· THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 ·

48 Pages Rs. 2.50

●
ISSN 0971 - 751X
City Edition Vol. 131 No. 104
Chennai
www.thehindu.com Regd. TN/ARD/17/06-08
www.thehindu.in RNI No. 1001/57

PHCs BEGIN PLOT HATCHED RCOM’S NET DAREDEVILS

VACCINATION IN PAKISTAN OVER $1B POSTS WIN
PAGE 8 PAGE 16 PAGE 19 MAIN SPORTS PAGE

Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madurai, Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangalore and Tiruchirapalli
• •

BRIEFLY
PMO did not issue A Himalayan feat
45th extension for
Liberhan Commission
NEW DELHI: The Liberhan
Commission, set up to

any order: Deora

Makes statement in House on Baalu issue
inquire into the
circumstances leading to
the demolition of the
Babri mosque at Ayodhya,
got its 45th extension on
Wednesday. — PTI

Sandeep Joshi status; and the view of the

NEW DELHI: Petroleum and
Natural Gas Minister Murli
Deora on Wednesday assert-
ed that the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO) did not issue
any order or instruction to
help companies owned by
Shipping Minister T.R. Baa-
lu’s family members.
“Certain references were
received from the Prime Min-
ister’s Office in a routine
manner without any recom-
mendation on the basis of a
representation made by Sel-
vakumar Baalu, director of
the company,” Mr. Deora said
in a statement he read out in
the Rajya Sabha amid pro-
tests from the Opposition.
“It may be stated that not a
single cubic metre of gas has
T.R.Baalu
The Petroleum Ministry
had allocated 10,000 cubic
metres of gas a day to Kings
India Chemicals Corporation
Limited and 4.5 lakh cubic
metres of gas a day to Kings
India Power Corporation
Limited but the allocations
were cancelled by the previ-
ous government on January
14, 2004, Mr. Deora said.
Ministry of P&NG [Petro-
leum and Natural Gas] that it
was not possible to give any
relief to the petitioner was
noted. Having failed to secure
any relief from the govern-
ment, the petitioner went to
the Madras High Court in
2005,” Mr. Deora said.
In October 2007, a single-
judge Bench ruled in the com-
pany’s favour. As the order
was not implemented, the
company filed a contempt
petition. Meanwhile, the Ta-
mil Nadu Power Producers
Association and the Narima-
nam Zone Natural Gas Con-
sumers Association filed
appeals before a Division
Bench, which on February 19,
2008 set aside the single-
judge Bench order.
Shoaib’s ban upheld
KARACHI: Fast bowler
Shoaib Akhtar’s career
was on Wednesday left
hanging in the balance
after a tribunal upheld the
five-year ban on his
playing matches for
FLYING HIGH: With just a hundred days to go for the August games, the Olympic torch is on Pakistan. — PTI
Main Sports Page
a spectacular journey to the world’s tallest peak. Chinese mountaineers taking the flame to
Mount Everest spread a flag with the Olympic logo at the base camp, at an altitude of One held for attack
5,200 metres, in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday. — PHOTO: MELBOURNE: As an Indian
XINHUA/AP (RUN-UP TO OLYMPICS: OP-ED PAGE) taxi driver, victim of
stabbing, battles for his
life, an Australian was
arrested on Wednesday

Historic win for Indian doctors

been supplied to the compa-
nies [owned by Mr. Baalu’s
family members]. Since the
issue relating to supply of gas
is pending before the Delhi
High Court …, the matter is
sub judice,” Mr. Deora said.
He, however, accepted that
Mr. Baalu met him on the is-
sue. “Mr. Baalu met me and
briefed about the great injus-
tice done to the workers and
investors.”
Nothing unusual was done: Manmohan
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on
Wednesday said there was
no wrong from which he
should distance himself
from the action of his
office in forwarding a
representation made by
“Injustice alleged”
“A petition was received by
Prime Minister [Manmohan
Singh] in May 2005, signed by
T.R.B. Rajaa, Chairman,
Kings India Power Corpora-
tion Ltd., alleging that gross
injustice has been done to
them and that they have been
severely discriminated
against. A discussion was held
in the PMO to ascertain the
the company in which the
family of Union Shipping
Minister T.R. Baalu has
business interests.
Petroleum Minister
Murli Deora had explained
everything and nothing
unusual was done, Dr.
Singh told reporters on the
sidelines of a function.
The Division Bench direct-
ed the government to decide
upon the applications of the
firms on merit. A writ petition
was also filed by one indepen-
dent Power Producers Asso-
ciation in the Delhi High
Court, which issued a stay or-
der. The matter was pending
before the court.
Earlier, as Mr. Deora was
about to start his speech, the
Prime Minister left. BJP and
AIADMK members insisted
on a statement from Dr.
Singh, not from Mr. Deora.
Led by Sushma Swaraj and
AIADMK’s V. Maitreyan, the
Opposition urged Deputy
Chairman K. Rahman Khan
to ask Dr. Singh to make a
statement. Amid the din, Mr.
Deora read out the statement.
‘Impropriety’ unexplained,
says BJP: Page 14
Lords reject government move to push through new rules against non-EU doctors
Hasan Suroor
LONDON: A last-ditch attempt
by the British government to
push through new rules that
would have discriminated
against thousands of overseas
doctors from outside the Eu-
ropean Union collapsed on
Wednesday when the House
of Lords rejected its appeal
against a court ruling in their
favour.
It ruled that the new regi-
me was unfair as it dashed the
“legitimate expectations” of
foreign doctors.
For more than 10,000 post-
graduate Indian medical stu-
dents and junior doctors, who
would have been affected by
the rules introduced in April
2006, the Lords’ judgment
marked the end of a hard-
fought legal battle led by the
British Association of Physi-
cians of Indian Origin
(BAPIO).
The ruling was particularly
embarrassing to the govern-
ment as it had insisted on ap-
proaching the House of Lords
directly despite being refused
leave to appeal by the Appeals
Court last October when it
ruled in favour of the doctors.
It came barely three weeks
after the government suf-
fered a setback in the High
Court in its bid to alter rules
for the Highly-Skilled Mi-
grants Programme (HSMP),
involving some 30,000 Indi-
an workers.
A Department of Health
spokesman said: “We are dis-
appointed that the Lords
have ruled that our guidance
[in relation to new rules] as it
stood was unlawful.”
BAPIO’s president Ramesh
Mehta said the ruling “vindi-
cated” its position that the
government had acted “with-
out thinking through the da-
maging consequences” of its
policy.
The controversy, which
made headlines around the
world, related to the govern-
ment’s bid to apply retrospec-
tively new rules barring
hospitals from employing or
offering training posts to
non-EU doctors unless they
were able to demonstrate that
no suitable U.K. or E.U. can-
didate was available.
Some 16,000 doctors —
mostly from Asia and Africa
— who came to Britain under
the old rules, which allowed
them to train and work in go-
vernment hospitals without
needing work permit, sud-
denly found themselves
stranded.
Many out-of-work Indian
doctors with no means to
support themselves took to
queuing at local temples and
gurdwaras for free food. Some
doctors were driven to taking
their own lives.
for the attack. His lawyer
claimed that his client had
no memory of Tuesday’s
incident. — PTI
Life-term for rape
UDAIPUR: A 32-year-old
hotel manager was
sentenced on Wednesday
to life imprisonment by a
court here for raping a
British journalist in
December last year. He
was also sentenced to
seven years RI for house
trespass with an intention
to commit an offence. —
PTI
METROPLUS
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NEXT GENERATION –
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(in tabloid form) — 16 Pages
SUDOKU
— Main Sports Page

Nalini moves Madras High Court

seeking premature release
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The Madras High
Court has ordered notice to
the respondents on a plea by
S. Nalini, who is serving life
imprisonment in the case re-
lating to Rajiv Gandhi’s assas-
sination, seeking premature
release. The notice is returna-
ble by June 10.
In her petition, Nalini sub-
mitted that the death sen-
tence on her was commuted
to life imprisonment. Under
the Cr.P.C. she had to com-
plete 14 years of imprison-
ment for premature release,
for which she was eligible
from June 18, 2005, since she
had completed 14 years on
June 17, 2005. However, her
name was not considered ei-
ther in 2005 or 2006 or even
2007. She submitted that the
Advisory Board, Special Pris-
Says Advisory Board
did not recommend
her case
Rejection of request
by government
‘arbitrary’
on for Women at Vellore, did
not recommend her case. On
October 31 last year, the go-
vernment issued an order re-
jecting her request for
premature release on the ba-
sis of the recommendation of
the Additional Director-Gen-
eral of Prison. It was against
this she filed the writ petition.
Nalini said the rejection of
her request by the State go-
vernment based on the rec-
ommendation of the
Additional Director-General
of Prison was arbitrary, illegal
and without exercising the
rules framed in the “Tamil
Nadu Prison Rules, 1983.”
Without considering her
earned remission, the prison
authorities sent a report to
the government. Though the
Probation Officer on March
January 3, 2005 did not rec-
ommend her premature re-
lease, on July 1, 2007, he sent
a report that she could be re-
leased prematurely with cer-
tain stringent conditions.
The report of the Advisory
Board of December 28, 2006
and the subsequent order of
the State Government were
liable to be set aside, the pet-
ition said.
In her interim prayer, she
sought a stay of the proceed-
ings of the Advisory Board
and the State government’s
order.
When the matter came up
before Justice P.Jyothimani
on Wednesday, S.Doraisamy,
senior counsel for Nalini, said
the constitution of the Advi-
sory Board itself was improp-
er.
In the present case alone,
the Collector, the Principal
Sessions Judge and the Su-
perintendent of Special Pris-
on for Women, Vellore were
appointed Chairman and
Members respectively. As per
the rules, the Inspector-Gen-
eral of Prison alone would be
the Chairman and there
should be other six members,
including the Regional Proba-
tion Officer and one or more
non-official members. The
Additional Director-General
of Prison had no say and his
recommendation could not
form the basis for the govern-
ment to take a decision, he
said.

Water meters mandatory for all buildings

K.Lakshmi
CHENNAI: Chennai Metrowater
has made installation of wa-
ter flow meters mandatory
for all residential and com-
mercial buildings with sump
connections. They have been
asked to install the meters by
May 31.
Earlier, multi-storied and
special buildings had been
asked to install the meters
and Metrowater started issu-
ing notices from March. A to-
tal of 38,500 structures,
including individual houses,
have already received the no-
tices. The deadline for them
ended on Wednesday, but is
being extended to May 31.
According to a Metrowater
had fixed water meters as on
Wednesday. The monthly
reading for water meters
fixed till now began in April.
Several residents com-
plained that they found it dif-
ficult to purchase the meters.
Residents such as C.G. Rat-
nam of Anna Nagar said the
fixed rate of Rs.15 per kilo
litre was high for households,
whose consumption was rela-
tively less than that of multi-
storeyed buildings. Making a
comparison with similar sys-
FLOW MONITORS: Water meters on display at tems in Bangalore and Hyd-
T.Nagar office of Metrowater. — PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR erabad (that follow the slab
rate system), he said while
official, the decision to cover connections, barring supply the rate was Rs.12 for two kilo
all the buildings with water through hand pumps. litres in those cities, it worked
sump connections is in line Out of the 38,500-odd out to Rs.30 for two kilo litres
with the proposal to meter all buildings identified, 9,668 in Chennai.
CH-CH

2 CHENNAI
CITY
Campaign on
girls’ health
Special Correspondent
TAMBARAM: The prevalence of
anaemia, deficiency of red
blood cells due to low intake
of Iron, continues to be high
among adolescent girls in
rural areas in the southern
suburbs of Chennai even as
the Integrated Child Devel-
opment Services has been
carrying on a campaign
among the girls on better
nutrition, personal health
and hygiene and their rights.
The ICDS has two blocks
in the southern suburbs —
St. Thomas Mount and Alan-
dur — and its staff here have
commenced awareness pro-
grammes on sensitising girls
between 11 and 19 years of
age to these important is-
sues.
In both the blocks, 30
batches, comprising 30 girl
students each from different
schools, have been trained.
During the course of the
two-day programme, girl
students are briefed on the
importance of a balanced
diet and necessity to con-
sume grains, cereals and
other items that were rich in
minerals, vitamins and Iron.
ICDS staff told The Hindu
that Iron deficiency was the
most common ailment
among adolescent girls in
the southern suburbs. This
would make the girls weak
and could also lead to com-
plications during pregnan-
cy. And the present
awareness programme was
part of the Information,
Education and Communica-
tion campaign, they said.
The staff said that while
they would brief on better
nutrition, doctors from Pri-
mary Health Centres would
talk to the girls on personal
hygiene in addition to giving
tips on better health.
As worm infestation was
another problem, the girls
were also briefed on steps to
prevent it, which included
wearing of proper, protected
footwear.
Workshop gives inputs for draft policy on eco-tourism
Chief Secretary stresses “responsible tourism” initiatives
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Stakeholders in the
tourism industry gave inputs
for preparing a draft policy on
eco-tourism projects at a re-
gional workshop on eco-tou-
rism governance on
Wednesday.
The workshop was orga-
nised by the Tamil Nadu Tou-
rism Development
Corporation (TTDC), the In-
ter-State Council Secretariat
of the Union Ministry of
Home Affairs, the Tamil Na-
du Tourism Department and
Yes Bank.
Inaugurating the work-
shop, Chief Secretary L.K.
Tripathy wanted the stake-
holders of eco-tourism ven-
Eight persons honoured for excellence
in construction industry
‘Builders Award’ given at a function organised by Southern Centre of Builders’ Association of India
Staff Reporter
CHENNAI: Eight persons who
have excelled in their area of
operation in the construction
industry were honoured with
the ‘Builders Award’ at a
function organised by the
Southern Centre of Builders’
Association of India (BAI)
here on Wednesday.
The awards were classified
under four categories — con-
struction contractors, build-
ers and promoters, those who
construct dams and bridges,
and those who have used in-
novative materials for con-
struction.
L.Murthy, Ravi Meenakshi
Sundaram and T.V. Ramak-
rishnan were given awards
under the category of con-
struction contractors. Rajee-
va Constructions and
Rajarathinam Constructions
bagged the award for their
structures under the category
of builders.
While T.Chitty Babu, ma-
naging director of Akshaya
Homes Private Limited re-
ceived the award for the cate-
Aid for fishermen during ban period
The State government will pay Rs.500 per family of
fishermen during the 45-day mandatory fishing ban
period, Fisheries Minister K.P.P. Samy has said: Page 10
Miles to go…
BEFORE SHE SLEEPS: No burden is big burden when it supports
your near and dear. A caring mother and a restful baby spotted
at the Central Station. — PHOTO: M.VEDHAN
tures to engage themselves in
“responsible tourism” initia-
tives. The Government would
play the role of a facilitator.
The Government had em-
barked on a Rs.25-crore Ma-
rina Beach beautification
programme through the Cor-
poration of Madras. The Tou-
rism Department was
focussing on rural tourism
and promoting heritage and
Chettinad tourism.
Tourism and Culture De-
partment Secretary V. Irai
Anbu said the workshop was
crucial to the State, since tou-
rism was booming and there
was an imperative need for
the Government to improve
the tourism-related infras-
tructure without affecting the
gory of promoters, R.P.P.
Selva Sundaram, chairman of
R.P.P. Selvam Infrastructure
Private Limited was con-
ferred with the award for us-
ing innovative construction
material. He used crust sand
instead of river sand in his
projects. The recipients re-
ceived their awards from the
president (Construction) and
Member of Larsen & Toubro
Limited K.V. Rangaswamy.
Awards Committee chair-
man of BAI K.K.Chowdary
said the awards were being
given for the tenth consecu-
tive year and recognised the
efforts of the stakeholders in
the industry.
Mr.Rangaswamy highlight-
ed the need to check the in-
creasing price of raw
materials.
The occasion also turned
out to be a felicitation func-
tion for former BAI president
and chairman of Gammons
India Limited T.N.Subbu Rao
who celebrated his 80th
birthday recently. BAI’s
southern centre chairman
M.K.Sundaram spoke.
environment.
Tushar Pandey, Country
Head, Strategic Initiatives
and Advisory Government,
Yes Bank, said that as part of
the exercise of drafting a na-
tional framework for eco-tou-
rism ventures, regional
workshops were being held in
different States.
M. Rajaram, Commission-
er of Tourism and Managing
Director, TTDC, said that a
campaign, with a view to pro-
moting eco-friendly practices
and tourist-friendly culture,
was launched through the
“Virunthinar Potruthum”
initiative.
Eco-tourism accounted for
28 per cent of tourist arrival
in the State, he said..
IN RECOGNITION: Construction contractor L.Murthy receiving the Builders
Award from president (construction) and board member of Larsen & Toubro
Limited K.V.Rangaswamy at a function in Chennai on Wednesday. The
association chairman M.K.Sundaram (right), and former chairman of
Gammons of India Limited T.N.Subba Rao (second from right), are in
the picture.— PHOTO: R.RAGU
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Evening of entertainment and education
Artificial joints with long-term durability launched
MIOT Hospitals on Wednesday announced the launch of a
family of artificial joints with long-term durability, high flexion
and bone-bonding attributes: Page 10
As part of the World Asthma Awareness Day, Asthma and
Allergy Resource Centre is organising an evening of
entertainment and education at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
Mylapore, at 5.30 p.m.
Business schools urged
to provide reality check
They should not ignore national deficit, poverty and illiteracy
A MOMENT TO CHERISH: Students at the annual convocation of the Great Lakes Institute of Management in
Chennai on Wednesday.— PHOTO: K. V. SRINIVASAN
Special Correspondent especially in the services and man Ramalinga Raju, who “That does not mean fixating
international trade sectors, delivered the valedictory ad- on your goal and going on to
CHENNAI: In the middle of an its young population and its dress, spoke about what the auto-pilot,” he said. “Instead,
economic boom, Indian busi- status as a favoured destina- industry would expect from it’s more like driving on Indi-
ness schools must provide a tion for foreign investment, new graduates. They needed an roads. If you take your eye
reality check too, N. Ram, business leaders must be to demonstrate leadership, off the road for one instant,
Editor-in-Chief of The Hin- aware of the challenges fac- not just management skills, you will end up in an
du, said on Wednesday. ing the country, he said. because this was a time of accident.”
Speaking at the convoca- Mr. Ram pointed to Amar- rapid change. “Your success The 200-odd students who
tion of the Great Lakes In- tya Sen’s definition of “free- is going to depend on how received their postgraduate
stitute of Management here, dom as development” and well you can manage chan- diplomas and executive
he urged business schools endorsed an approach to ge…And companies will ex- MBAs on Wednesday may be
not to ignore factors such as measuring success by how pect you to demonstrate the last to graduate from the
the national deficit, the well a society provides its leadership from day one, not institute’s current premises
country’s poor human devel- members with the opportu- in the due course of time.” In at Saidapet. School’s founder
opment indicators and the nities to achieve valuable hu- the current context, compa- and honorary dean Bala V.
massive challenges of pover- man functioning. “His nies would also expect their Balachandran said the school
ty, illiteracy and poor [Sen’s] kind of literature new employees to be willing expected to move to its new
healthcare. must be introduced in busi- to shoulder risk. campus on East Coast Road
While India could be justly ness education.” Mr. Raju urged the stu- in time for the next year’s
proud of its high growth rate, Satyam Computers chair- dents to be goal-oriented. convocation.
Chief Secretary L. K. Tripathy handing over the first copy of a book to
Tourism Secretary V. Irai Anbu at a workshop in Chennai on Wednesday.
TTDC Managing Director M. Rajaram and Country Head (Strategic Initiatives
and Advisory Government),Yes Bank, Tushar Pandey, are in the picture.
— PHOTO : R. RAVINDRAN
CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 3

Page 6
CITY

Elected member of
MTC to take the road Residents seek modern
ticketing system
ahead for more revenue
accounts panel
CHENNAI: DMK councillor E. “Integrate Metro Rail stations with other transport modes ’’
Devaki (ward 14) was
unanimously elected as a Staff Reporter
member of the Chennai
Corporation Standing
Committee for accounts Diesel pump calibration machine installed on Pattulos Road ern ticketing system and in-
CHENNAI: The need for a mod-

and audit on Tuesday. The tegration of the Metro Rail

post had fallen vacant
when councillor R. Sridhar,
who was a member of the
committee, recently died in
a road accident.
Diabetes care camp
Of the over 100 persons
who participated in a
diabetes care camp in
Valmiki Nagar,
Thiruvanmiyur on Sunday,
14 per cent were found to
be in the pre-diabetes
stage. Four persons were
detected with diabetes.
Eighteen persons were
already known diabetics.
The camp, conducted by
Dr. A.Ramachandran
Diabetes Hospitals, jointly
with India Diabetes
Research Foundation and
Valmiki Nagar Residents
Welfare Association,
focussed on preventive and
curative care for lifestyle
diseases.
Summer camp
Children’s education wing
of The International
Society of Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON’s)
will conduct a summer
camp for children between
7 – 15 years from May 2 to
15. A press release said the
camp would be held every
day from 10 a.m. to 12 noon
expect on Sundays at 1879
A, Flat 2 B, 2nd Floor, 18th
Main Road, Anna Nagar
(West). For registration
call 93806 66794 or
26180272 (after 6 p.m.).
Philately workshop
South India Philatelists
Association, Chennai and
ABK-AOTS Dosokai,
Tamilnadu Centre will
jointly organise a free
summer workshop on
philately and quiz
competition on philately
for city school students on
May 10. A press release said
the event is to be held
between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
at ABK AOTS Dosokai,
Tamilnadu Centre on 37,
Nelson Manickam Road,
Aminjikarai.
Staff Reporter
CHENNAI: The Metropolitan
Transport Corporation
(MTC) has several plans to
increase its non-tariff reve-
nue, including letting out on
rent the first floor space at
bus terminii and depots. It
also proposes to rent out
space for advertising on the
rear side of 1,000 new buses.
Announcing this here on
Wednesday, Transport Min-
ister K.N. Nehru said that de-
spite competition from
suburban railways, autorick-
shaws and share-autos, the
MTC in the last two years has
been able to show an in-
crease in its revenue. “At pre-
sent, we serve about 44 lakh
commuters every day and
the ticket collection is
Rs.1.58 lakh,” he said.
The Minister was speaking
at a function to inaugurate a
diesel pump calibration ma-
chine installed by Bosch at
MTC’s workshop on Pattulos
Road, off Anna Salai. Accord-
ing to a representative of
Bosch, MTC is the first State
Transport Corporation in
the country to take this step.
Mr. Nehru also distributed
settlement arrears to the
staff, released a BS III En-
gine manual in Tamil and
gave prizes for fuel efficiency
to drivers.
The Minister said that Rs.
15 crore had been allotted for
cleaning the buses and steps
were being taken to add new
Housing is an inevitable investment
as well, for many youths
Easy availability of loans, tax breaks
are prime reasons now and they have enjoyed
Kannal Achuthan
CHENNAI: Amudha and Kumar,
a young couple from south
Tamil Nadu, did not waste too
much time buying a house
when they decided to settle in
Chennai.
They are glad that they
made the decision, although
raising money for the initial
down payment was not easy.
Their independent house
near Kattankulathur — about
30 km from Chennai — cost
Rs.7.5 lakh a year and a half
ago. The value has tripled
stations with the other modes
of public transport for better
connectivity was emphasised
by participants at the public
hearing here on Wednesday
for the proposed Chennai
Metro Rail project.
The forenoon session at
Aminjikarai had participants
from areas including Thiru-
mangalam, Anna Nagar, She-
noy Nagar and places near
Kilpauk Medical College and A participant raising a query at the public hearing
Hospital. on the Chennai Metro Rail project in Aminjikarai
Residents wanted user- on Wednesday. — PHOTO: K.PICHUMANI
friendly approach roads to
the proposed stations and of public transport. Bus ter- underground stations would
proper interchange station minals would be established not affect the buildings and
facility to be provided in the to connect the metro rail sta- proper security measures
project. A Chennai Metro Rail tions. would be adopted in the sta-
Limited (CMRL) official said Residents also raised con- tions.
an efficient system, evolved cerns over use of ground wa- Some of the other queries
after taking note of the defi- ter for the project as it might include the location of the
ECO-FRIENDLY: Transport Minister K.N. Nehru inaugurating a diesel pump ciencies of the other trans- affect the water table in the stations and notice period for
calibration machine at the MTC workshop on Pattulos Road on Wednesday. port systems, would be city. In response, an official acquiring private property.
— PHOTO: R.RAGU
implemented with proper in- said that the ground water The officials said the project
terchange stations. would be used judiciously af- envisaged minimal acquisi-
routes and provide extension belonging to the trade union ru, who was on the dais, had Rajamohan, a resident of ter consulting the State Pollu- tion of private lands and
services. affiliated to Dravida Munne- to intervene and separate the Mogappair, regretted that tion Control Board and properties. Specific details
Regarding welfare mea- tra Kazhagam clashed at the groups. Mogappair, one of the fast de- Chennai Metrowater. about exact locations of the
sures for the staff, he said or- function in the presence of A rivalry during union veloping areas, did not figure About the noise pollution, stations, private property ac-
ders to appoint 335 persons the Minister. elections held sometime ago in the project. He suggested particularly during the con- quisition, compensation and
on compassionate grounds Trouble began when a was said to be the cause for that the route be slightly di- struction of the underground rehabilitation measures
would be passed within a group of men, who tried to the clash. verted to include Ambattur stations, the official said a would be discussed in the
couple of weeks, the commit- enter the function venue, A driver was injured and Industrial Estate and Mogap- modern technology of tunnel next series of meetings
tee set up to modify the pen- were prevented by another several people were beaten pair. The official assured that boring machines would be de- scheduled in June.
sion scheme had already met group, which also shut the up in the incident. After the the areas would be covered in ployed to minimise the noise A similar public hearing
and promotions were being gates. When the Minister en- groups had settled down, the the second phase of the pro- levels to near zero. was held in the afternoon for
given. Transport Secretary tered the venue, the group Minister expressed serious ject. Several residents also the residents of Velachery,
Devendranath Sarangi and standing outside gained en- concern over the behaviour On queries about the tick- raised their concern over the Saidapet and Guindy in which
MTC Managing Director M. try. Once inside, the mem- of the staff at a public func- eting system, the official said stability of the buildings, ac- participants sought clarifica-
Ramasubramanian spoke. bers of the two groups tion. an integrated ticketing solu- quisition of their property tion about various aspects of
resorted to fisticuffs. A few of The police, however, said tion — ‘smart card’ — would and security issues at the the project and the compen-
Clash them also used steel rods and they have not received any be introduced to facilitate meeting. A CMRL official said sation to those affected by it.
Earlier, two groups of men belts to hit others. Mr. Neh- complaint. travel across different modes that the construction of the
Security office ransacked
Staff Reporter them to form a union, entered
into a brawl with the security
KANCHEEPURAM: Computers
and furniture in the security
office on the Hyundai Motor
India Limited factory prem-
staff. In the melee, computers
and furniture at the security
office were damaged.
On Wednesday morning
“Rental costs are high. I’d rather put more
money into EMIs for housing loan repayment’’
REALTY CHECK ises at Irrungattukottai were
allegedly damaged by a group
the employees staged a dem-
onstration in front of the
26-year-old R. Daniel, an em- of employees on Tuesday manufacturing plant, de-
ployee of a financial services night. manding that they be allowed
tax benefits. A large section of Enhancement of limit on priority sector lending firm, who owns a house in According to police, a to form an employees union.
young people, only a few for the housing sector is a fresh incentive Purasawalkam. group of employees, who All of them were removed
years into their careers, are R.K. Sinha, deputy general were agitated by the refusal of to a marriage hall, the police
opting to buy homes as an in- a house, we decided we would per square feet now. manager of Bank of Baroda, is the management to permit said.
vestment. The easy availabil- too,” said Kumar, who is in his “Housing is turning really witness to the trend of young
ity of housing loans, the need early thirties. costly,” said Rajkumar, se- people buying homes early
to curb their tax deductions Several mid-career profes- cure in the knowledge that he into their careers. “Especially
and the appreciation in real sionals have taken housing has made a sound invest- with double incomes and
estate value are the primary loans to buy well-appointed ment. Young IT professionals banks liberally giving loans,”
reasons why they decide to homes in the heart of the city. say that EMI payments take a he said. The limit on priority
buy a place for themselves. S. Rajkumar took a housing heavy toll on their pay pack- sector lending for the housing
Peer pressure also seems to loan from IDBI Bank to buy ets but say they would rather sector has recently been
be working on their minds. “I an apartment in 2005. The own than rent. “Rental costs moved up from Rs. 20 lakh to
had not really thought about flat, located on Royapettah are so high. I’d rather put Rs. 30 lakh. This is a fresh
buying a home. But some rel- High Road, cost Rs. 2,900 per more money into EMIs be- incentive for banks to market
atives of ours — only a few square feet then. The going cause I will have my own their home loan products up
years older than us — bought value in the area is Rs. 8,200 place in about 10 years,” said to Rs. 30 lakh, said Mr. Sinha.

Sanskrit classes
Free classes on spoken
Sanskrit are to be
conducted by Samskrita
Thailand woman arrested with
4.9 kg of heroin at airport
Bharati from May 1 to 9.
Those aged above 10 could
participate in the
programme and prior
knowledge of Sanskrit is Special Correspondent suspicion. A search of her packets of heroin pasted contraband would be re-
not required, said a press handbag revealed noth- on the top and bottom ceived by someone at
release. For registration, CHENNAI: Officials of the Air ing, so the officials re- back ends of the suitcase. Kuala Lumpur.
contact: 28472632 or Intelligence Unit of the called her checked-in The bags contained 4.9 She tried to smuggle the
28472639. Customs arrested a 25- suitcase. kg of heroin. contraband after she was
year-old Thailand woman The inner portion of the promised a tourist trip to
CHENNAI after seizing heroin from back end of the suitcase Trip promised India.
May Rise Set her at the Chennai airport looked bulged a bit, and The passenger told the This was the largest
Thu (01) 05 48 18 24 on Tuesday. the inner cloth layer was officials that she had gone quantity of heroin seized
Fri (02) 05 48 18 24
Sat (03) 05 47 18 25 C. Rajan, Commission- found tampered with. to New Delhi from Thai- by the Customs at the
Thu (01) 02 17 14 28 er of Customs, Airport, Cutting open the inner land, where a stranger Chennai airport in the
Fri (02) 02 57 15 21 said officials intercepted cloth lining, the author- handed over a suitcase past decade, Mr Rajan
Sat (03) 03 39 16 17 Punsakon Patcharut on ities found four polythene containing the drug. The added.

Vision: Presentation of Nataka p.m. Rotary Club of Madras,

CHENNAI TODAY Ratna Award, Narada Gana

● RELIGION
Bhagavatham: B.
Sundarkumar, P.S.B.B. School,
K.K Nagar, 6-30 p.m.
Narayaneeyam: Narasimhan,
Sri Desikan Pravachana
Mandapam, 1, 26th St., Thillai
Ganga Nagar, Nanganallur, 7
p.m.
Kaivalya Upanishad: S.
Vasudevan, 11, 1st Avenue,
Thiruvalluvar Nagar,
Thiruvanmiyur, 6-30 p.m.
Nalayiradivyaprabandham:
Kokkalaijerajan, W-146 Anna
Nagar West Extn., 10-30 a.m.
Prapanchasaram: V.
Rajagopala Ganapadigal, Sri
Sankara Gurukulam,
Abhiramapuram, 7 p.m.
Venu Ganam: Subbaraman and
Alamelu, 24, 3rd St., Raghava
Reddy Colony, Ashok Nagar, 7
p.m.
Thirumandiram: M. K.
Prabaharamoorthy,
Marundeeswarar Temple,
Thiruvanmiyur, 7 p.m.;
K.Sivakumar, Saiva Samaya
Bakta Jana Sabai, Mint St., 7
p.m.
Sri Ramana Sankirtanam:
Dakshajananda, Sri
Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, 7
p.m.
Aadhi Sankararar Charithram:
Muralidhara, 4,
Balasubramanian Cross St.,
Nemilicherry, Chromepet, 7 p.m.
Namasankeerthanam: V.
Sundararajan, Chromepet Sri
Ram Bajan Mandali, 12, Netaji
Nagar, Chromepet, 7 p.m.
● CULTURE
Saraswathi Educational
Cultural and Charitable Trust:
Inauguration of Vasant Utsav
2008, Kapaleeswarar Temple,
Mylapore, 6 p.m.
Nataka Academy and Priya
Sabha, Alwarpet, 6-15 p.m.
Illakiya Mandram: Paavendar
birth anniversary,
Kuralarangam, 3, 4th Cross St.,
LIC Colony, Pammal, 5-30 p.m.
The Indian Fine Arts Society:
Celebration of G.N.B. Day, Bala
Mandir German Hall, Prakasam
St., T.Nagar, 6 p.m.
● GENERAL
All India Federation of Other
Backward Classes Employees
Welfare Associations: Meeting
to felicitate Union Minister V.
Narayanasamy and Member of
Parliament V. Hanumantha Rao,
Russian Cultural Centre,
Alwarpet, 10-30 a.m.
The Second World
Conference on Siddha
Philosophy: Meeting,
Tattvaloka auditorium, 76,
Eldams Rd., Teynampet, 4-30
p.m.
Dignity Foundation: Dental
Health for Senior citizens,
YWCA Club Room,
Poonamallee High Rd., 4-30
Madras Management
Association and Saviance
Technologies and Disney
Institute, USA: Meeting, Hotel
Sheraton Chola, Cathedral Rd.,
9 a.m.
Nandini Voice For The
Deprived: Meeting,
Dakshinamoorthy Auditorium,
P.S. HSS., Mylapore, 10 a.m.
Indian Overseas Bank:
Seminar, Community Hall,
Singanna Chetty St,.
Chintadripet, 9 a.m.
YMCA: Meeting, West Cott Rd.,
Royapettah, 6-30 p.m.
Apollo College of Nursing:
College Day, Ayanambakkam,
8-30 a.m.
Manonmani Trust: Valediction
of summer training programme,
Government High School,
Manimekalai St.,
Peerkankaranai, Perungalathur,
4 p.m.
Pammal Sankara Eye
Hospital: Free eye camp,
Aimathaji Matriculation School,
Balaji Nagar, Athipattu, 8-30
a.m.
T.Nagar: Meeting, Hotel Benzz
Park, 6-30 p.m.
Lions Club of Chennai
Periamet: Meeting, 2nd Floor,
Perianna Maistry St., Periamet,
6-30 p.m.
Periyar Library Readers’
Circle: Meeting, Periyar Thidal,
Vepery, 7 p.m.
Mahaa Fine Arts: Awards
ceremony, Rani Seethai Hall,
2-30 p.m.
Sri Madhwa Seva Sangha:
Book release, Sathsangam Hall,
Sathsangam Rd., Madipakkam,
5 p.m.
Alcoholics Anonymous:
Meetings, Church of Christ,
W-76, Anna Nagar; Church of
Victorious Cross, Jawaharlal
Nehru Salai, Ashok Nagar;
Shifa Hospital Triplicane High
Rd., St. Sebastian Church (Near
Antony Hospital) Madhavaram;
St. Velankanni Church, Besant
Nagar; Victory Child
Development Centre,
Muthalamman St., Selaiyur, 7
p.m.

Printed and Published by N. Ram on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., at the National Press, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 & at Plot B-6 & B-7, CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin: 603209. Editor-in-Chief: N. Ram (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

CH-CH
 CHENNAI

4 CITY THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

Clarion call for giving more 5 villages aiming for sanitation award
K.Manikandan panchayat union primary and
middle schools, Integrated

teeth to child labour law TAMBARAM: Five villages in the

southern suburbs of Chennai
are competing for the coveted
Nirmal Gram Puraskar of the
Child Development Service
centres too needed to have
well-maintained toilets. And
it was mandatory for these

State-level consultation held to mark Anti-Child Labour Day

Central government. The
award is in recognition of the
efforts of rural local bodies to
implement all the schemes
under the Total Sanitation
Campaign.
There are 25 village pan-
chayats in St. Thomas Mount
Panchayat Union (Mount
Block) where the Total San-
itation Campaign of the Min-
istry of Rural Development
and the State government is
currently on.
And to encourage rural
bodies, its administrators,
ward members and residents
to participate in improving
levels of sanitation and hy-
giene, the Centre has been
distributing the Nirmal Gram
(beautiful villages) Puraskar
awards annually.
And five among them —
Sithalapakkam, Kaarapak-
kam, Vengaivaasal, Tiruvan-
chery and Mudichur village
CLEAN VILLAGE: The women’s sanitary complex in
Sithalapakkam. — PHOTO: K. MANIKANDAN
panchayats — were selected
to compete for the award for
2007-08.
Officials of the District Ru-
ral Development Agency and
the staff of Total Sanitation
Campaign initiated aware-
ness programmes among all
sections in these rural local
bodies on the importance of
clean and green villages.
The parameters for eligibil-
ity included no open defeca-
tion, no dumping of garbage
in public spaces and along
roads. While collecting gar-
bage including kitchen waste
from households was not a
problem, preventing open
defecation was not easy.
To achieve this, residents
were encouraged to build
their own toilets attached to
their houses or near them.
Those who could not afford
them were brought under the
Individual House Hold Toilet
scheme of TSC where govern-
ment subsidies were extend-
ed. Apart from houses,
villages to have functional
women’s sanitary complexes
to be eligible for the award.
The Information Educa-
tion Campaign included
awareness rallies, distribu-
tion of pamphlets on dispos-
ing garbage, maintenance of
toilets and drawing of eye-
catching advertisements and
slogans.
Officials said Indian Bank,
Hand in Hand, an NGO and
Titanium Tantulum, a corpo-
rate firm, helped implement
some of the sanitation
schemes in Tiruvanchery,
Mudichur and Vengaivaasal
village panchayats. An in-
spection by a team of officials
is expected soon and the
awards announced a little lat-
er. The award includes a cash
prize between Rs. 2 lakh and
Rs. 5 lakh and the sum would
be used to implement addi-
tional sanitation schemes.

Jewellery, cash stolen

Staff Reporter with jewelry and cash.
According to police, the
KANCHEEPURAM: Thieves theft came to light when in-
sneaked into a house near Sri mates of the house found a
Kamakshiamman temple bureau in the ‘puja’ room
here in the wee hours of open and the materials scat-
Wednesday and decamped tered on the floor.

