On the National Conference on Oil Palm at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh (the largest producer in the country), Mr. M.C. Rao, palm oil farmer, Gajapati district, Orissa, stated, “Just like several Government agricultural departments, officials at the conference painted a false, bright, and positive picture about the prospects of the oil palm plantation for farmers taking up this cultivation.” “As usual the policy makers miserably failed to read the pulse of...

In a sudden surprise inspection, Chief Secretary Avani Vaish stopped his cavalcade at Gram Panchayat Podki of Pushprajgarh Janpad Panchayat and enquired beneficiaries about payment of wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) whether they are being paid on time or not. The Chief Secretary, on the way to take a meeting of administrative officials at Amarkantak in Anuppur district after alighting from helicopter, suddenly jammed wheels of...

West Bengal businessman says he was illegally detained and interrogated for five days before his arrest was staged on May 6, 2007 Defence maintains that all evidence was planted by Chhattisgarh police Discrepancy in SLP is a typo, says investigating officer S.S. Rajpoot At 10.45 a.m. on May 1, 2007 Pijush Guha checked into the Mahindra Hotel here and vanished. The hotel register indicates that he checked out at 8.45 p.m. the same...

Taking a strong view against operators who have failed to self-certify their base transceiver stations mounted on mobile towers, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot on Monday asked the Department of Telecommunications to conduct random checks of all BTS for electromagnetic radiation and impose a fine on those found violating the norms. While talking to The Hindu, Mr. Pilot said there would be no further extension of deadline...

IT WAS a windfall five years ago that taught Panchali Satyavva the power of a lie. It happened one Monday afternoon in Someshwar village of Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh. It was raining in sheets and she had just placed a bucket under the steady trickle of water from the roof of her hut. Two men were at her door, holding umbrellas and offering her an unsolicited Rs. 5,000. They...