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2. government

CM
KY
PM Modi relishes Rs 29 lunch
in Parliament
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Monday joined some MPs in having lunch
in the Parliament’s canteen meant for
parliamentarians.
Modi made a surprise visit to Room
number 70 on the first floor of the
Parliament building and took lunch there.
He had a vegetarian thali and made the
payment of Rs 29 for the same himself,
sources said.
Orissa Today
Published Simultaneously Bhubaneswar & Rourkela
statement are Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Zahoor Ahmed
Mir, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, Mohd Abas Wani, Yawar
Dilawar Mir, Advocate Mohd Yosuf, Aijaz Ahmad Mir
and Noor Mohd Sheikh.
w 03March,2015
(Dak-04)
w Tuesday
CM of Odisha demands two
Passport centres in state
NEWDELHI:"The party cannot function smoothly
if senior members target the party convenor," says
AAP leader Sanjay Singh
AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Monday said that attempts
were being made to remove Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal as the party’s national convenor.
“There are attempts being made to remove Arvind
Kejriwal as the national convenor of the party,” Sanjay
Singh told reporters at a media briefing here.
He said that party’s national executive would meet on
March 4 to discuss the issue.
Mr. Singh said that if there were disagreements within
the Aam Aadmi Party, they should be discussed
internally and not publicly.
The party will not be able to function smoothly if senior
members target Mr. Kejriwal and make efforts to
defame the party, he added.
Party leader Ashutosh, in his tweet, downplayed the
reported rift within the party.
JAMMU, March 2, 2015Ruling Peoples Democratic
Party in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday demanded
from the National Democratic Alliance government
the return of the mortal remains of Parliament attack
convict Afzal Guru, a day after assuming power in
alliance with BJP.
Eight PDP MLAs issued a statement in this regard
saying the party “promises to follow vigorously” for
the return of the mortal remains.Guru was hanged on
February 9, 2013 inside Tihar Jail.
“PDP stands by the demand for return of his (Guru’s)
mortal remains, and the party promises to follow
vigorously for the return of the mortal remains,” the
PDP statement said.The legislators who signed the
w Bhubaneswar
Postal Regd No-BN/167/13-15 w Page -
Attempts being made to
remove Kejriwal: AAP
CM
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w Issue-163
w Rs.1.00
People’s Voice
RNI NO - ORIENG/2005/16409 For e paper : www.orissatoday. co.in
Eight PDP MLAs demand return
of Afzal Guru’s mortal remains
w Vol - 10
Revenswa Collage Students appear in the +2 examinations . Photo-Soroj
Meal @ Rs 5 to urban poor
Bhubaneswar, Mar 2:Come April, the urban denizens
in five cities in Odisha would be able to savour lunch
packs at affordable price as the state government is all
set to rollout ‘Aahar’ scheme for the targeted populace.
As per the scheme, the government would provide Rs
five a meal to urban poor in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack,
Sambalpur, Berhampur and Rourkela of the state. The
menu of the vegetarian meal comprises plain rice and
Dalma (a combination of lentil and vegetables).
Taking a cue from Tamil Nadu, the state government
has decided to open Aahar centres (canteen) at busstands, railway stations, Collectorate and hospitals in
these five urban locations.
The decision in this regard was taken at a high level
meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here
today.The poor people visiting these cities can avail
the Rs 5 a meal at these food joints during lunch time
while the government would make necessary
arrangement to provide food to 25,000 people each
day, said a release of Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
While the Food Supply and Consumer Welfare
department and Urban Development department would
provide necessary infrastructure, corporate houses
would provide assistance and non-government
organisations having experience in lunch programmes
would manage the centres under the scheme, sources
said.The scheme would be extended to other urban areas in the
coming years depending on the success of the scheme in the
said cities, said official.
It is expected that it would be a hit among the working urban
poor.
“These initiatives have been accused of being ‘populist’, but this
model of providing affordable cooked food in urban areas ensure
food security and also keep food prices in check,” said an official.
Bhubaneswar,
Mar
2:Odisha chief minister
Naveen Patnaik today for
the second time requested
the
Centre
for
establishment of two new
Passport Seva Kendras
in the state.
No succession plan yet?
"I would request once
again to take steps for
establishment of two
additional Passport Seva
Kendras in the state, one
at Sambalpur and another
at Brahmapur which will
help the citizens of my
state to a great extent in
obtaining
Passport
services", the chief
minister said in a letter to
Union External Affairs
minister Sushma Swaraj.
This is the second time
Patnaik has written to the
Centre asking for opening
of two Passport Seva
Kendras in the state, one
at Sambalpur and another
at Brahmapur.
Patnaik said as there is
one Passport Seva
Kendra (PSK) in the state
capital serving 30
geographically dispersed
districts, the people of
western and southern
districts of the state are
facing
immense
difficulties for obtaining
the passport.
"With the expansion of
opportunities for mobility
across borders for
education, tourism and
business, there is
substantial increase in the
demand for passport
services. During the year
2014, at about one lakh
passports have been
issued by the Passport
Seva Kendra functioning
in the state capital ," he
noted.Keeping in view the
geographical distance of
western and southern
districts of the state and
increase in the demand
for passport services, the
chief minister said he had
requested former Union
External Affairs minister
on July 22, 2012 to take
immediate action for
setting up one regional
Passport Seva Kendra at
Sambalpur to serve the
districts of western
Odisha and another one at
Berhampur for the districts
of southern Odisha.It was
also intimated therein that
by the establishment of two
Passport Seva Kendras, the
average travelling distance
of the districts located in
the western and southern
parts of the state will be
substantially reduced,
Patnaik added.
Patnaik lamented that
response in this regard is
still awaited.
CM
KY
BJD takes to streets against Central apathy towards Odisha No Mahaprasad for devotees in Jagannath temple
CM
KY
Bhubaneswar, Mar 2:
Trumpeting drum about
apathy and overlooking
state's demands, the
ruling Biju Janata Dal
(BJD) today launched a
state-wide agitation
alleging neglect of Odisha
in the Central Budget.
The three frontal
organizations of BJDBiju Yuva Janata Dal
(BYJD), Biju Mahila
Janata Dal and Biju
Chhatra Janata-staged a
protest in front of the Raj
Bhawan here.
Besides, the protest
meetings will be held at
district headquarters
from
tomorrow, party sources
said.
The ruling party has hit
out at the Centre for not
announcing special
package for the state,
financial assistance for
Nabakalebara festival and
ignoring backward KBK
region wherein it has
announced
special
package for poll-bound
West Bengal and Bihar
worth Rs 20, 000 crore.
''Odisha's demands have
been completely ignored
in the Budget and there
is no provision for
backward KBK region in
the state. Besides, the
Centre
has
not
announced any package
for the forthcoming
Nabakalebara festival of
Lord Jagannath in June
this year,'' president of
BYJD, Sanjay Dasburma
said.
The Centre has delinked
various schemes including
Backward Regions Grant
Funds (BRGF) from
Central assistance. In
addition to this, Odisha's
share in tax devolution
would come down
resulting in a loss of about
Rs 4,600 crore over a
period of five years,
Basburma added.
''While special assistance
of Rs 20,000 crore has
been declared for Bihar
and West Bengal, Odisha
has been completely
neglected. Besides, the
cyclone Phailin and
Hudhud assistance has
also not reached the state.
There has been repeated
negligence from Centre
towards the state,'' state
Law Minister Arun Kumar
Sahu said.
Several ministers, party
leaders and members of
other frontal organisations
of the party are protesting
in front of the Raj Bhawan.
''We will launch the protest
in district headquarters
across the state. The
Centre has overlooked our
demands,'' Minister of
State for Energy Pranab
Prakash Das said.
It may be recalled that
Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik had termed the
Union
Budget
'disappointing'. No central
allocation
for
Nabakalebara-2015 of
Lord Jagannath has been
made even though there
has been a flow of
resources
for
improvement of facilities
in nine other heritage sites
in the country, Patnaik
had told media persons
on Feb 28.
''We will take this
agitation to block level
protesting
towards
central negligence. It has
hurt our religious
sentiments as it has not
allocated any funds for
the Nabakalebara festival
in the Central budget,''
Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak
said.
It may be mentioned that
Union Petroleum minister
Dharmendra Pradhan
yesterday rebutting the
contention of the Odisha
government that the state
would lose substantial
revenue on the basis of
the recommendations of
the 14th Finance
Commission.
Puri, Mar 2:The devotees who are on a
pilgrimage to have a glimpse of the Lords
at Shree Jagannath temple in Odisha's
Puri town were deprived of Mahaprasad
as the Supakars (temple cooks) went on
a cease-work from today protesting
against the arrest of a fellow servitor.
The temple administration, despite its
persistent efforts for the whole day on
Sunday, failed to do resolve the issue.
The Lords too had to content themselves
with the sakal dhupa commonly known
as Kotha Bhoga or Raja Bhoga. The Suar
Mahasuar Nijog (servitor body of temple
cooks) of the Shree Jagannath temple
has stopped cooking of Mahaprasad
from today. The servitor body at its
meeting yesterday also decided to stop
preparation and sale of sukhila bhoga
(confectionaries) apart from Anna
Mahaparasad (Rice meal).
The members of the Nijog are agitating
in protest against arrest of a servitor,
Padmanava Pratihari, who was found
RAMPANT TRANSACTION OF FAKE CURRENCY
NOTES IN RAYAGADA: FOUR NABBED BY POLICE
Rayagada, March 2:
Police
has
been
successful in busting yet
another racket involved
with fake currency notes
in Rayagada town. On
getting
reliable
information, police
nabbed two persons
namely Nalla Sampath of
Venkatapuram, DistrictWarangal(Telengana) &
Singarupu Bangaraya of
Bodarapuwalsa, DistrictVizianagaram(AP) from
the bus stand and
confiscated
fake
currency note in the
denominations
of
Rs.1000 and Rs.500 when
the accused were trying to
exchange those notes in
the market. Nine numbers
of Rs.1000 notes and five
numbers of Rs.500 notes
were recovered from
Sampath
whereas
Bangaraya possessed
seven numbers of Rs.1000
notes and four numbers of
Rs.500 notes.
After registering a case in
Rayagada PS case no-36/
2015 u/s 489(C) on dated
2-3-2015 against both the
accused persons and
interrogation, it was
established that one
T.P.Murali Raju of Village-
Pukali under Pottangi PS,
Dist-Koraput alongwith
his associates were
manufacturing these fake
currency notes in his
home and disposing those
off through Kaka Dipak of
village-Rudaram, DistBijapur(Chhattisgarh).
During the raid, one
colour printer with spare
cartridges, mobile phones
alongwith two numbers of
Rs.1000, four numbers of
Rs.500, ten numbers of
fake currency notes, three
Rs.100 currency notes
pasted on a white sheet
back to back to take
impression from said
notes to prepare fake
currency notes were
recovered from Murali.
Similarly, two numbers of
Rs.1000, two numbers of
Rs.500 and four numbers
of Rs.100 fake currency
notes were recovered
from Kaka Dipak of
Chhattisgarh. Altogether
fake currency notes
amounting Rs.28900 have
till been recovered.
“In this case, many
others in Odisha and other
neighbouring states as
well are involved. Steps are
being taken to nab the
entire racket. It is highly
suspected that the culprits
with an intention to
circulate these fake
currencies
during
trassaction of cattle,
cotton and paddy, etc.”,
said Sri K Siva
Subramani,
SP,
Rayagada during a press
meet in his office.
Subramani has appealed
the media and the general
public to keep alert and
keep close watch over
transaction of fake
currency notes in their
locality and furnish
information to the local
public in case any such
transaction is noticed.
It may be noted that
CM
KY
recently, 473 fake
currency notes in the
denomination of Rs.1000
were recovered by
Chandili PS and one
Muska Raising was
arrested in this connection.
Similarly police nabbed a
culprit when they were
informed by the Barijhola
villagers regarding fake
notes transaction.
“Chandili is hardly 10 km
away from district
headquarters whereas
Barijhola is around 3 kms
from Rayagada town.
Rayagada has 11 blocks
and 2556 revenue villages.
(See Last Page)
selling 'Mahaprasad' in the bhitara bedha
outside the Ananda Bazaar (place meant
for selling of Mahaprasad) located inside
the temple premises on Friday in
violation of the directive by the temple
administration that Mahaprasad can only
be sold at the Ananda Bazaar.
The Suar Mahasuar Nijog, which had
served a notice to the temple
administration in this regard, is
supported by the Chhattisha Nijog
(federation of servitor bodies of Shree
Jagannath temple).
It may be mentioned that Lord
Jagannath and his siblings had remained
without food for nearly six hours on
Saturday due to the Nijog's cease-work.
After Sahana Mela (public darshan) on
Saturday morning, the Suar and
Mahasuars did not allow Rosha Homa
(a ritual that is carried out before
cooking) to be performed.
As a result, Ballav (breakfast) and other
(See Last Page)
Odisha govt recommends
IIM in Sambalpur
Bhubaneswar, Mar 2:The Odisha government today
recommended the Centre for setting up the proposed
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Sambalpur city
subject to relaxation in Central guideline.
In a letter to Union HRD minister Smriti Irani, chief
minister Naveen Patnaik said the Centre had sought
the opinion of the state government for setting up of
the IIM in Western Odisha, particularly in Sambalpur
region.
