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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013<br />

INDIA<br />

11<br />

Modi accuses UPA <strong>of</strong> bias<br />

against non-Cong states<br />

A security guard tries to prevent protesters from entering the <strong>of</strong>ice <strong>of</strong> Dow Chemical International Private Ltd<br />

in Mumbai. Three thousand seven hundred people died immediately in the world's worst industrial disaster<br />

in 1984 when gas leaked from a pesticides plant owned by the US multinational Union Carbide in Bhopal. For<br />

decades, survivors have been ighting to have the site cleaned up, but they say the efforts were slowed when<br />

Michigan-based Dow Chemical took over Union Carbide in 2001. — AFP<br />

KOLKATA Gujarat Chief Minister<br />

yesterday accused the UPA government<br />

<strong>of</strong> discriminating against non-<br />

Congress ruled states.<br />

"Defying the constitution, the UPA<br />

government has been constantly discriminating<br />

between states ruled by<br />

the parties in the UPA coalition and<br />

those run by non-UPA parties," Modi<br />

said here.<br />

"The need is to raise voices against<br />

this discrimination," he told a meeting<br />

<strong>of</strong> entrepreneurs.<br />

Modi said such discrimination was<br />

shattering the dreams <strong>of</strong> many states<br />

including West Bengal.<br />

"People have elected them but that<br />

does not mean they have the power<br />

to discriminate."<br />

To buttress his point, Modi referred<br />

to the relations between the<br />

NDA government <strong>of</strong> Atal Bihari Vajpayee<br />

and the Left Front government<br />

in West Bengal between 1998 and<br />

2004.<br />

"Here we had a Communist government.<br />

In Delhi, we had the Vajpayee<br />

government. Ideologically, there<br />

can be no meeting ground between<br />

us and the Communists.<br />

"But during those years there was<br />

no complaint <strong>of</strong> discrimination from<br />

Bengal," he said at a meeting organised<br />

by the MCC Chamber <strong>of</strong> Commerce<br />

and Industry, Indian Chamber<br />

<strong>of</strong> Commerce and Bharat Chamber <strong>of</strong><br />

Commerce.<br />

He said this bias by the central<br />

government was threatening national<br />

integrity.<br />

"When states do well, the (central)<br />

government comes forward to take<br />

credit. But if anything goes wrong, the<br />

onus is on the state government.<br />

"They must learn to take the entire<br />

country along."<br />

Earlier, Modi yesterday started<br />

his trip here by visiting the Dakshineswar<br />

Kali Temple and Belur Math<br />

and exhorted the youth to make India<br />

the world leader by taking inspiration<br />

from the ideals <strong>of</strong> Swami<br />

Vivekananda.<br />

"I have full conidence that our<br />

youths will make India proud by making<br />

it "jagatguru" by following the ideals<br />

<strong>of</strong> Swami Vivekananda," Modi told<br />

journalists after paying a visit to the<br />

Belur Math in neighbouring Howrah<br />

district.<br />

Modi, who visited the Belur Math<br />

— global headquarters <strong>of</strong> the Ramakrishna<br />

Math and Ramakrishna Mission<br />

— for the irst time after becoming<br />

chief minister, said he visited it<br />

quite <strong>of</strong>ten as a teenager.<br />

"I used to visit the Math founded<br />

by Swami Vivekananda frequently<br />

during my teenage (years) and I had<br />

received a lot <strong>of</strong> love and affection<br />

from Swami Athwasthananda," he<br />

added.<br />

Earlier, in a series <strong>of</strong> tweets, Modi<br />

described his experiences at the two<br />

holy places.<br />

"Blessed with the darshan <strong>of</strong> Maa<br />

Kali at Dakhineshwar. I apologised to<br />

her for coming after a long time," he<br />

said on Twitter.<br />

"Got the opportunity to visit Ganga<br />

Maa where Swami Vivekananda used<br />

to take bath. Experienced an inner joy<br />

being there," he said.<br />

At Belur Math, Modi meditated for<br />

some time.<br />

"On my request, the organisers<br />

let me spend some time alone in the<br />

room where Swami Vivekananda<br />

meditated. The experience was beyond<br />

words," he said. — IANS<br />

Mamata gheraoed, Bengal<br />

minister manhandled in Delhi<br />

NEW DELHI — West Bengal chief<br />

minister Mamata Banerjee and her<br />

inance minister Amit Mitra were<br />

today the target <strong>of</strong> the ire <strong>of</strong> CPM<br />

and its students' wing activists<br />

with protesters manhandling the<br />

minister outside the Planning Commission<br />

here.<br />

A group <strong>of</strong> about 150 protesters<br />

from CPM and SFI ambushed the<br />

chief minister and other ministers<br />

including Mitra when they arrived<br />

at the Planing Commission complex<br />

around 3.45 pm for annual<br />

state plan discussion.<br />

Banerjee, who was advised by<br />

police not to get down from her car<br />

