Maharashtra News Archive: May 2007

BCCI-Zee 219,000 dollar broadcast deal cancelled
Thursday, May 31, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 30 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly cancelled its five-year broadcast deal with Zee Television, putting a question mark over next month's three-match ODI series against South Africa. India is scheduled to play South Africa in three one-dayers in Belfast from June 26 to July 1, besides another against hosts Ireland.The matches fell under series of 25 games to be played by the Indian team at neutral venues covered by the BCCI-Zee deal worth 219,000 dollars.According to the Cricinfo website, the deal ran into difficulties after a meeting on Tuesday.The BCCI are now in discussions with another broadcaster," the website reported.No board official was available for comment on the development. Rumours are doing the rounds that the cancellation has taken place also because of Zee Telefilms announcing the formation of breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) which would offer annual prize money of one million dollars.The league will be parallel to the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra saidlast month that the league would initially be played in the Twenty20 format. The Indian Cricket League, set up with a corpus of rupees one billion, will be launched later this year.The league will have six teams in the inaugural edition and each team will comprise of four foreign, two Indian and eight budding players.Chandra said each of the six teams would be coached by a former India player.The Indian Cricket League will be a joint effort of Essel Group and IL and FS.Chandra said the Essel group also had the plan of setting up cricket academies and the BCCI was free to draw from the pool of talented players.Former Indian captain Kapil Dev will head the Executive Board of the ICL. The other members of the Executive Board include former stumper and ex-chief selector Kiran More, former England captain Tony Greig and Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Dean Jones. (ANI)

Maharashtra jewellers on strike against rising thefts and robbery
Thursday, May 31, 2007 | AY

Mumbai May 30 (ANI): Thousands of jewellers across Maharastra brought shutters down of their stores on Wednesday protesting against the rise in burglaries and attacks on gold merchants.About 20,000 jewellery storeowners and workers from across Maharashtra today gathered in Mumbai, carrying placards and banners that urged police to provide security. They also carried pictures of a jeweller bludgeoned to death recently."Which ever way possible, the Government's job is to provide security. They have an entire police force…they need to put them into action…stop the dacoits immediately recover all the stolen jewellery immediately … rehabilitate the jewellers who have been totally displaced," said Ashok Minawala, chairman of All India Gems and Jewellery Federation.More than 30 cases of jewellery theft and loot have been reported over the past three months across Maharashtra, and jewellery worth millions of dollars have been stolen from the shopkeepers and traders. Thieves have also killed three jewellers in the last two months when they tried to stop them from looting their shops.In some cases, thefts have used veiled customers whose identity could not be established even on closed-circuit television."Victim, victim! Where is the police?" read one of the posters.The daylong shutdown affected bullion trade marginally, traders said.In December 2006, jewellers from Pune had sought the permission of police to bar veiled customers to their shops. The request was prompted by a spate of thefts by customers wearing veils. (ANI)

1993 Mumbai blasts conspirator gets life imprisonment
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 30 (ANI): A TADA court here on Wednesday awarded life sentence to Dawood Phanse, a key conspirator in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.A fine of Rs. 2 lakh has also been imposed on Phanse.Awarding life imprisonment, special TADA Judge P D Kode spared the death penalty to Phanse (83), considering his age.Phanse was found guilty of attending a meeting with the prime accused, Dawood Ibrahim, in Dubai and making a conspiracy to carry out the serial blasts in Mumbai.The court also sentenced Muzzamil Umar Kadri to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh. He was found guilty of participating in landing explosives and arms at Shekhadi in Raigad, and illegal possession of 13 AK-56 rifles.Khalil Nasir, also convicted in the Shekhadi arms landing, was awarded ten years rigorous imprisonment and was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh.Another convict, Liyakat Khan, convicted for his role in the Shekhadi landing and keeping explosives in a family godown was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 35,000.Mohammed Dawood Khan, found guilty of keeping three AK-56 rifles, was given six years rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs 50,000.Another convict, Mohammed Yusuf Botomiya, found guilty for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle, was sentenced to six years' rigorous imprisonment. A fine of Rs 50,000 has also been imposed on Botomiya.Aziz Shaikh, found guilty of illegal arms possession, was given five years' rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 25,000.The scion of the formerly princely state of Tonk, Salim Durrani, was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 25,000. Durrani was convicted for illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle. (ANI)

Mahindra net profit down by 26.5 percent
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 28 (ANI): India's biggest tractor and utility vehicle producer, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd revealed today that its quarterly net profits fell by 26.5 percent.Company officials said the drop was in line with market forecast created by rising interest rates and high raw-material costs. The fact that it also planned to launch two new models into the market was another factor for the drop in profits, a company release said.Mahindra, which is the world's fourth-largest tractor maker, said net profit fell to 2.36 billion rupees in its fiscal fourth-quarter to end-March from 3.21 billion reported a year earlier.A spokesperson of the company, however, said the company's turnover had touched new heights."The Auto volume was up by 15 per cent during the year and tractor volume was by 21 percent. In auto there is a significant increase in the export as well," the spokesman told reporters.The company has announced its plans to launch two new models, a top official said."We have started working on SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) that will take us slightly up market to where we are with the product offerings. We are also looking for a mass-market platform for both cargo as well as passenger. And this vehicle will be launched form our Pune plant which was announced two months ago," Pawan Goenka, the president of the company's automotive sector, told reporters.However, he did not give a time frame for the launch of the new models. The company has registered 17.9 per cent increase in consolidated net profit for the year ended March 31, 2007.According to a release issued by the company to the BSE today, the company's total income was up 41.6 per cent. (ANI)

India-Gulf Cooperation Council industrial forum meet in Mumbai today
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): The third meeting of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) industrial forum will begin here today. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath will lead the Indian delegation at the meeting, which is expected to be attended by Commerce and Industry Ministers of the six GCC States -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), besides the GCC Secretary General.The event will focus on 'India-GCC Investment Opportunities' and will comprise of plenary sessions on investing in India, investing in GCC and on four sectors, namely -- real estate, energy (oil, gas and power), petrochemicals and infrastructure. At the plenary session on 'Opportunities for Investment', there will be presentations on 'Investment Scenario in India' by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Dr. Ajay Dua, and on 'Special Economic Zones-Opportunities for Investment in India' by Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai.On Wednesday, the session on ‘Opportunities in Infrastructure’ will be chaired by T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.The Protocol of the third meeting will be signed at the valedictory session which will be addressed by Kamal Nath and the GCC Ministers. (ANI)

Amitabh, Abhishek visit Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak temple
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan visited the famous Siddhivinayaka Temple here in the early hours on Tuesday.The duo paid obeisance to Lord Ganesha. This was the first visit by the Bachchan family after Abhishek got married to Aishwarya in April. Amitabh visited the temple before a court hearing in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad District today in connection with the case related to the alleged irregularities in allotment of a government land at Barabanki to Amitabh.The previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government had allotted three bighas (about 70,000 sq ft) of prime land in Barabanki district to Bachchan.Bachchans have been regular visitors to the temple. The family has been visiting several major temples across the country to pray for Abhi-Ash wedding. (ANI)

Seven including four custom officers sentenced in 1993 Mumbai blasts
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Seven persons, including four custom officers, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, have been awarded sentences by the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Court (TADA) today.Special TADA judge P D Kode awarded sentences to the four customs officers, R K Singh, Jaywant Gurav, Mohammed Sultan Sayeed, Sudhanwa Talvdekar. Ayub Ibrahim Qureshi and Ehsaan Mohammed Qureshi were found guilty of illegal possession of arms and explosives while Zameer Sayyed Ismail Kadri was held guilty for conspiracy. Kadri, an associate of absconding accused Mohammed Dossa, was awarded life term and imposed a fine of 1.25 lakh rupees.While awarding sentence to Kadri, Justice Kode observed that Kadri did not deserve leniency although he could be held guilty of conspiracy only to the extent of concealing a part of the consignment which had landed at Dighi coast and later attempting to destroy evidence by dumping it in a creek. Since Kadri had tried to conceal the weapons much after the blasts and was absconding after a proclamation notice was issued against him, therefore, he was awarded a life term, Kode added. R K Singh, former Assistant Commissioner of Customs at Alibaug, was awarded nine years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of three lakhs rupees for allowing landing of arms and explosives at the Dighi and Shekhadi Coasts after accepting a bribe. Hundred persons have been convicted by the TADA Court for their involvement in engineering the serial blasts in the city on March 12, 1993 killing 257 and over 200 wounded. (ANI)

‘India negotiating FTA with Gulf countries’
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath today said India is in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf countries and the talks in this regard are likely to be concluded very soon. He said this in his keynote address at the inaugural session of the third meeting of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Industrial Forum here. Stating that India was privileged to host this year’s Forum, Nath expressed the hope that the deliberations would further enhance the expanding economic relations between India and the GCC countries. “In the last five years, India’s total trade with the GCC countries has risen more than four-fold– from 5.55 billion dollars in 2000-01 to 23.42 billion dollars in 2005-06. The period witnessed buoyancy in both exports and imports. Signing of the Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation between India and GCC countries in 2004, was another milestone in the Indo-GCC economic relations,” he said. Underlining the importance of the Gulf countries to India, Nath observed that the Gulf region was on par in terms of demand creation when compare to even the US. “It is already a target market for more than three-quarters of India’s main export products, including fresh fruits and vegetables”, he said. The Minister outlined a whole range of opportunities in India for investors from the Gulf, specially the huge opportunities in infrastructure. “There are obvious synergies between India and the Gulf. The GCC countries continue to be a major supplier of oil to India, meeting almost two-thirds of our oil requirements. India is looking at providing refining services to the Gulf. I invite oil companies from the Gulf to set up their facilities in India as it will not only add a new dimension to our India-GCC trade but also help in enhancing capacities,” he said. He added: “At the same time, we should also look at partnering in areas that go beyond just oil. Infrastructure is one area where India offers immense opportunities for investment. We have estimated the requirement of infrastructure sector to be about 320 billion dollars in the next five years. India plans to add 100,000 MWs of power in the next ten years. There is potential for investment in LNG terminals as India is a gas deficient country. Air passenger traffic has grown in excess of 30 per cent in the last three years. I expect investors from this region to actively participate in the ongoing airport modernization programs across the country”. He went on to say that exciting opportunities also exist in India on farm and food processing sector, as value addition in this area is only 16 percent despite the fact that India is among the world’s largest producer of milk, vegetables and fruits. Gems and jewellery, healthcare and biotechnology were the other areas flagged by Kamal Nath for the Gulf investors. “I invite investors from the GCC countries to make the most of the opportunities that India provides by entering into joint ventures, collaborations and partnerships in different sectors. There is political will on both sides to take the India-GCC trade to the next higher level of engagement and now the onus is on the trade and investment community to translate this will into a reality that augurs well for both sides”, he stressed. Dr Al Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Saudi Arabia, and Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Oman, were present on the occasion along with members of the GCC delegations, including the GCC Chambers and leading representatives of Indian Industry headed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). (ANI)

SEZ are here to stay, says Kamal Nath
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today said the Centre was reviewing land buy policy for low-tax Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in view of widespread opposition.Nath, however, said the policy per se will remain, but there would be no compulsory acquisition of lands for SEZs."The Central Government has one clear thing on SEZs, that they are here to stay. There would be no compulsory land acquisition," Nath told reporters on the sidelines of an India-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting.The government has faced protests from farmers and landowners over its plans to acquire land to develop hundreds of SEZs - large, tax-free industrial enclaves - around the country to boost exports and economic growth.In West Bengal, 14 people were killed and more than 100 injured in March in protests against a proposed chemical hub in Nandigram.On rupee's appreciation, Nath said it was a matter of concern, as it could spell doom for exporters and manufacturers as well."This is rational phenomenon that is happening and the government is aware of it and government is seized with the problem, that is all I can say," said Nath.The partially convertible rupee has risen more than 9 percent this year on robust capital flows into Asia's third-largest economy. (ANI)

