Statesman (India) articles from February 2002

Statesman (India) archives from February 2002

HMC okays building on disputed land.
February 24, 2002... SUBHENDU MAITI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HOWRAH, Feb. 23. - The Howrah Municipal Corporation has permitted the Salkia Swimming Association, an organisation which maintains a swimming pool at Sraddhananda Park on GT Road (North), to construct a...

Govt misadventure on sports academy.
February 24, 2002... ABANTIKA GHOSH STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - Ever heard of the West Bengal State Academy For Adventure Sports? For the record, the office is a 6 feet by 10 feet cubicle at 32/1 BBD Bag (South). The academy was set up with...

US trip reports may embarrass Buddha.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - Memories of Mr Jyoti Basu's yearly "industrial promotion" trips abroad were revived today as a section of the press reported that officials were working out the schedule of a US visit for his...

Security beef-up in Port area.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - Plainclothes policemen were on alert at Bengal Basti and its vicinities in the Port area after Mumbai Police tipped them off about the possible return of Mustaque and Asrafuddin. Mustaque and...

Govt in no hury to sell Jessop: Shourie.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE & AGENCIES KOLKATA, Feb. 23. -The Union minister for disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, has denied that the Centre was in a hurry to sell Jessop and Co Ltd and said that it was making final attempts to revive the sick...

Hyundai may shift small car production base to Chennai.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BANGALORE, Feb. 23. - The South Korean auto giant, Hyundai Motors, proposes to shift the production base of small cars to its Indian facility in Chennai. While in Korea its small car version is known as the Vertis, the...

Reusable bottles hit glass industry hard.
February 24, 2002... GAUTAM BHATTACHARYA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - A serious warning on reuse of glass containers in India has been issued following a study by ORG-MARG Research Ltd. It has been found that recycling of glass is not only...

Voltas enters into JV with US firm.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - Voltas Limited, a Tata group company, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Fedders International of the USA to produce a new range of air-conditioning products. The Rs 1,000 crore...

GIMMICKS GALORE Fragmented Opposition only helps Left Front.
February 24, 2002... After the failure of his desperate efforts to form a rebel outfit and join the Union cabinet, Ajit Panja has discovered another means of creating a pressure group: building a bridge with another Trinamul rebel of sorts - Subrata Mukherjee....

THE MOGUL'S DAUGHTER.
February 24, 2002... ThIS is a story about Shah Jehan. Or, rather, about his daughter; or, let's be frank, maybe about his daughter. I like anecdotes, but I'm wary of this one. It sounds just a little contrived, if you see what I mean. Well, let's see what you...

CBI raids unearth crores.
February 24, 2002... statesman news service NEW DELHI, Feb. 23. - A nationwide anti-corruption drive launched by the CBI has unearthed crores of rupees as "black money" and registered cases against as many as 112 government officials, including two former...

Minister, MP named kidnap 'conspirators'.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, Feb. 23. - A Cabinet minister and a BJP MP have been named as key players in the kidnapping of a sugar baron's son, Sanjay Jhunjhunwala. Three persons - Bhupendra Singh, son of a deputy SP in Faizabad, Ram...

Quake relief sold in open market.
February 24, 2002... SHIVNATH JHA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Feb. 23. - Relief material in the form of cloth worth Rs 1.8 crore meant for the Gujarat earthquake victims was sold in the open market in Delhi and Mumbai, highly placed sources in the...

'Shadow' foreign secy throws tantrums.
February 24, 2002... NILOVA ROY CHAUDHURY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, Feb. 23. - Mr Kanwal Sibal, India's Ambassador to France, refuses to return to Delhi from his current posting unless he is assured of being made an OSD (officer on special duty) as a...

Purge in CPM put on hold.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 23. - The CPI-M is, for the moment, not resorting to any purge of corrupt elements since that is not the only solution, the party's state secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, told the state conference today. ...

PM dwells on social security.
February 24, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Feb. 23. - A day after the Cabinet cleared the labour reforms Bills, trade unions called for a national protest day on 14 March. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee chose to ignore the issue and focus on "social...

DRI unearths a 'fishy' scam.
February 24, 2002... SHIVNATH JHA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Feb. 23 - Not everything's alright with export promotion schemes, but nothing's as fishy, literally, as a Rs 300-crore duty evasion scam in exporting such dinner table favourites as rohu, katla,...

