The coun-trywide raids started Wednesday night soon after one of the accused - Lieutenant Commander (retired) Kulbhushan Parashar - was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on his return from London. Lieutenant Commander (retired) Ravi Shankaran, a relative of Indian Navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash, was among the nine people against whom cases were registered.

Senior CBI officials said that efforts were on to trace Shankaran, who is an arms dealer and an alleged recipient of the sensitive information stolen from the war room or Directorate of Naval Operations. "We believe that he is somewhere in Europe but we have raided his residence in Mumbai and will ascertain where he is hiding," said a CBI official.

Officials said ever since the scandal broke in June 2005 and the navy set up a board of inquiry to probe the matter, Shankaran, also known as Shanks, had been underground. Former naval commanders Virender Rana and Vinod Kumar Jha, both dismissed from service in October 2005 for the war room leak, were among the five people arrested.

The two others arrested were identified as Mukesh Bajaj and Rajrani Jaiswal. Raids were carried out Thursday at 17 places in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Chandigarh and Muzaffarpur after the navy shared information about its investigation into the case, CBI officials said.

The Navy carried out a probe after it was alleged that nine people were involved in leaking classified information relating to its planned purchase of a wide array of sophisticated equipment from the war room. "We have asked those who have not been arrested to join the investigations," said CBI spokesman G. Mohanty. Some incriminating documents were found in the premises that were raided. (Agencies)

In a ruling this week, the CIC asked the Supreme Court registrar to seek the opinion of the Chief Justice on how to help a citizen who was not satisfied with a response he got from the Apex Court registry when he used the RTI Act to know the status of a petition he had filed before the Chief Justice. (PTI)

As the indefinite strike across the country entered the fourth day on Thursday, the employees unions termed as meaningless Chidambaram's appeal to them to resume work, saying he should give an assurance first that the government would accept any agreement between the management and the unions. (PTI)

New Delhi: Accusing the UPA government of "giving more and more concessions" to the US on the nuclear deal, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday demanded that India should try to get an all time waiver from Washington as was the case with China.

As US Congress prepared to take up a bill to amend laws to have full civil nuclear energy cooperation with India under the deal, Vajpayee said the proposed legislation when passed "will convert a voluntary moratorium on further tests by India into a legally binding commitment for all times to come".

Asserting that "this position is not acceptable", he said that India should retain the right to conduct the nuclear tests if any country, such as China and Pakistan, were to do so.

Contending that the obligations under the bill are far more stringent than those under the CTBT, Vajpayee said "what is more shocking is the fact that if the President of US determines that India has detonated a nuclear explosive device after its (bill) enactment such waiver shall be terminated".

When the Atomic Energy Act of the US was amended for China, Beijing was granted waiver in perpetuity. In case of India, it would be periodic. The President will have to determine from time to time whether India is in compliance with the conditionality built into the Act. "This position is also unacceptable," he said.

"It is crystal clear that in every round of negotiations with the US, India has ended up giving more and more concessions.... The least the Government of India should do is to insist that there should be an all-time waiver by the US President as in the case of China," he said in a statement. (PTI)

"Such criticism is most unfortunate. In matters of foreign policy, there should be continuity and bipartisan support," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told IANS.

"It is regrettable that having tried and failed over many years to secure the agreement, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is suffering from a case of sour grapes," he said.

Singhvi said: "The very fact that there is intense opposition to the deal from sections within the US Congress as well as from Pakistan demonstrates and establishes the pro-India nature of the agreement." (IANS)

Dulani told a TV channel that his earlier statements against Salman had been forcefully obtained by the police and forest department officials, who cowed him into making them. Dulani and his family had gone underground for about four years from Jodhpur and the court hearing the poaching case issued a warrant against him when he failed to appear before it.

According to his earlier statements, he was the only eyewitness in the poaching case as he had been the driver of Salman's vehicle when the star was shooting for the film "Hum Sath Sath Hain" at Jodhpur, also the time when the blackbuck was poached. According to Dulani, he fled to Ahmedabad as he feared the police might harm him during their investigations of the case. (IANS)

New Delhi: In an unusual step, India's external affairs ministry has reprimanded Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates C.M. Bhandari for misusing an official function for personal ends. Bhandari had included a family event on the official invitation cards issued by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi on the occasion of the Republic Day this year, which triggered consternation among the Indian community in Abu Dhabi and in diplomatic circles. The UAE is home to nearly 1 million strong Indian diaspora.

"The ambassador has unfortunately shown a lack of judgement in including a family event in the celebration of a formal national event," the MEA spokesperson Navtej Sarna said in response to a question Thursday.

"The ministry has issued a reprimand to the officer and is taking action to ensure that such lapses do not occur in any of our missions abroad," he added.