HELPING HAND: A child extending support to a protest against child labour in Chennai on Wednesday.—
PHOTO: R.SHIVAJI RAO

Staff Reporter their children to work.Silu-

CHENNAI: The Campaign
Against Child Labour – Ta-
milnadu (CACL – TN) has
underscored the need for
providing more teeth to the
Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act.
The Act does not provide
for any imprisonments for
errant employers, represen-
tatives of the non-govern-
mental organisation said on
Wednesday.
“The Act only has provi-
sions for imposing fines.
Similarly it has been laid
down that the age of the child
“The word ’regulation’ must be removed vai Vasthian, State convener,
from the Act” CACL –TN, V. Vasanthi Devi,
former Chairperson, Tamil
“It only has provisions for imposing fines” Nadu State Commission for
Women, and R. Madhan Mo-
han, Joint Commissioner,
must be certified by a med- organised by CACL –TN to Department of Labour,
ical officer. This clause can mark Anti Child Labour Day spoke at the consultation.
be done away with and in- on April 30, he said the word A protest demanding total
stead age proof such as trans- regulation must be removed eradication of child labour
fer certificates or ration from the Act and it must deal was held in the evening.
cards could be used,” ex- only with prohibition. CACL-TN also sought a joint
plained S. Thomas Jayaraj, The CACL was pushing for monitoring mechanism to
former State Convenor of intensifying the implemen- monitor child labour in vari-
CACL – TN. tation of Employment Guar- ous sectors and a common
Speaking after a State-lev- antee Act and Minimum school system to ensure
el consultation on Eradica- Wages Act as a measure quality education up to +2
tion of Child Labour, against the parents sending levels.

CINEMA ARTS EVENTS● ●

hendra’s latest, recent decent Sabha Hall A/c, TTK Road, nyasam on “KAMBARA-
MUSIC DANCE DRAMA Comedy Play SWADESHI AY- Chennai, 6-15 p.m.: Nataka MAYANAM” by Trichy K.
YAR, by Chitralaya Sriram. Rathna Award Conferred on KALYANARAMAN (Rasikas
AAA/ABI, Sridevi Fine Arts Dramatised by Y. Gee. Ma- T. V. VARADARAJAN by Iy- Welcome). Maharaja Swathi
4-5-08 Sunday, 6-45 p.m., Va- hendra. Bkg. From 9-01 a.m. yagunar Sigaram Sri K. Ba- Tirunal Jayanthi, Veteran’s
ni Mahal A/c (Mahasamy Ph: 98400-77987, 98841- lachandar, Padmasri Dr. Day Concert, 24th 6-15 p.m.:
Hall), Cine Fame Radha 23453. Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti Smt. PARASSALA B. PON-
Ravi’s Record created Play presides. Felicitations by Shri NAMMAL (Rendering of
RATHAKANNEER. Bkg. Mudhra (28220453) R. Krishnaswamy, Secreta- Swathi Tirunal Kritis), Lal-
Today, 9841052165. www At RKM School, 71, Bazullah ry, Narada Gana Sabha, Shri gudi Vijayalakshmi (Violin)
ticketnew.com Road, T.Nagar, 10th May: A. Natarajan, Former Direc- & Trivandrum R. Vaidhya-
RAGAM SISTERS. 25th: Na- tor, Doordarshan Kendra, Sri nathan (Mirudangam), Pudu-
Amman Arts/ Priya masankeerthanam by BHAK- L. Sabarathnam, CEO, Cora- kottai N. Ramachandran
Today at 7 p.m. at Rani Seeth- THASWARAA BHAJAN mandal Sugars, Shri M. Mu- (Ghatam).
ai Hall, Crazy Mohan’s MAR- MANDALI. One music and rali, Sri Krishna Sweets, Shri
RIAGE MADE IN SALOON. one drama or dance a month. Y. Gee. Mahendra, Sri S. Vee. Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha
Tomorrow 7 p.m.: MAADHU Membership Open for 2008. Shekar, Sri R. Marimuthu, Vani Mahal, T.Nagar.
PLUS 2. Bkg. at the Hall from President, Nataka Academy Phone: 28152166
9 a.m. Ph: 98409-13298, Narada Gana Sabha (Regd.), participate. All Sabhas and
Chennai-18. Ph: 24993201 Programmes for May 2008,
32005425. Troops are Welcome. 3rd: Y. GEE. Mahendra’s
Programme for May 08 — “SWADESHI IYER” by Chi-
Bharathanjali 06th: In association with Nataka Academy & Priya Vision
Ph: 24617559/ 9840787249 tralaya Sriram. 10th: Vocal
Present Bharathanatyam on Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Concert by SANGEETHA SI-
“Maharaja Swathi Tirunal Trust, Shyama Sastri Jayan- Presents Nalli Navarasa Na- VAKUMAR & Party. 17th:
Kritis” by MEDHAHARI, thi Day — Smt. SUGUNA PU- taka Utsav at Narada Gana Amirtham Gopal in Gitanja-
SATHIVIKAA SHANKAR, RUSHOTHAMAN, Usha Sabha Hall A/c, TTK Road, li’s “MALARE KURUNJI MA-
YATIN AGARWAL, Disciples Rajagopalan, Ganapathi Ra- Chennai, 7-15 p.m.: Y. Gee. LARE.” From 23rd to 31st —
of Smt. Anitha Guha, Today man. 11th — Main Hall: Pala- Mahendra’s latest Comedy Daily at 06-30 p.m.: Upanya-
6-45 p.m. at Krishna Gana ni Subramania Pillai Day — Play “SWADESHI AIYAR” sam on Selected Topics from
Sabha, T.Nagar. Madurai T. N. SESHAGOPA- (By Chitralaya Sriram). Tick- “SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM”
LAN & Party. 11th — Mini ets at Hall from 9-00 a.m. Con- by Brahmasri. B. SUNDARA-
Hamsadhwani Hall: In association with Sa- tact: 9940091447. Sponsors: KUMAR.
Programmes for May — 9th: raswathi Vaggeyakara NALLI — LIFE LINE HOSPI-
Bharathanatyam by SWE- Trust, Thyagaraja Jayanthi TALS — ROTARY CLUB OF The Indian Fine Arts Society,
THA RAVISHANKAR. 24th Day — T. V. RAMPRASADH, MADRAS MOUNT — STATE Balamandir German Hall,
May: Maharajapuram RA- Mysore Srikanth, R. Ramesh BANK OF INDIA — IOB — Prakasam Street, T.Nagar.
MACHANDRAN — Vocal and 17th: Mayan Theatre’s “KET- IOCL — MANGALDEEP
POOJA AGARPATHI’S — DE-
(Tel: 28345441)
Monthly Semmangudi Birth TALE ADIRUTHILLA” by
Centenary Concert to be Raadhu. 17th: Natyarangam ZIERE DIABETIC SWEETS — Today — Sri GNB Day Cele-
announced. — Bharathanatyam, 6 p.m.: RADIO MIRCHI — DINAMA- brations, 4-30 p.m.: AM-
NANDITHA JAYAKUMAR; LAR — TICKETS NEW.COM RITHA VENKATESH — S. P.
Kartik Fine Arts, 24997788 7-30 p.m.: KIRAN RAJAGO- — MEYYAPPA JEWELLERY Ananthapadmanabha — Ha-
Performances for May 08 — PAL (Both Disciples of A. — CPCL. numanthapuyram J. Bhuva-
6th: NGS Mini Hall, Swathi Lakshmanan). 18th: Natya- raghan — Nanganallur S.
Thirunal Day, 6-00 p.m.: Bha- rangam — Lec-Dem. by Saraswathi Educational, Swaminathan; 6-00 p.m.:
rathanatyam by ARAVINDA SEETHA RATHNAKAR — Cultural and Charitable Trust Talk on Sri GNB by Sri Chen-
HARIRAM; 7-30 p.m.: “Dance Choreography for Inauguration of 5th Vasant galpattu RANGANATHAN;
SAHANARAJ. 7th to 10th Television”. 23rd: Saint Thi- Utsav by Smt. Nandini Rama- 6-20 p.m.: Felicitations to
May at NGS Mini Hall, Talent rugnanasambandar Vizha — ni, Artist, Art Critic and Sangeetha Kalasikhamani
Promotion Bharathanatyam Sri T. V. Venkataraman Member, Sangeeth Natak A- Sri T. N. Krishnan on his
with financial aid from Tamil Speaks on the LIFE & cademy, New Delhi at 6 p.m. 80th Year; 6-45 p.m. T. N.
Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Man- TEACHINGS OF SAINT SAM- at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple, KRISHNAN — Viji Krishnan
dram. 14th at Kalyan Nager BANDAR, Music by Vijaya- Mylapore, Guests of Honour: Natarajan — Thiruvarur
Assn. Hall, 5-15 p.m.: Devo- lakshmi Rajaraman. 24th: Thiru T. Pitchandi, I.A.S., Bakthavatsalam — Vaikom
tional Music of RAMJI’s Isai Crazy Creations New Play Spl. Commissioner, H.R. & Gopalakrishnan. All are Wel-
Mazhalai Ladies Group; 7-00 “CHOCOLATE KRISHNA” by C.E. and Padmasri Dr. Nalli come. (Sponsored by Sri M.
p.m.: Music by Smt. RAJINI Crazy Mohan. 30th: In asso- Kuppuswamy Chetty, Chair- SUBRAMANIAM FAMILY,
HARIHARAN & Party. 16th ciation with Papanasam man, Board of Trustees, Sri Chennai).
Bavan Main Hall, Music by Sivan Rasikar Manram — Kapaleeswarar Temple, Bha-
Madurai G. GEETHA & Par- Trichy RAMESH & Party. rathanatyam: Kum. MYTHI- The Mylapore Fine Arts Club,
ty. Sponsored by BSNL LI PRAKASH. Disc. of Smt. Phone: 24997755
CHENNAI TELEPHONES. Nataka Academy & Priya Vision Viji Prakash, 6-45 p.m. Program for May — 10th:
20th Dakshinamurthy Hall, Ph: 24617559/ 9840787249 Mappilai Ganesh in PARU
5-15 p.m.: PADMASESHA- Presents Nalli Navarasa Na- Sree Seetharama
Bakthasamajam, PARU PATTINAM PARU.
DRI SISTERS and Party; taka Utsav at Narada Gana 17th: MAANBUMIGU NAN-
6-50: Gnana Thondralgal — Sabha Hall A/c, TTK Road, Rajeswari Nagar, Selaiyur-73.
DIVARMAN by T. V. Radhak-
Maha Periyaval — MYLAI Chennai, Selected 11 Best Ramanavami 34th year, To- rishnan. 24th: Kathadi in
SISTERS. Sponsored by SRI Plays, Today 10-00 a.m.: K. R. day 7 p.m.: Smt. GAYATHRI NINAICHADHU ONNU. Last
KRISHNA SWEETS. 23rd at Selvaraja in ASWATTHAA- GIRISH — Vocal, Melakaveri date for renewal of member-
NGS Hall, Crazy Creations in- MAA (By Srikavi), Shri R. Sri Thiyagarajan — Violin, ship 31-05-2008.
augural show CHOKLATE Krishnaswami presides. Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar
KRISHNA by Crazy Mohan. Felicitations: Nada Brahm- — Mridangam. MISCELLANEOUS
25th at MFAC, Chennai Dra- mam Kunnakkudi R. Vaidya-
ma House inaugurate KAN- nathan, Shri A. Natarajan in Sri Krishna Gana Sabha,
T.Nagar, Chennai-17. Telugu Brahmana Mahasabha,
DAPADI KANDUPIDI by the presence of Thava Thiru
Vivek Rajagopal. 1st June: Kagabujander Swamigal Ph: 28140806 Chennai.
Award Presentation at NGS (Kollimalai). Tickets at Hall Programme for May 2008, Today from 7-30 a.m. to 12-30
Hall, 7-15 p.m.: Kudanthai from 9-00 a.m. Contact: Maharaja Swathi Tirunal Noon: SEETHAKALYANAM
Mali presents NAMMA- 9940091447. Jayanthi, Today 1st 6-45 MAHOSTAVAM, by Thanja-
VARGAL. p.m.: Ms. ANITHA GUHA’s vur Sri THIAGARAJA
Nataka Academy & Priya Vision Disciples present in Bharatha BAGHAVATULU at Sri Kan-
Maha/ Alandur Ph: 24617559/ 9840787249 Natyam “Maharaja Swathi Ti- chi Sankara Mutt, Easwaran
Today Spl. Show 3-30 p.m. at Presents Nalli Navarasa Na- runal Kritis”. Tomorrow 2nd Koil Street, West Mambalam,
Rani Seethai Hall, Y. Gee. Ma- taka Utsav at Narada Gana — 16th Daily 6-30 p.m.: Upa- Chennai-33. All are Welcome.

CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 CITY 5

May their dawn break out!

Fisheries building demolished
The building housed the only research facility in city
K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI: A nearly 60-year-old

building of the Fisheries De-
partment on Poonamallee
High Road, next to the Chet-
pet Lake, is being demolished.
The building, near Kilpauk
Medical College and Hospi-
tal, housed the only research
facility of the Fisheries De-
partment in the city and the
office of the Assistant Direc-
tor (Research) and an aqua-
culture laboratory until last
year.
A plaque in the building
read that the foundation
stone for hydrobiological lab-
oratory was laid in May, 1947
by the then Member for Food
and Agriculture Rajendra
Prasad. Officials of the de- The demolition of the building in progress. — PHOTO: K.PICHUMANI
partment said the demoli-
tion, which began on Monday, that obstructed the view were and the fresh water aquacul- Chennai Corporation and al-
has been necessitated in view pulled down. ture lab tested the water and so to the residents to erad-
of its decrepit condition. The waterbody, which is soil samples for fish culture. icate mosquitoes.
The office and the laborato- spread across about two hec- These samples are tested for a To a query on the possibil-
ry have been shifted to anoth- tares, is being used for fish nominal rate of Rs.20 each for ity of the Fisheries Depart-
er building of the department culture by the department. the benefit of the farmers. ment land being given to the
next to it, which was con- Several varieties of fish were The plaque in the old building Kilpauk Medical College and
structed last year. The Chet- bred in the lake and sold to would be retained in the new Hospital, the department of-
pet lake, which is a vital lung the markets. building as a souvenir. ficials said that there was no
LOAD OF LIFE: Rain or shine, it is yet another day, the laborious pace remaining unchanged. space of the city, and the A Fisheries Department of- The fish species that prey such proposal as the area ad-
A scene shot at Salt Cotaurs on Wednesday. — PHOTO: R. RAGU buildings have got a better ficial said that it was the only on the mosquito larvae are joining the lake was being
visibility after the hoardings research facility in the city supplied from the office to used for research facility.

Residential The milk of kindness continues to flow Bharat Sevak Samaj action plan meet
camp Special Correspondent

Staff Reporter
CHENNAI: A two-day free resi-
dential camp was organised
for students of Government
Higher Secondary School,
Mambakkam village from
April 25 on the school cam-
pus. A press release said stu-
dents of classes VIII and IX
participated in the camp that
aimed at developing all round
skills among rural students.
Shri Siddhanta Foundation
and Parampara organised the
camp with the assistance of
Sahayata Trust.
‘Samprokshanam’
Staff Reporter
KANCHEEPURAM: The “Maha-
samprokshanam” of Sri Ad-
hikesava Perumal and Sri
Bashyakaraswamy temple in
Sriperumbudur was per-
formed on Wednesday.
Renovation works includ-
ing covering the ‘Ramanujar
sannadhi vimanam’ with
gold-dipped plates and part of
Sri Adhikesavar sannadhi vi-
manam with gold-dipped
plates and the consecration People having a glass of refreshing buttermilk at
ceremony were carried out at Chromepet on Wednesday.— PHOTO : A.
a total cost of Rs.5 crore.
Buttermilk shed at Chromepet
K. Manikandan
TAMBARAM: On Wednesday,
dozens of commuters waiting
at the bus shelter in Chrome-
pet under the sweltering
summer heat were in for a
pleasant surprise when they
were offered a refreshing
glass of freshly churned but-
termilk on the house.
For the third year in suc-
cession, Shree Gayathri
Trust, set up the free butter-
milk shed at the Chromepet
bus stand. G. Raghavan, ma-
naging trustee, said the Trust
planned to run the ‘neer more
pandal’ for at least 45 days.
The Trust has made its
presence felt in Chromepet
and nearby areas for its vol-
untary service in cremation,
including that of unclaimed
bodies. The idea to start this
buttermilk shed was given by
one of its well wishers in
2006. “There is nothing grea-
ter than service to people
around us, particularly when
it is voluntary,” Mr. Raghavan
said.
The cost of building the
temporary shed, buttermilk
and curd rice, which is also
distributed free to people, are
MURALITHARAN met from the contributions
The shed was an
instant hit as
dozens of people
lined up to have a
couple of glasses of
the beverage
made by donors, mostly se-
nior citizens, to the Trust.
About 35 litres of milk a day is
bought and curdled over-
night. Then, freshly procured
ginger, curry leaves, corian-
der and cucumber are
chopped and added to it along
with the required water, asa-
foetida and salt.
Pallavaram Municipal
Chairman E. Karunanidhi in-
augurated the buttermilk
shed on Wednesday and as-
sured a supply of the required
quantity of Palar water. The
shed was an instant hit as
dozens of commuters, pas-
sers-by, two-wheeler riders
and autorickshaw and car
drivers lined up to gulp down
a couple of glasses of the bev-
erage.
Volunteers also serve wa-
ter from earthen pots that
have a distinctive taste as
‘vettiver’ herb is added to it.
CHENNAI: The primary objec-
tive of the Bharat Sevak Sa-
maj (BSS) is to find and
develop avenues of voluntary
service to the people, Naga-
land Governor K.Sankara Na-
rayanan said here on
Wednesday.
Inaugurating the BSS’ an-
nual action plan meet, he said
the organisation would pro-
mote national sufficiency and
build up economic strength of K. Sankara Narayanan, Nagaland Governor,
the country, including pro- releasing a souvenir, which is received by V. N.
motion of social well-being of Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, and
the communities.
Mr. Sankara Narayanan B. S. Balachandran, BSS General Secretary, in
emphasised that for carrying Chennai on Wednesday. — PHOTO: S.THANTHONI
out various tasks of the orga-
nisation adequate funds
should be made available to
cellor, Indira Gandhi
National Open University, a
to improve and help society.
The BSS should interact
its volunteers. A proper sys- lot of knowledge and skills are with universities and poly-
tem of accounts, audit, rec- available with ordinary peo- technics to provide better
ords, reports and returns ple. Organisations such as training on various skills to
should also be brought into BSS should identify such tal- the members of the organisa-
force, he added. ents and provide adequate fa- tion, he said, adding the de-
According to V.N. Raja- cilities to improve the mand for skilled manpower
sekharan Pillai, Vice-Chan- knowledge of ordinary people would increase in a few years.

Held for land grab bid

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Two persons were
arrested on Wednesday on
charges of land grabbing.
Following a complaint
from S.Pakkirisami of Sastri
Nagar, Adyar, that some per-
sons had managed to sell his
property on Sathsang Road,
Madipakkam, valued at Rs 1
crore, by preparing forged
documents, Commissioner of
Police G.Nanchil Kumaran
directed the Central Crime
Branch police to register a
case. Investigations revealed
that a three-member gang
had fabricated documents
such as death certificate and
legal heir certificate of Pak-
kirisami and registered the
land measuring 5,616 square
feet in their name through a
forged general power of at-
torney at the Pallavaram Sub-
Registrar Office.
Subsequently, the gang also
attempted to sell the proper-
ty. The main accused, K.S.Ra-
gupathi of Madipakkam, who
was arrested a few months
ago in connection with simi-
lar land grabbing complaints,
was detained under the Goon-
das Act on Wednesday, an in-
vestigating officer said.
The police gave the names
of accomplices of Raghupathi
as K.Meeran Moideen (48) of
Ambal Nagar, Keezhkattalai,
and K.Habib Rahman (30) of
Vyasarpadi, both real estate
agents, who allegedly signed
as witnesses in the docu-
ments. The police registered
cases of cheating, forgery and
conspiracy against the two
persons and produced them
before a city court.

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6 THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 TAMIL NADU 7

CPI(M) sets deadline for Ma Mi R TR

WEATHER
Kottayam
Kozhikode
31
33
25 1 424
27 0 418
Minicoy
Kavarathi
33 26
35 28
0 299
0 122

demolishing ‘caste’ wall

ANDHRA PRADESH Palakkad — — — — OTHER STATIONS
Anantapur 39 25 0 62 Punalur 33 25 0 517
Arogyavaram 35 23 0 54 Thiruvanantha Kolkata (Alipore) 36 27 0 81
Bapatla 35 27 0 109 -puram AP 33 26 tr 336 Mumbai 34 25 0 0
Calingapatnam 33 27 0 69 Thiruvanantha New Delhi 41 22 0 39
Gannavaram 37 26 0 155 -puram City 32 26 tr 493 The columns show maximum
DMK government should take bold steps to demolish the wall: Varadharajan Hyderabad AP
Kakinada
42
33
26 0 180
28 0 81
TAMIL NADU and minimum temperature in Celsi-
us, rainfall during last 24 hours
Kammam — — — — Adiramapattinam — 28 0 241
(trace) and total rainfall in mm since
Special Correspondent CPI(M), along with the other many forms and the party had of 25 agricultural products Kavali 37 28 0 24 Coimbatore AP 35 24 0 95
March 1, 2008.
Kurnool 40 27 0 147 Coonoor 25 15 0 495
Left parties, will mobilise done a survey on it. “The two- identified by the Parliament Mahabubnagar 42 27 0 121 Cuddalore 36 26 0 210
CHENNAI: The CPI(M) State people and demolish the tumbler system is one of the Standing Committee, action Machilipatnam 36 27 0 135 Chennai AP 38 29 0 194 Isolated rain
committee on Wednesday wall,” he said when asked many forms. In many villages against hoarders, distribution Nandyal 41 28 0 95 Chennai 37 29 0 165
Narasapur 34 28 0 89 Dharmapuri 35 21 9 57 likely in T.N.
warned that it would demol- about the next course of Dalits cannot share the chair of pulses and other food prod- Nellore 38 29 0 8 Kanyakumari 32 26 0 390
Kodaikanal 21 13 0 604 CHENNAI: Yesterday’s very severe
ish the wall preventing the action. with the caste Hindus in the ucts through the Public Dis- Nizamabad 43 27 0 84 cyclonic storm “NARGIS” over west-
Ongole 37 28 0 102 Madurai AP 37 24 17 169
entry of the Dalits into the saloons. There will be a sep- tribution System and central and adjoining southwest bay
caste Hindu areas at Uthap- A shame
Ramagundam 41 28 0 124 Nagapattinam 37 28 0 295
moved slightly North-Eastwards and
arate chair. Laundries will streamlining the PDS are the Tirupathi AP 41 29 0 45 Palayamkottai 37 26 0 327
lies over west-central bay, centred at
Tuni 35 25 0 117 Pamban 34 28 0 318
uram in Madurai district, if Accusing the district ad- not wash their clothes.” four ways that would control Vizag AP 35 27 0 135 Parangipettai — — — —
0830 hours IST of 30th April 2008
within half a degree of latitude 14.5
the State government and the ministration of remaining in- Asked about the tea parties the spiralling prices, he said. Vizag 32 28 0 77 Puducherry 38 29 0 262 degrees north and longitude 86.5 de-
district administration failed different to the “cruel organised by the police de- Condemning the police ac- Salem 36 23 0 160 grees East.
KARNATAKA Thanjavur 39 29 0 85
to remove it by May-end. manifestation of untoucha- partment to bring the caste tion against the workers of Agumbe 28 22 0 285 Tiruchi AP 38 27 0 146 It is likely to intensify further and
move in a north-easterly direction.
CPI(M) State secretary N. bility,” Mr. Varadharajan said Hindus and the Dalits togeth- Hyundai car company, who Bangalore AP 32 17 32 297 INSAT PICTURE AT 11-30 hrs. Tiruchi 39 26 0 221
FORECAST (Valid until Friday
Bangalore 33 21 tr 72 Observations recorded at 8-30 a.m. on April 30. Tirupattur — — — —
Varadharajan told reporters the DMK government should er, Mr. Varadharajan said it were protesting against the Bagalkote 38 23 0 154 Tiruttani — 28 0 115 Morning): Isolated rain or thunder-
that the party’s general secre- take bold steps to demolish was an eyewash. removal of the union flag Belgaum AP 33 20 0 186 Honnavar 34 25 0 100 Shimoga — — — —
Tondi 35 28 0 316 showers are likely to occur over Tamil
Bellary — — — — Tuticorin 37 27 0 354 Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. Mainly
tary Prakash Karat would vis- the wall. “It is a shame for The CPI(M) leader said as hoisted at the entrance of the Bijapur — — — —
Karwar 35 27 0 89 Shirali 36 25 0 124
Ooty 24 11 0 — dry weather will prevail over Lakshad-
it Uthapuram on May 7 with Tamil Nadu.” part of the nationwide protest factory on April 30, Mr. Va- Madikeri 26 17 0 248 Tumkur — — — — weep, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Chitradurga 35 22 0 120 Valparai 26 18 0 305
Mangalore AP 34 25 0 309 KERALA
other leaders to see the 600- G. Ramakrishnan, central against price rise on May 15, radharajan said Chief Minis- Chickmagalur 32 21 0 192 Vedaranyam — — — — Farmers weather bulletin for Ta-
Mysore 33 19 15 202
Chintamani 34 21 0 58 Alappuzha 31 25 5 434 Vellore 39 26 0 134 mil Nadu and Puducherry (valid un-
metre wall. committee member of the the State unit would mobilise ter M. Karunanidhi should Mandya 34 20 1 119
Gadag 36 21 0 241 Panambur 34 26 0 365 Kannur 34 25 0 322 LAKSHADWEEP til Friday morning): Isolated light to
“We will wait till the end of party, said untouchability a lakh people across Tamil intervene and secure the Gulbarga 43 27 0 38 Raichur 40 24 0 131 Kochi AP 29 24 25 459
Amini Divi 33 28 0 70
moderate rain is likely to occur over
Hassan — — — — Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
May. If no action is taken, the prevailed in Tamil Nadu in Nadu. Ban on online trading workers’ right to form unions.

Cases registered
against PMK
leader
Special Correspondent

SALEM: The Railway Police on

Wednesday registered cases
against PMK youth wing sec-
retary R. Arul and five others
for allegedly assaulting a tick-
et collector at the informa-
tion counter of the Salem
Junction on Tuesday. Mem-
bers of the Salem Division of
the Southern Railway Maz-
door Union had staged a dem-
onstration near the junction
demanding the immediate ar-
rest of those who manhan-
dled the ticket collector.

CH-CH
 CHENNAI

8 TAMIL NADU THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

BRIEFLY
Bund strengthening
recommended
CHENNAI: A committee of
experts constituted to
study the problem
concerning the bund of the
Wellington reservoir in
Cuddalore district
submitted its report to the
government on
Wednesday. It proposed
strengthening of the bund
and allowing full storage of
water in the reservoir. If
implemented, farmers of
Thittakudi and
Vridhachalam taluks and
11,200 hectares of land
would be benefited, an
official release said. —
Special Correspondent
Applications invited
for Haj pilgrimage
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu State
Haj Committee has invited
applications from Muslims
residing in Tamil Nadu and
intending to perform Haj
pilgrimage during
Haj-2008. The application
can be obtained from the
Tamil Nadu State Haj
Committee Administrative
Officer from May 1. The
last date for submitting
filled-in applications along
with requisite documents,
photographs and
photocopy of the pay-in-
slip of the payment of Rs
10,700 per head is May 31.
— Special Correspondent
Three Civil Supplies
employees suspended
CHENNAI: Three employees
belonging to the Tamil
Nadu Civil Supplies
Corporation in the
Thousand Lights zone were
suspended on Wednesday,
following reports about
issue of bogus ration cards.
Food Minister E.V. Velu
has asked the Civil Supplies
Deputy Commissioner
(South) to conduct a
detailed enquiry and take
action against them as per
the departmental rules. —
Special Correspondent
Good response to changed
mode of immunisation
56,052 children received vaccination shots on Wednesday
Ramya Kannan
CHENNAI: When Tamil Nadu
revised the mode of delivery
of its immunisation pro-
gramme on Wednesday,
health officials did not expect
it to be a success. Despite offi-
cials’ trepidation, barring a
few places, mothers came in
droves, bringing their chil-
dren to be immunised at the
primary health centres.
A total of 56,052 children
and 9,072 pregnant women
received immunisation shots
on Wednesday. In the “mop-
up” round aimed at covering
all those who had missed
their regular schedules, the
target was 59,000 children
and 11,000 pregnant women,
according to Director of Pub-
lic Health P. Padmanabhan.
“Frankly, after the vaccine
deaths we did not expect such
a good response from the
mothers. We would say this is
a very successful pro-
gramme,” Health Secretary
V.K. Subburaj said.
After four children from
Tiruvallur district died on be-
ing administered the measles
vaccine on April 23, parents
were reluctant to take their
children to the local health
centres for vaccination.
The government of Tamil
Nadu therefore decided to re-
vise its strategy to administer
vaccines, opting to bring chil-
dren to the PHCs instead of
sending the vaccines to the
villages.
The idea was that the whole
process would happen under
the supervision of the doctors
in the PHCs, where facilities
are also available for emer-
gency treatment.
Though no major pre-pub-
licity was done by the depart-
CONFIDANT LOT: Mothers taking their children for vaccination to
a PHC at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam, near Chennai, on Wednesday.
— PHOTO: M. KARUNAKARAN
ment and information was
communicated only through
newspaper reports, the re-
sponse was good, Dr. Padma-
nabhan said.
In some remote areas, veh-
icles were used to bring the
mothers and children to the
PHCs. In others, when moth-
ers took autos to the PHC,
their travel expenses were re-
imbursed.
Once they arrived at the
PHC, the children who were
administered the vaccine
were asked to wait for about
an hour, to monitor them for
any adverse reaction.
In the interim period they
were also served bread, milk
and snacks in the PHCs. Some
of the mothers expressed
their confidence in bringing
children to the PHCs as it was
a larger medical centre with
facilities to take care of the
babies in case there were
problems.
They also added that had
the regular immunisation day
been held in the village, they
would not have gone there to
get the vaccination.
Dr. Padmanabhan said the
government had only a cou-
ple of days’ preparation for
this vaccination programme
and that accounted for the
poor response in some of the
centres.
AIADMK, CPI(M)
members stage walkout
Palladam legislator evicted from the House
Special Correspondent AIADMK members did not
allow the watch and ward to
ed there while attempting to
hoist the union flag. She said
CHENNAI: The All India Anna remove Mr. Velusamy. Public the incident happened even
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Works Minister Durai Muru- after seeking court’s permis-
and the Communist Party of gan took exception to this be- sion for hoisting the flag.
India (Marxist) on Wednes- haviour. Some persons were arrested.
day walked out of the As- Subsequently, led by Mr. Electricity Minister Arcot
sembly on separate Paneerselvam, Deputy Lead- N. Veeraswami said the flag
occasions. er of the Opposition, they was hoisted on the site be-
The AIADMK members walked out. Earlier, CPI (M) longing to the State Industri-
staged a walkout after Speak- member K. Balabharathy es Promotion Corporation of
er R. Avudaiappan ordered sought action against the Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT). The
the eviction of Palladam leg- management of Hyundai fac- Minister said the government
islator and former Minister, tory at Sriperumpudur, alleg- would take action for releas-
S.M. Velusamy, from the ing that a leader of the Centre ing those arrested. The CPI
House for disrupting pro- of Indian Trade Unions (CI- (M) members then staged a
ceedings. For some time, the TU) and others were assault- walkout.
However, the department
intends to spread informa-
tion about bringing children
to the PHCs for vaccination
and about the facilities avail-
able in the larger centres in-
tensively so that the next
immunisation day (May 7 —
Wednesday) will see better
coverage, he added.
Handbills and pamphlets
have already been sent out for
the purpose.
In the remotest villages,
which are served by only one
PHC, the government is con-
sidering setting up one ou-
treach centre for vaccination
under the supervision of a
doctor, he added.

Oration on paediatric
infectious diseases
CHENNAI: The 17th Dr.M.S.
Ramakrishnan Memorial
Endowment Oration,
organised by the Kanchi
Kamakoti CHILDS Trust
Hospital, will focus on
current concepts in
paediatric infectious
diseases. The oration on
‘nosocomial infections’ will
be delivered by V.
Ravikumar, paediatric
surgeon from Coimbatore,
on May 4. R.K. Agarwal,
president, Indian Academy
of Paediatrics, is expected
to talk on the subject
‘future vaccines.’ A
continuing medical
education programme will
also be held the same day.
These will be preceded by a
workshop on laboratory
diagnosis of paediatric
infectious diseases on May
3, to be held at the hospital.
The workshop hopes to
arrive at a consensus on
tackling diagnostic
dilemmas in such cases. —
Special Correspondent
Panel of officials to Government violating
study damage caused new industrial policy,
by chemical effluents alleges Ramadoss
Special Correspondent The Minister said that after Special Correspondent quired about it, we were told
a reverse osmosis plant was that a seven-star hotel and
CHENNAI: A panel of officials of commissioned in May 2006, CHENNAI: PMK leader Rama- luxurious apartments were
the Tiruvarur district admin- the quantity of discharge was doss on Wednesday alleged coming up on the land allot-
istration, Agriculture Depart- much less. that the State government ted to the SEZ,” he said.
ment and the Tamil Nadu had violated the New Indus- Recalling the government’s
Electricity Board will study Age limit relaxation trial Policy by signing MoUs announcement that Rs.3,000
the extent of damage suffered When Pattali Makkal for setting up IT Special Eco- crore would be invested in the
by farmers in the wake of dis- Katchi whip T. Velmurugan nomic Zones (SEZ) within SEZ and it would generate
charge of chemical effluents raised the issue of relaxation Chennai Corporation limits. employment for 55,000 peo-
by the Thirumakottai (Kovil- of the age limit for about In a statement here, Dr. Ra- ple, he said the government
kalappal) gas power plant at 1,700 agriculture graduates, madoss, who has been oppos- should explain how it would
Mannargudi, Electricity Min- who could not get placement ing acquisition of agricultural be possible to generate em-
ister Arcot N. Veeraswami for several years, Agriculture land for industries and SEZs, ployment if the land was used
told the Assembly on Minister Veerapandi S. Aru- said while in other parts of for constructing apartments.
Wednesday. mugam said the present regi- the country SEZs were al- Urging the government to
Responding to a calling at- me had already revised the lowed only outside the cities, reconsider the MoUs, he said
tention motion from V. Siva- age limit for agriculture di- Tamil Nadu has allowed TA- the SEZs could be shifted ei-
punniam (Communist Party ploma holders. TA Realty and Infrastructure ther to Nanguneri or Madurai
of India), the Minister said in In the case of degree hol- and DLF to set up their SEZs or Ramanathapuram. “We
April, work on a five-acre so- ders, there was no age limit. at Taramani, the heart of the welcome industries that will
lar evaporation pond had be- As for the diploma holders of city. Dr. Ramadoss also want- pave the way for industrial
gun. It was expected to be the Scheduled Castes/Sched- ed to know why the represen- development and generation
completed in six months. uled Tribes, the age limit was tatives of the Indian Hotels of employment. But, the go-
Once it was ready, there 40 years. In the case of Back- Corporation were present vernment cannot help real es-
would not be any more dis- ward Classes/Most Backward when the MoU was signed tates in the name of industrial
charge of chemical effluents. Classes, it was 35 years. with the TATA. “When we en- development.”

Kushboo cases
to be transferred
to CMM court
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The Madras High
Court has ordered all cases
against actor Kushboo for her
statement and interviews to a
magazine and a Tamil daily
on pre-marital sex and Indian
society and Tamil culture, to
be transferred to the file of
the Chief Metropolitan Ma-
gistrate (CMM), Egmore.
Joint trial
In his order on a petition
filed by the actor, Justice R.
Regupathi said the CMM
should conduct joint trial of
the cases and dispose them of
within six months.
He directed the trial courts
concerned to transmit the pa-
pers forthwith to the CMM
court for commencement of
the trial.
The Judge said he was of
the considered opinion that
prima facie an offence under
section 499 IPC was made out
and that the complainants
were aggrieved persons in the
eyes of law to set the law in
motion.
In order to avoid scattered
trial of cases involving the
same cause of action before
several courts, it was but
proper to direct joint trial and
disposal of all cases that were
pending, instead of taking up
separate proceedings against
her for violation of court’s or-
ders.
In her petition, the actor
sought to quash the proceed-
ings on the file of the Chief
Judicial Magistrate,
Chengalpattu.

Special train to Coimbatore

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Southern Railway
will operate a special train
from Chennai Central to
Coimbatore on May 1 to clear
the rush.
Train No. 0639 will leave
Chennai Central at 10.20 p.m.
on May 1 and reach Coimba-
tore at 7.15 a.m. the next day.
Reservation will begin on
May 1, according to press re-
lease.

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THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 9

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 CHENNAI

10 FROM THE SOUTH THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

Leaders extend
May Day
greetings
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi and leaders of
political parties on Wednes-
day extended greetings on the
eve of May Day.
Mr. Karunanidhi said the
Government had implement-
ed many welfare schemes for
workers. He recalled that it
was the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam Government that
declared May 1 a paid holiday.
All-India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam general
secretary Jayalalithaa said
that besides remembering
the achievements of the
working class on the May
Day, an amicable solution
should be found to tackle the
difficulties faced by the work-
ers.
Pattali Makkal Katchi
founder S. Ramadoss urged
the workers to fight against
exploitation.
Verdict reserved on
Shraddananda’s appeal
He is on death row for murdering his wife
J. Venkatesan
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday re-
served its verdict on the ap-
peal of ‘godman’ Swami
Shraddananda, sentenced to
death by the Karnataka High
Court for murdering his wife,
Begum Shakereh Namazi,
who belonged to the erst-
while royal family of Mysore
in Karnataka.
In May 2007, a Bench of
Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice
Markandey Katju held the
swamiji guilty of murder but
gave a split verdict on the
question of awarding sen-
tence. While Justice Sinha
awarded life imprisonment,
Justice Katju said the death
penalty was the appropriate
punishment, and the matter
was referred to a three-judge
Bench. A Bench of Justice
B.N. Agrawal, Justice G.S.
Singhvi and Justice Aftab
Alam reserved judgment at
the conclusion arguments
from counsel for the State, for
the complainant and the ap-
pellant.
The main question argued
in the case was whether it
would fall within the ambit of
rarest of rare cases warrant-
ing imposition of the death
penalty. If life sentence was
to be imposed, can it be for
life because the swamiji had
been in prison for nearly 17
years after committing the of-
fence, as normally a life con-
vict can be released after 14
years in prison?
Another issue that figured
was the powers of the Exec-
utive to grant remission to
life convicts and at what stage
this power could be exercised.
The Bench, while reserving
verdict, agreed to consider all
these aspects.
The prosecution case was
that Shakereh, granddaught-
er of Sir Mirza Ismail, former
Diwan of Mysore, had mar-
ried Shraddananda in 1986,
after divorcing Akbar Khalee-
li, a former diplomat.
It was alleged that with a
view to grabbing the property
of his wife, Shraddananda
alias Murli Manohar Mishra,
had drugged his wife, killed
her and buried the body in the
compound of her bungalow in
Bangalore on April 28, 1991.
On a complaint from her
daughter, the police exhumed
the body and the ‘godman’
was arrested. While the trial
court awarded death penalty,
it was confirmed by the High
Court.
10,000 milch animals to
be given to women SHGs
Scheme to increase rural households’ income
Special Correspondent implemented in 200 villages bers’ daughters and
this year. The Rs.22-crore education expenses of their
CHENNAI: The government has scheme would benefit 5000 children.
announced a new scheme to women. The Minister said the tar-
increase the income of rural get for procurement was 28
households and boost milk Welfare fund lakh litres a day across the
production. Mr. Mathivanan also an- State in 2008-09. Of this, 10.3
Under the Perarignar Anna nounced the setting up of Pe- lakh litres a day of milk would
Centenary Dairy Scheme for rarignar Anna Centenary be marketed in the Chennai
Rural women 10,000 cross- Milk Producers’ Welfare metro area in 2008-09. At the
bred, high yielding milch ani- Fund. The members would district union level, 10 lakh
mals will be given to women contribute Re.1 each month. litres a day would be market-
self-help groups in villages, A matching amount would be ed during the period. To cater
Dairy Development Minister paid by Milk Producers Coop- to the increased targets, 131
U. Mathivanan told the As- erative Society and District bulk milk coolers would be
sembly on Wednesday. Unions. installed during the year.
The fund would be used to The department would also
To cover 200 villages help members and their fam- revive 100 Milk Producers
Replying to a debate on the ilies during times of disloca- Cooperative Societies and set
demands for grants for his de- tion of milk supplies to up 250 new societies.
partment, the Minister said societies owing to fatal acci- It would also establish a
the scheme would be un- dents, hospitalisation of technical centre at Madhav-
veiled at Tirukkuvalai, where members and disability. It aram to train technical staff
Chief Minister M. Karuna- would also be used for mar- of milk unions and the
nidhi was born. It would be riage expenses of the mem- federation.

