Delhi Blast a View Part 1

It is a big post, so I separate it in Part 1 & 2.

Investigators tracking the Delhi blasts have realized that they are up against the best in the business. The three blasts that rocked the capital on October 29 were perhaps the cleanest leaving almost no clues serial bomb blasts in India. The police do not have a single lead to the culprits.

Synchronized bombing made the work of the police difficult. The bombs went off in three places, the police had to deal with too many other things than catching the criminals. They had to search for explosives at other locations, attend hoax calls, take the injured to hospital and also maintain order in other crowded parts of the city. The city went into panic mode, the terrorists made a quiet exit. Cell phone networks in blast affected areas Pahargunj and Sarojini Nagar were disrupted minutes after the blast. The Delhi Police had jammed the networks so that the bombers would not be able to contact their team members. Given that the lead-time the time the bomber had to escape after planting the bomb was suspected to be about 10 to 20 minutes, the police assumed that the terrorists were in the vicinity of the blasts. The priority was to prevent further incidents that night.

The Pahargunj and Sarojini Market are two of the most congested places in Delhi; it was difficult for people to recall having seen anyone suspicious. These are places where you have to wedge between the people in front of you to move on. The Sarojini Market and Pahargunj investigations seem to be leading towards dead-ends. The police believe the explosives were kept in a cycle-rickshaw in Pahargunj and inside a fruit-juice shop in the heart of Sarojini Market. In Govindpuri (third bomb blast area), the terrorists made a mistake. A third bomber (since the blasts happened in quick succession, it is believed that they were planted by three persons) had boarded a DTC bus and kept a bag on a seat.

When conductor asked him to take a ticket, the man quickly got out. Seeing an unattended bag on the seat, conductor became suspicious and took it to the driver. Driver, who saw wires inside, threw it out of the window immediately. The bomb went off, critically injuring him. The Special Cell sought the help of a passenger who supposedly sat near the bomber and the conductor to draw a portrait of the suspect. By then, three days had passed. The police admit the portrait is not accurate as none of the passengers or the conductor had a good look at the suspect.

Forensic science too did not help much in providing leads. Sources said that only pieces of the battery used in the detonators were found at the blast scene, though bomb squads from the National Security Guard scanned the area for two days. The explosive used is suspected to be RDX but police are not sure. Electronic timers are said to have been used.

Investigators believe that the blasts were… (Continue tomorrow)

Narayanan Passed

The 83 year-old Former President of India, K.R.Narayanan died in Army’s Research and Referral Hospital, Delhi, today morning. He went to coma for a week. Let his soul rest in Peace.



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Will the Bird Flu affect India?. Is below.

Will the Bird Flu affect India?

India prepares for a possible avian flu outbreak as migratory birds fly in.


The Kadris love to eat chicken daily. But with reports of the possibility of migratory birds bringing the avian flu virus to India and infecting poultry, they are fighting temptation. "Dry chicken is what is eaten these days. Now Kadris eat chicken only once a week.

Well-cooked meat won’t carry the virus H5N1 anyway. What Kadris should avoid is close contact with infected birds, their droppings or the air contaminated with faecal vapours. Kadris is only being extra cautious, like many others around the world these days, in case the virus should jump from birds to humans and trigger a pandemic. Like in 1957, when the H2N2 strain emerged in China and killed around 7,50,000 people worldwide, or In 1968, when the H3 strain showed up in Hong Kong and claimed 7,00,000 lives around the world.

Though some experts believe it may not happen because the virus might become less lethal after mutation, around 30 nations met recently in Canada to discuss the preparedness. In India, 3,207 blood and faecal samples of poultry from various states, sent to the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal, India, from July to September, have tested negative. But with migratory birds starting to descend on the country, testing times are ahead for the government, which has set up an inter-ministerial task force to watch out and ensure availability of medicine. Government cannot wait for the outbreak to happen, they are coming out with a national strategy as per WHO codes.

Having warned all the Indian states, the government is monitoring 50 bird sanctuaries. So far they have not found any sign of the virus. They are working with the Bombay National History Society. Government are asked to report sick or dead birds, there is a little early to predict as India gets avian visitors till May. The danger areas are the eastern borders and the Himalayan range. While birds coming from China could be a cause for concern for the northeastern states, Siberian birds from Europe could pose danger for Kashmir. In Gujarat, which has five bird sanctuaries and over 20 big wetlands, bar-headed geese, which are believed to carry the virus, could show up in mid-November. The three species great cormorant, great black-headed gull and great brown-headed gull that come to Gujarat will also be watched. Bird watchers and farmers in the state have been told to report to the forest department if birds are found dull and shivering.

