Presenting his third populist budget in succession, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad proposed no increase in passenger fares but his decision to upgrade 200 trains to superfast express category will make travel in these trains costlier. The move is expected to rake in Rs 1000 crore a year.

In the Budget that comes ahead of assembly election in five states, he announced introduction of fully airconditioned "garib rath" (poor's chariot) to Mumbai, Chennai and Patna from Delhi and between Saharsa and Amritsar which will be 25 per cent cheaper than the present three-tier AC fare.

The slashing of AC fares will make travel by first class AC cheaper by 18 per cent and second class by 10 per cent. Officials have also not ruled out further reduction in this category to improve occupancy which is as low as 50 per cent in certain routes.

Though the Budget proposed no across-the-board increase in freight rates, rationalisation of the structure and reclassification items are expected to make movement of paper, sponge iron and oilcakes more expensive. Transportation of diesel and petrol will become cheaper by eight per cent while iron ore, acids and alcohol would also be carried cheaper.Officials said the thrust in future would be to replace slow moving passenger trains to wean away more passengers from bus travel and increase carrying capacity of trains by increasing the number of bogies up to 24 per train.

Announcing some populist measures, the Railway Minister said persons, who have lost their limbs in accidents or otherwise will get 50 per cent concession in second class and sleeper class for travel to national level institutes for transplantation along with one attendant.Prasad announced introduction of 150-km speed train, recently started between Delhi and Agra, on Delhi-Kanpur- Lucknow route.

The Budget contained proposals for 55 pairs of new trains 37 pairs of extension of services, 12 pairs of increase in frequency and two pairs of re-routing. The construction of a dedicated freight corridor at a cost of Rs.22,000 crores on Eastern and Western routes was also announced. (PTI)

• No increase in passenger fares

• No increase in freight rates

• AC First Class fares down by 18 per cent

• AC Second Class fares down by 10 per cent

• Diesel, petrol freight charges down by 8 per cent

• Dynamic pricing policy for freight introduced

• 30% discount in non-peak season, 20% discount in peak season on incremental freight

• 55 new trains, 37 trains extended

• 50% concession in fares to farmers, milk producers

• 50% concession to handicapped people

• 'Jansadharan Ticket Booking Scheme' to be launched

• 'Gramin Ticket Booking Service' for rural youth

• Fully AC 'Garib Rath' to run on a pilot project basis

• Fares in 'Garib Rath' to be 25% lower than AC-III tier

• Rs 22,000 crore for dedicated freight corridor

• Largest ever plan outlay of Rs 23,475 crore

• Outlay includes Rs 7,511 cr from central exchequer

• Outlay includes Rs 10,794 crore from internal resources

• Outlay includes Rs 5,170 crore from extra budgetary funds

• 550 km of new lines to be added in 2006-07

All the nine accused in the case were acquitted on the premise that the prosecution failed to produce proper evidence against the alleged killers. The verdict has raised questions over the viability of the judicial system. And people across the country have expressed shock over the way in which the case has been handled. After years of arguments and botched evidence, most witnesses turned hostile and the case ended up with accused going scot-free. (Agencies)

The verdict was delivered by Judge Abhay Thipsay, who, in addition to life imprisonment, awarded jail terms to the convicts ranging from one year to ten years on various counts under IPC including rioting, unlawful assembly for causing grievous hurt, voluntarily causing hurt and being part of an unlawful assembly armed with explosives. These one to ten year sentences would run concurrently. After serving these terms, the convicts will undergo their life term, the Judge ruled.

The court issued notices to Zaheera Shaikh, her mother Sehrunissa, two brothers Nasibullah and Nafitullah and sister Sahira, who had turned hostile asking them to show cause why they should not be prosecuted for perjury (giving false evidence). They have been asked to reply by March 20.

Altogether 17 accused faced the trial on charges of rioting and murdering 14 persons who had taken refuge in the Best Bakery on Hanuman Tekdi at Vadodara on March one, 2002, in the post-Godhra riots. Four other accused are absconding.

Zaheera Shaikh, prime witness in the case, had moved the Supreme Court alleging that all the 21 accused in the case had been acquitted by the trial court in Gujarat as she had turned hostile because of threats issued to her. The apex court, on April 12, 2004, asked a Mumbai court to conduct the retrial so that the accused were given a fair trial outside Gujarat.

Reactions: Human rights activists hailed the convictions in the Best Bakery case, saying the verdict in the re-trial has vindicated their standpoint that Gujarat Government had interfered with the probe, even as the Defence team planned to file an appeal.

"The verdict is a complete vindication of the Supreme Court judgement orderding the trial. The entire process of the re-trial was as every trial should be. It was thorough, transparent, probing and zealous," rights activist Teesta Seetalvad told reporters here.

