VOL: 3 ISSUE 6
Chennai Corporation to launch
SMS alert facility for vaccination
Chennai, July 28 : Women
registered with the city
corporation health
department will soon get
SMS alerts reminding them
of their children's
vaccination schedule
under an e-governance
initiative of the civic body.
"The alerts would
be sent under a new
Disease Tracking System
EC can avoid holding bypolls to
save tax payers money: Jaya
Chennai, Jul 28:
AIADMK General
Secretary J Jayalalithaa
today opined that the
Election Commission
could avoid holding bypolls
to five Assembly seats in
Tamil Nadu to save the tax
payers money and utilise
the funds for implementing
various welfare schemes
to the people.
In a statement
here, she said with the
main Opposition AIADMK
deciding to boycott the
polls as the ruling DMK
would unleash money and
muscle power and the
Election Commission
would not be taking steps
to prevent them, the
outcome of the August 18
bypolls has become a
foregone conclusion.
Instead of
conducting the bypolls, the
Election Commission
could as well announce
that the DMK-Congress
combine, which would be
contesting three and two
seats respectively, had
won the polls, she stated.
''In the event of a
no contest following the
Chennai, July 28, 2009
which will be tentatively public sector telecom part of the new disease later to cover more system", he said.
launched on August 15, giant Bharat Sanchar tracking system, Lakhoni activities, including The response
2009 as part of the e- Nigam Limited (BSNL) said. dissemination of time of the Corporation to
governance initiatives," for getting GPRS P e r s o n a l information at times of epidemics would be
Chennai Corporation connections, which details of the patient, any epidemic. reduced considerably after
M a y o r M would be used for including phone number "This system the installation of the
Subramaniam told providing the service to and address, would be can be used for system.
PTI here on the public. collected at the time of containing epidemic The SMS alerts
Tuesday. Corporation registration, he said. diseases also. If there is would help in coverage of
The system "is Commissioner Rajesh To start with, any epidemic activity, more children under the
the first such Lakhoni said more than the system would be people can be regular vaccination
initiative by a 1.08 lakh individuals used for sending SMS immediately informed programmes, he said.
corporation in the registered with the civic alerts and expanded about it through this
country," he said body's 160 dispensaries
adding the system and health posts, to be
would be installed linked online, would
at dispensaries of would benefit under the
the civic body new facility.
across the city. He said in
A hospital cases where women do
management not have a mobile phone,
software had been the messages would be
developed for this sent to the concerned
purpose and the area health workers of
h a r d w a r e , the corporation, who in
i n c l u d i n g turn would contact them
computer systems and and inform about the
printers, have already vaccination schedule.
been procured, he said. Women giving
birth in corporation
T h e hospitals would be
Corporation has entered
provided a unique
into a tie-up with the identification number as
AIADMK's decision to acts'', she said, adding
boycott the poll and its only to express her
allies the PMK and the party's opposition to such
MDMK too toeing the incidents, the AIADMK
same line, the Election had announced boycott
Commission, which will of polls in Gandhian way
be spending lakhs of and the PMK and the
rupees of public money,
can avoid holding the by
elections to save the tax
pyaer's money'', she
said.
Instead, the
money could be used to
meet the basic needs of
the people like drinking
water, road and health
and sanitary facilities,
she added.
Stating that the
AIADMK was not afraid
of facing the polls, Ms
Jayalalithaa said ever
since the DMK came to
power in 2006, the
democracy was buried MDMK too made similar
as it had been using its decisions.
muscle and money ''In this context,
power in successive everyone knows that who
elections to local bodies, will win the polls'', she
Assembly bypolls and in said, reiterating that the
the recent Lok Sabha Election Commission
elections. could avoid holding by
''The Election polls to save the public
Commision too had money.
failed to prevent such
Page 2 Times Chennai E-Paper
Crime Branch-CID recommends
action in illicit quarryig case
Chennai, Jul 28 : The
Crime Branch-CID police
have written to the Tamil
Nadu government,
recommending disciplinary
action against 35 officials in
connection with illicit stone
quarrying in the Nilgiris
district.
Additional
Director-General of Police
(CB-CID) Archana
Ramasundaram told that
this included two Revenue
Divisional Officers, three
Regional Transport
Officers and an Assistant
Director of Mines.
''This is a case of
gross negligence on the
part of the officials
concerned, which resulted
in extensive damage to the
environment in the
ecologically sensitive
Nilgiris district. It is a
biosphere reserve area.
Though there were glaring
lapses, the available
evidence was not adequate
to initiate criminal
proceedings. Hence, we
have recommended
University officials held in bribery case
Madurai, Jul 28 : In a
dusk to dawn raid, sleuths
of Directorate of Vigilance
and Anti-Corruption
(DVAC) wing of Tamil Nadu
Police have arrested the
Superintendent of Madurai
Kamaraj University (MKU)
and an office attender in a
bribery case.
According to
DVAC sources here today,
a student, who recently
completed Master of Arts
( M A ) i n L a b o u r
Management through
distance education in the
Varsity, had applied for
availing Consolidated
Marks Certificate from the
Directorate of Distance
Education.
The directorate
Collector serves free meal to
600 petitioners in Collectorate
Chennai, Jul 28 : About
600 people, who visited the
Vellore District Collectorate
in Tamil Nadu to file
petitions, had a pleasant
surprise when they were
served free noon meal by
the Collector.
Mondays are
grievances day in Tamil
Nadu and people, mostly
poor and downtrodden,
visit the Collectorate offices
in the state to file petitions
to get their grievances
redressed.
When about 600
people visited the Vellore
district collectorate office
yesterday, no one had a
clue that a pleasant
surprise was in store for
them.
departmental action,''
she said.
The case
pertains to a writ petition
filed by Elephant
Rajendran of the
Defence of Environment
and Animals. The Madras
High Court had directed
the CB-CID to take over
the investigation.
Ms Archana
said the agency had
taken over 16 cases and
formed three special
teams for investigation.
The focus was also on
the infrastructure,
explosives and
machinery used to carry
out illicit mining.
As many as 22
people were arrested and
14 people were charged.
E l e v e n
vehicles, explosive
substances and other
equipment used for
mining were seized.
There were about 15
major stone quarrying
sites operating illegally.
The dealers, who
had forwarded his
application to
Superintendent
(Examination Wing, P G
Course Section)
Ramasamy (46) for
scrutiny.
When the
a p p l i c a n t , K
Udhayakumar of Ernavur
near Chennai, contacted
the Superintendent, the
latter demanded a bribe
of Rs 3,000 for issuing
the certificate. After a
hard bargain, Ramasamy
had decreased the bribe
amount to Rs 2,000.
H o w e v e r,
annoyed over the
'attitude' of the MKU
official, Udhayakumar
complained the matter to
The petitioners
were taken aback when
District Collector C
Rajendran came out of
his chamber around noon
to serve them food and
water packets much to
their delight.
The Collector,
realising that people
come from far off places
to file petitions and most
of them could not afford to
have lunch at hotels,
decided to serve them
food, spending his own
money.
''People who
come here had to spend
the whole day forego
their lunch for want of
money. I thought I will
serve them food,'' Mr
Tamil Nadu
supplied explosives,
were also arrested, she
said.
Sources in the
agency reveailed that no
licence had been issued
after 2003 for mining in
the district. But, more
than 100 stone-quarrying
sites were operating.
The authorities
concerned imposed
meagre penalty on the
accused.
T h e o ff i c i a l s
took no tangible steps to
prevent the quarrying, an
investigator said.
In a related
development, he said the
State government had
issued orders authorising
Divisional Forest Officers
and the police (not below
the rank of an Inspector)
to file complaints and
take action under the
provisions of the Mines
a n d M i n e r a l s
(Development and
Regulation) Act, 1957.
DVAC officials.
Udhayakumar
handed over the
chemical-coated
currency notes of Rs
2,000 to Ramasamy
outside the MKU campus
last evening.
A DVAC team,
led by Deputy
Superintendent of Police
(DSP) Kulothunga
Pandiyan caught red-
handed Ramasamy for
demanding and
accepting the bribe.
Later, he was
taken to his office, where
t h e D VA C t e a m
conducted a raid and
seized Rs 32,000 from
another staff P Murugan.
Rajendran said when
asked about the unique
scheme, probably, a first
of its kind in the state.
Taking the cue from him,
many voluntary agencies
and philanthropists in the
district offered to provide
free noon meal to the
petitioners.
Most of the
people who visit the
Collectorates on
grievances day, come
from remote villages.
They are the poor and the
downtrodden.
To r e a c h t h e
Collectorate, they had to
sacrifice their time and
one-day wages to hand
over petitions to officials.
Three killed, several feared dead in explosion
Virudhunagar, July 28:
Three workers were killed
and several others feared
dead in a devastating
inferno that broke out at a
private fire cracker
manufacturing factory at
Keezha Thiruthangal
village near Sivakasi here
today.
Police sources
said the fire broke out at
1000 hrs this morning
and engulfed two
godowns of Anil Fire
Works factory, where the
Crackers and Ground
Chakkars were being
produced.
The deceased
were identified as M
Subbaiah (62), V
Rajapillai (64) and M
Kannan (44). The fire,
followed by explosion
razed down two
godowns.