National conference on “Affordable Housing for All” from June 1
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | AY

New Delhi, May 30 (ANI): A two-day national conference on “Affordable Housing for All” will be held in Mumbai from June 1.This will provide an opportunity to the delegates to suggests measures and recommend suitable financing interventions consistent with the objective of affordable housing.The conference will also provide a platform to the financing institutions, to come together and share their knowledge, experience and views.They will review the status of housing finance extended by the banks and the housing finance institutions in the country.The conference is being organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Maharashtra Government.Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing And Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja will address the inaugural session, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh will be the Chief Guest and the Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal will be the Guest of Honour.A plenary session on ‘Legislation and Policy Reforms’, will be chaired by Kumari Selja. There will be four parallel sessions on ‘Land Availability and Use’, Finance, Innovative Technologies and Social Housing.Selja and Deshmukh will also address the valedictory session.The Conference will be attended by over 800 delegates from real estate developers, builders, NGOs, civil society, financial institutions, and government representatives both from the Centre and States. (ANI)

Thousands of Dalits convert to Buddhism
Monday, May 28, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 27 (ANI): Thousands of Dalits from remote parts of Maharashtra today reached Mumbai's one of the biggest ground to embrace Buddhism or 'dhamma deeksha', as a mark of celebration of the golden jubilee of Dalit icon Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism.The low caste people cited discrimination in caste-rigid Hindu religion where they are treated as untouchables, as the main force behind their adoption of Buddhism.While these people termed it as a feeling of being 'reborn' after embracing Buddhism, they also said that they would fight against injustices meted out to them for centuries.Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who was scheduled to attend today's function, however did not turn up due to health problems.Such conversion ceremonies are held across India several times a year, but organizers said this was one of the biggest. (ANI)

Zabardast
Sunday, May 27, 2007 | AY

Mahesh Kothare's next release Zabardast, which will release on June 8, will see the advent of Marathi screen’s first superhero. Pushkar Jog plays the key role. Manasi Naik, Sanjay Narvekar, Makrand Anaspure, Vijay Chavan, Rasika Joshi and Siddharth Jadhav are the others in the cast. Special effects with graphics animation and also the music scored by Ajay-Atul are the highlights of the film. Recently the MP3 of Zabardast was released in Pune. The MP3 also has songs from other Marathi films like Jatra, Savarkhed Ek Gaon, Golmaal, Khabardar, Aai No.1, Shubhmangal Savdhan, Pachaadlela, Nana Mama, Chasme Bahaddar, Hi Porgi Konachi, Deva Shapath Khote Sangen, Gojiri, Ishyaa ….!, Aaila Re, Ek Unad Divas and forthcoming Sade Made Teen. Produced by Video Palace, Zabardast Hits is priced at Rs 35.

Facelift to Mumbai’s suburban railways affects commuters
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 26 (ANI): Commuters travelling by local trains in Mumbai are facing tough times as the busy line has been closed for a facelift. In an effort to make rail travel more comfortable, the city's railway department is laying down new tracks, which have blocked a few stations like those at Marine Lines and Churchgate terminal.The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has tied up with corporate houses to raise the money for beautifying prominent stations in return for advertising rights given at nominal rates.The makeover of these stations was apparently inspired by the ongoing drive to revamp the famous Marine Drive, visited by thousands of tourists from the country and abroad.Officials said they were trying to cause the least breakdown in services and complete the process soon."We started the work last night at 11 p.m. Twenty five percent of the job has been done until now. It will take one more hour to restart minimal traffic," said J.C.Parihar, the project in-charge.Hundreds of daily commuters were stranded at the stations where labourers made last minute arrangements to fix up the tracks."We knew for the past few days that the trains would not ply, but did not foresee that the situation will be this bad. We are facing trouble here," said Rajesh, a commuter.Mumbai's suburban railways, known, as the lifeline of the city, is crowded, poorly lit, dirty and with amenities like toilets in a dreadful state, cater to 6.3 million commuters’ everyday.Mumbai has the highest passenger density in the world, ahead of Tokyo and Seoul. (ANI)

Liquor major Diageo Radico ropes in King Khan as brand ambassador
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 25 (ANI): Renowned liquor company Diageo Radico has roped Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan as their brand ambassador for their newly launched Masterstroke deluxe whisky in Mumbai. "The fact of the matter is that products like this are allowed. And they need to be sold. They should be projected in the market. And they could be brought into the market," Khan said. Khan, 41, who endorses numerous products ranging from cars to colas, would be promoting a liquor brand for the first time. According to a company spokesperson, Khan will play a key role in brand and product communication on television, print and outdoor media. Market sources claim that the company is putting in around rupees 200 million on marketing, including the endorsement fees given to Khan.Khan is now endorsing a multitude of brands, including Hyundai Santro, Tag Heuer, Videocon and Sunfeast biscuits. (ANI)

Raj Thackeray's supporters disrupt railway recruitment drive in Pune
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Pune (Maharashtra), May 20 (ANI): Around half a dozen of the activists belonging to Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were detained today for disrupting an examination conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) here.The examination was for the aspirants in Class-III posts such as motorman, driver and engine assistant. Upset over the absence of Marathi candidates at the centre, the MNS activists demanded that outsiders or the non-Marathi should be barred from appearing in this examination.Consequently, the irate MNS Sainiks ransacked the examination centre and tore up the question papers and answer sheets. "There was not a single candidate from Maharashtra in this exam. All the boys were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc. So we ransacked the centre and tore the exam papers. We demand that in Maharashtra only sons of the soil should get a job," said Bala Shedge, an activist of MNS. (ANI)

NCP organisational changes in Maharashtra likely
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 26 (ANI): A crucial meeting of the Maharashtra unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is going on at Goregaon, in which major organisational changes are likely to be considered. NCP president Sharad Pawar, who just came back from a tour of Sri Lanka, is addressing the meeting. The meeting will last till 6:00 p.m.The party might ask Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, who belongs to the NCP, to step down from the post. Party’s office bearers have refused to comment on this issue.Senior party members are expressing concern about reported factionalism in the district party units.The NCP is contesting the May 27 municipal polls in Malegaon and Bhinwadi on its own, party sources said. (ANI)

Don Dawood’s sister Haseena granted bail
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 24 (ANI): A Mumbai court on Thursday granted bail to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar in an extortion and cheating case.A metropolitan magistrate court here also asked her to deposit Rs 25,000 as a personal bond. The court has asked her to report to the investigating officer as and when required and has stopped her from moving out of Greater Mumbai.Earlier today, Parkar surrendered before the metropolitan magistrate court.She also made an application for the cancellation of a non-bailable warrant issued against her by the metropolitan magistrate for her alleged involvement in a case of extortion, cheating and forgery.On Wednesday, a sessions court directed Parkar to appear before a metropolitan magistrate's court on Thursday and make an application for cancellation of a non-bailable warrant issued by that court and seek an anticipatory bail. Sessions Judge N D Deshpande disposed Parkar's anticipatory bail application, and granted her interim relief from arrest.Parkar had filed plea for anticipatory bail but the court refused to entertain it without her being present in court.The Anti-Extortion Cell of the police, investigating the complaint filed by a real estate agent Vinod Avalani, had obtained non-bailable warrants against Parkar, her bodyguard Mohammed Shamim Khan, her driver Salim Ahmed Sayyed and builders Arshad Shafi Shaikh and Maqsud Fakir Mohammed Ansari.Parkar's brother Dawood Ibrahim is believed to be behind the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. Officials say Ibrahim is hiding in Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this. (ANI)

Six more 93 blast convicts sentenced for smuggling explosives
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 24 (ANI): A special TADA court today awarded sentences to six more 93 Mumbai blast convicts, including two close aides of Tiger Memon, for smuggling arms and explosives in the city prior to the blast.Sharif Abdul Parkar convicted for smuggling arms and explosives into Raigad District on February 3 and 9, 1993 has been awarded 14 years imprisonment and imposed a fine of three lakh rupees, failing which he would have to undergo additional three years of imprisonment.While awarding sentence to Abdul Parkar, a senior citizen, special Judge P D Kode said taking his age into consideration, he has been awarded 14 years or else, he might have been given a life term.His son Mujeeb Parkar was awarded five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 rupees.Raju Jain, a key Memon aide, who had provided jeeps to transport the banned explosives after the landing was sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of one lakh rupees, failing which he would have to undergo an additional jail term of three years.Jain had also bought a scooter and given it to Memon, which was later fitted with RDX and used in the Kanta Bazar blast. Sarfraz Dawood Phanse, a close Memon aide has been awarded nine years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of 25,000 rupees. He was guilty of supervising the smuggling of explosives. Suleman Kasan Gawate and Sayed Abdul Rehmen Sheikh who had driven the vehicle carrying banned explosives to Mumbai were awarded seven years imprisonment and fined 25,000 rupees.By Thursday, twenty-eight out of 100 people convicted in the blasts have been awarded sentences. (ANI)

Koradi thermal plant shut down due to workers’ strike
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Nagpur, May 24 (ANI): A 1050 MW Koradi thermal power plant in the outskirts of Nagpur has been shut down on Thursday following a strike by workers to protest against the arrest of two engineers for the death of a worker inside the plant premises. All the seven units of the Koradi Thermal Power Station were closed after all the engineers and workers decided to stay away from work from Wednesday night against the arrest. The engineers were arrested after a labourer working for a private contractor lost his life in an accident in the coal-handling plant on Wednesday. The strike has left Nagpur and its neighbouring villages into darkness. Maharashtra was already reeling under a 1000 MW power deficit."We have had an accidental death here when a labourer working under a contractor lost his life. The police have filed an FIR against two of our engineers.So, all the unions have gone on strike against this," said S. K. Dev Chief General Manager of Koradi Power Station.Tension prevailed in the power plant premises throughout the day with the labourers accusing the engineers and the contractor for the death of the worker, forcing police to arrest the engineers.The engineers alleged that the arrests were arbitrary, without any investigation, and in protest closed down all the generation units."The police did not go behind what had happened and conducted no investigation. Two engineers have been framed under section 304 and therefore all the unions have joined to protest. We are on strike from the night of May 23 and demand withdrawal of section 304 that has been registered against the two engineers," said Narendra Jaronde, General Secretary of Maharashtra State Power Workers' Association.The workers are demanding release of the arrested engineers, as it was done without proper investigation. They also want that the practice of 'contract labour' should be stopped as contractors employ unskilled workers in a highly specialised area.Koradi Thermal Power Station also caters to Mumbai, besides the National power grid. The shut down could badly affect the power situation in the city. (ANI)

Sanjay Dutt to appear before TADA court today
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 25 (ANI): Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for possessing illegal weapon in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, will appear before a special TADA court here today. Dutt was asked by the court to be present today after he failed to appear before it earlier due to ill health. It is not clear whether court will take Dutt's probation plea or will give quantum of punishment.Dutt had filed an application under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), 1958.According to the Act, a person convicted of any offence other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment, can be released on probation instead of serving the sentence in prison.The prosecution, through Ujjwal Nikam, had argued that Dutt could not be granted leniency for being a "youthful" offender, when the crime was committed. He said the POA was meant for young and immature offenders. Nikam had said that Dutt, who was 34 years old in 1993, when he accepted an AK-56 rifle and a Chinese 9mm pistol from Samir Hingora, was "mature and adult". He contended that Dutt could then distinguish between a hunting rifle and an AK-56, "a weapon of mass destruction". Dutt's lawyers had urged that he be set free for his good behaviour during the bail, citing a 1958 law, which allows certain convicts to be given probation.Dutt, 48, has been consistently granted bail and has also been cleared of conspiracy charges against him. Dutt has been out on bail since 1995 after spending over a year in prison during initial investigations into the blasts.In total, 100 people have been found guilty in the blast case. So far, 28 people, including five policemen, have been handed jail terms ranging from three years to life and fines for abetment. The prime accused in the case, Tiger Memon and his family are still absconding and are reportedly living in Pakistan. (ANI)

