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Ahmedabad Page 1

News Brief

VOL. 49 NO.189 AHMEDABAD THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Malala expressesgratitude to UAEleader

Abu Dhabi, Malala Yousafzai, the

Pakistani education activ-ist attacked by the Taliban,has expressed her grati-tude to Sheikh MohamedBin Zayed Al Nahyan,crown prince of AbuDhabi and deputy su-preme commander of theUAE armed forces, forstanding by her duringher ordeal.

In a meeting withSheikha Fatima BintMubarak, chairperson ofthe UAE General Women'sUnion (GWU) and of theFamily DevelopmentFoundation (FDF) hereTuesday, Malala said thatSheikh Mohamed's sup-port for her medical treat-ment gave her a newlease of life. Following theattack by the Taliban onthe schoolgirl and rightsactivist in 2012, SheikhMohamed had dis-patched a medical teamto evaluate and facilitateher transfer to Britain forlifesaving medicaltreatment.During themeeting, Sheikha Fatimaunderscored the vital im-portance of education toempower women for abetter future in consis-tence with tolerant Is-lamic teachings awayfrom extremism, fanati-cism and introversion.

Spanish designercreates Latin-styleBarbie

Los Angeles, When Neysa Bove mi-

grated from Spain to theUS, she was a little girlwith three Barbies in hersuitcase -- today, as a pro-fessional fashion designer,she creates new ward-robes for the classic doll.

"I design Barbies inevening dress so shelooks elegant, as if she isgoing to a party, and oth-ers in one-piece bathingsuits," Bove said.

The designer createsher elegant, stylish Barbieclothing in El Segundocity in California.

"I work in the AverageBarbies department,where we create clothesfit for a normal person,which is different fromour Fantasy department,where they dress upBarbies like sirens, fairiesand other imaginary char-acters," the 27-year-olddesigner said.

Last threeUyghurs freedfrom Guantanamo

Washington, The US has trans-

ferred to Slovakia the lastthree prisoners of theUyghur community fromChina at the US Navy basein Guantanamo, the Pen-tagon has said.

Yusef Abbas, SaidullahKhalik and HajiabkarAbdul Ghuper were freedin compliance with anOctober 2008 federalcourt order and movedvoluntarily to Slovakia, ac-cording to the DefenseDepartment statementTuesday.All three men areChinese citizens. Themainly Muslim Uyghursare the largest ethnicgroup in the northwest-ern Chinese province ofXinjiang.In 2003, the USmilitary came to the con-clusion that the Uyghurswere not enemy combat-ants fighting against theUS, and in 2006 the ad-ministration of PresidentGeorge W. Bush sent fiveUyghur prisoners fromGuantanamo to Albania.

US President BarackObama promised duringhis 2008 electoral cam-paign that he would closethe prison atGuantanamo, but ran intocongressional oppositionand the refusal of othercountries to accept thosereleased.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidentRamesh Chennithala being administered oath byGovernor Nikhil Kumar at the Raj Bhavan. Also seenKerala chief minister O ommen Chand y inThiruvananthapuram

Vehicles covered with snow following heavy snowfall throw-ing life out of gear in Srinagar

Children warm themselves at a bonfire as tem-peratures plunged during new year, in Chandigarh

Panaji, BJP party workers will

organise car pools to ferrypeople to the rally of theparty's prime ministerialcandidate Narendra Modi,scheduled in Goa later thismonth, Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar saidWednesday.

Parrikar, speaking to re-porters at the BharatiyaJanata Party state head-quarters in Panaji, said hewould go on a door-to-doorcampaign, dishing out invi-tations for what is beingbilled as Goa's biggest pub-lic meeting.

"Buses are in short sup-ply. We would only be ableto arrange 700 or 800 buses.So we have asked ourpeople to come by car, andbring neighbours along,"

Car pools to ferry crowdsfor Modi's Goa rally

Parrikar said, adding that theJan 12 'NaMo' meetingwould be the biggest pub-lic gathering Goa has ever

seen.Parrikar said 100,000

people are set to gather tohear Narendra Modi, andeach of them would pay Rs.5for entering the venue ofthe rally.

An extensive reach-outcampaign had beenplanned by the party to lurea large audience to themeeting, to be held on theoutskirts of Panaji.

Parrikar said that in hisown constituency, he wouldinvite people to the rally bygoing door-to-door.

"I will ensure that I willcover at least 10 booths outof 30 in Panaji by goingdoor-to-door to invitepeople. Our workers will alsofan out across Goa doingthe same thing," Parrikarsaid.

Baby born inMexico patrol car

Mexico City,A baby was born in a pa-

trol car in Mexico when of-ficers were rushing themother to a hospital, theFederal Police said.

The incident took placein Tlaxcala state in centralMexico.

Officers spotted an au-tomobile that had brokendown on the Mexico City-Zacatepec national highwayand stopped to help themotorist. They saw a manand a woman inside.

ISAF soldier dies inAfghanistan

Kabul, A soldier with the

NATO-led International Se-cur ity Assistance Force(ISAF) in Afghanistan lost hislife to a non-battle relatedinjury Wednesday, a state-ment of the alliance re-leased here said.

"An International Secu-rity Assistance Force servicemember died as a result ofa non-battle related injury insouthern Afghanistan to-day," Xinhua reported citingthe statement.

Troops mostly from theUS and Britain have beenserving in the southern re-gion of Afghanistan.

This is the first casualtythat ISAF suffered in 2014 inthe conflict-ridden Afghani-stan where the NATO-ledmultinational peacekeep-ing force is going to endcombat mission by the endof the year. In 2013, a totalof 160 service members ofthe NATO-led forces losttheir lives in Afghanistan.

Chopper scam: India cancelsRs 3,600-crore deal

New Delhi:India has cancelled the

Rs. 3,600 crore VVIP chop-per deal with British manu-facturer AgustaWestlandover allegations that it wasriddled with k ickbacks,sources in the Defence Min-istry have told reporter.

The cancellation cameafter a meeting betweenDefence Minister A KAntony with Prime MinisterManmohan Singh early thismorning.

The 12-chopper dealwas reportedly cancelledbecause of "violation of thepre-contract integrity pact,"sources in the Defence Min-istry have said. The case mayturn into a legal tangle forthe government as three ofthe 12 helicopters have al-ready been delivered to In-dia and nearly one-third ofthe payment has been

made.In February 2013, India

froze the deal with Agusta,which is owned by Italiandefence manufacturerF i n m e c c a n i c a .AgustaWestland has deniedany wrongdoing but topexecutives of Finmeccanicaare being investigated forpaying bribes at home andabroad. The Italian inquiryforced India to investigatethe deal that was signed in2010. As part of its probe,the Central Bureau of Inves-tigation or CBI has allegedthat former Air Force ChiefSP Tyagi was among thosewho accepted bribes fromFinmeccanica which used amaze of companies in coun-ties like Mauritius to routepayments to officers.

Air Chief Marshall Tyagihas rejected the allegationsagainst him.

India, Pak exchange nuclear facilities listNew Delhi,

Pakistan and India onWednesday exchanged thelist of their nuclear installa-tions under a bilateralagreement that bars themfrom attacking each other’satomic facilities.

Pakistan handed overlist of its nuclear installationto the Indian High Commis-sion in Islamabad. SimilarlyExternal Affair Ministryhanded over its list to Paki-

stan High Commission inNew Delhi.

The agreement, whichwas signed on December31, 1988 and entered intoforce on January 27, 1991,says that the two countriesinform each other of nuclearinstallations and facilities tobe covered under theAgreement on January 1 ofevery calendar year.

This is the 23rd consecu-tive exchange of such lists

between the two countries,the first one having takenplace on January 1, 1992.

Pakistan and India alsoexchanged the lists of pris-oners under the ConsularAccess Agreement betweenthe two countries.

According to ForeignOffice here, Pakistan hashanded over a list of 281 In-dian prisoners while Indiahas reciprocated with a listdetailing 396 Pakistani pris-oners held in Indian jails.

As per the list, there are232 Indian fishermen and49 civilians in Pakistan jails.

India has 396 Pakistaniprisoners of which 257 arecivilians whereas 139 arefishermen.

Panaji, The chaos triggered by

the brutal murder of 35-year-old Nigerian SimeonObobo, allegedly by a rivaldrug mafia in Goa, and thesubsequent arson has diedout. But far away, in the oil-rich Nigerian state of Imo,home to a large chunk ofIndian energy industry pro-fessionals, it's still creatingripples.

When the body ofObodo, who was murderedin October, finally landedand was secured in amorgue in theneighbouring Rivers State, itwas amidst an atmosphereof despondence within thefamily and anger amidst theOhaji Egbemas, a powerfulcommunity in Imo, whohave openly warned retri-bution against the Indiancommunity there.

Speaking to IANS viatelephone Ejike Esinkonye,Obodo's kin, said both theIndian and Nigerian na-

Murder in India still echoes in Nigeriational governments had letdown the family. "The Indiangovernment has not said ordone anything to show re-morse over such an uglysituation. The Nigerian for-eign affairs ministry hasmade its position known toIndia, which includes bring-ing the body back to Nige-ria and according him a de-cent burial. The governmentof India has reneged andfailed to do it," Esinkonyesaid, adding that the Nige-rian government did notpush the Indian authoritiesenough to do so. "The Fed-eral Government promisedto draw the attention of theIndian government to thisand see what can be donebut up till now, nothing hasbeen done," he added.

The legal, funeral, mor-tuary and flight expensesalone cost Obodo's familynearly 6.5 million nairas($40,000), which was borneafter selling of family prop-erty by the deceased's

mother, wife and son.Obobo's murder has

been dubbed as the handi-work of a Goan drug-run-ning gang by the local po-lice, who despite having ar-rested over half a dozenpeople in connection withthe murder, have also beenaccused of turning a blindeye to politically supportedbig drug dealers, who alleg-edly orchestrated the killing.

While Obodo - as well ashis Nigerian compatriotswho started a messy riot fol-lowing the murder - hasbeen referred to in policebriefings as one having af-filiations to Nigerian drugdealers, Esinkonye claimsthat he was a member of therespected clan of Imo's AlaNwaku priests.

"My family is in pain, mycommunity is in pain overthe death of one of thebrightest and they shouldnot expect us to bear thispain alone. Simeon Obodowas a bona fide law-abiding

Nigerian before he was mur-dered in India," Esinkonyeclaimed.

Esinkonye also led a del-egation of Imo's OhajiEgbema community tomeet Nigerian Foreign Af-fairs Minister Viola Onwuliriin capital Abuja last monthto take up Obodo's issue aswell as to convey the angerof his community againstthe murder and the subse-quent arrest of nearly 50 Ni-gerians for arson and rioting.Over 40 were later releasedon bail. Esinkonye's veiledthreat is a grim reminder ofthe open threat issued byNigerian diplomats in Indiawho had warned of retribu-tion against Indians in theAfrican country, if the Goagovernment did not stopracial discrimination. Rich incrude oil and natural gas,Imo has several thousandIndians living within its juris-diction, apart from the flour-ishing Indian expat commu-nity living there.

Aam aadmi atKejriwal's housewish him New Year

Ghaziabad, A large number of

people gathered outsidethe private residence ofDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal Wednesday to wishhim a happy New Year.

Supporters and com-mon people camped out-side the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief Kejriwal's privateresidence at Kaushambinear the national capitalsince early Wednesday withcards, bouquets and variousother gift items. A 60-year-old flower seller fromHaryana, Samay Singh de-signed a floral pattern(Rangoli) outside Kejriwal'sresidence gate and waitedfor the new chief minister towish him a happy New Year."I am very happy to be hereon this occasion. WhenKejriwal came out from hisresidence, he thanked mefor the floral pattern de-sign," Singh told IANS excit-edly. Hundreds of peoplethronged outside Kejriwal'shouse, with flowers, bou-quets and other small gifts.AAP's volunteers took thebouquets and deliveredthese to Kejriwal.

Salary of embassy staff basedupon prevailing local wages: US

New York,The US has said that the

salary of its embassy staff incountries around the worldis based on prevailingwages in conjunction withthe local law.

"Generally, compensa-tion plans for locally em-ployed staff at US Mis-sions abroad are basedupon pre vai l ing wagerates and compensationpractices for correspond-ing types of positions inthe employment locality,"a State DepartmentSp okesperson said onTuesday.

The spokesperson wasresponding to a question onwhether the US embassycomplies with local wagelaws. The issue of salariespaid to employees in the USembassy and consulates inIndia came to the fore aftersenior Indian diplomatDevyani Khob

ragade was arrested inNew York on December 12on charges of making falsedeclarations in a visa appli-cation for her maid

UP's new top cop favourscommissioner system of policing

Sangeeta Richard.Subsequently, she was

strip searched and held injail with drug addicts andcriminals which triggered arow between the US and In-dia. Khobragade, 39, was re-leased on a $250,000 bond.

Following the arrest ofKhobragade, India hassought details of salaries ofthe Indians working at theAmerican Embassy in NewDelhi and its other diplo-matic missions.

According to informa-tion available, Indian staffworking at US embassies in-cluding cooks and driversare paid between anamount of Rs. 12,000 to Rs.15,000 ($200 to 250) whichis below the minimum wageof $9.47 per hour applicablein New York or in any otherUS city.

However people closeto the US embassy are of theopinion that despite currentnegative reporting in India,the embassy is generous inthe matters related to com-pensation to local employ-ees.

Lucknow, Newly-appointed Uttar

Pradesh Director General ofPolice Rizwan AhmedWednesday said he wouldpush for prompt implemen-tation of the commissionersystem of policing in selecttowns and cities on a toppriority-basis in the comingdays.

Talking to IANS, the topcop, who rose to the post su-perseding four others thusbagging the top post inworld's largest police force,said he had already, as direc-tor-general (railways), sub-mitted a proposal to thestate government on thecommissioner format of po-licing for cities like Kanpur,Varanasi, Agra andAllahabad, as also state capi-tal Lucknow.

Ahmed is a 1978-batchIndian Police Service officer.

"The ground work hasbeen completed, and thestate government isfavourably disposed to thenew format. I am sure thingswill move soon in the rightdirection" he told IANS.

Listing another priorityduring his brief, two-month

term (he is set to retire Feb28), the new DGP said hewould sensitise policemento the problems of thepeople, and ensure thatthey were more caring andcareful in dealing withmembers of the public.

Admitting that his was abrief tenure, Ahmed, knownfor his proximity to rulingSamajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh, said hewould try to do whateverwas best for the state and itspopulace.

The new police chief hasbeen given the charge ofensuring communal peace.His mission is to promptlycontain communal flare-ups, if any.

Many senior officials,however, aver that he haslittle time on his hands, toolittle to effect lastingchanges.

"The state needs a long-serving top cop to initiatefar-reaching changes. This(appointment) is a stop-gaparrangement, just the politi-cal leadership sending amessage to the minorities inthe state," a senior policeofficial said.

Mexico City,A Mexican engineer has

designed and built a robotsaid to be the world's "mostadvanced robot pianist"with 10 degrees of move-ment, his engineeringschool said.

Miguel Adad MartinezGenis, a graduate from theNational Polytechnic Insti-tute (IPN), and who workswith the IPN's Interdiscipli-nary Engineering and Ad-vanced Technology Profes-sional Unit, is the creator ofRohmus.

Rohmus, which took twoyears to develop, is the"world's most advanced ro-bot pianist", Martinez Genissaid. Piano-playing robotshave been developed in theUS, Italy, China and Mexico'sPuebla state, but they canonly raise and lower theirfingers, while Rohmus canalso open and close hishands, the engineer said.

This additional ability al-lows Rohmus to play notesin more complicated pieces,the IPN said in a statement.

"The project star tedwith research on theanatomy and physiology ofthe hand (and) arm, theanalysis of their movementsand functions. Later, I soughtout piano teachers and pia-nists from the Fine ArtsTraining School, who pro-

Mexican engineer makespiano-playing robot

vided me with informationabout movements, thespeed and strength withwhich you have to hit thekeys," Martinez Genis said.

One of the upgradesplanned for Rohmus is togive it facial recognition ca-pabilities so it can see andrecognise the voice of theperson standing in front ofit and discuss its repertoire,the engineer said.