USA recognises Pak complicity in terror.
February 24, 2002... As early as 12 September, senior US officials and their Intelligence operatives had homed in on Pakistan and gave an ultimatum to Pervez Musharraf to either join the anti-terrorism coalition by agreeing to all US demands or pay for the...

UK awaits first designer baby.
February 24, 2002... Nigel Hawkes The Times, London LONDON, Feb. 23. - Final clearance has been given to the parents of a boy who suffers from a genetic disorder to create a sibling whose cells could cure him. Shahana and Raj Hashmi, from Moortown, Leeds,...

Bavarian beauty adds Right flavour to German polls.
February 24, 2002... Allan Hall The Times, London BERLIN, Feb. 23. - An Iranian-born former beauty queen is working as Germany's conservative cheerleader in an attempt to quash accusations of racism and attract the youth vote in an increasingly tight election...

A funny, genteel guitarist.
February 24, 2002... KATTY KAY THE TIMES, LONDON WASHINGTON, Feb. 23. - Perhaps the highest tribute a woman can pay a man is he is the kind of guy she would happily introduce to her single girlfriends. Before he was married, Daniel Pearl was described as just...

Opp bump on road to Sri Lanka peace.
February 24, 2002... Press Trust of India COLOMBO, Feb. 23. - An indefinite truce begins in Sri Lanka from tonight under a formal government-LTTE accord that enjoys international backing, but faces fierce domestic opposition from President Mrs Chandrika...

NOT A PRETTY PICTURE.
February 24, 2002... WHO owns the government of America? The answer should be simple: the people do. After all, the root of "democracy" is "demos", the Greek for common people. As the greatest US President, Abraham Lincoln, said on a momentous occasion, the...

UPDATE.
February 24, 2002... ART Riot of colours AN exhibition of drawings and paintings by Jahar Dasgupta is on at Academy of Fine Arts, 2, Cathedral Road, Kolkata till 27 February. Featuring lively, colourful paintings depicting rural life. Artists' gallery Chitrakoot...

Capital, Old and New.
February 24, 2002... Like the holy Testament, capital too has been redefined as Old and New. The book under review is all about the new form of capital, or social capital. A recent report of the World Bank noted that in the end what matters is people. A country's...

Saha case accused says charges 'motivated'.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 15. - "As my former student, Dr Kunal Saha expected me to participate in his wife's treatment. Since that did not happen, it may have provoked him to file a false case against me," Dr Abani Roy Choudhury,...

No tears for LIC over pvt foray.
February 16, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 15. - New entrants in the life insurance sector will find the going tough as the Life Insurance Corporation has an edge over others with over 95 per cent market share, senior LIC officials said here yesterday. LIC, they said,...

State leaves Delhi funds idle: Minister.
February 16, 2002... The government has failed to utilise a portion of Central funds earmarked for development of the rural sector. Irked by this "negligence", Union rural development minister has threatened to choke the inflow of infrastructure funds, says our...

A hostess par excellence.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 15. - She counts Ismail Merchant and Dominique Lapierre amongst her friends. She's been witness to the courtship of a suave Shashi Kapoor and a cherubic Jennifer Kendel. And she's "obsessed" with her...

Census places farmer count at all-time low.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 15. - The recorded percentage of farmers and agricultural labourers in the state hit an all-time low in the state during the 2001 census. For the first time since 1951, percentage of agricultural workers...

Sport around the state.
February 16, 2002... Biswas shines Prasun Biswas of Kidderpore Sporting Club played a delightful knock of 177 runs and remained not out against Amateur Club in their CAB Second Division two-day League match at Taltala ground on Friday. Batting first Kidderpore...

Subhas rides clutch to explain bad driving.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 15.- The city's bus-drivers have an ego problem, says the transport minister, Mr Subhas Chakraborty. That is why they do not profit from training and refresher camps. Mr Chakraborty rode the clutch as...

Kolkata Briefs.
February 16, 2002... Train services hit Train services were disrupted in Sealdah main and south sections between 2 p.m. till late evening on Friday as hawkers blocked railway tracks in protest against an eviction drive by the railway authorities at the Kalyani...

Norms of conflict.
February 16, 2002... Milosevic is not Hitler It's a tricky question even though the notion of war crimes has been around at least since Nuremberg. Slobodan Milosevic is being indicted on 66 counts which include genocide and crimes against humanity, breaches of...

