Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for April 2016

Archives for April 2016

Maha minister Pankaja Munde draws flak over ‘drought selfie’

by

pankaja-selfie

Mumbai: Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde has come under fire from ruling ally Shiv Sena as well as the opposition for clicking selfies while on a visit to drought-hit Marathwada.

Munde took the selfies with the dried-up Manjara river as the backdrop while on a visit to the parched region to review desilting work on the river bed.

“Maharashtra is facing severe drought. Women and even kids are going far away from their home for getting water. Shiv Sena is doing lot of work in those drought-hit areas. And in such a serious situation, the ministers are clicking selfies,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said.

“This could have been avoided. It lessens the impact of such tours. Entire Maharashtra is reeling under serious drought. There was no need of selfie. It is mainly women who are suffering carrying water and a woman takes selfies. It is strange,” she added.

The BJP leader was also trolled on Twitter after her ‘selfies’ went viral on social media.
According to an official present at the site, Munde started clicking selfies with work going on in the background and then posted them on a social networking site.

“Selfie with trench of said barrage (in) Manjara (river).. relief to Latur,” she had tweeted.
Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria termed the ‘selfie moment’ as a “shameful act” by a cabinet minister.

“It is shameful that she has to post such selfies on social networking sites in a bid to show people that she is indeed concerned about the welfare of people. We need the present ministers to be less media savvy and do more work at the ground level which will definitely show in future,” he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said taking selfies instead of conducting review meetings is like making a mockery of farmers’ woes.

“This government is not serious about drought. There was no planning to tackle drought even where there was sufficient data available months ahead. She is the Guardian minister of Beed and Latur and yet never held a review meeting in the last one year. Now making this tour looks like a junket, she is mocking the farmers,” he said.

Last week, revenue minister Eknath Khadse faced flak for deciding to take a chopper to a village in drought-hit Latur district, leading to wastage of nearly 10,000 litre water for a special helipad.

(PTI)

Bandh call by Patels for quota gets little response in Gujarat

by

patels

Ahmedabad: The state-wide bandh call given by the Patel community in Gujarat over the quota issue had little impact today except in for some pockets dominated by the community members in different cities of the state.

The curfew imposed yesterday in Mehasana town was lifted this morning, where as the bandh call given by Sardar Patel Group after yesterday’s violence in Mehasana town largely remained incident free today, police said.

Police has made elaborate security arrangements in view of the bandh call but schools and colleges, public transport and trains have remained unaffected.

Also, mobile and Internet services have been banned in top towns of the state like Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Mehasana. The restriction will continue till midnight today.

The bandh call given by the Patel agitators had little impact in major cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot.

Even in Mehsana, where community members had yesterday clashed with police by giving a call of Jail Bharo stir, the bandh call evoked partial response as only areas dominated by Patel population remained closed.

“We lifted the curfew at 6 AM as the situation was under control. No reports of untoward incident have come so far during the bandh call. Mobile Internet services will remain closed in the city till midnight today,” Mehsana District Collector Lochan Sehra told PTI.

After violence at Modhera cross roads yesterday, Mehsana police lodged an FIR against Sardar Patel Group (SPG) President Lalji Patel and 36 others under various sections of IPC, including loot and rioting.

“We have lodged an FIR against Patel and 36 other agitators for rioting, loot, arson, damaging public property and defying orders of police. No arrests are made yet,” said Police Sub Inspector of Mehsana ‘B’ division police S B Jadeja.

In Ahmedabad, life remained normal expect of some Patel dominated localities of eastern side of the city where shops have not opened till afternoon. School, colleges, public transport, shops and establishment remained open in the city.

In Surat also bandh had no impact as almost all the areas remained open, while in Rajkot, some Patel dominated areas remained closed but other parts of the city were unaffected by the bandh call.