Parrikar praisesfellow IITian Kejriwal

Panaji, IIT alumnus Arvind

Kejriwal has shown the rightintent. Now people have towait and see if he can deliveron his promises, Goa ChiefMinister Manohar Parrikar, alsoan IIT graduate, said Wednes-day. "He has shown the rightintent. Let us see if he can de-liver," Parrikar told reporters atthe Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) state headquarters.Parrikar studied metallurgy atthe Indian Institute of Technol-ogy (IIT) Powai. He was theonly chief minister with aneducational stint at the presti-gious chain of institutes, untilAam Aadmi Party leaderKejriwal, who passed out ofthe equally elite IIT Kharagpur,was sworn in as chief ministerof Delhi last month.

Ahmedabad, Page 2

Editorial2FromEditor’sDesk.......

Satanic dance, indeedThe twin bombing in the southern Russian city of

Volvograd, which come on the heels of an almost identi-cal terror attack in the same city in October is a horrificreminder of the Islamist threat that looms large on theWinter Olympics in Sochi. To be held between February 7and 23, 2014, the high-profile Game shave become an at-tractive target for insurgent groups operating in the Mus-lim-majority, autonomous republics of the Caucuses. Ear-lier this year, Doku Umarov, a jihadi leader from theChechen Republic, urged his followers to “use maximumforce” and stop the Games, which he described as “Satanicdancing”, from proceeding “on the bones of our ancestors,the bones of many dead Muslims.” While it remains un-clear if the two suicide bombers who attacked Volvograd,first at a crowded railroad station on Sunday and then ina trolley bus on Monday, were affiliated with Umarov’sgroup, most agree that they were influenced by the mancommonly known as ‘Russia’s Bin Laden’. At first glance,the terrorists’ destination choice may seem odd give thatthe resort town of Sochi lies almost 690 kilometres south-west of Volvograd. But the latter is close to the CaucusesRepublics and a major transportation hub that connectsthe region to Moscow, which possibly explains why it hasbeen targeted. Collectively, the bombings have claimeda few dozen lives already -- and the death toll is still rising-- making them one of the most deadly attacks to havehit the Russian Heartland in recent years. Moreover, noother country hosting an Olympics game has witnessedterror strikes, on this scale, so close to the main event inrecent memory.

Understandably, the attacks have cast a shadow onPresident Vladimir Putin’s promise that the Sochi Olym-pics will be the safest ever. Of course, given the formidablesecurity arrangement that he is putting in place -- Sochi,for instance, will be under effective lockdown from Janu-ary 7 -- there is reason enough to hope that he will beable to keep his word. But assuming even that all goeswell at the Games, the chances of more terror attacks, out-side and away from Sochi, in other parts of the countrycannot be written off. Even a low profile incident at thistime will be portrayed as a major victory by the Islamists.

But the debate on whether there may be more suchattacks in run up to the Games is only relevant in the shortterm. In the long term, Kremlin will remain saddled withthe centuries-old problem of dealing with large swathesof land that it can neither fully absorb nor relinquish en-tirely. Many had hoped that President Putin’s pacifist poli-cies would bring about a certain degree of peace and sta-bility -- he had, after all, managed to take the sting out ofthe Chechan movement and, in fact, the Sochi Olympicswas supposed to be his showcase event for how the jihadishad been brought under control. But as this week’s eventsshow, the insurgency is far from being neutralized. Sure,in Chechnya for instance, it is not at the same levels as itoperated in the 90s but post-2008, the movement hasbeen on the upswing. Moreover, the situation in theneighbouring Republic of Dagestan has worsened con-siderably with Moscow’s hold on that region becomingincreasingly tenuous.

Huge sections of the Tijuana-Ensenada toll road on the Baja California peninsula collapsed (top andbottom right) and slid into the Pacific Ocean, closing the major highway that leads to Mexico's third busiestcruise ship terminal. A cement truck driver was rescued from his vehicle as the road and his truck (left)collapsed.

Walking arm in arm, a couple of newlyweds, the bride clad in a snow-white bridal gown and her proudhusband in a smart suit, celebrated their nuptials last Saturday. But rather than a formal reception withfriends and family, the scene unfolding around them in Kiev, Ukraine was one of conflict and political pro-test. In light of this thought-provoking image, FEMAIL looks back on weddings celebrated in difficult cir-cumstances, which reflect that even in times of hardship and war love can flourish.

When Hannah Campbell was shot in the stomach while serving in Iraq, shewas told she would never be able to have a baby. The 28-year-old was given thedevastating news by doctors after being dug out from underneath the rubbleof a blasted building. But now, against all the odds, Miss Campbell has aston-ished doctors by becoming pregnant. The former soldier, who has weekly scansto check on the strength of her womb, is six months pregnant by her long-termpartner, Anthony McMorrow, 32, and has so far had a healthy pregnancy.

After water, Kejriwalmoves on power promise

New Delhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday ful-

filled his second major election promise by provid-ing 50 percent subsidy in the power tariff to benefitan estimated 28 lakh households.

Kejriwal, who took oath of office Saturday, alsosuggested an audit of the power companies in thecapital, giving them time until Wednesday morningto file their objections, if any.

In the meantime, he said that those consumingup to 400 units - 0 to 200 units and 201 to 400 units- of electricity a month would get 50 percent sub-sidy.

The new power rates will come into effect fromWednesday - Jan 1.

"The measure would benefit 28 of the 34 lakhhouseholds in Delhi," Kejriwal told reporters after thecabinet meeting.

He said the intended beneficiaries are the poorand the middle class.Kejriwal estimated the revisionin electricity tarif would cost the government Rs.200crore but Rs.140 crore of this would be borne by thepower companies against their outstanding.

Tuesday's decision came a day after he an-nounced that 667 litres of water would be providedfree of charge to all households in the capital whohave metered connections.Kejriwal, whose AamAadmi Party made providing water and drasticallycutting power rates its main election promise, alsomet Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) ShashiKant Sharma to seek an audit of the power distribu-tion companies in teh capital.

He said the Congress government lied totheDelhi High Court when it objected to auditing ofpower discoms. "The CAG is ready for the audit," headded.Delhi has three power discoms - BSESRajdhani ower Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limitedand North Delhi Power Limited.Kejriwal told themedia his government would wait for the responsesfrom the companies before taking a final decisionon the audit. go for audit or not," he said.Reacting tothe decision, Bharatiya Janata Party leader HarshVardhan said: "This is no reduction actually. He is giv-ing subsidy to the people at the cost of tax payers'money, which is meant for implementation of wel-fare schemes."

Jalpaiguri blast methodalarming, says Mamata

Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Min-

ister Mamata Banerjee Tues-day condemned the blast inJalpaiguri which claimed sixlives, and said the way theexplosion was carried outwas alarming.

"The way the peoplewere killed and the materi-als used in the blast, it's veryalarming and dangerous,"Banerjee told the media af-ter a meeting with unionHome Secretary AnilGoswami at the state secre-

tariat here.While police sus-pect involvement of theKamtapur LiberationOrganisation (KLO) in theblast, Banerjee denied dis-cussing the separatist outfitduring her meeting withGoswami."No, there was nodiscussion (about) anythinglike that," she said.

Banerjee asserted thather government will reha-bilitate those who have losttheir dear ones in the blast.

She said people who in-dulge in violence shouldnever be tolerated."It's the

Rajbanshi people who havebeen killed. It's unfortunate,"said Banerjee."Those whohave been killed are part ofour family... why do suchthings happen' These thingscan never be tolerated.""Intoday's world, why does ourmindset not change' Thosewho indulge in violence, ri-ots, nobody should givethem indulgence. Like goodpeople exist, there are alsosome black sheep, thoughtheir number is less,"Banerjee added.Meanwhile,one more person was ar-rested Tuesday, taking thetotal number of people ar-rested to three over the DecJalpaiguri.Confirming thearrest, Jalpaiguri Superin-tendent of Police Amit P.Javalgi said the 25-year-oldyouth was nabbed fromKharibari area inneighbouring Darjeelingdistrict.Police arrestedformer KLO memberChandan Roy fromJalpaiguri and KamtapurPeoples Party general secre-tary Nubas Burman fromCooch Behar district.TheKLO has been demanding aKamtapur state comprisings and South Dinajpur andMalda - of West Bengal andfour distric ts of Assam -Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon,Dhubri and Goalpara.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Climate change causingmangroves to grow in Florida

Washington, Mangrove trees, which

are highly sensitive to cold,have expanded enormouslyon the Atlantic coast ofFlorida as the frequency offrosts has diminished, says astudy.

The analysis of satellitedata compiled over 28 yearsby the University of Mary-land and the SmithsonianEnvironmental ResearchCenter showed that during1984-2011 the Florida coast,from Miami northwards, has

gained more than 1,240hectares of mangroves.

The study was pub-lished in the Proceedings ofthe National Academy ofSciences.

Mangroves form a biom-ass of trees that tolerate saltin tidal areas near freshwa-ter estuaries on tropicalcoastlines.Mangroves sup-port great biological diver-sity, including numerousspecies of crustaceans, fish,birds and molluscs.All themangrove expansion noted

in the study occurred northof Palm Beach County, withmangroves between CapeCanaveral and St. Augustinedoubling their area.

Mangroves do bestalong the calm, shallow wa-ters of tropical shores, whilesalt marshes occupy thatecological niche in temper-ate zones.Both salt marshesand mangroves help con-tain flooding, store atmo-spheric carbon and contrib-ute to the expansion of theland mass.

Indefinite blockade starts in BangladeshDhaka,

The Bangladesh Nation-alist Party (BNP)-led opposi-tion alliance Wednesday en-forced a countrywide indefi-nite blockade of road, railand waterways to opposeparliamentary electionsslated for Jan 5.Calling thefresh protests in the capital,BNP chairperson's adviserKhandaker MahbubHossain said the country-wide blockade would con-tinue until the next an-nouncement, reported TheDaily Star. The oppositionwould stage demonstra-tions across the country toprotest the government ac-tion against the oppositionparties in the last two days,added Hossain, who is alsovice-chairman ofBangladesh Bar Council.

Prime Minister SheikhHasina will address three ral-lies here Wednesday as part

of her election campaignamid the opposition's threatto cripple the countrythrough the new round ofblockade, bdnews24.comreported.

The BNP-led 18-party al-liance has enforced sinceNov 26, last year, a nation-wide blockade for 22 days inphases, demanding the can-cellation of the Jan 5 polls.

Violent clashes and kill-ings have claimed at least122 lives during the period.

The government keptthe capital cut off from therest of the country to foil theopposition's march with thehelp of heavily reinforcedsecurity forces.

BNP chief Khaleda Ziawas confined to her resi-dence, which was cordonedoff by police. Police alsosealed the party headquar-ters at Nayapaltan and ad-joining areas, strictly restrict-

ing people's movement.Police did not also allow

BNP leaders to meet Zia.They detained BNP MPRasheda Begum Hira,former MP Halima Newazand party vice-chairpersonSelima Rahman for twohours as they tried to enterZia's house. The three lead-ers were released upon fur-nishing bonds.BNP actingsecretary general MirzaFakhrul Islam Alamgir Tues-day night urged the peopleto join the indefinite block-ade to prevent the 'one-sided' polls.Alamgir saidthey would be able to forcethe government to post-pone the polls and give in totheir demand for a non-party poll-time governmentthrough the freshprogramme."The country isfacing severe crisis. It is amust to toughen the move-ment against the one-sided

election and to protect thecountry, democracy andpeople's basic rights,"Alamgir added. He claimedthat the prime minister hasbecome a "dictator".TheBNP-led 18-party alliancehas enforced since Nov 26,last year, a nationwideblockade for 22 days inphases, demanding thecancellation of the Jan 5polls. BNP acting secretarygeneral Mirza Fakhrul IslamAlamgir Tuesday nighturged the people to join theindefinite blockade to pre-vent the 'one-sided' polls.

Alamgir said they wouldbe able to force the govern-ment to postpone the pollsand give in to their demandfor a non-party poll-timegovernment through thefresh programme.

Violent clashes and kill-ings have claimed at least122 lives during the period.

The government keptthe capital cut off from therest of the country to foil theopposition's march with thehelp of heavily reinforcedsecurity forces.AwamiLeague joint general secre-tary Jahangir Kabir Nanak,however, said his party wasn agitation as its supporterswould be out on the streetsto foil the blockade.The BNPleaders have called the polls153 constituencies won un-contested following theopposition's boycott."Thiselections has become afarce as internationalorganisations and Westerncountries have decided notto send observers. This hasguaranteed AwamiLeague's moral and politicaldefeat," Alamgir said."Wewant to say clearly that stay-ing in power is not possiblethrough trickery and bully-ing."

Musharraf skips court appearanceciting security threats

Islamabad, Former Pakistani presi-

dent Pervez MusharrafWednesday again failed toappear before a specialcourt for a hearing in a hightreason case against him,with his lawyers citing secu-rity threats.

A three-member benchhad summoned Musharrafto formally frame charges ofhigh treason against him.However, his defence law-yers told the court that theformer president could notappear for lack of security,Xinhua reported.

Police earlier claimed tohave arrested two suspectsfrom a roadside restauranton Musharraf's route tocourt. They also said theyhad recovered explosivesnear Musharraf's house andon the route to the court.

Senior police officerstold the court that a bullet-proof vehicle had been pro-vided for Musharraf, butadded the police did nothave bomb-proof vehicles.

Justice Faisal Arab, whoheads the special court, wasunhappy with Musharraf'sabsence and said the courtwould issue fresh orders for

his appearance. He re-marked that courts con-tinue to operate duringwars, adding Musharraf can-not avoid the hearing be-cause of security threats.

Musharraf's defencelawyer, Ahmed Raza Kasuri,told reporters that securityremained a major issue thatstopped his client from per-sonal appearance in thecourt.

Musharraf also did notappear in the previous hear-ing Dec 24.

The government hadinitiated treason chargesagainst the former militaryruler for suspending, sub-verting and abrogating theconstitution, imposing anemergency in the country inNovember 2007 and detain-ing judges of the superiorcourts. Legal experts say thecharges carry death penaltyor life imprisonment.

Musharraf's lawyersraised objections at thecourt and said Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif had per-sonally nominated judgesand had bypassed the cabi-net.

The lawyers have alsorequested the court to delay

the hearing for five weeks.They had earlier tried tostop the trial on the pleathat the special court has nopower to try a former armychief and that a militarycourt can try him under thearmy act.Sharif announcedin June the initiation of thehigh treason case againstthe former military presi-dent. The decision hadevoked mixed reaction ascritics were of the view thatPakistan faces several seri-ous challenges and cannotafford such a trial for themoment.

South Sudan's armyloses strategic city

Khartoum, South Sudan's army ad-

mitted Wednesday thatrebels had seized Bor city,the capital of Jonglei state,but said "the fighting is stillgoing on".

Philip Aguer, thespokesman of the SudanPeople's Liberation Army,said in South Sudan's capi-tal Juba: "Yes, we have al-ready withdrawn from thecity of Bor."

According to Aguer,forces loyal to former vicepresident Riek Machar havetaken control of the city af-ter the Sudan People's Lib-eration Army troops with-drew, "but the fighting isstill going on", Xinhua re-ported.

Aguer further explainedthat the forces which at-tacked Bor were a mix ofdefected soldiers, rebelsfollowing commander Pe-ter Gadet and a militiaknown as "White Army"comprising fighters fromthe Nuer tribe to whichMachar belongs."Machar is

trying, by all means, to seizepower by force, and to do sohe uses the forces of Nuertribe and all the rebelgroups against the state,"Aguer added.Machar an-nounced Tuesday hisagreement on an immedi-ate cease-fire and negotia-tions with the government,but Aguer said at the timeof the announcement, "hisforces were attacking Bor".

During the past twoweeks, South Sudan haswitnessed clashes betweentwo military factions, onedescending from the Dinkatribe, to which SouthSudanese President SalvaKiir Mayardit belongs, andthe other descending fromthe Nuer tribe, to whichMachar belongs, who is ac-cused of plotting to topplethe government.

According to UN reports,the clashes have left thou-sands dead and 121,600 ci-vilians displaced. About63,000 people have takenrefuge at various UN com-pounds across the country.

Who will replace Chennithalaas chief of Congress in Kerala'

Thiruvananthapuram, With the president of

the Kerala unit of CongressRamesh Chennithala swornin as a minister in theOommen Chandy cabinetWednesday, there is curios-ity about who will step intohis shoes.Chennithala be-came president of the partyin 2005, and has been hold-ing fort since then. Over theyears, the party in the statehas been divided betweenfactions, which at first owedallegiance to K. Karunakaranand A.K. Antony. The posts ofchief minister and stateCongress chief have beenshared between the twofactions.

