Times Chennai E Paper March 10, 2009

8/14/2019 Times Chennai E Paper March 10, 2009

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VOL: 2 ISSUE 53 March 10, 2009

hennai, March 10:Bus travel just

ent high-tech in Indiasouthern cultural capital.very bus stop in the city

ll soon have a Globalositioning System orPS, a vending machine,public telephone, a cell-hone charging outlet,eiling fans and security

u a r d s . T h edministration hopes toet the set up installedthin six months next.

I think it's a veryce idea and all the busops in Tamil Nadu

hould become like this,aid a commuter.

If there are moreuch bus shelters inhennai, this city will betally different, said

nother commuter whoas happy about the

omfort factor.There are many

though, who ask as towhy a bus serviceshould have a GPSsystem.

The first gain,

explain the peoplerunning it, will be thatone will have an exactidea of how soon thenext bus will arrive.

I f a n y b u s

suffers a break-down oris over-speeding, oreven if it decides to takea detour on anotherr o u t e , t h e f l e e tmanagers will knowimmediately.

Apart from allthese features, thesebus-stops might soonh a v e s u r v e i l l a n c ecameras, FM radio,water vending machineand an ATM machine.

With 500 more

such bus-stops comingup in the city before

S e p t e m b e r , t h emanagement has arequest to make to thecommuters.

M y o n l yr e q u e s t t o t h epassengers is to pleasesupport us in this. If they

help us in maintainingthis and promise not toallow damages to comeabout, we can give themmore such features. It ispublic property and sincea lot of people will beusing it, we will need all

the support we can get,said the managingD i rec t o r o f M e t roM u l t i m e d i a , DMuralidharan.

The only fearsare that a few monthsdown the line, the hi-

tech gadgetry may notwork well or may getv a n d a l i s e d a n dabandoned like manyo t h e r a m b i t i o u sgovernment projects.

Chennai gets GPS-enabled bus service

umbai, March 10 :Indian Premier

ague (IPL) matches wille t e l e c a s t l i v e a tultiplexes in the country.

Announcing thise r e T u e s d a y , I P L

h a i r m a n a n dmmissioner Lalit Modiid tendering for thel e c a s t r i g h t s a t

ult iplexes is in theocess.

It is an ongoingocess and we havevited bids from the

multiplexes. However,the multiplexes in the cityin which the match isplayed will not show itlive. For instance, amatch in Mumbai cant beshown there, he said.

Modi also saidthe IPL is planning tohave commentary invarious languages toattract local fans.

A person inChennai can listen to thecommentary in Tamil, hesaid.

Multiplexes to telecastIPL matches


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 10, 2009ge 2

hennai, March 10A lawyers' body

re has filed a petition ine Madras High Courteking suspension of 15lice personnel, includingy Police CommissionerRadhakrishnan, for thel e g e d a t t a c k o n

vocates, judges, courtaff and litigants on itsemises on February 19.he petition, fi led bya d r a s H i g h C o u r t

dvocates' AssociationHAA) President R.C.

aul Kanakaraj on Monday,so sought cr iminalntempt proceedingsainst Chief SecretaryS. Sripathi and Homeecretary S. Malathi, DGPP. Jain, additional DGPelligence Anup Jaiswald 18 State governmenticials in connection withe incident. It also soughtnsfer of the DGP.

The petition alsoanted police to deposit itsntire log of internalom m un i c a t i on f r omebruary 17 to 19 with theurt and "withdrawal ofoot-at-sight orders given February 20".

On February 19,lice entered the Madras

High Court premises andresorted to lathi chargeon lawyers agitating onthe Sri Lankan Tamils andChidambaram Templeissues. The police actionleft many advocatesinjured and court propertydamaged.

Ever since theincident, the lawyershave been boycottingwork demanding actionagainst the police officersresponsible for enteringthe cour t p remiseswithout permission.

In a bid to endthe s t a l em a te , t heSupreme Court hadappointed the JusticeB . N . S r i k r i s h n aCommission to look intot h e i s s u e a n d f i xresponsibility for theevents of February 19.

In its report tothe apex court, the panelslammed the lawyersc a l l i n g t h e m a s" h o o l i g a n s " a n d"miscreants". However, itdid not spare the policeeither and said that theyhad gone "berserk" andresorted to force "beyondwhat was permissible."

The committee

also held the judges ofthe Madras High Courtresponsib le for thep r e s e n t " p i q u a n tsituation" by following a"soft-pedalling policy" inthe context of the protestsby lawyers sympathisingwith the LTTE cause.

The provocationfor the violence in theHigh Court premises onFebruary 19 was startedby the "unruly mob oflawyers" but "once thepolice got into action,there was no stoppingthem" and they went"berserk" and damagedthe court properties,Justice Srikrishna, aretired apex court judge,said in his interim report.

The State levelJoint Action Committee(JAC) of Bar Associationshas, however, rejectedthe Justice Srikrishnainterim report. In a pressrelease here, it allegedthat the report "is riddledw i t h f a c t u a lc on t rad i c t i ons andinconsistencies".

- Agencies

Lawyers body move court seekingsuspension of police officials

hennai, March 10 :An Hyderabad-

ound Paramount Airways

ght with 32 passengersday made an emergencynding at the airport here

following a technicalsnag. Th e f l i g h t ,which took off from here

at 6.50a m ,develope d atechnical s n a gm i d -a i ra n dreturned, airportsourcess a i d .T h epasseng

ers werea c c o m m o d a t e d i nanother private airline

f l i g h t b o u n d f o rHyderabad, they added.

A clarificationissued by the Airline sayst h a t t h e p i l o t o fParamount Airways flightI 7 4 6 3 ( C h e n n a i -Hyderabad) after take offon a suspicion of a minortechn ica l fau l t anddecided to return to thebase. The Flight landedn o r m a l l y a n d t h etechnicians found nomajor fault and clearedthe aircraft in 30 minutes.This flight thereafterdeparted as scheduled.

- Bureau Report

Flight makes emergencylanding in Chennai

hennai, March 10The Employees

t a t e I n s u r a n c eo r p o r a t i o n ( E S I C )ospital in K K Nagar willart its own Post-graduates t i t u t e o f M ed i c a l

ciences and Researchom this academic year,aid Dr Suman Seth,

edical Superintendentday on the occasion ofe ongoing ESI fortnightlebration.

About 30 PGats would be filled up inne departments in theedical colleges for thecademic year of 2010-11.

The college would beginin K K Nagar itself. Theentire cost of the projecta n d t h e f o r t n i g h tcelebrations will be Rs200 crore, informed DrS e t h . T h e n i n edepar tments wou ldi n c l u d e m e d i c i n e ,gynecology, surgery,

pediatrics, pathology,m i c r o b i o l o g y a n dbiochemistry amongothers.

With a massivefacelift, the patients at thehospital are in for aluxurious treat. Waitingfor them is a state of the

art Intensive Care Unita n d a r e n o v a t e dPediatric ward. Thehospital has tied up withreputed hospitals in thecity for providing superspecialty treatment to theeligible beneficiaries.

Dr Seth informsthat the hospital has

been upgraded and theadditional infrastructureis in place. About Rs 1crore has been procureda s p a r t o f t h eupgradation project.

-Agencies

ESIC Hospital to set up medical college

Chennai, March 10N e w l y

appointed Madras HighCourt Chief Justice H LGokhale on Mondayrecommended to theSupreme Court thatformer acting ChiefJ u s t i c e S J

Mukhopadhaya, whocame under attack by theSrikrishna Commission,who probed the police-l a w y e r s c l a s h o nF e b r u a r y 1 9 , b etransferred to some otherH i g h c o u r t w i t hpromotion.

On the day ofassuming office, theC h i e f J u s t i c erecommended that theapex court transfer

Justice Mukhopadhayato any other court in thecountry with elevation ''tosave the decorum of theHigh Court and the judge'' in the wake ofSrikrishna Commissionpassing adverse remarksagainst the former acting

Chief Justice.H i g h C o u r t

Registrar General RMala sent the letter to theSupreme court on behalfof the Chief Justice,highly placed sourcestold a news agency.

J u s t i c eSrikrishna, in his interimreport, accused thelawyers of behaving likehooligans, while indictingthe pol ice for their

excesses.The retired judge

also said the soft attitude ofthe former acting ChiefJustice had resulted in theclash and virtually blamedhim for his inaction.

A f t e r t h eCommiss ion's inter im

r e p o r t , J u s t i c eMukhopadhaya fell sickwith high Blood Pressureand viral fever and wasadmitted to a hospital, theChief Justice said, whiler e c o m m e n d i n g h i selevation. ''This is to savethe decorum of the MadrasHigh Court and the formeracting Chief Justice'', hesaid.

-Agencies

CJ recommends transfer ofMukhopadhaya to save MHC decorum

Chennai, March 10:N o v a t i u m

Solutions, the leadingp r o v i d e r s o f r i c hcomputing services, inassociation with BSNLh a s l a u n c h e d a nawareness program forthe BSNL Nova netPC topublicise its benefitsthrough live demos atvarious localities.

