Times Chennai E-paper, March 25, 2009

VOL: 2 ISSUE 61

March 25, 2009

Devolve power to Tamils, India tells Lanka Chennai, March 25: India has urged Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments to

the Tamil population there with proper devolution of

powers to the provinces, according to Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh. In a letter to

Ta m i l N a d u C h i e f Minister and DMK P r e s i d e n t M Karunanidhi, copies of which were released to the media here today, Dr Singh said India also asked

citizens of Sri Lanka. ''Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has very recently reaffirmed his commitment to a devolution package, which, he said, will fully

Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitment of ensuring equality and equal rights for Tamils as is the case of other

satisfy the Tamils,'' he added. Mr Rajapakse had also said steps in this direction were being

taken immediately. ''We may wait and see what steps are actually taken,'' Dr Singh said in his reply to the February 22 letter written by the Chief Minister. The Prime Minister said, ' ' d u r i n g discussions with Sri Lanka, we h a v e consistently proposed temporary cessation of hostilities, which could be utilised to facilitate movement of t h e Ta m i l population out of the war affected areas to safety zones, where proper rehabilitation facilities could be arranged.'' Observing the condition of thousands of innocent Tamils who become unfortunate victims of the on-going conflict was indeed pitiable, the

Prime Minister said in addition thousands of others outside the war zone lived in makeshift camps, where, too, the conditions were hardly any better. Stating India was in constant touch with Lankan authorities, Dr Singh said contacts were being maintained at several levels, including the highest. India's Foreign Secretary recently met his Lankan counterpart, D e f e n c e S e c r e t a r y, Secretary to President and also President Rajapakse at Colombo. ''Our concerns regarding the plight of the Tamils were explicitly reiterated. Certain suggestions to ameliorate their conditions were proposed, the most important being an offer to set up a Field Medical Unit/Hospital to cater to the civilians and internally displaced persons evacuated from the war zone. ''The Sri Lankan side has responded enthusiastically to this offer and the field hospital has been established and it is functioning well,'' he said.

Madras HC violence: SC declines officers' status quo plea New Delhi, March 25 The Supreme Court today declined to pass status quo order as demanded by two senior IPS officers against them on March 18, as they were at the helm of affairs on February 19 when Chennai police stormed Madras High Court premises. The police on February 19 brutally lathicharged and damaged the vehicles, chambers of lawyers, court rooms and assaulted some of the High Court judges.

A b e n c h comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices J M Panchal and A K Ganguly fixed April 6 for hearing of the petition filed by Mr A K Vishwanathan, who was A d d i t i o n a l Commissioner, Chennai at that time and Mr Ramasubramani, who was posted as Joint Commissioner on the day of occurrence. A three-judge bench of the High Court had directed the state

government on March 18 to place the two officers under suspension, following which Tamil Nadu lawyers called off their indefinite strike and resumed work. Senior counsel Shanti Bhusan appearing for the two police officers contended before the court that the two police officers have been directed to be suspended by the High Court under pressure from the Bar Association in the state despite the finding

recorded by former Supreme Court judge Justice B N Srikrishna that no action can be taken against any of the police officer under these circumstances. F o r m e r Additional Solicitor General Vikas Singh appeared for another police officer. A battery of senior lawyers led by L Naageshwar Rao and M N Krishnamani strongly opposed the plea for status quo as raised by

Mr Shanti Bhushan and informed the court that the state government has till date not complied with the directions of the High Court and neither of the two petitioners have been suspended till date. The apex court also declined to pass any order on the plea of the petitioners as well as state government stating that no contempt notice should be issued to the state government for not complying with the

directions of the High Court. The Court told the petitioners, ''let us see the reaction of the state government.'' The Supreme Court, however, issued notices to state of Tamil Nadu, State Chief Secretary, State Home Secretary, DGP and Tamil Nadu High Court Advocates Association on the petition filed by the two senior officers against their suspension ordered by the High Court.

