to as ‘didi’, Lata primarily teaches English and mathematics to students from Classes I to IV Ahmedabad | New Delhi,

September 17

THE BJP on Friday broke into the Congress bastion winning the Kathlal Assembly byelection for the first time in five decades, giv-ing Gujarat CM Narendra Modi a victory gift on his 61st birthday.

Kanu Dabhi won by over 21,000 votes, defeating his nearest Con-gress rival Ghelabhai Zala. Dab-hi got 62,120 votes, while Zala polled 40,573 votes in the bypoll to Kathlal seat in Central Guja-rat’s Kheda district.

The constituency is represent-ed in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister Dinsha Patel. The adja-cent Anand parliamentary con-stituency is represented by an-other Union Minister Bharat Solanki. With this win, the strength of the BJP in the 182-member state assembly has increased to 122 ■ PTI

BJP wrests Kathlal from Cong on Modi’s B’day

Naidu blames Cong for backwardness of Telangana regionHyderabad, September 17

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday blamed the Congress for the backwardness of the Telanga-na region of Andhra Pradesh.

He, however, did not utter Telan-gana even once during his 15-min-ute speech and referred to the re-gion ‘witnessing statehood agita-tion’ only as the ‘erstwhile Hydera-bad state’.

The TDP chief was addressing party workers at the NTR Bhavan here, after hoisting the national flag, in celebration of the amalga-mation of the erstwhile Hyderabad state with the Indian Union in 1948.

“Development of the region came to a standstill because of the widespread corruption under the Congress rule. It was only under the TDP regime that the region progressed,” the former chief min-ister said, pointing to the construc-tion of irrigation projects, setting up of educational institutes, exten-sion of health care facilities and creation of job opportunities dur-ing the party’s rule.

“Since 1995, we have developed the region enormously with Hyderabad as the hub”.

“We have done a lot over the years but much more needs to be

done. We should review the devel-opment that has happened in the region since the amalgamation and re-dedicate ourselves for progress,” he said.

The TDP leader paid homage to those who laid down their lives to free it from the Nizam’s rule ■ PTI

The TDP chief did not utter Telangana even once during his speech and referred to the region only as the ‘erstwhile Hyderabad state’

Genocide: Tribunal indicts 4 regime heads in CambodiaSrimoy Kar | ENSSiem Reap, September 17

CAMBODIANS have at last something to cheer about. The Trial Tribunal investigating into the Khmer Rouge excesses have indicted four regime heads for atrocities against humanity and genocide.

The partial relief coming after 30 years may have made the im-patient Cambodians happy but that is, unfortunately, not the end of the story. The indicted still have a chance to appeal and the

process may even take more than two years as none of the four has admitted to his complicity and together have been vigorously contesting the charges against them.

The four top honchos are; the former Khmer Rouge head of the state Khieu Samphan, former Social Action Minister Ieng Thirith, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and the ‘Brother No 2’ Nuon Chea. The despot Pol Pot died a natural death in 1998 with-out even facing any trial.

So far only one of the regime

heads, Kaing Guek Eav (known as Duch), has been found guilty in the 30-year-old trial history and sentenced to 30 years of im-prisonment.

Duch, a mathematics teacher, was the head of the infamous ‘Prison S-21’ in Phnom Penh which is now called the ‘Geno-cide Museum’.

He was responsible for con-verting a high school into a pris-on to torture those who opposed Khmer Rouge and sent 14,000 prisoners to various killing fields in three years.

All these people have been charged with collaborating in and masterminding the killing of roughly 2.2 million people which constituted one-fourth of Cambodia’s population between 1975 and 1979.

Soon after the indictment, the French Co-Investigating Judge, Marcel Lemonde told mediaper-sons that the trial is a very com-plex issue and therefore, is time consuming.

It is more complex than the Nuremberg Trials for former Nazi leaders, he said as the case

file of Khmer Rouge runs into 3.5 lakh pages and evidence not forthcoming.

The trial has been an inexo-rably slow process because Cambodia follows the French jurisprudence being a former French colony.

The French judge, whose term is expiring soon, admitted that the indictment is not a de-finitive statement against the Khmer Rouge era but has estab-lished the fundamentals and the framework for a high-level judi-cial debate.

The four top honchos are the former Khmer Rouge head of the state Khieu Samphan, former Social Action Minister Ieng Thirith, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and the ‘Brother No 2’ Nuon Chea

They had helped Dawood Ibrahim in setting up gutka business in Pak

It was only under the TDP regime that the region progressed

9nation✵ The New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai

An elephant feeding her baby at the Assam state zoo-cum-botanical garden in Guwahati on FridayPTI

Guwahati, September 17

THE existence of several sattras or Vaishnav monasteries across Assam has been threatened by the encroachment by illegal migrants, mostly from Ban-gladesh. More than 7,000 bighas of land, belonging to 39 sattras are in the grip of encroachers with at least 85 percent of the encroached land being occupied by illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, the advisor of the Asom Sattra Mahasabha Bhadra Krishna Go-swami alleged.

He said the encroachment came to light when a survey was conducted by the Mahasabha, the apex body of about 900 Vaishnavaite sattras of the state. State Revenue Minister Bhumid-har Barman had mentioned in the last Assembly session that the government

h a d n o do c u -ments related to the encroach-ment of sattra land, but had c o n s t i t u t e d a c o m m i t t e e t o look into the is-sue.

The Gauhati High Court had also directed the state government to free sattra land from en-croachment and

the Deputy Commissioners and Super-intendents of Police of the districts, under which the sattras fall, have been asked to evict the encroachers. A dele-gation of the Mahasabha also met Gov-ernor J B Patnaik who assured them that he would urge the government to take necessary steps soon in this direc-tion. Among the worst-affected are Ram Rai Kuti Sattrasal sattra in Dhubri dis-trict, Rampur sattra in Nagaon, Adi Alengi sattra, Barpeta sattra, Kobai-kata and Alipukhuri sattras in Moriga-on district, Goswami said■ PTI

INTRUSIONTHREATENS

ASSAM’S SATTRAS

Historical worksMost of the sattras possess many rare and historical doc-uments and works of arts which must be preserved for posterity and the institutions should be developed as tourist destinations

Agartala, September 17

AN ambitious project to modernise the seismic monitoring system in India’s northeast -- said to be the sixth most quake-prone belt in the world -- has been taken up by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), officials said here on Friday.

“A VSAT-based real time seismic monitoring network (RTSMN) over the northeast consisting of two central receiving stations (CRS) -- one in

Shillong and the other in New Delhi -- is under commissioning,” meteoro-logical department director Dilip Saha said.

He said the RTSMN would be a sat-ellite-based system and it would have 21 stations across eight northeastern states. Approximately `25 lakh would be spent on each station for commis-sioning the equipment and developing necessary infrastructure.

The RTSMN stations are Guwahati, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Silchar,

Jorhat and Lekhapani in Assam, Yu-pia, Tawang, Pashighat and Zero in Arunachal Pradesh, Tura and Shillong in Meghalaya, Mokokchung and Ko-hima in Nagaland, Agartala and Belo-nia in Tripura, Aizawl and Saiha in Mizoram, Imphal in Manipur and Ta-dong in Sikkim.

“After commissioning of the RTSMN, more accurate seismic activi-ties relating to earthquake would be known,” Saha stated.

The Geological Survey of India

(GSI) earlier notified that the moun-tainous northeast comprising eight states could experience a devastating earthquake as the region is considered by seismologists to be the sixth worst quake-prone belt in the world.

Assam experienced a massive trem-or measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale Aug 15, 1950, that claimed some 1,500 lives.

The worst quake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, was felt in the region in 1897. It killed 1,600 people■ IANS

New system to monitor seismic activity in North East

Anand Raj Singh | ENSLucknow, September 17

FOUR students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have been arrested for repeatedly ragging a disabled student and creating an MMS of him being beat-en naked.

Two other old students of the univer-sity, have also been named in the First Information Report.

Though the boy was harassed con-tinuously in spite of several complaints to authorities, action was initiated only when he threatened to commit suicide.

According to Mohan Yadav, in-charge of the Lanka police station in Varanasi, the arrested have been identified as Ashish Gautam, Mohit Shukla, Grijesh Tiwari and Anuj Lal.

The disabled boy, now a B.Com IInd year student, told reporters that in Oc-tober 2009, six students, comprising his classmates and seniors, took him out of the varsity campus, beat and undressed him and recorded the whole incident. An MMS on the torture was distributed among varsity students.

New Delhi, September 17

A 28-year-old mentally disturbed wom-an, who had been locked in her house in central Delhi by her family for the past two years, was on Friday rescued by po-lice and an NGO. Police and representa-tives of the NGO, Sudinalay, went to the house in Daryaganj on Friday morning after an unidentified person made a telephone call to the latter. They found the woman locked inside a room in the fourth floor, a police official said.

Police and the NGO found the room was very unhygienic and the woman was looking ‘very frail,’.

The moment they opened the door, the woman asked for water and complained that she had not had food or water for the past three-four days, he said.

She also told them that she has been locked in a room by her family because they did not want her condition to come in the way of her younger sister’s mar-riage. She has two brothers and three sisters. Her family told police that the woman was not cooperating in her treat-ment and they had no option but to lock her up, the official said■ PTI

4 students held for ragging disabled pupil

Woman locked up in house for

2 yrs rescued

SPIRITUAL BODIES SEEK OVERHAUL OF TTD ADMINISTRATIONExpress News ServiceTirupati, September 17

SPIRITUAL organisations situated here have resolved to submit a memorandum to the TTD specified authority seeking overhauling of the administration.

At a round table on ‘Reforms in TTD: The role of spiritual institu-tions’ organised by Tirumala Tiru-pati Parirakshana Samiti here on Friday, representatives of spiritual institutions resolved to lead a del-egation to the specified authority to deliberate on the measures for improving pilgrim amenities in Tirumala and promoting spiritual activities in Tirupati.

The memorandum will have a list of suggestions on a host of is-sues such as accommodation, dar-shan, sevas, continuous training to employees, security, protection of environment, renovation of TTD temples, and safeguarding TTD properties and ornaments.

The meeting also urged the TTD to take a proactive role to check conversions through spiritual ac-tivities in remote areas and among

the vulnerable sections and also support the outfits which were striving to bring those converted to other religions, for whatever reason, back to the Hindu fold.

The speakers in one voice de-manded removal of all IMFL out-lets, bars and mutton stalls located in pilgrim areas like choultries, bus stand and railway station in Tirupati, as they presented an un-pleasant view to the pilgrims ar-riving from various places and marred the spiritual ambience of the town. TTPS district convener Narendra said the participants also decided to ensure effective co-ordination among the Tirupati-based spiritual organisations for developing the town into a spiri-tual centre.

M o m ’ s p e t

Express News ServiceTirumala, September 17

LORD Venkateswara was carried atop the glittering Suryaprabha Va-hanam, one of most important of the 16 sacred carriers of the incarnation of Maha Vishnu, in a procession on the seventh day of the annual Salakat-la Brahmotsavams here on Friday.

The Lord was ador ned with shankhu, chakra, gada and bow and arrow, and divyabharanams such as nagabharanam, lakshmi haaram, diamond crown and the diamond ar-mour. Showing abhaya hastam, he blessed the enthralled devotees who thronged the temple in large num-bers. With a large number of devo-tees offering the traditional harati to the processional deity all along the four Mada streets, it took 40 minutes more than the scheduled time for the Suryaprabha Vahanam to reach the Vahana Mandapam from where it started.

Devotees chanted ‘Govinda, Gov-inda’ as they witnessed Surya Deva holding the reins of a galloping sev-en horses, which were pulling the chariot, carry the Lord.

Suryaprabha Vahanam

procession held at Tirumala

Hyderabad, September 17

THE ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, principal Opposition the TDP, the BJP and other parties on Friday cel-ebrated the merger of the erstwhile Nizam state with the Indian Union.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah, state con-gress president D Srinivas, Congress MPs and other party leaders offered homage to the country’s first Home Min-ister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other national leaders at Gandhi Bhavan -- the state headquarters of Congress party-- on the occasion.

It was Sardar Patel, who made the Nizam agree to merge the state Hydera-bad with Indian Union on September 17, 1948.

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu un-furled the national flag at the party headquarters, while state BJP president G Kishan Reddy led the party’s celebra-tions. While the BJP celebrated the day as ‘Telangana Liberation Day,’ which signified that it was the day Telangana was liberated from Nizam’s rule, other parties celebrated it as the day of merg-er with India as they said they did not want to hurt the sentiments of minori-ties■ PTI

Political parties fete Hyderabad Merger Day

Modernisation

UPSC recommends removal of IPS officer

Vikram Sharma | ENSHyderabad, September 17

IN a major embarrassment to the Andhra Pradesh Government and the IPS frater-nity alike, the Union Public Service Com-mission (UPSC) has recommended that senior IPS officer Sreeram Tiwari be dis-missed from service with immediate ef-fect following an enquiry by the Border Security Force (BSF) officials against him.

This is perhaps the first time that the UPSC has recommended such a stringent action against an AP cadre IPS officer. The 11-member UPSC has sent the recom-mendation to the Ministry of Home Af-fairs (MHA) which, in all likelihood, will endorse the same. An official order is likely to reach the General Administra-tion Department (GAD)soon.

Top sources disclosed to Express that there were several allegations against Tiwari, a 1982 batch IPS officer, while he

was working as the Inspector General, BSF in North Bengal Frontier and based in Siliguri. The allegations range from “misuse of office” to indulging in “cer-tain acts” which brought disrepute to the BSF.

The allegations surfaced while Tiwari was posted in Siliguri way back in 2006. In November the same year, he was sus-pended from BSF with immediate effect and was asked to appear before top offi-cials of the para-military force at its headquarters in New Delhi. A departmen-tal investigation followed.

“A detailed report was submitted re-cently after which, as per the norms, the matter was placed before the UPSC which wrote to the MHA recommending his re-moval. The report proves allegations against Tiwari,” the sources said. Action against any IPS officer is taken in consul-tation with the UPSC.

Tiwari, who previously served as SP of Krishna, Chittoor and Khammam dis-tricts and held the key post of DIG, Spe-cial Intelligence Bureau (SIB), is pres-ently working as IGP, Organisation in Hyderabad. In fact, when the allegations against him surfaced and he faced sus-pension from BSF, the officer did not get promoted as Additional DGP while all his batch mates are presently Additional DGs.

This is perhaps the first time that the UPSC has

recommended such a stringent action against an AP cadre IPS officer

Union Public Service Commission will be conducting the Recruitment Test for 10 Posts of Labour Enforcement Officer (Central) in the Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), Ministry of Labour and Employment, on 26th September, 2010 from 02.00 P.M. to 04.00 P.M. Admission Certificates for the abovementioned Recruitment Test are being dispatched.2. The information regarding Venues of the Recruitment Test is also available on Union Public

Service Commission Website at http://www.upsc.gov.in. The admitted candidates, who do not receive the Admission Certificates, may download the "Venue Information" from the above mentioned Website and use it for appearing in the Recruitment Test. Such candidates are advised to carry two identical photographs, duly attested by Gazetted Officer, otherwise they may not be allowed to take the Recruitment Test. They may also carry proof of their identity, such as Identity Card etc. to the Venue of the Recruitment Test.

3. For any query, the candidates may contact UPSC Facilitation Counter on Telephone Numbers: 011-23381125, 011-23385271, 011-23098543 between 10.00 A.M. and 05.00 P.M. on working days during working hours.

MOBILE PHONES BANNED(a) Mobile Phones, Pagers or any other communication devices are not allowed inside the

premises where the Recruitment Test is being conducted. Any infringement of these instructions shall entail disciplinary action including ban from future examination.

(b) Candidates are advised in their own interest not to bring any of the banned items including mobile phones/pagers to the venue of the Recruitment Test, as arrangements for safe keeping cannot be assured.

davp 55102/14/0019/1011 MO/G/8224

BRIEF NOTICE

Powerful mediator needed on KashmirSir, This refers to Balbir Punj's article “The withering away of Pakistan' (TNIE, September 16). Pakistan does instigate trouble in Kashmir. It has now told the US that Kashmir belongs to it. It is obvious that we can sort out the issue only through a powerful mediator or by employing the Sri Lankan strategy — K P Sasidharan Nayar, Alappuzha

Odd how all the UPA-2’s hand-wringing on Kashmir — the seemingly endless series of meetings of the Congress core group, the Cabinet Committee

on Security, between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, between Omar and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, between Sonia and her par-ty’s seniors, between the Centre and the rest of the political parties in Delhi — has all quieted down following princeling Ra-hul Gandhi’s pronouncement that Omar should be left alone and given more time to bring calm to the Valley. Even odder is the princeling’s excuse for not getting in-volved in the Valley: that he had no time to spare from reviving the Congress party organisation. (In a sense he’s right: resus-citating the Congress is as elusive as a Kashmir solution.)