Over the last six months, there have been several cases of diplomatic misconduct leading to recall of some envoys. This week the ministry asked special secretary (economic affairs) Rakesh Kumar to proceed on leave pending an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into charges of collusion in human trafficking during his tenure as director-general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Last month, the Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand Harish Kumar Dogra was recalled after strong protests by the Indian community about his high-handed way of functioning. R.K.T Arasu, a second secretary in the high mission in Malaysia, was called back last month allegedly on grounds of misusing his position to help illegal migrants with jobs. Aneil Matherani was recalled as ambassador to Croatia last December after his name cropped up in the oil-for-cash scandal that allegedly involved the then external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh. (IANS)

New Delhi: The condition of fasting Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar, who was forcibly taken to AIIMS late Wednesday night, has improved even as one of her colleagues continued her fast for the ninth day Thursday and more activists joined them.

Meanwhile, Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz said Patkar was shifted to the AIIMS to ensure her safety. He alongwith his ministerial colleagues Meira Kumar and Prithviraj Chavan are scheduled to visit the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project site on Friday.

Patkar, who was forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar, where she had been sitting on fast for the last eight days, is under observation at the AIIMS where her condition was described as stable. "Her condition has improved after she was administered fluids with salt and lemon orally. She is conscious and her vital signs such as pulse and blood pressure are normal," AIIMS Medical Superintendent D K Sharma said.

However, police maintained that Patkar, agitating for the resettlement rights of people displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Project, has not been arrested. Patkar's forcible removal from the strike site has given the agitation a fresh impetus and at least ten people from the capital, including academicians and students, joined the fast.

Another activist Bhagwatibai Patidar, who began her fast alongwith Patkar continued her hunger strike for the ninth day. The NBA, in a statement, said the government action of shifting Patkar to AIIMS was taken out of panic rather than concern for her health. (PTI)

IG, Agra Range Rizwan Ahmed told PTI that two persons were brought dead to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College while two others succumbed to injurie sustained in the clashes. The members of a particular community removed the decorative lights put up at a temple last evening in view of 'navratri' festival, leading to a clash with members of the other side in Sabzi Mandi and Dahi Wali Gali areas.

Nearly 1,000 Rapid Action Force and state paramilitary personnel, along with a large number of police personnel, have been deployed and patrolling intensified to maintain law and order, Ahmed said. Indefinite curfew was imposed in Kotwali, Delhi Gate and Sasni Gate police stations areas in the old city following the clash during which the two sides hurled stones at each other and fired from rooftops following a dispute over a place of worship last night, Singh said.

The condition of six of the injured persons was critical, hospital sources said. Citing the communal violence in Aligarh, the BJP and the Congress accused the Mulayam Singh Yadav government of failing miserably on the law and order front. (PTI)

Rajkot/Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party leaders LK Advani and Rajnath Singh set off on their cross-country campaigns on a hot afternoon Thursday, amid a distinctly lukewarm response with the party's governments in Gujarat and Orissa managing to muster crowds of only 20,000 or so.

The starting points of the twin rath yatras of Advani and party president Singh, to protest against the central government's "minority appeasement", were chosen with care -- while Gujarat is ruled by the BJP's own Narendra Modi, Bhubaneswar is run by BJP ally Naveen Patnaik.

Nonetheless, only one-third of the 60,000 odd crowd expected at both the Gujarat town of Rajkot and the Orissa capital Bhubaneswar turned up to see the two leaders off on their 33-day tours, announced in the wake of the March 7 blasts in the Hindu holy town of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This capped weeks of uncertainty and politicking in the party over the timing of the road tours and whether Advani was trying to overshadow the party president.

While the event at Rajkot recalled memories of earlier similar campaigns Advani had launched from this Saurashtra region, there were only about 20,000 to 25,000 people at the public rally he addressed even as the BJP government in the state had made arrangements to ferry 60,000 people. To sour things further, a group of workers protested the closure of their factory and showed black flags as well as shouted slogans at not being allowed to meet Advani.

The lukewarm response was partly due to a faction of the BJP owing allegiance to former chief minister Keshubhai Patel and opposed to Modi staying away. Though Patel has a strong following in the Saurashtra region, Advani roundly praised Modi's "progressive" rule.

Addressing the rally, Advani also flayed the central government for its policies allegedly meant to appease minorities, criticised the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and reiterated the demand for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya."The parties that indulge in the minority appeasement will harm the interests of India and also of the minorities," he added.

"The Muslims should also bear in mind that the temple is a wish of millions of people and its construction is not an act against the Muslim society," he said.

He also touched on the Iraq oil-for-food programme that led to the dismissal of K Natwar Singh as external affairs minister, alleging that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had brushed under the carpet the Volcker committee report.

