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VOL: 2 ISSUE 36 Feb. 10, 2009

Water Melon to quenchyour thirst

Water melons have arrived in Chennai indicating theonslaught of summer

Location Valluvarkottam.

India Tuesdayasserted that it wasp r e p a r e d f o r a n y

eventuality after the AlQaeda threatened it withMumbai-style strikes if its o u g h t t o a t t a c kPakistan.

"Our army isready to face any threatfrom anywhere," saidDefence Minister A.K.Antony, reacting to a 20-minute video in Arabic bythe terror group sent to

t he BBC o f f i c e i nIslamabad.

T h e v i d e o

released by Mustafa Abual-Yazid, said to be the AlQ a e d a ' s m i l i t a r yc o m m a n d e r i nAfghanistan, warns Indiathat it will have to "pay aheavy price" if it tries toattack Pakistan.

He referred toI n d i a ' s M u m b a i"humiliation" in the videoin Arabic and said it willface more Mumbai-styleattacks, BBC Newsreported.

In the video,

Yazid, who is believed tohave been killed in a USdrone strike in August2008, further says: "TheMujahideen will sunderyour armies into theground, like they did tot h e R u s s i a n s i nAfghanistan."

As they beganexamining the video,intelligence officials alsopointed out that warningsby the Al Qaeda were notnew.

" W e w i l l

examine the v ideoclosely as it is in Arabic.But such threats are notnew. There have beenearlier threats as well butthe security regimenwhich is in place nowshows that our forces areon high alert," said a topintelligence official whocould not be identifiedbecause of serv iceprotocol.

The timing ofthe video itself is veryinteresting because it

comes at a time when USPresident Obama hassaid that Pakistan has toensure that it does notbecome a safe haven forterrorists," said anotherintelligence functionary.

Officials said

"standard operat ingprocedures were put inplace" following an Al

Qaeda threat some years

ago.I t w a s a

reference to the terroroutfit's threat in August2007 where a videocompiled by the outfit'sproduction arm, As-Sahab, proclaimed thatthe targeting of Tel Aviv,Moscow and Delhi wasits legitimate right.

The video hadAdam Gaddahn, anAmerican who had risenin the Al Qaeda ranks tobecome a spokespersonfor the organisation,accusing India of killing

more than 100,000Muslims in Kashmir with

US blessings.Gaddahn also

lashed out at the US-led

"crusade" against Muslimsand alleged that diplomatic

missions were the basesfor anti-Muslim actions.

E a r l i e r , i nNovember 2006, airportsacross the country wereput on high alert followingthreats from the Al Qaedathat it would blow upairports in Chennai, Kochi,T r i c h y ,Thiruvananthapuram andCoimbatore.

At tha t t ime,airport authorities receivedan anonymous letterwarning of an attack andsaid about 10 Al Qaedaterrorists would break

security cordons.

India ready to faceany threat: Antony

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Times Chennai E-Paper Feb. 10, 2009ge 2

City

hennai, Feb. 10:A d m i s s i o n

ertificates for privatendidates, who applied on

me for the March 2009i g h e r S e c o n d a r y

x am i na t i on w i l l bestributed from February to 14, according to a

e l e a s e f r o m t h erectorate of Government

xaminations.These certificates

ll not be sent by post andandidates will not beowed to appear for theamination without themission certificate, theease stated.

The candidatesave been registered at thentre mentioned in theace of Examination' ineir applications. They

ave been requested toeck if details such as

ame, date of birth, registerumber, examinat ion

centre and subjectsof fered, have beenprinted correctly in theadmission certificates.

Candidates can contact

Addit ional Secretary(Higher Secondary),D i r e c t o r a t e o fG o v e r n m e n tExaminations, Chennai -6, in person or by postregarding any error. Theycan also contact theAdditional Secretary'soffice regarding non-receipt of admissioncertificates.

C a n d i d a t e sneed to submit a self-addressed envelope byaffixing a stamp of Rs.30at their examinationcentre on the first day of

examination, says therelease.

- Bureau report

Admission certificate for

examination to be distributedChennai, Feb. 10 :

G l o b a li m p l i c a t i o n s a n dchallenges for corporategovernance in 2009 wasthe topic of the 2ndN a t i ona l C o rpo ra teGovernance Conference,organized by Loyola

Institute of BusinessA d m i n i s t r a t i o n , o nMonday in associationwith National Foundationf o r C o r p o r a t eGovernance (NFCG) CAS Santhanakrishnan,C h a i r m a n o f I C A ICommittee on CorporateGovernance deliveredthe key note address.

The day-longc o n f e r e n c e h o s t e d

recognized speakerssuch as Parthasarathy,Vice President - Finance,F o r d I n d i a , T . S .Krishnamurthy, FormerC h i e f E l e c t i o nC o m m i s s i o n e r ,Government of India, K.K. Acharya, MD, CPCL,

N. Vittal, Former CentralVigilance Commissioner,Government of India andseveral others.

T h ed iscuss ions a t theconference coveredsubjects such as - 'IsCorporate Governance amyth or real i ty? ' ,Corporate GovernanceA Global Perspective andCorporate Governance-

LIBA holds second NationalConference on Corporate Governance

An Indian Perspective".Fr. P Christie

SJ, Director, LIBA said"Corporate Governance,especially with recentcorporate scandals, isi n c r e a s i n g l y m o r erelevant today than everbefore. I am happy to

note that LIBA is takingsuch important steps inspreading awarenessabout the importance ofCorporate Governance -n o t o n l y a m o n gcorporates but alsoamong the students whowill be manning keypositions in future."

Global izat ionespecial ly after the1980's has brought a

paradigm shift worldwidein political, economic,s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a lenvironment, causingdramatic changes in everya s p e c t o f h u m a ne n d e a v o u r . S u c h atransformational shift hasl e a d t o s u b s t a n t i a l

changes in governance ofgovernment and thecorporation, unfoldingactive discussions evennow.

The concept of' G o o d C o r p o r a t eGovernance' can bedifferent in each countryand company dependingon environment, cultureand nature of industryinvolved.

- Staff Reporter

hennai, Feb. 10 :Privatisation is

e buzz word whenerformance is judged.ut with the Chennaiorporation Mayor Mubramaniam implement

novative ideas for goodvernance and earn morevnues.

R a g h a v a n o fhetpet did not pay hisoperty tax this time. He ist a regular defaulter, but forgot all about it in hisctic busy schedule. Tolp such persons, the

hennai Corporation hasunched a register yourone number' facility, tomind them about the due

ate for paying tax.Under the new

cility, the official will callSMS the person when

e due date for paying theoperty tax nears and alsoention the amount to beaid. People can get theirone number registeredthe local office of the

rporation."Only 60% of

em pay property tax onme and properly. Somee habitual defaulters, but

ome others are justrgetful. The total defaultx amount was Rs 280ore till 2006. It tookarious measures byficers of the revenue and

gilance to recover Rs 110ore," said a corporationficial.

"Someone whoas 1000 sq ft of landows only 400 square feet account and tax isaded for the rest of theoperty. There has been a

good response to thetelephone-registrationfacility as many havestarted registering theirphone numbers. Afterthis, defaulters cannotsay that they forgot the

date," said the official.Another senior

official said that it wastime that the corporationtook ser ious act ionagainst property taxdefaulters. "We have ther i g h t t o e v i c t t h edefaulters, but we havebeen too lenient on them.We have to think ofstringent action if peopledefault despite the newmeasures," he said.

As per Section100 of Chennai CityMunicipal CorporationAct 1919, concept of

reasonable letting valuehas been adopted forarriving at the annualrental value and halfyear l y tax fo r anyproperty within the citylimits. The monthly rentalvalue is f ixed wi threference to the basicrate per square foot forresidential and non-residential propertiesseparately.

T h e t a x i sassessed between Aprilt o S e p t e m b e r a n dOctober to March. The

resident has to make hispayment at the localc o r p o r a t i o n o f f i c ebetween April 1 and April15 and between the samedates in September.Property tax is revisedonce in five years andlevied on immovableproperty including land

Now property taxreminders on phone

Chennai, Feb. 10 :

T a m i l N a d uChief Minister and DMKpresident M Karunanidhiwill undergo surgery ofhis spinal cord at the SriRamachandra MedicalCollege Hospital onFebruary 11 to relieveback pain.

