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TERROR TARGETS CRICKET

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:48:16 -0600

According to News reports emanating from Lahore, at least eight Sri Lankan Cricket players were injured in an attack that took place few hours ago when some unidentified gunmen opened firing at visitors near the Gaddafi Stadium here. These gunmen opened indiscriminate firing on the bus in which the Srilankan Players were traveling and the incident took place when the team was about to enter the stadium where the Second Test Match is being played. The players injured include Skipper Jayewardene, Samaraweera and the Srilankan Team Manager Brendan Kruppu.

The Srilaknkan Sports Minister, Gamini Lokuge confirmed the incident but refused to revel the names of those injured.

Fire In a Night Train Charred at Least 32 Passengers to Death

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:21:43 -0500

A devastating fire engulfed 5 coaches of a night express train causing death to at least 32 passengers, most of who were burned to bones, when report last came in. The Kankinada bound popular train, ‘Goutami Express’ left Secunderabad at 9.15pm on 1^st Aug’08 and was 240km from Secunderabad, approaching Mahabubabad, when at about 1.30am, a blaze apparently caused by electrical short circuit, engulfed the train.

The fire is supposed to have started in coach S-9 and immediately spread to S-10 coach and fanned by the speed of the train running at 100kmph, reduced the two coaches to ashes. 13 charred bodies was recovered from Coach S-10 only.

The railway officials were highly apprehensive and feared that death toll may rise substantially as heaps of skeletons, bones and burned fleshes remains to be cleared. They said that DNA tests would have to be carried to establish the identity of the charred bodies.

The death toll could have been far more, but because of a railway police constable Srinivas, who pulled the chain seeing smoke billowing out of coach S-9. As a result the train came to a halt in the middle of a forest, giving passengers time to get off even as the blaze continued unabated.

Relief work was delayed as relief teams from Secunderabad and Vijayawada found it difficult to reach the spot due to blinding rain and darkness.

State Forest Minister Golla Surya Rao, who was in the AC coach of the train said, “ I escaped narrowly in the nick of time when the flames started sweeping the AC coach. I could see people caught in the fire in other coaches and burning alive, but I was helpless to do anything”.

Central Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadaw announced a compensation of Rs.500000/- ($12500) to the families of the dead and Rs.100000/- ($2500) to the seriously injured. State government also announced a compensation of Rs.100000/- to the families of the dead.

The railway minister also ruled out sabotage and said, “The incident is very sad and unfortunate. Till now no proof of sabotage or use of explosives has come to our notice”. The Andhra Chief Minister Y.S Reddy also said the blaze was the result of a short circuit.

Giant Ice Chunk Breaks off Canadian Arctic Shelf

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:05:53 -0500

Giant ice sheets of about 20 square kilometer size in aggregate broke away from the shelf on Ward Hunt Island, one of the northern most area of Canadian Arctic, last week.

Temperatures in large parts of Arctic have risen much faster than the rise in global average over the past few decades and the cause is being attributed to Global warming by the scientists

Scientists have already identified deep cracks in the Ward Hunt shelf measuring about 400 square kilometer. They are therefore apprehending more break off from the shelf this summer before the winter sets in.

In a similar break off, the giant Ellesmere Island, (near the present break off site), which was a single enormous ice shelf totaling around 9000 square kilometer in area, is now reduced to a mere 1000 sq km and that too in five small shelves.

Canadian Ice Service spokesperson Ms Trudy Wohlleben told Reuters, “The break-off is consistent with other changes we’ve seen in the area, such as the reduction in the amount of (floating) sea ice”.

300 Children on Hunger Strike for Demanding a High School, Faint After 18 Hours

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:53:40 -0500

In an extreme protest, 13 children out of some 300, who were forced to sit on a fast by their parents, fell unconscious at a Nadia district village in West Bengal, about 130km from Calcutta on the morning of 30th July’08.

The fasting protest in front of Golaidori-Battala primary school was organized by parents to demand a high school in the area. The nearest high school is now 8km away.

Reacting on the incident, a furious Nakasipara Block Development Officer (BDO) Subol Mahajan Said, “This the cruelest agitation I have ever seen. Some 300 children were not allowed to eat for a continuous 18 hours and most of them have cried for food last night. The guardians will have to pay the price for it.”

After the children fell ill, the district administration filed FIRs against the parents charging them with cruelty. The hunger strike was called off thereafter.

