Statesman (India) articles from March 2000

Statesman (India) archives from March 2000

Buddha wants the rich to pay for water.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - The deputy chief minister has suggested that more "well-off" people be made to pay water tax. This is seen as a way of meeting the government's expenses in providing treated water to the people. Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya...

Cong not ready to take action against MLAs.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - With Mrs Sonia Gandhi's hold over the Congress weakening, the high command is not too keen on taking disciplinary action against the MLAs who cross-voted in yesterday's Rajya Sabha elections in the state. Though...

Photo rationcards soon.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Old ration cards are going to be cancelled. New ones, with photographs of consumers, are coming in very soon. The Food Minister, Mr Kalimuddin Shams, today said the state government would provide cards with...

Suspect in Kasba murder case held.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Tarak Halder - a prime suspect in the murder of CPI-M leader Gurupada Bagchi - was arrested from Liluah in Howrah last night. A revolver was seized from him. Police said he was staying at Bhattanagar, Liluah for the past...

SWC resolutions put to vote.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - The resolution seeking non-retiring status of the Shaw Wallace Chairman, Mr M R Chhabria, along with the one seeking to adopt the annual accounts were opposed by LIC, GIC and other financial institutions at the company's...

Nasdaq sends Sensex below 5000 points.
March 31, 2000... MUMBAI, March 30. - For the first time since 11 October 1999, the Sensitive Index of the Stock Exchange, Mumbai crashed below five thousand points and hit a low of 4,891.40 points as most pivotals came under severe selling pressure, following...

Trai to review proposals of earlier panel.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today announced its decision to review the tariff structure implemented by the earlier panel and deferred the second phase of rebalancing by four months, till the time...

Bata posts 26% rise in net profit.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Bata India Ltd has posted a 26 per cent growth in its net profit during 1999. Bata's financial results, approved by its Board on 27 March, shows a net profit of Rs 30.46 crore during the 12 month period ended 31...

YOUR TURN/JUST TOO MANY CARS.
March 31, 2000... AT the beginning of the 20th century there were only a few thousand cars in the world. Across the world, ownership of cars and light trucks rose from 50 million in 1950 to over 400 million in 1980. By 2010 it is estimated that the number of...

BIHAR'S AGONY: Future Lies In Social Revolution.
March 31, 2000... THAT the earth is round has been proved again with the installation of the Rabri Devi government after the assembly elections in Bihar - as if the whole exercise costing crores and many lives was in vain. This was, of course, not...

MARXISTS ON A LIMB: Advani makes a point in Tripura.
March 31, 2000... HOPES that the invocation of the Disturbed Areas Act in Tripura in February 1997 would help the Left government combat tribal insurgency have been belied. Initially a temporary measure, it has come to stay, in the process losing much of its...

PM-Sudershan meet sends all-well signal.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - The RSS sarsanghchalak, Mr KS Sudershan, met with the Prime Minister today, sending out signals that all was well between the Sangh and the BJP. Mr Sudershan called on Mr AB Vajpayee at home and spoke on current...

Sorabjee to head Atlantique team.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - The Attorney General, Mr Soli Sorabjee, will head a high level Indian representation at the International Court of Justice to counter Pakistan's claim of $ 60 million as damages for the shooting down of its Atlantique...

BANK UNIONS: The thin end of the wage.
March 31, 2000... THE Indian Bank Association may congratulate itself on keeping the unions' annual pay hike at a little over Rs 815 crores; the original demand was nearly four times higher. But look at the settlement from a better perspective: around Rs 800...

IN A CLEFT STICK!: Sonia's cup of woes must be near full.
March 31, 2000... A SHOCK is no less of a shock merely because it was expected. It has been rumoured for some time that the revolt in the West Bengal Congress over the nomination of D P Roy, a Gandhi family retainer, for the Rajya Sabha, in preference to the...

Science test for origin theories.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Theories about Aryans, non-Aryans, tribes and ethnic groups will soon be interpreted through science. A study of over 450 sub-populations of India, preparation of DNA profiles of about 1,50,000 individuals from...

FBI director to visit India.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - While the government continues to remain officially silent about the FBI's opening of an office in India, it has confirmed the visit of its head here next week. During his three day trip commencing on 4 April, Mr...

