Statesman (India) articles from February 2009

Statesman (India) archives from February 2009

Dealers start rice sale with a rider.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 27: Ration dealers across the state started selling rice at Rs 2 per kg today under the newly introduced stimulus package. Dealers made it clear, however, that they would not continue the scheme unless...

Five of a family get life terms.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA,Feb.27: Five members of a family were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 22-year-oldReenaJaiswal.Reena'shusband DeepakJaiswal,her mother-in-law, PhulmoniJaiswaland sister-in-laws Arti,...

Briefs.
February 28, 2009... Dacoity Dacoits raided the house of a businessman in Salanpur police station area bordering West Bengal-Jharkhand on Thursday night and looted gold ornaments worth Rs 2.5 lakh and cash Rs 1.5 lakh last night. The same house incidentally was...

Palta-Tallah water pipeline to be relaid.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service Kolkata,Feb.27: In a bid to augment water supply and reduce wastage, the KolkataMunicipal Corporation (KMC)today cleared a proposal for re-laying the underground water transmission line from Paltato Tallah.Mayor Mr...

Rupee debacle.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service MUMBAI,Feb.27: Recording a more than 100 paise fall against the dollar in barely four business sessions, the Indian rupee crashed to its lowest ever exchange rate of 51.12 per dollar this afternoon. State-run banks...

Biz Briefs.
February 28, 2009... Rs 1.11 lakh mobile NEW DELHI, Feb.27: With everyone looking pre-occupied with recession, cellular handset maker Motorola today gave the wealthy people a new obsession called 'AURA',a hand-sculpted mobile phone that costs Rs1,11,000. n PTI...

Protectionism will prolong downturn.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service BANGALORE,Feb.27: InfosysTechnologies CEO, Mr Kris Gopalkrishnan, said today that the IT sector in the country will have to wait a little while to understand the impact of the latest proposal on outsourcing by the US...

CLB to appoint chairman, directors.
February 28, 2009... SNS & PTI NEW DELHI, Feb.27: The Company Law Board has reserved its order on the governments petition for superseding the board of Mr B Ramalinga Raju-familypromoted MaytasInfra and suggested that four independent directors be inducted,...

Tata Steel Q3 net dips 44% to.
February 28, 2009... Press Trust of India MUMBAI,Feb.27: TataSteel today said its consolidated net profit dipped by 44 per cent to Rs732.21 crore in the October-December quarter, but held itself from slipping into negative terrain despite a slump in demand. In...

Fighting Taboo In Africa.
February 28, 2009... Katrina Manson Sierra Leone, Feb.27: The female journalist was snatched by members of a secret society, forcibly stripped and made to parade naked through the streets. It might sound like an atrocity from the time when Sierra Leone was ripped...

edits.
February 28, 2009... NSG stays police Turf wars best avoided In appointing NPS Aulakh, the Director-General of Police, Punjab, as the next head of the National Security Guard the government has firmly rejected the armys contention that one of its officers should...

special article.
February 28, 2009... God & Mathematics How Swami Vivekananda Established The Connection Sobhanlal Mukherjee In a letter to the editor, published in The Statesman on 2 February, ManasBiswas,a reader, wrote that he had chanced upon a torn scrap of paper that read:...

I am a Communist.
February 28, 2009... New Delhi, Feb 27: Apparently hitting out at CPI-M which had expelled him, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today said he remains a Communist as Communism is not anybody's monopoly. The 80-year-old veteran parliamentarian, addressing a...

Judges assets: HC defers hearing on plea.
February 28, 2009... Press Trust of India New Delhi, Feb 27: The Delhi High Court today deferred hearing on a petition filed by the Supreme Court challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing that assets of the judges should be made public....

briefs.
February 28, 2009... Lalu Patna, Feb 27: Railway minister Lalu Prasad today gifted Bihar 36,500 km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna . n PTI Gandhi New Delhi, Feb 27: The government today decided to ensure Mahatma Gandhi's personal...

UPA trying to send me to jail: Mulayam.
February 28, 2009... Etawah, Feb 27: Coming down heavily on the UPA government at the Centre which his party helped survive after the Left withdrew its support over the Indo-US nuclear deal, Samajwadi Party chief Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav has charged it with using...

Mangalore probe: NCW member axed.
February 28, 2009... Press Trust of India New Delhi, Feb 27: Women and child development minister Mr Renuka Chowdhury today sacked National Commission for Women (NCW) member Ms Nirmala Venkatesh who probed the pub attack on women in Mangalore, saying her conduct...