In one sense, Rahul’s defence of his pal Omar is welcome because a lot of mutter-ing had publicly been building up the past week about how it was time for Omar to go. (This is the famous Delhi Echo Chamber effect, in which wild rumours go around and around, their origins unknown, bounc-ing back and forth among the power elite that at some point such unattributed gossip somehow takes on the appearance of hard news.) There were even wild rumours that Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah, a former chief minister, would take over the reins of the state. This in itself is insulting to the senior Abdullah, whose lifelong dream of becoming president of India is cavalierly dismissed by the political class who snort that he’s an unreliable playboy, but who turn to him as India’s saviour in Kashmir whenever the going gets tough in the Val-ley. As it were, he was thrown into a quan-dary by Rahul; though his party cam-paigned in the last J&K Assembly elections on the premise that he would take charge if his National Conference won, the prince-ling decided that Omar should be CM. Though Farooq obviously loves his son, he must have felt that Omar was being put on the hot seat way too soon.

It would have been further galling for Farooq to see the way the war drum was being beaten for his son’s dismissal, as if Omar had been elected not by the voters in Kashmir, but by various assorted Rajya

Sabha members, bureaucrats and soldiers. You would not be faulted for thinking that India runs Kashmir as imperially as Paki-stan runs ‘Azad’ Kashmir through the Or-wellian Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. All mainstream national newspapers have lately carried reports on how the Centre was annoyed with Omar for not keeping the law and order situation under control. It is surreal that a whole population is out on the streets, not bother-ing about the routine and normalcy of ev-eryday life because they’ve had enough of this jackboot approach by New Delhi, and New Delhi in turn sees it as some neigh-bourhood cricket match that’s gone out of hand. It is not a law and order situation because that would have petered out as the participants fatigued; it is a rebellion with a political grievance at its core.

The Air Force chief in his role as the Chief of Staffs Committee said that the contentious Armed Forces Special Powers Act was necessary for the armed forces’ legal protection as they fight terrorists in the Valley. Frankly, you have to feel for the armed forces. Our political class has abdi-cated its responsibility of sorting out the Kashmir problem through a political dia-logue and Constitutional amendment (if necessary), and instead dumped the whole problem on the Army’s head.

For the Army, it’s a no-win situation. The army probably feels cheated at the way the

recent round of political rebellion is being reduced to a debate on tweaking AFSPA. It’s like holding a cricket match between the Indian national team and the Bangla-deshi Kabbadi team, and then saying that to make it a level-playing field we should use a new ball.

The fact that the debate was centering on AFSPA shows that the only policy that the UPA-2 have in Kashmir is to hold it by force. (Once again this column is forced to remind readers that the NDA, dubbed “communal” by its detractors, was the one that sought a political solution to Kash-mir’s grievances.) Yet even if the State manages to retain a monopoly on violence, it does not necessarily gain legitimacy. In a democracy — which the UPA-2 ought to be reminded is what we constitutionally are — there is a legitimacy that a govern-ment derives from those that it governs. It is a kind of constitutional contract. That contract is “signed” every time we hold elections and the winners form a govern-ment. In Kashmir, it is clear that the legiti-macy that Omar gained following the As-sembly elections has been forfeited by a combination of poor governance and even poorer political choices.

So you could say that demanding Omar’s removal is valid, though it would be be-cause he forfeited his citizens’ confidence and not because he can’t control the law and order situation. In this case the choice

is to either wait for the next elections which are still some years away, or hold fresh elections immediately. Neither of these are good in the long-term, the first because you don’t want violence to get en-trenched in the landscape, the second be-cause it sets bad precedent. Sending an all-party delegation does not inspire much confidence; the last time such a delegation went to Kashmir it was upstaged by the grandstanding by the then Leader of Op-position, Rajiv Gandhi. If Manmohan Singh expects the BJP to hand him a solu-tion then he is naïve; the opposition’s job is to oppose, and to make the government’s life difficult, if not impossible.

So when you come down to it, what the UPA-2 has to ultimately do is hold a legiti-mate political dialogue with all stakehold-ers in Kashmir and forge a legitimate con-sensus, no easy thing as the past 63 years have shown. Yet sadly, the princeling’s sec-ond policy pronouncement in the recent past (the first being in support of the tribes in Orissa’s Niyamgiri Hills) that Omar should be allowed to continue would seem to preclude the possibility of dialogue. Who would dare contradict Rahul and suggest something as heretical as political dia-logue? So, one would have to conclude that however well-intentioned Rahul may have been this week, all he has done is under-mined a legitimate solution to India’s Kash-mir problem ■

The National Conference-Congress govern-ment in Jammu and Kashmir will survive,

for it has received a shot in the arm from the Congress’s heir apparent Rahul Gandhi. A ques-tion mark on Omar Abdullah’s continuance as chief minister was raised when the Congress leadership held discussions with People’s Dem-ocratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, who attended the all-party meeting on J&K in New Delhi on September 15. Inspired reports appeared that with the state govern-ment clueless about the ground situation, the Congress felt it was politically expedient to re-store its old ties with the PDP. For Omar Abdul-lah, the clincher was Rahul Gandhi’s statement that he was “doing a tough and sensitive job” and “should be given time and support”.

Nobody can say that the chief minister is a greenhorn in politics. He belongs to a political family that has for generations provided leader-ship to the state. As a member of the A B Vaj-payee government at the Centre earlier, and now as chief minister, he has gained considered po-litical and administrative experience. To argue that he needs more time to prove his mettle is to provide a lame excuse. One charge against him is that he was not in Srinagar when the state celebrated Eid, resulting in unprecedent-ed and unrestrained violence. The miscreants were able to destroy a large office building of the J&K police without any resistance whatso-ever from the police. The point missed is that even when the chief minister is in Srinagar, the result is much the same. A handful of stone-pelting “boys” are able to cause mayhem. What is lacking is leadership skill in the chief min-ister, whose arrival on the Srinagar scene had generated considerable hope and excitement.

One decision of the all-party meeting was to send an all-party delegation to the Valley to know the mood of people there and report to the government. It is not the lack of knowledge of the ground situation that prevents the gov-ernments — Central and state — to take action that can, while dealing with agent provocateurs, avert death of innocent people at the hands of the security forces. The sinister game of creat-ing an intifada-kind of situation in the Valley to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly and US President Barack Obama’s scheduled visit to India needs to be recognised and dealt with. That is a responsibility from which Omar Abdullah cannot run away so long as he holds the reins of the administration.

Reductio ad absurdum | Aditya Sinha

Letters to the editor

Need to restore governance

“While the heart of RBI is in the right place, with clearly stated intention to control inflation without disrupting growth, the policy action raises concern about the likely direction of growth trajectory.”

“We want a law to be enacted in favour of construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Even though it is certain that the verdict would come in favour of the Hindus, we want legislation, enabling construction of the Ram Temple.”

“Development is needed. Lack of development may swell their (Naxals') cadre. But they do not run charitable institutions...They are political elements and want to capture the power of the state.”

For a solution to the Kashmir problem, UPA-2 has to undertake the challenging task of holding a legitimate dialogue with all the stakeholders in the state and forge a consensus

About The Author;Aditya Sinha is the

Editor-in-Chief of The New Indian Express and is based in Chennai

[email protected]

Pranab Mukherjee:Union finance minister

Amit Mitra:Secretary General, FICCI

Ram Madhav:RSS spokesperson

THE NEW

TheEditPage10

indian expressS a t u r d a y , S e p t e m b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 0

It is surreal that a whole population is out on the streets, not bothering about the routine and normalcy of everyday life because they’ve had enough of this jackboot approach by New Delhi, and New Delhi in turn sees it as some neighbourhood cricket match that’s gone out of hand

Earlier this month, we had reported on a sur-vey by a Bangalore-based body on the condi-

tion and work culture of their state police. After surveying 100 police stations in three zones, and three city commissionerates, it came back with a set of dispiriting findings. For instance, that 53 per cent of the force have had zero training/retraining since their induction, that a day has between 13 and 16 duty hours for the personnel and that as much as a third of the force is unable to avail a weekly off day at any time. The survey doesn’t detail that promotion is meagre, with little systematic connection to good work or ini-tiative, but it does record that the personnel are frustrated and their quality of work, apart from their personal life, is suffering. There are allied observations, again unsurprising, that it takes three hours to file a normal complaint, often with a bribe sought, with no feedback on the investigation to the citizen who sought interven-tion. And so on… few Indians need a formal survey to complete this picture.

Among the few encouraging things about the survey was that it had been commissioned by the state police bosses. And, it turned out, they were also aware of the same broad picture; the state DGP made some encouraging noises about staff hiring and training. It needs a lot more than this and we use the occasion to reiterate our periodic warnings on the subject.

It is four years since the Supreme Court or-dered the Centre and each state (the Prakash Singh case) to enact laws to give the police pro-fessional autonomy and ensure their account-ability, in a detailed manner. All establishments have firmly sat on the orders. They will con-tinue doing so and the result will continue to be the sort of situation reported in the survey men-tioned earlier.

It is for civil society to refuse to accept this state of affairs and to harry policymakers and public representatives till there is satisfactory action. If harrying doesn’t work, be prepared to step up the process. It is the public, not the rulers, who face the consequences. Law and or-der and justice are the basis for a functioning society and we have a mechanism we neither respect nor trust in this regard. It is a situation which will continue till there is a resolve to re-fuse to endure it and the pressure must come from all of us.

Putting up with police minuses

US imperative

Sir, Balbir Punj’s article ‘The withering away of Pakistan’ (TNIE, September 16) raises a question about when we expect Pakistan's end, if it is withering away. The Hindu- Mus-lim divide, like the Arab-Jew divide, was a colonial dagger against the rise of national-ism in these regions and it succeeded in the creation of Israel and Pakistan. The instabil-ity of Pakistan was understood by many at the time of its creation. Yet the truncated Pakistan lasts. Ever since its creation, the US had been pampering it. Pakistan will last as long as the US feels that it will be useful in serving its interests in that region.

Balakrishnan Nair, Taliparamba

Emulate NehruSir, This refers to the news item ‘PM parrots peace pitch’ (TNIE, September 16). The situa-tion in the Kashmir valley is worsening day by day and the government has not come up with a workable solution. As long as the lead-ers of the Hurriyat Conference are present in the state, the situation cannot be tackled. The government should see how our first prime minister dealt with such situations.

I K Warrier, Hyderabad

Non-performing govtSir, With reference to the news item ‘PM par-rots peace pitch’ (TNIE, September 16), the

recent events in Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh and in Naxal-infested states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal make one wonder whether we have a govern-ment at all. The government at the Centre seems busy trying to please the US rather than concentrating on law-and-order prob-lems. It is not an UPA government at the Cen-tre but an NPA (Not Performing At all) one.

K Ashok Kumar, Bhubaneswar

Goodwill concernsSir, Aditya Sinha’s article ‘Demolitions, 1528 to 9/11’ (TNIE, September 11) provides a nec-essary corrective to Amulya Ganguli's lop-sided view in the article ‘Ground Zero in Delhi’ (TNIE, September 9) by putting the events of placing 1528 and 9/11 in perspective. For Americans, the 9/11 event was akin to pulling the rug from under their feet — sud-den, unexpected and traumatic. In compari-son, the Ayodhya mosque demolition was more dramatic than traumatic. Let not our Muslim brethren insist on the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero in New York. Let them show goodwill by agreeing to a new location for the mosque.

S R Narayan Rao, Hubli

Cause for worrySir, With reference to Aditya Sinha’s article ‘Demolitions, 1528 to 9/11’ (TNIE, September 11), the repercussions of the controversy over

the proposal of constructing a mosque very near Ground Zero in America, the verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the Ayodhya title, which is expected on September 24, and the suspected terrorists’ plot to disrupt the Commonwealth Games are uppermost in ev-erybody's minds. It appears that there is no escape from this worrisome scenario.

M Bhaskar Rao, Mangalore

Unreasonable demandSir, This refers to Aditya Sinha’s article ‘De-molitions, 1528 to 9/11’ (TNIE, September 11) and Amulya Ganguli’s write-up ‘Ground Zero in Delhi’ (TNIE, September 9). The plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York seems to be well thought out by Muslim groups to glorify the achievement of the ter-rorists who bombed the World Trade Center. Why else would the Muslims insist upon building a mosque at this spot when it can be done anywhere else?

P K Poovaiah, Bangalore

Impose President's ruleSir, With reference to the news item ‘Team to visit J&K early next week’ (TNIE, September 17), when the state is not able to maintain law and order, President's rule has to be imposed. While the state is under President’s rule, the government of India should ensure that the Kashmiri Pandits who are living as refugees in India should be resettled and proper protec-

tion should be given to them. Let us hope that the government takes immediate action in this matter.

M V Shama Rao, Bangalore

Set moral standardsSir, The news item ‘Corrupt pocketed $125 bn public money in 9 yrs’ (TNIE, September 15) is a critical analysis of the corruption that plagues our country. Not a day passes without a financial scandal hitting the head-lines. In the corrupt polity in our country no institution, not even the judiciary, remains untainted. The rich and the corrupt prosper. Our leaders ought to set moral standards to stem the rot and save our country.

K V Saratchandran, Chennai

The right spiritSir, This refers to the news item ‘Obama tells US kids to brace for competition from India, China’ (TNIE, September 16). US President Barack Obama advised American school chil-dren to pay special attention to science and mathematics. His speech is really wonderful. “Your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it is going to deter-mine America’s success in the 21st century.” Indian teachers also ought to create this spirit in our children.

A Bright Rathinam, ChennaiPlease send your letters to:

[email protected]

SHINOD AP

How green was his valet

Karzai urges India to put pressure on

US to strike Pak at terror spots

Express News ServiceNew Delhi, September 17

AFGHANISTAN President Hamid Karzai has urged India to apply pressure on the US to strike at terror sanctuaries inside Pakistan and stop Pakistani mischief.

Journalist Saeed Naqvi, who is a fellow with Delhi-based think-tank - Observer Re-search Foundation, on Friday quoted Karzai as saying, “I urge New Delhi to put pressure on the US to stop Pakistani mischief.”

Naqvi talked about his recent meeting with Karzai at an ORF discussion on Afghanistan, the think tank said in a press statement.

Karzai spoke to the Indian journalist off the record, but was willing to be quoted on some issues.

The Afghanistan President felt that the US was not striking at sanctuaries of terror in Pakistan. “This helps Pakistan,” Karzai said. And India was not applying pressure on the US to do that. “This again helps Pakistan,” he said.

According to the ORF note, Karzai said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should sit down with the Pakistani leadership and have a heart to heart chat so that Islamabad doesn’t go to the Americans with stories of Indian plots. The reference apparently was to Paki-stan’s charge that Indian intelligence agen-cies were active in Afghanistan.

Karzai’s comment comes soon after Afghan-istan’s National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta wrote in The Washington Post that Pakistan was providing sanctuary to Quetta Shura, Haqqani network and al-Qaeda on its territory. Pakistan had dismissed Span-ta’s article last month as his personal view. Karzai’s reported remarks now however only seem to endorse what Spanta wrote.

dummmmmmm

Express News ServiceHubli, September 17

MUSICIAN and litterateur Ganayogi Puttaraj Gawai passed away at Gadag Veereshwara Punyashrama on Friday after a prolonged illness. Gawai, 97, was

s u f f e r i n g f r o m breathing problems and kidney-related complications.

He was brought to Gadag Punyashrama on Monday evening from Belgaum KLE Hospital after he failed to respond to

treatment. He was put on ventilator at the ashram.

Complications resurfaced in the wee hours of Friday and his blood pressure level decreased. By noon, district health officer Dr GM Channashetty declared him dead. He breathed his last after drinking the holy water which was used to worship at the grave of Pundit Panchakshari Gawai.

His body was taken in a procession to HK Patil Stadium, where it was kept for people to pay their tributes. Thousands of people, including religious heads and political leaders, paid tribute to the de-parted soul. The body will remain there till 10 am on Saturday, then taken in a procession to the ashram in the after-noon, where the last rites are expected to be held at 5 pm.

Musician Gawai passes away

Santwana Bhattacharya | ENSNew Delhi, September 17

WITH the all-party delegation set to leave for Jammu and Kashmir on Mon-day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi called senior leaders and general secre-taries to prepare the party’s strategy for the visit.

Sources said the Congress chief took feedback from senior leaders like Con-gress state unit chief Saifuddin Soz and the party’s Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Prithviraj Chavan to evolve the broad contours on the issues that would be raised during the expected talks with the people of the state.

With the unrest in the Valley showing no signs of abetting, Congress leaders in the meeting, including senior Cabinet Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A K Ant-ony, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad, were of the view that it would be ‘wiser’ to have national consensus on how to face the Jammu and Kashmir challenge.

Indications are that the Congress would prefer to maintain the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir as was apparent from the statement Rahul Gandhi made in support of Omar Abdullah-for the time being and for a number of reasons. With the people in the state still risking their lives to be on a protest mode, there is not much of an alternative visible for the Centre or the Congress which is part of the Omar Abdullah’s coalition gov-ernment.

Sources said Union Minister and Na-tional Conference chief Farooq Abdul-lah declined Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer take over chief minister-ship from son Omar Abdullah. (This was before Rahul made the statement.)

Even Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti PDP, are unwilling to make any move for which they could be directly held responsible for pulling down Omar’s Government.

