Hindustan Times: January 2009

Off track: 40 lakh or there abouts on dressing up cops?

Can Rs. 40 lakh, or most of that, be spent on tracksuits for a match? Well, that’s exactly what the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association apparently stated were expenses incurred on “tracksuits for the Delhi Police” during the Indo-Pak Test at the Kotla in Nov 07.

The DDCA’s balance sheet for the period between April ‘07 and March ‘08, which the Hindustan Times has a copy of, has a column called ‘promotion of cricket’, with various expenses. Under that, another column called ‘promotion of cricket’ shows an unexplained expense of Rs. 40,06,737.

At a Dec 21 meeting last year, members asked what this stood for. “NK Batra, the joint secretary finance, replied that most of this amount went towards the purchase of tracksuits for the Delhi Police for that game,” said a member who was at the meeting. HT spoke to three people who attended and they all verified that this was the reply Another, asked how . many tracksuits were bought, said “about 1250”.

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Labels: cricket, DDCA, expenses, Indo-Pak Test, Kotla, promotion of cricket, tracksuits, tracksuits for the Delhi Police

All against pubs?

If the revolting images of women being slapped, pushed and molested in Mangalore in the name of protecting Hindu culture seemed like the work of India’s loony political fringe, think again.

Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the communists used the alibi of Indian culture on Wednesday to reflect those same biases. Even Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said it was not the policy of his government to have girls and boys holding hands in public.

The BJP tried to step back from the views of the Sri Ram Sene that carried out the assault at a Mangalore pub on Saturday , but many senior party members and other Hindu nationalist groups stuck to the attackers’ belief that women should not drink or smoke.

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Labels: BJP, Indian culture, Karnataka, Mangalore, Mangalore pub, protecting Hindu culture, pubs

Mangalore’s villain arrested, but not for pub attack

On Tuesday, the Karnataka police arrested Pramod Muthalik, the founder-leader of Sri Ram Sene, which attacked women in a pub in Mangalore on Saturday.

One of the victims of the attack told Times Now news channel that it went beyond slaps and kicks. “Few of us had pants pulled down, skirts pulled down. We were molested more than attacked,” she said.

Muthalik was, however, nabbed in the border city of Belgaum for a different offence — causing communal disharmony in Davanagere. He had made an inflammatory speech there on January 12.

Confirming the arrest, Sonia Narang, superintendent of police, Belgaum, said: “We will hand him over to the police in Davanagere because there is a case against him for creating communal disharmony (there).”

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Labels: founder-leader of Sri Ram Sene, Karnataka, Karnataka police arrested, Mangalore’s villain arrested, Pramod Muthalik, pub attack, pub in Mangalore

Republic has its day

US President Barack Obama's Republic Day greeting - that the Indian people "have no better friend than the US" - had a remarkably personal tenor and went beyond mere courtesy, according to foreign policy experts.

They said Obama's message "cleared the air and quashed all speculation" about any pressure on India from the new US administration.

"It goes beyond courtesies extended on national days," said Naresh Chandra, former cabinet secretary and ambassador to the US. "It's very special and significant, as there is a personal dimension to the message."

Extending greetings, Obama said, "As the Indian people celebrate Republic Day all across India, they should know that they have no better friend and partner than the people of the United States."

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Labels: Barack Obama, foreign policy experts, Indian people, new US administration, Obama's message, Republic Day, Republic Day greeting, US President

Petrol may cost Rs 10 less

Retail Prices of petrol and diesel may come down by up to Rs 10 and Rs 3-Rs 4 per litre respectively This will . have a positive impact on the economy — lower inflation, lower interest rates and increased consumer demand.

A note forwarded by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to the Planning Commission and the ministry of finance, a copy of which is with HT, proposes to free the pricing of petrol and diesel from government control.

International crude oil prices, which are ruling at four-year lows (of about $40 a barrel), will make it possible for domestic oil marketing companies (OMCs) to effect such large cuts in retail prices. The official announcement is expected shortly before the Lok Sabha polls are notified.

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Labels: crude oil price, diesel, diesel prices, fuel prices, gas prices, Lok Sabha polls, natural gas prices, oil marketing companies, oil prices, petrol prices

Sania trips on the second hurdle

Sania Mirza crashed out of the Australian Open singles event after being hammered in straight sets by Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova in the second round.

World number 11 Petrova took just 70 minutes to beat the 22-year-old Sania 6-3 6-2, also bringing down the curtains on India's singles challenge.