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Times Chennai E-Paper

March 25, 2009

HC orders notice to varsity Chennai, Mar 25: The Madras High Court has ordered notice of motion on a writ petition challenging the establishment of university constituent colleges under publicprivate partnership (PPP) b y A n n a U n i v e r s i t y, Coimbatore. While ordering notice yesterday, Justice K Suguna directed the University to file counter within two weeks. In its petition, the A s s o c i a t i o n o f Management of Coimbatore Anna University Affiliated Colleges, represented by its president, J Sudhanandhen, submitted that a new scheme of establishing engineering colleges under the 'PublicPrivate Partnership' was introduced following a resolution passed by the Syndicate in February. The petitioner said the proposal was opposed to the principles laid down by

the High Court and the Supreme Court relating to the establishment of colleges for teaching technical subjects. These colleges would be outside the purview of the All India Council for Technical Education, he said. The scheme enabled the private management to admit 20 per cent of students on its own and 80 per cent of the seats would be earmarked for the university. An additional ten per cent seats would be created to enable the government to admit students at its discretion. The association said the scheme would be in force for nine years. Thereafter, if the staff members opted, Anna University, Coimbatore, was bound to take all of them as its employees. However, discretion was given to private

SC reserves verdict on Karunanidhi, Baalu for contempt New Delhi, March 25: The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on the issue whether Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union Shipping Minister T R Baalu and four others are liable to be prosecuted for contempt of the Court for alleged violation of the apex court order, dated September 30, 2008, directing the DMK and its allies not to enforce statewide bandh on October 1. The ruling DMK and its allies had given a call for the state-wide bandh in support of their demand for the speedy completion of the Setusamudram Project. The project had hit a road block because of the proposed demolition of the Ram Setu, which Hindus believe was constructed by Lord Ram to reach Sri Lanka to free his wife Sita from the captivity of demon king Ravana. The apex court had issued showcause notices to Mr Karunanidhi, Mr Baalu, State Chief Secretary L K Tripathi, State DGP and the State Transport Minister and the State Transport Secretary for not implementing the directions of the apex court, issued during a special sitting on a Sunday. A b e n c h comprising Justices B N

Aggarwal and G S Singhvi reserved the verdict on the contempt of court petition, filed by AIADMK chief and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who has alleged that the entire state was paralysed on October 1 despite the apex court directions to the contrary. The petitioner had also contended that Mr Tripathi had told media on October 1 that only about 50 transport buses plied in the state when it had a fleet of about 30,000 buses. According to the petitioner, no action was taken against the leaders, who enforce the bandh causing tremendous hardship and harassment to the people of the state. Loss of several crores of rupees was caused to the state exchequer and the government connived with the organisers of the bandh and no action was taken against a majority of the state government employees, who abstained from work on that day. Mr Baalu had also made derogatory remarks against Justice Aggarwal for passing the orders on Sunday. -Agencies

managements and staff members to either continue the scheme or remain with the private management or to go to the university. It prayed the court to issue a direction to call for the records of the university relating to the establishment of the colleges under the scheme and quash the same. The matter has been posted for hearing on April eight. -Agencies

HC issues notice to TN govt on detention of Kolathur Mani Chennai, Mar 25: The Madras High Court today issued notice to the Tamil Nadu Government on a petition, challenging the detention of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam President Kolathur Mani under the National Security Act (NSA). Admitting a Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP) filed by P S Palanisamy, brother of Mani, a Division Bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and R Subbiah, directed the

state government to file a reply within four weeks. In his petition, Mr Palanisamy submitted that his brother was detained under NSA due to political motive by the police. Contending that the district collector had no power to pass NSA order, he said only the central government had the powers to detain a person under NSA, and sought the court to set Mani at liberty. H e w a s

arrested on March 2 for his alleged support to the banned LTTE. Dindigul police had registered a case against him for addressing a meeting recently in support of the LTTE in the name of espousing the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. A special police team from Dindigul went to Kolathur and arrested Mani from his house and later detained him under NSA. -Agencies

March 25, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper

Unique two-stage hybrid surgery performed on woman Chennai, Mar 25 : For 43year-old New Delhi-based Meena Tomar, it was a virtual rebirth as she had been having several medical complications over the years. She has a history of back pain and was having high blood pressure for the last 15 years. Her kidney failed five years back prompting her to go for a renal transplantation. She started becoming diabetic due to intake of steroids and immuno-suppressant

''If we had not performed this procedure, her kidney would have failed and the aneurysm would have ruptured resulting in a fatal complication,'' Dr Bashi said. Dr Bashi said the renal transplant patients were susceptible to infections during major surgeries. Besides there was also the risk factor. ''Hence I decided to take a less aggressive approach by going for a hybrid surgery with arch

medicines following kidney transplantation. Her condition was quite stable till September last year, before she started developing complications. The transplanted kidney started failing because of the dissecting aneurysm, which led to diminished flow to the kidney.

