Times Chennai E-Paper March 04, 2009

8/14/2019 Times Chennai E-Paper March 04, 2009

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VOL: 2 ISSUE 49 March 04, 2009

hennai, Mar 4

Tamil Nadu Chief

nister M Karunanidhi

day accused the Chief

l e c t i o n

ommissioner(CEC) and

mil Nadu Chief Electoral

fficer(CEO) of beingased against the Dravida

u n n e t r a

a z h a g a m ( D M K )overnment.

In an epistle to

artymen, Mr Karunanidhi

plained in detail as how

e Election Commission

nd CEO had shown

ndue interest in the

ifting and appointment

three police officers

ring the Thirumangalam

ssembly byelect ion,

ours after opposition

I A D M K l e a d e r J

ayalalithaa complained

bout the police officials.

Making it clear

at his intention was not to

oint an accusing finger

ainst anyone, he was

ointing out as how the

ection Commission and

EO were acting, so that

ere could be a debate for

the benefit of those who

believed in democracy.

He said the

Election Commission,

being an autonomous

body, enjoyed sky-high

powers to appoint or

remove any officers, and

the same could not bequestioned by the State

a n d C e n t r a l

Governments.Apart from this, the

Commission decides

when the elect ions

should be conducted.

H o w e v e r , i t w a s

unfortunate that the CEC

N Gopalaswami had

recommended to the

President, the removal of

Election Commissioner

Navin Chawla, the Chief

Minister said.

He said when

byelection was caused to

the Lok S abha o r

Assembly, it was held

within six months, along

w i t h t h e G e n e r a l

e l ec t i ons t o avo i d

unncessary expenses.

But in case of

T h i r u m a n g a l a m

assembly byelection in

Tamil Nadu, the EC

conducted the by-poll in

a hurried manner for the

reasons best known to it.

W h e n M s

Jayalalithaa made a

demand to transfer some

po l i ce o f f i c i a l s on

December 31 last, theCEC and CEO Naresh

Gupta had vied with each

other in conceding herdemand, he charged.

The same day,

the Election Commission

had directed the State

Government to transfer

the officials and even

insisted that they should

be replaced by officials

s u g g e s t e d b y t h e

C o m m i s s i o n , M r

Karunanidhi said and

wanted to know, who had

given the list of names of

police officials to the

Commission.

The day when

Ms Jayalalithaa made

the demand, Mr Gupta,

contrary to facts, had

alleged that there was

large-scale violence in

the constituency and

remarked that ''even in

Jammu and Kashmir,

elections are held in a

peaceful manner'', Mr

Karunanidhi said. Legal

experts and politicians

should ponder whether

the remarks made by Mr

Gupta were biased or

not and amounted toinfluencing the voters,

the Chief Minister said.

He sa id Mr

Gupta was acting in such

a manner as if ''no one

c a n q u e s t i o n h i s

powers'', though he was

appointed by the Tamil

Nadu Government for a

specific period.

Ever since the

DMK came to power in

May 2006, Mr Gupta had

not called on him even

once on courtesy, the

Chief Minister further

pointed out.

But CECs and

Election Commissioners

do call on President and

Prime Minister after their

appointments and inTamil Nadu also, CEOs

l i k e O z a ,

C h a n d r a c h o o d a n ,

Sarangi and Mathew had

called on Chief Ministers

on many occasions, he

said.

Mr Karunanidhi

said that well before the

Election Commission

announced the schedule

for Lok Sabha elections

and the model code of

conduct came into force,

the State Government had

m a d e s o m e

announcements regarding

t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f

Vanniayar Welfare Board,

but the CEO spoken to

some newspaper offices

and asked them not topublish the report. ''What is

his interest in this,'' the

Chief Minister asked.

Though the acts

o f t h e E l e c t i o n

Commission and officials

were not questionable,

there was no bar to explain

them to the people, he

added.

-Agencies

TN CEO bias against DMK GovtMK accuses CEC


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Times Chennai E-Paper March 04, 2009ge 2

hennai, March 04:The Madras High

ourt has granted twoeeks to t raders atanganathan S t reet ,adley Road and Natesanoad to remove thencroached portion of theiruildings/structures on

eir own.If they failed to do

o , t h e C h e n n a iorporat ion and thehennai Metropoli tanevelopment AuthorityMDA) would demolishe encroached portionsnd collect the cost ofemolition from the owners

o f t h e b u i l d i n g s / structures, the FirstBench comprising ActingCh ie f Jus t i ce S JMukhopadhaya andJustice V Dhanapalansaid here on Tuesday.The Bench was passingan interim order on a

publ ic interest wri tpetition from Traffic K RRamaswamy, seeking tor e m o v e t h eencroachments on thethree streets.

After perusing ajoint report submitted bythe Chennai Corporationand the CMDA, the

Bench said that it wouldallow encroachers tocontact within a week,t h e C h i e f P l a n n e r(Enforcement) Cell of theCMDA, who wouldprovide to the individualencroachers the detailsa b o u t t h e

encroachments made bythem. Thereafter, aperiod of two weekswould be given to theencroachers to removethe encroachments ontheir own.

-Agencies

Two week ultimatum forT Nagar traders

hennai March 04:U n i v e r s i t y o fadras Chancellor andamil Nadu Governor Surjitngh Barnala has askede University of Madras tornish by Wednesday

etails of absorption of 13mporary staff into theniversity rolls by theyndicate of the University.his follows the report titledackdoor entry, courtesy

C published in an Englishaily on February 19.

Barnala askede university to furnishmarks relating to the

appointment of the 13temporary staff, includinga n y o t h e r s i m i l a rappointments, and theirpresent position in theuniversity.

The universityhas also been asked toexplain under whoseauthority the personswere initially appointedand how they were madepermanent, along withsupportive documentaryevidence. Staff membershad pointed out that 13temporary office staff,some of them graduates

and post graduates, hadbeen made permanent.Apparently, they wereover qualified for the job.

A look at the list of theabsorbed staff alsoshowed that nine of the13 temporary staff had joined in 2006, after theVice Chancellor of theUn i ve rs i t y , P ro f SRamachandran, tookcharge.

-Agencies

University asked to furnishappointment details

Chennai, March 04:Around seven

percent of people withdiabetes may potentiallydeve lop pe r i phe ra lvascular diseases wherearteries in their body areblocked leading to aconstriction of blood flow.

If this happensin an artery of the heart orbrain, the person suffersa heart attack or a stroke.But there are chances ofblockage in every arteryof the body leavingpeople vulnerable anduninformed about theconsequences.

Awareness onthe peripheral vasculardiseases and regularcheck-ups, especially forthose with diabetes andh y p e r t e n s i o n a r eessential, said Prof NSekar, senior consultant

vascular surgeon at theApollo Hospital, whileaddressing a gathering

here on Tuesday.A few decades

ago there was no optionf o r p e o p l e w h odeveloped gangrene fori n s t a n c e , e x c e p tamputation.

Even today,between 10 and 20 per

cent of cases we seec a n n o t b e h e l p e dbecause they come toolate, he said.

However, withi m p r o v e m e n t s i nt e c h n o l o g y , o n c ediagnosed, the patientdoes not even need tohave a surgery.

W i t he n d o v a s c u l a rprocedures, the processis minimally invasive anddoes not require a longhospital stay, he said,describing the case of a50-year-old man with a

block in an artery in hisleg. After an angiogram,a n e n d o v a s c u l a r

procedure opened out theblock completely.

Failure rates ofthese procedures, said DrM i c h e l H e n r y , a ninterventional vasculartherapist is only about 5 to10 percent. Surgeryshould only be indicated

for cases such as thesewhen there is a failure ofthe angioplasty. Theproblem is that there areoften no symptoms ofp e r i p h e r a l v a s c u l a rdisease, which is why it isessential to check those ata risk for it very regularly,he said.

Keep walking,stop smoking, is the mottoDr Sekar advocates asstopping tobacco is the firststep to both preventing andtreating these diseases.The longer people havediabetes, the more at risk

they are, he said.

