VOL. : VI ::: ISSUE : 87 PORT BLAIR, THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012 RNI REGN. NO. ANDENG/2006/19155 ::: PAGES : 6 ::: RS.3/-Visit: www.andamanchronicle.com The Daily Diary of the Islands

People’s VoiceKya hum har baar kisi kemarne ke baad hi kuchseekhenge???

- A Citizen

‘My world is in thefores t . Your world isoutside.’ – Ashu, Jarawaman

Jarawa Facts

ChronicleCampaign by:

Your Nature GuidePopulation: It is the numberof animals and plants of acertain species in a habitat.Population numbers dependon the birth rate, death rate,and migration of theorganisms.

Endemic: An endemic plantor animal is one that hasevolved and exists only in acertain area. The isolation ofthe A&N Islands from theBurmese and Indonesianmainland has led to theevolution of many endemicforms e.g. the NarcondumHornbil l is endemic toNarcondum Islands only.

Exotic: An animal or plantthat is foreign to a certainplace or habitat is called anexotic . I t may have beenintroduced to the place byhumans, o r b rought bynatural agents like wind,wate r o r animals e.g.Eupatorium is an exoticweed that was introduced inA&N by humans.

Courtesy: Kalpavriksh,ANET (MCBT)

Continued on P2

Port Blair, March 28: A truckover loaded with steel rodstoday caused the death oftwo labourers seated on topof the rods. T he accidentoccurred today at around11.40 am, near Govt. ModelSr. Sec. School, Port B lairwhen the truck loaded withsteel rods beyond its capacitycould not hold the load.

The truck bearingregistration no. AN 01 A1356was on its way towardsBengali Club from ModelSchool Junction when therods slipped. Two labourerswere crushed under the rodsand succumbed to injurieson the spot while two othersescaped with injuries.

The accident today hasraised many questions on thesafety of road users as suchoverloaded vehicles are acommon sight in the islands.The local media on manyoccasions had apprised theconcerned authorities aboutsuch violations of safetystandards, yet it was alwaysoverlooked.

Plying of 10 wheelers(dumpers) which is meant tooperate in mines, carrying

Overloaded Truck Results In Death of Twobulldozers on high mountedtrucks which meddles withHigh Tension Electric Lines,passengers overloaded inbusses, have always beenignored for reasons bestknown to the concernedauthorities.

“Traffic Police inAndaman is moreconcerned to fining twowheeler riders who do notwear helmets. Helmets arefor the safety of theconcerned rider but what

about theseoverloadedh e a v yv e h i c l e sthat causethreat toother roadu s e r s ” ,commenteda spectatorat the accident sight.

To add to it, it wasnoticed b y AndamanChronicle that a properextended truck withlabourers wearing industrialsafety helmets wherebrought in to the accidentsight to clear the scatteredsteel rods. Had such

m e a s u r e sb e e nenforced byt h eco nce rn edauthorities,today’s fatala c c i d e n t

could have been avoided.

Port Blair, March 28: Dhanush,a 10 year old boy waselectrocuted yesterdayevening after he play fullytouched a street light pole infront of his house. DhanushS/o Shri Kumar a student of4th Std. succumbed on thespot. He did not even get achance to cry for help at thehigh voltage current burnt hisbody.

The incident took placeyesterday at 5.30 pm MazarPahad, Port B lair whenDhanush’s mother had goneto her neighbour leaving himalong with his father at home.The 10 y ear old playfullycame out of his house and

Negligence of PBMC CausesDeath of 10 year Old

within minutes gotelectrocuted.

“We have complainedmany times about the streetlight pole that caused child’sdeath. The pole always

Port Blair, March 28: Solvinga sensational murder case,PS Aberdeen police havearrested the wife and herparamour for the murder ofa seaman Gopi (34 ) onCorb yn’s Cove road nearMazar Pahad on 23rd Marchevening.

The case was originallythought to be a hit and runcase of road traffic accident.However, police wasinvestigating all possib leangles. The nature of injuryon the deceased Gopi’s headhad raised suspicion of apossible assault beforedeath following which Policehad added Sec. 302 IPC.

