'Tirupati jewellery pilfered, replaced with fakes': India : India Today

'Tirupati jewellery pilfered, replaced with fakes': India : India Today

'Tirupati jewellery pilfered, replaced with fakes'

Priyamvatha

Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh), August 27, 2010

A Rs 50,000-crore scam of pilfering jewellery and replacing them with fakes has been unearthed at the Tirupati shrine in Andhra Pradesh.

A Headlines Today special investigation has found that jewellery donated by devotees at the 9th century temple of Lord Venkateswara in the Tirumala Hills is systematically getting replaced with fakes.

A good part of the jewellery was donated by the 16th century Vijaynagar king Krishnadevaraya.

Headlines Today has accessed the internal inventory section report of the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) as well as the vigilance and security wing report prepared by the TTD executive officer.

A scan of the inventory shows how the jewellery has been depleting annually. Pieces from the gold and diamond-studded crowns, ornaments, armours, miscellaneous decorations and pots and plates have been disappearing.

The inventories have been routinely devaluing the missing pieces. Wear and tear has been shown as the main cause for devaluation.

For example, the loss of stones during 2005-2006 has been shown to be worth a mere Rs 23,850. The loss of gold due to wear and tear in the same period is worth Rs 15,300. The loss of stones during the next financial year is worth Rs 29,290 and that of gold is Rs 24,835.

It's surprising that the inventories talk of the weight and number of gems and jewels but not their antiquity.

The matter has become more controversial with the Thursday night death of TTD employee B. Suresh, who is thought to be a whistleblower in the scam. Suresh, who worked in TTD's accounts department, is said to have committed suicide.

In his suicide note, Suresh allegedly accused senior officers of the TTD of mentally harassing him and threatening to implicate him in false cases. Suresh's death has sparked protests from employees of the temple.

Headlines Today also accessed the 2008 vigilance report of the chief vigilance and security officer who indicted officials, including P. Seshadri, responsible for the safe-keeping of the jewellery.

Among the wealth the treasury contains is Srivari jewellery (the Lord's jewels), roughly estimated to be worth over Rs 50,000 crore. The Srivari jewellery used to be under the custody of mirasidars. A mirasidar would take charge of the jewels for a year and hand it over to the next mirasidar after that period.

After the abolition of the mirasidar system, the Srivari jewellery - including the double keys - is under physical possession of P. Seshadri for the last 10 years.

The report of the chief vigilance and security officer of TTD reveals that 300 gold coins weighing 5 grams each were swindled between 2001 and 2006 from the temple.

The report holds K. Venkatachalapathi of the Gold Dollar Sales Counter responsible for selling the coins without issuing any receipts to the pilgrims. The misappropriation resulted in a loss of over Rs 15 lakh. The Bokkasam (treasury) clerk, deputy executive officer (temple) and others knew about the loss but hushed up the matter for close to two months.

The scam has invited outrage and demands for action against the guilty. TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the temple administration was in collusion with anti-social elements and called for a probe.

Congress leader K. Keshava Rao said: "There should be a probe. Nothing can happen without the involvement of insiders."

BPA contamination found in 90 percent of soup cans

BPA contamination found in 90 percent of soup cans

BPA contamination found in 90 percent of soup cans

Monday, August 30, 2010 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer

source: http://www.naturalnews.com/029604_BPA_soup_cans.html

(NaturalNews) A product survey conducted by The Independent found that the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) is used in 18 on the 20 top-selling canned food products in the United Kingdom.

BPA is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world. It is used to harden plastic in everything from infant and water bottles to mobile phone and computer casings, and also to make linings for cans of food, beverages and infant formula. Yet a growing body of research has implicated the chemical as an endocrine (hormone) disruptor that can lead to cancer, birth defects, behavioral problems and other diseases.

The FDA recently reversed its position on the safety of BPA, acknowledging concern over the chemical's effects on the development and brains of infants and young children. This move sparked a new, still-ongoing review of the chemical's safety by the European Food Safety Authority. The British Food Standards Agency still maintains that BPA poses no health risks.