debranching followed by a keyhole surgery to do endovascular stenting of the aneurysm'', he added. The two-stage surgery, totally involving just about two hours, was performed over 15 days. The first stage surgery was performed on February 18 when the chest was opened in the midline and a graft was connected from the ascending aorta to the innominate artery and left common carotid artery. ''The unique feature was that arch debranching was done on beating heart without the use of Heart Lung machine'', Dr Bashi said. The second stage surgery on March two, involved a keyhole operation in groin to i n t r o d u c e t h e endovascular stent graft to cover the aneurysm of the ascending arch and descending aorta, which was performed under local anaesthesia. A v i s i b l y relieved, Ms Meena profusely thanked the hospital management and Dr Bashi and his team for giving her a rebirth. Ms Mallika Mohandas said this surgery showed that even complicated problems like this could be successfully treated with advanced technology and highly skilled personnel. The team headed by Dr Bashi, included Dr Kannan R Nair and Dr V Harilal, interventional radioogist D r M u r a l i a n d Interventional Cardiologist Dr Shivakumar, besides anaesthesiast Dr Aju Jacob. -Staff Reporter

She required urgent surgery to prevent total failure of the transplanted kidney and to save her life from the risk of aneurysm rupture. A 64-slice CT angiogram showed a large aneurysm involving the ascending arch and descending thoracic aorta. It also showed that her aorta started narrowing due to the dissecting aneurysm. Several hospitals in New Delhi washed their hands off saying the surgery was very risky. Hoping against hope, she came to know, through a nephrologist, about the Miot Hospitals, where a team of doctors headed by Dr V V Bashi, for the first time in the world, performed an unique twostage hybrid surgery through a minimally invasive approach for aneurysm of the ascending arch and descending thoracic aorta, on a patient w i th p revi o u s ki dne y transplant. ''Just 25 cases of hybrid surgery for aortic arch aneurysms had been reported in literature so far. Though we have experience in this surgery in about six patients with success, for the first time in the world it was done on a patient who had undergone a renal transplant,'' Dr Bashi and Miot Hospitals Managing Director Mrs Mallika Mohandas told reporters here today.

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Kannappan resigns as MDMK MLA Chennai, Mar 25 :MDMK MLA M Kannappan, who represented the party in T h o n d a m u t h u r constituency in Tamil Nadu assembly, today r e s i g n e d h i s membership, according to an official press release. Mr Kannappan, had joined the ruling DMK earlier this week, leaving the MDMK following differences with General Secretary Vaiko. Mr Kannappan was also the Presidium

Chairman of the MDMK. He submitted his resignation to Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker R Avudaiappan. The Speaker accepted the resignation with immediate effect. -Agencies

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Times Chennai E-Paper

National

NCP backs Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister New Delhi:, March 25 : The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a key member of the Congressled United Progressive A l l i a n c e ( U PA ) , o n Wednesday declared its support for Manmohan

Singh as the grouping's prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha polls. "We have already supported his candidature. UPA's candidate (prime minister) is Manmohan Singh," party general

secretary D.P. Tripathi told news agency. C o n g r e ss president Sonia Gandhi had said here on Tuesday there could be many contenders for the post of

p r i m e m i n i s t e r, b u t nobody measured up to Manmohan Singh. Congress and NCP have already announced a 26-22 seatsharing agreement for Maharashtra.

Hate speech: Varun likely to move SC

Asked about the prime ministerial ambitions of NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Tripathi said: "No question about it." Pawar had said on March 13 that Maharashtra should be given a chance to occupy the prime minister's chair, like leaders from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka. Tripathi's view is contrary to his colleague and senior leader in the party P.A. Sangma, who on Monday supported Pawar for the post of prime minister. Sangma had told reporters in Shillong that Pawar was the most development-oriented leader and there was nothing wrong if he aspired to be prime minister. Tripathi said the UPA should contest polls together. -Agencies

President awards standards to IAF units Gorakhpur, March 25: President Pratiba Patil on Wednesday handed out standards to the IAF's 108 Squadron and 105 Helicopter Unit at a glittering ceremony here marked by acrobatic display of the force's aircraft. Patil gave away the standards in recognition of the selfless and committed services by both the units to the country in the last 50 years. The President also described the units as "Aapastu mitram", (a friend in the time of need). Speaking on the occasion, Patil said the

armed forces are well capable of defending the borders of the country "if a conflict is thrust upon us". "We do not wish to be involved in any conflict, but should it be thrust upon us... our armed forces will rise to the occasion and bring glory to the nation," she added. Patil released an information brochure and a commemorative cover issued by the Military Postal Services on the occasion. Acrobatic displays by Chetak and Cheetah helicopters and