Jaswant's absence not to affect Turkey PM's visit.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - The external affairs ministry today rejected suggestions that Mr Jaswant Singh's absence from the city (he is on a bilateral visit to Portugal) could send out "wrong signals" to the Prime Minister of Turkey whose...

Anti-eviction stir to top VP's agenda.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - Mr VP Singh today declared that his battle against the bulldozer would put the cause of the poor on top of the country's agenda, the need for which has already been voiced by the President. The former Prime...

"Be humane to your cattle".
March 31, 2000... New Delhi, March 29. - Rock icon and former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, has written to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, protesting against cruelty to animals, mainly cattle, in India. "I know the Constitution of India...

Nariman slams Centre for bypassing Parliament.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - Eminent constitutional expert, Mr Fali S Nariman, today criticised the bypassing of Parliament by the Centre in setting up the national commission for review of the Constitution. The motives of the principal NDA partner...

Ghani for Mamata alliance.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Within 24 hours of the Congress's shock defeat in the state's Rajya Sabha election, Mr ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury today welcomed Miss Mamata Banerjee's call for a "grand alliance" to dislodge the Left Front government. ...

CPM men 'sell' earth from Hooghly banks.
March 31, 2000... HOWRAH, March 30. - Ever heard of stealing a river bank? If not, all you need to do is contact the CPI-M committee office near the Botanical Gardens in Shibpur and they'll help you steal a portion of the Hooghly river bank. Three...

Probe into carnage culprit killings.
March 31, 2000... ANANTNAG, March 30. - Anantnag's chief judicial magistrate today ordered an "independent probe" into the Panchalthan-Pathribal incident in which security forces killed five "foreign mercenaries" suspected to be behind the 20 March massacre...

Saugata quits post, turns heat on Atish.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Mr Saugata Roy today resigned as the deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party, owning "partial moral responsibility" for the defeat of the party's nominee in yesterday's Rajya Sabha polls. Cross-voting by at...

Naik rules out price roll-back.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - The Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, today ruled out any rolling back in the prices of either cooking gas or kerosene despite the softening of international crude prices following the decision of the Organisation of...

President seeks Bihar House opinion on Vananchal Bill.
March 31, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30. - In a development which will test the commitment of Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and the RJD to the Jharkhand cause, the President has referred the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill, 2000, to the state legislature for its views....

/net.news/: Match-making.
March 31, 2000... Caught between his traditionalist Muslim roots and Californian lifestyle, Tariq Ahmed found the perfect way of arranging his own marriage by finding his wife on the Web. In common with thousands of Asian youngsters seeking to update a custom...

/net.news/: Home-seek.
March 31, 2000... ICICI on Thursday announced the launch of a real estate portal - indiahomeseek.com. Besides property search, it contains information on legal, tax, insurance, stamp duty, market watch, property review, home finance, pre approvals, real estate...

Bush's big mistake: By visiting the controversial Bob Jones University, the Republican presidential hopeful has damaged his chances, says.
March 31, 2000... DEEP in suburban South Carolina, sandwiched between two strip malls and surrounded by high fences, is a place that calls itself "the world's most unusual university". That self-description is a remarkable understatement for an institution not...

Poached to extinction: Nick Nuttall on the plight of the Sumatran tiger which is highlighted by an investigation by the Fund and the Sumatra-based charities.
March 31, 2000... POACHERS have killed up to a fifth of the Sumatran tiger population for their skins in the past two years. The animals, among the world's rarest tigers, are also being snared, trapped and poisoned for their teeth, claws and whiskers, which...

What awaits America at a nuclear conference.
March 31, 2000... NUCLEAR proliferation could be a lot worse than it is. That is part of the pitch the American delegation will make at the forthcoming review conference of the Nuc-lear Non-Proliferation Treaty opening on 24 April. No doubt somebody will quote...

Among Men wins main race.
March 31, 2000... MUMBAI, March 30. - Among Men ran away with the JD & Peggy Banatwalla Trophy, the main event at the races here today. Pesi Shroff rode the three-year-old gelding by Green Forest out of Broken Sky. None of the trainers and jockeys was able to...

"Banish soccer to backwoods".
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - The State Sports Minister, Mr Subhas Chakraborty, today told reporters that he believed soccer-followers nowadays were not interested in coming to the Maidan. He will ask the IFA to make arrangements for Calcutta League...