MIOT unveils artificial joints having long-term durability

They could address hip and knee replacement needs of young Indian patients
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: MIOT Hospitals on
Wednesday announced the
launch of a family of artificial
joints with long-term dura-
bility, high flexion and bone-
bonding attributes that could
address the hip and knee re-
placement needs of Indian
patients in younger age
groups.
MIOT’s research on bio-
materials, as well as the
unique characteristics of the
hip and knee in Indian pa-
tients, has resulted in a proto-
col that uses titanium bone
and socket implants with for-
tified ceramic-on-ceramic
bearings.
The research involved col-
laboration between MIOT’s
Global Centre for Ideal Joints
and top-notch institutions in
the U.S. and the U.K. “The
implants which possess the
advantages of high flexion,
bio-compatibility and dura-
bility are ideal for the growing
number of younger Indians
requiring total hip or knee re-
placement,” MIOT managing
director P.V.A. Mohandas
told a press conference.
BRIEFING: Prithvi Mohandas, consultant hip surgeon, MIOT Hospitals with a patient during his An analysis of patient pro-
presentation on “Joint for Life - Myth or Reality" in Chennai on Wednesday.— PHOTO: S. R. RAGHUNATHAN files at the hospital indicated
that almost 30 per cent of all
joint replacement patients
were under 40 years of age,
and roughly 20 per cent were
accident survivors.
Titanium scores over its
biomaterial predecessors in
eliminating most of the prob-
lems that had challenged or-
thopaedic surgeons
attempting total hip replace-
ments in the past. The flip
side to the metal-on-metal
route taken during the early
days of implantation and the
stainless steel-polyethylene
fitments was the generation
of debris and loosening of the
fitments over time, while
chromium cobalt made clear
its lack of affinity for the
bone.
Once the biomaterial was
determined, the next chal-
lenge involved getting im-
plant devices suited to the
anatomical character and
shape of the joint in the Indi-
an population. “After a de-
tailed analysis, we hit upon a
range of 12 sizes on a scale of
0-6, with mid-sized versions
in between,” said Prithvi
Mohandas.
The minimally invasive
surgery techniques devel-
oped parallel to the efforts at
finding the perfect artificial
joint led to a considerable re-
finement of the implant pro-
cedure. The patient benefits
now include a relatively pain-
less session, less blood loss
and reduced hospital stay and
attendant costs.
Considerable thought also
went into analysing bone re-
actions during the post-im-
plant phase, Dr. Prithvi said.
An analysis of data involving
16,000 patients indicated
that the most common Indian
ailments requiring hip re-
placement surgery were An-
kylosing spondylitis,
Avascular necrosis, rheuma-
toid arthritis and fracture of
the neck of the femur.
“Titanium is the best bio-
logical bonding material we
have as of now. But, Tantalum
is the new star in the making
and could soon be the materi-
al of choice for replacement
procedures,” Dr. Prithvi said.
Great example
Addressing the launch
function of “Joint for Life,” N.
Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The
Hindu, said the hospital had
set a great example in produc-
ing a positive outcome from
research and technology and
reinforced the belief that
medicine was the noblest of
professions if it was guided by
ethics.
The fundamental problem
in developing countries that
had world-class medical ex-
pertise but a dearth of phys-
ical and social infrastructure
was the confinement of such
benefits to islands of excel-
lence.
The challenge was to make
the medical benefits accessi-
ble and affordable to a larger
section of the population, he
said.
MIOT has floated “Sume-
ka,” an initiative to raise
funds for performing im-
plants for underprivileged
patients.
MIOT newsletter
Mariam Ram, managing di-
rector, TnQ Books and Jour-
nals, launched the MIOT
newsletter “Maruthuva Vive-
kam” in English, Tamil and
Hindi. The booklet gives an
insight into the surgical pro-
cedures involving hip and
knee replacements and fea-
tures case studies.
MIOT consultants C. Le-
nin, A. R. Kesavan and Trevor
Nair spoke.

Kodanadu estate inspection report set aside

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The Madras High
Court on Wednesday said the
inspection carried out by the
authorities in Kodanadu Es-
tate in May last year was ille-
gal and not supported by the
Tamil Nadu Panchayat Rules.
The rules framed under the
Panchayats Act were not fol-
lowed and hence the report
could not be relied upon for
any further action, the court
said.
Allowing three writ pet-
itions filed by R. Ravichan-
dran, Manager of the estate in
Kothagiri Taluk in The Nilgi-
ris district, Justice K. Chan-
dru said the so-called
inspection on May 31, 2007,
conducted not only by the ex-
ecutive authority but by a
wide range of officers drawn
from other departments
without specifying the pur-
pose, clearly showed certain
command performance from
the higher-ups and it was not
based upon any legal require-
ment under the buildings
rules.
Mr. Justice Chandru said
as the show-cause notice dat-
ed June 5, 2007 sent by the
Panchayat president was not
based on any credible materi-
al, it was clearly illegal and
should be set aside.
The notice informed the
details of the structures in the
estate as per the inspection
and said in respect of hill ar-
eas for any construction be-
yond 300 square metres,
permission should be ob-
tained from the Hill Area
Conservation Authority (HA-
CA) and prior to that the plan
should be submitted to the
Architectural and Aesthetics
Aspects (AAA) committee.
Only after getting plan ap-
proval with recommendation
from the committee con-
cerned, proposal should be
sent in terms of Rule 4 of the
Tamil Nadu Panchayat Build-
ing Rules. Only after getting
the building licence, con-
struction could be started as
per the rules.
The court said a notice is-
sued on September 10, 2007
emanated from non-applica-
tion of mind and it was vitiat-
ed by bias and deserved to be
set aside. The notice inas-
much as it included buildings,
which were not opposed to
the Tamil Nadu Panchayat
Building Rules, but taken
note of for issuance of a provi-
sional order to direct the
owner to demolish those
buildings also.
Mr. Justice Chandru set
aside the inspection report.
However, holding that Rule
4 (1) (d) of the Tamil Nadu
Panchayats Buildings Rules
was constitutionally valid, he
dismissed another writ pet-
ition filed by the estate.

Assistance for fishermen Appeals against orders on

during ban period
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The State govern-
ment will pay Rs.500 per fam-
ily of fishermen during the
45-day mandatory fishing ban
period, Fisheries Minister
K.P.P. Samy informed the As-
sembly on Wednesday.
This will benefit two lakh
fishermen families and cost
the government Rs.10 crore.
The ban came into effect
after the Centre suggested it
— by a mutual consensus
among all maritime States —
to conserve and replenish
fishery wealth. It is being en-
forced since 2001 in the State.
The ban prohibits fishing by
mechanised boats and traw-
lers in the territorial waters
off Tamil Nadu for 45 days
every year.
This period is from April 15
to May 29 from the Tiruvallur
district coast to Kanyakumari
town (1016 km) and from
June 15 to July 29 from Ka-
nyakumari town to Neerodi
(60 km). There are 50,777
registered fishing vessels in
Tamil Nadu of which mecha-
nised fishing boats number
5,596. Various fishermen
bodies had asked the govern-
ment to provide assistance as
done in some other States, in-
cluding Puducherry.
Mr. Samy said that when he
took the issue to Chief Minis-
ter M. Karunanidhi, he readi-
ly agreed to grant the
required assistance. The 2
lakh fishermen are spread
over 13 coastal districts of the
State.
Fishing harbours
The Minister said the go-
vernment had taken up con-
struction of fishing harbours
at various points along the
coast. As part of the Sethusa-
mudram ship canal project, it
had decided to extend finan-
cial aid to develop a multi-
purpose harbour at Rames-
waram at a cost of Rs.100
crore. The harbour would
handle fishing vessels, cargo
vessels, and have berthing
and repair facilities for the
vessels of the Sethusamu-
dram Corporation. The Cen-
tre has approved the Colachel
fishing harbour project, the
Minister said. Work on the
Rs.27.1-crore project would
commence this financial year.
The government had also
given administrative sanction
for the Thengapattinam fish-
ing harbour in Kanyakumari
district. The project cost
(Rs.38.1 crore) would be
shared equally by the Centre
and the State.
Jaya Publications admitted
Special Correspondent unexplained deposits in (Appeals). Against this, the
banks to the tune of Rs.58.24 department has filed appeals
CHENNAI: The Madras High lakh and unexplained expen- before the High Court.
Court on Wednesday admit- diture of Rs.2.59 crore.
ted 21 appeals by the Income- The department conducted Details submitted
Tax Department challenging an enquiry and found that no Additional Solicitor Gener-
the orders of the Income-Tax such deposits were made. al M. Ravindran and Assistant
Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on The publications appealed Solicitor-General P.Wilson
the returns filed by Jaya Pub- before the Commissioner of submitted details of the
lications for assessment years Income-Tax (CIT) (Appeals). claims made by the assessee
starting from 1991-92 to The Commissioner allowed and the department and ar-
1999-2000. the appeals and said only 1.5 gued that the tribunal had
The department submitted per cent of the total amount committed an error in accept-
that the partnership firm had assessed by the department ing her claim.
shown income of Rs.13.75 as income could be treated so. A Bench, comprising Jus-
crore, agricultural income The publications and the tices K. Raviraja Pandian and
Rs.60.82 lakh, under the guise department filed appeals be- P.P.S. Janarthana Raja, has
of purchases Rs.1.65 crore fore the ITAT, which con- posted the matter for hearing
and receivables Rs.70.19 lakh, firmed the order of the CIT after summer vacation.
More veterinary doctors for villages
Special Correspondent the new system, a total of 1651 government had opened 40
veterinary doctors would be new veterinary dispensaries
CHENNAI: The government is available in villages. Sub-cen- in 2007-08.
adding 40 per cent more to its tres had been upgraded.
professional workforce for The proportion of such New farm policy
providing timely help to liv- doctors serving in rural areas It was evolving a new farm
estock owners in their villag- would further increase when policy for maintaining lives-
es, Animal Husbandry the government appointed tock and breeds, she said.
Minister P. Geethajeevan in- more of them, based on the The contribution of the liv-
formed the Assembly on needs. Of the 888 Grade-1 estock sector to the Gross
Wednesday. sub-veterinary centres, 444 State Domestic Product was
Replying to a debate on the would be upgraded and post- 2.62 per cent. The gross value
demands for grants for her graduate veterinary special- of output was Rs.9654.33
department, she said as per ists appointed, she said. The crore.

CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 VARIETY 11

RELIGION THIS DAY THAT AGE THE HINDU CROSSWORD 9212

God’s emissaries Indo-American agreement
The Government of India and
Across
1 Its ways of viewing venomous
snake and sect of a kind (7)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

CHENNAI: The lives of the 63 Saiva bondage is the lot of the majority
Nayanmars chronicled by Sekk-
hizhar in the Periya Puranam
demonstrate that they trod the
path to Godhead with singular
zeal. They hailed from various
walks of life and belonged to dif-
ferent centuries but devotion
because in God’s dispensation
every individual has to work out
his Karma as the fruit of his good
and bad deeds will not cancel
one another and release him
from bondage. These saints
however, if at all they sought,
dated May 1, 1958
Nehru desires rest
Prime Minister Nehru has an-
nounced his intention to have a
period of rest free from the daily
the United States on April 29 5 Possibly an assistant to a waiter?
9 10
signed nine project agreements (7)
under the Indo-American Tech- 9 Sailor managed to remain on river
nical Assistance Programme. The (7)
10 Revised night note will be too close 11 12
agreements provide a total of
1,287,000 dollars to assist India to deviate from plan (7)
in the fields of Health, Education, 11 American Indian Ute tribe are
Industrial Research, Agricultural rightly set to be more accurately 13 14 15

was the common thread running wanted only the blessedness burden of work and live as an and Industrial productivity. They adjusted (5)
through their lives. Tirujnana- that results from eternal union individual citizen of India and initiate the United States fiscal 12 An indoor game of trifling
sambandhar, Thirunavukkara- with the Lord which puts an end not as Prime Minister. In a state- year 1958 programme of techni- importance (9) 16 17 18 19 20

sar, Sundaramurthy Swamigal to rebirths. ment to the Congress Parliamen- cal assistance in India which to- 13 Revolutionary action of libel
and Manikkavasagar are consi- Each of these saints had a tary Party on April 29, Mr. Nehru tals 6.2 million dollars. The infuriated Nero (9)
dered as the pillars of the Saiva unique mission: one exalted the asked for the advice of his party agreements were signed by Mr. 15 Posse drawn to recover Mexican 21 22 23 24

faith and collectively known as
the Nalvar; and the lives of the
first three are documented in
the Periya Puranam. It is appar-
ent from their lives that they
were not born in this world like
others to work out their Karma
but with the specific mission of
accomplishing the Lord’s will.
The Vedic tradition had become
weak and the Nayanmars rejuv-
enated it by emphasising on de-
votion to God, which can be
followed by one and all.
In his discourse, Sri R.Selva-
ganapathy said these saints did
not tarry long in this world and
left as soon as they received Lord
Siva’s call which proved that
they returned to Him after car-
rying out His will. To be born
again and again in this world of
glory of God, another highlight- colleagues in regard to his inten- N.C. Gupta, Joint Secretary, Min- dollars (5)
16 Graduate goes to Rio to meet a
ed the greatness of His devotees, tion and sought their permission istry of Finance, for the Govern-
cartoonist! (5) 25 26
and yet another emphasised the and guidance to act in the man- ment of India, and Mr. Howard E.
18 Pitched into an ugly villain without
role of the Guru in spiritual life. ner suggested. The following is Houston, Director of the United
any effect (3,2,4)
Tayumanavar stresses that it is Mr. Nehru’s statement: “Some States Technical Cooperation 21 Sin compounded by voters who are 27 28
essential to seek the guidance weeks ago I said that I felt rather Mission to India. out to make money (9)
and grace of a Guru to realise tired and stale and would like a 24 Save so to speak, from the mob (5)
God. No effort should be spared change, since then many friends Assam situation
25 Stroke of luck — like a rich vein of
to find the Guru who will be in- and colleagues have asked what I The entire united Mikir and precious ore (7) 5 Strange shape for a long coat (9) Solution to
strumental in releasing the spir- meant and there have been spec- north Cachar Hills district and 26 Body directing affairs of a town (7) 6 There’s a curious thing at the end of the day (5) puzzle 9211
itual seeker from the throes of ulations in the press. That feeling the specified areas in Sibsagar 27 Tough interrogators of postage 7 Finally permits racket use for contest of
worldly sorrows. This begs the of exhilaration and a sense of ad- district have been declared dis- changes (7) opposing parties (7) C H A N C E D B A R B E L L
O C R E O E M O
question: how does one find venture are still with me. The turbed areas for a period of six 28 Afternoon sleep hours (7) 8 Separates when below, harboured by ship (7) N I C H E B L U E C H I P S
one’s Guru? Pilgrimage to sa- bonds that tie me with our people months with effect from April 29, Down 14 Beloved old sailor back in low environment (9) T U S T N A N E
R E S E C T A D O P T E R S
cred places is a sure way to come have grown stronger with the a notification in the Assam Ga- 1 Scholar returns with instrument to 15 Accommodation for top people? (9) A E E D A N
L A D E N E A R N E S T L Y
into contact with the God-real- years and there continues the zette Extraordinary said. Ex- measure current (7) 16 Wrap up sack for the post (7) T D P I I E
ised because many of the sancti- overwhelming desire to serve plaining the reasons for 2 Flourish old city, British want to 17 Painter draws grape plants in deep gorges (7) O F F C O U R S E D U D E S
A E S E O T
fied shrines are associated with them and help in solving the notification, a Government an- greatly disturb (7) 19 Fruit that’s quite new to Capri (7) P A R A D I S E C R E O L E
saints and mystics whose vibra- manifold problems. I remain nouncement said: “Armed gangs 3 The lowest female singing voice 20 Goads one to a feeling of irritation (7) R
I D
M E S M D
E A L T I M E O G
D
L
R
E D
tions still continue to help those physically fit and active and I be- of Naga hostiles have disturbed (9) 22 Devout one distributes presents in the last E R T O S W E A
S U S T A I N AMN E S T Y
who seek their guidance in these lieve that I have still some years public order, peace and tranquil- 4 Abandon plans to cover country month (5)
places. of efficient service before me.” lity in these areas." with brushwood (5) 23 Plunders dry white wines from Spain (5)

Sethusamudram case hearing today
J. Venkatesan
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court on Wednesday ad-
journed to Thursday hearing
on a batch of petitions chal-
lenging the Sethusamudram
Channel Project on the
ground that implementing
the project further would
damage the Ramar Sethu/
Adam’s bridge.
Acting on an application
from Janata Party president
Subramanian Swamy, the
court on August 31, 2007
passed an interim order re-
straining the Centre from
causing any damage to the
Ramar Sethu.
A three-Judge Bench com-
prising Chief Justice K.G. Ba-
lakrishnan, Justice R.V.
Raveendran and Justice J.M.
Panchal agreed to hear the
petitions on Thursday after
Dr. Swamy and counsel for
other petitioners submitted
that though the matter had
been listed for hearing on
Wednesday, there was some
confusion as the order passed
on April 28 mistakenly
showed that the matter would
be heard on May 1.
Appearing for the Centre,
senior counsel Fali Nariman
and Additional Solicitor Gen-
eral R. Mohan submitted that
the application seeking a di-
rection to vacate the interim
order could be taken up first.
Mr. Nariman said that the Au-
gust 31, 2007 order should be
modified and the project be
allowed to go on.
Senior counsel K.K. Ven-
ugopal pointed out that the
petitions had been listed for
final disposal and hence the
entire matter should be taken
up for hearing. This was a
matter of such importance
that it should be heard by a
five-judge Constitution
Bench. He said: “This is a
matter which affects 800 mil-
lion people’s faith. People be-
lieve that the Ramar Sethu is
something which is built by
gods. If the project is allowed
to be continued and the Ra-
mar Sethu is destroyed, the
petitions would become in-
fructuous.”
Dr. Swamy submitted that
the Centre had admitted that
the Ramar Sethu was a place
of worship and it was going to
Help of IIMs, IITs sought to assess rural job scheme
Gargi Parsai Replying to supplementar- and impact assessment of the sessment done.
construct a gallery to enable ies during question hour, programme. We have started To a query, he said the Na-
people to offer worship. He NEW DELHI: The Union govern- Minister for Rural Develop- receiving positive responses,” tional Informatics Centre,
said he had filed two applica- ment has sought the help of ment Raghuvansh Prasad he said. had developed a software for
tions, one to implead Union Indian Institutes of Manage- Singh said the government Asked about the observa- “monthly monitoring” of the
Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu ment and Indian Institutes of had written to these institu- tions of the Comptroller Aud- programme.
and another seeking a direc- Technology to assess the im- tions and Vice-Chancellors of itor-General on the scheme’s The Andhra Pradesh go-
tion to invalidate the project pact of the National Rural universities seeking their “poor” implementation, he vernment had commissioned
and these should be heard. Employment Guarantee cooperation. said there were “teething the Tata Consultancy Service
The CJI said it would be listed Scheme, the Rajya Sabha was “We want them to see rural problems.’’ In fact, it was his to prepare a “transparent”
for Thursday. informed on Wednesday. life and conduct a technical Ministry that got the CAG as- software for the State.
Why the hurry?
Senior counsel Soli Sorab-
jee, Rajeev Dhavan, M.N.
Krishnamani and C.S. Vai-
dyanathan joined Mr. Ven-
ugopal and said the structure
should not be allowed to be
destroyed. If the government
had waited for over 150 years
to implement the project,
there was no great urgency in
taking up the project.

New Navy Vice-Chief

Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Vice-Admiral Ra-
man Prem Suthan on
Wednesday took over as Vice-
Chief of the Naval Staff here.
He replaces Vice-Admiral
Nirmal Verma, who has been
appointed Flag officer Com-
manding-in-Chief of the
Eastern Naval Command.
Vice-Admiral Suthan had
earlier served as Deputy
Chief of the Naval Staff, De-
fence Adviser to the High
Commission in Singapore,
Controller, Personnel, at the
Naval headquarters and
Commanding, Navy’s Eastern
and Southern Command. He
is slated to take over as the
next Chief of the Naval Staff.

CH-CH
 CHENNAI

12 EDITORIAL THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

The man who turned Russia around

Vladimir Radyuhin
Vladimir Putin is the best leader Russia has tanks and missiles. Moscow has consolidat-

R
ussia will have a new President
next week. On May 7, President
ed its hold on oil and gas flows from Central
had in the last 100 years. Some Russian Asia and dictated its terms of the energy
game to Europe. The U.S.-backed attempts

THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

Vladimir Putin will step down after
serving two straight four-year pundits have compared him to Franklin D. by the European Union to talk tough with
one voice to Russia on energy issues have

Roosevelt, who restored the belief of the

terms and his chosen successor, Dmitry fallen flat as European nations, one by one,
Medvedev, who won the presidential elec- negotiated lucrative deals with Moscow to

American nation in its future.

tion overwhelmingly in March, will step in. build new pipelines and to offer Russia as-
Nepal Mr. Putin will keep his hold on power as
Prime Minister. Mr. Medvedev has asked
him to head the government and he has In domestic politics, Mr. Putin pursued showed that 60 per cent of Russians think
sets and technologies in exchange for access
to its oil and gasfields. Mr. Putin’s foreign
policy has been singularly pragmatic. The
and India agreed. All the same, Mr. Putin’s departure
as President marks the end of an era that will
be remembered, above all, as a triumphant
the so-called “managed democracy” — the
Kremlin prefers to call it “sovereign democ-
racy.” To ensure a solid pro-government ma-
the country is moving in the right direction,
while the opposite view is shared by 25 per
cent. Eight years ago, the proportion was
globetrotting President visited 66 countries
and territories on five continents, undertak-
ing more than 190 trips to push the interests

W
hatever the long-term challenges and op-
portunities presented by Nepal’s Constit-
uent Assembly elections, the first problem
Indian policymakers must face is the un-
willingness of key Nepali stakeholders to accept the
reality of the Maoist victory. Sections of the Nepali
Congress leadership, including Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala, are seeking to hold on to power. Such
manoeuvres are the antithesis of the consensual spirit
needed to write the country’s new Constitution. The NC
leadership is clearly being egged on by the United States,
which is committed to preventing the Maoists from
coming to power. The top brass of the Nepal Army and
the soon-to-be-defunct Royal Palace share this undemo-
cratic aim. India, which has invested political capital in
the democratisation process in Nepal, must realise that
any subversion of the people’s mandate will have damag-
ing consequences for both Kathmandu and New Delhi.
The real message from Nepal’s voters was that all the
major parties must work together to ensure socio-politi-
cal stability and create favourable conditions for people-
oriented development. There can be no denying the
Maoists’ democratic right, as the largest party, to lead a
coalition government that includes the Nepali Congress
and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-
Leninist). India needs to align its policy to encourage
and facilitate such an outcome.
New Delhi must also prepare itself for a formal re-
quest from the first government in republican Nepal
that the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship be re-
placed by a more contemporary and even-handed agree-
ment. The truth is that the treaty — some of the features
of which were a legacy of British colonialism — was
concluded between two unequal partners in a world that
no longer exists. Among the provisions that offend na-
tional sensibilities are those giving New Delhi a say in
Kathmandu’s purchase of military equipment from a
third country and granting India ‘first preference’ for
industrial and natural resource projects in Nepal. Such
provisions are clearly inconsistent with the small Hima-
layan nation’s sovereignty and have, in any case, proved
unimplementable. With respect to the advantages Nepal
enjoys under the 1950 treaty, New Delhi will be wise to
follow the ‘Gujral doctrine’ — which states as its first
tenet that “with its neighbours like Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, India does not ask for
reciprocity, but gives and accommodates what it can in
good faith and trust.” In a recent interview to The
Hindu, Maoist chairman Prachanda observed that it was
more or less impossible for Nepal to have stability and
prosperity without increasing the level of its cooper-
ation with India. New Delhi must seize the moment.
Ominous
warning
restoration of Russia’s integrity, economic
power and global clout.
When Mr. Putin took over from Boris
Yeltsin, Russia was teetering on the brink of
chaos and was torn apart by Islamist rebels.
It was described in the West as “the sick
child of Europe” who had little chance of
recovery. Under Mr. Putin, Russia rose like a
phoenix. He reined in Chechen separatists
and eliminated the terrorist threat to the
nation. Today Russia is the eighth largest
economy in the world in Purchasing Power
Parity (PPP), according to the World Bank.
Last year, the Russian economy grew by
more than 8 per cent and foreign investment
surged by a factor of 2.5 to touch $100 billion
— a record growth for any of the 15 leading
national economies. Even as the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund scaled down this
year’s forecast for the global economy, the
Russian government has revised upwards its
estimates for domestic growth. A country
almost bankrupt 10 years ago has amassed
over $500 billion in foreign exchange re-
serves — the third biggest after China and
Japan. Average wages soared from $80 a
month in 2000 to over $640 now.
While high energy prices have spurred ec-
onomic growth, political stability and cred-
ible economic policies have been the
decisive factors behind the country’s trans-
formation from a post-Soviet wasteland to a
thriving market economy and “energy su-
perpower.”
CARTOONSCAPE
jority in Parliament, he imposed tougher
election rules for the Duma, Lower House,
abrogated direct elections to the Federation
Council, Upper House, and discouraged
business tycoons from financing opposition
parties. This might have slowed down Rus-
sia’s evolution as a full-fledged multiparty
system but saved the country from the Yelt-
sin-era crippling conflicts between the exec-
utive and the legislature that eventually
climaxed in an armed showdown in October
1993.
Mr. Putin once said he was not a politician
but a public servant hired by society to do a
job. Yet few political leaders in the world can
match his talent of appealing to different
social groups at the same time. As one sociol-
ogist remarked, “the President can be all
things to all people” and “is a mirror in which
everyone sees a reflection of themselves.”
Mr. Putin’s popularity rate remained above
70 per cent throughout his presidency, even
as his economic policies favoured the rich
more than the poor. Although the poverty
level has come down, the gap in the incomes
of the richest 10 per cent of the population
and the poorest 10 per cent widened from
13.9 times in 2000 to 15.3 times in 2006,
according to official statistics. Experts at the
Russian Academy of Sciences’ Economics
and Mathematics Institute have registered
an even wider gap of 30 times.
For all that, people are confident about the
future. An opinion poll taken last month
reverse. The number of people who have
adjusted to the new capitalist realities stea-
dily increased during Mr. Putin’s presidency,
and exceeds 60 per cent today.
Russia’s transformation in foreign and se-
curity policy has been nothing short of spec-
tacular. After years of humiliation and
retreat, Russia has regained its great power
status and global role. Mr. Putin has put
Russia on an equal footing with the West. His
famous Munich speech in February 2007,
where he blasted the U.S. global policies as a
disaster and proclaimed the unipolar world
dead, underscored Russia’s return to the in-
ternational stage as a leading power. Its in-
ternational standing is probably higher
today than during the best of Soviet times.
One of Mr. Putin’s most impressive
achievements has been the synchronisation
of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy goals.
What Russia is doing internally helps it win
stronger positions in the world, and its for-
eign policy serves to facilitate domestic
growth. Mr. Putin has renationalised much
of the oil industry sold off for peanuts by his
predecessor. Contrary to the advice of do-
mestic and foreign liberals, he refused to
break up Russia’s natural gas monopoly,
Gazprom, which is today one of the most
powerful companies on the planet. State
control over the sector has allowed the Rus-
sian government to turn energy into a po-
werful foreign policy instrument for
influence, more effective than Soviet-era
of Russian investors and open new markets
for Russian exporters. He became the first
Kremlin leader to visit Brazil and Saudi Ara-
bia and first since Stalin to travel to Iran. He
ventured as far afield as North Korea, Chile
and Australia. He went to Malaysia thrice,
India four times and China seven times. Mr.
Putin restored close strategic ties with India
to the Soviet-era level, but he would not let
even his Indian friends take Russia for grant-
ed as they used to at the time of the Soviet
Union. Neither the special nature of strateg-
ic partnership with Moscow nor the multi-
billion purchases of Russian arms helped
New Delhi win any privilege in getting access
to Russian energy resources.
By any measure, Mr. Putin is the best
leader Russia has had in the last 100 years.
Some Russian pundits have even compared
him to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who similarly
restored the belief of the American nation in
its future. This is not to say Mr. Putin’s
presidency has not been marked by setbacks.
An overblown, inefficient and corrupt bu-
reaucracy is one of his biggest failures.
Setbacks
Under Mr. Putin, the bureaucracy has
emerged as the real ruling class. It controls
major companies, lobbies its interests in
Parliament and dictates its will to the judici-
ary. Corruption has increased severalfold
since Mr. Putin came to power and the value
of bribes paid to government officials is offi-
cially estimated to be almost equal to the
Russian state’s annual revenues. Rampant
corruption strangles small and medium
businesses and slows down economic
growth. Bureaucratic omnipotence is the re-
verse side of Mr. Putin’s efforts to streng-
then central government authority, and has
been aggravated by state control of the elec-
tronic media and lack of political competi-
tion.
Another problem is the continuing heavy
dependence of the economy on oil and gas
and other commodities. The growing wind-
fall of energy export revenues has sup-
pressed the will for economic diversification.
Labour productivity remains abysmally low;
in some industries, it amounts to one-twen-
tieth and even one-thirtieth of that in Eu-
rope and the U.S.
However, it is too early to evaluate Mr.
Putin’s legacy. He is certainly capable of
achieving much more. Summing up his eight
years in power, Mr. Putin, in a February
address, made a straightforward and unem-
bellished analysis of the problems that de-
fied solution during his presidency and set
the tasks for his future Cabinet. These in-
clude building a knowledge-based economy,
overcoming the acute demographic crisis,
narrowing the rich-poor gap and creating a
strong middle class that would make up a
majority of the population. Mr. Putin called
for a fourfold increase in labour efficiency
over the next decade and sweeping retooling
of industry on the basis of new technologies.
The ultimate goal of his plan is to turn Russia
by 2020 into “the most attractive country to
live in.” This is a tall order, but then the tasks

A
chilling sequence in which Afghanistan Presi- Mr. Putin has successfully accomplished
dent Hamid Karzai narrowly escaped assassi- over the past eight years have been no less
nation underscores the heightened daunting.
vulnerability of the regime in Kabul, under
perpetual threat from Taliban terrorists. Two people
were killed in the April 27 attack on a parade at which
President Hamid Karzai was taking the salute. They
were sitting in the reviewing stand just behind Mr.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full
postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Karzai. A 10-year old child who was caught in the ensu-
ing cross-fire died too. Significantly, the attack was
launched from a hotel nearby, a mere 500 metres from
the dais. It is clear that the assailants could not have
infiltrated within rifle range of the reviewing stand with-
out the assistance of elements of the security services.
The attack has proved that the Taliban, which claimed
responsibility, still has teeth. But Mr. Karzai who has
survived four assassination attempts should not make
the mistake of reverting to the policy of relying solely on
military force to defeat the Islamist radicals. Other ini-
tiatives that have been recently launched, such as the
drive to strengthen local governance or the offer of
amnesty to Talibs who give up arms, show promise and
should be persisted with. As Mr. Karzai himself observ-
ed in a recent interview, the imprecise aerial bombard-
ments carried out by the United States forces have
actually driven disgruntled Afghans into the Taliban’s
embrace.
Notwithstanding the lame-duck status of the Bush
presidency, U.S. officials have not shaken off their com-
mander-in-chief’s rigid and intractable approach to in-
ternational issues. The next administration at least
should acknowledge that the Taliban are Afghans and
not foreign fighters who operate under the rubric of the
closely aligned Al Qaeda. A distinction has to be made
between the local insurgents and non-Afghan militants,
who form the recruitment base for suicide attacks in
other parts of the world. While these Al Qaeda recruits
must be targeted by the international community for
their criminal terrorist acts, the local insurgents on
either side of the Durand Line need to be drawn into the
mainstream even as they are constantly kept on notice
that backsliding will invite dire consequences. The new-
ly formed governments in Pakistan, at the centre as well
the North West Frontier Province, have embarked on
such a course and appear to be meeting with early
success. A militant leader in South Waziristan, Baitullah
Mehsud, has reportedly ordered his men to cease fight-
ing. Mr. Karzai will not be encouraged by Washington’s
response to the Pakistani initiative. The U.S., as mis-
guided as it has always been for the past eight years, has
greeted Islamabad’s well-reasoned policy with derision.
Significant
Iran President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad’s visit to India will
boost the relations between the
two countries. With the proposed
Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline
set to be given a final shape, things
are looking up for both countries.
The U.S., I hope, would have got the
message that as a democratic
country, we follow an independent
foreign policy. It should give up the
illusion that the proposed India-
U.S. nuclear deal will allow it to
have a say in our foreign policy. If
Washington still insists on
dictating terms, New Delhi would
do well to scrap the deal.
Bishal Das,
New Delhi
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s visit, first by an
Iranian head of state in five years,
was welcome. By not giving in to
Washington’s pressure that it
should not go ahead with the IPI
pipeline, New Delhi has asserted
its sovereignty.
Naveen Marrapu,
Hyderabad
One hopes the brief visit by the
Iranian President will help to tide
over the low that has marked the
relations between Tehran and New
Delhi in the last couple of years.
The IPI gas pipeline is of great stra-
tegic importance to India’s energy
security. The pending issues re-
garding implementation of the
project need to be sorted out at the
earliest in our interest.
Salin Thomas,
Kottayam
Judicial activism
This refers to the article “Judicial
activism: a perspective” (April 30).
As the custodian of the
Constitution, the judiciary is
vested with the power to declare a
law, provision, order, or decree null
and void if it is found to be against
the provisions of the Constitution.
It can issue directions for proper
implementation of schemes or
policies to uphold the welfare of
the people.
Unfortunately, the executive and
the legislature see the exercise of
such powers by the judiciary as an
encroachment into their domain,
especially when it upsets the
calculations of political leaders.
Today, myriad victims have access
to justice, however slow and
cumbersome, thanks to public
interest litigation petitions — a
situation unimaginable a few
decades ago. Judicial activism,
apart from redressing the
grievances of the aggrieved, has
contributed enormously to the
maturity of the Indian polity.
B. Jayanna Krupakar,
Surathkal
Indeed, many PILs have helped
laymen whose knowledge of jud-
icial functioning is next to nothing.
The common man is helpless in the
face of executive indifference in
matters concerning his rights,
which are at times overridden to
accommodate vested interests.
Prasad Malladi,
Nidadavole
When the legislature and the exec-
utive fail to meet their constitu-
tional obligations, the higher
judiciary has to perform their func-
tions. Though the judiciary has its
own drawbacks, including delays in
pronouncing verdicts, the common
man has no option but to approach
it when his rights are infringed. It is
not judicial activism but constitu-
tional mandate that has forced the
judiciary to interfere in the affairs
of the legislature and the executive.
Jetling Yellosa,
Nizamabad
The judiciary’s interference in leg-
islative and executive matters has
only led to positive developments.
In cases involving issues of health,
environment, corruption, and vio-
lation of human rights, the judici-
ary has delivered laudable verdicts.
Most of them have been in the form
of directives to the authorities to
perform their duties, which they
did not.
Thus the judiciary has never really
encroached upon the legislative or
executive domain. Judicial activ-
ism is indispensable in our country
where government functioning is
marked by apathy and
ineffectiveness.
Anupama Yadav,
Ghaziabad
IHF suspension
The editorial “Well deserved
suspension” (April 30) has
unambiguously summarised the
reasons for the decline of hockey in
the last three decades under the
stewardship of K.P.S. Gill. The
honourable way out for Mr. Gill
would have been to tender his
resignation as IHF president when
the Indian team failed to qualify for
the Olympics at Santiago.
Again, instead of taking moral
responsibility for the
Jothikumaran episode, he decided
to stick to his guns. The rot on the
ground stems from the rot at the
top. Under the circumstances, the
suspension of the IHF is a welcome
relief.
The Indian Olympic Association’s
decision to form an ad hoc
committee to run the affairs of the
game, it is hoped, will put Indian
hockey back on the world map.
Capt. T. Raju (retd.),
Secunderabad
Following the sting operation
showing the former IHF secretary
accepting money on camera for al-
legedly including a player in the
national team, the IOA has done
what it ought to have done after the
Chile debacle. It has also done well
to start from scratch by appointing
an ad hoc committee to run the
show.
While bringing a total turnaround
in the sagging fortunes of Indian
hockey is not going to be easy, we
can at least expect a sincere effort
in that direction from those at the
helm. Never have the results of a
sting operation been so sweet.
Suresh Manoharan,
Hyderabad
Mr. Gill sat like Nero while the
hockey empire he headed burnt
like Rome around him. Our hockey
team failed to qualify for the Olym-
pics for the first time in 80 years
when he was the top administrator
of the game. He did not wake up
even when his secretary was shown
accepting money on camera.
Anyone in his place would have re-
signed on his own after the sting
operation owning moral responsi-
bility, but not Mr. Gill.
Worse, he tried to defend the in-
defensible. With pressure from the
International Hockey Federation
mounting, the IOA had no option
but to disband the IHF and send
Mr. Gill and his coterie packing.
One hopes the ad hoc panel which
will run the affairs of the game will
be professional. Hockey has reac-
hed its nadir and it should be man-
aged by men who are truly in love
with the game, not by retired
bureaucrats.
J. Akshay,
Secunderabad
The article “IOA should steer clear
of further controversies” (April 30)
has rightly pointed out that the
IOA should not delay the return of
democracy to IHF. Each sport
must possess a parent body of its
own. Ardent sports lovers will be
happy if the IOA does not take ad-
vantage of the situation in which
hockey is today. It is certainly not
difficult to find a dedicated set of
persons to run the affairs of the
game.
P.R. Viswanathan,
Bangalore
On cheerleading
Cheerleading has elicited positive
and negative opinions in equal
measure but the realities
connected with the issue have been
overlooked. Belly-shaking by a few
girls cannot be considered an
assault on morality and certainly
not an affront to Indian culture.
The issue is: why should a noble
game like cricket be associated
with bands of beauties for its
promotion, survival and existence?
Will huge crowds throng our
stadiums to watch cricket only if it
is accompanied by hip-swinging?
Cheerleading by itself is not a sin.
Bal Thackeray who once
threatened to invade the pitches if
the Pakistan team played here has
stopped with a mild condemnation
of cheerleaders. Maybe, he is
convinced that he and his party
stand no chance of beating the
corporate might.
T.S. Pattabhi Raman,
Coimbatore
Cricket has a huge following in our
country and as such there is no
need to import cheerleaders to en-
thuse the players.
The argument that film stars wear
skimpier dresses in movies is no
justification for the attire of the
cheerleaders. It is long since mo-
vies ceased to be yardsticks for so-
cial norms.
Seshagiri Row Karry,
Hyderabad
CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 OP-ED 13

First victims of climate

change will be children
The tragic consequences of climate change
for the world’s poorest children are
laid bare in a report.
David Puttnam
children and their communities to
100 days to Beijing Olympics
With the Olympic torch making its way to Chinese soil, the mood in the country is
upbeat. But the organisers still have some concerns, including those relating to the
pollution in Beijing, to tackle.
Pallavi Aiyar

T
adapt to climate change, but more is

I t seems every day brings news of

another “natural disaster”. If a
year helping to pilot the U.K.’s cli-
mate change bill through the West-
minster parliament has taught me
one thing, however, it is that there is
very little “natural” about the disas-
ters hitting children around the
world. As the findings of the Intergo-
vernmental Panel on Climate Change
make plain, floods, droughts and oth-
er disasters link directly to climate
change, with others bearing the di-
rect consequences of our carbon-rich
lifestyle of the past 150 years. One can
all too easily grow weary of the bad
news and constant pleas for help, to
the point of wondering why ‘‘some-
one’’ can’t just sort it all out.
The tragic consequences of climate
change for the world’s poorest chil-
dren are laid bare in a report this
week - 10 years after the Kyoto proto-
col was signed — by Unicef U.K.: Our
Climate, Our Children, Our Respon-
sibility. Children, especially in Africa
and Asia, face a future in which disas-
ters, conflict and disease will be ever
more frequent and severe. Clean wa-
ter will become harder to access and
incomes will fall, leading inexorably
to increased child poverty, inequality
and death. Climate change could in-
crease child deaths in sub-Saharan
Africa and south Asia by as many as
160,000 a year.
But the bad news is coming closer
to home. In Britain last summer we
had unprecedented flooding, while as
recently as 2003 a heatwave claimed
thousands of lives; all of the latest
data from the U.K. Climate Impacts
Programme confirms that we can on-
ly expect more of the same. So we
need to sort this out, not just for our-
selves but for others who are even
less fortunate. That’s what the U.K.’s
climate change bill is all about. We
need to put strong mitigation mea-
sures in place and continue with a
well researched and resourced adap-
tation programme. In Britain we al-
ready possess the knowledge, skills
and ability to do this — but it needs to
be matched with strong political will
and an appropriate speed of
response.
But among the first to pay the price
for climate change will be the world’s
children. Lack of water, lack of food,
increased disease, less education, less
protection and reduced life chances
— all of which will afflict them for the
rest of their lives — lead inexorably to
one lost generation after another, as
no-go areas spring up around the
globe. Is that what we really want?
Unicef is already working with
Are germs good for you?
“Being out in the dirt is probably not too bad a thing.”
Patrick Barkham
required — and urgently. Work to
help communities prepare for disas-
ters will need to scale up as they be-
come more frequent and severe.
Work to address diminishing water
supplies will have to be intensified as
water becomes ever more scarce.
Programmes to prevent and treat ma-
laria will need to expand and
improve.
Health and education initiatives
for children displaced by food shor-
tages, storms and other disasters will
need to be developed to deal with
previously unimagined levels of
threat.
This is not just about more devel-
opment. It’s about doing develop-
ment differently. It means planning
for climate change, rather than just
responding to it: connecting with
children, and empowering them to
act before an emergency. Children
have to become agents of change, not
simply helpless victims - after all, this
is about their future and they deserve
a platform from which to learn and
speak out.
The impact of climate change on
young people was not on the agenda
10 years ago in Kyoto — nor were
their voices heard. The British go-
vernment should work quickly to en-
sure that the implications of climate
change for children are firmly on the
agenda at the U.N. Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change meeting
in Copenhagen at the end of next
year, and that children’s voices are
heard and listened to.
Over time we will all need to adapt
to climate change - but while for
many of us that might mean a heavier
raincoat, a new sweater, or lowering
the central heating by a notch, for the
world’s children this requires a much
bigger response to ensure the contin-
uation of their lives and their
livelihoods.
From the government to the pri-
vate sector to individuals, all must
take action to boost the 2050 U.K.
emissions reduction target from 60
per cent to at least 80 per cent, and to
include the U.K.’s share of emissions
from international aviation and ship-
ping within the targets. Even that
crucial commitment is not enough.
While we reduce our emissions, every
one of us also needs to start to con-
tribute to the costs that others al-
ready face in adapting to climate
change. — © Guardian Newspapers
Limited, 2008
(Lord Puttnam is a film producer,
president of Unicef U.K., and chair-
man of the climate change bill’s joint
parliamentary committee.)
ogy and allergy at the Cardiff School
of Health Sciences, explains that our
housands of Chinese people
flocked to Tiananmen Square
on Wednesday to have their
photographs taken in front of a
giant clock that counts down the days
and hours to the Olympic Games that
Beijing will play host to in August. The
number next to the “days” label on the
clock had turned to 100.
Revellers also thronged the Forbidden
City, to the north of Tiananmen, its red
lacquer pillars and gilt awnings glinting
in an Olympic-ready state. Large parts of
the Chinese capital have in fact under-
gone a facelift, at a cost of $40 billion. A
slew of iconic structures, such as the
“Bird’s Nest” National Stadium and the
Norman Foster-designed airport termi-
nal, have come up.
The mood
But, for a city that has been on Olym-
pic time ever since it won, back in 2001,
the bid to host the Games, the mood
seemed to be more subdued than might
have been expected. The events follow-
ing the disorder in Tibet in March, in-
cluding the repeated attempts on the
Olympic torch during its international
leg, have left a bitter taste in the mouth
for many Chinese. Moreover, the foreign
media’s portrayal of the events has been
widely perceived as biased. This has
fuelled a strong wave of nationalism in
the country.
Millions of Chinese have signed online
petitions against Western media outlets,
demanding apologies for the “lack of ob-
jectivity” in their reporting. Boycott calls
against certain foreign products and
businesses have also been made.
Jack Wu, a 20-year-old student from
Shanxi Financial University who had
made his way to Tiananmen Square on
Wednesday, said the Western media had
“spoilt the mood of the Olympics.” But
he was nonetheless confident that the
Games would unveil a “new” China to
the world. “The world will see every Chi-
nese person’s desire to be No. 1,” he said.
Hu Jin Chun, a 43-year-old historian,
chipped in. “For the last 100 years China
has only been a big country in Asia.
Through the games we will become a big
country in the world.”
The 100-day countdown was celebrat-
ed in the capital with a series of events
including a marathon race around the
Olympic Green and a song competition
featuring celebrities including Jackie
Chan. In the meantime, the Olympic
torch arrived in Hong Kong, signalling
the start of the domestic leg of the relay.
With the torch safely back on Chinese
territory and talks between Beijing and SOUVENIR: Tourists posing in front of the Beijing Olympics countdown clock on Wednesday. — PHOTO: AFP
the Dalai Lama’s envoys on the cards,
there are some signs that the worst of traffic-snarled streets continue to give addressed in time for the Olympics. as a potentially violent disruption from
what International Olympic Committee pose before municipal planners some Plans have been announced to keep pro-Tibet protesters. Li Ling, a 40-year-
president Jacques Rogge called the “cri- worries. Ethiopian athlete and world some 1.3 million cars, almost half the old photographer, who spent Wednes-
sis” facing this year’s Games, may be record holder Haile Gebreselassie an- city’s total, off the road during the day afternoon taking shots of the carni-
coming to an end.
However, with only 100 days left for
nounced earlier in the year that he won’t
run the marathon event because of the
Games. Construction work will be halted
and factories kept closed to ensure bet-
val-like scenes at Tiananmen, is
however, confident. “Nothing will spoil
the opening ceremony, Beijing contin- possible risk to his health from pollu- ter air quality. the event,” she says.
ues to face certain challenges. Chief tion. The possibility of terrorist attacks is “The greater the challenges the more
amongst these will be the manner in The IOC itself has said the air quality also a contingency that the city is prepar- we are determined to put on a good
which any public disorder are dealt with may put endurance athletes at risk. ing for. Last Friday, Interpol warned that show. The Olympics will show the world
during the period of the event. The organisers of the Beijing Games China must be prepared for a possible how powerful and influential our coun-

T wo new pieces of research sug-

gest they may be. Children are
less likely to become sensitive to al-
immune response has taken millions
of years to develop, so rapid changes -
notably, the proliferation of allergies
In addition, Beijing’s polluted air and have said all these concerns would be Al-Qaeda attack on the Olympics, as well try has become.”

Meals for the poor are in peril here

lergens if they have a dog in the home, - cannot be genetic.
according to German scientists, while Immune systems have been trans-
an American study found that regular formed by modern life. Young chil-
social interaction reduced children’s dren tend not to play outside or in
risk of leukaemia by about 30 per extended families. This limits their
cent.
These findings seem to chime with
exposure to bacteria, viruses and par-
asites, and prevents them developing Rice is plentiful in Cambodia. But it is becoming less and less affordable for those who grow it.
popular perceptions of “cotton wool an immune response.
kids” and the belief that our increas- Our homes have also changed: Thomas Fuller children in this village are unlikely to attentive, tardiness is no longer a prob- affordable for the people who grow it. A
ingly sterile, urban and risk-averse asthma may be triggered because starve. But some may miss out on educa- lem (breakfast is served at 6.30 a.m., be- 2006 survey, well before the spike in
society paradoxically creates new
dangers for our children.
The causes of leukaemia are com-
central heating reduces air quality in
our hermetically sealed homes, while
soft furnishings have caused the pro-
T he Sun Sun primary school, two low-
slung ocher-yellow buildings and a
wooden shack, is surrounded by acres of
tion.
“Most of the students come to school
for the breakfast,” said Taoch Champa, a
fore classes begin) and attendance by
girls, who for years had been kept home
by their parents, has increased sharply.
food prices, found that 22 percent of
Cambodians in rural areas could not
meet their own basic food needs.
plex, and most childhood leukaemias liferation of dust mites. So get fresh rice paddies that recently yielded what 31-year-old teacher. Mr. Yim said he knew what would hap- The most productive agricultural land
begin with a genetic mutation, so the air in your home and let your children farmers say is the best harvest in memo- The suspension of the breakfast pro- pen when the free food disappeared: in Cambodia is near the borders with
U.S. study is far from conclusive. But play outside — and mix with other ry. But that has not shielded schoolchil- gramme illustrates one of the many ways “Poor students will not come to school.” Thailand and Vietnam, and much of
there’s an established hypothesis kids. dren here from the effects of the global that the global food crisis, in which the When the breakfast programme was what is harvested there is exported at
that if an immune system is not chal- “No one is suggesting you deliber- food crisis. price of grain has soared in recent interrupted in January 2007 because of world-market prices. But the soil in
lenged early (our immune responses ately expose your children to disease- A countdown has begun among ad- months, is hurting the world’s poorest budget problems, attendance fell by 10 Kampong Speu province is sandy and
develop from birth to about age 12), it forming organisms,” says Jones, “but ministrators at the school and at 1,343 and most vulnerable people. Only desti- per cent, Mr. Yim said. parched, yielding less than 1 ton a hec-
can increase the risk of developing being out in the dirt is probably not other schools across Cambodia: In 30 tute schools were selected to take part in Menh Veasal, a 14-year-old at the top tare, or 2.5 acres, half the national aver-
allergies and illnesses. too bad a thing.” — © Guardian New- days or less the schools’ rice stocks will the programme. Pray Viev is one of the of his class, skipped school to collect age. Farmers typically have plots that are
Ken Jones, professor of immunol- spapers Limited, 2008 run out and a popular free breakfast pro- poorest villages in Cambodia’s most im- frogs and crabs from a nearby river, his too small to feed their families.
gramme will be suspended indefinitely poverished province, Kampong Speu. contribution to meals with his parents Thomas Keusters, the World Food
because of soaring food prices. and seven siblings. Sim Sreywat, 12, was Programme’s director in Cambodia, said
Magnet for students
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS Short of cash, the World Food Pro-
gramme, the U.N. agency that feeds the
world’s poorest people, can no longer
ordered by her mother to trek to nearby
When the free breakfast was intro- mountains where she harvested tama-
duced here eight years ago by the World rind buds and bamboo shoots.
he did not know whether the school
feeding programme would restart. “Not
before the next school year, October
supply 450,000 Cambodian children Food Programme, it was an instant hit. The imminent depletion of rice sup- 2008, at best,” he said.
>>The second paragraph in a report “Bees attack students, teachers” (Tamil with a daily breakfast of domestically “Students brought their brothers and plies is particularly paradoxical for chil- Worldwide, the agency has begun an
Nadu, April 30, 2008, page 11) was “As hundreds of honey bees descended on grown rice supplemented by yellow split sisters, 2, 3 and 4 years old,” said Yim dren who each day walk or ride their appeal for an additional $500 million to
them, teachers were forced to leave their classrooms running for cover. The peas from the United States and tuna Soeurn, the principal at Sun Sun. “It was bicycles to school through miles of neat- cover the increase in food prices. In
avian attack lasted for 20 minutes, leaving two children in hospital and 20 from Thailand. very hard to control.” ly delineated rice paddies. Cambodia, the price of rice is now above
others needing medical attention from the nearby Primary Health Centre.” It In a country where a recurrent paucity Breakfast has been a magnet for stu- Rice is plentiful in Cambodia, which $700 a ton, more than double the $295 a
should have been “apian attack”. Avian relates to birds. of food has taught Cambodians to sur- dents ever since, as well as the teachers’ has been a net exporter for the past dec- ton that the agency budgeted for this
vive on a bare minimum of nutrition, best friend. Well-fed students are more ade. But rice is becoming less and less year. — New York Times News Service
>>Yesterday, we had said that “A sentence in the eighth paragraph of an article
‘Wise leadership in times of inflation’ (Editorial page, April 23, 2008) was ‘…
From a moderate four per cent rate in January, inflation jumped to a trouble-
some 7.41 per cent by the end of January’, and that it should have been ‘… a
troublesome 7.41 per cent by the end of April’.”
It should have been ‘… a troublesome 7.41 per cent by the end of March! (The
Is brain training really best way to boost IQ?
data released by the Government is: week ending March 15 – 6.68%, March 22 Emine Saner Newspapers print brain-training puz- Braithwaite says that the idea that you those who had been trained performed
– 7%, March 29 – 7.41%, April 5 – 7.14%, April 12 – 7.33%.) zles, you can get games on your mobile can reduce your brain’s age is “ridicu- better than those who hadn’t.

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. A ccording to her TV advert, after
playing Brain Training on the Nin-
tendo DS, Nicole Kidman, 39, has a brain
Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page.
The Readers’ Editor’s office can be contacted by age to match her strangely smooth-
skinned face age: 24. The game on the
Telephone: +91-44-28418297 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday);
handheld console, which includes mem-
E-mail: readerseditor@thehindu.co.in ory and reaction time tests, was devel-
Mail: Readers’ Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, oped by the Japanese neuroscientist
859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India. Ryuta Kawashima and has sold 10 mil-
All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone lion copies worldwide, spawning a craze
number. for “brain training” that the New York
No personal visits. Times estimated was worth more than
The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com $80m in the U.S. alone last year.
phone and computer, and there are a
number of books. Though they make
vague claims to boost brainpower, they
are not regulated or subject to clinical
trials.
So do they work? “There is no evi-
dence these tests do anything to improve
cognition,” says Jason Braithwaite, a
cognitive and neuro-psychologist at the
University of Birmingham. “They are no
more worthwhile than playing chess or
doing a sudoku puzzle or crossword. It
won’t turn you into a superbrain.” Mr.
lous. With these tests, you are improving
your practice at very specific things
[such as short-term memory or reaction
times], but that doesn’t necessarily
mean it gives you a general cognitive
benefit.”
However, according to a new Amer-
ican study, computer-based brain train-
ing can improve IQ beyond becoming
better at practised tasks. Half of the 70
volunteers were trained in tests that
measured memory and reaction time.
When tested on unrelated problems,
“There needs to be a large clinical trial
on brain training,’ says Clive Ballard, di-
rector of research for the Alzheimer’s
society. “These games are being market-
ed widely, but people could be wasting
time and it raises false hope.” It is likely
that many people buy these gadgets in
the hope it will stave off Alzheimer’s. Mr.
Ballard says that there is “much better
evidence to say that [to reduce the risk]
you’d be better off doing physical exer-
cise than brain training.” — © Guardian
Newspapers Limited, 2008
CH-CH
 CHENNAI

14 NEWS THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

‘Impropriety’
of PMO not
explained: BJP
“Manmohan should say what is There is enough
food stock, says
being done to check prices”
Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Reacting to Petro-

leum and Natural Gas Minis-
ter Murli Deora’s statement
in the Rajya Sabha on the T.R.
Baalu issue, BJP spokesman
Ravi Shankar Prasad insisted
that it was a matter of “con-
flict of interest” and the “po-
litical impropriety on the part
of the Prime Minister’s Office
remained unexplained.”
The allegation against
Shipping Minister Baalu was
that he had sought favours
from the Petroleum Ministry
and the PMO for a company
in which his family has busi-
ness interests.
The Congress said an “in-
depth clarification was given”
and the “controversy should
now rest.” AICC general sec-
retary Tom Vadakan pointed
out, as was stated in Mr. Deo-
ra’s statement on Wednes-
day, that the matter was “sub
judice.” It would be wrong to
say anything more on the
issue.
CPI national secretary D.
Raja faulted the BJP for not
listening to Mr. Deora and
not allowing others to hear
him. “Being the principal Op-
position, the BJP should have
been more reasonable and
heard out the Minister. This
would have given MPs an op-
portunity to question him
closely.”
As for the BJP’s insistence
that the Prime Minister
should have responded to the
issue, Mr. Raja said “the go-
vernment was a collective
body.”
The BJP asked: If the
Prime Minister did not com-
Sound management of the economy is a core responsibility of Centre: Advani “Highest priority to agriculture”
P. K. Bhardwaj
NEW DELHI: L. K. Advani, Lead-
er of the Opposition in the
Lok Sabha, on Wednesday
asked Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh to tell the na-
tion what his government
was doing to bring down the
prices of essential
commodities.
“Apart from telling the in-
dustry what it should do and
what the Opposition should
do, I wish he had also told the
nation what his government
is doing to bring the prices of
essential commodities
down,” Mr. Advani said while
addressing the valedictory
session of the annual confe-
rence of the industry body,
the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII).
“People want results”
Commenting on the obser-
vations made at the CII meet
on Tuesday by the Prime
Minister seeking political
consensus and help from the
industry to fight inflation, he
said: “….. people want to see
results on the ground. After
all, sound management of the
economy is a core responsi-
bility of the Central govern-
ment.”
Dr. Singh had said: “For go-
his son, and if the Prime
Minister chooses not to
make a statement on the is-
sue in Parliament, it is my
understanding that neither
the Minister nor the Prime
Minister is following a na-
tionally accepted norm of go-
vernance in a parliamentary
democracy,” he said.
In this context, he cited
the instance of the Mundhra
scandal exposed by Feroze
Gandhi, then Congress MP,
in the 1950s which led to exit
of a member of the Union
Cabinet following a judicial
probe by Justice M. C. Cha-
gla.
The public hearings con-
ducted by Justice Chagla re-
STRESS ON PROBITY: Leader of the Opposition in main an unsurpassed case of
the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani with CPI(M) Polit enforcement of probity in
Bureau member and MP Sitaram Yechury at the public life, Mr. Advani said,
reminding Dr. Singh of two
CII national conference in New Delhi on points that Justice Chagla
Wednesday. — PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY made in his report, “both of
which have been scornfully
vernment to be more pro- However, the nation would ignored by the UPA govern-
ductive, more creative and also have liked to know from ment.”
more effective, we would Dr. Singh what “nationally The first point was: “In a
need greater political con- accepted norms of gover- parliamentary form of go-
sensus and some nationally nance” the government was vernment, Parliament should
accepted norms of gover- following on certain crucial be taken into confidence at
nance in our Parliamentary issues. the earliest stage to avoid
system.” “If a Minister thinks that it embarrassment from other
Mr. Advani said there was is a part of his duty to seek sources of information.”
nothing wrong in what the favours from another minis- The second was: “The in-
Prime Minister had stated. try for businesses owned by quiry has been an education
for the public. It should also
act as a corrective to admin-
istrators all over the country,
because in future they will
act with the consciousness
that their actions may be
subjected to public scrutiny.”
“Most corrupt”
The BJP leader said that
Dr. Singh’s personal integrity
was beyond doubt.
“However, it is now equal-
ly beyond doubt that he is
neither able nor trying to
enforce probity in his go-
vernment. In dealing with
corruption in his govern-
ment — and it is now com-
mon knowledge that the UPA
government is by far the
most corrupt in India’s histo-
ry — he is exhibiting the
same helplessness that he
earlier did in acting against
crime-tainted Ministers.”
Terming corruption as a
foe of pro-poor growth, he
said that it was one of the
biggest obstacles to inclusive
and sustainable growth.
“Indeed, corruption in go-
vernance, especially corrup-
tion in high places, results in
malignant growth. It leads to
moral degradation of politics
and society, which cannot be
measured in quantifiable
terms.”
Chidambaram
Sandeep Joshi
NEW DELHI: Union Finance
Minister P. Chidambaram on
Wednesday said the country
had enough stocks of food-
grains, thanks to a dramatic
improvement in procure-
ment. The government’s
highest priority was the agri-
culture sector and it would
take all measures, including
increasing fertilizer subsidy,
to help farmers.
The Minister was replying
to a Rajya Sabha debate on
the Finance Bill, which was
returned, completing the
budget process for 2008-09.
“The Centre’s good pro-
curement policies have led to
buffer stocks. We have
enough foodgrains. We are al-
so providing enough food-
grains to the States to meet
their demands. For the Unit-
ed Progressive Alliance go-
vernment, agriculture has
been the highest priority.
This and the last budget are
being described as the ‘green
budgets’.”
Refuting the Opposition’s
charges that there was a “fer-
tilizer famine,” Mr. Chidam-
baram said that on the
contrary, there were enough
stocks. The government was
ready to bear even a higher
subsidy bill on fertilizers to
help farmers.”
Good procurement
policies led to
buffer stocks
Worst kind of food
inflation, fertilizer
famine: Jaswant
ods. After its withdrawal, al-
ternative methods to catch
people with unaccounted
money would be provided by
the new money laundering
law.
Agreeing with N.K. Singh of
the Janata Dal (United) that
the budget was “slightly ex-
pansionary,” Mr. Chidamba-
ram said it might fuel
inflation, but was necessary
to keep the growth momen-
tum growing.
“We want to grow at 9-10
per cent. The growth may not
be as high as last year, but still
it would be between 8 and 9
per cent. Our ambition is to
become the world’s fastest
growing economy and not the
second fastest growing.”
Jaswant’s charge
Earlier initiating the dis-
cussion, Leader of the Oppo-
sition Jaswant Singh (BJP)
charged the government with
an unbudgeted fiscal over-
hang of Rs. 3,00,000 crore
combined with the “worst

Chauhan stages fast against ‘neglect’

mit any impropriety and if
the PMO routinely forwarded
some letters received by his
office, did he do so for other
companies also?
Senior Congress Ministers
privately said not a cubic inch
of gas was given to the compa-
ny, in which Mr. Baalu’s fam-
ily has business interests. So
where was the question of po-
litical impropriety? The mat-
ter was in court.
It was the NDA which
should explain why an allot-
ment had been cancelled and
whether the cancellation was
the result of political vendet-
ta as alleged by Mr. Baalu, the
Ministers asked.
PM to media:
don’t stop with
the here & now
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on
Wednesday said the media
would cease to play the fourth
estate if they confined them-
selves to “the here and now.”
The media could claim to
be the fourth estate only
when they took a larger view
of daily events, shaped public
opinion constructively and
recorded history even as it
was being made.
Dr. Singh was addressing a
function organised here to re-
lease ‘The Tribune 125 Years:
An Anthology’. A combina-
tion of providing news, shap-
ing views and guiding society
was what gave the media a
special status, he said.
Says Centre silent on demand to tackle power crisis, drought and grain shortage in Madhya Pradesh
Lalit Shastri
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chauhan sat on a 24-hour fast
at the busy Roshanpura
Square here on Wednesday to
protest against the “apathy of
and deliberate inaction by”
the Centre on the State go-
vernment’s demand to tackle
the “grim power situation, se-
vere drought and shortage of
foodgrains.”
Members of the State Cabi-
net joined the protest by sit-
ting on a fast at various
district headquarters across
the State. Mr. Chauhan had
earlier written to Prime Min-
ister Manmohan Singh with
an ultimatum that he would
be forced to sit on a fast if the
Centre failed to address the
issues confronting the State.
Talking to The Hindu at the
venue of his “fast,” Mr. Chau-
han said he met the Prime
Minister and Central Minis-
ters several times, but the
Centre was deliberately ne-
glecting the interests of the
people of Madhya Pradesh. “I
might be an adversary, but it
is unfortunate that they have
decided to settle scores with
me by working against the in-
terests of the people of Mad-
hya Pradesh.”
Electricity crisis had wors-
ened in the State after supply
from the eastern grid was re-
Referring to the commod-
ity transaction tax (CTT), the
Minister said it was the mir-
ror image of the securities
transaction tax (STT) im-
posed on the stock markets,
which met with similar resis-
tance. Sooner or later, the
CTT would also be accepted.
Mr. Chidambaram assured
the House that the banking
transaction tax (BTT) would
be withdrawn by year-end. It
was introduced for detecting
unaccounted money in the
absence of alternative meth-
Patil: CBI will probe
where required
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: If local investiga-
tions require that in situa-
tions where one section of the
people tried to create “bad
blood” against another in the
name of religion or ideology,
the matter will be handed
over to the CBI, Home Minis-
ter Shivraj Patil assured the
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on a fast with BJP workers in Bhopal on He was replying to a ques-
Wednesday. (Right) Shivraj Singh’s wife Sadhna Singh sings bhajans with party Mahila Morcha workers tion hour supplementary by
at the venue. — PHOTO: A.M. FARUQUI Brinda Karat (CPI-M), who
wanted to know whether the
duced from 350 MW to 31 nance front. The allotment of to proposals to tackle the se- his programme was government would club the
MW. Bharat Heavy Electri- coal for different power gen- vere drought in large parts of cancelled. January 24 bomb blasts at a
cals Limited had been told to eration units had also been the State. It even failed to act Due to the prevailing bus stand and outside the RSS
go slow on the Chachai- reduced by the Centre, he on the advice of the Central drought situation, the State office in Tenkasi in Tamil Na-
Amarkantak and Birsinghpur added. teams that were here to study had asked the Centre to allo- du with the one in Nanded
power projects. Even after the drought situation. Union cate 1.19 lakh tonnes of food- that occurred in 2006 and
completion of work, the Bir- Pawar’s visit cancelled Minister for Agriculture Sha- grains every month for hand over the cases to the
singhpur unit was facing Mr. Chauhan said the Cen- rad Pawar was scheduled to distribution to the Above CBI.
problems on the mainte- tre was not paying attention visit the State on April 4, but Poverty Line families. Charging the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party with showing “se-
lective concern about
kind of food inflation” and
fertilizer famine.
Advising the Finance Min-
ister to “leave” rather than be
“sent out,” the BJP leader
said the unbudgeted expenses
including the Sixth Pay Com-
mission burden, the farm loan
waiver scheme, the food and
fertilizer subsidy and oil
bonds could destroy the
country’s economy and lead
to the worst kind of inflation
that could hit a country. He
urged the government to have
fewer tax controls.
quently arrested and some
material was recovered from
them. The matter was under
investigation by the State
government.
Ms. Karat sought to know
whether the Centre would
take it as a “solitary incident”
or relate it to the blasts in
Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh and order a CBI
probe.
The Minister said that in
one case in Nanded, some
Bajrang Dal men were said to
be involved and the investiga-
tion was handed over to the
anti-terrorist squad. Later
the matter was entrusted to
the CBI. The reports of the
anti-terrorist squad and the
CBI were identical. “Unfortu-
nately it is a reality that there
are people trying to create
bad blood among various sec-
tions,” he said.
There was a fresh round of

Anbumani
asked to clarify
statement
NEW DELHI: Some members in
the Rajya Sabha on Wednes-
day demanded a privilege mo-
tion against Health Minister
Anbumani Ramadoss for his
statement that transmission
of polio virus was taking place
because of migration of peo-
ple from Bihar and U.P.
Raising the matter during
zero hour, Virendra Bhatia
(SP) said the statement had
come as a shock, as people
from north India were al-
ready being targeted in Mah-
arashtra and some other
parts of the country.
He said the Health Minis-
ter should clarify his remarks.
Otherwise a privilege motion
should be moved against him.
Mr. Bhatia was supported by
all SP members.
Dr. Ramadoss had said in
the Upper House last week
that transmission of polio vi-
rus was found only in U.P. and
Bihar due to poor sanitation,
unclean drinking water and
high population density. Po-
lio virus transmission was
taking place because of mi-
gration of people from these
States. — PTI
Lok Sabha panel draws up code of conduct for MPs
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to
address the issue of “conflict
of interest,” a Lok Sabha com-
mittee set up to “inquire into
misconduct of members” has
drawn up a Code of Conduct
for members prohibiting
them from voting in the
House or a Committee on an
issue in which they have a “di-
rect, pecuniary or personal
interest.”
The Privileges Committee
of the Lok Sabha — in sep-
arate reports tabled in the
Lok Sabha on Wednesday
along with the Code of Con-
duct — ruled against codifica-
tion of parliamentary
privileges and has sought
amendments to the Right to
Information Act, 2005, to
We will eat what we need, Minister tells Rice
NEW DELHI: Reacting to U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleez-
za Rice’s statement that the
world food crisis is a result of
an “improvement in the diets
of people in India and China,”
Minister of State for External
Affairs Anand Sharma, told
reporters here on Wednesday
keep decisions taken by the
House/Speaker on an RTI ap-
plication out of the review of
the Chief Information Com-
missioner (CIC).
As per the Code of Con-
duct, every member of the
House will have to furnish
particulars of “registrable in-
terests” with the Secretary-
General. It also details “con-
flict of interest” and states
that members, “while per-
forming their parliamentary
and public duties, shall avoid
conflict between their private
interest and the public inter-
est and resolve any conflict,
should such a conflict arise
between the two, at once and
in favour of the public inter-
est.”
Any kind of misconduct —
including voting on a matter
that Indians would eat what
they needed.
Mr. Sharma said:
‘‘Ms. Rice has a different
perception about India. It’s a
painful reality that there is a
global shortage and the scar-
city has put pressure on poor
countries like ours.
where the issue of conflict of
interest arises — can invite
expulsion, suspension from
the House or Committee for a
specified period of time, ad-
monishment or reprimand.
In another report on ‘Par-
liamentary Privileges – Cod-
ification and related matters,’
the Committee has said there
is no need to codify the privi-
leges. It noted that awareness
needs to be generated in re-
gard to the true import of the
term parliamentary privileg-
es and the ground realities
that exist.
While recommending
against codification of privi-
leges, the Committee was
guided by the fact that during
the past five-and-a-half dec-
ades there had been only one
case of admonition, two cases
“The shortage has resulted
in a sharp increase in food
prices, worldwide. But in In-
dia it works the other way
round. Besides climate
change, one major factor in
India is the diversion of food
grains for bio-fuels.
‘‘As far as India is con-
of reprimand and one case of
expulsion for commission of
breach of privilege and con-
tempt of the House.
Pointing out that the power
of privileges had been used
sparingly and not misused “as
erroneously believed in some
quarters,” the Committee
said: “Under the circum-
stances, there doesn’t arise an
occasion for codification of
parliamentary privileges.”
Only one member of the
Committee — Sebastian Paul
— dissented with the majority
view against codification of
privileges.
In its report on ‘Requests
from Courts of Law and in-
vestigating agencies for docu-
ments pertaining
proceedings of House, Parlia-
mentary Committees or
to
cerned, our people will eat
what they need and it is the
duty of the government to en-
sure adequate availability of
food grains. The country
should export only when it
has much in excess than its
own people’s demands’’
Addressing the Peace
which are in the custody of
Secretary-General, Lok Sab-
ha, for production in Courts
of Law and for investigation
purposes,’ the Committee has
detailed the amendment sug-
gested to the RTI Act.
As per the amendment sug-
gested by the Committee,
people seeking information
from the House under the
RTI Act should cite a reason.
The Speaker should be empo-
wered to refer a request to the
Committee of Privileges for
examination if he/she feels
that the information sought
has the potential to call into
question the proceedings of
the House or of any Commit-
tee in any court. And, the
Speaker’s decision “may not
be open to review by the
CIC.”
Corps 2008 Country Direc-
tors Conference in Washing-
ton, Ms. Rice had said the
improving diets of the people
in India and China were forc-
ing other countries to keep
their food supplies within the
limits of their geographical
boundaries. — ANI
national security,” she said
there was a “diabolical con-
spiracy” by communal outfits
to inflame passions. This re-
mark brought several BJP
members to their feet.
Amidst interruptions, Mr.
Patil said that in the Tenkasi
incident, following the mur-
der of a person allegedly by
some Muslims, the victim’s
brother and some others con-
spired to prepare bombs. One
pipe bomb went off before the
RSS office and another at a
bus stop. Their intention was
to see that there was a clash
between Hindus and Mus-
lims, which, however, did not
happen. They were subse-
Six-year-old Dalit girl
thrown into fire
Atiq Khan
LUCKNOW: A six-year-old Dalit
girl suffered serious burns
when a youth belonging to an
upper caste threw her into a
garbage dump fire at Karoli
village in Mathura district
late on Tuesday.
The youth, identified as 16-
year-old Sunny, son of Ashok
Thakur, was arrested by the
Chata police and a case regis-
tered under the Scheduled
Castes/Tribes (Prevention of
pandemonium when the
BJP’s S.S. Ahluwalia said
there was no link between the
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
incidents. “The mindset with
which Ms. Karat had asked
the question does create ten-
sion.”
Expressing concern at at-
tempts to create communal
tension, Mr. Patil said the
bomb blasts in Ajmer, Be-
nares, Mumbai, Aurangabad
and other places showed that
(communal) passions could
be whipped up in the name of
religion or even language.
“We cannot blame any one
sect. It is against different
sects.”
Atrocities) Act.
A Home Department
spokesman said here on
Wednesday that the girl had
been admitted to a local
hospital.
At Chandanpurwa village
in Etawah district, a 22-year-
old Dalit youth was set afire
on Monday by a shopkeeper,
Chunna Pandit, over the pay-
ment of a sum of Rs. 10.
The youth, who suffered 70
per cent burns, is now in
hospital.
CH-CH
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Satellites beam
quality images
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The cameras on
board Cartosat-2A and the
Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1),
which were launched by a Po-
lar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV-C9) on Monday, have
started sending pictures of
some States and the quality of
the images was “excellent,”
according to a press release
from the Indian Space Re-
search Organisation.
The PSLV-C9 also put eight
foreign nano satellites in ac-
curate orbits. The telemetry
data received indicated that
all the sub-systems of the In-
dian satellites were normal.
The multispectral camera
on board the IMS-1 was
switched on the previous day
and it transmitted a high
quality image covering a wide
swathe from Allahabad in Ut-
tar Pradesh to Rameswaram
in Tamil Nadu.
On Wednesday, the hyper-
spectral camera on the IMS-1
and the panchromatic camera
on Cartosat-2A were
switched on.
The images from the IMS-1
covered Uttarakhand to Kar-
nataka, passing through New
Delhi and Bhopal.
The images from the Carto-
sat-2A covered strips of land
from Saharanpur in Uttar
Pradesh to Nuh (south of Del-
hi) and Sangli in Maharashtra
to the Goa coast. “The quality
of the images received at the
National Remote-Sensing
Agency, Hyderabad, was ex-
cellent.”
The release said the launch
of PSLV-C9 was a milestone
for ISRO as it again proved
the reliability and versatility
of the PSLV and its ability to
put satellites in different
types of orbits.
Hawk damaged
in accident
Sandeep Dikshit
NEW DELHI: A recently acquired
British jet to train rookie pi-
lots was damaged at the Bidar
airport in Karnataka on Tues-
day after the pilot aborted the
take-off for a training mis-
sion, according to informa-
tion reaching the Air
Headquarters here.
The pilot aborted the take-
off sensing a technical fault
causing the aircraft to slide
and hit a wall.
The Indian Air Force (IAF)
has ordered a court of inquiry
to investigate the incident.
“Give us our due”
SEEKING QUOTA: Members of the Alliance for Women’s Reservation Bill, a joint front of
women’s groups across socio-economic, political, religious and special interests, staging a
demonstration demanding the passing of the 33 per cent Women’s Reservation Bill, at
Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday. — PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM
"Table women’s Bill this session"
Congress women MPs’ plea to Manmohan
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Almost on the eve
of the conclusion of the bud-
get session of Parliament, a
delegation of Congress wom-
en MPs on Wednesday met
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to demand the tabling
of the Women’s Reservation
Bill in the current session.
In a memorandum, the
CJI should come under RTI Act: panel
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary
Committee on Ministry of
Law and Justice, in its report
placed in Parliament on
Tuesday, made it clear that all
the constitutional author-
ities, including the Chief Jus-
tice of India (CJI), would
come under the ambit of the
Right to Information Act.
In its 25th report, the Com-
mittee, headed by its Chair-
man E.M. Sudarsana
MPs said that during the first
phase of the budget session,
the Prime Minister had given
an assurance that the govern-
ment would evolve a consen-
sus among all United
Progressive Alliance partners
on the Bill [that calls for res-
ervation of 33 per cent seats
for women in Parliament and
Assemblies].
“Today the Mahila Con-
Natchiappan, said “Except
the judicial decision making,
all other activities of adminis-
tration and the persons in-
cluded in it (judiciary) are
subject to the RTI Act.”
The committee’s recom-
mendations assume impor-
tance in the context of the
stand of the present CJI, K.G.
Balakrishnan, that the office
of the CJI would not come
under the purview of the RTI
Act as it was a constitutional
authority.
Flexibility in use of
airspace likely
Ananth Krishnan
CHENNAI: The Ministries of
Civil Aviation and Defence
are currently working out a
system to introduce more
flexibility in the use of air-
space around the country.
The first-of-its-kind arrange-
ment, which will be intro-
duced for the first time in
Chennai on a trial basis, will
allow commercial aircraft to
chalk out routes through so
far restricted zones and is ex-
pected to significantly ease
air traffic congestion around
India’s crowded metro
airports.
A co-ordinating centre will
be set up in Chennai that will
be in constant communica-
tion with defence bases in
Tambaram, Sulur near Coim-
batore, Hakimpet in Andhra
Pradesh and Yelahanka in
Karnataka to work out more
flexible arrangements for
sharing airspace based on the
short-term requirements of
both civil and defence
operations.
Around 35 per cent of air-
space in the country is cur-
rently under the control of
the Ministry of Defence and
Brother seeks fresh probe
gress and various NGOs
working on women issues are
looking up to you and your
submitted to Dr. Singh said.
The delegation led by se-
nior Congress leader Mohsi-
into Sohrabuddin case
government with great ex- na Kidwai noted that while Manas Dasgupta
pectations to get this impor- the Congress-led UPA was
tant Bill tabled in this session committed to get the long- AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad
so that by ensuring their par- pending Bill passed, due to sessions court on Wednesday
ticipation in national politics the “non-cooperation” of issued notice to the Gujarat
and in decision-making, the some of the alliance partners,government on a petition
process of their political em- the government could not seeking further investigation
powerment would be com- present the proposed legisla- into the Sohrabuddin fake en-
plete,” the memorandum tion in Parliament. counter case.
The petition was filed on
Wednesday under Section
173(8) of the Criminal Proce-
dure Code by Sohrabuddin’s
brother, Rubabuddin, who
had filed a case in the Su-
Interpreting Section 2 (h) so since the judiciary is hav- preme Court also. Sessions
of the Act, the Committee ing a dual role: (i) adminis- judge P.B. Desai asked the go-
said: “The definition of public trative function and (ii) vernment to give its reply by
authority is very clear that all judicial decision making. Ex- May 9.
the constitutional authorities cept the judicial decision Mr. Rubabuddin said the
come under the definition of making, all other activities of charge sheet did not throw
public authority. All the three the administration and the light on three vital matters
wings of the state — the exec- persons included in it are and a fresh investigation by
utive, the legislature and the subject to the RTI Act.” the CID (Crime) was re-
judiciary — are fully covered The panel recommended to quired. While the police
under this Act, since all orga- the government to address claimed that Sohrabuddin
ns of the state are accoun- the issues highlighted in the was riding a motorbike when
table to the citizens of India report and take steps to en- he was shot dead and the veh-
in a democratic state.” sure that the fruits of the Act icle was recovered, the inves-
It further said, “It is more were enjoyed by the public. tigating agencies did not
restricted from civilian use.
With a booming aviation in-
dustry growing at close to 30
per cent, the Ministry of Civil
Aviation believes it requires
more airspace to decongest
airports as well as introduce
new routes.
Common problem
Air traffic congestion is a
common problem around
metro airports — in peak
hours, aircraft often wait in
queues of more than 25 be-
fore getting clearance for
landing, in the process also
burning aviation turbine fuel
and significantly increasing
operating costs.
The arrangement is of par-
ticular relevance to Chennai,
where the airspace restricted
to Defence use is significantly
higher than the national aver-
age. The Indian Air Force
base in Tambaram lies only
six miles south of Meenam-
bakkam, while the naval air
strip at Arakkonam lies sever-
al miles further to the
north-west.
The Tambaram space,
which extends up to 15 miles
inland and 80 miles down the
coast up to an elevation of
name the owner of the motor-
bike or in whose custody it
was at the time of recovery.
Also the investigation did
not throw light on why and
how Sohrabuddin’s wife,
Kausarbi, was killed. The pet-
itioner brought out the ab-
sence of any reference in the
charge sheet to a compact
disc claimed to have been
prepared by the first investi-
gating officer, Rajnish Rai,
who put three of his IPS col-
leagues including Deputy In-
spector-General D.G.
Vanzara in jail.
The petitioner said Mr. Rai
had made the CD with the
help of mobile service compa-
nies listing the calls made by
the accused police officials
around the time the fake en-
counter took place on the
outskirts of Ahmedabad. An
analysis of the CD could
throw up vital clues.
Even after a year since the
principal accused, Mr. Van-
zara and the two other IPS
NEWS 15
25,000 feet, is particularly a
problem for air traffic man-
agement in Chennai.
“Aircraft cannot come 10
miles within the airport from
the south,” an airport official
said. “Airlines are also forced
to burn more fuel as they can-
not chart direct routes
through the restricted space.”
Air traffic controllers wel-
come a more flexible arrange-
ment.
For instance, controllers
suggest that reducing the ele-
vation of the defence space
around Tambaram to 15,000
feet to allow more direct ac-
cess to the airport from the
south and increasing the ele-
vation as and when required,
would bring significant relief
to air traffic management.
Last month, the Ajay Pra-
sad Committee — constituted
by the Ministry of Civil Avia-
tion to formulate a master
plan for future air navigation
services — recommended
that “the Flexible Use of Air-
space should be accepted as
an underline basis for opti-
mising the use of Indian air-
space for meeting the needs
of both military and civil avia-
tion for the country.”
officers Rajkumar Pandian
and M.N. Dinesh Kumar were
arrested, the investigation
had not made headway into
certain crucial areas.
Last month, the sessions
court approved the demand
for narco-analysis on the ac-
cused. The Forensic Science
Laboratory, Gandhinagar,
has scheduled tests on the
IPS officers and three other
policemen for May 5-9.
Meanwhile, Deputy Super-
intendent N.K. Amin, who is
among the 13 accused police-
men in the Sohrabuddin case
and lodged in the Sabarmati
central jail, reportedly at-
tacked Mr. Vanzara after he
and Mr. Kumar were denied
bail by the Supreme Court on
Tuesday.
Though jail authorities re-
fused to confirm the incident,
sources said clashes among
the accused had become fre-
quent as the frustrated po-
licemen were blaming Mr.
Vanzara for their plight.
CH-CH

