Friday, October 06, 2006

 

Hyderabad News, Oct 5th, 2006

Hyderabad not a free zone

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: In a significant move, the State government has issued orders to implement “in toto” the controversial jobs-for-locals GO 610, and the recommendations of the J.M. Girglani Commission which examined it. In a decision taken ahead of the Karimnagar Lok Sabha byelection, the government kept Hyderabad under Zone 6, where GO 610 rules apply. The government also set deadlines to implement the new orders.

Issued in 1985, GO 610 calls for regional justification in government placements and has been the centre of controversy for 21 years. No government tried to implement it because of a possible backlash from the people of other regions. The Congress while in the Opposition had pressed for the implementation of GO 610 and was later joined by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Incidentally, the Telugu Desam which dragged its feet when in power now wants the GO to be implemented.

Taking these parties by surprise, the government issued two orders and two circulars on Wednesday. According to these orders,

* The local status of each employee must be identified as per guidelines issued in GO P No 729.

* Non-locals in excess of the prescribed strength at any point of time must be repatriated to their local zone on the basis of “last in and first out” to similar vacancies as and when they arise.

* For members of work charged establishment who have not been regularised, no non-local candidates will be absorbed till all local candidates are absorbed. After the local candidates are absorbed, non-locals can be taken within the permissible ratio.

* Municipal administration and urban development department will within three months bring all urban development authorities under the purview of Presidential Order 1975 in order to re-organise the local cadre.

* Unit of appointment will be the district for categories equivalent to junior assistants and below. For non-gazetted categories it will be the zone, for all gazetted categories the State is the unit. The government ordered all departments to publish seniority list and unit of appointment for all categories within six months.

* City of Hyderabad is in Zone 6. It is not a free zone. Several leaders including those of the Congress had been demanding that Hyderabad be made a free zone so that people from all over the State can have employment opportunities in government jobs.

The government clarified that the Presidential Order had not defined “free zone” or “Hyderabad city zone”. The only specified area is the unit called the City of Hyderabad, which is constituted by the areas as set in the First Schedule under para 2 (1) (a) of the Presidential Order, 1975.

The government issued a list of posts which would be excluded from the purview of GO 610 and the Presidential Order. As many as 102 State-level offices have been granted relaxation including all commissionerates and directorates.

To implement the fair share principle, the government ordered all departments to identify employees on “other duty” and “deputation” [who are later absorbed and promoted in due course] to be repatriated.

The government directed all departments to issue lists of first-level gazetted posts as on October 18, 1975, to incorporate into the Third Schedule of the Presidential Order, so these posts would be exempted from zonal rules.

Guru fate hangs in imbalance

New Delhi, Oct. 5: The issue of clemency for Parliament terror attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru has sharply divided the Congress Party, which is now speaking in different voices on this issue. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was the first Congress leader to appeal for clemency but was immediately contradicted by the former deputy chief minister of his own party, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, and again on Thursday by AICC leader Digvijay Singh, who have both supported the death sentence.

The Left is also divided on the issue of clemency with the CPI(M) not having taken a formal position. Its legislator in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Yusuf Tarigami, made a passionate appeal for clemency for Mohammad Afzal from Srinagar but has not found support in the party. The complete silence was reflected in the meeting of the UPA-Left coordination committee where the CPI(M) did not raise the issue and the CPI made only a query from home ministry officials on whether the death sentence could be legally reduced to life imprisonment.

Confusion has overtaken the Congress Party, which has been unable to come to a clear-cut decision. Mr Digvijay Singh was emphatic that the death sentence should not be revoked although he took care to add that this was his “personal view”. He said, “I strongly feel any person associated with any terrorist activity does not deserve clemency. Now that the issue is with the President he must take a decision.” This was in sharp contrast to Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad’s insistence on clemency to the point that he telephoned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pleading for the same.

Former Youth Congress president M.S. Bitta took the lead to organise a loud protest demonstration of relatives of those killed in terror attacks and submitted a petition to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam insisting that the death sentence should not be revoked. He has been carrying on a strong campaign against clemency with not a word of censure from the Congress. Mr Azad has also not been publicly admonished for his pro-clemency views by the party leadership.

The Jammu and Srinagar units of the Congress are split on this issue with Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, widely seen as an Azad protégé, making it clear that there was no case for clemency and that Mohammad Afzal should be hanged. In New Delhi, too, the AICC leaders are divided with not everyone agreeing with Mr Digvijay Singh’s on-the-record views. Sources said the very fact that he had spoken on the record indicated that he had cleared this with the top leadership.