Ganguly blames failure on batting.
March 31, 2000... MUMBAI, March 30. - Sourav Ganguly, back from Sharjah today along with some key members of the Indian team, did not pull his punches but he also chose to dwell on the saving graces in an otherwise lacklustre showing by India in the recent...

Hockey watershed.
March 31, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 30. - Mohun Bagan, who hadn't put up their team for their first match, today hosed their ground so generously that two First Division Hockey League matches - FCI v Howrah Union and SAI Training Centre v West Bengal Police -...

NEW EDUCATION ON THE BLOCK: letters that speak.
March 31, 2000... JIJA Giraffe was almost dancing with joy as she poured over the pile of exciting books, which had just come in from The Spastics Society Of Eastern India. They were interesting books, all about introducing the little Arklings to the...

Doves' Family Corner.
March 31, 2000... PATATRI SINHA CHOUDHURY, Nursery,Auxilium Convent School, Dum Dum, wishes her cousin Dhiman Ranjan Sur, a belated happy birthday for March 17. Dearest Dadai, You always give me a surprise but now I am giving you this surprise. You...

NEW EDUCATION ON THE BLOCK: toys that teach.
March 31, 2000... POLLY Pony was astonished when she saw some chattering toys in her Play Room. As you all know Polly loves toys and toys love her. She has a huge room called the Play Room in the Ark, where the Arklings gather to play and chatter. All the new...

Over To The Experts.
March 31, 2000... WHEN Cartoon Network wanted to find out what kids in the Asia Pacific were really thinking, they went straight to the experts - kids! Launched in March 1998, New GenerAsians is a ground-breaking study of youth in the Asia Pacific...

SMALL WONDER.
March 31, 2000... SIX-year-old Anmol Ratan Singh Warraich sat astride his trusty mount, Bahadur, with ease and confidence. Once again steed and rider blended into a single entity to come out trumps in the Calcutta Horse Show, organised by Fort William Riding...

Basketball Bravos.
March 31, 2000... HOLDERS Bluejays beat Burdwan District 35-32 in a lowscore but close final in the 17th State Junior Basketball Championships hosted by Rakhi Sangha on January 22 to January 26 . At halftime, Bluejays led 17-15. For the victors, Sayeda Firdoz...

HOW TO WIN A CRICKET MATCH.
March 31, 2000... MAN created entertainment to relieve him from the monotony of work. They coined the term, "recreation". They needed recreation to escape from the dull, never-changing routine of 9 to 5 jobs, six days a week, three hundred days a year. It does...

See Silver Linings.
March 31, 2000... A LARGE number of parents have to face one sort of learning disability or another with their children. While some may be of a serious nature requiring a special treatment, most learning disabilities usually last a short spell, if handled...

Return Of The Pied Piper.
March 31, 2000... THE Famous Fives and Secret Sevens, or the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew, BEWARE! There is tough competition ahead with Vikram, Pia, Anita, Rakesh and Dev, the "Infamous Five", vying for a place under the sun. They are characters coming alive in...

DIFFERENT HUES.
March 31, 2000... A REFRESHINGLY different Holi celebration - that was what Shantiniketan's "Vasant Utsav" was all about. Far from the hustle-bustle of city life; amidst a placid and unperturbed atmosphere, the myriad colours were certainly a treat to the...

Chatter Jivers.
March 31, 2000... DO you have access to the Internet ? Would you like to chat online with people from just about every nook and cranny of the world ? But, is it that you are confused as to how to begin ? If the answer to these questions are "yes",then your...

Blessings Of The Goddess.
March 31, 2000... THE Goddess had come to the city of love. Once again Calcutta was now alive. But one man's heart was on the verge of breaking. Pratik looked not only demoralised but a mad man. He was now worse than the beggar on the streets. His only source...

MAGIC MOUNTAINS.
March 31, 2000... THE deep blue of the autumn sky with little circles of cotton ball clouds flowing along, seemed to be enticing me to go off on a trip somewhere. I decided to make a short trip to Puri. But, unseen, unknown, a string tugged me towards the...

Victim blows lid on Serb rape camp.
March 31, 2000... THE HAGUE, March 30. - A rape victim offered some of the most harrowing testimony yet presented to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague yesterday as she recounted the atrocities inflicted on her as a 15-year-old slave in a...