Also, when it came todistribution of seats in elec-tions and even for inductioninto the state cabinet, carewas taken to offer represen-tation to both factions.

In recent times, the fac-tions have coalescedaround Chandy andChennithala, and there isnow great curiosity aboutwho will now take the place

of party president."Don't you know' All

such decisions are taken bythe party high command,and who will be the newpresident is also a decisionthe leadership will take,"Chief Minister OommenChandy said.

Among those whosenames are doing therounds are assemblyspeaker G. Karthikeyan,union Minister of State forHome MulapallyRamachandran, veteranleader V.M. Sudheeran andKannur strongman K.Sudhakaran. Defence Minis-ter A.K. Antony, seen as hav-ing the complete confi-dence of the party highcommand and usually theone to have the last word inparty affairs in his homestate, was instrumental inensuring that Chennithalachanged his mind aboutjoining the state cabinet. Inthe past year, Chennithalahas categorically claimedhe would not join theChandy cabinet.

Ahmedabad Page 3

Business Brief

Business 3

The latest wave of bad weather is set to push in from the Atlantic, crossing the UK from west to east, TheMet Office said. For some people living in Gloucestershire, already the new year has brought bad news,after heavy rain caused a landslip and made the B4058 from Nailsworth to Horsley near Stroud impassable.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Kerala launches lottery to fundpoor women's marriages

Thiruvananthapuram, As a New Year gift to poor women in Kerala, the

state government Wednesday launched a speciallottery where the revenue will go to a fund that willprovide a marriage aid of Rs.30,000 each to fami-lies of weaker sections.

"This programme was announced in the laststate budget and the entire revenue generatedthrough the Mangalaya Lottery would go to everywomen in the below poverty line category whenshe gets married," Chief Minister Oommen Chandytold reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The programme would also cover families in theabove poverty line category but whose annual in-come does not exceed Rs.1 lakh.

The government decided to go ahead with thisnew scheme after the success of a similar schemenamed Karunya Lottery launched in 2011 by theChandy government.The Karunya Benevolent Fundhas so far funded the medical expenses of around22,000 patients to the extent of Rs.286 crore.

The fund is providing financial assistance tounderprivileged people suffering from cancer,haemophilia, kidney and heart diseases.

The state-owned lottery in Kerala has nevermade a loss since its inception in 1967. The totalrevenue from lottery sales then was Rs.20 lakh.

The total sales of the lottery in the last fiscalstood at Rs.2,778.80 crore, with a profit of Rs.681.76crore.

Decision on audit of power companiesWednesday: Kejriwal

New Delhi, The final decision on the audit of power compa-

nies in the national capital will be taken Wednesday,Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

"The power companies were supposed to sendtheir replies by (Wednesday) noon, the final decisionwill be taken today," he told reporters outside Delhiassembly.

Kejriwal, who took oath as chief minister Saturday,fulfilled his second major election promise Tuesday,reducing power tariff through subsidy, a move ex-pected to benefit an estimated 28 lakh households.

Those consuming up to 400 units -- up to 200 unitsand 201 to 400 units -- of electricity a month wouldnow get a 50 percent subsidy.

Kejriwal had Tuesday expressed hope that after theaudit, there would be no need for subsidy.

He Wednesday agreed that slashing electricityrates through subsidy was not a sustainable solution.

"This is not a sustainable way. That is why an auditis needed. This is just to give some relief to the peopletill a long-term solution is found," he said.

Kejriwal had Tuesday met Comptroller and Audi-tor General (CAG) Shashi Kant Sharma to seek an au-dit of the three power distribution companies in thecapital.

The three discoms in question -- Reliance compa-nies BSES, BSES Rajdhani (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna(BYPL) -- have had their accounts described earlier bythe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as being "fudged and un-reliable" and thus untrustworthy regarding their rev-enues situation.

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Tata Power lauds Delhi govt's subsidising 50 percent rate cutNew Delhi,

The capital's third elec-tricity company, Tata PowerDelhi Distr ibution Ltd(TPDDL) Wesdnesday wel-comed the DelhiGovernment's move to give50 percent subsidy onpower consumption up to400 units a month.

"It is a good move fromthe point of view of con-sumers. It will provide themrelief. I welcome the deci-sion by the government,"Tata Power Delhi Distribu-tion Ltd (TPDDL) CEO PravirSinha told mediapersonshere. The newly installedAam Aadmi Party (AAP)government Tuesday an-nounced a 50 percent sub-sidy on power consumptionup to 400 units in Delhi,which will benefit around2.5 million consumers in thecity. The Delhi governmenton Tuesday also asked thestate's electricity distribu-tion companies (discoms) tostate their objections totheir likely audit by thecountry's Comptroller andAuditor General (CAG).

"If the law of the landdemands that (the CAG au-

dit), we will definitely com-ply with the directive. Wewill comply with all thestatutory and administrativelaws and regulations," Sinhasaid in response to a queryon the issue.

He said TPDDL was re-sponding to government'scommunication on makingtheir stand clear on the CAGscrutiny of the companies.

The other Delhi discoms-- Reliance companies BSESRajdhani (BRPL) and BSESYamuna (BYPL) -- have hadtheir accounts describedearlier by the AAP as being"fudged and unreliable"and, therefore, untrustwor-thy regarding their rev-enues situation.

TPDDL supplies toaround 1.3 million consum-ers in the north and northWest parts of Delhi.

A senior CAG source toldIANS that since private com-

panies are generally beyondthe CAG's purview, such anaudit would create a prece-dent of sorts. The issue putsit in the same league as theaudit of Reliance Industries'KG-D6 fields operations inthe eastern offshore, whichhas provoked debate overits admissibility.

The discoms have beenpointing out that majority ofthe rate hike in Delhi - 45percent - has happened inthe last two years and thatinadequate tariffs insteadhave led to huge un-recov-ered costs of Rs.20,000 crore.The national context overallis the precarious financialhealth of state-run discoms.These had a debt burden byend-March 2012, of a stag-gering Rs.246,000 crore, forwhich the government ap-proved a restructuring pack-age in September last year.Electricity tariffs were re-

vised in the national capitalin July this year. The city'sconsumers pay a minimum

of Rs.3.90 per unit tariff. TheDelhi Electricity RegulatoryCommission (DERC) is likely

to soon begin the tariff revi-sion process for the year2014-15.

FDI policy will be further liberalised:Anand SharmaNew Delhi,

The government willfurther liberalise the foreigndirect investment (FDI)policy in the coming weeksto attract higher overseas in-vestments, Commerce andIndustry Minister AnandSharma said Wednesday.

"The government will

continue its endeavour forliberalising the FDI Policyfurther in the coming weeksto ensure that India retainsits leadership position for at-tracting foreign invest-ments," Sharma said in astatement. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh govern-ment last year eased over-

seas investment norms forvarious sectors, includingtelecom, retail and civil avia-tion.

Sharma claimed thegovernment policy had sentgood signal to global inves-tors, which resulted in sub-stantial inflow of overseasfunds in the last few months.

He was also optimisticabout the Indian economy,saying there was a "visiblerebound in industrial activ-ity." "The Indian economyhas inherent strengthswhich give it resilience fromexternal pressures and theseries of steps taken by thegovernment both on the fis-cal and current accountfront have yielded positiveresults," he said.

The minister said in thecoming months there willbe a greater push for devel-opment of industrial corri-dors across the country andwork will commence for es-tablishment of the first fewcities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

"I expect that withgreater foreign investmentand technology collabora-tions, Indian manufacturingwill also move up the value

chain and acquire greatercompetitiveness globally."

On India's foreign trade,Sharma said there were op-timism about the scenarioon the export front.

In spite of weak demandin traditional markets, ex-ports had done reasonablywell and in the first eightmonths of the current finan-cial year, exports touched$204 billion, registering agrowth of over 6 percentover the same period lastyear.

It was also reassuringthat the trade deficit camedown to $99.9 billion duringthis period as compared to$129 billion during thesame period last year.

"I am sure that the in theremaining period of this fi-nancial year, exports willshow a strong and dynamicgrowth," Sharma said.

DisclaimerAdverstisementappeared in this NewsPaper have not beenverified factually and“WESTERNTIMES”does not standresponsible for the salesproposition.

ONGC's first power plant in Indiastarts commercial generation

Agartala, State-owned ONGC's

first commercial powerproject in the countrystarted commercial produc-tion Tuesday night inTripura, six months afterPresident Pranab Mukherjeededicated the 726 MW ca-pacity facility to the nation.

"After the inaugurationof the power project June 21by the president, technicalhurdles were found in the53-km gas ONGC (Oil andNatural Gas Corporation)pipelines. All types of tech-nical hitches were resolvedby engineers, and the gen-eration from the first unit(363.3 MW capacity) of thepower plant began Tuesdaynight," ONGC Tripura PowerCompany (OTPC) managingdirector Sudhindra KumarDube said.

"The second unit (363.3MW capacity) of the gas-based power project is ex-pected to start by June,"Dube told reporters.

OTPC is a special pur-pose vehicle (SPV) pro-moted by ONGC, Infrastruc-ture Leasing and FinancialServices (IL & FS) and Tripuragovernment, created in2004 for execution of the726.6 MW combined cyclegas-based thermal powerproject (using both water

and natural gas) at Palatana,60 km from the state capi-tal, in southern Tripura.

The Palatana powerproject, expected to easethe power problem of sevenof the eight northeasternstates, is the biggest gas-based thermal powerproject in the region.

Dube said that from thispower plant, Assam will getthe maximum share of 240MW of electricity followedby Tr ipura (196 MW),Meghalaya (79 MW),Manipur (42 MW), Nagaland(27 MW), Mizoram (22 MW)and Arunachal Pradesh (22MW), while IL & FS and OTPCkeep 98 MW.

"OTPC has signed a gassale and purchase agree-ment with ONGC for supply-ing 2.65 million metric stan-dard cubic meters gas perday. The agreement wouldbe valid for 15 years againstthe assumed power plant's

life span of 25 years with aprovision of further exten-sion by another 10 years," hesaid.

To set up the Rs.4,047crore power plant, a total ofRs.10,000 crore is being in-vested for the project andrelated works includingtransmission lines and set-ting up of ONGC gaspipelines."A 400KV hightransmission power line(661 km) has been drawn upto Silchar in southern Assamfrom Palatana to connectwith the Bongaigaon na-tional grid in western Assamto distribute electricity tovar ious northeasternstates," the OTPC chief said.

"The supply of power tothe seven northeasternstates would start from Sat-urday after getting manda-tory clearance from theNorth East Regional LoadDespatch Centre inShillong," he added.

Service tax rush nets Rs 160 croreAhmedabad,

The arrest of builderUmang Thakkar for servicetax evasion led to boom inservice tax deposits in thelast week of December asservice tax commissionerateof Ahmedabad receivedservice tax worth more thanRs 160 crore under the vol-untary compliance enclo-sure scheme (VCES) of thecentral government till De-cember 31, which was alsothe last date.On December31, Rs 16 crore was depos-ited by 222 service provid-

ers. Service taxcommissionerate received1,464 declarations till 9 pmon December 31 amount-ing to Rs 163 crore. The VCESis for non filer/stop filer un-der service who has notpaid their due service taxfrom October 1, 2007 to De-cember 31, 2012. On De-cember 30, Rs 18 crore wasdeposited in the service tax,highest on a single day.Minimum 50% amount oftotal tax dues was to be paidby December 31 and re-maining by June 30, 2014.

Ford India logs 3 percentsales growth in December

Chennai, Ford India, a subsidiary

of American automobile

major Ford Motor Com-pany, closed December2013 with three percentsales growth over the com-parable period of the previ-ous year, the company saidWednesday.

In a statement, Ford In-dia said it sustained salesmomentum in 2013 with atotal sales of 11,209 unitslast month.

"Despite difficult eco-nomic and business envi-ronment, 2013 has been aremarkable and rewardingyear for Ford in India," VinayPiparsania, executive direc-tor of Marketing, Sales andService, Ford India wasquoted as saying in thestatement.

According to Ford India,the company closed thecalendar year 2013 with atotal sales of 119,715 units.

Last year, Ford Indialaunched the Figo Celebra-tion edition, the EndeavourAlterrain edition and theFord EcoSport.For the fullyear, a total of 39,284 ve-hicles were exported, up 29percent from 2012.Ford ex-ports vehicles from India toover 40 destinations, in-cluding South Africa,Mexico, Australia, Guate-mala, Honduras, Nicaragua,Venezuela and Taiwan.

Name of Name of centre of Medical Exhumation Date ofState/UT CommencementBihar (i) BSF Campus Kishanganj, (Khagra Camp), Post & Male - 06.01.2014

Distt. Kishanganj, Bihar-855107 (for Male & Female) (ii) Female - 06.01.2014Group Centre, CRPF, Mokamahghar, Bihar-803303 (ForMale & Female) (iii) 27th BN, SSB Narkatiaganj, BhayaJee Colony, Near Himalaya Cinema, PO Narkatiaganj,Distt. West Champaran-845455 (iv) 24th BN, SSBAraria-I, Koshi Project Colony, PI-Bathnaha, Dist-Arara-854315 (v) 12th BN, SSB Kishanganj, Near NH-31,Biscuit Factory, PI & Dist Kishanganj, Bihar-855107

Uttar (i) Bithura Campus, Chuttebuck Ganj, Bareilly, Uttar Male - 06.01.2014Pradesh Pradesh 243501 (ii) Group Centre, CRPF, Rampur, Female - 06.01.2014

Uttar Pradesh-244901 (for Male and Female) (iii) CISF5th RB, BN Ghaziabad, Post Shipra Sun City, Ghaziabad(UP) 201014 (iv) 3rd BN, ITBP, PO Chowbari, BukharaCamp, Distt. Bareilly, UP-243001 (v) 32 BN, ITBP, Vill-Maharaj Pur, PO Sarsoul, Teh-Sadar Kanpur, Distt -Kanpur (UP)-249402 (For Male & Female) (vi) Sector HQr.SSB Gorakhpur, Marketing building, FCI Campurs,PO-Fertilizer, Factory, Urvarak Nagar, Gorakhpur-273007(For Male & Female) (viii) SSB 4th Battalion, Lucknow,Mohanlalgunj, New Delhi Line, Opposite-SGPGI,PO-Kallipachin, Lucknow, Pin-223601.

West (i) BSF Campus, Kalyani, Post-Kalyani, Distt. Nadia (WB) Male - 06.01.2014Bengal -741235 (for Male & Female) (ii) BSF Campus, Cooch Female - 06.01.2014

Behar, PO Kharija Kakribari, Distt. Cooch Behar, WestBengal 736179 (iii) FTR HQ BSF Malda, PO-Narayanpur,Dist-Malda, WestBengal-732144 (For Male & Female)(iv) BSF Campus Roshanbagh, PO : Roshanbagh, DisttMurshidabad, West Bengal- 742164 (v) Sector HQr, SSBRanidanga, PO-Matigara, Dist-Darjeeling,West Bengal-734428.

Orissa (i) Group Centre, CRPF, Bhubaneswar, Orissa-751011 Male - 06.01.2014(for Male & Female) (ii) CISF KRTC, Mundali, PO- Female - 06.01.2014Mundali, Distt. Cuttack (Orissa) Pin-754006

Jharkhand (i) TC & S Hazaribagh, PO-BSF Meru, Male - 06.01.2014Distt.Hazaribagh, Jharkhand-825317 (Male & Female - 06.01.2014Female) (ii) Group Centre, CRPF Ranchi,PO-Dhurwa. Distt-Ranchi, Pin-834004 (iii) 40thBN, ITBP Vill-Sukurhuttu and Gagi, Circle/Post-Kanke, Distt. Ranchi, Jharkhand-834002

Sikkim ITBP SHQ, Gangtok, East Sikkim, Pin-737102 Male - 06.01.2014(For Male & Female Female - 06.01.2014

Karnataka (i) STC BSF Bangalore, PO- AFS Yelahanka, Male - 06.01.2014Bangalore, Karnataka-560063 (for Male & Female - 06.01.2014Female) (ii) CRPF Camp, Yelahanka, Bangalore,Karnataka-560064.