Novatium hasAn Experience ZoneVan which will visit one

key locality of Chennaieveryday and give thepeople a chance toexperience the NovanetPC for themselves.The van will cover 26areas around the cityover a period of 26 days.

The road showis designed to promotethe concept of computingas a service- which is farmore advanced, secureand efficient than regularcomputing and comes ata fairly low price. The

BSNL Nova netPC is theworlds first $100 PC;therefore it carries anobvious promise of beingaccessible to the massesof India. The netPC is notonly the most affordablecomputer, but unlike anyother computer availablein the market, it is ane n t i r e l ymaintenance free PC -free fromthe hassles

of antivirusinstallations, softwareupgradation s , d a t al o s s , w h i l e b e i n gextremely powerful.

Speaking onthis initiative, Mr. AlokSingh, CEO, Novatiumsaid, Novatium believesin simple computing forthe masses. NovatiumsNova netPC is a powerfulwhile being an affordableand simple desktop. We

have made it very userfriendly so that it can nowbe operated like anyhousehold appliance at thetouch of a button. This is aunique way of spreadingcomputing literacy inChennai. The vision ofNovatium, he added, is toprovide powerful yet

simple and affordablecomputing for the nextbillion.

One can buy thepc online too click this urlwww.novatium.com/buy.htm or you can call on theirtoll free number: 1800 4256682.

-Agencies

BSNL and Novatium launch

Experience Zone Van

Chennai, March 10 :Officials of the

Directorate of Vigilanceand Ant i -Corrupt ionconducted a surprisecheck on the office of theManag ing D i rec to r ,

Metropolitan TransportCorporation, here on

Monday and seizedRs.6.19 lakh. Accordingto DVAC sources, thecash was seized from theofficial car, drawers and

Personal Assistant of theM D , M . R a m aSubramanian. Based oninformation that the officialwas taking bribe fromcontractors during workinghours, a special team ledby Deputy Superintendentsof Police M.B.N. Natarajanand S. Thirunavukkarasuconducted the surprisecheck that lasted aboutthree hours. We haveseized Rs.6.19 lakh duringthe search. He (RamaSubramanian) also has

about Rs.3 lakh in his bankaccount. Officials of theDistrict Inspection Cellwere present during theo p e r a t i o n , M r .Thirunavukkarasu saidadding that investigationwas on to ascertain thesource of the moneyseized.

MTC MDs office raided by DVAC sleuths

DVAC sleuths comin g out after conducting theraid from mTC MD's office on Monday


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Times Chennai E-Paperarch 10, 2009 Page 3

hennai, March 10The Dr Ambedkar

overnment Law Colleger e m i s e s s u d d e n l yecame the focus of mediand public attention ononday when a group ofudents entered thellege, closed indefinitely

n January 31, and stagedsitin dharna demanding

e immediate reopeningthe college.T h e c o l l e g e

incipal, Prof Iqbal, saidat a group of six studentsn e a k e d i n t o t h empound and demandedat they be allowed too n t i n u e w i t h t h e i rducation but were tolda t i t w as f o r t he

overnment to take a

d e c i s i o n o n t h a t .However, police said thatabout a score of studentsstaged a protest insidet h e c a m p u s a n ddispersed in the evening.

Police picketsat the gates rousedpub l i c cur ios i ty asmemories of the violentclash on the college

premises in Novemberlast year were fresh in theminds of many. Thecollege that was closedon November 13 openedon January 19 afterexaminations were heldw i t h h e a v y p o l i c eprotection. It was closedindefinitely again onJanuary 31 along witho t h e r e d u c a t i o n a l

institutions following thestudents protest over theSri Lankan Tamil issue.

After ten days,educational institutionswere opened in a phasedmanner starting withengineering collegesfollowed by arts andscience colleges but lawc o l l e g e s r e m a i n e d

closed. Law studentsare now a worried lot.How are they going tocomplete the syllabusa n d c o n d u c t t h eexaminations for thissemester? asked astudent. Many studentsfelt that they were beingdiscriminated against.

-Agencies

'Reopen our college

hennai, March 10:9 9 y e a r o l d

atrick Manning is a happyan today, able to walknd lead an active life,anks to the hip surgery he

uccessfully underwent atalar Hospital in Chennai.

r .andkumarundaram,e n i o r

onsultantrthopedicu r g e o ni t h h i s

e a m o f

octors ata l a r

os p i t a l sa n

ssociate ofo r t i se a l t ha r e )

perated onis 99-yrd patientcently for

fractured hip. Thisthopedic procedure atalar Hospitals is astimony to the fact thatgardless of your age, the

est treatment practicesan assist you leading aealthy, independent andgnified life.

M r . P a t r i c kanning was at the peak ofs health, a successfulntrepreneur, leading anctive, independent life.agerly looking forward toi s c e n t e n n i a l

elebrations, Mr. Manningl down three months

go, at home and broke hisght hip. He was refusedrgery at many of theominent hospitals of they, because of his age,

espite the fact that he washerwise medically fit. Mr.anning was medically

dvised to confine himselfthe bed till the fracture

ealed. He was bed- riddenr more than 3 months,tally dependent on othersr his care. The fractureealed in a wrong position

so he could not walk andhe was suffering withsevere pain.

Mr. Manningsrelatives approached Dr.Nandkumar Sundaram,Sen i o r C ons u l t an t ,T r a u m a & J o i n t ,

Replacement Surgeon atMalar Hospitals, Dr.Nandkumar and hismed ica l team a f te rreassuring themselvesabout the physical fitness

of Patrick took up thechallenge of performingt h i s c o m p l i c a t e doperation. Mr. Manninghas recovered well and istoday walking with the aidof a walking frame. Heseems to have got a newlease of life and is eagerlyl ook i ng f o rw a rd t ocracking a century at theend of this year

W h i l eelaborating the raresurgery conducted at thehospital, Dr. Nandkumar,Sen i o r C ons u l t an t ,T r a u m a & J o i n t ,

orthopedic Surgeon,Malar Hospitals Said, Thechallenges before uswere mu l t i p le . Thehipbone had started to join in a wrong position.Also the bones were quiteosteoporotic due to ageand lack of use. The

prolonged immobilizationin bed had also causedlung congestion. Theanesthetist administeredgenera l anes thes iacombined with epiduralanalgesia for pain- reliefin the post-operative

period. We had toc o r r e c t t h edeformity beforefixing the fracturewith a dynamichip screw. Thegratifying resulthas justified ourbold approach in

this case.We at Malar

have always andwill continue toprovide worldclass medicalfacilities to ourpatients, addedDr. Nandkumar.

H i pr e p l a c e m e n tsurgery in India is

we l l known amongsurgeons to be anefficient solution forcuring hip arthritis and hipd i s o r d e r s . H i preplacement surgery is

a l s o c a l l e d h i parthroplasty. It is asurgical procedure inwhich the hip joint isreplaced by a prostheticmetallic implant. Hipreplacement surgery isdone to relieve arthritispa in o r f i x severedamaged physical jointas a part of the hipfracture treatment. Thes u c c e s s o f h i preplacement surgeryd e p e n d s o n t h eexperience and expertiseof the patient to follow the

post surgery precautions.The hospital stay for hipreplacement surgerymay vary from 2-6 daysand recovery time mayvary from 4 weeks to 3months.

-Agencies

You are never too old to leada quality Life

Chennai, March 10 :T h o u g h

students study well andhard, undergo practicesessions, its a fact thatthe 10th and 12thstudents facing theirboard exams have a fear

Chennai, March 10E l e c t i o n

Commissions clearanceis a must for politicaladvertisements to bet e l e c a s t t h r o u g htelev is ion channelsincluding DoordarshanKendra, cable networksand All India Radiomeant for the ensuingLok Sabha elections.While the registered

parties have to get priorpermission from the ECat least three days beforethe telecast of theiradvertisements, theunregistered parties andothers have to apply forpermission at least oneweek ahead of thetelecast.

Addressing apress conference at theS e c r e t a r i a t , C h i e fElectoral Officer NareshGupta said a State-levelcommittee for certifyingpolitical advertisements,headed by Joint Chief

E l e c t o r a l O f f i c e rJayashree Muralidharanhad been f o rm ed .Collector of Chennai

w hen i t c om es t oexecution.

To support andmotivate students in thechallenging times, OnlyS u c c e s s L e a r n i n gTechnologies, a

T r a i n i n g

District, Assistant StationD i r e c t o r s o fDoordarshan Kendraand All India Radio wouldbe the members of thepanel. Responding to aquery, the CEO said thepurpose of certificationf o r p o l i t i c a ladvertisement was toprevent any violation ofmodel code of conduct --personal attacks, use of

religion and caste etc.If any politicalparty is aggrieved by thedecision of the abovepanel regarding i tsdecision to approve orr e j e c t t h eadvertisements, then itc a n a p p r o a c h t h ecommittee headed by theCEO V Sriram, AssistantS t a t i o n D i r e c t o r ,Doordarshan Kendra, RB a l a s u b r a m a n i a n ,S t a t i o n D i r e c t o r ,C o m m e r c i a lBroadcasting Service, AllIndia Radio and the

Election Observor (to beappointed) would be themembers of the panel.