Supreme Court hearing on meetings ban.
March 31, 2000... ISLAMABAD, March 30. - The Pakistan Supreme Court today began hearing the suo motu notice issued by the Chief Justice, Mr Irshad Hasan Khan, to the military government banning political meetings in public, strikes and processions. Mr...

Two telecom firms allowed to migrate.
March 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 29. - The government today allowed private telecom operators, Koshika Telecom and Aircell Digilink, to switch to the new Telecom Policy, after their unconditional acceptance of the migration package. According to...

BAD PRECEDENT.
March 30, 2000... Sir, - Prasenjit Mondal, a student of Class II of Siksha Sangha of Bishnupur died following inhuman torture meted out to him by his teacher Aloka Murmu. It is reported that the teacher was mercilessly beaten in the school premises by...

BIDHANNAGAR GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE.
March 30, 2000... SIR, - Dr BC Roy's dream project, Salt Lake City, now renamed Bidhannagar, is no longer a dream area to live in as most Calcuttans think. Ever since Dr BC Roy built this new township out of marshy land, Salt Lake has been plagued by numerous...

SONIA'S STYLE: Is she politician enough?
March 30, 2000... Sonia Gandhi's grip on her party does not extend beyond making sure that she remains the unquestioned leader. That is so because there is no one else who can take charge and also the name is said to ensure a degree of fidelity. However, the...

THE LUCKY RUB.
March 30, 2000... THE calling bell howls. I rush to the door. There is my friend, Samir, formerly of the Indian Foreign Service. "How are you?", he grins, while I give him a welcome nod. We move to the sofa while my wife catches sight of Samir and jokes,...

SLOTTING DEVICE: Auctioning DD Metro channel makes sense.
March 30, 2000... IT makes good sense to lease out Doordarshan's Metro channel in the same way as FM slots have been leased out by All India Radio because this is the only way to give it a fresh lease of life. Radio had lost a huge clientele to the...

ZOROASTRIANISM.
March 30, 2000... Sir, - On 21 March each year, the Zoroastrian Parsis celebrate Jamshedji Nowroze, their ancestral new year, the universally accepted date heralding the advent of spring. About 6,000 years ago, the hills of Iran reverberated with the sound of...

TUs still divided over jute strike.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - Both the Citu and the Intuc continued to be in isolation after a meeting attended by other trade unions favouring a tripartite settlement in the industry ended in acrimony today. The unions parted company with the...

Bongaon stabbing.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - All schools in Bongaon, North 24-Pgs, were closed today in protest against the stabbing of Sudhangshu Biswas, teacher of Bagda Thoara High School yesterday. Shops too remained shut. Tension prevailed as the body was...

City's loss, foreign airlines' gain.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - Withdrawal of Air-India's flight from Calcutta to Tokyo may be a millennium blow for the city airport but for foreign airlines operating from here to east Asian countries it's a boon. Mr Ajit Dutta, eastern region...

Illegal temple defies demolition moves.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - Residents' pleas to demolish an illegal construction don't measure up against a swapnades (divine message in a dream) and a Calcutta Municipal Corporation councillor's support. A 25-feet temple has been erected...

Woman killed.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - A 40-year-old woman was killed on the spot when three miscreants threw a bomb at her in Kanchrapara tonight. The men targeted Mrs Tripti Goswami when she was returning from a music school.

4 convicted inmurder case.
March 30, 2000... HOWRAH, March 29. - Four youths involved in the murder of two students were convicted by the district session court of Howrah today. In an order, the second additional sessions judge, Mr Dilip Kumar Majumdar convicted the four prime...

B Ed in POLITICAL SCIENCE.
March 30, 2000... Sir,- This is to draw the attention of the education department that there is no B Ed course in political science in most B Ed colleges in West Bengal. Political science is taught both at the MA and M Phil levels and also figures in the list...

PICTURE PERFECT: Clinton was not allowed to see the real India.
March 30, 2000... President Bill Clinton showed his charm and penchant for the fair sex when Rajasthani village belles bowled him over with their earthy, exotic dancing. The savvy public relations man broke the meticulous security ring around him by hundreds...