Rajnath Singh's yatra began on a near identical note with crowds of about 20,000 and chief ministers of the BJP ruled states in the region, Raman Singh and Arjun Munda, seeing him off along with Naveen Patnaik. Singh, who began his campaign at 1 p.m. after arriving in Bhubaneswar from the temple town of Puri, accused the central government of failing to protect national security interests.

"The national security of the country is facing threat from jehadi terrorism and leftwing extremism," Singh said. "We will not allow them to succeed."

The UPA government was soft towards such forces and not acting against them for vote bank politics, he alleged. Accusing the government of appeasing Muslims and encouraging Bangladeshi infiltrators, he said this had led to a social security crisis.(IANS)

New Delhi: A commission headed by Justice M.S. Liberhan probing the demo-lition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya is "extremely disap-pointed" with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for not presenting its side of the arguments.

"We are extremely disappointed that government counsel has not availed of a golden opportunity to state its position before the commission despite several reminders," the commission's counsel Anupam Gupta told IANS from Chandigarh.

One of the country's longest running inquiry commissions, which has cost the government Rs.63.60 million till date, was set up to probe the sequence of events leading to the razing of the Babri mosque by Hindu mobs on Dec 6, 1992, and is in its seventh and perhaps last extension till June 30, 2006.

"It (the government) has frittered away a brilliant chance where it could have presented its viewpoint in the light of the observations submitted by the previous administration," said Gupta.

P.P. Malhotra, the additional solicitor general, refused to comment. After hearing scores of politicians from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in its 13-year term, Justice Liberhan had given ample opportunities to government counsel to present its side of the arguments.

"This was especially in the backdrop of the arguments presented by previous National Democratic Alliance counsel Lala Ram Gupta. But even after the new government took over in May 2004, it has chosen to remain silent," said Anupam Gupta.

Lala Ram Gupta's depo-sitions before the commission almost amounted to the assertion that the destruction of the mosque was an act of god. He also told the commission that the disputed site in Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram and maintained the only dispute was whether a temple existed there before the construction of the mosque in the Uttar Pradesh town.

A terse order was passed by Justice Liberhan March 27 this year that said the commission had "no alternative but to close arguments" considering that ample opportunities had been given to government counsel to present his side of the arguments.

But this has not deterred the one-judge probe that has been dogged by procedural delays, non-cooperation from key witnesses and even his constant transfers during the early days of the commission's functioning.

"I will not be deterred by anything. My job is clear cut and the report will be out soon," Justice Liberhan told IANS, refusing to be drawn into the inexplicable silence on the part of the government.

Appointed by former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao Dec 16, 1992, to ward off criticism against his government for having failed to protect the mosque, the commission in August last year finished hearing its last witness Kalyan Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister at the time of the demolition and was dismissed soon after.

For the hardline Hindutva forces, and the BJP in particular, the report, when it is out, could well be a looming black cloud on the horizon. Sources in the commission told IANS that several BJP leaders "could come under the scanner" when Justice Liberhan finishes writing his report. (IANS)

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr Kyndiah said that several Congress legislators from the State including Chief Minister D D Lapang had met him during his brief visit to the State in which the issue of impending reshuffle and enhancement of the size of ministry was discussed.

"I told the legislators and the Chief Minister who came to meet me that I had taken an initiative along with Mr Oscar Fernandes on the issue. A Bill is likely to come up in the month of May. I appeal to party legislators to be patient and wait for things to happen," he said.

The Union Minister said that there was need to recognise the "difficulty" faced by smaller States including Meghalaya in which various communities wanted representation in the ministry. He also said that the amendment was needed in view of certain imbalance whereby States having 40 MLAs in the House were getting more representation in the ministry while those with Assembly strength of 60 had to make do with the current size of 12 ministers.

"By and large, there is a consensus of recognising the genuine difficulty of smaller States," Mr Kyndiah asserted adding that the amendment was likely to be passed by the Parliament for enhancing the size of the Meghalaya ministry to 15.

On the issue of dropping a few ministers to facilitate accommodation of other legislators from the districts having no representation in the present Ministry, Mr Kyndiah said that he was not in favour of dropping anybody. "A solution has to be found," he said without elaborating further on the issue.

He h also said that the controversy related to the "office of profit issue" would not in any way affect any legislator in the State. He made it clear that the Prevention of Disqualification (Members of the Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya) Act 1972 passed by the Assembly had clearly mentioned the offices which legislators can hold without inviting any disqualification of membership from the House.

The GSU said that out of total sixty seats, only fifty seats were allotted and added "as per the Reservation policy 25 seats each should been allotted among Khasi-Jaintia and Garo candidates, but in reality, only 20 seats each have been allotted". "The Union would like to know the rationale behind not allotting ten seats and whether these seats are kept reserved for special category candidates", he said.