IM suspect spills terror beans.
February 28, 2009... Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Feb27: SadiqSheikh, an alleged operative of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen,has unravelledon camera the plotting of the October 2005 Delhi blasts as well as the 2006 Mumbaitrain bombings, a television...

Hepatitis: Govt launches crackdown.
February 28, 2009... Press Truts of India Ahmedabad, Feb 27: Gujarat government has launched a state-wide drive against unsafe medical practises and improper disposal of bio-medical waste, following hepatitis outbreak in Sabarkantha district that has claimed 49...

Tales and trivia of Tolly Club penned.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA,Feb.27: A lot of fun has been poked at club life in India, without those who indulged in this sort of sport realising how vital a part of the life it was. Getting together for games and exercise and talk was...

Madhyamik question upsets teachers.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 27: Teachers in the city feel that rural students with English as second language in the Madhyamik examinations might have found it difficult to compose a letter on important places in the city as required...

Simpark Plaza hosts Kolkata Haat.
February 28, 2009... KOLKATA, Feb. 27: In a bid to promote rural handicrafts the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), in collaboration with a private firm ~ Simplex Project Limited ~ organised a haat at the Simpark Plaza in New Market. It has been formally...

Bio-project launched in east Kolkata wetlands.
February 28, 2009... Sulagna Sengupta KOLKATA,Feb.27: A city-based NGOhas taken up a project based in the east Kolkatawetlands, with the joint objective of improving the livelihoods of fishermen families residing in and around the wetlands, and preventing the...

Tree population in Howrah endangered by villagers.
February 28, 2009... Pritesh Basu Kolkata, Feb. 27: Around 20 per cent of trees planted by forest department officials in Howrah are destined to be uprooted or cut down before they reach maturity, either by cattle who graze on the saplings or local people who...

Palta-Tallah water pipeline to be relaid.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service Kolkata,Feb.27: In a bid to augment water supply and reduce wastage, the KolkataMunicipal Corporation (KMC)today cleared a proposal for re-laying the underground water transmission line from Paltato Tallah.Mayor Mr...

CID probe into abetment cry.
February 28, 2009... Rajib Chakraborty KOLKATA, Feb. 27: Sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are probing the role of two former police officers of Ghola police station, who allegedly protected the accused in a case of domestic violence. ...

Briefs.
February 28, 2009... Fake currency A 30-year-old man was sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment by additional district and session judge of 9th Fast Track Court, Bichar Bhawan today for circulating fake currency notes. Bodies Body of two unidentified...

Networking snag disappoints CM.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, Feb. 27: A visibly annoyed chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee stormed out of the conference room in Writers' Buildings today after waiting for nearly half an hour for a video conferencing with Burdwan...

Tension at hospital after baby death.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA,Feb27: There was tension at RabindranathTagoreInternational Institute of Cardiac Sciences after a four-month-old baby girl died at the hospital allegedly due to medical negligence. Relatives of the patient said...

HC directives on Gardens, Mandarmani.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA,Feb27 : The Division Bench of Mr SSNijjar,Chief Justice and Mr Justice BiswanathSommaddarof Calcutta High Court today directed Mr Subhas Dutta, environmental activist to accompany the expert committee that will...

Good Grief!
February 28, 2009... With a pinch of salt Eating at an expensive restaurant, at times, makes you feel uneducated, foolish and cheated! Heres how a usual evening unfolds... The steward makes you sit by a long glass window overlooking a crowded street that you...

Health centres struggle to obtain high-tech equipment.
February 28, 2009... Pranesh Sarkar KOLKATA, Feb. 27: The pursuit of excellence at state-run health centres is suffering due to a shortage of companies interested in supplying state-of-the-art equipment. State-run NRS Medical College and Hospital is in need of a...

New flyover to ease traffic.
February 28, 2009... Kolkata,Feb.27: In order to augment traffic movement the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA)will construct an elevated road from ParamaIsland to Park Circus along Eastern Metropolitan bypass. The state urban development...

Prevention better than cure.
February 28, 2009... The earlier cancer is detected, the better the chances of it being treated successfully, writes Ashwini Ranade It is essential that you visit your doctor on a regular basis. It would be disastrous if you wait for cancer symptoms to crop up....