Gopi Murder Case: Wife,Paramour Arrested for Murder

Working in this direction,P.S. Aberdeen police teamverified the likely causes andanalysed the deceased’s cellphone records along withthat of a few suspects.Several persons werequestioned. It came to lightthat deceased Gopi’s wifeSirisha (27), working as DRMin PB MC, was reportedlyinvolved in an illicit affairwith one Venkat DurgaPrasad (24) r/o Shore Point,a Seaman in TCI Seaways.

From the facts andcircumstances and cell phonecall records, the leads pointedto their involvement. During

Continued on P2

ChronicleANDAMAN

Vol: VI ::: Issue: 87 Thursday, March 29, 2012

2Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Thursday, March 29, 2012

"Time i sToo slow for t hose who Wai t ,Too swi ft for t hose who Fear,Too long for t hose who Grieve,Too short for t hose who Rejoi ce,But for t hose who LoveTime i s not ."

-Henry Vandyke (1852-1933)

An important outcome of prime minister ManmohanSingh’s visit to Seoul to take part in the nuclear securitysummit was the concrete steps announced to improvebilateral relations between India and South Korea.

India has strong economic ties with South Korea, whichhas one of the most dynamic economies in the Aseanregion. South Korean companies, which are among theworld’s fastest growing firms in consumer and heavyengineering fields, have invested heavily in India. Theybenefitted most from India’s now established policy ofopening politically and economically to its east. Apartfrom investment and trade, bilateral relations have alsoimproved and the prime minister’s visit and the agendalaid down for future co-operation will help to furtherstrengthen these ties.

The most significant aspect of the Manmohan Singh’stalks with president Lee Myung-Bak is the strategicdimension being given to the bilateral relationship. Jointventures in the development and manufacture of militaryequipment are envisaged and a major increase in armstrade is proposed. The importance India attaches to thisaspect of the relationship is clear from its decision to posta defence attaché in Seoul. South Korea has provenexpertise in aircraft and ship-building. Seoul’s request tobuild nuclear power reactors in India and India’s offer tolaunch Korean satellites from its facilities will, if pursuedsuccessfully, take the two countries to hitherto unchartedareas of cooperation.

Korea’s offer will also help India to bargain on costswith western companies which want to take part in India’sbig nuclear energy programme. India has a nuclearcooperation agreement with South Korea. Collaborationon the basis of the agreement will help India, especiallywhen there is delay in following up on proposals for co-operation with some other countries. At the diplomaticlevel, South Korea might also support India’s membershipof the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile TechnologyControl Regime.

Considering the fast improvement in bilateral trade,which has increased by 65 per cent in the last two years,the proposed increase in the volume of trade from thepresent $ 20 billion to $ 40 billion by 2015 is not tooambitious. There are also plans and proposals for large-scale South Korean investment in India’s infrastructuresector. T here are b oth economic and geopolit icalconsiderations which prompt both countries to have adeeper and wider relationship

Strategic ties

carries current on it.Whenever we complain tothe PBMC they come and turnoff the street light”, said amourning neighbour ofDhanush while speaking to

Andaman Chronicle todaymorning while the postmortem was going on.

“I have no words to express.We have lost our child”, said arelative of Dhanush.

“It is a case of negligenceby the PBMC but is thereanyone to listen to our plea.Can we hope for any justice”,the relative cried.

Negligence of PBMC ... Continued from page 1

interrogation, Venkatconfessed to have killed Gopion that fateful evening in thedark stretch near Majar Pahadwhile the latter had gone forhis regular evening walk. Hehad followed the deceased’smovements for three daysprior to the day of murder.

Accused Venkat andSirisha have confessed thatthey had known each othersince 2004 while studying in acomputer institute at Haddo.Later Sirisha got married to

Gopi, a seaman working inDSS, and had a son too.Venkat again met Sirisha in2011 and both got involved inan illicit affair. Venkat wantedSirisha to live with him forwhich both hatched a plan toeliminate her husband.

According to the plan, asGopi went out for his eveningwalk Sirisha informed Venkatwho followed him fromNetajee Stadium towardsMazar Pahad and waited at adark place for his return. As

Gopi came back, Venkat hithim on his head with a thickiron rod several times beforehe fell down on the roadbleeding profusely. Satisfiedthat he would not survive,Venkat left the spotimmediately and later threwthe murder weapon into thesea near Surya Chakra.

Both accused personshave been arrested onWednesday and shall beproduced before the Hon’bleCourt on Thursday.