Bollywood superstar Big B in comedy role in “Cheeni Kum”
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 25 (ANI): Having recently watched Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s inimitable performance in a romantic movie “Nishabd” (speechless), Big B fans will watch him again, this time playing a comedy in the latest film “Cheeni Kum”.Though having a similarity of an aged person running after a young woman, the latest film “Cheeni Kum” (less sugar) is believed to leave movie-goers in peels of laughter. The entire film cast of Cheeni Kum was present at the premier show held here on Thursday. Lead actors Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu’s presence delighted one and all. “Cheeni Kum" is said to be love story of a 64-year-old arrogant chef (Amitabh) cum owner of London’s top Indian restaurant and a 34-year-old Indian tourist (Tabu) who continuously squabbles and disagrees until their heart grows fonder.According to film director R. Balkrishnan, a veteran maker of advertisements shorts, the film is sarcastic in approach. "The main character... Amitabh Bachchan... is a cynic. And all the relationships in the film aren't the usual goody-goody ones. They have been presented in a very sarcastic manner. And that is what results in comedy as well," said Balkrishnan. Makers of "Cheeni Kum" (Less Sugar) are hoping their film will click because it's a chaste comedy, a genre that has tasted success in Bollywood over the last two years.Bachchan plays the role of a confirmed bachelor who lives with his 85-year-old mother. His only friend and confidante is a nine-year-old neighbour.An arrogant, egoistic and pompous Bachchan has cooking as his only passion in life. Bachchan's initial encounters with the heroine, played by Tabu, are fraught with tension.But they fall in love against all odds. And, finally visits the girl's father, who is six years younger than the prospective groom! Speaking at the premier, Tabu, who has already won laurels for her impressive performance in comedy films like “Chachi 420” and “Hera Pheri”, said the latest film has a different appeal."I had an idea that it (Cheeni Kum) would come up very fresh and different. And, that's exactly what I am feeling today. I'm feeling very nice today and good and very relaxed for some strange reason," Tabu said. About acting with Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu said it has been a big pleasure. "It's really gracious that he appreciates my work so much and for me it's a thing of pride. It's a big moment for me when he does that. What can I say about him? I don't need to say anything about him," she said.Bachchan said the film is unlike the run-of-the-mill Bollywood love stories. "The script is different and there is a change in the way the director has treated it. Generally, a love story has a girl, a boy, a father and maybe a third person that makes a love triangle... this film has nothing of that sort." Producers of the movie are hopeful the film will appeal to conservative audiences.Earlier, Bachchan-starrer “Nishabd”, a film based on the controversial Russian novel Lolita, had flopped at the box office. Bachchan says, though both films revolve around relationships between an older man with a younger woman, they are completely different from each other."It's crazy to think that both films are like each other. Firstly, why would I work in two films that are similar to each other? Secondly, this thought process is wrong. The only similarity is that there is a huge age difference between the protagonists in both films, that's all. After that "Nishabd" and "Cheeni Kum" are two different movies altogether," said Bachchan. Bollywood analysts say despite the theme of an older man romancing a younger woman, the film could find acceptance if it steers clear of any overt sexuality to which Indian audiences still remain sensitive."Cheeni Kum" hit theatres across India on Friday (May 25). (ANI)

1993 blasts: Eight get 5-10 years’ rigorous imprisonment
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 25 (ANI): A TADA court here on Friday handed down sentences of rigorous imprisonment, ranging from five to ten years, to eight persons who were convicted in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.All of them have been found guilty for landing, transporting and concealing arms and ammunition before the blasts.Shahid Qureshi was charged with participating in the landing of arms and ammunition at the Dighi coast in Raigad District, near Mumbai, along with prime accused Tiger Memon. He has been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment.A fine of Rs 25,000 has also been imposed on him.Qureshi has already spent over ten years in jail.Isaaq Hajwani, who was convicted for receiving arms training at camps organised by the prime accused Tiger Memon at Sandheri in Raigad District, was sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment. He was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 70,000.Sikandar Hajwani, found guilty for the same offence as his father Isaaq, has been sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment. He has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.Shahnawaz Hajwani, another convict also part of the arms training, was given a jail term of five years rigorous imprisonment and was ordered to pay Rs 10,000 as fine.Faki Ali Subedar and Abdullah Surti convicted for their role in concealing arms that were landed at the Dighi coast were sentenced to six years' imprisonment and fined them with Rs 50,000.Janardan Gambas, a labourer, accused in the Dighi arms landing was sentenced to six years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs 75,000.Syed Kadri was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. He was convicted for concealing a part of a grenade landed at Dighi.One hundred persons have been convicted by the TADA court for their involvement in engineering the serial blasts in the city on March 12, 1993 killing 257 and over 700.So far, 36 convicts have been handed down sentences. (ANI)

A R Rahman uses his music for Taj Mahal’s selection in 7 wonders list
Saturday, May 26, 2007 | AY

Mumbai May 25, (ANI): Renowned music director A.R. Rahman has launched a campaign to include Taj Mahal among the ‘Seven Wonders of the World, by releasing a soulful and resonant anthem to motivate people to vote for the Indian architectural marvel.IMedia Corp Limited, a media company acting as the official voting facilitator for the campaign, roped in Rahman for this, following an abysmally low voting from the country. "When I was offered this, I just took it blindly. It was an honour to do this. The Taj is - is beyond religion. It is not just a building of marble. What has gone into it and what it has become. It's no more about Shahjahan or Mumtaj, it's ours, and our pride is at stake," said Rahman."If you have loved in your life, if you are loving now or if you are going to love later here's an opportunity to feel good about voting for the monument of love. Vote right now…. before July…," Rahman appealed to the people.The new seven wonders will be chosen on the basis of number of votes received from across the globe with the winning landmarks being announced in a live broadcast on July 7, 2007 in Portugal. The 21 finalists in this list also include Rome’s Colosseum, Jordan’s ancient city of Petra, Britain's Stonehenge, Great Wall of China. These were shortlisted on January 1 by a panel of experts chaired by the former head of UNESCO, Federico Mayor. In the 17th century, Mughal emperor Shahjahan built the Taj Mahal as a symbol of his enduring love for his wife Mumtaz. It stands on a marble platform in the city of Agra, 200 km (125 miles) south of Delhi, and is surrounded by ornamental gardens. (ANI)

1993 blasts: Five sentenced for helping land arms, explosives
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 23 (ANI): Five persons convicted for their role in 1993 serial blasts in the city, including a former public servant, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the TADA court in Mumbai. Tulshiram Dhondu Surve, employed as a watchman at the Wangani Microwave Tower was sentenced to nine years' rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a total fine of Rs 55,000 on the two counts of aiding and abetting a terrorist act and intentional omission of giving information of offence."Who were your real bosses? The government or the smugglers to whom you accorded such hospitality for a paltry amount of Rs 2,000?" special TADA judge P D Kode asked Surve, found guilty of allowing the use of government property on two occasions for transferring arms between two vehicles.The "operational in-charges" of the arms and ammunition landing at the Dighi coast--Uttam Potdar and Mohammed Lajpuria alias "Mechanic Chacha"--were sentenced to 14 and 10 years' rigorous imprisonment respectively and directed to pay a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each.One hundred persons have been convicted by the TADA court for their involvement in engineering the serial blasts in the city on 12th March, 1993 killing 257 and over 700.Kode held that the "main mind" in the landing was Potdar, as he negotiated with the police party at Dongar Phata and also facilitated the landing on behalf of one of the prime accused Mohammed Dossa, who is presently absconding.The court observed both Potdar and Lajpuria were unaware of the material in the contraband till time of the landing operation and said that the latter even objected to helping in landing anything apart from silver. (ANI with inputs)

ONGC launches Sagar Space Chikitsa
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 22 (ANI): The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) today launched the pilot project of telemedicine network from SLQ platform in Mumbai Offshore to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. Christened “Sagar Space Chikitsa”, the telemedicine system was inaugurated by N.K. Mitra, Director (Offshore) ONGC.It will provide instant as well as critical healthcare to over 2500 personnel stationed at 24 rigs and production platforms of ONGC.“This quick response to medical emergencies will ensure timely medical intervention, thereby improving the recovery process. Employee morale will be bolstered,’ said Mitra.The pilot will be operational for three months after which it will be rolled out at all installations having living accommodation at ONGC Mumbai offshore.Sagar Space Chikitsa is meant to link and equip the remote offshore locations and super specialty hospitals through a server-browser based telemedicine system. The solution allows medical data to be streamed from remote locations like Mumbai Offshore to specialists in real time. The same data is simultaneously stored in a centralized server for later review and reporting.The system provides medical information and consultation in all fields of medicine which include cardiology, orthopedics and surgical. This system in offshore locations is designed to be simple and requires very low maintenance. A standard IBM compatible PC is installed with the necessary operating system along with a browser. The medical devices and the video conferencing system are connected into one simple system via the PC to the server software. The VSAT connectivity is used to connect the remote systems with the centralized server.With Sagar Space Chikitsa, the personnel at the offshore installations of ONGC will receive accurate and timely diagnosis. The telemedicine system will also reduce critical healthcare delivery times by scheduling proper treatment and follow-up. (ANI)

Nifty touches record high mark, Sensex jumps 115 points
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 21 (ANI): The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Nifty today touched an all time high mark of 4, 269 points. All sectoral indexes, with an exception information technology, showed positive signs as banking, metal, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and oil and gas where in demand today. Auto and technology stocks witnessed profit taking. Meanwhile, the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 60 points and displayed positive movement through the session. The index touched a high of 14,451, and finally settled with a gain of 115 points at 14,419 points. The BSE Oil and Gas index soared three per cent to 7835, and the Metal index surged 2.5 per cent to 10,494. The FMCG index advanced two per cent to 1911. BSE Group ‘A’ top gainers were Balaji Telefilms, Chennai Petroleum, Tamilnadu Newsprint and papers, Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank, Jindal saw and Allahabad Bank. Major stock exchanges across the globe, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, DOW JONES, Standard and Poor (S and P), Shanghai Composite Index, Kospi and Taiwan and Nikkei, showed impressive gains. (ANI)

Pune farmers protest against land acquisition for Videocon SEZ
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | AY

Pune, May 21 (ANI): Hundreds of farmers staged protest demonstrations here on Monday against the acquisition of agricultural land for the proposed Videocon special economic zone (SEZ).About 600 farmers from four villages, likely to be affected by the proposed project, were on a warpath against the acquisition.The company is in the process of acquiring 5000 acres of land through Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.Enraged farmers said the Government has not offered to provide them an alternate source of livelihood.“Our land is our source of livelihood. Farming is our sole occupation. What will we do without our land? They cannot provide us with full employment. They cannot provide us resources for self-employment. So what are we going to do without our land?,” said Shantaram Ghatge, a farmer.Farmers said they would approach Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to scrap the proposed project.The Centre expects low tax Special Economic Zones across the country to draw nearly 600 billion rupees (13.9 billion dollars) in investment by 2009 and create 890,000 jobs. (ANI)