Mirage 2000, MiGs and Sukhoi 30 jets were the other highlights the ceremony. Air refuelling capacities of IL 78 and parachute jumping by the famed Aakash Ganga air soldiers were also demonstrated on the occasion. The ceremony was attended by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshall Fali Homi Major, chief of South Western Command K D Singh and chief of Central Air Command P P Rajkumar apart from Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeshwar. -Agencies

Azamgarh admin refuses permission for Advani rallies New Delhi, March 25: The Bhratiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the BSP-led government in Uttar Pradesh for refusing to grant permission to the saffron party which had planned to start its campaign from Azamgarh. “The Azamgarh district administration has refused to grant permission for the election rallies on March 28. Though, we have proposed three alternative venues for this. But the administration has cited security reasons for this,” BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj here said Wednesday.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate LK Advani was scheduled to address three meetings on March 28 in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh area, which had been in news for wrong reasons following arrests of certain youths on terror charges. Significantly, the district witnessed arrest of certain youths of a particular community in connection with the Batla House encounter E a r l i e r, t h e Indian Premier League (IPL) was called off due to security reasons and will rallies of leaders like L K

March 25, 2009

Advani be cancelled now, Punj asked. Advani was to address the meetings at Kushinagar, Maharajganj a n d A z a m g a r h constituencies along with firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath, who is contesting from the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat, they said. All these constituencies, part of the Gorakhpur division, will go to polls in the first of the five-phased elections on April 16. BJP has fielded Ramakant Yadav from the Azamgarh seat.

Allahabad, March 25: In a setback to Varun Gandhi, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed the BJP candidate’s petition seeking quashing

of an FIR filed against him for his alleged hate speeches in Pilibhit. Varun had on March 19 knocked the doors of Allahabad and Delhi High Courts seeking quashing of charges against him and prevent his possible arrest. The Delhi High Court had then granted Varun anticipatory bail restraining the police from arresting him till the

Allahabad HC’s decision on the BJP candidate’s petition in connection with his alleged antiMuslim speeches. However, the Allahabad HC today rejected Varun’s plea, saying there was no need to stay his arrest due to the anticipatory bail granted by the Delhi HC. In its order, a division bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and SC Nigam said, “The petition stands dismissed.” Varun’s lawyers have now reportedly decided to move the Supreme Court. The Election Commission has already found Varun guilty of making the hate speeches, and advised the BJP not to field him as a candidate in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the BJP has rejected the EC’s advice, instead terming the decision as biased. Varun has also slammed the EC for not giving him a fair hearing. The FIR against Varun

was filed on March 17 at Barkheda Police Station in Pilibhit under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act. Varun had alleged in his petition that the FIR, which was lodged nine days after he had made the speeches, was "a part of a political conspiracy to spoil" his political career and "tarnish" his "secular image". He had also claimed that the video footage of a public meeting, on the basis of which the Election Commission has taken the action against him, "has been tampered with" and did not contain his voice. Varun had approached the Delhi HC since the provision for bail was not available in Uttar Pradesh. -Agencies

LeT involved in Kupwara encounter: Army Srinagar, March 25: The Indian Army on Wednesday said that militants from the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit, along with some other foreign ultras, were involved in the gunbattle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district. The LeT has also owned up responsibility for the fierce encounter, warning that such attacks would continue on Indian troops. Addressing the press, Brigadier General Gurmeet Singh said that eight Army personnel, including a Major, were killed in the gunfight along with 17 terrorists. He added that the combing operations were still on.

He further stated that a majority of the terrorists trying to infiltrate the region had been killed, adding that the remaining ones, if a n y, w o u l d b e neutralised. According to him, the dense forests in the area impeded the combat operations as a result of which the encounter, which began on March 20, went on for six days. The Brigadier said that high-order arms and ammunitions recovered from the terrorists indicate Pakistani help. The terrorists couldn’t have accessed the weaponry without state backing, he asserted. Cautioning that more militants were waiting to infiltrate, the

Army spokesman added that they were ready to tackle all the challenges. He further stated that the Army had accurate information, backed by human intelligence from both the sides, regarding the movement of the terrorists. The gunfights were first reported on Saturday and followed a cross-border exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops that left one Indian soldier wounded. The latest death toll was the highest in months in the troubled region and came at a time of heightened tensions between the nucleararmed neighbours following last November's deadly Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai. -Agencies