A n o f f i c i a lrelease here lastnightsaid, ''The decision was

taken by Dr A Jaiswal

from New Delhi and otherdoctors about two daysa g o a f t e r h o l d i n gdiscussions on the ChiefMinister's condition.''Accordingly, surgeonswi l l operate on MrK a r u n a n i d h i o nWednesday.

A p a n e l o fd o c t o r s u n d e rOrthopaedic Surgeon, Dr

S S K Marthandam, had

been formed for thepurpose.

Mr Karunanidhiwas admitted to thehospital on January 26for back ache and hadb e e n u n d e r g o i n gtreatment since then.

On February 3,h e g o t h i m s e l fdischarged from thehospital to pay homage

to former Chief Minister C NAnnadurai on his deathanniversary and also tochair the DMK ExecutiveCommittee Meeting on theSri Lankan Issue.

He got himself re-admitted the same day. Afew days later he wasadministered the epiduralinjection to relieve him ofback ache.

- Agencies

MK to undergo surgery for back problem

and building. Earlier,water and sewerage taxwas also included underproperty tax as there wasno separate board forwater and sewerage.

- Agencies

Chennai, Feb. 10 :S t u d e n t s o f

P M R I n s t i t u t e o fTechnology and PMRCollege of Engineeringboycotted classes onMonday in protest againstthe college and AnnaUniversity, Chennai,a l l e g i n g t h a t b o t hinstitutions had a hand inspoiling their future.

It was the firstworking day of the collegeafter Anna University'sVice-Chancellor Prof PM a n n a r J a w a h a rannounced recently thatPMRIT would be issued ashow cause notice for

disaffiliation from theuniversity on charges ofimpersonating teachingfaculty.

Students wentfor their first hour classesin the morning unsure oftheir future and a group ofstudents went to AnnaUniversity to meet theDean of Students ProfGanesh to know aboutthe future course ofac t i on . M eanw h i l e ,students in the collegesd e m a n d e d a nexplanation on the issuebut were told that the

a l l e g a t i o n s w e r erumours.

The agi tateds tuden t s boy c o t t edclasses and the collegeauthorities shut down thecanteen and the boy'shostel hoping the protestwould die down.

By then, thestudent representativesr e t u r n e d f r o m t h euniversity with the newsthat the media reportswere true and that theSyndicate had approvedthe disaffiliation.

If the it comest h r o u g h , t h e n t h es t u d e n t s w i l l b e

transferred to other self-financing colleges.

The studentslater spent the rest of theday gathering people todraw a set of demands tobe presented to the Vice-

Chancellor on Tuesday.The students

asked how the collegeand the Vice Chancellorcould treat the issuelightly. They wanted toknow how AICTE gaveaffiliation to a college withs u c h m i n i m a linfrastructure or howAnna University includedthe college for singlewindow counselling.

Police had tointervene and ask thes t u d e n t s t o a c tpeacefully.

Speak ing toE x p r e s s , s t u d e n t salleged that the Vice-

Chancellor was unhappyover his refusal to allowstudents suspended form i s b e h a v i o u r l a s tS e p t e m b e r a t t e n dclasses and, hence, hadtaken the action.

He said AnnaUniversity had allowed

more students than thepermitted number in the ITdepa r tm en t o f PM Rthrough single windowcounsel l ing and nowwanted to wash off hishands.

On the charge of' i m pe rs ona t i on , ' t heprincipal said when theinspection team visited thecollege, a private computertutorial teacher walked intothe col lege and wasmistaken for a teacher ofthe college.

He assured thestudents and the parents

that the college wouldinitiate action to stop thedisaffiliation process andthe students and parentscould be secure about thefuture of the college.

- Agencies

PMR students cross, blame college, Anna University

Chennai, Feb. 10:Trains travelling

at 300 km an hour couldbecome a reality in India,according to UnionMinister of State forRailways R Velu. On his

recent visit to China, theminister held talks withChinese authorities onthe transfer of technologyfor highspeed trains.

The Chinesehave shown a greatinterest in the technologytransfer, he told the

media here on Monday.He added that theChinese were known forexecuting projects withina given time frame.

The ra i lwayhas identified five routes

for high speed trains --P u n e - M u m b a i -Ahmedabad; De lh i -Amritsar-Chandigarh;S e c u n d e r a b a d -Vijayawada- Chennai;Chenna i -Banga lo re-Coimbatore-Kochi and asmall stretch in Kolkata,

he added.

For this, a feasibility studyhas to be conducted ont r a f f i c p o t e n t i a l ,commercial viability, andthe like, he said.

He also spoke onthe need for a world classrailway station, whichhouses faci l i t ies andsecurity measures similarto the ones available atairports.

- Agencies

High speed trains would be reality soon

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City

Over 30 Visually challenged arrestedhennai, Feb. 10

More than 30s u a l l y c h a l l e n g e dudents including eighto m e n , w h o h a v empleted their secondaryade teacher training ine State, were arrested bye police on Monday after

ey tried to immolateemselves en masse inont of the Secretariat.

These teachersok the extreme step ofmolation after what theylled the government'st h a r g i c a p p r o a c hwards their problem.

hey could not get any jobsespite completing theovernment sponsoredacher training for the lasto years. They wereportedly promised for theeaching) jobs threeonths ago by a topvernment official.

S p e a k i n g t oporters one of thesually challenged, said,

We teachers took thetreme step after thevernment' did not fulfil itsomise of job for allachers. We were atme cursing the disability.was the (Tamil Nadu)vernment, which camet with a special GOying that the training

ould enable us to weavenew l i fe. But the

vernment betrayed usbadly, he added.

T h e a r r e s t e d

visually challenged werekept at a marriage hall atK o n d i t h o p e s i n c emorning and the policelet them off at the ParryCorner bus stand byevening.

All the arrestedteachers declined their

food and water offered bythe police during thehours they were held atthe marriage hall inKondithope and resortedto f as t un t i l t he i rdemands like meetingwith Chief Secretary andEducation secretary arem e t . S e n s i n g t h eproblem, the pol icearranged for a meetingwith the Chief Secretaryby evening and four ofthem participated in it.

Speak ing toreporters after meetingChief Secretary K SSripathi at Secretariat,Marimuthu said, Themeeting did not bear anyresult since he was notwilling to listen to ourmiseries. When weasked for a writtenassurance for the job, henot only yelled at uswithout understandingthe pain and traumafaced by blind teachers,but also showed the doorscuttling chances forfurther negotiations, headded.

- Agencies

hennai, Feb. 10 :L a w y e r s o f

a d r a s H i g h C o u r tdvocates' Associationlled off their week-longycott of courts andended courts today.

T h e y w e r eoycotting the courts,otesting against theings of Lankan Tamils

d demanding ceasefire

in Sri Lanka.The decision to

call off the stir was takenat the extra ordinaryGeneral body meeting ofthe association held hereon Monday.

The meet ingw a s c h a i r e d b yAssociation President RC Paul Kanagaraj.

- Agencies

Normalcy returns toChennai courts

Chennai, Feb. 10

The ChennaiCity Traffic Police (CCTP)h a s m a d e f e wmodi f i ca t ion in themovement of traffic nearPerambur high road,South.The changes willbe implemented from 7am onwards from Feb. 12

says a press release.The re l eas e

said that, the stretchbetween Jamaliya andPerambur sub-way Southw i l l be c l os ed f o rvehicular traffic followingthe construction workbeing carried out byCorporation of ChennaiBridges Department.

Car, auto andmotor cycles coming fromMadavarm High Roadand Siruvalluvar Salaii n t e n d e d t o g o t o

A y a n a v a r a m a n dPulianthope will have totake the sub-way turnright - Pilkington Road,Anderson Road, KunnoreHigh Road junction toreach their destination.

C o m m e r c i a lgoods vehicle and MTCbuses will not be allowedtowards the Perambursub-way. These vehicleswill be diverted towardsleft Peambur High Road,Ganeshpuram bridgeand Pulianthope High

Road to reach thedestination.