Rescue teams
were searching for more
number of bodies from
the debris. As initial
reports quoting eye-
witnesses said several
workers were engaged in
the crackers production,
when the fire engulfed the
'The Tamil Net conference''
to be held in Germany
Thanjavur, Jul 28 :
' ' T h e Ta m i l N e t
conference'' will be held
in Germany from October
23 to 25, according to
Tamil University Vice-
Chancellor M Rajendran.
The conference
was to discuss
achievements in Tamil
Information Technology,
future challenges in the
same field by Tamil
TN suggested to consider
banning of plastic bags
Chennai, Jul 28 :
Madras High Court has
said the Tamil Nadu
government should
seriously consider
banning the use of plastic
bags and other plastic
materials upto 60
microns as an immediate
step.
The court asked
the government to
bestow its serious
attention to the draft Tamil
Nadu Throwaway Plastic
Articles (Prohibition of
Sale, Storage,
Distribution and
Transport) Bill, pending
since 2003, to make it an
Act.
Passing orders
on a Public Interest
Litigation petition by A
Narayanan, Trustee,
Sevaman Trust, a
division bench
comprising Justices D
Murugesan and K
Venkataraman, directed
the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board to
implement the rules in
letter and spirit
two godowns.
The tragedy
might have occurred
while the workers were
filling explosive powders
in the fancy cracker
varieties, including
Ground Chakkars.
Tamil Nadu Fire
and Rescue Service
personnel from Sivakasi
rushed to the spot and
extinguished the fire after
one hour long battle.
About 200 people were
working at the time of
accident in the unit.
T h e f i r e
personnel prevented the
fire being spread to
nearby godowns,
otherwise there could
have been more
casualities, the sources
added.
Senior revenue
a n d p o l i c e o ff i c i a l s
rushed to the village to
expedite the rescue
operation.
This was the
third major fire accident in
a cracker unit in South
Tamil Nadu during this
m o n t h . E a r l i e r, 1 9
workers were killed in an
computer experts and
Tamil scholars, according
to a press release here
today.
T h e Malaysia (2001) and
International Forum for
Information Technology
in Tamil (INFITT) and
Institute of Indology and
Tamil Studies, University
of Cologone, would jointly
conduct the conference.
The INFITT had
throughout the state.
Mr Narayanan sought a
direction to the
authorities to ban
manufacture, distribution
and usage of all types of
plastic carry bags,
irrespective of their size
and thickness, single-use
plastic items below 150
microns and coloured
pots and mugs meant for
storing water and food
made of recycled and
toxic plastic.
He submitted
that plastic products
contained petro-
chemicals. In the course
of production, toxic
chemicals were released.
At the time of disposal,
plastic waste pollutes the
air. The State Pollution
Control Board had filed a
counter. In its order, the
bench said it was an
admitted fact that in Tamil
Nadu, except in some
places such as Ooty, the
Central rules had not
been implemented and
disregarded by the
Pollution Control Board.
July 28, 2009
inferno in a private fire
works at Vadakkampatti
village in Usilampatti taluk
of Madurai district on July
seven last.
Eighteen people
were killed and several
others seriously injured in
another major fire accident
at a private fire works
f a c t o r y a t
Namaskarithanpatti village
near Sivakasi in
Virudhunagar district on
July 20 last.
One person was
injured in another fire
accident at a private fire
works factory at V
Chokalingapuram near
Sivakasi, this morning.
Police said the
fire totally damaged the
production unit of Aravinda
Fire Works factory.
However, no one
was inside the factory
when the accident
occurred.
An employee,
who attempted to douse
the fire, was hit by a
splinter, the sources
added.
organised such
conferences in Chennai
(1999, 2003), Singapore
(1997, 2000, 2004)
America (2002), he added.
He said the
Tamils in Europe use
computers in European
languages.
They would be
trained to use computers in
Tamil, he added.
In view of the undisputed
d e v a s t a t i o n o f
environment, there could
be no excuse for the board
to not implement the rules
strictly.
The Judges said
the question was whether
the court could go beyond
the rules and direct the
board to take action, even
in case of use of plastics up
to 150 microns. Such a
direction would amount to
legislation, which was
impermissible. The Bill, if
enacted, may, to some
extent, curtail the use of
plastics and could avoid
pollution.
The court said
that in its opinion relating to
the serious impact on the
use of plastics, the
legislation as found in the
draft Bill would be
insufficient.
The legislature
should give a serious
thought for bringing a more
stringent legislation
against the use of plastics
and plastic products, the
court added.
July 28, 2009
Stalin to hit campaign trail
for assembly bypolls
Chennai, Jul 28: After
leading the DMK-Congress
Front to an impressive win
in the recent Lok Sabha
polls, Tamil Nadu Deputy
Chief Minister M K Stalin
would canvass for the Front
candidates in the August 18
byelections to five
assembly seats.
S t a l i n i s
scheduled to begin his 10-
day campaign from August
Homemakers should be considered
earning members: HC
Chennai, July 28 M:adras
High Court has said that
homemakers too should be
considered earning
m e m b e r s a n d
compensation should be
computed accordingly in
case of their death due to
accidents.
A division bench
comprising Justice Prabha
Sridevan and T S
Sivagnanam yesterday
ruled that ''the time has
come to scientifically
assess the value of the
HC suggests Parliament to amend MV Act
Chennai, Jul 28 Madras
High Court has suggested
that Parliament amend the
Motor Vehicle (MV) Act to
constitute Medical Boards
for assessing the disability
of accident victims.
The certificate
issued by the Boards
should be accepted as
binding on all the accident
tribunals in the country, a
division bench comprising
Justices Ms Prabha
Sridevan and T S
Sivagnanam observed.
The Bench was
passing orders on the civil
miscellaneous appeals
from the National
Insurance Company
Nurse show exemplary courage
fends off chain snatcher
Chennai, July 28:
Showing exemplary
courage, a 30-year-old
nurse fought off a 19-year-
old chain snatcher and
retrieved her five
sovereign 'thali' chain even
while holding her eight-
month-old child in her arm,
in the city last night.
Shanthi (30),
working as a nurse with
Kasturba Hospital, was
returning home after
buying vegetables near
Pallavaram station Road
around 2100 hours last
night, when a truck cleaner
snatched her ''thali'' and
tried to flee.
H o w e v e r, t h e
nurse, who was carrying
the child in one arm and
Times Chennai E-Paper
4, a party release said.
The bypolls for
B u r g u r, C u m b u m ,
I l a y a n k u d i ,
Thondamuthur and
S r i v a i k u n t a m
constituencies have
been necessitated
following resignation and
death of sitting members.
Seen as a
political heir apparent to
Karunanidhi, Stalin may
unpaid homemaker, both
in accident claims and in
division of matrimonial
property''.
Applying their
observations to a case on
hand, the Judges
accepted that the victim,
who was a homemaker,
assisted her husband in
his work despite the fact
that there was no
documentary evidence to
prove the claim. Fixing
the notional income of the
victim at Rs 3,500, they
Limited, challenging the
orders of the Motor
Accidents Claims
Tribunal in Chennai,
directing it to pay Rs 18
lakh to an accident victim
in one case and Rs 3.40
lakh in another.
Observing that
the disability certificates
issued by the individual
doctors were not to be
relied upon, the Bench
r e d u c e d t h e
compensation payable
by the insurance
company to Rs 5.49 lakh
in the first case and to Rs
1.15 lakh in the second.
The Bench also
cited a book titled ''A
her vegetable bag in the
other, in quick reflex,
dropped the bag and held
the thief by his collar.
The youth,
identified as Karthik of
Trisulam, who was in an
inebriated condition, tried
his best to free himself
from her clutches and
escape with the jewellery.
But, Shanthi simply did
not let go of him even
though she was holding
her child.
Public apathy
was particularly visible
when none of the
passengerby came to her
rescue even as she fell
down along with the
chain snatcher in the
tussle.
not have to strain much
this time as AIADMK is
boycotting the polls,
leaving the field open for
DMK.
Stalin had gone
on a whirlwind
campaigning in the state
for the Lok Sabha
elections as Karunanidhi
underwent a major spinal
cord surgery in the run up
to the polls.
awarded Rs 7.6 lakh to
her daughter.
The present
matter relates to the
death of a couple in a
road accident. While
computing the
compensation payable to
the deceased couple's
daughter, the trial court
had said since the mother
was a homemakerit could
not be proved that she
was a partner in the firm.
Critique on Motor
Vehicles Laws,'' written
by Justice K Kannan and
a d v o c a t e N Buckingham Canal
Vijayaraghavan in 2008,
which precisely referred
to the predicament
prevailing on this aspect.
In the book, the
authors stated that the
expert witnesses or
doctors, who appeared
before the Tribunals were
stock witnesses.
They knew no
standards and did not
conform to any uniform
practices.
They did not
follow any criteria, the
Bench noted.
At one point, the
youth managed to free
himself from her clutches
and tried to run, but the
nurse, regaining her
composure, chased and
held him again.
This time, she raised an
alarm and shouted at the
public for not coming to
her rescue.
The irony was
the incident took place
near the Pallavaram
Police Station. On
hearing the commotion,
Sudhagar, a Grade I
Constable, rushed out,
much to the relief of
Shanti.