While recommending the sites for the IIM, the HRD
ministry, as per its guideline, had asked the state
government to identify the location which should be
close to an airport. As a result, the state government
had restricted its choice to places in and around
Bhubaneswar.
"However, if the Centre is willing to relax this guideline
for site selection, the state government would strongly
recommend Sambalpur as the location of the IIM",
Patnaik said in his letter.(unn)
CM
KY
CM
KY
Tuesday , March 03 2015
BHUBANESWAR
LAND LAW MAY BE CONSIDER AGAIN
E D I TO R I A L
JAITLY THE UNFORSEEN
BALANCE MAKER
CM
KY
CM
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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may just have managed to
achieve what some of his predecessors attempted but failed. In
a performance that is striking in its imaginative balance, Mr.
Jaitley has deftly reconciled the interests of business and the
markets on the one hand and that of the masses, or aam aadmi,
if you will, on the other, and all this without taking his eyes off
the fiscal deficit ball. His second budget, which is also his first
full-year one, has proposals that incentivise savings, increase
social security and pension coverage of citizens and ideas to
harness the idle gold lying in family lockers. For good measure,
the Finance Minister has also signalled his government's
commitment to the rural jobs scheme by allocating a marginally
higher sum with the promise of more if his tax revenues increase.
Simultaneously, Mr. Jaitley has kept his focus on the needs of
business and the corporate sector with a significantly higher
allocation for infrastructure, a phased reduction in the corporate
tax rate, deferment of GAAR by two more years, a microfinance
refinancing agency, a law to handle disputes in public contracts
and the promise to usher in a bankruptcy code this year. The
only luxury that the Finance Minister has permitted himself is
that of delaying the journey to a fiscal deficit target of 3 per
cent of GDP by an extra year. While this may have the fiscal
hawks up in arms, the fact is that the target was set earlier
under the then prevailing circumstances that have changed
now. And then again, Mr. Jaitley can be given the benefit of the
doubt for being profligate simply because the extra spending
goes towards investment in infrastructure and not for
consumption.
Broadly, there are three facets of the Budget that stand out.
First, the conscious push towards spreading the social security
net, especially retirement pension coverage, using the Jan Dhan
platform. The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna which will
offer accident cover of Rs.2 lakh at a premium of just Rs.12 per
year and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana which
will offer life cover of Rs.2 lakh at a premium of just Rs.330 per
annum are commendable plans that will take social security to
the poor who need it the most. For the middle class, Mr. Jaitley
has incentivised the push for retirement coverage with the
promise of a generous tax-break, which in one stroke channelises
savings and ensures a pension net. The second major facet is
the investor-friendly initiatives as seen in the phased cut in
corporate tax rate and the deferment of GAAR. The idea of an
electronic bill discounting platform for MSMEs is an excellent
one that will address the cash flow problems of the smallest of
businesses.
The serious push to address the parallel economy inhabitants
as seen by the proposal to pass a tough law against those
holding undisclosed assets abroad is the third major feature.
Ten years rigorous imprisonment and 300 per cent penalty on
those who conceal income and assets abroad are unprecedented
tough measures that send the signal that this government means
business on the issue of curbing illegal foreign accounts. The
gold deposit scheme and sovereign bonds are probably
vehicles to get the illegal gold hoarded by the parallel economy
into the mainstream though Mr. Jaitley might not admit it. The
one major criticism that the Finance Minister might have to
address is the fact that he is raising additional resources through
indirect taxes, which are regressive as they are harsher on the
poor. The middle-class might also be unhappy that there has
been no change in either the income-tax slabs or the rates.
They will have to wait for better times to come. Mr. Jaitley's
decision to increase the import duty on petrol and diesel is
unlikely to go down well as retail prices have increased due to
the trade-parity pricing formula followed by the oil companies.
The devil, as they say, is in the detail and there could be other
unpleasant changes hidden in the fine print. But broadly, and
for the moment, the Finance Minister can take credit for tailoring
a budget that balances conflicting pulls and pressures and in a
difficult environment to boot. Overall, it is an imaginative and
well-formulated exercise addressing the needs of growth as
well as equity.
GOVT .DEFAULTER IN
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
.
Two days before the presentation of the Economic Survey,
which makes a spirited pitch for the rationalisation of subsidies,
Delhi's AAP government announced a set of poorly targeted
electricity and water subsidies that will lead to an
unconscionable waste of resources. By Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia's own reckoning, the electricity subsidy will
benefit a whopping 90 per cent of this relatively better-off citystate's population - outstripping even the food security act's
widely criticised 67 per cent. On the other hand, the water
subsidy will bypass 24.8 per cent of households, arguably the
poorest, because they don't have piped water connections.
These perverse outcomes are thanks to the poor design of the
programmes. Electricity will be charged at half the rate to
households that use 400 units or less of power - an overgenerous cut-off that fails to sift out households on the upper
end of the income distribution - and 20,000 litres of water will be
given for free to households that use 20,000 litres or less of
water.
The water subsidy becomes even more problematic when one
takes into account the fact that poorer households tend to be
larger - and larger households are more likely to breach the
20,000 litre cut-off. The corollary: households that are more
likely to be under the consumption threshold may also be able
to pay more. The AAP's water policy has a precedent in South
Africa. But in that country, the free entitlement works out to 25
litres per person per day - against Delhi's 135 - which
Disappointingly little seems to have changed since the last
time the AAP was in power, time that the party supposedly
used to fine-tune its policies and vision. Even according to
modest estimates, the power and water subsidies will cost Rs
1,427 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively. Given that, according
to the AAP's own calculation, "at least Rs 3,000 crore
[equivalent to 10 per cent of the state's budget] would be
required to lay down the network for piped water only in some
parts of the city", the Delhi government has its priorities
backwards. It must first ensure that all dwellings have piped
and metered connections, and then revisit the thresholds of its
policies.
2
On my desk as I write rests a copy of the land law that the last government
bequeathed us. I dredged through its reams of dreary officialese more than once
and concluded that when the BJP helped the Sonia-Manmohan government pass
it in Parliament, its MPs did not read it. This is not an insult. It would be hard for
any normal, healthy, educated person to read it without being utterly defeated by
this convoluted, verbose document.
So if the Prime Minister wants to bring the changes without which this law will
remain the major obstacle to India's future progress, he must admit that it was a
mistake to support the law in the first place. Then and only then will he be able to
move forward. His government has been so defensive lately that it is as if Mr Modi
has forgotten that he is the first prime minister in 30 years to have a full majority in
the Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile those who have worked tirelessly, and perhaps with good intentions,
to keep Indian farmers mired in subsistence farming forever are on the ascendant.
At Jantar Mantar have appeared not just Anna Hazare and that eternal promoter of
wrong causes, Medha Patkar, but even Congress MPs in peasant turbans. They
did this perhaps to look like farmers. They failed. They just looked silly. But they
succeeded in joining the raucous, ill-informed chorus that any changes to the
'Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Bill, 2013' (phew!) will make
This is not just rubbish, but dangerous rubbish. As the sister of someone who, by
Indian standards, is a rich farmer, may I put on record that the only time my brother
has made any money is when he sells an acre or two. Most Indian farmers live on
the edge of ruin because land reform has made agriculture unprofitable for most.
And the reason why unemployment is the biggest problem in rural India is because
agriculture has no capacity left to create jobs. So to try and make industry and
infrastructure bad words, as the Finance Minister pointed out, is wrong.
Changes to this seriously defective law will not reduce the compensation that
farmers get. They will reduce the decades that it could take to get 70 per cent of
local residents to agree before land is acquired for roads, hospitals, schools or
defence facilities. Incidentally, the change that the ordinance has forgotten to make is
that this law interferes in private buying and selling of land as well. The middle class,
urban protesters who currently occupy Jantar Mantar should tell farmers this and find
out if they still support the law.cheered me to hear the Prime Minister remind us in his
speech in the Lok Sabha last Friday that the Congress party won only 44 seats in the
last election because the 'aam aadmi' noticed that the laws made on his behalf did not
improve his life. Shame on the BJP for not performing its role as the main opposition
party by not aggressively opposing the very bad laws the last government passed.
The land law is not the only bad piece of legislation that the last government bestowed
upon us. There is the very flawed retroactive tax that made foreign investors flee in
droves. There is a food security law that instead of improving the hopeless public
distribution system adds to its burden by seeking to provide more than 70 per cent of
Indian citizens with cheap food grain. There is a right to education law that instead of
improving government schools allows officials to interfere in private schools. And
there is the vaunted 'flagship scheme' of the last government, MNREGA, that instead
of creating employment ends up as dole.
If these laws had made a real difference to the lives of India's most disadvantaged
citizens, would the Congress have been reduced to 44 seats? The sad truth is that far
too many Indians, including far too many political pundits, have not noticed that India
looks very, very bad compared to most other countries. We have roads, railways and
ports that are among the most decrepit in the world. Our major cities look like vast
shanties and in our villages, we have been unable to deal with such basic problems as
sanitation and clean water.
The question we need to ask is that why did a decade of 'pro-poor' laws make no real
difference to those Indians who remain ground down horribly by extreme poverty?
The question we need to ask is why most Indians living in extreme poverty are
farmers? If the Prime Minister does not continue to ask these questions loudly and
aggressively, he will lose to the Jantar Mantar crowd. And if they win, Indian farmers
are doomed to eternal poverty.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ tavleen_singh
Modi's 'frenemies' problem
.If you were to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi's legion of admirers to draw
up a list of Modi baiters, a typical one would probably lead with the BJP's
political foes, left-leaning liberals, a large sprinkling of civil society, his
detractors in the media, and the entrenched elite of Lutyens' Delhi. But recent
events once again show that the challenges facing Mr Modi come as much, if
not more, from within.
Consider the ongoing hullabaloo over the contentious land acquisition
amendment bill (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Amendment Bill 2015), which
seeks to turn a recent ordinance into law. It jumped to centrestage on the very
first day of the Budget Session of Parliament with the entire Opposition ranged
against it, forcing the BJP top leadership to rethink the government's strategy.
The return of Anna Hazare to Jantar Mantar, Delhi's Hyde Park, to lead antiland acquisition protesters added to the BJP's troubles. But what is perhaps
causing the Modi government the most embarrassment is the loud
pronouncements of some of its friends - NDA allies and RSS affiliates.
Raju Shetty, whose party Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana is an NDA ally,
says the proposed amendment would be disastrous for the farming community.
The Shiv Sena, a BJP ally at the Centre and in Maharashtra, boycotted an allparty meeting called by the government on Tuesday evening to resolve the
issue. "There is no question of supporting any legislation which goes against
the interest of farmers," says Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Another
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters, "If farmers are opposing this
ordinance, we must also take their views into consideration. We are with the
government, but we are with the farmers as well, we want certain points to be
reviewed."
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the BJP's ally in Punjab and at the Centre, was
present at the meeting but reportedly added its voice to those opposing the
bill saying that farmers were unhappy with the proposed changes and that an
alternative was needed. "Yes, we have problems with the ordinance and we
said so at the meeting. We hope the government will take corrective steps,"
Akali MP from Anandpur Sahib Prem Singh Chandumajra said.
That is not all.
The RSS-affiliated unions of farmers and labourers - Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
(BKS) and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) - also do not see eye to eye with
the government on the proposed amendment to the Land Acquisition Act.
Both are crying hoarse about its potentially damaging impact on Indian farmers.
Sources say BKS, BMS and Swadeshi Jagran Manch leaders met the BJP's top
leadership and advocated "immediate course correction". That possibly
explains why a committee has now been tasked to talk to farmers.
BMS general secretary Vrijesh Upadhyay told this writer that the government's
proposal to skip social impact assessment during the land acquisition process
is ill-advised and could spell serious trouble. He cited the examples of Nandigram
and Singur in West Bengal to argue that "Anti-farmer policies have a high
Patralekha Chatterjee
political cost. No investor will come if there is turbulence."
Such opposition from within the Sangh Parivar comes on top of the opposition
from the Congress, the left and regional parties. Clearly, it is more than a matter of
party politics. Even if the government manages to push through the amendment
in its present form, it is unlikely to lead to the desired effect - a lot more factories
being set up and a lot more infrastructure projects. No investor wants to invest in
an atmosphere of uncertainty, without being sure that there will be no public
protest to hold up the project. From the point of view of the investor - not to talk
of the farmer whose land is being acquired - it makes sense for the government to
strive for consensus.
As if the hullabaloo in Parliament and on the streets of New Delhi were not
enough, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat created another controversy the very day the
Modi government was being politically cornered over the land acquisition bill. Mr
Bhagwat gave
Mr Modi's critics another reason to chuckle when he observed that Mother Teresa's
service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity. Mr Bhagwat is
not the first to take a potshot at her. The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in
Theory and Practice, a 1995 essay by British-American journalist Christopher
Hitchens, had made headlines as a scathing critique of Mother Teresa's work and
philosophy. It is not known if
Mr Bhagwat had read or was inspired by Hitchens. But in this instance, there has
been widespread speculation about the timing of his remark. That one observation
successfully complicated the task of Modi government's perception managers.
If troubles come, can BJP MP Yogi Adityanath be far behind? That relentless
seeker of the spotlight has now announced, "ghar wapsi shall continue till a law
on religious conversion is brought in".