Cong leaders for national

consensus on J&K issue

H o u s e , s w e e t H o u s e

PTI

Chef Adelbert Bucher giving final touches to a chocolate replica of the Karnataka Assembly building, in Bangalore, on Friday

SC chides Centre for ‘shabby’ treatment of old war widow

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday chided the government for shabbily treating

the 90-year old war widow of an Army of-ficer by paying her a measly `70 monthly

pension at a time when even a kg of arhar dal cost around `80. “What is this? You are

paying her just `70 per month. Today in the present rate of inflation even a kg of arhar

dal cost around `80,” a Bench of Justice Markandeya Katju and Justice T S Thakur ob-

served while issuing notice to the Centre. The Bench passed the order on a writ peti-tion filed by Pushpavanthi through counsel

Ramesh Haritas complaining that she was getting a measly `70 family pension on be-

half of her late husband Major Dharam Chand. Her counsel submitted that Dharam

Chand was a decorated officer having fought for the country during both the In-

do-Pak wars, and Indo-China war ■ IANS

Three Indian-Americans on US advisory panelWashington: US President Barack Obama has appointed three eminent Indian-Ameri-cans to key administration posts as mem-bers of his advisory panel on Asian-Ameri-cans and Pacific Islanders, a body aimed at increasing participation of the over 16 mil-lion-strong community in federal pro-grammes. “Our nation will be well-served by the skill and dedication these men and women bring to their new roles. I look for-ward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” Obama said in a state-ment. The three Indian-Americans appoint-ed to the commission are Farooq Kathwari, chairman, president and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors, Sunil Puri, president and owner of first Rockford Group Inc, and Amardeep Singh, co-founder and presently director of programmes at Sikh Coalition, the US’ larg-est Sikh civil rights organisation■ PTI

Other stories

11nation✵ The New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai

Victim’s kin struggling

for lifeFor the last six months, I

have been practically begging for money from

people I know— Baby Chowdhary

Mumbai, September 17

TWO years ago, she would relax after her children left for school. But now she has to take her husband - a victim of the 26/11 attack - to hospital, run around to get compensation and look for a job. Her most immediate worry is that which friend would lend her money.

Thirty-one-year-old Baby Chowd-hary’s husband Shyamsunder, a biscuit factory worker, was grievously injured in a blast carried out by Pakistani ter-rorists in Vile Parle on the night of 26/11. He recovered only to fall very sick again six months ago.

“Every day is like a struggle for me.

For the last six months, I have been practically begging for money from people I know. Apart from the huge medical bills for my husband’s treat-ment, I have to support a family of eight, including myself,” Baby said.

“I am desperately looking for a job so that I will have a regular income,” she added.

Shyamsunder had almost recovered from his multiple injuries and he was earning from his job as a packaging worker at the factory. That was six months ago. Then he developed a brain disability that left him paralysed.

“The right side of his brain has stopped functioning due to some infec-

tion and doctors say the infection is spreading to the left side of the brain too. Chances of recovery or survival ap-pear bleak,” Baby said.

She is thankful that the education of her two children, Varun, 10, and Shikha, 6, is being funded by the Taj Group, which provided relief to victims of the attack. Congress MLA from Vile Parle constituency Krishna Hegde has pledged to supporting her in any possible way.

“I am trying to find Baby a suitable job so that a regular income, whatever little, is generated. I have also written to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, ask-ing for funds from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” Hegde said.

On November 26, 2008, Shyamsunder had left his home from Sambhaji Nagar slum in suburban Vile Parle for work at the Parle biscuit factory close by. He was on the night shift. As soon as he reached the main road, Shyamsunder blacked out after a deafening explosion in a taxi, the roof of which hit him on his right shoulder.

Residents of Sambhaji Nagar took him and other injured to the hospital. In January, Shyamsunder’s health start-ed to deteriorate again. Before the at-tack, the family was solely dependent on his earnings. With mounting medical bills, Baby says the compensation of `50,000 is not enough ■ IANS

S Rajagopalan | ENSWashington, September 17

INDIA’S Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar has expressed the hope that US President Barack Obama’s upcom-ing visit would not only help consoli-date the strong bilateral ties, but also give a push to India getting a perma-nent seat in an expanded United Na-tions Security Council.

Broaching the issue during an ad-dress to the Baltimore Council on For-eign Affairs, Shankar said, “We hope that President Obama’s upcoming visit would prove to be a major step forward in not only consolidating what our two democracies have jointly achieved but also for working together in areas where we are yet to see concrete prog-ress, including genuine reform of in-ternational institutions with India given its due place.”

“The growing support for a perma-nent seat for India in the UN Security

Council would no doubt go a long way in enabling India to play its role to its full potential and in realising the idea of India-US relations being a key stra-tegic partnership of the 21st century,” Shankar said.

Stating that Prime Minister Manmo-han Singh’s visit to the US in November 2009 focused on going beyond bilateral dimensions to forge a global partner-ship, Shankar said New Delhi was view-ing the Obama visit as ‘yet another

milestone in our rapidly transforming strategic partnership’. Focusing on In-dia’s emergence of one of the fast grow-ing major economies of the world in recent years, she said this transforma-tion was also changing the way India interacts with the world.

“India’s stakes in a global and re-gional environment of peace, stability and broader prosperity have never been higher,” she said, India saw the US as a key partner not only in building peace and stability, but also in fulfilling In-dia’s development goals and aspira-tions.

“We share with the United States an interest in security and stability in a rapidly changing Asia which reduces the risk of conflict and enhances op-portunities for peaceful advancement,” she said. Shankar highlighted the two-way growth in economic ties, noting that while India-US trade doubled be-tween 2004 and 2008, US exports to India trebled during this period.

INDIA EYES UNSC SEAT AS A SPIN-OFF FROM OBAMA VISIT Delhi is viewing his visit as yet another milestone in rapidly transforming strategic partnershipNew Delhi, September 17

MORE than two months after their failed talks in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan are likely to meet on the sidelines of the UN Gen-eral Assembly in New York later this month.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna leaves for New York on Saturday for a 10-day visit dur-ing which he will represent In-dia at high-segment meetings of the UNGA and other associated events.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who is currently in Wash-ington to firm up the agenda for US President Barack Obama’s maiden visit to India in Novem-ber, will join Krishna in New York on Monday.

Although no bilateral meeting is scheduled between Krishna

and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, there are strong possibilities of at least a pull-aside meeting, well-placed sources told reporters.

There is a possibility of the two ministers meeting at the UN Secretary General’s dinner and later at the SAARC foreign min-isters meeting in New York on September 28, the sources add-ed.

If the two sides decide to hold a bilateral meeting, Rao will first meet her Pakistani counter-part Salman Bashir to prepare the ground for the first meeting between S M Krishna and Shah Mahmood Qureshi since the July 15 talks failed over clashing perceptions about the scope of talks and Pakistan’s insis-tence on a time-line for resolv-ing complex issues such as Kashmir ■ IANS

Krishna likely to meet Qureshi in NY

On the sidelines of UN dinner meeting

26/11 attack

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday posted for next week the hearing on the appeal filed by INLD MLAs Ajay and Abhay Chautala, sons of former Harya-na Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, challenging a trial court order summoning them in a disproportionate assets case.

The Chautalas in their appeal had submitted that the CBI, which filed the chargesheet, had failed to obtain the mandatory sanction from the government before launching the prosecu-tion and complained that the entire probe against them was politically motivated■ PTI

Plea on Chautalas’ hearing next week

India, Pak on US list of major illicit drug-producing nations

Express News Service Washington, September 17

INDIA and Pakistan are among 20 countries identified by the United States as major illicit drug producing or transiting nations.

“A country’s presence on the ‘Ma-jors List’ is not necessarily an adverse reflection of its government’s counter-narcotics efforts or level of coopera-tion with the United States,” President Barack Obama said in a communica-tion.

Making a presidential determina-tion as mandated by the Foreign Rela-tions Authorisation Act of the US, Obama said one of the reasons for listing the countries is “the combination of geographic, commer-cial and economic factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced despite the concerned government’s most assiduous enforcement mea-sures”.

Besides India and Pakistan, other countries figuring on the list are: Af-ghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Domin-ican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mex-ico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Ashwini Talwar | ENSNew Delhi, September 17

INDIA has ticked off Pakistan for meddling in its internal affairs after Islamabad chose to comment on the ‘deteriorating situation’ in Kashmir and blamed Indian security forces of ‘brutality.’

As Islamabad spotted an opportu-nity to express backing for the ‘just cause’ of the Kashmiris and advised India to ‘exercise restraint,’ Delhi reminded that the people of Jammu and Kashmir suffered the conse-quences of Pakistan-abetted mili-tancy.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement on Friday was the second this week on the situation in Kashmir. The first, on Tuesday, was largely ig-nored by India.

But shortly after the second of the ‘gratuitous statements’ from Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir, External Af-fairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said they amounted to ‘in-terference in the internal affairs of India.’

“Pakistan should take credible and effective action against infiltration from across the Line of Control and dismantle the terror infrastructure that exists in the territory under its control,” the Indian spokesman said.

“This would be an important contri-bution towards safeguarding the wel-fare of the people of J&K, who suffer the consequences of terrorism fo-mented from across the LoC and the International Border.”

“As a vibrant democracy, India has sufficient mechanisms and constitu-tional safeguards to address issues raised by its citizens in any part of the country,” he added.

Delhi said it remained commitment to resolving issues of mutual concern with Pakistan through dialogue and peaceful means. “However, Pakistan must fulfil its solemn commitment of not allowing territory under its con-trol to be used for terrorism directed against India in any manner. This would be in the interest of Pakistan and of the international community.” Pakistan projected the current situa-tion in Kashmir as a reflection of ‘indigenous movement’ gaining ‘a new momentum and urgency.’

“The Kashmiris are unanimous in their demand for self-determination. This sentiment and its firm determi-nation is being reflected in the peace-ful protests of the youth, women and all segments of civil society,” Paki-stan said. Islamabad urged the inter-national community to ‘take steps for safeguarding the human rights of Kashmiris.’

INDIA TICKS OFF PAK FOR MEDDLING IN KASHMIR

‘India may strike Pak terror camps post-Mumbai II’Washington: In the event of anoth-er Mumbai-type attack, India is most likely to strike back by elimi-nating terrorist training camps across the border which may lead to a ‘full-blown’ Indo-Pak war in-volving possibility of a nuclear ex-change, a noted US counter-terror-ism expert has said. “I think a very serious concern that we should all be collectively worried about is the possibility of a Mumbai -II attack,” Peter Bergen, the Counter-Terror-ism Strategy Initiative co-director at New America Foundation, said in his testimony before the House Homeland and Security Committee.“I think the Indians showed great restraint after the last Mumbai attack. But their populations are going to demand some kind of ret-ribution if a large-scale attack happens on Indian soil by a Paki-stani militant group which I think is one of the more foreseeable for-eign policy challenges we have go-ing forward,” he told the commit-tee■ PTI

S Rajagopalan | ENSWashington, September 17

FOREIGN Secretary Nirupama Rao was on Friday slated to meet US Sec-retary of State Hillary Clinton and hold extensive parleys with a host of other top functionaries as the two countries prepare for President Ba-rack Obama’s India visit in Novem-ber.

Besides focusing on “deliverables” during the visit, Rao was also expected to focus on the need for the US to re-move some of the irritants in the re-lationship such as the visa fee hike targeting Indian IT firms and the Ohio ban on outsourcing of jobs.

Rao was expected to meet National Security Advisor James Jones, senior officials of Commerce and Defence departments and Senate Foreign Rela-tions Committee chairman John Ker-ry.

Her meeting with Clinton was sched-uled to take place well past midnight

India time. Burns and Assistant Sec-retary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake would also be present at the bilateral session.

While no details of her consulta-tions were forthcoming immediately, Rao and Burns are understood to have reviewed progress on a number of heads since the inaugural round of US-India Strategic Dialogue, held in Washington in last June. Kicking off a day of hectic engagements with an off-the-record discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Rao attended a meeting of the US-India Global Issues Forum, con-vened by Under Secretary of State Maria Otero at the State Depart-ment.

Rao was also slated to co-chair the Strategic Security Dialogue later in the day with Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Af-fairs Ellen Tauscher.

Easing of US’s high-tech exports to India by removing Indian companies from the Entity List is being viewed as a potential “deliverable”.

During a tele-conference on Wednes-day, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that Washington was well aware of India’s concerns over restric-tions on exports of high-tech items, adding that progress was being made in talks with New Delhi over the issue. “Actually, those discussions are occur-ring right now with high government officials of India,” Locke said.

NIRUPAMA TO MEET HILLARY, TOP OFFICIALS

NiftyIntra-day | Previous close 5828.70 | % change 0.97 | Difference 56.25

5,900

5,885

5,870

5,840

5,825

5,855

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

5,884.95

5828.705828.70

SensexIntra-day | Previous close 19,417.49 | % change 0.91 | Difference 177.26

19700

19800

19600

19500

19400

19300

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

19,436.71

19,594.75

MARKETS REVIEW

Company % Chg DiffCurr.Cls, (Pr.Cls) (`)








EQUITIES bounced back on Friday snapping earlier losses. Strong global cues, persistent foreign fund buying aided the market to

close on a upbeat note. All sectoral indices traded in green with consum-er durable and healthcare leading the space.

The benchmark index Sensex after opening flat traded higher tracking firm Asian peers. Further, it rallied touching a high of 19,639.18 in the first half and Nifty breaching 5,900 mark. The index failed to sustain the crucial mark and finally close below the level.

At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex gained 177.26 points or 0.9 per cent at 19,594.75 with 24 components registering rise. Mean-while, the broad based NSE Nifty climbed by 56.25 points or 0.97 per cent at 5,884.95 with 38 components posting rise.

On global front, European stock rose, led by a rally in technology and retail shares on better-than-estimated US earnings and as Carrefour SA an-

nounced a $2 billion store revamp plan. US stock-index futures and Asian shares advanced.

Asian stocks gained, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific index higher for a third week, as technology shares gained after Research In Motion and Oracle reported better-than-estimat-ed profits, and the yen weakened.

Biggest gainers in the 30-share in-dex were Reliance Communications (5.28 per cent), ACC (3.24 per cent), Bharti Airtel (2.93 per cent), Reliance Industries (2.58 per cent), Sterlite In-dustries (2.09 per cent), and Tata Con-sultancy Services (1.92 per cent).

On the other hand, Housing De-velopment Finance Corporation (1.01 per cent), Wipro (0.69 per cent), Bharat Heavy Electricals (0.61 per cent), State Bank of India (0.20 per cent), NTPC (0.19 per cent), and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (0.10 per cent) were the major losers in the Sensex.

Market breadth was positive with 1,837 advances against 1,209 de-clines.