Although disappointed with the loss, Sania said she was relieved to be back on the court after being out for months due to a wrist injury . “I'm just happy to be back and doing what I love doing, playing tennis and competing. I'm disappointed at losing but I will try and take positives from this,” she said.

Sania and Petrova had faced each other twice earlier and the record stood 1-1.

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Labels: Australian Open singles, India's singles challenge, Nadia Petrova, Sania Mirza, Tennis players, wrist injury

‘I, Barack Hussein Obama.

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the “skinny guy with a funny name,” Barack Hussein Obama, was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African-American to hold the office.

Taking the oath of office “amidst gathering clouds and raging storms,” he told his countrymen “we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America.”

“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly,” he said.

The ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol was watched by hundreds of thousands of people — many overcome with emotion

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Labels: America, Barack Hussein Obama, Bible used by Abraham Lincoln, first African-American, freezing weather, National Mall, Obama speech, sworn, U.S. Capitol, Washington, White House

He loved Hollywood's cop vs baddies movies

After they brought Meghalaya Police officer Raymond E Diengdoh home in a coffin, his father cursed himself for not being able to convince his son to become a treasury officer, not a police officer.

But there was honour in this death, and his 32year-old son was a hero, 60-year-old Phillip Basaiawmoit soon found out.

"If I had another son, I would have made him join the police or army to root out violence," he said.

He doesn't have another son. So Evagracia, the eldest of his three daughters, who worked as a junior executive in a travel agency in Bangalore after completing a masters in tourism administration, quit and returned home to become a police sub-inspector and live out her brother dream.

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Labels: Assam, coffin, fairytale romance, Guwahati, Hollwood cops, Meghalaya Police officer, Meghalaya rebel, Raymond E Diengdoh, ULFA

Jilted lover shoots woman, kills self

A 26 year old engineer allegedly shot his ‘friend’ and himself in New Rajinder Nagar area of central Delhi on Sunday .

The police said Uma Sharma, also an engineer, had been avoiding Sanjay Aggarwal for the past couple of months. On Sunday, he reportedly came from Jaipur to seek revenge after she spurned his advances. She survived with two bullet injuries in her chest, and is recuperating at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. He died.

“Both Sharma and Aggarwal hail from Aligarh and knew each other from college,” said Jaspal Singh, DCP (central).

“On Sunday afternoon, Aggarwal went to meet Sharma at her PG accommodation. He took a bunch of roses and a country-made revolver with him. After the landlord told him that Sharma was not at home, Aggarwal waited for her.”

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Labels: Aligarh, bullet injuries, central Delhi, competitive examination, Jaipur, MTNL, New Rajinder Nagar, Sanjay Aggarwal, Uma Sharma

Raju may have owned up to escape jail term in United States case

Did Satyam Computers chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, lodged in Chanchalguda jail, choose to confess about his alleged financial bungling to avoid appearing before a court in the US, fearing arrest?

Raju, his brother Ram Raju and former CFO Srinivas Vadlamani, were to appear before the Texas District Court to defend themselves against charges of fraud, forgery and breach of contract filed by British mobile solution firm Upaid.

The trio were directed to appear before the court on January 8, a day after Raju’s stunning confessions unravelling India’s biggest corporate fraud. Instead, a lawyer represented them — the trio had gone into hiding.

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Labels: British mobile solution firm, Chanchalguda jail, escape jail term in US case, financial bungling, Satyam Computers chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, Texas District Court, Upaid

No cockfights, no big feast, this village is in mourning

For the first time in years, residents of Garagaparru, the ancestral village of Satyam’s disgraced chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, did not celebrate Makar Sankranti — southern India’s popular harvest festival — on Wednesday .

The famous cockfights that Raju’s family sponsored in the past were missing. So were the card games and the usual fanfare. Instead there were posters and banners everywhere, rallying people in the region — which is dominated by Rajus, a farming community — in support of the Satyam founder.

“We aren’t celebrating because we’re sad,” said Bangar Raju, a fish exporter in Garagaparru.

Most residents of Garagaparru and other coastal villages in the Bhimavaram block — about 400 km southeast of Hyderabad — do not understand Raju’s crime. Nor do they want to.

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Labels: ancestral village of Satyam, cockfights, harvest festival, Makar Sankranti celebrations, Ramalinga Raju, residents of Garagaparru, Satyam founder

One person is killed here every 5 days

Opened a year ago, the 27.7 km long expressway on National Highway 8 has cut travelling time between the Capital and Gurgaon by an hour. But the high-speed corridor has also claimed 78 lives.