Difference is for real.
February 16, 2002... India will not budge, Mr President! Even President George Bush should have understood by now that as long as Pakistan persists in fomenting terrorism, there can be no talks with President Musharraf. And that third party intervention in any...

BIG AND SMALL.
February 16, 2002... India And Bhutan Set An Example In Cooperation By PARMANAND Relations between India and Bhutan can be described as the paradigm of continuous cooperation between the big and the small. This is the outcome of growing economic ties and...

'Temple even at the cost of NDA stability'.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 15. - The VHP will start the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 15 March without caring for the stability of the NDA government at Centre, the VHP all-India vice-president, Mr Giriraj Kishore,...

Car linked to Burman abduction.
February 16, 2002... Statesman News Service PATNA, Feb. 15. - A Maruti (WB02J-9240) seized by police two months ago and kept at Chowk police station was the one used by the abductors of Khadim's owner, Mr Partha Roy Burman. A team of West Bengal CID, headed...

UP's development PM's priority.
February 16, 2002... Hemendra Narayan in Lucknow Feb. 15. - The Prime Minister was in his constituency, addressing four party rallies for the decisive Assembly polls and the thrust of his speech was not on politics, but development. With the historic Bara...

Karzai to visit Delhi on 25 Feb; will seek help on reconstruction.
February 16, 2002... Nilova Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi Feb. 15. - The head of the Afghan interim administration, Mr Hamid Karzai, will visit Delhi on 25 February. But the government, unusually, has not made public the date and broad details of the Afghan...

Woman killed over 'cellphone dues'.
February 16, 2002... HOWRAH, Feb. 15. - A cellphone cost a family dear. Two youths, who used to deal in smuggled mobile handsets, murdered a 45-year-old woman, Sandhya Bhattacharjee, for allegedly not paying the money for a handset due to them at her house on...

USA rejects Pak mediation plea.
February 16, 2002... Agencies & SNS WASHINGTON, Feb. 15. - As General Pervez Musharraf wrapped up his visit to the USA, the Bush administration rejected his plea for mediation on Kashmir and said it didn't share his doubt whether the attack on Indian Parliament...

Afghan minister 'assassinated'.
February 16, 2002... Agencies KABUL, Feb. 15. - International troops started patrolling Kabul airport in armoured vehicles today after Afghanistan's aviation and tourism minister Abdul Rahman was killed yesterday. The interim leader, Mr Hamid Karzai, said the...

PM takes a cue from Buddha.
February 16, 2002... Sudesh K Verma in Kanpur Feb. 15. - Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee today called for introducing a new education system in madrasas to make them modern, and banked on Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's words to substantiate his stand. Apparently emboldened...

Britain's ban on bribery draws flak from industry.
February 16, 2002... Agencies LONDON, Feb. 15. - British business executives operating overseas will face up to seven years in jail back home if they are caught slipping out backhanders to try and ease their business deals. Britain has come under fire from...

IA hijack brain new suspect in kidnap.
February 16, 2002... Agencies ISLAMABAD, Feb. 15. - Amid continuing uncertainties over the fate of Daniel Pearl, Pakistan today said a "major breakthrough" was expected in a day or two in connection with his abduction with police having found new leads and...

Milosevic makes a case with Nato-bombing photos.
February 16, 2002... Agence France-Presse THE HAGUE, Feb. 15. - Slobodan Milosevic again went on the offensive against Nato here today, showing his war crimes trial horrific pictures of dead babies and adults blown to bits by the alliance's 1999 bombing of...

'Clear-sky' initiative evokes mixed response.
February 16, 2002... Associated Press TOKYO, Feb. 15. - Japan has praised Washington's anti-pollution proposal today but said it hopes the USA will eventually return to the Kyoto protocol. Germany however criticised US President George W Bush's proposal,...

The Fourth R.
February 16, 2002... Looking for something? www.search.com Instead of taking help of the search button on your toolbar, log on to this site. From books to mp3 webpages, from hackers to shopper, search.com has it all and more. Just type in your requirement and...

Pak family languishes in Behrampore jail.
February 11, 2002... Asim Pramanik in Behrampore Feb. 10. - Mohammed Ali, a Pakistani citizen, was arrested along with his family in November 1999 for illegally crossing into India from Bangladesh without visa. He and his family comprising his wife and three...