The Independent surveyed manufacturers General Mills, Heinz, Spam, Asda, Baxters, John West, Princes, Premier Foods, Sainsburys and Tesco about the use of BPA in the liners of several of their canned food products. Together, the 20 products represented account for £921 million ($1.4 billion) in sales, or 43 percent of the total for all canned food sold in the United Kingdom.

Every manufacturer sold at least one product lined with BPA. The only cans not lined with the chemical were those containing Tesco canned fruit and Tesco Value tomato products. Yet Tesco and Tesco Value canned fish both came in cans lined with BPA.

Other top-selling products in BPA-lined cans included soups, baked beans, corned beef, canned pies, chopped ham, long spaghetti and Green Giant Niblets.

Claire Dimmer of Breast Cancer UK called for manufacturers to clearly label all cans that are lined with BPA.

"Otherwise it's impossible for us to make a decision on ways of limiting our and our families' exposure to this chemical," she said.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s....

Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes..

1.What is dengue fever? 

Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are

transmitted by mosquitoes..

2.Dengue Fever Symptoms and Signs??

After being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, the incubation period ranges from three to 15 (usually five to eight) days before the signs and symptoms of dengue appear. Dengue starts with chills, headache, pain upon moving the eyes, and low backache. Painful aching in the legs and joints occurs during the first hours of illness. 

The temperature rises quickly as high as 104F (40 C), with relative low heart rate (bradycardia) and low blood pressure(hypotension). 

The eyes become reddened. A flushing or pale pink rash comes

over the face and then disappears. The glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and groin are often swollen.

3.What is the treatment for dengue fever? 

Because dengue fever is caused by a virus, there is no specific medicine or antibiotic to treat it. For typical dengue, the treatment is purely concerned with relief of the symptoms (symptomatic). Rest and fluid intake for adequate hydration is important. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should only be taken under a doctor's supervision because of the possibility of worsening hemorrhagic complications. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and codeine may be given for severe headache and for the joint and muscle pain (myalgia).

4.What is the prognosis for typical dengue fever? 

Typical dengue is fatal in less than 1% of cases. The acute phase of the illness with fever and myalgias lasts about one to two weeks. Convalescence is accompanied by a feeling of weakness (asthenia), and full recovery often takes several weeks.

5. How can dengue fever be prevented?

The prevention of dengue requires control or eradication of the mosquitoes carrying the virus that causes dengue. In nations plagued by dengue fever,people are urged to empty stagnant water from old tires, trash cans, and flowerpots. Governmental initiatives to decrease mosquitoes also help to keep the disease in check but have been poorly effective.

To prevent mosquito bites, wear long pants and long sleeves. For personal protection, use mosquito repellant sprays that contain DEET when visiting places where dengue is endemic. Limiting exposure to mosquitoes by avoiding standing water and staying indoors two hours after sunrise and before sunsetwill help. 

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is a daytime biter with peak periods of biting around sunrise and sunset. It may bite at any time of the day

and is often hidden inside homes or other dwellings, especially in urban areas.

***********************************

There is currently no vaccine available for dengue fever. There is a vaccine undergoing clinical trials, but it is too early to tell if it will be safe or effective. Early results of clinical trials show that a vaccine may be available by 2012.

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Sayings on Religions

"To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a child." - Cicero (-106 to -43)

"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil." - Cicero (-106 to -43)

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious, but it cannot survive treason from within." - Cicero (-106 to -43)

"All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way." - Epictetus (55-135)

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." - Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

"He who can lead you to believe an absurdity can lead you to commit an atrocity." - Voltaire (1694-1778)

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it... Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" - Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

"Belief in a cruel god makes a cruel man." - Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"A nation that expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, expects what never was and never will be." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come." - Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-1885)

"By dying, Christ left four nails, and Mohammed seven swords." - Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-1885)

"Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom." - Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834-1902)

"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana (1863-1952)

"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see." - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." - Thomas Mann (1875-1955)

"The only thing we have to fear on this planet is man." - Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"The human mind is capable of infinite self-deception." - Charles Lee Smith (1897-1964)

"Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power." - Eric Hoffer (1902-1983)

"When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people, those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened." - John M. Richardson Jr. (1938-)


"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" (George Santayana).

