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- Apr 16, 2007
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| Apr 17, 2007 |
Tragic tale of the missing girls
14 –year-old Mary goes by one name. She does not have a parental title. Rather, she does not remember one. But, she is not alone in her obscurity. Seema, who is a year older, and the other 30 girls too have no address- tags attached to their travel bags.
They are "missing" and have failed to trace their families ever since they somehow escaped from their employer's homes in Delhi, Mumbai and other metropolis.
And, ever since then the Women Probation Home at Ranchi— an ordinary-looking house with extraordinary stories to grapple with—has been their home.
"These girls had last seen their parents when they were very young, before they moved out from their respective villages with touts who placed them as domestic help in various cities.
There, the job was tough, and this forced these girls to escape after putting in years running errands. They actually managed to flee, but to nowhere," said Renu Sinha, Superintendent Women Probation Home.
"They were caught by police, who placed them at different remand homes from where they were sent to the Women Probation Home at Ranchi because they seemingly belong to Jharkhand," she said.
"In fact, we have gone scouting with these girls to different districts, trying to locate their parents. So far, we have not had much luck. But the search is on," Sinha said.
For one, Seema who is lodged here since last six months knows of just one place—Ketrajhad. The authorities, however, have so far failed to locate the village despite focused searches along Jharkhand-Orissa and Jharkhand-West Bengal borders.
Similarly, Mary, who lost her parents in her childhood, knows of just one relative in Bihar. But, she does not have their address. These girls know that their parents too must be looking for them.
Like her, this tiny oasis is currently home to sixty other women—some young, some adolescents and one even born here last year to a woman, who was violated and left alone. Many of them, however, look much older than their years - a legacy of life on the street.
Unlike these girls, the remaining 29 residents of the Home have already begun afresh. They are not waiting for anyone, for they know nobody was waiting for them too.
With little worries, and negligible hopes from the outside world they are a talkative bunch—speaking endlessly about their dreams and their past lives, although many of their narratives are incoherent and broken as the women themselves.
For the missing girls, however, a silent and agonising wait is still on.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=10527a1b-06c0-4cc7-8
082-858190ae2288 &
First-of-its-kind pageant wins confidence vote
- An analysis of the show and the beauties
Jamshedpur: After an experiment, the inference follows. A day after four beauties walked the ramp, stole the limelight and bagged a chance to be a part of the bigger picture at Jamshedpur — Sananda Tilottama — the post-mortem started in the city regarding the programme. Was the show a success or not, was the question on everyone's lips.
From the choice of finalists to the quality of participants, everything came under scrutiny.
Judges called the affair a moderate success. "Because, the show was held for the first time in Jharkhand not many people were aware of the contest. That was perhaps the main reason as to why many girls decided to stay away from the event, thinking it to be a routine and run-of-the-mill talent hunt," said one judges.
The event saw many last minute entries. Ultimately, there was a healthy turnout of 30 participants for the show. But here, too, a lot of girls backed out at the last moment, especially from Ranchi, Dhanbad and Rourkela. Out of the bevy of beauties, who walked the ramp yesterday, only three were from Ranchi, Rourkela and Dhanbad.
Deepti Sarkar, one of the judges, believes that the fault lies with the "way" the programme hype was handled. "Maybe the event was not highlighted well. So people preferred to stay away," said she.
But media hype and publicity apart there was the big problem of consent. Dipti Sahu, a student at a fashion institute, said: "I was very keen to participate. But my family was completely against my staying all alone in Calcutta for the entire month, which the finalists had to for the final grooming," added Dipti. Asked if she knew how popular the show was she nodded, tad bewildered.
The greatest controversy, however, was the "quality" of participants and the final choice.
"Two of the finalist did not deserve to be in the final 10. For they neither had the required height nor the stage presence, but how the judges chose on them is only known to them," said Ria Tripathy, a participant, who could not make it to the finals.
"We know some girls may have been prettier. But the final four were selected on the basis of their over-all performance and stage presence, which were confident. We will back our choices, and their performance at Calcutta perhaps would prove if we were right or wrong," added Sarkar.
"For the sheer lack of stage presence, one cannot really blame the girls. This state is more academically inclined. Fashion is yet to be perceived as a career option. We have to wait for a few more years before a 'metro' response may be expected," said Shakti Sharma, who, too, was a judge.
