'No place for terrorism in Islam' Monday, October 22, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Coming down heavily on the September 11 attacks on the US, activists from all over the state and other parts of the country conferred on 'Terrorism: Reality and solutions' at a seminar held here on Sunday.
The seminar was organised by the Students Islamic Organisation of India, Gujarat zone, Ahmedabad.
SIO general secretary Zamiruddin Kadri in his presidential address while protesting against the September 11 attacks, however, said that the true motive of the US and its allies who have been attacking Afghanistan to destroy terrorism, will only be known in the future.
Referring to various incidents and facts, he alleged the US to be responsible for the death of over six million people and that it was a wrong notion that the American military action is supported by all. He claimed that some 46 per cent Americans and many other nations are not in favour of it.
SIO Gujarat president Shaukat Ali Indori also joined the protests against the attacks on the US and said the current events have opened up a new dimension for thinking about terrorism, its understanding, international laws, role of the United Nations and our foreign policy.
Speaking on the occasion, director of 'Prashant' Father Cedric Prakash opposed the new law which the Centre was planning to enact in place of TADA, as the one opposing freedom of expression of thoughts and speech. He also talked about culture, terrorism and reality.
President of the Gujarat Lok Samiti Chunibhai Vaidya described violence as an element buried deep within a human being and said that it needs to be removed both from inside and outside. Referring to various incidents, he said he did not agree that the issue was associated only with Muslims.
Senior lawyer and former parliamentarian Haroobhai Mehta described the undesirable events that took place in India, Europe and other countries in the past as terrorism and lambasted the American terrorism.
He criticised the publicity against Islam and said that the massive campaign against Islam was wrong and described Islam as a word that expresses peace and security.
Jamiet-Ehle-Hadis president Maulana Abdul Halim Salfi said that there was no place for terrorism in Islam and there is no compulsion in Islam as a religion. He said all human beings are children of the same parents.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
No criminal case yet in City Gold mishap Monday, October 22, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: While the Bhatt family battles with the grief of losing their baby, the City Gold cine-multiplex authorities have admitted in a public clarification on Sunday that the lid of the underground sump was "not properly closed by the maintenance staff".
Cine-multiplex director Chiman Agrawal stated in a published advertisement given to certain newspapers that the "version published in the papers about the accident (on Friday) was far from truth".
The reference is to the death of 13-month-old Agastya Bhatt who died after falling into the 10-foot-deep water sump on the multiplex premises. Apparently, the mother of the boy, Viraj, too had slipped into the tank, but was rescued by a passer-by even as her son slipped out of her hands.
The Navrangpura police have not gone beyond making an entry in the station diary about the case. "A case can be registered only after preliminary inquiries," a police official told TNN on Sunday.
Chiman Agrawal also admitted that Viraj to was hurt in the process of saving herself and her son. Viraj is learnt to have suffered bruises on her arms and back.
When contacted, Agastya's grandfather Niranjan Bhatt told TNN, that "Agrawal came to see us and tendered an apology in writing on Saturday". According to him, the family was in a state of deep shock since "Agastya was born after a difficult pregnancy. At present, we are not even thinking about complaining to the police, since it would add to the trauma of my daughter-in-law".
The family used to take Agastya out in the evening, City Gold multiplex and was scheduled for Friday. Viraj set out for the complex with her son and the 'ayah' to show him the coloured fountains. "While holding Agastya, Viraj walked up in the normal course. Her foot fell on the tank and the lid gave way, plunging both of them into the water," Bhatt said.
Viraj, who could swim, managed to rise to the surface while her son just slipped out of her arms, said the grandfather. In the darkness, she could not see anything, and by the time the fire brigade arrived it was already 20 minutes.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Garba deadline in Mumbai protested Monday, October 22, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: The All-Gujarat Cultural and Festival Association has objected to authorities in Maharashtra putting a 10.30 pm deadline on garbas in Mumbai.
Prominent garba organisers in Gujarat will switch off all mikes for 10 minutes every evening as a mark of protest and to pressurise the government into changing their mind.
An officials release from the association said Gujaratis in Maharashtra always celebrate Ganesh Chaturti till late at night. Thus, the association feels this deadline is unjust and the timing should be extended.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Security beefed after robberies at diamond units Monday, October 22, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
SURAT: Following three incidents of thefts and robberies at diamond trading centres at different parts of the city in the last few days, the city police have intensified security measures with additional deployment of one company of SRPF at sensitive points.
According to Additional Commissioner of Police Mohan Jha, police patrolling has been intensified from 8 am to 10 pm in Kapodara, Katargram and Mahidharpura where a number of diamond processing units are located.
Further, licences of arms are being granted to diamond merchants for security reasons, and all those whose guns have been taken back for necessary official verification are being given their arms back, as per a decision by the city police taken recently. All history-sheeters of the last 10 years from these areas are being cross-examined and kept under watch, Jha informed.
With the police already over-stretched on account of the on-going Navratri patrolling, maintaining strict vigil round-the-clock at vulnerable areas has become extremely difficult, a senior police officer admitted. In places like Kapodara, Pandol, Amroli, Mahidhapura and other parts with concentration of diamond processing units security has been tightened and local intelligence wing of the city police has been instructed to keep the officials posted with latest developments, sources said.
In Mahidharpura on Friday, robbers had entered one diamond unit but could succeed in stealing anything. They, however, inflicted injuries to the owner and others present there, police said. But, in Kapodara, the accused entered one unit when workers had left, and decamped with precious stones worth Rs 3 lakh. Another such incident occurred an a unit at Katargram three days ago.
In view of these incidents, Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Gupta has been visiting these areas himself to keep up the strict security.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
No takers for GIL despite hype on IT Monday, October 22, 2001
BY ROBIN DAVID, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: If technology is expected to be the catalyst for Gujarat's sagging economic fortunes, the state will need much more than just a laptop-sporting chief minister, many officials now say.
Apart from his technology-savvy approach to governance, Narendra Modi will need a dedicated band of officers who not only understand technology, but also have the ability to implement it before it becomes obsolete. For the time being, however, the new chief minister can't even find a dedicated official to head his information technology flagship, Gujarat Informatics Limited (GIL)!
During his major administrative overhaul recently, Modi transferred D Jagatheesa Pandyan from GIL to the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd. GIL's former MD, M Sahu was given additional charge apart from his responsibilities at the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority. According to sources at the Sachivalaya, Sahu has left for Manali without accepting his new charge, leaving Pandyan with both GSPC as well as GIL, and effectively leaving the latter headless.
But this is nothing compared to what the technology company has gone through in its short three-year history. For starters, it has never had a managing director who actually understands the intricacies of IT or even have a degree in electronics and related areas, giving some idea of how serious the government was in promoting the industry in the state despite the hype.
Although IAS officers generally prefer the independence of running a corporation, away from the politics of the Sachivalaya, the GIL posting has not been a hot favourite. "There is a learning curve involved in technology companies," a senior IAS officer told TNN. "You have to make extra effort to understand the various facets and do your homework, something many officials don't prefer."
As a result, all GIL has done in the last three years is make announcements on how it will soon launch citizen-friendly services. There is very little to show in concrete terms. Two such ambitious projects which have only remained on paper are the 15,000 kiosks planned with corporate giant Reliance and municipal bodies across the state and a citizen-centric multi-purpose card.
Both projects have enormous capacity as they would simplify a number of services like paying telephone and electricity bills and a single window for the availability for a number of government forms and applications. The card especially was supposed to help in identifying persons during elections or issuing passports. Many large corporates, associated in such projects, have even started questioning the viability of such investments if GIL has such a long gestation period when obsolesce is always lurking round the corner.
Most of the IT flagship's MDs, however, have had no background in the industry and have been running like they would run any corporation. Of the four MDs that the corporation has seen so far, K C Kapoor, Sahu and Pandyan have little knowledge of the industry. Its second director, Jayanthi Ravi, is believed to have been the most dynamic of the four. She, however, is today transferred to the Dangs.
However, many officials feel that if GIL is expected to be one of the drivers of a new-age economy in Gujarat, Modi will have to give it more that just good officials.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
