KOLKATA: Six persons were killed and 20 others injured in a devastating fire that swept through a 150-year-old multi-storeyed building housing offices and residences on upscale Park Street on Tuesday.
The fire broke out at 2:15pm, but there was confusion on which floor of the six-storey building, Stephen Court, it broke out with panic gripping those trapped inside.
The toll could rise, fire services minister Pratim Chatterjee said.
The Stephen Court, located in the heart of the city, houses the iconic 100-year-old Flury's confectionery house and a large music store called Music World and several other offices.
Of the six casualties, a man, identified as Sourav Barik leapt to his death, while a woman Richa Krishnan fell when she lost her grip while being evacuated by firemen with the help of a rope.
Three others - Pradip Chokhalia, Vivek Upadhyay and Bikash Agarwala - died of burns in hospital, home secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters.
The blaze could not be brought under control till 8pm, he said.
Commissioner of Kolkata Police Gautam Chakraborty, however, said the blaze on the third and fourth floors were under control, while firemen failed to establish contact with employees of a firm, Microsystems, in the building.
A 70-metre ladder, the world's second tallest, was used to rescue the trapped people, while eight bowzers and 45 fire engines were deployed, Chatterjee said.
Thick smoke and flames engulfed the building as some of the people trapped in the building came out on ledges driven by the flames inside.
The wooden staircase of the building went up in flames and parts of the building crumbled as around 300 firemen fought the blaze with 40 tenders and snorkel ladders, the Fire Services minister said.
"It's an old building and its fire-resistance capacity is not known. I can't say if the building can be saved considering the degree of devastation," he said.
Chatterjee said that fire-fighters were rescuing the trapped persons one by one. He said there was no lack of water to fight the fire.
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee said, "I spoke to the defence ministry for sending the army. The defence ministry has issued instructions to send the army.
"The West Bengal government should have sought the help of the army, but I don't know why they have not done it," she told reporters at the scene of the fire.
West governor M K Narayanan visited the spot. Forensic experts will examine the site on Wednesday.
Live-in relationship, pre-marital sex not an offence: SC
NEW DELHI: In an observation that will cheer votaries of pre-marital sex and live-in-partners, the Supreme Court on Tuesday opined that a man and woman living together without marriage cannot be construed as an offence.
"When two adult people want to live together what is the offence. Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence," a three judge bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan observed.
The court said even Lord Krishna and Radha lived together according to mythology.
The apex court said there was no law which prohibits live-in relationship or pre-marital sex.
The apex court made the observation while reserving its judgement on a special leave petiton filed by noted south Indian actress Khusboo seeking to quash 22 criminal cases filed against her after she allegedly endorsed pre-maritial sex in interviews to various magazines in 2005.
The judges grilled the counsel for some of the complainants in the case and repeatedly stressed that the perceived immoral activities cannot be branded as offence.
The argument of the counsel was that her comments allegedly endorsing pre-marital sex would adversely affect the minds of young people leading to decay in moral values and country's ethos.
"Please tell us what is the offence and under which section. Living together is a right to life," the apex court said apparently referring to Article 21 which granted right to life and liberty as a Fundamental Right.
The apex court further said the views expressed by Khusboo were personal.
"How does it concern you? We are not bothered. At the most it is a personal view. How is it an offence? Under which provision of the law?" the bench asked the counsel.
The apex court further asked the complainants to produce evidence to show if any girls eloped from their homes after the said interview.
"How many homes have been affected can you tell us," the bench asked while enquiring whether the complainants had daughters. When the response was in the negative, they shot back, "Then, how are you adversely affected?"
Khusboo had approached the apex court after the Madrash High Court in 2008 dismissed her plea for quashing the criminal cases filed against her throughout Tamil Nadu.
Vacuum at the top without Vajpayee: Shatrughan
Lucknow: Days after he vent his frustration over selection of the new team of BJP office bearers, Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday said that there is a vacuum at the top in the absence of Atal Bihari Vajpayee coupled with certain other factors.