and drive inside, however, chose to<br />

walk through the slogan-shouting<br />

and placard-wielding crowd into<br />

the building.<br />

While the chief minister was immediately<br />

shielded by policemen, it<br />

was left to Mitra's lot to face the anger<br />

<strong>of</strong> the activists who were protesting<br />

the death <strong>of</strong> a SFI member<br />

Sudipto Ghosh in police custody in<br />

Kolkata last week.<br />

As SFI and CPM members<br />

chanted "Mamata Banerjee hai hai<br />

(Mamata down down), TMC hai<br />

hai, Hatyari Mamata sharm karo<br />

(have shame, killer Mamata)", an<br />

agitated chief minister walked into<br />

the building shouting that "this is<br />

uncivilised behaviour".<br />

The 65-year-old inance minister<br />

was pushed and jostled around<br />

as he tried to enter the Yojna Bhawan<br />

building. A woman protester<br />

thumped him twice on his chest<br />

and his kurta was torn in the melee.<br />

An angry Banerjee later vented<br />

her anger at minister <strong>of</strong> state for<br />

planning Rajiv Shukla and deputy<br />

chairman <strong>of</strong> Planning Commission<br />

Montek Singh Ahluwalia.<br />

"You have created a new precedent<br />

here. My minister was assaulted.<br />

This is scandalous. There<br />

were 20 hooligans. Can you stop<br />

development <strong>of</strong> this state like this...<br />

Delhi is not safe," she told them.<br />

Court notice to NDMC<br />

on Taj Mahal hotel lease<br />

NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court yesterday issued notice to the New Delhi<br />

Municipal Council (NDMC) on a plea <strong>of</strong> Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company<br />

(IHC) against the civic agency's proposal to auction the lease <strong>of</strong> a plot<br />

on which Taj Mahal Hotel is built in the heart <strong>of</strong> the city.<br />

Justice M L Mehta sought a response from the NDMC which owns the plot<br />

on Mansingh Road in central Delhi and said he would consider the company's<br />

plea seeking an interim stay on the auction on the next date <strong>of</strong> hearing.<br />

"Issue notice to the NDMC and reply to be iled within two weeks. If there<br />

is any threat <strong>of</strong> coercive step against it, the plaintiff (IHC) is at liberty to approach<br />

the court," Justice Mehta said.<br />

The 33-year lease <strong>of</strong> IHC ended in October 2011 and was extended by a<br />

year by revising the revenue-share licence fee. In September 2012, the NDMC<br />

once again granted a one-year extension to the company.<br />

The civil suit iled by IHC sought the court to restrain the NDMC from "interfering<br />

with the possession, right to operate, run and maintain the hotel<br />

premises". The NDMC would hold a meeting today to decide on the proposal<br />

for auctioning the property lease.<br />

Senior advocate V P Singh, appearing for the NDMC, told the court that the<br />

land had to be put up for auction after the lease period got over. — IANS<br />

Drones deployed to protect rhinos at reserve<br />

NEW DELHI Aerial surveillance<br />

drones are being lown at an Indian<br />

nature reserve to protect rare rhinoceros<br />

from increasing attacks by<br />

poachers, <strong>of</strong>icials said yesterday.<br />

The unmanned aerial vehicle,<br />

equipped with powerful cameras,<br />

was operated for the irst time at<br />

the Kaziranga National Park in the<br />

north-eastern state <strong>of</strong> Asom on<br />

Monday.<br />

The drones will keep vigil and<br />

help forest guards monitor movements<br />

<strong>of</strong> poachers across the 430-<br />

square kilometre reserve, Asom<br />

Forest and Environment Minister<br />

Rockybul Hussain said.<br />

"These lights will continue till<br />

tomorrow and regular operations<br />

will begin once we get clearance<br />

from the Defence Ministry," Hussain<br />

said.<br />

"Besides this, we are going to<br />

introduce the electronic eye, a new<br />

surveillance system on the lines <strong>of</strong><br />

closed-circuit cameras, to guard<br />

Kaziranga," he said by phone from<br />

state capital Guwahati.<br />

Hussain said forest guards would<br />

also be armed with automatic weapons<br />

to counter gangs <strong>of</strong> poachers in<br />

Asom, home to more than 75 per<br />

cent <strong>of</strong> the world's population <strong>of</strong><br />

2,400 one-horned rhinos.<br />

"Poaching is a very serious problem<br />

and the rhino is always under<br />

a major threat," said Suresh Chand,<br />

Asom's chief conservator <strong>of</strong> forests.<br />

Chand said poachers had killed 16<br />

rhinos this year, compared to last<br />

year's total <strong>of</strong> 22 killings.<br />

Poachers kill rhinos for their<br />

horns, which many believe have aphrodisiac<br />

qualities, and are used in<br />

traditional medicines in Asia. — dpa<br />

Forestry <strong>of</strong>icials hold up unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) during a<br />

demonstration to the media at the Kaziranga National Park. — AFP<br />

Tripura remains<br />

on top in providing<br />

rural jobs<br />

AGARTALA Left-ruled Tripura<br />

provided 86.27 days <strong>of</strong> work under<br />

the central government's lagship<br />

rural jobs scheme in iscal 2012-13,<br />

the highest in the country, a minister<br />

said here yesterday.<br />

Quoting the performance report<br />

<strong>of</strong> the union rural development<br />

ministry, state Rural Development<br />

Minister Jitendra Chaudhury told<br />

reporters that Tripura has been<br />

providing the highest average employment<br />

for the past four years under<br />

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural<br />

Employment Guarantee Act<br />

The MGNREGA mandates 100<br />

days <strong>of</strong> employment in a inancial<br />

year to one member <strong>of</strong> each rural<br />

household.<br />

According to the rural development<br />

ministry's performance report,<br />

the national average <strong>of</strong> jobs<br />

created in the last iscal was 39 days<br />

and 42 days in 2011-12.<br />

"Tripura retained the top position<br />

since 2009-10 iscal in terms<br />

<strong>of</strong> person-days generation. In the<br />

2012-13 inancial year Tripura provided<br />

86.27 person-days, highest in<br />

the country, followed by Mizoram<br />

(69.25 person-days), Tamil Nadu<br />

(51.26) and Andhra Pradesh<br />

(49.61)," Chaudhury said citing the<br />

central government report.<br />

The minister said that Tripura<br />

could improve further in terms <strong>of</strong><br />

creation <strong>of</strong> person-days <strong>of</strong> work if<br />

there were no administrative problems<br />

in view <strong>of</strong> the February 14 assembly<br />

polls. He said Tripura has<br />

also in the leading position in the<br />

country in participation <strong>of</strong> women<br />

and tribals in MGNREGA with percentages<br />

<strong>of</strong> 41 per cent and 43 per<br />

cent respectively.<br />

Kerala releases e-books on millennia-old Indian system <strong>of</strong> medicine<br />

By Ashraf Padanna<br />

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM —<br />

Ayurveda is taking the digital route<br />

to reach out to a global audience<br />

with Kerala Tourism launching two<br />

e-books on the millennia-old Indian<br />

system <strong>of</strong> medicine.<br />

This is a irst electronic publication<br />

<strong>of</strong> its kind by a tourism board <strong>of</strong><br />

a state in the country. The e-books<br />

will be available at online stores for<br />

purchase for easy reading on e-book<br />

readers, mobile phones or computer<br />

screens.<br />

A P Anil Kumar, the southern<br />

state's tourism minister, released the<br />

e-books on Ayurveda, besides one on<br />

the socio-cultural history <strong>of</strong> Kerala<br />

and another on yoga and healthy living,<br />

at a function held here yesterday.<br />

The event also witnessed the<br />

launch <strong>of</strong> a 15-minute ilm on Kerala's<br />

Western Ghats, besides two brochures<br />

on the excavation site <strong>of</strong> the ancient<br />

port <strong>of</strong> Muziris near Kochi and the<br />

key festivals and events <strong>of</strong> the state in<br />

2013.<br />

Kerala Tourism is a pioneer in using<br />

digital tools for promoting the<br />

destination. The digitisation <strong>of</strong> four<br />

c<strong>of</strong>fee table books was sponsored by<br />

Kerala Tourism.<br />

The e-books on Ayurveda are the<br />

award-winning c<strong>of</strong>fee table books<br />

Panchakarma: Ayurveda’s Mantra<br />

<strong>of</strong> Rejuvenation and Ayurveda: The<br />

Mantra <strong>of</strong> Niramaya.<br />

The irst one explains panchakarma<br />

as a holistic rejuvenation therapy<br />

combining ive therapeutic actions to<br />

detoxify the body and revitalise the<br />

body system while the other is an introduction<br />

to the medicine system using<br />

texts from ancient scripts to modern<br />

research papers.<br />

The other e-books are Kerala:<br />

A Poem in Green and Gold, a veritable<br />

storehouse <strong>of</strong> information on Kerala<br />

by K Jayakumar, the former Chief Secretary<br />

who played a pivotal role in<br />

creating the tourism brand, and YogaSutra:<br />

The Art and Science <strong>of</strong> Living.<br />

“The e-books on Ayurveda are<br />

aimed at people around the world,<br />

to help them learn about the age-old<br />

system <strong>of</strong> medicine so that they can<br />

come to Kerala and experience its<br />

health beneits,” said Kumar.<br />

Panchakarma: Ayurveda’s Mantra<br />

<strong>of</strong> Rejuvenation had won the Paciic<br />

Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold<br />

award in 2006 for promoting Kerala<br />

as a destination for Ayurvedic rejuvenation<br />

while the other one had won<br />

the National Tourism Award in 2003-<br />

04 for The Best <strong>Public</strong>ation in English.<br />

Those buying the Ayurveda e-<br />

books will get free e-brochure on<br />

Kerala Tourism. At the end <strong>of</strong> each<br />

chapter <strong>of</strong> the e-books, a link to the<br />

website <strong>of</strong> Kerala Tourism (www.<br />

keralatourism.org) provides instant<br />

reference for the readers about Kerala<br />

as a top tourism destination in the<br />

world.<br />

Titled The Call <strong>of</strong> the Wild, the 15-<br />

minute ilm on Kerala's Western Ghats<br />

cover seven major locations and the<br />

northern and southern bordering<br />

points <strong>of</strong> the Ghats in the state.<br />

Declared a World Heritage Site by<br />

Unesco, the Western Ghats is one <strong>of</strong><br />

the world's biodiversity hotspots. The<br />

seven major locations appearing in the<br />

ilm are Eravikulam National Park, Silent<br />

Valley National Park, Mathikettan<br />

Shola, Pampadum Shola National Park,<br />

Anamudi Shola National Park, Myristica<br />

swamps and the Palakkad pass.<br />

The Tourism Minister also launched<br />

two brochures, titled Muziris and Celebrations.<br />

It is for the irst time that a<br />

brochure is being produced on Muziris,<br />

covering the entire excavation<br />

project to unearth the remains <strong>of</strong> the<br />

ancient port city that had trade relations<br />

with Rome before vanishing from<br />

the maritime map.<br />

The Celebrations brochure covers<br />

the key festivals and events in<br />

Kerala that are a huge draw among<br />

the tourists, especially from abroad,<br />

during 2013. This is the second time<br />

that Kerala Tourism is bringing out a<br />

brochure on the state's festivals and<br />

events.<br />

The irst Celebrations brochure was<br />

published in 2012.<br />

Both the Muziris and Celebrations<br />

brochures will also be distributed at<br />

tourism fairs and roadshows internationally<br />

and nationally.<br />

“Using modern technological tools<br />

is important in today's digital age to<br />

reach a wider audience who are eager<br />

to travel,” said Kerala Tourism Director<br />

Rani George. “The e-books, ilm on<br />

Western Ghats and the new brochures<br />

on Muziris and Kerala's festivals contain<br />

vital information suited to a wider<br />

section <strong>of</strong> people, both at home and<br />

abroad, and the young as well as the<br />

elderly.”<br />

The Kerala Tourism is also planning<br />

to hold International Conference<br />

On Travel Technology India 2013<br />

from June 7 to 9 at The Leela Hotel,<br />

Kovalam, to promote tourism through<br />

social media in view <strong>of</strong> the growing<br />

impact <strong>of</strong> the web space on tourism<br />

marketing,<br />

The conference aims at preparing<br />

the travel and tourism partners in India<br />

and neighbouring countries to use<br />

the resources available online to drive<br />

business, get inputs in adapting to the<br />

changing technology and acquiring<br />

skills to beat the competition.<br />

Eminent speakers from around the<br />

world will discuss a range <strong>of</strong> subjects<br />

including how travellers use social media<br />

and how travel business need to<br />

respond, the impact <strong>of</strong> social media on<br />

consumer behaviour, effective use <strong>of</strong><br />

the blog space, challenges <strong>of</strong> tourism<br />

marketing on social media and how<br />

travel pr<strong>of</strong>essionals can leverage networking<br />

on LinkedIn.<br />

Around 300 delegates, mostly tour<br />

operators from different parts <strong>of</strong> India,<br />

have already registered for ICTT 2013,<br />

the <strong>of</strong>icials said.

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