The nurse, who
suffered bruises on her
arms and knees, heaved
Corporation bans Posters from Aug. 01
Chennai, July 28:In an
effort to bolster the
beautification drive in
Chennai, a ban on
sticking of posters on the
walls of the city’s bridges
and subways will come
into effect from August 1,
Mayor M Subramaniam
announced in a
statement released to the
press today.
Posters and
graffiti will be banned on
all 23 bridges across
maintained by the
Corporation of Chennai,
Want a tree planted? Just send an SMS
Chennai, July 28: In an
attempt to make the city
greener, the Chennai
Social Service – a group
of working professionals
who use their weekends
in social welfare activities
– has launched the ‘SMS
a sapling’ concept.
Just their way of
making planting a tree in
your house as easy as
possible. It’s a simple
enough process – if you
are interested in having a
tree planted in your
house, just s m s
9894062532 o r
9962673668. The
volunteers at CSS will
work with you on what
kind of tree you need or
want and what
arrangements you need
to make for the planting
and then within the
week, they’ll
come over with the
sapling.
“At our end, we
a sigh of relief as she got
back her ''thali'' chain and
Karthik was sent to the
Puzhal Central Prison
after his arrest.
Page 3
including Manali Bridge, Nungambakkam Canal,
Adam’s Bridge, Chepauk the Mayor informed.
Posters will be
Bridge, Elliott’s Road
forbidden on 11 bridges
Bridge, Greenways Road
across Kodungaiyur
Canal, 23 bridges across
Virugambakkam Canal, 11
bridges across Trustpuram
Canal, 26 bridges across
other canals in the city,
besides 8 bridges, 13
subways, 6 pedestrian
subways, 2 ground level
bridges, 30 acrossbridges,
12 bridges at Railway
crossings, Mayor
Subramaniam said and
added that the ban will also
hold good on the 4 bridges
at Railway crossings, 5
bridges across Cooum, 2
bridges each across Adyar
River and Buckingham
Canal, Basin Bridge, Anna
Flyover, and 12 pedestrian
subways maintained by
the Highways Department.
In all 250 bridges at various
places in Chennai will be
kept free of posters and the
Corporation’s Zonal
officials will inform the
agents and labourers
Bridge, Kamarajar Road
involved in sticking posters
Bridge, Lattice Bridge,
about the ban, he further
the Mayor said.
said
Similar bans on The work of
posters will be imposed removing the posters and
on all the 11 bridges graffiti from the walls of
constructed across
Cooum River, 5 bridges
these bridges and
subways will commence,
across Adyar River, 18 by July 31 the Mayor said
bridges across Otteri, 4 and sought the co-
bridges across Captain operation of the public in
Cotton Canal, 14 bridges this regard.
across Mambalam
Canal, 6 bridges across
have segregated the city ‘Badam’, which has bright
into three zones,” says B green leaves that turn
Satish, executive progressively pinker as the
secretary of CSS. “And tree gets old. “The
we are already in touch volunteers will bring all the
with nurseries and eco equipment required to
organisations across the plant the tree as well as a
city which have saplings leaflet on how to care for
ready for disposal. Most the sapling. But if the
of the places give us the sapling being planted
saplings for free,” he requires any special
adds.
CSS only plants
manure or soil, the house
owner will have to bear that
shade-bearing and
flower and fruit bearing
cost. Most of our saplings
though can grow on any
trees. “We do not plant soil in Chennai,” says
shrubs etc,” says Satish. Satish.
And all the trees are ‘SMS a sapling’ is
Indian species. “There’s part of a CSS environment
lots to choose from, says drive, which includes a
Satish. For instance, documentary called ‘En
there’s ‘Poongan’, Per Maram’ (‘My name is
propagated by the tree’), shot by R
Forestry Department and S a t h y a m o o r t h y, w h o
which is a pest and volunteers with CSS.
animal repellent thanks “When we plant
to a bitter juice that its the sapling at a house, we
leaves give out. There’s name it after the owner of
‘Pooarasan’, which is a the house just to make
sub-species of the them care more for it,” says
banyan and whose Satish.
leaves make a whistling
sound in the wind. The
Read
Ashoka tree is supposed
to be a favourite for Times Chennai
apartments that are near E-Paper
arterial roads because it Today and
manages to be a sound
every day
barrier. Then there’s
Page 4
Omar Abdullah offers to resign
S r i n a g a r, J u l y 2 8 :
Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah on
Tuesday offered to resign
from the post after a senior
PDP leader made a serious
allegation that he was
involved in the 2006 sex
scandal.
"I know it is a false
allegation. But I want to
resign till I am cleared of
this false allegation. I
cannot work till I am proved
innocent. It is a blot on my
character.
"Any amount of
investigation by the home
department will not help. Till
I am able to prove my
innocence, I am going to
give my resignation to the
Governor," he told the State
Assembly, a statement that
shocked his party MLAs
and Ministers.
The MLAs and
Ministers physically
restrained him from going
out telling him not not to
resign and that the party
would not accept it.
He was virtually
forced to take his seat by
the ruffled members but he
got up to shout at them
Exemplary punishments to
deter honour killings: HM
New Delhi, Jul 28 :
Expressing concern over
the so-called honour
killings, the Government
today said exemplary
punishment should be
meted out to caste
panchayats if they had a
part in such murders.
Replying to the
Calling Attention raised by
Ms Brinda Karat (CPI-M),
Home Minister P
Chidambaram told the
Rajya Sabha that the
Times Chennai E-Paper
saying "allow me to take
this first step"".
The whole
drama began when PDP
leader and former Deputy
C h i e f
Minister
Muzaffar
B e i g
levelled the
allegation
t h a t M r.
Abdullah
w a s have said what you
involved in
t h e have been pointing out
infamous
Srinagar
s e x innocent until proven
scandal.
He claimed he had a list
of people involved in the
scandal in which Mr.
Abdullah's name figured
against no 102.
"I have to say with regret,
there is the name of
Omar Abdullah, son of
Farooq Abdullah, in the
list. He has lost the moral
authority to rule the state.
He must resign," Mr. Beig
said claiming the scandal
has been probed by the
CBI.
The issue figured shortly
after the Question Hour
ended in the House
which on Monday
witnessed pandemonium
after PDP leader
Mehbooba Mufti
wrenched a mike from
the Speaker's podium
and tried to remove one
more, showing her
protest over the issue of
Shopian rape and murder
Government deplored
such killings and there
was no recognition of
these caste panchayats
and their decisions.
"If there is a
murder the leading
members of such
panchayats would be
arraigned in the courts
as an abettor. There is
no place for such
institutions in 21st
century." Such killings
were reported mainly
from the states of
Haryana, Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh and
surrounding areas of
Delhi. Similar crimes
had taken place in
other states also.
Responding to
the suggestions of
enacting a special law,
mainly from agitated
women Members, the
Home Minister said he
would look into it. In any
case honour killing was
nothing but a murder
where perpetrators and
abettors were to be tried.
He did not
agree with the comparing
National
case. She and other PDP
MLAs were immediatley
evicted.
In his immediate
response, an emotional
Mr. Abdullah, who came
to power at the head of
the National Conference-
Congress coalition
government this January,
said "he did not not
expect things to fall to
such depths. Ok, you
wanted to. These people
for a long time. Under the
rule of law, one is
guilty. It's my misfortune
that this false allegation
has been made against
me by a member of the
PDP."
He said one could ignore
if it was an allegation of
dacoity, theft or looting
but this was a serious
allegation.
"The allegation made
against me is false. The
truth about the allegation
made against me by a
member of the PDP is
that I will be guilty unless
proven innocent.
"It is a blemish on my
character. There will be
no use even if you make
the Home Department
inquire into it. I will not not
be able to work till the
time I am proved
innocent. I will go from
here and hand over my
resignation to the
Governor," he said.
of honour killings with
Sati killings. The Sati
killings had to be defined
to differentiate between a
suicide and a murder, but
he said he was open to
the suggestion to define
honour killings also.
Regarding the demand
for shifting the burden of
proof of honour killings on
the accused rather than
the prosecution, he said
the initial burden was
always on the
prosecution but at some
point of the trial the
burden should shift to the
defence.
He also agreed
with the Members on the
need to amend the
Special Marriages Act to
facilitate quicker
marriages.
The Centre
would advise the states
to investigate and
prosecute the complaints
and hand over exemplary
punishment to the
perpetrators of this
deplorable practice to
deter others from
indulging in such crimes.
Omar's name not in sex scandal list: CBI
New Delhi, July 28:
The CBI on Tuesday said
the name of Jammu and
Kashmir Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah never
figured in the 2006 sex
scandal case in which
two ministers of the then
PDP regime were
arrested.
Highly-placed
CBI sources said the
name of the Chief
Minister had never come
up in any way during the
probe and that the list of
accused questioned by
the agency consisted of a
little over three dozen
people.
Rain sweeps Delhi weeps
New Delhi, July 28: Life
came to a standstill in
many parts of the national
capital today due to
record overnight rains
which led to heavy water
logging in several areas
resulting in chaotic traffic
jams.
Traffic in various
parts of the city was
crawling with several
busy intersections and
roads still inundated by
the first widespread
monsoon rains in the city.
W i t h
meteorological
department predicting
more spells of rains
today, the situation is
unlikely to improve.
