Statesman (India) articles from March 2002

Statesman (India) archives from March 2002

'Material witness withheld in Saha case'.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, March 30. - The prosecution is withholding material witness without proper explanation in the case of Moloy Ganguly versus Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, Dr Abani Roy Choudhury and Dr Baidyanath Halder, Mr Ashok...

Where nurses have to play doctor...
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NALDANGA (Hooghly), March 30. - It has hardly been six months since Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee blasted doctors of government health centres for not taking their work seriously. But it seems his words were wasted. A...

Mamata, Anil spar on Kespur killings.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, March 30. - Trinamul Congress today accused the CPI-M of killing 10 of its activists in three districts in the past fortnight and declared that it would send a delegation of party MLAs to Kespur tomorrow for...

Bandh called in parts of N Bengal, ASSAM.
March 31, 2002... COOCH BEHAR, March 30. - A 12-hour bandh will be observed in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Assam's Dhubri, Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts on 4 April to press for a new rail link. The bandh has been called by the New...

Civic poll success.
March 31, 2002... Adds to Delhi CM's burden Once the drums of victory cease to roll, Delhi's chief minister will be faced with the reality that the defeat of the BJP in the municipal elections actually puts her on a spot. She will have been deprived of a...

It was waiting to happen.
March 31, 2002... KAVITA SURI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, March. 30. - Tears welled up in his eyes, words failed him and he looked at the blood splattered at the historic Raghunath Temple complex. Pandit Vishal Shastri, Adhistdata (head priest) of the...

George no to pullout.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BANGALORE, March 30. - The Indian troops on the Indo-Pak border would not be pulled back till Pakistan met the demand for ending cross border terrorism, defence minister Mr George Fernandes said today. Pakistan...

Modi on 'confidence' trip.
March 31, 2002... UNITED NEWS OF INDIA MUMBAI, March 30. - Gujarat Chief Minister Mr Narendra Modi today said his government's primary task is to instill confidence in the riot-affected people, provide financial help to them and maintain peace in the state....

'No handover of Awami leaders'.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AGARTALA, March 30. - Tripura's ruling Left Front has ruled out speculation abo-ut extraditing Opposition lea-ders from Bangladesh who had earlier crossed over to this state and elsewhere in the region following the...

Lyricist who penned jeevan ke geet.
March 31, 2002... Anand Bakshi, who died on Saturday, was among the most prolific lyricists in Hindi cinema, with a 47-year career and more than 4,000 songs. And he never stopped writing. Ik banjaaraa gaaye, jeevan ke geet sunaaye, hum sub jeene waalon ko,...

Briefs.
March 31, 2002... Queen Mother dies at 101 LONDON, March 30. - The Queen Mother today passed away at the age of 101, Bucki-ngham Palace said. The Queen Mother, wid-ow of King George VI and a rock of support behind her eldest daughter Queen Elizabeth, died...

UN asks Israel to quit.
March 31, 2002... Agencies RAMALLAH, March 30. - Israeli troops today strengthened their siege of Mr Yasser Arafat's headquarters while the UN Security Council, with rare US support, passed a resolution, calling for "the withdrawal of Israeli troops from...

Much history, much hysteria.
March 31, 2002... If colour wasn't important, if race wasn't significant, if the work's merit was all that counted, then Halle Berry's achievement would not be a milestone. Some day, writes OINDRILA MUKHERJEE, Oscar will be the winner HE is into his 75th...

Tamil Nadu stars twinkle.
March 31, 2002... ELORA SEN STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, March 30. - A title clash between two youngters - a first for both of them. A rather rare scene in a national championship. But what was rarer was the high quality of tennis on display today, in the...

Ganguly optimistic.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, March 30. - An away series triumph at long last? Well, not impossible if you believe in what the Indian skipper says. Sourav Ganguly today sounded optimistic about the team's prospects on their tour of...

Punjab Police scrape through.
March 31, 2002... STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, March 30. - Defending champions Central Industrial Security Force lost to Punjab Police by a solitary goal in their second quarter-final League match of the 107th Beighton Cup Hockey Tournament at Mohun Bagan...

Wife seeks $2.5b from 'Rolex President'.
March 31, 2002... Michael Dynes The Times, London JOHANNESBURG, March 30 - The former President of Zambia is facing a divorce settlement worth three quarters of the country's gross domestic product after 33 years of marriage. Vera Chiluba, who stood by her...