The GSU also asked the Health department to make public the facts about the remaining 10 seats for the interest of the student community. "It is desired that out of the remaining 10 seats, 5 each should be allotted to the Garo and Khasi-Jaintia candidates," he said adding failing which the Union would be forced to resort to democratic means of protest.

The fast is part of the first phase of agitation programme due to the government's failure in setting up the already assured judicial enquiry on allotment of post graduate seat to Dr Reena Konsam and the appointment of a junior doctor as DHS (MI).

The State government failed to address the objection raised by the MMSA over the procedure followed by the former in the posting of a junior officer as Director of Health Services (Medical Institute), MMSA said.  This is setting an "unhealthy and discriminatory trend that can only be detrimental to the Meghalaya Health Services", the MMSA said.

The Association said that sidelining the senior officers to hold the post of DHS (MI) has cast serious aspersions on their integrity and efficiency. The failure of the Health department to follow procedure - promotion of seniors to the vacant posts "clearly shows that favouritism had played a vital role in allowing a junior in preference of the seniors to hold the Director's post."

It may be mentioned that the state government through a notification had appointed Dr KH Lakiang to hold the post of DHS(MI).

Informing this, the president of the Unit Mr Blossding Wanniang said "this is part of our movement to do away with the ongoing problem of influx." He also said that the decision to chase away all the non-tribals residing in the area was taken in consultation with the KSU's central body.

According to him, several areas of Ranikor, Borsora, Shallang, Nongjri were facing influx problem and the matter was brought to the notice of the Government. "But nothing has done nothing in this regard," he alleged.

SHILLONG: It is a goof-up or a calculated design?.The Public Works Department has allotted tender for a road project which in reality has already been completed.

Lodging a complaint in this regard with the Chief Minister D D Lapang on Thursday , the Hima Nongspung Sports, Social, Cultural and Youth Welfare Association (HNSSCYWA) has urged the former to take immediate steps for disciplinary action against the concerned erring government authorities.

Expressing shock over the short tender notice calling for metalling and black topping of Mawkneng -Nongspung road even as the work for the road was completed, the association said that it was an outright cheating and deception of the public and flagrant violation of the constitutional rights of equal opportunity.

The NGO also wanted Mr Lapang to immediately stop the allotment of works to contractors until due process of the investigation and department inquiry is over. The Association further urged the Chief Minister to take action against the officials of the concerned department for allotting tender for metalling and black topping including improvement of the Mawkneng -Nongspung road.

The Association pointed out that short notice tender was called on March 10 this year at the cost of Rs 60.32 lakhs for metalling and blacktopping including improvement of Mawkneng-Nongspung PWD road. Tender papers were sold from 11 am to 3 pm from March 20 to March 28. on payment of Rs 500 each and the sealed tenders were received till March 30 and slated for opening on the same day.

Meanwhile, informing the instances which lead the police to the place where the car lifters hide, Mr Mawthoh said after due interrogation, Shanker Biswa agreed to take the police to one of the jungles in Laitkor which used as a hiding place by the car lifters and also confessed that he was involved in hijacking the vehicle at Mawjrong.

Mr Mawthoh said that on Thursday morning Shanker Biswa led the police to the hide out , but on reaching the place the police were fired upon by a group of car lifters who were hiding in that place. Mr Mawthoh said that there was no other way for the police but to open fire and in the process the two car lifters were killed. Mr Mawthoh informed that there were about seven of them who were hiding in the jungle.

Further, Mr Mawthoh said that from their possession they have recovered two country made revolvers, eight 8 mm live ammunition and 2 AK 47 ammunition. When asked why was Shanker Biswa killed on the firing as he was in the custody of the police, Mr Mawthoh said that the main thrust at that moment was to catch hold of the car lifters who were on the opposite side.

SHILLONG: The State Chief Secretary Mr SK Tiwari has embarked on a mission to find possibility of improving border points adjacent to Bangladesh in an attempt to sell Meghalaya products to the neighbouring country. With Meghalaya horticulture products having high demand outside the State, Mr Tiwari will visit West Khasi Hills border including Borsora for two days from Friday.

"The idea is to explore the possibility of selling the Meghalaya horticulture items to Bangladesh," Mr Tiwari said on Thursday.

Similar visit will also be undertaken to the border areas of East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills which share border with Bangladesh, he said. According to him, the orchards have large scale organic products and they are in great demand beyond the State's border.

"The intention is to help the farmers to have value addition to their products thereby getting better price", he said.

There are several border points which could provide easy access to Bangladesh and the infrastructure including better road connectivity in these points needed to be developed, Mr Tiwari said adding "at present, only limestone and coal are being exported to Bangladesh through the Land Customs stations, but there is a need to export horticulture products legally to Bangladesh".