16 INTERNATIONAL
DOMESTIC LEG BEGINS: Yang Shu’an, Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Organising
Committee, displays the Olympic flame in Hong Kong on Wednesday. — PHOTO: XINHUA
On target for a perfect Olympics
Smooth construction of venues is a major source of confidence
Gao Peng
BEIJING: With 100 days to go
from Wednesday before the
curtain rises on the 2008
Olympics, organisers are busy
fine-tuning things for a per-
fect staging.
Construction of venues,
easing the city’s traffic con-
gestion, and efforts to clean
up the air are all on target for
the August 8-24 event, and
International Olympic Com-
mittee officials have repeat-
edly voiced confidence that
the athletes would experi-
ence a top class Games.
“There is every reason to
believe that we will see here a
gold-medal performance in
August, also superb organisa-
tion of the Olympic Games,”
Hein Verbruggen, chairman
of the IOC’s coordination
commission for the Beijing
Games, told reporters this
month after his last inspec-
tion visit to the Chinese cap-
Only an apprehension: Sri Lankan A-G
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: A purported letter
by the chief of the Interna-
tional Independent Group of
Eminent Persons (IIGEP),
Justice (retd) P.N. Bhagwati,
to President Mahinda Raja-
paksa disassociating himself
from some of the observa-
tions contained in the final
report of the Group has trig-
gered a controversy.
Minister of Disaster Man-
Palestinians agree on
truce with Israel
CAIRO: Palestinian factions
meeting in Cairo for talks
with Egyptian security offi-
cials have agreed to an Egyp-
tian proposal for a truce with
Israel starting in the Gaza
Strip, state news agency ME-
NA said on Wednesday.
But a number of factions
were equivocal in their sup-
port for the truce, and some
said they reserved the right
to retaliate against Israeli at-
tacks.
‘‘All the Palestinian fac-
tions have agreed to the
Egyptian proposal on a truce
with Israel,’’ MENA said, cit-
ing an unnamed high-level
Egyptian official.
The official said the pro-
posal included a ‘‘compre-
hensive, reciprocal and
simultaneous truce, imple-
mented in a graduated fra-
mework starting in the Gaza
Strip and then subsequently
moving to the West Bank,’’
MENA added.
MENA said the proposal
was part of a broader plan
ital. IOC president Jacques
Rogge also predicted that the
Games would be a “great suc-
cess.” “Here and there are
small details to be fine-tuned
but I am saying that the level
of preparedness ... is really ex-
cellent and ... I am optimistic
that the Games will be a great
success,” said Mr. Rogge.
The smooth construction
of Olympic venues is a major
source of confidence.
The National Stadium,
known as the Bird’s Nest for
its giant latticework structure
of metal girders, hosted its
first official event on April 18
— a race-walking meet.
Final touches
Organisers said the final
touches on the 91,000-seat
National Stadium would not
be complete until next month
due to the extra work needed
to prepare it for the opening
ceremony on August 8. The
iconic Olympic venue will al-
agement and Human Rights
Mahinda Samarasinghe
claimed here that in response
to “serious concerns” ex-
pressed by Mr. Rajapaksa, the
IIGEP chief has clarified that
the Group has not cast any
doubts on political will of the
government to pursue cases
of human rights violations.
The IIGEP, constituted in
February 2007 by Mr. Raja-
paksa to oversee the func-
tioning of the Commission of
eventually leading to the lift-
ing of the blockade which Is-
rael, with Egyptian help, has
imposed on Gaza since last
June.
The plan includes at-
tempts to reconcile the two
biggest Palestinian factions
— the Hamas Islamists who
control the Gaza Strip and
the Fatah group which con-
trols the Palestinian Author-
ity from its base in the West
Bank.
Egypt invited 12 Palesti-
nian groups for talks to form
a consensus on a proposal for
a ceasefire that emerged from
talks between Egypt and Ha-
mas as part of efforts to end
violence threatening talks
between Israel and the Pal-
estinian Authority.
Israel has been killing Ha-
mas members in Gaza and
the West Bank while Hamas
and other groups have been
firing rockets across the bor-
der into Israel. Each side says
it is responding to attacks by
the other. — Reuters
so stage the closing ceremony
and the athletics
competitions.
Fears about risks of com-
peting outdoors in Beijing are
dwindling amid the continual
improvement of the air qual-
ity. According to the Beijing
Environmental Protection
Bureau, the city notched up
67 “blue sky days” from Janu-
ary to the end of March, 12
more than the same period a
year earlier and the highest in
nine years.
Since being awarded the
2008 Games seven years ago,
Beijing has aggressively tried
to clean up its toxic haze. It
has spent nearly $15 billion
on anti-pollution measures
such as moving factories, add-
ing subway lines, upgrading
boilers, and converting coal-
heated homes to electric.
The authorities plan to
close factories and force 19
heavy polluters to reduce
emissions by 30 per cent for
Inquiry into serious viola-
tions, in March notified that it
is winding up its mission as it
was not satisfied with the go-
vernment’s attitude towards
its recommendations and the
style of the functioning of the
Commission.
A few of the 11 members
have contested the claim
made by the government .
They said that Justice
Bhagwati cannot go back on
the observations made in the
Economic revolution
next, say Maoists
Prerana Marasini
KATHMANDU: Maoist leaders
have reiterated that the
country will see an eco-
nomic revolution in the
coming 10 years.
They met senior World
Bank officials on Tuesday
and discussed their eco-
nomic plans and the ways
in which the Bank can pro-
vide financial assistance.
Speaking to the media,
Maoist leader Baburam
Bhattarai said the meeting
revolved around the par-
ty’s developmental agenda
and the Bank’s future fi-
nancial support.
“Poverty alleviation, ec-
onomic growth by double
digit, creating employment
opportunities, transform-
ing agricultural sector are
our priorities,” said Dr.
Bhattarai. He also said the
Bank was ready to help
them and the Maoists wel-
come “donations”. “We are
in immediate need of mon-
the two months around the
Olympics and Paralympics,
and measures to limit factory
emission are also in place for
areas surrounding the capital,
including the city of Tianjin,
the provinces of Hebei, Shan-
xi, and Shandong, and the In-
ner Mongolia region.
Highlighting the enthu-
siasm for the greatest show
on Earth, more than one mil-
lion persons were in the hunt
for an Olympics volunteer’s
post and training pro-
grammes are under way. The
third phase of the domestic
ticket sales will start on May
5, with large crowds expected
to chase the remaining 1.38
million tickets for 16 sports
including volleyball, athlet-
ics, boxing, and football.
Organisers are closer to se-
lecting an official theme song
with 30 candidate songs ex-
pected to be released at a gala
show later on Wednesday. —
Xinhua
final statement. Attorney-
General C. R. de Silva said
Justice Bhagawati had clar-
ified the “controversial”
statements made by the II-
GEP.
As per the A-G the clarifica-
tion mentioned that the II-
GEP had not criticised the
government and what had
been conveyed in the state-
ment was the IIGEP’s appre-
hension regarding absence of
political will.
ey for compensation of
PLA [People’s Liberation
Army — Maoists’ army
now in cantonments],” he
said. “And they’ve said
they’ll provide us with the
funds.”
After the major victory
in the Constituent elec-
tions, Maoist leaders Pra-
chanda and Dr. Bhattarai
have been saying the coun-
try will see miraculous ec-
onomic revolution.
Hydro power
Meanwhile, the Bank of-
ficials also met Prime Min-
ister Girija Prasad Koirala
and assured him of aid for
hydropower development.
The World Bank is
among the major donors of
Nepal in developmental
works.
Donations
The Himalayan region
largely depends on dona-
tions from Japan, Canada,
America and China.
Sharif-Zardari talks
appear to make headway
Coalition government not in danger of collapse, they say
Atul Aneja
DUBAI: Talks between the for-
mer Pakistan Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif and the co-
chairman of the Pakistan
People’s Party Asif Ali Zarda-
ri over the reinstatement of
judges appear to have made
headway.
At the end of two rounds of
marathon talks on Wednes-
day evening, Chaudhry Nisar
Ali Khan, Federal Communi-
cation Minister who belongs
to the Pakistan Muslim
League (N), said substantial
progress had been made in
the talks. He said talks would
Gillani: no compromise
on Kashmiri cause
Pakistan is for “result-oriented” talks with India
Nirupama Subramanian
ISLAMABAD: On his first visit to
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
on Wednesday, Prime Minis-
ter Yusuf Raza Gillani mixed
rhetoric with pragmatism to
dispel the impression that the
Pakistan People’s Party-led
government in Islamabad
was about to put the issue of
Kashmir on the back burner
as it prepared to move for-
ward on ties with India.
In an address to a joint ses-
sion of the “Azad Kashmir”
legislative Assembly and
Council, Mr. Gillani called for
an end to human rights vio-
lations in Jammu and Kash-
mir and said his government
was seeking “result-oriented”
talks with India.
Pakistan link to Karzai plot seen
KABUL: The plot to kill Presi-
dent Hamid Karzai on Sun-
day was hatched in Pakistan’s
tribal areas, Afghanistan’s in-
telligence chief said on
Wednesday.
The accusation came just
hours after security forces
raided a Kabul hideout of mil-
itants with suspected links to
the attack on Mr. Karzai; sev-
en persons died in the raid.
Intelligence chief Amrullah
Saleh said there was no evi-
dence that Pakistan’s govern-
ment or its intelligence
agencies were involved in the
attempt.
“We have no evidence
continue on Thursday after-
noon on a few sensitive issues
which still needed to be ad-
dressed. The PML (N) dele-
gation, led by Mr. Sharif, was
earlier scheduled to depart
for Pakistan on Wednesday
night.
Both Mr. Sharif and Mr.
Zardari earlier assured the
media after the first round of
talks on Wednesday after-
noon that the coalition go-
vernment was not in danger
of collapse. “The coalition is
strong,” Mr. Zardari told re-
porters outside the venue of
talks. Neither of the two lead-
ers referred to the 30-day
deadline for the reinstate-
He expressed the hope that
the composite dialogue proc-
ess would soon yield results,
and said the slain PPP leader
Benazir Bhutto had been sup-
portive of the peace process
with India.
The Prime Minister said
his government stood for
friendly relations with all
neighbours including India,
and wanted the Kashmir is-
sue resolved through
dialogue.
Ceasefire
Pointing out that a cease-
fire first declared unilaterally rifices” made by the Kashmi-
by Pakistan in November ris
2003 was still holding and self-determination, he said
noting the operation of a bus these would not be allowed to
service between Muzaffara- go waste.
bad and Srinagar and the
whether the operation has
had any mercy or go-ahead
from the Pakistan govern-
ment and [its]special agen-
cies,” said Mr. Saleh.
“There [is] very, very
strong evidence suggesting
that Pakistan’s soil once again
has been used to inflict pain
on our nation,” he added.
The militants involved in
the plot were in contact with
people in Pakistan’s Bajaur
and North Waziristan tribal
areas and Peshawar, he said.
In an initial reaction, Pakis-
tan Army spokesman Maj.
Gen. Athar Abbas said the al-
legations appeared “base-
THE HINDU
ment of sacked judges that
the PML (N) and the PPP had
set under the Murree accord.
Mr. Zardari has been in-
sisting that the judges’ rein-
statement is part of a wider
issue of judicial reforms in
Pakistan. He has, therefore,
advocated working out a con-
stitutional package to be
passed by Parliament as the
basis of a lasting solution. Ac-
cording to him, persisting
with a 30-day deadline, which
expired on April 30, for the
restoration of the judges is
unrealistic.
The talks in Dubai have
taken place in the backdrop of
a majority view emerging in
opening of entry points along
the Line of Control to enable
divided families to meet, Mr.
Gillani said his government
also wanted to see tourism
and trade between the two
Kashmirs.
But he sought to assure his
audience that there would be
no compromise on Kashmiri
interests.
He reminded them that it
was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who
had declared that Pakistan
was ready to wage a 1,000-
year war for Kashmir.
Lauding the “supreme sac-
to achieve
“Their struggle is not di-
less.” “Anybody can say
militants [in the tribal areas]
have done this or that,” he
said, adding: “How can one
validate such claims?”
Afghanistan has accused
Pakistan of harbouring Tali-
ban leaders, but Pakistan de-
nies the charge. Al-Qaeda and
Taliban leaders hide in the
volatile border region be-
tween the two countries.
Earlier, Afghan security
forces launched a predawn
raid on Wednesday and trad-
ed gunfire with militants for
several hours. The troops de-
stroyed the hideout when it
was clear the militants would
CHENNAI
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Pakistan that the country’s
Supreme Court needed ex-
pansion. The Pakistani daily
Dawn reported that the go-
vernment had finalised a
draft resolution, which stated
that the strength of the Su-
preme Court would be in-
creased. Not only would the
dismissed judges be reinstat-
ed, the new ones who had tak-
en oath under the Provisional
Constitutional Order would
also be not removed. Mr. Zar-
dari, Mr. Sharif, Awami Na-
tional Party president
Asfandyar Wali and Maulana
Fazlur Rehman would for-
mally announce the agreed
resolution, the daily said.
rected against anyone but is
aimed at achieving the right
to self-determination that
was promised by the United
Nations,” Mr. Gillani said.
“This is a question of their
rights and Kashmiris should
get these rights.”
Later, talking to a delega-
tion of the All Parties Hurri-
yat Conference of “Azad
Kashmir,” Mr. Gillani said
Pakistan would continue to
extend “political, moral and
diplomatic” support to the
Kashmiri cause and continue
efforts for the resolution of
the dispute according to the
aspirations of its people.
In this regard, the compos-
ite dialogue process with In-
dia would continue, Mr.
Gillani said.
not surrender. Two militants,
three intelligence agents, a
woman and a child were
among those killed, said Mr.
Saleh.
One of the dead militants
had supplied weapons used to
attack Mr. Karzai, added Mr.
Saleh.
Wednesday’s raid was part
of a wider operation in which
six suspects were detained in
two other locations in Kabul.
Mr. Saleh told Parliament
on Tuesday that the intelli-
gence agency knew about the
plot to kill the President, but
failed to locate the attackers
in time.— AP
CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 17

Climate fix Sniffing identities of mice

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Continuous injections of sulphur into the stratosphere,
a geoengineering scheme to counteract global warming,
would drastically deplete polar ozone, reports Science.
Mammals use their sense of smell to detect com-
plex chemical signals in urine that convey data
about gender, reproductive status, says Science.

FBTR: ‘We don’t see any Co-location of fuel

reprocessing, refabrication
problems with reprocessing’ R. PRASAD
The FRFCF will
be fabricated by the Ad-
vanced Fuel Fabrication Fa-

T
fabricate fuel for cility (AFFF) at BARC,
The carbide fuel that had reached a burn-up of 1,55,000 MW days/tonne was reprocessed he mixed oxide fuel
for the upcoming
the two reactors to
come up at IGCAR
Mumbai. This is because
changing the fuel in the core,
Prototype Fast called a campaign, needs to be
R. PRASAD as well. Reprocessing goes a Breeder Reactor Co-located facility done once in 8 months in the
long way in removing the long (PFBR) and two more new will ensure safety case of the PFBR.

T
he Kalpakkam
based Indira Gandhi
Centre for Atomic
Research (IGCAR)
has squeezed the most out of
the uranium-plutonium
mixed carbide fuel in the Fast
Breeder Test Reactor
(FBTR).
The fuel has proved its ca-
pability to light up a 100 watts
bulb continuously for 14,880
hours for 620 days using just
one gram of the fuel.
Technically speaking, the
carbide fuel had reached the
maximum burn-up of
1,55,000 MW days/tonne
some time ago without any
failure of fuel. Burn-up is the
cumulative amount of energy
that can be extracted from a
unit mass of the fuel.
So the higher the burn-up,
the greater is the amount of
energy that can be extracted
from a given amount to fuel.
Closing the fuel cycle
And in what may be termed
as closing the fuel cycle, the
IGCAR scientists have suc-
cessfully reprocessed the
spent fuel that has undergone
1,55,000 MW days/tonne
burn-up.
Reprocessing is very im-
portant as only about 17
atoms per cent of the fuel
would have undergone fission
to produce energy.
So reprocessing helps to
extract the valuable plutoni-
um and separate the fission
Putting the FBTR to the litmus test
I GCAR is taking up yet
another challenge. The
scientists are putting the
reactor to the litmus test
of automatically shutting
down at the very first
instance of a fuel leakage.
“We want to take one
subassembly [that
contains the fuel pins]
beyond the 1,55,000 MW
days/tonne burn-up till
the clad [metal casing]
fails,” said Dr. Raj.
Scientists feel that they
would be able to increase
the burn-up by another
9,000 MW days/tonne
EASY TASK: Unlike the carbide fuel, reprocessing the oxide fuel that
will be used in the PFBR should not be difficult, says Dr. Baldev Raj,
Director of IGCAR, Kalpakkam. — PHOTO: S. R. RAGHUNATHAN
products from the spent fuel. undergone 1,00,000 MW
The reprocessed plutonium is days/tonne burn-up.
refabricated as fuel.
Reprocessed fuel
It was in 2005 that IGCAR than what it consumes for
reprocessed the fuel that had producing energy. This is
before the clad gives way.
The post irradiation
examination (PIE) of the fuel
indicates that it has already
reached the natural end of its
life. But the metal casing
(clad) has not given way.
The fuel undergoes
continuous fission and it
swells. It then comes in
contact with the metal casing
leading to stress build-up at
the casing.
The casing ruptures after
some time, unable to
accommodate the swelling
fuel. “There are specific
instruments to detect clad
‘Fast breeder’ reactor, as
the name indicates, breeds or
produces more plutonium
[metal casing] failure. These
instruments were checked
for their responses recently
by putting fuel pins with
perforated clad [to simulate
failed clad] in the core, and
these instruments responded
well,” said Dr. P.V.
Ramalingam, Director of
Reactor Operation and
Maintenance Group, IGCAR.
Will the metal casing
failure leading to fuel leakage
not cause problems? “The
clad is the first barrier, the
primary sodium system is the
second, and the reactor
containment building is the
what gives it the name
“breeder.”
So perfecting the repro-
cessing technology is a must
to extract the unspent pluto-
nium for use in a new reactor.
There are other advantages
last barrier,” said Dr.
Ramalingam. “So when the
clad fails, it is only the first
barrier that would have
failed. The fission products
released would be
contained in the sodium
system barrier.”
When this happens, the
systems are supposed to
detect it and shut down the
reactor.
The temperature would
then drop and the cracks in
the clad would get sealed.
“The contamination will be
only minimal,” said Dr.
Ramalingam. — R.P.
lived fission products (acti-
nides) and in the process it
makes waste management
much easier.
Many challenges
For all its advantages, re-
processing is fraught with
many challenges, especially
when the fuel has undergone
higher burn-ups.
Dissolving the 1 lakh MW
days/tonne burn–up fuel
with nitric acid, among other
steps, was done without
much of a problem.
“Our assessment was right
about the additional chal-
lenges of reprocessing the
fuel [that has undergone
1,55,000 MW days/tonne
burn-up],” said Dr. Baldev
Raj, Director of IGCAR.
“There was more radioac-
tivity, more problems with
shielding, the separation
process, maintenance and
degradation of solvents. But
there were no surprises.” An
additional challenge came in
the form of handling the fuel
that has undergone a shorter
cooling.
Shorter cooling
“We reprocessed the fuel
after just 18 months cooling
period. This is comparable to
commercial reactors,” he
said. It may be recalled that
the 1 lakh MW days/tonne
burn-up fuel was reprocessed
after six years of cooling.
“Today we can say that we
don’t see any problems with
fuel reprocessing,” he said
confidently. So he is thirsting
for more challenges. “We
would like to reduce the cool-
ing period from 18 to 12
months,” Dr. Raj noted.
Experience gained
While IGCAR has gained
much experience and hence
confidence in reprocessing
the mixed carbide fuel used in
the fast breeder test reactor,
the PFBR would have a mixed
oxide fuel.
So will its experience with
carbide fuel help in repro-
cessing the oxide fuel to be
used in the PFBR? “Repro-
cessing [mixed] carbide fuel
is difficult unlike [mixed] ox-
ide fuel. We don’t see any dif-
ficulty,” said the Director,
sounding confident.
fast breeder reactors to come
up at the Indira Gandhi Cen-
tre for Atomic Research (IG-
CAR), Kalpakkam, will be
produced within the IGCAR
premises. The Fast Reactor
Fuel Cycle Facility (FRFCF)
to produce the refabricated
fuel for the prototype reactor
is at its pre-project stage.
The FRFCF, in addition to
producing the mixed oxide
fuel, will also reprocess the
spent fuel coming out of the
reactors. This reprocessed
fuel will ultimately be refabri-
cated and put back into the
reactors.
By April 2009
Dr. Baldev Raj, Director of
IGCAR expects the sanction
for the facility to come
through by April next year.
The Rs.2,500 crore facility
will be ready for commercial
use by 2012.
“The idea is to have the re-
processing, refabrication, and
making the sub-assemblies
(of the fuel pins) co-located
within the reactor site,” said
Dr. Raj. “Having it co-located
PFBR: work on to increase the
burn-up by 50 per cent
T
he current burn-up
target for the mixed
oxide fuel in the
PFBR is 1 lakh MW
days/tonne. The scientists at
the Indira Gandhi Centre for
Atomic Research (IGCAR) at
Kalpakkam are striving to in-
crease this by 50 per cent to
1,50,000 MW days/tonne.
The rationale
The rationale behind in-
creasing the burn-up is to get
more energy from a unit mass
of the fuel. But more impor-
tantly, the scientists want to
increase the time between
two fuel handling campaigns
from 8 to 12 months. Increas-
ing the burn-up would give
them more time between fuel
campaigns.
This is analogous to in-
creasing the time interval be-
tween fuel refills of a motor
vehicle by improving its fuel
and security Hence the facility coming
up at Kalpakkam will only re-
fabricate the reprocessed fuel
is important from the safety for PFBR. However, it would
and security point of view; be able to fabricate the fuel
and also of economics.” In the for the two new reactors com-
absence of this facility, fuel ing up within the same prem-
for the PFBR and two other ises at Kalpakkam.
fast breeder reactors to come
up at Kalpakkam will have to More demanding
be fabricated at BARC and “The technology to refabri-
transported all the way from cate a plutonium based fuel is
Mumbai. much more demanding and
challenging,” said Dr. Raj, “as
The focus it [the fuel] will still have
Since the focus is on co- some radioactivity.”
location of the fuel fabrica- The FRFCF facility, ac-
tion, reprocessing and refa- cording to him, will be much
brication facility with the more complex and sophisti-
reactors, the other two fast cated compared with the
breeder reactors to come up Hyderabad based Nuclear
elsewhere in the country by Fuel Complex.It may be re-
2020 will have similar co-lo- membered that the mixed
cated facilities. carbide fuel for the FBTR was
“It is an ideology to have fabricated by the BARC facil-
fuel fabrication co-located ity and not the NFC, Hydera-
wherever the reactor is,” he bad. Scientists at IGCAR
noted. already have some experience
Since the FRFCF is expect- refabricating mixed oxide
ed to be operational only by fuel on a pilot scale. A demon-
2012, two years after the stration fuel reprocessing
PFBR goes critical, the fuel plant is expected to be ready
for the first two cores would by 2010.
efficiency by 50 per cent so they would be able to achieve
that a litre of fuel lasts longer. this by 2011.
With 50-60 sub-assemblies Incidentally, the advanced
containing 217 fuel pins per oxide fuel will have no chang-
sub-assembly taken out dur- es in the fuel composition.
ing each fuel changing cam- Unlike the mixed carbide
paign, fuel reprocessing and
refabrication have to be com-
fuel, it is the clad (metal that
cases the fuel) and wrapper
pleted by the time the next that set the limit for achieving
fuel campaign is due. higher burn-ups. So improv-
The 8 months cooling peri- ing the steel used in making
od poses an additional chal- the clad and wrapper would
lenge. make it an advanced oxide
“Future fuel handling cam- fuel.
paigns will be at 12-month in-
terval. So if we develop the The shift
technology to reprocess a 12- “We are working on chang-
month-cooled fuel, then we ing the composition and ther-
are like online,” said Dr. Bal- mo-mechanical treatment of
dev Raj, Director of IGCAR. the steel used for making the
clad and wrapper,” said Dr.
Target 2011 Raj, “so the shift is from fuel
IGCAR is working on an ad- to metallurgy for achieving a
vanced oxide fuel that would higher burn-up.” He is even
help have a burn-up of confident of increasing the
1,50,000 MW days/tonne. burn-up to 2,00,000 MW
The Director is confident that days/tonne by 2015. — R.P.

Algae’s surprising Metallic fuel for fast breeders after 2020 Safeguarding cancer
The scientists are aiming at a breeding ratio of 1.5 for the metallic fuel
new application R. PRASAD
patients’ fertility
S
ome varieties of algae, yield that’s the problem,”
ALOK JHA

F
a kind of unicellular Tiede said. dures such as IVF. Telfer said

plant, contain an en-
zyme called hydroge-
nase that can create small
amounts of hydrogen gas.
Many believe this is used
by nature as a way to get rid of
excess reducing equivalents
that are produced under high
light conditions, but there is
little benefit to the plant.
Algae for production
Scientists at U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy’s Argonne
National Laboratory are
working to chemically ma-
nipulate algae for production
of the next generation of re-
newable fuels – hydrogen gas.
The move is in direct re-
sponse to soaring gasoline
prices.
“We believe there is a fun-
damental advantage in look-
ing at the production of
hydrogen by photosynthesis
as a renewable fuel,” senior
chemist David Tiede said.
“Right now, ethanol is be-
ing produced from corn, but
generating ethanol from corn
is a thermodynamically much
more inefficient process.”
Enzyme hydrogenase
Tiede and his group are try-
ing to find a way to take the
part of the enzyme hydroge-
nase, that creates the gas and
introduce it into the photo-
synthesis process, according
to an Argonne National Lab-
oratory press release.
The result would be a large
amount of hydrogen gas, pos-
sibly on par with the amount
of oxygen created.
“Biology can do it, but it’s
making it do it at 5-10 percent
S
“What we would like to do ast breeder reactors the new technique had sever-
is take that catalyst out of hy- (the sixth reactor cientists have found a al advantages over standard
drogenase and put into the onwards) that would way to store and grow practices. It took just 10 days
photosynthetic protein fra- come up after 2020 a woman’s immature for an egg to mature using the
mework. will be 1,000 MW and not 500 eggs in the laboratory new method, while it might
We are fortunate to have MW reactors. And they would using a technique which take several months for an
Professor Thomas Rauchfuss have metallic fuel and not could be used to protect the egg to mature inside the ov-
as a collaborator from the mixed oxide fuel. fertility of women undergo- ary, and one piece of tissue
University of Illinois at The entire fuel core of the ing chemotherapy. can provide many dozen eggs,
Champaign-Urbana who is an Fast Breeder Test Reactor Anti-cancer drugs can of- rather than the 10 or so har-
expert on the synthesis of hy- (FBTR) would be changed to ten destroy the ovary’s folli- vested during IVF.
drogenase active site mim- metallic fuel by 2017. “We are cles, where immature eggs
ics.” getting ready to irradiate ad- remain dormant from birth No hormone injections
vanced metallic fuel in FBTR until they are matured by the In addition, the technique
Several benefits by 2010,” said Dr. Baldev Raj, body. would avoid the need for a
Algae has several benefits Director of the Indira Gandhi This means a woman may woman to take hormone in-
over corn in fuel production. Centre for Atomic Research survive cancer but become in- jections, which are needed in
It can be grown in a closed (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. fertile as a result. standard IVF to stimulate her
system almost anywhere in- Several centres in the U.K. ovaries to over-produce eggs.
cluding deserts or even roof- Pilot facility already offer to store pieces of Telfer said that there was
tops, and there is no A facility to fabricate, re- ovary tissue from women still work to do before the lab-
competition for food or fertile process and refabricate me- about to undergo cancer oratory-matured eggs were
soil. tallic fuel would come up at treatment in the hope that, suitable for fertilisation, but
It is also easier to harvest IGCAR and become oper- GOING METALLIC: The entire fuel core of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) one day, techniques can be she had high hopes because
because it has no roots or ational by 2014. IGCAR is first will be changed to metallic fuel by 2017.— PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI found to mature the eggs and animal studies had already
fruit and grows dispersed in setting up a pilot reprocess- use them for IVF. shown that eggs matured in
water. “If you have terrestrial ing facility at its complex. used in the FBTR, the extra tallic fuel and the most in the ogy is very difficult,” he said, The new research, led by this way could be suitable.
plants like corn, you are re- The need to go in for a me- plutonium produced would case of oxide fuel. “it will be a pyro-metallurgi- Evelyn Telfer of the Universi-
stricted to where you could tallic fuel is understandable. be 0.2-0.3 (breeding ratio be- “We would have at least 15 cal route.” ty of Edinburgh, has taken a Good evidence
grow them,” Tiede said. The ability to put up new fast ing 1.2-1.3); it would be just years’ advantage to get the Though the FBTR fuel core major step towards that goal. “We believe there’s good
“There is a problem now breeder reactors depends on 0.1 (breeding ratio being 1.1) necessary fuel [plutonium] would be changed from car- She took pieces of ovary tis- evidence that we can get nor-
with biofuel crops competing the amount of plutonium in the case of oxide fuel. for another 1,000 MW reac- bide to metallic, it would not sue and, by adding artificial mal [eggs], but of course you
with food crops because they available. Breeder technolo- However, in the case of me- tor,” said Dr. Raj. be possible to do the same growth hormones in the lab- would never apply this tech-
are both using the same gy, as the name indicates, pro- tallic fuel the plutonium gain The plutonium content of with the Prototype Fast oratory, successfully grew the nique clinically until you are
space. duces or “breeds” more would be 0.3-0.5. The breed- 20-25 per cent in metallic fuel Breeder Reactor (PFBR) or eggs within the follicles. sure,” said Telfer. Jane Stew-
Algae provides an alterna- plutonium than it consumes ing ratio is 1.3-1.5. would be the same as in car- the two reactors coming up at art, a consultant in reproduc-
tive, which can be grown in a for producing energy. “We are aiming at a breed- bide or oxide fuel. Kalpakkam. Advanced stage tive medicine at the
closed photo ioreactor analo- ing ratio of 1.5 against 1.3 “But there are no lighter The ovary tissue she used Newcastle Fertility Centre,
gous to a microbial fermentor Self-sustaining which is the norm,” said Dr. elements like oxygen or car- Design constraint was donated by six women said the procedure to collect a
that you could move any Hence fast breeder reac- Raj. bon to absorb the neutrons “We can’t put metallic fuel who gave birth by elective biopsy from a woman’s ovary
place.” tors are not only self-sustain- [in metallic fuels],” explained in these reactors as the design caesarean section, and about was relatively simple and
Tiede admitted the re- ing but have the capability to Faster doubling time Dr. Raj on why metallic fuels does not permit it,” he said, a third of the follicles within could be done at short notice.
search is its beginning phases, produce extra plutonium to The higher the breeding ra- have a higher breeding ratio “though it is a desired situa- them went on to reach the But she added: “The stor-
but he is confident in his team start new reactors. tio, the faster would be the and hence faster doubling tion.” advanced stage of develop- age and use of such biopsies,
and their research goals. The rate at which surplus doubling time — (time taken time. But he and the scientists at ment. which may contain abundant
The next step is to create a plutonium is produced de- to produce surplus plutoni- The reprocessing of metal- Kalpakkam have not given up Eventually, said Tefler, ful- but immature eggs, remains
way to attach the catalytic en- pends on the fuel used in a um to start a new reactor). lic fuel will be very different on the idea. “We will continue ly matured eggs using this experimental, however.” —
zyme to the molecule. — Our fast breeder reactor. In the So the doubling time would from other fuels. to explore ways of doing this,” technique could be used in as- Guardian Newspapers
Bureau case of mixed carbide fuel be the least in the case of me- “The reprocessing technol- he said, sounding optimistic. sisted reproduction proce- Limited 2008
CH-CH

18 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / AGRICULTURE
QUESTION CORNER FARMER’S NOTEBOOK
‘Smart’ biofuel crops ensure food
and environmental security
The leftover stalks after juice extraction, can be used for animal feed
M.J. PRABU
W
hile the global
PHOTO: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN
debate rages on
Bar of soap whether the
biofuel revolu-
tion is causing imbalances in
Why does a bar of soap become less soapy when it nears its food security systems and in-
end? creasing the greenhouse gas
emissions the ‘smart’ biofuel
NIDHIN CHANDRAN crops developed, utilized and
Payyanur, Kerala promoted by the Internation-
A soap is basically either a sodium salt or a potassium salt al Crops Research Institute
of long-chain carboxylic acid (fatty acid, e.g., palm oil, coco- for the Semi-Arid Tropics
nut oil, animal fat, etc, represented by R-COOH) whereas a (ICRISAT), Patancheru, And-
detergent is usually a magnesium salt of long-chain sul- hra Pradesh, ensure energy
phonic acid (represented by R-SO3H). and environmental security.
Whether it is soap or a detergent, it is substantially a salt According to Dr William
admixed with certain filling materials such as starch or wax Dar, Director General of
along with other ingredients like perfumes for fragrance, ICRISAT, the time has come
glycerine for softness and pigments for colour. to ensure that only smart bio-
A few more trace substances also may be there for the fuel crops are developed and
purpose of aesthetics and stability. The major constituent in utilized so that they can link
a cake (bar) of soap is, any way, the fatty acid salt. poor dryland farmers with
A salt is essentially an organized arrangement of posi- the biofuel market, without
tively charged constituents (cations) and negatively charged compromising on their food
constituents (anions). Salts are very readily soluble in water security, or causing environ-
because water is a polar solvent and embraces ions. mental damage.
Even though the soap has been more or less homogeneous
in its composition at the time of opening it in the bathroom, Energy security
it retains some wetness at the surface after we use it along “Smart biofuel crops are
with water. those that ensure food secur-
Owing to the soap’s softness at its bulk and the wetness on ity, contribute to energy se-
the surface, the ions of the fatty acid salt in the bulk are curity, provide
gradually drawn (migrate) towards the wet zone of the environmental sustainability,
surface as days pass and get washed during usage. tolerate the impacts of cli-
Thus, the fatty acid salt part is slightly impoverished in
the bulk of the soap with time. Since soapy character is due
mate change on shortage of
water and high temperatures,
to the tfm (total fat mass), the soap becomes less soapy when and increase livelihood op-
it nears its end (after considerable use).
tions,” he said.
Through its BioPower
PROF. A. RAMACHANDRAIAH
Strategy, ICRISAT is devel-
Jana Vignana VedikaWarangal, Andhra Pradesh oping and promoting sweet
sorghum as a major feedstock
This week’s questions for producing bioethanol.
Sweet sorghum is a carbon
dioxide neutral crop, which is
Why do some kind of data, like pictures, take longer to get
a big contributory factor to
copied ?
being called a smart crop.
Nidhin Chandran, Kannur, Kerala
ICRISAT-bred sweet sor-
Is there any minimum distance and minimum intensity
ghum varieties and hybrids
of solar radiations to be able to see the mirage effect?
have increased sugar content
Pushkar Pahwa, Patiala, Punjab
in their stalks.
It has a strong pro-poor ad-
Readers can send questions/answers on science and technology for the Question Corner
along with their names and address to the following email id: vantage since it has a triple
questioncorner@thehindu.co.in or to The Editor, The Hindu (Science and Technology), product potential, that is
859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002. grain, juice for ethanol, and
SWEET HARVEST: Dr. Belum V.S. Reddy, Principal
Scientist, Icrisat, at a sweet sorghum field.
— PHOTO: ICRISAT
bagasse (waste) for livestock
feed and power generation.
Its highlight is that there is
no compromise on farmers’
food security, since the grain
is available for the farmers,
along with sugar-rich juice
from the stalk that can be dis-
tilled to manufacture
ethanol.
Cost-effective
There are other benefits al-
so. It is a cost-effective and
competitive feedstock. It has
a shorter crop cycle of 4
months compared to sugar-
cane, which is a 12-month
crop and requires lesser wa-
ter.
It requires only half of the Environment friendly
water required to grow maize
and one eighth of the water tral crop that makes it envi-
required to grow sugarcane.
The cultivation cost is less
when compared to sugarcane.
The juice from the stalks is
used for fuel alcohol produc-
tion. The leftover stalks
(called sillage), after juice ex-
traction, can be used for ani-
mal feed, according to Dr.
Belum Reddy, Principal Sci-
entist, Sorghum Breeding, of
the Institute.
Sweet sorghum is tolerant
to water scarcity and high
temperatures, two qualities
which will keep the crop in
good stead in the context of
climate change. It also has
high water use efficiency.
It is a carbon dioxide neu-
ronment friendly, and does
not add to greenhouse gas
emissions. During its growth
cycle, a hectare of sweet sor-
ghum cultivation absorbs
about 45 tonnes of carbon.
It has been found from
studies that gasoline blended
with ethanol has lower emis-
sions when run through an
automobile engine than pure
gasoline.
Field experiments con-
ducted have proved that from
one hectare of sweet sor-
ghum, a farmer can harvest
about 30 tonnes of fresh stalk.
The cost of cultivation of
sweet sorghum works out to
Rs.10,500 per hectare. It gen-
erates a total income of Rs.
21,000 with a net return of Rs
10,500.
Good animal feed
The stalks of sweet sor-
ghum are relished by cattle
and the digestibility is higher
compared to grain sorghum.
In the absence of a distillery,
the farmer can sell the stalks
to animal feed manufactur-
ers. The sillage from sweet
sorghum stalk is a good ani-
mal feed like grain sorghum.
ICRISAT’s initiative to
produce biofuels is not limit-
ed to bio ethanol from sweet
sorghum alone.
Water shed project
Through its watershed de-
velopment project, it is pro-
moting the cultivation of
Pongamia and Jatropha also
from which biodiesel can be
extracted.
For more information
readers can contact Dr. Be-
lum V.S. Reddy, Principal Sci-
entist, email:
b.reddy@cgiar.org, GT-Crop
Improvement, email: b.red-
dy@cgiar.org , phone: 040-
30713487 and 040-30713348,
ICRISAT P. O., Patancheru,
Medak district, Andhra Pra-
desh: 502324.
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Management of banana
pseudostem borer
B
anana Pseudostem ing and drying of lower leaves
borer is a serious and drooping of dried leaves,
pest in banana plan-
tations of Assam,
Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil
Pest management
— Keep the garden clean by
properly disposing of the
Nadu.
The pest breeds through-
trees after harvest.
— During cropping, period-
out the year but is more active ically remove the dried leaves
during summer and and leaf sheaths which may
monsoon. harbour the adult weevils.
The weevil lays cylindrical, — Remove the side suckers
yellowish white eggs. Grubs up to 8 months to prevent the
are soft, fleshy, wrinkled and harbourage of adult weevils.
sparsely covered with brown
hairs of varying lengths.
— Pseudostem injection of
diluted monocrotophos can
Pupae are pale yellow in be followed. Monocrotophos
colour. Adult weevils are (150ml) is mixed with water
chocolate black in colour, (350ml).
with pointed head. This diluted insecticide is
injected into the pseudo stem
Lifecycle in 2 sites: one at 2 feet from
The lifecycle occupies 3-5 the ground level and another
days for eggs, 20-26 days for on the opposite side at 5 feet
grub and 20-24 days for pupa from the ground level.
during summer months and a For the injection, modified
little longer period for these pseudo stem injector can be
stages during winter. used.
Adult weevil keeps their The needle of the injector
eggs in air chambers through has to be inserted 1-1/2 inches
slits cut on leaf sheaths. deep, downwards at 45 degree
On hatching, the grubs angle with the pseudo stem.
start feeding on tissues The trees can be injected
around the air chambers of up to 8 months of planting.
leaf sheath and then bore in- After flowering injection of
side the pseudo stems making insecticide should be avoided.
them weak.
Ultimately, the trees also S. SRIDHARAN
break down with a strong Professor of
blast of wind. Other symp- Agricultural Entomology
toms noted are gummation KVK, TNAU,
on the pseudo stem, yellow- Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
FARM QUERIES
Plant extract
I am interested to know whether any plant extracts are
available or can be made to control pests which affect my apple
and wheat fields?
S. GURBAJHAN SINGH
Ludhiana
About 300 grams of garlic can be lightly grinded and soaked
in 150 ml of kerosene for 24 hours, after which it can be mixed
in about 60 litres of water and sprayed for an acre. This can
control a wide spectrum of pests such as cotton bollworm,
aswini fly, fruit borer, red spider mite and sugarcane borer.
For details on different plant extracts and their uses contact
Mr. S. Aravindan, Social scientist, Vivekanandapuram, Kanya-
kumari - 629 702, Tamil Nadu, India, email. ngc_vknar-
dep@sancharnet.in and vknardep@gmail.com, mobile:
9443748714, phone: 04652 246296 and 04652 247126.
Readers are invited to send their queries with full postal address to ‘Farm Queries,’ The Hindu,
Kasturi Buildings, 859/860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002 or email to farmqueries@thehindu.co.in
CH-CH
CHENNAI

THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008 19

Syntel commences work on development centres at Siruseri
Syntel, custom outsourcing solutions provider, has commenced construction of its 29 acre SEZ facility at
Siruseri, Chennai. The company planned to undertake construction activities in two phases. In Phase-I, it will
construct 6.5 lakh sq. ft. Most of Phase-I is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2008.
BUSINESS
UTI AMC submits bid RCom Q4 net profit up 47%
Plans to list subsidiary, Reliance GlobalComm, on the London exchange
Kamath is new
CII President
Special Correspondent

to handle PF corpus Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Reliance Communi-

cations (RCom), part of the
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Ventures into
IT space

Rs. 1.55 lakh crore will have to be managed
NEW DELHI: Country’s third lar-
gest fund manager UTI Asset
Management Company has
submitted bid for manage-
ment of the Employees’ Prov-
ident Fund Organisation’s
(EPFO) corpus of over Rs.
1.55 lakh crore.
‘‘We have already submit-
ted Expression of Interest for
the management of EPFO’s
fund,’’ UTI AMC Chief Exec-
utive Officer U. K. Sinha told
PTI.
The EPFO, the country’s
largest pension fund having
over four crore subscribers, is
being managed by a single
fund manager.
When asked whether it
would float a separate subsid-
iary for the management of
pension fund, Mr. Sinha said
the asset managers had just
submitted bids and the mod-
alities would be worked out
later. A fortnight ago, the EP-
FO had invited bids from
fund managers and portfolio
managers for efficient man-
agement of the corpus.
According to the advertise-
ment inviting bids, as on
March 31, 2007, the EPFO
corpus was over Rs. 1.55 lakh
crore at the face value exclud-
ing the balance lying in the
public account.
The appointed fund man-
agers will have to invest the
funds as per the prescribed
investment pattern issued by
the Ministry of Labour and
investment guidelines issued
by the EPFO from time-to-
time, it had said.
Existing pattern
As per the existing pattern,
the corpus can only be invest-
ed in bonds issued by Central,
State governments and state-
run companies.
The EPFO paid 8.5 per cent
interest rate to its subscribers
during 2007-08. The interest
rate has come down substan-
tially from over 10 per cent
some years ago.
The EPFO manages
schemes like the flagship Em-
ployees’ Provident Fund, the
Employees’ Pension Fund
and the Employees’ Deposit
Linked Insurance Fund. —
PTI
Group, reported a 47 per cent
growth in its net profit at Rs.
1,503 crore for the quarter
ended March 31, 2008. The
turnover over the same peri-
od was up 35 per cent at Rs.
5,311 crore.
During the period, the
company’s businesses posted
healthy growth with the wire-
less business up 40 per cent at
Rs. 4,161 crore, global busi-
ness 18 per cent at Rs. 1,526
crore and broadband busi-
ness 54.5 per cent at Rs. 510
crore. The operating profit
was up 42 per cent at Rs. 2,316
crore and operating margins
improved to 43.6 per cent.
For the financial year
2007-08, the company re-
ported a 71 per cent higher
net profit at Rs. 5,401 crore
($1.350 billion) on 32 per cent
higher revenues of Rs. 19,068
crore. The operating profit
was up 43.3 per cent at Rs.
STRONG GROWTH: Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance
Communications, addressing a press conference in
Mumbai on Wednesday.
— PHOTO: PAUL NORONHA
and would spend the balance
Rs. 25,000 crore ($6 billion)
in the current year.
The company plans to list
global subsidiary, Reliance
GlobalComm, “if values and
markets are right on the Lon-
don Stock Exchange, said Anil
Ambani, Chairman, RCom,
tions. There have been posi-
tive developments such as
allowing of active and passive
sharing, issuing of new li-
cences and spectrum alloca-
tion. The regulator’s
recommendations on 3G and
WiMax are attractive oppor-
tunities for Reliance
Tests DTH
product nationally
nered a much higher market
share than expected. We are
adding four lakh customers a
month.” For its remaining 15 K. V. Kamath
circles, the company has
placed electronics orders NEW DELHI: K. V. Kamath, Ma-
worth over $1 billion. The naging Director and CEO, IC-
pan-India GSM roll-out will ICI Bank, has been elected
start at the end of this year President of the Confedera-
and RCom will achieve cov- tion of Indian Industry (CII)
erage to all villages by for 2008-09. He succeeds Su-
end-2009. nil Bharti Mittal and will as-
The company has ventured sume office on Thursday.
into the information technol- Venu Srinivasan, Managing
ogy (IT) sector by creating Director, Sundaram-Clayton,
Reliance Technology Services has been elected Vice Presi-
which will focus on specific dent of the industry body.
verticals of telecommunica-
tions, financial services,
media and entertainment and
utilities. It will initially ser- HDFC posts
vice group companies and lat-
er serve external companies. Rs. 2,712 cr. net
The company is now test-

New price index by year-end 8,199 crore with strong con-

tributions from all its busi-
nesses. RCom had announced
a capital expenditure plan of
while addressing the media.
RCom’s tower business
subsidiary, Reliance Infratel,
has filed its prospectus with
Infratel.”
RCom at present operates
GSM services through Re-
liance Telecom in eight cir-
ing its Direct to Home (DTH)
product, Big TV, nationally.
This service incorporates
MPEG4 (Moving Picture Ex-
MUMBAI: Private sector lender
Housing Development Fi-
nance Corporation
Wednesday said it had posted
on

lease actual price quotations

NEW DELHI: With the method of 1,918 to 6,000, giving a better Rs. 45,000 crore over 2007- the Securities and Exchange cles and according to Mr. perts Group) and HDTV tech- a net profit of Rs. 2,712.19
on a monthly basis. “In May,
calculating inflation drawing picture of the price variation. 08 and 2008-09. It had al- Board of India. “We are Ambani, “the numbers are nologies and will be launched crore for the year ended
flak from various quarters, we will release prices of April ‘‘All this exercise is aimed ready spent Rs. 21,000 crore awaiting better market condi- encouraging and we have gar- commercially soon. March 31, 2008, excluding Rs.
the Central Government will so that prices are in the public at providing more robust fig- 293 crore it earned through
bring in a new and bigger domain,’’ he said. ures and streamlining the derivative exposure. The PAT
Wholesale Price Index by this
year-end, besides giving ac-
tual prices from next month.
The new index will com-
prise 980 items, twice the
number (435) it now has, and
process so that there is accu-
racy in price movements,’’ the
official said, adding that work
Sensex down 91 points ahead of FED meet for the year is 54.74 per cent
higher than the last fiscal
when it earned Rs. 1,741.98
The new WPI, which would the base year would be 2004- on the new series was being crore. Income from oper-
be gradually replaced with 05 against the existing 1993- done by the Department of MUMBAI: The markets closed The broader 50-share S&P Investors’ unwillingness to 40.52 against the dollar on ations stood at Rs. 8,036.42
94, the official said. ‘‘The cov-
new indices on service prices Industrial Policy and Promo- weak on Wednesday with the CNX Nifty of the National enlarge positions also was Wednesday even as the mar- crore against Rs. 5,458.98
and prices at the producers erage of the new series has tion in the Commerce Minis- benchmark Sensex on the Stock Exchange also fell by due to continued concerns ket awaited cues from the crore a year ago.
level, would be released been rationalised by incorpo- try. Bombay Stock Exchange los- 29.60 points to close at over high inflation rate. U.S. Federal Reserve meet-
monthly against the current rating important new items, The existing inflation index ing 91 points even as all eyes 5,165.90 from its last close. Reliance Industries was ing. It closed at 40.48/49 on Dividend
practice of weekly, a seniordropping unimportant items is being criticised by many as are on U.S. Federal Reserve Marketmen said investors down 1.44 per cent, HDFC Tuesday. The board has recom-
official said. and amalgamating similar it does not fully capture pric- meeting. were so much cautious that 2.66 per cent, DLF 2.84 per At the interbank foreign mended a dividend of Rs. 25
However, the price move- items,’’ the official said. es, say, of services. Many The Bombay Stock Ex- even better-than-expected cent, HDFC Bank 2.11 per exchange market, the domes- per share.
ments of essential commod- The increase in the number brands that are no longer in change 30-share bellwether Q4 earnings announced by cent, Grasim 2.81 per cent, tic unit fluctuated widely in a Loan approvals went up by
ities such as agricultural of items would largely include markets are still in the index, settled the day 17287.31, a loss bluechip companies Reliance ICICI Bank by 2.43 per cent range of 40.38 and 40.64. It 28 per cent in the reporting
products would continue to items from the manufactur- experts said. As such, the WPI of 91.15 points from its previ- Communications and HDFC, and ONGC 1.84 per cent. resumed firm at 40.4250/ year, HDFC Vice Chairman
be released weekly, he said.ing sector, which has a would gradually be phased ous close. failed to trigger any major 4350 a dollar. Keki Mistry told reporters.
weightage of over 63 per cent out and replaced with the ser- The Sensex had surged to buying support. Rupee ends cheaper Poor dollar supplies also During the year, approvals
Price quotations in the present WPI. vices price index and the Pro- the day’s high of 17480.70 (a The sluggish trend in Asian After losing a good 32 paise weighed on the rupee senti- aggregated to Rs. 42,520
From next month, the Go- Price quotations would al- ducer Price Index (PPI), the rise of 102 points) in early and European markets also on Tuesday, the rupee shed ment, forex dealers said. — crore compared to Rs. 33,332
vernment would also the re- so go up from the existing official said. — PTI trade. cast shadow on sentiment. another three paise at 40.51/ PTI crore a year ago. — PTI

Trent buys out Hemu’s stake in Landmark

K. T. Jagannathan
CHENNAI: Tata-owned retailer
Trent has bought out Hemu
Ramaiah’s stake in Chennai-
based Landmark for an undis-
closed sum. Ms. Ramaiah
held 24 per cent stake.
Confirming the stake sale,
Ms. Ramaiah told this corre-
spondent that she was ven-
turing into retail design and
consultancy space. A new
company by the name and
style of Shop 4 Solutions had
already been formed, she
said. She felt that retail con-
sultancy was still an unex-
plored field and that it had a
big scope.
Trent, it may be recalled,
had acquired 76 per cent
stake in Landmark, then a
partnership firm, for Rs.
103.60 crore in August 2005.
It had then acquired 75 per
cent from Ms. Hemu Ra-
maiah’s brother Natraj Ra-
maiah, the main promoter of
the Landmark chain, in an all-
cash deal. Ms Ramaiah her-
self had sold one per cent and
retained a 24 per cent stake.
At the time of Trent taking
over majority control in the CEO while Himanshu
Landmark, it was agreed that Chakrawarti of Trent joined
Ms. Ramaiah would exit the as COO. Since then, the Land-
company at her own conve- mark chain has spread its
nient time. “I have chosen towings. Today, it has over 15
exit now,” she said. “I have stores across cities such as
been on the shop-floor for 30Chennai, Puducherry, Banga-
lore, Mumbai, Vadodara, Ah-
years now,” she said. “I want-
ed to do something new,” she medabad, Gurgaon, Lucknow
added. Ms. Ramaiah and her and Hyderabad. Landmark, it
may be recalled, earlier had
brother were the original pro-
moters of books and gifts re-an equal joint venture with
tailer Landmark. the Emami group for a store
in Kolkata. In 2006, Emami
15 stores bought out Ms Ramaiah’s
Post-the Trent investment, stake and rechristened the
Ms Ramaiah continued to be store as Starmark.

MMTC to host Dr. Reddy’s to buy BASF’s U.S. facility

festival of gold
Corporate Reporter
CHENNAI: MMTC Limited, a
premier international trading
house, will hold its flagship
event ‘festival of gold’ in
Chennai from May 7 to 11 at
Hotel Accord Metropolitan,
T. Nagar, in association with
Gitanjali group, Union Bank
of India and World Gold
Council.
Addressing presspersons
here on Wednesday, S. Gu-
ruswamy, Chief General
Manager (South Zone), said
MMTC started holding such
exhibitions since 1994 with
its first event in Delhi and this
was the first time that such
exhibition was held in Chen-
nai. Mr. Guruswamy said
MMTC was the largest im-
porter of gold in India han-
dling 100 tonnes of gold and
500 tonnes of silver annually.
It was operating a full-fledged
gold and silver medallion
manufacturing unit in Delhi.
Gold/silver refinery
MMTC was also planning
to start a gold/silver refinery
as a joint venture in Haryana
by 2009 for catering to the
domestic and export markets.
Besides the company would
be opening retail showrooms
jointly with Gitanjali group
all over India, Mr. Guruswa-
my said. He said there was
huge demand for gold in In-
dia. Out of 800 tonnes con-
sumed in India 700 tonnes
were imported and one third
of world production was ab-
sorbed in India.
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD: Dr. Reddy’s Lab-
oratories announced here on
Wednesday that it had signed
a definitive agreement to ac-
quire $43 million BASF’s
pharmaceutical contract
manufacturing business and
related facility in Shreveport,
Louisiana, U.S.
Dr. Reddy’s in a statement
here said that this transaction
was subject to customary
closing conditions, and was
ABN AMRO launches ‘Go Card’
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: ABN AMRO and
India’s travel portal Make-
MyTrip.com on Wednesday
launched a distinctive co-
branded credit card, ‘Go
Card’. The card offers trav-
ellers exclusive reward bene-
fits and a comprehensive
range of travel-related
promotions.
Powered with ‘Go Miles,’
an exclusive rewards pro-
gramme, the ‘Go Card’ allows
cardholders to redeem their
reward points as cash against
any air ticket to any destina-
tion or stay at any hotel, when
they book their trips on Ma-
keMyTrip.com.
Through its ‘Accelerated
Go Miles plan,’ the card users
could also earn up to ten
times more reward points on
purchases made on MakeMy-
Trip.com. The ‘Go Card’,
which is exclusively on the
MasterCard Titanium plat-
expected to be complete ANDAs (abbreviated new
within the first quarter of fis- drug applications) and NDAs
cal year 2008-09. The trans- (new drug applications),
action would be funded using trademarks, as well as the
Dr. Reddy’s internal cash re- manufacturing facility and
serves or other committed assets at Shreveport,
credit facilities. This business Louisiana.
involves the contract manu- Satish Reddy, Managing
facturing of generic prescrip- Director and Chief Operating
tion and over-the-counter Officer, said: “The acquisition
(OTC) products for branded will enable us to strengthen
and generic companies in the our supply chain for North
U.S.. The acquisition would America and provide a strong
include the relevant business, platform for pursuing addi-
customer contracts, related tional growth opportunities.”
COMBINING LEISURE AND BUSINESS: Meera Sanyal
(second from left), Country Executive, ABN AMRO,
with Deep Kalra (second from right), founder and
CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, at a press conference in
New Delhi on Wednesday. — PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
form, also offers a compre- needs of its valued customers,
hensive range of travel who are increasingly de-
related discounts and offers. manding innovative solutions
Addressing a press confe- that add value to combine lei-
rence here, Meera Sanyal, sure and business.
Country Executive, ABN AM- Deep Kalra, CEO of Make-
RO, said the launch of ‘Go MyTrip.com, was confident
Card’ was in line with ABN that Indian travellers would
AMRO’s endeavour to re- respond enthusiastically to
spond to the ever-evolving the ‘Go Card’.
CH-CH