MISSING GURUDAS.
March 30, 2000... Sir, - Your editorial "Corruption Stakes!" (14-15 March) is shocking and sad. Mr Gurudas Dasgupta must not lose heart. He must muster courage for waging a fight against corruption from outside Parliament. Mr Dasgupta has been betrayed by his...

"Ilyasi used false passports".
March 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 29. - Delhi police is verifying the allegation that Suhaib Ilyasi, producer of the tele-serial, India's Most Wanted, held two passports under different names and even travelled to the USA on one of one of them. The joint...

Plans for Mithun.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, Mar. 29. - Miss Mamata Banerjee has said she was committed to honouring Mithun Chakraborty in a "deserving manner" in the near future. He had backed out of the RS race after the the Left Front said it would not support him as a...

Naidu turns down Gates call.
March 30, 2000... HYDERABAD, March 29. - Mr Chandrababu Naidu has turned down an invitation from Mr Bill Gates to a conference on Internet's future and its role in education. About 200 people have been invited from all over the world for the seminar at...

Cong has no character: Basu.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - Reacting to the Rajya Sabha poll results, Mr Jyoti Basu today ridiculed the Congress saying that the party has no character. "Outside the Assembly, they (Congressmen) are Trinamul Congress supporters and inside the...

Ecevit visit to bolster Indo-Turkish ties.
March 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 29. - By opting for an India-only visit, the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit, has sent a clear signal of his country's desires to build relations with India. Turkey's shift away from the pro-Pakistan tilt of the...

Sonia's selection of candidates irks partymen.
March 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 29. - Mrs Sonia Gandhi is faced with a fresh challenge with the Rajya Sabha poll results indicating that the Congress central leadership has lost control over its state units. Cross-voting within the Congress lost the...

Somen delivers fresh nail into Congress coffin.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 29. - The Trinamul Congress pulled off a startling victory today when the party-backed Independent candidate, Mr Jayanta Bhattacharya, split Congress votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal. The development...

Ogden pledges care of oustees.
March 30, 2000... WASHINGTON, March 29. - A US company involved in the controversial Maheshwar Dam project on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh has said it is sensitive to the problems of those the project will displace. "We have taken great steps towards...

Gujarat cracks down on cow slaughter.
March 30, 2000... GANDHINAGAR, March 29. - Gujarat today adopted a Bill which will enable it to book, under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, people involved in the slaughter of cows and calves. The Pasa allows no bail for a month to those...

Jaya denies foster son return rumour.
March 30, 2000... CHENNAI, March 29. - Miss Jayalalitha today said she has no plans to mend bridges with her estranged foster son, Mr VN Sudhakaran, who is the nephew of Mrs Sasikala. "I have disowned him... he will never be allowed to set foot in my house...

Basu stand.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28 - Mr Jyoti Basu today said he did not need any political advice from Miss Mamata Banerjee. The Trinamul Congress chief had challenged the Chief Minister to a contest of ballots soon after the CPI-M state secretary, Mr...

YC men throw bombs at police.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - Protesting against the lathi-charge on teachers, Youth Congress members today retaliated by throwing bombs at police near the Assembly building. One policeman and deputy commissioner of police (2nd battalion) Mr HP...

Citu calls TU meet over jute strike.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - Isolated by other trade unions of the Left Front over the signing of pacts to resolve the jute strike, Citu has called a trade union meet tomorrow. Citu has been criticised by the confederation of trade unions, with...

DM vigil on civic bodies.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - District magistrates will be given some administrative control over municipalities as an extra check on irregularities relating to funds use and appointment of civic staff. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation,...

RK Mission school a pawn in board game.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - Will the toppers of Purulia's Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith be hostages to the state government's education policy this year too? The question is worrying 97 students of the Vidyapith who are anxiously waiting for their...

Lobbying on for fifth RS seat.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - Lobbying by the Congress and the Trinamul Congress to get their candidates elected in tomorrow's Rajya Sabha polls intensified during the day. The two parties are vying for the fifth seat from the state, victory of...

Lathi-charge rocks House.
March 30, 2000... CALCUTTA, March 28. - Yesterday's lathi-charge on teachers rocked the Assembly today with Opposition MLAs walking out after demanding a statement from the government on the issue. As soon as the House assembled, Congress, Trinamul, Suci...