Pongal 2010 on Jan 14; Happy Pongal

The harvest festival of South India, Pongal 2010, will be celebrated on January 14, 2010. As the festival is derived from solar calendar, the date of Pongal celebration is being fixed for every year.

The Pongal 2010 falls on January 14 this year. The festival is auspicious and astronomically significant for Hindus. The Pongal celebration also marks the end of winter season and welcome the spring season.

The myth behind Pongal celebration is, the sun begins its northward journey and enters the Capricorn zodiac sign (Makar Rashi) on Jan 14. This celestial phenomenon is being observed as Pongal in South India while North India observe it as Makarsankranti or ‘Khichadi’ festival. In Punjab a day before Makarsankranti or Pongal is being observed as Lohri festival.

As the preparation for Pongal is in full swing, people are also looking to greet each other on this auspicious occasion.

Pongal greetings, Pongal SMS, Lohri SMS are hot searched items on the web this time. Now a days mobile has been emerged as important tool for human being. People use Mobile SMS to exchange greetings.

There are several website are available on internet with Pongal greetings and Pongal SMS. Entire Samaylive team wishes you Happy Pongal 2010.

Here are some Pongal SMS:

Have this 2010 1st festival bring happiness in your life.
Wish you & your family a very Happy Pongal.

“Pot Rice to Sun
God Sugarcane to cow and ox
Sweet rise to you and me
Good milk to friends and family”

Happy Pongal

Hope you rejoice in the charm of your tradition! Wish you & your family a very Happy Bogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, Mattu Pongal!

Secret behind KCR’s silence

Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao preferred to remain silent for the sixth consecutive day on the developments on Telangana front, that is baffling the Telangana protagonists all over the region.

Though his silence has led to the speculation that he had been bought over by the Congress high command, the TRS leaders describe it as a strategic silence. Party’s former MP B Vinod Kumar said KCR had kept silent only because he respected the assurances given by the Congress high command that the process would be initiated once things come to normal in the state. KCR’s daughter K Kavitha said her father’s silence should not be mistaken, as it was only meant to restore peace in Telangana.

However, KCR is expected to open his mouth on Tuesday, when the Joint Action Committee of political parties would meet. Sources said he would announce the intensification of Telangana agitation at the meeting.

SCB bans recycled plastic bags

SECUNDERABAD: In an eco-friendly move, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has banned recycled coloured plastic/polythene bags in its jurisdiction from March 1.

A decision to this effect was taken at the Board meeting held here on Monday. All the ward members welcomed the move and promised to ensure its implementation in their respective wards. A resolution was also passed by the Board members unanimously endorsing the ban on plastic bags. “In view of health hazards and pollution caused by plastic, we have decided to ban it,” SCB chief executive officer C Ravindra said at the board meeting.

Responding to the proposal, president cantonment board (PCB) Brig K Digvijay Singh said both SCB authorities and ward members have to implement the decision effectively. The authorities have to ensure that shopkeepers use only paper bags instead of plastic ones. Ravindra said the ban would come into effect from March 1 in the Cantonment area. However, shopkeepers can use minimum thickness bags made of virgin plastic or regular plastic of not less than 20 microns.

“The proposal was moved in 2006 when T Arockianathan was CEO based on the orders issued by project director, Defence Estates, Southern Command, Pune. Accordingly, we prepared bylaws to implement the ban on usage of recycled plastic, but due to various reasons it was not done,” SCB health superintendent O Gajjaram told TOI. Special teams would be set up for implementing the orders by inspecting each business establishment. A fine ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 would also be imposed on manufacturers of plastic bags, he added. The Board has also taken a decision to award contract for out-sourcing collection of octroi and toll tax at checkposts. The CEO has sent a letter to the Southern Command elaborating the difficulties faced by the Cantonment Board in running day-to-day administration due to lack of staff as nearly 60 employees have been deputed to collect octroi and toll tax.

The Board also took a decision to collect penal rent from advertisement companies which put up hoardings on B-2 private land and continued even after the contract period lapsed.

Class X girl commits suicide

HYDERABAD: A 15-year-old girl committed suicide by setting herself ablaze in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy district on Monday after a youth allegedly proposed to her, police said.

The girl, a tenth standard student who was staying with her maternal uncle at Veerareddypalli village near Tandur town of Ranga Reddy district was proposed by a youth Balraj Goud to marry him which she rejected, they said.

According to police, the youth who is a driver in the same village was stalking the girl for the past one month despite the girl refusing to marry him.

It was only recently that the girl’s family came to know about the matter after which they alongwith some village elders summoned Balraj yesterday, Tandur DSP M Sudhakar said.

Balraj immediately tendered apology for his act saying he did not have any bad intention towards the girl after which he was let off, police said. But the girl was reportedly depressed that the matter involving her became open and resorted to the extreme step by pouring kerosene and setting to fire herself this morning, police said.

The girl later succumbed to burn injuries at a government hospital in Tandur. Police have booked a case of abetment to suicide against Balraj, who is presently absconding.

HYDERABAD: A 15-year-old girl committed suicide by setting herself ablaze in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy district on Monday after a youth Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment allegedly proposed to her, police said. The girl, a tenth standard student who was staying with her maternal uncle at Veerareddypalli village near Tandur town of Ranga Reddy district was proposed by a youth Balraj Goud to marry him which she rejected, they said. According to police, the youth who is a driver in the same village was stalking the girl for the past one month despite the girl refusing to marry him. It was only recently that the girl’s family came to know about the matter after which they alongwith some village elders summoned Balraj yesterday, Tandur DSP M Sudhakar said. Balraj immediately tendered apology for his act saying he did not have any bad intention towards the girl after which he was let off, police said. But the girl was reportedly depressed that the matter involving her became open and resorted to the extreme step by pouring kerosene and setting to fire herself this morning, police said. The girl later succumbed to burn injuries at a government hospital in Tandur. Police have booked a case of abetment to suicide against Balraj, who is presently absconding. // <![CDATA[ var zz=0;var sldsh=0; var bellyaddiv = ' Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment ‘;var wid;var im; var stindex=100; var stp=150; var taglen=0; var tmp; var tagcheck = new Array(“div”,”span”,”br”,”font”,”a”); var storycontent = document.getElementById(“storydiv”).innerHTML; var firstpara = storycontent.substring(0,storycontent.toLowerCase().indexOf(” “)).toLowerCase(); function findptt(cnt){ zz++; if(zz == 10)return; var xxx=-1,yyy=-1; var ccnt = cnt; for(ii=0; ii < tagcheck.length; ii++){ xxx = ccnt.indexOf("<"+tagcheck[ii]); if(xxx != -1 && xxx < 150){ stp = stp; var tmp1 = ccnt.substring(ccnt.indexOf("”); if(yyy != -1){ taglen += yyy; stp = stp + yyy; yyy+=1; } break; taglen = taglen + tagcheck[ii].length + 3; } } if(xxx == -1 || xxx >= 150){ return; }else{ var tmp2 = ccnt.substring(0,xxx); tmp2 += ccnt.substring((yyy+xxx),ccnt.length); findptt(tmp2); } }findptt(firstpara); if(firstpara.length <= taglen + 150){ stp = firstpara.length; } var tmpminus=0; var tmpcon = storycontent.substring(0,stp); if(tmpcon.lastIndexOf("<") “)){ }else{ tmpminus = tmpcon.length – tmpcon.lastIndexOf(“ // <![CDATA[ var RN = new String (Math.random()); var RNS = RN.substring (2,11); var b2 = ' ‘; if (doweshowbellyad==1) bellyad.innerHTML = b2; // ]]>

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Prices crisis: Cabinet to meet today

NEW DELHI: Amid signs of a gathering political storm over continued rise in prices of food items, the Cabinet Committee on Prices is expected to discuss the situation threadbare on Tuesday.

The discussion, likely to be followed by a statement that the government is engaged in reining in retail rates, will be held a day after Congress acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, and the BJP demanded agriculture and food minister Sharad Pawar’s resignation.

“We have taken strongest possible cognizance of food inflation and are going to come out with tough measures,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

The government’s statement on rising prices is expected to dwell on factors fuelling food prices and list measures that the government is considering such as cuts in import duties, export bans, and release of wheat and rice, besides steps to check hoarding and illegal sales.

But while the price spiral has caused consternation — as brought out by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s testy “I-am-not-an-astrologer” response to queries on when the trend could be arrested — there was not much clarity on options. The agriculture minister is still wary about imports as the price of sugar in the international market is high.
Prices of packed rice of middling quality have been rising steadily.

There has also been a creeping increase also in the cost of wheat and atta. The prices of pulses have remained high despite an increase in kharif sowing areas.

So far, measures such as increased supply of wheat and rice through the open market scheme have not worked too well with states reluctant to lift grain that is more expensive than market rates as it come with a transportation cost. Government has reduced the cost of OMS supplies but in the meanwhile, prices have risen further. Import duty on sugar is already zero and the worry in government is that despite being sectional, inflation has soured the popular mood.

24-pt wishlist for Indo-Bangla ties

India and Bangladesh are poised to take bilateral ties to a new level of trust. Tarun Das, former chief mentor of CII, outlines an agenda for cementing ties.

India has already allowed duty-free imports from Least Developed Countries into India, including Bangladesh — it can also remove all para-tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports from Dhaka.

Jointly improve infrastructure at land-border customs posts for smooth, speedy movement of goods.

Expand imports of textiles, leather products, jute, paper products, ceramics, seafood, cement and other items through a special outreach programme — Buy Bangladesh Project.

Issue of business visas should be streamlined. Select-industry associations could play a role in the process of recommendation.

Agriculture cooperation to enhance productivity and efficiency, especially in the food-supply chain. Joint development of micro-industry and rural micro-financing can benefit rural population.

Collaboration in setting up of educational and skills-training centres in Dhaka to help building HR capacity. JVs in healthcare facilities in Bangladesh for expansion of health infrastructure.

Multimodal transport for efficient movement of people and productivity enhancement in transportation. India could use Chittagong port for export-import trade.

Joint investment in integrated development of jute industry will be mutually beneficial. Sharing of technology and competency in textiles to develop export markets.

Cooperation in water would promote hydroelectricity, irrigation, and rainwater harvesting. Jointly build integrated electricity-grid for trans-border power sharing.

Cooperation in disaster management through a joint fund and organization for faster response to natural calamities.
Art, culture and sports are areas for intense exchanges — partnerships for people-to-people links needed.

A joint green agenda for setting up of green buildings, factories, schools in Bangladesh; work for progress in climate change action agenda. Assist Dhaka in setting up of a Green Development Institute.

Promotion of tourism between Bangladesh and the adjoining states in India will be highly beneficial. Teacher-student exchanges on a regular basis to build understanding and cross-fertilization of ideas.

‘Young Indians’ could help build ‘Young Bangladeshi’ organizations for cooperation at the level of ‘Young Entrepreneurs and Executives’.

A ‘Centre of Excellence’ should be set up in Bangladesh, only for SME competitiveness and development, on the Chandigarh model.

Shared action on standards through links between standards institutes, with involvement of the industry, would be helpful.

Extend transit facilities for Dhaka’s trade with other Saarc nations like Bhutan and Nepal. Extend a line of credit of $1 billion to Dhaka to help it augment its resources.

The important issue is to have a focus. To work to deadlines, to make up for lost time in building trust and mutual confidence. The need is to raise joint ambitions to build a new future together.

CBI takes over cases against Rathore

CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: The CBI on Monday formally took over investigations into three fresh cases filed by the Haryana police against former DGP S P S Rathore in the Ruchika Girhotra case.

All cases have been re-registered by the agency and it will probe charges of abetment to suicide and criminal conspiracy among others.

The SP of Special Crime Unit in Chandigarh has been appointed as the chief investigating officer.

“CBI will carry out the probe strictly as per rules of law laid down in CrPC and instructions of CBI Manual 2005. CBI has a well drawn out policy on arrest of the accused and interaction with media,” a CBI spokesperson said.

70% of Corbett resorts host parties, races

NEW DELHI: Is Corbett national park, India’s best known tiger sanctuary, becoming a hunting ground for party animals at the cost of real ones? A

study commissioned by the Union tourism ministry on Corbett has found that 70% of the resorts around the park are venues for weddings, rain dances, parties, bike races and zorbing rather than for visitors interested in wildlife.

There are 77 resorts in the area with 17 more likely to come up this year alone. Incidentally, the tiger reserve has a ceiling of a maximum of 600 visitors daily.

This rampant commercialisation and mismatch in numbers drawn to Corbett has set off alarm bells within the ministry that is now considering tighter norms for hotels and resorts coming up in ecologically-sensitive places.

The study conducted by the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa surveyed areas around the 10km periphery of the park in December last year.

“The findings are very worrying. We plan to bring this to the attention of the ministry of environment and forests before Corbett becomes another Sariska. There must be stringent guidelines for commercial establishments,” Sujit Banerjee, tourism secretary, said.

Besides indulging in activities like parties and rain dances, resorts keep bright lights on throughout the night. Turning a blind eye to environmental friendly practices, 31% of the properties dump their waste outside while 26% burn it.

About 94% of the properties are fenced or walled. This has resulted in two animal corridors connecting Corbett with Rajaji national park being blocked. The fencing aside, vehicles and encroachment by villagers displaced by the New Tehri dam have also contributed to choking the corridors that are a lifeline for the animals.

Another worrying point is the fact that of the 77 vehicles plying within the tiger reserve, 26 run on diesel. Among steps being taken to check this disturbing trend, officials said resorts and hotels in fragile ecological zones will now have to take the nod from the tourism ministry before they begin commercial operations. These zones – like national parks, hill stations and coastal areas – will be defined in the new set of regulations. The ministry also plans to conduct surveys around other important national parks like Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh and Kanha.