-Agencies

More awareness needed onvascular disease

hennai, March 04Buoyed by the

ccess of the Globalositioning System (GPS)

s t a l l e d i n f e wetropolitan Transportorporation (MTC) buses,e co rpo ra t i on has

cided to expand thecility in more number ofses plying on the arterialn n a S a l a i a n d

oonamallee High Roadsthe city.

B r i e f i n gwspersons at a pressnference about the

erformance of MTC,ebendranath Sarangi,ecretary, Transport, saide GPS services would beade available in 600ses by the end of April.

e said: This will enableore people to use publicansport, and lead to a

reduct ion in t ra f f i ccongestion.

Moreover, hesaid, voice announcerswould be introduced inbuses, wh ich wereinitially installed in 55buses running in 21G and

70 routes, to meet theinternational standards,on par with the IntelligentBus Transport Service.

While notingthat the MTC h asplanned to operate 4,000buses by next year,Sarangi said that all old

buses would be replacedby March 2010. About1,100 new buses will beintroduced in the nextyear, while 1,000 buseswould be taken off theroads in a phasedmanner.

When asked

about the dilapidatedcondition of certain bust e r m i n u s e s , t h eSecretary said that stepswere being initiated togive a face-lift for fiveterminuses such asAmbattur, ForeshoreEstate, Mogappair West,

T i r u v a m i y u r a n dVadapalani. Since mostof the bus depots arerunning out of space, theCorporation has beenengaged in identifyingland for the new depots.

R a m aSubramanian, ManagingDirector of MTC, said thatthe administration is inthe process of identifyingland at Chemmanchery,P a d a p a i a n dMedavakkam.

Sarangi alsosaid that the patronage ofpassengers to MTC has

increased by 25 per cent,where the daily averageof commuters usingbuses in Chennai stoodat 50 lakh passengers perday.

-Agencies

GPS in 600 MTC busesin Chennai soon


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Times Chennai E-Paperarch 04, 2009 Page 3

hennai, Mar 4 :BharatMatrimony.

m, a matrimony portal,as launched 'Facialearch', a 'pathbreaking'ature based on state-of-e-art face recognition

chnology.Members can

ow upload photos of theirng awaited dream personnd the ''Facial Search'' willad them to profiles ofembers with resemblingcial characteristics.

The state-of-the-

art face recognitiontechnology works on thedimensions of a face,measures distancesbetween the features,and matches it withp h o t o s o n

BharatMatrimony.Interest ingly,

one can search from thenew and existing list ofB h a r a t M a t r i m o n ymembers for profiles withthe most sought afterc e l e b r i t i e s f a c i a lfeatures.

Mr MurugavelJanakiraman, Founder &CEO yesterday said''now, our members canfind a potential partnerb a s e d o n t h e i rpreferences for facial

a p p e a r a n c e t h u sunlocking the wealth ofinformation that is hiddenaway in photos. Notsu rp r i s i ng l y , m anymembers are using thisto search for celebritylook-alikes''.

-Agencies

Facial search onBharatmatrimony.com

Chennai, Mar 4 : TamilNadu Tourism SecretaryV Irai Anbu on Tuesdaysaid tourism was aharbinger of harmony and

purveyor of peace.Inaugura t i ng

'Connoisseurs 09', athree-day Internationalworkshop on Tourism andSwiss culinary arts jointlyorganised by the SRMI n s t i t u t e o f H o t e lManagement and theS w i t z e r l a n d - b a s e dIn te rna t i ona l Ho te lManagement Institute( I M I ) a t t h e S R M

University campus ins u b u r b a nKattankulathur, he said aperson, who could travelmore could develop

tolerance, matur i ty,c o m p a s s i o n a n dunderstanding.

In this context,t h e t h e m e o f t h eworkshop 'Tour ismBrings Harmony andP e a c e ' w a s q u i t eappropriate in the currentscenario.

Mr Irai Anbusaid ''A person shouldtravel at least 15 years in

his life to understand theculture of other. Widetravelling will help thepeople know that all humanbeings are alike''.

' 'The humannature is same,whether you arean Indian or a

foreigner. Onlythe language,c o m p l e x i o n ,customs andi n d i v i d u a lm a n n e r i s m schange. Thebody languageis the same,'' headded.

Stat ingtha t t ou r i smcould act as am e d i u m o fenriching one'stalent of theindividual, MrIrai Anbu said

''Tourism is aharb inger o fharmony and

purveyor of peace''.N o t i n g t h a t

tourism has sparked offefforts in conservation ofvarious species of birdsand flora and fauna, theTourism Secretary, citingvarious instances, saidabout 100 varieties of thetotal 908 bird species hadbecome extinct.

- Bureau Report

Tourism-harbinger of harmony,purveyor of peace: Tamil Nadu Tourism

hennai, March 04:Chennai based

RM University, willunch Under-Graduaten d P o s t - G r a d u a t eo u r s e s i n H o t e lanagement from the

cademic year 2009-10, itsi c e - C h a n c e l l o r Pathyanarayanan said onuesday

T a l k i n g t oewspersons here, after

e i n a u g u r a t i o n o fonnoisseurs-2009', anternational Workshop ono u r i s m a n d S w i s sul inary Arts, jo int lyganised by the SRMs t i t u t e o f H o t e l

anagement and thew i t z e r l a n d - b a s e dt e r n a t i o n a l H o t e lanagement Insti tute

MI), he said the Universityas signed a Memorandum

Understanding (MoU)th the Swiss-basedetropolitan University fors purpose.

Observing thatwitzerland was known forulinary art skills andospitality industry, Profathyanarayanan said the

ree-year B.Sc courseould be a dual-degreeogramme, under which

students from the SRMUniversity would taket h e i r f i r s t t h r e esemesters at home andattend their last semesterat the Metropoli tan

University.A f t e r

completing the finalsemester, the studentswould be given dual-degree by the SRMUniversity after a six-m o n t h i n t e r n s h i pp r o g r a m m e i nSwitzerland.

Students wouldalso be given campusp l a c e m e n t a f t e rcompleting their finalsemester in MetropolitanUniversity, he added.

On the contrary,under the two-year MBAcourse, students wouldstudy the first six-monthsat SRM and proceed toSwitzerland to completethe rest of their course.

The intake forthe under-graduatecourse would be about150 and 50 students forMBA, he said.

P r o fSathyanarayanan saidstudents would also be

sent to MetropolitanUniversity under theSRM's semester abroadprogramme, to provideinternational exposure tothem.

I M I V i c e -President and Vice-Chairman of the Board ofDirectors Carmel MichaelFsadni, who was alsopresent said IMI, whichwas recognised world-wide, was happy to beassociated with the SRMUniversity and said theMoU would be beneficialto both the students andthe faculty.

D r . A n t o n yAshok Kumar Principal ofthe Institute of HotelManagement SRMUniversity said that, theuniversity will also offerDoctoral programmes inHotel management in thenext two years.

E a r l i e runiversity registrar ProfSethuraman welcomedthe gathering andofficials from the instituteand other visiting faculty

were present on theoccasion.

- Staff Reporter

SRM University opens up newvistas in Hotel Management

Photo S. Mohan

Photo S. Mohan


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Times Chennai E-Paperage 4 March 04, 2009National

ew Delhi, Mar 04:Prime Minister

anmohan Singh todayeld his f irst off icialngagement more than aonth after he underwentbypass surgery when heet President of the Westrican nation of Benin, Dr

oni Yayi, and discussedlateral, regional andternational situation.

T h e P r i m einister met the Beninresident, who arrivedere last night on a five-ay State visit at his official

Race Course Roadsidence.

D r S i n g hnderwent a coronaryypass surgery on January4 and has not had anyficial engagement sinceen, although he has beentending some urgentficial work at home.