She said the re-trial, held outside the state on orders of the Supreme Court, has ensured probity and transparency as only seven of the total of 75 witnesses turned hostile as against 68 of the total 74 when the original trial was held in Gujarat.

"The chargesheet was the same, the evidence was the same, the only difference is that here a thorough prosecution was doing its job...there the state of Gujarat was the prosecution and it was trying to subvert the trial," Seetalvad, who had been waging a prolonged battle to bring the accused to justice, told reporters.

However, the defence team was not happy with the sessions court verdict, awarding life imprisonment to nine of the 17 people charged with torching the Best Bakery in Vadodara during the post-Godhra riots killing 14 people, and said they would appeal against the verdict. (PTI)

New Delhi: Showering praises on Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for presenting a 'pragmatic and forward looking' Budget, industry on Friday said new commercial and freight initiatives would make Railways further competitive, as some of low cost airlines talked of cutting fares.

"The Budget is based on sound and forward looking economic principles," FICCI President Saroj Poddar said noting that indicators pointed at improvement in financial health of Indian Railways.

CII appreciated new initiatives like Freight Discount Scheme, saying that the move would make the largest public sector employer more competitive.

Reacting to the steep reduction in passenger fares of AC-I and II tier, low cost airline SpiceJet director Ajay Singh indicated at cutting fares. "We will realign our fares according to the Railways," he said, even as AIr Deccan Chief G R Gopinath ruled out any reduction in fares.

Indian Oil Corporation Chairman Sarthak Behuria said the rationlisation of freight would bring down transportation cost of petrol and diesel by eight per cent and would allow company to save around Rs 60-80 crore. Assocham President Anil K Agarwal welcomed the announcement of privatisation of Container services from April One, 2006.

AC trains still out of reach for common man .Promises in the Railway Budget on making airconditioned travel more affordable and providing better services failed to cut much ice with the common traveller, who felt AC fares were still out of reach and also doubted getting a taste of luxury travel in the near future.

As Railway Minister Lalu Prasad presented his ministry's budget in Parliament on Friday, many passengers whom PTI spoke to at the New Delhi Railway Station felt reduction in upper class fares notwithstanding, travel by sleeper class made more economic sense.

"I am a student and I still can't travel by AC. For the distance that I travel, that is till Lucknow, spending so much money on AC is not practical," said Aligarh-bound college student Pooja Singh.

Echoing the sentiments, Prabhakar Tiwari said: "I have never travelled by AC and neither do I want to, (because) it is still too expensive for me. Anyway, I don't have any problems travelling by the normal sleeper class."

However, Tiwari, a trader who travels by train frequently, said that cleanliness levels should be enhanced on the trains as well as the platforms.  "I don't know what is in the budget and it doesn't affect me much," said Prem Mishra, who travels to his hometown Bhubaneshwar once a year.

"But if the budget is practical then it should be good," he said. He travels by AC first class and does not care about the change in fares because travelling, for him, is a once-in-a- year affair.

A fully air-conditioned "Garib Rath" (poorman's chariot) service, whose fares would be 25 per cent less than normal AC-III tier rates, is one of the major proposals in the budget. The service would be run on a pilot basis initially with four pairs of trains.

Prasad has also proposed reduction in AC-I class and II-tier AC fares ranging from 10-18 per cent. People also said there should be more refreshments available and better restrooms, besides facilities like STD booths at the stations.Kuntal Dhar, who travels to Cooch Behar twice a month, said he felt that the budget would prove to be a good one only if the government implemented the promises.

"They always make promises. But they hardly deliver. It is a good thing if the charges are being reduced as the middle class still depends on trains," Dhar said.

He also said that the quality of food served in trains should be improved as it was not worth the money charged. Bathrooms too and everything is exorbitantly priced," he said. (PTI)

New Delhi: Government on Thursday ruled out making it compulsory for all the eligible voters in the country to cast their votes in elections. In a written reply to a question on the issue, Union Minister of Law and Justice H R Bhardwaj told the Lok Sabha that there was no such proposal.

Each of the 95 samples had been divided into two parts with one each being sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. However, the result of one sample was delayed as it could not be sent to NIV earlier. The sample belongs to one of those who are under observation at the Navapur Sub-District Hospital. Meanwhile, two more persons have been admitted to the hospital taking the total number of people under observation to 14. (PTI)

Other new Bills tabled in the House during the first day of the session were KHADC (Appointment and Succession of Sirdar and Headmen of Nonglang Sirdarship-First Amendment Bill) 2006, KHADC (Appointment and Succession of Sirdar and Headmen of Riangsih Sirdarship - First Amendment) Bill 2006 and KHADC (Appointment and Succession of Sirdar and Headmen of Laitkroh Sirdarship) Bill 2006.

