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Showing posts from December, 2005

Prabhat group launches multimedia kit for kids

Vishal Sharma Agra.           Mathura-based Prabhat group of Industries has brought out a multimedia-based e-learning package for pre-nursery kids, which was launched in Agra on Friday.      Pre-nursery kids are fast rising as a separate block of consumers in India, demanding custom-designed products that have given rise to an entirely new industry of multimedia and animation, suited specially for kids. The firm seeks to tap this segment, pegged at Rs 1,000 crore annually.      Talking to Business Standard after the launch at the Hotel Holiday Inn, Rajesh Agarwal, director, Prabhat group of Industries, said this multimedia package consisted of pre-nursery books and a multimedia CD that was playable both on computer and VCD/DVD.      He said the company had already conducted trials of the software among kids in Delhi, and Jaipur in the past one month, and results had been extremely encouraging, encouraging the company to move ahead and launch the first edition of the multimedia package

UP Govt.'s singing Gangsta Rap

VIJAY UPADHYAY AGRA.            When the Agra police caught up with one of the most wanted mafia dons of the district on Monday, the police team found a surprise waiting for it on the crime scene.       Om Prakash, a prized gangster who had escaped being shot down by the police in atleast three encounters and charged under National Security Act each time, was moving about freely in the Shahganj area of the town, extorting money from businessmen and encroaching property, all under the protection of a police gunner provided by none other than the Uttar Pradesh government.      Surprised by the audacity of the mafiaso, the Agra police immediately arrested the gangster, who is wanted in 33 different cases of murder, extortion and land-grabbing. Alongwith Om Prakash the Agra police also arrested his gunner constable Mahendra Singh alongwith a 9 mm carbine that was confiscated by the police.      But the real surprise came when the police learnt that not only had the don procured police prot

Delhi, not UP, in top 10 list of crime: Mulayam

Vijay Upadhyay Agra.      At a time when countrywide concern has been expressed over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, the State's Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has produced a "US certification" to prove that the UP crime situation was nowhere near Delhi. Addressing a public meeting in Agra on Sunday, which was surprisingly avoided by the SP MP from Agra film star Raj Babbar, Mulayam Singh quoted a report published by an US agency, that did not list Uttar Pradesh among the ten top lawless states of India and accentuated the fact that the report did mention Delhi. The Chief Minister said UP had the best record of action taken against influential criminals. "There were a number of states in the country like Andhra Pradesh, where being a Chief Minister's son meant you could even escape with murder charges," the Chief Minister said. He said Ghazipur MLA Krishnanad Rai's murder was a crime, but this murder had removed a criminal from the fac

Cable networks face the heat

Vijay Upadhyay Agra.               After two cable networks of Agra showed nude footage of former Miss Agra Kamna Chowdhary last Wednesday, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (NCSCST) took cognizance on Monday and sought a report from the Agra administration.                       The National Commission for Women (NCW), too, has set up an inquiry into the incident and a member of the commission would be arriving in Agra soon to investigate the case. The aggrieved parents, meanwhile, have planned to move the Supreme Court against the cable networks.                       Suraj Bhan, chairman, NCSCST, said though he had not received any formal complaint from Ms Chowdhary, he had taken cognizance of the report published by The Pioneer and sought a report on the action taken by the Agra administration.                       He said if a detailed response was not received from the Agra administration soon, those concerned would be served summons for persona

Indian Airforce loses Canberra Recon aircraft, two pilots in Agra

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VIJAY UPADHYAY AGRA. The Indian Air Force lost two pilots and a trainer aircraft when a Canberra PR9 Tactical Reconnaissance-cum-trainer aircraft crashed outside a village in Agra during a routine sortie. Sources informed that the aircraft, which had taken off from the Agra Air Force base on a routine sortie at 1:50 this afternoon, was being flown by Sqn. Ldr. Berry with Flt. Lt. Sharma as his navigator when the aircraft developed a technical snag in its engine barely a few minutes into flight and burst into flames in mid-air while returning towards the Air Force base. Knowing the plane was going to crash in the village, Sqn. Ldr. Berry turned the aircraft into the fields of Jataura village near the Malpura dropping zone about 14 km. outside Agra, where the plane crashed, killing both pilots instantly, though earlier reports were that the pilots had been able to eject safely out of the aircraft. Badly charred and dismembered bodies of both pilots were recovered three hours later from

Oil's well for Agra monuments

Vijay Upadhyay Agra.                 After the Tata group's ambitious proposal to take over the conservation of the Taj Mahal, oil companies have now come forward to help the Archaeological Survey of India in the conservation of the remaining monuments in Agra.       In a meeting of oil and natural gas companies of the country that was held in Agra this weekend, the oil companies proposed to take over the financial aspects of the conservation of major monuments of Agra, including emperor Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra and the Itmad-ud-daullah, also known as the "Baby Taj", both of which have been included in the Union Government's priority list for inclusion in the World-Heritage list of the UNESCO.      The Indian Oil Corporation has also proposed to take over the conservation of Akbar's lost city of Fatehpur Sikri while Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) is keen on restarting the light & sound show at the Agra Fort that has been completely shut down sin

Spring sonata at the Taj

Vishal Sharma Agra.            Besides being a tourist hot spot, the Taj Mahal has now also begun drawing artistes from around the globe.                  This time, it’s Louis Pearlman, the owner of Transcontinental Companies, US, and former manager of the famous boy-band “Backstreet Boys”, who has brought a block-busting mega concert “8th Wonder of the World” to Agra. It is scheduled to take place on February 25 in the sands behind the Taj Mahal and artistes of international fame whose names are yet to be disclosed.                    The show, organised by the “8th Wonder of the World”, founded specifically to increase global awareness for children affected by HIV/AIDS, raising funds for UNICEF and partners through arts and entertainment, is to be held in ten exotic locations of the world every six months till 2010.                    Besides the inaugural event at the Taj Mahal, other venues of the concert are the Forbidden City in Beijing; Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Br

B(e)aring their teeth for London doc

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Vijay Upadhyay Agra. All of us seek the help of our neighbourhood dentist at some point of life for our tooth ailments but when a 120 pound sloth bear got a toothache in its 6-inch canine, the wildlife authorities had to call a dentist from London. Paul Cassar, a root-canal treatment specialist from East Sussex, England performed dental surgeries on about 20 bears at the Agra Bear Rescue Centre last week on invitation from the International Animal Rescue and UP Wildlife authorities. According to Mr KK Singh, the Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Uttar Pradesh (Chambal range), the bear rescue centre established on the outskirts of Agra has been playing host to almost 100 sloth bears who had been rescued by the animal welfare organisations from being made to dance on the roads in various parts of the country. The latest batch of Eight bears arrived this week from Hyderabad. He said that it was customary for the bear-taming tribe or Kalandars to break off the pointed ends of the canin