Dr Yayi, who iss i t ing India at thevitation of Presidentratibha Devisingh Patil, isccompanied by a 34-ember delegation whichcludes three Ministers,en i o r o f f i c i a l s andpresentatives of thehambers of Commercend Industry. ' ' T h esit, after a gap of morean 25 years, representssignificant landmark ind ia-Benin b i la tera llations,'' an Externalf f a i r s M i n i s t r y

spokesman said.The Beninese

President will also call onthe President.

Vice-PresidentHamid Ansari, ExternalAffairs Minister PranabMukherjee and Leader ofthe Opposition L K

Advani will also call onhim.T h e

Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII), Federationo f C h a m b e r s o fCommerce and Industry(FICCI) and AssociatedChambers of Commerceand Industry of India(ASSOCHAM) are jointlyorganising an interactionwith the Indian businesscommunity for the visitingBeninese delegation.

The delegationwill also visit Agra,Mumbai and Bangalore.

In Mumbai the Indo-African Chamber ofCommerce and Industryis organising one-to-onebusiness meetings. InB a n g a l o r e , t h edelegation wil l visitInfosys and Avasthagen(bio-tech company).

A m u l t i -religious, multi-ethnicsociety and a multi-partydemocracy, Benin, hometo 9.3 million people islocated in West Africaand borders Nigeria,Togo, Burkina Faso and

Niger.M em bers o f

NAM, India and Beninhave traditionally enjoyfriendly relations. Bothc o u n t r i e s s h a r e acommonality of views onmajor in ternat iona lissues such as UN

Reforms and combatinginternational terrorism.B e n i n h a s

s u p p o r t e d I n d i a ' sc a n d i d a t u r e f o rpermanent membershipon an expanded UNSC.

India has in thepast gifted 100 tractorsa n d a g r i c u l t u r a li m p l e m e n t s a n dextended a 18.8 milliondollar Line of Credit forrural electrification to thatcountry.

Benin has alsosubscribed to the DutyFree Tariff Preference

( D F T P ) S c h e m eannounced by India inApr i l 2008. Ind ia 'sbilateral trade with Beninis currently 350 milliondollars.

B e n i n w a sincluded in the first groupof countries in theGovernment of India'sPan-African e-networkproject , which wasofficially inaugurated bythe External AffairsMinister last week.

-Agencies

PM holds first officialengagement after surgery

mmu, March 04:Kashmiri Pandits,

hose sense of securityas snatched in the '90s,e an integral part of theate and their return to thelley would be possiblely when they again beginfeel safe, Jammu and

ashmir Chief Ministermar Abdullah has said.

The sense of

curity was snatched fromem in 90's and onlywhen this sense isstored, their return to thelley will start", Omar said

esterday during theotion of thanks on thevernor's address in the

gislative council.T h e C h i e f

nister said that althoughe Mumbai terror attacksave adversely affecteddo-Pak bilateral ties,od relations between the

wo ne ighbours a reportant for lasting peacethe region.

The governmentopen to dialogue with allades of opinion andady to facilitate it at otherrums, he said.

Reca l l i ng t hearlier initiatives by histher Farooq Abdullah toeak the ice between the

t w o c o u n t r i e s b yfacilitating talks and fourmonths of truce duringt h e V a j p a y e egovernment, Omar saidthey were a goodbeginning which needs tobe taken to its logicalconclusion.

T h egovernment would againwork for restoring thedialogue process andinitiate political measuresto resolve all issuespertaining to Jammu andKashmir, he said.

-Agencies

Kashmiri Pandits are integralpart of J&K: Omar

Mumbai, March 04:The 14th World Conference on "Tobacco or

Health" will be held in the city from March 8 to highlightthe growing menace of tobacco use.

The conference will showcase the problemscaused due to tobacco use, P C Gupta, president of theconference, told reporters here.

"This will give us an opportunity to focus onthe complex tobacco problem in the country, which hasthe largest spectrum of tobacco products - fromindustrial ones like gutkha to custom-made productslike betel quid," Gupta said.

The event will discuss various policy aspectsof tobacco control - economic, health andenvironment.

Since its introduction in 1966, the conference

is held every two-to-three years in different countries,Padmini Somani, Salaam Bombay Foundation, whichwill be hosting the event, said.

"Eleven conferences have been held indeveloped countries and two in developing countries.Last year it was held in China," Somani said.The event will witness more than 600 participants, 250international speakers and 2000 delegates from over130 countries.

World Conference on 'Tobacco

or health' from March 8

New Delhi, March 04: TH e t w o - d a y

media workshop ofCongress concluded onTuesday with seniorparty leaders givingmedia management tipsto party spokespersons,CLP leaders and partypresidents of various

states. O n t h econcluding day, ExternalAffairs Minister PranabM u k h e r j e e , H o m eMinister P Chidambaramand Deputy Chairman ofPlanning CommissionMontek Singh Ahluwaliaamong others addressedthe delegates.

"This is a nexchange of ideas withthe spokespersons. This

is an interactive sessionwith political, technicaland economic issues,"A I C C s p o k e s m a nAbhishek Singhvi hadearlier told reportershere.

I t b e i n g aquestion and answersession, the delegates

put many questions onhow to respond to mediaqueries, programmesand policies as well asthe events related to theparty.

T h espokespersons wereasked to be crisp andshort in their answers.They were also asked toremain informed of thelatest issues so that theycan answer the queries

instantly.Speakers also

briefed the delegates onthe differences betweenhow to respond to a printmedia journalist and ate lev is ion journa l i s t .Ahluwalia briefed thede legates about the"achievements" of the

government and its variousschemes.Earlier on the first

day, senior leaders SalmanK h u r s h i d , A b h i s h e kS i n g h v i , P l a n n i n gCommission memberBalachandra Mungekar,Union Ministers MeiraKumar and Kapil Sibalalong with former HomeMinister Shivraj Patil spokeon different issues.

-Agencies

Two-day media workshop ofCongress ended on Tuesday

New Delhi, March 04 :I r r e t r i evab l e

breakdown of marriage isno ground for divorce forthose married under theHindu Marriage Actbecause the law does notr e c o g n i s e i t , t h eSupreme Court hasruled.

Dismissing aHindu husband's plea fordivorce, a bench ofJust ices MarkandeyKatju and V S Sirpurkarstated that the HinduMarriage Act, 1955, didn o t r e c o g n i s e"irretrievable breakdown"

as g round fo r t hedissolution of marriage.

The bench saidno court, including thea p e x c o u r t , w a sempowered to issue adecree for divorce on theground of "irretrievablebreakdown" of marriageas it would amount toamending the HinduMarriage Act by judicialverdict and adding"irretrievable breakdown"of marriage as a newground for divorce.

A law can bea m e n d e d o n l y b ylegislature and not by

judicial verdict, the benchsaid in its ruling that waspronounced on February27 but released onTuesday.

"Section 13 ofthe Hindu Marriage Act,1955 provides for severalgrounds for grantingdivorce e.g. cruelty,adultery, desertion etc.but no such ground ofirretrievable breakdownof the marriage has beenmentioned for grantingdivorce," the benchnoted."On a bare reading ofSection 13 of the Act, it iscrystal clear that no suchground of irretrievableb r e a k d o w n o f t h emarriage is provided bythe l eg i s l a tu re f o r

granting a decree ofdivorce," the bench said.

If the apex courthad in the past issued adecree for divorce on theground of "irretrievablebreakdown," it mighthave done so wrongly,the bench said.

T h e b e n c hmade this observation asthe counsel for thehusband pleaded fordivorce to his client,saying that the apex courthad in several casesissued the decree ofdivorce on the ground of" i r r e t r i e v a b l e

breakdown."It rejected the contentionsaying: "In our opinion,those cases have nottaken into consideration

the legal position which wehave mentioned above,and hence they are notp receden ts . A m eredirection of the courtwithout considering thelegal position is not aprecedent.""If we grant divorce on theground of irretrievablebreakdown, then we shallby judicial verdict be addinga clause to Section 13 ofthe act to the effect thatirretrievable breakdown ofthe marriage is also aground for divorce. In ouropinion, this can only bedone by the legislature and

not by the court," the benchsaid."It is for the parliament toenact or amend the law andnot for the courts," it added.The court was adjudicatingan appeal by a Delhiresident, who had first goneto the lower court for adivorce on the grounds ofhis wife's alleged cruelbehaviour towards him.As the lower court and laterthe Delhi High Courtdismissed his plea, findingthat it was he who had beensubjecting his wife tocruelty, he moved the apexcourt pleading irretrievable

breakdown of his marriageand saying that his wife hadnot spent more than 25days with him.