The three-day session, which will conclude on February 28, will have detailed discussion on the Bill for direct funding for Durbar Shnongs amidst fear expressed by Opposition members including Bindo M Lanong over the necessity of the Bill.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Member Mr H S Shylla clarified in the House that the Bill would facilitate funding from the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj to Community Resource Management Groups in all villages comprising of 60 households with involvement by women members. He also said that besides ensuring development at the grassroot level, the Bill was aimed at providing gender justice.

Meanwhile, all the Bills are likely to be passed without any difficulty in the final day of the session. Chairman Martamlin Pyrbot announced that any amendment to the Bills should be brought to his notice on Monday for necessary action.

The first day of the session also took up the issue of delay by the State Government to forward Bills passed by the KHADC to the Governor for his assent. Replying to the question raised by UDP member Mr Donbok Khymdeit, the CEM said that there were ten Bills including those dating back to 1991 still being held by the District Council Affairs Department of the State Government.

Among the Bills pending approval of the Governor included the KHADC (Appointment and Succession of Chiefs and Headmen-Seventh Amendment) Bill 2005, KHADC (Constitution of District Council) Amendment Rules 2005, KHADC (Allotment, Occupation or Use or Setting Apart of Land) Regulation Bill 2005 and KHADC (Regulation and Registration of Marriage and Divorce) Bill 2005.

The committee president Ms L Shangpliang on Friday even threatened that if the State government failed to take action against the culprits, trade in all other Land Customs Stations in the Northeast would be suspended on February 27 and 28.

Speaking to reporters, Ms Shangpliang said, "The suspension of border trade in the region would adversely affect the economy of the State. But we have done this in order to pressurise the government to speed up their search operation for the murderer of Das".

She said, "We have called upon the State government to institute a high-level inquiry so that the murderers are arrested immediately and also issue necessary direction to ensure security in all the Border Land Customs Stations in Meghalaya, so that such incidents do not occur in future".

Earlier, the Meghalaya Customs & Central Excise Welfare Committee took out a silent procession in the protest against the murder of the Customs Superintendent J Das.

Mrs Marak along with her counterparts from Assam and Nagaland were lobbying for an express train from the region to the southern city of Chennai. She had an idea that she would pursue the matter after Tura by-election and definitely the centre would pay heed.Mrs Marak had also taken up the matter with the Minister of State for Railway R Velu. She said that as the flight service is expensive and not everyone can afford it, especially the sick, the need of the hour was to have an express train introduced to ferry students and patients.At present there are only limited weekly south-bound trains, which take three to four days to reach the destination.

Our Spl Correspondent adds: Members of Parliament from North-East  belonging to opposition parties entered the well of Lok Sabha in protest against what they called neglect of the region by the Railway Ministry in the current budget. Dr Arun Kumar Sharma, a member from Assam, resented that not a single new train has been introduced to the Northeast. "The lone new train between Darbhanga and Guwahati is only a link express", he said.

The other new train Kumarghat-Agartala could start only after commissioning of a new metre gauge line, which looks very remote, Dr Sharma said. Only two trains linking the region have been extended and the frequency of three trains has been increased, he said.

The MPs also expressed concern over lack of details of ten percent budgetary allocation for the NE region. "It is not clear whether the ministry is actually allocating the mandatory amount for the region", they wondered.Even mega projects like Bogibeel Bridge were not allocated sufficient funds, they alleged.

SHILLONG: In a major show of musical extravaganza and a trial of strength between Northeast and mainland India, the Silchar lad and the Northeast's blue-eyed boy Debojit Saha walked away with the coveted trophy of SaReGaMaPa on Friday night defeating his nearest competitor Vinit Singh by a narrow margin.

Altogether 2.94 crore votes were sent from Eastern zone, while the Northern zone counted for 1.5 crore votes in three weeks in the run up to the mega final. West zone sent 70 lakh votes, while South as usually found less interested in sending votes for any and the figure stuck somewhere around 23 lakh.

"I don't believe in winning or losing," Debojit had earlier on Friday said. But in a scintillating final in Andheri stadium, Debojit polled 2.77 crore votes to win the title. He also became a proud owner of a flat in Mumbai, besides a contract with HMV.

The 29-year old from Silchar, Assam, has won Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005, beating 17-year old Vinit Singh in a closely fought and much-watched contest.

Debojit, a civil engineer by profession, came to Mumbai three years ago to pursue a career in singing. He says it was his wife who played an instrumental role in making sure he stuck to his agenda. Assam voted in full force, but the rest of the nation appears to have chipped in as well, considering tonight's results.

SHILLONG: Animal husbandry Minister Martle Mukhim on Friday said there would not be any immediate ban on import of poultry from outside the State.Mr Mukhim told reporters that regular checking and awareness programmes were being conducted to check the spread of bird flu.