Former sub-inspector awarded concurrent life term in 93 Mumbai blast
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 22 (ANI): A special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act) Court on Tuesday sentenced a former police sub-inspector V K Patil to life term for allowing a truck laden with arms and explosives to reach Mumbai despite having intercepted it in a raid, prior to 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.Patil got life term on two charges, of criminal conspiracy and aiding and abetting a terrorist act while he was posted at Srivardhan police station at Raigad, for which he was found guilty.Both life sentences will run simultaneously, the court said. The court also imposed a fine of two lakh rupees on Patil, failure to give it would amount to an additional rigorous imprisonment of three years each. The judge lashed out at Patil for letting off the arms laden truck despite having intercepted it, after accepting a bribe of seven lakh rupees. He observed that the charges against Patil were more serious than those against the four constables - Ashok Muleshwar, P M Mahadik, Ramesh Mali and SY Pashilkar, who accompanied him during the raid.The four constables were on Monday granted six-year rigorous imprisonment.It was for the first time in judicial history that a police officer has been awarded concurrent life imprisonments on two counts, said special public prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam said after the proceedings.Patil is also the first among the 100 persons convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, to be awarded life term. (ANI)

Tharrar
Monday, May 21, 2007 | AY

Prerana Chitra Nirmit, suspense-thriller Tharrar is ready for release in Nagpur and other centers. Being produced by Chandrakant Bhausaheb Sawartkar, and co-produced by Chandrakant Joshi, the film is presented by RK Mehta. Directed by Babasheb Yadav, it stars Shashank Udapurkar, Deepali Kulkarni, Anant Kale, Seema Patil, Sunil Barve, Jaywant Wadkar, Rajdev Jamdade, Dr. Madhu Apte, Dhananjay Mandrekar, Amarjeet, Amle and Barkat Khan. Story and screenplay by Dr Jaywant Vhatkar, music by Madhu-Krishana, cinematography by Nandakumar Patil, Nandu Choudhari and Girish Udale, editing by Prakash Kothare, choreography by Jay Borade, art by Lalit Chiwaskar, Sunil Kumbhar, action by Akbar Sharif and sound by Bal Jathar are the other credits. The four songs, penned by Soma-Shank and Suryawanshi have been recorded in the voices of Suresh Wadkar, Sadhana Sargam, Mohammed Aziz and Aparna Mayekar.

Mahercha Daiwat audio out
Monday, May 21, 2007 | AY

Music of Ankur Films and producer Shriram Bade’s Marathi film Mahercha Daiwat was released by T.Series recently at the hands of Kiran Shantaram. Others present were writer Shirish Latkar, music director Uday Kamat, singers Tyagraj Khadilkar, Chandrashekhar Gadgil, Shibani Kashyap, Vaishali Karnik, actors Teja Deokar, Santosh Juwekar and Rashmi Bade. Being written and directed by Shriram Bade, the film is presented by Shrikrishna Dharap. Screenplay and dialogue by Shirish Latkar, lyrics by Mohandas Shanbaug, music by Uday Kamat, cinematography by Prakash Barot, editing by Vijay Khochikar, art by Keshav Thakur and action by Akbar Sharif. It stars Teja Deokar, Santosh Juwekar, Uday Sabnis, Rashmi Bade, Satsih Salagare, Minal Ghorpade, Abhijeet Chavan, Pandurang Kulkarni, Uday Kamat, Jyoti Nisal and Mohandas Shanbaug.

Lagin Mazhyaa almost complete
Monday, May 21, 2007 | AY

Shree Shubham Creations’ first Marathi mythological venture Lagin Mazhyaa Khandobaacha is now 50 percent complete. It was shot at Sapcha Wada, Rahamatpur in Satara District. Produced by Bhalchandra Pandit and directed by Prakash Panchal, the film has screenplay-dialogue by Suresh Chikhale, music by Bal Palsule, lyrics by Suresh Chikhale and Shrikant Narule, cinematography by Prakash Shinde, art direction by Satish Bidkar, editing by Dilip Darak and costumes by Vinod Pandit. The songs have been rendered by Usha Mangeshkar, Ravindra Sathe, Anand Shinde, Anupama Deshpande and Vijay Sartave. Alka Athalye plays the role of Goddess Mhalsa and Vinod Pandit is in the title role of Lord Khandoba. Others in the cast are Teja Deokar, Mohan Joshi, Sayaji Shinde, Deepak Shirke, Kuldeep Pawar and Tejshree Bapat.

Raj Thackeray's supporters disrupt railway recruitment drive in Pune
Monday, May 21, 2007 | AY

Pune (Maharashtra), May 20 (ANI): Around half a dozen of the activists belonging to Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were detained today for disrupting an examination conducted by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) here.The examination was for the aspirants in Class-III posts such as motorman, driver and engine assistant. Upset over the absence of Marathi candidates at the centre, the MNS activists demanded that outsiders or the non-Marathi should be barred from appearing in this examination.Consequently, the irate MNS Sainiks ransacked the examination centre and tore up the question papers and answer sheets. "There was not a single candidate from Maharashtra in this exam. All the boys were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc. So we ransacked the centre and tore the exam papers. We demand that in Maharashtra only sons of the soil should get a job," said Bala Shedge, an activist of MNS. (ANI)

'93 Mumbai blasts: Four cops get 6-year imprisonment
Monday, May 21, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 21 (ANI): A special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities [Prevention] Act) Court today sentenced four police constables to six-year rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. The four policemen were also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 each. The court had convicted Ashok Muleshwar, P M Mahadik, Ramesh Mali and SY Pashilkar for assisting in bringing explosives into Mumbai before the blasts. They were held guilty of providing assistance in a terrorist act, for which an individual can get imprisonment from five years to a life term. The TADA court began pronouncing the quantum of sentence on the 100 convicts in the case on Friday. On the first day, it sentenced five people to three years imprisonment. Delivering the verdict, Judge Pramod Kode also fined them Rs 25,000 each after they were found guilty under the Customs Act. The Customs Act bars the application of the Probation of Offenders Act (POA). The five sent to jail were Yeshwant Bhoinkar, Abbas Dawood Shaikhdare, Shajehan Ibrahim Shaikhdhare, Rashid Alware and Sharif Khan Adhikari. While Shaikhdhare and Bhoinkar were convicted for providing trawlers for bringing in RDX and weapons at Shekhadi, Alware and Adhikari were convicted for participation in the landing of the consignment. The court has already formally acquitted 23 accused in the blast case, which killed 257 people and left over 700 people injured. The prime accused in the case, Tiger Memon and his family are still absconding, and are reportedly living in Pakistan. (ANI)

Bus runs over pavement dwellers in Mumbai; 3 dead
Sunday, May 20, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 20 (ANI): A private bus ran over some pavement dwellers in Dahisar area of Mumbai, killing three persons and injuring two others in the early hours of Sunday. According to police, the accident took place at around 3 a.m. at the side of Western Express highway in Dahisar. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, police said, adding that the driver of the bus was absconding. (ANI)

Mumbai ATS nabs 2 persons with 370 detonators
Sunday, May 20, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 20 (ANI): A possible terror attack was averted when the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police arrested two persons with 370 detonators at Vikrloi here on Sunday morning. Five gelatin sticks were also recovered from the arrested persons, police said. No information related to the arrested persons was available as yet. (ANI)

Maha sugarcane farmers continue to protest government apathy
Sunday, May 20, 2007 | AY

Aurangabad (Maharashtra), May 20 (ANI): Protest by sugarcane farmers of Maharashtra against the government's failure to bail out the crisis of plenty, is continuing here on Sunday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has joined the farmers, who took out a protest with truckloads of sugarcane, in a bid to draw the state government's attention to the crisis. "We had congregated in a democratic fashion. In Maharashtra, 40 lakh tonnes of sugarcane has not been crushed despite the fact that the sugar factories will be running till June. We had demanded help to the tune of rupees 40,000 per hectare, the cooperative minister was supposed to come and we wanted to meet him and seek justice, we did not get justice. Instead, they tried to suppress the demonstration," said BJP leader Gopinath Munde. Marathwada region, known as the sugar belt of Maharashtra, observed a shut down on Saturday to protest the police action against sugar farmers during a demonstration rally. The state government has announced compensation for the sugarcane farmers. However, farmers said it would not cover their loss, which they claimed, were worth millions of rupees. The mill owners justify their decision of not buying excess crop stating that they end up losing money, since they have already bought sugarcane up to the capacity of their mills. Maharashtra had 163 sugar mills across the State, out of which 52 have been shut down permanently. State officials say they are saddled with a peculiar problem of excess crop during this season, perhaps for the first time. "Till now 728,00,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane has been cut and delivered to sugar mills till date. And in future around 32, 00, 000 sugarcane crop is expected to be cut and delivered. This is happening for the first time in Maharashtra...The State Government has decided to give 25,000 rupees as compensation to the farmers," said Sugar Director of Pune, Raj Gopal Deora. The state has witnessed large scale suicides by farmers in recent past, mostly cotton growers. In 2006 alone 1,448 farmers committed suicide and it is continuing despite various attempts by the State and Central governments. (ANI)

Dasmunsi asks Maha Govt to take action on attack on Star News
Sunday, May 20, 2007 | AA

New Delhi/Mumbai, Apr 16 (ANI): Condemning the attack on the office of Star News in Mumbai today, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi asked the Maharashtra Government to take action in this regard. “I have learnt about the attack on Star TV by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group. The concerned State Government should take firm action and book the culprits for justice immediately. This is an assault on democracy and the fundamental rights of the media, which I strongly condemn,” he said in a statement. Earlier in the day, close to 50 Hindu fanatics ransacked the office of Star News for telecasting the news of a Muslim man eloping with a Hindu woman. No one was injured in the incident. The attackers declared that they belonged to a radical Hindu group, the Hindu Rashtra Sena. Maharshtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said that the police would take strict action against the attackers. "Eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the incident," Patil told reporters. Carrying triangular saffron flags, the attackers smashed the vehicles parked outside the office and also damaged the office furniture. Patil said that the attackers were angry against the channel as it had shown a news item of an alleged affair between a Muslim youth and a 'minor' Hindu girl. "They are claiming that the girl was a minor," Patil added. However, he added that media was free to air its programme and that tough actions would be taken against the culprits. The attack came on a day when Shiv Sainiks stormed a press conference of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, while she was trying to clarify her hug with Hollywood actor Richard Gere on the sidelines of an AIDS awareness campaign in Delhi. (ANI)

"Hanged Saddam" top draw at Mumbai’s ‘House of Horrors’
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 17 (ANI): A re-enactment of the hanging of Iraq’s deposed leader Saddam Hussein is drawing crowds at a new horror exhibition in Mumbai. "House of Horrors", modelled on Madame Tussauds' Chamber of Horrors, has actors popping out with axes, men dressed as bloodthirsty killers and screeching witches to frighten visitors as they move along a maze-like dungeon.As visitors walk along on an uneven pathway, a rubber replica of Hussein's head pops up with a noose tied around the neck. The head makes a snapping noise, hinting that the neck was being broken."Saddam Hussein is a very famous personality all over the world. So we thought of recreating his hanging. People have seen the clipping around the world”. said Satish Reddy, one of the owners of House of Horrors.Reddy, however, said he was not worried about possible opposition to using Hussein's death for his business.Visitors said the hanging looked real with the model closely resembling the Iraqi leader. It was fearful, they said. “Suddenly, you see a person you have been hearing about -- his execution and everything. He comes in front of you, in kind it scares you," said Burkha, one of the visitors. As soon as shrieking visitors back off from the swaying head of Hussein, they run into a masked actor chasing them with an axe. The 20-minute walkthrough costs around 163 rupees per person. (ANI)