Answering a

company has created aHelp Line for Students andParents to overcome theiranxiety and fear. Dial in @96000 80058 to talk to theirmotivational coaches forany assistance and helpsays a press release.

query, Gupta said the EChad received complaintsabout violation of modelcode of conduct, but noneof them were about majorviolation. Regarding theappointments made in theAgriculture Departmentafter the model code cameinto force, the Commissionhad sought explanationf rom the Agr i cu l tu reSecretary. There was a

c o m p l a i n t a b o u tdistribution of freebies inTrichi. To another question,the CEO said eligiblev o t e r s c o u l d f i l eapplications for inclusion oftheir names in the voterslist till the last day of filingnominations. CEOS

T h e C E O sw e b s i t e h a s b e e nrevamped for the LokSabha elections with latestd e t a i l s a b o u t t h econs t i tuenc ies , f i na lelectoral rolls, EVMs, list ofsitting MPs, MLAs etc. Thewebsite addresses are:

www.elections.tn.gov.ina n dwww.ceotamilnadu.nic.in.

New helpline for students

Committee formed to certify politicalads on TV channels

Chennai, March 10,In response to

t h e o v e r w h e l m i n gdemand for overseaseducation solutions inSouth India, OceanicConsultants, the marketleader in the internationaleducation industry, will

l a u n c h o f f i c e s i nChennai, Coimbatoreand Tiruchirapalli. Forstudents from SouthIndia interested in anoverseas educat ionopportunity, these officeswil l be world classadvisories and a onestop solution for careerguidance, admission totop institutions and visaformalities involved in thee n t i r e a p p l i c a t i o nprocess.

Speaking at thelaunch Mr . NareshGulati, CEO of OceanicC o n s u l t a n t s s a i d ,

"Oceanic Consultants isdriven by core values of'Ethics, Expertise andLeadership.' We strive toprovide the most efficienta n d t r a n s p a r e n tprocesses built over adecade of expertise inthis industry to ensurestudents get the value for

their time, effort andmoney to realize theirambitions. We have anetwork of offices in Indiaand our foray into SouthIndia is in response to thehuge demand for qualityadvisory services in thisregion.

According to arecent report publishedby the industry body TheAssociated Chambers ofCommerce and Industryof India (ASSOCHAM)around 500, 000 Indianstudents every year gooverseas for universityeducation. Confirmingthis trend the BritishCouncil too reported thatt h e y e a r o n y e a rpercentage of studentsgoing to the UK foreducation from SouthIndia has increased over63 per cent in September2007-Oc tober 2008

when compared to theprevious year. Around44% of UK student visasissued from the countrywere from the foursouthern s ta tes o fAndhra Pradesh, TamilNadu, Karnataka andK e r a l a . O c e a n i cConsultants will aim to

service this crucial demandleveraging its over adecade of experience in thefield of overseas education.The regional offices will bepremier advice centresfocussed on world classservice through dedicatedcounsellors combining

state of art technology withworld class infrastructure,added Mr Gulati. They area l s o t h e o f f i c i a lrepresentative of reputededucational institutions inAustralia, New Zealand,United Kingdom and will bea one stop solution thataddresses the needs ofp rospec t i ve s tudentsranging from career adviceto getting admissions,financial planning, studentv i s a , p r e d e p a r t u r egu idance and t rave lassistance.

The group alsooffers a needs-based

scholarship worth Rs. 1c r o r e - - O c e a n i cInternational EducationS c h o l a r s h i p s - - t oencourage students whodemonstrate seriousnessto pursue higher educationin any d isc ip l i ne inAustralia, New Zealand orUnited Kingdom.

Oceanic Consultants opensoffice in Chennai


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 10, 2009age 4 National

ew Delhi, March 10 :In his first public

nction after recovering

om cardiac bypassrgery, Prime Ministeranmohan Singh on

uesday met a group ofuslim girls and used thecasion to assert that noe had the license to

"criticise or run down"other religions.

T h o u g hS i n g h ' sf i r s to f f i c i a lengagement was

h i smeet ingw i t h ahead of aState ofan Africanc o u n t r ylast week,h i sinteraction with thech i ld rent o d a ywas hisf i r s tp u b l i cengagement.

Greetingt h ech i ld ren

on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, he said "ourConstitution gives fullfreedom to the people topractice any religion oftheir choice, but it does

not give anyone thelicense to criticize or rundown other religions."

Addressing thestudents studying in Urdumedium schools in thecapital on the occasion ofProphet Mohammed's

birth anniversary, he saidthe count ry cannotprosper until womenprogress and girls weregiven equal opportunitiesto study in schools andcolleges.

T h e P r i m eM i n i s t e r s a i d h i sgovernment has donemuch to promote Urduand promised to continueto do al l that wasnecessary to promote thelanguage.

H e a l s oexpressed satisfactionover the good results of

t h e U r d u m e d i u mschools, saying that Urdulanguage is a livingexample of "our Ganga-J a m u n a t e h z e e b(composite culture)".

-Agencies

No one has licence to criticiseother religions: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with schoolchildren on the occasion Milad-un-Nabi at his

residence in New Delhi on Tuesday

Hyderabad, March 10:

T h einves t igat ions in toRs.7,800 crore scam inS a t y a m C o m p u t e rServices picked upmomentum as theCent ra l Bureau o f

Invest igat ion (CBI)Tuesday questioned theIT f irm's disgracedformer chairman B.Ramalinga Raju andfour other accused.

T h e C B I ' sm u l t i - d i s c i p l i n a r yinves t igat ion team(MDIT) headed by theagency's DIG V.V.Lakshmi Narayana isquizzing the accused att h e s t a t e - o w n e dDilkusha Guest Housenear the Raj Bhavan, the

official residence of thegovernor.

T h eques t ion ing beganimmediately after CBIofficials took custody ofthe accused following acourt order.

A team of CBIo f f i c i a l s w e n t t oChanchalguda CentralJail and brought theaccused to the guesthouse, which is servingas the camp office of the

investigating team.A court had

Monday allowed the CBI

to take custody ofRamalinga Raju, hisbrother and formermanaging director B.Rama Raju, ex-chieff i n a n c i a l o f f i c e rVadlamani Srinivas ands a c k e d

P r i c e W a t e r h o u s ep a r t n e r s S .Gopalakrishnan andTalluri Srinivas.

The accusedwill be in CBI custody forseven days.

The CBI hopest o g a t h e r v i t a linformation from theaccused during theweek-long questioning,the first since the federala g e n c y t o o k u pinvestigation last monthf r o m t h e A n d h r aPradesh Police.

T h einvestigating agency islikely grill RamalingaRaju about how themassive fraud wasc o m m i t t e d , t h einvolvement of othercompany o f f ic ia ls ,diversion of Satyamfunds to over 300companies floated byhim and his familymembers and purchaseof lands and other

p r o p e r t y b y t h eaccused.This is the first time an

i n v e s t i g a t i o n t e a minvolving experts fromd i f f e r e n t f i e l d s i squestioning the accused.

The 16-memberMDIT includes bankinge x p e r t s , c h a r t e r e daccountants and officials

from the Securities andExchange Board of India,Registrar of Companies,S e r i o u s F r a u dInves t igat ion Of f ice ,Enforcement Directorateand Income Tax.

The CBI las tm o n t h b o o k e d t h eaccused for criminalconsp i racy , c r im ina lbreach of trust, cheating,forgery and falsification ofaccounts.

Ramalinga Rajuhad Jan 7 confessed that

he had cooked t hecompany's account booksand inflated profits overthe past several years.

The companyfounder and his brotherRama Raju were arrestedJan 9.

F o r m e r c h i e ffinancial officer Vadlamaniwas picked up the nextday. Two former auditorsfrom PriceWaterhousewere detained later.

-Agencies

CBI questions Rajus,ex-CFO in Satyam scam

atna, March 10:RJD supremo

alu Prasad and Biharhief Minister Nit ishumar are not only rivals ine political turf war beforeok Sabha polls, they arehting on the covers ofchkaris on the eve of HoliBihar.

P i c h k a r i sprayers) carrying photos

Lalu Prasad, Nitishumar are in heavyemand among the Holivellers. Top cricketers

nd bollywood stars alsontinue to be popularong with them in the

arket before the festivalcolours.The p ichkar i -

akers have put on

display the pichkaris ofd i f ferent s izes andcolours named afterRailway minister andRJD supremo, LaluPrasad, his arch rival andBihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar, Team Indiacaptain M S Dhoni,B o l l y w o o d a c t r e s sBipasha Basu to encashon their popularity.

P i c h k a r i ss h a p e d a s g u n s ,g r e n a d e s , r o c k e t -launchers with flashinglights as well as thetraditional ones withprices ranging from Rs

10-1,000 have floodedthe market."La l u -Bho l u "

pichkaris in the shape of

rocket-launchers anddeadly weapons arebeing demanded bychildren, Roshan Kumar,a shopowner at BoringCanal Road here said.