Source: myiris.com

Sensex bounces back, rallies 177 points

SENSEX GAINERS AND LOSERS

GAINERSRel Comm .................... 166.45 5.28 8.35ACC .................................997.55 3.24 31.35Bharti Artl .......................357.9 2.93 10.20RIL ................................1026.75 2.58 25.85Sterlite Inds ................173.25 2.09 3.55TCS ................................. 912.45 1.92 17.15Tata Steel .......................605.3 1.67 9.95Hind Uni ........................282.05 1.55 4.30Hindalco........................ 188.95 1.50 2.80

Jindal Steel .................708.85 1.43 10.00Larsen & Tou ............... 1961.7 1.43 27.60Cipla ..................................... 309 1.13 3.45LOSERSHDFC .................................684.1 -1.01 -6.95Wipro................................420.3 -0.69 -2.90BHEL ...........................2444.45 -0.61 -15.00SBI..................................... 3094 -0.20 -6.05NTPC..............................205.95 -0.19 -0.40ONGC ............................. 1398.6 -0.10 -1.40

Company Close % Chg Diff Company Close % Chg Diff

NIFTY GAINERS AND LOSERS

WORLD INDICES

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SSE 180 Index (Shanghai) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5991.28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . -3.76Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hang Seng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21970.86 . . . . . . . . . . . .279.41Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jakarta Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3384.65 . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.02Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nikkei 225 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9626.09 . . . . . . . . . . . .116.59Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KLSE Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1466.97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . -5.98Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Straits Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3076.37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.26South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seoul Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1827.35 . . . . . . . . . . . . .15.50Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Madrid General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098.79 . . . . . . . . . . . . .-8.40Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Swiss Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6426.91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.75United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FTSE 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5545.06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.92USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dow Jones Ind. Avg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10616.86 . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.03USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nasdaq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2312.19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.94

Country (IST 6.00 pm) Exchange Last Trade Chg (Pts)

Company Close % Chg DiffLOSERSHDFC ..............................683.65 -1.16 -8.00IDFC ................................193.45 -0.87 -1.70Wipro.............................420.25 -0.76 -3.20Maruti Suzuki ..........1388.35 -0.64 -8.95BHEL .............................. 2443.6 -0.57 -13.95Siemens ........................... 753.2 -0.53 -4.05Power Grid .................. 105.25 -0.38 -0.40PNB ............................. 1285.85 -0.20 -2.55SAIL ............................... 201.65 -0.20 -0.40

GAINERSRanbaxy Labs .................. 534 5.91 29.80Reliance Comm. .........166.75 5.44 8.60Ambuja Cement ........ 142.55 4.59 6.25ABB .................................. 845.5 3.80 30.95ACC .................................997.85 3.33 32.15RIL Power ..................... 160.9 3.27 5.10Bharti Airtel ...............358.85 3.25 11.30Idea Cell ........................... 77.15 2.94 2.20RIL .................................1027.35 2.70 27.00

Company Close % Chg Diff

MUTUAL FUND

SBI Magnum Index Fund - Dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.50SBI Magnum Index Fund - Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49.80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.80SBI Magnum MIDCAP FUND - DIVIDEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.34SBI Magnum MIDCAP FUND - GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24.96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25.21SBI Magnum Multicap Fund - Dividend Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14.49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14.64SBI Magnum Multicap Fund - Growth Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19.08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.27SBI Magnum Multiplier Plus Scheme - 93 -Dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61.98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62.61SBI Magnum Multiplier Plus Scheme - 93 -Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88.18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87.30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88.18SBI MAGNUM NRI FLEXIASSET PLAN-DIVIDEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.39SBI MAGNUM NRI FLEXIASSET PLAN-GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30.28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29.98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.28SBI MSFU CONTRA-DIVIDEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24.60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.60SBI MSFU CONTRA-GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61.07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61.69

Scheme Name (16/09/2010) NAV(`) Repur. Price Sale Price

marketsThe New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai ✵12

BSE - A GroupAban Offsho 831.45, (828.6) .............................0.34 2.85ABB 842.05, (812.2) .............................................3.68 29.85ACC 997.55, (966.2) .............................................. 3.24 31.35Akruti City 516.15, (512.5) ..................................0.71 3.65Adani Enter 691.3, (680.15) ............................... 1.64 11.15ADI BIR Nuvo 878.55, (842.25) ..................... 4.31 36.30Allahabad Bk 233.95, (232.3) .............................0.71 1.65Alstom Power 771.3, (777) ............................... -0.73 -5.70Ambuja Cement 142.5, (136.1) .........................4.70 6.40Andhra Bank 166.95, (164.65) .......................... 1.40 2.30Apollo Hos 410.3, (416.05) ................................-1.38 -5.75Areva 294, (293.15) ...............................................0.29 0.85Ashok Ley 76.05, (74.65) .....................................1.88 1.40Asian Paints 2840.75, (2804.55).................... 1.29 36.20Axis Bank 1505.65, (1484.4) ..............................1.43 21.25Bajaj Hold 871.05, (857.75) ............................... 1.55 13.30Bajaj Auto 1445.85, (1451.55) ........................ -0.39 -5.70Balram Chin 89.3, (86.8) .................................... 2.88 2.50BEML 1162.35, (1149.2) ........................................1.14 13.15Bharat Elect 1834.2, (1806.55) ........................1.53 27.65Bharat Forge 365.05, (362.9) ............................0.59 2.15Bharat Pet. 763.6, (754.9) ....................................1.15 8.70Bharti Artl 357.9, (347.7) ..................................... 2.93 10.20BHEL 2444.45, (2459.45) ..................................-0.61 -15.00Bhush Steel 2114.8, (1978.8) ............................6.87 136.00Biocon Ltd 354.1, (340.5) ................................... 3.99 13.60BoB 875.15, (886.05) ..........................................-1.23 -10.90BoI 498.15, (486.4) ...............................................2.42 11.75Bosch 6203, (6176.5) ............................................0.43 26.50Cadila Healt 637.85, (626.3) ..............................1.84 11.55Cairn Ind 342, (335.95) .......................................1.80 6.05Canara Bank 575.65, (571.9) .............................0.66 3.75Castrol 521.8, (518.35).........................................0.67 3.45Central Bk 202.6, (200.5) ................................... 1.05 2.10Century Text 511.8, (504.15) ............................. 1.52 7.65CESC 412.65, (411.35) ..........................................0.32 1.30

Chambal Fert 72.4, (72.15) .................................0.35 0.25Chennai Pet. 253, (254.35) ............................... -0.53 -1.35Cipla 309, (305.55) ................................................. 1.13 3.45Colgate Pal 822.35, (816.85) ............................0.67 5.50Contain.Corp 1313.65, (1307.95).......................0.44 5.70Corp. Bank 709.1, (671.2) ....................................5.65 37.90Crompt.Greav 313.55, (312.65) .........................0.29 0.90Cummins (I) 745.55, (730.8) .............................2.02 14.75Dabur (I) 109.65, (109.55) .................................0.09 0.10Divi’s Lab 722.7, (723.9) .......................................-0.17 -1.20DLF 352.2, (349.7)...................................................0.71 2.50Dr. Reddy’s 1472.4, (1462.55) ..........................0.67 9.85Educomp Sol 593.95, (580.75) .........................2.27 13.20EIH 138.15, (138) .....................................................0.11 0.15Essar Oil 131.85, (129) .......................................... 2.21 2.85Everest Kant 121, (113) .........................................7.08 8.00Exide Ind. 159.6, (155.9) ......................................2.37 3.70Federal Bank 376.2, (366.5) ...............................2.65 9.70Financ Tec. 1421.25, (1411) ................................0.73 10.25Fortis Healt 165.8, (162.95) ................................1.75 2.85GAIL (I) 480.9, (469.95) .....................................2.33 10.95Glaxosmith 1956.75, (1916.75) .........................2.09 40.00Glaxosmith 1810.3, (1806.5) .............................. 0.21 3.80Glaxosmit.Ph 286.25, (281.1) ............................ 1.83 5.15GMR Infrastr 58.75, (58.25) .............................0.86 0.50GODREJ CONS 459.35, (417.5) .......................10.02 41.85Godrej Inds 233.85, (230.95) ............................ 1.26 2.90Grasim Ind. 2228.95, (2197.65) ........................ 1.42 31.30Great Easte 303.2, (300.35) ..............................0.95 2.85GTL Infra 46.45, (46.3) ........................................0.32 0.15GTL 433.5, (432.1) ..................................................0.32 1.40Guj.Petro 109.05, (107.7) ..................................... 1.25 1.35Guj.Mineral 132.6, (133.05)............................... -0.34 -0.45Guj.NRE Coke 64.55, (64.15) .............................0.62 0.40GVK Powerinf 48.3, (47.25) ................................2.22 1.05HCL Tech 418.7, (416.05) ....................................0.64 2.65HDFC 684.1, (691.05) .......................................... -1.01 -6.95HDFC Bank 2399.65, (2394.85) .......................0.20 4.80

Hero Honda 1750.45, (1736.3) ..........................0.81 14.15Hind Uni 282.05, (277.75) ................................... 1.55 4.30Hind Const 63.7, (62.2) ......................................... 2.41 1.50Hind.Copper 441.35, (440.6) ..............................0.17 0.75Hind.Petro 533.5, (533.85) ................................ -0.07 -0.35Hindalco 188.95, (186.15) ................................... 1.50 2.80Hindus.Zi 1074.25, (1066.65) .............................0.71 7.60Housing Dev 277, (273.3) ......................................1.35 3.70ICICI Bank 1115.6, (1103.45) ..............................1.10 12.15IDBI 141.9, (139.85) ................................................1.47 2.05Idea Cell 77.8, (74.9) .............................................. 3.87 2.90IFCI 61.05, (59.2) ....................................................3.12 1.85India Infoline 104.5, (100) ................................ 4.50 4.50Ind Bul Real 179.1, (178.75)................................0.20 0.35India Cem. 114.15, (108.75) ............................... 4.97 5.40India Bull 149.3, (148.35) ....................................0.64 0.95Indian Bank 265.35, (261.75)............................ 1.38 3.60Indian Hotel 104.7, (103.3) ................................. 1.36 1.40Indian Oil 427.6, (430.45) .................................. -0.66 -2.85Indian Over. 140.7, (138.6) .................................. 1.52 2.10Infosys Tech 2974.1, (2967.8) ........................... 0.21 6.30Infra Devfi n 193.35, (195.1) .............................. -0.90 -1.75IRB Infra 278.85, (273.9) ....................................1.81 4.95Ispat Inds. 23.75, (20.3) .................................... 17.00 3.45ITC 168.3, (167.1).....................................................0.72 1.20IVRCL Infra 158.3, (158.45) ............................-0.09 -0.15Jai Corp 266.4, (261.95) ...................................... 1.70 4.45Jain Irrg 1255.35, (1240) .................................... 1.24 15.35JP Asso 122.65, (122.3) .......................................0.29 0.35Jetairways 759.4, (754.95) .................................0.59 4.45Jindal Stain 708.85, (698.85) ...........................1.43 10.00JP Hydropower 65.15, (65.05).......................... 0.15 0.10Jswsl 1256.95, (1197.4) ........................................ 4.97 59.55Jub. Org 345.3, (341)............................................. 1.26 4.30Kotak Mah.Bk 473.55, (468.7) ...........................1.03 4.85Koutons Ret 298.1, (297.9) .................................0.07 0.20KSK Ene 172.85, (169.25) ....................................2.13 3.60Lanco Infra 69.1, (68.45) ....................................0.95 0.65

Larsen & Tou 1961.7, (1934.1) ............................1.43 27.60LIC Hous.Fin 1317.95, (1271.4)...........................3.66 46.55Lupin 387.6, (363.85) ............................................6.53 23.75M & M Fina 672.75, (666.95) ............................0.87 5.80Madras Cem 115.05, (112.6) .............................. 2.18 2.45Mah & Mah 679, (673.05) .................................. 0.88 5.95Maha.Tele 63.85, (63.1) ..........................................1.19 0.75Marico 124.9, (123.05) .......................................... 1.50 1.85Maruti Suz 1387.05, (1386.75) .........................0.02 0.30Max India 170.4, (162.1) .......................................5.12 8.30Mineral & Met 1369.3, (1363.05) .....................0.46 6.25Moser Bear 65.15, (64.8) ....................................0.54 0.35Mphasis 639.55, (641.9) .................................... -0.37 -2.35MRPL 78.25, (77.85) .............................................. 0.51 0.40Mundra Port 822, (788.05) ............................... 4.31 33.95Nagar.Const 157.85, (159.2) .............................-0.85 -1.35

Nat.Alum 411.35, (406.55) ..................................1.18 4.80Nestle (I) 3230.05, (3181.65) ............................ 1.52 48.40Neyveli Lign 157.6, (159.45) ............................... -1.16 -1.85NMDC 265.2, (260.3) ............................................1.88 4.90NTPC 205.95, (206.35) .......................................-0.19 -0.40ONGC 1398.6, (1400) .......................................... -0.10 -1.40Opto Cir 323.85, (322.5) ......................................0.42 1.35i-Flex 2236, (2190.4) .............................................2.08 45.60Orintal Bank 458.25, (456.4) ............................ 0.41 1.85Pantaloon Re 494.3, (465.7) .............................. 6.14 28.60Petronet LNG 111.15, (105.75) ...........................5.11 5.40Nicholas Pir 508, (511.1) .....................................-0.61 -3.10Power Fin 355.3, (357.8) .................................... -0.70 -2.50Power Grid 105.2, (105.55) .............................. -0.33 -0.35Praj Inds 77.4, (75.35) ...........................................2.72 2.05

P & G 2214.2, (2148.65) ......................................3.05 65.55PTC India 120.15, (119.05) ..................................0.92 1.10Punj Lloyd 117.8, (116.35) .................................... 1.25 1.45PNB 1286.4, (1288.9) ..........................................-0.19 -2.50Ranbaxy Lab. 534.05, (503.9) ...........................5.98 30.15Rashtr.Chem. 83.9, (83.55) ..................................0.42 0.35REC 350.8, (349.4) .................................................0.40 1.40Rel Agro 21.7, (20.65) ...........................................5.08 1.05Rel Comm 166.45, (158.1) ...................................5.28 8.35Rel Infra 1061, (1053.05) ....................................0.75 7.95Rel. Cap 808.55, (810.7) .................................... -0.27 -2.15RIL 1026.75, (1000.9) ..........................................2.58 25.85Religare Ent 476.4, (479.9) ............................... -0.73 -3.50Renuka Sugar 80.9, (76.7) ...................................5.48 4.20RIL Nat Res 39.85, (38.7) ................................... 2.97 1.15Rolta (I) 168.15, (167.55) .....................................0.36 0.60Reliance Power 160.55, (155.55) ......................3.21 5.00Sesa Goa 325.25, (322) ........................................1.01 3.25Shipp.Corpn 169.25, (167.25)............................. 1.20 2.00Shriram Tran 775.15, (786) ...............................-1.38 -10.85Siemens 753.15, (756.4)..................................... -0.43 -3.25Sintex Ind 363.85, (357.8) .................................. 1.69 6.05SBI 3094, (3100.05) ...........................................-0.20 -6.05Steel Auth. 201.65, (201.85) ........................... -0.10 -0.20Sterl. Bio 114.5, (110.55) ..................................... 3.57 3.95Sterlite Inds 173.25, (169.7) ..............................2.09 3.55Sun Pharma. 1874.3, (1836.4) ...........................2.06 37.90Sun Tvnet 508.1, (495.6) .....................................2.52 12.50Suzlonenergy 54.35, (53.2) ................................ 2.16 1.15Syndicate Bank 116.4, (115.4) ...........................0.87 1.00Tata Chem. 411.8, (412.7).................................. -0.22 -0.90Tata Comm 333, (328.95) ....................................1.23 4.05Tata Motors 1035.65, (1028.8) ........................0.67 6.85Tata Power 1264.35, (1263) ...............................0.11 1.35Tata Steel 605.3, (595.35) ...................................1.67 9.95Tata Teleser 23.35, (22.85)................................. 2.19 0.50

Tata Tea 122.65, (122) ..........................................0.53 0.65TCS 912.45, (895.3)................................................1.92 17.15Tech Mah 720.45, (718.85).................................0.22 1.60Thermax 781.3, (775.65) ......................................0.73 5.65Titan Inds 3198.55, (3112.3) .............................. 2.77 86.25Torrent Phar 333.4, (333.95) .............................-0.16 -0.55Tulip Tele 174.95, (172.9) .......................................1.19 2.05UCO Bank 118, (116.55) ....................................... 1.24 1.45Ultratech Chem 1049.5, (1011) ..........................3.81 38.50Union Bank 376.6, (368.7) .................................. 2.14 7.90United Spr 1620.1, (1599.55) ............................ 1.28 20.55Unitech 87.8, (87.25) ..............................................0.63 0.55United Phosh 187.1, (184.95) ..............................1.16 2.15Videocon Inds 263.4, (258.3) .............................1.97 5.10Voltas 226.8, (219.25) ..........................................3.44 7.55Welsp Guj Sr 257.95, (253.25) .......................... 1.86 4.70Wipro 420.3, (423.2) ........................................... -0.69 -2.90Yes Bank 329.8, (329.5) .......................................0.09 0.30Zee Enter 286.4, (288.4) ................................... -0.69 -2.00

NIFTYABB 845.5, (814.55) .............................................3.80 30.95ACC 997.85, (965.7) .............................................. 3.33 32.15Ambuja Cement 142.55, (136.3) ......................4.59 6.25Axis Bank 1506.5, (1484.8) ............................... 1.46 21.70Bharti Airtel 358.85, (347.55) .......................... 3.25 11.30BHEL 2443.6, (2457.55) ..................................... -0.57 -13.95BPCL 765.9, (755.25) .............................................1.41 10.65Cairn India 342.1, (335.95)................................. 1.83 6.15Cipla 308.9, (305.5) .................................................1.11 3.40DLF 352.5, (349.7)................................................. 0.80 2.80Gail (I) 480.35, (470.35) ......................................2.13 10.00HCL Tech 419.25, (417.5) .....................................0.42 1.75HDFC 683.65, (691.65) ........................................ -1.16 -8.00HDFC Bank 2400.6, (2395.3) ............................0.22 5.30Hero Honda 1745.15, (1733.3)............................0.68 11.85

Hindalco Inds 189.05, (186.1) .......................... 1.59 2.95Hindustan Unilever 281.8, (278.1) ....................1.33 3.70ICICI Bank 1114.2, (1103.55) ............................ 0.97 10.65Idea Cell 77.15, (74.95)..........................................2.94 2.20IDFC 193.45, (195.15) .......................................... -0.87 -1.70Infosys Tech 2970.15, (2965.95) ..................... 0.14 4.20ITC 168.35, (167.4) .................................................0.57 0.95Jindal Steel 708.4, (697.65) ............................... 1.54 10.75JP Asso 122.3, (122.05) .......................................0.20 0.25Kotak Mah Bank 473.25, (466.55) ................. 1.44 6.70L&T 1963.15, (1934) ................................................1.51 29.15Mah&Mah 680, (674.55) ....................................0.81 5.45Maruti Suzuki 1388.35, (1397.3) ....................-0.64 -8.95NTPC 206.35, (206.45)...................................... -0.05 -0.10ONGC 1397.25, (1399.75) .................................. -0.18 -2.50PNB 1285.85, (1288.4) ......................................-0.20 -2.55Power Grid 105.25, (105.65) ........................... -0.38 -0.40Ranbaxy Labs 534, (504.2) .................................5.91 29.80Reliance Comm. 166.75, (158.15) ....................5.44 8.60Rel. Cap 809.9, (810.8) ........................................ -0.11 -0.90RIL 1027.35, (1000.35) ........................................2.70 27.00Rel Infra 1061.55, (1053.5) ................................0.76 8.05RIL Power 160.9, (155.8) ................................... 3.27 5.10SAIL 201.65, (202.05) .......................................-0.20 -0.40SBI 3092.75, (3094.8)....................................... -0.07 -2.05Siemens 753.2, (757.25) ..................................... -0.53 -4.05Sterlite Inds(I) 173.6, (169.85) ......................... 2.21 3.75Sun Pharma 1874.1, (1838.6) .............................1.93 35.50Suzlon Energy 54.45, (53.2) ...............................2.35 1.25Tata Comm 334.1, (329.4)....................................1.43 4.70Tata Motors 1035.5, (1028.8) ...........................0.65 6.70Tata Power 1264.6, (1266.7) ............................-0.17 -2.10Tata Steel 604.8, (595.35) ................................. 1.59 9.45TCS 913.8, (895.4) .................................................2.05 18.40Unitech 87.95, (87.2) ..............................................0.86 0.75Wipro 420.25, (423.45) ..................................... -0.76 -3.20

0 5 10 15 20 25

Sector-wiseFree-Float Market Capitalisation of Sensex

Healthcare 1.05

2.58

3.88

4.60

6.59

7.79

7.89

9.69

14.29

25.71

Telecom

Power

Transport Equipment

Metal,Metal Products & Mining

FMCG

Capital Goods

Information Technology

Oil & Gas

Finance

Housing Related

15.94

Total Mcap `1,534,530.62 cr

Fig. in % chg.