20 BUSINESS
BSE-NSE
BSE index
17287.31(17378.46)
S&P CNX Nifty Index
5165.9(5195.5)
BSE (BSE Prev.)NSE (NSE prev.)
BSE - A Group/NSE
Aban Offshore 3407.10 (3494.10) 3401.80
(3509.40)
ABB 1141.60 (1135.35) 1141 (1135.05)
ACC 758.65 (775.35) 758.65 (775.35)
Adani Exports 845.15 (847.30)
Akruti Nirman 1088.70 (1082.20) 1086.70 (1085.40)
Allahabad Bank 84.45 (83.85) 84.35 (83.65)
Alstom Power 614.65 (673.50) 614.70 (672.25)
Andhra Bank 81.85 (81.80) 81.80 (82.30)
Areva T & D 1670.45 (1728.10)
Ashok Leyland 41.15 (40.05) 41.15 (40.20)
Asian Paints 1276.45 (1251) 1280.30 (1255.45)
Axis Bank 924.30 (944.30) 923.55 (945.65)
Bajaj Auto 709.20 (698.75)
Bajaj Hindustan 234.65 (242.65) 233.95 (242.15)
Bank of Baroda 315.15 (314.80) 315.35 (315.75)
Bank of India 342.65 (332.90) 342.30 (333.30)
BEML 1101.05 (1100.20) 1101.95 (1100.30)
Bharat Elect 1336.55 (1339.40) 1332.35 (1338.40)
Bharat Forge 293.80 (299.55) 294.70 (300.10)
Bharti Airtel 898.80 (902) 898.25 (901.20)
BHEL 1897 (1891.85) 1902.15 (1891.70)
Bhushan Steel 801.90 (818.20)
Biocon 490.30 (490.60) 490.45 (489.60)
Bom Dyeing 1024.55 (987.40) 1025 (988.15)
BPCL 409.60 (395.70) 409.40 (396.30)
Brigade Enter 202.85 (203.05) 204.65 (203.05)
Cairn Ind 248.85 (261.05) 248.15 (261.20)
Canara Bank 237.10 (238.10) 237.10 (238.10)
Central Bank Of Indi 92.60 (94)
Century Textiles 872.30 (856.80) 872.60 (855.75)
CESE 493.95 (475.20) 499.90 (475.25)
Chambal Fertiliser 68.40 (73.35) 68.40 (73.55)
Cipla 213.05 (214.70) 213 (214.70)
Colgate 412.20 (405.05)
Container Corpn. 882.05 (888.15) 859.30 (880.10)
CPCL 365.60 (371.45) 362.85 (372.15)
Crompton Greaves 249.05 (251.20) 249.65 (251)
Cummins India 317.95 (319.35) 317.95 (319.40)
Dabur (I) 106.30 (106.15) 106.85 (106.40)
Deccan Chron 152.25 (143.30) 152.20 (142.85)
Dish TV 57.50 (55.50) 57.75 (55.60)
Divi’s Lab 1498.95 (1421.30) 1501.80 (1421.15)
DLF Limited 705.25 (725.85) 705.15 (725.55)
Dr. Reddy’s Lab 622.45 (627.05) 623 (627.05)
Edelweiss 825.25 (830.25) 825.60 (831.15)
Educomp solution 4010.50 (4070.10) 170.40 (172)
EIH 149.15 (155.20) 149.45 (155.55)
Engineers India 681.85 (684.70) 681.75 (679.35)
Essar Oil 277.05 (280.30) 277.20 (280.85)
Essar Ship. 157.95 (159.80)
Exide Industries 73.05 (73.75)
Federal Bank 240.25 (247.45) 240.75 (248.10)
GA Cement 113.90 (114.85)
GAIL 441 (439.10) 440.10 (439.55)
Gammon India 425.90 (424.85) 425.50 (425)
GE Shipping 442.35 (448.10) 441.40 (448.20)
Glaxo Pharma 1090.05 (1033.40) 1090.75 (1039.45)
Glenmark Pharma 668.40 (657.75) 671.25 (658)
GMR Infra 160.85 (159.15) 161.10 (159.55)
Godrej Ind 284.60 (282.20) 283.80 (280.70)
Grasim Ind. 2402.75 (2472.30) 2404.85 (2474.20)
GSPL 68.50 (69.30) 68.40 (69.45)
GTL Infra 50.70 (46.80) 50.85 (46.90)
Guj. Mineral 321 (323.20) 321.35 (323.85)
Guj.nre Coke 149.65 (152.70)
GVK Power 44.95 (44) 45.05 (44)
HCL Tech. 286.75 (286.40) 288.45 (286.90)
HDFC Bank 1514.85 (1547.50) 1524.15 (1547.80)
HDIL 772 (775) 771.75 (774.75)
Hero Honda 850.70 (861.85) 851.60 (863)
Hind Unilever 249.50 (250.85)
Hindalco 193.60 (198.20)
Hindustan Zinc 638.85 (668.55) 638.75 (665.50)
HMT 83.55 (83.15) 83.85 (83.20)
HPCL 257.25 (254.35) 257.30 (255.10)
ICICI Bank 879.40 (901.30) 879.60 (902.50)
IDBI 104.65 (105.90) 104.35 (105.95)
Idea Cellular 105.50 (105.05) 105.55 (105)
IDFC 177.50 (172.70) 178.15 (172.70)
IFCI 56.65 (62.85) 56.65 (62.90)
I-flex 1399.55 (1319.90) 1397 (1320.40)
India Bulls 535.10 (534.40) 536.70 (532.35)
India Cements 171.65 (170) 171.75 (170)
Indian Bank 139.05 (144.05) 139 (143.75)
Indian Hotel 115.75 (116.15) 116 (116.25)
Indian Oil Corpn 460.65 (448.40) 461 (448.50)
Indian Over. Bank 148.20 (149.60) 148.25 (149.80)
Indian Rayon 1450.25 (1491.50)
Indusind Bank 90.60 (92.15) 90.40 (92.20)
Infosys 1753.75 (1750.75) 1753.10 (1749.55)
ITC 219.80 (212.15) 219.90 (212.30)
IVCRL Infra 429.45 (419.60) 429.75 (419.35)
Jet Airways 552.95 (551.05) 552.80 (551.80)
Jindal Steels 2396.70 (2366.60) 2399.65 (2369.05)
JP Associates 271.30 (266.10) 271.70 (266)
Jp Hydro Power 70.65 (70.10)
Kotak Mah. Bank 789.35 (791.35) 791.65 (790.85)
L & T 3003.35 (3007.40) 3003.25 (3008.75)
Lanco Infra 537.70 (494.25) 537.35 (494.45)
LIC Housing 359.25 (353.55) 359.50 (352.90)
Lupin Ltd. 566.30 (578.25) 564.75 (575.20)
M&M 670.40 (642.70) 670.20 (645.10)
Maruti Udyog 741.90 (731.30) 742.10 (731.15)
Max India 158.25 (159.75) 158.65 (159.90)
Mcdowell 1609.10 (1650.55)
Mico Ltd. 4137.05 (3997.40)
Moser Baer 172.65 (179.40) 172.75 (180.50)
MRPL 101.90 (103.25) 101.70 (103.35)
MTNL 110.45 (114.30) 110.40 (114.50)
Nagar.Const 211.35 (209.50) 211.80 (209.95)
National Aluminium 449.25 (458.70) 449.10 (458.80)
Nestle 1758.80 (1625.25)
Neyveli Lignite 155.70 (150.10) 155.80 (150.25)
Nicholas Pir 347 (345.80) 349.40 (345.70)
NTPC 196.75 (194.65) 196.75 (194.75)
Omaxe Ltd 239.45 (237.40)
ONGC 1033.40 (1052.80) 1033.05 (1051.65)
Orintal Bank 217.40 (212.85) 217.95 (213.80)
Petronet LNG 80.20 (80.40) 80.05 (80.65)
Power Finance 161.75 (162) 162.35 (162.15)
Power Grid 105.30 (104.75) 105.55 (104.85)
Punj Lloyd 365.30 (368.70) 366.15 (369.50)
Punjab Natio 550.90 (564.80) 550.40 (565.05)
Rajesh Expo. 93.75 (89.95) 93.55 (89.85)
Ranbaxy Lab. 480.05 (484.85) 479.75 (485.50)
Rashtr.chem. 71.15 (74.75) 71.30 (74.90)
Rel. com. ven 579.75 (574.70)
Rel. Nat. Resour 122.40 (126.80) 122.30 (126.85)
Rel. Petroleum 201.25 (202.25) 201.30 (202.40)
Rel. Power 394.30 (402.30) 394.65 (401.85)
Rel.cap. 1503.70 (1505.65) 1508.65 (1506.55)
Reliance 2614.85 (2653) 2614.50 (2659.95)
Reliance Energy 1425.65 (1436.15)
Rolta (i) 339.10 (331.45) 339.35 (330.80)
Satyam Com 482.20 (479.35) 482.65 (479.30)
Saw Pipes 653.50 (649.95)
Sesa Goa 4217.40 (4172.60) 4216.45 (4172.60)
Shipping Corpn. 242.50 (238.65) 243.10 (238.75)
Shriram Tran 320.95 (320)
Siemens Ltd. 571.75 (575.25) 571.85 (575.35)
Sobha Dev 613.35 (622.30)
State Bank 1776.35 (1793.50) 1774.65 (1795.55)
Steel Auth. 185.05 (179.40) 184.95 (179.30)
Sterlite Ind 862.15 (898.85) 862.80 (896.05)
Sun Pharma 1449.20 (1436.85) 1447.80 (1436.60)
Sun TV 318.25 (313.30) 319.45 (312.60)
Suzlon Energy 287.15 (286.60)
Tata Chem. 357.50 (364.30) 358.75 (363.80)
Tata Motors 662.20 (639.95) 664.50 (639.85)
Tata Power 1392.30 (1391.75) 1395.95 (1389.95)
Tata Steel 817.60 (808.90)
Tata Tea 912.25 (879.95) 913.60 (878.85)
TCS 919.55 (910.80) 921 (910.55)
Tech Mahindra 914.05 (902) 913.60 (902.65)
Thermax 499.55 (509.70) 499.75 (510.05)
Titan Ind. 1244.30 (1302.90) 1242.35 (1295.85)
Triveni Engg 128.50 (128.75)
Tv 18 India 344.15 (337.80)
Ucobank 42.25 (42.30)
Ultra Tech 761.05 (776.20) 762.95 (781.05)
Union Bank 160.40 (163.40) 160.20 (163.95)
Unitech Ltd 310.40 (317.50) 309.80 (317.65)
United Bre 625.95 (631.30)
United Phos 322.95 (327.75)
Videsh Sanch 499.15 (506.40)
Vijaya Bank 52.35 (53.70) 52.45 (53.75)
Voltas Ltd 191.10 (191.95) 191.70 (192.30)
Wipro Ltd. 488.60 (479.20) 488.75 (478.90)
Yes Bank 170.30 (171.05) 170.45 (171.25)
Zee Tele. 213.90 (214)
BSE - B Group/NSE
3i Infotech 132.50 (131.75)
Aarti Drugs 59.25 (59.35)
Abbott India 530.25 (529.15)
Accel Frontline 85.65 (85.70) 84.80 (85.25)
Adorwelding 168.35 (169.40) 168.45 (169.65)
Advanta 920.55 (916.70) 921.65 (914.70)
Aegis Chem 264.15 (260.50) 264.65 (262.15)
Aftek Infosys 53.35 (53.60)
Ajanta Pharma 97.15 (91.80) 96.80 (91.90)
Alembic Ltd 63.50 (62.30) 63.25 (62.40)
Alfa Laval 884.90 (920.55) 888.90 (928.60)
Allcargo Glob 786.65 (797.30) 790.10 (792.95)
Allsec Tech 71.10 (71.90) 70.80 (72.15)
Alok Ind 65.35 (68.75) 65.55 (68.70)
Amar Raja Ba 202.45 (194.55) 204.05 (195.55)
Amtrex Hitachi 135.20 (133.65)
Ang Exports 108.20 (108.95)
AP Paper 89.20 (89.30) 91 (88.30)
Apar Ind 221.95 (223.30) 217.50 (221.25)
Apollo Hosp. 495.40 (500.05) 495.55 (499.40)
Apollo Tyres 45.70 (45.50) 45.85 (45.55)
Aptech Ltd 269.65 (260.10) 270.45 (260.05)
Archies 124.70 (119.20) 125.75 (119.70)
Arihant Cap. 80 (77.45)
Artefact Sof 84.35 (83.50)
Arvind Mills 51.90 (53.20) 51.80 (53.05)
Asahi Ind. 61.20 (59.55) 61 (59.60)
Asian Electr 196.10 (194.55) 195.60 (194.70)
Asian Hotels 626.50 (610) 635.15 (612.40)
Astrazen.ph. 535.30 (545)
Atlanta 238 (235.70) 237.30 (235.75)
Atlas Cycles 158.05 (158.35) 158.95 (157.95)
Aurob.pharma 328.90 (323.75) 329.65 (323.85)
Auto Axles 348.95 (342.25) 347.80 (343.40)
Autolite (I) 78.30 (77.30)
Aventis Pharma 823.15 (828.50) 825.40 (835)
AVT Natural 92.20 (93)
Balaji Tele. 177.40 (174) 176.75 (174.15)
Balmer Lawrie 415 (410.35) 415.05 (411.30)
Bank of Maha 49.30 (54.25) 49 (54.05)
Bank of Rajasthan 106.85 (104.10) 106.35 (103.80)
Bannari Aman Sugars 925.80 (960) 941.50 (960.30)
Bannari Amman Spinn 95.05 (94.55) 95 (94.75)
Bartronics 224.55 (204.65) 224.35 (205.30)
BASF India 212.95 (212.55) 212.05 (213.05)
Bata India 182.55 (189.15) 182.95 (188.90)
Bayer ABS 166.60 (165.05)
Berger Paints 44.65 (43.90) 45 (44.05)
BGR Energy 442.40 (459.40) 443.80 (459.10)
Bharat Gears 46.10 (45.95) 46.30 (46)
Bharati Shipyard 530.70 (525.55) 529.85 (528.70)
Binani Cement 79.50 (79.45) 79.35 (79.75)
Birla 3m 1863.25 (1875.70)
Birla Corpn 214.75 (214.70) 214.70 (214.75)
BL Kashyap 1684.05 (1557.05) 1694.55 (1563.70)
Blue Dart Express 675.30 (683.05) 666.40 (681.40)
Blue Star Infotech 66.95 (65.55) 66.70 (64.95)
BOC 160.70 (160.20)
Bom.swa.stor 87.30 (88)
Bombay Rayon 378.05 (387.85) 379.20 (389.90)
Bongaigaon Ref. 61.20 (62) 61.20 (62.05)
Borax Morarj 62 (61.20)
Borosil Glas 657.95 (680)
Brescon Corp 141.95 (139.70)
Britania Ind 1359.35 (1342.30) 1354.10 (1343.60)
BSEL Inform. 51.55 (51.45)
Cadila Healthcare 288.65 (271.05) 288.30 (272.05)
Californ. Software 90.10 (90) 89.95 (90)
Cambridge Tech 43.35 (41.45) 43.35 (41.25)
Carborundum 117.95 (117.80) 117.85 (118.05)
Castrol 302.95 (291.75)
Ceat 135.60 (139.35)
BSE SENSEX
17707
17378.46
17378
17125.98 17287.31
17050
17015.96
16721.08
16721
16392
24 25 28 29 30
Apr
Centrum Fin. 1105.55 (1123.50)
Century Enka 123.60 (121.50) 123.60 (122.10)
CG Igarshi 59.05 (58.90)
Chola. Investment 181.10 (184.95)
Cinemax Ind 117.30 (121.95) 117.35 (121.85)
CMC 803.90 (793.05) 802.50 (796.90)
Compact Disc 79.15 (82.95)
Coral Lab. 75.05 (77)
Cords Cable 120.15 (103.50) 120.30 (104)
Coroma.fert. 136.45 (138.10)
Corporation Bank 339.05 (343.20) 338.05 (343.55)
Crewbos 64.45 (65.20) 63.50 (63.60)
Crisil 3763.40 (3771.80) 3772.20 (3774.85)
Dabur Pharma 73.20 (74.65) 73.20 (74.20)
Dena Bankm 60.60 (58.70)
Dev. Credit 108.05 (106.20) 108.10 (106.40)
Dhampur Sugar 68.35 (68.10) 68.15 (68.05)
Dhanalakshmi Bank 87.95 (83.90) 88 (83.85)
Dishman Pharma 322.65 (320.75) 321.30 (319.95)
D-link India 88.45 (86.50) 88.05 (85.95)
Dollex Ind. 44.10 (44.65)
Dredging Corporation 647.15 (643.50) 648.15
(641.15)
Eicher Motor 273.45 (276.10) 275 (276.20)
EID Parry 222.70 (221.55)
Elecon Eng 167.45 (169.65)
Elgi Equipment 66.50 (63.45) 66.35 (63.20)
Ema India 68.95 (65.75)
Esab India 430.60 (427.35) 434.20 (424.80)
Escorts 102.95 (104.60) 102.95 (105)
Eveready 48.50 (49)
Everest Kanto 346.65 (339.60) 346.90 (340.05)
Everonn Systems 655.45 (647.50) 654.75 (650.10)
Fedder.llyod 60.65 (60.65)
Finolex Cables 68.25 (68.35) 68.40 (68.15)
Finolex Ind. 71.25 (72.70) 71.55 (72.30)
Fortis Fin. 83.10 (84.20)
FSL 44.40 (44.50) 44.55 (44.70)
G.g.dandekar 95.30 (95.05)
G.m.breweri 85.85 (86.05)
Galaxy I-fab 119.45 (120.95)
Garware Poly 47.30 (47.50)
Gateway Dist 126.20 (124.20)
Gati Corpn. 109.50 (108.90)
Gei Hamon In 86.85 (89.20)
Genesys Intl. 65.65 (68.85) 65.10 (68.50)
Geojit Financial 58.65 (49.70) 58.55 (49.60)
Geomet Sofso 58.40 (58.70) 58.55 (58.40)
GIC Housing 64.40 (65) 64.40 (65)
Gillette India 1020.25 (1009.50)
Glaxo Consumer 660.55 (646.20) 665.65 (645)
GNFC 163 (163.15) 162.85 (163.05)
Godrej Con 129.85 (128.15) 130.50 (129.45)
Goetze India 82.80 (82.35)
Gokaldas 211.65 (209.05)
Goodlas Nerolac 694.95 (698.30)
Goodyear (i) 129.20 (131.90)
Greaves Cotton 246.85 (248) 249.10 (247.50)
Greenply Ind 258.05 (256.95)
GSFC 194 (192.25) 194.05 (191.85)
Gslot Entert 62.20 (64.50)
GTC Ind. 254.50 (264.85) 254.75 (265.75)
GTL 268.70 (264.50) 269.70 (266.10)
Guj. Alkali 180.40 (192.55) 180.55 (192.40)
Guj.amb.exp. 51.05 (48.70)
Gujarat Gas 267.50 (271.90) 265.20 (270.55)
Gujarat Heavy 92.85 (90.15) 93.15 (90)
Gwalior Chem 67.65 (66.15) 67.70 (66.25)
Hanung Toys 243.70 (241.35) 244.40 (241.55)
Hatsun Agro 414.05 (429.95)
Hb Estate De 59.25 (60.40)
Hb Portfolio 59.25 (58.40)
Hb Stockhol. 60.95 (63.15)
HCL Infosys 199.60 (200.55) 199.95 (201.35)
Hexaware 70.35 (73.20) 70.35 (73.05)
High Energy 220.80 (230)
Himadri Chem 403.80 (390.70)
Hind. Dorr 117.20 (119.05) 116.15 (118.30)
Hind. Inks 334.50 (347.80)
Hind.oil Exp 144.95 (141.75) 145 (141.85)
Hind.rect 148.35 (148)
Hinduja Finance 382.45 (378.65)
HT Media 144.95 (145.40) 144.90 (144.60)
ICI India 585.10 (585.15) 610.55 (604)
ICRA 741.05 (739.75) 738.55 (740.15)
IFB 44.50 (46.80) 43.05 (45.15)
IFB Agro 75 (76.35) 73.30 (75.85)
Ifgl Refract 50.95 (50.15)
Ind.security 47.55 (46.65)
India Nippon 150.65 (151) 150.50 (148.55)
Indian Hume Pipe 598.60 (587.15) 591.30 (601)
Indo Tech Trans 519.10 (497.45) 519.30 (494.50)
Indraprastha Gas 123 (120.80) 123.05 (121.15)
Ind-swift La 54.15 (55.95)
Info Edge 965.85 (942.20) 967.20 (947.45)
Info-drive S 72.30 (68.90)
Infotech Enter 274.95 (275.50) 278 (275.15)
Ing Vysya Bank 315.30 (312.95) 316.90 (313.80)
Ingersoll Rand 308.35 (306.55) 309.45 (305.95)
Innov.marine 49.35 (51.90)
Inox Leisure 115.85 (117.05) 115.95 (117.20)
Integra.hind 206 (207.45)
Ipca Lab 631.30 (618.80) 635.70 (625.50)
It Microsy 87.90 (86.40)
IVR Prime 237.05 (228.15) 236.20 (228.25)
J&K Bank 659.95 (648.50) 662.95 (650.25)
Jayaswal Nec 41.40 (42)
Jaybh. Maruti 55.60 (54.50) 55.15 (54)
JB Chem 49.95 (51.15) 49.95 (51.10)
Jbf Ind.ltd 131.15 (127.15)
Jetking Elec 338 (312.50)
Jindal Drill 1210.25 (1199.05)
Jindal World 323.70 (308.30)
Jl Morison 280.25 (290)
Jyothy Lab 644.40 (655.70) 639.75 (660.35)
K G Khosla 414.80 (403.45)
Karnataka Bank 202 (203.30) 201.55 (203.95)
Karur Vysya Bank 372.85 (366.15) 374.30 (368.40)
KCP 461 (453.70) 464.50 (453.25)
Kemrock Ind. 549.45 (553.35)
Kesoram Ind 371.85 (376.70) 373.85 (376.15)
Keynote Corp 106.50 (101.45)
Kirl.ferrous 44.30 (45.05)
Kolte Patil 112.60 (113.65) 112.15 (114)
Koutons Retail 772.10 (763.85) 773 (778.25)
KPR Mill 107.80 (104)
Lakshmi Elec 315.60 (317)
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Lakshmi Prec 47.55 (47.80) REC 122.40 (119.55) 122.55 (119.55)
Ledo Tea Co 50.20 (47)
Live Well H. 308.25 (308.20)
Lkp Mer.fin. 167.05 (165)
Redington 350.05 (346.20) 350.20 (346.30)
Religare Ent 404.85 (388.25) 403.80 (388.60)
Ren. Jewellery 74.90 (76.85) 75.45 (76.95)
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit
Lloyd Elect. 113.30 (113.20) Repro India 103.15 (100) 102.20 (100.30) except yen at 4 p.m on April 30
Lloyd Metal 72.95 (77.35) Ritesh Indus 103.80 (102.25)
Lokesh Mach 73.50 (73.10) 73.60 (73.65) Roman Tar 83.75 (84.65)
M&M Fin 280.25 (274.85) 280.60 (275.45) Royal Airway 43.35 (42.40) Currencies TT TT
M.p.glychem 57.10 (57.10) Royal Orch 105.65 (107.35) 105.60 (106.90) Buying Selling
Macmillan Ind 169.20 (159) 165.50 (160.05) Sadbhav Engg 1163.90 (1137.30)
Madras Aluminium 717.15 (704) 720.65 (701.55) Sadhana Nitr 59.90 (57.60)
Madras Cememts 3181.75 (3249.30) 3176 (3234.35) Sakthi Sugar 85.50 (84.10) 85.60 (84.20)
U.S Dollar 40.30 40.63
Malwa Cotton 57.10 (55.30) 56.75 (54.90) Sanghi Ind. 73.15 (70.65) Euro 62.67 63.20
Manaksia 84.30 (84.85) Sanghvi Move 270 (246.30) Pound Sterling 79.23 79.89
Mangalam Cement 136.70 (138.80) 136.65 (138.50)
Marico Ind. 66.65 (67.55)
Sarab.electr 40.05 (39.95)
Saregama I 128.75 (131.20)
Jap Yen (100 Units) 38.55 38.87
Mastek 325.65 (325.75) 321.10 (326.25) Sasken Comm. 178.60 (182.95) 178.55 (183) Swiss Franc 38.82 39.15
Matrix Laboratories 173.55 (175.45) 174.25 (175.30) Satvah.ispat 58.95 (59.70) Singapore Dollar 29.59 29.86
Mcs Ltd 54.80 (55) Sesha.paper 199 (196.60) 200 (197.70) Australian Dollar 37.67 38.00
Megasoft Ltd 93.25 (96.35) Shah Alloys 42.60 (42.75)
Canadian Dollar 39.92 40.27
Merck Ltd 350 (345) Shanti Gear 65.90 (65.35) 65.80 (65.25)
Mic Electron 903.85 (934.15) Sharyans Res 210 (206.20) Swedish Kroner 6.70 6.76
MindTree 466.90 (471.80) 467.15 (472.80) Shasun Chem. 58.75 (59) 59 (59.15) Danish Kroner 8.40 8.47
Modern Dairi 49.05 (51.60)
Mold-tek Tec 68.45 (68.95)
Shaw Wall.ge 54.45
Shervani Ind 58.95 (61.20)
New Zealand Dollar 31.33 31.61
Monnet Ispat 525.40 (539.75) 522.40 (539.30) Shreyas Ship 78.40 (79.40) Hongkong Dollar 5.17 5.21
Monotona Exp 143.40 (136.90) Shriyam Sec. 175.65 (177.10) Malaysian Ringitt 12.75 12.87
Morarjee 104.10 (106.20) Shyam Telec. 101 (102.05) Kuwaiti Dinar 150.35 153.29
Morgan Stan 54.13 (53.76) 54 (53.75) Sirpur Paper 88.15 (90) 88.90 (89.90)
UAE Dirham 10.97 11.07
Motilal Oswal Fin. 819.45 (779.30) 817.30 (783.80) SKF Bearings 297 (297.90)
Mount Everes 142.30 (134.35) Skp Secure. 43.50 (42.50) Bahraini Dinar 106.71 107.98
Mphasis Bfl 230.20 (237.55) South Ind.bk 159.25 (160.10) 159.40 (160.25) Qatari Riyal 11.07 11.17
MRF 4542.95 (4634.35) 4546.85 (4620.45) SSI LTD 166.50 (163.45)
Saudi Riyal 10.75 10.87
Mro-Tek 69.95 (68.75) 70.05 (68.10) Stc India 432.90 (412.55) 433.55 (413.30)
Munauto 69.50 (68.30) Std.indust. 54.25 (56.20) Omani Riyal 104.34 105.90
Mundra Port 758.60 (738.85) 760.15 (740.60) Sterl.biotec 196.20 (194.90) 197.15 (196.20)
Murd.ceram 64.70 (64.20) Sterlite Opt 215.25 (210.10) Source:Indian Bank
Nat.peroxide 195.95 (196.10) Stovac Ind. 209.60 (210.75)
Natco Pharma 97.15 (96.10) 95.50 (97.30) Sundaram Brake 273.85 (272.60) 277 (273.90)
National Fer 50.85 (54.15) Sundaram Fin. 600.85 (599.95)
NDTV 419.15 (417.70) 419.55 (418.65) Supreme Ind. 223.20 (225.20) 224.25 (227.30) BULLION RATES
NIIT 102.95 (102.40) 103.25 (102.45) Supreme Infr 98.35 (97.95)
NIIT Tech 142.20 (137.95) 141.75 (138.25) Surana Industries 141.50 (147.90) 142 (147.80) April 30 rates in rupees with
Nile Ltd. 158.05 (163.90) Swaraj Engin 250.20 (256.20) 251.95 (254.75) previous rates in brackets
Nirlon 69.25 (71.25) Switch.tech. 40.25 (42.80)
Nirma 170.45 (174) 172 (174.65) Syndicate Bn 74.65 (76.70) 74.55 (76.65) Chennai
Novapan Ind. 45.90 (42.75) 46.05 (42.75) Systamatix C 63.45 (61.05)
Novartis India 310.95 (307.45) Taj Gvk Hotl 148.75 (150.10) 150.20 (149.75) Bar Silver (1 kg) 22,250 (22,715)
NRB Bearings 71.50 (71.45) 72.15 (70.65) Take Solutions 746.50 (755.30) 753.15 (749.70) Retail (1 g) 23.80 (24.30)
Onmobile 690.75 (701.75) 693.95 (700.05) Talbros Auto 44.50 (44.65)
Orchid Chem 239.55 (243.50) 239.25 (243.65) Tamil.newspr 105 (106.80) 104.95 (106.85)
24 ct gold (10 g) 11,430 (11,655)
Orient Press 43.40 (45.55) Tanla Solutions 567 (545.15) 567.45 (542.75) 22 ct gold (1 g) 1,059 (1,080)
Oudh Sugar 72.65 (73.30) 72.95 (73.80) Tasty Bite 46.85 (46.95) Mumbai
P.g.foils 77.80 (78.85) Tata Coffee 225.50 (226.10)
Page Industries 506.25 (460) 500.95 (486.40) Tata Elxsi 193.15 (191.50) 193.40 (189.85) Silver 22,715 (22,935)
Pan Packagin 116.35 (115.20) Tata Metalik 167.60 (172.20) 167.95 (172) Standard gold 11,400 (11,605)
Panacea Biotech 396.70 (388.60) Tata Sponge 287.45 (295.10) Delhi
Panama Petro 134.90 (133.05) Technocraft 72.60 (72.90) 73 (73)
Patel Airtem 59.55 (61.45) Texmaco 1400.65 (1394.40) 1400.10 (1392.10) Silver 22,370 (22,800)
Patni Computers 266.05 (262.10) 265.70 (262) Themis Medic 169.10 (170) Standard gold 11,630 (11,780)
Petron Engg. 245.90 (239.30) 245.95 (240.10) Thiru A.sug. 112.25 (114.40) 111.60 (114.15)
Pfizer Ltd. 653.80 (653.45) 655.15 (655.10) Thirumalai 190.90 (190.45) 189.95 (190.90) Sovereign 9,825 (9,850)
Pidilite 151.05 (152.40) 150.35 (152.30) Thomas Cook 100.40 (100.70) 100.65 (100.20)
Polaris Soft 106.20 (104.80) 106.45 (104.90) Til Ltd. 400 (403.65) 396 (404.90)
Power Trading 104.25 (103.55) 104.80 (103.50) Tinplate 43.60 (42.05) Vardhman Pol 64.45 (64.85) 63.95 (63)
Pratiba Ind 346.60 (341.85) 348.20 (342.50) Todays Writi 65.05 (63.50) 65.10 (64.10)
VARUN INDS 77.10 (77.45) 77.20 (77.30)
Precision Wr 105 (103.50) 107 (101.90) Torrent Phar 157.45 (156.90) 156.75 (157.95)
Premier Auto 158 (153.20) Toubro Infot 108.75 (106.20) Varun Ship. 79.30 (80.15) 78.90 (80.05)
Venus Remedi 446.75 (428.50)
Prism Cement 41.60 (40.60) 41.55 (40.60) Transgene Bi 49.15 (50.25)
Procter &g 772.65 (750) Trent Ltd. 526.15 (535) Viceroy Hote 77.70 (80.05)
Psl Ltd 322.65 (323.35) 320.05 (323.35) Ttk Prestige 142.20 (145) 143.15 (144.05) Victoria Mil 3234 (3080)
Punjab Tract 243.05 (242.20) 243.45 (242.85) Tube Inv. 56.05 (56.40) 55.90 (56.50) Visa Steel 48.30 (49.20) 47.90 (48.70)
Puravankara 304.90 (269.45) 305 (269.70) Tulip IT 920.80 (900) 925.75 (900.15) Visaka Ind. 57.20 (57.30) 56.95 (57.10)
PVR 198.95 (199.30) Tv Today 123.80 (126.30) Vishal Retail 796.40 (791.35) 795.85 (790.90)
Pyramid Saim 371.75 (384.90) 372.30 (384.75) TVS Electronics 43.65 (40.20) 43.75 (40.40) Vivimed Labs 97.60 (97.60) 97.70 (97.40)
Quintegra Solution 99.15 (99.15) Tvs Motors 43.15 (38.85) 43.20 (38.95) Voltamp Trans 1215 (1203.15) 1215.25 (1205.45)
Raj Tele 135.80 (142.65) 136.35 (142.55) Unichem Lab 153.40 (151.05) 153.95 (151.65) W.h.brady 92.95 (92.55)
Rajratan Gus 55.20 (54) Uniphos Enterprises 41.55 (41.05) - (41.25) Walchand Cap 2865.65 (2729.20)
Rajsh.sugar 63 (63.90) 62.80 (63.25) Upper Ganges 99.40 (102) 98.50 (102.15) Walchandngr 434.50 (445.80)
Ramco Systm 136.20 (136.75) 135.10 (134.40) Uttam Sugar 84.60 (85.05) 84.35 (84.80) Wendt(india) 699.10 (696.70)
Ramco Inds. 835.60 (815) 834 (816.95) UTV Software 804.45 (800.40) William.mago 51.60 (51.10)
Rane Holdings 126 (126.10) 124.90 (127) V Guard 72.65 (72.10) 72.65 (72.55) Wockardt 297.20 (301.70) 297.80 (300.60)
Rane Madras 62.40 (63.50) V.b.desai 85.40 (89.75) Wockhardt Life 48 (49.50)
Raymond 277.30 (279.55) 279.60 (279.90) Vaibhav Gems 62.15 (62.40) Zylog System 271.65 (272.80)
CH-CH
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Scholes’s stunning strike takes Man U into final
FOOTBALL / It will be an all-English Champions League title clash in Moscow on May 21
MANCHESTER: A stunning goal
from Paul Scholes gave Man-
chester United a 1-0 win over
FC Barcelona on Tuesday to set
up an all-English Champions
League final against either Li-
verpool or Chelsea at the Luzh-
niki Stadium in Moscow on
May 21.
On a night of drama at Old
Trafford in which Barcelona
played some outstanding at-
tacking football, it was hardly
more fitting that Scholes scored
the goal that secured his club a
place in the final.
Scholes was suspended for
United’s epic victory over
Bayern Munich in the 1999 fi-
nal, and Ferguson had already
said he would play in the final if
it qualified.
Brilliant strike
He duly responded with a
brilliant swerving shot that
went high and wide of goal-
keeper Victor Valdes in the
14th minute of the semifinal
second leg to give United a 1-0
aggregate victory. ‘‘It was a fan-
tastic goal,’’ Ferguson said. ‘‘He
has come through the ranks
Air India
triumphs
CHAMPIONS: The Air India team which won the E.K.
Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup football tournament.
Principal Correspondent
KANNUR: It turned out to be a
memorable night for Air India
on Wednesday.
The Mumbai team, quite the
underdog, won the second E.K.
Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup
football tournament, beating
its fancied rival from Brazil,
Ferroviaria, Sao Paulo, 1-0 in
the final, watched by a capacity
crowd of about 35,000, at the
Jawahar Municipal Stadium.
The most important goal of
the tournament was scored by
Surojit Roy, in the ninth min-
ute.
He made no mistake from in-
side the box with his header, off
a cross from Ravinder Singh
down the left, following a
throw-in from Uttam Singh.
It was the only goal conceded
by Ferroviaria in the
competition!
Air India did well to hang on
to the goal, quelling all the at-
tempts from the Brazilians to
equalise.
Little went right for the Bra-
zilians on Wednesday and they
had to play the last ten minutes
of the game with 10 men, fol-
lowing the send-off of Reinal-
do, for violent conduct.
Solid defence
Ferroviaria strove really
hard to score in the second half,
but its strikers were frustrated
India loses
DARWIN (AUSTRALIA): South Ko-
rea defeated India 5-2 in the
four-nation hockey tourna-
ment here on Wednesday.
Later, Olympic champion
Australia staved off a late co-
meback to beat China 3-2.
The results: South Korea 5 bt India
2; Australia 3 bt China 2. — AFP
Bayern pins
hopes on Toni
ST. PETERSBURG: The stage is set
for Luca Toni. The Italian strik-
er returns from suspension for
Thursday’s second leg of the
UEFA Cup football semifinals
at Zenit St. Petersburg with
Bayern Munich needing at least
one goal after drawing 1-1 at
home last week.
And with 36 goals in all com-
petitions in his first season with
Bayern, including a tourna-
ment-high 10 in the UEFA Cup,
Toni is the player both teams
will be focusing on.
‘‘Luca is a great striker, it’s
always better when he’s there,’’
Bayern midfielder Mark van
Bommel said.
Zenit captain Anatoly Ti-
moshchuk knows his side must
mark Toni tightly.
‘‘Of course, Toni’s return will
add to our problems.
“Their entire game is built
around him,’’ he said. — AP
here and is one of the great
players this club has had.
‘‘We can’t expect him to
score 15-20 goals a season like
he did when he was younger,
but the one he got tonight
makes up for all the ones he can
no longer score.’’
Ferguson added: ‘‘I honestly
don’t care who we play in the
final. We are there, that is the
main thing.’’
Barcelona manager Frank
Rijkaard rued his side’s inabil-
ity to convert chances.
‘‘We did everything but
score. It was an even game.’’
United is now chasing a dou-
ble of Champions League and
Premier League titles.
Superb defending
Barcelona, and especially its
Argentine winger Lionel Messi,
threatened time and again with
some inspired approach play
but were thwarted by brilliant
defending from United’s back
line with defenders Rio Ferdi-
nand and Wes Brown outstand-
ing.
The game burst into life from
the kick off with Scholes, mak-
Surojit Roy scored
the match-winner
Air India did well to
hang on to the goal
by some solid defence.
Santosh Koli, Ravinder, San-
tosh Singh, Uttam Singh, Napo-
lean Singh and Michael Tayo
ensured that their team kept
the lead till the end.
Air India custodian, E.C.
Sharat, named the best goal-
keeper of the tournament, was
superb under the bar.
Paresh Shivalkar, who has
had a great tournament, played
a key role with some startlingly
quick runs down the left to put
the Brazilian defence under
pressure.
Chances missed
The Brazilians did get oppor-
tunities to score, especially for
Frederico Oliviera in the first
half and Washington Luis in
the second, it clearly wasn’t
their night.
It wasn’t a night to remem-
ber for Robinson Michel either,
who always tried to create
chances for his mates.
He, however, had the conso-
lation of getting the ‘Man of the
tournament’ award.
ing just about his only mistake
of the night, fortunate not to
concede a penalty for a foul on
Messi just inches outside the
box after only 30 seconds.
Both teams were also looking
to get the decisive break-
through as soon as possible
with Messi involved in almost
every Barca raid. However it
was defender Eric Abidal who
had the first goal attempt when
his lofted 25-metre shot just
went over the United bar.
United though did strike the
decisive goal when Cristiano
Ronaldo attempted to run at
the Barca defence but lost the
ball to Gianluca Zambrotta
whose misplaced pass found
Scholes.
He controlled it, let it bounce
and then swerved it past Valdes
from 25 yards.
Missed chances
United had two good chances
to increase its lead in the open-
ing half through Park Ji-sung,
who side-footed wide after 21
minutes and then when Nani
headed a Park cross wide after
41 minutes.
GENERAL
Malleswari, Shiny in NADA governing body
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Union Sports
Ministry on Wednesday named
Olympians Shiny Wilson and
Karnam Malleswari in the go-
verning body of the National
Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
Though no announcement has
been made about the chairman,
it is learnt the Union Sports
Minister who had been heading
TENNIS
Kelsey sails into quarterfinals Indian women book
an Olympic berth
Principal Correspondent
ANGAMALY: Kelsey Sundaram
found her groove at the ITF
Federal Bank international
women’s tournament here on
Wednesday, crushing eighth-
seeded Julia Matojan of Esto-
nia 6-1, 6-0 with surprising ease
to enter the quarterfinals.
“This is my first quarterfinal
in the senior ITF circuit, my
best tournament,’’ said Kelsey.
A couple of hours before that,
she completed her first-round
match, a three-setter which
was stopped last evening owing
to bad light.
Meanwhile, top-seeded
Rushmi Chakravarthi was
forced to a second-set tie-
India tops group; meets China
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: India outplayed
Thailand to top Group III in the
Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup
under-16 tennis tournament at
the DLTA Complex here on
Wednesday.
Both Yuki Bhambri and Sau-
rabh Singh made short work of
the Thai players and will now
meet China, which finished sec-
ond in Group IV, in the
quarterfinals.
The eighth seeded China had
lost its last league match to Ja-
Barcelona’s best chance in-
evitably came from Messi who
weaved his way past Scholes
and Brown after 20 minutes
and forced Edwin van der Sar
into a diving clearance before
Deco had two good chances to
score in three minutes sending
his first over the bar and his
second narrowly wide.
Henry’s attempts
A chill descended on Old
Trafford when Barca brought
on Thierry Henry for Andres
Iniesta after an hour and Unit-
ed’s old Arsenal nemesis
threatened twice, once with a
header and then with a shot
that van der Sar did well to save.
But United, with Park and
Tevez working tirelessly and
Ronaldo firing fitfully, was res-
olutely dogged and held out for
over six minutes of stoppage
time to win its 12th straight
home match in Europe’s pre-
mier club competition.
The result: Semifinal (second
leg): Manchester United 1 (Paul
Scholes 14) bt FC Barcelona 0; Man-
chester United won 1-0 on aggregate.
— Reuters
NADA so far would continue to
hold that position.
Formed in November, 2005,
NADA had never taken off since
its composition had not been
determined, responsibilities
not defined and the structure
not finalised in consultation
with the Indian Olympic Asso-
ciation.
The anti-doping body is ex-
pected to harmonise and im-
Rushmi forced to a second-set tie-breaker
Yu Min-Hwa and Parul Goswami also advance
breaker by Hyderabad’s Geeta
Manohar before progressing to
the quarterfinals, while third-
seeded Korean Yu Min-Hwa
and Parul Goswami, the fifth
seed, also made the grade.
The results: Singles (pre-quar-
terfinals): Rushmi Chakravarthi bt
Geeta Manohar 7-3, 7-6(5); Miki Mi-
yamura (Jpn) bt Goele Lemmens (Bel)
6-3, 6-0; Shalini Sahoo bt Archana
Venkataraman 6-3, 6-3; Sweta Kumari
Solanki bt Trang Huynh Phuong Dai
(Vie) 6-1, 6-3; Kelsey Sundaram
(U.S.) bt Julia Matojan (Est) 6-1, 6-0;
Yu Min-Hwa (Kor) bt Nicola Mooney
pan in the doubles and should
pose a serious challenge to the
host on Thursday.
However, the way the World
No. 5 Bhambri and the strong-
ly-built Saurabh have been
playing, the Indian camp has
reasons to be optimistic about
making the semifinals here,
thereby capturing a berth in the
World Group finals to be staged
in Mexico in September.
In other quarterfinals, the
top-seeded Australia will meet
Philippines, third-seeded New
Zealand will battle Chinese
HEADY FEELING: Manchester United players are ecstatic after their win over Barcelona in the Champions
League semifinal second leg on Tuesday. — PHOTO: REUTERS
plement the rules and
regulations relating to anti-
doping as per the World Anti
Doping Agency Code. India is a
signatory to the UNESCO Con-
vention against doping in
sports that commits govern-
ments to take measures that
are “consistent with the princi-
ples of the Code.”
The Government, in consul-
tation with the IOA, would be
(GBR) 6-2, 6-2; Parul Goswami bt
Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-0, 6-2.
First round: Kelsey bt Asha Nan-
dakumar 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-1; Nicola bt
Chika Terasawa (Jpn) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Rushmi
Chakravarthi & V. Poojashree bt Yuri
Kurashima & Chika Terasawa (Jpn)
6-2, 6-1; Parul Goswami & Sonal
Phadke bt Shilpi Jaiswal & Abhilasha
Ahuja 6-2, 6-2; Asha Nandakumar &
Shweta Kakhandki Gadigeppa bt Miki
Miyamura (Jpn) & Arthi Venkataraman
7-5, 6-2; Geetha Manohar & Archana
Venkataraman bt Harshini Reddy &
Jilke Nelord 6-3, 6-1.
Taipei and the second-seeded
Japan will take on Thailand.
The results: Group I: Australia bt
Chinese Taipei 2-1; Uzbekistan bt Ka-
zakhstan 3-0. Group-II: New Zealand
bt Philippines 2-1; Malaysia bt Hong
Kong 2-1. Group III: India bt Thailand
3-0 (Saurabh Singh bt Chanon Vara-
pongsttikul 6-3, 6-1; Yuki Bhambri bt
Adirek Khundanpinitwong 6-2, 6-1;
Yuki Bhambri & Saurabh Singh bt
Phasawit Burapharittha & Chanon Va-
rapongsttikul 6-0, 6-4); Pakistan bt
Singapore 3-0.
Group IV: Japan beat China 2-1;
Korea beat Indonesia 3-0.
expected to form the National
Anti-Doping disciplinary panel
and National appeal panel in
due course.
The members of the governing
body: H.S. Phoolka (senior lawyer),
Dr. Manmohan Singh (Chairman, IOA
Medical Commission), Shiny Wilson
and Karnam Malleswari (sportsper-
sons), Suresh Kalmadi (IOA represen-
tative), Randhir Singh, K.P. Singh Deo
and G.S. Mander (representatives of
WEIGHTLIFTING
NEW DELHI: With one silver and
two bronze to their kitty in the
ongoing Asian weightlifting
championship in Kanazawa in
Japan, Indian women have
booked one berth for Beijing
Olympics.
Laishram Monika Devi has
fetched three medals for India
in the women’s 69kg event in
the final Olympic qualifying
event which concludes on
Thursday.
The team’s assistant manag-
er Parminder Singh said that
India had secured one Olympic
berth in the women’s section.
‘‘By virtue of one silver and
National federations). Secretary and
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Youth Af-
fairs and Sports, and Director-Gener-
al, Sports Authority of India (SAI) will
be ex-officio members.
Executive: Secretary, Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports (Chairman),
Joint Secretary, MYAS (Vice Chair-
man), Financial Advisor, MYAS, Anil
Khanna (All India Tennis Association),
DG, SAI (ex-officio) and Member-Sec-
retary, NADA (DG, NADA).
two bronze medals, our women
have booked one quota place
for Olympics,’’ he said.
On Wednesday, Shailaja Pu-
jari finished fifth overall in the
women’s 75kg category with a
total lift of 218kg (95 in snatch
and 123 in clean and jerk),
while compatriot Kavita Devi
withdrew from the competition
in the same category.
In the women’s above-75 kg
category, Geeta Rani finished
overall sixth with a lift of 224kg
(99+125), while compatriot K.
Tulsi ended at the bottom of
the list in the 11-lifter field with
a total lift of 177 (80+97). — PTI
SPORT 21
Nadal cruises
BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal, eased
into the third round of the Bar-
celona Open by beating Potito
Starace 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Spaniard,
seeking his fourth straight title
here, has won 99 of his last 100
matches on clay.
Safin advances
At Munich, two-time Grand
Slam champion Marat Safin
beat Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 3-6,
6-4 on Wednesday to reach the
second round of the BMW
Open.
Important results:
At Barcelona: ATP Barcelona
Open: Second round: Rafael Nadal
bt Potito Starace 6-4, 6-2; Feliciano
Lopez bt Alberto Martin 3-6, 6-2, 6-4;
Albert Montanes bt Ivo Karlovic 6-7(7),
6-3, 7-5; David Ferrer bt Gabriel Trujil-
lo-Soler 6-1, 6-1; Tommy Robredo bt
Robin Haase 6-2, 6-4; Juan Ignacio
Chela bt Marc Lopez, Spain, 5-1, retd.
At Munich: ATP BMW Open: Sec-
ond Round: Lee Hyung-taik bt Julio
Silva 6-1, 6-4; Marin Cilic bt Philipp
Petzschner 6-4, 7-6(7); Paul-Henri
Mathieu bt Gianluca Naso 6-3, 6-4;
Simone Bolelli bt Andreas Seppi 6-4,
7-5.
First round: Steve Darcis bt Benja-
min Becker 6-3, 6-4; Marat Safin bt
Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Younes
El Aynaoui bt Alexandre Sidorenko
6-4, 7-6(6).
At Prague: WTA CZE Open: Sec-
ond round: Roberta Vinci bt Jill Cray-
bas 6-4, 6-4; Karolina Pliskova bt Kaia
Kanepi 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
First round: Shahar Peer bt Anna
Lapushchenkova 7-5, 7-5; Vera Dush-
evina bt Martina Muller 6-0, 6-2. —
Agencies
CH-CH

