Statesman (India) articles from August 2009

Statesman (India) archives from August 2009

KLO leader nabbed.
August 31, 2009... COOCH BEHAR, 30 AUG: The suspected second-in-command of the outlawed Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Dhananjay Barman alias Arjun alias Swapan, was arrested last night in the wake of an encounter with a joint team of the Army and Assam...

Traffic to suffer as LF tests support.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 AUG: More than two lakh Left Front supporters are expected to gather at Esplanade tomorrow as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Food Movement. The LF rally would presumably paralyse city traffic. ...

Celebrating Tagore, a different way.
August 31, 2009... Tapati Chowdurie Rabindra Utsab 2009, the annual Happenings, is now four years old. This years programme was varied and unique. It flagged off with the staging of Chirokumar Sabha. Right from the first day the tone of the seven day...

briefs.
August 31, 2009... Accident KOLKATA, 30 Aug: A 70-year-old woman Chaya Halder was killed and another person was injured after a truck rammed into a rickshaw in which they were travelling near Dum Dum Railway gate No 2 near Dum Dum this afternoon. Locals...

Marmosets to be kept under observation.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 AUG: The Alipore Zoo authorities have decided to keep the marmosets, recovered from Chattishgarh on Friday, under special observation for at least two weeks before shifting them to the Zoo. Zookeepers and...

CISF cover at Jamnagar.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: After having a second thought, the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has conveyed to the home ministry that it is keen to take CISF security cover for its Jamnagar refinery for its foolproof protection which is likely to be given...

100 days of UPA government: FIIs infuse 23k cr in stock markets.
August 31, 2009... ; Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Call it the effect of the Congress-led UPA government or the hope of a revival for the Indian stock markets, the country has witnessed an inflow of nearly Rs 23,700 crore from overseas investors since...

RIL denies gas hoarding charges.
August 31, 2009... ; Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Mukesh Ambani-led RIL has asked the Centre to nominate users for incremental gas from its Bay of Bengal fields, saying that it has not denied natural gas to any government-identified customer. ...

Leave coal prices to market: Plan panel.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Coal pricing may see a complete revamp and the sector may enter into a free-trade zone if suggestions of the Planning Commission are implemented. ... Coal prices should ideally be left to the market and trading of coal,...

Health industry records 42% growth.
August 31, 2009... ; Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 30 AUG:Notwithstanding the global meltdown and market recession, Indias healthcare industry not only remained insulated but posted a growth of 42.44 per cent in net profit during the first quarter...

Financial crisis not to impact remittances.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Global financial crisis has so far failed to significantly slow down inflow of remittances in India, the Reserve Bank of India said. Available information indicates that inward remittances to India have not been impacted...

Biz Briefs.
August 31, 2009... Doha talks MUMBAI, 30 AUG: Defending India's stand on the Doha talks, commerce minister Mr Anand Sharma said it was wrong to blame India for the deadlock and on the contrary New Delhi was making an effort to re-engage in the multilateral...

MTN facing identity crisis in Bharti deal.
August 31, 2009... ; Indo-Asian News Service JOHANNESBURG, 30 AUG: MTN's $23-billion deal to merge with the Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel is being delayed as the company does not want to "lose its identity" and wants its South African base to be the...

Uncommon concern ~ Upholding a way of life.
August 31, 2009... OPEN to question may be the figure cited in the Punjab chief ministers lament that no longer did his state provide the army with 50 per cent of its officer cadre, but entirely valid, and worthy of appreciation, is his concern that the numbers...

Dreams never die ~ Marilyns timeless magic.
August 31, 2009... Diamonds, they say, are forever. So too it seems is the appeal of the sex-queen of the silver screen who had crooned that Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend. Now 47 years after she was laid to rest in the Corridor of Memories at Westwood Memorial...

Amphibians Too Build Nests.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: A Delhi University scientist has claimed to have found a species of treefrog in the Western Ghats which build its nest from a single leaf to protect eggs from predators. This is the only report from the entire world and the...

In alien country ~ South Asia Must Coordinate Its Stand On Refugees.
August 31, 2009... Saumitra Mohan THE history of South Asia is unique in the context of population displacement. People have been pushed beyond their borders in the wake of wars or they have left their country of origin on ethnic, racial, ideological or...