Kerala & (i) BSF Campus Kainur Po-Mulayam, Distt.- Male - 06.01.2014Laksha- Trissur, Kerala-680751 (ii) Group Centre, CRPF, Female - 06.01.2014-dweep Pallipuram, Keral-695316 (for Male & Female)Rajasthan (i) BSF Campus, Bikaner, PO & Distt. Bikaner Male - 06.01.2014

(Rajasthan) Pin-334001 (ii) STC BSF Jodhpur, Female - 06.01.2014Mandore Road, Jodhpur (Raj)- 432001(for male & female) (iii) Group Centre-1, CRPF,Golf Course Road, Ajmer (Rajasthan)-305007(for Male & Female)

Delhi (i) STS BSF Tigri, Tigri Camp, New Delhi-110062 Male - 06.01.2014(ii) GC, CRPF, Greater Noida, Opposite Dewoo Female - 06.01.2014Motors, Dadri Road, Gautam Buddh Nagar, UP-201306(For Delhi State (iii) 22nd BN, ITBP, Chhawla Camp,PO-Chhawla, Najafgarh, New Delhi-110071 (iv) 25THBN, SSB Ghitorni, PO-Arjungarh, Ghitomi,New Delhi-110047 (For Male & Female)

Uttrakhand (i) SHQ (DN), ITBP, PO-Seemadwar, Male - 06.01.2014Dist-Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Pin-248146 Female - 06.01.2014(ii) 42nd BN, SSB, Almora, PO&Dist-Almora,Uttrakhand, Pin-263601 (For Male & Female)

Andhra (i) Group Centre, CRPF, PO-Keshovgiri, Hyderabad Male - 06.01.2014Pradesh (AP)-500005 (ii) GC CRPF, PO Hakimpet, Secunderabad, Female - 06.01.2014

Rangareddy (AP) 500078 (iii) CISF NISA Hyderabad,PO-Hakimpet, Hyderabad (AP)-500037(For Male & Female)

Tamil Nadu (i) Group Centre, CRPF, Avadi, Chennai, Tamilnadu (for Male - 06.01.2014& male & female) (ii) RTC; ITBP, Vill-Illupaikuri, PO Female - 06.01.2014Puducherry Padamathur, Distt-Shivgangai, Tamil Nadu-630561Goa MPT Goa, CISF Unit MPT Goa, Post-head Land Male - 06.01.2014

Sada, Distt-South Goa- Pin-403804Gujarat, (i) BSF Campus Gandhinagar; PO-CRPF Group Male - 06.01.2014Daman & Diu Centre, Chiloda Road, Distt. Gandhinagar Female - 06.01.2014and Dadra (Gujarat)-382402 (ii) GC CRPF, Gandhinagar,Nagar Haveli Gujarat-382042 (For Male & Female)Maha- (i) Group Centre, CRPF, Talegaon, Pune (Maharashtra) Male - 06.01.2014rashtra -410507 (for male & female) (ii) Group Centre, CRPF, Female - 06.01.2014

Nagpur, Nagpur, Maharashtra-440019 (iii) CISF UnitRCFL Mumbai, Chembur, Mumbai - 400074

Arunachal 18 Assam Rifles, Jairampur, PO-Jairampur, Distt- Male - 06.01.2014Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh, Female-06.01.2014Pin-79212 (For Male & Female)

Assam (i) CRPF Guwahati, Amerigog, Guwahati, Assam-781023 Male - 06.01.2014 (ii) 33rd BN, ITBP, Transit Camp, Female - 06.01.2014PO-Guwahati University, Sadilpur, Jallukbari,Guwahati, Assam-780104 (iv) 12 AssamRifles, Lokhra, Assam, PO Lokhra, DisttSonitpur, Assam (For Male & Female)

Manipur 30 Assam Rifles, Mantripukhi, PO Mantripukhi, Male - 06.01.2014Distt. Imphal West (Manipur) 795002 Female - 06.01.2014(For Male & Female)

Meghalaya Assam Rifles Hospital, ARASU Happy Valley, Male - 06.01.2014Shillong, Meghalaya-793007 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014

Mizoram 28 Assam Rifles, Aizwal, PO & Distt. Aizwal, Male - 06.01.2014Mizoram-796001 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014

Nagaland ARCH Sukhovi, Dimapur, Nagaland (For Male & Male - 06.01.2014Female) Female - 06.01.2014

Tripura 08 Assam Rifles, Agartala, PO-Kaunjaban, Distt. Male - 06.01.2014West Tripura, Tripura--799006 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014

Himachal Training Centre SSB, Sapri, PO-Jwalamukhi, Male - 06.01.2014Pradesh Distt. Kangra (H.P.) 176031 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014Chandigarh 50th BN, ITBP, PO-Ramgarh, Dist-Panchkula Male - 06.01.2014

(Hry), Pin-134111 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014Punjab (i) SGQ BSF Amritsar Khasa, PO-Chhehrata, Distt. Male - 06.01.2014

Amritsar (Punjab)-143105 (for Male & Female) (ii) GC Female - 06.01.2014CRPF, Saraikhas, Kartarpur, Jalandhar, Punjab-144805.

J&K (i) STC BSF Kashmir Humhama, Near Airport, Male - 06.01.2014Distt. Budgam (J&K)-190003 (For Male & Female) Female - 06.01.2014(ii) Ftr. HQr. BSF Jammu, PO- BSF Paloura Camp,Jamu (J&K) Pin-181124 (For Male & Female)(iii) 5th BN, ITBP, Choglamser, Leh (For Male & Female)

Chhattis- (i) Group Centre, CRPF, Village- Bharnai, Kota Road, Male - 06.01.2014-garh PO-Sakri, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh-495001 (For Male Female - 06.01.2014

& Female) (ii) CISF Unit 3rd Reserve Battalion, Bhilai,Post-Uttai, Distt. Durg, Chhattisgarh 491107

Madhya (i) CSWT BSF Indore, Bijasan Road, Near Airport Indore Male - 06.01.2014Pradesh (MP)-05 (For Male & Female) (ii) GC CRPF, Bangrasia, Female - 06.01.2014

Taluk Hizur, Distt- Bhopal, MP-462045 (iii) Telecom BN,ITBP, PO Shivpuri, Distt. Shivpuri,Madhya Pradesh-473551

GOVERNMENT OF INDIASHORT NOTICE

Constable (GD) in CAPFs/Riflemen in Assam Rifles Examination 2013.The Medical Examination of the candidates qualified in the Written Examination of Constables(GD) in CAPFs/Riflemen in Assam Rifles Examination 2013 will be held from 06th January2014 at the following centres as per schedule given below :-

Medical examination of female candidates will be held in the centre specifically mentioned inthe list. No medical examination will be held on Sundays and Gazetted Holiday on 14.01.2014.2. Candidates who do not receive the call letter for medical examination at least oneweek before the date of Medical examination are advised to download the call letter from thewebsite concerned SSC Regional Office. The website also will have daily roll number-wiseprogramme in each centre. Websites of SSC Regions : CR-www.ssc-cr.org., ER-www.sscer.org, KKR-www.ssckkr.kar.nic.in, NR-www.sscnr.net.in, NWR-www.sscnwr.org,NER-www.sscner.org.in, MPR-www.sscmpr.org, SR-www.sscsr.gov.in and WR-www.sscwr.net.

davp 32203/11/0016/13-14

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BJP General Secretary Amit Shah and other party leaders during a party meeting in Lucknow.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Addl. Secretary - MoPNG visitedONGC Mehsana Asset

Mehsana,Dr. Subhash C. Khuntia, Additional Secretary to the

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, visited MehsanaAsset of ONGC recently. This was the maiden visit ofAdditional Secretary and Financial Adviser to any on-shore asset of ONGC. He was accompanied by Mr.N.K.Verma Director (Exploration), ONGC and Mr.S.K.Gupta, Executive Director & Asset Manager, ONGC,Mehsana Asset.

Mehsana asset has successfully implementing stateof the art “In-situ Combustion” an Enhanced Oil Recov-ery scheme, on commercial scale since last 15 years,which is world’s best and unique in whole Asia. Dr.Khuntia highly appreciated the In-situ Combustionproject and said that such project is a big hope towardsachieving dream of India to become self-reliance inenergy. After detailed presentation in office, he alsovisited “Santhal Main” an In-situ combustion Plant, ig-nition trailer at Balol and Sobhasan GGS during his fieldvisit. He highly appreciated the zeal and enthusiasmof ONGC, team Mehsana.

BJP wins civic by-pollRajkot,

BJP won the civic by-poll on ward number 23 ofRajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Tuesday. BJPcandidate Rajubhai Faldu won by 9,303 votes againsthis Congress rival V D Patel. The election was held onSunday. The ruling BJP that is in power in RMC retainedthis seat that fell vacant after councillor Sanjay Dhavahad to resigned as he had three kids.

Man commits suicideRajkot,

A youth committed suicide in Rajkot on Monday.The deceased has been identified as ArjundevsinhGohil (30) of Pethalpur village in Bhavnagar district.Gohil had been living in Rajkot for the last two monthsand was running an eating joint. He hanged himselfat a his rented accommodation in Gujarat HousingBoard.

Jairam slams watershedmanagement of Gujarat

Ahmedabad,In a letter to chief minister Narendra Modi, union

rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has saidthat Gujarat has failed to fully utilize funds releasedfor Integrated Watershed Management Programme(IWMP). The state has been unable to use Rs 409 croreout of the Rs 702 crore released for IWMP.

In his letter dated December 30, 2013, Ramesh hassaid: “In Gujarat, the cost of sanctioned projects be-tween 2009 and 2013 is Rs 3,178 crore. For this, the Cen-tre has already released about Rs 702 crore and theunspent balance available with the state is about Rs409 crore.”

Temporary AMC workers start stirAhmedabad,

Temporary municipal workers in the new westzone have gone on strike to press their demand forpermanent employment in the AMC. A large numberof municipal workers, including valve operators whoattend to drainage and water supply valves and sani-tation workers, stayed away from work on Tuesday inthe new west zone.

The areas affected include Thaltej, Jodhpurgam,Bodakdev, Sola, Shilaj, Gota and Ranip along with a fewother areas. A few days back, the Gujarat MazdoorSabha (GMS) had organized a municipal workers’group and taken out a protest march up to the mu-nicipal corporation office in Danapith.

GMS claims that nearly 4,000 temporary workersin engineering, health and sanitation departmentshave joined their protest. Municipal authorities haveclaimed that the strike was illegal.

Medicines of Asaram ashramfound ‘below standard’

Surat,The Food and Drug Con-

trol Administration ofGujarat Government hasfund the samples ofAyurvedic medicines col-lected from Asaram Ashramin Surat to be below stan-dard. The samples were col-lected after the registrationof rape complaints againstcontroversial religiousleader Asaram and his sonNarayan Sai on October 6.

Samples of AmlaChurna, Rasayan Tablet,Ramaban Tablet, CoughSyrup and other Ayurvedic

medicines were sent fortesting at the Food andDrug Control;Administration’s labora-tory in Vadodara.

The report of the testsent to the Food and DrugControl Administration’soffice in Surat said themedicines sold at theashram were of belowstandard, sources in-formed. The medicineswere manufactured atMahila Uthhan Ashram,Sabarmati , Ahmedabadand Asaram Ashram inSirmor, Himachal Pradesh.

Mehsana honours over100 girls born in 2013

Palanpur,In another step towards

saving the girl child in northGujarat that is hit by skewedsex ratio, girls born during2013 were honoured withfixed deposit certificates ata programme organized bySt Gam Nagr ik PragatiMandal on Tuesday atMehsana. Parents of 120girls were handed over thecertificates of Rs 1000 forone girl, Rs 5,000 for twogirls and Rs 7,000 for threegirls. They were also gar-landed and handed overbouquets.President of theMandal Mafatlal Patel saidthe initiative came late butnot too late. “From the nextyear we will accept the chal-lenge of shouldering the re-sponsibilities of education,health and marriages ofgirls. The certificate amount

given to parents will also beincreased up to Rs 10,000.”An overwhelmedJagrutiben Patel who is amother of the three girlssaid, “During our childhoodpeople called it a sin andcursed the mothers of moretan one girl. Girls were con-sidered as a burden for thefamily.” “ Things havechanged considerably. Nowthe people do not lookdown on the mothers ofgirls,” said Hetalben fromBalo village. Patel said that itis necessary for the societyto change its attitude to-wards girl child.“The sex ra-tio in our community hasdropped to 800 per 100boys. In the past, the parentsof girls were worried aboutthe marriage of their daugh-ters but now it is the otherway round,” he said.

Farmer wins case against cement firmAhmedabad,

A consumer court hasasked a cement company topay a farmer the cost ofhouse construction as thequality of its cement was notfound up to the mark.

A farmer from Wankanertaluka of Rajkot district pur-chased Hathi brand cementof Saurashtra Cement Ltdbut the cement could nothold other constructionmaterials together. Hence,the consumer court askedthe cement company to

compensate for all the in-vestment made by thefarmer in the constructionof the house.

Rahimbhai Sherasiyastarted construction on a620 square yard plot at hisfarm in Dhuva village. Hebought 200 bags of cementfrom the company in De-cember 2012 and paid Rs54,000 for the purchase.However, as construction ofthe house proceeded, hefound out that the cementwas allegedly of very poor

quality. It could not holdconstruction material andfurther construction wasnot possible. Sherasiyacomplained to the companyand the authorized dealerbut did not get a proper re-ply.

Finally, through com-pany officials, he sentsamples of the cement tothe laboratory of the GujaratEngineering Research Insti-tute (GERI) to get the ce-ment tested for quality.GERI’s report revealed that

the cement was not as perIndian Standard 122269-1987.

When the company re-fused to pay heed to hiscomplaint, Sherasiya movedthe Rajkot Consumer Dis-pute Redressal Forum anddemanded compensation.This included the amounthe had invested in payingfor transportation andlabour, and purchasing con-struction material. The com-pany, on the other hand, de-nied all charges and claimedthat GERI is not a govern-ment approved agency andits report was misleading.National police equestrian

meet returns after 16 yearsAhmedabad,

The state police arehosting the 32nd edition ofAll India Police equestrianMeet here from January 3 to10 where 18 teams fromacross the nation are partici-pating. It is after the gap of16 years that the state hasgot the opportunity to hostthe event jointly with the AllIndia Police Sports ControlBoard.Atul Karwal, organiz-ing secretary for the event,told media on Tuesday thatthe events will include tentpegging, show jumping,medley relay, cross-countryrace and quadrille competi-tion. Apart from the compe-titions, there would be a

separate section for thenon-police participantswhere the winners will alsobe awarded in three events.While the state governorwould open the meet, thechief minister will bepresent at the closing cer-emony, said organizers.

“Horses have played amajor role since antiquity inGujarat ’s history and wewant to showcase the state’straditions during the open-ing ceremony where thepractitioners will exhibittheir skills. The meet has par-ticipation from all the activeteams in the country includ-ing police teams fromPunjab, Karnataka, Uttar

Pradesh, Assam, MadhyaPradesh, Haryana, Bihar,Chattisgarh, Rajasthan,Delhi, Chandigarh andGujarat, along with teamsfrom Sahastra Sena Bal(SSB), Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP), Border SecurityForce (BSF) and SVP Na-tional Police Academy,” saidKarwal. The state had earlierhPolice have collected fundsof over Rs. 3.5 crore and hadstarted preparationsmonths ago. Organizers saidthat while the technicalevents will be hosted at SRPground, the popular eventsthat can be enjoyed by citi-zens will be held at PoliceStadium in Shahibaug.

Hotelier shoots selfat home in Vadodara

Vadodara,An hotelier committed

suicide by shooting himselfat his residence in Fatehgunjon Tuesday afternoon.Ismail Sheliya, 55, shot him-self with his licensed re-volver at about 4 pm in hisflat at Parul Apartment. Hewas rushed to a hospital, butwas declared brought dead.He is survived by wife, fourdaughters and a son. Ismailwas a partner in two hotelsand a restaurant inSayajigunj and had forayedinto realty business recently.

According to police,Ismail was under severestress and was facing prob-

lems. He left a suicide notebehind, but it didn’t mentionany specific reasons behindhis taking the extreme step.“Ismail shot himself on rightside of his head.

His suicide note doesn’tmention the reasons exactly,but it indicates that he mayhave been facing some fi-nancial problems. We areyet to ascertain the reason,”said city police commis-sioner, Satish Sharma.