"There will be
more spells of rain today,"
a Met department official
said. He said the city
Operation to recover bodies of 1968 IAF crash victims
Shimla, Jul 28 : The
Indian Army has decided
to launch 'Operation
Phoenix' to locate the
mortal remains of their 98
army personal who were
killed during an aircraft
crash on February 7,
1968 in the frozen rugged
cold and inhospitable
Himalayan terrain of
Lahaul and Spiti district of
Himachal Pradesh.
M a j o r
Vasudevan of Dogra
Scouts of the Indian Army
told UNI that this year
scanty snowfall on the
peaks of the Himalayas
has once again rekindled
hope of finding the
aircraft wreckage and
The CBI said
the name of the agency
was being unnecessarily
dragged into the
controversy by a political
party in the state.
While the list of
accused questioned by
the CBI was a mere 37,
PDP leader Muzzafar
Hussain Beigh on
Tuesday claimed in the
state assembly that
Omar's name was at
serial number 102.
A senior C B I
official, who probed the
entire scandal on
directions of the J&K High
Court, said a list had been
received 126 mm of rains
till 8:30 this morning.
Heavy traffic
snarls were reported from
various places including
Chirag Dilli, Dwaraka
s e c to r 6 ,7 a n d 2 2 ,
Moolchand, Bijwasan,
Andheri Maur,
Bhajanpura, Sultanpuri,
Lado Sarai, Ashram,
Lajpat Nagar, Sarita
Vihar and Maharani
Bagh.
Traffic was
moving at a snail's pace
at ITO, Nizamuddin and
Pragati Maidan delaying
office-goers in the
morning rush hour.
Traffic is running slow at
S e e l a m p u r, A p s a r a
border, Jehangirpuri,
Connaught Place, Dilli
Cant, Greater Kailash,
Shadipur and on
bodies of the victims.
About 102 defence
personal including six
crew members were
killed in 1968 when an
Indian Air Force aircraft,
AN-12 crashed over
Dakka Glacier
in Chander-Bhaga
ranges of Lahaul and
Spiti district when it was
at 17,400 feet height.
The transport
aircraft commanded by
Flt Lt H K Singh, was on a
routine sortie to Leh in
Jammu and Kashmir
from Chandigarh for
ferrying troops and
supplies when it crashed.
There were no survivors
in the crash and only four
July 28, 2009
prepared and circulated in
2006 by people having
vested interest possibly to
target political opponents.
But the agency
found that the list had no
relevance whatsoever
during the probe, the
official said.
The CBI had
arrested G M Mir and
Raman Mattoo, both
ministers in the then PDP-
Congress Government,
besides Iqbal Khandey, the
former Principal Secretary
to the then Chief Minister
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
Mehrauli Badarpur road.
Commuters coming from
Dwarka had a harrowing
time this morning as all
routes leading to the main
city were choked.
"I have been on the roads
for almost two hours and
do not know when I will
reach my destination,"
Rakesh, a software
professional, who was
stuck on a Dwarka
road, said.
Abhijeet, who had to
catch a flight to
Mumbai at noon, said
he was not sure if he
would be able to reach
the airport in time due
to the chaotic traffic
condition in South
Delhi.
Water logging was
also reported in many
underpasses
including the
M o o l c h a n d
underpass.
Potholes added to the
woes of motorists with
hundreds of them
surfacing on major roads.
"It took me almost three
hours to reach ITO from
Khanpur which usually
takes me one hour on a
normal day," said Deba, a
software professional.
The minimum
temparature was recorded
at 23.6 degree Celsius this
morning.
bodies have been
recovered during previous
search operations carried
out by the army and the air
force.
Major Vasudevan
is now leading a 20-
member expedition team,
which comprises mostly
mountaineers of Dogra
Scouts on the recovery
mission.
"This time we are
hopeful of retrieving more
bodies as there was less
snowfall during winter on
the peaks of Dakka Glacier
and our priority would also
be to recover the black box
of the crashed aircraft", he
said.
July 28, 2009
Amarnath yatra suspended
temporarily amid heavy rainfall
Srinagar, July 28 : The
ongoing Amarnath yatra
w a s s u s p e n d e d
temporarily on Tuesday
after heavy rains rendered
the twin mountain tracks to
the cave shrine in South
Kashmir unsafe, official
sources said.
The yatra was
suspended temporarily as
a precuationary measure
from both the routes-- the
traditional 45-km
Pahalgam track in
Anantnag district and the
shortest 16-km Baltal route
in Ganderbal district--
following heavy rains since
Tuesday morning, the
sources said. They said no
pilgrim was allowed from
the base camps of Baltal
and Nunwan in Pahalgam
this morning and several
thousand pilgrims returning
from the cave shrine have
been directed to stay back
Times Chennai E-Paper
at the camps enroute.
When the
weather improves and
the tracks become safe
the pilgrims would be
allowed to move to their
destinations, the sources
said.
All pilgrims
stranded at various
camps along the twin
routes are safe and co-
operating with the
authorities, the sources
said, adding that the
government has made
adequate arrangements
for them at these camps.
Over 3.60 lakh
pilgrims have paid
obeisance to the
naturally formed ice-
Shivalingam at the cave
shrine ever since the two-
month yatra began on
June 15.
Meanwhile, two
pilgrims, including a
National
woman, died yesterday
taking the death toll in the
ongoing yatra to 41.
Kunti Devi (65), a
resident of Bihar, died of
heart attack at Sheshnag
along the Pahalgam
route after paying
obeisance at the cave
shrine, the sources said.
Another pilgrim,
whose identity is awaited,
collapsed along the
Baltal route while
returning to the base
camp and died on way to
Soura Medical institute
here.
Page 5
Govt. agrees to have structured
debate on price rise issue
New Delhi, July 28: issue of price rise. " We a r e f u l l y f o r a
The Government on S i t a r a m structured debate," said M
Tuesday agreed to have Yechuri, CPI(M) said that Venkaiah Naidu.
a structured debate on unless the government Minister of State
increase in prices of gives an assurance of for Parliamentary Affairs
essential commodities in action, "we insist on Prithviraj Chavan said the
Rajya Sabha after the suspension of the Government was prepared
Left and the BJP raised Question Hour and to have a structured
the issue. discussion on the issue." debate on the issue if the
Soon after the The demand Chairman allocates time
House met for the day, was supported by BJP. for that.
Left parties were up on
their feet demanding
adjournment of the To advertise in his paper mail to:
Question Hour to discuss
adsales@timeschennai.com

Opposition MPs hold

sit-in at parliament
over price rise
New Delhi, July 28:
Several MPs of opposition
parties staged a sit-in at the
main gate of the parliament
Tuesday, protesting the
spiralling rise in prices of
essential commodities.
The protest saw
the participation of the Left
parties, Telugu Desam
Party (TDP), Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD), AIADMK
and the Biju Janata Dal
(BJD).
The sit-in was led
by RJD chief Lalu Prasad,
Communist Party of India-
Marixist (CPI-M) leaders
Brinda Karat and Sitaram
Ye c h u r y a n d C P I ' s
Gurudas Dasgupta. They
raised slogans against the
Manmohan singh
government for its failure to
check rising prices.
Lalu Prasad said:
"The RJD, Left parties, TDP
and BJD -- we all together
will hold a 'chakka jam'
(roadblock) in the entire
country to protest the
increase in prices of
essential commodities."
Asked why he
was agitating against the
government that has the
support of his RJD, Lalu
Prasad said: "This is the
issue of the people and
we are together in
fighting for the cause of
the people."
Said Yechury:
"We all held a dharna (sit-
in) at parliament
building's main gate
under the leadership of
Lalu-ji and our main
demand is to strengthen
the public distribution
system. We will raise the
issue in both houses of
parliament. It should be
discussed in parliament."

Prohibition law made

stringent in Gujarat
Ahmedabad, July 28: In
the backdrop of the recent
hooch tragedy in the state
that claimed over 130 lives,
the Gujarat assembly on
Tuesday passed a bill
proposing stringent
punishment upto death
penalty to deal with illicit
liquor trade.
The Bombay
Prohibition (Gujarat
Amendment) Bill 2009 was
passed with a majority vote
in the House.
"We have taken a historic
step to pass such a bill in
the current session of the
A s s e m b l y, t o a m e n d
prohibition law making it
very stringent with an aim
to control illicit liquor
tragedy," minister of state
for Home, Amit Shah, said
while introducing the bill.
Under the
amendment, the
government has sought
to award death penalty
for manufacturing or
selling hooch provided
the consumption of the
product results into any
death.
A new section
65A has been inserted
which provides for
punishment for
manufacturing spurious
liquor.
Opposition Congress
members were not
present in the assembly
as they have been
boycotting the
proceedings over their
demands for extensive
debate on hooch deaths.
 Page 6
Australian college dupe Indian
students pursuing aviation course
Melbourne, July 28: Fate
of several Indian students
enrolled in a Sydney-based
aviation college have been
left in limbo after their
dreams of acquiring
commercial pilot license
remained unfulfilled even
after paying thousands of
dollars.
In a latest scam
which came to light after
ABC TV channel
programme 'Four Corners'
exposed migration and
education agents duping
Indian students,
Aerospace Aviation college
that provides commercial
pilot training, it was alleged,
exploited international
students besides ill treating
Indian students.