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March 25, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper

World

Obama claims progress toward economic recovery Washington March 25 : After urging the American public to support his economic policies, President Barack Obama heads to the Capitol on

Wednesday to pitch his ambitious budget proposals to his former Senate Democratic colleagues. Obama told a nationally televised news conference on Tuesday evening that the main thrust, if not all the details, of his massive budget proposal is moving the nation in the right direction to turn around the ailing economy. ``This budget is inseparable from this r e c o v e r y, ' ' h e s a i d , ``because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.'' Obama also claimed early progress in his aggressive campaign to lead the United States out of its worst economic crisis in 70 years and declared that despite obstacles ahead, the U.S. is ``moving in the right direction.'' T h e n e w s conference came at a pivotal moment in Obama's 64-day presidency. On Monday, his administration presented its plan to revive the U.S. financial system. Last month, Obama signed into law an $787 billion economic stimulus plan. And Democrats in Congress are preparing budget proposals that will largely determine how much of his agenda will be passed, which includes major initiatives to reform the health care system, improve education and reduce global warming. Obama's budget has ignited a firestorm in Congress, with Republicans assailing it for record spending and budget deficits. Democrats are generally supportive, though some have concerns over the deficit figures. Meanwhile, Obama is preparing for a European trip next week that includes a London summit on the global economic crisis, while, away from the economy, an announcement is expected by Friday on a revamped U.S. strategy for

Afghanistan and Pakistan. The president also defended the U.S. dollar in the wake of China's suggestion for a universal currency, saying: ``The dollar is extraordinarily strong right now,'' and ``I don't believe that there is a need for a global currency.'' Obama, just 64 days in office, urged patience with his presidency, not only in trying to lift the United States out of the recession, but also in seeking peace between Israel and Palestinians and in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. ``This is a big ocean liner. It's not a speedboat. It doesn't turn around immediately,'' he said. Obama remains widely popular, but has passed through some tumultuous weeks. The news has been dominated by outrage over bonuses to executives at bailed-out insurance giant AIG. Republicans have attacked Obama's spending plans as wasteful and too costly. A n d s o m e k e y c o n g r e s s i o n a l Democrats have resisted Obama's calls for extending middle-class tax cuts and a ``cap-andtrade'' program to fight global warming that would let companies buy and sell a limited number of permits to pollute. O b a m a defended cap-and-trade as the best way to move toward cleaner energy, but noted ``there are a lot of technical issues that are going to have to be sorted through.'' He also said he expects ``serious efforts at health care reform,'' but not lawmakers' approval of every proposal in his $3.6 trillion budget. Obama used the 55-minute news conference's last question, on Middle East peace efforts, to summarize his strategy of pressing his main goals while letting critics nibble at the margins if they must. O n t h e e c o n o m y. O b a m a defended the steps his administration has taken to counter the recession and an unprecedented credit crisis. Obama said teachers and others have jobs today because of the economic stimulus measure, and the United States is ``beginning to see signs of increased

sales and stabilized housing prices for the first time in a long time.'' But he said fullfledged recovery is months away, and he added, ``It will take patience.'' At the same time, he said, ``we're in a better place because of the decisions that we made.'' O b a m a criticized the $165 million in bonuses paid to executives at insurance giant American International Group Inc., although his comments were somewhat toned down. ``Bankers and executives on Wall Street need to realize that enriching themselves on the taxpayers' dime is inexcusable, that the days of outsized rewards and reckless speculation that puts us all at risk have to be over,'' he said. ``At the same time, the rest of us can't afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit,'' he said. Pressed on why he seemed to delay before condemning the AIG bonuses, Obama said, ``It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak.'' While the news conference was dominated by domestic economic issues, Obama also touched on international matters. Asked about the drug violence in Mexico, Obama praised President Felipe Calderon's efforts to stop drug gangs, adding ``we need to do more to make sure that illegal guns and cash aren't flowing back to these cartels.'' He said he still believes it is possible to achieve peace between Israel and Palestinians, even as a hard-line Israeli government takes shape, though ``it's not easier than it was.'' Obama also said the world's view of U.S. global leadership is rising because of steps t a k e n b y h i s administration. He said there has been a restoration of confidence in the ability of the U.S. to assert global leadership. Obama stepped to the microphone one day after his administration unveiled a plan to melt the credit freeze by helping banks shed bad loans. Under the p r o p o s a l , t h e government will finance the purchase by private investors of as much as