Congress leaders said they are waiting now for Prime Minister Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take a decision and communicate it to the party to prevent further division and ensure that the party is able to speak “in one voice” on this controversy.


Night, day scares for Pervez

Islamabad, Oct. 5: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf and his colleagues spent a sleepless night between Wednesday and Thursday following a mysterious blast near the Army House where the general resides. The loud bang was heard about 15 km from Army House at around 9.20 pm on Wednesday night. The blast was said to have taken place in the Rawalpindi Golf Club, adjacent Army House, Gen. Musharraf’s residence. No casualties nor major damage to property were reported. Military spokesperson Maj. Gen.

Shaukat Sultan said: “Let me assure you there is nothing near Army House.” After the blast, security agencies sealed the golf club and Ayub National Park. Police sources said it was not clear what had caused the blast. A senior police official said that “explosive material” had been discovered in the park. It was stashed under benches near the park’s Gulistan Gate, said Syed Marwat Ali Shah, additional inspector-general for Rawalpindi. He said the park had been sealed until the morning. Joint Army and police teams have been formed to investigate the blast.


22-hr Srinagar gun battle over, 10 dead

Srinagar, Oct. 5: Nearly 22-hour standoff between separatist militants, holed up in a hotel here, and the security forces ended with the killing of both the gunmen early on Thursday. Five local policemen, two members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a resident were also killed and more than a dozen persons, mostly policemen, were wounded during the firefight at Budshah Chowk, a commercial area in central Srinagar. “We suffered casualties because maximum possible restraint was exhibited while taking on terrorists,”director-general of police Gopal Sharma said.

The slain policemen are assistant sub-inspector Nazir Ahmed, head-constable Shawkat Ahmed and constables Ranbir Singh, Muhammad Amin and Bashir Ahmed. CRPF personnel Jatinder Singh and Jaswant Singh were killed in the operation. The civilian killed has been identified as Fayaz Ahmed, a hotel employee.'

Joined by police and paramilitary reinforcements, including sharpshooters, the CRPF entered Standard Hotel area around 10.30 am to take on what was believed to a third gunman holed up in the 3-storey building. Earlier, two gunmen were shot dead by the security forces as they ran out of the hotel, firing indiscriminately from their automatic rifles in an abortive bid to escape the security cordon.

Al-Mansoorin group spokesperson Aamir Mir, meanwhile, telephoned local journalists to admit to the killing of two of its members, identified by him as Tariq Butt and Muhammad Mushtaq. He, however, claimed that their commander Abu Hamza Bhai escaped the security dragnet and has since returned to his base.

He also claimed that 11 security personnel were killed and about 20 others wounded during the encounter. The hotel, which had been razed during a fire that devastated many other commercial and residential buildings in Lal Chowk-Budshah Chowk area in a similar incident earlier, suffered damage again.


Opposition, allies unite against Congress

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Giving a jolt to the Congress, the Telugu Desam has succeeded in mustering the support of the two major Left parties and the BJP in the Outer Ring Road controversy. The political parties of different hues have agreed to take up a series of agitations under the leadership of the TD over the ORR project.

Curiously enough, this is also the first time that the Communists have shared the dais with their bitter political foe, the BJP. Though the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the MIM also reportedly assured support to the TD, they stayed away from the “all-party meeting” which was attended by the the CPI(M), the CPI, the CPI(ML) (New Democracy) and the BJP. The TD had joined hands with the CPI and the CPI(M) (both supposed allies of the ruling Congress) to agitate against hike in fuel prices earlier. But this is the first time that it has joined hands with the BJP after parting ways with it two years ago.

To begin with, activists of the parties will conduct a traffic blockade in all the four entry-exit points of the city on October 12. The TD has been alleging that the State government had changed the alignment of the ORR project several times just to benefit some Congress leaders and influential persons. Following the allegations, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had ordered inquiries by a retired High Court judge and by the CBI. Dr Reddy also included the IMG Bharata and Shamshabad land deals to the inquiries.

However, the main opposition has decided to turn up the heat on the State government by mobilising other parties and pressing its demand for a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or High Court. The all-party meeting convened by the TD demanded that the scope of probe be limited to the ORR lands. “Including the Shamshabad airport and IMG lands into the ambit of the probe will only dilute the issue,” said senior TD leader Kadiam Srihari. “The guilty will escape.” The TD also succeeded in convincing the other parties to join it in a delegation to the Raj Bhavan to complain to Governor Rameshwar Thakur.