Curfew was yesterday clamped in Mehsana and mobile Internet services were banned as a massive rally of the Patel community demanding reservation and immediate release of their jailed leaders turned violent with two buildings being set ablaze and some police vehicles damaged.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah’s son quits firm over nepotism charge

by

Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: As political pressure mounted on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over nepotism charge, his son has resigned from a firm that was given a contract to set up lab and diagnostic facility at a government-run hospital here.

Amid Opposition attack and advice from the Congress High Command, the Chief Minister’s doctor son Yathindra Siddaramaiah tendered his resignation as director of Matrix Imaging Solutions India Private Limited.

Yathindra said in a message to the media, “By the way, I am quitting Matrix (Imaging Solutions India).”

The resignation comes amid reports that the Congress high command was unhappy with the development, which was snowballing into a major controversy with the Opposition questioning the contract to the company owned by Yathindra’s friend, a pathologist, in which he is a partner.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, had openly said yesterday that he had suggested to Siddaramaiah that his son quit the company.

Singh had, however, maintained that the entire process was “totally transparent” with the contract given to the lowest bidder.

He had denied reports that he had asked the Chief Minister to order an enquiry into the matter.

“I have only advised that he withdraws. It is not an order, but an advice. Legally, the son does not have to quit.

As a (matter of) propriety, he may,” Singh had said.

Unfazed by the controversy, both Siddaramaiah and Yathindra had been maintaining that there was no wrongdoing on their part.

Yathindra had alleged that a group of doctors at government-run Victoria Hospital, where the facility was to come up, were raking up the controversy as it would cause a loss to those who were sending the patients for outside reference to get commission in cash.

He had also maintained that his company did not put any pressure on hospital authorities to follow procedures that suited them in order to win the contract.

Siddaramaiah had said that his son was a doctor who was a director in a company owned by his friend.

“They had participated in the tender. They are the lowest bidder. It is for service to the people, there is no money involved from the government,” he had said.

(Agencies)

IPL: KKR restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 142/7

by

KKR

Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) once again put up a disciplined bowling show as they restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 142/7 in an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium here on Saturday.

Eoin Morgan top-scored for Sunrisers with a 43-ball 51 and was well supported by Naman Ojha who smashed 37 off 28 balls. Pacer Umesh Yadav bagged figures of 3/28 for the visitors.

The hosts were jolted upfront as KKR picked up two early wickets. First to head back was the out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan (6) who managed to slash one through to the wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa of a Morne Morkel delivery in the third over.

Next, Umesh foxed captain David Warner (13) with a cutter and the powerful left-hander only managed to scoop it till short-cover.

In the last over of the powerplay, Umesh struck again as he trapped Moses Henriques (6) in front of the stumps with the score reading 36/3.

Morgan and Deepak Hooda (6) tried to resurrect the wobbly innings with a 14-run partnership but the latter threw his wicket away.

Sunrisers finally got some momentum in the 13th over as Morgan hit spinner Sunil Narine for two consecutive boundaries, much to the delight of the crowd. The next over from leg-spinner Piyush Chawla also helped the hosts as it yielded 13 runs.

The hundred came up in the 16th over for Hyderabad as Ojha, who was providing strong support to Morgan, smashed a six off Morkel.

It took a brilliant catch to break the 67-run partnership as Ojha was holed out. Andre Russell held onto the ball first but seeing that he would cross the boundary line he threw it back to Chawla who grabbed it on the second attempt.

Thereafter Morgan also fell trying to heave one to the leg side and with it went Sunrisers’ hope of getting to the par 160 mark.

(IANS)

IPL: Mishra steals show as Delhi thrash Punjab by 8 wickets

by

DD

New Delhi: Leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s 4/11 proved crucial as Delhi Daredevils thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday.

After Delhi won the toss and opted to field, Mishra, coming in to bowl in the seventh over, rocked Punjab’s boat. When he started his spell, they were 37 for one in six overs, and at the end of his three-over haul, the visiting side was 59 for five in 11 overs. His victims included Shaun Marsh (13), David Miller (9), Glenn Maxwell (0) and Manan Vohra (32).

Punjab batsmen showed lack of intent and discipline and fell one after another. Opening batsman Vohra was the only one who showed the will for a fight even as his team was restricted to 111/9 in 20 overs.

In pursuit of the low total, Delhi were led by South African opener Quinton de Kock (59 not out), who shared a 91-run stand for the second wicket with Sanju Samson (33) in 10.4 overs, as the hosts overhauled the target with 6.3 overs and eight wickets to spare. De Kock milked nine fours and a six of the 42 deliveries he faced.

It was Delhi’s first win in two matches, while Punjab suffered their second loss on the trot.

In the match between the teams who have lost their first matches, Punjab failed to gather any momentum right from the start. In the second over bowled by left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, Zaheer Khan dropped Vohra’s catch at the point and as the ball neared towards the boundary, the openers decided to take three runs.

But Murali Vijay was found to be short of the crease as the relay throw between Zaheer and Karun Nair reached wicketkeeper de Kock in time for the stumps to be dislodged, leaving the team at eight for one in 1.3 overs.

Even though Zaheer seemed to be lethargic while dropping the catch, the veteran left-arm seamer maintained a tight line and length. The captain conceded only 14 runs in his four overs, taking a wicket.

After the powerplay overs, which yielded 37 runs, Zaheer brought in Mishra and the leg-spiner struck in his first delivery. Left-handed batsman Marsh danced down the track, only to miss the line before being stumped by de Kock.

Mishra dealt a double blow in his second over, removing skipper Miller (9) and Maxwell (0). While left-hander Miller was trapped in front of the wickets in the first ball of the ninth over, Maxwell was holed out by Carlos Brathwaite at long-off.

Mishra’s next victim was right-hander Vohra, who moved back at the crease while fending off a sharp googly.

Following this, the tail-enders tried their best but the damage was already done. Spinner Jayant Yadav and fast bowler Chris Morris chipped in with a wicket each.

During the chase too, Delhi were in control, thanks to de Kock. At the start, he went through some anxious moments. He not only lost his partner Shreyas Iyer (3) early but also survived following a dropped catch at square leg by Vijay when the left-hander was at seven in the fifth over bowled by left-arm spinner Axar Patel.

De Kock tried to forge a partnership with Samson and they were successful in doing so. They scored at a decent pace and took their total to 28 for one in six overs.

Growing in confidence, the duo put out their attacking shots and reaped a lot of runs – highlighted by three fours hit off Patel in the eighth over.

Samson took confidence from his partner and hit leg-spinner Pradeep Sahu for a maximum, before thrashing Maxell with two consecutive fours. By this time, Delhi were 79/1 in 11 overs.

Knowing, they are very much in control, de Kock turned the heat on Punjab’s pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson, who went for two fours and a huge six, which completed the South African’s fifty in 38 deliveries.

Later, Samson was bowled by Patel but it was a matter of just 12 runs and de Kock and Negi made it with ease.

Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab: 111/9 (Manan Vohra 32; Amit Mishra 4/11, Zaheer Khan 1/14). Delhi Daredevils: 113/2 in 13.3 overs (Quinton de Kock not out 59, Sanju Samson 33; Sandeep Sharma 1/6).

(IANS)

Snehdeep Kalsi of SIBM Bengaluru, wins Maruti Suzuki Colors of Youth Season 5

by

‘6000+ participants, 11 cities, 16 finalists, Snehdeep takes home Maruti Suzuki Swift.’

Winners & Runners Up

Bengaluru: Mr. Snehdeep Singh Kalsi of SIBM Bengaluru, takes home a brand new Maruti Suzuki Swift after winning Colors of Youth Season 5. He performed Allah Hoo & Allah Hi Rahem (My Name is Khan) in the grand finale at Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon NCR Delhi on 30th March, 2016. After Acoustics – The Country Rockers from D. Y. Patil College and Divyansh Gupta from NMIMS Mumbai were the 1st runner up & 2nd runner up respectively.

