Times Chennai, E-paper, 28 July 2009

VOL: 3 ISSUE 6

Chennai, July 28, 2009

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

which will be tentatively launched on August 15, 2009 as part of the egovernance initiatives," Chennai Corporation M a y o r M Subramaniam told PTI here on Tuesday. The system "is the first such initiative by a corporation in the country," he said adding the system would be installed at dispensaries of the civic body across the city. A hospital management software had been developed for this purpose and the h a r d w a r e , i n c l u d i n g computer systems and printers, have already been procured, he said. T h e Corporation has entered into a tie-up with the

public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for getting GPRS connections, which would be used for providing the service to the public. Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said more than 1.08 lakh individuals registered with the civic body's 160 dispensaries and health posts, to be linked online, would would benefit under the new facility. He said in cases where women do not have a mobile phone, the messages would be sent to the concerned area health workers of the corporation, who in turn would contact them and inform about the vaccination schedule. Women giving birth in corporation hospitals would be provided a unique identification number as

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

AIADMK's decision to boycott the poll and its allies the PMK and the MDMK too toeing the same line, the Election Commission, which will be spending lakhs of 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 as it had been using its muscle and money power in successive elections to local bodies, Assembly bypolls and in the recent Lok Sabha elections. ''The Election Commision too had failed to prevent such

acts'', she said, adding only to express her party's opposition to such incidents, the AIADMK had announced boycott of polls in Gandhian way and the PMK and the

MDMK too made similar decisions. ''In this context, everyone knows that who will win the polls'', she said, reiterating that the Election Commission could avoid holding by polls to save the public money.

part of the new disease tracking system, Lakhoni said. P e r s o n a l details of the patient, including phone number and address, would be collected at the time of registration, he said. To start with, the system would be used for sending SMS alerts and expanded

later to cover more activities, including dissemination of information at times of any epidemic. "This system can be used for containing epidemic diseases also. If there is any epidemic activity, people can be immediately informed about it through this

system", he said. The response time of the Corporation to epidemics would be reduced considerably after the installation of the system. The SMS alerts would help in coverage of more children under the regular vaccination programmes, he said.

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Times Chennai E-Paper

Tamil Nadu

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

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

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.

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

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

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 redhanded 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.

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.

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

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.

July 28, 2009

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 eyewitnesses said several workers were engaged in the crackers production, when the fire engulfed the

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

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.

'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 ViceChancellor M Rajendran. The conference was to discuss achievements in Tamil Information Technology, future challenges in the same field by Tamil

computer experts and Tamil scholars, according to a press release here today. T h e 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

organised such conferences in Chennai (1999, 2003), Singapore (1997, 2000, 2004) Malaysia (2001) and 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.

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

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 petrochemicals. 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.

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.

Times Chennai E-Paper

Page 3

Stalin to hit campaign trail for assembly bypolls

Corporation bans Posters from Aug. 01

July 28, 2009

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 10day campaign from August

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

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.

Chennai, July 28:In an effort to bolster the beautification drive in Chennai, a ban on

including Manali Bridge, Adam’s Bridge, Chepauk Bridge, Elliott’s Road Bridge, Greenways Road

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 Buckingham Canal maintained by the Corporation of Chennai,

Bridge, Kamarajar Road Bridge, Lattice Bridge, the Mayor said. Similar bans on posters will be imposed on all the 11 bridges constructed across Cooum River, 5 bridges across Adyar River, 18 bridges across Otteri, 4 bridges across Captain Cotton Canal, 14 bridges across Mambalam Canal, 6 bridges across

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

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

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.

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

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

Critique on Motor Vehicles Laws,'' written by Justice K Kannan and a d v o c a t e N 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.

Nurse show exemplary courage fends off chain snatcher Chennai, July 28: Showing exemplary courage, a 30-year-old nurse fought off a 19-yearold chain snatcher and retrieved her five sovereign 'thali' chain even while holding her eightmonth-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

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.

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

Nungambakkam Canal, the Mayor informed. Posters will be forbidden on 11 bridges 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 involved in sticking posters about the ban, he further said The work of removing the posters and graffiti from the walls of these bridges and subways will commence, by July 31 the Mayor said and sought the cooperation of the public in this regard.

