Main Page                                                         Archive

 

Alarm bells in Orissa over heat stroke deaths

     Bhubaneshwar: The death of three people in Orissa due to severe heat wave has created panic in the state. The mercury is going up in the state and currently is hovering around 40 degree Celsius. Residents are under fear of the killer heat waves, which they are expecting to hit them in the days to come. The interiors of the state are experiencing the wrath of the mercury for the past few days. Apart from making people sweat, the excessive heat has also added to the water woes of the state, drinking water scarcity has hit the state. "Its very hot here. Scorching sun is creating a problem for us, for school children and people who travel to offices. The government is not doing anything. Even the drinking water is not available", said Amitabh, a local. "It is very hot here. Administration is not doing anything. There are no facilities. Water problem is also there," said Zuhun Kuresi, another local resident.

     The State Government has directed hospital authorities and other wings to take measures to help people cope with the excess hot condition. While government puts the confirmed deaths at three, unofficial reports put the figure at 33. "We have given further instructions. We have made further funds available with the district authorities. We have to make a lot of arrangements apart from making people aware through media and also suggesting people how to deal with a hot day. We have also made arrangements of drinking water in schools, roadside and bus stands. We have given funds to rural and urban development departments to make more tube wells," said T K Mishra, Revenue Secretary, Government of Orissa. Experiencing heat waves is nothing new for the state, it has been facing the problem for the past many years. It even saw mercury going up to 46.1 degree Celsius on May 20,2002 with the highest day temprature being recorded at 44.9 degree Celsius on May 27, 2003 and 45.1 on May 20, 2004. Attempting to relieve the residents of the problem, the state government has released 7 crore rupees from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) to meet the emergencies arising out of heat waves.

Karunakaran forms own Congress party (Go To Top)

     Thrissur (Kerala): Estranged senior Congress party leader and former chief minister of Kerala K.Karunakaran formally split from the Congress in Kerala on Sunday (May 1) and announced the formation of a new party called the National Congress Indira. Addressing his supporters here, Karunakaran said that his son Muraleedharan, who had been suspended from the Congress for six years for alleged anti-party activities, would be the President of the new party. Karunakaran said that he would carry on with efforts to cleanse the party in Kerala of "impurities". Coming down heavily on incumbent Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the present leadership of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) led by led by Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, he, however, refrained from making any critical remarks against Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. "You will have to face many difficulties in the coming days. But, drawing inspiration from the Congress ideals and firm commitment of the workers, we will go ahead," the senior leader said in his inaugural address to his faction's state-level workers' convention in Thrissur. "This is the time to form a new organization. But that, I mean, is to go ahead by cleansing the organization of all the impurities that have crept into it," he said. "There is no question of ditching you. With your love, affection and sincere support, we will go ahead," he said. Recalling his nearly six-decade-long association with the Congress party since the salt satyagraha days, Karunakaran said he would continue to follow the footsteps of Congress leaders. The octagenarian leader's differences with the Congress widened after his son and former KPCC chief K Muraleedharan was expelled from party for holding rallies against state government which was described anti-Party activity by the party high command. Karunakaran met Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss the issue but nothing fruitful emerged.

Muslim Law Board approval to model nikahnama (Go To Top)

     Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has formally given its seal of approval to the Model Nikahnama (Marriage Code). A decision to this effect was announced at the AIMPLB's 18th seminar held at the local Taj-ul Masjid here. AIMPLB Chairman Maulana Mohammad Rabe Hasani Nadvi said that the Nikahnama's charter will be made public after which various speakers would voice their opinions on the document. The two-day 18th seminar got underway on Saturday while a meeting of the Board's executive took place the day before. Stressing that rise in population does not obstruct development, AIMPLB general secretary Abdul Rahim Qureshi told reporters in Bhopal late on Saturday that there was no discussion on minimum age for marriage of girls. "But, in my personal view, minimum age for marriage of girls should be 15 years," he said, adding that in the United States girls are eligible to marry at the age of 15 and in India also the age was earlier 15 but raised later. Replying to queries, he dismissed suggestions that rate of `talaq' (divorce) was higher than in other communities and claimed that according to certain surveys, divorce rate was higher among Hindus compared to that among Muslims in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra. He reiterated that the model `nikahnama' would be voluntary for Muslims to follow and the need for such a code was felt due to different systems being followed across the country.

     Apart from defining different aspects of marriage, it suggests guidelines for the couple to lead life and settle disputes, if any, under the shariyat, he said adding the general convention would also discuss ways to begin an awareness campaign on shariyat. It was also stated that despite 75 per cent increase in its population since independence, country has made substantial progress in industry, agriculture, technology and other spheres. In the field of software technology, India's name figures next to Japan, he said adding, if increase in population had adversely affected development, country could not have taken such giant strides on the path of progress. The issue of family planning was not included in the agenda of the general council meeting and it was not discussed on the opening day on Saturday, Qureshi said. Bhopal provided the perfect historical setting for the AIMPLB session. It was here that the last woman ruler of Bhopal, Sultan Jehan Begum, took the initiative on Muslim womens rights and implemented a clearly-defined law in the first quarter of the last century. The same laws were later adopted under the Shariat Act by the British.