O n l ycommercial vehiclesc o m i n g f r o mMedavakkam Tank Road,Kunnore High Roadi n t e n t e d t o g o t oPerambur will not bea l l o w e d t o w a r d sAndersonRoad, instead

these vehicles will bed i v e r t e d t o w a r d sKunnore High Road,C o o k s R o a d ,S t e p h e n s o n r o a d ,Ganeshpuram bridgeand Pulianthope HighRoad to reach thedestination.

C h a m i e r s

Road, Cenotaph RoadConsequent to the newfly-over work acrossChamiers Road andC eno taph R oad a t

Turnbul ls Point, thefollowing modificationswill be made from 12February till the work iscompleted.

Heavy vehiclesand commercial goodsare p roh ib i ted in toCenotaph Road fromChamiers Road and

Turnbulls Road duringthe day time. MTC buseswill be allowed on trialbasis.

However, other

vehicles, two wheelers,three wheelers and fourwheelers can use theCenotaph Road fromChamiers Road andTurnbulls Road.

Only one lanewould be available for themovement of vehicles inthis area. Other movement

in the area would remainunchanged. The public arerequested to co-operate,the release added.

-Agencies

Traffic Changes in Perambur

The Chennai Corporation will present its budgetr the year 2009-10 on Feb 21 according to Mayor Mubramaniam.

Presenting the mobile toiletsand other modern vehiclesfor garbage clearing at theVehicle Depot he said theBudget with lot of peoplefriendly proposals would bepresented to the council onFeb.21 and the debatewould take place on Feb. 23and subsequently councilapproval would be sought.The budgetary prosals of thelast year have been utilised tothe maximum providing anumber of facilities as

mmitted in the budget and this year also proposalsve been made to benefit the people of Chennai.

Corporation budgeton Feb. 21

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National

ew Delhi, Feb. 10Former Pr ime

i n i s t e r A ta l B i ha r i

a j p a y e e , w h o i sndergoing treatment atIMS, was on Tuesdayowing signs of recovery

s the condition of hisngs improved.

"He is alright. Hemaking progress," head c a r d i a c t h o r a c i c

a s c u l a r s c i e n c e s

department of AIIMSSampath Kumar said.

K u m a r s a i d

Vajpayee's lungs arei m p r o v i n g a n doxygenation (amount ofoxygen in blood purifiedby the lungs) level isbetter.

Sources at theAIIMS say he is likely tobe taken off the ventilatorsoon.

Kumar said thatthe former PM's heart,kidney, liver and blood

pressure were normal.The 84-year-oldleader was admitted tothe hospital on February3 with complaints of feverand chest congestion.Doctors later found thathe was suffering frompneumonia.

- Agencies

Vajpayee improving, to beoff ventilator soon

angalo re, Feb. 10 :

India plans tovelop a space vehicleat can carry up to threetronauts in the seven-

ay manned mission topace, Indian Spaceesearch Organisationhairman G Madhavanair said on Monday.

" C o n c e p t i stting evolved", Nair, alsoe c r e t a r y i n t h eepartment of Space, saidh i le address ing anernational seminar here.

ISRO is looking ateveloping a capsulepacecraft) with service

o d u l e w h i c h c a nc c o m m o d a t e t h r e etronauts and take it to

lower earth orbit using

the indigenous GSLV( G e o - S y n c h r o n o u sLaunch Vehicle) in theyear 2015, he said.

M i s s i o nduration is seven days.There would also beemergency mission aborta n d c r e w r e s c u eprovisions in case ofnecessity. Crew modulewould be designed for re-entry and service modulefor mission management,Nair said.

He said theGSLV-Mk III, which canlaunch four tonne class

satellites, would bringdown the launch cost byhalf. The maiden flight of

GSLV-Mk III is slated for

next year.On the recentChandrayaan-1 moonmiss ion , Na i r sa idinstruments on boardh a v e t h r o w n u pvoluminous data whichwould take a few yearsfor scientists to analyseand come out withconcrete results.

Entire mappingof the lunar surface isexpected to be carriedout in a year's time, hesaid, adding, there is notrace of water on moon sofar.

- Agencies

India to develop spacecraftwhich can carry 3 astronauts

New Delhi, Feb. 10 : Former Delhi

High Court Chief JusticeRajinder Sachar, whoheaded a panel to lookinto the condition ofminorities, on Monday

said the right to adoption,which has no legalsanctity under Muslimpersonal law, should notbe linked to religion butlooked at from a humanangle.

"In my view,right of adoption shouldnot be associated withreligion. If the issue isdiscussed in respect ofreligion, it may createproblems. Adoption is ahuman need of childless

couples," Sachar said ata seminar at Jamia MilliaIslamia on adoption laws,minorities and currentc h a l l e n g e s . H eadvocated an enablinglegislation that will allow

anybody the right toadopt a child. But this laws h o u l d n o t b ecompulsory, he added.

The seminar,organised by Centre forDalit and Minority Studiesof Jamia Millia Islamiaand Delhi-based Centref o r W o m e n ' sDevelopment Studies, isaimed at arriving at acommon approach toresolve the issue ofa d o p t i o n a m o n g

minorities.T h e M u s l i m

Personal Law does notallow legal adoption,saying it is contrary toSharia. The Guardianshipand Ward Act that governs

a d o p t i o n i s s u e s o fminorities, only allowsguardianship of the childand does not ensureproperty rights.

Speaking at theseminar, Jamia Vice-Chance l lo r Mush i ru lHasan sa id secu la rlegislations should be the"overriding factor" ingoverning the society in acountry as diverse andpluralistic as in India.

- Agencies

Right to adoption should not belinked to religion: Sachar

Hyderabad: Feb. 10

Under fire forallegedly going soft onthe Satyam scam probe,A n d h r a P r a d e s hgovernment on Mondaydecided to order a CBIinvestigation into the Rs7,000-crore accounting

fraud in the softwarecompany.Chief Minister Y

S Rajasekhara Reddysent a letter to PrimeMinis ter ManmohanSingh recommendingthat the investigation intothe fraud be taken overby CBI more than amonth after the scamcame to light.

The letter byReddy comes on a daywhen opposition leader NChandrababu Naidu

launched a vitriolic attackon the Chief Ministeraccusing his Congressgovernment of failing to

h a n d o v e r t h einvestigation to CBI.Naidu said the CBIshould take over theprobe as the matterinvolved several aspectsi nc l ud i ng ov e rs easoperations of SatyamComputer Services.

T h e s t a t egovernment had earlierordered a probe by stateCB-CID, but the fraudinvolved various aspectsthat needs to be looked atdeeply by various centralg o v e r n m e n to r g a n i z a t i o n s l i k eEnforcement Directorate,S e r i o u s F r a u dInvest igat ion Off icewhich warranted CBIprobe, Reddy said in theletter.

I t w ou l d be

appropriate if CBI takesover the investigation intoSatyam scam so that co-ordination with variousinvestigation agencies,i nc l ud i ng Sa t y am 'soverseas operations, canbe better achieved,Reddy said adding, Irequest you to kindlyconsider the matter at theea r l i e s t and i s s uesuitable instructions tothe concerned officers.

T h e C h i e fM i n i s t e r s a i d t h einvestigation into the fraudhas so far revealedembellishment of bankaccounts by the companyfor many years. Theinflated figures in currentaccount balance is testified

b y c o n c e r n e d b a n kofficials. In addition, thecompany has ra isedmoney from NBFCs bypledging shares.

More than 300companies were reportedlyraised by Ramalinga Rajuand his re lat ives asdirectors which facilitatedinsider trading of shares.The inves t iga t ion i scontinuing, Reddy said.

The company hasemployed more than5 0 , 0 0 0 s o f t w a r e

professionals and lakhs ofshareholders and the stategovernment was trying toprotect their interests, hesaid. Earlier on January 28,the Chief Minister hadwritten a letter to the PrimeM i n i s t e r s a y i n g h i sgovernment was open to aCBI probe into the Satyamfraud.

- Agencies

Andhra government decides to gofor CBI probe into Satyam

ew Delhi, Feb. 10Justice Kuldeep

ngh, a former chairman t h e D e l i m i t a t i o n

ommission, has written tonion Law Minister H Rhardwaj refuting that hed been marginalized byh i e f E l e c t i o no m m i s s i o n e r Nopalaswami.