Customers arepreferring pichkaris withphotos of politicians overcricketers and Bollywoodstars as election feverg r i p s t h e s t a t e ,shopowners said.

" S p r a y e r sbearing the names ofwrestler Khali, JamesBond-2007, Terminator,S u p e r m a n a n dSpiderman are also

selling well," Md Hafiz, apichkari seller in Patnasaid.

-Agencies

Lalu, Nitish fight overpichkari before LS polls

ew Delhi, March 10:Unfazed by the

ash of its prototype 14-ater passenger aircraft,ientists will go aheadth the project to develope c o u n t r y ' s f i r s t

digenous plane." T h e S a r a s

oject will continue, well not shelve it," S Kahmachari, Directorenera l , Counc i l o fcientific and Industrialesearch (CSIR) toldporters.

T h e s e c o n dototype of Saras civilianane had crashed on

Friday near Bangalorekilling three IAF testpilots.

The aircraft builtby National AerospaceLaboratories (NAL) wascompletely destroyed inthe accident. NAL is oneof the 37 research

institutes governed byCSIR. Brahmachari hasheld discussions withofficers of the Indian AirForce and civil aviationauthort ies after theaccident. He said theprototype - I of the aircraftwill be modified andconverted to a prototype

III by fitting the higherthrust Pratt and Whitneyengines. The UnionCabinet has alreadyapproved addi t ionalfunds for the project aswell as for developing a70-seater passengeraircraft.

Brahmachar i ,who met scientists at NALand relatives of thedeceased pi lots onSaturday, said that fatherof one of the pilots toldhim that completion of theproject would be a fittingtribute to his son.

-Agencies

Saras project: Scientists to continue

developing countrys first indigenous plane

New Delhi, March 10:T h e

Communist Party ofIndia-Marxist (CPI-M),which is giving shape to

a Third Front, Tuesdaysaid that more partieswere likely to join thenew formation beforethe April-May elections.

" T h e r e a r eindications that mores e c u l a r p a r t i e sassociated with both theN D A ( N a t i o n a lDemocratic Alliance)a n d U P A ( U n i t e dProgressive Alliance)may join the new force,"said CPI-M politburomember M.K. Pandhe.

His commentsfollowed the dramaticcollapse of the rulingBharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-Biju Janata Dal(BJD) coa l i t i on i nOrissa.

T h e C P I - M

leader said differencesamong the parties in thealliances led by the BJPand the Congress werewidening and his party

was in touch with like-minded outfits in boththe coalitions.

" T h e s m a l lpa r t i es w i t h in t heCongress- and BJP-ledalliances are facingdifficulties.

T h e r e a r emany developments,"Pandhe, a veteran tradeunion leader, told IANS.

" T h e B J D ' sdecision to end theirdecade-long alliancewith the BJP is strong

proof that our effort toform an alternative(against the Congressand BJP) is gatheringstrength," Pandhe said.

T h e C P I - Malong with its Left allieshas already formed an

alliance with the TeluguDesam Party (TDP), theTelangana Rashtra Samiti(TRS), the AIADMK andthe Janata Dal-Secular

(JD-S). The launch rallyof the future formationwould be held in Tumkurnear Bangalore Thursday.

The rally is beingorganised by former primem i n i s t e r a n d J D - Ssupremo H.D. DeveGowda.

Representativesof all the anti-Congress,anti-BJP constituents areexpected to attend therally.

Though the BJD

has not revealed its plan,the JD-S leadership hasstated that the Orissaparty would be invited tothe Tumkur rally.

-Agencies

More parties may joinThird Front: CPI-M


5/10

Times Chennai E-Paper Page 5March 10, 2009 Other States

ew Delhi, March 10:The search for a

w AIIMS director hasded as the government Tuesday appointed Dr

C Deka, who is currentlye head of department of

NT, as the new head ofe country's premieralth institute.

The appointmentDr Deka as the new

IMS director by a Cabinet

committee has also put torest a nine-month-longuncer ta in ty over asuitable candidate.

A f o r m a lgovernment notificationwill be sent to AIIMS latertoday. The search for anew AIIMS di rectorbegan with the retiremento f f o r m e r h e a d PVenugopal in July last

year.The dean of

examination of AIIMS, RC Deka, was long tippedto be the new director ofAIIMS.

Dekas name isunderstood to have beenfinalised at a meeting oft h e h i g h - p o w e r e dinstitute body after aspecial committee set upto select a new directorfor AIIMS submitted a

s h o r t l i s t e d l i s t o fcandidates for the post.

Deka's namewas then forwarded tothe Prime Minister'soffice by Union HealthM i n i s t e r Anbum an iRamadoss.

T h e s e a r c hc o m m i t t e e a l s oa p p r o v e d t h e l a s tmonth's governing body

decision on a 200-pointroster based reservationsuperseding the earliersys tem o f f l oa t ingreservation.

Besides, it alsopermitted to amendAIIMS Regulation 30 toincrease the age ofs u p e r a n n u a t i o n o femployees from 62 to 65.

-Agencies

Dr Deka appointed AIIMS director

hubaneswar, March 10:Ahead of the

ucial trial of strength ofe Naveen Patna ik

overnment in Orissaednesday, the ruling BJDas today confident ofiling through.

"Our governmentabsolutely safe. While

e chief minister hasbmitted a list of 76pporting MLAs to the

overnor, more legislatorse likely to vote in favour,"JD's Secretary General

Damodar Rout saidTueday.

T h e C h i e fMinister had paraded 75of the 147 MLAs beforeGovernor M C Bhandareon March 11 a f te rwithdrawal of support bythe BJP.

The ruling BJD,which has 61 membersincluding the SpeakerKishore Mohanty, hasreceived the support oflegislators belonging toJMM (4), NCP (2), CPI (1)

and CPI(M) (1).I n a d d i t i o n ,

seven of the e ightindependent membershave also extendedsupport, while anotherhas decided to abstainfrom voting during thefloor test.

The Speakersaid all arrangementshave been made fort om or row ' s s pec i a lsession.

-Agencies

Naveen Patnaik-led BJD confident

of sailing through trust vote

anaji, Mar 10:The Bharat iya

nata Party (BJP) hastiated a move to wean

way Goa's oldest regionalutfit Maharashtrawadiomantak Party (MGP)om its alliance with theing Congress.

T h e m o v e i stiated by leader of thepposition BJP's Manohararrikar ahead of the Lok

abha polls in a bid tonsolidate "like-minded"tes.

Parrikar said thate BJP will also discusse possibility of seataring for the next state

legislative assemblyelections and long termcoalition with MGP in thenext couple of days.

BJP trying towean away MGP fromCongress fold in Goa

T h e M G P ,which had fought twoelections in partnershipwith the BJP and wasalso a coalition partner int h e P a r r i k a r - l e d

government, had driftedto the Congress-ledalliance.

The party hasnow two legislators, oneof whom is a minister inthe Digamber Kamat-led

state government.B J P h a s

launched this moveahead of the Lok Sabhapo l l s as MGP hasexpressed its willingnessto fight in both Goap a r l i a m e n t a r yconstituencies.

Parrikar saidthat the MGP will berequested to support theBJP candidate in both the

constituencies. I nfact, MGP and Congressis a vague equation. Theydiffer with Congress onevery important matter,"Parrikar said.

-Agencies

BJP trying to wean away MGPfrom Congress fold in Goa

hubaneswar, March 10:On the eve of the

al of strength of thea v e e n P a t n a i kvernment in Orissa, the

ongress Tuesday sought

e Election Commissionn d P r e s i d e n t ' stervention to stop it,aiming it violated theodel Code of Conduct.

" W h e n t h eeneral Election date hasen announced and thede of conduct enforcedere is no necessity to call

the assembly and give anopportunity to the stategovernment to prove itsstrength," CampaignCommittee chairman ofthe state Congress

Srikanta Jena said in astatement.

"We appeal tothe Election Commissionand the President of Indiat o i n t e r v e n eimmediately," he said.

T h i s i s i nviolation of the code ofconduct as it is likely to

influence the voters'mind," he said anddemanded immediateresignation of the chiefminis ter in v iew ofwithdrawal of support by

the BJP.He alleged that a

minority government wastrying to get a certificateindirectly to prove itslegitimacy through 'horsetrading' for uti l is ingofficials and governmentmachinery for elections.

-Agencies

New Delhi, March 10: D e l h i

Government might bereceiving flak for thecontroversial Bus RapidTransit (BRT) corridorhere, but the project hasbeen selected for an

award by a Tawain-based organisation.D e l h i C h i e f

Secretary Rakesh Mehtahas left for Tainan city inTaiwan to receive theaward at a functiontomorrow at an Asia

Pacific conference beingorganised by a voluntarybody, People to PeopleInternational's TainanChapter.