However, the Food and Agriculture Organization has discouraged their killing or destruction of their habitats. Destruction, authorities say, would disperse the population but not reduce the risk or change the course of the avian flu infection in poultry. The Bhopal lab has devised a method of testing by scanning the droppings

where the virus can survive for 105 days at temperatures less than 25 degrees C.
Were the flu to spread, experts fear India would be short of vaccines, drugs, hospitals and doctors. There is no specific medicine available, say Doctors. Vaccines are also not fully available in India. Symptomatic treatment is what they can give depending on cough or high-grade fever. Treatments are depending on the quantum of exposure, virulence of the virus and the person’s resistance. Though India is reportedly developing a vaccine, current treatment is to administer neuraminidase (a viral protein that helps release new virus particles from the host human cell) inhibitors, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir. Since Tamiflu manufacturer Roche has no product patent on the drug in India, there are no legal hurdles for Indian companies to make a generic version of the drug. Other nations, too, are looking at making the drug as the WTO, in 2003, has allowed governments to overrule patents during health crises.

India has banned imports of poultry and poultry products from infected countries. Government set up border check posts and posted quarantine officers at airports. Meat-sellers hope that the avian visitors won’t upset business. So far no virus has been reported even among the birds, and World Health Organization has given a thumbs-up to India’s preparedness. Still, keep your fingers crossed.

New York Marathon 6th November 2005

Known as one of the finest marathons in the world, this is one not to be missed! This truly fabulous marathon is renowned world wide for its overall cosmopolitan buzz and the great atmosphere of its pre and post race celebrations.

Whether you're a first time marathon runner, an old hand or if you just need an excuse to visit one of the most exciting cities in the world then this challenge is for you!

Runner boy

Seven months ago, judo coach Biranchi asked little Budhia to run in the hall at his judo-training center in Bhubaneswar (Orissa, India), as punishment for using bad words. General secretary of Orissa Judo Association Biranchi hoped to check on hi in 15 minutes but forgot about it. When he got back seven hours later, the 3-year-old Budhia was still running.

He thought Budhia might have stopped and resumed running when he saw him coming. But boys in the hostel that Biranchi runs and whom he trains, said Budhia kept running at the same pace through they asked him to stop. Amazed by the child’s stamina, Biranchi took him to a doctor, who found him fit. After this, my wife Gita [who is also a judo expert] and I wanted to make Budhia a marathon runner, says Biranchi. Call it coincidence, but the previous night I had watched a marathon runner from Kenya on TV and found that Budhia had a similar style.

Budhia is a rare child, says Doctor, who examined the boy. He is quite intelligent. He remembers the names of more than 100 judo trainees, says Biranchi. He has picked up some good judo techniques as well. The boy from a Goutam Nagar slum in Bhubaneswar lost his father, last year. His mother, who making Rs.250 a month from washing dishes, sent her two elder daughters to two household as maids and gave Budhia away to a hawker for Rs.800, keeping the remaining child with her. Biranchi, who visits the slum as president of the Kalingaputre Basti Basinda Association, brought Budhia to his center, along with his sister, after paying the hawker.

Of 6,000 boys and girls he trained in his 23-year career, 587-47 of them orphans-have got jobs in the police and paramilitary forces. He can get into the Guinness Book of Records with proper grooming, says Biranchi. Budhia covered the 60-km Bhubaneswar-Puri stretch nine times in the last four months, clocking his best time of 5 hours and 45 minutes. He runs barefoot as shoes cause strain and slow him down, says Biranchi, who plans to put hi in school next year.

Efforts are on to find a sponsor for Budhia. His stamina is unusual, says an IAS officer and president of the judo association. He needs regular health check-ups and a special diet. We want him to represent India in international events. Biranchi, who has declined offers to adopt the child, says the government has not given any help. But, minister for sports, says the government is thinking of supporting him.

Won’t the rigours take a toll on Budhia’s health? Says, a government coach: The experiment may affect the lungs and heart and growth. For marathon, one is trained after the age of 12. Even at that age, the maximum one runs at a stretch is 15km once or twice a week.

Dr.Bibekananda Tripathy, a 60-year-old vet who finished first at the January 16 international marathon in Mumbai agrees. Even if he is gifted he should be given the right load at the right age, he says. Otherwise when the real test comes his love for running won’t be there.

But Budhia seems to be enjoying it. He says he just wants to run.

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Joke: A boy and a girl standing on the Bus stand. That boy tells, I like to have u r goluse (leg chain) on my chest. The girl said, like that, I also like to put my slipper on your face.