Gopa laswami ,ver directly or indirectlyarginalized me or evened to do so. During thetire term I did not feelen for a moment that

nyone, leave as ideopalaswami, ever tried toa r g i n a l i z e m e .o p a l a s w a m i h a sr o u g h o u t b e e n

e a s o n a b l e a n doperative. Even thententious issues werescussed, reasoned andmicably decided. Themmission worked as aam to achieve thegantic task, Singh said ins letter dated February 5.

S o o n a f t e r

G o p a l a s w a m ir e c o m m e n d e d t h eremoval of his colleagueN a v e e n C h a w l a ,Bhardwaj held a pressconference alleging thatthe CEC was acting like apolitical boss. The lawminister said the CEC didnot have the power to suom o t u r e c o m m e n dChawla's removal.

H e a l s oq u e s t i o n e dGopalaswami's role int h e D e l i m i t a t i o nCommission, allegingthat the then chairman ofthe panel had beenmarginalized by theCEC.

I was upset. Hehad marginalized JusticeKuldip Singh. But we didnot make an issue out ofit. But now when theelection is round thecorner, he, instead ofconducting elections, isp o l i t i c i z i n g t h einsti tut ion, the lawminister was quoted as

saying in newspapers ofFebruary 3.

Singh, however,said: A cursory look atthe elaborate statutoryprocedure and themethodology adopted bythe commission wouldshow that it is not at allpossible for a singlem e m b e r o f t h ec o m m i s s i o n t omarginalise the others,especially when the Actprovides that in case ofdifference among thethree members, themajority prevails. Duringthe six years tenure,there has never been awhisper against thecommiss ion in th i srespect. None of themembers ever actedadversely to me or tried tomarginalize me in theperformance of myc o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n dstatutory duties. Soimpressed was Singhw i t h t h e w o r k o fGopalaswami that he had

Justice Singh trashes Lawminister's claim

written to the then ChiefElection Commissioner,B B Tandon, way back inJune 16, 2006, to let himc o n t i n u e w i t h t h edelimitation work despitehis elevation as the CEC.

T h e

delimitation work is likelyto be completed byMarch 31, 2007, and hisassociation with us willensure continuity andtimely progress, Singhhad then stated.

- Agencies

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Washington , Feb 10:In a stern warning

Pakistan, US President

arack Obama on Mondays s e r t e d t h a t h i sdministration would notow "safe havens" for ala e d a a n d T a l i b a nrrorists operating with

mpunity" in tribal areasordering Afghanistan.

T h i s i s t h eessage his special envoyi c h a r d H o l b r o o k e ,rrently in Islamabad, has

een asked to deliver toakistan, Obama said.

"My bottom line isat we cannot allow alaeda to operate. Wennot have those safe

avens in that region,"bama said in his firstess conference aftersuming office on January

0."You've got the

aliban and al Qaedaperating in the Federally-dministered Tribal AreasATA) and these bordere g i o n s b e t w e e n

A f g h a n i s t a n a n dPakistan," Obama said.

The 47-year-oldPresident said one of thegoals of Holbrooke, as heis travelling throughoutthe region, is to deliver amessage to Pakistan thatthey are "endangered as

much as we are bythe continuation ofthose operations,and that we've got towork in a regionalfashion to root outthose safe havens."

Obama, whotook questions on thesituation in Pakistan,Afghanistan and Iranin his hour-long newsconference, said the

US has not seenconcerted efforts todes t r oy such ' sa f ehavens'.

" W h a t w ehaven't seen is the kind ofconcerted effort to rootout those safe havensthat would ultimatelym a k e o u r m i s s i o nsuccessful," he said.

"We're going tohave to work both smartlyand effectively, but withconsistency in order tomake sure that those safehavens don't exist," hesaid.

T h e n e w

administration is carryingout a thorough review ofthe US pol ic ies onA f g h a n i s t a n a n dPakistan.

Obama said heappointed Holbrooke asS p e c i a l U S

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e f o rPakistan and Afghanistanwith the purpose oferadicating terrorismfrom the restive tribalareas.

Holbrooke iscurrently in Pakistan fromwhere he would be goingto Afghanistan and thento India, for meeting andconsul t ing wi th theleaders and people in theregion.

"I've sent over --Richard Holbrooke, oneof our top diplomats -- toevaluate a regionalapproach. We are going

to need more effectivecoordinat ion of ourmi l i tary efforts withdiplomatic efforts withdevelopment efforts withm o r e e f f e c t i v ecoordination with ourallies in order for us to besuccessful," Obama said.

When asked ifhe had any timetable forwithdrawal of troops fromAfghanistan, Obamasaid: "I do not have yet atimetable for how longthat's going to take. WhatI know is I'm not going tomake -- I'm not going toallow al Qaeda or OsamaBin Laden to operate with

i m p u n i t y , p l a n n i n gat tacks on the UShomeland."

- Agencies

US won't allow safe havens forterrorists in Pak: Obama

Washington Feb.10P r e s i d e n t

Barack Obama said onM o n d a y t h e c r i s i sgr ipping the Uni tedStates is the "winter ofour hardship" as hepounded home the needfor Congress to set aside

petty differences andpass an $800-plus billionstimulus fund to fight aneconomic collapse notseen in 80 years.

I n o p e n i n gremarks at his first newsconference as president,Obama again spoke of

the dire state of theAmerican economy andfinancial system andpushed Congress to act.

"The federalgovernment is the onlyent i ty lef t w i th theresources to jolt oureconomy back to life," hesaid, adding that failure toact "could turn a crisisinto a catastrophe."

O b a m adeclared that bringingpoliticians of both partiesbehind the task of savingthe economy was "thetest facing the UnitedStates of America in thiswinter of our hardship,and it is our duty asleaders and citizens tostay true to that purposein the weeks and monthsahead."

Acknowledgingthat no one knew withcertainty how to solve theeconomic crisis, Obamasaid he could say "withcomplete confidence that

a failure to act will onlydeepen this crisis."H e h a s n o

crystal ball, he said, but "ifwe get things right,wecan begin seeing someimprovement next year."

The presidentspoke in a nationallytelevised question-and-answer session with

reporters.W h e n t h e

stimulus bill passed theH o u s e o fRepresentatives, not asingle Republican votedfor it. On Monday an $838billion version of thelegislation cleared acrucial test vote in theSenate by a 61-36margin, with all but threeRepublican senatorsopposing it.

Having so farbeen unable to undo thepartisan snarl that hasriven Washington for at

l e a s t t w od e c a d e s ,Obama said:

"I amthe eternalopt imist . Ith ink that ,over t ime,p e o p l e

respond tocivility and -and rationalargument. ...t h a t ' s t h ek i n d o f

leadership I'm going to tryto provide."

R e j e c t i n gRepublican criticism,Obama said 90 percent ofthe jobs created by theplan would be in theprivate sector, rebuildingcrumbling roads, bridgesa n d o t h e r a g i n ginfrastructure.

"The plan that

ultimately emerges fromCongress must be bigenough and bold enoughto meet the size of theeconomic challenge weface right now," Obamasaid.

A g a i n a n dagain, he stressed thatthe economy is in direstraits. "This is not yourordinary, run of the millrecession," he said.Obama said the UnitedStates aims to avoid thekind of economic painthat Japan endured in the1990s - the "lost decade"when that nation showed

no economic growth."My bottom line

is to make sure that weare saving or creating 4million jobs," he said, andthat homeowners facingforeclosure receive somerelief.

On a crucialforeign policy issue,Obama said he would belooking for "openings" inthe months ahead thatcould lead to face-to-facetalks with Iran.

The presidentsaid his national securityteam is looking at areas

where the United Statescan "directly engage"with Iran.

He also said,however, that it will nothappen overnight, and "alot of distrust" stands inthe way of improved ties.

He said Iranneeds to understand the

U S v i e w t h a t i t i s"unacceptable" for theIranians to finance terrorgroups, and a nuclear-armed Iran could set off anarms race that woulddestabilize the Middle East.

"My expectation isin the coming months we

will be looking for openingsthat can be created wherewe can be sitting across thetable face to face," Obamasaid.