93' Mumbai blast: Court to begin pronouncing quantum of sentence today
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 18 (ANI): A special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention Act) court will begin pronouncing the quantum of sentence to the 100 convicts in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blast case today. The court had formally acquitted 23 accused in the blast case, which killed 257 people and left more than 700 people injured. There is no clue that who will be sentenced first by Judge Pramod Kode. But, according to special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, the judge will first sentence those who were found guilty under the Customs Act. They are Yeshwant Bhoinkar, Abbas Dawood Shaikhdare, Shajehan Ibrahim Shaikhdhare, Rashid Alware and Sharif Khan Adhikari.While Shaikhdhare and Bhoinkar were convicted for providing trawlers for bringing in RDX and weapons at Shekhadi, Alware and Adhikari were convicted for participation in landing of the consignment.The court is likely to take up actor Sanjay Dutt's probation plea today. Dutt was convicted for possessing illegal weapons. He had filed an application under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), 1958.The court on Wednesday ordered for the probation officers reports, with respect to the petition filed by Dutt and other 96 accused in the case. Sanjay Dutt and the other 96 accused had filed the plea seeking relief under section 4 of Probation of Offenders Act. Along with him, three of Dutt's associates, who have been convicted under the Arms Act for helping him destroy evidence, Yusuf Nulwalla, Rusi Mulla and Kersi Adajania, had also filed pleas for probation which will also come up in the court today. According to the Act, a person convicted of any offence other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment, can be released on probation instead of serving the sentence in prison.The prosecution, through Ujjwal Nikam, had argued that Dutt could not be granted leniency for being a "youthful" offender, when the crime was committed. He said the POA was meant for young and immature offenders. Nikam had said that Dutt, who was 34 years old in 1993, when he accepted an AK-56 rifle and a Chinese 9mm pistol from Samir Hingora, was "mature and adult". He contended that Dutt could then distinguish between a hunting rifle and an AK-56, "a weapon of mass destruction". Dutt's lawyers had urged that he be set free for his good behaviour during the bail, citing a 1958 law, which allows certain convicts to be given probation.Dutt, 48, has been consistently granted bail and has also been cleared of conspiracy charges against him. Dutt has been out on bail since 1995 after spending over a year in prison during initial investigations into the blasts.The prime accused in the case, Tiger Memon and his family are still absconding and are reportedly living in Pakistan. (ANI)

93' Mumbai blast: Five get three year jail terms
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 18 (ANI): A special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention Act) Court today sentenced five people to three years imprisonment in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blast case. Delivering the verdict, Judge Pramod Kode also fined them Rs 25,000 each after they were found guilty under the Customs Act. The Customs Act bars the application of the Probation of Offenders Act (POA).The five sent to jail were Yeshwant Bhoinkar, Abbas Dawood Shaikhdare, Shajehan Ibrahim Shaikhdhare, Rashid Alware and Sharif Khan Adhikari.While Shaikhdhare and Bhoinkar were convicted for providing trawlers for bringing in RDX and weapons at Shekhadi, Alware and Adhikari were convicted for participation in the landing of the consignment.The court began pronouncing the quantum of sentence on the 100 convicts in the case today. It has already formally acquitted 23 accused in the blast case, which killed 257 people and left over 700 people injured. According to sources, actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for possessing illegal weapons, will not appear before the court as he is unwell.The court is likely to take up his probation plea today. He had filed an application under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), 1958.The court on Wednesday had ordered for probation officers reports, with respect to petitions filed by Dutt and 96 other accused in the case. Sanjay Dutt and the other 96 had filed pleas seeking relief under Section 4 of Probation of Offenders Act. Along with Dutt, three of his associates, who were convicted under the Arms Act for helping him destroy evidence, Yusuf Nulwalla, Rusi Mulla and Kersi Adajania, had also filed pleas for probation which will also come up in the court today. According to the Act, a person convicted of any offence other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment, can be released on probation instead of serving the sentence in prison.The prosecution, through Ujjwal Nikam, had argued that Dutt could not be granted leniency for being a "youthful" offender, when the crime was committed. He said the POA was meant for young and immature offenders. Nikam had said that Dutt, who was 34 years old in 1993, when he accepted an AK-56 rifle and a Chinese 9mm pistol from Samir Hingora, was "mature and adult". He contended that Dutt could then distinguish between a hunting rifle and an AK-56, "a weapon of mass destruction". Dutt's lawyers had urged that he be set free for his good behaviour during the bail, citing a 1958 law, which allows certain convicts to be given probation.Dutt, 48, has been consistently granted bail and has also been cleared of conspiracy charges against him. Dutt has been out on bail since 1995 after spending over a year in prison during initial investigations into the blasts.The prime accused in the case, Tiger Memon and his family are still absconding, and are reportedly living in Pakistan. (ANI)

Rupees five-lakh compensation for next of kin of those killed: Andhra CM (Hyderbad Blast-Update)
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Hyderabad/ New Delhi/ Mumbai, May 18 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Y S Rajshekar Reddy today announced a compensation of Rs five lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the blast in a mosque.The injured will be given a compensation of Rs.20, 000. There were three bombs in all, two of which were later defused. If these two bombs had also exploded, the situation would have been worse, Reddy told reporters. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said: "So far we have information that there have been five deaths following a crude bomb explosion. We have already put the Rapid Action Force RAF) stationed in Hyderabad at the disposal of the state government."The priority now was to provide immediate relief to those injured and to the kin of the deceased, Patil said. An Anti-Terrorist-Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police has left for Hyderabad and red alert has been issued in Bangalore and other cities of AP. At least five persons were killed and 15 others injured in the blast that took place at a mosque in the busy Charminar area.The blast occurred inside the Mecca Masjid, about 10 meters from Charminar, at around 1.30 p.m when the area was crowded, as thousands had gathered to offer their Friday prayers.The injured are undergoing treatment at Osmania Hospital. (ANI)

Mumbai Police arrest 36 bar dancers
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 19 (ANI): Police have arrested 36 bar dancers following raids on two bars in Mumbai for violating the law.In the first raid, 23 dancers were arrested from a bar in Andheri. Another 13 were arrested in Borivilli."When our team checked the bar five girls were found. Later we found another hiding place behind the bar. There we found eight more girls. In all, we found thirteen girls. We will take action in this regard. Illegal orchestra was also on during the raid. We will take action against the girls, and the owners of the bar," said Jayant Naiknavre, Deputy Commissioner of Police. Bar dancing has been banned in Maharashtra since August 2005, as authorities feel it corrupts young, and breeds both crime and prostitution.An estimated 75,000 girls, mainly from the lower economic strata, lost their means of livelihood. But the dancers and their backers' say the bars are the only way the women, many of them single mothers, can earn a living.The girls -- they are forced out of the business as they cross 30 years of age -- take home 70 percent of the tips and the bar owners keep 30 percent. Governor S M Krishna had on August 9 given his assent to the Mumbai Police (amendment) Bill, 2005, aimed at banning dance bars in the state after it was passed by both the Houses of the state legislature.The bill provides for a ban on 'holding of a performance of dance, of any kind, in an eating house, permit room or beer bar'.According to the bill, "All performance licences, issued under the aforesaid rule by the Commissioner of Police or the District Magistrate or any other officer, as the case may be, being the licensing authority, to hold a dance performance of any kind or type, in an eating house, permit room or beer bar shall stand cancelled”.The bill provides for an imprisonment of upto three years and a fine upto Rs 2 lakh for 'any person who holds or causes or permits to hold a dance performance of any kind or type, in an eating house, permit room or beer bar'. (ANI)

Mumbai Police step up vigil after Hyderabad blast
Saturday, May 19, 2007 | AY

Kurla (West)/Mumbai, May 19 (ANI): Mumbai Police have stepped up vigil after a bomb blast at the Mecca mosque in Hyderabad killed 14 and injured 58."We have taken all the precautions. We have already alerted police stations and higher formations, like divisions, zones, regions, especially branches like the SBI, the Crime Protection Branch and the Anti-Terrorist Squad. Even railway police has been contacted. We are mounting a watch on religious places, sensitive places and crowded places," said D. N. Jadhav, Mumbai Police Commissioner.In Kurla West, a mob pelted stones and damaged seven city buses.Hyderabad has a large Muslim population and several historic mosques and Friday's attack was the third major bombing of a mosque in India over the last year. (ANI)

Madhuri keen on doing Marathi film if role is good
Thursday, May 17, 2007 | AY

Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit is keen on acting in a Marathi film if the role is challenging. Marathi films are witnessing better days, Madhuri said adding that as a result of good stories and better film production, Marathi films like ''Swas'' are also vying for Oscar now. This clearly shows that Marathi films of better quality are being produced now, she added. About her own career, Madhuri said she is presently acting in a film being produced by Yash Chopra. To a question, she said she was yet to decide on whether to continue acting after the completion of this film.

Krishna Abhishek, Kashmera in Marathi film
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | AY

Actors Krishna Abhishek and Kashmera Shah will play the lead pair in a Marathi film. They are shooting non-stop from 12 May in Kullu in a major shooting spell with a few stints later in Mumbai. They have also recorded a song in Abhijeet's voice, making it the first time that the singer has lent his voice for a Marathi film. The other three songs have been rendered by Anuradha Paudwal, Vaishali Samant, Arvind Singh and Anand Shinde. Mumbaicha Pahuna will also feature Ajinkya Deo, Varsha Usgaonkar, Bharat Jadhav, Avinash Wadhawan, Surekha Kurcchikar, Sunita Karamlekar and Mohan Joshi. Suhaas-Ashok are the fim's music directors.

TADA court to hear Sanjay Dutt’s probation plea
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 16 (ANI): A special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention Act) court will take up actor Sanjay Dutt's probation plea today in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, which killed 257 people and left more than 700 people injured. Dutt, who was convicted for possessing illegal weapons, had filed an application under the Probation of Offenders Act (POA), 1958.Along with him, three of Dutt's associates, who have been convicted under the Arms Act for helping him destroy evidence, Yusuf Nulwalla, Rusi Mulla and Kersi Adajania, had also filed pleas for probation which will also come up in the court today. According to the Act, a person convicted of any offence other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment, can be released on probation instead of serving the sentence in prison.The prosecution, through Ujjwal Nikam, had argued that Dutt could not be granted leniency for being a "youthful" offender, when the crime was committed. He said the POA was meant for young and immature offenders. Nikam had said that Dutt, who was 34 years old in 1993, when he accepted an AK-56 rifle and a Chinese 9mm pistol from Samir Hingora, was "mature and adult". He contended that Dutt could then distinguish between a hunting rifle and an AK-56, "a weapon of mass destruction". Dutt's lawyers had urged that he be set free for his good behaviour during the bail, citing a 1958 law, which allows certain convicts to be given probation.Dutt, 48, has been consistently granted bail and has also been cleared of conspiracy charges against him. Dutt has been out on bail since 1995 after spending over a year in prison during initial investigations into the blasts.A court had on May 9 formally acquitted 23 people in the case. In total, 100 people have been found guilty in the blast case. The prime accused in the case, Tiger Memon and his family are still absconding and are reportedly living in Pakistan. The court will begin pronouncing the quantum of sentence to the convicts from May 18. (ANI)