Net Result.
February 28, 2009... It's no longer required to employ five photographs to source photographs for magazines and in-house publications. Register with 'stock photograph' agencies... www.fotosearch.com: 'Publitek, Inc., dba Fotosearch is a provider of royalty...

games people play.
February 28, 2009... Alice Electronic Arts Inc and Spicy Horse announced that they have signed a publishing deal for an all-new title based on EA's 2000 classic, American McGee's Alice. The game reunites EA with American McGee, the creative visionary behind the...

Club Hopping.
February 28, 2009... Which is your favourite pub and why? It doesn't matter if the cosy nook is in India or abroad, the first three e-mails will win audio CDs. To get you started, here's a list On Toes Pub & Restaurant Conceived by Damodar Bindal, the pub started...

From spud to sensation.
February 28, 2009... 500g potatoes (approximately two large or six small) will make sufficient chips for 2-3 people. It is best to fry in small batches. Peel and chip 400-500g potatoes, then wash thoroughly. Boil large pan of salted water. Add chips and return to...

When the are down.
February 28, 2009... We all love to eat them, but very few of us know how to make them. Christopher Hirst discovers, learning the skills to transform a fast-food staple to a truly transcendent treat is well worth the effort Is any food more tempting than the...

Everything You Wanted To Know: ... But wish you hadn't asked.
February 28, 2009... Raouf Gangjee What was the Big Bang? Sayan Chatterjee, Kolkata Most physicists believe that about 14 billion years ago the universe was compressed into a mass much smaller than an atom, then exploded and has been expanding ever since. But...

Cinema within cinema.
February 28, 2009... Self-reflexive films, writes Shoma A Chatterji, draw attention to the presence of cinematic objects and other paraphernalia, such as the camera, boom, make-up and costumes Indian mainstream cinema seems to being sucked into the vortex of...

TIDBITS.
February 28, 2009... Fun munch Minissha Lamba loves Hyderabadi food. Recently she was filming for Shyam Benegal's Abba Ka Kuan in Hyderabad and she ended up eating a few bites extra. Lamba is one actor who doesn't mind exercising a few minutes extra as long she...

Fake bites.
February 28, 2009... Imitation food has immense potential at 'food courts' in India After the Second World War, Europeans and Americans headed for Japan and South East Asian countries to help in the rebuilding efforts were faced with a difficulty in communicating...

Signed, sealed & delivered.
February 28, 2009... Stevie Wonder mania has gripped everyone again, including the President of America and Vernon Neilly, who has recorded an album dedicated to the Motown legend. The guitarist and owner of Boosweet Records in conversation with Mathures Paul...

In-sync.
February 28, 2009... Exploring genres Jennifer Hudson is turning her back on her pop music roots as she's set to record a gospel album, according to reports. The Spotlight singer shot to fame on American Idol in 2004 and her self titled debut album was full of...

in the groove.
February 28, 2009... Keep It Hid Dan Auerbach V2 This solo debut from The Black Keys' mainman Dan Auerbach follows in much the same vein as the duo's work, particularly the psychedelic greatcoat blues-rock of last year's storming Dangermouse-produced set Attack &...

is Bollywood turning elitist?
February 28, 2009... The Hindi film industry has found a generation of bright-eyed, urbane, upwardly-mobile youngsters who have taken Bollywood by storm since the onset of the multiplexes, writes Derek Bose Satyajit Ray had famously declared that he did not make...

Culling figures vary in Kurseong.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Feb. 27: Contradictory culling figures being provided by the district administration officials have generated confusion as to the correct target figure for culling at the Punding forest villages at Sukna in...

Dacoits wreak havoc in Cooch Behar.
February 28, 2009... COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 27: Two houses were robbed last night at Dawaguri area under Kotowali police station in Cooch Behar. The robberies take the number of similar crimes over the past four days to five, indicating that crime is on the rise in...

Cong demands release of arrested supporters.
February 28, 2009... RAIGANJ, Feb. 27: Congress activists today gheraoed Kanki police phari under the jurisdiction of Chakulia police station of North Dinajpur district this morning demanding the release of two Congress members arrested last night on charges of...

briefs.
February 28, 2009... Dacoity RAIGANJ, Feb. 27: Miscreants barged into the residence of a schoolteacher Mrs Jharna Sinha in her absence and fled away with gold ornaments worth Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 25,000 in cash at Deshbandhupara of Dalkhola under Karandighi police...

winsome.
February 28, 2009... SILIGURI, Feb. 28: A brilliant all-round performance by Angshuman Biswas (49 runs and four wickets for 17 runs) helped Narendranath Club (NC) beat Atharokhai Sarojini Sangha (ASS) by three wickets in the opening match of the Super League 2009...