Before leavingfor Tawain, Mehta saidinternational experts

have complimented theproject and there is needto educate people aboutusage of the corridor.

"BRT is going toprovide efficient masstransportation," he said,adding the fact that the

project has been chosenfor the Asia Pacific awardindicates its importance.

The Comptrollerand Auditor General (CAG)of India in its latest reporthad pulled up the DelhiG o v e r n m e n t f o r

implementing the project inhaste ignoring suggestionsf rom the c onc e rnedexperts.

-Agencies

Delhi govts Bus Rapid Transitproject selected for Taiwan award

Congress seeks EC, President's intervention

to stop show of strength in Orissa

Bhopal , March 10:Sen ior BJP leader

Sushma Swaraj

said that Biju Janata Dal(BJD) will regret itsdecision to part ways withthe NDA a f te r theGeneral Elections.

"Orissa ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD will regret thedecision to part ways withthe NDA a f te r theelections," Swaraj in-charge of Lok Sabhapolls in Madhya Pradesh,C h h a t i s g a r h a n dJharkhand told reporterslast night.

Patnaik wasunable to assess thesituation correctly as

those close to him havemisguided him on theissue, she said.

Swaraj , whoarrived here after hername was announced asthe party candidate forthe Vidisha Lok Sabhaseat which had earlierelected stalwarts likeformer Prime MinisterAtal Behari Vajpayee andnoted journalist RamnathGoenka, said that shehas no ambition to run aparallel power centre in

Madhya Pradesh." I a m n o t

interested in becoming a

parallel power centre inMadhya Pradesh nor instate politics," she said.

When told thatthe bungalow allotted toher was the parallel powercentre in the state, asearlier it was occupied byformer MP Chief Minister VK Saklecha and formerDeputy Chief MinisterSubhash Yadav, Swarajsaid if that was the casethen she would change thecourse of history.

-Agencies

Naveen Patnaiks BJD will regretleaving NDA: Sushma Swaraj


6/10

Times Chennai E-Paper March 10, 2009Page 6 World

olombo, March 10:At least 15 people

ere killed and 20 othersjured including aabinet minister in aicide bombing near aremony in southern Sri

anka on Tuesday.M i l i t a r y

pokesman Brig Udayaanayakkara said thebel suicide attackerruck early this morning,

ring a national festival tolebrate the birthday ofe Prophet Mohammed.

The blast whichok place near a mosquethe town of Akuressa, inatara district, about 160

m south of the capitalolombo came as thebels continue to loseound in the face of ae r c e g o v e r n m e n tfensive on their shrinkingortheast base.

Postal Servicesi n i s t e r M a h i n d ai jesekera was alsoured in the attack. Heas reported to be fightingr his life in a local

ospital.Culture Minister

a h i n d a Y a p abeywardene was initiallyted as wounded because

e was covered in blood,t was given the all-clear

nd found to have beenvered with the blood ofher victims.

"We were talking

in procession and justpassing the entrance tothe mosque when therewas a blast. I thought itwas a big fire-cracker,"Abeywardene said.

"M y c l o t heswere covered in blood

and I started running.Later I realised that I wasnot hurt, but I had bloodfrom someone who washit in the blast.

"There were lotof school children and Ifear a lot of them werewounded.""Six ministers were thereand terrorists used thisopportunity to target us,"Oil Resources MinisterAHM Fowzie said fromthe scene.

B r i gNanayakkara blamed theLiberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE). "It is anLTTE suicide bombing,"he said.

The guerrillascarried out a similarattack in April 2008,killing Highways MinisterJeyaraj Fernandopulleas he took part in anational celebrationahead of the traditionalNew Year.

There was noimmediate c la im of

responsibility from theTamil Tigers over thelatest attack.

The pro-rebel

Ta m i l n e t w e b s i t ehowever reported that atleast 74 civilians manyof them children hadbeen killed and 100others wounded Mondayand Tuesday in Armyshel l ing of LTTE -

controlled areas in thenorth.It accused the

Sri Lankan Army ofengaging in "intensified

i n d i s c r i m i n a t eshelling" of knowncivilian areas.

T h egovernment insists itis trying to protectcivilians and accusesthe Tigers of usingthem as "humanshields".

Two years ago,the Tigers who havea long and bloody

record of suicideattacks controlledlarge swathes of thenorth and east of thisSouth Asian island,but have suffered as e r i e s o f m a j o rsetbacks in the ethnic

conflict.According to the

Defence Ministry, at least250 rebels were killed atthe weekend as theyfought to defend thesmall area of territory stillunder their control.

On Sunday, thegovernment said its planto defeat the LTTE onceand for all had entered its"final phase".

The Sri Lankangovernment bans most journal is ts and aidworkers from the north ofthe island, meaning suchclaims cannot be verified.

T h egovernment withdrewf rom a Norweg ian-brokered truce at the starto f l as t year , a f te raccusing the Tigers ofusing the peace processto re-arm.

- Agencies

15 dead, minister injured inSri Lanka suicide blast

Washington, March 10:U S w a n t s

Pakistan to do more tobring those responsiblefor the November 26te r ro r i s t a t tacks inMumbai to justice.

"Overa l l our

assessment has beenthat Pakistan has beenproviding some helpfulinformation, but clearly,you know, more can bedone," State Departments pok es m an R obe r tWood said on Mondayahead of a meetingb e t w e e n F o r e i g nSecretary ShivshankarM e n o n a n d U . S .Secretary of State HillaryClinton.

And w ha t ' scritical here is that we do

everything in our powerto try to bring the folkswho are responsible forthose attacks to justice,"he said.

A s k e d w h a twould be the main issuescoming up at the Clinton-

Menon meeting, Mr.Wood said: "It's hard forme to speculate on all theissues that may come up.Certainly, the Secretaryis going to want to hearf r o m t h e f o r e i g nsecretary about howthings are progressingwi th regard to theMumbai investigation.

"But you know, Ican't guarantee that thatwill come up. I certainlyexpect that it would, andwe'll be very interested in

hearing how things aregoing on that front," hesaid.

Apart from theinvestigation into thet e r r o r i s t a t t a c k s i nMumbai, the two officialswould discuss the conflict

in Afghanistan among ahost of issues, he said.B u t I n d i a n

officials would not say whattranspired at Mr. Menon'smeetings with Ms. Clintonand other top officials likenational security advisorJames Jones, DeputySecretary of State JamesB. Steinberg and U.S.special representative onAfghanistan and PakistanRichard Holbrooke.

- Agencies

U.S. wants Pakistan to do moreto bring Mumbai attackers to book

Dhaka March 10:T h e

investigation into theB a n g l a d e s h R i f l e stroopers' mutiny lastmonth has shown that thecarnage could be "pre-planned" and around 450border guards wereinvolved in the massacrein which 74 people werekilled.

T h einvestigation into theBDR mutiny revealed that"some outsiders" hadknowledge about therebellion, a top official of alaw enforcement agencysaid.

"We have foundinvolvement of around450 BDR officials andjawans in the mutiny afterscrutinising the videof o o t a g e s a n dphotographs," The DailyStar on Tuesday quotedan investigator as saying.The official said they arenow trying to get details

abou t t he 450 -oddm u t i n e e r s b yinterrogating those whowere arrested.

T h e b o r d e rguards revolted Feb 25-26 over low wages and

poor working conditions."We have so far identified10 to 12 BDR memberswho led several groups ofmutineers during the 33-hour-long bloody mutiny,"said the official.

A n o t h e rinvestigator said: "Theinvestigation found that itwas done in a plannedway. When a group ofmutineers attacked andki l led BDR DirectorGeneral Maj Gen ShakilAhmed at the DarbarHall , another groupsimultaneously attackedhis residence and injuredtwo guards there."

A f t e r k i l l i ngarmy officers at the BDRheadquarters, the rebelsdumped the bodies in thesewer and mass gravesin such a way that therescuers found it difficultto trace those, the reportsaid on Tuesday.

Inves t iga to rssaid they are finding it

hard to identify the BDRpersonnel who were onduty at the BDR gatesand five armouries insidethe BDR headquarters asthe duty rosters hadeither been burnt or torn

up."This suggests

that it was a pre-plannedact and we are trying to findthe mastermind behind it,"said an investigator.

The mutiny by theBDR troopers broke outFeb 25 when they tookc o n t r o l o f t h e i rheadquar te rs in thecapital. The troopersrevolted over low wagesa n d p o o r w o r k i n gconditions.

Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina offeredgeneral amnesty to them,but the troopers weredefiant and refused to laydown arms.

The governmentheld talks with a delegationof the mutineers Feb 26and an agreement wasreached but by that time,the mutiny spread to otherBDR camps around thecountry.

The revolt endedin the face of an imminent

attack by the BangladeshArmy which moved tanksinto position outside theBDR headquarters. Themutineers then laid downtheir arms.

- Agencies

Dhaka mutiny was pre-planned,reveals investigation

ew York, March 10: B l a m i n g

esident Asif Ali Zardarid former military rulerevez Musharraf forrrent political crisis inak is tan , dozens o f

untry's citizens went onu n g e r s t r i k e a n dmanded reinstatementformer chief justice

t i k h a r M o h a m m a dhaudhry.