His note read, ‘I tried tofight with life but I have lost.I was tired of constantly re-plying to people. I tried tolive, but couldn’t take it any-more.’ Addressed to

Sayajigunj police inspector,A B Saiyad, the note also re-quested the police not toharass his family members.Ismail wrote that he was re-sponsible for ending his lifeand that no one should beheld responsible for it.

Ismail’s family memberswere present at their fourthfloor flat when he shot him-self in the bedroom. Thepolice believe that Ismailwas facing financial diffi-culties that led him to takethe extreme step.

Sources also said thatIsmail used to regularlygive donations to his com-munity members.

Land on riverfront most pricey in cityAhmedabad,

The land value of twomajor infrastructureprojects - the Sabarmatiriverfront and the BRTS --are poles apart, says a reportby the World Bank. Whilethe riverfront has emergedas the most expensive landparcel in Ahmedabad at Rs1 lakh per square metre(even when the project isyet to be completed), thevalue of land along the BRTScorridor is still considerablylow. According to a policyresearch working paper bythe World Bank, riverfrontland is evaluated at Rs

54,500 per square metre byjantri rate and Rs 1,00,000per square metre by marketrate.In sharp contrast, thevalue of land along the BRTScorridor in the southern andeastern part of Ahmedabadis still in the lower range ofRs 2,800 to Rs 9,000 persquare metre.

The riverfront has beendeveloped by theAhmedabad Janmarg Lim-ited --- an SPV floated bythe Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC) forimplementation of theriverfront project -- by cap-turing land on both sides of

the once broad and expan-sive riverbank. The Gujaratgovernment hopes to pro-mote tourism with theSabarmati river frontproject.The paper -- Inven-tory of Public Land inAhmedabad, Gujarat by wellknown architects and urbanplanner Shirley Ballaney,Marie-Agnes Bertuad,Patricia Clarke Annex, C KKoshy, Bindu Nair, BimalPatel, Vidydhar Pathak andVasudha Thawakar -- hasbeen published by WorldBank’s Sustainable Develop-ment Network in October2013.

Naroda Patia case judge retiresAhmedabad,

Special judge hearingthe 2008 serial blasts caseand designated SIT judge,Jyotsna Yagnik retired onTuesday from the post ofprincipal sessions judge ofAhmedabad’s city civilcourt.This judge conductedmany important trials anddelivered verdict in someimportant cases. She pre-sided over the marathonproceeding in the post-Godhra case of Naroda Patia

Massacre that saw 97deaths. The hearing lastedfor 37 months and the pros-ecution examined 327 wit-nesses and her verdict ran in1927 pages. She convicted32 persons and acquitted 29others for want of strongevidence against them.Those convicted includedformer minister MayaKodnani and Bajrang Dalleader Babu Bajrangi.

Besides, she punishedthe culprits in the Bijal Joshirape case. After additionalsessions judge Sonia Gokaniwas transferred to the highcourt’s registry, judge Yagnik

wrote and pronounced thejudgement in the rape case.She also heard the Potacase of ISI conspiracy, whichwas technically the mostcomplicated of the Potacases. She convicted 22 andacquitted equal number ofaccused persons in thiscase.

Her retirement hasbrought a sign of relief foraccused in the Naroda Gamcase. Ever since Yagnik wasappointed as presiding of-ficer in this case, theundertrials filed var iouspleas for her removal fromthe case.Nothing new in New Year for Delhi-NCR homeless

New Delhi, While many lit bonfires

and partied to usher in theNew Year, 60-year oldJamuna tried to keep herselfwarm and hoped to getsome sleep on the last nightof 2013, as the temperaturein the national capitaldipped to four degrees Cel-sius.

"I have welcomed manyNew Years here on the pave-ment. This one will be no dif-ferent," Jamuna, who liveson the pavement in MayurVihar in east Delhi, told IANS.

"What will a beggar likeme, who earns around Rs.50a day, do, anyway' I hopesomeone would comealong and donate a fewthings," she says, carrying apail of water to cook hermeal.Like Jamuna, manyothers who call the streetsof the national capital andits vicinity their home saythe New Year will not be anydifferent from years gone by.As the cold gets even morebitter, living on the streetsgets harder, they say.

"The last day of the yearcomes with no relief, andjust chill and fog. We sleepunder the sky, and the chillywinds haunt us," says PremDeen, who lives near theVaishali Metro station inGhaziabad, neighbouringDelhi.

Prem Deen, 45, siftsthrough garbage and sellswhat he can salvage to scrapdealers. "With the weatherbecoming harsher by theday, every night I pray I don'tfall ill," he says.

Kajor, 35, who moved to

Delhi from Rajasthan twomonths back, agrees. "In thiscold, I will not be doing any-thing special. I will just try tokeep myself warm and pre-pare for the next day," hesaid. Kajor sells toys for a liv-ing at a traffic signal inDwarka in southwest Delhi.

"Had it not been so cold,I might got some work doneand earned a little extra. Alot of cars are on the streetstoday, so I might haveearned," he told IANS, wrap-ping himself up in a shawl.

However, undeterred by

the biting cold, 53-year-oldNawab Ahmad had a littlecelebration with his family.

"I have been savingmoney for quite some timenow. My children wanted toeat something nice. Everyday we either eat potato ormoong daal. Today, I boughtsome meat for dinner, so wecan celebrate," he said.

Ahmad, his wife, twosons and a daughter live ona pavement in Nizamuddin.

Expecting to get somesweets from others whowere out celebrating, Bunty,

13, joined the revelry atnight at Sector 18, Noida.

"Every year, people getout at night singing anddancing with their friends atthis time. We too join thesecelebrations, but with ourown gang, separately. It isgood fun, and sometimeswe get lucky too," Buntysaid."Drunk men who arehappy share some food withus, or give us some money.At times, couples too giveout chocolates or sweets,"said Bunty, whose home is apavement in Sec 4, Noida.

BJP presses for VirbhadraSingh's resignation

New Delhi, Pressing for Himachal

Pradesh Chief MinisterVirbhadra Singh's resigna-tion over allegations of cor-ruption, the BJP Wednesdaymoved the Election Com-mission and called upon theCongress leadership to takeaction againsthim.Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha president Anurag

Thakur, MP, met Chief Elec-tion Commissioner V.S.Sampath Wednesday andsought action againstVirbhadra Singh saying hehad hidden information inhis election affidavits.

The party has allegedthat promoter of VentureEnergy and Technology PvtLtd., which had been givenextension for a pending hy-dropower project by theHimachal government, hadmade cheque payments ofRs.3.5 crore "to VirbhadraSingh and his wife PratibhaSingh".The Bharatiya JanataParty further alleged thatthe money had been shownas loan, and Virbhadra Singhand his family had becomeshareholders in another firmbelonging to the promoterof the power company.

Thakur said theHimachal chief minister hadnot declared the paymentsor the shares in his electionaf

We told the ElectionCommission that ifVirbhadra Singh has hiddeninformation, strict actionshould be taken againsthim," Thakur told IANS, add-ing that the poll panel hadassured them that appropri-ate action will be taken inthe matter.Thakur, MP fromHamirpur in HimachalPradesh, said this also raiseda question mark on Con-gress vice-president RahulGandhi's stance against cor-ruption.

India's political parties embrace social media with gustoBy Aparajita Gupta

New Delhi, With the changing poli-

tics of India, ways of reach-ing out to a younger and as-piration population too arechanging. Political partiesused to the old ways of cam-paigning are increasinglyembracing social media towoo the people. It is a longleap from the times whenpoliticians relied mainly onposters, cardboard cutouts,fliers, graffiti and the toughhouse-to-house canvassingto win over voters.

All of these are still invogue. But increasingly, inurban India, political partiesare becoming tech savvy,realizing this is the only wayto reach out to the articulateyoung.

Among the major par-ties, the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) has the biggest

presence in social media.The BJP started using thesocial medium even beforethe 2009 general election -which it lost. But in recentyears, it has dug deeper.

"We were the first partyto launch a web site in1998," Arvind Gupta, na-tional convener of the BJP'sIT, told IANS. "Technologyhas been in BJP's DNA. Wehave always used technol-ogy very effectively,whether to give informationto supporters or to make in-formation available faster."

Gupta, a doctorate indata analytics, has a team of20 people working in theparty's digital operationcentre.

"Everyone understandsthe importance of this me-dium and we are using itvery effectively. And that isthe key. The young and theeducated India are all online.

The aspirational India isonline. They all want to un-derstand what is going on.It helps us to directly keepin touch with the voters. It isa two-way tool," Gupta said.

Gupta outlined whatneeded to be done ahead ofthe Lok Sabha battle due byMay. "A lot of listening fromthe crowd is required. Feed-back mechanisms are re-quired between now andthe elections. Second, weneed to use the net more formicro messaging and tar-geted messaging. Finally, weneed to do a lot of resourcemobilisation."

The Congress, India'sgrand old party, realised theimportance of the socialmedium much later, a partymember associated withonline activities said on thecondition of anonymity be-cause he was not authorisedto speak to the media.

"We gave a lot of impor-tance to the traditional me-dia. But it can be manipu-lated. Now we have realisedthat social media is a muchmore direct connect withthe common people," hetold IANS.The member saidthe Congress was now ag-gressive on the social mediaand was vigorously promot-ing the achievements of theUPA government. "We willdo much more online cam-paigning now on," he said.The Congress has so far con-ducted 40 workshops in thestates on social media.

Several telephone callsmade by IANS to Congresssocial media cell headDeepender Singh Hooda re-mained unanswered.In theBJP, several senior leaders -Sushma Swaraj, R ajnathSingh, Arun Jaitley, NarendraModi and some chief minis-ters - are on Twitter.

Kolkata to host internationalkite festival Jan 5

Kolkata, Hundreds of giant fancy

kites of myriad shapes andsizes, crafted by Indian andinternational kite-flyers willdot the city skyline Jan 5 atthe Vokatta InternationalKite Festival 2014.

"Woh katta" refers todowning a rival's kite.

Shapes ranging from gi-ant wheels with spikes topsychedelic patterns, andcartoon figures will be seenin the sky Jan 5 morning atthe sprawling 480-acres EcoPark here.

After sunset, specialkites that can be flown indarkness will carry on theday-long aerial display.

Headlined by BarbaraMeyer, the president of theAmerican Kite Association,the event will bring re-nowned flyers from Bel-gium, Italy, the Netherlands,Britain, France, Indonesia,and enthusiasts from acrossIndia.The 2014 edition is the

second such."As many as 50 well-

known kite flyers will jointhe locals this year. Last yearwe started off at the na-tional level whereas thisyear it is international...a firstfor eastern India," founder ofthe festival Santosh KumarJaiswal told IANS.

With each participantbringing their special kitesto the city, Jaiswal said theemphasis this year would beon fancy kites."They wouldbe judged on the best aerialfancy kite display," hesaid.The kites to look out forinclude the 10m by 5m In-flatable Delta by Johan VanEeckhout from Belgium, the30m circular rotating kitesby Edo Borghetti from Italyas well as the spectaculardesigns by British avionicsengineer Bob Cruikshanks.

Hot air balloon rideshave been arranged for chil-dren below 14 years at thefestival.

Emulate AAP to win statepolls, NGO tells Chavan

Nagpur, A farmers' NGO here Wednesday urged Chief Minister

Prithviraj Chavan to "emulate the example of Delhi govern-ment" if he wants to save his government from a humiliat-ing defeat in the next elections.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president KishoreTiwari said though Delhi is a small state with a budget ofonly Rs.4,000 crore, its new Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalhas given water and power subsidies to the poor people ofhis state.

"In contrast, Maharashtra with a budget of overRs.160,000 crore cannot extend similar benefits to thepoorer sections, the food-starved tribals and debt-hit farm-ers in this state," Tiwari told IANS.

Lauding the Kejriwal government, he said "the neo-globalisation Brand Ambassador Prithviraj Chavan" shouldextend similar subsidies if he wanted to save the rulingDemocratic Front government from biting the dust in thenext assembly elections.Terming Kejriwal's initiative as"people friendly", Tiwari said in Maharashtra and otherstates, water and power supplies have been largelyprivatised since the free trade era started in 1991.These haveled to strong protests throughout the country as privateplayers have virtually taken over water and power distribu-tion in connivance with the political parties across the po-litical spectrum.The VJAS has urged Chavan to ensure thatfree of charge water and power were given to the poor,tribals, and farmers without going for budgetary provisionsas the state has already failed to utilise several central wel-fare schemes for the downtrodden.Simultaneously, Tiwariurged the Bharatiya Janata Party ruling some states in thecountry to emulate the AAP decision in Delhi if it wanted toavoid defeat for its prime ministerial candidate NarendraModi.

Ahmedabad, Page 5

International 5

It was a cold rainy Monday for Delhiites with the mercury plunging to a chilling 2.4° Celsius, the lowesttemperature recorded for the month of December in the Capital in a decade. Delhi was wrapped in a thickblanket of fog early on December 30, with icy winds blowing across the city throughout the day. Scatteredrainfall in the evening added to the chill. Punjab and Haryana also struggled in the biting cold, with mostplaces seeing the mercury sliding to the season's lowest.

Firuta Vasile, 29 and a mother of four, is teaching her friends in Romaniahow to apply for state benefits in the UK after claiming £28,000 from the stateherself. Now many from her homeland are thinking of following her to thiscountry, including best friend Nadia Porojan, also 29, who travelled to the UKlast August to give birth here because she was told it would make it easier toclaim benefits in the future.

Phoebe Haffenden, 19, from Hampshire, started drinking when she was 15and by the age of 16 she was addicted to alcohol. She went on 18-hour bingesand suffered uncontrollable shakes and terrifying hallucinations. Eventually, shewas thrown out of her family home. When doctors told her she would die sheturned her life around and has now stopped drinking.

People celebrate as they bid adieu to `2013` and welcome `2014` in Lucknow.

Six killed in Philippines blastManila,

Six people were killed and six wounded when abomb exploded at a New Year party in a remote vil-lage of Philippines's Basilan province, security officialsaid Wednesday.

The improvised explosive device exploded Tues-day night around 9 p.m. near a parish church atTumahubong village in Sumisip town, Xinhua reportedquoting Jefferson Somera, public information officerof the 1st Army Division.

The wounded were immediately rushed to the64th Infantry Battalion headquarters for first aide treat-ment before they were air lifted to the military hospi-tal in Zamboanga.

Job creation remains Hollande's toppriority in 2014

Paris, French President Francois Hollande said decreas-

ing the country's alarming number of job seekers willremain his sole priority in 2014.

"I have only one priority, one objective, one com-mitment, it is the job creation," he said addressing the65 million population Tuesday in his second New Year'saddress, Xinhua reported.Hollande admitted that theunemployment stood at high level with 3.293 millionsregistered job seekers at the end of November, up 0.5percent from the previous month.The presidentstressed the need of "the mobilization of all forces togain the battle (against the unemployment)".He pro-posed a fresh device to inject new breathe in the slug-gish domestic job market "based on simple principle,less labor costs, fewer constraints on their activitiesand, in return, more recruitments and more social dia-logue".

Hollande promised more spending cut in 2014 tolower the budget gap.

"We need to save money wherever they are pos-sible... in order to decrease taxes... which became tooheavy. I will take myself, the responsibility and themonitoring of this savings program throughout themandate," he pledged.

Former first lady Barbara Bushhospitalised

Houston, Former US first lady Barbara Bush has been

hospitalised in Houston with a "respiratory-related is-sue", an official statement said.Barbara Bush, 88, wassent to Houston Methodist Hospital Monday for treat-ment of the early signs of a respiratory-related issue,the statement from the office of former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush said Tuesday night."She is in greatspirits, has already received visits from her husbandand family, and is receiving fantastic care," the state-ment said. "Updates will be issued when warranted."

Myanmar lifts curfew in riot-hitMeikhtila

Yangon, The Myanmar authorities lifted curfew in riot-hit

Meikhtila on New Year's Eve as order has been restoredthere, the local media reported Wednesday quotingthe authorities.The dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposedin four townships of Meikhtila in Mandalay region,since March 2013, after a communal riot which leftmore than 10,000 people homeless, Xinhua reportedciting local media Voice.The riot had occurred follow-ing a brawl between buyers and sellers over a bit ofgold clip on March 20, 2013.During the clashes, 43people were killed and 86 injured with 1,355 houses,shops and buildings being destroyed.

