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NEWSNOTES
DESPATCH
Unsafe Sanctuary For Man And Beast
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SPACE CONSTRAINTS:
Crocodile attacks have maimed 30 already |
Thiruvananthapuram: The crystal-clear
waters of the reservoir at the nearby Neyyar wildlife sanctuary were a
beacon to tourists who wanted to get away from it all. They probably don't
know how close they really came to doing that. The crocodiles introduced
to the reservoir in 1983-when the sanctuary's crocodile farm became overcrowded-have
been coming to the surface rather too frequently. Sukumaran Nadar, 68,
was killed by a mugger crocodile in August, and P. Rajamma, 52, met with
the same fate in January this year. The 8-sq km reservoir is the only
source of water for the more than 5,000 people living on its banks, and
more than 30 of them have lost their limbs in crocodile attacks. While
hunting crocodiles or destroying their eggs still remains punishable under
the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the state Government has decided
to offer a reward of Rs 4,000 to anyone who captures a crocodile and returns
it to the farm. Experts say selective culling is the only solution, but
for that the law will have to be amended. Perhaps what's needed is a real-life
Crocodile Dundee in Kerala.
—M.G. Radhakrishnan
OBITUARY
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DASARI
MINU AND MEKHALA ABHINAV
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Viswanathan Anand
was her favourite player, and on September 25, Dasari Minu would meet
him at the All India fide Rating Chess Tournament to be held in Puri.
But it was not to be. Even before she and 10 other players reached Puri,
the Tata Sumo they were travelling in collided with a bus near Sakhigopal,
40 km from Bhubaneswar. Minu was among the five chess players who died
onthe spot. The others were Mekhala Abhinav, Maturi Hemamadhuri, Haricharan
and Kasipeta Sekhar, all young achievers who had big dreams to fulfil.
Minu, a Class VII student from Ongole, won the under-10 Asian Championship
held at Bikaner last year. She was scheduled to play at the World Youth
Championship in Spain next month.
Abhinav, 11, from Nalgonda district, won the
Asian boys under-10 title in Iran last year. The children were regarded
as successors to the most outstanding player from the state, the youngest
Indian Grandmaster ever, P. Harikrishna. After the tragedy, the tournament
was cancelled.
SIGNPOSTS
 ELECTED
Smita Thackeray, president of Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association,
the oldest representative body of the film industry in India. She is Bal
Thackeray's daughter-in-law.
BROKEN
After 37 years, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa's national record in the 110-m
hurdles, by Gurpreet Singh. The Northern Railways ticket collector clocked
14.07 seconds, beating Randhawa's 14.09 second record set at the 1964
Olympics.
CROSSED
Masudur Rahman Baidya from Kolkata, the Straits of Gibraltar. Both his
legs are amputated at the knee. He is the first person with such a disability
to complete the feat. Baidya has also crossed the English Channel.
 ABSCONDING
Shahid Badra, Students' Islamic Movement of India chief, after a non-bailable
warrant was issued against him and three other SIMI activists for anti-India
rhetoric. SIMI is known to lionise Osama bin Laden.
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