Civic bodies must involve citizens for Central fund

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Civic bodies like the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, if they want money from the Centre, will have to set up area sabhas and ward committees which will collect grievances of residents and pressure the bodies to take action on them.

This is part the requirement under the Centre’s “community participation law”. Besides ensuring community participation, the State governments should enact municipality disclosure law which authorises people to virtually peep into the accounts of their civic body. The urban bodies cannot take up works without consulting the area sabhas and the ward committees first.

Each of the sabhas and committees will have 10 members and have to elected by the people. In the case of MCH [where elections are due in February 2007] the corporation may have to hold two elections, one to elect the corporators and one to elect members to the area sabhas and ward committees.

Once the sabhas are set up, they will take your complaints about civic amenities like roads, garbage, water and streetlights and press the local body for action. They will interface with you for your views on decisions concerning the city. The logic is that in large cities, a corporator has to look after the civic needs of more than 50,000 people: Hyderabad has 100 corporators for about 50 lakh population. If the ward committees and area sabhas are formed, there will be a public representative for every 2,000 people.

The Centre has made it mandatory for the State governments to implement reforms in towns and cities if they want to seek Central assistance for urban infrastructure. At stake is about Rs 50,000 crores nationwide and the State that takes up the reforms first will get the lion’s share of this assistance. The States will have to enact these laws soon so that municipalities can claim Central funds. The AP government has called for suggestions from municipal chairpersons and commissioners on the proposed legislation. After receiving suggestions, the government will introduce a Bill in the State Assembly.

Since the legislation will take time, municipalities and corporations will get funds for now but if they do not implement the reforms there will be no subsequent instalments in the future.

“The model community participation law aims at institutionalising citizen participation. Every polling station or two will have an area sabha with an area sabha representative, who will be elected by local voters” municipal administration and urban development principal secretary S.P. Singh said. “The objective is to establish a three-tiered structure — council, ward committee and area sabha — in all urban local bodies. Devolution of funds, functions and powers will be carried forward to these levels,” he said.

To claim Central funds every State should take up “mandatory reforms” like implementation of decentralisation measures as envisaged in Constitution 74th Amendment Act, 1992 and enactment of municipality disclosure law and community participation law. If the Centre has its say, municipal corporations will get the power to control fire services.

A ward committee will be constituted for each ward in a municipality. The committee will have the local councillor as its ex-officio chairperson. Not more than 10 persons representing local citizens will be nominated by the municipality. The committee has the power to produce ward plans, prepare ward budget and ensure optimal collection of revenue sources.


IAF Chief has tryst with wit

New Delhi, Oct. 5: The annual press conference of the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, on Thursday, ahead of IAF Day on October 8, was a comedy show than anything else. The pearls of wisdom from the IAF Chief had journalists in splits and top IAF air marshals squirming with embarrassment. From Govinda to mimicry to Lord Ganesha’s milk miracle, the IAF Chief held forth. He began with the outcry in the country over annual airspace closures due to IAF exercises. “It happens only in India. Govinda sang it right,” he declared.

The IAF chief then switched to mimicry. Speaking about the IAF’s decision to shift its IAF Day flypast base from its Palam airbase to Hindon (near Delhi), the IAF chief said that if he had not ordered the change, someone would have “cried” on TV. Modulating his voice to mimic a tearful passenger, the Air Chief recited, “My flight is delayed”. Insisting that the IAF was “not pushed out of Palam”, he inflicted a dose of native wisdom on the audience. “Aaj kal to aap ghar khali nahin kara sakte ho, airfield kaise khali kara sakte ho (These days, you can’t even get a house vacated; how will you get an airfield vacated)?”

There was more to follow. “Ganeshji ko dhoodh pilake hamara eight per cent growth nahin hua hai (We have not achieved eight per cent growth by feeding milk to Lord Ganesha), said Air Chief Marshal Tyagi.

When a reporter asked him about his plan to parachute down during the IAF Day celebrations at the Hindon airbase near Delhi on October 8, the Air Chief retorted: “Aapne climax ka scene hi pooch liya to kya bachega (If you ask me to reveal the climax of the script, then what remains)?” The Air Chief’s tryst with Bollywood continued in the context of the IAF completing 75 years of existence next year.