It is no secret that the BJP is feeling embarrassed by the recent statements of its
Hindutva brigade. Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu even blamed them for
"damaging" the party's prospects in the recent Delhi Assembly polls. Mr Modi
has urged his party workers and public representatives to refrain from making
comments that divert focus from the government's "agenda for development".
But the comments continue. What is one to make of this? More important, how
does the government deal with a situation where its own supporters are shrilly
contradicting its own messaging? There is no single answer. To counter
Mr Bhagwat, Yogi Adityanath and others like them, perhaps actions will speak
louder than words. Any attempts to whip up sectarian strife should be immediately
countered. But the same policy cannot be applied to the unions. On sensitive
public policy measures, there has to be greater consultation, and being conciliatory
is not always a bad thing, as the government is learning. Mr Modi's troubleshooter and BJP president Amit Shah has formed an eight-member committee to
seek farmers' suggestions on the proposed land acquisition legislation. In the
past 72 hours, the BJP has taken to aggressively explaining its position on the
proposed amendment through social media outlets.
DAILY HOROSCOPE
Aries
The only good thing about being
on an emotional roller coaster is
that you never feel the same way
for long. One moment you're up,
the next you're down. You can't
figure out what it is you want.
Rather than drag your loved ones
along on the ride, get away from
your usual environment. You will
be a lot better off alone. And
something more important may
come out of these moments of
solitude!
Taurus
You might want to check your
alarm clock to be sure it really
woke you up this morning. Your
tendency today will be to stay in
the cocoon of your little dream
world, deep in your own
thoughts. Obsessive thoughts, in
particular, will try and drown out
some more pressing issues from
the past that need resolution once
and for all. Ring! It's time to wake
up!
Gemini
There's something in the air
pushing you toward change or
renewal. Is it time to change your
wardrobe or redecorate your
home? If so, today's the day. If
you have a budget, you will find
it just as fulfilling (and a lot
cheaper) to rid your home of all
the things that just aren't "you"
anymore. Surround yourself with
things you love.
Cancer
The good news is this - it gets
better. There could be some trying
times in store, Cancer. If you're a
parent, the children will ask for
something every five minutes,
and you may feel pressure from
all sides. Not even your love life
is immune from the doubt that
seems to hover over your head.
No compromise is possible for
you, Cancer. Just sit tight and
know that calmer days are
coming.
Leo
Today rethink all the social values
you take at face value. Like the
rest of us, you learned them at an
early age and accepted them
unthinkingly.
Established
concepts of propriety are
especially
deserving
of
consideration. After hearing for
years about all those things that
"just aren't done," isn't it
refreshing to think that maybe
they should be done after all?
Libra
Capricorn
The topic of the day is
knowledge and learning. Did you
study the field you really wanted
to? Do you feel bad about not
having attended such-and-such
school or program? If these
issues are uppermost on your
mind today, remember that your
creativity has little to do with the
degrees you hold. It has
everything to do with how you
use your skills and knowledge to
better the world.
The results of the recent
planetary influence are coming
home to roost, Capricorn. If
everything went according to
plan, you gained some insight
into your ego. Buddhist wise
men say that the path to
spiritual fulfillment lies in
knowing how to build a healthy
ego while developing a part of
oneself completely foreign to the
ego. Are you working hard at
this?
Scorpio
The planetary alignment is
favorable, and you're in the
process of reaping the benefits,
Scorpio. It was only a matter of
becoming aware of and settling
certain matters related to your
need for social recognition. Don't
be so hungry for approval,
Scorpio. Everybody contains a
stern inner parent and can survive
comfortably in total selfsufficiency. In fact, it's your
greatest strength.
Sagittarius
Virgo
Today is an ideal day to shop for
a new wardrobe. You may find
your usual style too conventional
or uncomfortably trendy.
Sometimes you reject outfits you
really like out of fear they're too
suggestive, old fashioned, or
something else. Perhaps you
should listen to your good
judgment for a change instead of
being so concerned about what
other people might think.
CM
KY
You may feel hemmed in by the
role models society currently
offers. As you struggle to reach
your own definition of the truly
innovative achiever, other people
sometimes criticize your rather
liberated attitude. Just because
your ideas aren't in sync with
theirs in no way invalidates
them. If your ideas are too
radical, theirs are too
conventional. There's room for
both viewpoints.
Aquarius
A small crisis is still a crisis, isn't
it, Aquarius? You can expect one
in your personal life today. Since
you aren't the kind of person
who lets issues go unresolved,
you won't be able to put off
dealing with your problems any
longer. Are responsibilities
shared equally with your
partner? Are you each making
an equal effort to maintain
harmony? Asking the questions
is the first step to answering
them.
Pisces
Something has to change. You
knew it as soon as you woke up
this morning. Your mirror
provides the impetus for
important resolutions today. Is
it time to begin a diet, commit to
exercising more, or strengthen
your resolve to quit smoking?
Anything you do to improve
your appearance will make you
feel a lot better about yourself.
Buy some new clothes or get a
haircut. People will notice.
MAIL BOX
Pro-poor budget
The first full-fledged
Budget of the Modi
government can be termed
as pro-poor and a Budget
that encourages savings.
Most importantly, it favours
retired and senior citizens,
who are often neglected.
Deduction of `30,000
towards medical expenditure
and the deduction limit of
`80,000 on account of
specified diseases will
greatly benefit senior
citizens, who are not eligible
to take health insurance.
Also, steps have been taken
to encourage contribution
towards pension fund and
the new pension scheme.
Being a senior citizen, I
would like to thank Arun
Jaitley for thinking of our
financial health.
Inder Singh
New Delhi
Please write Your Valuable
Suggestion mailto:
[email protected]
CM
KY
CM
KY
CM
KY
News
News box
box
Delhi man acquitted of
charges of circulating
objectionable messages
New Delhi
A local court has acquitted a man of the charges of
circulating objectionable messages about a woman after
not finding enough evidence against him.Additional
Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh let off the north Delhi
resident while setting aside a magisterial court's order
which had awarded four months imprisonment to him
along with a fine of Rs 9,000."Impugned orders (of
magisterial court) are set aside and the appellant is
acquitted in respect of all the charges framed against
him," the court said.It noted that police failed to examine
the person who provided call and SMS records and file
the records with the proper legal documents."Hence even
this piece of evidence... Is rendered inadmissible in
evidence," the court said, noting that there was no other
evidence other than the call detail and SMS records of the
phone number which could establish that the obscene
messages were circulated.The court also noted that
during the pendency of trial, the girl died due to illness
and thus she could not be examined as a
witness.According to police, the accused had circulated
certain objectionable messages about the girl from his
phone.The police had claimed that after being
apprehended, the man had disclosed that he was trying to
establish a relationship with the girl but after she did not
respond, he flashed the obscene messages.However, the
man had denied the allegations levelled against him.The
magisterial court had convicted the man for offences
punishable under sections 292 (sale of obscene object to
younger persons) and 509 (uttering word or making
gesture intended to insult woman's modesty) of the IPC.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had
tendered his resignation as party's
National Convener in the National
Executive meeting held on Thursday,
party sources said, a move which was
vehemently opposed by members.The
sources said Kejriwal was upset after a
section of leaders raised the issue of
him playing dual role of the Delhi
Chief Minister and the party convener.
Kejriwal is believed to have
demanded more freedom to run the
party.The meet was held on Thursday
and an informal meet continued until
yesterday."In the National Executive
meeting, Kejriwal had offered to
resign, having become the chief
minister. He had also sent a note and
also conveyed his decision over the
phone. The move was vehemently
opposed by everyone, including
Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra
Yadav. On the same night, NE
members met Kejriwal and conveyed
that they had rejected his proposal of
quitting."A suggestion also came up to
rejig the PAC, but a final decision will
be taken by Arvind (Kejriwal)," said a
senior party leader.The party is also
New Delhi
CM
KY
The cadre of IAS officer Abhishek Singh has been
changed from Uttar Pradesh to Union Territories after his
wife Durga Shakti Nagpal was recently appointed as OSD
to a Union minister here.A 2011-batch IAS officer, Singh
has been moved to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram
and Union Territory cadre (Delhi segment) for a period of
three years in relaxation of guidelines, said an order
issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.The
state government and Home Ministry have given their
nod to the cadre change, it said.According to rules, a
married couple in government service needs to be posted
at the same location as far as possible.Nagpal, a 2010batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was in January
appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. She has been
appointed for a three-year period.She was in the news in
2013 for taking on the sand mining mafia and cracking
down on illegal construction in Uttar Pradesh's
Ghaziabad district.She was in July, 2013, suspended by
the Uttar Pradesh government, a move which was
believed to have been effected at the behest of some
politicians hailing from that area. Nagpal was reinstated
in September, 2013.
UGC gives a year to 7 deemed
varsities to rectify deficiencies
New Delhi
CM
KY
At party meet, Kejriwal wanted Two cops booked
for seeking bribe
to quit as AAP Convener
New Delhi
Durga Shakti Nagpal's
husband's IAS cadre changed
from UP to Delhi
In a breather to seven 'C' category deemed universities,
UGC has given them one more year to rectify their
deficiencies failing which they could face the possibility
of denotification.These universities were identified from
among 41 'C' category deemed universities by an expert
panel as they lacked the requisite infrastructure and
faculty strength."After detailed deliberations, UGC
decided to give them a final opportunity for rectifying
their deficiencies within a maximum period of one year
and submit the compliance report within that time,
failing which recommendation for the denotification of
their status would be made to HRD Ministry," UGC
resolved recently at a full meeting.Supreme Court, which
has been monitoring the case, had directed UGC to
inspect eight such universities which were said to be
lacking in terms of the criteria for deemed
universities.The apex court had last year directed UGC to
examine all the reports of the 41 deemed universities and
advise the central government.These universities had
gone to Supreme Court after they were put in the 'C'
category in 2009 by the Tandon Committee.Upon
Supreme Court's direction, a committee was set up under
UGC vice chairperson H Devaraj which heard all the 41
deemed universities separately.The universities, which
were examined on nine parameters, scored poorly in
several of them.
Some of the parameters were conformity to the
provisions of the UGC Act and UGC guidelines, aspects
of governance, quality of and innovation in teachinglearning process, research output, doctoral and other
research degree programme, faculty resources,
admission processes and award of degrees.
LIVE: PM Narendra Modi
arrives at venue, Mufti
Mohammad Sayeed to take
oath as J&K CM shortly
National
P-3
Tuesday , March 0 3 2015
BHUBANESWAR
likely to rejig its all powerful
Political Affairs Committee (PAC),
amidst reports of friction between
Kejriwal and senior party leader
Yogendra Yadav.udget session of
Delhi Legislative Assembly, which
is slated to take place next week, but
a final decision will be taken by
Kejriwal in coming days.The party
sources said that after the rejig,
specific responsibility will be given
to the leaders and their roles will be
defined.All is not well within the
party, the sources said, as differences
have cropped up between senior
party leaders especially over the
candidate selection during the Delhi
assembly election. Owing to this,
Bhushan and Yadav were not
attending the
The Delhi unit of AAP was unhappy
about the opposition over the
candidate selection process as it
claimed that the party already had a
strong filter to weed out candidaes
who don't meet the party
standards.Meanwhile, Yadav said no
decision was taken to rejig the PAC.
"As I said, there was a National
Executive meeting, no such decision
has taken place and about
speculation, obviously I cannot
respond. AAP is not into such petty
political games that get played in
other political parties.
"All the time I remember much
bigger, which is millions, crores of
people in this country have invested
their hopes about changing the
nature of politics in this small entity
called aam aadmi party. We cannot
play small, we have to respond to
those hopes and we have to act to the
best of our ability," Yadav
said.Following the NE meet, a
three-member committee was
constituted comprising party's
national secretary Pankaj Gupta,
Gopal Rai and Anand Kumar to talk
to Kejriwal, Yadav and Bhushan
and sort the issues.
Concerns were also raised about
"leakages" by some leaders to the
media, which was not good in taste
for the party.This is the not the first
time that differences have cropped
up between Yadav and Kejriwal.
After the Lok Sabha debacle, Yadav
had written a letter criticising
Kejriwal of "falling prey to
personality cult".
in Delhi
New Delhi
An FIR has been registered against two policemen for
allegedly threatening and taking bribe from a person after
the victim sent the recording of the incident to Delhi
Police's anti-corruption WhatsApp helpline.The accused
policemen have not been arrested as the recording has
been sent for forensic test and further investigation is
underway.The complainant has forwarded avideo/audio
recording on the whatsApp helpline of vigilance, recorded
by him on February 17, in which he has recorded his
conversation with Head Constable Ram Kamal of
Ambedkar Nagar police station."The complainant stated
that he was falsely implicated in a criminal case under the
Arms Act, when he lodged a complaint to the local police
regarding sale of contraband drugs and activity of 'satta'
on his plot situated in Ambedkar Nagar, which is allegedly
in the unauthorised possession of a person," said DCP
(Vigilance) Sindhu Pillai.SI Bijender Singh asked the
complainant to pay Rs 50,000 to prevent his arrest in the
above criminal case, when he expressed his innocence, the
amount was reduced to Rs 20,000.Bijender took out Rs
10,000 from his pocket and asked him to pay the balance
of Rs 10,000 to the beat Head Constable Ram Kamal, the
DCP said.The recording allegedly contains conversation
between the complainant and Head Constable Ram
Kamal.In the video/audio recording, the alleged Head
Constable is seen/heard taking bribe of Rs 10,000 on
behalf of SI Bijender Singh, the IO of the case.
