Bhavnagar ::Makawana elected deputy mayor of Bhavnagar Thursday, October 25, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
BHAVNAGAR: Haresh Makawana of the BJP was on Tuesday elected deputy mayor. The Congress and CPM corporators complained at the general board meeting that the poorer and weaker sections of the society were being harassed by the estate department which demolished small units.
Municipal commissioner P D Vaghela said encroachments were being removed even in posh areas. In reply to many allegations, he said that action could be taken against officials only if evidence was submitted to the BMC.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Dalit family on fast over land dispute Thursday, October 25, 2001
BY LEENA MISRA, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Life turned into a nightmare for Suresh Mangalbhai Valmiki of Kotha village in Gandhinagar district after he ignored a notice slapped on him on September 17 by the village talati asking him to pull down his house or face action.
Suresh decided to stick on with his extended family of nine, including a wife and two small kids, till they faced ostracism. On October 4, the family fled to Gandhinagar town and is on a protest fast demanding justice against the atrocities allegedly meted out on them by the higher castes dominating the village.
"First they stopped all rations, then the milk supply and then threatened to burn me alive inside my house," he told TNN on Tuesday from the canopy where the family is parked since 19 days. Suresh's only bane is that he was born a Dalit. His is the only Dalit family in the 5,000-strong village comprising Patels, Prajapatis and Darbars in Kotha which occupies some four units in the village. He claims they have been restricted entry into the village except for sweeping.
The Valmikis lodged a complaint on Tuesday at the office of the Superintendent of Police Gandhinagar district accusing six persons including the village administrators of having assaulted them and abused them on the basis of their caste.
Those named in the complaint are administrator of Kotha gram panchayat Manharbhai Gordhanbhai Patel, talati-cum-secretary of Kotha village Kevalbhai Prajapati, former sarpanch Jivanbhai Girdharbhai Patel, gram panchayat clerk Pravinbhai Mohanbhai Prajapati, Bhikhabhai Karsanbhai Patel and Ramabhai Varvabhai Prajapati.
The fight is not just over the house, but over a 47x49 feet plot of land adjacent to where the Valmikis stay. "We have inherited this land from our ancestors and use it for our community functions because they don't let us into the village," says Amrutbhai Mangalbhai Valmiki. Suresh's wife Usha, breaks down when narrating the way in which her husband was beaten "till he almost went insane". Taraben Babubhai Valmiki is a widow who joined the exodus while her daughter was still taking exams. They claim to have met the chief minister, minister for social justice Fakir Vaghela and several other government functionaries.
"We have the tax receipts with us which prove our rights on the property, how can they throw us out?," questions Suresh. Volunteers from the Ahmedabad-based Navsarjan Trust who are stationed in the area second these testimonies. "We went first to the Nardipur police station and then to the Kalol taluka police station but got no response," he says. "They threaten to break down the houses that we helped build in the same site after the earthquake damaged them," says Prahlad Parmar from Navsarjan.
According to him, the village functionaries lodged false criminal cases against them. When contacted, the talati Kevalbhai Prajapati told TNN that the land belonged to the panchayat. "They have encroached upon it and so we issued the notice," he said. He denied that the Valmikis had been ostracised from the village. "The land matter is under appeal in the Mehsana court," said Prajapati, adding that Suresh was doing this 'stunt' only to escape from the criminal investigation.
The villagers have made a 10-point representation before Gandhinagar district collector S J Haider demanding a livelihood, police protection, withdrawal of police cases against them, among others. "I have already directed a team of the mamlatdar, a police inspector and the taluka development officer to visit the village on Thursday and submit a report within 48 hours," Haider told TNN.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Little actors do mentor proud Thursday, October 25, 2001
BY S D DESAI, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Archan Trivedi, working painstakingly and with dedication for Darpana's Repertory Group, known for his acting and direction, has of late, working with children, become something of a child himself. A month ago he burst into a playful song on phone: Hum saat poochhadivaalo re chun chun undar... During a conversation the other day, again a song came to his lips: O bakari maa, O bakari maa. And the playlets, all workshop productions, he got staged by kids last week are replete with many such songs.
He has written the songs himself. "I didn't set them to tunes or fill words into tunes", he confides, "I found myself singing them while working with the children at this workshop". His young colleague, Pagarav, used to take down the lines during the process. He had 52 children, eight of them below five, as participants at the workshop, conducted for two months, two days a week.
The children, in the age group four to fourteen, while acting out four popular stories _ Sat Poochhadio Undar, Bhatudia na Bachcha, Gadheda ni Savari, Raja Karataan Maari Topi Saari (Durgesh Shukla) _ adapted and modernised, supplied lines. No need for scripts. Their cat is 'a pure vegetarian', addressed by the mice as 'Dear Billi Aunty'. The she-goat's kids devoured by the tiger can all be seen in his big belly giving him a tough time. The Gadha proves he has brains. The tail-less mouse is taught to be proud in being different!
The little players at the performance, following six days of intensive rehearsals, were one with their characters from the animal world. To creating the right ambience _ with colour, spectacle and detail _ the sets and costumes (Pagarav, Archan, Ramesh) made no mean contribution. The music (Nisarg, Shradul, Jagat) was good enough, but not so rich as to turn the productions into full-blooded musicals.
All the same, the joy Rishvis, Vaidehis, Nidhis and Namratas had on the stage was infectious. Some of those in the packed open-air Natarani auditorium, amongst them grandpas and nannies, joined them laughing, singing, clapping. When a child in a play rode a donkey, a kid in the auditorium till then wondering where to sit, quickly perched on her mummy's shoulders, astride her neck!
* * *
Detective stories are no longer 'the normal recreation of noble minds' as Andrew Wyke (Iftikhar Ahmad), a successful writer of the genre in Anthony Shaffer's well-known play Sleuth believes they are. Maybe they were half a century ago. Sleuth, however, is so brilliantly written, its performance can hold interest even today as the one directed by P S Chari for XYZ did at the C C Mehta Auditorium in Vadodara last week. To an appreciative audience it comes alive with humour and action neatly projected in all available space.
The only two characters in the play, at one time a hit on both Broadway and Off-Broadway, are initially interlocked in a fierce verbal combat, apparently restrained. Having known the audacity of the younger one, sharp and neatly dressed, Milo Tindle (Adil Marawala) _ "I understand you want to marry my wife". "Well, yes, with your permission" _ and Andrew's disaffection with his wife Marguerite, whose 'love is the fawning of a willing lap dog' and her fascination for Tea, whose 'cobalt eyes are the secret forest pools of Finlandia', spectators anticipate action any moment.
The imposing details of the sets (Shashi), a crafty-looking Andrew's quiet confidence about the burglary game he engages Milo in _ he is so good at such games 'Jung or Einstein would been honoured' if invited to participate _ and the atmosphere the fiction writer builds up ('the cowled figure seen haunting the grounds of Manor House'... 'the agonised screams...) coupled with his assertion "She is mine whether I love her or not" leave one in no doubt the action could be thrilling. In fact, there are unexpected twists and turns that can leave spectators out of breath.
Chari in his entertaining stage production of the play keeps the highly dramatic goings-on at an even flow and lets the spectators understand the characters and their motives on their own. In this format, in an elegant conversation, with just the right modulation by both the players, we get an excellent exposition. The elegance gradually wanes and smart natural alacrity is ruefully missed once the actual action begins. A good test in such play is: Do silences sound terrifying? Does the spectator even in silent moments perceive the tension between two characters, even if standing apart?
With emphasis and variation in speech, along with appropriate pauses, dramatically how effective Inspector Doppler's line, for example, could be? : "When Mr Tindle lurched off as you put it, did he lurch naked?" Intelligent terseness in contrasting moods perhaps outline characters and happenings more effectively than loquacity. Incidentally, do you recall Pravin Joshi's Khelando, a Gujarat adaptation of Sleuth?
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
FICCI urges Modi to give fillip to a weary Gujarat Thursday, October 25, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Warning the Gujarat government that its power tariff was so high that no power-intensive industry would like to set up shop in the state unless it had its own captive power plant, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) made a presentation to the new Chief Minister Narendra Modi in which it pointed out "gaps in development" in the state and offered the trade and industry's perspective on how some of these problems could be sorted out.
A high-level delegation comprising FICCI president Chirayu Amin, secretary general Amit Mitra and Gujarat region council chairman Amit Goradia met Modi on Wednesday and offered to give concrete proposals for alternate taxation in lieu of octroi, state PSU disinvestment and development of bio-technology. Goradia said the proposal on alternative to octroi, which is still in existence in six cities of Gujarat, will be submitted within eight weeks.
FICCI has called for rapid implementation of 'Vision 2010', greater private participation in roads and ports, decongestion of roads and highways and facilities like trade and finance centres, corporate headquarters and convention centres in the state. On the power front, it said the trend indicate decline in overall energy availability. The high cost of power discourages industrialisation. "At Rs 6 per unit, no power-intensive unit will come to Gujarat when there is cheaper power available in other states," Amin said.
The exhaustive FICCI presentation spoke about the declining production of sugar, spun yarn, fertilisers and steel which does not augur well for the state. Textile and chemical sectors were facing a recessionary trend. Even foreign trade, as per recent data, indicates a negative trend and there has been a decline in tariff and cargo handled at Kandla for two consecutive years.
Speaking about "visible signs of recession", the report said commercial vehicle sales are down by 50 per cent and consumer durables have experienced a drop in sales by 20 per cent. The finances of the state were also worrisome because of the massive revenue deficit of Rs 1,400 crore. Speaking about the need for fiscal reforms, it said the earthquake has further added to the deficit in the state.
The FICCI functionaries told the chief minister that Gujarat must prepare for another quantum leap in development by renewed thrust to the old economy sectors of chemicals, textiles, petrochemicals and consumer durables. It should also give a fillip to the areas of pharmaceuticals, telecommunication, information technology and bio-technology.
The FICCI delegation also focused on agriculture, in which Modi evinced keen interest, and said that there should be a transformation in the sector through contract farming, commercial plantations, extensive agriculture, production of food and cash crops and development of horticulture, floriculture and wastelands. Modi is believed to have told the delegation that he was quite focused on the development of bio-technology and invited more suggestions. Mitra said the FICCI has already prepared a detailed document on development of bio-technology and will be presenting it before the chief minister shortly.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Uproar building up against flyover Thursday, October 25, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
VADODARA: A major uproar is building up against the proposed flyover near Chhayapuri. The objection is against the toll tax system to be adopted once the bridge is built.
Gauging the public mood, municipal corporator from Sama area shot off a letter to Chief Minister Narendra Modi urging him to cancel the go-ahead orders given for the flyover construction. The letter argues that the flyover, which has become unpopular before the first brick is laid, will unnecessary tax commuters.
"Many people cross the railway under bridge at Chhayapuri near Chhani to go to work. All these people will be forced to cough up additional money every day for travelling which is unjustified," the letter says. Traffic inconvenience is also cited as one of the reasons why building the flyover was not feasible.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