After grandly revealing that the IAF grappled over whether or not 75 years constituted a platinum jubilee celebration, the IAF Chief came out with the magic formula that solved the puzzle. “In Bollywood, 75 weeks (of a movie run) constitutes a platinum jubilee. So we thought that if it is good enough for Bollywood, then it’s good for us.” Some humour was also reserved for the subject of India’s proposed acquisition of 126 multi-role fighter aircraft.

The Air Chief said, “You cannot accuse me of inconsistency. For the past two years I have been saying that we will come out with it.” Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf also figured in the laugh riot. “I did not meet Musharraf in Havana,” said Air Chief Marshal Tyagi with a perfectly straight face when asked about Pakistan’s recent assurances to India on curbing terror.

State on high alert for dengue fever

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: The medical and health department is on high alert following reports of the spread of dengue fever in many States, including New Delhi. Kamal Raj Kiran, a student belonging to Hyderabad, had died of dengue fever in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the national capital three days ago. Though there has been no dengue outbreak in the State so far, nine dengue cases were reported in the last few months. Four of them were reported from Kadapa, three were detected in Chittoor and two in Nalgonda district. All the patients recovered.

The government had sent their blood samples to the Institute of Virology in Pune for verification of dengue fever. “Those are all old cases,” said Principal Secretary (health) P. K. Agarwal. “No dengue case had been reported in this season.” However, the health department is taking no chances since 99 dengue cases and two deaths were reported last year.

Dengue is spread by mosquitoes and the usual symptoms are high temperature, rashes, and blood discharge through nose and urinary passage. If not treated on time it could cause haemorrhage in the brain. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy reviewed the health situation on Thursday in the wake of reports of dengue and viral fevers spreading fast in other States. A high-level task force, headed by Mr Agarwal, was set up to initiate vector control operations to prevent the spread of epidemics.

Principal secretaries of panchayat raj, municipal administration and tribal welfare are members of the committee. So far 22,080 malaria cases have been detected in the State apart from 77,373 suspected Chikungunya cases. “In view of the spread of viral fevers, we are appointing special medical teams also to control mosquito menace,” said Dr P.Venkateswara Rao, director of health department. Hyderabad Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Jaju appealed to the public to keep their surroundings clean to avoid the spread of communicable diseases.


Action plan on Naxals soon

New Delhi, Oct. 5: The Centre held a high-level meeting on Thursday with top police officials of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu following recent seizure of huge cache of rocket launchers and shells meant for Maoists. The high-level meeting convened by Union home secretary V. K. Duggal was attended by Tamil Nadu director general of police D. Mukherjee and inspector general (intelligence) of Andhra Pradesh police Aravinda Rao, who represented his State’s DGP Swaranjit Sen.

Authorities in Andhra had seized rockets, gelatine sticks, mines, rifles and hundreds of rocket launchers and other weapons from several places in Andhra Pradesh last month, including Mahbubnagar and Prakasam districts. Investigations had revealed that the arms and ammunition were manufactured in Tamil Nadu.

Taking serious note of the massive seizures, the Centre had summoned the officials of the two southern States to discuss the issue. Mr Mukherjee said the Centre has asked them to keep an eye on the movement of explosive material like gelatin sticks even though they are legally used. The Centre is likely to prepare an action plan in this regard, he added. Later talking to reporters, Mr Rao said issues like VIP security, law and order also came up for discussion during the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Centre also reviewed the internal security situation ahead of the forthcoming festivals of Diwali and Eid in the wake of intelligence reports that terrorists could strike during the festival time. National security advisor M. K. Narayanan had a long discussion with Mr Duggal, where special secretary (internal security) G.S. Rajagopal and other senior officials were present. The meeting is also understood to have discussed the situation in Srinagar.


Panel to rein in private colleges

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Andhra Pradesh will soon have a university regulatory authority, the first of its kind in the country, to monitor private educational institutions and branches of foreign universities. The State government took this decision in the context of numerous complaints on the activities of some self-styled universities and private institutions.

Also, several foreign universities have opened branches in the State in the advent of globalisation. This too prompted the government to think of a regulatory authority.
As such, the government has no information about the activities of many private institutions. Several of them are conducting courses without getting recognition. There are even “two-room” universities without infrastructure and faculty.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had expressed concern at these trends at a recent review meeting and asked the higher education department to prepare norms to set up a regulatory authority. The Council of Higher Education also recommended the setting up of a regulatory authority.