ENS Economic BureuChennai, September 17

TATA Motors on Friday launched CNG-electric hybrid low-floor starbuses, India’s first such vehicle. This is the first time in the country that hybrid buses will be used for public transportation.

The four hybrid buses, presented to the Delhi Transport Corporation, will run in the city of Delhi during the Common-wealth Games period. The company will maintain the buses, as it does for the fleet of Tata low-floor CNG buses running in the city.

Meant for intra-city transportation, the Hybrid Tata Starbus is powered with a parallel hybrid engine comprising an in-ternal combustion CNG engine and an electric motor using regenerative energy storage system. The low-floor (floor height: 400 mm) air-conditioned bus can seat 32 passengers and rund at a maxi-mum speed of 70 kms per hour.

The Hybrid Starbus offers substantial improvement in fuel economy compared to a conventional bus. As a result, the us-age of this technology leads to lower emis-sions, thereby contributing to cleaner air and a greener, more environment-friend-

ly commercial passenger transporta-tion application.

The new Cos Bill, which seeks to modernise corporate laws, will be taken up for consideration in the winter session of Parliament in Nov, says Corporate Affairs Secretary

business 13State Bank of India not to hike interest rates

immediately: O P Bhatt

Consensus on the draft mining Bill, which seeks that miners share 26% of profits with local people affected by their projects

y o u r s a t u r d a y n e w s p a p e r ✵ The New Indian Express I Saturday, September 18, 2010 I Chennai

FM to attend Fund-Bank meet in US next monthNew Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will visit the US next month to take part in the annual IMF-World Bank meet, which may among other things discuss giving greater say to emerging economies. Mukher-jee, who will be accompanied by Fi-nance Secretary Ashok Chawla and Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu, is also expected to take part in the meeting of the Commonwealth Fi-nance Ministers in Washington on Oc-tober 8, official sources on Friday said here ■ PTI

CMIE sees `22,00,000-cr fresh investments in 3 yrsMumbai: Fresh investment projects worth `22-lakh crore are expected to be commissioned in the country over the next three years with companies across sectors going in for capacity-addition during this period, an eco-nomic think-tank said has said. “Projects worth `22-lakh crore are ex-pected to be commissioned by March 2013,” the Centre for Monitoring Indi-an (CMIE) said ■ PTI

Advance tax payments by SAIL, Bharti dip in Q2New Delhi: Advance tax payments by a few big corporates like SAIL, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors dropped sub-stantially in the July-September quar-ter, although realisation from top 100 companies rose nearly 13 per cent during the period. According to sourc-es, top 100 companies paid `23,780.24 crore advance tax during July-Sep-tember 2010-11 against `21,059.04 crore in the year-ago period. Advance tax collections are a measure of cor-porate earnings ■ PTI

SC issues notices to telecos on ‘no No.’ callsNew Delhi: Seeking `55 crore from Airtel and Vodafone for routing uni-dentified calls on its network, pub-lic sector BSNL has moved the Su-preme Court which asked the pri-vate operators file their replies. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia on Friday issued notice to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar Gujarat directing them to file their replies. The apex court further said that it would hear BSNL’s plea later, along with a similar case where the state-owned firm is in dispute with Reliance Communications ■ PTI

In brief

h t t p : / / f i n a n c e . e x p r e s s b u z z . c o m

ENS Economic BureauHyderabad, September 17

THE Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is in discussions with the Government to introduce mo-bile drug testing vans as part of its rapid drug test-ing methodologies. DCGI said it was seeking infor-mation from the US FDA and would initiate a pilot shortly.

“Countries like Chi-na and the US have mo-bile vans that have all the wherewithal to test drugs. These are hi-tech vans, each one costing about `4 crore and would screen large number of drugs,” said Surinder Singh, DCGI.

He added that drugs that were sold in phar-macies and manufac-turing sites would be considered as part of the random testing pro-cedures.

Cur rent ly, about 40,000 drug samples from 35 states are col-lected and tested across the country. DCGI is targeting to increase this to about two lakh by next year.

DCGI also said, it would issue guidelines for regu-lation of clinical trials ethics committee and lay down norms for sites where clinical trials would be conducted.

Currently, only 1-2 per cent of the global clinical trials are done in India as opposed to the US, which takes up more than 50 per cent trials.

DCGI MULLS MOBILE DRUG TESTING VANS

Biz Bytes

IndianOil’s Director (Refineries) B N Bankapur (2nd from right) receiving the na-tional award for prevention of pollution from Minister of Environment and For-ests, Jairam Ramesh at a function held on the occasion of the International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer in New Delhi on Thursday. IndianOil’s Bongaigaon Refinery is the country’s first oil refinery to get this award

NEW DELHI | BHARTI AIRTELPicks IBM to manage African IT ops

Bharti Airtel has selected global technology giant IBM to manage computing technology and services for its African business under a 10-year planned agreement. The strategic partnership will enable the telecom opera-tor to scale up its network and systems to cater to more than 100 million African cus-tomers by 2012, according to a company statement on Friday. “There are huge opportunities throughout Africa to trans-form how people communicate and how communities interact. Delivering on that opportunity through affordable mobile communications for everyone is our focus,” Bharti Airtel Chairman and MD Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

CHENNAI | INDIA MAX FUND Buys 4.4% stake in Essar Shipping

Fund house India Max Investment Fund on Friday picked up a 4.44 per cent stake in Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics for `306.79 crore through an open market deal. As per the bulk deal data available with the NSE, India Max Investment Fund bought 2,73,92,130 shares (representing 4.44 per cent stake) at a price of `112 per piece, aggregating `306.79 crore. Meanwhile, Essar Steel Minnesota, the US based-arm of Essar Group, has tied-up $1 billion to fund its expansion plans. “The financial closure for the $1 billion investment proposed till August 2012 had been achieved recently,” Essar Steel CEO Malay Mukherjee said in Kolkata on Friday.

CHENNAI | ICICI, KINGFISHER Launch MasterCard

ICICI Bank and Kingfisher Airlines have announced the launch of the “ICICI Bank Kingfisher Airlines MasterCard Credit Card”. The card is powered by rewarding miles programme coupled with exclusive travel and lifestyle privileges for discerning cus-tomers. Some key benefits of the card include accelerated miles earning for all card spends, bonus miles on joining and renewal, complimentary upgrade vouchers, complimentary membership of King Club, Kingfisher Airlines’ frequent flyer pro-gramme, special offers on shopping, golf-ing, dining and more. The miles earned can be redeemed for free flight tickets and upgrade vouchers with Kingfisher Airlines.

Jayadevan PK | ENSBangalore, September 17

GOLD prices are at a record high. The question everybody seems to be asking is-- will the rally per-sist? While some analysts say that the upward rally is likely to continue on the back of fears of inflation leading to buying of the safe haven asset, the picture is not very clear yet.

Global gold prices are likely to come down in the short term (in a span of three months) and then re-sume its upward journey in the long term, says Rajesh Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of Rajesh Exports, one of the largest

exporters of gold jewellery in the world.

Though he said that the prices were in “unchartered territory”, terming the record prices as “prices

which the human kind has never seen,” he said, “There is a chance that the prices will come down a bit about 7-8 per cent in shor term (in the next three months) be-cause it looks like it has been overdone. it has been moving up right from $600 onwards and today it is at $1,275 and its been moving in one way direction. I think there is a chance that

it will come down now and then after sideways movement it will resume its movement again. In the long term,

I’m bullish about it,” he told Ex-press.

Closely following cues from the global markets, gold prices have been on a record rally as fears of inflation once again trig-gered buying of the safe-haven asset.

When asked if the up-coming festivities in India would further affect the prices, he said that festivities influencing gold pric-es is a myth and the pric-es are more dependent on global political and eco-nomic scene.

“During festivities we consume about 40- 50 tonnes of gold which really does not effect the glob-

al prices. Global prices are more driven by geopolitical situations around the world and Indian prices are dictated by the global prices. It i s more dictated by the eco-

nomic situations based on US and the Japanese data and what happens in the currency movements and

all those... Festive sea-son is a sort of myth,” he said.

A c c o r d i n g t o agency reports, gold

prices rose by 0.11 per cent to hit new high of

`19,372 per 10 grams in fu-tures trading on Friday as

speculators engaged in ex-panding their positions, tracking a firm trend overseas.

Gold scales new peak on inflation fears

Rajesh Mehta

ENS Economic BureauChennai, September 17

THE Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bu-reau (TCEB) has announced that it will aggres-sively promote business opportunities in the ASEAN region through the platform of exhibi-tions and trade shows in Thailand.

In this connection, TCEB has also intro-duced a privilege promotion in India - the ‘Ex-tra Night, Extra Smile’ – campaign, aiming at maximising the visitors’ stay while attending international exhibitions in Thailand.

TCEB will target Indian associations and organizations from sectors such as electronics, industrial machinery, petroleum, automotives, steel, gems and jewellery. Strong bilateral trade links between Thailand and India are already there in these industries.

Krit Kraichitti, Thai Ambassador to India, said, “Thailand eyes India as an important emerging market. Thailand and India have been good trade partners as the result of the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement. During January-June 2010, bilateral trade value be-tween Thailand and India is worth around BT 105 billion ($ 3.18 billion).

Chen Namchaisiri, Vice Chairman of the Fed-eration of Thai Industries (FTI) and President of ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Committee, said, “After the successful establishment of Thailand-India FTA, ASEAN-India FTA and BIMSTEC, India and Thailand have continually enjoyed reaping fruitful benefits incurred from bilateral trade relations. This is a good opportu-nity for businesses from India to participate at international exhibitions in Thailand to extend their reach in Southeast Asia.’’

Thai explores biz opportunities

AgenciesNew Delhi, September 17

INDIA is likely to harvest a bumper foodgrain crop in the current year, despite the drought in Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of West Bengal, Food and Agriculture Min-ister Sharad Pawar said on Friday.

“This (2010) will be one of the best years, which will provide a bumper crop to the country,” Pawar told re-porters on the sidelines of a national conference here on the rabi crop sea-son.

Foodgrain output is expected at 220-230 million tonnes in 2010-11. “Monsoon this year has been good. The conditions for rice have been very favourable. I expect the overall foodgrain production to reach be-tween 220-230 million tonnes be-cause of the good monsoon,” Pawar said.

The area under pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and paddy is much

more than last year and even more than in 2008, he said.

“Today’s Bakra dam position... we have not seen in the last 30 years,” he said, adding that a similar situation exists in most of the country’s reser-voirs and that is why the possibility of bumper rabi crop production is very bright.

Despite a bad monsoon last year, total foodgrains production for 2009-10 is likely to be 218 million tonnes, against the target of 239 million tonnes, the Minister said.

`500/hectare diesel subsidyThe Government will give a diesel

subsidy of `500 per hectare to farm-ers in the drought-hit Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to meet their extra cost of irrigating their crops, a decision that will cost the exchequer `500 crore.

“Every farmer will get `500 per

hectare as diesel subsidy,” Pawar said, adding that the decision was taken by the Government on Thurs-day at a high-level meeting.

Sugar decontrolAsked when the Government plans

to decontrol the sugar industry, Pawar said, “If we have to take any decision, we will definitely consult with the sugarcane-producing states and will start the process after as-sessing the total crop situation. I think it will take another 3-4 weeks maximum.”

Wheat export curbMeanwhile, the Finance Ministry

on Friday said curb on wheat exports should be lifted so as to gain from the global scarcity that has been created due to production loss in major pro-ducing nations like Russia and Ukraine.

500/h di l b id

India to produce bumper crop this year, says Pawar

Tata Motors rolls out

CNG-electric hybrid bus

Press Trust of IndiaNew Delhi, September 17

AMID the Reserve Bank expressing doubts over the efficacy of industrial data, a top adviser to the Finance Min-istry on Friday said manufacturing

is on buoyant path that will keep Indian growth story going in the medium to long run.

“... I get the sense that the man-ufacturing sector growth of the last months is not just a one time correction but the start of

a new trajectory for Indian manufacturing,” Chief Eco-

nomic Adviser Kaushik Basu

said here.He said

i f s e r -v i c e s

and farm sectors, which are perform-ing below capacity, also return to their full capacity, India’s growth will be quite robust for some years to come.

The comment assumes importance, since RBI had expressed doubts over the efficacy of industrial growth data in mirroring the ground reality.

He further said fiscal deficit will be below the budgeted 5.5 per cent of GDP mark this fiscal. “Fiscal deficit, I expect will be below 5.5 per cent.”

The Budget for 2010-11 estimates the fiscal deficit at `3,81,408 crore, or 5.5 per cent of the GDP. Towards the end of the first quarter, the Govern-ment had collected over `1.06 lakh crore through the sale of spectrum (radio waves) for both 3G and Broad-band Wireless Access against the Budget target of `35,000 crore.

India to anchor study on BRIC economiesENS Economic BureauNew Delhi, September 17

INDIA is anchoring a study on how best practices in different sectors of BRIC (Bra-zil, Russia, India and China) economic bloc can take these countries to higher path of economic growth. The first meeting took place in Delhi and India was represented by officials in the Union Finance Ministry.

“India is going to anchor the study. We will produce a document on best practices in all the four countries, explore synergies among the four economies so that BRIC could move to higher growth path,” Chief Economic Advsior Dr Kaushik Basu told reporters here.

The document will also look at how BRIC could play a central role in the global econ-omy besides looking at opportunity to en-courage cooperation among themselves and also with the G-20 and the rest of the world, Basu added■ ENS

MANUFACTURING TO PUSH GROWTH: KAUSHIK

ENS Economic BureauNew Delhi, September 17

INDIA will raise its concern over the increasing pro-tectionist policies in the US at the upcoming G-20 meet-ing in November.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said this on Friday at at a conference on G-20 issues organised by a ICRIER, a policy thinktank.

“The immediate spheres of such coordination (be-tween G20 member countries) are macroeconomic policies and exit strategies, pace of regulatory reforms to ensure financial stability with-out affecting prospects of growth, keep international trade open and avoiding protec-tionism,” Mukherjee said.

The fifth summit of G-20 is scheduled to be held in South Korea on November 11 and 12. Finance ministers of the group of 20 countries will meet next month to outline the agenda for the meeting.

Mukherjee said India would lobby with G-20 members to raise the issue of increasing tendencies of protectinism in some countries, especially in the US.

He said the global economic crisis was turning out to be more broader and deeper than expected.

“As clearly indicated by the current global crisis, no coun-try is insulated from global economy and the crisis is turn-ing out to be much deeper and broader than expected,” said Mukherjee.

The US recently announced a series of measures to curb outsourcing of business and boost demand for local products. The state of Ohio in the US early this month said it would forbid outsourcing of IT services by govern-ment departments. The US has also increased visa fee by $2,000 for certain H-1B and $2,250 for L1 categories.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had said the move by Ohio to ban outsourcing has come as a disappointment and is not welcome at all.

Last fortnight, Union Commerce Secretary Rahul Kh-ullar had met deputy US Trade Representative Michael Punke and Florida senator George Lemieux when the latter visited the Capital and discussed the matter.

New Delhi to voice concern at G-20 meet

U.S. PROTECTIONISM

India would lobby with G-20 members to raise the issue of increasing tendencies of protectinism in some countries, especially in the US

— Pranab Mukherjee

Canada extends helpCanada on Friday offered its expertise in building granaries to India in order to help it reduce foodgrain wastage due to poor storage facility. “Canadian com-panies... have been looking for Indian partners for building grain storage houses here,” Canada Minister for Agriculture & Agri-Food Gerry Ritz said.

STORAGE WORRIES

Overseas inspectionDCGI is planning to initiate overseas inspection of drugs in countries including China and Europe early next year. DCGI said it was awaiting ap-proval from the Government that would allow it to conduct audits and certify certify the manufacturing quality of the pharmaceutical products. “We would send our drug in-spectors abroad to conduct audits of the manufacturing plants from where drugs will be imported. This norm is fol-lowed by all other countries including Nigeria,” said Surinder Singh, DCGI.

Vignettes

27 killed in Lanka blastIt was unclear what triggered the explosion of containers filled with explosives; govt officials ruled out any possibility of sabotage

Sri Lankan police officers inspect the site of an explosion at a police station in Karadiyanaru, a small town in the former conflict zone in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday

AP

Voters uneasy as poll violence fears loomDue to security threats, the EC shut down 938 polling stations in sensitive areas

TALIBAN KIDNAP CANDIDATE

ENCOURAGED BY MOTHER, 2-YR-OLD SMOKES JOINT

Los Angeles: Police have released a video of a two-year-old girl smoking what appears to be cannabis. The video was allegedly recorded by the girl’s own mother on a mobile phone in a living room in Cincinnati, Ohio.Jessica Gamble, 21, is accused of giving the drug to her daughter while they were watching television at home in June. Miss Gamble can allegedly be heard in the background giving instructions to the child and laughing. The American mother has been charged with child endangerment, corrupting another person with drugs, and tampering with evidence. She faces up to 11 years in jail if convicted. She is said to have recorded her daughter then sent it to someone else who alerted authorities.Prosecutor Joseph Deters said, “It is unbelievable to watch on video a mother teaching her two-year-old child how to smoke a joint.” ■ TELEGRAPH

Shawan Sen Kabul, September 17

COME Saturday Afghanistan goes to vote for the 249 seats in the lower house of the Parliament (Wolesi Jirga) with more than 2,000 candidates contesting from 34 provinces.

In the country’s second parliamen-tary election since the Taliban regime was overthrown in 2001, around 10.5 million voters are expected to vote at almost 6,000 polling centres.

Despite the Afghanistan Indepen-dent Election Commission’s assurance, security still remains a major concern among the voters and the election ob-servers. The Taliban and the other in-surgent groups like Hizb-i-Islami have already warned the people to stay away from the elections. Following the secu-rity mapping, the election commission decided to shut down 938 polling cen-tres in sensitive provinces.

With increasing pressure from the international community, President Hamid Karzai’s office in a statement said, “Afghan security forces are com-pletely prepared to secure the election and the polling centres.” In this elec-tion, NATO and US troops will have a backseat role but will have quick rela-tion forces on standby.

Facing the brunt of deteriorating security conditions are the candidates who were forced to clamp down on their campaigning. According to Free and Fair Election Foundation of Af-

ghanistan, the majority of threats against individual candidates reported to them were against women, including at least 40 incidents of threatening let-ters or phone calls in 10 provinces. Many of these incidents include threats of violence if the woman does not with-draw her candidacy.

Apart from security, the other major concern has been the possibilities of fraud. After the fraud-marred Presi-dential elections in 2009, this election is being considered as a test of wheth-er President Karzai’s government can conduct a free and fair election.

AlJazeera has reported that fake cards were being sold across the coun-try for just over 300 Pak rupees and were being printed in Peshawar.

Agence France-PresseKabul, September 17

THE Taliban kidnapped an Afghan par-liamentary candidate on Friday and were blamed for snatching another 18 election workers, as President Hamid Karzai warned of “irregularities” in the weekend poll.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for abducting Abdul Rahman Hayat, a candidate from eastern Lagman prov-ince, and an electoral official also blamed the other kidnappings on the Taliban, who have already killed three candidates.

“We have kidnapped Hayatullah Hayat,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

The insurgents were also blamed for

the kidnapping Thursday of 18 elec-toral officials and campaign workers in northwestern Baghdis province.

“In Afghanistan under the circum-stances we must expect that there’ll be irregularities, there’ll be problems and there’ll be allegations as well,” Hamid Karzai told reporters at his palace in Kabul.

Karzai, re-elected to a second term last year amid massive fraud that was mostly in his favour, urged all Afghans to vote, including “those Taliban who are the sons of this country”.

“We should try to do our best under the circumstances and make the elec-tions a success as things are today. Therefore, it’s important that the Af-ghan people come out and vote and have trust in their vote.”

Around the world

Nicholas Rappold, 21, who had died in his car was issued a parking ticket

Parking ticket world14 An alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI led to the arrests of five men in London on Friday on day 2 of the pontiff’s trip to UK. The men were detained under the Terrorism Act

Churchill’s estate said that it has launched its own iPhone app and

will use social media to bring Churchill’s wit and wisdom to a

wider audience. ‘Churchillisms’ will charge its users £ 1.19

y o u r s a t u r d a y n e w s p a p e rThe New Indian Express I Saturday, September 18, 2010 I Chennai ✵

Volunteers attempt to

break the Guin-ness World

Record for hu-man-mattress

dominoes on the deck of the

USS Intrepid, during the pro-duction of the morning show,

“Live! with Regis and Kel-

ly” in New York on Thursday

-AP

DYNAMITES WHICH WENT OFF WERE STORED NEAR A POLICE STATION

THE BLAST REDUCED THE

POLICE STATION TO RUBBLE

THE EXPLOSIVES WERE MEANT FOR A ROAD PROJECT BY A

CHINESE FIRM

THE BLAST SITE WAS EARLIER A

STRONGHOLD OF THE LTTE

Associated PressColombo, September 17

THREE containers filled with explosives meant for road construction detonated on Friday outside a police station in eastern Sri Lanka, killing 25 people, most of them police officers, in a blast government officials called an acci-dent.

Military spokesman Maj Gen Ubaya Medawala said he initially feared, incor-rectly, that the death toll was as high as 60, in light of the enormity of the dam-age caused by the blast.

Images of the blast on Maharaja Tele-vision showed the police station reduced to rubble. A nearby agriculture office crowded with farmers who had come to buy fertilizer was also completely de-stroyed and power to the area was cut off. “There was a big blast and smoke all over, that’s all. I didn’t know what was happening,” said S Vathany, 42, a farmer.

Medawala said it was unclear what triggered the explosion of the contain-

ers, which were stored by the police sta-tion in the Batticaloa district for safety reasons.

The explosives, probably dynamite, were intended for blasting out rocks for a road construction project being car-ried out by a Chinese company, he said.

From time to time, workers came to the police premises remove small amounts of explosives from the contain-ers. The blast occurred when the work-ers were taking out some of the explo-sives, Medawala said.

The blast killed 16 policemen and nine civilians — including two Chinese citi-zens — and wounded 52 others, he said. Among the civilian casualties were farmers visiting the agriculture office and passers by.

Thyagendra Senthuran, a doctor at Chenkalady hospital near the blast site, said he has received 15 dead bodies and 20 wounded people, many with severe head wounds.

Lakshman Hulugalla, a government spokesman, ruled out any possibility of

sabotage, saying, “It is an accidental explosion.” The site of the blast, Kara-diyanaru, is a small town in the former conflict zone in the east. The govern-ment has initiated a major construction drive there to build roads, reservoirs and other infrastructure following the end of the war with the Tamil Tigers.

16 policemen, two Chinese among victimsThe blast killed 16 policemen and nine civilians — including two Chinese citizens — and wounded 52 others. Among the civilian casualties were farmers visiting the agriculture office and passers by. The site of the blast, Karadiyanaru, is a small town in the former conflict zone in the east. The area was once controlled by the now-defeated LTTE rebels, who carried out hundreds of bomb-ings against govt and civilian targets

52 WOUNDED

PARROT HELPS DRUG DEALERS FLEE, HELD New York: In a bizarre incident, a parrot has been arrested by the Columbian police for allegedly helping drug dealers escape during a raid. According to Columbian newspaper ‘El Heraldo’, the incident took place when 300 police officers raided a hideout used by alleged drug dealers in the city of Barranquilla. However, everyone managed to escape from the house as the parrot, named Lorenzo, raised an alert by saying, “Run, run or the cat will get you!” Lorenzo, who had been trained to alert residents upon the arrival of the police, was taken into custody and handed over to an animal rights organisation. While the bird was being taken away, it kept saying, “Run, run!” ■ PTI

ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION

AFGHAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Gas stations, schools and markets in Karachi closed as news of Farooq’s death spread

MQM leader killed in London, Pak tenseAssociated PressKarachi, September 17

GANGS torched vehicles and a shop in Pakistan’s largest city on Friday after a senior politician from the local ruling party was stabbed to death in London.

Gas stations, schools and markets in Karachi were closed and no public transport was running as news of the stab-bing of Imran Farooq spread. Farooq was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, one of Pakistan’s major par-ties and the largest in the coalition governing Karachi.

The slaying could have implications for national political stability, especially if the MQM accuses its rivals of being involved. On Friday, an MQM leader said the party thought Farooq, 50, was killed in response to controversial state-ments made by the party leader, who himself lives in self-imposed exile in London. London’s Metropolitan Police said no arrests had been made and did not speculate on the motive. Farooq’s body was found in north London on Thurs-day with multiple stab wounds and head wounds. In a state-ment, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the killing. “We have suspended all party activities for 10 days to mourn Imran Farooq’s tragic death,” said its dep-uty chief, Farooq Sattar.

On Friday, more than a dozen people broke into a plastics shop and set it on fire near the MQM headquarters, wit-nesses said. Elsewhere, youths blocked the main road and torched two buses, said Asif Khan, an area resident

BABY BOOMERSMalaysia opens first school for pregnant teens

Malaysia’s first school for pregnant teen-agers opened on Friday but the controver-sial facility, aimed at curbing an epidemic of “baby dumping”, has yet to sign up a single student. Conservative commenta-tors in Malaysia have complained that Se-kolah Harapan or “School of Hope” will only encourage premarital sex. But its chairman Rahaman Karim defended it as a practical strategy to combat the rising numbers of abandoned infants, often dumped dead or dying in the streets or on rubbish dumps. “Islam and other religions offer a chance for people to repent. We give them a chance and we hope they will turn over a new leaf,” he said.

YOUNG KILLERPeruvian teen admits he murdered 10 people

A 15-year-old boy in Peru has confessed to killing 10 people, including a pregnant woman, in the past three years, local me-dia reported. The boy, nicknamed Gringa-cho, surrendered before the authorities and said he was recruited by a criminal network in the city of Trujillo, 570 km north of Lima, when he was just 12. He told police officials that over the past three years he had killed a total of 10 peo-ple, including a young woman who was eight months pregnant. Gringacho asked authorities to place him in a youth prison in Trujillo. Trujillo is home to Peru’s most dangerous and violent criminal groups in-dulging in extortion and targeted killings.

ROGUE HEALTHCARESouth African hospital charged with organ trafficking

A major S African hospital chain and its chief executive have been charged after years of investigation into a human organ trafficking case that stretched from Israel to S Africa to Brazil. Police spokesman Vish Naidoo said 11 suspects were ordered to appear in court in November. He refused to name them, but the board of directors of the Netcare hospital said in a statement that the parent company, its CEO, Dr Rich-ard Friedland, and subsidiary in the prov-ince of KwaZulu-Natal received subpoenas. “The board has been advised that the alle-gations made are unjustified and that nei-ther Netcare nor Dr Friedland are guilty of any wrongdoing,” the statement said.

Chapman explains why he murdered LenonNew York: John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, has said that he shot the musician because he wanted to “be somebody”. He told the parole board that his motivation was instant notoriety but that he now realises he “made a horrible decision to end an-other human being’s life for reasons of selfishness.”He also said that he had considered shooting Johnny Car-son or Elizabeth Taylor ■ TELEGRAPH

Japanese former actor jailed over woman’s deathTokyo: A Japanese court on Friday sentenced former actor Manabu Oshio to 30 months in prison for failing to get immediate medical help for a woman who fell ill and died after they took illegal drugs together ■ TELEGRAPH

US Senate panel approves nuclear treaty with RussiaWashington: A US Senate panel ap-proved a landmark nuclear arms con-trol treaty with Russia on Thursday.The panel voted 14-4 to approve the new Start treaty, to reduce deployed nuclear warheads by about 30 per cent ■ TELEGRAPH

Prachanda withdraws from PM race in NepalKathmandu: The head of Nepal’s op-position Maoists, Pushpa Kamal Dahal or ‘Prachanda,’ withdrew Friday from the race to become PM to pave the way for fresh talks on forming a na-tional consensus government ■ AFP

Seattle cartoonist goes into hiding on FBI adviceSeattle: A Seattle cartoonist, Molly Norris, who became the target of a death threat with a satirical piece called “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” has gone into hiding on the ad-vice of the FBI ■ AP

Pentagon to funnel arms to Yemen to fight al-QaedaWashington: The Pentagon has pro-posed a $1.2 billion (£778m) military aid package to Yemen for its battle against al-Qaeda, sparking a warning that the extra resources would be used in the country’s civil wars ■ AP

Book claims plot to oust Bruni from Elysee PalaceParis: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was the target of a plot by Rachida Dati, a rival and former minister, to oust the Bruni from the Elysée Palace and to bring back President Sarkozy’s second wife, an official biography, Carla and the Ambitious has claimed ■ TELEGRAPH

We have suspended all party activities for 10 days to mourn Imran Farooq’s tragic death

FAROOQ SATTAR Deputy Chief

Mark Chapman and John Lennon

The 2-yr-old’s face was blurred to protect her identity

A TV grab of the fake voter registeration cards printed in Pakistan

Manabu Oshio

WATER WAR KILLS 100 IN PAK TRIBAL AREASPeshawar: At least 48 people were killed and 22 others injured today in armed clashes between two rival groups over the distribution of water in Pakistan’s restive tribal belt, taking the death toll in three weeks of fighting to more than 100.Fresh clashes erupted between members of the Shalozan and Shalozan Tangi tribes in Kurram Agency, local sources said.The rival groups used heavy and sophisticated weapons to target each other’s positions and burnt dozens of houses in four villages.The clashes over the allocation of irrigation water began three weeks ago ■ PTI

REACTION ENGINES

COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT ‘IN 10 YEARS’

Skylon, a pilotless plane will be able to carry tourists from the Earth to space

The spaceplane conceptualised by British engineers at Reaction Engines

will cost a whopping £700 millionThe craft will be able to take off from

an ordinary airport runway

The plane has no external rocketsIt’s two engines use hydrogen and oxygen to propel it more than 18 miles into space

Length

270 feet

Seating capacity – 24 passengers

Cost for one trip - £6.3 million

Canard Foreplans

Hydregon Tank

Payload Bay

Oxygen Tank

Sabre EnginePayload

Container

Auxiliary Propellant Tankage

15✵ The New Indian Express | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | Chennai

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ADVT. No. DST / 02 / 2010-Rectt

Applications are invited for filling up of two posts of Hardware Engineer [Rs 37,400-67,400 (PB-4) (Grade Pay Rs. 8,700)] and two posts of System Analyst [Rs. 9300-34800/- (PB-2) (Grade Pay - Rs. 4800/-)] on deputation basis in National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), Department of Science and Technology. For the application format and details of qualifications, experience, age limit & other requirements etc. visit our website www.dst.gov.in.

(LATHA GOPAKUMAR)UNDER SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF INDIA

davp 36101/11/0009/1011 MO/G/8210

Tele: 23793316

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA INTEGRATED HEADQUARTERS OF MOD (ARMY) DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF ORDNANCE SERVICES

(PROCUREMENT DIVISION), ROOM NO.175, 'B' BLOCK NEW DELHI-110011.

A/94654/DGOS/DDG(PROC)/2010-11/(22) Date: 06-09-2010By separate Tender Enquiry for each item, Sealed Tenders are invited by Directorate General of Ordnance Services for and on behalf of the President of India for supply of the following stores: -S.No., Tender Enquiry No., Description of store, Qty., Cost of Tender Set, Date of Tender Opening: -1. 40011/TPC/OS/CV/TE-21(RTE), LV1/R-72 229-03-01 Sb Air Cylinder (Applicable to KMT-6), Available with CQA(EE) Aundh Camp, Pune, 68 Nos, Rs 100/-, 06-10-10. 2. 40011/TPC/OS/CV/TE-27(RTE), LV3/ICVs Sb-20-12-01-13 Oil Pump (Applicable to ICV BMP I&II UTD-20), Available with CQA (HV) Avadi, 459 Nos, Rs 500/-, 06-10-10. 3. 40011/TPC/OS/CV/TE-64, LV1/R72 172-50-003 Sb-B Disc with Hub (Applicable to T-72 VT-72B WZT-3), Available with CQA (HV) Avadi, 737 Nos, Rs 1,000/-, 06-10-10.Tender Notice No. A/94654/DGOS/DDG(PROC)/2010-ll/(21) dated 01-09-2010 for item (Integrated Test Equipment) appearing at Sr No. 3 which is due on 20 Sep 2010 is rescheduled and will now open on 12 Oct 2010.Intending tenderers may obtain the Tender Set either from the Procurement Division, MGOs Branch, Room No. 175, B' Block, DHQ P.O., New Delhi-11 (Opposite South Block) or from COD, Kandivilli, Mumbai./ OD, Alipore, Kolkata./ OD, Chennai./ 223 ABOD Suranassi, Jalandhar and COD, Kanpur on all working days between 1000 Hrs & 1300 Hrs, against crossed demand draft/IPO for the amount mentioned against respective tenders. If requisitioned by post, cost of DD/IPO should include Rs. 15/-(Rupees Fifteen only) extra towards postal charges. DD/IPO should be payable to CDA HQRS, NEW DELHI. If tenders are purchased from Depots, DD /IPO should be payable to the CDA of the area concerned. DD should be valid for minimum 6 months period.FURTHER DETAILS OF EACH TENDER ENQUIRY, SPECIFICATIONS ETC. VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.tenders.gov.in

Sd/- DIR OS (Proc) for Director General of Ordnance Services

davp 10202/11/0151/1011 MO/G/8215

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ADVT. NO. DST / 01 / 2010 - Rectt.Applications are invited from Indian citizens for filling up of one post of Scientist 'D' (Rs. 15600-39100 (Grade Pay- Rs. 7600/-) by direct recruitment on contract and co-terminus basis (till March 31, 2012) in the Innovative Cluster Scheme in National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Board (NSTEB), Department of Science & Technology. For application format and details of qualifications, experience, age limit & other requirements etc. visit our website www.dst.gov.in.

(LATHA GOPAKUMAR)UNDER SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF INDIA

davp 36101/11/0011/1011 MO/G/8209

Lahore: After cricket, now it’s Tennis that omits some dis-

tances between the countries. Pakistan government an-

nounced that the country will honour Indian tennis player,

Rohan Bopanna along with his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-

Haq Qureshi for their perform-ance in US Open. Governor Sal-maan Taseer informed, “Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and

President Asif Ali Zardari have consented to my proposal and

both players will soon be re-warded for their feat.”

✵ THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 | 2010 | CHENNAI | 16

FIXING UPDATE

Port Elizabeth: On a roll after two consecuti-ve wins, IPL champi-ons Chennai Super Ki ngs face their tough-est test yet when they take on Australian side Victoria Bushrangers in their third Group A match of the Champio-ns League Twenty20 here on Saturday.

Chennai have been on a roll so far in the tournament with big wins over Central Dist-r i cts and Wayamba Elevens but repeating the dominating perfor-

mance against David Hussey’s Victoria wo-uld not be all that easy for Mahendra Singh Dh oni’s men. Batting is Chennai’s strength and this was evident in the way they attacked Wayamba’s bowling to pile up 200 runs in their previous match.

Murali Vijay, Matth-ew Hayden and Suresh Raina were indestruc-tive form against Wa-yamba and would be

looking to continue from where they left.

New Delhi: The corruption scand-al that has rocked international cricket is finding an echo in India as well with out-of-favour pacer Irfan Pathan on Friday claiming th at he was sent exp-ensive gifts by a “st-ranger”, suspected to be a bookie, du r i-ng a series.

Although he did not disclose when ex-actly the incident ha-ppened and which te am he was playing against at that time, Pathan said expensive gifts were sent to his hotel room during the series and he reported the matter to the team manager. “I was in a te am hotel when a stranger appro-ac hed me. He sent three expensive gifts to my room. He later sent me

two more expensive gifts, things I couldn’t afford,” the 25-year-old, whose last Test appearance for In-dia was in April 2008 against South Africa, said.

“I thought it was wr ong as I didn’t kn-ow this person. I rep-o rted to the team ma-n ager who then aler-t ed the ICC Anti-Cor-ruption and Security Unit Officer,” he reca-l led.The pacer, whose career has be en hit by injuries and a slu-

mp in form, was last seen in an ODI for India in 2009 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Pathan said he never saw the “st ranger” again and is proud to ha ve reported the matter to the co-ncerned authorities promptly.

‘Bookie’ sent me expensive gifts, informed BCCI: Irfan

Upbeat CSK take on Victoria

ICC SLAMS UMPIRE HILL OVER NO-BALL COMMENTWellington: The ICC has rebuked New Zealand umpire Tony Hill for publicly airing his belief that Paki-stan players deliberately bowled no-balls, a report said on Friday.Hill told Wellington’s Dominion Post this week that he suspected Pakistan bowlers sent down no-balls on purpose against England last month but did not link the tactic to corruption.

SCOTLAND YARD SUBMITS EVIDENCE TO PROSECUTORSLondon: Scotland Yard on Friday handed evidence on the ‘spot-fix-ing’ scandal to Crown Prosecution Service and left it to the prosecu-tors whether to frame charges on Pakistani cricketers alleged to have been involved in it. Scotland Yard said evidence that there was a conspiracy to defraud bookmak-ers will now be considered by the CPS. “The Metropolitan Police Service has delivered an initial file of evidence relating to conspiracy to defraud bookmakers to the CPS,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said. “The file will now be subject to CPS consideration. This is an initial file and the Met investigation continues.”

ALL PAKISTAN-ENG TESTS WERE FIXED, SAYS BOOKIEKarachi: An unidentified book-maker, who appeared on a televi-sion show and claimed that all the Tests between Pakistan and Eng-land last month were fixed. The bookmaker, whose face was hid-den, appeared in a talk show and claimed that there are two yet-to-be-caught players present in the Pakistan team who had been in-volved in match-fixing in the past.

Ashok Venugopal | ENSChennai, September 17

INDIA’S No 1 singles player Somdev Devvarman on whom the Indian camp had pinned there hopes to open account lost 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 4-6 to the higher ranked Ricardo Mello of Brazil in the second singles match of the Davis Cup that went late into the night at the Nu-ngambakkam tennis stadium. Earlier, Thomaz Bellucci had defeated Ro han Bopanna 6-7 (2), 7-6 (7), 7-5, 4-6, 10-8, that lasted four and half hours, to give Bra-zil a 1-0 lead.

The fifth set began interestingly a f ter both Mello and Somdev had ta ken two sets each. Somdev started off well se nd-i ng down winners and overall his aggro

was intact. Both matched each other and so was the score that read three games each. When it looked like this set too would go to the tie-breaker, Mello tightened his grip and played aggres-sively. At times his pulsating serves and angled returns put Somdev in trouble. After trading breaks Mello broke So m-dev in the ninth game to come within

sight of a win. Somdev after holding on to his serve well for a while fumbled in the later part. His returns were off tar-get and he failed to put pressure on Me-llo. In fact in the 10th game Mello went all out to take a 40-0 lead and victory was only a matter of time.

In the first singles match, Bopanna muffed a golden chance to put India in the lead. From a position of strength he committed errors when it mattered most and lost to Bellucci.

A cool Bellucci capitalised on Bop-anna’s faulty returns and poor serve to earn a hard fought win. In fact in the fifth set, he saved three match points to help Brazil take a 1-0 lead.

Bopanna did show that he had the better staying power by winning the fourth set after losing two in a row to make it 2-sets all. In fact, this excellent rally to even scores gave him the much needed confidence and start the final set with a bang but he paid the price for not tightening his game.

It was a see-saw battle for most part of the match as both committed identi-cal errors in turns. Full marks to Bop-anna for keeping the world no 27 on his toes, but Bellucci showcased t r e -

mendous resilience and proved that there was no substitute for experience by playing the big points better. In the first set, Bopanna began with control. He served well and played some attrac-tive shots as none could get a break point. In the tie-breaker Bellucci double faulted twice and this served Bopanna’s cause. The second set saw both trading breaks early, then in the tie-breaker, both served well until Bellucci deft plac-ing made him go up 9-7 and it was one set each.

Bellucci confidence went up as he won the third without being stretched. Egged on by the fans and the entire In-dian team Bopanna won the fourth set effortlessly as his returns had improved by then. He broke Bellucci in the 10th game to draw parity.

India will look to Paes and Bhupathi to open account as they take on Soares and Marcello in the doubles.

PHOTOS: D SAMPATH KUMAR

Sandip G | ENSChennai, September 17

LEWIS Hamilton knows he cannot afford ano-ther DNF against his name if he is to be crowned the world champion this season. More alarming is that the 2008 champion’s first-lap crash in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was the second occasion in the last three races he had failed to see the chequered flag, sandwich-ing his victory in Belgium on tricky conditions. The McLaren driver now heads into the final five Grand Prix of a five-way battle for the title trailing the championship leader Mark Webber by five points. But composed as he always had been, on and off, the track is buoyed to go the full stretch. Excerpts from his inter-action with the media at Irungattukot-tai on Friday...On the current F1 seasonIt has been a fantastic and close season with no racer managing a size-able lead. Any one of the first five can actually win the championship. It could have been better for me no doubt. I should have been leading by a healthy margin. But then I love ch a llenges and I’m gear ed up for the next five races.On F1’s hectic scheduleIt has been an incredibly lo ng season. Our tr a ining started last December and we started ra cing in February. Not it is Septe m ber, and there are another five ra ces to go. And then af ter a short break we would start train-ing all ov er again.On his collision with MassaI would have averted the incident nine out of ten times. But sometim-es it happens. You are driving your car well over 300 km per hour, and you have to make split second deci-sions. So a slight error of judgement could prove costly. That’s what hap-pened in Monza, but I’ve put that behind and I’m looking ahead to the next five races. You absorb that in-formation, put the bad experience to one side, and use the benefits and just mo ve on. But I’m happy Jenson did a good job, and we are in good spot on the championship table.On his chemistry with ButtonWe are very supportive of each other

and are good friends. But obviously on the track, he wants to beat me and I want beat him. Having a driver of his quality as your team-mate helps a lot. Winning a Formula One cham-pionship is not just about good machines but

also good te amwork. It is not necessary that the best driv er wins the race.On racing with SchumacherIt’s great for the sport to have a legend like him back on the track. It’s been tough for him, having stayed out of the

circuit for a few years to make a comeback. But still he’s done a good job. Whenever I see him on the track, I exclaim with a hint of disbelief, “Oh I’m racing alongside Mi chael Schumach-er, the legend.”On Karun ChandhokHe is talented and young, and would get better as the season progresses. If you are

at the top it’s hard to stay the-re. So somewhere down the line

he should get a better car, and he would finish better. Him making into the top grid is a great spurt for racing in the country. There will be more and more young-sters who would aspi re to be a Karun Chandh ok or a Narain Kar th ikeyan. On the Indian GPIt would be an interesting addition to our calendar and we are looking forward to it. I’m sure it would be a

spectacular event, and I’ve he a rd that the track is ahe-ad of time. With the support it is getting from the public, India is ready for hosting it.

The sport is catching up in India with an Indian owning

a Formula One te am (Vijay Ma-llya) and another one driving a

Formula One car (Karun Cha-ndhok).

After setting the Irungattukottai racetrack on fire, 2008 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton says he is looking

forward to driving in the 2011 Indian Grand Prix

PHOTOS: P JAWAHAR

HOT STUFFTWO 5-SETTERS, TWO LOSSES: Mello beats Somdev after Bopanna goes down fighting to Bellucci

QURESHI GAME FOR MATCH AGAINST PARTNER BOPANNA

PAK GOVT TO HONOUR BOPANNA WITH AWARD

Karachi: Pakistani tennis play-er Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi,

whose partnership with Indian Rohan Bopanna has become a

global talking point after the duo’s runners-up finish at the

US Open, said he would not mind playing against his good friend in exhibition matches to

raise funds for the flood vic-tims here. “Pakistani people

have seen so much misery and problems in recent times. If

these matches are on I am def-initely game for it,” he said.

CdBte2tsschau“m

Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci during his match against

Rohan Bopanna

Sandip G I ENSChennai, September 17

FINALLY, only the verdict ma-tters. Not the scoreline. So de-spite having stretched a player 452 rungs above him to five sets, Bopanna’s loss would go down as a loss. The intensi ty that marked the game eventu-ally goes unnoticed.

Nonetheless, it was a phen-o m enal effort from Bopanna, ranked 479, pitted against wo-rld number 27, Thomaz Bel-luci. Among the many ifs and buts that would continue to to rment would be a regret th-at he couldn’t get enough sin-gles matches under his be lt ahead of the tie.

“The lack of playing singl-es matches made the differe-

nce. There was definitely a chance but lack of singles for past years made the differen-ce. I made him play as much as I could but he came up with some big shots at crucial stag-es,” he said.

Bopanna rues conceding the second set, which he was leading 5-2 in tie-breaker. “In the second set tie-break I won three winners. But at 6-4, Bell-ucci had tremendous backha-

nd passes to win it. Perhaps it could have changed the mat ch if I had won. But he came up with some big shots,” Bopan-na said.

A silver-lining though was the courage and endurance he exhibited throughout the match, even when his oppo-nent was venturing for the ki ll. “The good pa-rt is that I was se-rvi ng and kept the momentum go i ng. I came back in the fifth set by brea-king him back in the se cond ga-me. But close to the fif th set, I was ge t ting phy-s ic a l ly tired. I guess I wa-sn’t ready to pl ay for fo ur-

and-a-half hours. So, it was not as if I wasted the ch ances in the fifth set wh en I was leading 5-2.” he said.

So sapping was the four-ho-ur-eight-minute duel that Bel-lucci admitted his mind was blank in the fifth set. “I was very tired and the mind was not responding. It was a tough match. He was serving well and hitting his forehand hard. I am playing him for the first time and he was at his best. Rohan was way down on rank-ings but in Davis Cup ra nk-ings do not matter much,”

said the Brazilian.

Bopanna rues lack of singles practice

“I am obviously disappointed, but both matches could have gone the other way. I led 2-1 after three highly physical sets, but had a shocking fourth set that I lost. This is something I need to work on. I guess it comes with experience to press on when you are ahead.” — Somdev Devvarman

Advantage BrazilBrazil win opening day singles matches, take 2-0 lead vs India in World Group playoff

Durban, September 17

MICHAEL Klinger’s unbeaten 69 (9x4, 1x6) and a gritty knock of 57 by Daniel Harris (7x4, 2x6) helped South Australia Redbacks to post a convincing 8-wkt victory over Royal Challenger Bangalore in a Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tourna-ment on Friday. Chasing a target of 154, the Aussie outfit got home with nine balls to spare. The team entered the semifinals.

Earlier, Dillon du Preez and Ross Taylor scored an identical 46 to he-lp Royal Challengers Bangalore overcome a mid-innings slump and post 154. Taylor, who cracked eight fours and a huge six during his 28-

ball stay, steadied the RCB innings in middle overs while Preez capita-lised on his home condition when the team was struggling at 76 for five in 10.5 overs. Preez struck one four and four sixes during his 25-ball innings and with Cameron White (25) produced a crucial 58-run partnership to pull the team out of the pit.

RCB was folded for 154 in 19.5 overs, with Daniel Christian scalp-ing four late wickets for 23 runs.

Earlier, South Australia had ma-de the Bangalore batsmen’s life miserable on a slightly slow Kings-mead pitch.

Opting to bat, the Bangalore team were off to a wobbly start as they lost two wickets in the first

couple of overs. Paceman Shaun Tait struck in the fifth ball of the match by removing Manish Pan-dey (4) cheaply.

Pandey cracked a four off the fifth delivery off Tait but the fast bowler took revenge in the next ball when the batsman failed to tackle a rising delivery and Daniel Harris pouched a well-judged catch. Medium pacer Gary Putland then inflicted the second lossby dismissing Robin Uthappa, who could not contribute anything, in the second delivery of the next over. Uthappa chased a ball outside off stump and cracked a slightly uppish drive but Callum Ferguson dived at cover-point region to lay hand on the fence-bound ball.

Klinger, Harris star in victory vs Bangalore

SCOREBOARD

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE R B 4s 6s

Pandey c Harris b Tait 4 5 1 0

Dravid c Manou b O’Brien 4 27 11 0

Uthappa c Ferguson b Putland 0 2 0 0

Taylor c Manou b Tait 46 28 8 1

White c Putland b Christian 25 29 1 0

Kohli c Tait b Bailey 3 7 0 0

D du Preez c Harris b Christian 46 25 1 4

Praveen b Putland 6 3 0 1

Vinay c Borgas b Christian 6 7 0 0

Steyn b Christian 0 1 0 0

Kumble (not out) 1 1 0 0

Extras (lb-2, w-11) 13

Total (all out; 19.5 overs) 154

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-7, 3-53, 4-69, 5-76, 6-134, 7-140, 8-152, 9-153.

Bowling: Tait 4-0-23-2; Putland 4-0-37-2, O’Brien 4-0-28-1,Christian 3.5-0-23-4, Bailey 3-0-29-1, Harris 1-0-12-0.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA DJ Harris run out (Kohli) 57 38 7 2

M Klinger* not out 69 57 9 1

GA Manou b Kumble 0 3 0 0

CJ Ferguson not out 21 14 2 0

Extras (lb-5, w-2, nb-1) 8

Total (2 wickets; 18.3 overs) 155

Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-125

Bowling: P Kumar 4-0-28-0; Steyn 4-0-38-0; D du Preez 3-0-26-0; Kumble 4-0-25-1; Vinay Kumar 3.3-0-33-0

REDBACKS ENTER SEMIFINALS

Michael Klinger


WHO says it’s all about the cars? The eagerness with which the city’s motorsport aficionados awaited and welcomed, and celebrated Lewis Hamilton’s arrival has nothing to do with double diffusers, longer wheelbases, transverse gearboxes or front-wing end plates. It was all about a young phenomenon, a distinctively cherubic boy from Stevenage. We no longer see their faces as they go about their work enveloped in fantastically complex machines, which bear a greater resemblance to fighter jets than to the average family car. Only when they take off their helmets at the end of a race do we glimpse emotion. And yet it is still the human dimen-sion that stirs the blood, which draws spectators to the great traditional arenas of the sport and persuades mil-lions around the world to tune in to the telecasts.

