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#1 LIQUOR POLICY : OF GODLY, AND MAOISTS Deccan Chronicle, October 21, 2004, Thursday 1) Pilgrims pray and get drunk here Kantamrajkondur (Guntur), Oct. 20: Sri Mahankali Devasthanam, popularly known as Morampudi Ammavari Devasthanam, 20 km away from Vijayawada, is one of the odd temples in the State where the devotees get drunk after the Goddess??™ darshan. The temple is believed to be in existence since the times of the Chola dynasty and it is strongly believed that poet Tenali Ramakrishna has done his Aksharabhyasam in the temple. Accordingly, tens of thousands of pilgrims from the su-rrounding villages throng the temple in groups with their infants for Aksharabhyasam. The temple is also well-known for special puja for automobiles and there is an exclusive platform around the temple complex. There is always a heavy pilgrim influx on Fridays and Sundays. But soon after the darshan of the Goddess, most of the devotees consume liquor in the Sapota farms outside the temple complex. The most interesting aspect of this culture is that the pilgrims mostly consume liquor in tender coconuts giving an impression that they are consuming only coconut water. Unlike any other temple in the State, the four walls of Morampudi Ammavaru temple proudly display sign boards cautioning the pilgrims that nobody will be allowed inside the temple in an inebriated condition. Devasthanam executive officer A Ramakoti Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that the Excise and Prohibition Department is on constant vigil near the temple to check liquor consumption. Besides, the temple staff would also check the pilgrims, he added. Temple priest P Subrahma-nyam said that the drinking culture was being followed since many years. However, only a few people, especially from villages are following the culture, he added. http://www.deccan.com/Region/RegionNews.asp?#Pilgrims pray and get drunk here ------------------------------------------------------------ The Hindu, October 21, 2004, Thursday 2) Maoists impose liquor ban in agency By Our Staff Reporter VISAKHAPATNAM, OCT. 20. Even when their top leadership was engaged in talks with the State Government, the second-rung leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) imposed a `total prohibition' in the agency tracts of the Eastern Ghats. Sources said the Maoists went round several tribal hamlets in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts and asked the people not to consume liquor. Liquor traders were asked to stop selling liquor or face the consequences. After floating a front organisation called "Adivasi Viplaba Mahila Sangham'' (AVMS), the naxalites held several `praja sadassus' to convey their decision on imposition of total prohibition. ``Though they have not claimed that the new outfit is floated by them, our sources say that it has been created by them with the involvement of several new women recruits,'' a police officer told The Hindu on Tuesday. After taking up the cause of coffee garden workers in the three districts and raising their voice against the practice of polygamy among Girijans, the AVMS took out a rally comprising 2,000 women at Darakonda, near Chintapalle, last week to enforce total prohibition. They also held meetings in Anantagiri and other areas. A group of activists destroyed a liquor shop at Rintada recently and later went to Chintapalle to attack another shop. http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/21/stories/2004102108330400.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 With 119 Martyrs, UP Tops Police Casualties List New Indian Express, October 21, 2004, Thursday With 119 martyrs, UP tops police casualties list LUCKNOW: There could not have been a better indicator of the sorry state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. As the country prepares to pay homage to 883 martyrs on Thursday from the police forces, who laid down their lives in the last one year fighting crime, on the occasion of Police Simrati Divas, Uttar Pradesh has come out on top leading all the other states with 119 casualties. In the period between September 1, 2003 and August 2004, trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir has seen 86 policemen laying down their lives, while the corresponding figures for Jharkhand and Bihar are 38 and 24 respectively during the same period. Even the CRPF and ITBP trail behind Uttar Pradesh police with only 78 and 71 casualties respectively. The only force that has suffered more casualties than UP police is the BSF, which is spread across the country and which lost 208 personnel. Incidentally, it was in August last year that Mulayam took over as chief minister. Thanks to organised gangs, dacoits and wanted criminals, who have a free run in the state, the UP police does not have much to write home about. The districts which figure prominently in the crime graph include Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Baghpat and Agra. In the last one year, four deputy SPs, two inspectors, nine S-Is, 23 head constables and as many as 81 constables have sacrificed their lives fighting criminals in Uttar Pradesh. The constables, who hold the lowest rank in the police force, outnumbered all others. Prominent among the policemen who died heroic deaths were constables Mahendra Pratap and Raj Kumar Singh of Baghpat district who laid down their lives on February 17 fighting armed dacoits. The policemen on night patrolling managed to catch two of the dacoits but were outnumbered and shot dead after a bloody encounter. Another notable case was that of constable Girish Pal Singh of the Special Task Force posted in Agra who died fighting a noted gangster, Brijesh Gavi, and his men on March 14. Meanwhile, senior police officials in the state tried to justify the high casualty figure saying UP has the largest single police force in the country. ???I command a force of nearly 1.68 lakh personnel spread over 70 districts. Brave members of the force have faced challenges successfully, be it terrorism or communal violence or heinous crimes,??? State DGP V K B Nair said. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20041020141415&Page=H&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) 3, Rams' Cottage Ambalathumukku Pettah Thiruvananthapuram-695024 Kerala South India Ph.: 0471-2476262 www.humanrightsindia.com www.humanrightskerala.com |
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| << October22, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]Gujarat,PWG,Naga watch |
October22, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar -- Messiah of dalits gets his due >> |
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