Obama said theUnited States is sendingsignals that it wants to "dothings differently," and thatit is time for Iran to send thesame signals. nd it's notover," Obama said. Hefaulted the way the first$350 billion of the $700billion bailout program wasd isbursed by fo rmerPresident George W.Bush's administration. "We

didn't get as big of a bangfor the buck as we shouldhave," he said.

H e s a i d t h egovernment would workwith banks to take baddebts off of their books sothey will start making loansagain. He said his goal wast o r e s t o r e m a r k e tconfidence.

Obama said hedid not know whether morebailout money would beneeded and, if so, howmuch that might be.

Amid the urgencycreated by nearly 600,000new unemployed workers

last month and new bankf a i l u r e s , O b a m a ' seconomic prescriptions arecoming under cri t icalscrutiny by both Congressand the American public.

A n e w p o l lshowed 67 percent ofAmericans approve ofObama's efforts on behalfof the stimulus plan, while a3 1 p e r c e n t g i v eRepublicans in Congressan approval rating. TheGallup poll also showed 51percent of Americansagree that passing such abill is critically important.

T h e t w oremaining versions of thelegislation are relativelyclose in size - $838 billion inthe Senate and $819 billionin the House, and aresimilar in many respects.

Obama returnedto the capital for the newsconference from Elkhart,Indiana, where made acampaign-style pitch forthe stimulus plan, havingtraveled Monday to thehard-hit industrial city inhopes of winning supportfor the package that hasbecome his first big testsince taking office.

O b a m aparticipated in a town hall-style meeting in Elkhart andplans to hold another oneTuesday in Fort Myers,Florida, and one Thursdayin Peoria, Illinois. All arecities that are sufferingparticularly hard times.

- Agencies

It's the 'winter of our hardship',Obama tells Americans

ondon , Feb. 10The BBC World

ll be suspending FMdio news service to Sri

anka's state broadcasterom Tuesday due toeliberate interference"

nd censoring of its newsports.

The BBC hasecided to stop providingM radio news to the stateoadcaster Sri Lankanoadcasting Corporation

s many of its news reportsSinhala, Tamil and

nglish had been blockedonly partially broadcast.

The BBC noted7 i n s t a n c e s o fterference to BBC Tamilnd eight similar instancesBBC Sinhala broadcasts

etween November 27 andarly January. Sometimeshole current affairse g m e n t s o f B B Cogramming were not

oadcast on SLBC," theBC statement said.

" D e s p i t e t h earnings, last week thereere several fur therstances of interference toBC programming in allree languages beingoadcast on SLBC."

T h e S L B C

C h a i r m a n H u d s o nS a m a r a s i n g h ereportedly admi t tedc e n s o r i n g B B Cprogramming, saying hehad a duty to do so at atime when Sri Lanka is atwar. Sri Lankan forcesare engaged in a bitter

battle with the LTTE.Samarasinghe

told the BBC that SriLanka faced "terroristattacks" and the mediahad a role to try to"restore peace andharmony".

"Some foreignnews centres createdfabricated news itemsabout Sri Lanka," he said.Asked if that included theB B C , h e s a i d ,"Definitely."

The BBC says itwill maintain its servicesin Sinhala, Tamil andEnglish on short wave

radio and online. BBCnews reports in Englishare to continue on the SriLankan commercial radiobroadcaster, MBC.

The BBC movefollows allegations thatpress freedoms arebeing eroded in Sri Lankaas fighting intensifies

between troops andTamil Tiger rebels.

The BBC said ithad expressed i t sconcern directly to SLBCChairman in a series ofletters and meetings inDecember and January.

T h e B B C

made it clear to SLBCthat such interferenceand blocking meant thatBBC programming wasb e i n g e d i t o r i a l l ycompromised by SLBC'sactions and this wascontrary to the BBC'scontractual agreementwith SLBC," the BBCstatement added.

B B C W o r l dService director NigelChapman expresseddismay, but said he wasprepared to have furtherdiscussions to resolvethe issue.

T h e S L B C

C h a i r m a nSamarasinghe promisedto "investigate anys p e c i f i c d e t a i l e dcomplaint SLBC mayhave about BBC output.So far, no specificcomplaint has beenraised".

Samarsinghe

BBC suspends news toSri Lanka's state broadcaster

said the SLBC was notallowed to broadcast thevoice of rebel leaderVelupillai Prabhakaran -something the BBC hadtried to do on rebel" h e r o e s d a y " o n

November 27.The SLBC isthe national broadcastingcorporation, the voice ofSri Lanka. When theyb r o a d c a s tPrabhakaran's voice - atthat time I cut off theprogramme."

- Agencies

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OTS

SPRTSSP RSPORTS

SPORTS

ew Delhi , Feb. 10India`s cricketiefs on Monday named

washbuckling openerrender Sehwag theuntry`s player of the year

r 2007-2008.Sehwag, 30, will

ceive the Polly Umrigarward, named after armer India captain, at anction organised by theoard of Control for CricketIndia (BCCI) in Mumbai February 18.

S e h w a gominated Indian battingnce his return to the Testde on the 2007-08 tour ofustral ia after beingerlooked for the awayries against Bangladesh

and England and thehome matches againstPakistan.

In 2008, theopening batsman scored1,462 runs in 14 Tests at

an averageof 56.23,including abl is ter ingt r i p l e -c e n t u r ya g a i n s tS o u t hAf r i ca inChennai.

S e h wa g w a salso part ofI n d i a ` sWorld Cup-w i n n i n g

Twenty20 squad in SouthAfrica in September,2007.

C h e t e s h w a rPujara, a 21-year-oldfrom Saurashtra, wasnamed the best batsmanin domestic cricket forscoring 807 runs at anaverage of 73.36 runs inthe country`s premierfirst-class tournament forthe Ranji Trophy.

Uttar Pradeshseamer Sudeep Tyagi,who picked up 41 wickets

at 21.63 in the RanjiTrophy, was named thebest bowler in domesticcricket.

Former Tes tba tsman GundappaViswanath will receivethe C.K. Nayudu award,n a m e d a f t e r t h elegendary India captain,f o r h i s l i f e t i m econtribution to the game.The stylish middle-orderbatsman, who scored aTest century on debutagainst Australia in 1969,has served as India`schairman of selectors in

the past.I n d i a s t a r s

Mahendra Singh Dhoniand Harbhajan Singh,r e c i p i e n t s o f t h ecountry`s fourth-highestcivi l ian awards, thePadma Shri, last month,will also receive specialawards from the BCCI.Dhoni led India to victoryin the World Twenty20championships, whileHarbhajan surpassed300 wickets during thehome series againstAustralia last October-

November. - Agencies

Virender Sehwag namedIndia's player of the year

Dubai, Feb. 10 : Former India

skipper Anjum Chopra joined Australia captainKaren Rolton and herEngland counterpartCharlotte Edwards whowill all represent their

respective countries inthe fourth successive ICCWomen`s World Cup inDown Under from March7-22.

All the eight

countries, including Indiawho will play under theleadership of JhulanGoswami and defendingchampions Australia,have f inal ised theirsquads for the WorldCup, ICC said in astatement on Monday.

R o l t o n ,Edwards and Chopramade their World Cupdebuts in India in 1997and since then have beenthe f lag-bearers forwomen`s cricket.

Only 11 otherc r i c k e t e r s h a v ed i s t i n c t i o n o fr e p r e s e n t i n g t h e i rcountries in four or more

World Cups with DebbieHockley of New Zealand(1982, 1988, 1993, 1997a n d 2 0 0 0 ) a n dEnglishwoman ClareTaylor (1988, 1993,1997, 2000 and 2005)holding the record of

playing in five

straight WorldCups.

Chopra, whomade her ODIdebut againstNew Zealand in1995 at the age of1 7 , h a sr e p r e s e n t e dIndia in 109 ODIsand has scored2 , 5 4 2 r u n s ,inc luding 455

from 19 World Cup ties.Ro l ton , who

was the ICC Women`sPlayer of the Year in2006, has played 131

ODIs, including 22 WorldCup matches. She is just349 runs shor t o fleapfrogging compatriotBelinda Clark (4,844) tob e c o m e t h e m o s tsuccessful batswoman.

E n g l a n dcaptain Edwards hasp l a y e d 1 1 7 O D I sincluding 16 ODIs inWorld Cups. With 3,520i n te rna t i ona l r uns ,including 802 in Worldcups, she is fourth mosts uc c es s fu l ba t t e r sbehind Clark, Rolton andHockley (4,064).

"My suggestionto the players would be toenjoy this opportunity asonly the World Cupprovides you the chanceto play against all thebest teams in the world."

"The playersalso need to realise thatthis World Cup willprovide them a uniqueexperience with it beingthe first to be stagedu n d e r t h e I C C ` sauspices," said Hockley,who has played a record45 World Cup matches.

F o r t h ePakistan women, it will

be their first experienceat the most prizedtournament in women`scricket.

T h e t e a m shave been divided intotwo groups as Australia,New Zealand, the WestIndies and South Africaare in Group A whileIndia, England, Sri Lankaand Pakistan are inGroup B.

The top threesides in each group goforward to the Super Sixstage where each sideplays the teams which

have qualified from theother group. The top twosides from the Super Sixwill clash in the final atNorth Sydney Oval, therelease said.Squads:India: Jhulan Goswami(cap), Amita Sharma (v-c a p ) , A n a g h a

D e s h p a n d e , A n j u mChopra, Gouher Sultana,Harpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj,Poonam Raut, PriyankaRoy, Reema Malhotra,Rumeli Dhar, SnehalPradhan, Sravanthi Naidu,Sulakshana Naik, ThirushKamini.

Australia: Karen Rolton(cap), Alex Blackwell (v-cap), Sarah Andrews,Jessica Cameron, LeonieColeman, Lauren Ebsary,Rene Farrell, Jodie Fields,Delissa Kimmince, ShelleyNitschke, Erin Osborne,Ellyse Perry, Leah Poulton,Emma Sampson, LisaSthalekar.E n g l a n d : C h a r l o t t eEdwards (cap), CarolineAtkins, Katherine Brunt,H o l l y C o l v i n , L y d i aG r e e n w a y , L a u r e nGriffiths, Isa Guha, JennyGunn, Laura Marsh, Beth

Morgan, Ebony-JewelRainford-Brent, NicolaShaw, Anya Shrubsole,Claire Taylor, Sarah Taylor.New Zealand: HaideeTiffen (cap), Aimee Mason(v-cap), Suzie Bates,Nicola Browne, AbbyBurrows, Sophie Devine,L u c y D o o l a n , S a r aMcGlashan, Beth McNeill,Katey Martin, RachelPriest, Kate Pulford, AmySat te r thwa i te , SarahTsukigawa.Pakistan: Urooj Mumtaz(cap), Sana Mir (v-cap),Almas Akram, AsmaviaIqbal , Armaan Khan,

Batool Fatima, BismahMaroof, Javeria Khan, NainAbidi, Nahida Khan, NailaNazir, Qanita Jalil, SajjidaShah, Sania Khan, SukhanFaiz.South Africa: SunetteLoubser (cap), Alicia Smith(v-c), Susan Benade, Cri-Zelda Brits, Trisha Chetty,Mignon du Preez, ShandreFritz, Shabnin Ismail,Ashlyn Kilowan, MarciaL e t s o a l o , K i r s t i eThompson, Charlize vander Westhuizen, Yolandivan der Westhuizen, Danev an N i ek e rk , C l a i r eTerblanche.Sri Lanka: ShashikalaS i r i w a r d e n a ( c a p ) ,Chamani Seneviratne (v-c), Suwini de Alwis, HirukaFernando, Rose Fernando,I n o k a G a l a g e d a r a ,Gayathri Kariyawasam,Eshani Lokusooriya, DilaniM a n o d a r a , C h a m a r iPolgampola, UdeshikaP r a b o d a n i , D e e p i k aRasangika, Dedunu deSilva, Sripali Weerakkody,Chandi Wickremasinghe.West Indies: MerissaAguilleira (cap), KirbyinaAlexander (v-c), ShanelDaley, Deandra Dottin, Afy

F l e t c h e r , G e n e i l l eGreaves, Cordel Jack,Stacy-Ann King, PamelaLavine, Anisa Mohammed,Juliana Nero, ShakeraSelman, Danielle Small,Charlene Taitt, StefanieTaylor.

- Agencies

Anjum Chopra to play infourth successive World Cup

handigarh, Feb. 10:Holland asserted

eir superiority scrapingst India in the final to

merge champions in the

ur-nation Punjab Goldup Hockey Tournament ate Sector 42 hockeyadium here Mondayght. The hosts, whouffed up a couple ofucial chances in thecond half, had to settler the runners-up slot.

Surprisingly, theght of Holland, the best

am in the competition,e e m e d t o e n t h u s edians. In the previous twoccessive games in the

e c o n d l e g a g a i n s te r m a n y a n d N e wealand, the Indiansoked like going throughotions, at times, theyoked disjointed, even

jaded.I n s h a r p

contrast, the previoustwo games againstHolland (in the first leg

and in the second)saw the Indiansdish out impressivefare. Same was thecase today as thehosts again raised

their game by acouple of notches,though this timethey finished on thelosing side.

Sandeep Singh( 4 4 t h m i n u t e ,

penalty stroke), RobbertKemperman (46th) andJeroen Hertzberger(68th minute) werescorers as the Europeanpowerhouse proved thatthey were the superiorside.

I t w e re t hehosts who first raided therival citadel, forcing theirfirst penalty corner in the6 t h m i n u t e . J a a pStockmann, Hol landcustodian, rose to theoccasion, clearing theball twice - first offSandeeps stick and thenoff Rajpal who tried tos h o o t h o m e o f f a

rebound.The hosts were

all over again as TusharKhandekar made a forayand gave a pass toShivender inside thedanger area, who wasunlucky not to connect.

Holland forcedtheir first penalty cornerin the 21st minute, which

was foiled when a full-blooded stroke wasblocked first by VikramPillay, then by the Indiancustodian Baljit Singh offthe second attempt,while the rival forwardshot wide in the thirdattempt.

The v i s i to rsthen threatened theIndians when RobbertKemperman made a solorun and gave a crisppass, which an on-rushing Hertzbergermissed. At the half timethe score was 0-0.

Nine minutesinto the second half, Indiagot a penalty stroke whenShivender, right in front ofthe rival goalpost and setto launch into a shot, waspushed. He fumbled andfell to the ground. SkipperSandeep did not make

Dutch squeeze past India for titlea n y m i s t a k e i nconverting the penaltystroke as India gained 1-0 lead.

Not to be leftbehind, Kempermansounded the boardimmeditely after twominutes to restore parity(1-1).

Desperate to

snatch the lead again,India forced successivepenalty corners in 53rdand 55th minutes butfailed to convert.

Holland wove adangerous move, buttimely clearence byPrabodh Tirkey avertedthe danger. Tushar wasin the thick of action thistime, but due to lack ofproper finish, the movewas wasted.

H e r t z b e r g e rproved why he was sodangerous when hestruck home off a penalty

corner just two minutesbefore t ime as thevisitors emerged thedeserving winners.He was adjudged Man ofthe Tournament for histally of six goals.

- Agencies

Times Chennai E-Paper Feb. 10, 2009Page 6

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BusinessBusiness

angalo re, Feb. 10As ia 's largest

ennial air show beginsre on Wednesday withernational defence androspace companieseking to raise the salesch, pursuing multi-billiono l l a r c o n t r a c tportunities in India.e five-day Aero India09, held at Indian Airrce station Yelahanka,

ould see participation of2 companies from 25

o u n t r i e s - - 3 0 3ternational and 289dian.

Significantly, therticipation of domestichibitors has steadilyown from 66 in itsaugural show to 289 inis seventh edi t ion,counting for nearly halfe total exhibitor strength.

For the first time,hina would participate ine show with a 10-ember delegation, led bye Deputy Chief of

hinese Air Force.

M a j o rrticipating countriesclude the U.S., Russia,e U.K., Germany andael.

The show aims atnging exhibitors from

across the globe underone roof to showcase thebest in aviation sector.Aero India includes bothflight and static displaysof a wide range of civiland military aircraft fromleading manufacturers,vendors and supplies.

The Aero India2009 would showcasethe latest in the field ofmilitary and civil aircrafts,vital components foraircraft engines, avionicssystems & sub systems,airfield radars and newage technologies used inthe defence sector.

A number offo re ign and Ind ianaircraft including F-16, F-1 8 , M i G - 3 5 D ,Eurofighter, IJT, Dhruv,Hawk, C-17, Embraer135 business jet Legacy600, C-130J, CitationXLS,G 550, AN-12 Cargoand A-310 MRTT, wouldbe on display at theshow, organised by theDefence Ministry and

m a n a g e d b y t h eConfederation of IndianIndustry (CII).

BAE Systems'new Mantis autonomousunmanned aerial vehicleis making international

debut in this event.D e f e n c e

Ministers from France,Peru, Bolivia, Surinam,Mongolia, Oman andMaldives would beattending the showbes i des h i gh - l ev e ldelegat ion f rom 40countries.

New Delhi iscurrently looking toprocure various defenceitems from global market,including 126 combata i r c r a f t , 1 9 7 l i g h th e l i c o p t e r s ,reconnaissance aircraftand c hoppe rs andvarious types of artillerysys tems va lued a tbillions of dollars for itsthree services.

D e f e n c eMinister A.K. Antony saidon Tuesday the currenteconomic slowdownwould not affect them o d e r n i s a t i o nprogramme of armedforces, and also spoke ofG o v e r n m e n t ' s

wil l ingness to raisespendings on defenceR e s e a r c h &Development work.

- Agencies

Asia's biggest air show begins in

Bangalore tomorrow

New Delhi, Feb. 10A i r l i n e s

i n c l u d i n g l o w - c o s tcarriers have withdrawnall promotional fares andincreased basic fares byaround Rs 2,000 onseveral sectors fromTuesday.

The decisionwas taken as operators

were faced with low load

factors, though basicpromotional fares hadbeen as low as Rs 99 onmany routes, industrysources said.

" W e h a v ed i s c o n t i n u e d o u rpromotional fares as theresponse has not beenvery good, but peoplewho have already bought

tickets under the scheme

will enjoy the benefit," saidan Air India spokespersonhere.

T h espokesperson of privatecarrier Kingfisher Airlinessaid: "We have closed lowfare buckets and areconcentrating on settinghigher fare buckets. Ourfocus is on revenue and not

seat factors." - Agencies

Airlines raise fares by at least Rs 2,000

New Delhi, Feb. 10 :The Petroleum

Ministry has soughtadditional oil bonds worthabout Rs 13,000 crore tocover the revenue loss onfuel sale in the fourthquarter of the currentfiscal.

T h e

Government has for thef i rs t three quarterssanctioned oil bondsworth Rs 60,967 crore toI nd i an O i l , Bha ra tP e t r o l e u m a n dHindustan Petroleum tomake the good revenue

loss on sale of petrol,diesel, domestic LPGand kerosene.

"Of these, so farRs 50,980 crore worth ofbonds have been issuedand the rest will be issueda f t e r P a r l i a m e n tapproves them nextweek," a Petroleum

Ministry official said.For the fiscal

2008 -09 , t he t o t a lrevenue loss on sellingthe four products belowcost has been estimatedat Rs 105,860 crore. Ofthis, Rs 32,000 crore has

been met by upstreamcompanies like ONGC byway of discounts on crudeoil it sells to the three fuelretailers.

"To cover theremaining (loss), we havewritten to the FinanceM i n i s t r y f o r i s s u i ngadditional bonds worth

about Rs 13,000 crore," theofficial said.Oil bonds for the fourthquarter will be issued in Q1of the next fiscal afteractual accounting forac tua l revenue lossfigures.

- Agencies

Petroleum Ministry asks forextra oil bonds of Rs 13,000 cr

New Delhi, Feb. 10 :Owing to the

g l o b a l m e l t d o w n ,railways may fail to meetthe target in freight trafficin the current financialyear.

Railways havefailed to achieve thetarget upto December2008 and has been ableto manage only 606.75mil l ion tonnes (MT)loading against the targetof 627.85 MT uptoDecember 2008, thusfalling short of 21.10 MT.The total goods earningsupto December is Rs37,898.52 crores againstthe budget projection ofRs 38,356.32 crores,thereby leaving a gap of

Rs 457.80 crores.

H o w e v e r ,Ind ian Ra i lways i shopeful of meeting thetarget at the end of thecurrent fiscal.

There may beshortfall in meeting thetarget volume but are weare sure of meeting thetarget of freight earningsin the current fiscal, saida senior Railway Ministryofficial.

Railways hadset the target of 850mil l ion tonnes (MT)freight traffic for thecurrent fiscal ending inMarch 2009. Railwayshad created a record byexceeding the freighttarget in the last fiscal.

The total freight

loading was 794 MT in

2008-09 against the targetof 790 MT.

"The shortfall inloading in the third quarterof 2008-09 was due to theg l oba l s l ow dow n i neconomy. But we havetaken certain steps toincrease loading and arehopeful of meeting thebudget projection by theend of the current financialyear," said the official.

H o w e v e r ,r a i l w ay s ' pas s enge rearnings have shown arobust growth. The publicbehemoth has earned Rs16,166.43 crores uptoDecember 2008 as againstthe target of Rs 15,957.07crores.

- Agencies

Railways may fall short of freight target

umbai , Feb 10:A t l e a s t 6 0 0

ores and warehouses of

tail chain Subhiksha,hich is struggling to payages, were ransackeder the past week, anficial said, as a slowingconomy and r i s ingemployment strain theuntry.

S u b h i k s h aading Services, which

perates about 1,600scount stores across theuntry, ran out of cash lastctober, and has beenuggling to pay wages,ntals and its suppliers, its

under R. Subramanianid."The properties

ve become vulnerablergets," he said. "We areking all steps to protectr assets. It is really sad

at we have been unableprevent this so far."

Over the lastfew days, Subhikshastores in several parts of

the country have beend a m a g e d a n dwarehouses loo tedbecause the companyhas been unable to payits employees and thesecurity agency thatprovides protection, hesaid.

T h eperpetrators could be"disgruntled vendors,employees or anti-sociale l e m e n t s t a k i n ga d v a n t a g e o f t h esituation", he said,

adding in some caseseven owners of the realestate the company useshave broken locks andtaken away assets.

Chennai-basedS u b h i k s h a , w h i c hl a u n c h e d i t s f i r s tdiscount grocery store in

1997, was considered apioneer in India's highlyf r a g m e n t e d r e t a i l

i n d u s t r y w h i c h i sestimated at more than$350 billion worth ofa n n u a l s a l e s a n dforecast to nearly doubleby 2015.

R a p i deconomic growth andr is ing midd le -c lassi n c o m e s h a dencouraged a boom inthe industry, with largeconglomerates includingReliance Industries, theTata Group and BhartiEnterprises setting up

shop and hiring tens ofthousands. The industryhas also drawn globalheavyweights includingWal-Mart Stores Inc,Tesco, Marks & Spencerand Metro AG in thecash-and-carry segment.

S u b h i k s h a ,

At least 600 Subhiksha shops,warehouses looted in Mumbai

New Delhi, Feb. 10 :P e r s o n a l

computer sales duringthe first half of the currentfiscal (April-September)saw a modest 12 per centgrowth over the sameperiod a year ago,touching 3.69 millionunits.

H o w e v e r ,

compared w i th thesecond half (October-March) of the last fiscal,number of computerssold in the first half of thec u r r e n t f i s c a l h a sdeclined by nine per centin terms of unit.

In the October2007-March 2008 period,

the number of personalcomputers sold were fourmillion units.

Announcing thefigure, industry associationMAIT on Tuesday said int h e c u r r e n t m a c r o -economic conditions andthe Conservative buyingsent iments, personalc om pu te r s a l es a re

expected to remain flat atthe same level as in the lastf i s c a l a t 7 . 3

million units."We expect a flat market forPCs for 2008-09," VinnieMehta MAIT ExecutiveDirector said.

- Agencies

PC sales in first half ofFY'09 grow 12 pc

which had more than15 ,000 emp loyees,expanded quickly onborrowed cash with itsplans to raise moneyfrom the stock marketlast year shelved by avolatile market.

As the creditcrunch bit, banks alsobecame wary of lending."Operations are at nears ta n d s t i l l . We a re

working with the financialstakeholders -- lendersand investors -- to injectliquidity and get thecompany back on track,"Subramanian said.

- Agencies

8/14/2019 Epaper Feb. 10

8/8

Times Chennai E-Paper Feb. 10, 2009Page 8

Owned Edited and Published by S. Raghunathan Editorial and AdvertisementOffice: F 5 and 6 1st Floor, Leo Complex, New No: 41, Madley Road, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017. Ph: 42867771, 42697393

M edleyedleyThe Valentine

eek's celebrations at Theesidency Towers will beeld from Feb. 12 to 14.xciting programs haveeen planned including aum p tuous m enu t olebrate Valentines Daymake every moment asse tinted as ever.

On Feb. 14, the

L o v e B u f f e t "omplimented perfectlyth the 'Love Songs" byented duo Ashley and

eather at " Main Street "ll be available both fornch and Dinner. This will

e priced attractively at Rs.

7 0 0 / - p e r p e r s o n(inclusive of one selectbeverage voucher) ,Rs.500 for children forthe early birds andRs.800/ - per adu l t(inclusive of one select

bev e rage v ouc he r )Rs.600 for children forthose who want to dinelate into the night.

Alfresco Candlelight dininga t the "CROWN "w i t hc l a s s i clove songsb ykeyboardp l a y e rF r a n c i s ,will createa sugarya n d

melting ambience for youto relax and remember allyour special moments. Intune with the south Indianhospitality " SouthernAromas " will offer a freedesert for every couple

Valentine Week at The Residency Towersdining at this specialtyrestaurant on ValentinesDay.

From Feb. 12 to14 " Bike & Barrel "energize by great musicwill be just the place to bein on Valentines day . "MAMMA MIA" eveningon Feb.12 will have D.JNabrun Ghosh play thesuper hits of ABBA for amemorable KARAOKEev en i ng . R om an t i cremixes will providesynergy to the evening ofFeb. 13 and love songsof the decade and onFeb 14 to take you downmemory lane at Rs. 700/-nett per couple (inclusiveof three select beveragevouchers) Rs. 450/-nettper person (inclusive oftwo select beveragevouchers) . So spend the

e v e n i n g a t T h eResidency Towers onValentines day and feeldelighted

For reservationcall 28156363

At the AniseThe Valent ine

enu has an exot icourmet spread wi thcktails unlimited and aarkling wine shower. The

phrodisiac Buffet, whichcludes a Sangria, Riminid Bellini Bar, is priced at

s. 3,000, all inclusive, forcouple.At the Southern Spice

Relish the Wineaired Celebrations menu

the traditional Southernpice offerings as you stirp the Valentine's spirit

raight from grandma'schens.At the La Patisserie

Get cakes, exotic gateauxd pastries, and crunchyocolates.

A special hamper

for His and Her withminiature liquor bottles,miniature perfumes andcolognes, a bunch ofroses and a heart-shaped cake handcraftedby the master baker. Thehamper is priced at Rs.1,000 nett.

At Fort St. GeorgeIt's party time

with unlimited vodka andcocktai ls by Ci roc.U n w i n d w i t h y o u rValentine as you soak inthe flavour at the FSG,and bite into finger food.

Priced at Rs. 2,500 for acouple, inclusive of alltaxes.

For reserva-tions, call 66002827

Valentine's Day fun at the Taj Coromandel

hennai, Feb. 10 :Milan-2009" a

ational level culturalstival would be organisedthe SRM University from

ebruary 13 to 15, 2009 ate University campus inattankulathur.

This would be thecond edition of theltural fete in which

udents from Colleges ofn g i n e e r i n g a n dechnology, Arts andcience, Medical anda r a m e d i c a l a n danagement and otherofess ional col leges

ould participate andowcase their widepertoire of skills duringe three-day event.

On the openingy on February 13, the

e v e n t w o u l d b einaugurated by thefamous actor PadmashriKamal Hassan in thepresence of ActressTr i sha a t the T PGanesan Auditorium .

Rangoli, Face

Painting and Mehndic o m p e t i t i o ns a n dMusical Nite by BennyDayal would be held from1830 hrs to 2130 hrs afterthe inaugural function.

The second dayevents on February 14included Folk Dances,Variety Show, LightMusic, Street Play,C l a s s i c a l S o l o ,Shipwreck, FashionShow, Photography skillsand Short/AnimationFilm making.

On the final dayon February 15, theevents included WesternM u s i c , A d z a p ,Choreonite.

A t t h eValedictory function the"Sivaji Ganesan award

for individual outstandingt a l e n t " w o u l d b epresented by a filmcelebrity. It may berecalled that last yearMelody Queen Ashabhosle gave way thisaward.

For more infoon this Milan log on toMilan website www.srm-milan.com andto contacte m a i l t osrmuniv.milan@gmail.com

A Milan for the young at heart

Chennai, Feb 10 : As Valentine's

Day-February 14 isnearing, export of rosesfrom India is increasingwith Krishnagiri and HosurDistricts of Tamil Nadu,occupying fourth place inrose production in theworld, emerging winnersin floriculture.

Ta m i l N a d uIndustrial InvestmentCorpora t ion (T I ICO)C h a i r m a n SRamasundharam told thatTITCO and MNA, an NGOfor developing better rosevarieties, had jointlyestablished 125 acre rosep l a n t a t i o n i nAmudhakondapalli, nearHosur where 1.1 croreroses were produced lastyear. This year the targetwas three crore.

' ' W e k e e pintroducing new rosesevery Valentine's Day.This year we are set to

introduce 'Taj Mahal Rose'which has got a hugepopularity in Europe.

''The roses areexported not only toEuropean countries butalso to Japan, England,Australia, Singapore andthe UAE. We have gotorders from Lebanon,too.'' ''The Taj Mahalvariety is sold for Rs 25 toRs 28 per flower.

Next year, weare going to introduceKohinoor Roses for whichw e e x p e c t g o o dr e s p o n s e . ' ' T h i sblossoming business,aided by State and Centralsubsidies, takes placemainly in the countrysides u r r o u n d i n g t h emetropolitan cities ofBangalore, Mumbai andDelhi.

Last year, theacreage of greenhouseshad trebled or evenquadrupled near thesecities.

H o p e s a r erunning high. A 30 per centg r o w t h i s b e i n gmentioned.

The trade isconsidered a goldmineand a panacea for India'seconomic and socialproblems.

The flower tradeis said to create plenty ofe m p l o y m e n t

opportunities. Moreover,the export of cut flowerswould earn a great deal offoreign currency.

But there is otherside to the coin. Theartificial cultivation offlowers in greenhouses issaid to be the mostpolluting agriculturalactivity humanity has evercreated.

The indus t ry

originates from WesternEurope. Holding 60 per centof the world trade in cutflowers, The Netherlands isby far the most importantflower producing country.

During the past twodecades, however, theflower industry has gained afoothold in the Third Worldbut run by developedcountries.

F o r i n s t a n c e ,floriculture in Kenya islargely in the hands offoreign investors, includingt h e B r i t i s h - D u t c hmultinational Unilever.

According to areport,the Indian flowerindus t ry po l lu tes theenvironment.

Though the IndianGovernment spends hugeamounts on subsidies inexport of flowers, the profitsgo to foreign investors.

T h e I n d i a nlabourers do hazardouswork in greenhouses for

moderate wages and withoutany social security.

Though floriculturecreates employment, thereis a need for achieving theright balance between thebenefits and the costs (interms of workers' health).

The sector is alsocapital intensive. An acreneeds an investment of twoto three lakh US Dollar.

Gift your sweetheart aTaj Mahal Rose' this Valentine's Day

Spend qualitytime on the sands withyour valentine and enjoythe day with two romanticd i n i n g o p t i o n s . Acelebration table, somesparkling wine, exoticfood and just the two ofyou! Choose from 'Two

by the Bay' or 'FromWatch Tower Dining tothe beach Cabanas'.

For reserva-tions, call 67413333

Celebrate withyour Valentineon the sands

of Fisherman's Cove