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.

have segregated the city into three zones,” says B Satish, executive secretary of CSS. “And we are already in touch with nurseries and eco organisations across the city which have saplings ready for disposal. Most of the places give us the saplings for free,” he adds. CSS only plants shade-bearing and flower and fruit bearing trees. “We do not plant shrubs etc,” says Satish. And all the trees are Indian species. “There’s lots to choose from, says Satish. For instance, there’s ‘Poongan’, propagated by the Forestry Department and which is a pest and animal repellent thanks to a bitter juice that its leaves give out. There’s ‘Pooarasan’, which is a sub-species of the banyan and whose leaves make a whistling sound in the wind. The Ashoka tree is supposed to be a favourite for apartments that are near arterial roads because it manages to be a sound barrier. Then there’s

‘Badam’, which has bright green leaves that turn progressively pinker as the tree gets old. “The volunteers will bring all the equipment required to plant the tree as well as a leaflet on how to care for the sapling. But if the sapling being planted requires any special manure or soil, the house owner will have to bear that cost. Most of our saplings though can grow on any soil in Chennai,” says Satish. ‘SMS a sapling’ is part of a CSS environment drive, which includes a documentary called ‘En Per Maram’ (‘My name is tree’), shot by R S a t h y a m o o r t h y, w h o volunteers with CSS. “When we plant the sapling at a house, we name it after the owner of the house just to make them care more for it,” says Satish.

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Times Chennai E-Paper

National

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

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 involved in t h e infamous Srinagar s e x 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

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 ConferenceCongress coalition government this January, said "he did not not expect things to fall to such depths. Ok, you have said what you wanted to. These people have been pointing out for a long time. Under the rule of law, one is innocent until proven 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.

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

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

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.

July 28, 2009

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.

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

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 PDPCongress Government, besides Iqbal Khandey, the former Principal Secretary to the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

bodies have been recovered during previous search operations carried out by the army and the air force. Major Vasudevan is now leading a 20member 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

Times Chennai E-Paper

National

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

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 cooperating 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 iceShivalingam at the cave shrine ever since the twomonth yatra began on June 15. Meanwhile, two pilgrims, including a

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 IndiaMarixist (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 (sitin) 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.

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.

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Govt. agrees to have structured debate on price rise issue New Delhi, July 28: The Government on Tuesday agreed to have a structured debate on increase in prices of essential commodities in Rajya Sabha after the Left and the BJP raised the issue. Soon after the House met for the day, Left parties were up on their feet demanding adjournment of the Question Hour to discuss

issue of price rise. S i t a r a m Yechuri, CPI(M) said that unless the government gives an assurance of action, "we insist on suspension of the Question Hour and discussion on the issue." The demand was supported by BJP.

" We a r e f u l l y f o r a structured debate," said M Venkaiah Naidu. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan said the Government was prepared to have a structured debate on the issue if the Chairman allocates time for that.

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Page 6

Times Chennai E-Paper

World

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

July 28, 2009

'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

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

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.

Seven US men charged with plotting 'violent jihad' Raleigh, July 28: A 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

that terrorists and their 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

``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

Times Chennai E-Paper

Business

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Page 7

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

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 lowcost 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

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.

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

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

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."

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.

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

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

Times Chennai E-Paper

SPORTS

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.

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

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 resultoriented.” The 43-year-old former left-arm fast bowler also disagreed with ex-South African tearaway Allan Donald on legalising balltampering. “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. Balltampering 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.

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

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

one wicket in the warmup 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.

Banish ‘doosra’, its illegal: Oz spin legends, coaches Wellington, July 28: Australia’s leading spinbowling 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

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

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.

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

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

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 freeto-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.

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,

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

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.

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,

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

July 28, 2009

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.

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

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

Times Chennai E-Paper

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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 180seater Airbus A320. To celebrate the introduction of the 2nd Kuala Lumpur -Trichy frequency, AirAsia will be

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, firstserved 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

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.

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

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

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.

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

SEXY, COOL, LOVE SIX different ways to describe your mood in attractive, elegant, colorful aerosol canisters. The perfumes

you by keeping you fresh and confident everyday! Addressing the media recently, Mrs. Shilpa Menon, Managing Director of Jolie said “

teenagers and working professionals. “SHE” comes from the house of Hunca Cosmetics in Persia. Available in SIX variants, shades of HAPPY, FUN, SWEET,

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

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

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Equal launches world’s first ‘Elaichi Flavoured Sweetener’ Chennai, July 28: Equal , the worlds leading low-calorie sweetener sold across 88 countries

added while making tea. Equal thus not only offers a sugar substitute with low calorie intake but

Indian market – we plan several variants in the coming months which will both expand the market

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

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 household brand in the exciting and growing

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 available across all premium outlets in cartons of 25 sachets each at Rs

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.”

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 100dollar 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

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.

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July 28, 2009

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