Now, thangkas on CDs.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 10. - The Indian Museum will bring out compact discs on thangkas from Tibet, Nepal and Darjeeling. The decision was taken following brisk sale of books on Tibet like Tibetan Thangkas by Sipra Chakraborty...

Tea industry crisis over-rated: trade unions.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Feb. 10. - In sharp contrast to their earlier stand, the Coordination Committee of Plantation Workers, West Bengal - the largest conglomeration of trade unions for the tea gardens in the state - today dubbed...

6 PWG ultras arrested in Midnapore.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service MIDNAPORE, Feb. 10. - Six PWG militants were arrested from Salboni in Midnapore West district following a night-long raid on Saturday. Four live cartridges (315 bore) were also seized, SP Mr KC Meena said. Kartick...

Mamata slams Buddha, again.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 10. - Miss Mamata Banerjee today said Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has no moral right to continue as the chief minister after the failure of the state home (police) department to round up the accused in the...

KIT for JV housing projects to tackle funds crunch.
February 11, 2002... Tarun Goswami in Kolkata Feb. 10. - The Kolkata Improvement Trust (KIT) plans to set up joint-venture housing complexes in the city to tide over its financial crisis. The move comes after urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya urged...

I-T honour for tax defaulter.
February 11, 2002... Satya Sain in Santiniketan Feb. 10. - The wheel has turned full circle for Mr Swapankanti Ghosh. In January 2001, the young entrepreneur from Birbhum was subjected to massive income tax raids. No incriminating documents were found. But the...

Trinamul activist accuses party leader of fraud.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service BURDWAN, Feb. 10. - A Trinamul Congress activist, Mr Iftiar Mondal of Kulut village in Burdwan, lodged a complaint with the Monteswar police station yesterday that a Trinamul block leader had been allegedly collecting...

Spare a thought for new parts too.
February 11, 2002... A Better Kolkata Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 10. - Despite the risks, one should buy reconditioned but cheaper spare-parts rather than new ones. At least, private bus owners frequenting the second-hand spare-parts markets at Mullick...

Sport around the state.
February 11, 2002... East Bengal win East Bengal defeated Calcutta Customs by 122 runs in a CAB two-day first-division league match on Sunday. Two left -arm spinners - veteran Subir Dey and young Shib Sagar Singh - claimed six wickets between them. Meanwhile,...

Politics as usual.
February 11, 2002... Issue grabbing in Punjab It is clear that Prakash Singh Badal has not been a brilliant chief minister nor, given the context, was he expected to be. His main contribution seems to have been to give free power to farmers, get the minimum...

Britain Gets New Pop Idol.
February 11, 2002... LONDON, Feb. 10. - A 23-year-old drama student woke up a superstar and pop heartthrob today after winning a television talent show that has gripped Britain for weeks. Toast of the tabloids Will Young was all but guaranteed a number one hit...

Hurriyat not impressed by new emissary.
February 11, 2002... United News of India NEW DELHI, Feb. 10. - Rejecting the possibility of negotiations with Mr Wajahat Habibullah (Centre's "unofficial" emissary on Kashmir), the Hurriyat today said it was ready to hold talks only with someone having "direct...

BJP lines up big guns in Punjab.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service JALANDHAR, Feb. 10. - While Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee was persuaded by the jittery Akali-BJP leadership to address yet another rally in Bathinda, Punjab today was teeming with who's who of the BJP central leadership,...

NC to advance polls.
February 11, 2002... Kavita Suri in Jammu Feb. 10. - Apparently displeased with the Centre's efforts to rope in separatist leaders for the Assembly polls, the National Conference has decided to prepone the elections. Sources said the party had decided to hold the...

Ansari's arrest strengthens Buddha's position.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service New Delhi, Feb. 10. - Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said Aftab Ansari, main accused in the American Center attack case and now in the CBI custody, would be interrogated jointly by West Bengal police and central...

BSP faces survival test.
February 11, 2002... Atul Sangar in Jalandhar Feb. 10. - The Punjab polls come as a make-or-break battle for the BSP supremo, Mr Kanshi Ram, who has been camping here for the past 13 months to revive his party's flagging fortunes in the state. The BSP had...

Poet PM relaxes with artistes.
February 11, 2002... Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, Feb. 10. - Taking a breather from hectic campaigning, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee spent time this evening with artistes like Pandit Ravi Shankar, and rued: "It would have been good if I had continued with my...