Shouting sloganse "We want democracy,t dictatorship," "We want

Justice," the Pakistanisbelonging to differentpolitical affiliations alsod e m a n d e d e n d o fgovernor's rule in Punjabduring their day-longhunger strike outside

their country's consulate.They shouted

slogans against Zardariand former presidentMusharraf holding themresponsib le for thecurrent troubles thecountry is facing both onpolitical and security

front.About a dozen

police officers kept aclose watch on thedemonstrators.

Representatives of Tehr ik- i - Insaf ,

P a k i s t a n M u s l i mLeague-Nawaz (PML-N),P a k i s t a n F r e e d o mForum, Pakistan-USLawyers Forum, andPukhtunkhwa Movementwere among those whostaged the hunger strike.

- Agencies

Pakistanis in US demand reinstatementof ex-Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohd Chaudhry

Lahore, March 10: Awami Muslim

League chief Sheikh

Rasheed has claimedthat former presidentPervez Musharraf wasready to name BenazirBhutto the Prime Ministerfor the third time.

According to aprivate TV channel,Rasheed sa id tha t

Benazir was in contactwith Musharraf prior tothe signing of the Charter

of Democracy. T h e l o n g

march does not remain inthe lawyers hand now, asthe politicians have joined the show, theDaily Times quoted him,as saying.

Rash id a lso

criticised Nawaz Sharifsdecision to take to thestreets, which would

provide extra time toZardari, but the third forcewould overthrow both ofthem if the confrontationcontinued.

- Agencies

Musharraf was ready to nameBenazir as Prime Minister


7/10

Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 10, 2009 Page 7News You Can Useews You Can Use

herrapunjee,March 10 : The world's first

ain Museum may comep at the world's wettestace. Sub Divisionalu t h o r i t i e s i n

herrapunjee, now calledohra, have given an

novative proposal in thisgard to the Sta teovernment.

" W e h a v erwarded a proposal fortting up the world's first

a i n m u s e u m i nherrapunjee to the state'surism minister, Conradangma, and the directortourism," Sub-Divisional

fficer of Cherrapunjeeahm Deo Ram Tiwari,id.

A s p e r t h er o p o s a l , t h e ' r a i nuseum' would involvecreation of artificial

owers during the dryasons with light andund effects. The projectso includes explaininge scientific aspects ofn.

"People will getto know as to how manytypes of clouds and rainsare there and scientistscan study the pattern ofweather change in themuseum," the SDO, whohas mooted the idea,

said. Besides this,efforts are also on toinclude Cherrapunjee inthe list of the UNESCOlist of natural heritagecentres of the world,Tiwari said adding thematter was in the initialstage of discussion withUNESCO officials.

The SDO saidthat a survey wasunderway in the area, thereport of which would bef o r w a r d e d t o t h eUNESCO.

" T h e c h i e f

secretary will soon hold ameeting with UNESCOofficials to determine thefuture course of action inthis regard," he said.

At present there

a r e 2 9 U N E S C O -recognised sites in Indiaof which five are in thenatura l ca tegory -Kaziranga and ManasNational Parks in Assam,Sunderbans in WestB e n g a l , K e o l a d e o

N a t i o n a l P a r k i nBharatpur (Rajasthan)and Nandadevi and theValley of Flowers inUttarakhand.

M e a n w h i l e ,with an aim to promoteCherrapunjee as an eco-tourism destination andcreate awareness aboutits ecology amongst thepeople, the Sohra CivilA d m i n i s t r a t i o n i ncollaboration with theS o h r a T o u r i s mDevelopment Societyand Press InformationBureau will organize a

two-day 'Rain RockSohra Fes t i va l ' onFebruary 20 and 21 atthe Sa-I-Mika Park here.

-Agencies

'Rain Museum', UNESCO tagmooted for Cherrapunjee

ydney, March 10 :Newspapers will

ther and perhaps dieless they convert intoline platforms, according

a survey of nexteneration journalists.

A l a n K n i g h t ,ofessor of journalism ate Queensland UniversityTechnology (QUT), said

ore than 200 first-yearournalism students tookart in his internationalline survey of their newsading habits.

"More than 90 pernt of the respondents

ere aged under 21 andany of these want-to-beournalists don't read

ewspapers," Knight said."More than 60 per

en t read a p r in ted

newspaper once a weekor less. Yet 95 per cents a i d t h e y e n j o y e dkeeping up with news.

Their preferred

source of news wasbroadcast on television,particularly commercialtelevision, with at leasthalf watching televisionnews at least once a day."Knight said online newswas their next preferredsource with studentsnominating Google andNinemsn followed byo t h e r m a i n s t r e a m j o u r n a l i s m s i t e s .Facebook, specialistwebsites and Wikipediawere also popular.

"The resu l tsconfirmed educators'suspic ions even

journalism students aren o t r e a d i n gnewspapers," Knightsaid, according to a QUTstatement.

This poses agreater threat to theprinted press than theglobal economic crisis orthe loss of advertisingrevenue to the Web. If the journalists of the futuredon't want to readnewspapers, who will?"Knight said the nextstage of the study wouldinvolve focus groups ofstudents discussing hownews could be mademore interesting andattractive to netizens.

-Agencies

Journalism's GenNext seesnewspapers losing out to Net

eijing, March 10 :A man walked

00 km over 34 days toach home to join his 70-

ear-old mother for theu n a r N e w Y e a r

elebrations after hisoney was stolen, a

ewspaper reported onuesday.

Li Haitao, 30, aigrant worker f rom

entral China's Henanovince, walked from

eijing to Zhengzhou fromeb 3 to March 9 to spende Spring Festival with hisother, said the Daheaily.

Mr. Li found that

2,000 yuan ($290) kept inhis pocket had beenstolen Jan 21 before hecould pay for a ticket atthe railway station atBaotou in north China'sI n n e r M o n g o l i aAutonomous Regionwhere he worked as awelder.

A n o t h e rnew s pape r , H enanBusiness News, reportedthat the penniless manwas then sent to a localrescue station. Mr. Li wasgiven a ticket to BeijingFeb 1.

After staying inthe rescue station for a

day, Mr. Li chose to walkhome, and picked up andsold empty mineral waterbottles along the way inorder to get money to eat.He slept during the daybecause it was too coldto sleep at night with onlya blanket in the open air,reported Orient Today,another newspaper.

He arrived inthe provincial capitalZhengzhou at 8 a.m. onMonday morning whenthe police found theunkempt man with a pairof worn-out shoes, saidOrient Today.

-Agencies

Sans money, man walks34 days to reach home

New Delhi, March 10:There is nothing

unconstitutional if theg o v e r n m e n t t r e a t sdegree and diplomaengineers on par for thepurpose of promotion to ah i g h e r c a d r e , t h eSupreme Court has

ruled.A b e n c h o f

justices R V Raveendranand Markandeya Katjurejected the argument ofthe degree holders thats u c h a t r e a t m e n tamounts to violation ofA r t i c l e 1 4 o f t h eConstitution.

T h e d e g r e eholders argued that theArticle is violated not onlyby treating "equals asunequals", but also bytreating "unequals asequals."

"It is entirely forthe authorities to decidewhether the degreeholders and diplomaholders should be treatedat par or not for thepurpose of promotionfrom the post of juniorengineer to the post ofAssistant Engineer," thebench observed whiledismissing the specialleave petition(SLP) filedby Dilip Kumar Garg andothers.

Garg and theother degree holders hadchallenged the validity of

Rule 5 (ii) of the UP

P u b l i c W o r k sDepartment Group-BCivil Engineering Rules2004.

Under the saidr u l e , t h e S t a t eGovernment dispensedwith the earlier provisionfor diploma engineers to

e i t he r ac qu i re t herequ i s i t e t ec hn i c a lqualification or pass aqualifying examinationf o r p r o m o t i o n a sAssistant Engineers.

The AllahabadHigh Court upheld thevalidity of the rule,fol lowing which thedegree holders appealedin the apex court.

In the apexcourt, Garg and hiscolleagues took the pleathat Article 14 is violatednot only by treating"equals as unequals", buta l s o b y t r e a t i n g"unequals as equals."

Their argumentwas that as degreeholders they were betterqualified for the post ofAssistant Engineers thanthe diploma holders. Andby treating the degreeand diploma holders onpar, the State hadviolated Article 14.

However, theapex court rejected theargument and observed,"In our opinion, merelybecause in the past they

have been t rea ted

differently does not meanthat they cannot be treatedidentically subsequently.

"In our opinionArticle 14 should not bes t r e t c h e d t o o f a r ,otherwise it will make thef u n c t i o n i n g o f t h ea d m i n i s t r a t i o n

impossible."According to the

bench, i t is for theadministrators to decidethe qualifying conditionsf o r p r o m o t i n g a nemployee.

" T h eadministrative authoritiesare in the best position todecide the requis i tequalification for promotionfrom junior engineer toassistant engineer, and it isnot for this court to sit overtheir decision like a court ofappeal.