Gopi Murder Case ... Continued from page 1

Port Blair, March 28: In orderto give monetarycompensation for thesubmerged land to Tsunamivictims, the Lt. Governor of A& N Islands Lt. Gen (Rtd)Bhopinder Singh, P VSM,AVSM will meet the topfunctionaries of HomeMinistry during his visit toDelhi on 30 March. It may berecalled that option, foralternate land orcompensation, was obtainedfrom the affected persons and

LG Takes up the submerged landcompensation case with the Home Ministry

majority of the affectedpersons had favoured grantof monetary compensation.The issue was taken upduring the visit of UnionHome Minister in January2012. Thereafter, a meetingwas held by Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Revenue) inthe Ministry of Home Affairson 1 5 March, and on 21March another referencewas sent to the Ministry tosanction the compensationbefore the end of this

financial year, as nocompensation has beengiven to them so far.

Shri A.P. Mohammed,Gram Sudhar Sangam andShri A.P. Zab ir, Pradhan,Mannarghat Panchayat hadmet the Lt. Governor lastevening to press for the grantof compensation. Lt.Governor has assured themthat he is personally taking upthe issue with the Ministry ofHome Affairs during his visiton 29-30 March at New Delhi.

Po rt Blair, March 28: Lt.Governor, L t Gen (Retd)Bhopinder Singh, P VSM,AVSM has sanctioned onelakh rupees to the next of kinof late Patrick DungDung,resident of Port Mout whomet with a road accident inChouldari and later died due

Magisterial Enquiry Ordered Into Death Dueto Negligence

to reported non-availabilityof timely medical care at thePHC, Chouldari. T heaccident occurred on 27March 2012 and the patientwas hospitalised in a criticalcondition but no doctor waspresent in the PHC. DistrictMagistrate (SA) has ordered

a magisterial inquiry into theaforesaid incident. T heinquiry is being conducted bySub-Divisional Magistrate,South Andaman and thereport will be submittedwithin four days.

Port Blair, March 28: To markthe World Theatre Day, theDepartment of Art andCulture, A&N Administrationin association with South ZoneCultural Centre, GoI and localPRI members organized aprogramme “RememberingTagore’s” on 27th March 2012in R.K.Pur Community Hall,

The World Theatre Day organized atR.K.Pur, Hut Bay

Hut Bay on 27th March 2012.On this occasion localartistes presented RabindraSangeet, recitation, dancesand short play etc. ‘BodhuNirjatan’, a one-act P laywritten by Manjusree Bairagiand directed by JhumaMajumdar was the highlightof the evening.

Smti. Namita Mallik ,Pramukh, Panchayat Samity,Litt le Andaman was theChief Guest on the occasion.Earlier , Shri Sudhir Biswas,Ex-Up-Adhyaksh, Z illaParishad presented welcomeaddress and Ms KuldeepKaur, L ib rarian, National

Continued on P4

3Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Thursday, March 29, 2012

New delhi, March 28: “Theground reality is we don’thave a clear mandate. Wehave a mandate, but that isto carry others with you”

While agreeing toreconsider some of the taxproposals on unbrandedjewellery, Union FinanceMinister Pranab Mukherjeeon Tuesday reiterated hisresolve to bring them underthe tax net under a newformulation and promised tocome up with a specialpackage for silk weavers.

Replying to the debate onthe general budget, whichthe Lok Sabha passed, Mr.Mukherj ee hinted at thepossibility of a rollback in theexcise duty on theunbranded jewellery b utmade it clear that he neededmore time to study the legalimplications of whether itwould be with prospectiveeffect or come into forceimmediately.

While acknowledging thesentiments of the House, Mr.Mukherjee, however, saidthat he would come up with anew formulation wherein hewould review the proposedrequirement of PAN card forpurchase of jewellery worthover Rs. 2 lakh.

The Finance Ministermade it clear there would beno rollb ack on the importduty announced on gold andplatinum, expressingconcern over the outgo ofprecious foreign exchangeon the import of dead assetsthat caused problems in thecountry. Members hadpointed out that smalltraders had shut shop for 12days now.

Acknowledging problemsfaced by silk weavers, Mr.Mukherj ee said he wouldwork out a special packagefor them.

Mr. Mukherjee justifiedboth his proposal foramending the IT Act with

Finance Minister promises relieffor unbranded jewellery

retrosp ectiveeffect in linewith thedirective of theSupreme Courtand theintroduction ofGeneral AntiA v o i d a n c eRules (GAAR),both of whichhas beenresented b yindustry.

Denying any vindictivemotive, Mr. Mukherj eepointed to the law thatprevented reopening ofcases beyond six years andsaid the apex court haddirected the government toclarify the intent ofdetermination of tax.

While assuringmemb ers that thegovernment did not intendto reopen all cases, Mr.Mukherjee said the attemptwas to explain that Indiawas not a no-tax haven andone was not required to paytax if one paid it in one’scountry of origin if thecountry had double taxationavoidance agreements(DTAAs).

Investors are requiredto pay in only one of thecontracting countries , hesaid, and that the objectivewas to avoid doub letaxation and outflow ofrevenue.

As for CAAR, he said theidea was to checkgeneration of black moneyand not to harass honesttaxpayers.

Stressing his resolve tokeep subsidies below thetwo percent level of theGDP, Mr. Mukherjee madeit clear that the path aheadwould have to be troddenjointly by all, to cope with anumb er of prob lemsconfronting the country,

including external factorssuch as crude prices. “Theground reality is we don’thave a clear mandate. Wehave a mandate, yes, butthat was to carry others withyou. Others may not shareyour perceptions…it maybe strenuous and time-consuming…but get thingsdone through consensus.”

Wondering if thecountry would be able toimport crude oil if its pricestouched $150 or $200 perbarrel, Mr. Mukherjee saidthe only way out would beto “indulge collectively.”

Stressing that thebudget was not the onlyexercise to take correctivemeasures, Mr. Mukherjeemaintained that coalitiongovernments had surviveddespite differences of viewsfor the reason that politicalestablishments hadrecognised the significanceof running coalitiongovernments and alsobecause of the inherentstrength of the House.

“I am appealing to thatinherent strength of the House,that this is a serious economiccrisis we shall have to addresscollectively. Some efforts arebeing made through thebudgetary exercise; but muchmore has to be done throughour collective efforts,throughout the year becausenobody can say, what wouldbe the outcome.”

Washington, March 28: Evenas the U.S. steadily tightensthe screws on the sanctionsregime against I ran,energy-deficient, rapid-growth nations such as Indiaare finding themselveswalking a tightrope with theircontinued but decliningreliance on Iranian oilimports.

Ten European nationsand J apan have alreadybeen given an exemptionfrom punitive actions by theU.S. for purportedlyreducing their oil importsfrom Iran “significantly.”

Yet India in particularwould appear to bepurposefully walking a linethat sacrifices neither itscore interest , the need tomeet the demands of morethan 400 million Indians withno access to commercialenergy, nor its commitmentto adhere to United Nationssanctions regimes.

Last week the U.S. putout its most direct messageon Iran yet — that India,along with other importersof P ersian oil, could facesanctions by July if it too didnot reduce such imports“significantly” — a term thathas not b een definedquantitatively in the U.S. 2012National DefenceAuthorisation Act (Section1245), except to allude, bycomparison, to Japan’sreduction of 15-22 per cent.

At this point I ndiaremains in compliance withUnited Nations sanctionsagainst I ran, yet it has,however, refused torecognise any country-specific sanctions overlay

India will not apply for U.S. sanctionsexemption on Iran

above this globally acceptedlevel.

Consistent with thisposition it appears that Indiawill not be making anapplication for a sanctionsexemption from the U.S.

Whether privatecompanies engaged in the oiltrade with Iran independentlystart reducing their volumes isanother question.

Some of these companiesare said to be facingconstraints on their businessin any case, given the broadersanctions against I raniancentral bank and otherfinancial institutions, and theknock-on effect that that hasin terms of pay mentinstruments.

If that trend continuesIndia may find itself meetingthe U.S.’ demands without anyextra effort to do so.

While I ndia reportedlyimported 21 million tonnes ofIranian oil in 2 009 -10 , thatdropped to around 18 milliontonnes in 2010-11.

If further efforts had to bemade, however, those seekingto press country -specificsanctions on Iran would haveto take account of the fact thatIndian refineries processinglight crude from Iran wouldneed to have their capital-intensive infrastructuremodified, and that is likely tobe expensive.

Alternative approachesthat India may independentlydecide to follow, should theneed arise, could entail the useof wheat exports to Iran thatwould help India avoid beingbranded as a contributor of hardcurrency to Iranian coffers.