Detached... yet attached.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service MALDA, Feb 27: The Trinamul Congress has decided to practice the theory of detached attachment with the Congress. And in keeping with the philosophy, the party has asked its office bearers in Congress run civic boards...

Forest guards shoot dead suspected timber thief in the Dooars.
February 28, 2009... JALPAIGURI, Feb. 27: Forest guards today shot dead a suspected timber thief following a clash with a group allegedly involved in the crime at Chapramari forest in the Dooars. The incident occurred around 4 a.m. when a group of timber...

After BJP, GJMM has Cong on its mind.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Feb. 27: With the BJP still non-committal on including the Gorkhaland issue in its election manifesto, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) said on Friday that it was still considering negotiations with the...

Deforestation in the Hills a great threat.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service JALPAIGURI, Feb. 27: The executive engineer of Central Water Commission, Mr Arun Kanti Ghosh today said here that deforestation in the Darjeeling hills and Bhutan pose a major flood threat to the plains of north Bengal....

Teachers protest against bribery.
February 28, 2009... RAIGANJ, Feb. 27: A section of primary teachers, said to be members of the RSP affiliated North Dinajpur unit of Sara Bangla Primary Teachers Association, ransacked the office of the sub-inspector of East Circle (Raiganj), Primary Education,...

Seminar on essential medicines in Siliguri.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Feb.27: The Community Development Medical Unit (CDMU), in collaboration with the West Bengal Voluntary Health Association, Indian Medical Association (Siliguri) and West Bengal Medical Sales Representatives...

Lack of oxygen at hospital hits kids.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service RAIGANJ , Feb 27 : The lack of functioning oxygen concentrators at Islampur Sub-divisional Hospital, North Dinajpur district, is posing a serious risk to newborns at the hospital. Several oxygen concentrators have...

Every penny counts.
February 28, 2009... MALDA, Feb. 27: Mrs Prabha Saha, a registered labourer for 100-days job under NREGA, today lodged a complaint with the police and the block development officer of Kaliachak II, against a Gram Panchayat pradhan regarding pay cut. Mrs...

Cong yet to decide on candidate for North Malda constituency.
February 28, 2009... MALDA, Feb. 27: The Congress is in a dilemma over nomination for the North Malda Parliamentary constituency. Embarrassed over the Swiss citizenship controversy surrounding possible candidate Dr AN Khan Choudhury, a major section of the...

AIGL likely to field Darjeeling candidate in LS polls.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Feb.27: The All India Gorkha League president, Mr Madan Tamang today hinted that his party might put up a candidate for the Darjeeling constituency in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. We would not enter a...

Book on education in Orissa out.
February 28, 2009... BHUBANESWAR, Feb. 27: Noted scientist and Padmashree winner Mr PK Jena released a book titled Orissa ~ The Emerging Knowledge Capital here recently. Published by a news agency, Hindusthan Samachar, and sponsored by Vedanta group of...

Labour strike hits godowns.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service BHAWANIPATNA, Feb. 27: A labour strike has severely affected godowns belonging to the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and the Orissa State Warehousing Corporation (OSWC) in western parts of Orissa. In the process...

Woman leaders given a back seat?
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service RAYGADA, Feb. 27: Elected women PRI representatives in tribal dominated district came to the fore here recently voicing their concerns and demands including that of lifting of the two-child norm and how certain people...

Activists say JNNURM funds unused.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR, Feb 27: Funds sanctioned for the housing scheme under the Jawahar Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) are lying unspent as efforts to disburse them to individual beneficiaries have met with unforeseen...

Ugly ducklings back on track...
February 28, 2009... BHUBANESWAR, Feb 27: In a rather shocking reversal of previous orders, the government is said to have restored 75 examination centres which had been scrapped for five years on grounds of malpractice and other irregularities. Still worse...

Poll packs tumble out.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR,Feb.27: In yet another pre-election dole out, the state cabinet today announced 100 per cent block grant to over 700 educational institutions, fulfilling a long standing demand of teachers and staff of these...

New lab inaugurated at Nicer.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR, Feb. 27: The new laboratory building of National Institute of Science Education and Research (Niser) was inaugurated today at the IOP (Institute of Physics) campus here by Padmasri Prof. SK Joshi, chairman...