-Agencies

Irretrievable breakdown of marriageno ground for divorce: SC

Kolkata March 04:P a s s e n g e r s

travelling on Howrah-New Delhi RajdhaniExpress would now havethe option of booking ahotel along with theirra i lway t i cket w i thEastern Railway tying upwith a hotel in New Delhi."Rajdhani passengers

who want to stay in Delhiovernight can now gettheir hotel booking alongwith their railway ticket.We have tied up withGinger Hotel in NewDelhi," ER GeneralM a n a g e r D e e p a kKrishan told reporters.

Talks were onfor tie-ups with othereconomy hotels andretiring rooms at otherdestinations, Krishansaid, adding similar tie-ups with luxury hotelscould be considered ifp a s s e n g e r s s od e m a n d e d . A s k e dwhether the slashing of

a i r f a r e f o l l o w i n greduction in ATF priceswould see a drop inRajdhani fares to keep itcompetitive, Krishan saidfares of the Rajdhani hadnot been hiked whenthere was a airfare rise inthe past. "We, therefore

expect some loyalty fromthe passengers now."

He said surveyswere constantly beencarried out to find out thed e m a n d s o f t h epassengers. Some wantRajdhani to leave here at 7pm to reach New Delhi at 8am the next day. For that,we need to fence a large

stretch of the route for highspeed. This could be doneat almost zero cost if theState governments comeforward to help," Krishansaid after flagging Howrah-New Delh i Ra jdhaniExpress on i ts 40tha n n i v e r s a r y r u n o nTuesday.

Hotel booking facilities for Rajdhani passengers soon


5/10

Times Chennai E-Paperarch 04, 2009 Page 5New s You Can Use

ew Delhi, Mar 4Television today

ay have brought anormation revolution in theuntry but the fiction showsd the coverage of news one s m a l l s c r e e n i s

creasingly making childrensensit ive, f i lm actoradhavan says.

The sa te l l i tevolution in the country ande a c c o m p a n y i n g

oliferation of TV channelsa s l e d t o a l o t o fssemination of knowledge.act, it is because of these

V channels that a lot ofngs have come to light as

e saw in the film Rang Deasanti and has led to a lotcorrective steps.

At the same time, Iel that the coverage ofws on television todaya v e s m u c h t o b esired,Madhavan said at aws conference in the

apital last evening.Madhavan, who

as in the Capital to promotes new film 13 B, au p e r n a t u r a l t h r i l l e rvolving around the harmfulpact TV has on human lifeday, said unlike a fewars ago, the TV channelsverage of news includede depiction of manyaphic scenes from the siteaccidents, fire or blasts.

Un fo r tuna te lyday, news channels areot jus t content w i thesenting news. They alsoant to show the close upsthe scene of the incidente bodies splattered inood or gauging theaction of members of the

mily involved in anc c i d e n t . I d o n o tderstand this and do note why we need to do this. Iel it is important to givews but at the same time

e manner in which it issemminated is a lsoportant.

Today I cannotatch news on TV with myght-year-old son as theree so many graphic scenes

news channels. In this

sense, I feel the news andits coverage on TV ism a k i n g c h i l d r e ninsensitive, Madhavansaid.

H e s a i d t h eonset of the satelliterevolution had led to lossof childhood for kids.

When I lookback, I consider myselffortunate that I have had alovely childhood - climbingo n t r e e s , s t e a l i n gmangoes and many a timebreaking my legs in theprocess. I feel sad that myson will never be able toenjoy all this. Infact, Iwonder whether he isa w a r e o f a l l t h e s epleasures that chiuldhoodbrings with it. Because ofliving in cities and theronset o f te lev is ion ,evenings of children aremostly spent watching ontelevision. Consequently,even the habit of childrengoing out to play in the

evenings is fast dyingout,the actor said.

Talking about hisl a t e s t f i l m 1 3 B ,Madhavan, who wasaccompanied by NeetuChandra, his co-star in thef i lm , sa id , i t i s asupernatural thriller whichdeals with the relationshipthat viewers share withtelevision today. It is aboutthe change in the TVwatching habits of peopleover the years whereintelevision, more than anelectrical appliance, hasbecome a companion,especially for the womenin the house for whom the

day starts with TV andends with it. In fact, eldersin the house are seen todevelop a relationship withcharacters of the serials.

What if the TVrealises the power it wieldsover family members andbegins to take control.What happens wheninstead of showing you thefacts, the TV begins toshow you what it wantsyou to see.

That is what thefilm is all about. Clarifyingthat it was not a horror film,Madhavan said, whenone thinks of the wordthriller, one assumes thefilm will have scary facesand ghosts. However,there is nothing of this sorti n 1 3 B . I t i s asupernatural thriller andnot a horror film. About hisrole in the film, Madhavansaid, I play a middle-classguy who is not the herotype. He has just enteredan exciting phase of hislife. He has just marriedand brought a house. Thefamily is looking forward toan exciting life in a newbuilding where they have ahouse on the 13th floor.Then something happensthat threatenes his family.The film is about how hesaves his family from thethreat. Talking about herrole in 13 B, Neetu said, Iplay a housewife. She is a

very coy, shy kind offemale who is stuck totelevision like any otherfemale in the house andhow she realises that thetelevision set has becomea danger to her family.She said that though therole was closer to real life,it had elements of bothglamour as well as real life.

D i r e c t e d b yNational award winningdirector Vikram K Kumar, aformer assistant to SouthI n d i a n f i l m m a k e rPriyadasrshan, 13 Breleases on March 6 inHindi and Tamil versions.While the Hindi version is

titled 13 B, the Tamilversion is titled YaavarumNalam.

The film alsofeatures Poonam Dhillon,Murali Sharma, SachinK h e d e k a r , S a n j a i hBokaria, Deepak Dobriyal,Amitha, Sharanya &Dhritiman Chaterjee. Themusic of the film has beenscored by Shankar,Ehsaan and Loy.

- Agencies

TV soaps, coverage of news makingchildren insensitive: Madhavan

New Delhi, March 4: How about a

slice of Lord Krishna'sVrindavan or a touch of theBuckingham Palace inyour living room? Thedecor in high-end Indianhomes across metros,especially in the capital, isgoing back to tradition afteryears of dabbling in theutility and Spartan chic ofcontemporary West.

Two exclusivelifestyle retail spaces pointto the trend. These areGood Earth in Delhi'sSaket area which hasa d a p t e d t r a d i t i o n a ldesigns from medievalIndia and Elitaire inFaridabad which has beeninspired by the royalpalaces of Europe.

T h e y a r etargeting the high-endhome market segment ofthe 'aesthetic elite' with aprice sweep of Rs.500 toRs.500,000.

Good Earth, anational lifestyle accessorychain, has put together ane x h i b i t i o n o f h o m eaccesso r ies by f i vedesigners that combinedIndian resonance with aninternational appeal. Titled'India Modern', it is ondisplay at the 18,000-square foot Flagship,Good Earth's maiden storeat Saket in the capital.

'In a resurgentIndia, the rich culturalheritage is getting layeredwith a contemporary globalrelevance. This duality hasgiven rise to a newaesthetic that draws from

history to create modernperspectives suitable forcontemporary living. Thehighlight this year at theD e l h i s t o r e i s t h eVrindavan collection,' AnitaLal, creative director ofGood Earth, told newsagencies

She said thes to re p icks up onecollection every year,which is usually an'interpretat ion of any part ofhistory and culture fromIndia.

'The Vrindavan

collection celebrates theharmony between manand nature - the story ofLord Krishna and his daysin Vrindavan where heplayed with his consortRadha.'

