Sourav's Food Pavilion shut down

Sourav`s the Food Pavilion`, a fine-dining facility, owned and managed by former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly shut down couple of  days ago due to heavy losses.

Food Pavilion,the  five-storeyed multicuisine restaurant-cum-lounge bar in the city`s upmarket Park Street had not been doing well since it was launched in 2004. A close relative of Dada said the decision to close down Sourav`s was taken as they were not able to devote sufficient time. The elite of the city used to visit when it started.

"Sourav is very busy. I am also busy. We were not getting time to run it properly. So we took this business decision," he said. It is true that Dada is very busy in his lucrative commentary assignments. Currently, he is England doing commentary for the ongoing series between Indian and England.

Beware all those who take capitation fee

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD has recommended imposition of maximum penalty of Rs one crore on those technical and medical institutions which charge capitation fees from students. The panel has, however, left it to the government to fix maximum and minimum penalty for violations in this regard.

The committee has also recommended that different penalties be imposed for different violations in proportion to the offence, and asked the Department to work out the quantum of penalty on a case-to-case basis and not on a uniform basis. "A major and minor violation cannot be treated as equal and a uniform amount of penalty for all types of offences is against the principle of natural justice," it observed.

The Committee, in its report on Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Education Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010, has held that smaller penalty on institutes charging capitation fee will not be considered an effective deterrent, going by the high rates of capitation fee charged by them for seats in medical colleges.

The panel also recognises the need for specifying a minimum penalty for violations, as it feels that all  violations under the Act be treated as serious, as they affectthe interests of students and may put their future at stake.

It has also felt the need for having more medical institutions in the country to help bridge the gap, as it felt the practice of charging capitation fee was directly related to the shortage of sets in medical institutions.

Holy month of Ramazan begins from today

Ramazan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, begins from today with the new moon being sighted on Monday evening. While the faithful in Kerala began observing the month from Monday, the other parts of the country will start the period of fasting from Tuesday. The moon sighting committee of Delhi that met on Monday evening had announced that the new moon had been sighted.

Believed to be the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad, Muslims fast every day for an entire month, abstaining from food and water from dawn to dusk, besides devoting more time to prayer and more resources to charity.

24 IAS, 138 RAS transferred in Rajasthan

In administrative reshuffle, the government of Rajasthan has transferred 24 IAS and 138 RAS (Rajasthan Administrative service) officers in the state.

District Collectors of Jhunjhunu, Doongerpur, Baran and Sriganganagar have been transferred in the exercise which took place last night. Jogaram, CEO Bikaner Zila Parishad has been transferred as Jhunjhunu District Collector and Ambrish Kumar has been made District Collector of Sriganganagar.

Poonam, project director-Rajasthan rural livelihood mission would be now Doongerpur Collector and V Sarvan Kumar has been transferred as Baran District Collector.

Madhukar Gupta would be the new Divisional Commissioner of Jaipur. 138 RAS officers have also been transferred.

Mumbai's Muchhad paanwala family fight with rods

The bitter rivalry in the family of famous Muchhad Paanwala family spills on to the streets at 2 am on Friday. Along standing feud among family members of Muchhad Paanwala – south Mumbai’s most famous paan seller – spilled on to the streets last Thursday night.

Kemp’s Corner residents witnessed from their high rises the millionaire paan sellers attacking each other with iron rods and sticks, all the while screaming abuses, at 2 am on Friday. The family originally hail from UP.

Officers from Gamdevi Police Station said that trouble began when Jaishankar Tiwari, who manages Muchhad Paanwala shop at Kemp’s Corner, got into an argument with his nephew Jitendra, who handles Tiwari Paan Shop next door. Jitendra’s father Kanhaiyalal Tiwari and Jaishankar are cousins.

Many years ago, the family business split into two shops – Muchhad Paanwala and Tiwari Paan Shop – following the patriarch’s death. The two shops created a rivalry that is as much part of the Muchhad Paanwala family as its famous paans.

On Thursday night, the argument escalated, and both Jaishankar and Jitendra accused each other of stealing customers. In their respective complaints, both have accused the other of turning violent. Jaishankar’s sons Ram and Krishna rushed to his help, while Jitendra’s brothers Sushil and Kaushal joined in.

The police said the action lasted almost 20 minutes. Jaishankar, Ram and Krishna were hit on the head, arms, and chest, while Jitendra and his brothers too suffered injuries.

Lawmakers on the other side of lawl

Are the lawmakers abiding with law ? You all are mulling that as to why we have put the question before you. According to Delhi traffic police rules, the elected representatives of the parliament are not liable to put red light on their vehicle but several MPs have established themselves above this ruling.

When the team of News 24 channel interacted with some members in the parliament who are enjoying the facility in an unlawful manner, they had no answer. Senior Samajwadi party leader Revati Raman Singh and BJP leade Kalraj Mishra promised not to repeat the fault but they didn’t drop the sign of power which signifies them more than their status.

Well, the law says that such facility can only avail by the president, vice-president, prime minister, chief minister, governor, former prime ministers and chief of the armed forces.
Normally, the leaders never are red in the face over misdeed but it exhibits that they are very much passionate to put red on the top of their vehicles. 

Posco: Six lakh trees to be sacrificed

Over six lakh trees and some 1,800 betel vines will have to be sacrificed to set up Posco's Rs 52,000 crore mega steel project in Orissa's coastal Jagatsinghpur district. The trees to make way for the greenfield project include about three lakh casuarina and as many horticultural plants, official sources said.

  

Local people have voiced strong opposition against the move to clear the trees, arguing that they will be exposed to cyclone, tsunami and other natural calamities. While a large number of women are guarding the forest area, male members of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, the organisation opposing the project, have posted themselves at Gobindpur village to prevent entry of security personnel and government officials to enter the plant area.

  

"We will discuss the matter with the local people to ensure smooth progress of work in the proposed plant site villages," Jagatsinghpur district collector NC Jena said. Jena, however, assured that an afforestation exercise would be taken up to replace the trees. Also the South Korean steel giant would create enough greenery in its proposed plant premises and adjoining areas.

  

"The trees mostly belong to the casuarina variety, a fuel wood. In any case the trees, planted by the Forest Department after the Super-Cyclone in 1999 need to be cut at regular intervals," Orissa's Forest and Environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra said.