Musharraf to decide on referendum in a week.
March 31, 2002... PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ISLAMABAD, March 30. - General Pervez Musharraf has said he will announce his decision on whether to hold a referendum to get elected as President within a week and ruled out Sheikh Omar Saeed's extradition. In a...

A sceptic's view of the American dream.
March 31, 2002... OBITUARY/Billy Wilder (1906-2002) One of several gifted filmmakers who came to Hollywood as refugees from Nazi Germany, Billy Wilder challenged and subverted the fundamentally conformist cinema of his adopted country, bringing to his films a...

USA may 'unsign' treaty on world court.
March 31, 2002... JAMES BONE & RICHARD BEESTON THE TIMES, LONDON NEW YORK, March 30. - The USA is considering the unprecedented diplomatic gesture of "unsigning" the treaty that establishes a new International Criminal Court (ICC) in protest against its...

CNN calling... Arafat slams the phone.
March 31, 2002... Press Trust of India NEW YORK, March 30. - Beleaguered Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat today slammed the phone down on a CNN correspondent during a live interview, furious when she persistently questioned him if he would rein in...

Club update.
March 30, 2002... 30 March: Tollygunge Club: Pratik Choudhury in concert at The Far Pavilion Lawn, 7.30 p.m. The Circle and Space Circle: Hasya kavi sammelan with Hari Om Pawar, Kirti Kale, Om Prakash Aditya, Sailesh Lodha, Praveen Shukla and Ved Prakash...

Midnapore cashew trade trapped in tax net.
March 30, 2002... Statesman News Service MIDNAPORE, March 29. - Faced with a severe crisis, cashew trade at Contai subdivision of Midnapore East district is on the verge of closure. Since there is no large-scale cashew plantation at Contai, the raw...

Custody death of KPP leader sparks hunger-strike.
March 30, 2002... The custody death of a KPP leader has resulted in a hunger-strike by inmates at Cooch Behar jail, says our reporter in Cooch Behar March 29. - The custody death of a KPP leader here earlier this week, has snowballed into a major issue for...

Bus-operators want premium hike put on hold.
March 30, 2002... Statesman News Service SILIGURI, March 29. - The North Bengal Passenger Transport Owners' Coordination Committee - the apex body of North Bengal bus-operators - has demanded that the proposed hike in insurance premium be put on hold on...

Union drives brick workers to strike work in Howrah.
March 30, 2002... Subhendu Maiti in Abhoynagar (Howrah) March 29. - Members of the CITU- backed Paschimbanga Tali-It Bhata Sramik Karmachari Union have forced workers to go on a strike at 16 brick kilns here in the Bally-Abhoynagar area. At a time when...

Sports around the state.
March 30, 2002... Golf The Mercedes-Benz Trophy Golf tournament will kick off at the Tollygunj Golf Cup course on Tuesday. All Mersedes-Benz customers and friends will participate in the meet. The final will be held Delhi on 27 April at DLF Golf and Country...

Debiprasad Pal returns to Cong.
March 30, 2002... It is 'homecoming' for Mr Debiprasad Pal after two years, says our reporter in Kolkata March 29. - Mr Debiprasad Pal, a senior Trinamul leader, who defected from the Congress two years ago rejoined Congress today. "I used to take active part...

Short-staffed and under-equipped.
March 30, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 29. - An ailing Md Mustaq Ahmed was lying on a trolley in a corridor of the emergency ward of the Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College and Hospital, while his relatives, worried and helpless, ran desperately...

Anil stands by Biplab Dasgupta.
March 30, 2002... KOLKATA, March 29. - Mr Anil Biswas, CPI-M state secretary, said today Mr Biplab Dasgupta, MP, had done his duty as a parliamentarian when he levelled charges against the union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers, Mr Satyabrata...

Cottoning on An excellent government decision.
March 30, 2002... The environment ministry's clearance for Bt cotton should hopefully be a precursor to an enlightened government policy on genetically modified (GM) crops and food. The basic elements of such a policy are to be found in the ministry's decision...

Peace by piece Problems with Saudi proposals surface.
March 30, 2002... With growing mayhem in the Mideast Saudi prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz's peace proposal represents the only hope . Land for peace type deals such as this have been suggested before, but what is significant is that an Arab leader, moreover...

Highly inflammable Transfer of power at Haldia Petrochem.
March 30, 2002... The decision of the Haldia Petrochemicals board to allow Indian Oil Corporation 26 per cent stake with management control should not be seen as a victory for one and defeat for the other. Good sense prevailed at long last! When the financial...