Not exactly music ~ Upgraded electronic ears.
August 31, 2009... TECHNOLOGICALLY its development may prove professionally challenging and satisfying but it is difficult to share the enthusiasm of the head of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) over a project aimed at enhancing the governments...

Anti-Ibobi civil bodies ultimatum to legislators.
August 31, 2009... IMPHAL, 30 AUG: Peeved over the stoic silence and lack of response from the Manipur chief minister Mr Okram Ibobi Singh whose resignation it is demanding over the 23 July Khwairmband Bazar killing episode, the Apunba Lup, a conglomoaration of...

Illegal blood transfusion in Raj district; probe ordered.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service Jaipur, 30 Aug: In a shocking case of medical negligence and malpractice, illegal blood transfusions were reportedly conducted on at least four children including a 10-year-old girl and a two-year-old infant using...

ISRO formally calls off Moon mission.
August 31, 2009... Press Trust of India BANGALORE, 30 AUG: On a day, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formally called off Chandrayaan-1 moon mission, officials of the Bangalore-based agency admit that they probably goofed-up when it announced that...

Lalu predicts BJPs destruction.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: A known Sangh Parivar and BJP baiter, the RJD chief, Mr Lalu Prasad, today made a scathing attack against the right wing organisations and predicted that the doomsday was not too far for both the BJP...

HP High Court judges to declare assets.
August 31, 2009... SHIMLA, 30 AUG: After judges in Delhi and Kerala, judges of the Himachal Pradesh High Court have also decided to follow the footsteps of Supreme Court justices and make their assets public, a court official said Sunday. A decision to declare...

Disciplinary agency to quiz Rajiv.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Carrying forward the probe in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), which is investigating the conspiracy angle, is preparing a questionnaire for LTTE financier Kumaran...

Sangh to walk the hard line.
August 31, 2009... Nirendra Dev NEW DELHI, 30 AUG:Amidst internal bickering in BJPand RSSinching ahead to take control of things, the Centre has reports that the Hindutva protagonists in organisations like RSS,VHPand the principal Opposition party under the...

briefs.
August 31, 2009... strike claims 32 lives Patna, 30 Aug: A total of 32 patients admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) have died amid a strike by junior doctors that entered its fourth day today, authorities said. Eleven patients died in...

Raje in Delhi, fate likely to be decided soon.
August 31, 2009... JAIPUR, 30 AUG: Former chief minister Mrs Vasundara Raje arrived in the national capital late evening today to hold her a second round of political discussions with the BJP central leadership to resolve the stalemate persisting over her...

Rashtra rishis in schools?
August 31, 2009... BHOPAL, 30 AUG: After the controversy over its moves to make Surya Namaskar exercise and recitation of Bhojan Mantra compulsory in schools, Madhya Pradesh government has now raised hackles of minority community leaders with a decision to call...

Gujjars pay as Kashmir burns.
August 31, 2009... Kavita Suri JAMMU, 30 AUG: Turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir which has continued for the past twenty years has resulted in decline in tribal migration of nomadic Gujjars in the violence-hit state. Over 37 per cent of J&K Gujjars who are...

PDS benefits not reaching people: Jharkhand Governor.
August 31, 2009... Press Trust of India JAMSHEDPUR, 30 AUG: Jharkhand Governor K Shankarnarayanan today said not a single tea-spoon of sugar had reached the people through the public distribution system ever since Jharkhand was created eight years ago. ...

Maha seeks 15,000 crore to tackle drought.
August 31, 2009... MUMBAI, 30 AUG: Faced with a drought-like situation ahead of the Assembly elections, the Maharashtra government Saturday demanded Rs 15,000 crore from the centre to tackle the calamity. Chief minister Mr Ashok Chavan said there is a severe...

Four more die of Flu; toll 93.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG:With four more persons falling prey to pandemic H1N1influenza today, the death toll due to the viral disease so far has gone up to 93 even as 128 fresh cases of the infection came to light, taking the total number of...

CPM to intensify stir on price rise, drought.
August 31, 2009... Press Trust of India HYDERABAD, 30 AUG: Alleging that the Congress-led UPA government had failed to fulfil its electoral promises, CPI-M leader Mr Sitaram Yechury today said the Left Parties would launch nation-wide agitation on price rise,...

Traffic to stand still as LF tests support.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 AUG: More than two lakh Left Front supporters are expected to gather at Esplanade tomorrow as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Food Movement. The LF rally would presumably paralyse city traffic. ...