The leading city dignitary, however, also felt that from the coming year, the organisers should get a little more discerning.
"For the first time this was a great show. But from next year as the concept picks up, the selection should get tougher," added Sharma.
Sarkar suggests a way to make things easier for the state's beauties. "There is an urgent need for a grooming school in Jamshedpur and in the rest of the state. If groomed properly the state girls can do wonders."
For now all eyes are on the Calcutta ramp to see whether the famous four can weave the same magic there too.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070417/asp/jamshedpur/story_7655317.asp
Guardians in coal mafia payroll
Dhanbad: A vigilance department report has named police officers, politicians and journalists involved in illegal coal mining that goes on in 6 districts of Jharkhand.
The report also states that some police officers, who were in-charge of police stations in the coal districts, were again posted to the area. "The transfer orders come from the office of the director-general of police (DGP)," said a senior IPS officer.
"Whom should one blame for this illegal trade? We know that top police officers are bowing their heads to the pressures of politicians," he added.
A transfer to the coal belt area is considered as a "plum posting" because of the opportunities to demand and receive hefty bribes.
The report was submitted in January to director-general of police J.B. Mahapatra. Three teams of vigilance officers had visited Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Girdih, Koderma and Chatra, stayed there and talked to the residents before preparing the report.
Three deputy superintendents of police (DSPs), 11 inspectors and more than 20 sub-inspectors and several junior police officers are involved in coal smuggling, the report states. They are reportedly acting in connivance with politicians.
Some journalists, the report goes on to say, are also involved. The journalists reportedly promise not to write any thing against the illegal activity as long as they are paid regularly.
The report also mentions that politicians of several political parties and their close relatives are involved in this illegal trade. The politicians include several former and present MPs as well as ministers.
A senior vigilance officer said in the name of tackling the Maoists, two DSPs and several inspectors were involved in ferrying illegal coal from the abandoned mines in Bokaro, Dhanbad, Girdih, Hazaribagh and Chatra. "No one (meaning the public) dares to enter Naxalite territory, from where coal is ferried in the night," he said.
Rebel review
Giridih police have come across a review report of the Maoists that details their operations, strengths and weaknesses. The biggest strength of the rebels is the "fair introspection" they do and that is also the reason behind the outfit's success, according to the report, which even mentions the number of bullets fired from each gun during one such operation. The report, however, does not state how many policemen were killed though it mentions the Maoists killed.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070416/asp/jamshedpur/story_7652881.asp
Eve-teasing on Rajdhani
Patna: An allegedly drunk attendant of the Indian Railways' showpiece Rajdhani Express coach eve-teased the 18-year-old daughter of an Air Force sergeant near Buxar late last night.
The incident would have gone unnoticed and the New Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani attendant unpunished but for timely intervention of two Bihar ministers, who boarded the train at Buxar for Patna.
GRP Patna officer-in-charge Alok Kumar said that between 12 midnight and 1 am Mohammed Chand, 35, attendant of AC-III compartment of the Guwahati-bound train reportedly tried to touch the daughter of Air Force junior commissioned officer U. Sharma, 43, when the compartment lights were off.
Sharma, a resident of Madhepura and posted in New Delhi, had boarded the train at Delhi for Guwahati with his daughter and a colleague.
Bihar arts, culture and youth affairs minister Janardhan Singh Sigriwal told The Telegraph: "As public relations minister Arjun Roy and I boarded the compartment to take seats in the adjoining AC-II bogey, the aggrieved JCO narrated the entire turn of events." Sharma told Sigriwal how the allegedly drunk attendant — married and residing in Delhi — first passed snide remarks about his daughter and later tried to touch her in her sleep.
Sharma and his colleague tried to resist Chand's bid, but over four-five attendants joined in, threatening the JCO with dire consequences flaunting "big connections" in Delhi. Chand threatened the TTE, too.
"Most co-passengers kept sleeping. A few who had woken up, just watched the proceedings," Sharma told the train superintendent.
Sigriwal called up the Patna GRP officer-in-charge around 2.10 am from Buxar. The train, which goes to Guwahati via Balia and Muzaffarpur, has been diverted via Patna for a few days because of construction on the main route. The train reached Patna around 3.15 am, where the attendant, who had been hiding in a compartment toilet, was arrested. Sharma and his daughter continued on their journey after lodging a complaint of eve teasing and harassment with the GRP.