Clue to rising global temperatures found in London,

Here comes a seriousthreat, from above. If the

world doesn't pay heed toreduce carbon dioxideemissions, global averagetemperatures would rise atleast 4 degrees Celsius innext century and potentiallyover 8 degrees Celsius by2200.

The key to this narrowerbut much higher estimatewas found in the real worldobservations about the roleof water vapour in cloudformation."Our research hasshown climate models indi-cating a low temperatureresponse to a doubling ofcarbon dioxide from pre-in-dustrial times are not repro-ducing the correct pro-cesses that lead to cloud for-mation," said StevenSherwood, lead author fromUniversity of New SouthWales' Centre of Excellencefor Climate System Science.

"When the processes arecorrect in the climate mod-els, the level of climate sen-sitivity is far higher. Previ-ously, estimates of the sen-sitivity of global tempera-ture to doubling of carbondioxide ranged from 1.5 de-

gree Celsius to 5 degree Cel-sius. This new research takesaway the lower end of cli-mate sensitivity estimates,meaning that global aver-age temperatures will in-crease by 3 degree Celsiusto 5 degree Celsius with adoubling of carbon diox-ide," added Sherwood.

Rises in global averagetemperatures of this magni-tude would have profoundimpacts on the world andthe economies of manycountries if the worlddoesn't urgently start tocurb emissions, said thestudy that appeared in thejournal Nature.

The researchers foundthat when water vapour istaken up by the atmospherethrough evaporation,updraughts - strong upwardair currents - can either riseto 15 km to form clouds thatproduce heavy rains or risejust a few km before return-ing to the surface withoutforming rain clouds.

When updraughts riseonly a few km, they reducetotal cloud cover because

they pull more vapour awayfrom the higher cloud form-ing regions, said the study.However, it added, that wa-ter vapour is not pulledaway from cloud formingregions when only deep 15km updraughts are present.

The researchers foundclimate models that show alow global temperature re-sponse to carbon dioxide donot include enough of thislower-level water vapourprocess. Instead they simu-late nearly all updraughts asrising to 15 km and formingclouds.clouds!When theymatched climate modelswith real world observa-tions, the models producedcycles that took watervapour to a wider range ofheights in the atmosphere,causing fewer clouds toform as the climate warmed.

This increases theamount of sunlight and heatentering the atmosphereand, as a result, increases thesensitivity of our climate tocarbon dioxide or any otherperturbation, added thestudy.

Kim vows to improverelations with South Korea

Pyongyang, North Korea's top

leader Kim Jong UnWednesday vowed to im-prove inter-Korean relationsand strengthen militaryforces against any provoca-tion.

The DemocraticPeople's Republic of Korea(DPRK) will "create atmo-sphere to ameliorate the re-lations between the DPRKand South Korea" by follow-ing previous inter-Koreanjoint declarations, Xinhuareported citing Kim's tele-vised New Year address.

Last month, the DPRKthreatened to attack SouthKorea without any notice inresponse to anti-Pyongyangrallies on the second anni-versary of the death offormer leader Kim Jong Il.

He warned that a mas-sive nuclear disaster wouldbe brought if an all-out warbroke out on the peninsula,in which the US would notbe safe either.

He also urged the wholeparty, military and people tounite in the "single-minded"spirit known as "followingnobody, but only loyal toKim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,"after the execution of JangSong Thaek, once a power-ful senior official in the party,for his "anti-party andcounter-revolutionary"

crimes.In the 30-minutetelevised message, Kim setforth tasks for 2014.

He emphasised on agri-culture, light industries, coal-mining, electricity, rail trans-port, and metallurgical in-dustries, with a view to in-creasing output of qualityconsumer goods and pro-moting agricultural produc-tivity.

Toll rises to 33 inRussia bombings

Moscow, The toll has risen to 33

in the suicide bombing at-tacks earlier this week in theRussian city of Volgograd,the country's emergenciesministry said Tuesday.

The city's railway stationwas bombed Sunday and abus was ripped apart Mon-day, raising fears of Islamistattacks on the upcomingWinter Olympics in Soch,some 1,600 km from here,The Independent reportedciting the Interfax newsagency.

The number of thosekilled in the attack on themain railway station rose byone to 18, while the busbombing deaths also roseby one to 15, a ministryspokesperson was quotedas saying.

10 killed in attacks in IraqBaghdad,

At least 10 people werekilled and 26 otherswounded in separate vio-lent attacks, including aspate of car bombings,across Iraq Tuesday, policesaid.Two car bombs deto-nated in Zaafaraniyah dis-trict of the Iraqi capital ofBaghdad before the sunset,killing at least four peopleand wounding 10 others,Xinhua reported quoting apolice source assaying.Another car bombwent off in Kamaliyah dis-trict in eastern Baghdad, kill-ing a civilian and woundingfive others, the source said,adding that 11 people werewounded when a fourth carbomb ripped throughJamila district in the east ofthe capital.A journalist wasshot dead by a sniper whenhe was covering a fierceclash that occurred lateMonday between gunmenand Iraqi security forces inthe city of Ramadi, some 110km from Baghdad, policesaid.According to Muaiyadal-Lami, head of the IraqiJournalists' syndicate, atleast 390 journalists havebeen killed in Iraq since2003.In another incident,Iraqi security forces shotdead four snipers Tuesdaymorning in a clash with Al

Qaeda militants in Ramadi, asource from Anbarprovince's operations com-mand said.A police sourcesaid that sporadic clashesoccurred overnight and onTuesday in the cities ofRamadi and Fallujah, whilethe curfew continued in sev-eral other cities across theprovince.Prime MinisterNuri al-Malik i Tuesdaysought to defuse tensions inAnbar by announcing thewithdrawal of the army fromthe cities in the province.Iraq is witnessing its worstviolence in recent years. Ac-cording to the UN Assis-tance Mission for Iraq, about8,109 Iraqis, including 952members of Iraqi securityforces, were killed in thecountry from January to No-vember this year.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

'Disk fragmentation behindbinary-star formation'

New York, Nearly half of all sun-like

stars are members of doubleor multiple-star systems buttill date, astronomers weredebating how such systemsare formed.

Now, a new researchgives a boost to binary-starformation. Using the newcapabilities of the upgradedKarl G. Jansky Very Large Ar-ray (VLA) near Magdalena,New Mexico, scientists havediscovered previously-un-seen binary companions toa pair of very young pro-tostars.

"The only way to resolvethe debate is to observevery young stellar systemsand catch them in the act offormation. We have got valu-able clues from them," saidJohn Tobin of the NationalRadio Astronomy Observa-tory (NRAO).

According to the newstudy, double-star systemsform when a disk of gas anddust whirling around oneyoung star fragments -forming another new star inorbit with the first.

Young stars that still aregathering matter from theirsurroundings form suchdisks, along with jet-like out-flows rapidly propelling ma-

terial in narrow beams per-pendicular to the disk, saidthe study published in As-trophysical Journal.

"The new findings, com-bined with the earlier data,make disk fragmentationthe strongest explanationfor how close multiple starsystems are formed,"claimed the study.

"The increased sensitiv-ity of the VLA, produced bya decade-long upgradeproject completed in 2012,made the new discoverypossible," it added.

A binary star is a star sys-tem consisting of two starsorbiting around their com-mon centre of mass.

The new capability wasparticularly valuable at theVLA's highest frequencyband, from 40-50 GHz,where dust in the disks sur-rounding young stars emitsradio waves.

The astronomers ob-served the young stars withthe VLA and with the Com-bined Array for Research inMillimeter-wave Astronomy(CARMA) in California.

Six Indian tourists killedin Nepal road accident

Kathmandu, Six Indians from Kolkata were killed when the jeep they

were travelling in plunged into the Marsyangdi river inNepal's Tanahun district, some 150 km west of capitalKathmandu Tuesday night, police said.

Five others, including the driver, who sustained seriousinjuries, are undergoing treatment in Kathmandu. The jeepwas on way from the popular tourist city of Pokhara toKathmandu.It plunged into the river at Chunpahara atBandipur-6 in Tanahun district of west Nepal.The deceasedhave been identified as Binay Kumar Tiwari, 85, HemantaTripathi, 13, Kalawati Tiwari, 56, Poonam Tripathi, 33, NehaTripathi, 20 and Nilam Tripathi, 36.Those injured are driverYubaraj Gurung, Ashi Dubey, 8, Aryan Dubey, 9, SatendraDubey, 34, and Rabindra Kant Tripathi, 43.

Latvia becomes 18th member of eurozoneRiga,

The Baltic nation ofLatvia Wednesday becamethe 18th member of theeurozone after three yearsof economic struggle.

After joining the Euro-pean Union in 2004, Latviatook some time in joiningthe euro, with the Latviangovernment deciding in2010 to enter the eurozoneJan 1, 2014, Xinhua re-ported.

It applied for eurozonemembership in March 2013and the European Union(EU) supported Latvia's ap-plication on the conditionthat it would curb its infla-tion and debt level.

Latvia's joining marks aneasing of the debt-crisispressure that has lasted forabout five years.

There have been en-couraging signs, particularlyin recent months, that aneconomic recovery is underway in Europe. After con-tracting up until the firstquarter of 2013, the Euro-pean economy started togrow again in the next twoquarters.

"Economic growth is ex-pected to gradually gatherpace over the forecast hori-zon to 1.4 percent in the Eu-ropean Union and 1.1 per-cent in the euro area in2014," according to the2013 autumn economicforecast of the EuropeanCommission.

In 2015, the economicgrowth of the EU and the

eurozone is expected to fur-ther accelerate, reaching 1.9percent and 1.7 percent, re-spectively.

"There are increasingsigns that the Europeaneconomy has reached aturning point," EuropeanCommission Vice PresidentOlli Rehn said in Septemberlast year.

Analysts believe that byjoining the eurozone, Latviawill not only benefit fromEU's sound ground for eco-nomic growth, but also seemore convenience from ex-ternal markets such asChina, the US, Canada andJapan, which have held mu-tual investment or free tradedeal talks with the European

Union.At the same time, Latvia

could enjoy lower borrow-ing costs and more foreigninvestment.

Moreover, joining theeurozone could trigger thedevaluation of Latvia's cur-rency and thus boost thecountry's exports.

Valdis Dombrovskis,Latvia's acting prime minis-ter, said it was an opportu-nity for the country's eco-nomic development as amember of the world's sec-ond largest currency,though it should not relaxits fiscal policy.

"We should know howto use this opportunity inthe best possible way so as

to facilitate the economicand social development ofLatvia," he said, adding thatthe move to become theeurozone's 18th memberwould make 2014 an his-toric year for the country.

Tens of thousands ofLatvians gathered at asquare in capital Riga to cel-ebrate the New Year and theadoption of the euro.

The euro and Latvia'snational currency lat havebeen simultaneously in cir-culation for two weeks, andthe lat will cease to be legaltender Jan 15.

Latvia is the second Bal-tic Sea country to adopt theeuro, following Estonia in2011.

Hit the sack to protect your brainLondon,

A good night's sleepmay be critical for maintain-ing brain health, says a newstudy.

"One night of sleep dep-rivation increases morningblood concentrations of twomolecules - a neuronal en-zyme (NSE) and calcium-binding protein S-100B - inhealthy young men. Thesemolecules are typicallyfound in the brain. Thus,their rise in blood after sleeploss may indicate that a lackof snoozing might be con-ducive to a loss of brain tis-sue," said Christian Benedict,Department of Neuro-

science, Uppsala University,Sweden.

To reach the conclusion,the researchers selected 15normal-weight men. In onecondition, they were sleep-deprived for one night,while in the other condition,they slept for approximatelyeight hours.

"Increased blood con-centrations of these twobrain molecules in sleep-deprived participants meanbrain damage.

Thus, our results indicatethat a lack of sleep may pro-mote neuro-degenerativeprocesses," added the study,published in the journal

SLEEP.It's important to note,

however, that levels of NSEand S-100B previouslyfound after acute braindamage (including as a re-sult of a concussion), havebeen distinctly higher thanthose found in the Swedishstudy. "There is no sugges-tion that a single night ofsleep loss is equally harmfulto your brain as a head in-jury," said Benedict.

Still, the researchers saidtheir findings suggest "agood night's sleep may pos-sess neuroprotective func-tion in humans, as has alsobeen suggested by others".

Ahmedabad Page 6

National6

In an industry that primarily feeds off change, creating and selling fresh demigods is the only constant.For some talented newcomers like Sushant Singh Rajput, Dhanush, Vaani Kapoor and Nimrat Kaur, the riseof modest-budgeted, content-driven films in Bollywood was a ticket to success. But for others taking thehardcore commercial path - Pallavi Sharda for example - brutal B-Town had a less-than-successful year instore.

Air Marshal Arup Raha takes charge as Chief of Air Staff from Air Chief Mar-shal NAK Browne (L) at Air Headquarters in New Delhi. UNI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy give a warm send- offto President Pranab Mukherji at Hakimpet Airport in Hyderabad.

People celebrate as they bid adieu to `2013` and welcome `2014` in Allahabad .

In election year, parties must remember India's national interestsBy Vice Admiral Pradeep

Kaushiva (retd)

It is not usual for nationsto adopt New Year resolu-tions. But we in India are notliving in the usual times. Theoldest political party in thecountry has been reducedto the third place in the na-tional capital's assembly.And, it is supporting fromoutside the governmentformed by a one-year-oldpolitical party which doesnot even have a nationwidepresence. But, as we learnt in2004, a tsunami's origins arealways local and yet the ef-fects can be felt at longdistances.So, revisitingIndia's national interestsmay be not only desirablebut indeed mandatory aswe transition from 2013 to2014 and the general elec-tion bugle has been all but

sounded.All aspects of soci-etal existence - ranging fromphysical well-being, pros-perity, creature comforts,territorial ownership, health,education, intellectual pur-suits, culture, tradition,peace, tranquillity, content-ment and the like are cov-ered by the notion of secu-rity. At the national level, se-curity is the most primaryresponsibility of the govern-ment. And the index of se-curity is not only the sumtotal of the individualstrength areas but also thecredibility of each as well asof the whole.Economic con-siderations have deter-mined the actions of man,and of the state, all alonghistory. Today, the strengthand potential of India'seconomy are acknowl-edged but both are sub-stantially countervailed by

the adverse reputation builtup for inefficiency, inconsis-tency, corruption and lack ofaccountability - systemic aswell as individual.The abilityto safeguard one's territorialintegrity is the most visibleyardstick to measure anation's strength. Very sel-dom have nations come toan agreement on adjust-ment of their shared bound-aries through peaceful, har-monious and mutually ac-commodating dialogue.This is a part of human na-ture and has nothing to dowith the legality, morality orvalidity of the argumentsput forward.

The armed forces of anation are universally seenas the last bastion of na-tional security as well as themost effective instrument ofprojecting national power.Down history, every nationhas recognized and ac-knowledged the sacrifice ofits personnel in uniformwho accept curtailment ofmany of the constitutionalrights that are enjoyed byevery other citizen. Everycivilized society makesmuch of them because theirdebt can never be fully re-paid. It can, must be and in-deed is recompensed, albeitonly to a limited extent, bythe indebted nationthrough upholding thehonour of armed forces per-sonnel. As an organization,armed forces personnellook up to the governmentof the day, therefore to ev-

ery government, and to thepolitical leadership acrossthe spectrum of politics touphold their honour in ab-solute as well as in relativeterms.The societal frame-work of checks and balancesensures that good prevailsover bad in the long run. Theconcept of written law washomegrown from the timesof Chanakya, but its practicetook firm root and wide-spread application only af-ter the British arrived. Thelaw of the land, as it existstoday, is perhaps neither in-adequate nor deficient. Itsutility, however, lies not in-side the covers of the stat-ute but in its application. Theexotic fabric of our society,woven over half a century ofcenturies (5000 years), is indanger of coming apart notbecause its strands are weakbut because its framework iscoming loose.If governanceis the link joining all aspectsof the national endeavor, itis also emerging as thenation's weakest spot. In-consistency, corruption atdifferent levels of adminis-tration, absence of account-ability and readiness tobend any rule for personalaggrandisement have beena constant through the Con-gress, Janata Party, ThirdFront, BJP, NDA and UPA-ledalliances and only increasedwith the passage of time.The government's readinessto take over or interfere inestablished as well as na-scent institutions inhibits

them from taking root andflourishing as centres of ex-cellence. In such a dispensa-tion, the performance bal-ance-sheet of the adminis-tration reflects neither theimmense resource pool northe potential of our billion-plus nation.Since Indepen-dence, there has been a lotof lip service in favour ofeducation. But literacy forall, mass-scale vocationaltraining and developmentof world class educationalinstitutions are very far frombeing achieved. In fact, acampaign needs to belaunched, seriously and withresolve, concurrently in allthree dimensions of educa-tion to revolutionise society.