RIL makes two significant gas-bearing discoveries on east coast
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 15 (ANI): Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has made two new discoveries, one in the deep waters of East coast and another in the shallow waters of West coast of India. These are in the well KG-D6-R1 in block KG DWN 98/3 (KG D6), and in the well GS01 B1 in block GS-OSN-97/1 (GS01).Another significant discovery in KG D6 in the deepest location drilled to dateRIL has successfully completed drilling of it's fiftieth exploratory well KG-D6-R1. This well is the twenty-third exploratory well drilled in block KG DWN 98/3(KG D6). The well is located at a water depth of 2010 meters, which is the deepest location to be drilled to date in this block. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4860 meters. The well encountered two gas-bearing zones and the data obtained from logging and Modular Dynamic Testing (MDT) confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in the Mio-Pliocene intervals. This well has been notified to the DGH and concerned authorities as a new discovery, namely Dhirubhai 34, which is the 18th discovery in this block. This opens up new areas in the deeper stratigraphic levels in the block.This block was awarded to the consortium of RIL (90 percent) and NIKO (10 percent) under the NELP I round of bidding. Currently, the JV is developing India's first Deep Water Gas production facility for the Dhirubhai 1 and 3 fields targeting first gas in the second half of 2008.In addition to the above discovery, RIL is pleased to announce a discovery in the well GS01 B1 in block GS-OSN-97/1, off the west coast in Gujarat - Saurashtra basin of India. The commerciality of the above discoveries is currently under evaluation. These recent discoveries demonstrate the further upside potential of the blocks in the Krishna Godavari and opens up a new corridor in Gujarat - Saurashtra basin for future exploration. (ANI)

India to release its aviation plan soon: Praful Patel
Monday, May 14, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 14 (ANI): Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that India is preparing a plan to make its aviation industry better able to deal with global competition by 2020. “The Vision 2020 statement will be sent to senior government ministers and should be ready in a couple of months,” Patel said at Jet Airways Ltd.'s presentation of its new Boeing 777-300 ER and Airbus 330-200 planes. He also said that the policy would help Indian carriers to meet competition from foreign airlines."We will decide according to the needs of the country. After all, we have so many foreign airlines now coming to India, not only to Mumbai and Delhi but to many other cities. As a result, we will have to review our policies, to be able to take on the competition of foreign carriers,” he added. He further said that it is important that Indian companies must now think big, think of not only buying Indian carriers, but to buy carriers internationally also. “Even public carriers will also be expanding their footprints beyond India in the years to come," he said.The Minister said that he would talk to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and state-run oil companies about high jet fuel prices, adding that options include allowing carriers to import fuel or create a hedge.Indian carriers are allowed to hedge fuel for international flights, but not for domestic operations. (ANI)

Farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha on the decline, claims Deshmukh
Monday, May 14, 2007 | AY

New Delhi, May 13 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has claimed that the number of farmers’ suicides in the State’s Vidarbha region has gone down sharply over the past year.Deshmukh, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said the number of farmers suicides, which was 61 in March 2006, is 16 for the same month this year.As many as 575 farmers had committed suicide due to agrarian crisis in the six worst-affected Vidarbha Districts in 2006.While, the first three months of 2006 saw 168 farmers’ deaths, this year 40 farmers – Nine in January, 15 in February and 16 in March – have committed suicide in Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal districts of Vidarbha.The Prime Minister had announced a special relief package of Rs 3,750 crore for the farmers of Vidarbha in distress.“The Prime Minister's relief package has helped a lot in providing succour to farmers in Vidarbha,” Deshmukh said. (ANI)

Over 50 children suffer allergic reaction to medicine overdose in Nagpur
Sunday, May 13, 2007 | AY

Nagpur, May 9 (ANI): Over fifty children suffered allergic reactions to a medicine administered to them during a malnutrition drive by state health authorities in Nagpur. The affected children were rushed to Mayo hospital after several of them complained of headache, vomiting and even allergic reactions on their skin. The state health authorities had administered Vitamin A to children in Indiranagar locality of the city during a recent drive against malnutrition. "Due to an overdose of the medicine the children have been complaining about headaches and vomiting since the morning. And, some of them are also suffering from dehydration. About 50 children of that village have been admitted to the hospital and doctors are providing necessary medication to the children," said Dr. Milind Mane at Mayo Hospital on Wednesday. Tense parents sat with their children on the floor as the hospital ran short of beds. They said the municipal medical authorities had been careless in administering the medicine to their children. "Children have been vomiting since the morning. It was the doctors who administered the medicine to these children," said Tulsibai Raut, an anxious mother. While authorities say the condition of the children was now stable, a probe has been ordered into the incident. (ANI)

Shilpa starrer 'Metro' releases to packed house
Sunday, May 13, 2007 | AY

New Delhi/Mumbai, May 11 (ANI): After a glitzy London premiere earlier this week, real-life drama 'Life in a Metro' on Friday released to a good response across India.Inspired by real life situations, this slice-of-life drama is a tale of urban relationships."One city-countless emotions" reads the tagline of this saga about life in a modern day metropolis.A concoction of mainstream and art cinema, the film received wonderful response from audience."The film is very good, it's fantastic. It is going to be a big hit, I am quite sure about it. I really cried in the movie. The music is also very good," said Nanda.The film revolves around the life of several characters, as they grapple with their lives marked by ambition, greed, lust, despair, failure and hope in the dream city Mumbai.Starring acclaimed actors like Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, fairly new Kangana Ranaut and Konkona Sen Sharma, the film deals with the complexity of human life and emotions.Shikha played by Shilpa is married to Kay Kay Menon or Ranjeet and is mother to a six-year-old. Ranjeet is a workaholic, who is having an extra-marital affair with his colleague played by Kangana Ranaut. Shilpa's sister played by Konkona is a radio jockey who is desperately on the lookout for a partner.The film sheds light on the life of these characters, all trapped in a web of their own as they come face to face with real-life inspired situations."The world is coming closer through mails, telephones but people are becoming distant from each other. It is a common phenomenon in every big city. In the process of filling instalments for our materialistic needs like car, we also mortgage our lives. It (the film) is about how we start neglecting the little pleasures of life while living in a rat-race to make it big in the city," said Anurag Basu, the film's director."...Metro" is the first Indian film to be premiered at the coveted Leicester Square in London.It is also Shilpa Shetty's first film to be released after the controversial show 'Big Brother' catapulted Shetty to international fame."It (the premiere at Leicester Square) was fantastic. It will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. It's a great moment for the Indian film industry as well because even the Chinese films do not get the honour of premiering at the Leicester Square but an Indian film was premiered there and it is a great honour for our Indian film industry...I want the Indian audiences to go and see the movie and I am sure it will go down well with the people as it is a film straight from the heart," said Shilpa.Recently, Shilpa also incited public wrath for a controversial kissing episode involving her and U.S. actor Richard Gere during an AIDS fundraiser in New Delhi. (ANI)

Two buildings brought down in Mumbai in 2.5 seconds
Sunday, May 13, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 13 (ANI): Two five-storeyed buildings were demolished in Mumbai in 2.5 seconds, through controlled multiple- implosions.Hundreds of residents, reporters and curious onlookers looked on as the buildings were brought down on Saturday evening.The controlled implosions were carried out on the 30-year old buildings after they were declared unsafe. They were located in the D.N. Nagar Cooperative Housing Society in the Andheri (West) locality.The implosion technique prevents damage to neighbouring structures."The basic idea behind employing a new technique was to help relocate 480 people living in these buildings. The 2.5 second demolitions mean rebuilding can start fast, and we can move back into our homes faster," said Rajesh, a resident.Two more buildings in the society are to be demolished shortly. New structures will come up at the site in a few years. (ANI)

Maharashtra power woes to end soon: Deshmukh
Saturday, May 12, 2007 | AY

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that the state’s power woes will end soon. Speaking to reporters after attending a Maharashtra power crisis review meeting that was chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Deshmukh said that by December 2007, the state would get an additional 2,600 MW of power. "The total outcome of the projects we are working on will facilitate 2600 Mega Watt of additional electricity by 2007-2008. It will give us relief from the current crisis," Deshmukh said. He also said that the Dabhol power plant would generate 2100 MW by November this year. "From the Dhabol plant, we will get 2100 MW of electricity byNovember 2007. We got an assurance of gas supply. We had the assurance for 1400 MW but after the meeting, we got an assurance for more than 700 MW. This is our achievement,” he added. The gas-based Dabhol power project, located on the Arabian Sea coast, approximately 180 kilometers south of Mumbai, is generating 740 MW from the only unit operational since it resumed operations in May 2006 after lying idle for over five years.Set up by the Enron Corporation until it went bankrupt in 2001, the plant has been renamed as the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd, and is owned by a consortium of companies and financial agencies, including the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).The plant, when finished, would be worth 2.8 billion dollars, and will produce over 2,400 MW of power.Maharashtra, which once had surplus power, is facing an energy deficit of about 20 percent, as demand has risen by about seven percent annually.Last month, the State was rocked by 72 incidents of mass agitation, ransacking and arson targeting utility infrastructure, as many villages faced loadshedding of up to 14 hours, with shortage of atleast 1,700 million units. (ANI)

Sow seeds and pray to welcome rain
Friday, May 11, 2007 | AA

Amrawati (Maharashtra), Apr 21 (ANI): Farmers of Maharashtra’s drought-prone Amrawati District have the ability to forecast the monsoon season, using traditional methods. The ritual, which includes the chanting of hymns, the burying a small pot containing seeds of seasonal crops and praying to Rain God Indra, is carried out annually. "People in Maharashtra believe in this ceremony. According to the forecast, they prepare for farming in the monsoon season," claimed Rangrao Deshmukh, a farmer. Though the accuracy of these predictions is anybody's guess, the farmers of await these predictions with great interest. Farmers say this practice has been followed for over 300 years. "People sow the seeds on their farms only after looking at what happens here. And till date, whatever has been forecast has been right. I have experienced it for the past 30 years," said Sanjay Agarwal, another farmer. The traditional predictions come even as weather office has said that this year's monsoon is likely to be 95 percent of the long-term average. Farming and related activities provide livelihood to over two-thirds of India's 1.1 billion strong populations.Bountiful rainhas helped the economy to expand at an average of over 8.5 percent over the past three years -- behind only China among major economies. In 2002, a drought hit many parts of the country, lowering agricultural production, while India witnessed the best monsoon in more than a decade in 2003, helping the country to reap a bumper grain and oilseed harvests and lifting economic growth. (ANI)

Christians say attack on Kolhapur missionaries politically motivated
Friday, May 11, 2007 | AA

Kolhapur (Maharashtra), May 8 (ANI): Christians in Maharashtra today condemned the attack on two missionaries by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists for alleged forced conversion, saying the move was politically motivated. "We condemn this act of violence because everyone has a right to follow his religion. They were just preaching love and tolerance towards everyone," said Samsung, a Christian missionary. "They would have just baptised them according to the Christian traditions. But this whole incident is politically motivated. So, we condemn this act. All religions have a right to co-exist here," added Rev. Mohan Vaghmare. The attackers claimed that the priests converted six villagers from Ichalkarnji of Kolkahar town without their consent. They beat up the priests and dragged them through the streets. "As soon as we found out in the evening that religious conversions were taking place, we rushed to Shahpur to find out what exactly had happened. On enquiring, we found out the poor people were being converted without their knowledge. They were taken to a nearby river where they were bathed and baptised," said Bal Maharaj, an activist of the VHP. Police, however, refused to comment on the incident. Religious conversions have been a bone of contention for radical Hindus, with activists belonging to different outfits resorting to violence to deter people. In several states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has introduced or strengthened laws to stop what it says forced conversions, mainly by Christian missionaries. Under new laws, anyone planning to leave the Hindu fold must obtain certificates from officials and affidavits from courts, stating they were converting out of free will. (ANI)

Bumper sugarcane crop in Maharashtra becomes bane for farmers
Friday, May 11, 2007 | AA