On the statement of the complainant, a case under sections
of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered
and an investigation is on, she said.
Anti-Naxal ops: Govt hires two
private choppers for military sorties
New Delhi
The government has hired two helicopters
from a private firm to provide air support
to security forces deployed in the jungles
of Chhattisgarh and its border areas which
are hotbeds of Maoist activities.The
much-awaited deploymentof these air
assets has come after more than a year of
hectic efforts to find more helicopters for
troops tackling Left-wing extremism
(LWE).CRPF has inked the deal for
leasing two private choppers which will
not only carry troops for reinforcements
but also evacuate battle causalities and
supply arms and rations.
A team of two Bell choppers has been
based at Jagdalpur in the Bastar region of
Chhattisgarh, which is among the worst
Naxal violence-affected areas, for operations
under the command of the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF), the lead force for
combating the LWE challenge."Two private
choppers have been hired on contract for
aiding the forces in anti-Naxal operations.
The flying machines have begun operations
and will be based in south Bastar," a senior
officer said.The private firm which is
providing the choppers has experience of
operating in the Maoist-affected zones, albeit
for ferrying civilians and VVIPs.
"We have been operating in Chhattisgarh
since 2008. This is the first time we will be
helping the security forces in a full-fledged
role. The sorties will be executed by the
CRPF," Ajay Veer Singh, Managing Director
of the Delhi-based Dhillon Aviation Pvt Ltd,
which owns the choppers, told PTI.The firm
Posters demanding Rahul
Gandhis resignation ''a
plot against the party''':
Congress
Kanpur
Condemning the poster demanding the resignation of
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, party leader and
former Kanpur MP Sriprakash Jaiswal on Sunday said the
act was a conspiracy against the party. "I condemn this act;
it`s a plot against us. Rahulji is our leader, I refuse to believe
that the man behind this act is a member of the party," said
Jaiswal.Another party leader Har Prakash Agnihotri
confirmed that the Congress worker responsible for the act
had been expelled.
"The man behind this act has been expelled from party for
six years. We will ensure that he does not join the party
again," said Agnihotri.Igniting fresh controversy, a
Congress worker had on Saturday put up a poster in Kanpur,
demanding the resignation of the party vice president with
the words "Resign Rahul, and give somebody else a
chance". The poster had the picture of Sriprakash Jaiswal.
has deployed its own pilots and crew for
the operation, repair and overhauling of
the flying machines.The helicopters,
while operating in these areas, will land
and take-off from helipads which will
be sanitised and secured by CRPF and
state police.
"The choppers, even though only two,
will be of precious help during
operations or for evacuating casualties,
thereby saving numerous lives as time is
at a premium in this theatre of
operations.o be used to provide rations
and other essential items to troops in the
difficult-to-reach areas of Chhattisgarh
and its border areas with Odisha and
Andhra Pradesh which are hotbeds of
Naxal activity," the officer said. CRPF
has been pitching for gettng more
choppers to addto the existing fleet of 11
helicopters deployed for anti-Maoist
operations by Indian Air Force (IAF) and
the Border Security Force (BSF).
With the continuous increase in the
number of battalions and men in antiNaxal operations, security forces have
been facing a crunch in terms of chopper
sorties for helping troops in such terrain
CM
which is marked by difficult topography
KY
dotted with thick jungles. With the
addition of these two choppers, they will
get about 30-40 more flying hours.A pair
of new Mi-17-V5 military choppers are
also expected to be inducted for these
operations by the middle of this year
after they arrive from Russia and join the
BSF fleet by March.
The latest Mi-series helicopters have an
on-board weather radar along with stateof-the-art autopilot functions and latest
night vision devices, which are not
available in the existing Mi-17s.
Helicopters are the most important
force-multiplier when it comes to
providing logistical support to the forces
deployed in LWE operations.
NDMC to install 'smart signages' for
heritage sites, monuments
New Delhi
Heritage sites and monuments which fall in areas under
the jurisdiction of New Delhi Municipal Council
(NDMC) will soon have 'smart signages' as part of the
'smart city' initiative.
"A total of 160 signages will be installed at around 40
locations. Specially-designed boards will be used for
the purpose, which will bear brief descriptions for the
sites, which usually have red sandstone for signages or
information boards."The detailed information will be
available on scanning the Quick Response (QR) codes
printed on the signages using smart phones," said OP
Mishra, Director (Projects), NDMC.The civic agency,
which is claiming that the present initiative is a first-ofits-kind one, has roped in the Indian National Trust for
Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for the project,
which will enable the visitors to use their smart phones
as a guide."We have given the Rs 40 lakh project to
INTACH, which will be responsible for the designing
and installation of the smart signages," Mishra said.
"A website is being developed which will have detailed
information about history, directions to the place and
souvenir shops, etc. About all heritage sites or
monuments in the NDMC area. Whenever a visitor
scans the QR code, he or she will be directed to the said
website," he added.
Now, free legal advice, training
at DU's legal aid clinics
Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir, which was under Governor's rule
for 49 days due to political deadlock, will get a new
government on Sunday as PDP chief Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed will take oath as the chief minister with support
from the BJP.Along with 79-year-old Sayeed, PDP's 13
and BJP's 12 MLAs will also be administered oath of
office by Governor NN Vohra at Zorawar Singh
Auditorium in Jammu University.Moreover, BJP's
Nirmal Singh will be taking oath as deputy chief minister
of the state.Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and senior BJP leaders LK
Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will be present during
the ceremony.Former chief minister Omar Abdullah has
already vacated the Wazarat Road residence in Jammu
which is likely to be taken over by PDP patron Mufti
Muhammad Sayeed.The strength of the alliance
government, which has been termed as a meeting of
"North Pole and South Pole" by Sayeed, is expected to be
25 with 12 PDP MLAs set to take oath along with the
Chief Minister and 11 drawn from BJP whose 11 MLAs,
including Nirmal Singh tipped to be Deputy Chief
Minister.Separatist-turned politician and leader of
People's Conference Sajjad Lone is also likely to be part
of the coalition government.
New Delhi
To extend free advice on questions
of law and offer consultations on
matters like property rights, Delhi
University is hosting legal aid
clinics which will not be restricted
only to the varsity fraternity but
open to all.
The clinics, which will also impart
para-legal training to DU students
and teachers, have been set up in
association with the Delhi State
Legal Services Authority (DSLSA)
at DU's Gandhi Bhawan and
Campus Law Centre."DSLSA has
deputed an advocate to visit the
clinics every Friday between 3 PM
to 5 PM and take the queries of
visitors. The clinics are not
restricted just to the DU fraternity
but are open to all," Nisha Tyagi,
Deputy Dean (Academics), Gandhi
Bhawan, told PTI.
"When it comes to law, even the
literate are illiterate as to the legal
nitty-gritty. There are so many issues
like property rights, harassment
laws, domestic violence, etc., which
a common man wishes to know
about, but finds law books too heavy
a dose," Tyagi said.With a view to
providing legal aid and training to
people, DSLSA has set up several
such clinics in the past, including in
jails. These clinics are manned by a
senior professor, legal aid counsels
and a team of para-legal
volunteers.The counsels render
appropriate advice to those
approaching the clinics and maintain
proper record of the cases. The
CM
KY
clinics also refer appropriate cases
to DSLSA for legal aid.
Advocate RK Bachchan, who visits
the DU legal aid clinic, said, "I was
surprised to see a greater number of
girls visiting the clinic. They have
queries pertaining to eve- teasing,
dowry prohibition, property
inheritance, domestic violence,
etc."I discuss with them details of
the available provisions, their rights
and the procedures to be followed.
Some times, people come with
certain cases and don't have enough
means to pursue it in court. I then
forward their appeals to DSLSA
where a panel takes a call and a
select few are offered free legal
counsels," he said.
The legal aid clinics are not just
counselling hot-spotsbut the varsity
CM
KY
The work for the project is already underway and the
signages are likely to be installed by March 15. Till the
time the website is ready, the signages will be linked with
the INTACH website."To begin with, we are linking the
QR codes with our website as we already have all the
information about heritage sites and monuments in
Delhi," said AGK Menon, head of INTACH's Delhi
chapter."We have created a specific design for the
signages, which has been approved by NDMC. Much like
the landscape within which the monument is located, an
Integrated Signage System, too, gives the heritage site an
identity and character," he said.INTACH, in association
with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), had earlier
carried out the designing, fabrication and installation of
an Integrated Signage System at 15 ASI-protected sites in
Delhi."The main objective of signage is clarity of
communication in order to provide the visitors easy
access to monuments and sites and the facilities provided.
It will be interesting and helpful for them to know about
the heritage, its context and the rules and regulations to be
followed during a visit to a place of interest," Menon
said."We have designed the signages for few sites such as
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Gandhi Smriti, Dominion
Columns, Bada Jain Mandir and Freemasons Lodge,
among others. The designs have been approved by
NMDC and the installation is in progress," he said.
has also decided to offer paralegal training to its students and
teachers."The consultation
sessions have drawn good
response and, hence, we have
designed a certificate course in
consultation with DSLSA for
para-legal training," Tyagi
said.The course, open to
students and teachers
associated with various
colleges and departments of
DU, will be of 12 hours
duration and run through a
week in March."There is no fee
for the course and the number of
beneficiaries are not limited,
but prior registrations will be
mandatory. The applications
will have to be routed through
department heads or college
principals before March 9,"
added Tyagi.Some of the
topics covered under the
course are the POCSO Act,
child labour, trafficking,
fundamental rights and duties
enshrined under the
Constitution of India,
hierarchy of civil and criminal
courts in India, traffic rules
and regulations, legal aid
m e c h a n i s m f o r u n d e rprivileged sections, sexual
harassment at workplace, etc.
For students, however, it is
not a matter of earning a
certificate as they said they
are impressed with the idea of
pursuing an out-of-the box
module.
"Legal terms are usually all
jargon and beyond our
understanding. It might not be
that I would like to fight a case
but it is always beneficial to
know what are the provisions
available," said Ritika Bhalla,
a Political Science student at
PGDAV college.
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Business
Business
BHUBANESWAR
News
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Petrol prices hiked
by Rs 3.18 per litre,
diesel by Rs 3.09
New Delhi
Petrol price was on Saturday hiked by Rs 3.18 per litre
and diesel by Rs 3.09, the second increase in rates this
month on rising international oil rates.
The increase is effective from Saturday midnight. A litre
of petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 60.49 from Sunday as
against Rs 57.31 currently while diesel will cost Rs 49.71
per litre as against Rs 46.62 at present, oil companies
announced here on Saturday. Prior to the increases this
month, petrol price had been cut on ten occasions since
August 2014 and diesel six times since October 2014.
Cumulatively, petrol price had been cut by Rs 17.11 per
litre in ten reductions since August and diesel by Rs
12.96 a litre since its deregulation in October.
This trend was reversed when rates were raised on
February 16. "Prices of petrol and diesel were last
revised upwards with effect from February 16 by Rs 0.82
per litre and Rs 0.61 a litre respectively (including state
levies at Delhi)... Since the above price revision, there
has been further steep increase in international prices of
both petrol and diesel," Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said in a
statement. Also, the slight depreciation in rupee-dollar
exchange rate together with firming international rates
warrant increase in retail selling price of petrol and
diesel, it said.
Fuel prices would have been lower but for four
consecutive excise duty hikes since November totalling
Rs 7.75 a litre on petrol and Rs 7.50 on diesel.
"The movement of prices in international oil market and
INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be closely
monitored and developing trends of the market will be
reflected in future price changes," the IOC statement
said.
Petrol price was Saturday
hiked by Rs 3.18 per litre and
diesel by Rs 3.09, the second
increase in rates this month on
rising international oil rates.
The increase is effective from
midnight tonight.A litre of
petrol in Delhi will cost Rs
60.49 from Sunday as against
Rs 57.31 currently while
diesel will cost Rs 49.71 per
litre as against Rs 46.62 at
present, oil companies
announced here tday.
Prior to the increases this
month, petrol price had been
cut on ten occasions since
August 2014 and diesel six
times since October
2014.Cumulatively, petrol price had
been cut by Rs 17.11 per litre in ten
reductions since August and diesel by Rs
12.96 a litre since its deregulation in
October.This trend was reversed when
rates were raised on February 16."Prices
of petrol and diesel were last revised
upwards with effect from February 16 by
Rs 0.82 per litre and Rs 0.61 a litre
respectively (including state levies at
Delhi)... Since the above price
revision, there has been further steep
increase in international prices of both
petrol and diesel," Indian Oil Corp
(IOC) said in a statement.Also, the
slight depreciation in rupee-dollar
exchange rate together with firming
international rates warrant increase in
retail selling price of petrol and diesel,
it said.Fuel prices would have been
lower but for four consecutive excise
duty hikes since November totalling Rs
7.75 a litre on petrol and Rs 7.50 on
diesel."The movement of prices in
international oil market and INR-USD
exchange rate shall continue to be
closely monitored and developing trends
of the market will be reflected in future
price changes," the IOC statement said.