It is outraged by thepoliticization of criminal is-sues, whether these relate tobillions of rupees stashedaway or to inciting commu-nal passions in pursuit ofvote banks. The largest de-mocracy on this earth owesto itself a secure, prosperousand orderly society whoseadministration is effective;where transgression of val-ues-held-close is dealt witho khap panchayats or byhoodlums in the garb ofself-appointed custodiansof public morality.To sumup, India's national interestsare:* Governance, whichmeans drawing up of poli-cies and regulatory mecha-nisms. But it does not in-clude the running of busi-nesses, commercial enter-prises and industries.

Pleasant day ahead for DelhiNew Delhi,

A cool but pleasant day lies ahead for DelhiWednesday, the first day of 2014, with maximumtemperature expected to be around 17 degrees Cel-sius, the Met Office has forecast.

A partly cloudy sky in the morning will give wayto a clear sky, said India Meteorological Department(IMD).

After two days of chill, minimum temperatureearly Wednesday was three notches above averageat 10.4 degrees Celsius.Fog enveloped the city in themorning, with visibility dropping to 600 metres at8.30 a.m.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 100 percent.Tuesday'smaximum temperature was recorded three notchesbelow average at 17.6 degrees Celsius, while theminimum temperature settled three notches belowaverage at 4 degrees Celsius.Minimum temperatureMonday was season's lowest at 2.4 degrees Celsius.

Maoists torch mobile phone towerequipment in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Maoists Tuesday night torched the battery room

and other equipment at a mobile phone tower inOdisha's Koraput district, police said Wednesday.

A group of rebels set ablaze the battery room,and other equipment at the cell phone tower nearKalia Atala village, over 600 km from here, Inspector-in-Charge A.K. Mohapatra told IANS.The tower - lo-cated on the outskirts of the village - belongs toBharti Airtel Ltd., Mohapatra said. The rebels hadtorched its battery room and equipment in a similarway in 2009 and 2011. Koraput district is considereda Maoist stronghold.

Himachal begins New Year withsunshine

Shimla, It was a sunny day Wednesday in Himachal

Pradesh with overnight snow in Manali turning itmore picturesque."It was bright and sunny after twodays of widespread snow and rain," an official of theMet Office told IANS.The minimum temperature was1.6 degrees Celsius in Shimla, which saw mild spellsof rain.

Shimla's nearby destinations like Kufri andNarkanda experienced moderate snowfall in the past4 hours.Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district shiveredwith minus 5.7 degrees Celsius, the coldest place inthe state.Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of mi-nus 3.2 degrees, while the minimum temperaturewas minus 0.2 degree Celsius in Manali.The meteo-rological office here said the western disturbance hasstarted retrieving from the region, but temperatureswould nosedive further.

India set to attend Geneva II talks onSyria

New Delhi, India, which has always pressed for dialogue to

solve the Syrian crisis, is all set to attend the Jan 22Geneva II peace conference, said a government offi-cial Tuesday.Around 30 nations are going to attendthe conference in the city of Montreux,Switzerland.While a formal invite is yet to be issued,India has been informed "fairly authentically" itwould be among the countries to be invited, saidexternal affairs ministry spokesperson SyedAkbaruddin at a briefing here."We are in the processfor participation in the conference, and it would beformalised when we get a formal invite," he said.

Meghalaya revellers greet2014 with dip in icy water

Shillong, A group of revellers

here greeted the New Yearby plunging into a swim-ming pool's icy water at thestroke of the midnight towelcome 2014.This time therevellers had decided tomake the New Year celebra-tion more interesting byplacing 60 ice blocks, eachweighing 50kg, in the Crino-line swimming pool beforetaking the midnight dip.

"Plunging into the poolis to welcome the New Yearright from the very first sec-ond with a prayer to God togive us strength to face thechallenges of life," saidMichael Syiem, the man be-hind the event.For 17 con-secutive years now, Syiem,the chief of Forever YoungSports Club, has beenorganising the midnightswim inShillong.Participants werenot allowed to take any kindof intoxicants ahead of theevent, as the organisers feltdrinking would negate theevent's objective."GreetingNew Year does not essen-tially mean drink ing andfrolicking but this celebra-tion of ours is to strengthenourselves with our chal-lenges of life," Syiem toldIANS."It was a big challengefor me to swim in the icypool, but I did beat it, and Iam fresh and my body is

getting warmer," said 19 -year-old Jingaieiei BajanaiMarbaniang one among thetwo women, who partici-pated in the midnight dipevent."I am amazed to seeyoung and old men andwomen swimming in thatpool filled with those blocks- a big challenge," said RahulKapadia, who came all theway from Mumbai to see themidnight swim.

Shutdown in Telangana districtover change in minister's portfolio

Hyderabad, Karimnagar district of

Telangana region is observ-ing a shutdown Wednesdayto protest Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy's movein taking away the legisla-tive affairs portfolio fromCivil Supplies Minister D.Sridhar Babu.

Shops, business estab-lishments and educationalinstitutions remainedclosed while buses of state-owned Andhra PradeshState Road Transport Corpo-ration (APSRTC) went off theroads in the district on a callgiven by the district unit ofthe Congress party.

Congress workers tookto streets raising slogansagainst the chief minister,burning his effigies andtyres.

Telangana leadersacross party lines have con-demned the chief minister'saction and described it asanother attempt to stall for-mation of Telangana state.

In a development lateTuesday, the chief minister

divested Sridhar Babu oflegislative affairs portfolioand allotted it to PrimaryEducation Minister S.Sailajanth, who is opposingformation of a separateTelangana state.Congressworkers took to streets rais-ing slogans against thechief minister, burning hiseffigies and tyres.

Telangana leadersacross party lines have con-demned the chief minister'saction and described it asanother attempt to stall for-mation of Telangana state.

The move sparked arow as it came a couple ofdays before AndhraPradesh assembly set tobegin debate on the bill forformation of a separateTelangana state.

The legislative affairsminister plays a key role byassisting the speaker in run-ning the house and con-ducting the debate.

Kiran Reddy, himself astaunch integrationist, wasunhappy with Sridhar Babufor claiming that the debate

on Telangana bill hadstarted. This was in contrastto the chief minister's asser-tion the debate is yet tostart.

President PranabMukherjee had referredAndhra PradeshReorganisation Bill 2013 tothe state assembly Dec 12for its views but it could betabled only Dec 16. Amidthe protests by legislatorsfrom Seemandhra, SridharBabu rose to support the billand urged Deputy SpeakerMallu Bhatti Vikramarka tobegin the debate.

The chair asked leader ofopposition N. ChandrababuNaidu to speak but he wasnot present in the house.

Later, Sridhar Babu andother ministers fromTelangana claimed that thedebate has already startedon the bill.

Opposing the state's bi-furcation, Seemandhra leg-islators stalled the house forfour days. The assembly wasadjourned till Jan 3.

The second phase of the

winter session will continuetill Jan 23, the last date pre-scribed by the president forthe assembly to send backthe bill with its views.

India's tallest ATC tower becomesoperational in Mumbai

Mumbai, India's tallest Air Traffic

Control tower, the height ofa 30-storey skyscraper, wascommissioned at theChhatrapati Shivaji Interna-tional Airport here Wednes-day, an official said.

The ATC operations herehave been taken over by thenew tower, which stands at83.8 metres, over 20 metreshigher than the existingstructure.

The new tower, built at acost of around Rs.1.25 bil-lion (Rs.125 crore/$20 mil-lion) affords an uninter-rupted five-mile 360-de-grees view of the surround-ings for better navigationand surveillance.

However, its distinctionwill be short-lived as thenew ATC tower in New Delhiis expected to stand 102metres tall.

Equipped with the latesttechnology in communica-tions, navigation and sur-veillance (CNS) systems, thenew ATC has a capacity ofhandling 46 flight opera-tions per hour, includingaround 750 take-offs andlandings, and controllingother air traffic movementslike international air traffic ina 24-hour cycle making itamong the busiest in thecountry.

The swank, new ATCtower was inaugurated inOctober this year and sincethen was working in co-or-

dination with the old ATCtower before the formal mi-gration took placeWednesday.To be mannedby around 10 ATC control-lers and a dozen engineersin each shift, the new ATCtower is spread over 2,884square metres with an

award-winning design.The old ATC tower will

be soon be demolished andwill enable the GVK Groupthat runs the airport pro-vide more amenities andfacilities to improve opera-tions and efficiency at theairport.

Central, Bengal officials discussBangladesh, law and order

Kolkata, Home Secretary Anil Goswami Tuesday met West Ben-

gal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior governmentofficials here over the situation in neighbouringBangladesh and the law and order situation in the state.

"We discussed the law and order situation of the statebesides other things," Goswami told mediapersons.Goswami said the Banerjee government hassought central funds for some projects. "We have requestedthe state government to send proposals (for funds)," headded.State home secretary Basudeb Banerjee said "80 per-cent of the talks" centred on Bangladesh - which is goingto polls Jan 5 and shares a long border with the state.

The chief minister said issues concerning the borderand the forces deployed there were deliberated upon. How-ever, she claimed happenings in the neighbouring coun-try did not come up during the talks."Why should we dis-cuss Bangladesh, it is not our internal matter," was Mamata'sreply to media queries if the neighbouring country, whichhas been witnessing sporadic riots, wasdiscussed.Describing the meeting as routine, Mamata saidissues concerning the international border and forces de-ployed there were discussed."After meeting the officials,he (Goswami) met me out of courtesy. You can say the dis-cussion was routine and is a kind of tradition," saidBanerjee.She also declined to comment whether any dis-cussions were held regarding the separatist outfitKamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), suspected to beinvolved in a bomb blast in Jalpaiguri which claimed sixlives as well as in the indiscriminate firing on a bus in Malda,injuring three people.

Congress's Mateen Ahmedis Delhi's pro-tem speaker

New Delhi, Congress legislator

Mateen Ahmed will be thepro-tem speaker of theDelhi assembly, Chief Minis-ter Arvind Kejr iwal saidTuesday.

"We proposed his(Ahmed's) name... he will bethe pro-tem speaker,"Kejriwal told reporters.

The names of BharatiyaJanata Party leader JagdishMukhi and Janata Dal-

United legislator ShoaibIqbal were also proposedbut both of them declined,Kejriwal said.

The pro-tem speakeradministers the oath to allnewly-elected legislatorsand presides over the as-sembly until a new speakeris elected.Kejriwal, who tookover as chief minister Dec28, has been asked to provehis government's majorityin the assembly Jan 2.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Protest near BJPpresident's Delhi house

New Delhi, A group of youths, who claimed they were

members of the NSUI and the Youth Congress,Wednesday staged a protest near BJP presidentRajnath Singh's residence here, police said. The twoorganisations said they had nothing to do withit.The protesters marched towards Rajnath Singh'sAshoka Road residence in the heart of national capi-tal, but were stopped by police a few hundredmetres away.Police used batons to chase away theprotesters.However, a spokesperson for the NationalStudents' Union of India (NSUI) denied any involve-ment of the Congress-affiliated students'organisation in the protest.The protesters marchedtowards Rajnath Singh's Ashoka Road residence inthe heart of national capital, but were stopped bypolice a few hundred metres away.Police used ba-tons to chase away the protesters.The protest comesa day after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), theyouth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Tuesdayprotested near Rahul Gandhi's residence demand-ing removal of Himachal Pradesh Chief MinisterVirbhadra Singh, who has been accused of graft.

A H M E D A B A D * M A R K E T * G U I D E

Ahmedabad, Page 7

In the News 7

The seven-time F1 champion (top left) is still 'fighting for his life' and remains in an artificially inducedcoma after hitting his head on a rock while skiing with his 14-year-old son Mick. He is believed to havefallen at an off-piste spot (main image) in the French Alpine resort of Meribel. Speaking at a press confer-ence this morning, his anaesthetist Professor Jean-Francois Payen said medics were working on an 'hour-by-hour basis' after the horrific accident. He added: 'We judge him to be in a very serious situation. Wecannot tell what the outcome will be yet.'

Tourists flock Baga beach on New Year eve in Goa .

Indian cinema has evolved, women areno more just eye candy: Madhuri Dixit

By Uma Ramasubramanian

Mumbai, Bollywood diva

Madhuri Dixit is set to makea comeback on the screen ina never-seen-before avatarin ready-to-release "DedhIshqiya", a hinterland basedthriller-drama, and thanksIndian cinema for evolvingand making way for strongfemale characters.

"The more depth in thecharacter the more fun youget to perform," Madhurisaid when asked how com-fortable she was with thebold role in "Dedh Ishqiya",which brings her out of hercomfort zone, Madhuri toldIANS in an interview.

"I am so thankful thatour cinema has come a longway, and I am happy thatwomen are portrayed ascharacters and not just eyecandy in the films. (Womenare) very beautifully por-trayed on the screen," shesaid.

With the lethal combi-nation of oomph and talent,Madhuri rose on the film fir-mament in the late 1980sand 1990s with blockbust-ers like "Tezaab", "RamLakhan", "Dil", "Beta" and"Saajan".

She is also known for heracting prowess in off beatfilms "Prahaar" and

"Mrityudand", which sawher in a non-glamorous ava-tar.

After ruling the roost foryears, Madhuri shifted baseto Denver when she marriedUS-based doctor SriramNene in 1999. Her last big hitwas "Devdas".

In 2007, she attempted acomeback with "NachBaliye", which bombed atthe box office, and she wentback. Four years later, theactress returned to India forgood and she hasn't had tohunt for work.

First, she got busy as oneof the judges with thefourth and the fifth seasonsof the dance reality show"Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" andthen two films - "DedhIshqiya" and "Gulaab Gang"- fell into her lap. Interest-ingly, in both the films, fe-male characters are centralto the story lines.

In between, she made aspecial appearance in the"Ghaghra" song in "YehJawaani Hai Deewani".

Her role in "DedhIhsqiya" is certainly a giantleap for the actress. DirectorAbhishek Chaubey is pre-senting her as a widow look-ing for a husband and sheorganises a poetry compe-tition in her house everyyear where prospectivegrooms come and try to

woo her."For women, it's agreat time to be in the in-dustry. When they narratedthe script to me, I was veryexcited. It's a role that ap-pealed to me," said Madhuriwho has some bold sceneswith Naseeruddin Shah inthe film, which also starsArshad Warsi.

"Begum Para is a beauti-ful character written byAbhishek. She is a poeticwoman. She is a widow andher late husband's wish wasthat if she ever marr iesagain, she should marry apoet.

"So every year sheorganises a swayamvar forher. She has been com-pletely unimpressed for twoyears, but in the third yearBabban (Arshad) comes,"she said.

Begum Para in "DedhIshqiya" marks her secondinnings in filmdom postmarriage and when askedhow important is the film forher, she said: "Everybodywants to see me after a gap.Begum is a strong character.She has many multi-layeredkind of a woman. How thefilm does is very important."

"Dedh Ishqiya" is a se-quel to "Ishqiya", a film thatmade its lead actress VidyaBalan a name to reckonwith.Co-produced by VishalBharadwaj and Raman

Maroo, "Dedh Ishqiya" willrelease Jan 10.Is she gettingcold feet'"I am not nervous,I am very excited about it.The script is very good and Ithink it's a complete enter-tainer," said a confidentMadhuri.

Mumbai, Actor Sonu Sood says

his "Happy New Year" co-actor Shah Rukh Khan isjealous of his talent of por-traying negative charac-ters.

Sonu has tried his handat negative and positiveroles in his career, but KingKhan is particularly in aweof his portrayal of a villain

At the unveiling of thecover of Health and Nutri-tion magazine featuringhim Monday, Sonu wasasked why he hardly fea-tures in positive roles.

He said: "I have done alot of positive roles and Ihave a positive role in'Happy New Year' also. Butlike I said, times havechanged. You just need toentertain, whether it's apositive or a negative role."

What makesSRK jealous ofSonu Sood'

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Telangana ministers complain togovernor against chief minister

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh cabinet

ministers from theTelangana region Wednes-day complained to the gov-ernor against the chief min-ister for divesting their col-league D. Sridhar Babu ofthe legislative affairs portfo-lio.