Aurangabad (Maharashtra), May 9 (ANI): With none of the sugar mills in the State willing to buy sugarcane crop, distressed farmers here have burnt their excess sugarcane produce, as the excess produce of the cash crop has turned out to be bane for them.Ram Prasad, a farmer accused mill owners of being biased to poor farmers. "The sugar mill people are only cutting the crops belonging to the rich farmers and these people are demanding money for cutting the sugarcane crop as a result of which the poor farmers are suffering. Even if they are paid rupees 2,500 to 3000 ($60-$71) they cut only half of the crop and leave the rest. The mill workers are harassing the farmers. The government should do something about this," he said. However, sugar mill owners say factories already have a sufficient supply of the crop. "There are so many sugar mills operating but there is excess produce this season, beyond the installed capacity of mills. The farmers are worried because the sugar mills are not purchasing their crop that is the main reason of their anxiety," said Hari Bhau, a sugar mill owner. The mill owners justify their decision of not buying excess crop stating that they end up losing money, since they have already bought sugarcane up to the capacity of their mills. Maharashtra had 163 sugar mills across the State, out of which 52 have been shut down permanently. State officials say, they are saddled with a peculiar problem of excess crop during this season, perhaps for the first time. "Till now 728,00,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane has been cut and delivered to sugar mills till date. And in future around 32, 00, 000 sugarcane crop is expected to be cut and delivered. This is happening for the first time in Maharashtra…The State Government has decided to give 25,000 rupees as compensation to the farmers," said Sugar Director of Pune, Raj Gopal Deora.Meanwhile, farmers in the region took out a protest, carrying out roadblocks and demanded the State Government’s intervention. (ANI)

Farmers protest land acquisition for a dam in Maharashtra
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | AY

Amravati (Maharashtra), Mar 9 (ANI): Scores of farmers in Maharashtra's Amravati District organised a bullock cart rally to protest the acquisition of their land for the construction of a dam. Agitated farmers from at least five villages claimed that their land was being taken away from them by the local authorities for the construction of the dam. Over 2305 hectares of prime agricultural land is reportedly being acquired for the construction of the dam over Pedhi river.Farmers say they don't require the dam, as even without it, they are able to irrigate their crops."Today, the land is good and we get two crops without irrigation. But, we will lose our land if the government acquires it for the construction of dam. The initiative is not going to bear results," said Shrikant Khoregade, a farmer.Officials, on the other hand said the displaced farmers would be rehabilitated."We have proposed land acquisition. But we have also offered them rehabilitation," said N J Bambal, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department of Amravati.Around 70 per cent of India's one billion population depends on agriculture for a living. They rely heavily on seasonal rains and ground water irrigation of their crops. (ANI)

Justice Swatanter Kumar appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay HC
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | AY

New Delhi, Mar 29 (ANI): President APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday appointed Justice Swatanter Kumar, Judge of the Delhi High Court, as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The appointment will come into effect from the date Justice Swatanter assumes charge of his office, said a Law Ministry release. (ANI)

Sensex, Nifty bearish with global meltdown
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, Mar 5 (ANI): With a global meltdown of financial markets, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) witnessed the bearish trend across its all sectoral and benchmark indices as Sensex closed 542 points and Nifty 156 points down.Both the Sensex and Nifty opened today with negative marks and they continued to fell during the day due to selling pressure. The future and option markets also registered a bearish trend as at BSE it closed at 506 points down and at NSE also it registered a negative trend. At NSE the turnover in this market was Rs. 33865.52 crore. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ composite, Dow Jones, S and P 500 and NIKKEI 225 all of them witnessed negative trend. (ANI)

Singapore exchange buys 5 percent stake in BSE
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, Mar 7 (ANI): The Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. (BSE) sold 5 percent of its stake to Singapore Exchange (SGX) for 42.7 million dollars, making it the first foreign acquisition by Singapore Exchange, which is Asia's third-largest listed bourse.Top officials of SGX and BSE signed the deal in Mumbai on Wednesday."India has a very exciting market and has really attracted us to be here. The BSE being the historic ... the first exchange in the country and being a very vibrant one, obviously gives us a very attractive opportunity to participate in this country," said Hsieh Fu Hua, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Singapore Stock Exchange.Rajnikant Patel, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bombay Stock Exchange said the BSE wanted to cash in the boom in the Asian market, which led to the deal."Asian region is a growth area and we would like to be partnering with the exchange which has shown the initiative to 'demutualise and cooperatise', be listed and also been having a very global outlook in terms of coming out of the Asian region. I believe that is one of the very important considerations for us to partner with Singapore," Patel said.Last month, Germany's Deutsche Boerse bought a five percent stake in BSE in a deal the Indian exchange said valued it at 910 million dollars.That was far below the 2.3 billion dollars valuation of the National Stock Exchange, BSE's rival for little more than a decade, after NYSE Group Inc. and others including Goldman Sachs paid 460 million dollars for stakes totalling 20 percent in January. (ANI)

TADA court asks `93 Mumbai blast convicts to appear on Wednesday
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 7 (ANI): All convicts of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case, including film actor Sanjay Dutt, have been asked by a special TADA court to be present before it on Wednesday.It is likely that the court will give quantum of punishment to the convicts starting from Wednesday.In total, 100 people have been found guilty in the blast case.Sanjay Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act for possessing an AK-56 rifle that had come in a consignment of arms and explosives meant for use in the serial blasts that killed 257 people. He was acquitted of conspiracy charges.Sixty-nine other people convicted under TADA have sought relief as granted to Dutt, claiming that they were also not terrorists. (ANI)

Physically challenged soldier takes to the arts
Monday, May 7, 2007 | AY

Aurangabad, Aug.7 (ANI): Nobel Laureate Winston Churchill once said: Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. A similar thought struck Neminath Phalke who was physically incapacitated just six months after joining the Navy in 1983. Instead of giving up, he gathered courage to make a living through the arts. Phalke's sister motivated him to write by holding a pen in his mouth. Surpassing initial struggles to write, Phalke now even paint by holding a brush in his mouth. Today, his oil paintings have given him self-respect, besides money. "Initially, I wrote poorly, but after two-three years of practice it improved. Then, I began drawing sketches of God. With time my work turned better. This was the time when I was discharged from the AFMC. I sent portraits to a voluntary organisation in Germany which sent me money from its sale," said Neminath Phalke, a resident of Aurangabad. Phalke says the money from the sale of his paintings is sufficient for his family. Phalke has held exhibitions at the Agricultural College in Pune and at the Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi. He has also received several honours and awards. Phalke has a message: "If I could make a successful living despite being a physically challenged, so can you. Never lose heart. Just keep trying." (ANI)

Bullock cart ride for tourists as protests continue over bus fares hike
Monday, May 7, 2007 | AY

Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Jan. 17 (ANI): Handicrafts Shop Owners' Association (HSOA) here has adopted a new way to protest against the hike in bus fares by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).The bus fares increased from Rs six to Rs ten for non-a/c buses and from Rs ten to Rs twenty for a/c buses with no concession to students visiting the caves.The association provided tourists flocking Ajanta Ellore caves the centuries-old mode of transport - bullock carts instead of air-conditioned comfort coaches. "At least 520,000 tourists visit Kerala every year. In Rajasthan, the figure is 400,000. In comparison, we get not more than 40 to 50,000 tourists annually. It is unfortunate. And the Government and the administration are to blame. Moreover, Ajanta and Ellora make for educational tourism. So, there should be a concession for school children. Also, the bus fares should be rolled back," said Papainder Singh Vayri, a member of HSOA.Commenting on the situation, authorities promised to look into the demands of handicrafts supporters. "We will discuss this at a meeting with the Transport Commissioner," said A.K. Sayeed, a State Transport Department official.The bus fare hike could take some time to get resolved, but in the meantime tourists surely enjoy a romantic ride in a pollution-free mode of transport."Bullock carts are actually not a bad idea. They make for a natural and more enjoyable trip. Sight seeing is better than from a bus," saidRajinder Singh, a tourist.Maria, a tourist from Australia, said: "I think it is very good what they are doing. They have every right to continue this at their own prices." (ANI)

Betting racket busted in Nagpur
Monday, May 7, 2007 | AY

Nagpur, Apr 1 (ANI): Police busted a major betting syndicate in Nagpur, and arrested four bookies in a raid during the England-Ireland Cricket World Cup match.In a late night raid in Katol area, police seized two laptops, 17 mobile phones, television sets and recording devices besides special betting software used to get the latest odds about the match.The police also recovered cash worth rupees 160,000."This is not a normal betting. A dedicated telephone line was used to give the continuous odds. This shows that they are linked with those bookies who decide the odds. As the match progresses the syndicate immediately gets the information of the changing odds. Apart from this we have recovered two laptops, 17 mobile phones, recording devices, television set. The laptop contains software specially used for betting purposes," Yashasvani Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Nagpur Rural, said.Nagpur is fast emerging as a centre of betting racket in India estimated to be worth millions of dollars.During the West Indies tour to India in January, Nagpur police had alleged that West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels had links with an Indian bookie. The matter is presently, being probed by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit. (ANI)

Maharashtra CM seeks green signal for Navi Mumbai airport project
Sunday, May 6, 2007 | AY

New Delhi, Dec.18 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh met Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today to get his approval for the new greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai. Senior ministry and state government officials who attended the meeting said Patel gave assurances to Deshmukh about resolving all pending issues relating to the aviation sector in Maharashtra within a month or two.After these pending matters were resolved, Patel said the Centre would then proceed for Cabinet approval for the building of the greenfield airport in PPP mode with the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Government and the Airport Authority of India. The Minister also added that the bidding process and selection of JV partners for building the airport would be completed within 2007. Mumbai which is the financial and commercial capital of India requires aviation facilities of the highest order to meet rising aviation and air travel demands.The demand of air travel forecast for Mumbai Metropolitan Region reveals that the air travel demand is growing to the tune of 20 million passengers per annum in 2006-07 to 91 million passengers per annum by 2030-31. Mumbai Airport proposes to expand its facilities so that it can handle upto 40 million passengers per annum. Presently, the airport suffers airfield capability constraints and non-availability of land for expansion, thereby making the airport saturated by 2013. The location of proposed International Airport at Navi Mumbai has been considered on several parameters. Prominently amongst these, is expected to absorb the future growth in population, business and commercial activities of the Mumbai Region. The availability of physical and social infrastructure coupled with environment friendly site with lease re-settlement and rehabilitation makes the NMIA Project technically suitable and financially viable. Exactly, NMIA is situated on NH4B at a distance of 35 km. from Santacruz Airport near Panvel in the geographical center of Navi Mumbai. This new airport is expected to absorb 10 million passengers per annum in first operation year 2013, double to 20 million passengers per annum by 2020 followed by 30 million passenger per annum in 2025 and ultimately 40 million passengers per annum by 2030.The revised basic cost of airport project in 2006-07 is Rs. 4,235 crore spread in four phases. In the first phases, the cost is Rs. 1340 crore followed by Rs. 990 crore in second phase Rs. 465 crore in third phase and finally Rs. 383 crore in fourth phase. The project cost for the first phase for 10 million passengers per annum is Rs. 1825 crore considering the parameters of design, supervision & management, contingency and interest during construction.Upon the approval of the Government of India, the project implementation programme with its broad element drawn for airport facilities commence from January, 2007 and end at October, 2013.The Navi Mumbai International Airport is proposed to be executed on Public-Private Partnership basis by forming a Special Purpose Company (SPV) in which CIDCO and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will hold an equity of 26 percent and the rest will be hold by private developer. (ANI)