About half of those killed were pedestrians. The nine flyovers on the stretch allow vehicles to drive at 90 kmph but facilities for pedestrians are negligible.

There aren’t enough footover-bridges, subways and median dividers even as a life is lost here every fifth day.

A spokesman of DS Constructions, which has constructed and manages the expressway, said it has fulfilled its contractual obligations to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) by building two foot over bridges and an equal number of subways.

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Labels: Capital and Gurgaon, flyovers, footover bridges, National Highway 8, National Highways Authority of India, pedestrians

Celebrating annual day at Army Public School

Army Public School, Delhi Cantt celebrated its Annual Day where the Chief Guest, Maj Gen K.J.S Oberoi, SM, GOC Delhi Area, School Patron inaugurated the multipurpose hall and released the school magazine, Horizon. Guest of Honour, Vandana Oberoi, President AWWA -Delhi felicitated the academic and sports achievers. Officiating Principal, Usha Saini presented the annual report. Guests were welcomed by Col. S.Garg, Director APS Delhi Cantt. The cultural fiesta 'Darpan' mirrored modern society reflecting the vignettes of human civilization in the modern era. The highlights of the programme were an English musical play 'Us and Them' and a fusion dance portrayed the theme 'East meets West'.

Vidya Bal Bhawan Sr. Sec. School, Mayur Vihar Phase - III celebrated its annual function which commenced with lamp lighting by Member of Parliament, Sandeep Dikshit. Finance and Power Minister of Delhi Government, Dr. A.K. Walia presided over the function. R.N. Sharma, Dy. Director of Education East was the Chief Guest. Chairperson Resham Devi welcomed guests.

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Labels: Air Force School, animal dance, Annual Day, Army Public School, cultural fiesta, delhi, fusion dance, Horizon, school magazine, Vandana Oberoi

Teacher blinds eight-year-old girl

If you are an eight-year-old student of Class II and don’t know the meaning of Sangam — which means a confluence of rivers — there’s every chance that you may be in for a severe physical attack by your teacher.

Shweta Patel is a student of Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Korba, about 220 km from here. She was asked exactly the same question by her teacher Parasram Bhaina, 37, at a question-answer session.

Shweta didn’t know the answer. She was rebuked. It was fine up to this point. But the infuriated teacher snatched a pin from Shweta and stabbed her right eye with it.

Devprasad Patel, the child’s father, said, “As if rebuking was not enough, the teacher pierced her right eye.”

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Labels: infuriated teacher, meaning of Sangam, question-answer session, Shweta Patel, student of Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Korba, teacher Parasram Bhaina

International airlines change schedules to avoid fog

With Indira Gandhi International Airport witnessing long spells of dense fog and flight schedules going haywire, many international airlines have changed flight timings to avoid fog.

"The IGI Airport witnesses the worst fog conditions in the wee hours and that is when most of the international flights operate," said a senior airport official on condition of anonymity "Almost all these airlines have compliant aircraft and trained pilots to operate in poor visibility However, IGIA is witnessing zero visibility at times this winter and even these airlines are finding it difficult to operate," he said.

"We have advanced the departure timing of the Delhi-New York non-stop flight AI 101 has been advanced till January 31 in order to overcome the fog situation at the IGI Airport," said an Air India spokesman.

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Labels: dense fog, flight schedules, Indira Gandhi International Airport, International Airlines, worst fog conditions

Fossil smugglers strike

Dinosaur eggs, bones and marine fossils, dating back to the Cretaceous period - which ended 65 million years ago - are being smuggled out from the Manawar tribal belt, about 140 km from here.

An investigation conducted by Hindustan Times, in collaboration with some amateur explorers, revealed that the smugglers were using some galleries in Pune to secretly reach the global buyer.

Manawar drew international attention after dinosaur eggs and nesting sites were spotted here for the first time in February 2007, by Mangal Panchayatan Parishad, an organisation of amateur explorers.

Though the eggs were identified as those of dinosaurs' only in 2007, local tribals had been aware of the 'round rock like objects' scattered in the area for many decades.

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Labels: amateur explorers, bones and marine fossils, Cretaceous period, Dinosaur eggs, Fossil smugglers, Manawar tribal belt

Robbers caught after high drama in Kalkaji

Bank staff and customers foiled a daring daylight robbery bid at a bank in Kalkaji on Monday afternoon.

A few hours later, two people, including one policeman and a civilian, were injured after two robbers - who came back to collect a bike they had left behind - opened fire when accosted by the police.

The police eventually managed to overpower the two with the help of the public. One more person was arrested on information provided by the two robbers. Another constable was injured in the scuffle.