Higher education minister P. Venkateshwara Rao said the government intended to regulate the activities of higher educational institutions. Some private institutions, particularly those registered in other States, had committed irregularities. “We are planning to introduce a Bill in the next Assembly session to set up the authority,” said Mr Venkateshwara Rao.

Presently, educational institutions function under the AP Educational Act 1982. As per the Act, all private institutions should register with the government and get their curricular activities approved. However, this is not happening. Several unregistered and unrecognised institutions are making big money in the name of education.
“We need to control the institutions in the interest of the students.” said Professor K.C. Reddy, chairman of the Council of Higher Education.

Mr Reddy added that the regulatory authority will function on the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. “It will monitor the admission process, fee structure and academic standards,” he added. It will also have powers to initiate action against the erring institutions. Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University Registrar Prof. A. Gurumurthy welcomed the decision and said that it would not affect the autonomy of legitimate universities.


BJP says it will protest clemency

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: The BJP on Thursday demanded that the Centre revive the Prevention of Terrorist Activities (Pota) Act to tackle the growing menace of terrorism in the country. The party also pleaded for execution of Supreme Court judgment which awarded death by hanging punishment to Mohammed Afzal Guru, who was found guilty in the attack on Parliament. BJP national vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu underlined the need for revival of Pota Act saying that ordinary laws proved to be ineffective in dealing with the terrorist menace in the country.

Addressing a media conference, Mr Naidu expressed concern over growing violence in several parts of the country. He criticised those who were pleading mercy for Afzal Guru and said that the BJP will hold nation-wide agitation if the government grants mercy to the terrorist.


Lack of doctors hits King Kothi patients hard

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Lack of sufficient number of doctors in the King Kothi district government hospital is creating huge problems for poor patients. Hundreds of patients are forced to go back home every day without getting treatment. After Osmania and Gandhi hospitals, the King Kothi hospital is the biggest institution for poor people of the city and outskirts.

Nearly 1,200 patients go to the hospital every day. Some even come from faraway places such as Vanasthalipuram, L. B. Nagar, Kukatpally and Miyapur. The hospital has adequate facilities and can match a corporate hospital on this count. Unfortunately, it does not have enough doctors. Recently, the State government transferred five senior medical officers of the hospital to medical colleges for teaching, but did not fill up the vacancies.

Consequently, the hospital has been functioning with only eight doctors for a month now. Posts of resident medical officer, orthopaedician, pediatrician, and general and dental surgeons have been lying vacant. Inpatients are also not been admitted in these departments. Sources said that the 400-odd patients who come for treatment to these wings are usually referred either to the Gandhi or Osmania hospitals.

King Kothi hospital superintendent Dr N. Krishna Reddy admitted that many patients were being turned back. “We have requested the government to fill up the posts as early as possible. Meanwhile, we are trying to make do with the existing doctors,” he said.


Mall plan in trouble

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: A week after Chief Minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy laid the foundation stone for the urban entertainment centre on the old Gandhi Medical College premises in Basheerbagh, the project comprising construction of multiplexes, shopping malls, indoor game parks and food courts has run into trouble.
Cutting across party lines, city MLAs opposed the government decision to hand over the 5.61 acres of land in the heart of the city to a private party for construction of an entertainment centre.

They want the government to cancel the deal and instead allot the space to the Hyderabad district collectorate office. Raising the issue before any item on the agenda could be taken up at the district review committee meeting on Thursday, the BJP MLA from Himayathnagar Kishan Reddy said the urban centre would lead to traffic congestion on the busy Basheerbagh road.

Subsequently, other legislators and MPs from the city supported Mr Kishan Reddy.
The legislators did not allow the agenda to be taken up and created a furore over the issue for more than 45 minutes even as information and public relations minister Mohd Ali Shabber, who chaired the meeting, tried to explain the government stand.
However, Mr Shabber turned down the request of the MLAs to allow a resolution demanding cancellation of the deal to be adopted and instead took up the agenda against the wishes of the participating MLAs and MPs.


TD told spell out stand on T-State

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Minister for major irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah took strong objection to the statements of the Telugu Desam and alleged that the TD was trying to capitalise on the regional sentiments in the run-up to the Karimnagar by-election.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday at Secretariat, he challenged the TD leadership to come out with a clear stand on Telangana. He said the Karimnagar election result could not be termed as a referendum on the Telangana issue.
Rejecting the TD’s allegation on Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy that he was only protecting Rayalaseema region’s interests, he said the irrigation projects in all three regions, welfare schemes and free power supply would nail down the lies of the Telugu Desam.

Elsewhere, Congress MLAs P. Janardhan Reddy and M. Shashidhar Reddy, supported by the legislators of the TD, the BJP and the TRS, expressed apprehensions over Phase-III of the Krishna drinking water project to the city, being shelved. The legislators raised the Pothyreddypadu head regulator issue at the Hyderabad District Review Committee meeting and said the project would result in the city and other areas in Telangana being deprived of their due share of water from Nagarjuna Sagar. He accused the government of having already decided to shelve Krishna Phase-III, as once the Pothyreddypadu project is completed, there will no scope to bring 90 MGD water under Krishna Phase-III.


TD keen to woo Kapus, Muslims

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: Two years after the party suffered reverses in the State Assembly elections, the Telugu Desam leadership has now begun the process of wooing back the social groups that deserted it. The predominant Kapu community in East and West Godavari districts and the Muslims in Telangana and other districts shifted their loyalties to the Congress in the 2004 elections, handing out an unprecedented drubbing to the TD which enjoyed power for two successive terms. It is learnt that Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu has given instructions to the district-level party leaders to take up the issue and see that leaders belonging to the Muslim minority and Kapu communities given important responsibilities.

The Kapu community, with almost a dozen sub-castes, makes up about 22 per cent of the State’s population and according to 2001 census the population of Muslim minorities was about 70 lakhs or 9.2 per cent. The Telugu Desam leadership is seriously trying to woo the leaders of backward castes in the north coastal districts i.e., Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam into the party. It is reliably learnt that the TD leadership is seriously considering a proposal to field leaders belonging to these communities in almost all the north coastal assembly constituencies.


EPC flaws delay dam works

Hyderabad, Oct. 5: The innovative engineering, procurement and construction method tried out by the government for the prestigious Jalayagnam has failed to deliver. The EPC method was conceived as a time-bound and cost-control method in 2004. It allows liquidation damages if the construction company fails to complete the project within the stipulated time. But in reality, almost all the EPC projects have failed to meet the prescribed deadline. The Godavari Lift Irrigation Project (Devadula), Sriramsagar Flood Flow Canal project, Tadipudi, Puskara, Gutpa and Alisagar lift irrigation projects still await completion.

Two years after the EPC system was introduced, the irrigation department is still grappling with its minutiae. The government is now caught in a piquant situation, whether to continue with the EPC system or to revert to the original open tender system. In all, 28 major and medium irrigation project works had been awarded in the EPC system with an estimated tender value of about Rs 40,000 crore.

But the EPC system only confirms the project completion time and its total cost. It does not specify milestones (targets) to be achieved. Because of this, contractors are completing works which are more profitable to them first, leaving complex works for later. “Earth work is more profitable, so the contractors like to complete that first,” said a senior irrigation official. “Consequently head work and erecting lifts get delayed.”

This is best seen in Flood Flow Canal Project where the contractors completed excavation of 6 crore cubic metre in a single year. This is a record of sorts. At the same time, work on the six-km approach channel and highway crossing are yet to be started. With all the projects taken up under EPC system getting delayed, the irrigation department has been told to modify its provisions for speedy completion of work.

Victim kin threaten to return medal

Lucknow, Oct. 5: The family of CRPF jawan Kamlesh Kumari, who was martyred in the attack on Parliament in 2001, has threatened to return the Ashok Chakra awarded to Kamlesh posthumously if President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam accepts the mercy appeal of Mohammed Afzal Guru, the Parliament attack convict.

“If Afzal Guru is granted amnesty by the President, we will return the Ashok Chakra awarded to our mother for her bravery. There will be no point in keeping the award if those responsible for her death are shown mercy,” said Jyoti, the elder daughter of Kamlesh.

Kamlesh Kumari was posted at the gate of Parliament and was the first security personnel who tried to stop the terrorists from entering. She was shot dead by the ultras, who sprayed her with 12 bullets. It was Kamlesh’s alarm that alerted other security personnel who finally thwarted the attack on Parliament.

She was posthumously conferred the Ashok Chakra — the highest civilian award for bravery — in January 2002. Her daughters, Jyoti and Shweta, live with their maternal grandparents in Narainpur village in Farukkhabad. Jyoti is a student of Class 10 in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Fatehgarh and Shweta is a student of Class 2 in the same school. Kamlesh’s husband, Awadesh Kumar, lives in Kannauj district where he manages a petrol pump.

“We lost our mother because she tried to protect Parliament. Had she not alerted the security personnel in time, the terrorists would have probably managed to enter Parliament. Can anyone imagine the consequences if the terrorists had managed to get inside? Would these people still be clamouring for mercy for Afzal Guru?” she asked rather indignantly while talking to reporters in her house on Thursday.

The sisters are particularly angry with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who first raised the demand for clemency for Afzal. “Would he have pardoned such offenders if one of his own family members had been killed in a terrorist attack? Are these people demanding pardon for the convict only because it is politically right for their own state? Has anyone given a thought to the families of those who were killed in the attack?” she asked.

Her sister Shweta, meanwhile, says that she will never join the forces because her mother was killed because “she wore a uniform”. Kamlesh Kumari’s father Rajaram, on the other hand, says that if Afzal escapes punishment, it would be a major victory for terrorist groups. “Pakistan is determined to hang Sarabjit Singh even though he has been falsely implicated for espionage but in India we are ready to pardon those who have been found guilty. If Afzal escapes the noose, which jawan will lay down his life for the country? What is the point of keeping the Ashok Chakra that was awarded posthumously to my daughter if her killers are being dealt with leniently?” Rajaram asked.



Mirwaiz raises issue with US

Srinagar, Oct. 5: Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric and leader of his faction of the Hurriyat Conference alliance, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has taken up the issue of Mohammad Afzal Guru’s death sentence with senior functionaries of the Bush administration in New York.

The Mirwaiz, who is currently in New York, has pleaded before them that the Parliament terror attack convict did not get a fair trial and has sought their intervention towards seeking clemency for him by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
A spokesperson of the Awami (People’s) Action Committee, the regional party the Mirwaiz represents in the alliance, said that he met assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs Richard Boucher and Patricia Mahoney, director, South Asia desk at the National Security Council in New York.

The latter’s deputy, Chery Sim, and Richard Sacks, deputy director, Pakistan desk, were also present at the meeting that lasted for about an hour. Besides discussing the prevailing political and military situation in Jammu and Kashmir with them, the Mirwaiz has urged them to prevail on India to grant clemency to Afzal, the spokesperson said.

He added that the Mirwaiz informed the Bush administration functionaries that the Hurriyat Conference was engaged in a peace process aimed at seeking an amicable and lasting solution to the Kashmir problem “even though the right to self-determination of the people of the state and their basic human rights were at stake”. He, however, was of the firm belief that the peace process could bring about tangible results and lead to a permanent solution only if and when the people of the state, who are the principal party to the dispute, too, were involved in it.

“He also made it clear to them that despite the Hurriyat Conference beginning to hold a series of meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir has not improved,” the spokesperson said.


Afzal son tells Prez of his dream

New Delhi, Oct. 5: “Please release my abba. I want him back. I want to become a doctor and fulfil my father’s dream.” This was the message that seven-year-old Ghalib, the son of Mohammad Afzal, who is facing the death sentence for his involvement in the December 2001 Parliament attack, communicated to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Thursday.

Afzal’s family had been granted time by the President on Thursday afternoon and a five-member delegation of Afzal’s mother Ayesha, wife Tabassum, son Ghalib and lawyers Nandita Haksar and N.D. Pancholi made a plea for clemency to be granted to Afzal during the meeting.

Lasting nearly 30 minutes, the meeting saw the President assure the family that he would read the mercy petition and then take a decision on the matter. Conversing in a mix of Hindi and Urdu, the President reportedly asked the family to present their case before him and individually asked each member of his family to say what they felt.



Dengue death toll 43, situation in control, says Centre

New Delhi, Oct. 5: Even as number of dengue-affected patients neared the 3,000th mark, the Centre on Thursday reiterated its stand that the situation is under control and it is not an epidemic. Death toll has reached 43, including 17 from the capital. Union health minister A. Ramadoss asked people not to panic and get tested if they think that they are showing symptoms of the disease. Dr Ramadoss had held a meeting with health ministers of dengue-affected states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP. Dr Ramadoss said that a total of 673 cases have been reported from various parts of the country.


Manohar Gill: I never said Manmohan is biased

Chandigarh, Oct. 5: The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) — usually reticent on the severe criticism routinely levelled by its political rivals in the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party — has rather curiously elected to take offence to a single statement attributed to former chief election commissioner (CEC) Manohar Singh Gill in his present avatar as a Congress MP. Just a day after newspaper reports from Amritsar quoted Mr Gill as saying that “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is biased against Punjab,” the PPCC shook itself from deep slumber to vehemently demand “disciplinary action” against the former CEC.

Clearly sensing an opportunity to score a point with Prime Minister Singh ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab, a Pradesh Congress spokesman insisted that “Mr Gill should not have spoken against the PM who has sanctioned several projects to the state during his recent visit.” The PPCC and its chief, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, are stamping their feet over Mr Gill’s “unkind” words while flagging off Air India’s inaugural Amritsar-Dubai flight on Tuesday, where the latter called for stepped-up funding to upgrade facilities at the Raja Sansi International Airport.

Safely back in New Delhi, Mr Gill insists that the Pradesh Congress’ demand is completely misplaced. “All I did was to urge the Prime Minister to allocate at least Rs 1,000 crore for the Amritsar airport. In fact my exact words in Urdu were: Main pradhan mantri se arz karta hoon,” he said.

He insisted he was merely doing his duty as a member of Parliament. “What else am I in the Rajya Sabha for? In the past seven years since being accorded ‘international’ status, the Amritsar airport has been given only Rs 78 crore for upgradation. In contrast, two similar projects at Pune and Nagpur have been allocated several thousand crores,” Mr Gill said.



’93 Mumbai blasts: Court holds two guilty

Mumbai, Oct. 5: A Tada court on Thursday held Nasir Abdul Kadar Keval, alias Nasir Dhakla, and Mohammed Rafiq Usman Shaikh guilty of obtaining arms training in Pakistan and attending conspiracy meetings. The duo face punishment ranging from five-years to life. Nasir has been found guilty of participating in landing of arms and explosives at coastal Raigad district but was acquitted of the charge of filling RDX in vehicles that were planted at various places in the metropolis on March 12, 1993.

The court held that there was no proof that Nasir had filled RDX in vehicles, although, it had been established that he had stuffed scrap and iron in the vehicles. The court accepted their confessions as well as those of the co-accused while implicating the duo under Section 120-B IPC (Conspiracy) and Section 3(3) of Tada(P) Act.

Judge P.D. Kode also considered the evidence of an eyewitness, who had identified Nasir in arms landing operations and statement of approver, Mohammed Usman Jan Khan. The judge also held that Nasir had participated in the blast conspiracy up to a particular point. However, Mohammed Ahmed Mansoor was acquitted of the charges of conspiracy and making arrangements for co-accused to obtain arms training in Pakistan.



Now, less wait for US visas

New Delhi, Oct. 5: Indians bound for America can now expect to face lesser procedural hassles, with the US embassy mobilising additional resources to eliminate by the year-end the waiting period for Visa interviews which at present goes up to six months.

The US mission is also working to expand its Business Executive Programme under which visas of company employees are processed on priority basis. This will involve expansion of the list of companies entitled for the facility. “We are sensitive to the inconvenience and long waits for appointments which have characterised our visa processing system in recent months,” US ambassador David C. Mulford told reporters after inaugurating new Visa appointment system at the embassy here.

A similar system, under which the applicants waitlisted for the Visa appointments can advance their appointments, has been initiated in American consulates general in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Acknowledging that the prolonged waiting period was giving a “bad name” to the US, Mr Mulford said, “We have made a commitment to reduce the waiting time for a Visa appointment, with the goal of eliminating this waiting period altogether.” He said all those applicants, who have already got an appointment, should visit the embassy’s appointment website to advance their schedule.


UPA adopts 20-point Garibi Hatao scheme

New Delhi, Oct. 5: UPA government has gone back to the populist programme “Garibi Hatao”, which was launched by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 30 years back, ahead of Assembly elections in key States, to restructure the existing 20-point programme for the poor and the deprived segments. A decision to change “Garibi Unmolan” (poverty alleviation) to “Garibi Hatao” (eradicate poverty) was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, said, “The 20-point programme is a package of social sector schemes and programmes having an important bearing on the poor and underprivileged.” The new programme would come into operation from April 2007. To a question, he disagreed that the government decision was populist. “When someone in the rural areas get electricity and roads, they are happy,” he said. To a question, Mr Munshi said, “Garibi Hatao” has not failed. It has sufficiently scored.”

# posted by mashup @ 8:28 AM
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