$1 trillion of the $2 trillion in bad assets still held by the nation's banks, in the hopes of freeing banks to begin lending more freely and churn up economic activity. O b a m a endorsed the request Tr e a s u r y S e c r e t a r y Timothy Geithner made to Congress earlier T u e s d a y f o r extraordinary authority to take over failing companies like AIG, much as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. now does for banks. ``It is precisely because of the lack of this authority'' that AIG's problems threatened to bring down the entire U.S. economy, he said. To p D e m o c r a t s i n Congress reacted positively to the proposal, although it is not clear when legislation might be considered. Obama was quick with a retort when asked about Republican criticism of his budget, with its huge projected deficits. ``First of all,'' Obama said he inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion from his predecessor. And secondly, he said the Republicans have yet to offer an alternative to his own tax and spending plan. B e f o r e Obama's news conference, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell cast the president's proposed budget as an overspending, over-taxing disaster. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released last Friday estimates Obama's budget would generate deficits totaling $9.3 trillion over the next decade. ``If these plans are carried out, we run the risk of looking like a Third World country,'' McConnell said. Obama's job approval rating is 63 percent, according to the Gallup polling organization. That number has been relatively stable recently, down from the 68 percent when the president took office mostly on a loss of support among Republicans. At the news conference, Obama said the American people are assessing his ability on his skills and work, not the color of his skin. He said there was justifiable pride in January, when he was inaugurated as the first black president. -Agencies

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Talks to resume on freeing 3M France executive Pithiviers, March 25 : Talks were to resume on Wednesday at a plant run by U.S. company 3M south of Paris where striking workers were holding their boss hostage. The workers want better severance packages for those being l a i d o ff a n d b e t t e r conditions for those who keep their jobs. About 20 workers took the director of 3M's French operations, Luc Rousselet, hostage on Tuesday at a factory in Pithiviers. Talks among w o r k e r s a n d management were suspended overnight, but were to resume Wednesday. The top regional labor official was named to mediate in the talks. The French division of 3M - a

diversified manufacturer known for Post-It notes and Scotch tape - recently announced layoffs among its 2,700 workers at 13 French sites. Among those targeted are 110 of the Pithiviers factory's 235 workers. The Maplewood, Minnesota-based 3M is also planning job cuts at facilities in the United States and other developed nations. ``We will go to the end to get what we deserve,'' said JeanFrancois Caparros of the Force Ouvriere labor union. The 3M workers have been on strike since Friday. C o m p a n y spokeswoman Catherine Hamon said Rousselet was blocked from leaving the factory Tuesday after arriving from 3M France headquarters near Paris. She said he had not been threatened with violence. -Agencies

Military intervention in Pak politics must stop forever: Sharif Lahore, March 25: Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has expressed concern over the relentless military intervention in the country’s politics. Sharif said that stability in Pakistan cannot be achieved until the Army’s intervention is stopped. “We have to stop military intervention forever. There must be no military intervention in the politics in future,” The News qouted Sharif, as saying. Commenting over a history of military coups’ that Pakistan has, he said: “A country where there is military intervention after every seven to 10 years and martial law is common, the situation is very serious.” Sharif’s call for no military interference comes at a time when it is being widely reported that the Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had restrained from taking

over the reigns of Pakistan during the recent political crisis. Sharif called upon all political parties of the country to join hands to pull Pakistan out of the crisis which it is facing at the moment. He also urged the international community including the United States and Britain to help Pakistan over come the difficult situation and agreed upon a need of a revamped strategy for the ‘war on terror’ in the region. “ T h e n e w U S administration has taken charge and Pakistan is happy to sit with all stakeholders and formulate an effective policy on the war against terror,” Sharif said. Replying to a question that whether he would like to see himself as the next Prime Minister of the country, Sharif said: “People would take this decision, as they have elected me twice as prime minister and chief minister. If they give me the honour I would be happy to serve them.” -Agencies

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Sensex up 197 pts, closes at 9,668 Mumbai, March 25: The stock market bellwether Sensex rallied for the third straight day, adding 197 points, on heavy buying in the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries, besides blue chip realty companies. The Sensex, which tested an intra-day high of 9,700 points, ended with a gain of 196.86 points at 9,667.90. It touched the day's high of 9,706.47 and a low of 9,430.45. The wide-based