Beatles Wanted To Act In Lord Of The Rings.
March 30, 2002... Reuters WELLINGTON, March 29. - John Lennon wanted to play the grasping, thieving creature Gollum in a 1960s Beatles version of the Lord of the Rings, New Zealand movie director Peter Jackson told Wellington's Evening Post newspaper....

Alaska date for Indian forces.
March 30, 2002... Srinjoy Chowdhury in New Delhi March 29. - Indian soldiers may soon head for the Arctic, and those used to sub-zero temperatures in the Siachen glacier will perhaps not find conditions too daunting. India and the USA are discussing the...

LAC on pact map.
March 30, 2002... BEIJING, March 29. - India and China today agreed on a timeframe for clarification of the Line of Actual Control that divides the two countries. The two sides agreed to exchange sample maps of the Western sector at the next meeting of...

Cong secular front call to Farooq.
March 30, 2002... Mohan Sahay in New Delhi March 29. - In its first "serious" move to break the ruling NDA at the Centre, the Congress is trying to persuade the National Conference to leave the alliance and form a "secular front" in Jammu and Kashmir for the...

India, China signal Panchsheel comeback.
March 30, 2002... Press Trust of India BEIJING, March 29. - Carrying forward the new momentum in their relations, India and China today agreed to further strengthen cooperation and friendship on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence while...

Malik shifted to nursing home.
March 30, 2002... JAMMU, March 29. - The JKLF chairman, Mr Yasin Malik, has been shifted to Chopra Nursing Home here. Anxious family members, allegedly denied permission to meet him yesterday, said today he had not taken any food since his arrest. Mr Malik was...

Briefs.
March 30, 2002... Andamans: Over 80 members of the endangered Jarawa tribe ransacked the non-tribal settlement of Tirur in South Andaman Island. Tirur villagers alleged that the tribals robbed valuables and misbehaved with their women. Incidents of looting...

Briefs.
March 30, 2002... Chandel DC freed IMPHAL, March 29. - Mr Yambem Thamkishore, the kidnapped DC of Chandel district, was today released by the NSCN-IM. Mr Thamkishore was freed at a place near Chandel, the SP, Mr P Dhanakumar, said. He, however, was not aware...

State seeks explanation from Kali.
March 30, 2002... Anindya Sengupta in Kolkata March 29. - The West Bengal government has sought an explanation from Mr RN Kali, state vigilance commissioner, as to what prompted him to fly to Delhi for an eye check-up. As the case relates to reimbursement of...

Penury forces couple's suicide in Gujarat.
March 30, 2002... United News of India VADODARA, March 29. - The month-long curfew in the city has forced a couple here to commit suicide. Unable to earn their livelihood in the long-drawn riots, Ajay Lalu Patel (37) and Anju (33) hanged themselves at...

Bleach swung arms deal.
March 30, 2002... H Bula Devi in New Delhi March 29. - Peter Bleach was the vital link in procuring the lethal cargo in the Purulia arms drop case, swinging a deal that made huge profits for the involved parties. The details of the deal reveal how easily...

Zooming in on tourism.
March 30, 2002... By Manoj Jalan In 2001, the number of tourists who travelled in the world was estimated at 671 million. They generated 10 per cent of the world's GDP and employment. Of this, India's share was less than 0.4 per cent. It is obvious that we, as...

Sipaeya, Mahadevan in national title clash.
March 30, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 29. - Sunil Kumar Sipaeya will turn 19 on 4 April, and the best gift that he can give himself is the national grasscourt crown. And today, in the semi-final of the Indian-Oil Servo National...

IA held.
March 30, 2002... KOLKATA, March 29. - Defending champion, Central Industrial Security Force, held Indian Airlines goalless in their quarter-final league match of the Beighton Cup Hockey Tournament at Mohun Bagan ground, today. Indian Airlines, who were in...

Billy Wilder dies at 95.
March 30, 2002... Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, March 29. - Austrian-born film director Billy Wilder, a six-time Academy Award winner, died of pneumonia in his Beverly Hills home, the trade daily Variety reported. He was 95. Wilder was admitted to a...

Paedophile clergy add to Pope's woes.
March 30, 2002... Agence France-Presse ROME, March 29. - Pope John Paul II is more troubled this Easter by "betrayal" by some of his paedophile priests than by his crippling health problems, a Vatican prelate said today. The build-up to what is being seen...

