India's seismic zones

Tiger Pataudi passes away

Kerala temple treasures update

The Supreme Court has asked the Kerala government to put in place an integrated multi-layer security system for the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple wealth and said it would consider the issue of opening Kallara (Vault) B only after an inventory of already unearthed valuables was prepared. A bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik did not involve central security forces in the temple treasure protection and said it trusted the Oomen Chandy government in effecting foolproof security taking into account the expert committee identified 13 security issues and 16 measures suggested by it (committee). “In implementing the security system, the state government will take note of temple traditions, customs and practices, and accommodate the views of the temple administration as far as possible,” the bench said. It accepted the committee’s suggestion to involve Kerala State Electronic Corporation (Keltron) and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) for implementing the work plan relating to digital archiving of temple antiques, which would include recording of detailed information of antiques, computerise the data base and record 3-D image of the article. Though the committee had sought a year’s time to complete the task, the bench said it would try to curtail the period without compromising with the quality of work. It also asked the temple administration to pay Rs 25 lakhs per year for the work while the rest would be borne by the state government. “The issue relating to opening of Kallara ‘B’ shall be considered after substantial progress is made in regard to documentation, categorisation, security, preservation, conservation, maintenance and storage relating to the contents in the other Kallaras,” the bench said. For this work, the state government would meet the expenses which have been worked out by the committee to be Rs 2.98 crores. The court asked the committee to give a status report about its work after three months.

Of Miyan Modi

Once comrades-in-arms have now turned foes. The growing tension between BJP and VHP erupted in a fight between its members. While BJP’s rank and file worked overtime to woo Muslims to Modi’s fast, VHP had stayed away from the three-day event. When Kholia, who works part-time for VHP’s magazine, went to its office on Thursday evening, he found workers there criticising Modi’s newfound affection for minorities. The BJP worker defended the CM’s move saying it was time people moved on. “Many VHP workers there told Kholia that they were disillusioned as they supported BJP during the elections because of the party’s hardline Hindutva agenda. Now, the BJP under Modi was singing a different tune,” said a VHP worker. Some senior VHP workers asked an injured Kholia to leave. Kaushik Mehta, general secretary of VHP (Gujarat), confirmed that members had come to blows with Kholia. However, hewas quick to add that it was a fight between two individuals.

Afzal debate in J&K house

With the PDP announcing support to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s clemency resolution to be tabled in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly on September 28, politics in the state surrounding the issue is bound to intensify. Guru was convicted in the December 2001 Parliament attack case and sentenced to death by the SC. The resolution, filed by Independent MLA Abdul Rashid Sheikh of Langate, is likely to underscore the sharp differences within the state’s political class. The National Conference and Congress, though they share power, are at the moment on the opposite sides of the divide. The move to pass an assembly resolution along the lines of the one in Tamil Nadu for Rajiv Gandhi’s killers began after Omar’s tweet on August 31. “If J&K Assembly had passed a resolution similar to the Tamil Nadu one for Afzal Guru, would the reaction have been as muted? I think not,” Omar had posted. Following this, Rashid Ali filed a resolution and the speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone, listed the resolution for discussion, debate and voting on September 28. The NC has 28 MLAs, PDP 21, Congress 18, and BJP 11. There are nine Independents with two nominated members in a House of 89. If both NC and PDP vote for clemency, then, with 49 votes in Guru’s favour, the motion will sail through. While BJP and some other parties have already declared they will vote against the resolution, state Congress chief Saifuddin Soz on Thursday hinted that the Congress would vote against the resolution. Mehbooba Mufti said: “Our stand is to support the clemency resolution because Afzal Guru’s hanging would compound the problems in Kashmir.” She added, “We have always opposed capital punishment. If Rajiv Gandhi murder case convict Nalini’s death sentence could be commuted, why not Afzal Guru’s? Rajiv Gandhi was a symbol of Indian democracy no less than the country’s Parliament,” she added. The resolution now seems bound to be passed with a voice vote.

Reddy probe update

The Supreme Court on Friday decided to ask the CBI to probe the illegal iron ore mining empire of the politically connected Reddy brothers spanning Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar sought a status report of the ongoing CBI probe relating to Obulapuram illegal mining on the Andhra Pradesh side. It issued notice to the agency to investigate the alleged linkage with illegal mining in Karnataka’s Bellary district. The apex court’s environmental panel, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), through amicus curiae Shyam Divan, said the committee suspected that the Reddys illegally mined iron ore from Bellary and then showed it to be a produce from Andhra Pradesh’s Obulapuram mines and exported it. The CEC’s report, compiled by its secretary M K Jiwrajka, indicated that former Karnataka tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy, who was also minister in charge of Bellary, encouraged blatant illegal mining after transferring the mining lease of Associated Mining Company (AMC) adopting dubious means. Janardhana Reddy, arrested in Bellary on September 5, is now in jail. Explaining a part of the report, amicus curiae ADN Rao told the bench that the mined iron ore was illegally transferred to the AP side and then routed to Visakhapatnam and other ports. “That is precisely what we want the CBI to investigate,” the bench said and asked attorney general G E Vahanvati to assist the court in the matter on September 30 to draw the outline for a CBI probe into the illegal mining in Bellary.

Wildlife Park planned near Nagpur

The Maharashtra government will develop a wildlife park near Nagpur in Vidarbha with 49% private participation. The park, to be spread across 1,914 acres, will be developed as an international nature tourism centre similar to the ones in Africa and will house various kinds of wild species. Announcing the project Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the proposed park is expected to incur an investment of about Rs 720 crore, and international or domestic companies will be invited to bid for the project. The park will come up near Gorewada in Nagpur and the state’s involvement will be limited to providing the required 1,914 acres and building the fencing around it, he said. The state government has appointed Singapore-based Bernard Harrison and Friends as project consultants for the park. Chavan said the idea is not just to provide opportunities for tourism, but to build a facility that can accommodate wild animals found in other areas, where their survival is threatened because of human encroachment.