Budget 2015: One-time chance on
black money or 10 yrs in jail
NEW DELHI
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The FM's proposal to launch a revised gold
monetization scheme is expected to increase the supply
of gold to the jewellery industry and also for
investment. For, through this scheme, banks can
channelize gold held by households to the industry. At
the same time, it will not curb demand for gold through
steps like higher import duty and other forms.
The idea behind the scheme is similar to one that was
launched by Turkey through which it channelized about
250 tonnes of gold, worth about Rs 67,000 crore, in
three years.
"The monetization scheme will drive orderly recycling
and enhance transparency, benefiting millions of
households and the macro economy, as it has the
potential to translate gold savings into economic
investments," said Somasundaram PR, MD, India,
World Gold Council.
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Petrol, diesel prices hiked
by over Rs 3/litre each
NEW DELHI
Budget 2015: Gold bond
to yield Turkish delight
for Indian households
P-4
Tuesday , March 0 3 2015
Manufacturing
hubs to power
‘Act East’ policy
NEW DELHI
As a part of its 'Act East Policy' initiative, the
government sought to enforce India's
position in Southeast Asia with the
announcement that it will facilitate Indian
private sector investments into CLMV
countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and
Vietnam) through a project development
company. While presenting the annual
budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the
company will set up manufacturing hubs in
the four countries. The commerce ministry
had earlier sought a corpus of Rs 100 crore to
provide an impetus to India's initiative to set
up projects overseas, mainly in CLMV
countries, all important Asean members.
READ ALSO: Transfer pricing regulations
eased, to help companies "The 'Act East'
policy of the government of India endeavours
to cultivate extensive economic and strategic
relations in Southeast Asia," Jaitley said. "In
order to catalyze investments from the Indian
private sector in this region, a project
development company will, through separate
special purpose vehicles (SPVs), set up
manufacturing hubs in CMLV countries,
namely Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and
Vietnam," he added. READ ALSO: Mere
presence of fund managers won't trigger tax
incidence While India's 'Look East Policy'
was launched in 1992 by then PM Narasimha
Rao, the NDA government led by PM
Narendra Modi sought to prioritize it further
by calling it 'Act East' after it came to power
last year. With China undertaking
infrastructure projects at strategic locations
in South Asia and simultaneously increasing
its naval presence in the Indian Ocean, India
too has been seeking closer ties with several
of China's neighbours, particularly Vietnam
with which New Delhi now has growing
defence and security relations. "A new era of
economic development, industrialization and
trade has begun in India. Externally, India's
'Look East Policy' has become 'Act East
Policy'," Modi said at the India-Asean
summit last year. At the East Asia summit in
Myanmar, he said his government had moved
with a great sense of priority and speed to turn
India's 'Look East Policy' into 'Act East
Policy'.
The government is working on a plan to
provide a one-time opportunity to those
who have black money abroad to pay
taxes and repatriate their stash even as
finance minister Arun Jaitley unveiled a
raft of stringent measures in the Budget
to crack down on offenders. He is likely
to announce this facility when he
introduces a comprehensive legislation
to curb black money in this session of
Parliament. The severity of
punishments proposed may prompt
those with unaccounted money to come
clean. Inadequate disclosure or evasion
related to foreign assets will be
punishable by jail terms up to 10 years.
Violation of the Foreign Exchange
Management Act may result in
imprisonment up to five years. In
addition to jail time, penalty will be
levied at 300% of the tax due for
concealing income and assets. Black
money in foreign accounts will be noncompoundable and offenders will not be
permitted to approach the
Settlement Commission. "Tracking
down and bringing back the wealth
which legitimately belongs to the
country is our abiding
commitment," Jaitley said. His
tough talk will give help blunt
criticism that the government has
been dragging its feet on the issue of
black money. A separate bill will be
brought to deal with domestic black
money, primarily through benami
transactions in real estate. It will
allow for confiscation of benami
property and provide for prosecution,
blocking a major avenue for
generation of black money.
Budget 2015: Mere
presence of fund
managers won’t
trigger tax incidence
The mere presence of a fund manager in India,
would not create a permanent establishment of the
offshore fund in India, according to the proposals of
the Finance Bill. In other words, the presence of the
fund manager in India solely, would not trigger a tax
incidence in India for the offshore fund. The main
purpose of this proposal, as stated by the Finance
Minister was to encourage offshore fund managers
to relocate to India.
However, on reading the fine print, it appears that
the proposal is restrictive and may not see a great
number of fund managers willing to relocate home.
The presence of the fund manager is proposed not to
result in a taxable presence for the fund in very
constrained circumstances. First, the fund has to be
a tax resident of a treaty country. Next, it has to be
'broad based' and of a particular size (it needs a
corpus of more than Rs. 100 crore). Thirdly, it needs
to be regulated in its home country. Fourthly, it has
to be a fund that does not make any investment in
India or control and manage any business in India or
from India. Fiftly, the remuneration to the fund
manager in India has to be at least at arm's length (it
can be more but cannot be less). The investment
manager also has to be regulated by the SEBI, he
cannot be an employee of the fund or of a connected
person of the fund. He should be acting in the
ordinary course of his business. He alongwith his
connected persons should also not be entitled to
more than 20 percent of the profits that the fund
makes. To add to this, the fund has to furnish within
90 days of the end of the financial year, a statement
to the tax authorities in the prescribed.
Will FM’s ‘inflation control’
target soften Rajan’s roar?
Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan may end up
with a significantly reduced role following implementation of
some of the measures announced in the Union Budget.
Setting of a 6% inflation target, proposal to create a monetary
policy committee and the creation of a public debt management
agency are all steps that will mean amendment to laws which
hitherto granted a lot of discretionary power to RBI. Finance
minister Arun Jaitley said capital account controls is a policy,
rather than a regulatory matter.
He said the Foreign Exchange Management Act would also be
amended to clearly provide for the government to exercise power
in respect of control on capital flows, although it would consult
with RBI. Following a disconnect between the government and
the central bank on lowering interest rates, Rajan had suggested
that instead of discretion-based targeting of inflation, Parliament
could set an inflation target for the central bank.
A panel constituted by RBI had suggested that interest rate
decisions could be taken by a monetary policy committee similar
to the US Federal Reserves Fed Open Market Committee. Rajan
had reacted strongly to the panel's recommendations describing
some of its suggestions as "somewhat schizophrenic".
"There is no discussion of the empirical magnitude of the
synergies gained or synergies lost, which makes the
recommendations seem faddish and impressionistic rather than
based on deep analysis," he had said. However, Jaitley sounded
intent on it in his speech, saying "We have concluded a Monetary
Policy Framework Agreement with the RBI, as I had
promised...This Framework clearly states the objective of
keeping inflation below 6%. We will move to amend the RBI Act
this year, to provide for a Monetary Policy Committee."
Budget 2015: BJP hails budget,
opposition calls it pro-rich
New Delhi
The NDA government Saturday hailed the
Union Budget 2015-16 with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi calling it "progressive and
practical" while the opposition slammed it
for being "pro-rich".Modi, commenting on
the budget presented by Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley, said it had a "clear vision"."It is
a budget that is progressive, positive,
practical, pragmatic and prudent," he
tweeted.
Modi said the budget has "distinct focus on
farmers, youth, poor, neo-middle class and
the aam nagrik (common man). It delivers on
growth, equity and job creation" while also
being "investment-friendly and removes all
doubts on tax issues".Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leaders joined Modi in appreciating the
budget, and Home Minister Rajnath Singh
called it "pro-farmer, pro-poor, and prounemployed youth budget that will make
India a modern nation".Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar said he would give the
budget "9.5 marks out of 10".he opposition
parties, however, slammed the budget for
being pro-rich.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, an
eminent economist, Saturday criticised
Jaitley`s budget, saying it has good intentions
but no adequate roadmap.Speaking to a news
channel, Manmohan Singh, who was prime
minister of the Congress-led UPA government
for 10 years, said the NDA government has not
been able to capitalise on the advantages, like
low crude prices and of other commodities."I
had hoped that he would use this lucky phase to
give a real big boost to stabilise the economy,
strengthen the macroeconomic framework...
with all the nitpicking, the net tax revenue will
increase by only Rs.15,000 crore. What is
Rs.15,000 crores in a budget which runs into
Rs.15-16 lakh crores?" he said.
Former finance minister and senior Congress
leader P. Chidambaram slammed the budget as
against the poor with "cruel cuts" in allocations
for weaker sections but favouring
corporates.Trinamool Congress leader Derek
O`Brien spoke on similar lines."This
budget is not for the people, not for the
poor and not for the middle class. Lots of
talk on giving more to the states, but this is
untrue. Last year, gross output to states
was 61.88 percent, this year it is 62," he
said.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,
of the Janata Dal-United, said there was
nothing specific for poor and common
people in the budget.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist
(CPI-M) denounced the union budget as
pro-rich and said it will only widen "the
already large income and wealth
inequalities" in the country."This budget,
while providing a rich bonanza for the rich
- foreign and domestic corporates ensures further widening of the already
large income and wealth inequalities," it
said in a statement."So much for the
slogan of `achhe din aanewale hein`," the
CPI-M said.Bahujan Samaj Party chief
Mayawati said the budget is "impractical"
and "only for corporates and not for the
poor".
Budget 201A5: Power of five
will light up energy sector
NEW DELHI
tonne to Rs 200 for funding
investment in renewable
It's plug-and-play time on a green
sources and clean coal
turf for the power sector. Five
technology for power plants
showcase projects, higher pollution
bolsters India's claim that it
tax on coal and a big push to
is serious about reducing
renewable energy sources mark the
greenhouse gas emissions,
government's formula for powering
but at its own pace. However,
economic growth.
some unanswered questions
The formula fits with the
remain.
government's promise to guarantee
KPMG's Manish Agarwal
24x7 power supply in the next few
doubts whether the power
years. The five new ultra-mega
sector has the financial
power projects — with all
capacity to invest in the five
clearances and fuel allocations
new showcase projects
ready before being bid out — create
totalling 20,000MW. This
a captive market for a billion-tonne
doubt is natural, given that
coal production in the next few
the financial sector is
y e a r s . A n d t h e t a r g e t o f scheduled for December, on the
stressed over 16,000MW
1,75,000MW renewable energy roadmap to cut its carbon Find all budget-related stories gasfired generation capacity
hereThe proposed doubling of idling for want of fuel. The
capacity by 2022 would help India footprint.
green cess on coal from Rs 100 per
shine at the Paris climate talks,
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mode of drawdown of coal
cess so far accumulated
and expected to be
mopped up has not been
described.READ
ALSO:Union Budget
2015: Highlights
Solar power is to have the
lion's share of the
renewable energy target at
1,00,000MW, followed by
60,000MW of wind
e n e r g y, 1 0 , 0 0 0 M W
biomass and 5,000MW of
small hydro projects of up
to 25MW each. Solar
power generation capacity
right now stands at
3,000MW, accounting for
6.5% of the electricity
mix. Power minister
Piyush Goyal has said that
India's renewable energy
sector plans to attract $200
billion in investments as
many domestic and
international firms have
shown interest in tapping
the potential of green
power.
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Tuesday , March 03 2015
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BHUBANESWAR
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P-5
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World
News
News box
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Rwanda urged to take
action against over
BBC genocide
documentary
Kigali
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Rwandan investigators on Saturday urged the
government to take action against the BBC and ban its
radio programmes from the country`s airwaves over a
controversial documentary questioning official versions
of the 1994 genocide. The probe led by the country`s
former top prosecutor Martin Ngoga found the British
broadcaster broke Rwandan law on genocide denial in its
report on the massacres that left around 800,000
dead.The BBC has rejected all the accusations against it.
"The BBC, in general abused press freedom and free
speech, violated its own editorial guidelines (and)
transgressed journalistic standards," Ngoga said.
Rwanda should "initiate criminal and civil process to deal
with identified offences", he added. The focus of the
probe was the programme "Rwanda, The Untold Story"
which was broadcast on the BBC`s second television
channel, BBC2, in October 2014 and highlighted
criticism over Rwandan president Paul Kagame`s alleged
role in events.The programme revived allegations that his
Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) -- then a rebel group, now
the ruling political party -- was behind downing a plane
carrying the country`s then Hutu president that triggered
the genocide against the primarily Tutsi victims. The
Ngoga-led probe also recommended the country
terminate the agreement that allows the BBC to broadcast
on Rwanda`s airwaves. BBC radio services in the local
Kinyarwanda language have been blocked since the
programme was broadcast.If the BBC wants to resume
broadcasting in Rwanda it must promise better conduct,
Ngoga said. "The government should require the BBC to
commit to adhering to not only agreed professional and
legal principles, but also in practice, in the letter and the
spirit of the agreement," he added.Advocacy group
Reporters Without Borders termed the recommendations
"disproportionate" and questioned why radio broadcasts
were cut off when the documentary was broadcast on
television.The head of Rwanda`s Utilities Regulatory
Authority (RURA) said regulators would carefully study
the results of the probe before deciding the best course of
action. Prominent international academics, experts and
diplomats have also accused the BBC of being
"recklessly irresponsible" by allegedly promoting a
revisionist account of the genocide in the documentary,
notably by questioning the number of Tutsis who were
killed.The BBC, one of the country`s mst popular
broadcasters, has said previously that the programme in
"no way" sought "to downplay or conceal the horrifying
events of 1994" and subsequent events.
Rand Paul wins US
conservative
conference straw poll
Washington
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US conservatives gathering at their annual conference
Saturday chose Republican Senator Rand Paul as their
top pick for president, for the third year in a row.Scott
Walker came in a strong second place at the Conservative
Political Action Conference straw poll, a reflection of the
Wisconsin governor`s growing popularity among the
party`s most ardent Tea Party conservatives ahead of the
2016 elections.
The libertarian-leaning Paul, son of former congressman
and presidential candidate Ron Paul, led CPAC`s field of
17 hopefuls with 25.7 percent, compared to Walker`s
21.4 percent.Senator Ted Cruz was third at 11.5 percent,
barely edging Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who has
emerged as a powerful conservative voice in recent
years, with 11.4 percent.Cruz raised hackles in his own
party in recent years when he helped push the US
government into shutdown over budget fights, and for
opposing Republican leadership on a series of issues.
In fifth was former governor Jeb Bush, the son and
brother of presidents seen as the presumed Republican
presidential frontrunner.But the likely center-right
cadidate received a mixed reception, including heckles,
when he courted CPAC`s conservative attendees
Friday.New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose
approval ratings have suffered a dramatic slide in recent
months, placed a dismal 10th with 2.8 percent.
A total of 3,007 votes were cast between Wednesday and
Friday at CPAC, according to a tally by The Washington
Times, which helped organize the poll.The vote is
watched closely, not necessarily as a prediction of
exactly who will emerge as the Republican presidential
nominee, but as a barometer of how the party`s core
conservatives see those who might end up on the ballot.
Chile's president meets with
ailing teen who asked to die
Santiago (Chile)
Chile's president went to a hospital to meet with a 14year-old girl who shocked the country by going on
YouTube to plead for the leader to let doctors
euthanize her because she is tired of her struggle with
cystic fibrosis.The government quickly said no after
the video began spreading on social media
Thursday.A government statement yesterday said
President Michelle Bachelet talked with Valentina
Maureira and her father for more than an hour at the
Catholic University hospital in the capital.Officials
did not release any information on what was said. But
the government provided photographs of the visit,
including one of Valentina taking a selfie with the
president, who is also a pediatrician.Valentina
grabbed attention after posting on YouTube a video
that appeared to have been shot from a hospital bed."I
urgently request to speak to the president because I'm
tired of living with this illness," said the teenager,
whose older brother died at age 6 from the same
disease."I want her approval so I can get a shot that
will make me sleep forever."Cystic fibrosis damages
multiple organs, especially the lungs, by causing
recurrent infections that damage tissue.Valentina
said she was frustrated by the lack of options and by
how the disease had hurt her quality of life.On
Thursday, presidential spokesman Alvaro Elizalde
expressed sympathy for Valentina's plight, but
stressed that Chilean law does not allow euthanasia.
Tuesday , March 03 2015
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IOC defends Rio legacy amid green protests
Rio de Janeiro
Ecological protests on Saturday
dogged the final day of an
International Olympic
Committee executive board
meeting in Rio as green
campaigners slated the choice of
a nature reserve to hold the golf
event next year.
"IOC go home!" protesters yelled
at IOC president Thomas Bach as
he exited the plush hotel hosting
the meeting just off the iconic
Copacabana beach.
"Do you want to talk?" responded
Bach, who earlier insisted the
Games would provide a lasting
legacy.
Protesters greeted the former
fencing champion with a storm of
boos and banners reading
"ecological holocaust", "Thomas
Bach is a nature killer" and "The
city is not for sale."IOC
communications head ark Adams
said he had met with the group for
half an hour and invited them to
submit written grievances.Bach
also insisted: "We are ready for a
dialogue with everybody."While
the board meeting was still
going on ahead of a closing
news conference, several
protesters from the "Golf for
Whom" environmental
pressure group tried to
gatecrash the event.
One woman yelled "what kind
of legacy will we get from these
Games? They are destroying the
environment."
The woman, aged around 50,
said security staff had no right
to prevent her entering the hotel
lobby and furiously slapped one
twice around the
She also claimed organizers
"are cutting down 100-year-old
trees -- that`s a crime" and
blasted city authorities for tardy
attemps to clear up pollution in
Guanabara Bay which will host
the sailing events, and the city`s
long-neglected waterways in
genera.
Other protesters said they
represented protest groups
"Occupy Golf" and "Occupy
Marina da Gloria", the marina
which will host the sailing.
The choice of the golf venue has
sparked bitter controversy in
Rio, as have reported
concessions to the
developers who are building
more than 100 luxury
apartments nearby.Bach
recalled he had worked on a
previous Rio Olympic bid
more than a decade ago,
saying that having now made
a successful bid, "thanks to
the Games, progress has
already been made if not yet
sufficient".
Until it was awarded next
year`s showpiece in 2009,
"Rio did not get the Games
and nothing happened" on
pollution. "It got worse,"
Bach said.He added Rio
organizers had pledged they
would meet a target of
treating 80 percent of the raw
sewage which flows into the
Bay, despite local authorities
saying it is impossible
without billions more
investment.Bach insisted
although muc work remained
and the timetable was tight
for the Games of August 5-21
of next year, the award to Rio
of South America`s first ever
Olympiad was "clear
evidence what a positive
legacy these Games are
leaving in the infrastructure,
the social and in the
environmental areas".
Rio is spending some $14
billion for the Olympics -private and public money
combined -- some $2 billion
more than for last year`s
World Cup in 12 cities.
But the preparations have
been dogged by the pollution
debate as well as the fact that
the economy fell into
recession last year on the back
of a fourth straight year of
pallid growth.
The loal currency, the real, is
also on the slide with its value
against the dollar falling by
around a third in recent
months.
But Bach, who added that
preparations were now
entering a "very important
time", said he had held
productive midweek talks
with President Dilma
Rousseff and both she and her
cabinet had said they were
IS to release 29 Assyrian
Christians abducted in Syria
totally committed to
making the Games a
success.
He said the event would
leave "many positive
legacies", including wider
access to upgraded public
transport and said the
Games would be "maybe
the most inclusive ever"
with more than half of 7.5
million tickets costing less
than $30 while millions
could see the likes of
marathon and rowing action
for free.
"Literally millions of
Brazilians will have free
access to share the Olympic
spirit at first hand," Bach
concluded.
This week`s IOC meeting
followed an eighth visit to
Rio by the body`s
coordination commission,
which praised what it
termed clear signs of
progress despite the
ongoing environmental
concerns.
Burundi`s
government calls
anti-opposition
rally `for peace`
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Damascus
Bujumbura
The 29 Assyrian Christians who were
kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) will
soon be released. These Christianswer
part of the 220 members of the community
kidnapped by the IS on February 23 when
the group stormed the town of Tal Tamr,
nearly 700 km from capital Damascus, in
Syria`s al-Hasakah province. The
militants reportedly desecrated places of
worship, including churches and over 690
families were displaced in the attack.
According to the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights (SOHR), the Assyrian
Christian leaders have conducted talks
with the IS leadership through mediators
to secure the release of abducted members
of the community.So far, IS has not kidnapped Assyrians would be highly condemned the IS attack on Assyrian
executed any of the Assyrian Christians it subjected to trial in the IS court.
areas in al-Hasakah.
had abducted in Syria.The rest of the The Syrian foreign ministry Friday
Nuclear talks at crucial stage: Iran
Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif said on
Saturday that the nuclear talks with
the six world powers has entered a
crucial stage.Zarif made the
remarks at a joint press conference
with his visiting Italian counterpart
Paolo Gentiloni, saying that Iran
and the US held detailed and
fruitful bilateral talks in the Swiss
city of Geneva from February 21 to
23, Xinhua reported.He also said
his country and the P5+1 group,
including five permanent members
of UN Security Council plus
Germany, would make further
progress, particularly in lifting
sanctions against the Islamic
republic, in the upcoming round
of talks in Geneva next week.Iran
and the P5+1 group have made
"some serious progress" in
Geneva last Sunday, he said,
adding that a final agreement
would be reached in case the
negotiating sides agree on all
issues around Iran`s nuclear
programme.
For his part, Gentiloni voiced his
country`s support for the
diplomatic attempts to narrow
gaps over Iran`s nuclear issue and
hoped that a potential nuclear deal
between Iran and six world
powers would help enhance the
relations between Iran and Italy.It has
been over a year since Iran and the
world powers agreed to come back to
the negotiating table for Iranian
nuclear programme in 2013.Under an
interim deal between Iran and the
P5+1 inked in November, 2013, Iran
said it would suspend critical nuclear
activities in return for limited ease of
sanctions, with all sides seeking a
comprehensive deal.
After missing twice self-imposed
deadlines, the negotiators agreed in
November 2014 to extend the deadline
for another seven months and aimed to
reach a political framework deal by the
end of March.
`Jihadi John` contemplated
suicide in 2010: Report
CM
KY
Thousands of Burundians took part in a
government-backed rally "for peace"
Saturday, where speakers took aim at the
opposition, civil groups and the media,
accusing them of leading the country
towards war.The demonstration in the
capital Bujumbura was mirrored at rallies
organised by the authorities in other
towns, underlining the growing tension in
Burundi ahead of a presidential election in
June."We are here to denounce all those
who seek to bring us to war, all those who
want to organise popular uprisings,"
Bujumbura mayor Saidi Juma told the
crowd, reading a text prepared by the
government.Last month, vast crowds took
part in one of the largest demonstrations in
recent years after the release of a popular
journalist and government critic from
jail.Burundi, a small landlocked nation in
central Africa`s Great Lakes region,
emerged in 2006 from a 13-year civil war.
The political climate remains fractious C M
ahead of local, parliamentary and K Y
presidential polls.Rights groups have
warned of growing fears of the risk of
violence ahead of elections, with a string
of attacks including a five-day battle last
month between the army and rebels.
President Pierre Nkurunziza, in power
since 2005, is expected to run for a third
term in office despite opponents` claims
that a new mandate would violate
Burundi`s constitution.Xinhua.At least
19 people were killed in a suicide attack
on a bus station in Biu town of Nigeria`s
northeastern state of Borno Thursday, for
which Nigeria blamed Boko Haram. The
Islamist insurgency has killed thousands
and forced over one million people to flee
their homes.Ban was encouraged by
recent "positive steps" of regional
countries to fight the extremist group and
called on international partners to provide
support.The latest operatisecurity and to
local populations," said Ban in the
statement.
London
The London man believed to be
Islamic State executioner "Jihadi
John" told a journalist four years ago
that surveillance by British security
services had left him contemplating
s u i c i d e , i t e m e rg e d
Saturday.Mohammed Emwazi, named
by media and experts as the militant
thought to have beheaded at least five
Western hostages held by the IS group,
told the Mail on Sunday reporter that
he felt like a "dead man walking".A
British civil rights group that was in
contact with Emwazi, Cage, claims
that domestic spy agency MI5 had
been tracking him since at least 2009,
and blamed his radicalisation on their
"harassment".Prime Minister David
Cameron and a former head of foreign
spy agency MI6 strongly rejected the
idea, while London mayor Boris
Johnson accused Cage of an "apology
for terror".In an email to Mail on
Sunday reporter Robert Verkaik, dated
December 14, 2010, Emwazi
described how he sold his laptop to
someone he met online who he
subsequently came to believe was with
the security services.
"Sometimes I feel like I`m a dead man
walking, not fearing they may kill me.
Rather, fearing that one day, I`ll take as
many pills as I can that I can sleep
forever!! I just want to get away
from these people!!!" Emwazi
wrte.Emwazi was born in Kuwait
but moved to London when he was a
child and attended school and
university in the capital.The Daily
Telegraph reported this weekend
that he went to high school with two
other boys who went onto become
militants -- Choukri Ellekhlifi, who
was killed fighting in Syria, and
Mohamed Sakr, killed fighting in
Somalia.A spokeswoman for the
Department for Education said
Saturday that it had launched a
review into how Quintin Kynaston
school in north London dealt with
radicalisation "to seeif there are any
lessons we can learn".
It was also reported that Emwazi
had contacts with the men
responsible for failed attacks on
London`s public transport system in
2005, two weeks after suicide
bombings killed 52 people in the
capital.All the revelations add to
pressure on the security and
intelligence agencies to explain why
they did not act on their suspicions
about Emwazibefore he travelled to
Syria.
Cameron on Friday defended their
actions, saying they have to make
"incredibly difficult judgements,
and I think basically they make very
good judgements".
CM
KY
BHUBANESWAR
Sports
News
News box
box
Usain Bolt makes surprise
relay start to season
Kingston
Red card mix-up as Wayne Rooney
sends Manchester United third
London
World 100 and 200-metre record holder Usain Bolt made
a surprise 2015 season debut Saturday, running the
anchor leg in a 4x100 relay heat victory at the Gibson
Relays.Bolt appeared to run with ease as he took the
baton from world and Olympic 200m medallist Warren
Weir and brought home the victory for the Racers Lions
foursome in 39.26 seconds.Mario Forsythe ran the lead
leg while Michael Frater ran the second leg in the
preliminary heat at Jamaica`s National Stadium in
Kingston."For me this was a good run. It was a god blow
out in the early morning," Bolt said of his first race on
local soil in the past two years."I am looking forward to
the finals."The University of Technology ran the fastest
time of the day at 38.87 seconds to lead the finals
qualifiers.Bolt set world records of 9.58 seconds in the
100 and 19.19 in the 200 at Berlin in 2009 and also helped
Jamaica`s 4x100 relay to a world record.The eight-time
world champion is a reigning Olympic champion in the
100, 200 and 4x100 relay, having swept all three events at
the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.The 28-yearold sprint star had skipped the Camperdown Classic
earlier in February in what had been expected to be his
season opener.
ICC World Cup 2015:
Daniel Vettori `unsung
hero` for New Zealand
CM
KY
Auckland
CM
KY
Veteran slow-bowler Daniel Vettori was hailed on
Sunday as the "unsung hero" of New Zealand`s knifeedge one-wicket World Cup win over Australia for
applying the brakes on the four-time champions just
when they threatened a run rampage.The 36-year-old,
who made his one-day international debut way back in
1997, broke the half-century second wicket stand
between David Warner and Shane Watson before
tempting Steve Smith to edge a catch behind to Luke
Ronchi for just four in Auckland on Saturday.He finished
with two for 41 off his 10 overs -- having had two for 28
off nine -- to move to 298 ODI wickets.However,
Vettori`s efforts at Eden Park were overshadowed by
left-arm seamer Trent Boult`s five for 27 and the
explosive batting of skipper Brendon McCullum and
Kane Williamson, who hit the match-winning six.
"You`ve got guys who are good players of spin and they
like to attack spin," said New Zealand coach Mike
Hesson."He (Vettori) controlled his length, just got the
drift, occasionally got one to turn and got out two highquality players. He would probably be the unsung hero."
Boult also hailed Vettori`s performance."It definitely
started off with a hiss and roar on their (Australia`s)
part," Boult said. "Dan came in and did his thing and
really tied it up. Not just here, but the work he has done in
the past has been crucial to setting up games for us."A
Suarez leads Barcelona
to win, Bueno scores 4
for Rayo
Barcelona
Barcelona's 3-1 win at Granada from goals by Luis
Suarez and Lionel Messi was overshadowed by littleknown Alberto Bueno netting four goals in 16 minutes in
Rayo Vallecano's victory.Bueno struck four times from
the 23rd to the 38th minutes to lead Rayo's stunning 4-2
comeback win over Levante and send its fans at Vallecas
Stadium into raptures in a remarkable first half
yesterday.Suarez scored his third goal of the week before
setting up Messi as Barcelona kept the pressure on Real
Madrid at the top of the Spanish league
standings.Suarez, who scored twice in a 2-1 victory at
Manchester City on Tuesday, arguably had his best game
since joining Barcelona.He played a part in Barcelona's
first goal when Ivan Rakitic finished off his rebound in
the 25th.No Rayo player had ever scored four goals in
one game. In 1995, Deportivo La Coruna's Bebeto
scored five goals in a 5-0 thrashing of Almeria, the last
four coming in a seven-minute span."It felt like every
ball I touched was going in," Bueno said.Barcelona will
face Bueno's Rayo in the next round, and will do so
without Neymar after he picked up a fifth yellow
card.But first, Barcelona visits Villarreal on Wednesday
looking to book its place in the final of the Copa del Rey,
holding a 3-1 advantage heading into the second leg of
their semifinal.Granada, which was left in second-to-last
place just ahead of Levante in the relegation zone, held
its own in the first half at Los Carmenes
Stadium.Barcelona, however, got a key save from
Claudio Bravo to stave Javi Marquez's goal-bound strike
shortly before halftime, and Rakitic and Suarez provided
enough firepower to secure the three points.Messi and
Neymar were held in check by Granada's defense until
late, leaving Suarez to lead the Malaga remained in
seventh place after an entertaining 3-2 win over visitor
Getafe, which was coached by interim manager Pablo
Franco while the club seeks a third coach this season
following Quique Sanchez Flores' unexpected
resignation.Malaga's Juanmi Jimenez, Sergi Darder and
Ricardo Horta all scored attractive goals to better Alvaro
Vazquez's brace for Getafe.Deportivo drew 0-0 at nineman Almeria after Thievy Bifouma and Michel Macedo
were both booked twice. He then worked a one-two
combination with Rakitic to double the lead in the 48th.
Five minutes later, Granada's Fran Rico converted a
penalty, but Rakitic played Suarez through for him to
generously pass to Messi in the 70th.Suarez's goal was
his 10th in 24 appearances, after he started the season
late while completing a four-month ban for biting an
Italy defender at the World Cup."He has been playing at
a very high level," Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said of
Suarez.
A moment of red card confusion helped
Wayne Rooney return Manchester
United to winning ways with a brace in a
2-0 Premier League victory over
Sunderland on Saturday.Beaten 2-1 at
Swansea City last weekend, Louis van
Gaal`s United were frustrated by
Sunderland until the 64th minute at Old
Trafford, when Radamel Falcao won a
penalty after being brought down in the
visitors` box.John O`Shea appeared to be
the culprit, but referee Roger East elected
to send off Wes Brown -- like O`Shea, a
former United player -- despite protests
from Sunderland`s players that he had
got the wrong man.
Rooney planted the penalty into the
bottom-left corner and then added a
second goal to take United up to third
place in the table, two points above
Arsenal, who host Everton on Sunday.
Asked about the red card mix-up, United
manager Louis van Gaal told a television
reporter: "That`s a mistake. You make
mistakes as well, and so do I. It can
happen."He added: "We are on ou way
and we have been in the top four for more
than 10 or 12 weeks. I think we are a
stable team in the top four. I hope at the
end of the season, we are still there."
Professional Game Match Officials
Limited, the body that manages Premier
League referees, later released a
statement explaining that East felt that
Brown had also fouled Falcao and was
more deserving of a red card.
Van Gaal made five changes to his starting
XI, with Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans,
Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and
Falcao brought in as the Dutchman
switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation with
Rooney at number 10.Sunderland had
enjoyed their two previous visits to Old
Trafford, beating United in a League Cup
penalty shootout and then winning 1-0 in
the league last May, and they started
brightly.
United goalkeeper David de Gea had to
turn a low shot from Connor Wickham
around the post, while Jermain Defoe
ATP Argentina Open: Rafael
Nadal advances to final
fired over the bar.
United began to make inroads at the other end,
with Young shooting over and then seeing a shot
deflected onto the bar by O`Shea, before
Sebastian Larsson cleared off the line from
Marcos Rojo.But the home side`s play lacked
penetration and Van Gaal elected to withdraw
the disappointing Angel di Maria at half-time,
with Adnan Januzaj coming on.Then came the
penalty incident, with Falcao brilliantly
bringing down a right-wing cross and darting
away from O`Shea and Brown. O`Shea hauled
the Colombian back, but it was an incredulous
Brown who was shown the red card.Rooney`s
Reigning French Open champion Rafael Nadal reached his
first final of the year by rolling over Carlos Berlocq 7-6 (9/7),
6-2 Saturday at the ATP Argentina Open.The 28-year-old
Spanish left-hander next faces Agentina`s Juan Monaco in
Sunday`s final. where Nadal will be trying to equal
Guillermo Vilas` all-time record of 46 titles on clay.cit to win,
then clinched the match when Berlocq hammered a forehand
long on the first match point.Earlier in the day, Monaco beat
Spain`s Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 to book his spot
in the final.Monaco reached his 20th career ATP final and is
competing in his third final on home soil.Nadal is playing in
this event for the first time in 10 years, when he reached the
quarter finals. He is 5-1 lifetime against Monaco.The
Mallorcan native is trying capture his first title since claiming
a ninth French Open crown in June.Nadal breezed into semifinals by defeating Facundo Arguello 6-4, 6-0 and Federico
Delbonis 6-1, 6-1. He received a bye in the first round.
The Nadal-Monaco matchup means the Argentina Open will
be won by an Argentine or Spaniard for the 13th consecutive
year. Since 2003, the champion has come from one of the two
countries, including the past six by Spain.
goal saw him end an eight-game scoring drought in
the league and he claimed a second in the 84th
minute -- his 10th goal of the campaign -- by
heading in after Januzaj`s shot was parried by Costl
Pantilimon.
Southampton lost further ground in the battle for
Champions League qualification after sinking to a
second successive defeat at West Bromwich
Albion.Saido Berahino scored the only goal in the
first minute, slamming home leftfooted when Chris Brunt`s free-kick
was partially cleared by Maya
Yoshida, but was later forced off by
injury."The total performance of the
team in quality is a little bit low from
the beginning of the season, but we
have to go and believe in the next
win," said Southampton manager
Ronald Koeman.
Southampton trail fourth-place
Arsenal by two points and could be
overtaken by Liverpool -- who won 20 at Southampton last weekend -- if
Brendan Rodgers`s side win at home
to second-place Manchester City on
Sunday.
Leaders Chelsea are not in league
action this weekend as they play
Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday`s
League Cup final.Out-of-form West
Ham United have now gone five
matches without victory after losing 31 at home to London rivals Crystal
Palace, who made club history with a
fifth successive away win in all
competitions.
Glenn Murray scored two headers for Palace and
was then sent off for two bookable offences, with
Scott Dann also on target for Palace and Enner
Valencia replying for West Ham.
Tim Sherwood`s wait for his first points as Aston
Villa manager continued as his second-bottom side
lost 1-0 at Newcastle United, with Papiss Cisse
scoring a 37th-minute winner.
Burnley also remain in the bottom three after a
Kieran Trippier own goal gave Swansea City a 1-0
win at Turf Moor, while a Peter Crouch header
earned Stoke City a 1-0 victory at home to Hull
City.
Cricket World Cup: Flawless
India overpower UAE for third
win in row, qualify for quarters
Perth
Buenos Aires
P-7
Tuesday , March 03 2015
India on Saturday virtually assured
themselves of a quarterfinal berth
in the cricket World Cup after
spanking minnows UAE by nine
wickets, recording their third
successive win with yet another
flawless display, here today.After
the bowlers led by off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin (4/25)
bundled out UAE for a paltry 102
in only 31.3 overs, the batsmen
made short work of the target
knocking off the required runs in
only 18.5 overs in a completely
lop-sided Pool B contest.India thus
maintained their grip on the top
spot in the league table with three
wins from as many matches which
took their points tally to six. With
three matches against West Indies,
Zimbabwe and Ireland left, Dhoni
and his boys, are well on course of
topping the group.Shikhar
Dhawan (14) tarted off well with
three sweetly-timed boundaries
before Rohan Mustafa at gully
pulled off a one-handed stunner to
send him back. The pacer was
Mohammed Naveed.AS IT
H A P P E N E D F U L L
COVERAGEPOINTS
TA B L E S C H E D U L E R o h i t
Sharma hit a fluent unbeaten 57 off
55 deliveries with the help of 10
fours and a six to notch up a
significant score before the West
Indies game.inst UAE may not be
the best indicator of anyone's
current form, but some of Rohit's
silken strokes would certainly keep
the Caribbean
bowlers worried
before the duel on March 6.Two
strokes that stand out were cover
drives off rival captain Mohammed
Tauqir's off-spin. The first was hit
through extra cover and the long-off
fielder failed to stop it. The second
off the very next delivery was hit
finer and the result was same. Even
when Rohit played the pull shot, it
seemed as if he was indulging in
touchplay rather use sheer muscle.
Virat Kohli (33 not out) had a calm
day in office. Despite that he added
75 runs for the unbroken second
wicket with Rohit in 12.2 overs.The
winning boundary was hit by Rohit
and the celebrations were
predictably muted as the win against
UAE was taken for granted.Earlier,
India's bowling unit continued to
impress as they skittled out a belowpar UAE on a pitch that was good for
batting.Opting to bat at the WACA,
the UAE batsmen couldn't replicate
their spirited performance in the two
previous games as Ashwin and Co.
Performed like a well-oiled machine,
maintaining their stranglehold on the
opposition.Ashwin with splendid
career-best figures of 4/15 in 6.3
overs, was the pick of the bowlers but
he also got good support from the
likes of Umesh Yadav (2/15),
comeback man Bhuvneshwar Kumar
(1/19), find of the season Mohit
Sharma (1/16) and Ravindra Jadeja
(2/23), who kept the pressure from
the other end.While the WACA
wicket is known for its pace and
bounce, Dhoni decimated the
opposition with his slow bowlers
as the minnows didn't have an iota
of idea about Ashwin's deliveries.
Neither could they judge the
straighter ones nor did they have
the technique to play the
conventional off-break. And
"doosra" was something that they
simply couldn't read.The match
virtually turned into a "No Show"
within the first 20 overs when UAE
were reduced to 54 for six and had
little chance of making a comeback
into the game.Some of the shots
that the UAE batsmen played were
testimony as to why ICC is making
it a 10-team tournament from the
next edition.It was Bhuvneshwar,
who started the slide with opener
CM
Amjad Ali (4) failing to execute KaY
hook shot as Dhoni took an easy
catch. His opening partner Andri
Berenger also fell while attempting
the same shot as the Yadav delivery
was too quick for him and Dhoni
took another easy catch.From there
on, it was completely Ashwin show
as he hadthe batsmen in his
grips.Krishna Karate (4) got one to
jump and Raina took a catch at legslip while Dhawan took a smart
one to dismiss Swapnil Patil
(7).Tournament's oldest player
Khurram Khan (14) attempted a
sweep shot off a delivery that
pitched full and bounced a shade
more as Raina ran from his first slip
position towards leg-slip to
complete the easiest of catches.