New Delhi, March 28: Thedemand for a separateTelangana rocked the LokSabha for the third daytoday with members of theTRS, TDP and Congressstorming the well to press forimmediate statehood.

Displaying posters, theyshouted slogans paying noheed to Speaker MeiraKumar’s repeated requests

Telangana issue rocks LSfor third day

to them to go back to theirseats. As the uproarcontinued, she adjourned theHouse till noon.

The Telangana supporterswere joined by JD(U) memberswho demanded coal linkagefor Barauni thermal powerplant in Bihar.

Amid din, only onequestion could be taken upduring Question Hour.

Andaman Chronicle invites articles, features and opinions from ouresteemed readers. The matters can be e-mailed to the Editor in the e-mail ID

: denisgiles@yahoo.com

4Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Thursday, March 29, 2012

New delhi, March 28: Biddingwas possib le if Ministrieswished to do so

Even though P rimeMinister Manmohan Singhpersonally directed inOctober 2004 that all futureallocation of coal blocks toprivate parties for captivemining would be made onthe basis of competitivebidding, his own Office,along with the Coal Ministryand the Department of LegalAffairs, stalled theimplementation of thatdecision for over sevenyears.

Official communicationbetween the P rimeMinister’s Office and theother two Ministriesbetween 20 04 and 2 00 6,accessed b y The Hindu,shows that competitivebidding could have beenintroduced through a simpleadministrative decision, ifthe Ministries concernedhad wished to do so.

The concept of allotmentthrough competitive biddingwas first made public onJune 28, 2004. Accordingly, asdecided in a meeting by thePrime Minister — in his roleas Coal Minister — onOctober 14, 2004, all futureallotment of b locks forcaptive mining would bemade on the basis ofcompetitive bidding.

However, the Ministry ofCoal had continued to followthe non-transparentScreening Committee routefor subsequent allotmentstill date with the approval ofthe PMO.

Objections raisedIn August 9, 2005, the

PMO raised severalob jections to the auctionproposal. “Afterdiscussions, it was decidedthat the Cabinet note put bythe Ministry of Coal forcompetitive bidding as aselection method forallocation of coal and ligniteblocks for captive mining willbe amended to take intoaccount the concerns of theState governments wherethe coal block is located,”said a PMO note. “Further,it was noted that the Coal

Bureaucratic ping-pong killedManmohan’s order for coal blocks

to be auctionedMines (nationalisation) Act,1973 will need to be amendedbefore the proposedcompetitive bidding becomesoperational.”

The Coal Ministry,meanwhile, engaged in ab a c k - a n d - f o r t hcorrespondence with theDepartment of Legal Affairs,regarding the legal routenecessary to allow auctions.In J une 2 004 , it soughtopinion on whether the CoalMines (Nationalisation) Act1975, the Mines and Mineral(Regulation andDevelopment) Act, 1957 andthe Mineral ConcessionRules, 1960, could be read toallow auctions. In its reply inJuly 2004, the DLA stated:“From the perusal of CMNAct it appears no specificprovision for auction throughcompetitive bidding wasgiven in the Act.” In August,the DLA suggested thatSection 34 of the CMN Act beamended to allow auctions.

Course changedAfter two y ears, the

Ministry of Coal changedcourse, and asked the DLAfor its opinion on anamendment of the MMDRAct instead of the CMN Act.The DLA agreed that anamendment proposal couldbe introduced in the MMDRAct.

The DLA then suggestedthat the Acts need not beamended. Instead, a simpleramendment of the existingprocess would suffice to allowauctions. “As to which courseis to b e adopted in thepresent case, i.e. to amendthe Act or to effect thechanges in the administrativeinstructions, is a matter ofpolicy to be decided by thereferring Ministry,” itconcluded.

In August 2006, the LawSecretary weighed in, sayingthat while auctions couldindeed be conducted withoutamending the Act, “ ifprovision is made forcompetitive bidding in the Actitself or by the virtue of Rulesframed under the Act, thebidding process woulddefinitely be placed on ahigher level of legal footing.’’

New Delhi, March 28 : Asuspected IndianMujahideen terrorist , analleged aide of the outfit ’selusive chief operative YasinBhatkal, was arrested fromnorth-east Delhi with one kgexplosives and a detonator,police said on Wednesday.

Assadullah Rehman aliasDilkash (20) wasapprehended from ChanduNagar in Karawal Nagarlocality on Tuesday on a tipoff, a senior police officialsaid.

Dilkash, who hails fromDarb hanga in B ihar, hadallegedly escaped inNovember last year from thearms factory run by IndianMujahideen in west Delhi’sNangloi b efore the policecrackdown during which anumb er of suspectedterrorists were nabbed bypolice.

The official said Dilkashhad told police that he had

recently taken on rent apremises at Chandu Nagarfrom where investigatorsallegedly recovered one kgof explosive powder, adetonator, a timer and amobile phone.

“He came in contactwith Mohd Kafeel Ahmad,the motivator and ideologueof Indian Mujahideen, whowas arrested earlier. Hewas motivated by Ahmad tojoin Indian Mujahideen.

In February 2 01 1,Ahmad introduced him toBhatkal who furthermotivated him,” the officialsaid. In April last year, theofficial said, on instructionsfrom Bhatkal, he reachedDelhi and was taken to thefactory at Meer Vihar inNangloi, which was laterbusted by police.

There he learnt to workon the lathe machine and

assisted Mohd Irshad andBhatkal in allegedlymanufacturing pistols andother arms and ammunition.“He became a trusted aideof B hatkal,” the officialclaimed.

After the arrests ofIndian Muj ahideenoperatives in Novemb erlast, Bhatkal directed Dilkashto leave the factorypremises along withwhatever explosives andother material he could layhis hands on.

“Bhatkal further told himthat he should leave Delhiimmediately for a saferplace and then later on heshould come back to Delhiand arrange for apremises,” the official said.

As instructed, the officialsaid, Dilkash fled from thefactory and took explosives andother material and hid it safely.

Suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist held

Memorial proposed vote ofthanks. Shri Raisuddin Gayen,member, SZCC highlighted

the history of the WorldTheatre Day in his address.Smti.Rita B iswas , Principal,

SSS RK Pur was also presenton the occasion.

World Theatre Day ... Continued from page 2

Port Blair, March 28: The StateBank of I ndia, the largestlender in the country todayraised fixed deposit rates onselect maturities by up to 1percent, amid tight liquiditysituation.

Fixed deposits withmaturity period of 7 to 90 dayswill earn eight percentinterest as against existingseven percent. According tothe official statement of SBI,

SBI Hikes Fixed Deposit Rates ByUpto 1%

the new rates would beeffective from 29th of thismonth.

Interest rate on 91-179day period fixed depositshas been raised by 0.75percent, while interest ratefor 181-240 day period fixeddeposits has been raised by1 percent. The current rateof interest is 8 percent.

Interest rate on 241-dayto one-year deposits has

been raised by just 0.25percent to 8 percent. SBIbecomes the fourth publicsector bank to increase fixeddeposits rates this month.

However, the interestrates on fixed depositsbeyond one year maturitiesremain unchanged. SBI lastrevised its fixed depositrates in August 2011.

RSC Open 20-20 Cricket TourneyPort Blair, March 28: The Port Blair Regional Sports Council will be conducting RSC openTwenty-20 Cricket tournament from 5th April 2012. Interested teams of Registered Clubs,Educational institutions, Government departments and Business establishments, willing toparticipate in this tournament are requested to register their names with Shri. Sailesh Chauhanon or before 3rd April 2012. Only teams within Port Blair Municipal area will be allowed toparticipate in this tournament. For details the teams can contact over cell number 9434289000.

Guftagu on AIRPort Blair, March 28: All India Radio Port Blair will be broadcasting an interview with Shri.Subrato Dasgupta, General Manager of Shipping Corporation of India. The interview will bebroadcast on 29th March at 1915 hrs. in its Yuv vani programme. Interviewer is Ms. JaisheelaJ Lakhra.

Health, Science /Tech

5Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Thursday, March 29, 2012

Entertainment

Balasore (Odisha), March 28: India on Wednesdaysuccessfully test fired Brahmos supersonic cruise missileas part of a user trial by the Army from the test range atChandipur off Odisha coast.

“The missile was test fired from a ground mobilelauncher from the launch complex-3 at about 11.22 am andthe trial was successful,” said a defence official.

The missile, which has a flight range of up to 290 km, iscapable of carrying a conventional warhead of 200 to 300kg. The cruise missile, a surface-to-surface Army version,was test fired as part of user trial by the Army, he said.

The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and thesecond one ramjet liquid propellant, has already beeninducted into the Army and Navy, he said.

While induction of the first version of Brahmos missilesystem in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 withINS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regimentsof the Army.

The air launch version and the submarine launchversion of the missile system are in progress, said theofficial.

The Army has so far placed orders for the Brahmosmissile to be deployed by three regiments of the Armyand two of them have already been inducted operationally.

The Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to theArmy to induct a third regiment equipped with the missilesystem to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along theChina border.

‘Brahmos Aerospace’, an Indo-Russian joint venturecompany headed b y a distinguished Indian defencescientist, is also working to develop the air as well as thesubmarine launch version of the missile system and workon the project is in progress.

Brahmos supersoniccruise missile test-fired

successfully

Mumbai, Mar 28: His lastfew films may not havedone well at the box officebut actor Akshay Kumarsays he has seen a rougherpatch earlier in his careerwhen he delivered 14 flops.

Except for ‘Desi Boyz’,Akshay’s recent outingsincluding Priyadarshan’s‘Khatta Meetha’, V ipulShah’s ‘Action Replayy ’,Farah Khan’s ‘Tees MaarKhan’, Anees B azmee’s

Flops don’t bother me, says Akshay‘Thank You’ did not fare wellwith the audience, but theactor is least perturbed withflops.

“Flops don’t bother me,I just work harder in my nextfilm. Every human being hasto go from high to low andfrom low to high. If youunderstand that, then youwill never have a problem,”Akshay said.

“Seven y ears ago, Idelivered 14 flops... big deal!You just keep on working,”the 44-year-old actoradded.

At a time when actorslike Salman Khan, Shah RukhKhan, Ajay Devgn andothers are vying for Rs 100-crore mark on the openingweekend at B O, Akshaysays records will keep onhappening and breaking. “I

was the first guy whose film‘Singh is Kinng’ raked in Rs70-80 crores but soon someother film came in and therecord was b roken. Thatbenchmark is going toincrease every year, todayit is Rs 100 crores, tomorrowit will Rs 150 or 200 crores,one day after five years, Rs400 crores would seem less.So it (records) will keepbreaking,” he said.

However, Akshay has aneventful year this time, withSaj id Khan’s multi-starrercomic-caper, ‘Housefull 2’,besides Prabhudeva-directed ‘Rowdy Rathore’,where he would be seen asa action hero, ShirishKunder’s fantasy adventurefilm ‘Joker’, action-comedy‘Khiladi 78 6’ and a heistdrama, ‘Special Chabbis’.

IP/1853/12

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EDITED, PRINTED & PUBLISHED by Denis Giles. OWNER: Denis Giles. Published from ‘Libra Cottage’, Brichgunj Chowk, Prothrapur, Port Blair - 744103. Printed at Libra Printers, 38/2 B.S. Road, Foreshore Road, Phoenix Bay, Port Blair.

Ph: 03192-237837 (O), 9434280443 (M). E-mail: editor@andamanchronicle.com, denisgiles@yahoo.com

Andaman Chronicle

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GREAVES,LIGHTON CABLES,POINTER, PARAGON CABLES,

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For bookings and live demonstration drop in to

Police Control Room: 100Fire Service: 101Ambulance: 232120, 233437DC Control Room: 1070Shipping: 245555Postal : 232346, 232890Children: 1098Coast Guard: 1554Coastal Security 1093State Control Room: 1077, 238881PBMC Control Room: 245798Kisan Call Centre: 1551Wildlife Control Room: :245229, 200661, 200754

Helpline Numbers

Weather

ForecastMainly partly cloudy sky. Rain or thundershowermay occur at isolated areas. Maximum &minimum temperatures will be around 33 o Cand 24 o C respectively on 29th March, 2012.

Rainfall 0830 Hrs: 000.0 mmRainfall 1730 Hrs: 000.0 mmTotal Rainfall: (From Jan 01, 2008 till date): 151.1 mm

Max. Temp: 32.5 0C Min.: 23.7 0CHumidity (0830 Hrs): 70% (1730 Hrs): 76%Sunrise: 0518 Hrs. Sunset: 1731 Hrs.

6Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sports

Mumbai, March 28: Three weeksafter announcing his retirementfrom domestic and internationalcricket, Rahul Dravid said at theBCCI’s felicitation function hereon Tuesday that he had made apact with himself: not to cry.

“I have been tested to thelimit today. T he sentimentsexpressed by Anil Kumble, V.V.S.Laxman, Sourav Ganguly andMahendra Singh Dhoni has beentouching. Sometimes I feel I havenot retired what with the IPLkeeping me busy. Maybe whenJune comes, it will start sinkingin.

“I may not be playing for Indiaanymore, but I will watch thisyoung Indian team with greatinterest with a cup of tea and

Well done, Dravidbiscuit in hand. Iwant the Indianteam to be astrong force onand off thefield,’ ’ saidDravid, duringthe course of a1 5 - m i n u t espeech to theaudience thatincluded former

Indian captains and players likeMadhav Apte, Bapu Nadkarni,Bishan Singh Bedi, Ajit Wadekar,Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar,Dhoni as well as BCCI officials.

Dravid did not forget to thankthe BCCI for taking Indian cricketto great heights. “When I went toEngland in 1996, I felt that theIndian cricket team was treatedlike a second class citizen. Weplayed in the first half of theseason and at small grounds.

“The cricketers have changedIndian cricket b y leaps andbounds, but the BCCI has playedits role by making the Indianteam the big boys of internationalcricket. Our generation of playershave left a legacy for Mahi[Dhoni] and his team to take

forward,’’ said Dravid, who waspresented a silver salver by SanjayJagdale, Secretary, BCCI, andAnuragh Thakur, Joint Secretary,BCCI.

Dravid also made a specialmention of Ganguly, under whomhe was deputy for five years.

“We had our ups and downs,but eventually we came out withflying colours. When I sit back andtake it all, I think I have lived mydream of playing for India, and withmy heroes. So blessed I have beento live the dream for 16 years.”

He thanked the groundsmen,scorers , umpires and theorganisers of cricket matches.

Dhoni’s pat: Dhoni was the lastamong the cricketers to speakafter Kumble, Laxman andGanguly.

“Rahul [Dravid] was alwaysready to give his best for the teamand the country. He always had asolution and said yes. Dravid wouldwalk through the obstacles , notaround it. That was his greatness,’’said Dhoni. B CCI president N.Srinivasan said through arecorded message: “ There isnothing he did not do for Indiancricket. The fans will miss him.’’

WSH: Strykers keep semifinal hopes alivePune, March 28: The see-sawbattle continues in the inauguralWorld Series Hockey as PuneStrykers stunned table toppersSher-E-Punjab 3-2 on Tuesday,thereby getting themselves backin reckoning for a semifinal spot.

For a team that impressed inthe first half of the league butslipped to mediocrity later on, the3-2 win over the title favouriteswill no doubt boost their morale,though their fans may fear thatthe wake-up call has come a bittoo late. However, in tune with thelatest trend in the league — of thelosing team striking first beforelosing steam — continued heretoo. Shers’ young star B ikramjitSingh stunned the home crowd byconverting the first penalty-

corner, but Strykers came backstrongly with some exhilaratingdisplay of grit and skill.

Livewire Vikas Pillay, whomoments before had missed asitter set up by Argentine importMario Almada, was accurate inhis penalty stroke to get theequaliz er. The stroke wasawarded after PC expertGurpreet Singh’s drag-flick hitMathew Hotchkis on the right leg.

The hosts could have addedanother before the end of the firstquarter b ut the goal wasdisallowed after a video referral.Almada had bounced on to arebound to strike the ball into thegoal but the video referral turnedit down on the ground thatAlmada’s push had struck the foot

of teammate Roshan Minz beforecrossing the goalline. A rival’s legcame to the rescue of Strykers.Gurpreet Singh’s next penaltycorner hit Shers’ Prabhdeep SinghPowar on his left leg and gotdeflected into the net. A couple ofminutes later, Gurpreet affectedanother PC conversion to put theStrykers ahead 3-1.

Unlike the second quarter whichbelonged to the Strykers, the secondhalf witnessed a sea-change in theShers’ approach. They came all outand earned half-a-dozen penaltycorners, but were stonewalled by theStrykers goalkeeper and his band ofdefenders. Gagan Ajit Singh reducedthe margin for Shers with just sevenminutes left for the hooter.