Kumar said since the incident took place at Buxar, the case has been transferred to the respective GRP. The coach attendant was also handed over to them this morning. Deputy superintendent of Buxar station R.R. Ojha has been suspended and asked to explain why the Rajdhani stopped at Buxar when it was not scheduled to, said A.C. Chandra, chief public relations officer of East Central Railway.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070417/asp/frontpage/story_7655477.asp
RIL outfit may now invest Rs 8k cr for 1100km pipeline
KOLKATA: Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd, the Mukesh Ambani-controlled outfit, may have to invest Rs 8,000-crore in the 1100km pipeline it proposes from its Krishna-Godavari basin gas find to the market in West Bengal. West Bengal is expected to get compressed natural gas by 2010-11 from the Reliance find.
In June 2006, Mukesh Ambani had said during a visit to Kolkata that he would invest Rs 1,500-2,000-crore in West Bengal for the gas supply project. Later, after signing a pact with the government, Reliance had said it would invest Rs 2,500 crore.
RP Sharma, president of the company's LNG business, said that the expenditure on the pipeline from KG basin to the state could go up to around Rs 8,000 crore. The pipeline would come from Kakinada to Basudebpur and Haldia.
The company would have to invest Rs 2,500-5,000 crore to build commercial supply networks in the districts of Howrah, Hooghly , Burdwan, Midnapore and North 24 Parganas.
For the pipeline project to be viable, Reliance will have to ensure that the market can absorb at least 10 million metric standard cubic metre (mmscm) of gas, equivalent to 2200mw of power a day.
Reliance reckons that it has a market for 3.5mmscm of gas a day. Although it has asked the government to create provisions for supply of at least 10mmscm gas per day, it will itself scout for possible customers.
"West Bengal is the priority destination for Reliance gas supply," Sharma said.
He said that, after Reliance signed a memorandum of understanding with the West Bengal government, it had decided to supply gas to the state by 2008-09 from the D-6 block.
But, since there had been a delay in notification relating to the interests of other parties to supply gas to the state using the Reliance pipeline, Reliance Gas Transportation had postponed the target date to 2010-2011, Sharma said. Also, the gas would now come from the NEC-25 block.
The company does not expect any other company to use its distribution pipeline to West Bengal. Reliance expects to produce 80mmscm from the KG basin.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=161513
Bengal gets poor marks on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Four years of implementation and spending has failed to yield the desired impact of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in West Bengal. Here's why. There were 8.97 out-of-school children in West Bengal as of April 2005, despite the target of universal enrolment set by the SSA. Not just that, 76% children dropped out of school from Class I to IV and 51% from Class V-VIII as of April 2005, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
In fact, West Bengal spent only Rs 789.33 crore (47%) of the projected outlay of Rs 1685.31 crore during 2001-05, indicating low spending.
As regards physical infrastructure, out 50,255 primary schools in the state, 10,084 (20%) had only one classroom, 9,316 (19%) had no drinking water facility, 20,468 (41%) had no toilet facility. As far as girl students are concerned, 81% schools had no separate toilet.
Pulling up the Paschim Banga Rajya Prarambhik Siksha Unnayan Sangha (Sanstha), which is responsible for implementing SSA in the state, the CAG report said non-utilisation of funds and delay in submitting the annual work plan was the key reason behind the lag in funds' release by the Centre, in accordance with the guidelines for SSA.
Another area where the Sanstha slipped up was in preparing a perspective plan for enrolment of out-of-school children. ''Scrutiny revealed that neither any household baseline survey was conducted nor Village Education Registers were maintained properly'', the CAG report said. ''Instead, the number of children was estimated by way of gross assumption of population growth rate as per Census...''
West Bengal's record in encouraging education among girls, SC and ST children is also dismal, according to the report. Out of the budget provision of Rs 10.27 crore during 2002-05 for the purpose, only Rs 1.83 crore was spent. In fact, the state project director had stated that Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and girl students were dropping out of school due to lack of monitoring.