Thailand to host Lanka-LTTE talks.
March 30, 2002... Press Trust of India BANGKOK, March 29. - The Sri Lankan peace process inched forward with Thailand announcing to host the historic face-to-face talks between island nation's government and LTTE aimed at ending the 18-year-old ethnic...

[0] Briefs.
March 30, 2002... Dubai dry-dock accident: Five Indians were among the 21 passengers killed in the Dubai dry-dock accident on Wednesday, an Indian consulate official said. Mr IP Mohanan said four Indians were still missing while all the injured, except one,...

'Butcher of Bangladesh' dead.
March 30, 2002... ISLAMABAD, March 29. - Former Pakistan army chief Gen Tikka Khan, once known as the "Butcher of Bangladesh" for carrying out a vicious crackdown in Dhaka in 1971 to quell the Bangladesh Liberation movement, died in Rawalpindi after a...

Bangla SC judges refuse to hear Bangabandhu case.
March 30, 2002... Statesman News Service DHAKA, March 29. - The Bangabandhu murder case faces an uncertain future once again with the two judges of an exclusive Bench of the appellate division of Bangladesh Supreme Court announcing their refusal to hear the...

'Misguided generals must be controlled'.
March 30, 2002... NEW DELHI, March 29. - The Pakistan Human Rights Commission has said General Pervez Musharraf must control not only "misguided" clerics, but also "misguided" senior army officers to effectively tackle extremism. The chairman of the...

Pak denies joint raids with US commandos.
March 30, 2002... Agencies ISLAMABAD, March 29. - Pakistan has denied reports that joint raids were carried out by the FBI and American commandos along with Pakistani soldiers. About 60 terrorists were arrested from Lahore and Faislabad in the raids. The...

Refugees escape from Woomera detention centre.
March 30, 2002... Associated Press WOOMERA (AUSTRALIA), March 29. - Up to 20 asylum seekers including one child escaped an outback detention centre by scaling razor wire-topped fences and breaking through barriers today while hundreds of protesters clashed...

Tribals flee fearing killer disease.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service BALI GOKULPUR (Murshidabad), March 26. - Paharia tribals are fleeing their Bandhanpara settlement near here following 12 deaths in the last six months due to an unidentified disease. Villagers yesterday lynched a...

Security beefed up for Holi.
March 27, 2002... JALPAIGURI, March 26. - Additional state forces will be deployed along with the RAF at sensitive areas of Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling during the Holi this week, said Mr Rajender Singh, special IGP of Jalpaiguri Range, today. ...

A novel gift of gratitude.
March 27, 2002... CHINSURAH, March 26. - Mr Lalbachan Yadav, an employee of Godalpara Jute Mill, on retiring from his job, has been given an unusual farewell gift from his colleagues at Chandernagore today. Mr Yadav was awarded 33 thousand four hundred...

Sport around the state.
March 27, 2002... Cricket Tapan Memorial beat Netaji Subhas Institute by four wickets in a match of the AN Ghosh Memorial Cricket Tournament at High Court ground. Joydeep Mukherjee of Tapan Memorial scored 66 runs. At Taltala ground, Kalighat Club won by 64...

Left anxious over RS polls.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - With the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for tomorrow, the Left Front Legislature Party today appeared nervous, while the Trinamul Congress sounded confident of its candidate's victory. The...

Saha case: Treatment did not comply with protocol.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - Dr Baidyanath Halder's treatment of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) of Anuradha Saha did not conform to the accepted treatment of the disease according to the e-mail of Dr Peter Fritsch of Innsbruk...

CAG pulls up WBPDC for 'going on a shopping spree'.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - The West Bengal Power Development Corporation went on a shopping spree. And like most shopaholics it went overboard, if the CAG report for 2000-2001 is anything to go by. The Comptroller and...

SUCI slams CM move on Poca.
March 27, 2002... KOLKATA, March 26. - Within 24 hours of pledging support to the Left Front candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, the SUCI today criticised Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for his move to introduce the Prevention of Organised Crime Act in the...

Graft charges against dist BJP chief.
March 27, 2002... MIDNAPORE, March 26. - The Midnapore Mandal Committee of the BJP has split into two amid allegations of autocratic attitude and anti-party activities of the BJP president of Midnapore West. The Mandal Committee's new office was opened at...

Row over electricity tariff.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service JALPAIGURI, March 26. - The large-scale disconnection of electric supply to labour lines in tea gardens for non-payment of tariff has created a widescale resentment among tea-workers all over North Bengal. The...