In an informal interaction with reporters here, Sinha said the BJP leadership was weakened after the retirement of Vajpayee from active politics. He said there were also certain other factors but declined to elaborate.
The BJP leader, however, sought to put a lid on the controversy following his outburst against party President Nitin Gadkari that deserving candidates had been ignored in the new team announced last week.
"Whatever I had to say on the executive committee issue I have told my party President and also apprised the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and would not react on it further," Sinha said insisting that he had not violated discipline by "expressing his reservations".
The BJP MP from Patna asked his party to concentrate on the coming "crucial" assembly elections in Bihar and sort out the problems of factionalism in the party. Sinha, who was here for the promotion of his son, Luv Sinha's debut film "Sadiyan" releasing early next month, asked the party to project a strong and united face.
"In this election year, it is most important for the party to address all its problems and see as to why the recent results to the by elections had not been favourable", he said adding that though the present Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is doing good work, the results indicated that there is something wrong somewhere and it needed to be rectified immediately.
"We have to ensure that Bihar does not go the Jharkhand way," he said adding that besides doing good work it is also important to ensure that people are perceiving it.
The BJP MP also coined a new slogan 'Bihar rising" instead of "Bihar Shining" which, he said, would be more apt as a lot still needs to be done in that state. Sinha regretted at being ignored by the party in his home state. "I was neither invited for the Bihar diwas programme nor am called for the various functions of the chief minister there", he said adding in a lighter vein that perhaps "some people feel insecure because of my popularity".
On the controversy raised over his comments on the new team, Sinha said that he only wanted deserving and capable people should get their rightful place in the party and the undeserving are not given priority over them.
On the women reservation issue, he said that it has been highly politicised as some "vested interests" had been trying to gain political mileage out of it.
"There are bound to be different views on an issue like this but a consensus should be evolved through all party meeting", he said suggesting "counselling" for those having views against it as the bill aims to " change people's mentality over the subject".
Govt alerts Naxal-hit states on possible attack on rail network
New Delhi: The government has alerted Naxal affected states against possible Maoist attacks on railway networks in wake of the Left extremists targeting a Rajdhani express in Bihar by blasting the rail tracks.
The Home Ministry has issued the alert to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh apprehending attacks by Naxalites on trains and railway infrastructure as any sabotage on the network can result in large scale damages, official sources said.
The Home Ministry has also requested the Railway Ministry to deploy adequate manpower to provide security to rail operations and passengers and take necessary precautionary measures.
The alert has been issued after the latest attack near Gaya, when Maoists targeted a Rajdhani express blasting the rail tracks in which the passengers had a miraculous escape after ten coaches derailed. The attack came during the 48-hour 'bandh' call given by Naxals on Monday in the state along with six others.
"The states should also utilise the services of central para-military forces, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Home guards, civil defence and village defence committees in order to enhance and ensure the security of trains and other railway property," they said.
Sources said the Home Ministry has issued an alert about possible Naxal attacks on the railway networks running through Naxal-affected areas about a fortnight ago.
Railway properties are becoming more and more vulnerable to Maoist attacks with Naxals blowing up tracks and stations over 60 times across the country in the past five years.
A terrorist has no religion, says Gadkari
New Delhi: BJP president Nitin Gadkari says that terrorists have no religion and cannot be categorised as a Hindu or a Muslim.
"... terrorist has no creed, caste or religion. A God fearing Hindu will not kill an innocent Muslim and similarly, a god fearing Muslim will not kill an innocent Hindu, and if he is doing so, then he is a terrorist who does not belong to any religion," he said at the 'dedication ceremony' for over 100 professionals as volunteers for the BJP yesterday.
He termed as "propaganda" that Hindutva was against Muslims and said people were "misrepresenting" the facts to further their vested interests.
Maintaining that BJP was in favour of equality in social and economic spheres for all, he said "We believe in the philosophy of 'vasudev kutumbhkam' (world is one family)."
Terming Hindutva as the "spirit" of BJP, Gadkari said it cannot be a subject of political debate and it can never be an agenda for any political party. He lamented that the image of Hindutva had overshadowed its real meaning.
"Whether someone likes it or not, the subject has been a matter of debate for the last 40 years in politics. I feel people should know the reality (of what Hindutva means) after serious thinking.
"It is a tragedy of image versus reality. Letters can change but not the spirit. Hindutva is our philosophy, it is our spirit... which cannot change," he added.
He said it was necessary that the new generation was taught the real meaning of Hindutva, adding, "A proper focus on the issue is the need of the hour".
RSS ideologue M G Vaidya, who also spoke, said that for BJP, distancing itself from Hindutva would mean distancing itself from RSS and its core values.
He recalled that when the issue of BJP's relations vis-a-vis Hindutva was being debated in 2004, he had said BJP has moved along a particular line from where it would not be appropriate to pull it back.
"I had said that if BJP disassociates itself from Hindutva, then the RSS would take a call on whether to keep Hindutva in politics or not," he added.
Business News
Towards watchdogs with bite
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the Planning Commission to prepare a draft bill seeking stakeholders comments on regulatory reforms, amid complaints from certain quarters about the haphazard functioning of the current set of watchdogs.
He said the government would welcome views of all stakeholders in this very important area.
"We need to review the approach that should guide our regulatory institutions in different sectors," Singh said.
To a question from the floor that the government should bring out an omnibus legislation to set up "infrastructure czar" to override all other regulations, Singh said the government would look into suggestions.
Earlier, the Planning Commission had come out with an Approach Paper on regulatory reforms, saying it saw a need to bring regulators under the common format as there are many independent watchdogs for various sectors while many areas do not have any regulators.
The country has several regulators such as TRAI for telecom and broadcast industry, SEBI for the capital markets and IRDA for the insurance industry.
The paper said it wished to deal with the "somewhat haphazard and uneven approach to regulation across and within the different sectors of the economy resulting in inadequate and expensive reform".
The paper also said there is no energy sector regulator, while the social sector lacks any independent and transparent regulation.
The paper pointed out TAMP (Tariff Authority for Major Ports) has limited authority in determining tariffs for major ports, while AAI (Airports Authority of India) is operator and regulator of airports, and DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) along with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is responsible for safety and technical aspects.
India to grow 8.5% next fiscal: PM
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh exuded confidence the economy would grow by 8.5 per cent in the next fiscal and accelerate to 9 per cent the following year from an estimated 7.2 per cent this fiscal.
Going forward, the country should step up the pace of economic expansion to above 10 per cent per annum in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2107) to generate employment for the youth and remove poverty, the Prime Minister said at a conference on building infrastructure hosted by the Planning Commission.
"We expect to achieve 8.5 per cent growth rate in the year 2010-11... I hope we can achieve growth rate of 9 per cent in the year 2011-12," he said.
However, the country should do even better, he said.
"For eliminating poverty and providing productive employment for our young population in the near future, we must aim at accelerating the pace of economic growth to above 10 per cent per annum. This is the growth target which we should work towards for the 12th Five Year Plan," Singh said.
The Prime Minister's remarks assume importance since the original target of nine per cent growth rate in the 11th Five Year Plan is set for a downward revision to little over 8 per cent.
After growing at over 9 per cent in the three preceding year, India's economic growth declined to 6.7 per cent last fiscal due to the global financial crisis.
However, due to the three fiscal stimulus packages given by the Government to prop up the economy, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) has estimated economic growth at 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal.
Google units exposed to angry Beijing
Google's gambit in pulling the plug on its flagship search engine in China leaves its remaining operations there exposed to the whimsy of Beijing, whose initial reaction is far from reassuring.
Google plans to maintain an advertising sales force as well as its large research and development operations in China, but risks losing market share, revenue and staff to rivals including market leader Baidu, up-and-comer Tencent and US heavyweight Microsoft.
Opportunities to develop and market its Android and Chrome operating systems for cellphones and PCs in China could also be threatened, a potential setback for partners such as handset makers Dell and Lenovo.
"There's no doubt the Chinese might make life difficult for Google," said Vivek Couto, an analyst at Media Partners Asia. "But they don't want to go directly after them. China also has to be a bit cautious."
Google's decision to shut its mainland Chinese-language portal and reroute searches to its Hong Kong-based site to avoid the self-censorship Beijing demands was seen more as an escalation than a compromise in the two-month old dispute.
Though tensions could ease after an initial round of finger-pointing, the uncertainty and need for Beijing's tolerance, if not support, threaten Google's prospects in the world's largest Internet market.
Initial indications that Google's gambit was getting a chilly reception came from the official Xinhua news agency, which cited an unnamed official calling the move "totally wrong" and in violation of Google's written promises.
Analyst estimates of Google's annual revenue in China range from $300 million to roughly $600 million, a small portion of its $24 billion in annual revenue.
OTHERS EXPOSED
Other stakeholders exposed to Google's actions include cellphone makers like Dell and Lenovo, which are both developing Android-based phones for China, as well as the hundreds of people who independently sell ads and develop software for Google's products.
Spokeswomen at Lenovo and China Mobile, which is planning to offer the Dell Android phones on its network, had no immediate comment.
Meantime, other search sites operators stand ready to benefit most form Google's withdrawal, most notably Baidu -- which has 60 per cent of China's search market -- and others such as fast-growing Tencent, analysts said. "It will benefit everybody in China, but the obvious immediate beneficiary will be Baidu," said CLSA analyst Elinor Leung. Microsoft, which has launched a beta version of its Bing search site in China, could also pick up market share, she added.
Other Web players could benefit as well if Google decides to use them as a back-door strategy to invest in China's Internet market. Yahoo used a similar strategy after abandoning its own efforts in China in favor of buying 40 per cent of leading China e-commerce operator Alibaba Group.
CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC
Despite the potential for collateral damage, observers and those who work for Google were cautiously optimistic that the current conflict wouldn't spiral out of control, saying such escalation was in no one's interest.
Google's interest in the market is already clear.
In direct terms, Google may have to give up some or all of its revenue derived from China's search market, depending on whether its advertisers follow it to its redirected China site at google.com.hk.
But China also has an interest in placating Western governments that have been critical of its heavy-handed approach to media control and civil rights. China also needs major global tech firms like Google to develop its own domestic industries so they can someday compete on the global stage.
"If Google leaves its R&D unit in its current headquarters in Beijing ... the staff will remain, so I think our activities will continue," said Arthur Wang, chairman of Beijing Google Technology User Group, one of Google's largest software development groups.
Advertisers could take a more cautious approach until they see if traffic to Google's Hong Kong site catering to mainland Chinese Web surfers gets the same traffic as its shuttered China site, said Kaiser Kuo, a China-based technology commentator.
"Buying on a redirected site that could be at any moment blocked is a risky strategy," he said. "So I think people are going to read the tea leaves and see what the government is going to do in this situation before making any commitments."
Edward Yu, an analyst a China research firm Analysys, was confident Google could continue to operate effectively in China.
"In the short term, some officials may be upset about Google rerouting its operations," he said. "But when thinks cool down, I think the other part of their operations are not affected as long as they comply with the regulations," he said.
Sports News
IPL auction cap raised to $7 mn
Indian Premier League on Tuesday said that each team would now be allowed to keep a purse of USD seven million (about Rs 35 crore) to bid for players, up from the prevailing level of USD five million.
"This would mean USD 70 million for the 10 teams every year and USD 210 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) in three years... this will be the single largest auction in sporting world... you see even in art auctions the bids are for a few millions and that too for total ownership.
"In IPL, the amount that the teams would spend on players would be huge for having the contract for just three years," IPL Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi said.
After winning team Pune with a staggering bid of over Rs 1,700 crore, Sahara Group chief Subroto Roy had suggested that IPL should increase the ceiling on the cap for each team to participate in the auction.
Roy's acquisition comes in the midst of the third season of IPL, where eight teams are vying for honour in the over month-long tournament. Rendezvous World Sports bagged the Kochi team, taking the total number to 10, which Modi said would remain intact for at least seven years.
Modi said Roy has a long association with cricket India, "he understands the game and his bid, though slightly higher than what he anticipated, proved that IPL has the value."
The enhanced cap for auctioning would be for three years from IPL season-IV beginning next year, he said, adding that details of the increased ceiling as also the auction programme would be announced shortly after the ongoing tournament.
Pooh-poohing the doomsayers and sceptics of IPL, he said that doubts were raised right from the time the league was launched and even when the first tournament was played. Independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance has said the IPL's brand value has more than doubled to USD 4.13 billion this year, reflecting the format's success.
"Even the IPL season-II was questioned as it was being played on foreign soil and now despite the success the questions are being asked how long? We are making a few crores a day... every time I put a number in the market be it for the players or bids, people say it is not achievable but I have delivered every time," he said.
On the contrary, he said that every such criticism would make him more determined about the success as sceptics did not talk with knowledge and "I have worked on figures for 15 years days in and days out.
Modi said that the three-year lock-in period would continue even in the next round of bidding and should a player or team desire for a change there are "separate trading windows for the purpose".
IPL 3: Kohli falls as Murali strikes again
NEW DELHI: Muttiah Muralitharan took his third wicket when he had Virat Kohli stumped by Parthiv Patel to reduce Royal Challengers Bangalore to 110/4 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Kohli hit a six and two fours in his 16-ball 24 before falling to Murali.
With some good running between the wickets coupled with big hits, Robin Uthappa and Kohli brought up Bangalore's 100 in the 15th over.
Their 47-run partnership came after Muralitharan dismissed Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey in successive overs to reduce Royal Challengers Bangalore to 63/3.
Murali got his second wicket when his captain Suresh Raina took a superb catch running backwards from short mid-wicket to mid-on. Pandey hit two fours in his 28-ball 20.
In his previous over, Murali clean bowled Rahul Dravid (14) as Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their second wicket in the eighth over.
Dravid hit two fours in his 11-ball 14.
Jacques Kallis lost his wicket for the first time in IPL 3 when Lakshmipathy Balaji clean bowled him from behind his legs
Kallis hit 4 fours in his 17-ball 19 after Chennai Super Kings captain Suresh Raina won the toss and elected to bowl.
Bangalore Royal Challengers: Anil Kumble (Capt.), Manish Pandey, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Dravid, Mark Boucher, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Dale Steyn.
Chennai Super Kings: Suresh Raina (Capt.), Parthiv Patel, Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, George Bailey, Albie Morkel, R Ashwin,
Lakshmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sudeep Tyagi.
Tendulkar rules out playing Twenty20 World Cup
New Delhi: Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday ruled out playing in this year's Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, saying he sticks to his stance of not playing Twenty20 Internationals anymore.
Even though Tendulkar is not among the 30 probables already selected for the April 30-May 16 event, former captain Sunil Gavaskar led the chorus, asking Tendulkar, who is in sensational form, to change his stance and play in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Tendulkar, however, dismissed the possibility.
"I will not be playing the ICC World Twenty20. I have not played Twenty20 Internationals from 2007 onwards and I don't think it should become an issue now," Tendulkar told CNN-IBN channel.
Tendulkar, along with senior players Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, had opted out of the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, which Indian won under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy.
Since then, Tendulkar has kept himself out of Twenty20 Internationals, saying he did not want to upset the team which had won the 2007 World Cup.