Angul mine: Villagers ask for relief.
February 28, 2009... ANGUL,Feb.27: Villagers affected by the TataSponge coal mine gave a cautious welcome to the proposed mine and washeryin Angultoday. They asked that the company to pay them compensation of Rs25 lakhper acre and make sure it protected the...

New political party floated.
February 28, 2009... SAMBALPUR, Feb. 27: Kuchinda, a backward sub-division in Sambalpur district, witnessed the entry of the relatively new political party Samrudha Odisha today. The regional party vows to bring prosperity in five years' time or quit...

Villages to be made tech savvy.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service JAGATSINGHPUR Feb. 27: The Jagatsinghpur district administration took a major initiative towards furthering e-governance with Srei Sahaj e-Village Ltd to encourage village level entrepreneurs. District collector Mr...

Rail roko threatened for Gualipur halt.
February 28, 2009... JAGATSINGHPUR, Feb. 27: The villagers of 15 gram panchayats under the banner of Banbihari Gualipur Railyatri Surkhya Samiti have threatened to organise a rail blockade at Gualipur on 23 March demanding upgradation of Banbihari passenger halt,...

Grave end to mutiny.
February 28, 2009... Press Trust of India DHAKA, Feb.27: Bangladesh security forces discovered a mass grave of at least 38 massacred army officers, taking the death toll to 66 that included the BDR chief Maj-GenShakilAhmed. The death toll in the two-day revolt by...

Trinamul, Cong combine may eat into LF pie: Basu.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service KOLKATA,Feb27: Even as the TrinamulCongress and the Congress are trying to forge an alliance to unitedly take on the CPI-Min the coming Lok Sabhapoll, Mr JyotiBasutoday feared that if it materialises the CPI-M'stally...

Rat farmings stupid.
February 28, 2009... Manoj Chaurasia PATNA,Feb.27: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the stupidest of them all? Well, one doesn't have to look far. The honour goes to Mr Vijay Prakash,a senior IASofficer currently serving as principal secretary in Bihar'ssocial...

Pak back in denial mode on Kasab.
February 28, 2009... KARACHI/NEWDELHI, Feb.27: Pakistan returned to denial mode once again, with its navy chief Admiral NomanBashirclaiming there was no proof that AjmalKasabtook the sea route from this country to carry out the Mumbai terror attacks. We have seen...

GDP growth falls to 5.3%.
February 28, 2009... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Feb.27: As a consequence of the global meltdown, Indias GDP growth rate fell to 5.3 per cent for the third quarter of the current fiscal ~ the lowest since 2003 ~ against 8.9 per cent in the corresponding...

India is our most important partner.
February 28, 2009... The Republic of Maldives in the the Indian Ocean made history on 28 October, 2008, when the 41-year-old leader of the MaldivianDemocratic Party (MDP)Mohamed Nasheed(Anni)was elected President in the first multi-party election. The five...

100 YEARS AGO TODAY.
February 28, 2009... Editorial Note In replying to the addresses presented to him at the MahomedanAnglo-Oriental College at Aligarh,Sir John Hewettmade a highly interesting speech on the important problem of Mahomedaneducation in India. It was pointed out in one...

Poms make merry on easy turf.
February 28, 2009... Agencies BRIDGETOWN, Feb. 27: Ravi Bopara scored his maiden Test century, and Tim Ambrose capitalised on his unexpected recall to post 76 not out of his own, as England scored 600/6 decl. on the second afternoon at Bridgetown. Resuming at...

Early jolt for Proteas after Oz resurgence.
February 28, 2009... Associated Press JOHANNESBURG, Feb.27: Australiabatted to a dominant position with a first-innings total of 466 in the first test against South Africa on Friday, and then took two Proteaswickets in four balls to ram home the advantage. South...

Abs Fabs fancied for Derby.
February 28, 2009... Gautam Banerjea Kolkata, Feb. 27: Come tomorrow, those who had ever followed the sport of horse racing in Kolkata will make it a point to witness the running of the Eveready Calcutta Derby Stakes (2008-09). Slated to be run at 4.25 p.m., this...

city bits.
February 28, 2009... Squash The Calcutta Racket Club will host the PSA Indian Challenger 2 Squash Tournament ~ a 3 star professional men's international event with $30,000 prize money ~ from 16 March.