National Stock Exchange index Nifty also ended higher by 45.65 points to 2,984.35, after rising to 2,996.50 and a low of 2,923.30 points. Trading activity picked up on favourable reports in the marketheaviest Reliance Industries as also second biggest software exporting firm Infosys on strengthening dollar. RIL was up 5.63 percent at Rs 1,533.40 following reports the

company has reached agreement with fertiliser firms on sale of gas from its eastern offshore KGD6 fields. Realty index closed up 6.32 percent at 1,691.67 points, with DLF surging 6.22 percent at Rs 176.65. The market remained volatile as major players indulged in adjusting their pending positions ahead of the expiry in current month derivative segment. -Agencies

Reliance Infra to be more aggressive: CEO New Delhi, March 25: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company Reliance Infrastructure has said it would aggressively bid for more infrastructure projects, claiming it has no issue with finances as the firm is under-leveraged with unutilised capacity. "Our capacity is under-utilised and we are under- leveraged," Reliance Infrastructure Chief Executive Officer Lalit Jalan told PTI, claiming Reliance Infra is the largest developer of road and highways projects under the build, own, transfer (BOT) scheme of the government. "The company has achieved the financial closure of five major 400km road projects involving (a total of) Rs 3,150 crore investment in Tamil Nadu. It is faring extremely well in ll the sectors it forayed and plans aggressive bidding (for other infrastructure projects)," he said. Financial closure is achieved after a company produces evidence of binding commitment from banks and financial institutions for the funding of the project.

In the National Capital Region, the company has u n d e r ta k e n p r o j e c ts worth Rs 7,800 crore with a concession period of 17 years, Jalan said, adding, "We are executing two to four laning of 27.5 km Gurgaon-Faridabad project and upgradation of two lanes of 38.6 km Ballabgarh-Sohna Road." Projects under pipeline include Eastern Peripheral Expressway Covering 135 km and Krishna Walajpet project covering 150 km, he added. Reliance Infra is the country's first and only private sector builder and operator for Metro systems, he said. "We are already into construction of the first line of Mumbai Metro system stretching 12 kms from Versova to Ghatkopar. Besides, we have also won the Delhi Metro's airport express link stretching at a length of 22.5 kms. The total investment for these two projects is Rs 4,900 crore," Jalan said. About the Mumbai project, he said,

"We are hopeful of completing it in the second quarter of 201011, two years ahead of the schedule. The Rs 2,350-crore project is to be financed by way of Debt, Grant and Equity in 51:27:22 ratio." "Our Delhi Metro project has total length of 23 km connecting New Delhi Railway Station to Dwarka through IGI Airport with 30 years concession period. Project cost of Rs 2500 crore would be met by Debt: Grant: Equity in 2.33:0:1 ratio," Jalan said adding, the financial closure is expected by the end of March 2009 and the debt syndication is in progress with Axis Bank as lead lender. The project is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2010-11, before the Commonwealth Games. Now known as Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, Reliance Energy Ltd was rechristened after diversification in newer s e g m e n t s o f infrastructure. -Agencies

V-Guard announces commissioning of two new production facilities Bangalore, March 25 VGuard Industries Ltd, one of the leading electrical solutions provider in the country, has announced two new production facilities at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Kashipore in Uttarkhand to produce LT and Wiring Cables respectively. Addressing newspersons here today P G Prasad, Chairman of the company, said that VGuard has set up two manufacturing facilities, Coimbatore Plant for LT cables and Kashipore in Uttarachal for wiring cables. He said that while Coimbatore plant would go on stream by this week end, while the Kashipore facility would be commissioned on April eight. " W i t h t h e commissioning of the two

new units V-Guard, which produces eight electrical products including voltage stebalizers, now has emerged as a National Brand," Mr Prasad said. He said that the Coimbatore facility was capable of producing Aluminum and Copper with PVC of XLPE insulted cables with a capacity to process 3000 metric tonnes of Aluminum and 300 metric tonnes of copper per annum. Mr Prasad also said that company have invested over Rs 45 crore to set up two new factories which are ready and totally equipped for commercial production. He said that the company had raised Rs 65 crore from the Equity market last year and about 75 per cent of it had already