22 SPORT
Karnataka
stuns S. Rly
TIRUPUR: Karnataka scored a
hard fought 25-20, 22-25, 19-
25, 25-22, 15-12 win over favou-
rite Southern Railway (Chen-
nai) in a men’s league match of
the TSET all-India volleyball
tournament at the Nanjappa
HSS courts here on Tuesday.
On the distaff side, Western
Railway (Mumbai) dispatched
Central Railway (Sholapur) 23-
25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16.
Other result: Men: SCR bt Muth-
oot Club 25-23, 25-15, 25-27, 25-20.
— Sports Reporter
SBI in last four
CHENNAI: SBI crushed SAI 5-1 to
enter the semifinals of the
Champions Club football tour-
nament on Wednesday.
M. Baskar (2), Sabeeth (2)
and K.G. Joseph were the scor-
ers for SBI. Elamurugan re-
duced the margin.
In another game, Samuel
Jackson’s hat-trick powered
MSU to a 3-0 win over Students
Club, Tiruchi. — Special Corre-
spondent
Safa SC holds
East Bengal
KOLKATA: Kingfisher East Ben-
gal fumbled at its home turf yet
again, playing out a goalless
draw against Lebanese visitor
Safa SC at Salt Lake Stadium
here on Wednesday. The AFC
Cup Group B league is turning
out to be a misadventure for the
Indian Federation Cup cham-
pion, which has failed to cap-
italise on a positive start.
Netting two wins — one away
and one at home — in the first
three matches, East Bengal has
hit the doldrums since. — Spe-
cial Correspondent
VERY BRIEFLY
Ball badminton: National
championship, St. Joseph’s College, 9
a.m.
Chess: FIDE instructors and
trainers course, J.C.D. Prabhakaran,
Vice-President, Tamil Nadu State
Chess Association, inaugurates, Nehru
Stadium, 9.30 a.m.
Cricket: All-India ICICI-YSCA
Trophy tournament, K.S. Viswanathan,
Secretary, TNCA, inaugurates (7.45
a.m.), followed by YSCA ‘C’ vs. Sri
Vaishnavi RKM HSS, YSCA ‘B’ vs.
Blue Bird (1 p.m.), RKM HSS; KDCA
league first div., Adambakkam vs.
Garnet, MCC Tambaram, 12.30 p.m.;
Seshadri Memorial tournament,
Southern Auto vs. Prahalad, MCC
Tambaram, 7.30 a.m.; Panasonic-
LMCA Twenty20 Cup, Final, Sri
Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan
inaugurates, Railway Stadium,
Perambur, 8.30 a.m.; Little Hearts CA
u-13 tournament, SDNB Vaishnav
College for Women, 7.30 a.m. & 12.30
p.m.
Volleyball: Nellai Friends Club and
Dr. Sivanthi Club coaching camp, S.
Kumaraswamy, Vice-President, SDAT,
inaugurates, Mayor Radhakrishnan
Stadium, 5.30 p.m.
Chargers should take charge
CRICKET / Kings XI, without its Antipodeans, looks a depleted side
A. Joseph Antony
HYDERABAD: If a play is known
by its cast, the stars taking the
stage for the Deccan Chargers
will again bring in the crowds
when it faces Kings XI Punjab
in their Indian Premier League
match at the Rajiv Gandhi in-
ternational stadium on Thurs-
day.
Billed as the finest act even
before the extravaganza got un-
der way, the Hyderabad troupe
fumbled with its lines in the
first three appearances. Fickle
as fans can be, the cheers
turned to jeers. After that de-
meaning defeat to Delhi Dare-
devils, hooligans among the
host supporters hurled water
bottles, aiming one such pro-
jectile even at the cheerleaders,
who had until then, entertained
them.
Virtuoso performance
One virtuoso performance at
the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi
Mumbai changed all that.
Adam Gilchrist, adept at dis-
mantling attacks, showed that
even if his vigil behind the
stumps may have waned, his re-
flexes before them had lost
none of their sheen, amply il-
lustrated by the 10 sixes with
which he studded that explo-
sive century.
While this bowling decima-
tor’s current form will be cause
for much cheer in the Chargers’
camp, that unbeaten 109
against the Mumbai Indians
would have only underscored
his class.
Sans Andrew Symonds, who
has returned home for national
duty, another swashbuckler
will step in, quite capable of
playing the perfect foil for Gil-
christ. If that 111-ball 175 he
cracked in the Johannesburg
one-dayer to overhaul Austra-
lia’s mammoth 434 is anything
to go by, Herschelle Herman
Gibbs should be raring to cele-
brate his arrival with a knock as
cavalier or Caribbean in
content.
Even if it’s still early to say
Chargers’ low-profile captain
Win toss, bat first is Warne’s plan
G. Viswanath
JAIPUR: It’s an old story now
that Rajasthan Royals went
down without putting up a fight
against Delhi Daredevils in
their opening game in the DLF-
IPL Twenty20 championship.
Since then the Jaipur-based
team has gone the extra mile
and defeated Kings XI Punjab,
Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad,
and Royal Challengers,
Bangalore.
With Rajasthan Royals
scheduled to take on Kolkata
Knight Riders next at home on
Thursday, its skipper and coach
Shane Warne underscored the
contributions made by Graeme
Smith, Shane Watson and a few
Indian players in the last 10
days.
Ahead of the pack
Warne said that his team was
ahead of the pack on the tacti-
cal aspect and that the other
teams were copying it now.
Warne revealed in advance
that he would bat first should
he win the toss. “They played
on Tuesday night in Kolkata,
are travelling the whole day on
Wednesday and the match
starts at 4 p.m. on Thursday
when it would be boiling hot.
“It’s better to bat first and
GENERAL
Arvind stars in Kedar CA triumph
CHENNAI: S. Arvind scored 94 as
Kedar’s CA won the under-11
Pearls cricket tournament
which concluded here on
Wednesday. Kedar’s defeated
TE-IPL by 117 runs in the final.
Arvind was adjudged the best
batsman in the tournament. P.
Ajith, also from Kedar’s, was
declared the best bowler while
Varun Vamsi of TE-IPL was
named the best all-rounder.
The scores (final):
Kedar’s CA 220 for six in 30 overs
Flashing Star runs with a good chance in Masinagudi Plate
UDHAGAMANDALAM: Flashing Star
runs with a good chance in the Class I
Masinagudi Plate (1,200m), the fea-
ture event of the races to be held here
on Thursday morning (May 1).
1 TIGER HILLS PLATE
(1,200m), Cl. V-B, 10-40 a.m.: 1. Cac-
tus King (5) C. Velu 60, 2. Revolving
Star (8) Venkatesan 58.5, 3. Some
More Time (9) Kabthar 57.5, 4. High
And Mighty (2) C. A. Brisson 54, 5.
Polar Magic (7) Casey 53, 6. King’s
Delight (4) Azmal Hussain 52, 7.
Fantastic Force (6) Babul 51, 8. In-
heritor (1) Srinivasan 51 and 9. Tur-
bo Jet (3) Mukesh Kumar 50.5.
1. Turbo Jet, 2. Polar Magic,
3. Inheritor
2 MASINAGUDI
PLATE
(1,200m), Cl. I, 11-05: 1. Star Phoenix
(1) Mohan 60, 2. Romantic Count (2)
V.V.S. Laxman has already out-
done three of the five icons in
the league with his unbeaten 36
against the Mumbai Indians.
The wristy wizard’s opening
the innings with Gilchrist could
be an indication of his growing
composure in this condensed
form of the game.
The wait for some magic
from his willow will certainly
be worth the while.
The Afridi factor
If Shahid Afridi hasn’t
turned volatile with the bat
thus far, his bowling has made
up for it. His wrist spin should
complement the wiles of Cha-
minda Vaas, the restrictive
craft of Pragyan Ojha or the
penetrative capabilities of R.P.
Singh on the bowling front.
With the departure of Aus-
tralians Brett Lee and Simon
Katich and New Zealander Ky-
lie Mills, Kings XI Punjab will
look up to the triumvirate of
Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangak-
kara and Mahela Jayawardene
to shore up its batting.
Each of them possesses the
wherewithal to turn a match
around.
Shorn of its imports, the Mo-
hali side nonetheless wears a
depleted look and will need to
summon all its resources to
take on the host, who on the
face of it, should call the shots
on home turf.
The teams (from): Deccan Char-
gers: V.V.S. Laxman (captain), Adam
Gilchrist (wicket-keeper), Herschelle
Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, Chaminda Vaas,
Scott Styris, R.P. Singh, Rohit Shar-
ma, Sanjay Bangar, Arjun Yadav, D.
Kalyanakrishna, Pragyan Ojha,
Chamara Silva, Nuwan Zoysa, D. Ravi
Teja, Sarveesh Kumar, Venugopala
Rao, P. Vijay Kumar.
Kings XI Punjab: Yuvraj Singh
(captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Ku-
mar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper),
Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shaun Marsh, Ir-
fan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, S. Sree-
santh, Piyush Chawla, Luke
Pomersbach, Ajitesh Argal, Pankaj
Dharmani, Rishi Dhawan, Karan Goel,
Uday Kaul, Sahil Kukreja, Wilkin Mota,
Nitin Saini, V.R.V. Singh, Sunny So-
hal, Tanmay Srivastav.
SITTING PRETTY: With three consecutive wins,
Rajasthan Royals has every reason to be ecstatic.
— PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA
keep them on the field for nine-
ty minutes. They have lost two
on the trot and that must be
hurting them. Now they are go-
ing to play on our turf. They are
going to have new players,
which again is going to be hard
for them. But they (Brad Hodge
and Salman Butt) can also be
dangerous.
(S. Arvind 94, Yogesh Narayanan 28,
P. Ajith 29) bt TE-IPL CA 103 in 19
overs (Shyam Sundar 36, Varun Vam-
si 39).
Santhome SA in final
Santhome SA and Chennai
St. Bede’s Sports Foundation
(CSSF) recorded convincing
semifinal wins to set up a re-
match of last year’s final in the
under-16 Panasonic-LMCA
Twenty20 Cup cricket
tournament.
S. Selva’s three-wicket haul
Senthil Kumar 58, 3. Magical Sunset
(5) Milan 57.5, 4. Flashing Star (6)
Rajendra Singh 55.5, 5. Imperial
Stride (4) S. Manohar 55.5 and 6.
Retained Asset (3) Prem 55.5.
1. Flashing Star,
2. Romantic Count
3 INDU
NAGAR PLATE
(1,400m), Cl. II, 11-30: 1. Saddlers
Lass (6) Babul 60, 2. Steinlen (1) C.
Velu 60, 3. Frantic (7) Rajendra
Singh 59.5, 4. Exotic Duke (2) Milan
58.5, 5. Numeric (3) Mohan 58, 6.
Great Strides (5) Kabthar 56.5 and 7.
Star Perfectiion (4) Prem 56.5.
1. Exotic Duke, 2. Numeric,
3. Saddlers Lass
4 MAY DAY CUP (Div.I),
(1,300m), Cl. III, 11-55: 1. Celtic Prin-
cess (5) Rajendra Singh 60, 2. Man Of
Honour (7) Milan 58, 3. Lucky Pio-
AGGRESSIVE DUO: Batsmen of the calibre of Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi,
seen at a practice session on Wednesday, should ensure that Deccan Chargers
does not miss the services of the belligerent Andrew Symonds.
— PHOTO: H. SATISH
“We think we have got all
bases covered. It’s all about do-
ing the basics better than the
opposition, sticking to plans
and executing them very well.
“We are always coming up
with new stuff. I don’t look at
the odds. As a coaching group
we are trying to get the best out
of each player. I have been en-
helped defending champion
Santhome defeat Kedar CA.
CSSF outplayed LMCA in the
other semifinal.
The final, scheduled on
Wednesday at Railway Stadium
(Perambur), will be inaugurat-
ed by Sri Lankan off-spinner
Muttiah Muralitharan.
The scores: Santhome SA 120 in
20 overs (B. Rahul 28, Sasidev three
for 16) bt Kedar CA 96 for seven in 20
overs (S. Selva three for 18). MOM: S.
Selva.
neer (4) Senthil Kumar 55, 4. Noble
Flash (6) C. Velu 52, 5. Ministrel
Heights (1) Babul 50, 6. Mozart (3) S.
Manohar 49.5 and 7. Nebraska Tor-
nado (2) Kabthar 49.
1.Celtic Princess, 2. Noble Flash,
3. Ministrel Heights
5 STONE HILL PLATE (Div.I),
(1,200m), 3-y-o only (Terms), 12-20
p.m.: 1. Autumn Pearl (1) Babul 59, 2.
Cape Royal (3) Mohan 59, 3. Cosmic
Star (6) C. Velu 59, 4. Polar Circle (2)
Prem 59, 5. Twilight Time (4) Milan
59, 6. Stunning Move (8) Rajendra
Singh 57.5, 7. Oasis Dream (5) Kab-
thar 55.5 and 8. Starlit Sands (7) S.
Manohar 48.5.
1.Oasis Dream, 2. Autumn Pearl,
3. Cosmic Star
6 MAY DAY CUP (Div.II),
(1,300m), Cl. III, 12-45: 1. Paradise
couraging the players to be ag-
gressive; attack, attack and
attack is the slogan of our
group.’’
After the final practice ses-
sion at the Future Cricket A-
cademy, Warne repeated that
Twenty20 could be anybody’s
game. “There’s no set way. But
we thought the best way to win
games was to bowl first against
Kings XI, Chargers and Chal-
lengers because we thought
their bowling was not strong
and that we could chase any-
thing. It worked. We are having
a meeting on Thursday and we
have a spirited group to put up
another good performance
against Kolkata.’’
The teams (from): Rajasthan
Royals: Shane Warne (captain),
Graeme Smith, Kamran Akmal, Yusuf
Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Shane Wat-
son, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Ravindra
Jadeja, Dinesh Salunkhe, Munaf Pa-
tel, Siddharth Trivedi, Niraj Patel,
Swapnil Asnodkar, Sohail Tanvir, Ta-
ruwar Kohli, Pankaj Singh, Mahesh
Rawat.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav
Ganguly (captain), Salman Butt, Brad
Hodge, David Hussey, Mohammad
Hafeez, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wridd-
himan Saha, Murali Kartik, Ishant
Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Ajit Agarkar,
Debabrata Das and Umar Gul.
LMCA 77 in 20 overs lost to CSSF
78 for four in 16.2 overs. MOM: Jiten-
der (CSSF; for figures of two for nine).
Volleyball event
The SRM university volley-
ball teams will participate in an
international friendship tour-
nament, organised by the Vol-
leyball Federation of Sri Lanka,
to be held at Colombo from
May 2 to 8.
The contingent will consist
of 35 members, including the
coaches and managers.
Flight (7) Rajendra Singh 60, 2. Ring
Of Destiny (6) Milan 55, 3. Gold Em-
press (1) Mohan 54.5, 4. Wizard
Prince (2) Senthil Kumar 54, 5.
King’s Heir (5) S. Manohar 51, 6. As-
sert The Right (4) Casey 50.5 and 7.
Resplendent Glory (3) Babul 49.
1. Gold Empress, 2. King’s Heir,
3. Ring Of Destiny
7 STONE HILL PLATE (Div.II),
(1,200m), 3-y-o only (Terms), 1-10: 1.
Calypso Magic (7) Senthil Kumar 59,
2. Cobra King (1) Milan 59, 3. Path Of
Glory (2) Casey 59, 4. Musical Pur-
suit (3) Prem 57.5, 5. Rainbow Mi-
rage (4) Mohan 57, 6. Magical
Warrior (6) Rajendra Singh 54 and 7.
Mystery Knight (5) Kabthar 54.
1. Magical Warrior,
2. Mystery Knight, 3. Cobra King
8 MOUNT PLEASANT PLATE
SAILING
Nationals winners awarded
Sports Reporter
CHENNAI: The winners of the
Vestas National Laser Coastal
sailing championships were
awarded at a ceremony here on
Wednesday.
The annual event concluded
at the Chennai Port on Tues-
day, with AYC’s Rajesh Chowd-
hary claiming the prestigious
Laser Standard title.
The winners and the first and
second runners-up of the Laser
Standard, Laser Radial, Laser
Radial women, Laser 4.7 boys
and girls, Laser Radial Youth
and the Laser Standard Ap-
prentice categories were pre-
sented their awards at the
occasion. The Vestas Trophies
were distributed to the winners
of the sponsors’ races.
Lt. Gen Ravi Khetarpal, Pres-
ident, Laser Class Association
of India, Cmde Philip Vanhal-
tren, Naval officer incharge, Ta-
YSCA Trophy from today
CHENNAI: The ICICI-Young
Stars Cricket Association (YS-
CA) Trophy tournament is set
to begin on Thursday (May 1) at
the Ramakrishna School
ground.
Into its 39th edition, the
popular private club tourna-
ment has as many as 63 teams
in the fray, and the event will be
conducted in two tiers; knock-
out in the first phase and then
in the quarter-final league for-
mat.
The final is scheduled to be
held on June 7 under floo-
dlights at the MAC Stadium.
Briefing the media on the
features of the tournament, M.
S. Gurumurthy, Secretary, YS-
CA, said that top teams like In-
dia Cements (holder),
Chemplast, Indian Bank, India
Pistons, IOB, Parry, State Bank
(Thiruvananthapuram), BPCL-
(1,300m), Cl. V-A, 1-35: 1. Indian
Gold (6) C. Velu 60, 2. Star Flag (9)
Srinivasan 60, 3. Formidable Force
(10) Milan 59.5, 4. Royal Heir (13)
Babul 59.5, 5. Dynamic Quest (15) S.
Manohar 58.5, 6. Commander’s
Wish (5) Kabthar 55.5, 7. Tarzan Boy
(16) C. Umesh 55, 8. Diesel (18) Bo-
panna 54, 9. Star Admiral (11) Ra-
jendra Singh 54, 10. Diamond King
(8) Huzaif 51, 11. Galaxy King (1) Zul-
quar Nain 50.5, 12. Hunters Wish
(14) Cornelius 50.5, 13. Golden Gal-
axy (4) Mukesh Kumar 49, 14. Island
Ruler (12) Lakshmanan 49, 15. Tro-
jan River (2) P. Kumar 49, 16. Falcon
Fly (7) Akbar 49, 17. All Rainbows
(17) C. Murugan 49 and 18. Dashing
Brave (3) Chowgule 49.
1. Formidable Force,
2. Royal Heir, 3. Dynamic Quest
THE HINDU
Goni doubtful
CHENNAI: Paceman Manpreet
Goni, suffering from a bout of
fever, is a doubtful starter for
the Chennai Super Kings’ next
match against the Delhi Dare-
devils here on Friday.
A decision on paceman L. Ba-
laji’s match fitness will be taken
on the eve of the match.
Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
said being in the squad with the
likes of M.S. Dhoni, Mathew
Hayden, and Michael Hussey
has been a learning experience.
Asked about the departure of
Narrrow win for
Asiatic CA
CHENNAI: Asiatic CA registered
a three-run win over AVM CCF
CA in the Reddy’s league-cum-
knockout cricket tournament.
The scores: Reddy CA 95 for five
in 20 overs (S. Yogesh Kumar 30,
Mani Raj three for 14) lost to AVM CCF
CA 96 for two in 12 overs (K. Vignesh
35 n.o., Vishal 44 n.o.). MOM: Vishal.
Asiatic CA 125 for three in 20 overs
(C.S. Rohit 38, R. Rahul 31, G. Vig-
CHESS
17 boys share lead
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Seventeen boys and
six girls shared the lead with
perfect scores after three
rounds of the Parsvnath Na-
tional (under-9) chess cham-
pionship here on Wednesday.
Top seed Arjun Bharat of
Karnataka, second seed Hetul
Shah of Gujarat and local hope
Harshal Shahi won easily.
In the girls’ section, Tripu-
ra’s Shiny Das held third seed
Goa’s Riya Savant.
The results (third round):
Open: Arjun Bharat (Kar, 3) bt S.
Delta (Man, 2); R. Harikrishnan (TN, 2)
lost to Hetul Shah (Guj, 3); M. Karthi-
keyan (TN, 3) bt Mihir Desai (Mah, 2);
Anish Jain (Del, 2) lost to Rishubh Naik
(Goa, 3); Harshal Shahi (Del, 3) bt
Devang Bisani (MP, 2); Jeet Jain (Guj,
WINNERS... (From left) Shwetha Sadanand (TNSA),
Ayesha Lobo (RBYC), Mrinalini Santhanam
(TNSA), Rohini Rau (RMYC) and Sidra (NSS
Bhopal). — PHOTO: K. V. SRINIVASAN
mil Nadu, S. Rengarajan,
vice-president, Finance Vestas
Wind Technology India (Pvt)
Ltd., Arindam Kumar, GM, Taj
Coromandel and Hardeep
KRL, Vijaya Bank, State Bank
of Mysore, Precision Infomat-
ics would vie for the prize mon-
ey of Rs. 25,000 for the winner.
Prominent city colleges,
Loyola, Gurunanak, and Pa-
chaiyappas along with leading
schools, St.Bedes and San-
thome HSS have also been ac-
commodated in the draw.
Gurumurthy informed that in-
vitations have been extended to
All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (New Delhi), IOC,
Mumbai and Mumbai Colts. He
also thanked the new sponsor,
ICICI for helping the club to
continue with the popular
tournament.
Mr.Sreedhar Dharmapuri,
Regional Head, Branch Bank-
ing, ICICI, speaking on behalf
of the sponsor, said the bank
was happy to associate itself
with the tournament.
9 SEVENTH WONDER PLATE
(1,600m), Cl. V-B, 2-00: 1. Olympian
(7) Chowgule 60, 2. Path Of Honour
(11) Venkatesan 60, 3. Space Time
(2) Srinivasan 60, 4. Great Crusader
(10) Lakshmanan 58.5, 5. Ballydoyle
Star (13) Casey 54.5, 6. Continuity
(5) K. S. Rathore 54, 7. Ascot Knight
(1) Saddam Iqbal 51.5, 8. Auriferous
(6) C. Umesh 51, 9. Solo Venture (4)
C. Murugan 51, 10. Chief Celebrity
(9) Miss Roopa 49, 11. Seattle Victory
(3) Huzaif 49, 12. Far Hope (14) Md.
Kareem 49, 13. Ranger (12) Akbar 49
and 14. Regent Court (8) P. Kumar
49.
1. Continuity, 2. Ascot Knight,
3. Space Time
Day’s best: Exotic Duke
Double: Oasis Dream – Magical
Warrior
Treble (i): 4, 5 & 6; (ii): 7, 8 & 9.
CHENNAI
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Hayden, Hussey and Jacob
Oram, Vidyut said the side had
the depth to cope with the loss-
es. “We will miss them, but we
now have Makhaya Ntini and
Albie Morkel. Morkel is a good
striker of the ball as well.”
Asked about his chances of
opening the innings, he replied,
“I don’t know whether I will
find a place in the eleven or not.
Coach Kepler Wessels has told
us to be flexible, be mentally
prepared to bat at any posi-
tion.” — Special Correspondent
nesh 30) bt AVM CCF CA 122 for two
in 20 overs (S. Swamy 34, K.Vignesh
59 n.o.). MOM: G. Vignesh.
AVM CCF 166 for three in 20 overs
(K. Sathish 86, M. Yuvan 44) bt Ebe-
nezer Marcus 50 (K. Sathish three for
15, Venkat four for 12). MOM: K.
Sathish.
Asiatic CA 80 lost to Chakra CA 84
for three (S. Ranjan 42). MOM: S.
Ranjan.
2) lost to M. Jayesh (TN, 3); Poras
Kolgane (Mah, 3) bt Devang Goyal
(MP, 2); Josiah Rebello (Goa, 2) lost to
M. Aadhityaa (TN, 3); Abinash Dutta
(Asm, 2.5) drew with Raloue Kapoor
(Mah, 2.5); K. Sai Sankalp (AP, 2) lost
to Adarsh Shrivastava (UP, 3).
Girls: Kratika Shekhawat (Raj, 2)
lost to C. H. Meghna (Ker, 3); Riya
Savant (Goa, 2.5) drew with Shiny Das
(Tri, 2.5); N. Madhumitha (AP, 3) bt
Adyasha Pattnaik (Ori, 2); Akankshya
Nayak (Ori, 3) bt Shradha Kucheria
(Ben, 2); Bipasa Patra (Ben, 3) bt H.
Tejaswini (AP, 2).
R. Manjula (TN, 3) bt M.C. Deepika
(TN, 2); K. Gayatri (AP, 2) lost to Gauri
Hadkonkar (Goa, 3); Sovna Jena (Ori,
2.5) drew with Kesshin Bhasiin (Del,
2.5); Ivana Furtado (Goa, 2.5) bt Sri-
brinda Rout (Ori, 1.5); Rutuja Bakshi
(Mah, 1.5) lost to Abirami Ravi (TN.
2.5).
Singh, Commandant, CISF,
were the chief guests. Organis-
ing Chairman Bijoy Pillai
briefed the gathering on this
year’s championships.
FIDE chess
courses
CHENNAI: The All India Chess
Federation will be conducting
the FIDE-Trainer & FIDE In-
structor courses from April 30
to May 7 at Nehru Stadium
(second floor hall) here.
FIDE Trainers IM Jovan Pe-
tronic of Serbia and FM Peter
Long of Malaysia will conduct
the course and the
examination.
Corporates
cricket
CHENNAI: The CSCA League
Trophy 2008 cricket tourna-
ment for corporates and insti-
tutions will be played from May
10. Entries close with P. Ri-
chard (ph: 98840 60001) on
May 7.
Mohd. Sporting
qualifies
KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sport-
ing, Kolkata earned a place in
the elite stage of the I-League
football as it held Chirag Unit-
ed, Kolkata 1-1 in a fourth
round (final-phase) match of
the tournament’s Division II in
Guwahati on Wednesday.
With the draw Mohamme-
dan Sporting tallied seven
points (from four matches) and
booked a place among the top
four teams. Theodore Sundey
Wrobeh srored for Chirag Unit-
ed while Sporting got even
through Mike Okoro. — Princi-
pal Correspondent
CH-CH
CHENNAI
THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
Telecast schedule
IPL, Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata
Knight Riders, SET Max, 4 p.m.; Deccan
Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, 8 p.m.
Ahmedabad to
host first Test
NEW DELHI: Ahmedabad will
host the first cricket Test be-
tween India and England when
Michael Vaughan’s team comes
to India for a two-Test and sev-
en-ODI series in November-
December, the final itinerary of
which will be announced soon
by the Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI).
The second Test of the series
will be played in Mumbai be-
fore the two teams lock horns
in a one-day series.
The first of the seven one-
dayers will be played in the
Capital.
Indore, Rajkot, Jamshedpur,
Cuttack, Guwahati and Kanpur
will host the remaining match-
es of the series.
‘‘The final itinerary will be
decided on the basis of logis-
tics,’’ the BCCI Secretary, Ni-
ranjan Shah, said in a
statement. — PTI
Hendry in
last four
SHEFFIELD: Seven-time world
champion Stephen Hendry re-
ached the semifinals of the
World snooker championship
for a record 12th time at the
Crucible here.
The Scot beat Wales’ Ryan
Day 13-7 after resuming on
Wednesday with a command-
ing 11-5 lead.
Earlier in the day, English-
man Allister Carter became the
first player through to this
year’s semifinals when he beat
2002 champion Peter Ebdon
13-9.
Carter emulates
O’Sullivan
Carter had compiled a 147
break against Ebdon on Tues-
day, the second maximum in
two days. Following Ronnie
O’Sullivan’s 147 on Monday, it
was the first time two maxi-
mum breaks have been made in
the final stages of the same
ranking tournament.
Meanwhile Carter, asked if
O’Sullivan had said anything to
him about seeing his £157,000
replied: ‘‘He just said ’It’s 80
large each? Cheers!”’ —
Agencies
Ban on Shoaib Akhtar upheld
LAHORE: A Pakistani Appeals
Committee on Wednesday
temporarily upheld a five-year
ban imposed on fast bowler
Shoaib Akhtar, but said he was
free to play cricket outside the
country.
The 32-year-old paceman
was banned earlier this month
for breaching the players’ Code
of Conduct by publicly criticis-
ing the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) after he was not offered a
central contract.
‘‘Shoaib Akhtar can play
anywhere outside Pakistan.
The disciplinary committee did
Super Kings faces a fresh challenge
S. Dinakar
CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings
is on a roll. In a format where
predictions can go haywire,
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his
men have won four in a row.
Dhoni, so far, has made all
the right moves and Super
Kings leads the DLF-Indian
Premier League race with eight
points.
Come Friday and the side
faces a fresh challenge As it will
be without three influential
cricketers — Matthew Hayden,
Michael Hussey and Jacob
Oram. The trio leaves the IPL
scene for the season owing to
international commitments.
The powerful Hayden has
been solid and strokeful. In a
Twenty20 game, he can so eas-
ily bat through an innings play-
ing the way he does.
The Super Kings could have
Stephen Fleming batting up the
order. But, unlike the big-hit-
ting Aussie, Fleming is a clever
manipulator of the ball with the
Russia lifts visa barrier
Thousands of English football fans travelling to Moscow for the
Champions League football final on May 21 will be able to enter
the country without a visa, Moscow Mayor Yury Lyzhkov said
Gambhir and McGrath do the
star turn for Delhi Daredevils
CRICKET / Royal Challengers’ challenge not good enough
Vijay Lokapally
NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir’s
exuberance and Glenn
McGrath’s experience pro-
pelled Delhi Daredevils to a 10–
run victory over Royal Challen-
gers in the DLF-Indian
Premier League here on
Wednesday.
This was Challengers’ fourth
defeat in five outings, while
Delhi was winning its third
match in four.
Delhi Daredevils rode on
Gambhir’s brilliant innings to
present Royal Challengers with
a target of 192 but the Banga-
lore team came a cropper.
McGrath, with three wickets in
his first spell of three overs, ef-
fectively ended the match as a
contest.
Man of the Match McGrath
finished with four wickets even
as Jacques Kallis (54, 44 balls, 6
x 4, 1x6) offered some resis-
tance to reduce the margin.
Gambhir slammed 86 off 54
balls with 11 fours and a six and
his 98-run partnership with
Shikhar Dhawan meant that
Royal Challengers, which opted
to field, had a task on hand.
Sensational assault
The ambience was electric
and Sehwag matched it with a
sensational assault that fitted
his image as Royal Challengers
was shattered in the span of a
mere five overs at the Fero-
zeshah Kotla.
The start was delayed by 11
minutes due to the official
broadcaster losing satellite
link. The cheer girls were also
withdrawn by the franchisee
even as the Royal Challengers
paraded its Washington Red
Skin cheerleaders along the
boundary.
On a night when almost ev-
ery seat at the arena was occu-
Paceman allowed to play outside Pakistan
Knight Riders to abide by IPL guidelines
not restrain him from playing
anywhere in the world,’’ retired
judge Aftab Farrukh, the head
of the three-member tribunal,
told reporters here on Wednes-
day.
Farrukh said the main hear-
ing into Akthar’s appeal against
the ban would take place in
June and that the ban on play-
ing in or for Pakistan would
precious ability to read
situations.
Of course, Super Kings has
the option of replacing Hayden
with one of the young domestic
openers, S. Anirudha or S. Vidy-
ut. In such a scenario, Fleming
could don Hussey’s role in the
middle-order.
Cool customer
Hussey is not averse to taking
calculated risks but still plays
the percentages better than
most and is cool at the crunch.
It would be impossible to re-
place giants such as Hayden or
Hussey, but Dhoni has already
indicated that he is willing to
shoulder more responsibility by
promoting himself up the order.
In Super Kings’ favour is the
fine form of the skipper and the
flamboyant Suresh Raina. S. Ba-
drinath’s ability as an innova-
tive strokemaker is also
under-rated.
Dhoni’s effort in Bangalore
was awesome. Said the Super
King’s Director of Cricketing
IN FULL FLOW: Gautam Gambhir’s whirlwind knock helped set up
Delhi Daredevils’ 10-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
— PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY
pied even before the first ball
had been bowled, Gambhir
showed the way with a calculat-
ed attack that actually inspired
Sehwag.
Gambhir was unsparing even
as Dale Styen bowled quick.
The ball travelled faster and in
all directions too as Gambhir
tore the South African fast
bowler with a flurry of shots.
He picked the line early enough
stay in place until then. — AFP
PTI reports from Mumbai
IPL too says no
Though the Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) has cleared Shoaib
Akhtar to play in the DLF-Indi-
an Premier League (IPL) for
Kolkata Knight Riders, the con-
troversial fast bowler still can-
not play in the Twenty20
league as per the Board of Con-
Operations V.B. Chandrasekar,
“He’s unique in the manner he
plays some of his strokes. I and
Kepler Wessels (the team’s
coach) spoke about how he dealt
with a delivery from Dale Steyn,
a yorker on the leg-stump. Most
batsmen would have played it to
fine-leg or square-leg. Dhoni
sent the ball rocketing to the
mid-wicket fence.”
Another left-hander
If Dhoni surfaces earlier, Al-
bie Morkel could be used as a
heavy-hitter down the order.
Morkel is another left-hander
in a line-up dominated by
southpaws that has already dis-
rupted the line and rhythm of
several attacks.
While batting was always go-
ing to be Super Kings’ strength,
its bowling has been the success
story of the competition so far.
Oram found the right length
in the last two games and turned
the game on its head against
Kolkata Knight Riders. But
then, Makhaya Ntini is bound to
to scatter the field, leaving Ra-
hul Dravid a frustrated man.
Sehwag took over from
Gambhir and mauled Zaheer
Khan by smashing him clinical-
ly for two sixes and two fours,
as effortless as ever.
Zaheer had reason to feel bit-
ter because he had not bowled
bad deliveries. Sehwag was
looking ominous when he was
run out for 24 off 12 balls.
trol for Cricket in India’s
(BCCI) recent decision.
‘‘Unless he is cleared to play
for Pakistan, he cannot play in
the IPL. This was the decision
taken by the Special General
Body of the BCCI in Bangalore
before the start of the Twen-
ty20 event,’’ BCCI sources said
here on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi,
Kolkata Knight Riders made it
clear that it would abide by the
IPL’s decision on whether or
not to allow Akhtar to play in
the tournament.
add greater sting to the pace at-
tack.
Manpreet Goni has been a
revelation with his control and
change of pace, while Joginger’s
ability to get the ball to skid off
the surface and deliver yorkers
at the death is of immense value
to the side. Thrust into the big
league, Palani Amarnath has
displayed good temperament
apart from the ability to send
down cutters and back-of-a-
length balls. Morkel’s medium
pace can be a useful back-up.
Priceless Murali
Of course, Muttiah Muralith-
aran with his spin, flight and de-
ception, has been priceless for
the Super Kings. The off-spin-
ning wizard of exceptional ac-
curacy has this ability to bowl in
any stage of the game.
Dhoni has relied on his five
frontline bowlers in all the
matches so far, which is a
healthy sign. The skipper’s con-
fidence has rubbed off on his
men.
Sharapova pulls out
World No. 3 Maria Sharapova and Daniela Hantuchova, 10th in
the WTA rankings, have both pulled out of the German Open
which starts in Berlin next Monday
Gambhir was outstanding.
His form was reflected in the
ease with which he found the
gaps. Like Sehwag, he too
picked on Zaheer when the lat-
ter came on for his second spell.
It was tough to set a field for
Gambhir who was not averse to
taking the aerial route and his
job was made easy by the fast
outfield.
There was no respite for the
23
SPORT
SQUASH
Indian juniors excel
CHENNAI: There were cheers for El Defrawy (Egypt) 9-2, 9-2, 9-3
the Indians in the just conclud- in the semifinals.
ed German Open junior squash Ravi also seeded 9/16, had a
tournament held in Munich. 90 minute battle against Robert
ICL trainees Anaka Alanka- Downer 7-9, 1-9, 9-3, 9-7, 9-6 in
mony won the silver in the girls’ the pre-quarterfinals before
under-15 category, while An- knocking out fourth seed Ni-
wesha Reddy and Ravi Dixit re- cholas Hopcroft 9-6, 8-10, 9-1,
turned home with bronze
medals in their respective un-
9-0.
der-17 categories, according to Eventual winner
Bangalore bowlers. Dhawan information reaching here. However, in the semifinals he
took over with a flourish that Anaka lost to Amanda Sobhy fell to the eventual winner and
marks his style, caning the (USA) 5-9, 9-4, 10-8, 5-9, 0-9 in top seed Rudi Rohrmuller (Ger-
bowlers with some disdainful the final that went full distance. many) 1-9, 0-9, 5-9.
strikes square of the wicket. In She defeated third seed Llona Other Indians to excel were
the company of Gambhir, he Lagerweij (Netherlands) 9-1, Mahesh Mangaonkar, who won
grew in confidence to play some 10-8, 9-2 in the semifinals. the boys under-15 title defeat-
daring shots all around. Anwesh, seeded 9/16 beat ing top seed Oliver Holland in a
Tesni Evans (Wales) 9-2, 5-9, five-set thriller and Raghav
Dhawan’s effort 9-7, 3-9, 9-3 in the quarterfinals Mehrotra who bagged third
Dhawan’s blazing effort before losing to top seed Kanzy place in the boys’ U-13 category.
matched Gambhir in terms of
quality. He hit the ball harder
and longer, his 50 coming off 32
balls, four less than Gambhir.
It took a grand effort from
Dravid to end Dhawan’s in-
© Puzzles by Pappacom. Solution tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com
nings (four fours and three six-
es) when the Challengers’
skipper took a low catch at
midwicket.
The scores:
Delhi Daredevils: G. Gambhir c
Praveen b Zaheer 86, V. Sehwag (run
out) 24, S. Dhawan c Dravid b Kallis
50, S. Malik b Styen 6, D. Karthik b
Kallis 2, M. Tiwari (not out) 11, R.
Bhatia (not out) 8; Extras (lb-2, nb-1,
w-1) 4; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs)
191.
Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-151, 3-
159, 4-167, 5-179.
Royal Challengers: Styen 4-0-
29-1, Zaheer 4-0-42-1, Praveen 4-0-
24-0, Vinay 2-0-25-0, Kallis 4-0-39-2,
Kohli 1-0-11-0, Joshi 1-0-19-0.
Royal Challengers: Praveen Ku-
mar c Dhawan b McGrath 6, W. Jaffer
c Yomahesh b McGrath 10, R. Taylor c
Dhawan b McGrath 29, J. Kallis b
Vettori 54, R. Dravid c Sehwag b EASY
McGrath 38, M. Boucher (not out) 31,
V. Kohli (not out) 1; Extras (b-1, lb-10, A mind game and a puzzle that
you solve with reasoning and
nb-1) 12; Total (for five wkts. in 20
logic. Fill in the grid with digits
overs) 181.
in such a manner that every
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-46, 3-48,
row, every column and every
4-135, 5-162.
3x3 box accommodates the
Delhi Daredevils bowling: digits 1 to 9, without repeating
McGrath 4-0-29-4, Asif 4-0-42-0, Yo- any. The solution to yesterday’s
mahesh 4-0-28-0, Vettori 4-0-19-1,
puzzle is at right.
Bhatia 1-0-14-0, Malik 1-0-8-0, Seh-
wag 2-0-30-0.
CH-CH
 CHENNAI

24 THE HINDU THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008

Equality at a crossroads Species finds Crore without a clue

NEWSCAPE Sweden, a pioneer in gender equality, plans to

introduce crosswalk road signs portraying a woman in
addition to the existing sign depicting a man.
Scientists discovered a legless lizard, a dwarf
woodpecker and another 12 suspected new species in
Brazil’s fast-disappearing Cerrado grasslands.
An 82-year-old homeless man who stayed at a motel in
Iowa has left behind $263,000 (about Rs. 1.05 crore)
when he died there — and few clues about how he got it.

Albert Hofmann, the chemist-developer of LSD, dead at 102

Craig S. Smith
PARIS: Albert Hofmann, the
mystical Swiss chemist who
gave the world LSD, the most
powerful psychotropic sub-
stance known, died on Tues-
day at his home near Basel,
Switzerland. He was 102.
The cause was a heart at-
tack, said Rick Doblin, foun-
der and president of the
Multidisciplinary Associa-
tion for Psychedelic Studies, a
California-based group that
in 2005 republished Hof-
mann’s 1979 book LSD: My
Problem Child.
Hofmann first synthesised
the compound lysergic acid
diethylamide in 1938 but did
not discover its psychophar-
macological effects until five
years later, when he acciden-
tally ingested the substance
that came to be known to the
1960s counterculture gener-
ation as “acid.”
He then took LSD hun-
dreds of times, but regarded it
as a powerful and potentially
dangerous psychotropic drug
that demanded respect. More
important to him than the
pleasures of the psychedelic
experience was the drug’s val-
ue as a revelatory aid to con-
template and understand
what he saw as humanity’s
oneness with nature. That
perception of union, which
first came to Hofmann as al-
most a religious epiphany
while still a child, directed
much of his personal and pro-
fessional life.
Hofmann was born in Ba-
den, Switzerland, on January
11, 1906, the eldest of four
children. His father was a
toolmaker in a local factory,
and the family lived in a rent-
ed apartment. Hofmann
spent much of his childhood
outdoors. He would wander
the hills above the town and
play around the ruins of a
Hapsburg castle, the Stein. “It
was a real paradise up there,”
he said in an interview in
2006. “We had no money, but
I had a wonderful childhood.”
It was during one of his am-
bles that he had his epiphany.
“It happened on a May morn-
ing — I have forgotten the
year — but I can still point to
the exact spot where it oc-
curred, on a forest path on
Martinsberg above Baden,” he
wrote in LSD: My Problem
Child. “As I strolled through
able sensation of joy, oneness
and blissful security.”
Hofmann studied chemis-
try at Zurich University be-
cause, he said, he wanted to
explore the natural world at
the level where energy and
elements combine to create
life. He earned his Ph.D. there
in 1929, at 23. He then took a
job with Sandoz.
It was during his work on
the ergot fungus, which grows
in rye kernels, that he stum-
bled on LSD, accidentally in-
gesting a trace of the
Albert Hofmann. He was disturbed by the cavalier compound one Friday after-
use of LSD for entertainment. — PHOTO: REUTERS noon in April 1943. Soon
enough, he experienced an al-
the freshly greened woods shone with the most beautiful tered state of consciousness
filled with bird song and lit up radiance, speaking to the similar to the one he had ex-
by the morning sun, all at heart, as though it wanted to perienced as a child.
once everything appeared in encompass me in its majesty. The following Monday he
an uncommonly clear light. It I was filled with an indescrib- deliberately swallowed a dose
of LSD and rode his bicycle
home as the effects of the
drug overwhelmed him. That
day, April 19, later became
memorialised by LSD enthu-
siasts as “bicycle day.”
“Through my LSD experi-
ence and my new picture of
reality, I became aware of the
wonder of creation, the mag-
nificence of nature and of the
animal and plant kingdom,”
Hofmann told the psychia-
trist Stanislav Grof in an in-
terview 1984. “I became very
sensitive to what will happen
to all this and all of us.”
Hofmann became an im-
passioned advocate for the
environment and argued that
LSD, besides being a valuable
tool for psychiatry, could be
used to awaken a deeper
awareness of mankind’s place
in nature and help curb socie-
ty’s ultimately self-destruc-
tive degradation of the
natural world.
He was also disturbed by
the cavalier use of LSD as a
drug for entertainment, argu-
ing that it should be treated
in the way that primitive so-
cieties treat psychoactive sa-
cred plants, ingested with
care and spiritual intent.
Despite his involvement
with psychoactive com-
pounds, Hofmann remained
moored in his Swiss chemist
identity. He stayed with San-
doz as head of the research
department for natural med-
icines and retired in 1971. He
wrote more than 100 scien-
tific articles and authored a
number of books. — New
York Times News Service

CH-CH