'We have justtaken the symbolic aspectsof Vrindavan - like themotifs of the flora andfauna, the peacock, thecows, the lotus and thelamps - minus the godsand goddesses to give thecollection an internationallook,' Lal said.

The collectionfeatures 'kamalinis' or lotusshowpieces, lotus stools inbrass and beaten silver,ornate candle standsshaped like medieval wallpanels from Vrindavanhomes, peacock andcowherd wall hangings inbrass, fluted flower pots,Mughal minarets andgeometrical tables inlaidwith mother of pearls,

abalone and malachite.The Vrindavanfurniture is complementedby Vrindavan Chenillecushions and the Neeltaracushions in silk and velvet,trimmed with satin 'mashru'weave and embroidery.

Mash ru i s atraditional silk and cottonweave from Kutch, printedin the Ajrakh techniqueusing natural dyes.

A dining tablelaid with 'kansa' ware (analloy of tin and copper) andcollections of cutleries likethe 'tia pakhi' (parrot) fromBengal, the Rasa ormarigold range from

central India, the PeriyarIndus Rajah from Keralaand Baradari collectionfrom the Mughal era add tothe Brajbhumi look.

Designer VikramGoel, the man behind theVrindavan collection, saidthe designs debuted at a

G o o d E a r t hexhibition in Mumbai in2008.

'I tried to recreatethe motifs of peacocks,cows, lotuses and trees asdepicted in the pichwais(traditional Vrindavan

paintings and texts) to suitnew awareness. I love thediverse techniques ofmetals,' Goel told IANS.

The collection isalso a tribute to the dying artof metal crafting and a bid atrevival.

'The clutter isgoing out of home decor andthey are becoming morerealistic,' artist SubodhGupta told IANS at theopening of the store.'Interiors are going back toroots and I just love theheritage look,' he explained.

On the other hand,Faridabad-based Elitairegoes back to medievalEurope. The home decorretail store spread across2,000 square metres at theInteriorz Mall has recreatedreplicas of six Europeanpalaces for Indian drawingsrooms.

'Our collectionscombine opulence withcontemporary convenience.

The idea behind recreatingthe palace themes was tooffer buyers something morethan luxury - a slice ofheritage, which they canp rese rve , ' K .V . Rao ,chairman of the DolphinGroup, which owns Elitaire,told news agencies

According to him,the high-end retail space isc o m m e r c i a l l y v i a b l ebecause the 'recession hasnot been able to dent theluxury lifestyle segment'.

The home themes- featuring complete roomswith per iod furn i tu re ,accessories and lights -include the 16th century

R o s e n b e r g C a s t l e ,Buckingham Palace, Castleof Prague, Castle of SansSouci in Prussia, Palace ofWilanow of the Dutch royalfamily and the Palace ofVersailles from the era ofLouis XIV.

The accessoriesdrawn from 82 leadingdesign houses from acrossEurope are a blend of thegrand baroque, the romanticFrench Rococo and theaustere neo-classicism ofBritish royalty.

-Agencies

Tradition making comeback inIndian home decor

ontevideo, March 04:As night falls in

e Montevideo Centralemetery, the city's oldest,ozens of expectant facesait outside its gates,ady to enter this realm of

eath to see it in a neway: that of the necro-urist.

Curiosity seekersall types and ages were

tracted by this project ofe Montev ideo c i ty

o v e r n m e n t , w h i c hunched this week the firstits guided tours that will

eriodically visit the oldestblic necropolis of the

uguayan capital.uilt in 1835 and expandedetween 1860 and 1868,e central cemetery wasnceived as a gardenomenade surrounded bye e s a n d f u n e r a r yonuments where "it wasual to see people out for

a stroll", said one of theguides of this odditinerary, professor of arthistory Marta Sirtori.

A l m o s t 3 0visitors were in the groupthat Sirtori led on this tourto the music of awomen's quartet playingviolin, cello, flute andoboe at different pointsaround the cemetery.

Together withreligious objects likecrosses or images ofJesus, the funerarysymbolism of the placei n c l u d e s a n c h o r s ,considered icons of

sa lvat ion, popp ies ,narcotic flowers that"lead to eternal sleep",and figures representing"old age and the passingo f t i m e " s u c h a shourglasses, Sirtori said.

The angels,intermediaries between

heaven and earth that"help man ascend",share the scene withMasonic symbols like thesquare and compass,and decorations of amilitary nature "in linewith ancient Greece andRome", the guide said.

" B r i n g i n gattention to funerary art"is, according to Sirtori,the goal of this culturalproject, on which "we'reworking wi th greatrespect and affection forthe people buried here,our fellow citizens".

A m o n g t h e

in teres ted v is i to rs ,Marina, 13, took everypossible chance to slipaway from the crowd fora moment and takepictures with her digitalcamera of the sculpturalforms that clothe thedead.

"It's a good ideato visit a cemetery thisway," Marina said beforephotographing the stepson one of the granitetombs exemplifying the"new" funerary art, "withmuch cleaner, simplerlines" as Sirtori describesit.

Today's art isnot overly ornate as itwas in the 18th and 19thcenturies," the expertsaid, for whom the valueof the cemetery lies asm u c h i n " t h epersonalities" buried

here - such as FranciscoAcuna de Figueroa,c o m p o s e r o f t h eUruguayan nat ionalanthem - as it does in theworks of art it holds.A m e r i c a n E d w a r dMurray was the first to beburied with a tombstone

in the Montev ideoCen t ra l Cem ete ry ,whose memorials arebasically of marble,granite and bronze.Now rich in monumentsand sculptures, thegraves in the central areawere all the necropolishad until the installationof a Galician stone crossbrought in the 19thc e n t u r y b y L u i sFernandez, a one-timeresident of Montevideo.Then came the 1863work of Genoese artistL a v a r e l l o , w h i c h

represents a recumbentdead wife looked uponby her handsome,e l e g a n t l y d r e s s e dhusband.Felix Morelli and JoseLivi are other Italianartists who left their markon the central cemetery,

where there are also worksby local artists like JoseLuis Zorrilla de San Martinand Jose Belloni.The speed with which the100 tickets were sold outfor this day of necro-tourism in the centralcemetery was muchappreciated by Sirtori, whoe x p e c t e d n o s u c hresponse for a project thatis new to Montevideo buthas been done for years incit ies l ike Paris andBuenos Aires.On March 12 and 26, thistour of the dead will be

repeated, something thatthe city government hopesto con t i nue on twoThursdays out of everymonth, at least until Maysince - as a web site says -"it provides a differentapproach to the nation'shistory and culture".

A cemetery that brought tourism to life


6/10

Times Chennai E-Paper March 04, 2009Page 6 Business

New Delhi, Mar 4Audi India today

said its sales for Februaryhas witnessed an increaseof 95 per cent with sales of113 units as compared to5 8 u n i t s i n t h ecorresponding period lastyear.

' ' T o g a i n

additional market share weare looking forward tointroducing new modelsa n d e x p a n d i n g o u rdealerships network tomini-metro cities this year,''C o m p a n y M a n a g i n gDirector Benoit Tiers saidin a statement.

In the year 2008the company had a total

sale of 1,050 units, it added.The Audi model

range comprising the newAudi A4, Audi A6, Audi A8,Audi Q7, Audi TT and AudiR8 is available in the countryacross twelve dealerships .

-Agencies

Audi sales increase 95% for Feb;to introduce new modals

ew Delhi, Mar 4Tata Chemicals

d, a leading manufacturerchemicals, fertilisers and

od additives, announcede commissioning of thee-bottlenecking' of itsabrala facility in Uttaradesh with productionpacity increase from

6 4 , 6 0 0 t o n n e s t o,55,000 tonnes and plansdouble this capacity in thear future.

Executive Directorta Chemicals Kapil Mehand a press conference hereat 'de-bottlenecking' meantat eliminating the cobwebs s e t t i n g u p a n derationalisation of the

ant. Babrala is roughly foururs drive from the nationalpital.