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe LIVE Score: ICC
Cricket World Cup 2015, 23rd Match, Pool
B, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Welcome to our Live cricket Blog of the
Pool B match being played between
Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Brisbane.
Pakistan InningsOver 29 || Score 106/3
Umar Kamal has scored his runs at brisk
pace. The right-hander has scored a run-aball 26 taking his partnership with Misbah
to 48 runs.Zimbabwe captain Chigumbura
injured himself in the field while chasing a
ball near the boundary. He was escorted off
the field by the medical staff. Misbah is
batting on 34 and Akmal on 6.Sohail, who
looked good for a big score, threw his
wicket away as his pull shot off a poor
delivery landed straight in the hands of
short midwicket. The left-hander was
distraught and he should be. Just when the
two were doing a fine rebuilding job,
Pakistan have shot themselves in the foot
again. Umar Akmal is the new man
in!Masakadza strayed on Sohail's pads
who delightfully flicked the ball past fine
leg past the fielder in the circle to pick up
four runs.The skipper Elton Chigumbura
got himself on. Seven runs come off his
first over.
Misbah pulled a poor delivery from Masakadza to
the midwicket boundary for four runs. Pakistan are
slowly getting a move on here.Hamilton
Masakadza was brought in to the attack and he
bowled an excellent first over conceding just 1
run.Spin was introduced for the first time in the
15th over as Sean Williams came in to the attack.
CM
KY
Misbah punished a full delivery from the leftarm spinner through the cover region for his
first boundary.anyangara concedes just 2 runs
off his 5th over. The seamer now has figures
of 5-1-6-0.Mupariwa was slogged over midon by Sohail who danced down the track to
score Pakistan's second boundary of the
CM
KY
innings.Panyangara beat Sohail on two
occasions in that over. The left-hander
appears bogged down by the pressure of
losing two early wickets and having had to
curb is natural aggressive game, is looking
a bit edgy out there.Misbah flicked a ball
from his off-stump in the air backward of
square. It initially looked as though the
long leg fielder would be in business, but
the ball fell well short.Two runs came off
that Chatara over. Misbah is batting on 2
runs off 24 balls.Misbah plays out a maiden
from Mupariwa. The Zimbabweans have
maintained pressure on the batsmen
without offering any freebies.Chatara
continued bowling from the other end. He
h a s f i g u r e s o f 4 - 2 - 6 - 2 s o f a r.
Impressive!Tawanda Mupariwa was
introduced into the attack. He bowled a tidy
first over.Injured allrounder Mohammad
Hafeez offers some advice to his
colleaguesSohail drives Chatara down the
ground for a boundary. The left-hander
showed the full face of the bat there. Great
shot!Panyangara maintains the pressure on
Sohail and Misbah with a tight
over.Chatara bowls an absolute peach at
Shehzad that squared up the opener and
induced a faint edge that was easily taken
by the keeper. Disaster!
CM
KY
Tuesday March 03 2015
BHUBANESWAR
AAI team surveys airstrip in Odisha's Steel City
Rourkela, Mar 1:A team of
officials from Airport
Authority of India (AAI)
is on a visit to Odisha's
Steel City to assess the
feasibility for upgrading
the airstrip here.
The five-member team
today visited the civil
aerodrome here and held
discussions with senior
officials of the Rourkela
Steel Plant (RSP) during
their two-day tour.
The team led by N
Makhija, Jt. General
Manager
reached
Rourkela last evening and
visited the airstrip, its
6000 feet runway, and
surveyed the surrounding
area.
Later in the day, they held
discussions with a team of
senior RSP officials led by
PK Pradhan, GM, in-
charge (P&A) and
checked land documents
pertaining to the airstrip.
"We have done our survey
of Rourkela airstrip. We
will submit our report and
accordingly necessary
action will be taken," said
Makhija.
After the team submits
their survey report to AAI
and upon its approval, an
MoU will be signed
between AAI and RSP
following which the
modification work of the
airstrip will start and
commercial flight service
will begin.
The team reportedly
recommended expansion
of the runway area by
another 2000 feet. After
the
recommended
modification, the airstrip
will
be
able
to
accommodate 70 seater
commercial aircrafts.
It may be noted that,
Rourkela MLA Dilip Ray
and Union Tribal Affair
Minister Jual Oram had
met Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on
February 13 and discussed
about the development of
Rourkela airstrip and had
requested
for
commencement
of
commercial flight service
from it.
Besides, BJP legislator
also urged the Prime
Minister to make Rourkela
airstrip on the lines of Biju
Patnaik International
Airport in Bhubaneswar.
Modi also had evinced
interest towards this
demand following which
AAI had been directed to
prepare a survey report
Suresh Prabhu Launches Passenger Friendly
'Customer Complaint Web Portal and Mobile App'
Passengers can
Complain Through
'Sms' to
09717630982.
for the development of the
airstrip.
The citizens of Rourkela
are quite upbeat following
the visit of AAI team and
welcome responses have
been pouring in from
several quarters; more so
from the business
community of the Steel
City.
"It is a good move. If the
air strip gets modernized
and commercial flight
service starts, it will make
travel easier from here,
"said UA Patel, a Rourkelabased industrialist.
Last
Page
New Delhi : The Minister
of Railways Shri Suresh
Prabhakar
Prabhu
launched a 'Customer
Complaint Web Portal and
Mobile Application'
(android/windows based
mobile App), at a function
here today. Speaking on
the occasion the Railway
Minister said that this
'Customer Complaintcum-Suggestion' portal
and mobile App which can
be freely downloaded, will
be very useful as one can
track the status of the
complaints which he or
she registered on this
portal with the help of
mobile App. He said that
Railways
welcome
suggestions from the
people to further improve
the passenger services and
valuable suggestions on
this newly launched portal
can be incorporated in all
possible ways, if found
suitable. He appreciated
the efforts made by
Railway officials and
thanked
them
for
implementing this new
customer friendly initiative
in a very short time, just
three days after the
announcement of the
same in the Railway
Budget 2015-16.
The passengers
who want to complain or
make any suggestions may
download the mobile App
The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu
launching a ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal and Mobile
Application’ (android/windows based mobile App), at a function,
from
the
URL
www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in.
The passengers can also
file their complaints and
suggestions on the web
p
a
g
e
www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in
. The passengers can
also SMS their complaints
on mobile number +919717630982.
Also present on the
occasion
were,
Chairman, Railway
Board, Shri A.K.Mital,
Board Members and
other senior officials of
the Indian Railways.
Empowering Rural Homemakers with Digital Literacy BABY HEALTH CHECK UPAND AWARENESS
Kollam, 42 women and 140 students from two villages happy to see many people showing interest in learning
in Kerala are getting trained in basic computer skills to use computers in our library" said the secretary of PROGRAMME AT ECoR CENTRAL HOSPITAL
under the "Digital Literacy Week" (DLW) program
conducted by the "National Digital Literacy Mission"
(NDLM). The National Digital Literacy Mission
('NDLM') has a vision to empower at least one person
per household with digital literacy by 2020. It is expected
to touch the lives of more than 250 million individuals
over the next few years. The project aims to help adults
with low technology literacy in interacting effectively
C M with an increasingly digital world, thereby opening new
KY
vistas of economic growth for them.
The DLW program conducted by the NASSCOM
Foundation partnering with "One Library Per Village"
(OLPV) is held in Thrikkanamangal Public Library,
Kottarakara and Dr. B R Ambedkhar Library at
Kakkathanam, Vilangara in Kerala.
The course provides 20 hours of free training in various
digital tools under the NDLM curriculum. All those who
are above 14 years of age and possess an Adhar card
are eligible to undergo the training. Those who pass
the online exam are issued a certificate of completion
from the Government of India.
"Total digital literacy in India can only be achieved by
empowering the rural population, especially by
supporting village libraries, schools, colleges and other
educational institutions. More than 6, 00,000 villages
will have to be transformed to reach the dream of a
fully digital India. Our government should give more
priority to rural education and should provide necessary
facilities for e-learning to all villages, said Anil Bhagya,
District Governor, Y's Men International, while
inaugurating the training session of "One Library Per
Village"
CM
K Y "Started in August 1947, the Thrikkanamangal Public
Library is one of the first libraries of modern India but
it has been was inactive for 20 years. We have been
able to bring it back to its old glory, thanks to the efforts
of volunteers and large hearted library lovers. We are
Thrikkanamangal Library, Mr. Sreeraj K. Sreeraj is a
school teacher who has been instrumental in reinstating
the library.
"The response for the program has been very
encouraging. The biggest challenge in training the
rural population is that we get a mix of people, some
with good knowledge and many that are absolute
beginners who prefer classes in the local language. We
provided Computer Based Interactive learning software
in Malayalam and selected well trained local volunteers
to help beginners. Students were divided into small
batches using the self-organized learning environment
(SOLE) system which helped beginners to study faster
in collaborative learning atmosphere ", said Sujai.G.Pillai
who was an Educational Consultant in Dubai and is
the founder of "One Library Per Village" and 2tion.com.
He is also one of the 20 MyGov Ambassadors of Prime
Minister Modi's Digital India Team.
Mr. Pillai also emphasized the importance of training
and collaborative learning in libraries "Even though
students are learning to use computers in schools and
colleges, they lack practical skills. Many smartphone
users don't have email ids but are active in Facebook
and WhatsApp. Even people who have Internet access
at home are not tapping its full potential for day to day
activities. Village libraries are the best place to
democratically learn and teach without any
discrimination and are a must for the fast changing
technological world."
At a national level, NASSCOM Foundation has pledged
support to the NDLM and is working closely with the
Department of Electronics & IT (DeitY), Government
of India to create an initial pool of one million digitally
literate Indians and eventually spread digital literacy to
every household in India through Corporate NDLM
Centers, Digital Libraries, Schools and Common
Service Centers.
Bhubaneswar, 2nd March 2015:The Central Hospital
of East Coast Railway organised a Baby Health Check
up and Awareness programme to Promote “Effective
Parenting” amongst Railway Employees. Parents have
also been made aware about Family Planning,
Immunisation, Prevention of Childhood diseases, Health
& Hygiene matters etc.
A total number of 90 babies between 6 months to 5
years of age and their parents participated in the Health
Check up & Awareness programme. Common Vaccines
to prevent diseases and nutrition of the babies were
also discussed with the parents. An audio-visual show
was also organised on childhood diseases and remedies
to make the programme more appealing.
Gracing the occasion, Smt. Shalini Vishnoi, President,
East Coast Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation
(ECoRWWO) distributed various prizes. Dr. S. K.
Mohanty, Chief Medical Director/ECoR and Dr. J. P.
CM
KY
Panda, Medical Director of ECoR Central Hospital
also graced the occasion. Dr. R. K. Mohapatra,
Additional Chief Health Director (Paediatrics) of ECoR
Central Hospital co-ordinated the programme.?
CM
KY
(From P-1)
rituals including lunch for the deities could not be prepared.
It was only after Pratihari was released on bail, the servitors allowed 'Rosha Homa' at 3.45 pm. The breakfast
and lunch were offered to the deities at 6.20 pm.
Around 50 Nijog members cook Mahaprasad at the temple every day. The shrine kitchen, which prepares
Mahaprasad for over 10,000 people on a given day, is considered the biggest temple kitchen in the country.
Chittaranjan Mohanty, a devotee, had recently moved the Odisha High Court for streamlining sale of Mahaprasad.
The petitioner had alleged that non-sevayats were allegedly selling Mahaprasad near Bhitara Bedha close to
Ananda Bazaar which created problems for devotees while moving around the temple.
The temple administration's order for sale of Mahaprasad at the Anand Bazaar only, is being vehemently resented
by the servitors who said that they had been selling Mahaprasad at the Ananda Bazaar for ages, narrowing of
space within the Ananda Bazaar by the administration has forced them to spill over into the Bhitara Bedha.
"Sale of Mahaprasad other than in Anand Bazaar has been prohibited in accordance with High Court directives.
A Justice of the honourable High Court, during his recent visit to the temple had seen the servitor selling
Mahaprasad in the bhitara bedha area of the temple. As he informed the matter to the temple administration, the
servitor was arrested and his Mahaprasad seized. We are trying our best to resolve the issue through discussions.
Everything will be all right", Puri collector Arvind Agarwal told the media today.
For Classifaid & Disply Ad
Call-0956437592
(From P-1)
Ninety percent of these
villages are interior, tribal
and most of the tribals are
illiterate. One can only draw
an assumption that these
fake currency notes would
have arrived those interior
pockets and there is
rampant transaction in the
entire district. Police with
support of the general
public must penetrate to
these areas. As most of
these areas are ultra-left
infested and mobility of the
police is restricted, it poses
serious challenges to locate
the racketeers in this part of
the district”, said Sri Ajay
Rath, a prominent youth
leader of the area.
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CM
KY
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