Mirwaiz to tie the knot in June.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Feb. 10. - Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the suave handsome bachelor in Kashmir, will marry in mid-June a beautiful Kashmiri woman, Sheeba Masoodi, from the USA. Umar's family members are in the Capital, rushing...

Raksha Kavach for trains, sky-buses for metros.
February 11, 2002... CL Manoj in Margao Feb. 10. - The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited has come up with its latest technological innovations - anti-collision device (ACD) and metro sky-buses. An ACD, named as Raksha Kavach, is a network of self-acting...

No data on unaffiliated madrasas, schools: LF.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 10. - In a bid to cover up the controversy following Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's reported statement on madrasas, the Left Front today clubbed together all unaffiliated schools with madrasas not following...

PM cautions against forces within.
February 11, 2002... Press Trust of India BATHINDA, Feb. 10. - Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee today called on the people to remain vigilant while cautioning them against designs by certain forces within the country conspiring to trigger violence. "There is a conspiracy...

Ansari admits to USIS attack.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service and Agencies NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, Feb. 10. - Aftab Ansari has admitted to his involvement in the American Center attack in Kolkata and his links with jihadis in Pakistan, especially with Omar Sheikh, one of the three...

ITI upset Mohun Bagan.
February 11, 2002... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Feb. 10. - A rejuvenated East Bengal defeated Salgaocar 2-1, while ITI caused a major upset by showing defending champions Mohun Bagan the door in the, by an identical margin, in the quarter-final league...

India blank Lebanon 5-0.
February 11, 2002... Press Trust of India BEIRUT, Feb. 10. - After having already pocketed the tie, India whitewashed Lebanon 5-0 in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone Group I play-off with Leander Paes making short work of Patrick Shukri and Harsh Mankad of India...

Bush plans major military step against Iraq: report.
February 11, 2002... Agencies JERUSALEM/LOS ANGELES Feb. 10. - The US administration has given Israel the nod to strike back at Iraq if the regime of President Saddam Hussain attacks it during a possible US operation against Iraq, the Israeli daily Haaretz said...

Woman held for Net murder contract.
February 11, 2002... Agence France-Presse SEOUL, Feb. 10. - A 23-year-old South Korean woman who hired a killer on the Internet to murder her mother was arrested today, police said. An 18-year-old student who strangled the mother, and another man who had earlier...

Mayor plans to change duty hours.
February 10, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 9. - The mayor, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, intends to change the working hours of the KMC staff. He has proposed to keep it between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Presently, the duty hours are from 10.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m....

'Three options for Bangla Hindus'.
February 10, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 9. - Hindus in Bangladesh, who comprise about 10 per cent of the population, are now left with three options. They can embrace Islam, leave the country or commit suicide, Mr Salam Azad, author and chief...

Buddha has no right to remain CM: Saifuddin.
February 10, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, Feb. 9. - By disowning his statement on madrasas, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has lost moral right to remain chief minister, Mr Saifuddin Chowdhury, Party for Democratic Socialism president, said today. He was...

COALITION CRACKING? Spin off from the 'axis of evil'.
February 10, 2002... French, unlike English, is not a language of understatement. When observing that American foreign policy was simplistic, the French foreign minister was effectively articulating a viewpoint that is shared across the globe. "Today we are...

Imams in the Act! Orchestrated move to denigrate Buddha.
February 10, 2002... IN what appears to be a coordinated move, Imams in mosques right across the city, declared on Friday 8th February that they preferred Jyoti Basu to Buddhadev Bhattacharya and threatened that their total support to the Left Front may be in...

PM harps on cross-border terror.
February 10, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MEERUT, Feb. 9. - With General Pervez Musharraf on a state visit to Washington, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee told an election rally in Meerut that the Pakistani President would tell the US President he wanted peace but India...

Big B draws first blood in Lucknow.
February 10, 2002... HEMENDRA NARAYAN STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, Feb. 9. - The blood donation camp inaugurated here by Amitabh Bachchan was a perfect example of a surrogate election campaign. Defeat the "dushman" (enemies) of the Samajwadi Party chief, Mr...

Relax, have a Havana cigar.
February 10, 2002... KOLKATA, Feb. 9. - Havana cigars are once again set to take the Indian market by fumes - the Supreme Court ban on smoking in public places notwithstanding. And the red bastion of the country has fresh offers of business and cultural...