It may be mentioned that Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur have already banned the import of poultry.Mr Mukhim said that if the State puts a blanket ban on import of poultry, it may create unnecessary panic among the people. However if the situation warrants, he said ban would be imposed on poultry.

Earlier, the State government had taken some measures, including constitution of a rapid response team at every district level, with the one at the State level, besides setting up of check posts at every entry point to inspect the poultry. The Animal Husbandry & Veterinary department officials even conducted some checking and inspection of chicken at different parts of the city.

The official team comprising Disease Investigation Officer and Assistant Research Officer of the East Khasi Hills District Animal Husbandry & Veterinary recently visited Iewduh and Happy Valley market to check the poultry.There were also instructions to have temporary check posts at every entry point for inspecting the poultry being brought in the market.

The AH&V Director requested the government to approve the proposal for installation of a toll free telephone at the Directorate to facilitate immediate response to any outbreak of disease in any part of the State. 

The government will have to pass the Bill during the next session, as the Board at present is functioning on the basis of an extended MBOSE ordinance. Parliamentary Affairs Minister JD Rymbai on Friday said though the session would commence on March 17, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) would meet on February 28 to fix the number of days for the session. Only vote on account would be passed in the session. The duration of the session is likely to be of two weeks, he added.

According to sources, the deceased was the son of a church elder of Laitlyngkot, Mr Drasting Shabong and he was doing his final year in theology at the John Roberts' Theological Seminary, Mawklot. Eye witnesses said that the deceased was trying to overtake a truck when he met with the accident.

In another accident an unidentified person was killed on Friday morning at Saiden, Ri Bhoi District when a vehicle belonging to the Director of Soil Conservation Department dashed him.

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee has turned down the offer of the NCP for a tie up in the State saying that the present MDA coalition was stable."We are not open for any Congress-NCP alliance. We have a perfectly balanced government and we should stick to it", Congress legislature party secretary Charles Pyngrope told The Shillong Times.

NCP spokesperson Conrad Sangma at a press conference on Thursday said the party was open to the idea of having a coalition with the Congress in the State."The present combination should carry on till 2008 as per the commitment made during the formation of the MDA government", said Mr Pyngrope, who is also the MDA secretary.

In fact, the issue of NCP-Congress alliance was not even discussed at the Congress forum. "We have not discussed the issue as it does not warrant any deliberation", Mr Pyngrope said.

According to him, when Congress-regional parties alliance was functioning smoothly, there was no need for any other party to give support. "At the moment, we don't need anybody. A sudden alliance offer of the NCP seems to be for serving its own interest. We can only look at such combinations if our MDA partners leave us", he said.

Mr Pyngrope termed the remark of Mr Conrad Sangma about the Congress being wiped out form Garo Hills as that of a figment of imagination. "This is a wishful thinking and a far fetched dream", the Congress leader said.

The militant who hailed from Tura had joined the outfit in 2005 and was trained at the outfit's Durgapur camp in Bangladesh. According to the Minister, the surrendered militant would remain in police custody.

SHILLONG: Much-waited construction of Hotel Crowborough is likely to begin in May, official sources said. The hotel would be ready for tourist by September 2007.Sources from the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) on Friday said all formalities for the construction works were completed and the papers had been sent to the State government for Cabinet's approval.

Sources expect that by April second week, the tender would be floated and the process for completion of the hotel would begin as early as possible. The construction work for the hotel would be taken up on "Bill Operate and Transfer (BOT)" basis.

However, sources ensured that the MTDC would take care of the project so that the construction work was completed in time. Parliamentary Secretary on Tourism Charles Pyngrope, had earlier said that the Corporation would monitor the construction work till completion.

As per the recommendation of the empowered committee dealing with Hotel Crowborough, the MTDC would invite expression of interest from national and international hoteliers to bid for completing the remaining portion and to run the hotel on lease.

The MTDC would take the help of experts and prepare the relevant documents, which would be transparent, Mr Pyngrope said, referring to the Corporation becoming the nodal department to oversee the works. The expression of interest from reputed hoteliers would be invited soon and by March all the formalities would be completed, the Parliamentary Secretary said, adding "we hope to complete the building by 2007".

The empowered committee was formed to find out a strategy to get the project functional after the arbitration related to the hotel was solved. It took almost 18 years for the clearance of cases related to the hotel. The construction of Hotel Crowborough was delayed since 1987 due to twin court cases with two firms entrusted with the project. In 1987, the State government had entrusted the construction work of the hotel to SAB. The firm could only complete the basement. As the SAB could not complete the work, the State government entrusted the work in 1993 to another firm - Ashta Construction Company (ACC). However, the first firm SAB approached court for compensation.