     The session was incidentally the first organised in Bhopal. Ever since the princely state of Bhopal was established about 300 years ago, its rulers set up the court of the Qazi to deal with the dispute concerning marriages and division of property. As on date, this court continues to function. While much ado has been made of the model nikaahnama, such a document has always existed in Bhopal. The court of Qazi registers all marriages and copies of the nikaah-nama are given to the parties concerned. The record of marriages is also duly maintained in the court. Bhopal has a unique place in world history where the Begums ruled the erstwhile princely state for over a century. The Taj ul Masajid, said to be the biggest mosque in the country, was built by Shahjehan Begum. Besides, Bhopal has umpteen mosques that were built by women apart from the ruling Begums. The mosques built by Kulsoom Bi, Madda Roobi Sahiba, Nanhi Bi, Nastran Bano and many other ordinary women dot the landscape of the City. These women rulers also took path-breaking steps towards education of girls in Bhopal in pre-independence era. Separate boarding school (now government Sultania Higher Secondary School) was established, a nursing school was set up and a hospital exclusively for women was constructed and named Lady Hardinge Hospital. It was later renamed Sultania Zanana Hospital but is still known as Lady Hospital.

Mulayam backs Fernandes on defence deals (Go To Top)

     Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday came out in support of former defence minister George Fernandes and said that the Congress led UPA government did not need to drag in Fernandes while probing the defence deals. He said that there was no need for the government to drag in Fernandes while probing into his role in the Kargil arms purchase case. He said that the government was implicating Fernandes in the scam for maligning the latter's public image, adding that the charges seemed politically motivated. "The UPA government is acting with malice and is going after its political opponents with vengeance in a very autocratic manner," said Mulayam. Mulayam also openly expressed displeasure over the UPA government's filing of a fresh affidavit on the Kargil defence purchases.

Punjab farmers migrating after Canadian invitation (Go To Top)

     Ludhiana: The Canadian government has invited farmers from Punjab to buy and cultivate land in their country, which has resulted in a huge number of farmers migrating to Canada. The Canadian invitation is a reason to cheer for the farmers of Punjab, who have dreams of settling down in the West. Dilbagh Singh, a Ludhiana based farmer is planning to sell his land in order to migrate to Canada and follow his family's farming tradition in Canada. Dilbagh wants to reap the benefits provided to farmers by the Canadian government. "Living in India is no problem at all, though there may be some drawbacks in our agriculture. We cannot do large-scale farming, and cannot purchase more agricultural land here. Many limitations have been imposed. In Canada, the government provides insurance and other facilities to farmers, and we want to reap the benefit," said Dilbagh.

     The Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) is currently providing training to a batch of 30 farmers who aspire to move to Canada. A Mohali-based immigration consultancy firm started a 30-day training capsule in collaboration with the University to provide valuable tips on farming in Canada. All this would add to their experience and competence in farming in Canada, and there would be no need to look out for other jobs. "I feel that it benefits the people going abroad through legal channels. Everyday there are newspaper reports that people from Punjab have been emigrating by shelling out 20 to 40 thousand US dollars to agents. Many of them are deported or killed. At least, it is now the responsibility of the WWICS they are going through legal ways, and no one would dare deport them to India", said Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Director, Extension education, PAU. The influx of Punjab farmers into Canada began two years ago, when under the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Canada offered immigration at convenient and legal levels. In a series of seminars organized in Punjab, farmers were told of eligibility criteria - two years farming experience, plus a lump sum of money to procure farming land in Canada. Assets worth 300,000 Canadian dollars that could include the price of their existing farms was another prerequisite. Diversification into areas like floriculture, dairy farming and animal breeding are keenly awaited.

      "With the right kind of assistance and with the right kind of orientation, they are going to be very successful. The reason is that the farmers from India, especially from Punjab, are very hard working and the farming area is very intensive. In terms of the produce that is taken out on a per acre basis, compared to this nowhere in the world do we have farmers doing that kind of intensive cropping and production. Therefore, when they go there, if they put in the same kind of entrepreneurial skills and hard work into Canadian farms they would do extremely well", said Devinder Sandhu, Immigration Consultant. Diversification has now become a global phenomenon. Agriculture, whether in Punjab, Canada or the US, now requires an expert hand to guide and show the way. In Punjab, both the government and the farmers are now determined to take up diversed crops like oil seed plants and vegetables.

Saddam rejects conditional freedom offer: report (Go To Top)

     London: US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld reportedly paid a secret visit to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and offered him freedom and possible return to public life if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces. The News quoted a London based Arabic daily as saying that Saddam rejected the offer. Incidentally, the visit came during Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq about two weeks ago and was known only to a few Iraqi officials.

---