Also, there were instances of expenditure on ''inadmissible items'' under the SSA in the four districts of Bardhaman, Nadia, North 24 Paraganas and Purba Medhipur. For instance, Rs 63.61 lakh was spent on buying computers and accessories, Rs 5.38 lakh on air-conditioning machines, Rs 4.71 lakh on typewriters and fax machines for government offices, and Rs 0.83 lakh on mobile phones and cash cards for the DM and SDO of Bardhaman.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=161251
Orissa body to deal with rehabilitation issues
Bhubaneswar (PTI): With all major projects in the pipeline in Orissa affected by acute land acquisition problems, the State Government will establish a separate directorate to exclusively deal with rehabilitation and resettlement issues.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday directed officials to open the new directorate, the first of its kind in the country, within a week, official sources said on Tuesday.
The need for such a body was felt as Orissa has been hard pressed to acquire land for mega projects to be set up by Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, Vedanta, Tatas and a host of power companies.
"Even as investors have agreed to put in more than Rs 4,00,000 crore in the State, all projects are delayed due to land-related problems," a source said.
Patnaik directed the revenue department to set up the directorate after discussions with representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Britain's Department for International Development (DFID).
Both UNDP and DFID have assured the Orissa Government they will help the new directorate. They also showed interest in training officers to be deployed in the new set-up.
According to decisions taken at the meeting, a Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) and a Rehabilitation Officer (RO) will be appointed for each mega project.
"These two officers will ensure that the land acquisition and rehabilitation processes go side by side. The officers will be responsible to talk to people and ensure peace in the project areas," an official said.
The meeting also decided that the new directorate would take up some projects on a pilot basis before being given responsibilities to look after all projects.
"The activities of the new directorate should be result- oriented and focused," Patnaik reportedly told the revenue department under which the directorate will operate.
Sources said, though Orissa had adopted the "most progressive" rehabilitation and resettlement policy since 2006, it mostly remained on paper.
"Patnaik expressed displeasure for not implementing the new policy which, according to him, would help to overcome land acquisition problems," an official said.
The meeting also resolved that the acquisition of land and rehabilitation of affected people must be done through negotiations and not by force, sources said.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200704180313.htm
Rape accused marries minor victim in Orissa jail
A 24-year-old undertrial in Orissa has married a teenage girl whom he allegedly raped and got pregnant a few years ago.
The traditional tribal wedding between Padmini Murmu, 16, and Khaira Hansda was solemnised at the Circle Jail at Baripada, the district headquarters of Mayurbhanj, 250 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, where Khaira is lodged on charges of rape, a jail official told IANS.
Khaira and Padmini, residents of Adasila village, were students of Class 7 in the local Adasila Nodal M.E. School. Padmini gave birth to a male child on Nov 1, 2006 - a child Khaira flatly denied having fathered.
Padmini and her family members registered a rape case against Khaira at the Kuliana police station after which he was jailed. Later, local social activists met Khaira and persuaded him to accept the child as his son.
After some initial protests, Khaira admitted that he was the father of the child and the wedding was organised in the jail.
Since the couple belongs to the Santali tribe, the marriage took place according to their traditional rituals in the presence of family members. The village head of the Santhal community of Adasila village solemnised the marriage, the jail official added.
All the 686 jail inmates, including Dara Singh who is convicted of murdering Australian Christian missionary Graham Stains and his two sons, attended the marriage.
Though Khaira will not be exempted from the rape charges after the marriage, he is likely to get bail, a legal expert said.
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070417/47674.htm
Under-qualified teachers evaluate papers
Bilaspur, (Chhattisgarh) : In a mockery of the Board exams, under-qualified teachers are checking the copies of the students, Sahara Samay sources said.
Albeit, these teachers lack any degree or knowledge in the subject, the evaluation of the copies is in full swing.
The incharge of the evaluation process also admits the loopholes in the process but assures that no evaluators are unscrupulous enough to spoil the future of the students.
The teachers have also managed forge certificate of merit in the subject to become eligible for the evaluation work and are minting money.
http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=73552
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| Hot issues of Today |
- Apr 16, 2007
- Apr 15, 2007
- Apr 14, 2007
- Apr 13, 2007
- Apr 12, 2007
- Apr 11, 2007
- Apr 10, 2007
- Apr 09, 2007
- Apr 08, 2007
- Apr 07, 2007
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