Meanwhile, as ACC could not complete the work in stipulated time, the project was aborted resulting in another court case. The government in 2001 had paid Rs 4.23 crore to ACC as the firm had moved court for compensation. The Tourism department in 2004 also paid Rs 1.93 crore to SAB for the final clearance of court cases.

Shillong: Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Dr D Khonglah informed on Friday that the State Government on Thursday has formed a State Level Task Force and a District Level Task Force in order to spell out the strategy and prevention in the fight against avian flu disease.

Speaking to The Shillong Times, Dr Khonglah said that in the State Level Task Force in which the Chief Secretary will be the chairman and the Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary will be its co-chairman.

Dr Khonglah informed that the members in the State Level Task Force includes Commissioner and Secretary of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Home, Health, Forest and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, adding that the Member Secretary of this task force is the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary.

Dr Khonglah also informed that they have also formed a District Level Task Force in order to tackle this problem at the district level.

Our Tura Correspondent adds: The arrival of the deadly H5N1 virus in birds in Maharasthra is beginning to take its toll on the sale of chicken and eggs in the Garo Hills with many traders recording a decline in its trade. The drop is sale of chicken and eggs has been particularly found in the urban areas of Tura and Williamnagar. Consumers have been unaffected in the rural areas of Garo Hills, but traders believe that it is only a matter of time before an all out rejection takes place.A brief tour of Tura Super market, Nakham bazar, Ringrey, Araimile, and Lower Chandmari markets reveal a gradual decline taking place in its sale.

A trader from Tura Bazar revealed that on an average he would sell between fifteen to twenty pairs of chicken during normal days, but since the past four days he has not even reached the half way mark. Same is the case with the trader selling eggs. From the average twenty-five trays of eggs that he was able to sell on weekdays it has now come down to just five to six trays on a an average.

The trader’s attempts to boost sale by reducing the price of eggs has not made much of an impact with the consumers.His earlier price of three rupees for a pair of local eggs has been slashed to two rupees a pair to help motivate consumers to purchase his commodity.

Meanwhile, health officials inform that so far there is no cause for concern and fear over the outbreak of the bird flu because there has been no reported case in any part of the north-east till date.However, they have asked upon the public to be alert and to report any mass death of chickens. While the officials maintain that chicken is still safe to eat, yet, consumers in hotels have begun to reject this food item and in the long run could have a severe economic impact on traders dealing with chicken and eggs.

The incident happened when a police team raided a coalmine camp at Kyrluh in Khliehriat and rounded up three HNLC cadres. Two ultras later escaped from the scene during a brief encounter with their gang members. Police said when the raid was on at a temporary camp of coalminers to locate a group of suspected HNLC militants, police did not fire even a single round. "Rymbai was hit by the bullet of those two suspected militants who managed to escape", they said. Sources said there was no evidence to substantiate three persons who had been detained from the area on the same day along with three militants - Khrawbor Pakyntein, Robert Jitem and Arwat Synrem - were mere coal labourers.

According to Mr Shullai, in the past the authorities of Shillong Municipal Board have started the evaluation of households under Municipal to determine the taxes.As the Municipal Board is currently not comprised of elected members but is being operated by a Chief Executive Officer appointed by Meghalaya Government, the evaluation of holdings is done by the State Government itself, Mr Shullai said.He also pointed out that evaluation of householdings done by the Municipal is undemocratic as the matter was not brought to the notice of the people in the dorbars.

Police said that one Jenefield M Sangma of Tura, working for a business group that sells P-Forms in the coal export trade, was severely assaulted by a rival group on the February 9 leading to his death.

The aggrieved party had lodged a complaint with the East Garo Hills police accusing the owner of a weighbridge, Jonathan Marak of Williamnagar, of being involved in the crime as a prime suspect. Following the police complaint, a search was launched to arrest Mr Jonathan Marak, who went into hiding and sought anticipatory bail.

Lawyers representing the accused moved for bail prior to the Feb 16 elections but was rejected by the magistrate who gave time for the Investigating Officer (IO) to submit his preliminary report on the case.

The IO submitted his report indicating there was no prima facie evidence on the involvement of the accused and Mr Marak’s lawyers once again moved for anticipatory bail on February 22, which was granted by the magistrate based on the IO’s report.

Meanwhile, Federation for Achik Freedom has condemned the murder of Jenefield, who was the executive members of the Association. In a statement issued here, the finance secretary of FAF said that a case was registered against Jonathan Sangma, the accused. The office of the deceased was also set on fire and Rs seven lakh was looted, the FAF alleged. "However, Jonathan has been granted anticipatory bail by the ADM of Williamnagar in such a serious crime," the FAF said.

The meeting also reconstituted the organisation in which Mr J L Das was elected chairman, Mr Nantu Biswas as president, Mr Biswajit Dey as working president, Mr Kanu Lal Dey as vice president, Mr Sujit Dey as general secretary besides other secretaries. The meeting also nominated nine executive committee members to the organisation.

Shillong: The Shillong Science Centre, the first ever science centre of its kind in the State, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister D D Lapang on Monday. The Shillong Science Centre is located within the Mawlai Campus of NEHU in a designated area of 2.5 acre specially allotted by NEHU for the purpose+

. The project was initiated by the National Council of Science Museum (NCSM), Kolkata under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and was executed by NCSM in association with the Government of Meghalaya. The centre was set up at a cost of Rs two crore and funded by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture with partial support from the State Government.

After the inauguration, the centre will be handed over to the State Government and the over-all management of the centre will be looked after by the governing council of the centre, which is a registered society.The centre will become an important asset of the State, particularly in the field of promotion of science education and awareness and also in promoting tourism in the State.

"Water" forms the central theme of the Shillong Science Centre.

The centre has a science gallery, which houses a large number of science exhibits, both interactive and passive, including a water gallery, a science park, which accommodates a wide range of outdoor science exhibits, gadgets including a butterfly house and an auditorium. The centre would also have a science library, a demonstration hall, a conference-cum-computer room, a portable planetarium, a small mechanical workshop.

The centre will be opened to the public from February 28 during normal office hours.Besides Lapang, Government officials including Deputy Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, Chief Secretary P J Bazeley and other dignitaries are expected to grace the inaugural function.

The army's task in the North-east is not an easy one. It has to fight the armed insurgents and, at the same time, ensure that innocent civilians are not harassed. The tragedy in Assam's Tinsukia district shows how difficult the balancing act can prove to be for the army and the state administration. The death of a farmer allegedly in the army's custody has sparked a wave of popular protests that led to the killing of nine others in police firing.

The actual facts of the alleged custodial death and its tragic consequence may still be somewhat unclear. But the government has enough reasons to be worried. This is not the first time that the army has been accused of human rights abuses in the North-east. Similar complaints keep surfacing periodically from Manipur and Nagaland. It is not that the army is unaware of the risks to civilians in the course of its counter-insurgency operations. It would be unfair to deny the crucial importance of the army's role in protecting the rule of law and in securing the lives of common people in the region.

However, the army cannot afford to be seen as lenient to its errant men who are found to be guilty of violating human rights. Ms. Sonia Gandhi has, therefore, done the right thing in asking the defence minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, to ensure that the "guilty" army men be punished. The chief minister, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, must follow the example by ordering an inquiry into the police firing. Tragic as the events were, they must not be seen as the end of the peace process in Assam. In fact, the biggest challenge that the events have thrown up to the peace-negotiators is to keep the dialogue alive. The people's consultative group that the banned militant outfit, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), has appointed to negotiate with New Delhi has to take the main initiative in this respect.

It would be unfortunate if the group pulls out of the talks in response to the tragedy in Tinsukia. For the dialogue aims at a much larger goal and should not be the casualty of isolated incidents, however unhappy. Also, the group will not help the peace process if it uses the deaths to insist on the suspension of the counter-insurgency operations in Assam. It was realistic enough not to raise the issue during the recent talks with the Centre.In fact, both sides were anxious to avoid contentious issues in the larger interest of peace. The latest crisis has to be tackled in the same spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation. 

Assam is an arena of cross-border terrorism. The terrorist links ULFA and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) with the ISI have been established time and again. The ruling UPA at the Centre has called for an end to political negativism, to work for reconciliation and 'emotional harmony' of all Indians and full protection of minorities. Since the UPA has received the mandate of the popular vote to form the government it is expected that their agenda will be pursued in right earnest.The trouble-torn state is the nerve centre of the north-eastern region of India. It is strategically located because of its geographical closeness to Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China. It is connected to India by a narrow stretch of territory less than 100 km wide. That is why it is easy for the terrorists to span off the links with the rest of the country with a bomb blast.

Assam has an area of 78,400 sq km with a population of 24,200,000. Of these, 12 million are Assamese Hindus, 5 million Bengalis (mainly Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh) and 2 million indigenous people (Christians and traditional religion). The biggest of the 'seven sisters' of North-East, Assam is the former North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA). It came under the British rule in 1826, and in 1874, and in 1874, was made a separate province. At the time of Independence, the Sylhet area of Assam, which had a Muslim majority opted to merge with East Pakistan? Assam was included in the Dominion of India at the time of Partition.

During the Chinese aggression in 1962, when the Indian Army faced defeat at Se-La and Bomdila passes, the Assamese plains were exposed to the Chinese army. The common resentment has been that, "Nehru was abandoning us to our fate". Ethnic unrest also started in the Sixties when the Assamese was declared the official language. After protests from different groups like Garo, Khasi and Jainitia tribal hill districts became the state of Meghalaya in 1976. In due course, all the Seven Sisters of North-East became constituent states of the Indian Union.

One major problem is the migration of Bengalis into Assam. According to estimates, during the last 25-years, over 5 million people from Bangladesh have entered Assam and settled there. During 1964-65, the Jana Sangh formed an anti-infiltation committee which submitted its report and a memorandum to the governor of Assam and the prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Central government instituted special tribunals and consequently 20,000 migrants were pushed back. But the problem remained far from solved. Subsequent years saw a divide between Assamese and Bengali Hindus. Since 1979, resentment has been brewing among the youth of Assam on account of influx of foreigners.West Bengal and Assam have 5 million Bangladeshis each. According to the 1981 census, five districts of West Bengal and six districts of Assam have become Muslim majority areas due to infiltration from across the border. But the Left Front in West Bengal and the ruling Congress Party in Assam do not want to displease their Muslim Bangladeshi votebank by taking up the issue.

Clearly, the Assam Accord of 1975 and the Illegal Migration (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983, have proved inadequate to address the problem. The NDA prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had shown some willingness to solve the issue. But the current UPA prime minister Manmohan Singh instead of looking into the grievances issued an executive order on migrants' protection, which seeks to override an Act of Parliament on the vital issue of who will bear the onus of proof. While the Foreigners Act 1946 imposes the onus of proof on the person concerned, the order notified in the first week of February under the same law shifts the burden to the police in cases booked in Assam.

This follows the Cabinet decision on February 10 to take recourse to a notification under the Foreigners Act, dropping the plan of bringing a fresh legislation in place of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (IMDT), which had been scrapped last year by the SC. Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, dispensing with the general presumption of innocence, says that on the question whether a person is a foreigner or not, the burden of proof "shall lie upon such person."

But the Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam) Order, 2006 notified on February 10 reverses the sequence of the proceedings. Police will first have to establish prima facie before a judicial tribunal that there is "sufficient ground" to proceed against the person concerned. It is only then that the tribunal will serve on the person a copy of the "main grounds" on which he is alleged to be a foreigner.Such political expediency apart, the peace process seems to have received a fresh threat from the revival of dormant Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front by ULFA and the NSCN-Khaplang. The captured ISI agents have revealed that already 1500 activists of various militant organisations have been trained by Pakistan and 200 of them belong to ULFA itself. The Operation Topac envisaged by Zia-ul-Haq, which aimed at disintegrating the country, is a real, continuing threat.

What is needed is a pragmatic approach to tackle the rising tide of dissatisfaction in the state. Development of the North-East, especially of Assam, should be undertaken immediately. INAV

Sir,

So much have been written about healthcare facilities in Meghalaya, especially the interior/rural health system. Everyone has been talking bad about it blaming the people working therein. True, it's bad but so far has anyone even tried to find out what the real problems are? The doctors are blamed and called for when something goes wrong but has anyone even bothered to help them? Only those who have tried to know will understand the burden of working in rural areas. First of all, medical staff being human after all require water. Many PHCs and CHCs don't have proper water supply. How can we stay healthy and set an example to the villagers when we have to sit for 3-4 days without taking a bath? The available water is not enough. The concerned District Health officers and DCs will just have one thing to say-stay in station. Have they made things available for us to be at the place of posting all the time? There aren't enough quarters, water and electricity supply. Why isn't anyone bothered when the department concerned has failed to make essential things available. Not only that, many PHCs cover large areas and there are sub-centres too. If we try to cover those areas we have to walk for at least 15kms. And even then, no TA/DA is paid for the workers, particularly those working in West and South Garo Hills. We are willing to go and work in those areas if fund or a vehicle with fuel is provided to us. People at the top level with the luxury vehicles will sulk at the low performance but if that kind of vehicle could be used just for a single field visit it could have fetched a high immunization rate. People must be aware of so many outreach programmes coming up these days on malaria, TB, Immunization etc, but surprisingly no fund has been sanctioned for the purpose. So how can the Medical officers and the staff run these outreach programmes alone?

Public is now becoming aware of all the shortcomings of the Government supply-like inadequate supply of drugs and staff, quarters, ambulances, poor indoor facilities, no emergency facilities, no proper laboratory facilities etc. These days public has to go to a private clinic for almost all the tests, even for malaria. Malaria dept. has been supplying any blood-slides for the last 6 months. The Family Welfare department doesn't have any oral contraceptives for long time. How can field workers go and talk about small family? These issues are needed to be looked into.

Yours etc,
A concerned Rural Medical Officer
Via e-mail

Sir,

The acquittal of all the nine accused in the Jessica Lal's murder case certainly shows that there are endless loopholes in the Indian justice delivery system. It is extremely unacceptable that even the criminals can easily escape the punishment. What could be more disgusting is that due to no solid ground to substantiate the case many criminals in the country are freely walking as any other normal persons. There is a need to overhaul our justice delivery mechanism. One can't help but wonder how great trauma Jessica's family members must have gone through for seven long years.

Yours etc,
Salil Gewali
Shillong-2

Sir,

Court-verdict on infamous Jessica Lal murder case of the year 1999 acquitting all the nine accused was on expected lines ever since the main accused was released on bail by Delhi High Court as rightly pointed out by victim's sister. Our country for all practical means has two sets of law, one for rich and influential, and the other for commoners. This is the reason no rich or influential one has ever been sentenced to death despite open knowledge of many such crimes having been committed or planned by high-society people.

Similar more such verdicts are expected in future where money and terror of killers will ultimately prove to be more powerful than real justice to buy witnesses, investigating authorities and legal system to weaken case/s against killers. In interest of justice, judicial process should be mechanised to check human flaws. Lie-detecting machines should be commonly installed to make witnesses speak real truth. Even accused persons can be checked by lie-detectors. Judiciary in higher courts should also be made accountable so that judges may not find easy to grant bails to accused openly known for having committed crimes. Supreme Court and Government should make Jessica Lal murder case a test-case by putting all power to punish the culprits so as to be lesson for high-handedness of rich and influential criminals amongst high-society people.

Yours etc,
Madhu Agrawal
New Delhi

New Delhi: The Government has allocated Rs.450 crore to improve conditions for thousands of tribals living within protected forests across the country as they play a key role in conserving the environment, DONER and Tribal Affairs Minister P R Kyndiah said here Friday.

The programme, being implemented jointly by the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Forest and Environment, will cover some 2,700 villages in reserved forests, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in 13 states where living conditions have not changed for decades.

Speaking at a workshop for government officials to improve the implementation of the scheme, Kyndiah noted that most of these villages did not have water, road connectivity, electricity or access to healthcare.At the same time, he noted, there was a pressing need to improve the lot of the tribals as they played a vital role in efforts to conserve wildlife and forests.

"There must be equality of opportunity for the tribal people," he said.

"Tribals have a symbiotic relationship with forests. The most effective conservationist is a tribal in a forest village," said Kyndiah.

"But, we on our part could not ensure them the basic minimum facilities or services to help them live a decent life," he said.

"People living in most of these villages are totally dependent on forests for their livelihood and survival, they are the poorest of the poor."

Noting that the focus had shifted from "production of timber to conservation of forests", he said this phenomenon had reduced employment opportunities for the tribals.A total of 1,624 forest villages in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh had already been covered under the developmental programme, with Rs.230 crore being spent to upgrade infrastructure including roads and buildings, officials said.

Over 200 villages in Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Orissa and Jharkhand will be covered in the next phase of the programme.Kyndiah asked the officials from various states participating in the workshop to deliberate on the extent that the forest villages needed to be opened up to substantially raise the level of socio-economic development of the tribals. He also asked them to focus on enhancing prospects for livelihood from the use of forest produce.

When the programme is fully implemented, it will benefit some 2,50,000 families living in forest villages, officials said.Pradipta Ghosh, Secretary in the Environment and Forest Ministry, however, pointed out that the amount of Rs 15 lakh earmarked for each tribal village was "not much" and officials would have to consider low-cost technology for building houses using natural resources like bamboo. (IANS)

AGARTALA: Four women died of AIDS during the past few years in Tripura while 110 people, mostly migratory workers, sex workers and security personnel were found to be HIV positive, out of total 13,000 blood samples tested during the past nine years, official sources said.Though the State comes under the low risk group, the growing trend of affliction of HIV virus among the sex workers in Tripura has becoming a major cause of concern.

According to State AIDS Control Society, about three hundred sex workers active in the capital town are vulnerable as they are not taking safety measures.A recent study conducted by an NGO revealed that about 98 percent of HIV afflicted females are sex workers, said T K Das Project Director of Tripura State AIDS Control Society while informing that the Society is taking care of their safety aspects through a designated NGO.

"The situation is not at all alarming in the State," he said adding that the society is jointly working with social welfare organisation to sensitise sex workers about safe sex.

The society is also working with the sex workers to cure and avoid sexually transmitted diseases keeping in mind of the phenomenal trend of AIDS affliction among them, Dr Das said.He said three AIDS counseling-cum-detection centres are working in the State for the benefit of the people.

Dr Das, however, said that the HIV test is not getting response from general public since it has not been made mandatory by the Government, while informing that the Society is constantly monitoring blood transmission system to ensure that purified blood are given to recipients.

The total number of HIV test among the security personnel is much more than the general public resulting in a considerable number of tested-blood of jawans being found HIV positive, he pointed out.When asked about the Central Government's funding to prevent AIDS in the State, he said there is no dearth of fund declining to give details about the allocation.