Last rites with full honours.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA March 26. - Kupwara was Anirban Bandopadhyay's first posting. And his last. On 23 March, the 24-year old Captain of the Gorkha Regiment was killed in an operation to flushing out militants from the valley....

kolkataBRIEFS.
March 27, 2002... Threat call Director Raja Sen received another threat call on Monday. It was traced to Dubai, police said. The callers reportedly told Sen to edit the "objectionable scenes" from his movie, Desh. Gold seized Customs officials at NSC Bose...

BSF seizes firearms.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - The Border Security Force seized 18 improvised firearms and over 200 cartridges during a raid at a house at Kahankiya in Gaighata police station area last night. They also arrested Swapan Bhowmick...

Surjeet's dialectics.
March 27, 2002... Those who live in glass houses.... That Harkishen Singh Surjeet has been threatening to expose Chandrababu Naidu's "double standards" the day after Buddhadev Bhattacharjee met Naidu at the latter's residence and was closeted with him for...

Stress Can Raise Heart Death Rate: Study.
March 27, 2002... WASHINGTON, March 26. - Mental stress can cut blood flow to the heart in some people, raising their risk of death from heart disease, researchers have said. They said their study adds to growing evidence about how stress and heart disease are...

Song of hope (now and again).
March 27, 2002... By Kishore Chatterjee There is a cupboard in my room which I never open. It is filled with records of Indian classical music collected during the golden years of the LP, some thirty years ago. Life is all about making choices and one of the...

Ibobi asks Centre to spell out stand on NSCN demand.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service IMPHAL, March 26. - Manipur chief minister Mr O Ibobi Singh today asked the Centre to convey in writing if arms recovered in the Pallel incident of 16 March would be returned to NSCN-IM in exchange for the abducted...

Hurriyat Delhi office raided.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service JAMMU, March 26. - The JKLF chief, Mr Yasin Malik, arrested under Poto, was today remanded in seven days' police custody while the police raided the Hurriyat Conference office in Delhi in connection with the seizure of...

BJP may opt for mid-term election in Gujarat.
March 27, 2002... Sudesh K Verma in New Delhi March 26. - Is the BJP planning a mid-term poll in Gujarat? The party, which has been steadily losing ground to the Congress since it came to power in 1998, might use this weapon to try to ride back to power on a...

PM outraged over Sonia speech.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, March 26. - The Prime Minister's counter-attacks against the leader of the Opposition overshadowed the passage of Poto in the joint session. Mr Vajpayee was angry perhaps as never before on the floor of the...

PM outraged over Sonia speech.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, March 26. - The Prime Minister's counter-attacks against the leader of the Opposition overshadowed the passage of Poto in the joint session. Mr Vajpayee was angry perhaps as never before on the floor of the...

Vajpayee summons Modi to Delhi (briefs).
March 27, 2002... NEW DELHI, March 26. - The Prime Minister has summoned Mr Narendra Modi to New Delhi tomorrow to discuss the situation in Gujarat, officials said tonight. The decision follows reports of continued violence in the state and criticism by...

Aftab's doctor on call from Dubai.
March 27, 2002... KOLKATA, March 26. - Detective department officers are planning to fly in Aftab Ansari's doctor from Dubai. The doctor, whom the police refuse to name, runs a chamber in Karachi as well. Ansari's health has become a matter of concern for...

IOC gets 26% stake in Haldia Petro.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - In what appears to be a total reversal of policy, the board of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) decided here today to offer IOC management control with 26 per cent stake in HPL. The decision to...

Minister under sex-call cloud.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, March 26. - The CPI-M Rajya Sabha MP, Mr Biplab Dasgupta, today accused the Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers, Mr Satyabrata Mukherjee, of making many international "sex-line calls" at...

Mumbai cops want Afroz off Poto hook.
March 27, 2002... MUMBAI, March 26. - Mumbai Police today appealed to special court judge Mr AP Bhangale to drop charges under Poto against Al-Qaida suspect Md Afroz Abdul Razak. When Mr Bhangale asked for reasons for dropping the charges, special...

Enron's cascading effect.
March 27, 2002... The Hong Kong government seems committed to fostering good corporate governance. But since the Enron crash, people have lost their trust in the accounts of listed companies. Hong Kong must do what it can to restore investor confidence, writes...

IA hockey team arrive in Kolkata.
March 27, 2002... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, March 26. - The strongest challenger of this year's Beighton Cup, the star studded Indian Airlines arrived in the city today. Indian Airlines will open their campaign against SAIL at 1 pm, at CC&FC ground...