" T h eadministrative authoritieshav e ex pe r i enc e i nadministration, and thecourt must respect this andshould not interfere readilyw i t h a d m i n i s t r a t i v edecisions," the bench said.The bench said courtsshould not ordinari lyi n t e r f e r e i n p o l i c ydecisions unless there isclear violation of someConstitutional provision ofthe statute. "We find nosuch violation in this case,"the court observed.

-Agencies

Degree and Diploma holders can betreated on par: Supreme Court

Panaji, March 10:Ahead of Lok

Sabha pol ls, IndianChurch has said thatelectorate should haveright to recall their electedrep res en ta t i v es ong r o u n d s o f n o nperformance, corruption

and lack of personalintegrity." T h e v o t e r s

should consider thosec a n d i d a t e s w h oempower the electoratewith the right to recallt h e i r e l e c t e drep res en ta t i v es ong r o u n d s o f n o n -performance, corruptionand lack of personalintegrity," the resolutionadopted by CatholicBishops' Conference ofIndia (CBCI) mentions.

The conferencehas said that the voterss h o u l d s e l e c t a n dpromote candidateswithout any criminalrecord or backgroundand having the genuineconcerns o f you th ,women and particularlypoor and marginalised at

heart.T h e a p p e a l

drafted by CBCI andissued by Rev StanislausFernandes, said that thec a n d i d a t e s h o u l dp rom o te c om m una lharmony by scrupulousobs e rv anc e o f t he

constitutional provisionsand guarantees as wellas state laws.

"Be ready tot a k e i m m e d i a t epreventive steps andpunitive action againstany dissemination ofdivisive, hate generatingliterature and campaign,communa l i sa t ion o fpolitics of defence forces,

of police and ofbureaucracy," it reads.

T h e C B C Iappeal calls upon citizenswho are about to go to thep o l l s , t o e x e r c i s e judiciously their right toe l e c t t h o s erepresentatives who willfacilitate the emergenceof a nation that we want tobe through a responsiblea n d a c c o u n t a b l egovernance.

The appeal alsod e c r i e s t h e g l o b a lterrorism, the delay tacticson the part of the state,intolerance towards thecreative artists, idolisationof money and powerdisplacing God.

"It is time to ask

ourselves, in all sincerity,whether true democracyhas been always respectedand upheld in the largestdemocracy of the world,particularly by those whos e e k t h e v o t e s , "Archbishop of Goa andDaman Rev Fr Filipe NeriFerrao, who is the part ofconference, has said.

A r c h b i s h o pFerrao voiced caution of along journey towardsprogress, which needs tobe defined beyond glamourand glitter.

"The fine qualitiesof what is truly human andw h a t e n h a n c e s t h ehumanity of humankindneed to be perceived andcultivated more and more,"he said.

-Agencies

Electorates should have right to recallelected representatives: CBCI


8/10

Times Chennai E-Paper March 10, 2009Page 8 Business

umbai, March 10:On Monday, the

0-share BSE index fell 2ercent to 8,160.40, itswest close since Nov. 2,005, as deepen ingncern about the health ofe w o r l d e c o n o m y

eighed down marketsross the region.

The partiallyconvertible rupee endedat 51.85/87 per dollar,above an intraday low of52.01 but 0.4 percentweaker than Friday'sclose of 51.65/71. It hadhit an all-time low of52.20 last week.

The yield on the

most actively traded 8.24percent 2018 bondended at 6.84 percent,higher than Friday's 6.75percent.

T o d a y t h emarkets were closed onaccount of Holi and Milad- un - Nabi

- Bureau Report

Markets closed

ew Delhi, March 10:India's insurance

ector faces no downsidesks because investment

derivatives or creditefault swaps is largely notermitted, the head of theo u n t r y ' s i n s u r a n c egulatory body said ononday.

J. Hari Narayan,hairman of the Insurance

e g u l a t o r y a n development Authority ofdia, told, "For one thinge don't permit investment

derivatives and so on.

e also don't permit CDSs

(credit default swaps).We don't permit anyi n s u r a n c e a g a i n s tdefault. We permit it onlyto a limited extent, interms on debt."

When asked ifthe country's insurerswere facing downsiderisks, he said: "No,nothing in particular."

Narayan wasspeaking on the sidelinesof a meeting of insuranceregulators at the Bank forInternational Settlementsin the Swiss city of Basel.

The insurance

s ec to r i n I nd i a , at rad i t i ona l l y under -insured country, hasbeen so far unaffected bythe global financial crisis.

Life insurers,who make up the bulk ofthe market, grew theirbusiness by 23.3 percentto 930 billion rupees in2007/08, while generalinsurers posted growth ofabout 14 percent inpremium income to 298billion rupees, accordingto IRDA data.

- Agencies

India's insurance sector faces no

downside risks: Regulatory Body IRDA

angalore, March 10: F a c e d w i t h

owdown in growth, Volvou s e s I n d i a t o d a y

nnounced a foray into theonsul tancy serv icessiness expecting 50 pernt of its revenues tome from engagementsher than sales in fivears.

Volvo Busesdia sold 440 buses in theuntry in the calendarar 2008, up from 200 ine previous year, itsanaging Director Akashassey said.

But for 2009, the

company is expecting asales growth of 20 percent.

Pas s ey t o l dreporters here that thecompany expects "softoffers" -- consultancyserv ices , ac t i v i t i espertaining to managingcustomers' fleet and anyengagement other thansales of buses -- toconstitute 50 per cent ofits total annual revenuesby the end of five years.

Speaking ont h e c o n s u l t a n c ybusiness, he said VolvoBuses is looking for

p a r t n e r s h i p s a n dcollaborations with civicand transport authoritiesto decongest cities, helpcreate a more efficientsystem and take upprojects to prov idesustainable solutionscustomised for a city'stransportation needs.

U n d e r t h i sinitiative, global Volvoexperts would sooninteract with BangaloreMetropolitan TransportCorporation.

- Agencies

Volvo Buses diversifies in India

aipu r, March 10:Finnish mobile

andset maker Nokia is inlks with leading musicontent providers andusic companies forlling out its virtual musicores in India.

The company is

ng up with around 150u s i c c o m p a n i e scluding Universal Music,arner Bros, Sony BMG

nd other national musicaders, Nokia Indiae g i o n a l G e n e r a lanager (North) Chandanang said.

Nokia is likely tofer the service in Indiaith a free one-year

ubscription on purchaseselect Nokia handsets.

"We are planninge launch the services ine first half of this year.ur similar services in theK l a u n c h e d o n

310Xpress music deviceevincing good responseo m m u s i c l o v e r s .owever, our format maye different than the one inK as preferences ofdians are different frome English.

"Also, unlike theK, in India the serviceh o u l d b e m a d e

compatible on low-endhandsets for a better clickwith Indian customers.The service will also helpin boosting the handsetsales," he said.

C o n s u m e r swould be able to access

and download music ontheir mobile phones andPCs. The service wouldallow users to downloadand store unlimited songsand even af ter thesubscription expires.

- Agencies

Nokia in talks with contentproviders 23441

New Delhi, March 10: I n d i a ' s

handicrafts exports, oneof the worst sufferersbecause of the globaleconomic meltdown,

dipped by over 50 percent to USD 13.53 billionduring April-February thisfiscal.

According to

E x p o r t P r o m o t i o nCouncil for Handicraft(EPCH) data, handicraftsexports fell by 54.62 percent from USD 29.88

billion in the same periodlast fiscal.

"The decreasein exports of handicraftsis due to slump indemand in major markets

of the US and Europe,"EPCH said.

T h e s e c t o r ,which employs aboutseven million artisans,

exports over 50 per centof its products to the US.

D e s p i t e t h egovernment hav ingannounc ed s ev e ra l

m eas u res , i n c l ud i ngextending interest subsidyup to September this yearand giving in-principleapproval for including allhandicrafts items in theVishesh Krishi and GramUdyog Yojna (VKGUY), thesituation is yet to improve.

"The stimuluspackages are not veryattractive for the sector,"EPCH Executive DirectorRakesh Kumar said.

H e s a i d t h eVKGUY scheme, whichoffers 5 per cent duty-freescrips to exporters, ishelping the handicraftssector, but all the items arenot included in the scheme.

"Seventy itemsare included, only one-thirdof the total, (while) 140items are pending to bedeclared by the Directorate

General of Foreign Trade,"he added.

-Agencies

Handicrafts exports dip54.62% in April-Feb

New Delhi, March 10:Reliance Industries has resolved almost all

issues with fertiliser firms, who are first in line to receivenatural gas supplies from the Mukesh Ambani-runcompany's prolific KG-D6 fields, and is likely to signgas supply agreements this month.Reliance has offered liberal take-or-pay terms in the

revised Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement that isbeing sent to nine fertiliser units this week for possiblesigning along with Gas Transportation Agreement thismonth. Sources said fertiliser units will necessarilyhave to pay for 90 per cent of the volumes allocated tothem in a year even though they may not draw even asingle cubic meter. But they will have the liberty to takethe quantities not drawn, in the next year.