Mr Mehan said theal investment entailing the

abrala facility is of the orderRs 208 crore.

T h e p r o j e c t ,

mpleted in a record time ofmonths, was aimed at finening and enhancingoduction capabilities,ereby expanding theisting production levels.

Mr Mehan saidhe was not in a position toset a timeline for doublingof the new capacity, butadded that was the goalthe company has set foritself.

T h aannouncement of thecommissioning of the

upgraded facility was donein the capital with theinitiative being dedicatedto the Group Founder J NTata on the occasion of theFounders' Day.

Mr Mehan saidthe increased growth ofproduction ''draws impetust o t h e c o m p a n y ' scommitment of providinghigh quality products for itsdiscerning customers''.

Post the de-bottlenecking process, thenew production capacity atthe plant will be as follows:the Ammonia plant willproduce 2,000 MTPD as

compared to 1,520 MTPD;and the Urea plant willproduce 3,500 MTPD ascompared to 2,620 MTPD.

Established in1939 at Mithapur, TCL is

t h e s e c o n d l a r g e s tproducer of soda ash in theworld with manufacturingfacilities across fourcontinents.

Mr Mehan saidthe company's overseasfacilities relating to theproduction of soda ashhave been impacted more

than the Indian facility bythe global turmoil.He said in terms

of costs and profitabilitythe Indian plant fares aswell as the overseasventures relating to sodaash production, largelybecause of the price ofgas.

In reply to aquestion, Mr Mehan

Tata Chemicals honours J N Tata:commissioning of Babrala plant

e w D e l h i , M a r 4 :Claiming that only

e per cent of fake importse detected in India, andustry chamber todayuggested a s lew o f

easures to curb thee n a c e , i n c l u d i n gacklisting importers ofunterfeit products.

Assocham saidke and counterfeit importsmprise software, fast

oving consumer goodsMCG), music, films, toys,garettes, textiles and lifeving drugs.

It identified Delhiowntown, Ghaziabad,e e r u t , S a h a r a n p u r ,igarh, Sonepat, Loni,u l a n d s h a h a r a n dhandigarh in northern Indiahere sale of fake productsreported to be higher.

In a representationthe Finance Ministry and

ustoms department, theh a m b e r s u g g e s t e dodifications to Bordereasures and Regulationsd Intellectual Property

ules to check import of faked counterfeit products.

This has becomeperative as the current

overnmental tools aremed more at intimidatingch importers than to bringem to book, said Hemantngh, chairman of theamber s in te l lec tua l

operty rights committee.

Importers of faked counterfeit products

vo id part ic ipa t ing inoceedings against themh e n e v e r t h e i rnsignments are seized bystoms because currentes help them do so, heded.

F o r w a n t o f

adequate manpower andcoordination with portauthorities, customs areable to physically checkonly about 15 per cent ofthe countrys total imports,

resulting in only five percent detection of fakeproducts, Assocham said.

The industrychamber said importers offake products are not onlyindividuals or group ofindividuals margin but alsow e l l e s t a b l i s h e dcompanies who indulge inthe malpractice to earnhigher profits.

A s s o c h a msuggested recruitment ofc o m p e t e n t a n dexperienced people byCustoms to increasesurveillance to improverate of detection of fakeimports and punishment tothose found guilty.

C u s t o m sCommissioner should doaway with the requirementof multiple filings formultiple IP even if itrequires additional fee byimporters, it said, addingNational Academy ofCustoms should modifyexisting IP rights as well astrade marks and copyright.

Importers foundviolating IP rules should bedealt with iron hands andshould be forced to joinproceedings in a manner

that they can not abandontheir consignments in theevent of seizure.

Punishment tothose found guilty shouldbe heavy to act asdeterrent against themalpractice, it added.

- Agencies

Assocham wants importers

of fake products blacklisted

favou red con t inu ingsupport to Indian farmersby way of subsidies andhigher MSP in the wake ofthe slowdown, adding thatthis will also keep the salesof fertilisers going.

In this regard, hesaid farmers from theUnited States and the

European Union havebeen hit worse due to theglobal meltdown than theIndian farmer and it waslikely that these countriesmay enhance the level ofsubsidy to their farmers.

I t w a s t h u sincumbent on the Indiangovernment to continuesupport to the farmingcommunity.

-Agencies


7/10

Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 04, 2009 Page 7Spo r t s

olombo, Mar 04:S r i L a n k a ' s

ounded and shakeni cke te rs f l ew i n toolombo under t ight

e c u r i t y e a r l y o nednesday, less than a

ay after a deadly ambushrgeting the team inakistan, an airport officialid.

Relieved relativesave the tour party anmotional welcome as the5-member contingentas led from a speciallyhartered Sri Lankanrlines Airbus A320 by

team manager BrendonKuruppu.

Star batsmanThilan Samaraweera and

T h a r a n g aParanavithana, who bothr e c e i v e d h o s p i t a ltreatment in Pakistan,were placed in anambulance and taken toa private medical facilityin Colombo, a seniorofficial said.Spin bowler AjanthaMendis was seen leavingthe aircraft with a plasterbehind his right ear. A

total of seven playersand an assistant coachwere hurt in the attack,which left eight peopledead.

V ice-capta inKumar Sangakkara, whowas another wounded in

Tuesday's gun andgrenade assault, toldreporters that the playershad been asked by teammanagement not tospeak with reporters.

Sports MinisterGamini Lokuge also mett h e t e a m a tB a n d a r a n a i k eInternational Airport,where security was tight,the official said.

There has beenno claim of responsibilityfor the attack, but someSri Lankan officials fear apossible link with the

military offensive againstethnic Tamil rebels in theisland's north.

S r i L a n k a nteam was airlifted fromGaddafi Stadium byhelicopter before flyingout of Lahore late onTuesday, abandoning atour which was onlyarranged when Indiarefused to visit.

-Agencies

SL cricketers arrive homeamid tight security

Lahore, March 04:Five Sri Lankan

cricketers plus theassistant coach werewounded when around a

dozen gunmen attackedtheir bus as it drove

under police escort onTuesday to a stadium inthe Pakistani city ofLahore.

Following is alist of the injuredplayers with briefdetails of theirinjuries accordingto vice captainK u m a rSangakkara, whospoke to Reutersby t e l ephonefrom Lahore.

M a h e l aJayawardena -cut to ank le ,

minorK u m a r

Sangakkara - shrapnel cutto shoulder, minor

Ajantha Mendis -shrapnel wound to back,minor

T h a r a n g aParanavithana - shrapnelwound to his chest, minor,

but went to hospitalT h i l a n

Samaraweera - worstinjured with what appearedto be a shrapnel wound tohis leg. Taken to hospital,but not seriously wounded.

Paul Farbrace( a s s i s t a n t c o a c h ) -shrapnel wound to his arm,minor.

-Agencies

Factbox: Details of SL cricketersinjured in attack

acau, March 04:Whilst exuding

o n f i d e n c e o v e rccessfully holding thecond installment of thedian Premier League,agues commissioner

alit Modi said that theyould certainly review theates to ensure that there

at least a 48 hourshion between thea t c h - d a y a n d t h eection-day at any of the 8st cities.

T h e g e n e r a lection is a six-week longfair lasting till May 16, hed a newspaper. Thates not mean that all theies hosting IPL matchesll be busy with pollingtivities throughout thisriod.

T h e I P L h a sgun a security revieweet in wake of the recent

ahore attacks.Citing a case

udy example, Modi said:

et us consider theample of Mumbai, whiches to polls on April 30. So

e will try and not haveything in Mumbai on the

ay before the polling date, that day and if requireden the day after.

Modi said that theL representatives would

hold talks with thegovernment regardingthe issue in the comingdays. We are sensitiveto the fact when there is aneed at a particularv e n u e b e c a u s e o felect ions and we l lensure full cooperation.

We will discusst h i s w i t h t h egovernment, he said.

Modi said thatsuch a scenario hadbeen kept in mind whilethe itinerary for IPLSeason 2 was beingdrawn. We did see thiscoming. That is preciselywhy we had increasedthe number of kits andcrews for this yearstournament. During theplayer auctions, I hadpersonally announcedthis and our plans to havematches in catchmentareas also. We have a lotmore to choose from incase any particular

venue cannot host amatch on a particularday.

In the aftermathof the terror attack on SriLankan cricketers inLahore on Tuesday, Modiinsisted that securitywould be paramountduring the Twenty20

e x t r a v a g a n z a a n dassured franchises thatthe BCCI and IPL wouldbe solely responsible forit.

Franchiseesneed not bother aboutsecurity, its a centralissue and well take allp r e c a u t i o n s . T h egovernment has beenstringent about security.Modi also refused to drawparallels between thesecurity situations inIndia and Pakistan.

In Pakistan, thefear factor has beenconstant. In India, wetook adequate measuresto keep cricket away fromit.

We have aw e e k e n d s e c u r i t ymeeting with expertsfrom South Africa, heelaborated.

Meanwhile inanother interview to a TVchannel, BCCI member

IS Bindra said that whilethe board would try toc o n v i n c e t h eGovernment, lattersstand would be final.

If the HomeMinistry says no, it justcant happen.

-Agencies

Not all host cities wouldhave polls throughout: Modi

Colombo, March 04:The Sri Lankan

cricket team's exposureto the civil war back homehelped them react swiftlyw h e n t h e y w e r eambushed by gunmen inPakistan, skipper MahelaJayawardene said onWednesday.

S e v e nmembers of the team andtheir assistant coachw e r e w o u n d e d i nTuesday's gun andgrenade attack as theytravelled by bus to thec r i cke t s tad i um i nLahore. Eight peoplewere killed in the assault."We have been broughtup in a background ofter ror i s t ac t i v i t ies , "

Jayawardenetold reporters af terreturning home at the

international airport inColombo.

"We are used tohearing, seeing thesethings -- firing, bombings.So we ducked under ourseats when the firingbegan. It was like naturalinstinct," he said.

Sri Lanka hasseen nearly four decadesof ethnic civil war withTamil Tiger rebels whoare fighting for a separatehomeland.

Jayawardenesaid the players were"shocked" and "mentallydown" after the horrifyingi n c i d e n t , a n dacknowledged there wasa moment when he didnot think he would evermake it back home.

" I a m aBuddhist, and I think we

have done some merit inour previous birth toescape with minor injuries.We want some time now tobe with our families," hesaid.

The skipper said itwas too early to say if he oranyone else on the teamwould skip future tours ofPakistan.

"We were notaware of security lapses.It's an unfortunate incident.In hindsight, this couldhave happened anywherein the world," he said.

"In the future, Ithink all of us will step backand look at the biggerpicture besides just touringabroad, taking into accountour families," he said. "Thatis something we will all do."

-Agencies

War exposure helped teamreact: Jayawardene

New Delhi, March 04:T h e

repercussion of theLahore terror strikes on

Sri Lankan cricket team,which left 5 players and areserve umpire injured,seemed to have been feltacross the border as wellin India as well withclouds of uncertaintylooming large over thesecond edition of theIndian Premier League.

M i n i s t e r o fState for Home, SriPrakash Jaiswal saidthat the Governmentwould review the securitymeasures to be deployedduring the IPL and that ameeting with the BCCIwould be held overpossible postponementof the IPL.

We will reviewthe security for IPL, hesaid.

Governmentwill hold a meeting withthe BCCI.

IPLs SeasonTwo, scheduled duringthe months of April-May,is set to clash with the

Lok Sabha elections.In the aftermath

of the Lahore attacks, theHome Ministry is in nomood to compromise onthe issue of safety ofplethora of internationalcricketers that woulddescend to India for the 2m o n t h T w e n t y 2 0extravaganza.

On Tuesdayitself, Home Minister PChidambram had raisedconcerns of a possibleshortage of securitypersonals that may occurin some centers if the twohigh-profile events areheld simultaneously.

I P LCommissioner Lalit Modihad sought to assuageGovernments concernsby agreeing to re-adjustIPL dates so as toprovide a 48 hour

cushion between a match-day and a polling day.

A n ypostponement of the IPL

would result in eventualcancellation of the showpiece Twenty20 event asthere is no 2-monthwindow available on theFuture Tours Program(FTP) formulated by theICC, for rest of the year.

The likely lossesif IPL is postponed are

Rs 300 cr: BCCIstands to lose fromtelevision sponsorship

Rs 100 cr: BCCIstands to lose from on-ground sponsorship

R s 2 5 0 c r :Broadcasters stand to losethrough ad revenues

Rs 15 -20 c r :Franchisees stand to losefrom local sponsorship

R s 5 c r :Franchisees stand to loseper venue through lossesin gate money.

-Agencies

Govt to review security for IndianPremier League


8/10

Times Chennai E-Paper March 04, 2009Page 8 World

ahore, March 04:A t l e a s t 1 0

spects were arrested inahore on Wednesday innnection with the attack Sri Lankan cricketers in

e city on Tuesday, TVports say.

A c c o r d i n g t omes Now TV Channel ,ur of these suspects areghanis. The channel alsooted Pakistan interiornister as saying, "We willake sure these terroristse punished."

E a r l i e r o nednesday, Pakistanfered a reward of 125,000ollars for informationbout the militants behind aadly ambush directedainst Sri Lanka's cricketam, AP reported.

"The governmentPunjab will give a cash

ze of 10 million rupees25,000 do l la rs ) to

a n y o n e p r o v i d i n gauthentic informationabout the accusedp e r s o n s o r t h e i raccomplices," said thePunjab government in anadvertisement.

"Assist us inidentifying the terroristswho fired at the SriLankan cricket team inL a h o r e , " s a i d t h eadvertisement carried inthe nat ional press,according to AP.

The AP reportsays the advertisementcarries four photo grabst a k e n f r o m C C T Vfootage, declaring that"the dignity of the countryhas been hurt" by thefiring on the Sri Lankannational squad.

T h egovernment said the

identities of the peopleproviding information

w o u l d b e k e p tconfidential.

Pakistani forceswere scou r i ng t hecosmopolitan easterncity for a second day searching for up to 12attackers behind thebrazen assault that lefteight dead and woundedeight of the touring party.The m i l i tan ts , whoappeared young andwell-trained, attacked theSri Lankan convoy withrockets, grenades andautomatic weapons onTuesday, and then tradedfire with security forcesbefore fleeing in stolencars.

Six Pakistanipolicemen guarding theteam and two civilianswere killed. Pakistaniofficials said five people

were being interrogated- TNN

Attack on Lankans: 10 suspectsarrested in Lahore

ashington, March 04:Failure is not an

tion" in Pakistan's battleg a i n s t t e r r o r i s m ,esident Asif Ali Zardariid in an op-ed pieceblished in Wednesday'sall Street Journal.

" T h i s i s a nistential battle. If we lose,too will the world. Failure

not an option," theesident said a day after aumbai-style attack onembers of Sri Lanka'scket team in Lahorel l e d e i g h t p e o p l ecluding six Pakistanio l i c e m e n a n d t w ovilians.

Tuesday's attack,id Zardari, "shows onceain the evil we arenfronting."

Speaking for hisvernment, Zardari alsoid "we have not and will

o t n e g o t i a t e w i t h

tremist Taliban andrrorists," adding that thecently struck deal in theoubled Swat Valley wast with the Taliban.

"The clerics withhom we have engagede not Taliban," he said,

adding that Pakistan hadmade clear to the clerics" t h a t i t i s t h e i rresponsibility to rein inand neutralize Talibanand other insurgents" intheir area.

Zardari warned,however , that "oursecurity forces will actaccordingly" if the Swat

Valley authorities wereunable to control theinsurgents.

He also said thegovernment would nottolerate the closure ofany girls' schools in SwatValley, insisting that "theeducation of youngwomen is mandatory.