Annually, while the formal trade of Meghalaya with Bangladesh is Rs 160 crore worth goods, the informal trade would come around Rs 40 crore. A team led by the Vice Chairman of MIDC Mr OL Nongtdu and the Commissioner and Secretary of Industries Mr SS Gupta had recently visited Bangladesh to look into the avenues of better border trade with that country.

According to the Chief Secretary, if Centre agrees for the formal trade, Meghalaya can import soap, biscuit, readymade garments and other products of daily use from Bangladesh. The Bangladesh products can even compete with those of China which have flooded the North-Easy markets, Mr Tiwari added.

TIMBER export: Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Land and Forest Owners Association (MLFOA), Jaintia Hills unit, has demanded that export of timber outside the State should be allowed to enable the people to earn a better price rate outside.

In a letter addressed to the Chief  Conservator of Forest, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Shillong Region Mr Khazan Singh, Divisional Forest Officer, Territorial Division, Jaintia Hills and CEM of JHADC Mr Moonlight Pariat, the MLFOA stated that since ban on timber was lifted in Jaintia Hills it was now necessary to allow export of timber outside the State as this would help improving the economy of the people of the district.

The MLFOA also suggested that in order to streamline the documentary and procedural clearances through sigle window, the marking of trees, issue of transit passes, marking of hammers should be done by the JHADC.

SHILLONG: The State unit of BJP has recently constituted its Mahila Morcha State Executive Committee in which Ms Khasimon Phanbuh was elected as president. The new body also comprised of three vice presidents - Ms Belbora Wankhar (East Khasi Hills), Ms Mridula Chanda Dey (Garo Hills) and Ms Lucy Rynjah (Shillong City). Ms Pratima P Pyrbot was elected as general secretary and Ms Mira Dkhar Sawian as Treasurer. Other office bearers and executive members will be elected in due course, the party statement said.

Shillong: While the state BJP has objected to the efforts of Congress to have more number of ministers, MDP MLA and Co-Chairman of Meghalaya Commission on Resource Mobilisation Mr PT Sawkmie has welcomed the initiative. In a statement issued here, Mr Sawkmie said that he welcomed the proposal to enhance the size of the ministry in all the North Eastern states.

He observed that the BJP at the Centre will not be against this proposal. "During the tenure of the then Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, Rs 10,000 crore package was sanctioned to the North Eastern States," Mr Sawkmie said adding that "in this context we can understand that the BJP is following a pro-North Eastern State policy."

The move to enhance the size of the ministry will benefit all the North Eastern states, Mr Sawkmie said adding that if the BJP is against this proposal, then it means that the party is against the development of the states. The MLA also urged all the chief ministers of the region to convince the INC, BJP and other parties in the Centre to get this bill passed in the May 10th parliamentary session.

SHILLONG : Union DONER Minister and Chairman of North Eastern Council (NEC) P R Kyndiah said that the Council had taken a policy shift for the development of the North East by focusing more on horticultural development and social infrastructure for rural areas.

"We are formulating a policy by which every State of the North East will themselves choose any horticultural crop with which they would like to associate and we also want to shift from conventional infrastructure to development of rural areas," Mr Kyndiah said while addressing a press conference at his residence here on Thursday.

While reiterating his stand for rural development, the Union minister said that so far the NEC had been concentrating on improvement of roads, airports, water supply and other things which he said needed to be supplemented by meeting the requirement of the rural people of the region in terms of agriculture, employment and other basic needs.

"Now we are shifting and reorient our focus to social sectors by involving the local population that they are already in," Mr Kyndiah said adding that he wanted to see that the rural people of the State and the region were benefited from the endeavours of the NEC.

Mr Kyndiah also said that 'personally' he wanted development of strawberry as a major crop in the region stating that strawberry produced from Meghalaya had a good market value in the country. He also said that the fruit had got the liking of even Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

Mr Kyndiah informed that he had visited the Strawberry Farm at Dewlieh, Umsning in Ri-Bhoi district on April 5 accompanied by State Horticulture Minister H D R Lyngdoh. He also said that out of the estimated sanction of Rs 3.08 crore, the NEC had released 1.36 crore in the first phase in August 2004.

Meanwhile, the project when completed would cover cultivation area of more than 200 hectare with about 11 million plants and benefit 453 families in the area. The ultimate production was estimated at around 25 million kilos. Mr Kyndiah also assured of assistance to the project in the form of cold storage facility and marketing avenues in the country.

According to officials, the economic benefit to the farming community from the project would be enormous with the gross income estimated at Rs 7.2 lakh per year. In the first phase, 7.72 hectares of cultivation area covering 123 farmers had been brought under cultivation even as farmers were assisted with essential inputs like training, quality planting materials, drip irrigation and water storage.

"This is neither a favourable solution for the agitating employees nor for the customers as most of them have no ATM account in any bank," the MJCTA said.

Expressing concern over the rejection of one of the genuine demands--enhancement of pension benefits--the MJCTA fears that this may aggravate the situation. Further, the MJCTA urged the Union Finance ministry and the SBI management to settle the matter so that normal banking works can resume.

State Bank of India (SBI) employees have been on strike since April 3, completely paralyzing the banking system at least for those unfortunate account holders of the bank. Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) ran dry as there was no way of replenishing money. In Shillong and Guwahati people wanting to withdraw money were furious when all they got out of the machine were slips of paper saying the process could not be completed, meaning there was no money. Such things can happen only in a government held sector, not in private banks.

This is the crux of the matter. Banking is about attending to customer needs as the customer is a crucial shareholder. Banks woo clients with a reason. Unless individuals and companies invest money, banks would have no money to lend. Unless banks lend they will not generate incomes for themselves. Without incomes, employees would not get their salaries. It’s a simple fact of life. But bank employees do not seem to see this point. Barring a few progressive individuals, most employees still treat customers as an intrusion into their private time.

Forget about giving a smile or even saying "How are you today". Counter clerks wear grumpy faces because they have not been coached in the hard school of management where smiling is winning people over to their side. Correspondingly a grouchy face drives customers away. Thanks to the ATM, customers are now saved the harassment of queuing up even to withdraw their own money. Also the horror of having to see a cantankerous banker’s face in the morning.

The present strike is about employees welfare. In short it relates to their pension benefits and the employees unions are trying to drive a hard bargain even while the government is adamant about not granting it because it would create precedence. A senior lawyer of the Delhi High Court, an SBI account holder had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the strike. His plea was that the strike should be declared illegal because it causes untold sufferings to account holders. However the Court has kept the matter in abeyance because if the strike is declared illegal there must be an authority to implement the Court order. At the moment there is no such authority over banks except the ombudsman. The ombudsman is hardly competent to fight the powerful unions.

On the other side of the spectrum are the private banks. They toil with clockwork precision because they recognize that they are in competition. Attitudes of employees are completely different here since feet dragging and bureaucracy are anathema in the private sector. Employees of private banks know that the bank owes them nothing. They work hard and get a good pay packet. If they drag their feet they are laid off and someone else will take their place. It sounds kind of harsh but that is how the private sector works. Unlike the nationalized banks where employees believe they are the bosses, the private sector looks at a customer as a valued client who brings business to them and therefore deserves respect.

When State Bank of India, Laitumkhrah shifted its office from one premise to the other, there was utter chaos in the first few days. Updating a pass book was a Herculean task. The queue just never melted. Until the Branch Manager decided to outsource the passbook updating business. Since then, updating a passbook has become a smooth, painless affair taking just a couple of minutes. The person behind the machine is pleasant in demeanour because he is after all a private sector employee. That’s the basic difference between private and public.

Regular bank employees will of course sulk and throw tantrums when their bosses decide to outsource certain crucial areas such as that of opening a new account. There have been instances when banks have refused to open accounts saying they do not have enough employees or do not have account opening forms or on some pretext or the other. It sounds scandalous but it is true. Today SBI Laitumkhrah has outsourced this section also to private players. They sit in a highly visible area, not covered up by mountains of ledgers or hiding their faces behind desks. They are efficient and effective and can open accounts without much fuss.

It must be said to the credit of the officers that they are a different breed. Insofar as their attitude towards customer service is concerned, they are as good as any professional, marketing manager of a private bank. Their only problem lies in their inability to extract work from their employees, thanks to the powerful unions and other lobbies. Hence officers and even managers have no option but to step out of their cabins where they are supposed to manage moré challenging tasks, and render personalized service to customers. Perhaps this personalized service is what has retained a loyal clientele. But for how long? When one manager is replaced by another, a customer has to start a new relationship all over again. And this is no mean task. In fact it is another exercise in human relationship.

While no one grudges the SBI employees their benefits, they too must realize they have no right to penalise their clients to achieve their goals. If their grouse is with the government why punish the customer? And if the bank higher-ups are aware of an impending strike they should be able to make arrangements to replenish all ATMs so that the taps do not run dry. There is nothing more aggravating than not being able to withdraw your own money when you need it most. On several occasions the ATM adjacent to the petrol pump near Fire Brigade is kept closed because it requires replenishment. There is a queue outside because the job takes a good half an hour to one hour. Apparently money has to be manually counted and fed into the machine. You do not have such silly experiences in the metros. Surely there must be a better, more professional method of evaluating how much money the ATM gobbles up each day and of keeping a sufficient amount for each day.

Sometimes introducing a service that is half-baked and not up to the mark is more of a harassment to the customer. Every computerized service needs constant evaluation. There is no time to be complacent. If nationalised banks are not to close shop and their employees retrenched they would need to be more concerned about customer service and think less about their own welfare. Soon private banks will gobble up the space of incompetent nationalised banks. So there are only two choices. Either they pull up their socks or pull out of the race. It will not be long before India incorporated becomes a full fledged playing field for private sector players whether that be in the banking or insurance sector. There will be no place for employees’ unions to flex their muscles because they will no longer have the power to do so.

Tears frozen in time and transmuted into marble, that is the Taj Mahal. Rabindranath Tagore described it as "A teardrop shimmering white on the cheek of time". The least quoted, paradoxically, is attributed to Shah Jehan: "The sight of this mausoleum creates sorrowing sighs and makes the sun and the moon shed tears". I never could ima-gine that I would see real tears at the Taj one day.

It happened when I was escorting a group of students from a school in France. We had passed through the lofty gate that gives the first enchanting view of the Taj. Suddenly one of the girls under my care veered to the right towards the garden, took in the sight from another angle, lowered her face and moved away from the group. I caught up with her, and asked if anything was troubling her. She had tears in her eyes, did not utter a word and walked farther away. I asked one of her classmates to find out what the matter was and she came back and said that Helene would not say anything.

What about the Taj could have moved such a young girl? I thought of asking her later but didn't get a chance to sit by her and left the tender investigation to a friend of hers. I got the report during the last lap of our tour. Helene had been overwhelmed by the thought that the Taj Mahal was so unimaginably beautiful but her parents would never probably see it. I did not probe beyond that. Some months later, I was a guest at the school in south-western France.

There I saw displayed in an exhibition on India an essay on Le Taj Mahal by Helene Chauveau. In it were the lines: "The sublimity of the Taj surpasses imagination. While the world photographs the mausoleum's reflection in a pond, I do not. I am overcome by the perfection of the lines of the white monument. Strangely, I take no pictures — a pity for my parents — but I will remember this place the most and the longest. This mausoleum, built of love, is a tomb. I am saddened by the thought that so many people will never see it". (By arranegement with The Times of India)

Sir,

Whenever there were extensive misuse of power, like the killing of nine innocent souls in Garo hills or the immoral spraying by water canons to the women folk making peaceful protest in Shillong, the NGOs had demanded for a judicial inquiry. But, it is strange that NGOs are yet to demand any strong action against those who unashamedly misused their official power during the execution of Khyndai Lad beautification scheme. The facts and figures are already available and the same were revealed by MRTIM during their recent presentation at Seminar hall, State central Library last month.

As appeared in the findings of the MRTIM, the chief architect for the misuse of public fund is none other than the former Chief Secretary and Chairman of MeSEB, who was also then holding the post of Chief Vigilance Commissioner of the state. The works by MeSEB started on the 21st June 2004 without floating tender and interestingly, the approval of the Member Technical of MeSEB for the Rs 1.51 crore KL project was issued only on 24th July 2004. Who ordered to start the work without approval and tender is the main question. There are only three contractors given by MeSEB and the one from Keating road, Shillong got the lion's share. There was no emergency for execution of the electrification works and therefore the Chairman of the Board cannot be excused for the lapse of not floating tender. The Board's Chairman has unlimited administrative and financial power and it is reported that all works were allotted on the spot during his countless inspection. The Board's engineers accompanying the Chairman during site visits could utter only "Ok sir", "Yes sir" and there were no other exchange of opinions. The engineers responsible for issuing work orders without proper tender process are also equally responsible for favouring selected contractors only, although it is said that they were only abiding by the orders of their rich and powerful bosses.

According to the findings of the MRTIM, what was done by PWD at Khyndai lad is all irregular. The works started before estimates were approved and estimates were made without any detailed survey. The earth cutting along the Assembly compound was done far beyond the permitted limit of three metres and that was done under the direction of the then Chief Secretary. It may be recalled that the Speaker of Meghalaya protested about that encroachment but for the safety of his chair, had to give in to the wishes of the Chief Secretary, who was then the blue-eyed boy of the Chief Minister. Most works were given to contractors on 'on spot tender basis', i.e only to those contractors favoured with an invitation to be on the spot. Due to lack of detailed survey, most contractors got payment 150 to 200% above the original estimate on the ground of 'excess due to site conditions'. Some contractors got payment before estimates were approved and many contractors got paid for works not done but recorded in MB by overseers. There was ample scope of making money/ manipulation and huge amount of bill was paid for non-existing works since the records of what existed earlier do not exist, but do contractors alone profit from that? Only when there is natural calamity that work is started before estimates and tendering. The officials of MUDA, PWD and others in the bureaucratic channels too, are equally responsible for all the irregularities in the beautification of KL since they have proved to be misfit as public servants. They were loyal to some high handed top officials at the cost of public exchequer instead of faithfully performing their duties as per rule.

The tip of an ice berg has clearly been revealed by MRTIM, but to prevent recurrence of such glaring corrupt practices, the NGOs must join hands and complete the unfinished task. Although, it may be stated that a pessimist enjoys when capital punishment is imposed on anyone but sometimes an optimist approves it to be done, to discourage others from committing ghastly crime. Action on KL is imperative, especially when the people in authority refused to even discuss about Khyndai Lad issue in the recent state assembly session, may be it is because, most are holding offices of profit.

Yours etc.
Name withheld on request,
Shillong-3

Campaigning for the second time in a week during her day-long whirlwind campaign tour to three assembly constituencies of Assam going to polls in the second phase on April 10, Mrs Gandhi said the cell will look into all aspects, including social and economic factors, of minorities and their problems. A report will be prepared which will analyse the various problems faced by the minorities, she added.

She also promised renewed thrust to development and the peace process with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) if Congress is voted to power. She also assured the predominantly minority electorate of the constituency that after the scrapping of the IMDT Act, the Foreigners' Tribunal Order was being amended to ensure that no genuine Indian citizen was harassed and the government was keeping a strict vigil.

The state assembly had unanimously decided to wait for a legislation on office of profit on April 4. Mr Rio said the Congress had been targeting him for holding offices of profit.(UNI)

Agartala: The no-confidence motion against Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath was defeated by voice vote in the Tripura Legislative Assembly here on Thursday. The House, which reassembled after 12 days, took up the vote of no confidence motion as per schedule.

The no-confidence motion was moved by the Opposition parties, including the Congress, about a fortnight ago in protest against the suspension of two Congress Legislators, including the Leader of the Opposition.

Participating in the debate, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said Mr Debnath had always upheld the cause of Parliamentary democracy as the Speaker of the House. Opposition parties, how-ever, alleged that the Speaker had ruthlessly curtailed the democratic rights of the Opposition and had favoured the Treasury Bench.(UNI)

The Agriculture dep-artment has requested the state government to declare the state as national calamity hit keeping in mind the loss of standing crops due to prolonged dry spell in the state.

Tripura is facing a dry spell for the last five months causing extensive damage to the standing crops amounting to Rs 34 crore, Agriculture Minister Tapan Chakraborty told reporters here on Wed-nesday.

Itanagar: DoNER has cleared three projects of Arunachal Pradesh under non-lapsable central pool of resources (NLCPR) recently. These projects are the Ropeway project from Tawang Monastery to Gyandong Ani Gompa (Rs 330.89 lakh), Lumla Township water supply project (Rs 4.88 crore) and the Assembly building project (Rs 38.92 crore), official sources said.

The visiting DoNER team-led by its secretary Gauri Chatterjee and joint secretary D S Poonia disclosed this during a review meeting on NLCPR and North East Council projects with the state secretaries and commissioners here on Wednesday.

Ms Chatterjee said the DoNER was committed to contributing to the infrastructural development of the state and has so far released Rs 400 crore for various infrastructural projects of the state. However, she reiterated on timely submission of detailed project reports (DPR) and quality utilization certificates, monitoring of project implementation, adhering to timeline to avoid delay and for timely release funds by DoNER. DoNER norms and guidelines should be strictly adhered to avoid delay of projects for speedy development and to benefit the people of the state, she said.

Under SSA, she added that DoNER has released Rs 8 crore in the last financial year under special dispensation. DoNER now bears 15 per cent and the state has to bear only 10 per cent burden, she added.(UNI)

Kohima: A four-member team of dedicated young men have come up with a noble concept to inspire young people of Nagaland to dream and excel in their chosen fields. Under the concept, ‘XL’, these enterprising young men aim to reach out to the young people through the medium of music by organising road shows using Naga musicians.

The first phase of the XL’s mission dubbed ‘Season One’, would be formally launched on April 8 by Governor Shyamal Datta at the Indoor Stadium at 5:30 p.m. Season One consists of six shows which will be held on the last Saturday of every month till August, the XL members said while briefing the media on Thursday evening.

While the first phase will be confined to Kohima district, XL plans to spread to all the districts of the state in the ensuing phases. Besides this, the team also plans to take up social issues such as dignity of labour, AIDS and work culture in each show by delivering messages and organising interactive sessions with the young people.

The road shows will also be taken to colleges and schools, students’ conferences and other avenues. Events such as guitar fest, jazz nites, music workshops are also in the offing. Apart from Governor Shyamal Datta, a galaxy of other luminaries are expected to participate in the shows. XL has also announced plans to invite Indian soccer star Baichung Bhutia to participate in the initiative and deliver messages to the youth of Nagaland.(NNN)