Political News India

Grief, despair at Delhi’s hospitals, a day after New Delhi, Sept 14: Wailing men and women as well as dazed family members of the seriously injured or missing after a string of bomb attacks besieged hospitals here on Sunday, straining the already stretched medical services. Doctors, nurses and attendants worked furiously to provide relief to the seriously and not-so-seriously wounded in Saturday evening’s bombings, but there was no stopping the grief gripping families of the victims. From a woman who cried inconsolably after being told that her husband had died to an 80-year-old wrinkled woman searching for her son, Delhi’s hospitals were overflowing with anxious people — and despair. Lakshmi, her head covered with her saree, landed at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital Saturday night, after failing to contact her taxi driver husband Chindra who had gone to Karol Bagh where the deadliest of the five bombs exploded, killing a dozen people almost instantly. It was the most traumatic night in the life of 50-year-old Lakshmi. Her six-year-old son, Chandra Prakash, unaware of the personal tragedy, clung to her. Lakshmi was first told that her husband was being treated for wounds in the hospital. That itself was bad news. But when a policeman revealed that he was no more, she broke down and wailed and wailed. “When my husband did not return till 10.30 (p.m.), I called his mobile. The phone rang and a policeman said he had been injured in a blast and had been hospitalized.... “Why do these things happen to us? Some people do something, and those who take revenge make us innocent people suffer,” Lakshmi told IANS. The dead man’s brother, Udai Bhan, added: “We are from Rajasthan and have lived in Delhi for 25 years. We had never expected this will happen to us. We have lost everything. My brother is gone.” There was grief everywhere in the hospital complex. Crowds had gathered outside the mortuary, the Intensive Care Unit and at a small police post. Most people were huddled in small groups, seemingly dazed. A few sat under a leafy tree. Others craned their necks to see the names of the dead and injured on a list pasted on a wall. Volunteers distributed bread and tea to people — for free. An NGO, Bhai Daya Singh Charitable Foundation, had offered its ambulances to carry the dead for the last rites — also without charge. A group of NCC Cadets queued up to donate blood. The Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, located in the heart of the city, received 69 victims from Karol Bagh and Connaught Place, which accounted for three of Saturday’s five blasts. This included eight who were brought dead. One man died while being operated upon around midnight. Three bodies at the mortuary remained unidentified. The identity of three critically injured was also not known, doctors said. The worst of the trauma was for those whose family members appeared to have simply disappeared after the bombings, blamed on the Islamist terror group Indian Mujahideen. “My brother-in law Sharanjit Singh left for Karol Bagh Saturday evening and has not returned home since. We are looking everywhere but we have no information about him,” rued Harminder Kaur, 40. The family had landed at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital after making the rounds of Lady Hardinge hospital, Sir Gangaram hospital and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. A handicapped man, Sharanjit Singh, 44, ran a small shop. His mother Ajit Kaur, 80, showed a wedding photograph to all and sundry, enquiring if anyone had seen Sharanjit. Equally pathetic is the case of Raju, a 25-year-old who was standing outside his house in Karol Bagh when the bomb went off. Since then, no one has seen him. Having cried the whole night, his grief-stricken wife, Yashoda, has now been hospitalized, Raju’s brother Shyam told IANS. “The police say they have no information about my brother and that we ourselves should visit every hospital.” Some relatives complained that they were not being allowed to take the bodies of their kin. Others felt that the injured were not getting enough medical care. A few angry men shouted slogans against the doctors. The staff at the hospital said they had been working non-stop since they began getting victims of the bomb blasts. Most medical staff had not slept and not gone home during the night. “We brought our friend here around 7.15 (p.m.) but there is no improvement in his condition,” said Prashant Singh, referring to 21-year-old Shishir Jindal, who was at Connaught Place where a splinter from an exploding bomb breached his spinal cord. Prashant Singh said the hospital had told him that a neurosurgeon would be available only later in the day. Said SK Sharma, in charge of the emergency ward: “Since night all our five operation theatres and over 100 doctors are working to take care of the patients. People have been admitted with head, cervical and splinter injuries. We have enough resources to take care of them.” He said 31 people have been discharged. Of the 29 in the hospital, four were in critical condition. The injured man who died at the hospital at midnight was identified as Amit Saxena, 25, of Kanpur. Said his room mate Pradeep Kumar: “I cannot believe he is no more. He was the only son of his parents. I have informed them. They are on their way to Delhi.” (IANS)

Ammonium nitrate: From innocuous fertiliser into a terror toy New Delhi, Sept 14: Despite the government making efforts to control the use of ammonium nitrate, which is commonly available as fertiliser, it continues to be the most favourite explosive material used in almost all the blasts during last three years. The government had planned a strong controlling regime to check misuse of ammonium nitrate, key component for manufacturing deadly RDX explosive, but the proposal seems yet to see the light of day. The terror attacks in Uttar Pradesh courts in November 2007 and subsequent bombings in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmadabad and Delhi point towards the metamorphosis of the chemical from innocuous fertiliser into a terror toy. Ammonium nitrate is not a high-quality explosive like RDX but intelligent use of shrapnel, packing and proper fuel mix like diesel converts it into a low-cost-high-impact explosive. “Ammonium nitrate produces oxygen at a very fast rate thereby creating an explosion. The basic difference between the RDX and ammonium nitrate is that the former can be used alone for causing blasts whereas the latter is to be laced with some fuel for causing the explosion,” Head of Explosives Unit, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, R R Singh said. A timer device which could be a simple microchip is embedded in the entire package and can be programmed like a digital clock. It creates spark at scheduled time and detonates the package. There have been some amount of laxity to check the movement of the chemical, says a Home Ministry official, adding, “We require a strong controlling regime to monitor its misuse and ensure that its offenders were booked under the Indian Explosive Act”. Investigations into Bangalore and Ahmadabad blasts have given light to the fact that innocuous-looking material are being used for lethal purposes. Bombs of about five kilograms laced with dangerous mix of diesel, gelatin, nails, nut-bolts, ball bearings and pebbles were used during the attacks. None of these material are banned from trading in the country and can be easily procured from local markets. “These bombs can be easily manufactured by locally available material. There is no need of courier and hence the chances of getting caught are also low. Most importantly, these explosions do not require high-end detonators as required with RDX,” a UP Police official said. “The concentration of ammonium nitrate while mixing with diesel is very important in the bomb-making process,” he said. (PTI)

Eerie calm in blast-hit Gaffar Market New Delhi, Sept 14: An eerie calm prevailed in blast-hit Gaffar Market in the busy Karol Bagh area as panic-stricken shopkeepers kept their shutters down a day after serial explosions rocked the national capital. The market, described as a bargainer’s paradise, was today sans the normal humdrum, chaotic jams and on Sunday morning cacophony. Police conducted searches at the site which has been cordoned off after the blast. The blast site presented a gory picture with tell tale marks of blood and personal belonging of the victims strewed on the pavement, normally crowded with shoppers. Except a few food stalls, mobile stores, garment showrooms and hardware stores, which usually make brisk business, were closed. Anxious shopkeepers and their employees gathered at the market and curiosity was writ large on their faces. “I have opened the food court expecting that a few customers will turn up. But not a single person has come till noon,” J L Sharma, a food stall manager, said. Some scared shopkeeper said they were keeping their fingers crossed as “anything could happen anytime”. “Despite the CCTVs put up at various places and police personnel patrolling round the clock, the terrorists could explode bombs,” said Amit Kalra, a fruit juice vendor, whose stall bore signs of the blast. The Gaffar market, selling latest electronic gadgets, is a hit among the tech-savvy who throng the grey market throughout the day but today it wore a deserted look. Scattered footwear, chards of glass and twisted iron grills acting as road dividers bore testimony to the panic that gripped the area after the blast. “We are now examining the site and looking for evidence,” a senior police official said. But Ajay Grover was sceptical. He felt police needed to be more vigilant. “The security system is not enough,” he said. Grover said hotels in Karol Bagh are largely lacking in security arrangement. Many hotels do not have CCTVs. A florist making a brisk business of about Rs 2,000 a day, did not get a single customer till noon. “I would have preferred to close the shop. But I have already purchased flowers this morning from the wholesale market. I have to sell them otherwise they will perish,” rued Rajan Sukhija. He said the market may open towards evening if tension eases. The market will remain closed tomorrow, Monday being a weekly closure. (PTI)

Bombs? How do we monitor commuters, ask auto drivers New Delhi, Sept 14: The Indian capital’s autorickshaw drivers are a worried lot following Saturday’s bomb attacks — after the deadliest of the bombs blew up in one of their vehicles. The bomb that killed 13 of the 20 people was left behind in an autorickshaw at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Its driver was unaware of the deadly cargo until it exploded with a deafening roar. Now autorickshaw drivers in Delhi are wondering if they will be expected to check what the passengers carry. “As a driver it is not possible to monitor what the passenger carries and whether it is safe or not,” said Om Prakash, a Paharganj resident who has been driving his autorickshaw for 17 long years. “Now, after a bomb was found to have been planted in an auto at Gaffar Market, I will have to be more alert and check my auto each time a passenger is dropped,” Prakash said. Delhi is home to some 80,000 autorickshaws, of which only 20 percent are self-owned. The remaining are driven after paying rent. “For someone like me, who rents the auto for eight hours a day, the responsibility is doubled,” said Ramesh Lal, who often picks up commuters from the Nizammudin railway station. “Our job is to get passengers from one point to another, whether they are carrying a big suitcase from the station or a briefcase for work. If we insist on checking them, they’ll get offended and won’t hire our auto,” he said. “It is the responsibility of the police to beef up safety measures,” added Harbans Kumar, who has been driving for 10 years. “Once the police found my passenger was carrying alcohol. They asked me where the bottles were from. How was I supposed to know what the passenger has?” Kumar asked. But Kumar agrees that vigilance is the need of the hour. “I can’t be choosy about passengers. Being alert and notifying authorities are perhaps the only way to help deal with terror,” he said. (IANS) Tata Motors welcomes Government initiatives Kolkata, Sept 14: With the West Bengal government today issuing newspaper advertisements announcing a rehabilitation package for Singur land losers, Tata Motors Limited expressed hope that the government’s initiative would evoke a positive response. “Tata Motors appreciates and supports the recent initiatives of the West Bengal government for Singur residents where it has acquired land for the small car project,” Tata Motors said in a statement. The statement said, “Tata Motors hopes these initiatives will evoke a positive response from the residents of Singur and that all stakeholders will contribute to creating a congenial environment for the long-term sustained operations of an industrial enterpise.” The West Bengal government today placed display advertisements in newspapers announcing a rehabilitation package for those persons whose land had been acquired for setting up the small car plant at Singur. The company had earlier suspended work at the project on grounds that the atmosphere has not been congenial for carrying out operations there. Tata Motors had decided to set up the Nano plant at Singur to play an active role in the reindustrialisation process of West Bengal and contribute to the economic development of the region, the company said. The project would also provide direct and indirect employment opportunities and help in overall community development, it said. Uncertainty gripped the project as the company decided to suspend operations at Singur as security of the contractual workers and Tata Motors engineers was endangered due to prolonged agitation. Tata Motors had got 997.11 acres of land at Singur on lease. While 600 acres had been earmarked for the mother plant, another 400 acres had been set aside for the vendor park. The project is in a limbo as Trinamool Congress demands the return of 400 acres, claiming they had been taken from unwilling farmers and also relocation of the vendor park. Ratan Tata said that the project would have to be scrapped if the vendor park is shifted elsewhere as it would affect its viability. West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi intervened to chair a meeting between the government and Trinamool Congress to discuss the issue across the table. As the discussion between the two parties did not yield any result, the government went ahead and announced the rehabilitation package. Asked if the suspension would be revoked, a Tata Motors spokesman said, “I have no idea.” (PTI) India has sovereign right to conduct nuclear test: Pranab New Delhi, Sept 14: India can conduct nuclear tests in the future, if necessary, but it has to be ready to face consequences, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. “If the country considers it is necessary to conduct nuclear tests, it can do so. Nothing stops us in this (123) agreement. Therefore, we are entitled to conduct nuclear tests if it is found necessary,” he told IBN-7 news channel. Mukherjee said, “Every country has its own rules for nuclear tests and therefore we (India) also have sovereign right to go for the nuclear tests, if required.” However, he added that if the country conducts a test, it has to face consequences as witnessed in 1974 and 1998, hinting at possibility of sanctions as were imposed after the Pokhran I and II atomic tests. On the BJP’s opposition to his statement that India is committed to non-proliferation goals and maintaining its unilateral moratorium on testing, Mukherjee said the saffron party should not forget that it was BJP which, after the 1998 Pokhran explosions, declared unilaterally that India will not conduct any more nuclear tests. “It was a senior leader of the BJP and the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who declared in the United Nations that we are ready to sign the CTBT,” he said. The External Affairs Minister said the UPA government has inked the Indo-US nuclear deal and got a waiver from the NSG without signing the CTBT and NPT which is not a “mean achievement”. Asked whether the Indo-US nuclear deal will be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US later this month, Mukherjee said: “Let’s wait and see, the process has already started.” On whether the deal will see a smooth passage in the US Congress, he refused to comment, saying it will not be proper on his part to react how the US Congress would debate. “India is free to conduct nuclear trade with any country be it France, Russia or UK and there is nothing like first among equals. For India every country is equal,” he said, when asked whether American nuclear companies will be given preferential agreement. (PTI) After Black, Big B in another ‘virtuoso act’ in The Last Lear NEW DELHI, Sept 14: If, after his “power packed portrayal” in Black and a “subtly powerful” act in Sarkar Raj, one thought that the Superstar of the Millennium Amitabh Bachchan could not get any better, this prodigious actor has proved everyone, including film critics, wrong with yet another overpowering act in Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear. In The Last Lear, Amitabh has come up with yet another effortless portrayal, one which is likely to be remembered for a long time. The eccentric, but totally adorable theatre actor Harry, the protagonist of The Last Lear, has no bigger pleasure in the World than chanting Shakespeare at the drop of a hat. Living with his resilient partner (another brilliant portrayal by Shefali Shah), Harry lives for acting, loves theatre, adores Shakespeare and detests cinema which he feels is an apology in the name of a art. “I’ll be good simply because I can’t be bad, but your cinema won’t be good and would make me look like a fool,” Harry says. In comes Siddharth, a young, cool and stubborn director who has a film in mind and wants Harry to act in it. Bringing Harry on board is easy, especially after Siddharth finds that to please Harry, he just needs to like you. Harry takes an instant liking for him- he finds Siddharth smart and is glad to have found a cerebral partner to have conversation with. Once Harry decides to do the film, he changes the lives of everyone involved - Shabnam, his co-star picks up tips on acting, Shakespeare and happy living; the film’s set becomes a happy, lovely place and laughter echoes in the mountains. And new relationships blossom. As Harry, the Shakespearan actor who lives, dreams and breathes theatre, Amitabh comes up with another virtuoso act” in The Last Lear. With his unique get up of long, flowing robes and a white mane, effortlessly chanting away powerful dialogues in his powerful voice that can shake mountains, the Big B as Harry is an absolute treat to watch for cinema lovers. As one watches with rapt attention this prodigious actor effortlessly deliver dialogues laced in Shakespearean English, one cannot help but be awestruck with his amazing screen presence. His effortless portrayal in the film of “a little unpredictable, was a bit whimsical but at the same time totally adorable” Harry tends to, most of the time, take away focus and attention from the performance of other actors in the cast - Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Shefali Shah, Prosenjit, Jishu Sengupta and Divya Dutta, all of whom have come up with excellent performances in the film. Shefali is as brilliant as Harry’s partner Vandana, who, like Harry, cares a damn for social sanction, while Preity Zinta is competent in the role of Harry’s co-star Shabnam, who is grappling with her stumpy acting skills and messed up personal life before Harry brings a change in her life. Arjun Rampal too has pitched in with a praise worthy act as the cool and smart director Siddharth. The King of the piece is, however, Big B whose portrayal as Harry is yet another “once-in-a-lifetime” role for the actor, proving that when it comes to the acting acumen and ability, he has no equal in the film industry. Produced by Planman Motion Pictures’ of Management Guru Professor Arindham Chaudhry, The Last Lear, an English Language Film, is based on Utpal Dutt’s play Aajker Shahjahan. (UNI) Ramayana the epic in animated form next year MUMBAI, Sept 14: The great Indian epic Ramayana which had been the subject matter for several films and television serials over the years will now be presented as a feature film in animation version by Maya Entertainment Limited (MEL). Scheduled for release next year, the animation version would bring Ram to the world in a new avatar as a superhero who surpassed obstacles which was beyond any ordinary human. Based on Valmiki Ramayana, the film would be directed by Chetan Desai with Actor Juhi Chawla rendering the voice of Sita, Manoj Bajpai that of Rama and Ashutosh Rana lending his voice to Ravana and Mukesh Rishi had given vocie to Hanuman. Ramayana the Epic promises to bring to Indian screens global standards in animation seen so far only in International animation films according to a release from Maya International. Director Chetan Desai aims to introduce Ram to the younger generation as the aspirational idol and the greatest superhero India has ever produced. Film Ramayana-the Epic presents. Ramayana the way today’s younger generations would like to see, without tampering with its originality. It has larger than life backdrop of the grandeur from the era portrayed with a never before seen visual extravaganza of this high paced action packed story of heroism and bravery. It has contemporary music with state of art sound effects. MEL executive vice president Jai Natarajan Business Development said, Maya Entertaiment had nurtured a vision to showcase to Indians a high-end animation film that would appear real to the eyes. He said there was a boom in the animation industry and India had immense potential to encash it. In 2006, the animation industry was at Rs 10.5 billion and is estimated to grow upto Rs 40 Billion in the next three years. “I am confident this movie will usher in a new era in the Indian animation industry. Ramayana the Epic will be ready by December 2008 and we are looking at releasing it early next year”, he added. (UNI) source: sentinel assam