STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 29 July
The Wolver Valley Cup is the feature in a card of seven races framed for tomorrow. In all 11 runners from Class IV are in the fray for this 1,400m contest.  Going by the weights allotted, two runners seem to have edge over others. Between Gallop To Glory and Ace Elegance the latter is fancied to score. For the best bet of the afternoon, Anassa in the concluding event appeals most. The Vijay Singh trained runner will be ridden by C Alford.
Selections: 2.15 p.m.: DECCAN PRINCESS 1, Haynestown 2, Ijlal 3. 2.45 p.m.: SHIVALIK SHAKTI 1, Azorian 2, Tough One 3. 3.15 p.m.: SELF DIRECTED 1, Greased Lightnin 1, Chhundu 3. 3.45 p.m.: ARDENT ‘N’ GRACEFUL 1, Gluteus Maximus 2, Divine Symphony 3.
 4.15 p.m.: ROYAL HONOUR 1, Poles Apart 2, Stupid Cupid 3. 4.45 p.m.: ACE ELEGANCE 1, Gallop To Glory 2, Dancing Dame 3. 5.15 p.m.: ANASSA 1, Iconic 2, Burst Of Stardust 3. Day&’s best: Anassa.

“Hidayat is a role model and a driving force in global badminton”

sns & agencies
New Delhi, 29 July
London Games silver medallist and IBL Icon player Saina Nehwal is delighted to be part of the same team as former Olympic champion and her childhood hero Taufiq Hidayat.
The 23-year-old Nehwal, who is preparing for the upcoming World Championship in China next month, said, “He (Taufiq) is a role model and a driving force in the game. I’m really happy to be part of Hyderabad Hotshots team and I was thrilled once he was also included.”
Saina, who bagged a price of USD 120,000 in the IBL auction, said she was looking forward to train with the legendary Indonesian.
“Getting to train and play along with him is going to be brilliant. It will be the best part about playing the league,” the world No.3 women’s player said.
The Indian shuttle star further added, “Fans would love to watch him on courts. I know Taufik Sir since I joined the game.
He is known for his wrist play, his back strokes are matchless and so nicely and accurately hit, and his net play and court coverage is unparalleled.
“I remember playing with him as a mixed double partner for an exhibition match in Syed Modi Memorial tournament in Lucknow in 2009. I have great memories of that match. I also have a smashing photograph with him, Prakash (Padukone) sir and Gopi (Pullela Gopichand) sir from an event held in Mumbai the same year.
“Now, our association for Hyderabad Hotshots will be for more than a fortnight.”
Commenting on the Indonesian’s famed charm and handsome looks, Saina, who has a hat-trick of Indonesia Open titles under her belt, said, “Taufiq sir is the king of badminton, handsome, talented and very humble. He is extremely energetic on the court and so charming that he makes badminton look easy and simple, though it’s not.
“It is the fastest game in the world and requires loads of energy to play. Taufiq sir is very simple and yet moody, if he is not interested in a game he will not play. I’m sure his presence will be a great morale booster to Hyderabad Hotshots.” More
Asked if she had any plans to take the Indonesian legend for sight-seeing, Saina replied, “It depends on the team management on how they will manage.
 It will be very hectic to play in six cities, travelling from one place to another in 18 days. So, there will hardly be any time left for sight-seeing.”
The USD 1-million Indian Badminton League is set to launch on August 14, 2013, with some high-voltage action expected between Krrish Delhi Smashers and Pune Pistons.
The 2013 IBL will feature six franchises and will run for 18 days.
Each franchise will host a two-day leg and the league will involve a total of 90 matches.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 
Kolkata, 29 July
On the advice of Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen, Presidency Mentor Group (PMG) recommended a two year&’s extension for Professor Malabika Sarkar, the present Vice-Chancellor of Presidency University. 
PMG submitted its fifth report to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee praising the leadership of Prof Sarkar. The mentor group feels Prof Sarkar must get an extension till 30 June 2015. This is because the university needs “continuity and stability” at least for this period when the first constitution of the university authority is not complete. Praising Prof Sarkar, the report reads: “She has both the academic vision and the fund-raising ability that are required of university leaders of today’s world … the talented young faculty … have full faith in her and want to see her at the helm. A high-power search committee has to be formed to conduct a national and international search for a distinguished successor for Presidency."
To cure the exodus of bright faculties in search of better pay package in Central institutes, PMG recommends: “If there are insurmountable fiscal, financial or legal obstacles to providing competitive salaries and benefits with the state university system, we would like the representatives of the state government to discuss ways to bring parity.” 
PMG has urged the state government to allow the university to supplement the total emoluments of the “exceptional” faculty from its own resources. It is the same financial constraints for which the search for professors is held up because the salary which PMG recommended for these professors (R 1.72 lakh per month) is more than the salary of V-Cs of state universities. “… Salary for these distinguished academic positions should be delinked from the grades and ranks of higher bureaucracy,” recommends PMG.