The ministers fromTelangana said Chief Minis-ter N. Kiran Kumar Reddy'sdecision was undemocraticand an insult to the peopleof Telangana. They alsotermed it as a part of theconspiracy to stall the for-mation of a separateTelangana state.

They told Governor E. S.L. Narasimhan that the chiefminister took away the keyportfolio from the civil sup-plies minister at a timewhen the state assembly isto debate the bill for forma-tion of Telangana state fromJan 3.Panchayat Raj Minis-ter K. Jana Reddy told re-porters after meeting the

governor at Raj Bhavan thatthey would bring the chiefminister's conduct to Con-gress leadership's notice.

He appealed to theTelangana people to be pa-tient in view of the debatein the assembly.

"We will respond suit-ably after reaching ourgoal," he said. The ministerswould meet in two to threedays to chalk out their fu-ture course of action.

Those who met the gov-ernor include Sridhar Babu,Ponnala Lakshmaiah andSudershan Reddy.SridharBabu made it clear that hewould not accept commer-cial taxes portfolio allottedto him by the chief minister.The minister said he actedin a responsible mannerwhen the bill was tabled inthe house last month. Hesaid people knew why thechief minister changed hisportfolio.

LegendaryHollywood actorsnow on wine barrelsin Spain

Logrono (Spain), Images of legendary

Hollywood actors likeCharlie Chaplin, ClintEastwood and Bruce Leeand scenes from movies like"Terminator 2", "Taxi Driver"and "Pulp Fiction" are nowbeing hand-painted inSpain on barrels of vintagewine as part of theLaovejabala project beingpromoted by Spanishgraphic designers Raul SanCristobal and EnriqueMartin.It provides a newclaim to fame for casks offine Rioja wines, which sta-tistics say have the largestnumber of barrels in theworld at close to 1.3million.The BodegasContador winery, in SanVicente de la Sonsierratown, is the first setting forthis project.The artists traveldaily to the municipality ofSamaniego where theyhand-paint the barrels.

News in a Nutshell

Ahmedabad Page 8

CMYK

CMYK

Sports8

CMYK

CMYK

When a

SON is born

a MAN is born

when a

DAUGHTER is born aMOTHER is born

save the girl child, save the nation

Mrs Schumacher has also surrounded her dangerously ill husband with keepsakes from their childrenand candles as she prays for his recovery. The news comes as doctors yesterday revealed the seven-time F1champion was showing slight signs of improvement and had had a second operation. But they said heremains in a critical condition. Photographs also emerged of the dramatic moment when he was airliftedfrom a ski run in the French Alps by a rescue helicopter.

MATT LAWTON: Sir Alex Ferguson always feared retirement. 'I have been on the train for so long that when I get off it, I am scared my body will shut down,' heonce said. The evidence suggests he simply boarded a different train the moment he alighted the Manchester United express.

NEIL ASHTON: Having seven substitutes in each team is a luxury for manag-ers at the top end of the table and they can feed their faces on all that talent. Asfor the standard, it does nothing for the league itself. What is the motivation forplayers to play football elsewhere when they can get a few games here andthere at City or Liverpool?

Brazil's World Cup stadium fails tomeet deadline

Rio De Janeiro, Construction work on Brazil's Beira-Rio World Cup

stadium remains two months from completion despitebeing ready to host matches, officials said.

Organisers confirmed that world football's govern-ing body FIFA had extended the venue's constructiondeadline from December 31 to February 28, Xinhua re-ported Tuesday."Development has reached its finalstage and the working schedule remains within thetime frame set by FIFA," stadium operator Brio Hold-ing said in a statement.The remaining phase involvesthe placement of translucent membranes to supportthe venue's roof.Located in the southern city of PortoAlegre, Beira-Rio will host five World Cup matches nextJune and July.It is one of six stadiums yet to be com-pleted for football's signature event despite FIFA hav-ing earlier warned there was no "plan B" for venuesnot ready by December.

Brazil under-17 defender Abner joinsRoma

Rio De Janeriro, Roma have signed Brazilian teenage defender

Abner for five million euros, local media reported.The 17-year-old impressed the Italian club's scouts

during his performances for Brazilian top-flight clubCoritiba and Brazil's under-17 national team, Xinhuareported on Tuesday citing news portal Terra.His sign-ing comes despite having undergone knee surgerythat will sideline him until April.The deal is expectedto be officially announced in the coming days, coin-ciding with the opening of the European winter trans-fer window.A left-back, Abner was a member of theBrazil team that made the quarterfinals of the under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in Novem-ber.

Cagliari eye Flamengo midfielder LuizAntonio

Rio De Janeiro, Cagliari have added unsettled Brazilian midfielder

Luiz Antonio to their transfer wish list as they turn tothe Brazilian market for midseason reinforcement.

News of interest in the Brazil under-20 midfieldercomes days after the Italian Serie A club made a for-mal bid for Antonio's Flamengo teammate Adryan,Xinhua reported.

According to Brazilian daily O Globo, Cagliari areseeking a replacement for Belgium international RadjaNainggolan, who is expected to leave the club.

Xiamen Marathon expects newwomen's record

Xiamen, Southeast China, A new record is highly expected in the women's

section of Thursday's Xiamen International Marathon,the first major marathon of 2014.

Zhang Yingying's time of 2:22:38 has stood for sixyears but Ethiopia's 24-year-old Mare Dibaba poten-tially has the credentials to challenge that mark.

In 2012, Dibaba had set a personal best 2:19:52 forthird place in Dubai and is by far the fastest runner inthe race.

Conditions in NewZealand tough:Indian cricketmanager

Kochi, The playing conditions

in New Zealand will betough for the Indian cricketteam, newly-appointedmanager T.C. Mathew saidhere Tuesday.

A month-long tour toNew Zealand begins withthe first of five ODIs Jan 19and ends with the secondTest Feb 18.

"Even though the NewZealand cricket team isstruggling, the conditionsare tough for more reasonsthan one.

Our team will have toput up a good show,"Mathew told reporters.

Mathew is currently thepresident of the KeralaCricket Association and alsothe chairman of the Na-tional Cricket Academy inBangalore. He is also mem-ber of the governing coun-cil of the Indian PremierLeague.

WESTERN TIMES AHMEDABADTHURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

Baugh in hot waterwith cricket bosses

Kingston (Jamaica), Sidelined West Indies wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh

Jr. is in hot water with the cricket authorities in Jamaicaafter missing a national training session without re-ceiving permission.

The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) has con-firmed that Baugh is to attend a disciplinary hearingsometime this week before a possible return to thenational setup to continue training in preparation forthe new season.

Baugh missed a training session Dec 20 to attendto personal business after his request for a day off frompractice was refused.

"Baugh is not a part of the training squad now butit doesn't mean he is no longer a part of the team.That matter is to be dealt with and there is a processto be followed," said newly-elected JCA presidentWilford Heaven.

Baugh's absence from training as part of a 45-member squad has prompted speculation about hisfuture in the 14-man team to be chosen for the up-coming Regional Super50 tournament.

Media reports in Jamaica suggest his absencefrom training is as a result of a stand-off between theplayer and the national selection panel, headed bychairman Wavell Hinds. Baugh himself has declinedcomment but reports say he has been showing up foreach session."The fundamental thing is that this or anyother sport can't go forward with any form of indisci-pline especially when senior players are involved. Soyou can either lead by example or be an example,"Heaven added.Baugh has been Jamaica's most promi-nent wicketkeeper-batsman in recent times, playingin 102 first class matches, scoring 12 centuries and 22half-centuries. He has also taken 205 catches and ex-ecuted 24 stumpings.

Anderson strikes fastest ODI centuryQueenstown (New

Zealand), New Zealand all-

rounder Corey Andersonstruck the fastest ODI cen-tury in 36 balls to guide theBlack Caps to a massive 159-run win over the West Indiesin the rain-curtailed thirdgame of the five-match se-ries against the West Indiesat the Queenstown EventsCentre here Wednesday.

It took some time for therain to subside, but once ithad the New Zealanders puton one of the most incred-ible cricketing spectacles inhistory.

Anderson, who struck anunbeaten 131 off 47 balls,reached the three figures injust 36 balls to break the 17-year-old record of Pakistaniall-rounder Shahid Afridi,who took 37 balls to score ahundred against Sri Lanka in1996.

Jesse Ryder (104 off 51balls) also welcomed 2014in sensational fashion, pum-meling the sixth fastest cen-tury off 46 balls as NewZealand piled up a huge 283for four in 21 overs.

West Indies managed124 for five in 21 overs afterDwayne Bravo remainedunbeaten on 56.

Anderson's brutal in-nings saw him dazzle hisway into the record bookson a number of levels, butthere was an obviousstandout - the fastest cen-tury in any form of interna-tional cricket.

His brief yet belligerentinnings saw him rocket to 50from 20 balls, yet his thenstrike-rate of 250 continuedto trend upwards. Acrosstwo overs he struck five con-secutive sixes, as well as fourin one Sunil Narine over.

Anderson remained ontrack and in the 18th overneeded to strike a six toclaim the record - no prob-lem. He emphatically dis-patched Nikita Miller overthe rope and celebratedwith appropriate exuber-ance. On what started as agloomy day forQueenstown, ended withAnderson lighting up all cor-ners of the ground.

Not to be forgotten wasthe clear message thatRyder signalled - he's back.The 29-year-old was his ex-plosive best enroute to hisextraordinary century,terrorising the West Indiesbowlers. His own onslaughtincluded 12 fours and fivesixes.

With Ryder in full-flightand Anderson unstoppable,the crowd were in awe as theduo blitzed their way to aNew Zealand record fourthwicket partnership of 191(off 75 balls). Their standcame to an end in thepenultimate over whenRyder was eventually caughtoff the bowling of JasonHolder (2-48).

Anderson though heldhis bat, finishing unbeatenand able to boast a number

of New Zealand records, in-cluding most sixes in an in-nings (14).

Anderson, who finishedthe New Zealand inningsunbeaten on 131, hit 14sixes in his whirlwind as-sault, the third highest num-ber of sixes in an ODI in-nings. India's Rohit Sharmahit 16 sixes against Austra-lia two months ago andAustralia's Shane Watsonstruck 15 againstBangladesh in 2011.

Leggie Brown toundergo knee surgery

Kingston (Jamaica), Leading Jamaican leg spinner Odean Brown will miss

the upcoming regional Super50 tournament because of aknee injury. knee which acted up during a recent trainingsession with the national Super50 squad."Brown has beencomplaining for a while now about his knee and the doc-tors have advised that surgery is the best thing to do. Hehas a floating bone inside his knee which whenever hebowls, causes discomfort and the hope is that with this op-eration it will be rectified," said national coach JuniorBennett Tuesday.The surgery is expected to rule out Brownfor up to six weeks, excluding him from the Super50, sched-uled to get underway Jan 30 in Trinidad and Tobago."Thesurgery should rule him out for about 4-6 weeks whichmeans that he will definitely miss the one-day tournament.Brown, who has represented West Indies A on numerousoccasions, has also represented Jamaica in 62 first classmatches, taking 240 wickets at an average of 22.28.

Rockets lose to Kingsfor second time

Houston, The Houston Rockets

lost to the SacramentoKings 110-106 for the sec-ond time this season in theNational Basketball Associa-tion (NBA) at the ToyotaCenter.

Almost everybody ex-pected Houston to win onNew Year's Eve when theteam made fatal mistakes inthe last minutes, handingaway their deserved victoryto Sacramento, reportsXinhua.

The Rockets, as usual,started the game slow, withonly one shot in first fiveminutes. The Kings, however,played toughly and led 29-24 in the first quarter.

The Rockets were intheir element in the secondquarter, making 75 percentof their seconds quartershots, though still trailed 58-52 at halftime.

Joint efforts by DwightHoward, James Harden andJeremy Lin helped Houstonovertake Sacramento in thethird quarter in which theteam scored 34 points, 12more than their opponents.

It appeared to everyone

the Rockets were winningthe game. But with 1:40 left,Harden missed a threepointer, turned the ball overand charged into DeMarcusCousins. That sent the Kingson their way to a 7-0 run toblow past and to the win.

Russia streamlinesvisa applicationsfor Sochi Olympics

Moscow, Foreigners planning to

attend the Winter OlympicGames in Sochi in Februarycan obtain visas the sameday they apply, Russian for-eign ministry hassaid.Deputy Foreign Minis-ter Vladimir Titov said Tues-day that the same-day visadeal is a temporary oppor-tunity available at majorRussian diplomatic missionsaround the world, reports Xcan be issued on the sameday, which will drasticallyshorten the waiting time,which normally could takeseveral days and sometimesweeks.The Black Sea resortof Sochi will host the 22ndWinter Olympic Games, Feb7-23.

Hampton entersAuckland tennis quarters

Auckland, Fifth-seeded American

Jamie Hampton brushedaside Czech qualifierKristyna Pliskova in straightsets to reach the women'ssingles quarterfinal of theAuckland Tennis Classichere Wednesday.

In a clinical display ofpower hitting from thebaseline, the 23-year-oldwas untroubled by Pliskova,who couldn't find the formthat helped her knockout2010 champion YaninaWickmayer in the first round,reports Xinhua.

In her third appearancehere, Hampton looked con-fident on the centre court,winning 6-3, 6-4. The WorldNo.28 made the semifinalslast year before losing toeventual championAgnieszka Radwanska.Hampton will now facecompatriot Lauren Davis orteenager Ana Konjuh in thelast eight clash.Earlier, thirdseed Kirsten Flipkens,alsoprogressed to the quarterswith a straight sets win over21-year-old Czech KarolinaPliskova, the twin sister ofKristyna. World No.20Flipkens was leading 5-0 inthe first set before with-

standing a fightback fromthe Czech to close out thematch 6-4, 6-3.The 27-year-old Belgian also made thequarterfinals in 2013 beforelosing to compatriot YaninaW i c k m a y e r . F l i p k e n sreached the 2013Wimbledon semifinalswhere she lost to eventual

champion Marion Bartoli.Also through on Day 3

were Spaniard GarbineMuguruza, who beat Cana-dian qualifier SharonFichman 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 andKurumi Nara, who convinc-ingly won her all-Japaneseclash against Ayumi Morita6-0, 6-1.

Argentine Cambiasso hopesto get picked for World Cup

Buenos Aires, Inter Milan's Argentine

midfielder EstebanCambiasso hopes to get se-lected for his national teamfor the 2014 FIFA World Cupin Brazil.Quoting Argentinesports daily Ole, Xinhua re-ported that the 33-year-oldmidfielder was looking for-ward to being one of the"surprise" final picks of Ar-gentine national teamcoach Alejandro Sabella,who has already chosenmost of the 23 players.

"I hope to be Sabella'schoice," said Cambiasso,who played in the 2006World Cup in Germany,where he scored one goal. "Ihope I have the opportunityto again be on the nationalteam."In recent weeks ,Sabella has hinted theremight be a "surprise" in thefinal lineup.Cambiasso saidhe has had no talks with thecoach and "there is nothingconcrete yet," adding he willtry to "play at a high leveland then we'll see."

Argentina have beenplaced in Group F, with itsdebut match against Bosniaset to take place at Rio deJaneiro 's Maracana StadiumJune 15. Argentina's secondmatch will be against IranSaturday, June 21, in BeloHorizonte. The South Ameri-

can team then concludesthe first round of games

against Nigeria June 24 inPorto Alegre.

Ethiopians, Kenyans tocompete for Xiamen Marathoncrown

Xiamen (China), The Xiamen International Marathon Thursday is

likely to be a battle between Ethiopian and Kenyan run-ners.

As the first IAAF Gold Label Road Race of 2014, the12th edition of the race is looking forward to newrecords. The men's course record has been broken forthe last five years and this year it is possible to tumbleagain, reports Xinhua.

Ethiopia's Negari Terfa clocked 2:07:32 in 2013 forthe win, setting the current course record while Kenya'sPeter Kamais was fastest in 2012 with 2:07:37. The 30-year-old Terfa had another win at the Rome Marathon(2:07:56) in March 2013.

However, there are three other athletes with fasterpersonal bests. Terfa's compatriot Endeshaw Negesse,25, has the fastest time of 2:04:52 set in Dubai 2013 andhe also won in Florence 2012 with 2:09:59. KenyansMariko Kiplagat, Nathaniel Kipkosgei and Elijah Keitanyall have personal bests under 2:07 and could challengethe in this race.