NK'S POST

NK SINGH Bhopal: A team of medical experts appears to be heading for a breakthrough in the treatment of methyl iso-cyanate victims. About 40 patients were administered sodium thiosulphate injections, and the cure for cyanide poisoning, under controlled conditions has shown remarkable signs of improvement. Consequently, the government has withdrawn its controversial ban on the use of sodium thiosulphate. A meeting of top medical experts of the country, including the additional director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Prof Ramachari, decided here on Sunday that sodium thiosulphate may be administered "where warranted". Prof. V. S. Narain of the G. B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, under whose supervision the experiment is being conducted at a special 302-bed hospital for the last 15 days, told ENS, "There is reasonable evidence that patients have benefited from Sodium thiosulphate. It has certainly helped them" However, he said that he was proceeding ver...

Two victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy NK SINGH Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Government on Thursday promulgated an ordinance for the restoration of moveable property sold by some people while fleeing Bhopal in panic following the gas leakage. The ordinance covers any transaction made by a person residing within the limits of the municipal corporation of Bhopal and specifies the period of the transaction as December 3 to December 24, 1984,  Any person who sold the moveable property within the specified period for a consideration which he feels was not commensurate with the prevailing market price may apply to the competent authority to be appointed by the state Government for declaring the transaction of sale to be void.  The applicant will furnish in his application the name and address of the purchaser, details of the moveable property sold, consideration received, the date and place of sale and any other particular which may be required.  The competent authority, on receipt of...

 NK SINGH Ever heard of a New Delhi- Kingston route via New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong? But that is what happened recently when the M.P. Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Mukund Sakharam Newalkar, decided to travel to Jamaica to grace the 24th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference there Obviously, on his way back, he decided upon a little sight-seeing abroad and visited America, Japan and Hongkong. This was his second "phoren" tour during the short span that the Janata government has been in existence. But Chief Minister Virendra Kumar Sakhlecha has been a little unfortunate in the matter of foreign trips. The first time he decided to go on a whistle-stop tour, touching 18 foreign countries in 22 days, in June last, of course on "State business". Prime Minister Desai vetoed it at the last moment saying it was "a mission of dubious value and uncertain results". Next time, when he flew to Kathmandu in a State plane for a one-day "holiday" even the short trip wh...

NK SINGH The burning to death of newly-wed brides is on the increase in Madhya Pradesh. Though exact figures are not available, according to newspaper reports half a dozen such cases were registered in the State during the last two months. The police recently arrested a naib tehsildar of Ujjain, Mr Om Prakash Sharma, in connection with the death last month of his daughter-in-law. Mrs Alka Sharma, who had been married to Mr Divya Prakash Sharma, last May. Twenty-year-old Alka had died shortly after sustaining third-degree burns. Police said she had been harassed in connection with her dowry and a case under Section 306 IPC was registered after recording the statements of the witnesses.  The police have also taken into possession certain letters written by the father-in-law of the deceased to Mr R. C. Upadhyaya, father of Alka, expressing dissatisfaction over the "inadequate dowry". In yet another case, Mr Manaklat Banbat, a freedom fighter and a resident of Nizamat Road villag...

NK SINGH Driven by acute poverty, the Gauds, an aboriginal tribe living in the villages around the two military-proof ranges at Itarsi and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, have taken to an unusual and dangerous occupation. They sneak into the artillery-proof range, entry into which is strictly prohibited, and pick up shells of the fused bombs which are exploded there. The shells contain brass, copper, aluminium and iron, which are processed separated and sold to unscrupulous traders at a fraction of the original value of the metal. The rich traders, who are alleged to wield political influence in the state, sell the stolen metal at an exorbitant profit through their well-organised network. The half-clad, illiterate people, including many adolescents and even women, wait behind nearby bushes and trees as the heavy mortars roar. Most of them race towards the fused shells even before the smoke caused by the firing clears. Experience gained through years in the trade has developed in them a cru...

NK SINGH This is a study in contrast, of two murderers who were hanged in the Raipur Central Jail, Madhya Pradesh, recently. Both of them had been convicted of killing their spouses. 38-year-old Pyarelal, sent to gallows on May 1, was every inch a hardened criminal and remained unrepentant till his last breath. While undergoing trial for killing his wife in 1964, he murdered two fellow prisoners inside the jail following an alteration of a personal nature. Both were fast asleep when their heads were crushed by a heavy boulder and an iron bar. Ultimately, Pyarelal was sentenced to death for the triple murder. 28-year-old Budhram was hanged on June 18 for murdering his wife Man Kunwar, 25, and uncle, Bagarsai, 27, when he found them in a compromising position. The murder, obviously committed in a rage, gave him such a psychosomatic shock that he lost his power of speech and hearing, which he regained only when told that he had been sentenced to death. Change At Last Budhram had turned hi...

NK SINGH Notes, notes everywhere. Crisp, fresh and smelling of printer's ink and riches. This is the scene at the Government-run bank mote press at Dewas, a fast-emerging industrial town near Indore. But, alas, you can't simply pick up any of these, or even a single one, and walk away unnoticed! The security arrangements are too tight for that. "It is a foolproof arrangement," said PS Shivaraman, general manager of the press, which is one of the two plants other is at Nasik - printing currency notes on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India. However, like every good security printer, he declined to give further details. "The security of the security is in keeping it secure." No outsider is allowed inside the printing plant, situated in a jail-like compound with wired fencing, which is probably electrified, though the security guard who accompanied me from the inner checkpost to the GM's office only blinked when asked about it. He would neither confirm nor d...

NK SINGH The death of 88-year-old Tukojirao III , the former Maharaja of the erstwhile Indore state , has ended an era. He was the only prince getting a pension (Rs. five lakh per annum) from the Government of India even after privy purses were stopped by a government decree. Therein lies a tale of love, lust, passion and a crime that embroiled the Maharaja.  Tukojirao had ruled his state for a mere 15 years, from 1911 to 1926, living in the wilderness for the last 52 years. Yet when he died on May 21 last, the people of Indore made a beeline to the massive Lalbagh palace , once the best garden palace in central India, to pay their last respects to the last of the royal Holkars . The rulers of Malwa since 1740. Biggest Weakness The biggest weakness of the public school educated Maharaja, who ascended the throne at the tender age of 13, was women. U ltimately this weakness proved to be his undoing. Though benevolent and considerate in other matters -- as many of the rajas used to...

NK SINGH The death of 88-year-old Tukojirao III. the former Maharaja of the erstwhile Indore state, has brought an era to end. He was the only prince getting a pension (Rs five lakh per year) from the Government after the privy of India even purses to all the others were stopped by government decree. Tukojirao ruled Indore state for a mere 15 years. from 1911 to 1926, living in the wilderness for the past 52 years. Yet, when he died on May 21 last. the people of Indore made a beeline to the massive Lalbagh Palace, once reputed to be the best garden palace in central India. to pay their last respect to the royal Holkars, the rulers of Malwa since 1740. Pulled down Such was the feeling among the former subjects that along with the Holkar standard, the national tri-colour too was pulled down atop the Indore Rajwada, the former ruling headquarters of the Holkars now acquired by the state government. when his funeral procession passed in front of it. The biggest weakness of the public schoo...