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Controversy mars renovation of St.Thomas's Church

          Chennai: The renovation of the 108-year old St. Thomas Church here has run into a controversy, with a voluntary outfit, the Forum of Catholic Unity, alleging that the Church has taken up construction work without the prior sanction of the concerned authorities. At the centre of the dispute is a move by Father Lawrence Raj to renovate the wooden roof of the church. The Forum of Catholic Unity has attributed hidden motives to the renovation work. "Now Father Lawrence has completed the work. We want a thorough investigation to be made as to why did he do it so secretly? Why he did not consult people and why was the structural stability not taken into consideration? It's a very serious matter. Now, suddenly something happens, who is going to be responsible? Catholics are very law abiding people and he has violated all the rules. Now, doubts have been expressed whether he has taken some antiques from below and sold it," claimed Devasahayam "This excavation was done twice before also in 1923 and 1954. This is not for the first time we are digging. They dug twice and removed some stones, bones and pottery."

           "Now I am making a new museum with all these things to make it more decent and attractive", said Father Lawrence, the parish priest of St. Thomas. In March 2004, the forum filed an application with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, which issued a stop order on further construction activity on the church. A total of Rs.57 lakh was spent on the renovation. Church authorities, however, condemn the allegations. "I do not see any controversy here. Some individuals because of their vested interest or whatever it is, they have not come to me nor have they discussed with me or with the municipal authority. They are simply going and reporting to different newspapers and different departments. It's a project of the diocese, it's not my project. The Archbishop and others are here. We have consulted engineers who are well versed with it and also have employed two big companies. This all proves that we are very much concerned and careful about the structural stability of the church. We are in fact thousands time more concerned about the whole thing," Father Raj said. Larsen and Toubro and Gundu Rao Associates have undertaken the church's renovation.

Natwar to meet Musharraf tomorrow (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh will meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Friday. This would the first high-level political contact between the UPA government and the Pakistani leader. Singh will call on Musharraf at 'Aiwan-e-Sadr', it was reported Thursday. Earlier, he held intensive parleys with Pakistan Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain, Prime Minister-in-waiting Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri. Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, Musharraf has reportedly reviewed the progress of the current round of talks with Hussain. He said he expected success in the composite dialogue process and wanted talks to continue to ensure better future for the region.

Geneva court rejects Benazir's appeal (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's appeal to dismiss an order issued by Examining Magistrate for restitution of approximately US 2.4 million dollars to Pakistan has been rejected by the Geneva Court of Appeals. The amount was seized from the accounts of Dargal Associated SA in money laundering case. "The Geneva Court of Appeals has thus confirmed the repatriation of these amounts to the Government of Pakistan" The Nation quoted National Accountability Bureau here as saying in an official statement. Pakistan filed a request for the return of money in 1997. Based on this request the Swiss government froze the account of Dargal Associated SA and passed on the relevant information to Islamabad. A case was filed before the Ehtesab Bench of the Lahore High Court in 1998, alleging that Benazir and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari had colluded with others to obtain illegal commissions and kickbacks in the purchase of URSUS tractors from Poland, the NAB claimed. The prosecution said the contract was awarded in violation of the relevant laws, regulations, rules and procedures, which caused loss to the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan and the Central Board of Revenue. In July 2002, Pakistan requested the Swiss authorities for restitution of the funds frozen on account of DARGAL Associated SA and on November 18, 2003, Chritine Junod, the Examining Magistrate of Geneva, acceded to the request. PPP spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar predictably said, "The restitution, from the account of DARGAL Associated SA has nothing to do with Benazir Bhutto."

Carl Lewis shares his experiences with Mumbai kids (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: Olympic legend Carl Lewis shared some of his experiences in sports with 41 young school students here on Wednesday. Lewis, who won 22 gold medals during his athletic career, including nine in the Olympics, visited the Mumbai Gymkhana and talked to the kids about his own rise to fame and his passion for athletics. He also gave them tips about how to participate and improve in various track and field events. Needless to say, the students, aged between 13-15 years, were thrilled to bits about their interaction with the one-time world champion. Lewis, however, refused to interact with the media.

Indian cricket players feasting on homely food (Go To Top)

          Colombo: One thing Indian cricketers won't miss during their fortnight-long tour in Sri Lanka is home cooked food. Supriya Dutta, an Indian chef based in Sri Lanka, is now catering to the "Men in Blue" most of whom are vegetarian. "Four to five people are vegetarian. Virendra Sehwag, Laxmipathi Balaji, V.V.S. Lakshman, Parthiv Patel and Anil Kumble are all vegetarians. Generally they want to have home-style food with less oil because they don't want more of butter and cream and all. Generally that is their main request and mainly Indian home style things or generally very homely type of food I make it for them," said Dutta. Dutta, who has been working with the Taj Colombo for the past six years has good relations with all members of the team, adding that as far as possible the individual players requests are catered to. "Whatever they want generally I make it for them. Because in the last four-five years they have been coming over here. It is like a family relationship we have. I know each and every player. They come and say Duttaji I want to have this food, please make it for us. Whatever they request I make for them. For Saurav his favourite is Alu Poshto," said Dutta. A die-hard cricket fan, Dutta has made sure that he and his family watch all matches involving India. Dutta says though he was disappointed by India's defeat against Sri Lanka, but hoped the boys would fight back to win the Asia Cup. "India is the favorite. We all hope India will take that cup and go back to India. So we are praying for that thing," he said.