Bollywood item girl Rakhi Sawant charged for obscenity
Sunday, May 6, 2007 | AY

Kolhapur (Maharashtra), May 20 (ANI): Police has registered a case of obscenity against Bollywood item girl Rakhi Sawant while performing at a stage show in Kolhapur on May 18. Rakhi who was performing at a Bollywood event sponsored by liquor company Haywards here, however, denied the charges. “I have not done anything vulgar. It was just one of the regular stage shows that I keep performing. I have in no way disrupted peace and harmony or incited violence. Nothing of the sort happened in that show,” Rakhi said. She also said that she had not disrupted peace here but could not help if others turned unruly. Police has arrested one person named Gaurav Thakkar, who was associated with the event management company Mantra Events which was taking care of the show. But later, he was released on bail. (ANI)

Shiv Sena wins Ramtek Lok Sabha seat
Sunday, May 6, 2007 | AY

Nagpur, April 12, (ANI): Shiv Sena candidate Prakash Jadhav on Thursday won the Ramtek Lok Sabha by-election defeating his nearest rival Subodh Mohite of Congress by a margin of 32,571 votes.Jadhav got 2,31,239 votes while Mohite polled 1,98,668 votes.Meanwhile, Bhartiya Janta Party is leading in Jalgaon and Nationalist Congress Party in Erandol. The by-elections were held on April 9.The Ramtek Lok Sabha seat fell vacant as the sitting MP Mohite left Shiv Sena and joined the Congress, which nominated him for the seat.Jalgaon and Erandol by-elections were held because their sitting MPs, both from BJP, were expelled from the party due to their involvement in the`cash-for-query' scam. (ANI)

BJP-Shiv Sena win 2 Lok Sabha seats, NCP one in Maharashtra by-polls
Sunday, May 6, 2007 | AY

Nagpur/Jalgaon, Apr 12 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine on Thursday won by-polls to two Lok Sabha seats – Ramtek and Jalgaon – in Maharashtra.Shiv Sena candidate Prakash Jadhav won the Ramtek Lok Sabha by-election defeating his nearest rival Subodh Mohite of Congress by a margin of 32,571 votes. Jadhav got 2,31,239 votes while Mohite polled 1,98,668 votes.The BJP held on to Jalgaon constituency. BJP’s Haribhau Mohan Jawale won in Jalgaon, defeating his nearest rival, Congress’s Arjun Ganpat Bhangale, by a margin of 25,717 votes. Jawale polled 2,27,619 votes against Bhangale’s 2,01,902.The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a partner in the state’s Congress-led Coalition government, won by-polls to the Erandol seat. The NCP`s candidate in Erandol, Vasantrao Jivanrao More, defeated B S Patil of BJP by 52,209 votes. More polled 2,41,707 votes, while Patil got 1,98,498. The Ramtek Lok Sabha seat fell vacant as the sitting MP Mohite left Shiv Sena and joined the Congress, which nominated him for the seat.Jalgaon and Erandol by-elections were held because their sitting MPs, both from BJP, were expelled from the party due to their involvement in the ‘cash-for-query’ scam.The by-elections for all the three seats were held on April 9. (ANI)

Mumbai slums flooded after water pipeline burst
Sunday, May 6, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 5 (ANI): Slums in Mumbai were deluged after water pipeline bursted leading to huge inconvenience to the commuters and the poor people living in the shanties.Residents of the 350 odd shanties living near the pipeline say this has become a regular feature and the pipeline has bursted five times in recent past."I suppose these pipes are so weak that they need to be replace," said, Binu Verghese, a local.The maintenance department has begun the pipeline restoration work and the flooding is now under control.Mumbai, like several other metropolitan cities is suffering from falling civil amenities.With a population density of around 29,000 persons per square kilometre, Mumbai is one of the most crowded cities in the world.(ANI)

Mumbai protests as Gujarat denies right of way for Dahej-Uran gas pipeline
Saturday, May 5, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 4 (ANI): Hundreds of people from various social and political fora have hit the streets of Mumbai to protest Gujarat’s refusal to allow the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline to pass through its territory."We protest Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's move to keep Maharashtra in the dark. We would like to remind him that the Kandla Kakinada pipeline goes through our state. We are followers of the Gandhian ideology and we won't resort to measures that he takes. We can definitely adopt the non- cooperation measure," said Jitendra Awhad, one of the protestors.Earlier this week, the Gujarat Government said it would not permit work on a 12-kilometre stretch of the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline that could feed the Dabhol Power Project, which is expected to help Maharashtra tide over its impending power crisis. The pipeline could have helped to feed the plant to generate 2100 mega watts of power by the year end. Gujarat's stance has pushed back the timeframe indefinitely.The pipeline project had been undertaken by the state-run Gas Authority of India Limited.Maharashtra, which is currently facing a shortfall of 6000 mega watts, is ruled by a coalition led by the Congress, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in Gujarat.Mumbai is threatened with its first power cut in decades, underscoring the depth of a power crisis that is crimping the country's economic potential.The Dabhol plant, India's single biggest foreign direct investment, has been shut since May 2001 after a billing dispute with its sole customer -- the Maharashtra State electricity Board (MSEB). Located on western Maharashtra coast, the plant was generating 744 MW of power when it was shut down. Work was then nearly complete on a plant that was to generate1,444 MW of power. A 2.5 million tonne per year liquefied natural gas import terminal was also hearing completion at that time. (ANI)

Abandoned plane disrupts traffic in Mumbai suburb
Saturday, May 5, 2007 | AY

Chembur (Mumbai), May 4 (ANI): An abandoned Boeing 737 in a busy suburb of Mumbai has been blocking traffic for the last five days with no effort by authorities to remove the plane.The plane has become the centre of attraction in Chembur with people flocking from all over the city to take a closer look. However, for Ramji Thapar who runs a restaurant in the area, the plane is causing a nuisance, as it is parked right in front of his shop. "When we saw the plane for the first time, there was no one in the truck carrying the plane. It has been five days now. It has been here since Sunday. It is causing traffic jams in the area. People climb upon it and crowd around it," said Thapar.His business is suffering because customers fail to see his restaurant, now hidden behind the plane. On the other side, commuters using the road are facing traffic jams everyday. "Traffic has been getting clogged in the area and commuting through has become difficult. Onlookers are not leaving despite police action. No one is attending to the traffic here. Only the beat constables are coming. None of the senior officers have come," said Ganesh Patil, a commuter. Meanwhile, for children and youngsters, the plane has become a major attraction. "It feels great to see an airplane from such close quarters for the first time," said Rajshree, a schoolgirl. The decommissioned aircraft, with its engine, wings and tail removed, was being taken to New Delhi late on Saturday night. But the driver, after taking a wrong turn, could not maneuver the plane around and fled the scene.According to various reports, it was supposed to be used at a flight-training academy in New Delhi. Five days on, it is still not clear who is responsible for clearing the aircraft and sending it off to New Delhi. (ANI)

Bombay HC to hear Pereira's hit-and-run case
Thursday, May 3, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, May 3 (ANI): The Bombay High Court will today hear the case of Alister Pereira, the 21-year-old businessman, who got away with six month’s imprisonment for running his car over labourers sleeping on a Bandra pavement and killing seven of them last November. Pereira was found guilty of causing death due to negligence not amounting to culpable homicide (Section 304-a) and causing injuries (Section 337 of IPC). Though the prosecution sought maximum punishment, the Additional Sessions Judge Ajit P. Mishra had said that due to the inefficiency of the prosecution he could find no evidence to nail Pereira.The judgement had sparked outcry and the High Court, taking suo motu notice, had issued notice to Maharashtra Government asking why the prosecution of the case was so "pathetic".The State Government had moved the Bombay High Court appealing against the lower court's judgement giving lighter punishment to Pereira. The appeal filed by the State Government and the High Court's notice will come up for hearing before Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari.Earlier, a Division Bench had ordered the State to furnish forensic, post-mortem as well as injury reports of the victims. The State has been directed to consider granting compensation to the victims and to the kin of the deceased and file a reply by today. The court also ordered Pereira not to leave the State and submit his passport to the authorities. His sentence evoked protests from some lawyers and civil rights activists who said that this was yet another case of malfunctioning of the criminal justice system in the country after similar instances in Delhi and elsewhere in the recent past. (ANI)

British colonial train set to fade into history
Thursday, May 3, 2007 | AY

Murtijpur (Maharashtra), Mar 31 (ANI): It's been over a century since the Shakuntla Express, a narrow gauge train operated by a British company, hit the railway tracks in western India for the first time. Today, it is set to fade into history. Railway authorities are expected to terminate its contract. 'You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles', goes the Joan Baez song, but Shakuntala Express, will stop chugging soon. "Even, a decade down the line, when March 31 approached, our heart would skip a beat due to anxiety. We will still have an anxiety about the discontinuation of the train. If it stopped, what would happen to all those individuals who depend on this train for survival?, " asks Samadhan Ingle, a regular commuter.The train runs between Murtijapur and Yavatmal, a 189 km (120 miles) trip that takes four hours and costs rupees twenty (50 cents). It is still under the contract of the British company and journeys in the cotton belt of western India. Every day hundreds of passengers commute on the Shakuntla Express to their places of work. "Railway officials have told us that if we want this train to run on broad gauge, we will have to end the contract that we have with the British company. When the contract terminates, the train will stop plying. Then, we can initiate changes. So, now, we have begun efforts to see toit that this train of three to four bogies is taken over by the Indian Government and is converted into one of five to six bogies on a broad gauge. I guess, the passengers will benefit by it," said Anant Gudhe, a lawmaker from the region, who commutes on the train.The meter gauge is still owned by the British company 'Railway Signal Co Ltd, Liverpool, England 1895'. The original engine was a steam locomotive that rests in a shed. A diesel engine has ben in use for the last for the last twelve years.Rural folk see the train as an affordable mode of transport. "This is an ideal train for poor people like us, labourers and daily wage earners. We cannot afford the bus fares for the same commute, which are thrice this train's fare. Therefore, we demand that this train must continue plying," said Kesarbai, a labourer.Unlike in other trains, a clerk gives tickets onboard. (ANI)

Pune ornithologists build nest for birds
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 | AY

Pune, April 13 (ANI): Many ornithologists, who study the lives of birds are a worried lot over a sharp decline of bird nests on trees in Pune and around. In a novel initiative to restore the rightful place of birds on trees, a group of ornithologists in Pune have taken a vow to preserve them. They have fashioned boxes of various sizes and shapes as well as material and hang them atop trees in various gardens under the city's Municipal Corporation. It is to ensure that the birds could move from one tree to another fearlessly. The novel initiative came up after it was found that birds are moving away from the city. "Take for instance the case of the common sparrows. You do not find them frolicking about in houses and in courtyards, the way they did not long ago. The reason for its disappearance is that rapid and indiscriminate urbanization has axed down thousands of trees that these sparrows nested in. Also, they miss the old style mud houses in which they used to borough to nest. But today's concrete jungles have taken away that too," said Satyasheel Naik, an ornithologist Within months of setting up boxes atop trees, Naik and his friend Satish Pandey, a conservationist, noticed that birds like parrots, mynah and robins made their homes in these artificial nesting places. The team also studied the kind of boxes preferred by each species. Since metallic and plastic boxes were uninhabitable in summer, birds preferred the earthen and wooden ones. A weaverbird even built up her nest and laid eggs alongside the shade of a box. Even squirrels, magpies and hornbills thought them worthwhile, said the ornithologists. The city's civic agency has agreed to their proposal. Thousands of boxes have been commissioned to set up in the city. " As per the plan, we will initially install 1,000 boxes atop some chosen trees in 20 gardens and parks in the city," said Satish Pandey. The success of the artificial nests will be closely monitored over the next two years. Pandey and Naik hope this will inspire people to care for the aerial species in particular and nature in general. (ANI)

Castrol India announces Q1 results, net profit up 29 percent
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 | AY

Mumbai, Apr.30 (ANI): Castrol India Limited today announced an 18 percent inc