Police remand for Modi.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service BARASAT, 30 Aug: Raj Kishore Modi, the MD of Vedic Village, who was arrested last night in connection with the recovery of a large stock of arms and ammunition from the resort, was remanded in police custody for two...

In a fix with fixed deposit.
August 31, 2009... My fixed deposit certificate (No CI-3056668) of Shriram City Union Finance Ltd for Rs 15,000 matured on 5 October, 2008 and another certificate (No CI-3056667) of Rs 12,000 of Kunti Devi Singh matured on the same date. To get the payment in time...

briefs.
August 31, 2009... Sinthi murder: No breakthrough yet KOLKATA, 30 AUG: Police are still in the dark about the whereabouts of the assailants who stabbed Sushmita Biswas, housewife, on Friday at Santrapara in Sinthi. Police said, the motive behind the murder is...

Young & old at Statesman scrabble.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 AUG: The two-day Statesman Open Scrabble Championship 2009 ended today and prizes were distributed to the winners at St Xaviers Auditorium by Mrs Antara Kumar, wife of Mr Ravindra Kumar, editor and managing...

Marmosets to be kept under observation.
August 31, 2009... KOLKATA, 30 AUG: The Alipore Zoo authorities have decided to keep the marmosets, recovered from Chattishgarh on Friday, under special observation for at least two weeks before shifting them to the Zoo. Zookeepers and policemen, who had rushed...

Diarrhoea hits Birpara, 35 in hospital.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service JALPAIGURI, 30 AUG: At least thirty five people, all suffering from diarrhoea, have been admitted at the Birpara state general hospital over the past two days fuelling fear of a diarrhoea outbreak in the Birpara area in...

Bus accident injures 20.
August 31, 2009... RAIGANJ, 30 AUG: Twenty passengers were injured among whom two are in critical condition when a private bus running on the Siliguri-Raiganj route capsized on the National Highway 31 at Suryapur under Chakulia police station this afternoon. The...

Landslide threat looms over Hills.
August 31, 2009... GANGTOK, 30 AUG: The Himalayan state of Sikkim falls in the seismic zone with over 50,000 people in about a dozen areas in East Sikkim living under constant spectre of natural disasters like earthquake and landslide, according to the...

Minor gangraped, villagers lynch accused.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service MALDA, 30 AUG: Villagers turned violent and lynched a person at Bagbari village, three kilometers west of Malda town, today over the issue of a 17-year-old minor girl who had been allegedly abducted and gang raped by a...

AIGL resumes work in the Hills.
August 31, 2009... KURSEONG, 30 AUG: Following a calculated hibernation for several months in the wake of the mounting political tension centering round its political activities, the All India Gorkha League had resumed political work in the Darjeeling hills. ...

Fulohar gets emergency flood protection.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service MALDA, 30 AUG: The irrigation and waterways department has started fresh flood protection work at Bhaluka Bazaar in Harishchandrapur-II block on the left bank of the river Fulohar. Nearly Rs 1 crore has been allotted...

Briefs.
August 31, 2009... NH 55 reopens KURSEONG, 30 AUG: The National Highway 55, which remained closed due to landslides on 16 August, re-opened today. The landslides damaged the road and resulted in its closure, suspending trasportation between Kurseong and...

One killed in road mishap.
August 31, 2009... GANGTOK, 30 AUG: A labourer, working with the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), was crushed to death when he got buried under slipping stones during the highway widening works at 14th Mile near Kabi-Tingda in north Sikkim yesterday. The...

Farmers confront traders over jute rates.
August 31, 2009... RAIGANJ, 30 AUG: On the issue of a sudden fall in the price of jute a tussle occurred between farmers and jute traders at Rasakhoa haat under Karandighi police station of North Dinajpur district this morning. After being informed, a large...

Madarihats water woes.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service JALPAIGURI, 30 AUG: Around 15,000 people in the Madarihat block have been grappling with severe drinking water crisis for a week. The problem started last Monday after a water pump being manned by the public health...

Police nab KLO leader.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service COOCH BEHAR, 30 AUG: In an encounter with a joint team of the Army and the Assam Police, the suspected second-in-command of the outlawed Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Dhananjay Barman alias Arjun alias Swapan,...

Steps to remedy a drought-prone future.
August 31, 2009... Rangan Dutta The spectre of a recurring drought-like situation is haunting the North-east. Once upon a time such a phenomenon was unthinkable as the region would get a fair amount of rain every year. But trend evident over the past 30 years...

Name to blame.
August 31, 2009... Anup Sharma ON the morning of 28 July, 55-year-old Deronjoy Kemprai and 65-year-old Pordamon Phonglo of Deutohaja village in Assams North Cachar Hills went to till their fields and were shot dead by unidentified gunmen. This incident took the...

Endangered Eden ~ There must be no distortion of the Naga peace process.
August 31, 2009... JB LAMA BEFORE leaving Imphal on 23 August after a two-day visit, Union home secretary GK Pillai reportedly told the Press that the Centre was planning to submit a comprehensive proposal to the NSCN(IM), subject to its consideration by the...

Pitfalls of equivocation.
August 31, 2009... Patricia Mukhim THE Indo-Naga talks have been a tortuous journey of parleys coated with political niceties and always straitjacketed in political correctness. It would be idealistic to believe that the talks have progressed even an inch since...

Ill-run childrens home exposed.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service PARALAKHEMUNDI, 30 AUG: The pathetic condition and the inhuman treatment meted out to the inmates in various childrens homes were, once again, exposed when four boys escaped a home, met the collector and aired their...

Rogue crocodile caught.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KENDRAPARA,30 AUG:The state forest department captured a killer crocodile that had trespassed into human habitation yesterday. A group of skilled fishermen were especially pressed into service for the operation. The...

Health team to visit state.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR,30 AUG:A Central team of the health ministry will visit remote villages of Kalahandidistrict where 38 people have died during the last twenty days in a diarrhoea outbreak. "The situation is grim, posts of...

Village cut-off from district.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service SAMBALPUR,30 AUG:Due to the unauthorised plying of trucks carrying heavy loads on village roads on the Orissa-Chhattisgarhborder with the sole intention of evading tax, the UneishMauza(a vast patch of 19 villages) in...

Hundreds protest alleged Esol land grab.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service JAGATSINGHPUR,30 AUG:Protesting the construction of a road by EssarSteel OrissaLtd (Esol)allegedly on private land without paying due compensation, and in a bid to press for other long-standing demands, hundreds of...

We promise industries.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KENDRAPARA,30 AUG:The BijuJanataDalleaders here promised to change the present "no-industry" status of the district and said that the district will soon find place place in the industrial map of the state. Official...

Cesu announces discount on bills.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR,30 AUG:The Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu)which launched a One Time Settlement scheme to try and realise at least part of its Rs 1,229 crore arreardues from defaulting consumers. The company...

Loudspeakers: The fear factor.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service BALASORE,31 AUG:While GaneshChaturthiwas celebrated with gaiety and grandeur in the district like elsewhere few days ago, the deafening sound from the loudspeakers made life hell for many especially the old, children,...

No change of guard.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 30 AUG:The crisis-ridden BJPtoday dismissed speculations on an immediate leadership change while senior RSSbosses after a breakfast meeting with Mr LKAdvanisought to indicate that the crisis was near solution...

Jha defiance plunges Nepal into crisis.
August 31, 2009... KATHMANDU, 30 AUG: Nepals embattled Vice President today boycotted an oath taking ceremony scheduled by the government, defying a week-long deadline set by the Supreme Court to take a fresh oath of office in the Nepali language, thereby plunging...

Children given HIV+ve blood transfusions?
August 31, 2009... Jaipur, 30 Aug: In a shocking case of medical negligence and malpractice, illegal blood transfusions were reportedly conducted on at least four children including a 10-year-old girl and a two-year-old infant using HIV+ve blood at a private...

COs to go the way of the Raj.
August 31, 2009... Rajib Chatterjee KOLKATA,30 AUG: Six decades after Independence, the state government has proposed to abolish the Mate System which was introduced by the British to keep a watch on jail inmates, especially the freedom fighters. Under the...

PDS route to beat price rise.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 30 AUG: After failing to arrest the exceptional rise in prices of essential commodities ahead of Durga Puja and Id, the state government today announced it would supply sugar and mustard oil at cheaper price...

Mamata chides jealous CM.
August 31, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA/NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Railway minister and Trinamul Congress chief, Miss Mamata Banerjee today asked Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee not to be jealous' of her initiative to introduce new trains and compete with her in...

Board to pay 33 crore to IMG.
August 31, 2009... ;Agencies MUMBAI/BANGALORE, 30 AUG: The Indian Cricket Board will have to shell out Rs 33 crore to the International Management Group for the conduct of this year's tournament, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India sources....

Akram eyeing dual role with KKR.
August 31, 2009... NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Wasim Akram, who met Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shahrukh Khan and the team's captain Saurav Ganguly today in Mumbai told a news channel that he had revealed his interest to both of them in the meeting. I met Shahrukh...

Fisichella makes history.
August 31, 2009... ;Agencies SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (Belgium), 30 AUG: After 29 false starts, the Vijay Mallya-owned Force India finally nixed the hoodoo and scored their maiden Formula One points with Giancarlo Fisichella finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix...

Mohammedan SC manage a win.
August 31, 2009... ;Statesman News Service Mohammedan SC ~ 1 (Dipendu Biswas 13th minute) Lajong FC ~ 0 KOLKATA, 30 AUG: Mohammedan Sporting Club made a fine start to their Indian Football Association Shield campaign as they beat Lajong FC 1-0 at Mohan...

Briefs.
August 31, 2009... Somdev Somdev Devvarman will play 110th ranked Frederico Gil of Portugal in the first round of the US Open, starting on Monday, after he qualified for the Grand Slam singles event defeating Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 6-2 in the qualifiers...

Federer relaxed on eve of title defence.
August 31, 2009... NEW YORK, 30 AUG: Roger Federer and Serena Williams will begin the defence of their US Open titles at Flushing Meadows on Monday, while Kim Clijsters returns to grand-slam tennis for the first time in two years. World number one Federer, chasing...

Sri Lanka complete whitewash.
August 31, 2009... ;Agence France-Presse COLOMBO, 30 AUG: Sri Lanka clinched second spot behind South Africa in the official rankings as they swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in the final Test on Sunday to sweep the series 2-0. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath...

India to seek inspiration from past.
August 31, 2009... ;Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 30 AUG: Bhaichung Bhutia once again holds the key as India aim for a 2007 encore against Syria to clinch their second successive Nehru Cup title in the final of the five-nation football tournament on Monday....

A vision of her own.
August 31, 2009... As railway minister, MamataBanerjeeis not supposed to concentrate on the industrial development of a particular state. As an Union minister with a different portfolio, this interaction with the investors does not come under her jurisdiction. Yet...

Give priority to farming.
August 31, 2009... Foodgrain,along with some other essential commodities, has been in short supply for the past few months with prices skyrocketing and going out of the reach of the common man. The coming Pujafestival and Ramzanwould further push up prices....

100 YEARS AGO TODAY.
August 31, 2009... OLD ANGLO-INDIAN WEDDINGS To The Editor SIR, ~ In connection with the Fitzmaurice-Elliotwedding last January some interesting correspondence appeared in your paper regarding the daughters of other Governor-General of India, who, during the...

Knee-jerk reaction.
August 31, 2009... It is rather unfortunate that the BJP,in a knee-jerk reaction, expelled JaswantSingh because he had written a book on Jinnah. The mistake that politicians like Mr Singh and LK Advanimake is eulogising Jinnahfor his personal beliefs. The fact...

Pak accused of altering Harpoon missiles.
August 31, 2009... Press Trust of India New York, 30 Aug: The USA has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying the Harpoon anti-ship missile, sold to it as a defensive tool by the Reagan administration, to expand its capabilities to strike land targets, a...

15 cops killed in Pak suicide blas.
August 31, 2009... Press Trust of India Islamabad, 30 Aug: At least 15 policemen were killed and over 25 others injured when a suicide bomber struck a police station in Pakistans troubled northwestern Swat valley today. The bomber climbed over a wall and...

Major fraud allegations in Afghan vote top 500.
August 31, 2009... Kabul, 30 Aug: Major allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election have topped 500, more than doubling the figure investigators reported just two days earlier, officials said today. The spike indicates just how pervasive ballot...

Opp set for landslide win in Japan.
August 31, 2009... Tokyo, 30 Aug: Japan voted today in a historic election expected to end more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule and sweep an untested centre-left party to power in a landslide. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan...