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Gutka banned in Maharashtra

     Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has issued direction to various departments to cancel the licenses of gutka manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in the state from today. The order came after the recent tests conducted in the FDA laboratory revealed the presence of carcinogenic magnesium carbonate in several Gutkha brands. Earlier, Gutka manufacturers were instructed to mention the contents on the sachets which most of them ignored. "As per our latest analysis, it has been confirmed that it contains magnesium carbonate. It is harmful for the lives of the people and so we have passed this order," said A. Ramakrishnan, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The ban is being implemented under the new Anti-Smoking Act passed by the Parliament last year, which prohibited smoking in public places and also prohibits mass media advertising of tobacco products except at the selling points. If caught, the violators would be fined 200 rupees. The order also bars sale of tobacco products to children and those below 18 years of age. Even though the public has been sceptical about the ban some have welcomed the move. "The companies should be closed. It (Gutka) should not be available in the market. If it is available those who are addicted will have it. So, it should not be available," said Suresh Nikam, a concerned citizen. Maharashtra had earlier banned the sale and distribution of Gutka. However, the manufacturers moved the Supreme Court, which lifted the ban while admitting their petition in August, 2004. After China and the United States, India is the third largest tobacco producer in the world. Indian tobacco industry has a turnover of 500 million US dollars. There are about 19 crore tobacco users, a third of them chew Gutka.

Filmfare Awards celebrates its Golden Jubilee (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Filmfare Awards celebrates its "Golden Jubilee". Fifty long years have gone by and the gracious lady in black over the last five decades has occupied pride of place for having given the film industry the best of talent. The Filmfare Awards hold the unique distinction of being the first and the longest standing recognition for cinematic excellence in India. Filmfare unveiled its new statuette at INOX Theatre, Mumbai. The function saw celebrities such as Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Yash Chopra, Javed Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan. Lata Mangeshkar said that when this award started they didn't have award for music category, but later on they started it. Amitabh Bachchan said that this 'lady in black' will remain mute next hundred years.

No immediate appointment of `neutral expert' on Baglihar: WB (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: The World Bank has said that it will not straight away appoint a neutral expert to resolve the Baglihar Dam issue between India and Pakistan, which Islamabad alleges has arisen due to violation of Indus Water Treaty, 1960, by New Delhi. The Bank said that it would not participate in any discussion on the issue of `violation' of the Treaty, to which it is only a signatory and not a "guarantor". In a statement released last evening, the World Bank said that under the Treaty it had an "obligation to appoint a neutral expert" to resolve the issue, but it will take the step only after passing through preliminary stages. Many of the purposes for which the World Bank signed the Treaty have been completed, the statement said. The statement said: "Under the terms of the Treaty, there are several prior steps before the World Bank's role in appointing a neutral expert is triggered. A first step could be that any `question' between the parties to the Treaty be resolved through the Permanent Indus Commission itself. If the `question' is not resolved there, it becomes a `difference' and is referred to an expert, to be appointed by the two countries, or by a third party agreed upon by the two countries. In the absence of such an agreement, the appointment of the neutral expert would be made by the World Bank in consultation with the two countries. This consultation would seek as far as possible to reach consensus within a reasonable time, in the absence of which the World Bank has an obligation under the Treaty to appoint a Neutral Expert."

     According to The News, Pakistan had moved the World Bank on January 18 to support its request for the appointment of a "neutral expert" to consider a difference with India over the Baglihar Dam that has arisen in the application of the Treaty. The Treaty was concluded by India and Pakistan on September 19, 1960. The then President Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan signed this treaty with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The then WB president David Black was also a signatory only for certain specified purposes, and not as a guarantor, the paper reported. Under the agreement, the waters of the three eastern rivers-Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej-were allocated to India, while that of the western rivers-Indus, Jhelum and Chenab-were given to Pakistan, after a protracted controversy between the two countries.