Under their
aviation course, students
who have signed up for a
commercial pilots' license
course that cost USD
43,500, Aerospace
Aviation must deliver 200
hours of flying over 52
weeks.
Many students
alleged that they never
received enough flying
hours due to lack of
facilities and unavailability
of instructors.
A student of the
Aerospace Aviation
college, Surendra
Egalapati alleged he only
received 130 hours over an
18 month period.
Another former
student Scott Alex said he
was disturbed by the way
the college was treating
Indian students.
"It was definitely
derogatory the way they
spoke to them, the way
they treated them," he said.
BBC to share news footage
with newspaper websites
London, July 28 : In a
rare gesture, the BBC has
announced that it will allow
British newspapers free
use of its video news
material on their websites.
U n d e r t h e n e w
arrangements, four
newspapers -- the Daily
Mail, Daily Telegraph,
Guardian and Independent
-- will be able to use BBC's
content free of charge. The
arrangement begins from
Tuesday.
The BBC said the
move was the best way to
Times Chennai E-Paper
When asked if
he could cite some
example, he said,
"..instructors hating flying
with curry eating Indian
stinking yellow so on, and
management, I know of a
case where the
operations manager
actually pushed around a
student who was
complaining."
I n t e r e s t i n g l y,
after breaking the scam
on the TV programme
there were raids at the
office of Indian migration
agent, who according to
Australian police was
involved in providing fake
documents to students,
but there were no reports
of any follow up against
Aerospace Aviation that
is run by Australian
couple Sue and Zane
Davis.
The programme
interviewed mother of a
student who alleged that
after paying the entire fee
of 43,000 Australian
dollars the college
stopped imparting
training and her son had
to return back with an
unfulfilled dream.
She and her son
Prabmeet also met the
visiting high level
delegation of Australian
bureaucrats, police and
academics in India who
promised a follow up.
She informed
the delegation that she
had taken the issue with
state regulatory bodies
like VETAB (Vocational
Education and Training
Accreditation Board) and
DEEWR (Department of
sustain public-service
content. A public service
broadcaster, the BBC is
largely funded by the
annual licence fee that
anyone using television
must pay.
The Telegraph
said it was a step in the
right direction following
complaints by
newspapers that the BBC
had stifled their attempts
to expand online.
Newspaper
have been criticising the
BBC for using the licence
World
Education, Employment
and Workplace relations),
but nothing was done so
far.
Another student
Surendra Egalapati
echoed the same
concern.
However, Sue
Davis of the Aerospace
Aviation refuted all the
alegations and said "We
welcome having
overseas students with
us. They all bring
delightful experience with
them and we enjoy their
time. May I add that our
student of the year for the
last two years has
actually been a Indian
students."
Egalapati now
enrolled in a different
flying school said: "First I
went to Indian High
c o m m i s s i o n , I
complained there and
they had a meeting with
them and Sue Davis has
assured that this is not
going to repeat again."
Another student
Vishal Sarawat said:
"There were not enough
planes not even, not
enough instructors. I was
like flying with around 21
instructors you know."
Defending her
stance on the allegations
made by the students,
Davis said "Aviation
requires a commitment.
We provide the facilities,
the aircraft, the highly
qualified trainers, but it
must be matched by the
student's desire to reach
a safety standard. I won't
back down from that. I
take that most seriously,
as a delegate of CASA
(Civil Aviation Safety
Authority) that
these students must meet
the requirements."
"We have
provided everything that
those students need to
get through the course.
The students need to
provide the diligence, the
dedication and the
commitment," she added.
She blamed the
students stating that
those students when
away from home perhaps
don't meet up to their
fee to break into new
media, while their own
businesses are suffering
from a downturn in
advertising.
The BBC said
other newspaper
websites could be
allowed to use its video
news material later.
T h e B B C
already has a video
sharing agreement with
YouTube which allows
the site to screen short
clips of its content.
'Michael Jackson's personal doc gave deadly shot'
Washington, July 28 :
Michael Jackson's
personal physician, Dr.
C o n r a d M u r r a y,
administered the final
deadly shot of the
anaesthetic propofol that
would end the pop star's
life June 25, media
reports here said.
M u r r a y, w h o
was at the Jackson
California rental home
when he died,
administered the
powerful drug that
authorities believe killed
the singer, CNN said
citing a source close to
the Jackson family and
with knowledge of the
investigation.
The coroner's
office in Los Angeles is
investigating the cause of
Jackson's death. It has
been waiting on
toxicology lab results, but
a final autopsy report is
expected as soon as this
week, a coroner's
spokesman has said.
The cause of
death is also the focus of
an investigation by
police, the state attorney
general's office and the
US Drug Enforcement
Administration.
D r. C o n r a d
Murray has been
identified in court papers
as the subject of a
Seven US men charged with
plotting 'violent jihad'
Raleigh, July 28: A that terrorists and their
father, his two sons and
four other North Carolina
men are accused of
military-style training at
home and plotting
``violent jihad'' through a
series of terror attacks
abroad, federal
authorities said on
Monday.
Officials said the
group was led by Daniel
Patrick Boyd, a married
39-year-old who lived in
an unassuming lakeside
home in a rural area south
of Raleigh, where he and
his family walked their
dog and operated a
drywall business.
But two decades
ago, Boyd, who is a U.S.
citizen, trained in terrorist
camps in Pakistan and
Afghanistan and fought
against the Soviets for
three years before
returning to the United
States.
An indictment
released on Monday
does not detail any
specific terrorist plans or
targets overseas,
although it claims some of
the defendants traveled
to Israel in 2007 with the
intent of waging ``violent
jihad'' and returned home
without success.
``These charges
hammer home the point
m a n s l a u g h t e r
investigation, ABC News
said. Edward Chernoff,
an attorney for Murray,
declined to comment
on the report.
Murray, who
was hired to monitor the
entertainer for his
planned "This Is It" tour,
was called to Jackson's
house on June 24 and
was the person who
f o u n d h i m
unconscious, not
breathing in bed the
next day. Murray's
lawyers have
maintained for weeks
that the doctor was
simply a witness in
Jackson's death and
had nothing to do with it.
Murray has
been widely criticised by
medical professionals for
waiting more than 30
minutes to call 911 and
for performing CPR on a
bed instead of a hard
surface, but he has
continually denied giving
Jackson any drug that
could have killed him.
He has been
secluded at his Las
Ve g a s h o m e a n d
reportedly goes out with a
security detail due to
death threats.
In the aftermath of his
death, Jackson's
addiction to a variety of
supporters are not
confined to the remote
regions of some far away
land but can grow and
fester right here at home,''
U.S. Attorney George
E.B. Holding said. He
would not give details of
the alleged plots beyond
what was in a news
release and indictment.
The seven men
made their first court
appearances in Raleigh
on Monday, charged with
providing material
support to terrorism. If
convicted, they could
face life in prison. Court
documents charged that
Boyd, also known as
``Saifullah,'' encouraged
others to engage in jihad.
In 1991, Boyd and his
brother were convicted of
bank robbery in Pakistan
— accused of carrying
identification showing
they belonged to the
radical Afghan guerrilla
group, Hezb-e-Islami, or
Party of Islam. Each was
sentenced to have a foot
and a hand cut off for the
robbery, but the decision
was later overturned.
Their wives told
The Associated Press in
an interview at the time
that the couples had U.S.
roots but the United
States was a country of
July 28, 2009
drugs was revealed,
including propofol (trade
name Diprivan), the
analgesic Demerol and the
painkiller Oxycontin. Track
marks found on his arms
support the theory that he
was addicted to propofol.
Medical experts
cited by the ABC News
Medical Unit said that the
amount of medications
reportedly found in
Jackson's rented home
was "jaw-dropping" and
"amazing."
"That list is
enough to put down a
swarm of zombies," said
Richard Bradley, chief of
the Division of EMS and
Disaster Medicine at the
University of Texas Health
Science Center at
Houston.
``kafirs'' — Arabic for
heathens.
Two of the
suspects are Boyd's sons:
Zakariya Boyd, 20 and
Dylan Boyd, 22. The others
include Anes Subasic, 33;
Mohammad Omar Aly
Hassan, 22; and Ziyad
Yaghi, 21.
Hysen Sherifi, 24,
a native of Kosovo and a
permanent legal U.S.
resident was also charged
in the case. He was the
only person arrested who
was not a U.S. citizen.
It's unclear how
authorities learned of the
activities, although court
documents ndicate that
prosecutors will introduce
evidence gathered under
the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act.
A f t e r t h e
unsuccessful attempt at
jihad in Israel, the men
returned home, officials
said. Court papers also say
Yaghi went to Jordan to
engage in jihad in 2006.
Boyd was also
accused of trying to raise
money last year to fund
others' travel overseas to
fight. One of the men,
Sherifi, went to Kosovo to
engage in violent jihad,
according to the
indictment, but it's unclear
if he did any actual fighting.
July 28, 2009
RBI leaves key rates unchanged;
warns against high deficit
Mumbai, July 28 : The
Reserve Bank on Tuesday
kept the key rates
unchanged and said there
are progressive signs of
economic recovery but
warned that the overall
scenario continued to be
uncertain with fiscal
consolidation posing a
challenge.
In its quarterly
review of the monetary
policy, the Reserve Bank
while keeping the repo and
reverse repo — shot-term
rates at which banks lend
and borrow from RBI —
retained economic growth
projection at 6 per cent with
an upward bias in current
fiscal.
The policy, in line
with the expectations of the
bankers, however, said that
there are progressive signs
of recovery with increased
food stocks, positive
industrial production and
optimistic business
confidence.
However, it
added, there are some
negative signs like delayed
and deficient monsoon,
food price inflation,
rebound in global
commodity prices,
continuing weak external
demand and high fiscal
Tata Motors net up 57%, hopes
better shows in coming qtrs
Mumbai, July 28: Tata
Motors Monday pinned
hopes on new product
launches and decline in
raw material costs to stage
better shows in the coming
quarters, though sales in
the first quarter dipped and
exports nearly halved.
The auto major recorded a
57.54 per cent jump in net
profit at Rs 513.76 for the
quarter ended June 30,
though sales declined by
7.6 per cent year-on-year.
"We expect the
benefit from decline in raw
material costs to continue
in future quarters and new
product launches to aid
volumes and relative
performance," company
Chief Financial Officer C
Ramakrishnan told
reporters here.
Tata Motors is
planning to launch a sport
utility cross-over and a new
version of Indigo in the
second half of the current
fiscal. In addition, it has
plans to launch retailing of
World Truck and variants of
Ace during the fiscal.
Mainly decline in
Times Chennai E-Paper
deficit.
RBI expects
inflation to scale up to
around five per cent by
March 2010.
"On balance, the risks to
the current projections of
real GDP growth and
inflation for 2009-10 are
on the upside," RBI said.
It kept the bank
rate - the lending rate at
which banks borrow from
RBI-- unchanged at 6 per
cent. Short-term lending
(repo)and borrowing
(reverse repo) have been
retained at the same level
of 4.75 per cent at 3.25
per cent respectively.
Cash reserve
ratio-- the percentage of
amount banks are
required to park with the
apex bank -- is also kept
unchanged at 5 per cent.
Warning that
the large fiscal deficit,
now pegged by the
government at 6.8 per
cent of GDP, if continued
beyond the recovery
period, can crowd out
private investment and
trigger inflationary
pressures, RBI said,
adding that the
Government will need to
return to the path of fiscal
consolidation .
"This requires a
roadmap and focus on
quality of fiscal
adjustment even while
pursuing quantitative
targets," RBI said.
The second
challenge is to manage
the government’s
borrowing programme for
2009-10, it said, adding,
the central bank will meet
the challenges of
spurring private credit
demand by maintaining
raw material costs and
measures taken to
increase cost efficiency
improved the net profit of
the company by 57.54
per cent over Rs 326.11
crore in the same quarter
previous fiscal.
This was also
reflected on the operating
margin of the company
which rose by 430 basis
points to 11.4 per cent as
compared to 7.1 per cent
in the same period last
fiscal.
Ta t a M o t o r s '
sales, however, declined
to Rs 6,404.63 crore in
the quarter under review
as compared to Rs
6,928.44 crore in the
same period last year.
Domestic sales
at 122,120 vehicles was
down by 1.4 per cent over
the same period last
fiscal. Exports were
severely impacted at
5,220 units, a decline of
43 per cent over the
corresponding period
previous fiscal. The
company attributed the
dip in exports to the weak
Business
policy rates and liquidity
conditions conducive.
Turning to
inflation, the apex bank,
said the transitory
negative WPI may not
persist beyond a few
more months.
As a result, with
uncertain monsoon and
rising global commodity
prices inflation is
projected at around 5 per
cent by March, 2010.
This is higher than the
projection of 4 per cent
made in the annual policy
statement, RBI said.
The monetary
policy efforts should be to
ensure price stability so
as to keep inflation in the
range o 4-4.5 per cent
with a medium term of
objective of 3 per cent.
Highlights of
quarterly review of RBI’s
annual monetary policy
* Key short-term rates,
ratios unchanged
* Repo rate at 4.75 pc,
reverse repo 3.25 pc
* Bank rate at 6 pc, CRR 5
pc
* Growth pegged at 6 pc
with upward bias for
2009-10
* WPI to be negative for a
few more months
* Inflation seen at 5 pc by
fiscal-end
* Enough liquidity in the
system
* Fiscal deficit remain a
challenge
* Large borrowings can
crowd out private
investment
* Need to push financial
s e c t o r, g o v e r n a n c e
reforms
* Money supply growth to
remain at over 20 pc
financial conditions in the
Middle East, South Africa,
Russia, Turkey and Sri
Lanka.
Ta t a M o t o r s '
Vice Chairman Ravi Kant,
however, hoped that
there would be a recovery
in the export markets and
the operating margin,
which was one of the
highest in the reporting
quarter, would be closer
to that of the June quarter
in the coming quarters as
well. The debt-equity ratio
of the company increased
to 1.56:1 for the reporting
quarter from 0.99:1 in the
previous quarter. The net
debt of the company
stood at Rs 16,954 crore
as on June 30, 2009 as
against Rs 12,409 crore
in the corresponding
quarter of the previous
fiscal. Tata Motors had
raised Rs 4,200 crore
though an NCD issue
which went into
repayment of the bridge
loan taken by the
company for financing the
acquisition of the Jaguar
Land Rover.
Real estate players cheer
incentives on home loans
New Delhi, July 28: Real
estate players today
expressed happiness on
the Finance Minister's
proposal to provide
incentives on home loans
and said the move will
help in boosting demand
of the slowdown-hit
sector.
Related Stories
Govt to provide
1% interest subsidy on
home loans"It's a very
good step for the
affordable housing
segment. In fact, it is a big
stimulus to the sector that
will absolutely revive the
demand in real estate,"
Parsvnath Developers
C h a i r m a n
Pradeep Jain told PTI.
The extension of tax
holiday on affordable
housing projects
completing before March,
2012, was also a
much-needed step to
provide a helping hand to
the developers, he
added.
Expressing
similar views, Omaxe
Chairman and Managing
Director Rohtas Goel
said, "The decisions are
2G spectrum: BJP says flaws
will mean cancellation of licence
New Delhi, July 28: BJP,
which along with other
opposition parties
demanded setting up a
Joint Parliamentary
Committee to look into
the 2G spectrum
allotment, on Monday
said cancellation of
licences would be a
"natural consequence" if
flaws were found in the
allotment.
"Cancellation
(of licence) would be
natural consequence if
the JPC -- as demanded
by the Opposition in
Rajya Sabha -- finds
Bank stocks plunge as RBI maintains
key policy rates unchanged
Mumbai, July 28 : Ahead
of the quarterly monetary
policy review of RBI,
banking stocks on
Tuesday tanked on the
Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) led by ICICI Bank
which fell 3 per cent, as
the key policy rates
remained unchanged.
good for both developers
as well as end-users."
The country's
largest real estate
consultant Jones Lang
LaSalle Meghraj
Chairman and Country
Head Anuj Puri said the
moves would increase
demand only in the low-
cost and mid- income
affordable housing
segment.
"This is only one
of the measures.
Government needs to
take many more such
measures to revive the
entire real estate sector,"
he added.
H o w e v e r,
another leading
consultant Cushman &
Wakefield (C&W) said
the Finance Minister's
move would have "very
little" impact on the realty
sector.
"It is too little to
have a significant impact
on residential segment.
Of course, it will give
some respite to the
development of IT parks
due to extension of 80IB
(10) of the Income Tax
Act," C&W Executive
flaws in the sale of
spectrum," Leader of the
Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Arun Jaitley told
reporters here.
H e s a i d
cancellation would
become necessary as
"stolen property has to be
returned to the owner."
Telecom Minister A Raja
faced attack from the
Opposition in the Rajya
Sabha earlier in the day
w h i c h a l l e g e d
"monumental scam" in
the spectrum allocation.
Unhappy with
Raja's reply, a united
Shares of the
largest private sector
lender ICICI Bank
dropped 2.76 per cent to
a low of Rs 763.
Banking stocks
were the hardest hit in
morning trade today and
the 18-share index fell
1.63 per cent to a low of
8,193.07 points.
After a weak
opening on the
exchanges, shares of the
State Bank of India fell to
a low of Rs 1,680.10,
down nearly 2 per cent
over previous closing.
HDFC Bank fell
2 per cent to a low of Rs
1,406 and PNB dipped
nearly 2 per cent to Rs
714 on the BSE.
Other major
losers on the index
include Axis Bank (down
Page 7
Director (India) Kaustuv
Roy said.
The Finance
Minister Pranab
Mukherjee today proposed
one per cent interest
subsidy to individuals for
loans up to Rs 10 lakh for
buying houses that do not
cost more than Rs 20 lakh.
He proposed to allocate Rs
1,000 crore for this
purpose.
To provide further
stimulus to the housing
s e c t o r, t h e M i n i s t e r
extended the tax relief
scheme under 80IB (10) of
the Income Tax Act for the
projects completed before
March 31, 2012. The
section allows 100 per cent
exemption of income tax
on housing projects with a
maximum built up area of
1,000 sq ft in Delhi and
Mumbai, and 1,500 sq ft in
other places.
He also extended
the sunset clause for tax
holidays for industrial
parks by another two years
up to March 2011, in a bid
to provide stimulus to
infrastructure sector in the
wake of economic
slowdown.
Opposition, including BJP
and Left parties,
demanded a Joint
Parliamentary probe and
staged a walkout.
Jaitley said the
prime minister was facing
compulsions of coalition
politics. "But based on
experience, he had set up
a Group of Ministers under
Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee on auction of
3G spectrum," he added.
He also patted the Left
parties "for consistently
terming the spectrum sale
as a Rs 50 crore scam."
1.81 per cent), Bank of
India (down 1.97 per cent),
Canara Bank
(down 0.93 per cent), IOB
(down .083 per cent),
Karnataka Bank (down
1.41 per cent), Kotak Bank
(down 0.03 per cent),
Oriental Bank (down 0.33
per cent).
RBI in its
quarterly monetary policy
today did not tinker with the
key rates.
Some of the
scrips which defied the
trend include, IDBI Bank
(up 2.79 per cent),
Indusind Bank (up 0.33 per
cent), Union Bank (up 0.45
per cent), Allahabad Bank
(up 0.17 per cent), Bank of
Baroda (up 0.06 per cent),
Federal Bank (up 1.34 per
cent) and Yes Bank (up
0.12 per cent).
Page 8
ICC must take steps to prevent
Test cricket from extinction: Akram
New Delhi, July 28:
Wasim Akram, former
Pakistan skipper, said that
it was the responsibility of
the International Cricket
Council (ICC) to prevent
Test cricket from extinction.
Akram said that
the ICC should go ahead
with day-night Tests and
must ensure that matches
are played on sporting
tracks to counter the
popularity of Twenty20.
“The ICC has to
do something with T20.
Even cricket boards are
running after it because it
fetches them millions.
Aussies are not wary of
Johnson's form: Haddin
London, July 28:
Struggling Mitchell
Johnson has found much
needed support from
teammate and stumper
Brad Haddin, who reckons
that the Australian
paceman was still making
an impact in their Ashes
defence.
The left-arm quick
has invited wrath of both
Banish ‘doosra’, its illegal:
Oz spin legends, coaches
Wellington, July 28:
Australia’s leading spin-
bowling legends and
coaches have elected to
banish the doosra, making
it difficult for their own
spinners who are working
hard to come at par with
their sub-continental
counterparts.
Cricket Australia
Centre of Excellence in
Brisbane last month
organised a spin summit in
which delegates including
Shane Warne, Stuart
MacGill, Jim Higgs, Gavin
Robertson, Terry Jenner,
Peter Philpott and Ashley
Mallett arrived at a decision
that there was no place for
the delivery to be taught in
that country.
It was a judgment
based upon the shared
belief that the doosra,
pioneered by Pakistani
Times Chennai E-Paper
Twenty20 and One-day
cricket are fun but Test
cricket is real. The ICC
should do something to
preserve
Te s t s , ”
Akram said.
Akram
f e e l s
Twenty20 is
“just a phase
i n
international
cricket,
which will
pass soon
w i th o u t
harming
Tests.”
“Crick
et started
with Tests, so how can it
end? Every aspiring
cricketer in the world
wants to play Tests.
Twenty20 will take over
the 50 overs game, but it
can’t hurt Test cricket,” he
said.
On ICC chief
David Morgan’s
proposed four-day Test,
Wasim said: “If you have
a four-day Test, there are
media and fans with his
patchy bowling, which
makes him a doubtful
starter for the third Test,
beginning Thursday at
Edgbaston.
H o w e v e r
Haddin, the stumper
batsman, strongly
feels that nothing was
wrong with Johnson
bowling.
"As much as
has been written about
him not performing,
he's still taking a lot of
wickets. And he
bowled great in the tour
game. I don't think it's too
much of a concern,"
Haddin said.
Johnson has
taken eight wickets in two
Test at the cost of 331
runs and could get only
spinner Saqlain Mushtaq
in the 1990s and since
adopted by numerous
spinners, cannot be
bowled legally.
This belief is
evidently not shared at
ICC level, where
numerous slow bowlers,
most recently Saeed
Ajmal of Pakistan, have
been allowed to bowl the
delivery after being
c l e a r e d b y
biomechanical testing.
“There was
unanimous agreement
that the off-spinner’s
‘other-one’, the doosra,
should not be coached in
Australia,” Mallett wrote
in his column.
“I have never
seen anyone actually
bowl the doosra. It has to
be a chuck. Until such
time as the ICC declares
SPORTS
more chances of it
ending in a draw. Why will
spectators come to
watch a dull and drab
drawn Test? The ICC,
instead, should ensure
that Test wickets are
sporting and result-
oriented.”
The 43-year-old
former left-arm fast
bowler also disagreed
with ex-South African
tearaway Allan Donald
on legalising ball-
tampering.
“I don’t know
why Donald said that.
Ball-tampering is illegal
and I am with the ICC on
the issue. If you legalise
ball-tampering, then
bowlers will start doing it
from the first over. Ball-
tampering is an art and
you can only do it after
40-50 overs in Test
cricket. It is not possible
in ODIs and T20s,” said
Akram, who was one of
the Pakistani fast
bowlers once accused of
ball-tampering.
one wicket in the warm-
up match against
Northamptonshire after
conceding 107 runs off
18.1 overs.
Haddin said the
visitors were not really
worried about Johnson's
so called lean patch.
"We're not
trying to help him out of
anything, his form is not
as big a concern as
everyone is making it out
to be.
He's still taking
wickets and he's been no
different really.
He's been the
same around the group
as he was in South Africa
and in Australia, it's no
different," he was quoted
as saying by the
Independent.
that all manner of
chucking is legal in the
game of cricket, I refuse
to coach the doosra. All at
the spin summit agreed,”
he added.
Obama hopes to attend
World Cup in South Africa
Washington, July 28:
US President Barack
Obama said he hoped to
attend the soccer World
Cup in South Africa next
year, if his schedule
allowed.
Obama held
talks with Sepp Blatter,
head of the world soccer
governing body FIFA, at
the White House and
urged him to give "strong
China fans get free-to-air
English games again
Beijing, July 28:
Chinese soccer fans will
be able watch English
Premier League matches
on free-to-air television
again from next season in
a move welcomed by the
league's commercial
director.
After years of
free-to-air broadcasts,
exclusive TV rights until
the end of the 2009-10
season were awarded to
small digital broadcaster
Win TV in 2007, resulting
in millions of Chinese
fans being unable to get
their weekly fix of Premier
League action.
That hampered
clubs like Manchester
United building on their
fanbases in the world's
most populous country,
where the English
champions believe they
More than 15,000 apply for FIFA
World Cup volunteers
Johannesburg, July 28:
More than 15,000 people
have applied for
volunteers at the FIFA
World Cup next year,
since the South African
authorities began
distributing applications a
week ago.
The number of
applicants has already
exceeded the total
number of volunteers
required for the event, the
World Cup organising
committee said.
A total of 15,042
applications was
r e c e i v e d f r o m
prospective volunteers in
133 countries.
FIFA officials said 15,000
volunteers are required,
Clive Lloyd and Michael Holding face WIPA ire
Barbados, July 28: The
West Indies Players’
Association (WIPA) sent
a strong message to
former cricketers Clive
Lloyd and Michael
Holding, who made
negative statements
against the body last
week.
Defending itself
strongly against criticism
from Lloyd and Holding,
consideration to the US
bid to host the World Cup
in 2018 or 2022," the
White House said in a
statement.
"President
Obama thanked Mr
Blatter for inviting him to
attend next year's event
and said he hoped his
schedule would allow him
to do so," the statement
said.
have 71 million fans.
Guangdong TV,
which broadcasts to most
of the nation, said last
week it had paid Win TV
18 million yuan (1.6
million pounds) to show
one Premier League
game and a highlights
package each week for
next season.
"We have many
pay TV partners in Asia
and we have a
responsibility to
maximise revenue for our
clubs so that we can
continue to attract the
best players in the world,"
the league's commercial
chief Richard Lester said
at the Chinese
Football Industry
Development Forum.
"That said, we
are obviously happiest
when we can match
of which 10 percent must
be from Africa, 10 percent
from the continent and
the remaining from the
rest of the world.
Anyone who is
over the age of 18 can
apply in the volunteers'
programme that opened
last Monday.
Danny Jordaan,
chief executive officer of
the local organising
committee, said the
board was overwhelmed
by the phenomenal
response from people.
He added that
the committee will
continue to accept
applications till Aug 31,
2009.
Volunteers are
WIPA said that the
statements were ‘most
unfortunate’ and untrue
and was a piece of their
‘personal belief’.
In an interview
to a sports website last
week, Lloyd had said that
WIPA was “not trying to
achieve anything but
strengthen their bank
balance”. On the other
hand, Holding claimed
that some WIPA officials
were “trying to settle
personal grouses with
the board” and were not
concerned with the
welfare of the players.
WIPA issued a statement
on its website on
Tuesday where it called
Lloyd’s charges “most
unfortunate, wrong and
misleading”, while
stating that Holding had
“produced no evidence
to substantiate his
charges” and was
“expressing his personal
belief”. Lloyd had also
termed the players who
went on strike as
“greedy”. On this, WIPA
July 28, 2009
strong revenue with good
viewing figures. We want
as many people as
possible to see Premier
Leagues matches.”
"In China, we are
very happy that our partner
WIN TV has reached an
agreement so that some
matches will be seen free-
to-air on local stations."
Lester said that a
new approach might be
taken for China when the
rights for the 2010-11
season and onwards were
negotiated.
"The Premier
League is considering a
strategy for China which
has been successful in
many regions in Africa
whereby at least one ...
match each week is
guaranteed free-to-air
coverage," he said.
required to assist in the
areas of transport, media,
marketing, logistics,
accreditation, spectator
services, language
support, administration
and hospitality.
"Language
support, in particular, will
be very important,
especially when it comes
to assisting foreign fans
that will follow their teams
to the tournament," said
Jordaan.
The World Cup
will be played in nine South
African cities, including
Johannesburg, Cape Town
a n d D u r b a n .
Hopefuls for the volunteer
programme can also apply
online.
reacted lividly saying that
many of its players had
refused to sign lucrative
contacts with the Indian
Cricket League, whereas
Lloyd himself, and other
leading players of his
generation, did not think
twice before signing up
with Kerry Packer’s rebel
World Series Cricket
(WSC).
“The reports of
that time of upheaval in
West Indies cricket
indicate that Clive Lloyd, as
West Indies captain,
played a pivotal role in
influencing other West
Indian players like Michael
Holding, Deryck Murray
and Joel Garner to join him
in the WSC. Unlike the IPL
in which Chris Gayle and
others are involved and
which is recognised by the
ICC, WSC was not
sanctioned by this body.
Lloyd and his team blazed
the path for better
remuneration for players
by participating in the
WSC.” “WIPA does not
think that Mr Lloyd and
July 28, 2009
AirAsia increases second direct daily
frequency for Kuala Lumpur - Tiruchirappalli
Chennai, July 28:
Skytrax “World’s Best Low
Cost Airline” and Asia’s
biggest low-cost carrier,
AirAsia announced on
Monday that it will be
increasing its highly
popular Kuala Lumpur -
Trichy (Tiruchirappalli)
route to 2nd direct daily
flights commencing 1st
September 2009. AirAsia
currently serves the Trichy
– Kuala Lumpur route with
direct daily flights to Trichy
departing from LCC
Terminal, Kuala Lumpur on
AirAsia’s spanking 180-
seater Airbus A320.
To celebrate the
introduction of the 2nd
Kuala Lumpur -Trichy
frequency, AirAsia will be
IBM unveils IT education
tourism in India
Chennai, July 28: IBM on
Monday announced the
launch of an education
programme that it said
would enable IT
professionals and students
to come to India and
receive IBM certified
training here.
To avail of this
offer, an individual needs to
register for a course from
the IBM Power and IBM
System Storage
Curriculum, the company
said in a statement.
A l l v i s a
formalities, tickets and
Jolie Fashion “SHE” targets teenagers
Chennai, July 28: Jolie
Fashion a premier luxury
lifestyle brand launched its
latest range of fragrances
and cosmetics called
“SHE”, which is targeted at
teenagers and working
professionals. “SHE”
comes from the house of
Hunca Cosmetics in
Persia. Available
in SIX variants, shades of
HAPPY, FUN, SWEET,
Times Chennai E-Paper
offering all-in-fare from
RM129.00 (LKR
1730.00). Booking period
for the introduction of the
second frequency will
begin from July 28 - Aug.
02 for the travel period
from Sept. 01 to April 30
2010. Promotional seats
are limited and available
on first-come, first-
served basis and made
exclusively online via
www.airasia.com and
mobile.airasia.com
Kathleen Tan,
Regional Head of
Commercial, AirAsia
Group says, “Yet again,
we are proud to be
servicing an underserved
route and opening-up the
market to the world. We
accommodation
requirements are
arranged and facilitated
by an IBM training
partner, it said.
T h e I T
education tourism
programme, slated to
start next month, is a
unique initiative where
IBM has partnered with
S t r a t o m I T
Solutions Pvt. Ltd., India
to introduce IT education
tourism as a package for
global students and IT
professionals.
IBM plans to
SEXY, COOL, LOVE -
SIX different ways to
describe your mood in
attractive, elegant,
colorful aerosol
canisters. The perfumes
and deodorants are
attractively prized and
available in smart gift
hampers also. “SHE”
reflects the joy and
beauty of life while
bringing out the best in
Medley
had always known that
the Kuala Lumpur -Trichy
route will perform
exceedingly well. In fact
within the first month of
flying to India, we have
enjoyed a load factor of
100% on this route. We
feel it is timely to add a
2nd frequency, which is a
reinforcement of our
growing interest in the
Indian holiday demand,
AirAsia through
its holiday division
G o H o l i d a y, i s a l s o
offering its guests Free
Rooms when they book
at its partner hotels via
goholiday.airasia.com.
Please visit the website
for details.
target around 300
participants in India for a
minimum of 30 days this
year.
As part of the
programme,IBM would
offer a comprehensive
portfolio of technical
training and education
services for systems
designed for individuals,
companies and public
organisations to acquire,
maintain, and optimise
their IT skills, the
statement added.
you by keeping you fresh
and confident everyday!
Addressing the media
recently, Mrs. Shilpa
Menon, Managing
Director of Jolie said “
SHE is targeted towards
teenage girls in the age
group of 14- 19 years.
We are first launching the
product in Chennai since
the market is price
sensitive and cost
Equal launches world’s first
‘Elaichi Flavoured Sweetener’
Chennai, July 28:
Equal , the worlds leading
low-calorie sweetener
sold across 88 countries
has introduced an Elaichi
flavoured sweetener
developed by and for the
Indian consumers. This is
a unique first in the world
of sweeteners.
The Indian tea
beverage drinkers are
different in the sense that
they always enjoy their
tea with taste enhancers
Money eases both physical and
emotional pain
Washington, July 28:
Money can alleviate
physical pain as well as
ease the sting of social
rejection, according to a
new study.
Since money
can affect pain, the
researchers theorised
that it may offer clues as
to how the brain evolved
to process social
conscious. After this we
will move into other
neighboring states and
then PAN India. This will
roughly take less than 18
months. ”
” The product
mostly consists of
minerals and organic
substances. All
ingredients used in the
product are in
compliance with EU legal
provisions and
manufactured with strict
quality control," she
added. Explaining
the salient features of the
brand “SHE” Mr.Jayram
Menon, Chairman of the
Menon Holdings Group
said, “ SHE is a
legendary and iconic
brand and has a
leadership position in
over 30 countries in
Europe. It has a lineage
of over 115 years and
gives the consumer an
uncompromising
experience of luxury and
quality.”
added while making tea.
Equal thus not only
offers a sugar substitute
with low calorie intake but
also enhances the
drinking experience.
Mr.Vishal Shah,
Regional Director - South
Asia for Merisant India
Pvt. Ltd., says “Equal
Elaichi is just the
beginning in making
E q u a l a available across all
household brand in the
exciting and growing
interactions.
Using six
different experiments,
lead author Xinyue Zhou
f r o m S u n Ya t - S e n
University in Guangzhou
and colleagues tested the
power of money as a
proxy for social
acceptance and found
that merely touching
bank notes or thinking
about bills affected
respondents both
physically and
emotionally.
I n o n e
e x p e r i m e n t ,
undergraduate students
were asked to count 100-
dollar bills before playing
a game where some
players were ignored;
those who had counted
money before the game
felt less distress than
those who had counted
paper instead.
I n a n o t h e r,
recruits were split into two
groups who counted
money or paper and then
had their fingers strapped
and dipped into hot water
measuring 50 degrees
Celsius. Those who
c o u n t e d m o n e y, o n
average, rated their pain
lower than the paper
counters.
To c h e c k
whether money was
merely a distraction from
pain the researchers
r e p e a t e d t h e
experiments, but without
Page 9
Indian market – we plan
several variants in the
coming months which will
both expand the market
and delight the sweetener
consuming segment. The
attempt being to convert
the entire segment from
‘need to use’ to a more
lifestyle ‘choose to use’
segment”
Equal Elaichi is
premium outlets in cartons
of 25 sachets each at Rs
the bank notes and asked
half the participants to
write about the weather,
and the other half to write
about their expenses.
They found that
merely writing about spent
money caused distress,
and also intensified the
pain of fingers dipped in
hot water and being
ignored in the computer
game.
"These effects
speak to the power of
money, even as a symbol,
to change perceptions of
very real feelings," like
pain, Live Science
quoted co-author of the
study and University of
Minnesota marketing
professor Kathleen Vohs
as saying.
Two other
experiments implied those
who feel physically hurt or
rejected have a greater
desire for money than
those who don't, which
may lead to a better
understanding of how
people become addicted to
making money, said Zhou.
His experiments
justify court-ordered
financial compensation to
victims of battery, he said,
because if money is linked
to physical pain, making
attackers pay their victims
is punishment that suits the
crime, he said.
The findings were
published in the June issue
of Psychological Science.
Page 10 Times Chennai E-Paper July 28, 2009

Owned Edited and Published by S. Raghunathan Editorial and Advertisement

Office: F 5 and 6 1st Floor, Leo Complex, New No: 41, Madley Road, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017. Ph: 42867771, Fax: 42867772