There weren’t millions assembled at the Madras Mo-tor Sports Track in Irungattukottai, but the half a thou-sand jumble of people—from outright fans to organis-ers and journalists—had their eyes transfixed on Lewis Hamilton from the moment his chopper made its sighting, far amidst the grey sky, to the moment he bade the farewell—not more than a gentle wave of his right hand.

Here was a former world champion—purveying the elitist of sports—catering unassumingly to the merry crowd. First there was a shudder, as if you are experi-encing the surreal. Followed a gentle eruption of joy. But no chaos. No panic. The crowd was living the mo-ment, half awake, half dreamy.

But they enlivened once Hamilton straddled into a convertible, a metallic black SL 63 AMG Mercedes, swanky one at that, and took the ten lucky winners of the Vodafone SMS contest—who had come as far as from Delhi—around the track for a lap. By his stan-dards, at a modest speed of 130 kmph! The growl of the engine was sonorous. Such was the impact on tyres that he changed his vehicle to an off-white non-convert-ible. He literally burned the rubber. “The ty res are still intact, er?” he holle red.

As if he was tired of routine laps, he ga-ve we nt to antics, spinning the car at 360 degrees, often side-flipping, sh rouding his vehicle in a cloud of smo ke, and sh-redding the grass that embroidered the track. “I think the grass looks better now,” he joked.

Having performed quite a few stunts him-self in reel life, actor Vikram had the petrified look of a rabbit in flashlights when Hamilton took him around. “It was scary at times, but I en jo y ed it. It was fun,” bea med Vikr-am. Hamilton was im pressed by the track, and pro m ises to co me back. “The tr a ck is well ma intained, and I will visit the city with my girl-friend (Nicole Sc herzinger). She has conveyed her regards to you,” he played to the crowd.

And what’s complete on a

racetrack without the popping of champagne? He did it in his customary fashion, hoping maybe to uncork another bottle in Singapore next weekend.

BHULLAR, ASHOK SHARE LEAD IN DLF MASTERS Gurgaon: Caddie-tur n-ed-pro Ashok Kumar fired his best card of the year, a seven-und-er 65 to share the lead with defending cha mp Gaganjeet Bhullar, who turned in a five-under 67, in the DLF Masters golf tournament on Friday.

INDIA START WITH WIN IN VOLLEYBALL C’SHIPKolkata: Title holders India over-came a late challenge from Kaza-khstan before pulling off a 3-0 win in their opening match of the third Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship (Central Zone) here on Friday. India took 82 minutes to prevail over Kazakhstan 25-18, 25-12, 25-22. SANIA CRASHES OUT OF GUANGZHOU OPENGuangzhou: India’s Sania Mirza went down fighting to local favourite Zhang Shuai 4-6, 6-1, 4-6 in the quarterfinals to crash out of the Guangzhou Interna-tional Women’s Open. The un-seeded Indian had shocked third seed Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4 6-3 in her previous encounter.

AICF PUTS 12-YEAR CAP ON PRESIDENT’S TENUREChennai: The All India Chess Fed-eration amended its constitution at the Special General Body held to be in tune with government guidelines. The AICF passed the resolution that the president shall hold office for a maximum period of 12 years with or without break.

ANDERSON, BRESNAN PUT BRAKES ON PAKLondon: James Anderson produc-ed figures of 3-26 from ten overs as Pakistan were bowled out for 241 in the first innings of the third ODI at the Oval on Friday. Ander-son conceded just one bou ndary in his stint dismissing Mohammad Hafeez in his first over before adding the wickets of Mohammad Yousuf and Saeed Ajmal. Tim Bre-snan also took three wickets. BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan 241 all out in 49.4 overs (Fawad Alam 64, Asad Shafiq 40, James Anderson 3/26, Bresnan 3/51)

EXTRAS

If you want to know the weather in any other city anywhere in the world, just click on world weather at www.accuweather.com. You will even get the forecast for up to seven days. Related websites are www.worldclimate.com and www.weather.com.

ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr. 20) Now that Mercury is hovering on the brink of two completely different sectors of the zodiac, you may feel quite free to change your mind at will. Lively and light-hearted conditions are approaching, favouring those of you who have planned a weekend break.

TAURUS (Apr. 21 - May 21) In spite of everything you’ve seen and heard, what occurs over the next few days is not likely to take you off guard or alter your opinions and outlook. Your steadfast and loyal qualities will come into their own as other people begin to recognise just how you have stuck by them.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Mercury i s tak ing up a tota l ly new relationship with your sign, so it is worth remembering that more often than not, criticisms of others may be inaccurate. You must be fair-minded: if you see the other person’s point of view, then they’ll be more prepared to back you in the future.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Although partnerships are under pressure, there does not have to be a parting of the ways. You may, if you wish, maintain old friendships even while you are looking to the f u t u r e a n d b u i l d i n g n e w associations. You’re about to hit a prosperous cycle, so I hope you’re happy to hear that!

LEO (July 24 - Aug. 23) You may h ave eve r y re a s o n to fe e l undermined or betrayed after recent events. That’s quite natural. However, the moment has not yet arrived when you should gear up for a final confrontation. There is stil l far too much information waiting to come to light.

VIRGO (Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) You may be put on the spot. On the other hand, you are in an ideal position to get out of any fix that is caused either by other people or yo u r ow n ra t h e r h i l a r i o u s mismanagement. The planetary pressure is now relaxing at work, and you’ll be looking for social distractions; I’ve no doubt you’ll find them!

LIBRA (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) Make the most of the weekend and try not to anticipate how situations at home will develop. Instead you should take life as you find it and allow family members to make their own plans. Also, if you are anxious to set the lead, do so by example. It’s a matter of ‘do as I do’, not ‘do as I say’.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Mars, your special, personal ruling planet is st i l l blessing you with its energising influence, even if it is encouraging you to be even more secretive than usual. Yet even those who thought they knew you well will soon see just how much of a go-getter and an achiever you really are.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 - Dec. 22) Planetary changes today make a f irm move away from recent intense, disturbing and even distressing conditions. Very soon you will be back to your old self, bouncing along in a typically friendly mood. I blame Venus, personally! Your travel stars are also set to benefit, as it happens.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20) The situation is easing, but you know that you simply cannot let up now, just when you have made so much progress. However, you can afford to take a breather, look around and see where to go then. But what happens next is very much up to you, and there is no need to rush.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) Deep inside you know the full score, and what act ion must be taken. However, even though there are people who are not yet ready to know your plans, there is now less to be gained from going it alone. Consider what is to be achieved by teaming up with l ike-minded friends.

PISCES (Feb. 20 - Mar 20) Some of you wil l spend the weekend dwelling on professional ambitions, perhaps not something you expected to be involved in. However, emotional and romantic pressures are still too strong to allow you to be sucked into a dull and uneventful rut.

18th September 2010: THE DAY TODAY - My key sign today is Cancer. What does that mean? That we can all enjoy being at home. Or, at least, we can appreciate the company of the friends and family to whom we are clos-est. Really, what it’s all about is emotional security, that feeling that we are loved. But what can we do for others? Well, we can offer them affec-tion, kindness and protection, in turn.

DAILY STARSCOPE — PETER VIDAL LOCKHORNS THE PHANTOM

HI AND LOIS

BEETLE BAILEY

HENRY

WEATHER

INDIAMax, Min (0C) 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m Friday

Max, Min, (0C) Ahmedabad 34, 26Bangalore 27, 20Bhopal 30, 22Bhubaneshwar 32, 26Chennai 33, 26Dehra Dun 28, 20

Gangtok 20, 17Guwahati 29, 26Hyder abad 31, 22Indore 31, 22Jaipur 32, 22Kolkata 33, 26Lucknow 30, 24Mumbai 31, 26Nagpur 31, 22New Delhi 33, 25Patna 31, 26Pune 30, 22

Ranchi 28, 22Shillong 21, 15Shimla 23, 13Srinagar 26, 11Thiru’puram 32, 25Vish’patnam 33, 24

WORLD

Beijing 26, 19 RNColombo 30, 27 PCDhaka 31, 26 CDY

Dubai 36, 30 CLRHong Kong 32, 26 CLRIslamabad 33, 22 CLRLondon 18, 09 PCMelbo urne 13, 06 RNMoscow 23, 10 RNNew York 22, 13 CLRParis 20, 13 RNSinga pore 31, 23 PCTokyo 23, 20 RNWas h i n gton 30, 16 CLR

HA

RD

SU

DO

KU

CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS

Solutions to Yesterday’s puzzle

Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3X3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. Each sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

ALMANAC TODAY

ACROSS: 1 Cowls, 4 Library, 8 Met, 9 Inventory, 10 Address, 11 Hopes, 13 Spades, 15 Feline, 18 Ounce, 19 Clement, 21 Inanimate, 23 Etc, 24 Elapses, 25 Tasks.DOWN: 1 Compass, 2 Withdrawn, 3 Snipe, 4 Lavish, 5 Banshee, 6 Ago, 7 Yo-yos, 12 Priceless, 14 Eyelids, 16 Entices, 17 Scraps, 18 Olive, 20 Erect, 22 Ava.

1 Prudence West is taking Benedictine (6)

4 Can’t be fired at bosses’ order (8)9 Strong ringleader and ring smashed (6)10 Outcome of the grain harvest (6,2)12 Even well-done steaks may be nowa-

days (4)13 Trail used by a tank (5)14 A row about it is put back (4)17 Advance from bank to bank? (8,4)20 They’re the last to go to the wall (6,6)23 A long time and a bad one (4)24 A rather attractive sort of accent (5)25 He’s got to go inside (4)28 Indian rain-makers (8)29 Work hard to complete the last part

(3,3)30 They may wilt and droop in the centres

(8)31 Leaves the broken plates (6)

1 Possibly wore drab clothes (8)2 Out of town - and out of the country (8)3 Deal exclusively with someone in a furi-

ous temper (4)5 Beaming they take the cash girl’s

change (12)6 A nymph in the chorus (4)7 It’s very hot when it’s clear on the hill

(6)8 Watch for a second coming (6)11 An original Christmas gift (12)15 Silver down at melting point? (5)16 Quiet Bohemian celebration (5)18 A song about a subject one can’t stand

(8)19 Practically of an equally high standard

(2,4,2)21 Sailor joins a Scotsman on the roads (6)22 Carpenter likely to become a union

member? (6)26 Chemical gives rise to difficulties (4)27 New deal for a depressed area (4)

SATURDAY: 18.9.2010; Year: VikruthiValar Pirai/ Sukla Paksham; Puratasi 2;

Thithi: Egadasi till 5.03 am later Dwadasi;Nakshatram: Uthiradam till 9.05 pm later Thriuvonam;

Rahukaalam: 9 am. to 10.30 am; Yamagantam: 1.30 pm. to 3 pm;

Soolam: East; Siddhayogam;Auspicious Time: 7.00 to 8.00 a.m. & 5.00 to 6.00 p.m.

Sunset on Saturday: 6.08 pm

Sunrise on Sunday: 5.58 am

DOWN

He’ll be back for more Hamilton promises to return to Chennai — and when he does, it will be with girlfriend Nicole

Hamilton with actor Vikram

Chennai Police defeat Loyola College in style


A cycle is perhaps the most commonplace means of transportation you can find in India. But cycling as a sport has hardly taken off in India and 78 years after the country’s first cyclist rode in a CWG, India still struggle to unearth a world-class cyclist.

But this is an opportunity for the sport to pave its way back. In fact, India make their return to cycling after a 32-year hiatus, the last cyclist to feature in CWG being Avtar Singh Dogra in the 1978 Edmonton edition.

India would field its biggest-ever contingent—27—in an international event, but their medal hopes are bleak, competing against the likes of Australia, England, New Zealand and Canada, who have bagged 129 of the pos-sible 139 medals so far in the Games. England have a formidable squad with the likes of world-class cyclists such as Lizzie Armitstead, Alex Dowsett and Ben Swift, apart from experienced riders Jeremy Hunt, Russell Downing and Olympic medallist Emma Pooley. Like-wise, arch-rivals Australia’s squad comprise reigning Commonwealth Games champion Anna Meares, defend-ing men’s road race champion Mathew Hayman, world junior 3000m record holder Dale Parker, besides world champions Ashlee Ankudinoff, Kaarle McCulloch (team sprint), Josephine Tomic, Jack Bobridge, Michael Hep-burn (teams pursuit), and Cameron Meyer (teams pur-suit, points race and madison).

Add to that a torrid build-up. Indian cyclists waited for months on end to import their cycles from England. The Ministry gave sanction as early as July 2009. But it was not until this August they could lay their hands on it. Cyclists also didn’t get other basic equipments like

tubulars, helmets and one- piece suits on time. Mean-while, two top cyclists—Somvir and Vinod Malik—contracted dengue. But as there wasn’t any doctor in the squad, they took more the usual time to recover.

The Manipuri duo of Bikram Singh and Rameshwari Devi would lead the charge and CFI is even expecting a medal from Bikram, who clinched a bronze in an Asian-level championship in Japan three months ago. “Bikram is now in good form, he has done well in Japan and I think we can expect a medal from him. Besides, we have practised intensely in Australia for a month,” said CFI sports manager Dipender Singh Rathore.

The Indian cyclists have been sweating out with their Australia coach Australian coach Graham Seers and head coach Chayan Chowdhury for nearly a fortnight. So Rathore opined that the delay in procuring foreign equipments hasn’t hampered their preparations.

Surprisingly, Maniton Singh, the fastest Indian in last month’s Delhi Cyclothon international race with a tim-ing of 2:08.02 seconds, was overlooked. But Rathore maintains that the selection has been purely on basis of their performance in camp. “We have picked the best cyclists in the country” he said.

But is the best enough?

CommonwealthGamescountdownOCT 3-14 2010 ✵ THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 | 2010 | CHENNAI | 17

INDIAN CYCLISTS RETURN TO CWG AFTER 32-YEAR HIATUS IN PURSUIT OF 1ST EVER MEDAL

VENUE

Indira Gandhi Sports Complex

Cycling was first included in the CWG Programme in 1934 in London with seven coun-tries participating. Delhi 2010 will feature 14 track events, [eight for men and six for women, between Oct 5-8] and two road events [mass start (on Oct 10) and time trial (on Oct 13)] for men & women.

MEDALS AT STAKE

Gold medals

ENTRY 3 competitors from each country per event, except for 6 competitors in the mass start road race, 4 competitors in team pursuit and 3 com-petitors in the road time trial.

Men: Bikram Singh, Sombir, HS Prince, Amrit Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Rajender Bisnoi, C Rajesh, Atul Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sarpreet Singh, Sandeep Malik, Dayala Ram Saran, Vinod Malik, Satbir Singh, Paramjit Singh, Hetraj Singh.

Women: Mahita Mohan, Rameshwari Devi, Rejini V, Y Sunita Devi, Pana Chaudhary, Sayona, Suchitra Devi, Helen, Renu Bala Devi.

Coaches: Graham Seers (foreign coach), Chayan Chowdhury (head coach), Narender Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Ruma Chattopadhyay, Kiran Bala and Amandeep Singh.

PEDAL to medal

We have put in intense practice in Australia for a month. Bikram is in good form, he has done well in Japan and I think we can expect a medal from him.

— DIPENDER SINGH RATHORE, sports manager, Cycling Federation of India

Men 30, Women 24

54 18

Cyclists allege bias in selection: A group of Indian cyclists has alleged that selection trials were not

transparent and worthy riders were ignored. Earlier, there were allegations that there was “no criteria” for the CWG.

15 DAYS TO GO

Chennai: Chennai Suburban Police beat Loyola College 25-15, 25-20 in the Fresh Water Chennai District ‘B’ Di-vision League volleyballChampionship. In other match-es RPF bt Agarsen College 25-8, 25-12, Times Volleyball Club got the better of Ashok Leyland 25-15, 26-24, Chool-ai Friends Club by Lucas TVS 25-15, 25-12, Tamil Nadu Police ‘B’ made short work of Spickers Volleyball Club 25-13, 25-07 and Alpha Arts College beat Panimalar ‘B’23-25, 26-24, 25-20. WI Davaram, president, Tamil Nadu Athletics Assn, inaugurated the tournament.

City karate team leaves for JapanKrishna Sai, Krishnakumar (Velammal main) and Ra-janeesh will take part in the international tourname-nts to be held in Okinawa (Japan) from Sept 16 to 24 and in Mankato (USA) from Sep 25 to Oct 4. The team will be led by Kodudo A S Krishnamurthy.

CITY SCAN

Postal Reg. No. TN/ARD/16/09-11

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indian express [0918]

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