Reliance would extend the five-year supplycontract by three months to enable companies to draw

the volumes they may not have taken previously. Thecompany will refund money for volumes remainingeven after this three-month period. Sources said thecompany, which is likely to begin gas supplies fromKG-D6 next month, would not sign supply-or-payagreement (Reliance having to pay if it defaults onsupplies) as it has no marketing freedom to sell thefuel. The refund clause in the take-or-pay agreementwould be the first of its kind in the world as globally gassupplies give only a grace period for drawal of fuel nottaken previously, they said.

RIL to sign pact with fertiliser units


9/10

Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 10, 2009 Page 9Spo r t s

amilton, March 10 :

In a setback to thedian cricket team, in-formachin Tendulkar was onesday ruled out of the

urth one-dayer againstew Zealand due to an

domen injury but theemier batsman hasomised to play the fifthd final match.

Tendulkar hadffered a painful blowm Blackcaps fast bowlern O'Brien during thecond ODI at Wellington.

Despite stiffnessthe abdomen region, he

ayed the third game andgravated the injury whileoring a magnificentntury, his 43rd in limiteders cricket.

An MRI done ononday at a hospital inhristchurch revealed thatere had been traces ofernal bleeding, ruling

m out of Wednesday'satch here.

"The report hasdicated there has beenernal bleeding in theomach. But I should beady to play in the nextuple of days," saidndulkar.

"It is painful thatI have to miss a gamewhen there has beengood momentum. I havebeen hitting the ball well."

T h e m a s t e rbatsman will sorely miss

on-field action as he hasbeen in prime from,strumming up scores of20, 61 and 163 retiredhurt for an aggregate of244 runs.

In 20 years ofinternational cricket, thisis possibly the firsti n s t a n c e t h a t t h eMumbaikar has sufferedinternal bleeding to ablow with a cricket ball.

T e n d u l k a r ' sc h e s t h a d b e e npeppered with bouncers

in the Caribbean. Butdespite suffering clots onthe rib-cage, he hadbraved to take on MervynDillon's artillery in the2002 series against theWest Indies.

H i s a n k l e ,elbow, back, foot andlittle finger have troubledhim one time or the otherduring his illustriouscareer.

But this is the

only instance wheninternal bleeding hass t o p p e d h i m f r o mplaying, frustratinglywhen he has been

producing delectablesymphonies at thecrease.

"I would not

know if this has beenthe worst. But it hascaused me discomfort.The abs are reallystiff," he said.

O n l y abraveheart, or one socommitted as he is,could have played aninnings of such calibreand intensity with theenormity of injury hewas carrying.

I t go t v e r ydifficult as the innings

wore on. At one stage, I

felt a twitch. It would havebeen great to go on andcomple te a doub lehundred, which was onmy mind, but the bodycould not take it anymore," said Tendulkar.

It is learnt thatthe team wanted him togo continue and score adouble hundred. In fact,he had been offered arunner as well. ButTendulkar had put teambefore self, deeming itwould benefit the side if

he retired.T h e t e a mmanagement felt that it isbetter he rests as the Testmatches where aroundthe corner.

E v e n i f h emisses the fifth ODI atAuckland, the masterbatsman will be treadyand kicking for the firsttest at Hamilton on March18.

-Agencies

Tendulkar ruled out of Hamilton ODI

Mumbai, March 10:T h e s e c o n d

s e a s o n o f t h eextravagant and lucrativeIndian Premier Leaguewas officially launched bythe IPL commissionerLal i t Modi here on

Tuesday. The new logowas also unveiled.The anticipated

tournament will kick off onApril 10 with both theopening and closingceremonies to be held inDY Patil Stadium. Modia lso sa id tha t theceremonies will be a 30m i n u t e v i s u a lextravaganza, somethingthat will be seen for thefirst time in India.

Modi addresseda press conference inMumbai and he had

started off with theachievements in the firsted i t i on o f the T20tournament and movedon to reveal that thesecond season wouldsee two new venues A h m e d a b a d a n dVishakapatnam. He saidthat the schedule wasunder the process ofbeing fine tuned and thatthey were also looking atN a g p u r a n dDharamshala on theroster.

"We are talking

to Dharmshala andNagpur is also in fray.Schedule is still beingfine-tuned as I speak," hesaid.

R e g a r d i n gsecurity, the biggestconcern of the cricketplaying nations, and ther e a s o n f o r t h especulations of IPL beingcal led of f , the IPLcommissioner said thatthe security provided willbe top class and betterthan last year. He saidthat there will be nostones left unturned toprovide the best possiblesecurity to the players.

Explaining thesecur i ty p lan, Modirevealed the IPL will notleave to the teams thisyear and take control oft h e a r r a n g e m e n t scentrally.

We have gonevenue by venue this time.T h e s e c u r i t yarrangement will behandled centrally. Fromthe minute a (foreign)

player lands here to theminute he leaves India.From the minute anIndian players enters thehotel to the minute heleaves, we wi l l bemanaging the security.I t ' s a cumbersometemplate that was used

during the India-EnglandTest series last year, hesaid.

"That was arigorous plan put in place,s h a r e d w i t h t h egovernment and theinternational board, in

that case the Englandand Wales Cr i cke tBoard," he added.

" S e c u r i t y(budget) will be 10 timesmore than last year," hesaid without divulging theexact figure.

He went on tostate that contingencyplans had been madeand shared with stategovernments, securityagencies and boards of

other countries. He

stressed on the fact thatthe security for theplayers will entirely beIPLs.

He also clearedthat no contracted playerhad expressed concernspersonally regarding thesecur i t y as ear l i e rreported by some mediaorganisations.

" N o f o r e i g np l ay e r has s o f a rcontacted the IPL to saythat he is apprehensive.They have never beenuncomfortable about

coming here. India is notPakistan, we are a safecountry," he said.

He further saidthat there will be matcheson all days of the IPLwindow except on May16, the date of votecounting of the elections.

On the reportedapprehensions of theforeign players and thehost state governments,Modi said, "Three stategovernments (of the eightinvolved) have alreadygiven us their clearance

in writing. The other fiveare expected to give it in aday or so. One stategovernment had askedfor a change of date andwe are working it out."

The itinerary ofthe tournament was

discussed with every stategovernment and theirconditions were taken intoaccount before coming to af i n a l d e c i s i o n . T h eschedule, however, is stillnot concrete and is beingfine tuned.

M o d i a l s orejected the Federation ofInternational CricketersAssociation's demands fora say in the securityarrangements for IPL.

" T h e I P L i sconducted by BCCI andthe BCCI talks directly tothe Boards. We have neverbeen in touch with FICA.But of course they will talkto the other Boards andcoordinate with them," he

said.

The tickets will beon sale starting next week.Modi said that the seatingpositions had also beenupgraded technologicallyand that the audience willbe able to know whereexactly their seats arelocated in the stadium fromthe comfort of their homes.

The venues forthe tournament are Delhi,Mumbai, Chandigarh,Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai,Hyderabad, Ahmedabad,Bangalore and Vizag.The stadiums have been

superficially upgraded too.All the stadiums wouldhave the colors of thehome team all around theground and stands.

Chennai will nothost all the seven gamesallotted to every hometeam due to the blackoutsthat had halted a game lasts e a s o n . A f e w o fChennais games will beshifted to another city,Modi said.

A new addition tothe entertainment factor ofthe Indian Premier League

is the proposal to screenthe matches in multiplexesacross the country with aslight catch in the clause.The host city will not beallowed to screen thematches of the home team.

-Agencies

IPL security to be centrally managed,budget up 10 times

ubai, March 10:T h e C h i e f

xecut ive Commit teee e t i n g o f t h ete rna t iona l C r i cke t

ouncil (ICC) will discussWednesday if weather

nditions in Sri Lanka areppropr iate ' to holdhampions Trophy in theand nation.

The CEC meetingi l l b e h e l d v i aeconference and willake recommendation toe ICC Board, who willke a final decision onarch 16.

T h e e l i t e

tournament, promoted asmin i wor ld cup , i ss c h e d u l e d f o rSeptember/October thisyear.

The ICC Boardin its last meeting in Perthhad taken away thet o u r n a m e n t f r o mPakistan.

Sri Lanka wasthe reserve venue for theevent.

" D u r i n g i t steleconference, the CECwill also consider datesfor next year's ICC WorldTwenty20 tournament, tobe staged in the West

Indies," an ICC statementsaid.

T h e C E Ccomprises the chiefexecutives of the 10 Test-playing Members andthree representativesfrom ICC AssociateMembers.

It is chaired bythe ICC Chief Executive.The ICC President andthe Chairman of the ICCCricket Committee alsoattend the meeting.

-Agencies

ICC to discuss Champions Trophy'sfate in Sri Lanka


10/10

Times Chennai E-Paper March 10, 2009Page 10 Medley

Times Chennai E Paper March 10, 2009

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