Maruti Suzuki Colors of Youth Season 5 partnered by MTV, saw 6000+ students from leading business schools, across 11 cities participating in the initial phase of city rounds. These city rounds were followed by zonal rounds in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru from which, 16 extremely talented students were chosen as the finalists.

Maruti Suzuki Colors of Youth Season 5, the exciting fifth edition designed to draw out the most talented managers from India’s premier B-schools and professional colleges, with an exciting prize Maruti Suzuki Swift up for grabs. With every passing year, Maruti Suzuki Colours of Youth is becoming a rage amongst the student community. It’s a national level platform where multi-talented students get a chance to present their unique skills and an opportunity to excel beyond academics. India’s most talented and versatile youth are pitted against each other to showcase their talents across Music, Dance, Theatrics, Mimicry, Photography, Stand-up Comedy and more.

Judges included Radio and Video Jockey Nikhil Chinapa and Bollywood actress Perizaad Zorabian and a special guest judge, Hard Kaur, British Indian rapper and hip hop singer.

Mr. Kalsi, MBA Batch 2014 – 2016 was also the Vice President of Student Leadership Council 2015-16. Snehdeep, fondly called SK, often used to delight his fellow batch-mates at SIBM Bengaluru with his soulful voice during various cultural events of the college.

SK says “12th March 2015 – Season 4 Finale was happening in Delhi and despite being the finalist I couldn’t go. I was writing end semester exam paper in Bangalore. That day I promised myself – ‘Next time, Mr. Kalsi will hand over the key to Mr. Kalsi’ 30th-31st March 2016 – Season 5 Finale – Finally, Mr R. S. Kalsi, Executive Director Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd hands over the Prize to Mr. Snehdeep Singh Kalsi.

This has been a memorable journey. I will really miss it – The ‘Fidaa’ Comments of Perizaad ma’am and ‘Leave MBA, go do Music’ comments of Nikhil Sir. The oh-so supportive COY & MTV team and the fellow contestants, the 16 finalists – had a very good time with them, few became good friends, indeed inspiring talents – will miss all of this and will always cherish these moments.

And finally thanks to all my beloved friends – you know who you are – and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management Bengaluru, my college people, for always supporting me and cheering for me.”

Watch Snehdeep’s performance in the GRAND FINALE on 17th and 23rd June, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. only on MTV.

Here’s a short interview of SK with the PR & Media committee of SIBM Bengaluru, after winning the competition:

PR & Media: How do you feel after being the winner of MTV Maruti Suzuki Colors of Youth Season 5?

Snehdeep: Surreal. I am honoured and feel blessed to have won the show. The feeling hasn’t sunk in yet. The competition was very tough and winning amidst some amazing dancers and singers, makes it very special.

PR & Media: How do you think SIBM has helped you achieving this?

Snehdeep: City Zonal Round & South Zonal Round were conducted in our college at SIBM Bengaluru so the crowd support was amazing and it really helped me perform better. The management has been very supportive encouraging students to participate in such co-curricular activities. Adding to that, the music club of SIBM Bengaluru ‘Saaz’ has also helped me practise regularly.

PR & Media: What is the one quality that is required to win, in any competition?

Snehdeep: Hunger to win and the ability to handle failure is the key. It’s imperative to learn from mistakes and then practise very hard and then repeat. In management jargon, the ability to do a proper SWOT analysis is required. Assess your strengths & weaknesses; play on your strengths while work on your weaknesses. Grab right opportunities at the right time and beware of threats. One must be able to gauge the level of competition around and prepare accordingly. Passion is a must!

PR & Media: Whom do you attribute your success to?

Snehdeep: To the Almighty for giving me this talent, my parents who have always supported and encouraged me and my Gurus for the knowledge of music they gave me. When I had the option to choose either Amritsar or Chandigarh airports to take flight to Delhi, I chose Amritsar, just to visit Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and take blessings. My friends have been very supportive, boosted my confidence and were always there when I needed them.
Also, I cannot thank the judges enough for all their suggestions. The entire team of Colors of Youth has been very supportive. And last but not the least, I thank my college Symbiosis Institute of Business Management – Bengaluru (SIBM-B) for immense support and the whole student fraternity there. We have a music club ‘Saaz’ back at SIBM Bengaluru where we used to practice. All of them have their share of contribution towards my success.

PR & Media: What message would you like to give to talented students like you?

Snehdeep: I don’t think I am qualified enough to answer this but from my experience, I would say that having talent is not enough. You need to keep working at it and find a mentor who can guide you; who can widen your horizon. It’s like going to the gym and not taking advice from the trainer and instead trying anything random. And no matter what one must never lose hope.

I’ll quote a line that sums up my philosophy of life. It’s from Samuel Beckett – ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.’

I participated in Colors of Youth last year also. Was selected for the finals but had exam on the day of grand finale and couldn’t attend. This year I again attempted and here I am. So never lose hope, never avoid taking calculative risks, never stop trying something new and never ever stop dreaming.

Handwara incident: Family says girl pressurised into giving statement

by

Kashmir-firing

Srinagar: The family of the girl, whose alleged harassment led to a spate of violence in Kashmir, today claimed that she was pressurised into giving a video statement denying she was molested and has approached court seeking an independent probe into the incident.

“My girl is just 16 years old and was alone in the police station when her statement was recorded. She was pressurised by police to give that statement,” her mother claimed.

A civil society group scheduled a press conference here for the family but it was not allowed by police.

Talking to reporters, the girl’s mother alleged that police detained her daughter without informing the family and revealed her identity by recoding the video statement without covering her face.

She said, “When the girl was returning home after school on Tuesday, she went to a bathroom and was followed by an army man. When she saw the army man in the bathroom, she raised an alarm, attracting attention of the nearby shopkeepers. The policemen also came to the scene but the army man fled.”

“She was then taken to a police station without our knowledge,” the mother said.

“We have approached court and demanded an independent inquiry into the incident. We do not want police or Army, those who have done this, to inquire it,” she said.

Five persons have been killed since Tuesday after violence broke out following allegations that the girl was harassed by a soldier.

“Were not allowed to meet our girl. Her father and aunt were also detained. We do not have any information of our arrested daughter for the last five days,” she alleged and accused the police of “defaming” her daughter by revealing her identity to the media.

(PTI)

Japan earthquake forces evacuation of 40,000

by

At least nine killed and nearly 1,000 injured after 6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes 11km east of Kumamoto city.

Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in a parking lot [Kyodo News]

Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in a parking lot [Kyodo News]

by Al Jazeera

At least nine people have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake knocked down houses and destroyed roads in the southwestern Japan.

The tremor struck 11km east of Kumamoto on Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey, and strong aftershocks continued to shake the area around the city on Friday.

More than 40,000 people were evacuated to schools and community centres, some spending the night outside after the first quake hit around 9:30pm local time.

Roads cracked, houses crumbled and tiles fell from the roof of Kumamoto Castle in the centre of the city.

More than 3,000 troops, police and firefighters were dispatched to the area from around Japan, and Shinzo Abe, prime minister, said more would be sent if needed.

One of the victims in Mashiki died after being pulled from the rubble, and the other was killed in a fire.

Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed firefighters tackling a blaze in a building in Mashiki, a town of about 34,000 people near the epicentre of the quake.

About 16,500 households in and around Mashiki were without electricity, according to Kyushu Electric Power Company.

There were no irregularities at three nuclear plants on the southern major island of Kyushu and nearby Shikoku, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

The plant is 130km south of Kumamoto. The operator restarted the reactors last year, the first two units under updated regulations.

In March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake led to a devastating tsunami that killed 18,000 people along Japan’s northeast coast.

The wave struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing a major radiation leakage.  

More than 100,000 displaced people are still unable to return to their homes near the nuclear plant because of the contamination.

 

Petrol price cut by 74 paise per litre, diesel by Rs 1.30/litre

by

petrol-price

New Delhi: In marginal relief to consumers, oil marketing companies have cut petrol and diesel prices by 74 paise per litre and Rs 1.30/litre respectively. The oil prices had been hiked steeply only last week.

On April 4, petrol price had been hiked by Rs 2.19 a litre and diesel by 98 paise per litre.

State-owned fuel retailers IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) revise rates of the fuel on 1st and 16th of every month based on the average oil price and the foreign exchange rate in the preceding fortnight. “The movement of prices in the international oil market and the rupee-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes,” IOC has said in the past.

Consumers are still to get all the benefits from the sharp drop in international oil prices to a decade low as the government on five occasions since November has raised excise duty on the two auto fuels.

The five levy hikes add up to Rs 4.02 per litre on petrol and Rs 6.97 on diesel, handing the government a neat Rs 17,000 crore as additional revenue.

In 2014 diesel prices were deregulated, giving oil marketing companies the liberty to hike or cut prices according to global price movement.

(Agencies)

 

Syria’s civil war: At least 30,000 flee ISIL attacks

by

Rights group says residents of temporary camps in Aleppo among those affected by clashes between ISIL and Syrian rebels.

Syrian girls react following a reported Syrian regime air strike in a rebel-controlled area in the northern city of Aleppo on February 8, 2016. (AFP/Ameer al-Halbi)

Syrian girls react following a reported Syrian regime air strike in a rebel-controlled area in the northern city of Aleppo on February 8, 2016. (AFP/Ameer al-Halbi)

by Al Jazeera

At least 30,000 civilians have fled fighting between armed groups and rebel factions in northern Syria in the past 48 hours, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The US-based watchdog group made the announcement on Friday while calling on Turkey to open its border to the civilians.

It also accused Turkish border guards of shooting at some of those displaced in Aleppo province as they approached the frontier.

Turkey has denied the accusation.

HRW said many of those who fled were residents of emergency camps set up along the border and decided to head for other camps or nearby towns and villages even though they were still unsafe because of fighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group and opposition rebels.

“Civilians were trying to flee but some were met with gunfire or told they would not be able to enter,” Nadim Houry, deputy director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa division, told Al Jazeera from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon.

“Those people need to be allowed with safety. The whole world is talking about fighting ISIS, and yet people who are escaping them are not welcomed anywhere.”

Al Jazeera’s Reza Sayah, reporting from Geneva in Switzerland, said a senior Turkish official had denied the claims.

“Turkey is denying accusations that it’s firing gunshots at refugees,” he said.

“The official said that sometimes smugglers and armed men infiltrate these groups of refugees, so they are firing at them and not refugees.”

The surge in violence comes as representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime are expected in Geneva on Friday for the latest round of talks aimed at ending the war.

Outlining its bargaining position, the opposition bloc High Negotiating Committee (HNC) said it would be willing to share equally in a transitional council with the government, but repeated its rejection of a role for Assad.

Salim al-Muslet, spokesperson for the HNC, told Al Jazeera there was “no place for Assad” in the new set-up.

“I believe we’re doing the right thing for our people,” Muslet said from Geneva.

“The other side, the government, was forced to come here. They don’t care about our people. We don’t want to see any more fighting and killing. It’s important that we find a solution here in Geneva.

“But there’s no place for Assad or people around him who committed crimes in Syria. For us, it’s important to have people who care about their own people who deserve to see an end to this nightmare.”

The latest violence comes as escalating fighting between Russian-backed regime forces and rebels around the provincial capital, Aleppo city, threatens a nearly seven-week ceasefire that had largely been holding.

ISIL and other armed groups are excluded from the truce.

The five-year conflict in Syria has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced half the population.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives