We suffer prejudices in Bollywood: Ekta Kapoor

NEW DELHI, July 3: She describes Kyaa Kool Hai Hum series as Bollywood’s answer to American Pie series. But Ekta Kapoor is miffed that the censor board has snipped three scenes from the theatrical trailer of Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum. She blames it to existing prejudices in the Hindi film industry.

The 37-year-old is upset that the censors are not letting the movie’s original promos reach the theatres, but she doesn’t blame them for double standards either.

“We never had issues in the film’s first part. I think our society was so much cooler at that time. Now suddenly everyone raises a question, everyone asks 15 questions. So we have a sanitised, boring promo in the theatre for the ones who will be seeing Bol Bachchan,” said Ekta who was in town to show the uncut version of the trailer.

“A-rating programming is allowed on TV after 11 pm, then also we are not allowed to show anything. There is so much prohibition in society for everything and because anyone can raise a question. Everyone is so scared. I don’t blame the censors. They are under so much pressure. People are ready to file a PIL (public interest litigations) against everything, it’s really curbing the creativity.”

She points out the biggest challenge is that “any kind of double meaning in Hindi sounds crass”.

“Very strong research once said that the real problem with our language is that it is so restrictive. The American language has extended itself to slangs and made itself more colloquial,” Ekta observed.

“Hindi has not taken any such extension because of which there has been stagnation in the language. So it is much tougher to write a Hindi comedy with double meaning because we didn’t want to go crass,” added the filmmaker.

However, she believes the Sachin Yardi-directed movie, releasing on July 27, has adult humour in measured amount.

“We wanted to go funny with adult humour. Some portions could probably hurt some sensibilities. But on the whole, the film has tried to keep its humour funny without being offensive,” she said.

Cracking jokes in Hindi is an uphill task “because they sound worse than they sound in English,” said Ekta.

“Delhi Belly was made in English because they clearly realized the power of that language in making things sound much better than they are.”

“For us, it has been a struggle to make Hindi a language where double meaning doesn’t go into becoming another lowest common denominator and this just turns out to be another film,” said the filmmaker. (IANS)

Abu Jindal has no remorse for Mumbai carnage, say investigators

New Delhi, July 3: There is no remorse in Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jindal Hamza, the Indian national who has confessed to being in the control room in Karachi during the 2008 terror siege of Mumbai, say investigators, describing him as an intensely devout man who believes he did his “religious duty”.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist from Beed in Maharashtra has confessed to being amongst those directing the 10 Pakistani terrorists who docked in Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008 and unleashed mayhem till November 28, sources in the investigation team said.

Jindal, who was arrested at the airport here on June 21 after his deportation from Saudi Arabia, is being interrogated by several investigating teams, including the Intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad team and a special Delhi Police team.

He has shown no regret for the November 26-28, 2008, attacks, in which 166 people, including several foreigners, were killed and 238 injured.

Jindal, who loves to expound on Islam and offers namaz five times a day during which he rubs his forehead against the floor as a true devout, told interrogators that the 2008 Mumbai carnage was “a part of his devotion for his religious duty called jihad”.

He told interrogators that the word jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression “striving in the way of god (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)”".

Asked why he had chosen India for jihad, Jindal is believed to have told interrogators, “It’s a religious war with those who are unbelievers in the mission of Muhammad.... especially for the purpose of advancing Islam and repelling evil from Muslims.”

He has been forthcoming in his replies regarding the role played by the LeT in the attack, but “tends to mumble” when it comes to the role of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, say investigators.  He has told them that he is only a member of LeT, and his bosses chose the specific targets for jihad. He also said there were other mujahideen - persons engaged in jihad like him who were selected to execute plans.

The planning for 26/11 was done sometime in 2003, Jindal has said. He had been tasked to recruit Indian Muslims for jihad and those hailing from non-Hindi speaking areas were taught to speak Hindi by him.

During 2006, when investigators unearthed a major arms and explosives consignment in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Jindal, who was part of the team taking the deadly goods to Mumbai, managed to escape, said sleuths. Though police were on his trail, he managed to flee to Bangladesh.

“As he was well versed with Mumbai due to his native place being Beed in Maharashtra, Jindal was deputed to recruit and train the ten terrorists involved in 26/11 attack,” an investigator said.

An unrepentant Jindal told investigators that if he gets another chance, he will repeat the terror attack as it would help him get a place in jannat (heaven) through jihad.

Investigators are trying to join the dots in the entire 26/11 conspiracy and execution by connecting Jindal’s activities - from his early days as part of the LeT camp in Nepal, and later when he attended camps in Muridke and Thakot in Pakistan - to his directing the Mumbai attack from the Karachi control room along with LeT chief Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and some ISI officers. (IANS)

Baba Ramdev dares government to prove his black money estimates wrong

Jaipur, July 3: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has dared the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre to prove his estimate of 400 trillion rupees’ worth of black money being stashed in safe havens abroad wrong.

Baba Ramdev said he was ready for punishment if proved wrong.

“It is said that the statistics given by me are false, and that I am lying and presenting the people with a false dream. I say that if I am lying and presenting false statistics, then I should be given the most stringent punishment. But if I am speaking the truth, then do not evade it,” he said.

Baba Ramdev further said that graft was destroying India’s democracy at its roots, and added that the present system needed to be replaced by a more just and equitable one.

“Approximately 400 trillion rupees that have been looted by corrupt people should come back to the country. Graft has eaten away the roots of our democracy and made them hollow. Democracy has become more about loot, graft and currency notes today. It must be saved. The current system must be replaced with one that provides economic and social justice to all,” he said.

Baba Ramdev, who sat on a daylong fast Delhi along with veteran social activist Anna Hazare at the Jantar Mantar in New earlier last month, had demanded that the government should follow the steps suggested by him in its endeavor to bring back black money stashed abroad.

Baba Ramdev, who has been at loggerheads with the government over a range of national issues for the past many months, had also called on the government last year to pursue billions of dollars in illegal funds abroad and the withdrawal of high denomination bank notes. (Agencies)

Mukherjee meets Mulayam and Akhilesh

Lucknow, July 3: United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav here on Tuesday, and said he continues to enjoy the support of various political leaders in the race to Raisina Hill.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who also accompanied Mukherjee during his meeting with the Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders, has formed a committee to oversee his daylong Uttar Pradesh visit.

Pranab Mukherjee is pitted against former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, who is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the AIADMK.

Mukherjee, who resigned as the finance minister to contest the presidential election, is all set to emerge victorious in the race to Raisina Hill.

His resignation brought an end to a distinguished 43-year-long political career.

The presidential elections will be held on July 19. The vote count will take place on July 22. (Agencies)

All sections of society have opportunity to excel in India: PM

New Delhi, July 3: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has said that all sections of society have the opportunity to excel in India.

Dr Singh on Tuesday met over 150 tribal students from Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, who have cleared IIT-JEE and AIEEE. Dr. Singh also congratulated these students, who accompanied Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Raman Singh on his part told the Prime Minister that the students were part of the first batch of students of PRAYAS, a special initiative of the Chhattisgarh Government. (Agencies)

Chhattisgarh has notorious record of tribal killings: Minister

New Delhi, July 3: As controversy rages over security forces killing people in an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh some days back, Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said the state has a notorious record in this regard. Talking to news channel NDTV, Deo said the manner in which villagers were killed, as it appeared, was wrong and sought a report on the encounter. “We’re trying to gather facts. What worries me most is the manner in which tribals have been dealt with, whether by security forces, or by the extremists,” he said.  “Several tribals, including women and children, have been losing lives. One’s heart really bleeds to see such things happening,” he said. The minister also said that even if the villagers were being used as human shields by the Maoists, it did not give the security forces the right to open fire.  “Using women and children as human shield is something unpardonable. Yet, it is also no excuse for opening fire at women and children. They should have been tackled in more discreet manner. I certainly do not approve of that,” he said.  The controversy erupted over the killing of 19 people, whom rights activists said were innocent villagers, in an encounter in the jungles of Dantewada in intervening night of June 27-28.  The operation by over 300 CRPF and state police personnel has left questions whether all the victims were Maoist guerrillas. (IANS)

Adarsh scam: CBI likely to file chargesheet against accused

Mumbai, July 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to file its charge sheet against the 13 or 14 accused of playing a role in facilitating the Adarsh Housing Society scam that was exposed 17 months ago either on Tuesday or Wednesday, reports said. Among the accused are senior politicians, bureaucrats and army officers. The Adarsh Society was originally meant to be a six-storey housing facility for Kargil war heroes and war widows. It was, however, converted into a 100-metre-tall building and apartments in it were allocated to serving bureaucrats, senior army commanders and relatives of senior politicians. The exposure of scam led to the resignation of then Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. The other accused Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde and at least five senior bureaucrats of the Maharashtra Government. The chargesheet is likely to be filed before the Bombay High Court, which is hearing several public interest litigations seeking the court’s intervention in the probe. The CBI, on June 18, had assured the Bombay High Court that it would file a chargesheet in the case before July 4 as the agency had to take prior sanction from the government to prosecute the bureaucrats. The CBI has registered a case on January 29 last year against Chavan and 13 others. (Agencies)

India to share Jindal evidence, Pakistan reverts to Kashmir

New Delhi, July 3: A day before talks, Pakistan on Tuesday sought to renew the focus on the Kashmir issue with its foreign secretary meeting the State’s separatist leaders even as India geared up to share evidence about 26/11 plotter Abu Jindal’s links with Pakistani terrorists and state actors.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani arrived here via the Wagah border and stressed that he has been given the mandate to carry forward the dialogue process with India. He asked India to India to share evidence about Abu Jindal’s role in the Mumbai terror strike and offered help in the fight against terror.

In a move that is calculated to provoke India, Jilani met leading Kashmiri separatists, including Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farroq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik, later in the evening and assured them that he will take up the Kashmir issue in talks with his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai on Wednesday.

Mathai and Jilani will begin two-day talks on Wednesday that will focus on issues like peace and security including confidence-building measures, Jammu and Kashmir, and the promotion of friendly exchanges.

The agenda of the foreign-secretary talks had been fixed well in advance, but in the wake of the disclosures made by Abu Jindal, an Indian key 26/11 plotter with links to Pakistani militants, terrorism is set to become the main focus of the talks.

With Pakistan resorting to the Kashmir issue in what is seen as a ploy to divert attention from 26/11 terror, India upped the ante and is preparing to share a dossier on Abu Jindal, including a copy of his passport and identity card, at the talks, said informed sources in the home ministry.

Jindal’s passport shows his present and permanent address in Pakistan and his visa for Saudi Arabia had been also issued on the Pakistani passport. Islamabad has been predictably in denial, with Interior Minister Rehman Malik had called Jindal’s passport fake. The sources added that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take custody of 26/11 plotter Jindal for further interrogation. Jundal’s voice samples will be matched with the intercepts available with intelligence agencies.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has upped the ante on the terror issue. On Friday, he pressed Pakistan to admit facts relating to Abu Jindal Hamza having set up a “control room” in Karachi and having trained the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November 2008. Chidambaram also underlined that the disclosures made by Jindal, who was arrested here June 21 after being deported from Saudi Arabia, point to the involvement of Pakistani state actors in the carnage that left 166 dead

During the interrogation, Jindal himself has confessed to his active role in the 26/11 attack, saying he had worked closely with terror mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Pakistan tried to set a positive tone about the talks by offering cooperation in the struggle against terrorism.  However, in a move that has upset India, Jilani met Kashmiri separatist leaders, with Geelani asking Islamabad to press India hard for resolution of the Kashmir issue.  “Pakistan should press India hard to resolve the Kashmir issue,” Geelani told reporters after the meeting. He said it was the responsibility of Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue and stressed that the talks between India and Pakistan can’t succeed unless this core issue is resolved.

According to Geelani, the Pakistani foreign secretary assured him that he will take up the Kashmir issue with Mathai at the talks.  The meeting has not gone down well with New Delhi. (IANS)

Trinamool to decide on presidential vote three days before election: Mamata

Kolkata, July 3: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that her Trinamool Congress will take a final decision on whether to vote or not to vote in the July 19 presidential elections on July 16. Banerjee is believed to have conveyed this to her party MPs and MLAs during a recent meeting held here. Banerjee is said to have asked all MPs and MLAs to be present on the day of the polls. Meanwhile, the two presidential aspirants - Pranab Mukherjee and PA Sangma - have sought the Trinamool Congress’ support in the July 19 poll. It maybe recalled that Banerjee was opposed to Mukherjee being named as the UPA’s presidential nominee, as the former had rejected her demand of financial assistance from the Centre when he was the country’s finance minister. Simultaneously, the Trinamool Congress will find it difficult to support Sangma, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) nominee for president. (Agencies)

'Mayawati regime razed ASI protected heritage building'

Lucknow, July 3: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its March 2011 report, which was tabled in the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Monday, has indicted the Mayawati regime for razing to the ground a heritage building at the Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSJMU) here. In its report, the CAG has pointed out that the then Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government led by Mayawati not only brought down a heritage building on the campus without informing the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) but also did not bother to secure the mandatory ‘No Objection Certificate’. The CAG has further noted that the remains of the building, which was declared a heritage building in 1920 by the ASI, were sold for a paltry Rs 14.63 lakh. In place of the Avadh architectural design building that was constructed in 1914, the Mayawati government constructed an ultra-modern building on the medical university campus at a cost of Rs 28.30 crore. The CAG report has also mentioned that some of the engineers involved in the process of demolition had requested the Uttar Pradesh government not to rush in to raze the heritage zone building and instead to inform the ASI and take fresh guidelines. But no heed was paid to their pleas. After the building was razed to the ground, the debris was sold on March 30, 2008. (IANS)

'Pranab's letter quitting Kolkata institute is forged'

New Delhi, July 3: The BJP on Tuesday claimed that UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee’s letter quitting as chairperson of the Kolkata-based Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was “fabricated”. He was addressing a press conference hours after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential nominee's candidature was accepted. Contesting against him is former speaker PA Sangma, being backed by the BJP, AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal. A controversy was raked up on Monday when Sangma’s team demanded rejection of Mukherjee’s nomination, alleging that he was holding an office of profit as chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).  The ISI later issued a statement that Mukherjee had resigned on June 20. Mukherjee had filed his nomination eight days later.  Sangma’s lawyer Satpal Jain accused Mukherjee of remaining “silent” on when he submitted the resignation letter. (IANS)

UP gifts Rs 20 lakh to MLAs for cars, opposition protests

Lucknow, July 3: Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday allowed the legislators to withdraw Rs 20 lakh from their development fund to purchase a car, a move that has triggered a political storm in the State with the Congress, BJP and BSP protesting against it. If all the 402 legislators in the State assembly purchase cars from their local area development (LAD) funds, it will cost the exchequer by Rs 80.60 crore. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was met with stiff protest by opposition benches as MLAs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) opposed the move saying they found the whole decision very strange. Senior BJP leader and legislator Kalraj Mishra said the party was against the move as the funds were supposed to be used for development of their areas and not for personal use. According to established guidelines for the use of MLA funds, the fund cannot be used for personal use. Angry at the move, the State unit president of the BJP Laxmikant Bajpayi has shot off a letter to the legislative assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey informing that no legislator of the BJP would avail this facility.  BSP’s Swamy Prasad Maurya said this sop for MLAs was not acceptable as it would tarnish their image in the eyes of the people. (IANS)

Vice presidential election on August 7, says poll panel

New Delhi, July 3: The election for India’s next vice president will be held Aug 7, if required, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. “VP election schedule has been announced. Poll, if required, will be on Aug 7. The counting, if required, will be on the same day,” an election commission official said. While the notification will be issued on July 6, the last date of filing nominations is July 20, the poll panel said in a statement. The date for the scrutiny of nomination is July 21, while the last date for the withdrawals is July 23. Vice President Hamid Ansari is set to complete his tenure on August 10. Speculation was rife that he would be named for the post of president after Pratibha Patil completes her tenure in July. But the UPA named former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as its nominee. (IANS)

'Monsoon situation not serious, rain will pick up'

NEW DELHI, July 3: There has been a two-week delay in the monsoon but the situation is not serious, union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here on Tuesday, adding that rainfall would pick up by next week.

“Yes, monsoon has been delayed by two weeks. But, situation is not as serious as it is made out to be. We expect the rainfall to pick up next week onwards,” Pawar told reporters.

He said the deficiency in rainfall was 31 per cent till July 2.

“The Met department has told me that July and August will get good monsoon and there will be ample opportunity to cover the gap in sowing due to delayed monsoon in June,” he said.

According to the minister, early sowing has been affected in some states.

“It is true that in certain states early sowing has been affected, particularly Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” he said.

Sowing of paddy rice, the main summer (kharif) crop, is 0.19 million hectares less than in 2011, the minister said, expressing the hope that good rains in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country would help in bringing more area under paddy cultivation.

“The situation of rice sowing is not worrisome.”

Among the coarse cereals, less rain in central and western parts has affected sowing of maize, barley and jowar — 1.4 million hectares was covered this year as compared to 2.47 million hectares normally, he said.

Sowing of pulses was less by 0.21 million hectares compared to last year, the minister disclosed, hoping that it would pick up in the next two weeks.

Cotton sowing was up by 0.65 million hectares and sugarcane by 0.30 million hectares than the normal.

Pawar also said that states were ready with their contingency plans in case of further delay in monsoon and had been told to keep sufficient quantity of seeds ready if there was need to shift crop.

Stating that 2011 had been the best crop production year, he said a comparison should be made with a normal year.

“The situation this year may not be fully satisfactory, but it is not bad,” he said.

Pawar assured the country that it had sufficient food stocks. Against a buffer norm of 33 million tonnes, food stocks as on June 1 stood at 82 million tonnes.

“There are sufficient stocks of food grain available in the country and the government is ready to supply if the states ask for it. Government will take a decision to enter the open market at an appropriate time,” he said. (IANS)

West coast states discuss security, drug trafficking

PANAJI, July 3: Officials from west side states like Gujarat and Goa met here to evolve a joint strategy for ensuring security along the country’s western coast to check the menace of drug trafficking, infiltration and terrorism, officials said.

Goa Chief Secretary Sanjiv Srivastava said that officials from Western Zone Council states which includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and other union territories like the Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu attended the two-day conclave.

“There are a lot of issues which are common for the states of Western India. There is the crucial issue of coastal security, drug trafficking, sharing of police-related information, issues of disaster management which have to be tackled in unison,” Srivastava said.

“This will be a part of a regular series of meetings, where states will discuss joint mechanisms to handle these issues,” Srivastava added.

The west coast of India, especially landing zones in coastal Maharashtra were used to traffic explosives for the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai.

The 26/11 terror strikes were also orchestrated by terrorists using a jetty to land in Mumbai before unleashing mayhem in country’s commercial capital.

According to police sources, the meeting would help Goa pin down the issue of drug trafficking which has begun to have serious implications on coastal southern Maharashtra.

“The beaches in south Maharashtra are emerging as the next big rave areas. A lot of drug dealers who operate in Goa are slowly making inroads in those areas which are relatively less under the police radar. There is a lot of connectivity between the drug circuit in Goa and other Maharashtra beaches like Tarkarli, Malvan, Sindhudurg, etc,” a police official said.

The official also said that issues related to coastal security and tsunami related preparedness were also discussed at the meeting. (IANS)

NIA officials get secure 3G communication system

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 4: Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have now been provided with a secure 3G mobile-based communication system to seamlessly report crime and other incidents from hostile conditions.

The Mobile-based Crime and Incident Reporting Platform (MCIRP) allows investigators to send photos, videos, audio and text from scenes of rioting, bomb blasts or other crime sites along with geo-location tagging to a central server.

The platform has been developed by MobME Wireless, a young mobile value added service company from Kerala, with funding support from Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR).

“The MCIRP was developed with the support of DSIR and works perfectly for sending information from our officers on the site to a central system in a secure and efficient manner,” said Loknath Behera, the NIA inspector general.

He said the NIA officers were constantly on the move for investigations and they needed a secure communication system to interact with a central server to relay information.

Currently, the officers, using walkie-talkies, struggle to communicate the gravity of the situation to the agency or the control room several kilometres away.

“The platform runs on Motorola Defy+ smartphones that are waterproof and scratch-proof, aiding NIA officers to record and transfer images and videos from the scene of incidents such as bomb blasts, even on rainy days or other harsh environments that generally result after a blast,” said Sanjay Vijayakumar, chief executive officer, MobME Wireless.

The prototype of the project was first developed based on 2G technology for the Kochi city police for crime and accident reporting.

Based on its success, the platform was scaled up using advanced technology and encompassing 3G to cater to NIA’s needs.

“The pre-programmed application will show the time, date and location in the photo, video and audio recordings letting the control room staff visualize and understand the actual scene and coordinate necessary action efficiently,” said Behera.

“MCIRP has been customised to our requirements. The rugged phone is water-proof and dust-proof to suit hostile conditions that our officers work in,” he said. (IANS)

Biodiversity project launched in Himachal

SHIMLA, July 3: A national project to access genetic resources, their economic values and share their benefits was launched in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The Rs 46-crore United Nations Environment Programme-Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) project on strengthening the implementation of the biological diversity act and rules with focus on its access and benefit sharing provisions would be taken up jointly with the union ministry of environment and forests.

The hill state is among the five chosen by the government to implement the project on a pilot basis. The other states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim.

An official statement quoting state Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy said the project would help increase public awareness and educate people and build capacity of stake-holders of the biodiversity at the grassroots level.

Balakrishna Pisupati, chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority in Chennai, was also present during the launch.

The lush green valleys and snow-capped mountains of Himachal Pradesh are home to 36 per cent of the country’s species of birds.

Of the 1,228 species that have been reported in India, 447 are found in this state alone.

Aptly called the storehouse of biodiversity, the state also supports 3,120 species of flowering plants, including 187 species of medicinal plants. (IANS)

Rajasthan villagers toil to harvest rainwater

BARMER, July 3: Residents of two villages surrounded by deserts in Rajasthan’s Barmer district are toiling hard day and night, digging up water storage facilities like ponds and step-wells to improve their water-retaining capacity. Villagers have vowed not to waste a single drop of water this monsoon.

“Hardly anyone would be able to understand the importance of water better than us. Traditional water storage facilities are a lifeline for us. So it is very important to maintain them properly. That’s why we have launched a campaign to clean them and improve their water storage capacity,” Ramkishore, a local resident said.

“We are working these days on Ganwai pond situated on the border of Thob and Rewada villages. It is a huge pond and a lifeline for about 2,000 residents of these two villages. However, it was not storing water to its fullest capacity for some years because of silt and garbage gathered inside it,” he said.

Two-third of the state’s geographical area is a part of the Great Thar Desert. Primarily Barmer district is a desert where the average rain fall in a year is 277 mm.

The villagers from Thob and Rewada villages in Barmer district are toiling hard day and night these days digging up conventional water storage facilities here including ponds and step-wells. The villages are about 550 kilometers from state capital Jaipur.

These villagers are being added by some non-government organizations (NGOs) including Jodhpur based Jal Bhagirathi.

The residents of these two villagers have formed a ‘Jal Sabha’, a self-run body for the management of Ganwai pond.

“Meetings of the body are held on regular basis. It’s job is to come up with ideas for improving pond’s storage capacity,” said MS Rajpurohit a resident of Thob.

To make the Jal Sabha self independent financially, Rs 100 is charged for every tanker which takes water from the pond. This money is used in the pond’s upkeep.

“We charge money from these water tankers only to maintain our precious water resources,” said Rajpurohit.

Rajasthan is the largest state of India but a dry one. The state has more than 10.4 per cent of the country’s geographical area. It supports more than 5.5 per cent of the country’s population and 18.70 per cent of the livestock but only has 1.16 per cent of the total surface water available. (IANS)

Priyanka: Barfi! is not about disabilities

MUMBAI, July 3: The first look trailer of Anurag Basu’s upcoming romantic comedy Barfi! starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D’Cruz released on Monday and without doubt, the trailer featuring Ranbir Kapoor in a Chaplinesque role impressed everyone present at the event. While talking about the movie and its characters, Basu, Kapoor and Chopra claimed that though the lead characters Murphy (Kapoor) and Jhilmil (Chopra) are shown as deaf-mute and mentally challenged respectively, the movie is not aimed at evoking sympathy. Priyanka Chopra said, “The film Barfi! is not about disabilities. When you watch the film, you will in fact be impressed at the way the characters go on about their lives and you will wonder that if such people can enjoy life so much, why can’t we do the same?” On his part, Ranbir Kapoor said, “Usually, when a film has disabled characters, it is expected that the movie will have a grim or dark tone. However, in our film, the protagonist Murphy is a happy-go-lucky guy who enjoys life and believes in spreading happiness everywhere. At one point, you will forget that the characters are disabled in any way.” Barfi! is slated to release on September 14. (Agencies)

Complaint filed against Sharman for not promoting 3 Bachelors

MUMBAI, July 3: A couple of weeks after his Ferrari Ki Sawaari wowed audiences and won him accolades for his honest performance, the actor has found himself in hot waters over his decision to not promote a decade old small budget film titled 3 Bachelors, in which he starred when he was not as popular as he is now. Sources claim that Joshi was quite miffed with the fact that the makers of the film waited till Ferrari Ki Sawaari was a hit before allegedly piggy-backing on its success by planning to release 3 Bachelors and the Style star had refused to promote it in any way. However, not to be daunted by this, the producers Pramod Sharma and Manoj Rastogi have filed a complaint against him in a magistrate court. Their claim is that Joshi has been paid his fees in full for the movie 3 Bachelors and as such, he is under an obligation to help with the promotions. The aforementioned film 3 Bachelors releases this weekend. Meanwhile, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra announced a few days back that he is planning a sequel to Ferrari Ki Sawaari. (Agencies)

Shahid to learn Marwari for YRF flick

MUMBAI, July 3: After learning to fly a fighter plane for Pankaj Kapur’s directorial debut Mausam, actor Shahid Kapoor is all set to learn Marwari for his upcoming YRF flick, in which he would star opposite Parineeti Chopra. Sources claim that Kapoor will be playing the role of a middle class Marwari boy in the film and as such, the Kaminey actor is planning to undergo a workshop to learn the accent and the nuances of the language. It seems that Maneesh Sharma, who will be directing the film, insisted that Sasha, as he is popularly known, learn the characteristics and accent to add authenticity to the character. Kapoor was last seen opposite Priyanka Chopra in Teri Meri Kahaani, which was a love story set in three different eras. (Agencies)

Ajay's character in Bol.. mix of Singham, Golmaal

MUMBAI, July 3: Actor Ajay Devgn, who plays a wrestler in his forthcoming film Bol Bachchan, says his character is a combination of his roles in Singham and Golmaal. “I enjoyed it. This character is very tough, but very soft and emotional at heart plus comic. So, it is a combination of everything. I would say this character is a combination of Singham and Golmaal,” the 43-year-old said here on Monday while promoting the film on reality show Indian Idol.” Ajay also praised his co-star Abhishek Bachchan for moulding into comedy so well. “I think Abhishek has done a fabulous job and when you see the film, you’ll realize that. He took just one day to adjust to the kind of comedy and energy we do in our films. He was completely set in another half a day,” said Ajay. Directed by Rohit Shetty, Bol Bachchan also stars Prachi Desai, Asin Thottumkal, Archana Puran Singh and Krushna Abhishek. The film releases this Friday. Abhishek, who is doing a comedy after some time, feels actors should not get into comfort zone. “I think the actor should not remain in his comfort zone otherwise he becomes complacent. If you remain nervous, you give extra attention to your job. I believe the day an actor gets comfortable, he should stop working,” he said. (IANS)

Veena gets curvy, says size zero doesn't exist in South

MUMBAI, July 3: If Vidya Balan gained 12 kg to play southern sex siren in The Dirty Picture, Pakistani actress Veena Malik claims she has put on 5 kg for the Kannada version of the film and that her dialogues have not been dubbed. “I had to put on five kg for the role because the script demanded so. Size zero does not exist here in South. I was 48 kgs, now I am 53 kg. Fourty per cent of the shooting has been completed,” said Veena Malik. Currently Veena is shooting for Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga in Bangalore. “ The Dirty Picture in Kannada has got no relation to the Hindi version. Yes, it is the story of Silk but it’s a different story. You will have to wait and watch. I am speaking in Kannada in the film. It’s not being dubbed.” There is a constant comparison between Veena and Rakhi Sawant, but the Pakistani actress, whose first Bollywood film Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai sank without a trace, says being judged doesn’t bother her. “No, it does not bother me because whenever any new thing comes, people tend to judge it or tag it. I am sure with time things will change. I am new here, so I am being judged. I don’t mind that because it is human nature,” she said. (IANS)