Robbery bid

The scene of action was Central Bank in Krishna Market in Kalkaji. As per eyewitness accounts, two men - all aged between 20 and 25 - reached the bank around 1:20 p.m.. While one waited outside, the other headed straight to senior manager P.C. Bairwa's cabin.

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Labels: bank in Kalkaji, central bank, Kalkaji, Robbers, robbery bid

Nepal Prime Minister plays down sacking of priests

Prime Minister Prachanda sought to calm tempers over the appointment of Nepalese priests at Pashupatinath temple, saying he did not intend to displace the south Indian 'Bhatta' brahmins, who had overseen rituals at the temple for the past 300 years.

The appointment of Nepalese priests in place of Indians was a "mere coincidence" and not intended to oust the Indians, he told leaders of various small parties here on Sunday, adding the issue had been "pointlessly politicised".

His comments came a day after deposed king Gyanendra appealed to the people not to "politicise" the dispute. Foreign minister Upendra Yaday, representing the Madhesis, said on Sunday the Maoists were trying to "capture" Nepal's holiest Hindu shrine.

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Labels: appointment of Nepalese priests, Kathmandu's Tribhuvan airport, Maoists, Nepal's holiest Hindu shrine, Nepalese priests, Pashupatinath temple, Prime Minister Prachanda, south Indian bhatta brahmins

Indian Institute of Technology gets tougher: 49 dreams, 1 seat

Getting into an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will be more difficult this year than it was in 2008, even though two new ones will come up by July This yeal: 49 students will compete for one seat, up from the 44 that did so last year.

Last year, 3.11 lakh students took IIT's joint entrance exam for one of 6,992 seats, while this year more than 3.9 lakh (a rise of 25 per cent) will vie for approximately 7,900 seats (a rise of 13 per cent). The exam will be held on April l2.

"Many more students in the Other Backward Class category may be taking the test this year because the seats reserved for them will increase," said Gautam Barua, IIT-Guwahati director, who provided the data.

All IITs must eventually reserve 27 per cent of their seats for this group. The six new IITs that began last year implemented the quota all at once. Two more new IITs coming up in Indore and Himachal Pradesh this year will also do so.

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Labels: IIT, IIT-Guwahati director, IITs, new IITs coming up in Indore and Himachal Pradesh, Other Backward Class category, seats reserved, students

Malaysian warship saves Indian tanker from Somali

Swift Intervention by a Malaysian naval helicopter on Thursday saved an Indian vessel from a hijack bid by armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden region, off Somalia.

“Heavily armed pirates on two speed boats opened fire on the Indian tanker heading towards Suez Canal early this morning but sped away after a frigate Malaysian dispatched a helicopter to rescue the vessel,” the International Maritime Bureau chief Noel Choong said. No one was injured in the incident in which pirates dressed in military attire rigged the tanker’s bridge and accommodation bunks with machine gun and automatic fire.

The Malaysian helicopter did not fire at the pirates’ speed boats, he said.

“This was a new year’s gift to the owners of the Indian tankers. If the Malaysian war ship had not arrived on the scene their tanker would have been hijacked,” he said.

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Labels: Indian tanker, Indian vessel from a hijack bid by armed pirates, Malaysian naval helicopter, Malaysian warship, new year’s gift, pirates, Somali pirates, Suez Canal, Swift Intervention

Hindustan Times

Friday, January 30, 2009

Off track: 40 lakh or there abouts on dressing up cops?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

All against pubs?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Mangalore’s villain arrested, but not for pub attack

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Republic has its day

Friday, January 23, 2009

Petrol may cost Rs 10 less

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sania trips on the second hurdle

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

‘I, Barack Hussein Obama.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

He loved Hollywood's cop vs baddies movies

Monday, January 19, 2009

Jilted lover shoots woman, kills self

Friday, January 16, 2009

Raju may have owned up to escape jail term in United States case

Thursday, January 15, 2009

No cockfights, no big feast, this village is in mourning

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

One person is killed here every 5 days

Monday, January 12, 2009

Celebrating annual day at Army Public School

Friday, January 9, 2009

Teacher blinds eight-year-old girl

Thursday, January 8, 2009

International airlines change schedules to avoid fog

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Fossil smugglers strike

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Robbers caught after high drama in Kalkaji

Monday, January 5, 2009

Nepal Prime Minister plays down sacking of priests

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Indian Institute of Technology gets tougher: 49 dreams, 1 seat

Friday, January 2, 2009

Malaysian warship saves Indian tanker from Somali

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