March 25, 2009

Business

been invested and rest of the proceedings would be deployed by the end of next fiscal year. "Despite the economic meltdown we have managed a business of Rs 289 crore last year and it is expected to cross Rs 320 crore in the current year," he said. The company emerged as one of the leading electrical solutions provider is manufacturing Voltage Stabilisers, Pumps and Motors, Electric Water Heaters, PVC Wiring Cables among others. "We enjoy 15 per cent of total market share in Voltage Stabiliser, the flagship product of VGuard," he said. -Agencies

Novartis to raise stake in Indian unit to 90 percent New Delhi, March 25:: Swiss drug maker Novartis on Wednesday said it has made an open offer to acquire an additional stake of up to 39 percent in its Indian unit. The company will acquire the stake

from public share holders at Rs.351 per share. Tuesday's closing price for Novartis shares in India was Rs.275.60. "Successful completion of the offer would raise the company's stake in Novartis India Ltd to

nearly 90 percent from the current level of 50.9 percent," the company said in a statement. T h e o f f e r represents a total value of around Rs.440 crore ($86 million). -Agencies

Bongaigaon Refinery to merge with Indian Oil New Delhi, March 25 The government has approved a proposal for merging Bongaigaon R e f i n e r y a n d Petrochemicals into its parent company, the state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC).

In a regulatory statement Wednesday, IOC said Bongaigaon Refinery stands dissolved and the merger becomes effective March 25 following the filing of the amalgamation order with the Registrar of

Companies (ROCs) in Shillong and Mumbai. IOC will issue four shares for every 37 Bongaigaon Refinery shares, it said in the statement. -Agencies

Tata Comm gets Rs 424 cr from part stake sale in TTSL New Delhi, March 25 Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s services provider Tata Communications on Wednesday sold part of its stake in group c o m p a n y Ta t a Teleservices for Rs 424 crore. T a t a Communications has a 15 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices. Japanese telecom major NTT

Docomo is buying a 26 per cent stake in TTSL. "The company has received an amount of about Rs 424 crore pursuant to sale of its partial holdings in Tata Teleservices Ltd," Tata Communications said in a regulatory filing to the B o m b a y S t o c k Exchange. Of the 15 per cent stake that Tata

Communications holds, it would be selling 0.6 per cent to the Japanese c o m p a n y. Ta t a Communications did not reveal the size of its stake it sold in TTSL. Shares of Tata Communications jumped as much as 3.6 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 531 on the BSE. It was later trading at Rs 524.50, up 2.39 per cent.

RBI takes measures to meet year-end rush Mumbai, March 25: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will extend the business offers of its r e g i o n a l o ff i c e a n d branches of agency banks conducting government business on March 30 and 31 to facilitate receipt of revenue from the general public. The RBI, in a notification here, said this

was to facilitate accounting of all the government transactions of the current fiscal by March 31 and meet the probable rush of tax payers towards the end of the year. The apex bank said Special Clearing (with return clearing on the same day) shall be conducted in the evening or night of March 30 and

31 with the approval of the president of Local Clearing Houses run by the RBI and Agency banks keeping in view the operational convenience at the local centres so that the clearing instruments relating to government revenue received from the public are released and credited to government account by March 31. -Agencies

V-Guard shelves plans to set up amusement park Chennai, March 25 VGuard Industries, the leading electrical solutions provider, which diversified into setting up amusement parks, has shelved its plans to set up one on the Mumbai-Pune Highway due to land acquisition problems. The company, which was operating two amusement parks ''Wonderland'' in Bangalore and ''Veega Land'' in Kochi had drawn up plans to set up a theme amusement park in Mumbai with an investment of Rs 150 to Rs 200 crore, but dropped it following problem in acquisition. ''As of now we can't build the park...we have dropped the

project'', said Mr Mithun Chittilappilly, Executive D i r e c t o r, V- G u a r d Industries, here while addressing a press conference in connection with the launch of two new projects at Coimbatore and Uttarakhand. Asked about the status of the amusement park project on the Mumbai-Pune Highway, he said the company wanted to acquire 120 acres of land, but ran into problems after acquiring 50 acres. There were also lots of problems in converting various types of agricultural lands into commercial lands, he said, adding ''we have decided to drop the

project as it is unviable now''. He said the company wanted to buy 120 acres of land at a stretch, but in between some people had bought the lands. ''We tried to negotiate with them, but it did not work out'', he added. The company proposes to sell off the previously acquired 50 acres of lands. ''We are getting offers'', he added. He replied in the negative when asked whether the project was being shifted to Tamil Nadu. ''You just take a five hour drive from here to Bangalore and we have an amusement park there,'' he said. -Agencies

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