statesman news service 
Kolkata, 29 July
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) today deployed three pumps to remove accumulated water from the streets in some areas in Behala. 
There was waterlogging in Silpara, Pora Asvatthatala, Sarsuna, parts of Thakurpukur, Ultadanga, Manicktala and Belgachia following heavy shower that hit the city yesterday. Traffic along Diamond Harbour Road between Silpara and Pora Asvatthatala was affected during the morning peak hour as a stretch of the road had to be closed due to waterlogging. Accumulated water, however, receded fast. 
Residents of Sarsuna alleged they had requested the civic authorities several times to take measures to prevent waterlogging in the areas before monsoon. But the KMC did not take any action.
Markets were flooded and people had to wade through waist deep water to reach their place of work. Office goers using Diamond Harbour Road were caught in traffic jams as one side of the road had to be closed due to waterlogging.

statesman news service
Kolkata, 29 July
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will not accept any Property Information Forms (PIFs) from house owners of 18 wards where general revaluation (GR) will be held after 31 July.
The GR will be held in four wards each in north and south Kolkata and Behala and two wards each in Tollygunge, Jadavpur and Garden Reach.
The GR was stopped in September 2010 following instruction of the then Railway minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, who did not want to put the burden of property tax on the owners in the city.
The result was disastrous and the civic body&’s revenue collection from property tax nose-dived.
To cope with the situation the state government allowed the KMC to introduce property tax waiver scheme which had helped it fetch around R 400 crore. But this was not enough to meet the ever-increasing expense and finally she gave nod to KMC&’s proposal to start the GR.
The KMC for the first time introduced the PIF whereby owners will have to give information about their property on the basis of which the GR would be conducted. There is a convention in the KMC that if there is no addition or alteration then in case of non-tenanted premises, the hike of  annual valuation is 10 per cent  every six years.
Senior KMC officials said that on an average only 35 per cent of property owners have submitted PIFs and this is far below its expectation.
The officials said in many areas particularly in Jadavpur and Behala where GR would be held  in wards 101, 107, 117, 124, 127 and 128 a few thousand buildings have come up after the KMC Act, 1980 came into force in 1984. Many of these apartment blocks have not been mutated in the name of the present owners and tax bills are issued in the name of the original owner which is very low.

blames security lapse; says ‘outside’ agencies involved 
press trust of india
Guwahati, 29 July
The anti-talk faction of the ULFA led by Paresh Baruah was behind the grenade blast at Paltan Bazar in the heart of the city that left 15 people injured, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said today.
He said the ULFA-I had carried out the blasts last night with help from outside agencies and directed officials to take necessary steps to prevent such incidents.
Mr Gogoi admitted that there must have been some security lapse “otherwise the blast would not have taken place”. “Outside agencies do not want development in Assam and as such are pressuring insurgent outfits active in the state to carry out such blasts…If there is development in Assam, the problem of unemployment will end and youth will not join any insurgent outfit. As a result, these outside forces will lose ground,” he told reporters at Mariani.
Referring to the AGP and BJP’s allegation of the state government having failed to check violence, the Chief Minister said that during NDA’s rule, 410 people had died in blasts in the state but in recent years only 52 people have died. “Moreover, it was during the AGP’s rule in the state that the dangerous secret killings had taken place,” Gogoi said.
Director General of Police, Mr Jayanta Narayan Choudhury told the media at the blast site here that ULFA-I top leader Drishti Rajkhowa was the mastermind behind the blast.
“We got intelligence inputs that Paresh Barua-led ULFA-I may carry out subversive activities in the run-up to Independence Day,” he said. With warnings of more such incidents, the government has put in place measures to prevent them while security has been tightened in vulnerable areas across the state. Checking, patrolling and intelligence gathering have been stepped up. Noting that the grenade thrown yesterday was of Chinese make, he said, “Chinese ones are easily available and their casings are made of plastic. Because of that the blast was less intense.”
A NIA team that carried out investigations at the blast site during the day too confirmed that it was a Chinese grenade. A Unified Command Structure meeting was held with the Chief Secretary, Four Corps commander, senior Paramilitary forces and police officers here today. Meanwhile, all the 15 injured in the blast admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital are stated to be stable.
Following the grenade blast, Kamrup (Metro) district administration, under which Guwahati city falls, has promulgated Section 144 Cr PC for safety. The blast at Paltan Bazar also left including three sports people from West Bengal injured.

statesman news service
New Delhi, 29 July
To give a boost to emergency care of accident victims, the Union minister for road transport and highways, Mr Oscar Fernandes, today launched a pilot project for cashless treatment of accident victims on the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of National Highway-8.
Mr Fernandes also flagged off six new advance life support ambulances, for urgently transporting accident victims to nearby hospitals. The ambulances have been supplied by the road transport ministry.
A crash investigation vehicle deployed by National Automotive Testing Research and Development Infrastructure Project (Natrip) for scientific investigation of serious accidents on this stretch, was also flagged off by the minister.
The National Ambulance Code developed by the ministry by utilising the expertise of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, with the active participation of the automobile industry, vehicle testing agencies and other stakeholders, was released on this occasion.
 Mr Fernandes said on the basis of the experience gained from this pilot project and the investigation by the team of IIT Delhi a more comprehensive scheme may be launched for the entire country in phases. 
Mr Vijay Chhibber, secretary, ministry of road transport & highways, brought out the unique features of the pilot project ~ a toll free number 1033 to report accidents; a 24×7 call centre to receive information about accidents and deploy the nearest ambulance by tracking through GPS devices. The category of first responder, which also includes two-wheeled ambulances, has been specially introduced for the first time in India to provide prompt medical care in congested by-lanes and high traffic areas. He announced that the ministry has already initiated action to make construction of ambulances as per provisions of the Code mandatory under Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
The chief ministers of Haryana and Rajasthan were also present.

New Delhi, 29 July: A delegation of the All India Coordination Committee of Midday Meal Workers (Citu), led by the Citu general secretary, Mr Tapan Sen, MP, today met the minister of state for HRD, Mr Jitin Prasada, and urged that the midday meal scheme should not be privatised in the wake of the recent tragedy in Bihar.
In a memorandum, the delegation said the scheme should not be handed over to NGOs or corporates.
Such changes would deprive children of freshly cooked food and employment to the most marginalised women in the society, they said.
Demanding implementation of the recent Indian Labour Conference recommendation to recognise midday meal workers as workers entitled to minimum wages, the delegation said they should be provided an honorarium of R 500 immediately as promised by the ministry in the ILC.
The minister assured the delegation that the remuneration will be increased immediately, the Citu said.

London, 29 July: A UK school has banned skirts for girls as young as nine citing concerns over shrinking hemlines and the pupils appearing very “unladylike”.
Girls from Walkwood Church of England Middle School in Redditch, Worcestershire, have been told to wear trousers from September amid concerns over shrinking hemlines. The school will also ban women pupils from donning blouses from 2014 to ensure boys and girls wear the same uniform, The Telegraph reported. But the move has been branded “crazy” by parents who wared that denying young girls the chance to wear skirts would leave them confused. One campaign group said 63 schools currently banned children from wearing skirts. Most are secondaries but at least one other middle school, teaching nine- to 13-year-olds have launched a similar crackdown.
David Doubtfire, the head teacher, said the ban was necessary because pupils were wearing increasingly shorter skirts. “Some of the older girls were beginning to wear extremely short skirts. It was becoming difficult, especially when it came to them sitting down in the school hall. It was very unladylike,” Mr Doubtfire was quoted as saying. “We would ask them to make their skirts longer, but they would just roll them up again when we turned away. It was getting complicated and this should make it cheaper for parents. Some of the blouses were expensive,” he said.  pti

Confidential order that lists investigative scribes as potential threats
Agence France-Presse
Wellington, 29 July
New Zealand&’s military was ordered today to rewrite a manual that warns that media poses as much of a threat to national security as extemist groups and foreign Intelligence services.
Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman said the language in the manual, which is used to train the military in security procedures, was “heavy-handed” and needed to be changed.
“My view is that the reference to investigative journalists should be removed from this order,” he said in a statement. “It is inappropriate and heavy-handed.”
The review comes after the Sunday Star-Times revealed that the manual, which was written in 2003, defined three “subversive” groups as a security risk ~ hostile Intelligence services, extreme organisations and investigative journalists. It warns about such groups seeking to bring the government into disrepute or “weaken the military, economic or political strength of a nation by undermining the morale, loyalty or reliability of its citizens”.
Opposition defence spokesman Phil Goff said it was “utterly wrong and intolerable” for the military’s top brass to display such paranoia about journalists, showing they did not understand the media’s role in a democratic society. “The defence force leadership has confused national security with a desire not to be embarrassed by what investigative journalists might discover about any shortcomings on their part,” he said. “That is reminiscent of the Nixon White House and has no place in our political system.”
The Sunday Star-Times also alleged that the military asked US Intelligence to monitor the phone calls of a New Zealand journalist who was in Afghanistan last year reporting on the activities of the elite SAS unit.
New Zealand’s acting defence force chief said today that there is no evidence the military unlawfully spied on a journalist in Afghanistan who was freelancing for US news organisation McClatchy. The acting defense force chief, Major General Tim Keating, said the military officers responsible for operations in Afghanistan have assured him that there had been no unlawful monitoring of Stephenson by New Zealand or foreign spy agencies.
Mr Goff said the situation raised further doubts about moves to expand the power of Intelligence services so they can spy on New Zealanders, particularly after it was revealed that Internet mogul Kim Dotcom was illegally snooped upon before his arrest in January last year.
The expanded powers, backed by Prime Minister John Key, are due to go to parliament this week and are expected to be passed by a narrow majority. “After the Kim Dotcom debacle and revelations about activities of spy agencies in the USA and the UK, a wide cross-section of New Zealanders have no confidence in our Intelligence agencies,” Mr Goff said.

Cambodian Opp: Cambodia’s Opposition on Monday rejected the claim of victory by the ruling party of strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen in weekend elections, alleging widespread irregularities. afp
Qantas evacuation: Passengers of a Qantas Airline aircraft, with 50 passengers, had to be evacuated and its pilots hospitalised on Monday after smoke was reported from its cockpit at Canberra Airport. pti
China knife attack: In fresh knife attack, three people were killed and five others hurt on Monday in China when a man went on a stabbing spree, raising nationwide concerns over such attacks by disgruntled people. pti
US drone attack: Seven suspected militants were killed and three others wounded when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in Pakistan’s tribal region, triggering strong condemnation. pti
Pak President: Mr Mamnoon Hussain, the India-born nominee of ruling PML-N, is set to become the
12th President of Pakistan in the election tomorrow, succeeding incumbent Asif Ali Zardari. pti
Taiwan minister: Taiwan on Monday named a civilian, Andrew Yang, 58, to head the defence ministry that is struggling to attract recruits and facing protests over the death of a soldier while he was confined. ap
Afghan official: A Pakistani national of Afghan-origin working in the consulate of Afghanistan in Quetta has been missing since 25 July and Pakistani authorities are trying to locate him, officials said today.      pti
US copter crash: A helicopter crash on Saturday in a rugged, wooded area of Pennsylvania claimed the lives of five people, including one child, officials have said.  ap

Press Trust of India
MUMBAI, 29 JULY: Continuing its downward march for the fourth session, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today tumbled 155 points to end at a nearly three-week low of 19,593.28 on the eve of the RBI’s monetary policy review.
The index fell on selling in FMCG, PSU, metal and realty stocks, while weak Asian cues amid mixed European openings also weighed on market sentiment.
The 30-share Sensex initially touched a high of 19,751.03 and then declined on weak Asian trends to settle at 19,593.28, a fall of 154.91 points or 0.78 per cent. That was the lowest close since 19,294.12 on 10 July.
The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty index fell 54.55 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 5,831.65. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX closed at 11,695.58, down 0.81 per cent. “Caution was seen ahead of RBI’s monetary policy,” said Nidhi Saraswat, a senior research analyst at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd. “RBI has been taking measures to curb rupee weakening against dollar and market has reacted negatively to it in last few weeks, particularly the rate-sensitive stocks being the worst hit.”
Fast moving consumer goods giants ITC and Hindustan Unilever, which posted Q1 earnings last week, declined after their recent rally and together contributed almost 100 points to the Sensex fall.
HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, SBI, Coal India, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, Sterlite Industries, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel also closed with losses.
Among the 13 sectoral indices, 10 closed with losses. The BSE-IT index was the top gainer after Wipro climbed 6.71 per cent on better-than-expected Q1 results declared late on Friday and its upbeat revenue guidance for the second quarter.
The RBI’s First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy is scheduled tomorrow. Besides, the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meet on 30 and 31 July on policy led operators and investors to tread cautiously.

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 29 JULY: In a bid to reach out to Muslims, the BJP today insisted that it is not against the community and accused the Congress of creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the minorities about the party coming to power.
The main Opposition party asked its cadres to prepare for Lok Sabha elections, saying these could be held this year rather than next year.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj asked the BJP cadres, including women workers, to propagate the achievements of states where the party is in power and highlight the “failures” of the Congress-ruled states as well as the Centre in the run-up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the national executive of BJP’s Mahila Morcha here, she asked the BJP women workers to be ready for early polls. “Mission 2014 may even become Mission 2013 looking at the state of this government,” she said.
Speaking at the event, former BJP president Nitin Gadkari alleged that Congress is creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the Muslims that if BJP is voted to power it will do grave injustice to them.
"They are giving this wrong impression for votebank politics… We follow a policy of neither appeasement nor discrimination. BJP is not against Muslims but against terrorism,” he said.
He alleged that Congress-led UPA is indulging in “all-round loot” of the country and “the nation is on the verge of bankruptcy and soon we may have to pledge our gold”.
The BJP plans to appoint two women workers at each booth across the country during the Lok Sabha elections.

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 29 JULY: Dismissing as “baseless” allegations that a mining baron from Madhya Pradesh had paid for his flights, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Prabhat Jha today threatened to move breach of privilege notice in the House against two Income-Tax officials for levelling the charge.
In a letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, he complained about the conduct of the two officials and sought action against them.
“Firstly, this report is completely baseless. It was published so that a BJP MP and party vice-president get a bad name,” Mr Jha said.
Insisting that as an MP he is entitled to 38 free air tickets every year and he still has a quota of around “40-50 tickets” left, Mr Jha alleged that this wrong information about sponsored tickets has been leaked by the I-T department at the behest of the UPA government to malign the BJP.
“There is a request to you that as we consider this a matter of breach of privilege of the MP and of Parliament, when we give a breach of privilege notice against the two officials to the Chairperson of the House for our protection, you stand as a protector,” Mr Jha said in his letter to the Mr Chidambaram.
The MP said he wants to personally meet him to share some important information about the two officials.
Media reports had alleged yesterday that a mining baron from Madhya Pradesh had paid for the air tickets of Mr Jha and RSS Joint General Secretary Suresh Soni for several flights over a period of time.
Two Income-Tax officials who were part of the team that raided the businessman for violations reportedly shared this information with the media.
Mr Jha has also raised several questions in his letter to Mr Chidambaram. He has sought to know if the Income-Tax Department has the right “to defame an MP or a citizen”, whether if a paper with a coded message is recovered from some businessman’s house, then on its basis information can be leaked to the media. “I am deeply hurt by this event. You are requested to take action against the two officials,” Mr Jha said.
 

Jalpaiguri, 28 July: A teenage girl was today shot dead outside her home here allegedly by youths who had been stalking her.
The assailants came on a motorcycle and shot the Class X girl when she was returning home from tuition, police said. She was shot in the head on the road in front of her house at Subhas Colony in the Falakata area and died on the spot.
The attackers fled the scene and later the police arrested two persons in connection with the murder, sources said. The girl’s father lodged an FIR.     sns

Constitutional expert comments on Telangana
stanley theodore
stanley_theodore@yahoo.com
Hyderabad, 28 July
The creation of separate Telangana may not stand judicial scrutiny.
The President must send the Bill to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for its opinion in order to carve out a new state. The Constitution has it that Parliament is not bound by the Assembly’s opinion.
This factor may cause legal tangles, noted Constitutional expert Mr Rajeev Dhavan has opined in a 44-page note; he was consulted by Congress leaders on the process involved in creating a state of Telangana and on whether there was any conflict of law and Constitutional provisions in the matter.
Mr Dhavan quoted from the Supreme Court judgment in 1960 in the Babul Lal Parate case to bolster his case.
“In plain and unambiguous language, the proviso of Art 3 (which details the process for formation of new states) states that where the proposal contained in the Bill must be referred by the President to the Legislature of the state for expressing its views, it does not appear to us that any special or recondite doctrine of ‘democratic process’ is involved therein,” the judgment said.
Another paragraph reads, "Unlike some other federal legislatures, Parliament has been vested with the exclusive power of establishing new states…the Legislature of the states concerned having only the right to an expression of views on the proposals. It is significant that for making such territorial adjustments, it is not necessary even to invoke the provisions governing Constitutional amendments". Pointing this out, Mr Dhavan emphasised, “This makes the consultative provision something of a sham.” He wrote this in the summary on Art 2-4. (Art 2 deals with the Constitutional amendment to admit Sikkim into the Indian Union. Art 4 deals with laws referred in Art 2 and 3 for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedule).
"The legislative consultative provisions in Art 3 have been greatly diluted. This is contrary to federal and democratic principles," he mentioned.
While dealing with the issue of amending the Constitution, he wrote, "However, one question remains as to whether it is just political demands or some rational criteria about viability (as opposed to desirability) which have to be attached to the uses and abuses of Art 2-4 of the Constitution.”

continued from page 1
chief executive officer was now the Proteas’ CEO. They, apparently, wanted a Test more; we wanted one fewer. Dalmiya himself was quoted as saying that an altered schedule might be arrived at and sent to Johannesburg at the end of the day.
But Bengal was only notionally in the foreground.
It was someone else&’s game and Dalmiya knew its rules all right.
The sub-plot was never to eclipse the plot. We all know why a full Test series was not to be asked for, regardless of who was calling the shots, Dalmiya or Srinivasan, and that is where the ordinary cricket fan comes in. Or, doesn’t.  
Between Twenty20s and Tests, the board&’s choice is clear.
No marks for the right answer for you can’t get it wrong.