"This is not ane x a m p l e o f t h egovernment condoningo r c a p i t u l a t i n g t oextremism -- quite theopposite," he said inresponse to international

criticism that the womenof Swat Valley werebeing sacrificed for thesake of regional security.

The Presidentpraised the meeting lastweek in Washington ofUS, Pak is tan i and

Afghanistan top officials,calling it "a crucial stepforward in the war onterrorism and fanaticismin South and CentralAsia," and in relationsb e t w e e n t h e t w oneighbours.

"By reachingagreement, we haveovercome the past

legacy of distrust that hascharacterized Pakistani-Afghan relations ford e c a d e s a n d h a scomplicated strategicplanning and commongoals."

Zardari saidsuch "straight talk"was essential if the threecountries wanted toprevail against terrorism,"Pakistan's fight againstterrorism is relentless,"he said. He recalled thathis wife and former PrimeMinister Benazir Bhutto --

"the greatest championof democracy in myc o u n t r y " - - w a sa s s a s s i n a t e d i nDecember 2007 while"fighting for the values ofliberty."

-Agencies

'Failure not an option' in Pakistan'sterror war: Zardari

Washington, March 04:U S V i c e

President Joe Biden istravelling to Brusselsnext week to meet hisNATO allies for holdingconsultation with them onA f g h a n i s t a n a n d

Pakistan, the WhiteHouse announced onWednesday.

A White Housestatement in this regardwas issued after theterror attack on thevisiting Sri Lankan crickett e a m i n L a h o r e .However, it is unclear ifboth could be linked.

"The purpose ofhis trip is to consult withallies on Afghanistan andPakistan and to ensure

that their views helpinform the strategicrev i ew o rde red byP res i den t (B a rack )Obama," the statementsaid.

" T h e V i c ePresident also will meet

with NATO's SecretaryGeneral, with seniorleaders of the EuropeanUnion and with officials ofthe Belgian government,"it said.

Earlier, Obamaexpressed concern overthe terror attack on SriLankan cricket teammembers in Lahore.

"We're deeplyconcerned," Obama toldreporters at joint mediaavailability with British

Prime Minister GordonBrown.

" B o t h G r e a tBritain and the UnitedStates share a deepinterest in ensuring thatneither Afghanistan, norPakistan are safe havens

for terrorist activity,"Obama said.Referring to his

p o l i c y r e v i e w o nAfghanistan and Pakistan,Obama said: "I will bem ak ing a se r i es o fannouncements prior tothe NATO summit thatimmediately follows theG20 summit, in terms of thedirection that the UnitedStates would like to go.

-Agencies

Biden rushing to Brussels to consultNATO allies on Afghan-Pak

Washington, March 04:British PrimeMinister Gordon Brownaddresses a joint sessionof the US CongressW e d n e s d a y , a f t e rpushing his campaign foran overhaul of the globalfinancial system in WhiteHouse talks.

Brown took abreak from poli t icalproblems back home andb e c a m e t h e f i r s tEuropean leader to meetP r e s i d e n t B a r a c kObama in the OvalOffice, and won anassurance that US-

B r i t a i n t i e s w e r eunbreakable.He will be the

fifth British prime ministerto make the ceremoniala d d r e s s t o U Slawmakers, and wasexpected to caution thatdeve l oped na t i onsshould not take refuge inprotectionism as theybattle global economicturmoil.

At the WhiteHouse, Brown saidglobal powers couldagree a "new deal" withinmonths on fundamentalreforms of the world's

c r i p p l e d f i n a n c i a lsystem.Obama agreed

the world needed to workto head o f f fu turefinancial crises, but didnot give a specific, publicendorsement of Brown'scalls for a sweeping newg l o b a l r e g u l a t o r yframework.

Brown laid thegroundwork for G-20talks on the globaleconomic downturnwhich he will host inLondon in April. "Look,there is the possibility inthe next few months of a

global new deal that willinvolve all the countriesof the world in sorting outand cleaning up thebanking system," Browntold reporters in the OvalOffice.

"There is thepossibility of all thedifferent countries of theworld coming together to

agree the expansion inthe economy that isnecessary to restoreconfidence and to givepeople jobs and growthand prosperity for thefuture," he said.

"There is thep o s s i b i l i t y o f t h einternational institutionsfor the first time beingreformed in such a waythat they can do the jobthat people want them todo, and deal with some ofthe problems that exist inthe poorest countries ofthe world."

Earlier, in an

interview with NationalPublic Radio, Brown hadcalled for the rest of theworld to adopt the news t a n d a r d s o ft r a n s p a r e n c y ,accoun tab i l i t y andregulation like Britain andthe United States.

"There i s aglobal banking collapsethat we're dealing withconsequences of inevery country," saidBrown.

"I think there isa general understanding,whether you talk toChina, whether you talk

to the European Union oryou talk to our greatfriends here in America,that we need to show thatthe world can cometogether."

Brown addedthat those that did notpush through suchmeasures on the i rbanking systems shouldlose their prestige in theg l o b a l f i n a n c i a lcommunity.

Obama said heand Brown had talkedabout coordinating howG-20 nations coulds t i m u l a t e t h e i r

economies and adopt a" c o m m o n s e t o fprinciples" in banking tostop crisis ripple effectsimpact "onto our shores."But the President did notspecif ical ly address

Brown's "newdeal" plan or offer in-depth details of theirtalks. His spokesman

Robert Gibbs later saidObama believed it wasimportant at the G-20summit of developed anddeveloping economies toestablish "rules of the road"to head off future financialcrisis.

Obama sought todownplay reports he wasinterested in looseninghistoric ties with Britain,partly fanned in the Britishpress by reports that hehad removed a bust ofWinston Churchill from theOval Office.

" T h e s p e c i a lrelationship between the

United States and GreatBritain is one that is not justimportant to me, i t 'simportant to the Americanpeople," said the president."Great Britain is one of ourclosest, strongest alliesand there is a link, a bondthere that will not break."

O b a m a ' svanquished 2008 electionrival Republican SenatorJohn McCain also had kindwords for Brown, whoheads a Labour Partygovernment that is trailingt h e o p p o s i t i o nConservative Party inopinion polls.

" I ' m a g r e a ta d m i r e r o f G o r d o nBrown's," McCain said. "Hehas a vision on how toa d d r e s s t h e g l o b a leconomy and I think weought to consider seriouslyhis proposal." But Jon Kyl,like McCain a Republicansenator from Arizona,accused Britain of failing todo enough to forestall Iran'sdrive for nuclear weapons.

"Great Br i ta incould be more helpful thanit has been in support of USpolicies that would preventIran from acquiring nuclearweapons," Kyl told. "I

app rec i a te t ha t t h i seconomic crisis is verymuch on the minds ofpeople both in Great Britaina n d t h e U S , b u tstrategically there arethings we need to do towork together and I don'tlike to see them ignored,"he said.

British PM to take stage in US Congress

ashington, March 04:US Pres ident

a r a c k O b a m a o nednesday said the

ontier regions of Pakistanere "safe havens" for the-Qaida.

"The safe havensr al-Qaida remain in theo n t i e r r e g i o n s o fakistan," Obama toldporters in response to a

uestion at the Whiteouse during a joint pressnference with the visiting

ritish Prime Ministerordon Brown.

When asked about theattack on Sri Lankancricket team in Lahoretoday, Obama said hewas deeply concerned."But, let me just make ageneral statement," he

said." B o th Grea t

Britain and the UnitedStates share a deepinterest in ensuring thatneither Afghanistan norPakistan are safe havensfor terrorist activity. Weh a v e c o o r d i n a t e deffectively in the past, but

the truth is that thesituation in Afghanistanh a s d e t e r i o r a t e d , "Obama said.

Referring to theongoing comprehensivereview of US policies with

respect to Afghanistanand Pakistan, Obamasaid: "I will be making aseries of announcementsprior to the NATO summitthat immediately followsthe G-20 summit in termsof the direction that theUnited States would liketo go."

Pak frontier region safe haven for al-Qaida: Obama


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