The BDO and the Block Medical Officer Vivek Das got the 13 boys admitted to Bethuadahari Rural Hospital.

Most children of the village cannot study beyond Class IV because of the distance of the high school. About 400 children of the Muslim-dominated Galaidori village had to drop out of the school in past two years after class IV as the poor villagers of could not afford even bicycles.

The hunger strike however produced immediate result, when in Calcutta the secondary school education minister Partho Dey promised a school to the villagers. He said, “The villagers will have to submit an application for the school to the BDO. We will build a Junior High School (up to Class VIII)".

Girl Participants to Undergo Sex Tests at Beijing Olympics

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:50:15 -0500

Taking cue from 2006 Doha Asian Games- when an Indian athlete Santhi Sundar Rajan was stripped of her silver medal in 800meter track event after failing a sex determination test-Olympic authorities in Beijing have formed a four member medical team to examine doubtful athletes for gender determination.

The experts are all from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, which has designed the facility to ensure minimum embarrassment to the athletes who would be asked to undergo the sex determination tests.

Professor Tian Qinjie, one of the four experts told the state media, “The suspected athletes will be first evaluated from their external appearance and then will undergo blood tests for determining their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes to finally determine the sex.”

Professor Tian further explained that as many as 1 in 1000 is born with gender abnormalities and are not aware of the same until after reaching adulthood. He said that in many sports male athletes are better poised in strength, speed and endurance over their female competitors.

As per available statistics, in track and field events, male performance is about 15% better than female and specially in speed events the higher performance of male may be as high as 20% compared to female performers.

This explains the need of sex determination tests in suspected cases.

Meritorious Brother Quits College to Let Sister Continue Study

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:12:22 -0500

This is a story of a student of Shibpur Village of Nadia District in West Bengal. Nineteen years old Naresh Mondal’s father died when he was 14 and studying in class VIII. His elder brother Ramesh, 22, had to leave study to support family of four including mother and sister Amita, 17, and started working as daily labor earning Rs.1200 ($30) per month.

Naresh however pulled up from the trauma and passed secondary examination by scoring over 80% marks and then again passed the Higher Secondary examination by scoring 75% marks with over 80% marks in Physics and Mathematics.

As Ramesh,s earnings were not enough, Naresh could not enroll in science stream and joined as a Geography honors student to study B.Sc. However Basanti, the mother of the three was finding it still impossible to meet the study expenses of both Naresh and Amita, who is studying in class XI.

So, Basanti told Amita to leave study and do household chores so that Naresh could continue his study. Listening this from her mother, Amita’s world came crumbling down and she wept and wept for hours shutting the door of the room.

When Naresh returned from college he learnt about mother’s decision. He took a stunning decision in a flash of a second and told Amita, “Don’t worry. You will study and I will quit college”.

“Dada’s (brother’s) decision stunned us and I broke down for the second time. Dada had never stood second from class V onwards and was a much better student and a pride of this village” said a weeping Amita.

Naresh left for Mumbai, last month, to work as a construction labor along with 140 others, who all were school dropouts.

This is an eye-opener in a society where education of girls is almost always regarded as secondary to boys.

Cricket: Sri Lanka Pulverizes India in First Test

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:02:15 -0500

While terrorists were butchering Indians at home in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, the Sri Lankans were 'killing' their prey, the team India, at Colombo with no less ferocity than the terrorists.

The duo of Muthia Murlitharan and Ajantha Mendis pulverized a spineless Indian team handing them down one of the worst defeat in the history of Indian test cricket. Between them the duo captured 19 of the 20 wickets making the Indian batsman look novices. It appeared at the end that even if given a third innings on the 'compassionate ground', team India could not have saved the follow on.

Such big names Sachin, Sourav, Dravid, Shewag floundered childishly without playing any sensible cricket against huge Sri Lanka total of 600 for 6, with three of their batsman scoring centuries, in a predominantly batting pitch. The magic of double-edged spin attack of Murali (match figure 11 wickets for 110 runs) and Mendis (8 wickets for 132 runs) systematically decimated Indian batting line up. The Indians could not face the 'burning eyes' of Murali and the wile of Mendis and batsman after batsman returned to pavilion in a mourning precession behind the Indian coffin.

In the end, Sri Lankans with a population and area of 1/50th of the size of India, outwitted Indians in all departments of the game and literally served them notice of 'impending serial attack' for the rest of the series.

It is now high time that the trio of Sachin, Rahul, Sourav be shown the door if they do not relent on their own. They all have lost the appetite for good play having earned billions of bucks over the years. Their age too have clouded their fitness and flexibility.

Drinks and Drug in a Horrifying Ragging of a Girl Student in Calcutta

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:30:26 -0500

Even after expelling two students from National Institute of Design as reported by me on 17^th June, the menace of ragging is continuing unabated.

This time in a horrifying incident in the heart of Calcutta, the cultural city, one girl student of first year architecture of Jadavpur University (JU), was ragged on 16^th June, by third year students, forcing her to drink alcohol, chew and eat cigarette and smoke marijuana till she fell unconscious.

The students were all stated to be drunk when they started ragging her at night and continued till dusk when she fell unconscious. As per the statement of the father of the girl, the scoundrels also tortured her physically, verbally abusing her constantly, keeping her confined to the canteen of the university campus all night.

A senior teacher described the incident as horrifying stating that it was the first known incident of a girl student being mentally and physically tortured in a public place of the JU campus.

The Registrar of the University, Rajat Banerjee declined comment on the nature of the ragging but admitted that prima facie it was an unprecedented incident in the history of JU. The four-member team appointed to probe the incident could not record the statement of the girl on 18^th June as she was in a state of shock.

Aftermath of this incident, the Vice-Chancellor P.N.Ghose and the Registrar visited all the departments on 18^th June and asked the teachers-students committees of all departments to convene meeting from 21^st June onwards to discuss the problem of ragging and find a way out. The duo also asked the Students Union of all the streams to remain vigilant against ragging in canteens, common rooms and grounds.

Kangaroo Court lets off Rapist After Fining Him Rs.30000/-

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:57:10 -0500

Taking advantage of the absence of father and the brother of a13-year-old girl, her neighbor Ashraful Haque, 19, sexually assaulted her on April’13 this year. The incident took place at Janakinagar, 180 Km from Calcutta in Murshidabad District of West Bengal.

To hush up the matter, a kangaroo court was held, allegedly with the active involvement of the officer in charge Sandip Sen of Beldanga Police Station. The ‘Shalishi’ (Kangaroo Court) was arranged by Congress led Panchayat Samity and the following functionaries were said to be present at the Kangaroo court held a few days ago apparently on the police station’s terrace:-

Sukhen Halder ……………Chief Panchayat Samity
Saharaddin Sheikh……Dy. Chief Panchayat Samity.
A CPI(M) panchayat samity member.
Sandip Sen………Officer in charge of Police Station
Sanarul Haque ……………… Father of the victim
Afazuddin………………………Father of the rapist

As per the settlement at the Kangaroo Court, Ashraful’s father would pay the victim’s father a sum of Rs.30000/- within a month in installments after which the FIR will be withdrawn.

However, the OC Sandip Sen denied any such court and said, “We are trying to arrest Asraful but he is absconding.” Asraful’s father Afazuddin declined to make any comment and merely said that the matter has been settled.

National Institute of Design Expels Two Students for Ragging a Fresher

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:05:12 -0500

As a crack down on Ragging habits, The National Institute of Design (NID) at Ahmedabad had expelled two students recently for brutally and sexually ragging a fresher from Calcutta. Additionally three more students were ordered to vacate the Institute’s hostel for their indirect involvement in the ragging.

An 18-year-old boy from Calcutta was ragged from day one after joining the institute on June 18. The boy’s ordeal began just half an hour of entering the hostel of NID. Two boarders started ragging him immediately while the others enjoyed the ‘Show’.

The devastated fresher then rang up his father in Calcutta, who consoled him by saying that things would be all right soon and he (the boy) should not leave the hostel.

But the seniors continued tormenting him. The seniors did not allow him even to sleep at night barging into his room at all hours and asking him to do various ‘obscene things’ amounting to sexual harassment. An NID student said that the boy was so terrified that he did not enter his room at night and slept on the terrace of an adjoining building.

The boy’s father flew in from Calcutta this week and lodged a formal written complaint with the institute’s authority, which promised action. The father however took the devastated boy back home.

The Registrar of the Institute , Ms Vijaya Deshmukh said, “We have already taken stern action against the guilty students.” She further added that the fresher would again join the institute next week.