Ayodhya title suit: Tremor in Congress as verdict nears---

Ayodhya title suit: Tremor in Congress as verdict nears

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Ayodhya-title-suit-Tremor-in-Congress-as-verdict-nears/articleshow/6449320.cms

28 AUG, 2010, 03.49AM IST, BHARTI JAIN,ET BUREAU 

NEW DELHI: The Congress core committee, which met here on Friday evening to draw up a contingency plan to deal with the fallout of the Ayodhya title suit verdict, took stock of all scenarios that may follow the crucial judgement. 

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court is expected to pronounce its verdict on the Ayodhya title suit in the second week of September. The government foresees a crisis of sorts whichever way the judgement tilts. It will have major political consequences as votebank politics will take centrestage and could possibly lead to law and order disturbances not just in Uttar Pradesh but across the country. 

The court will be addressing three issues. One, whether there was a temple at the disputed site, prior to 1538. Two, whether the suit filed by the Babri committee in 1961 is barred by limitation. And third, whether Muslims perfected their title through adverse possession. 

The court has before it an excavation report by ASI, which points to existence of a massive structure just below the disputed structure. Among the excavation yields, the report has mentioned stone and decorated bricks, mutilated sculpture of divine couple, carved architectural members including foliage patterns, amalaka, kapotapali, doorjamb with semi-circular shrine pilaster, broken octagonal shaft of black schist pillar, lotus motif, circular shrine having pranjala (watershute) in the north and 50 pillar bases in association with a huge structure.

All these point to an architecture associated with north Indian temples. The report concluded that it was over the top of this construction during the early 16th century that Babri Masjid was constructed directly resting over it. But the Sunni Central Waqf Board has been maintaining that the report is “vague and self-contradictory”. 

In the event of the court taking cognisance of the ASI report, the government may have to deal with adverse reaction from the losing side. This can be politically tricky for Congress as it has just begun reclaiming its supportbase among the minority community. The then Congress government at the Centre could not stop kar sevaks to from destroying the Babri Masjid, thanks to a BJP government in UP, alienating its Muslim supporters. 

Congress obviously does not want any misstep to come in the way of its efforts to win over the Muslim community, a group that is critical for sustaining its electoral project. The government leadership will also be looking at influential Muslim leaders to come to its aid in dealing with the fallout of the judgement. 

In the event of the verdict going against the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, consequences could be equally worrying. It could give Hindu-minded political formations an opportunity to rake up the issue, which has lost its potency in the recent years. 

A shrill Hindu campaign could upset Congress’ plans to create a political ambience where neutral issues gain traction. Congress feels that it can perform exceedingly well when emotional issues are not allowed to play out. Its leadership has been concentrating on livelihood issues in recent months with considerable success.

Zafrani Pulao

Zafrani Pulao

Ingredients450 gm (2 cups) basmati rice 1 medium onion 2 tablespoons ghee 1/2 teaspoon black cumin seeds 1 inch stick cinnamon 1-2 black cardamoms 2-3 cloves bay leaf saffron strands 50 gm (1/2 cup) slivered almonds 25 gm green raisins or sultanas about 750 ml (3 cups) water 1 teaspoon salt

Method Soak saffron in one tablespoon of warm water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile rinse rice and soak in fresh water for 30 minutes in a pan. Heat ghee in a heavy saucepan. Slice onion thin and add onion and all the spices except saffron to the hot ghee. Stir-fry until the onion turns golden brown. Add almonds, raisins and well-drained rice and stir-fry for a further 5 minutes. Pour water into the rice, It should be just the right quantity - one inch above the rice level. Add the salt and saffron, stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan tightly and cook on slow fire for about 20 minutes until the rice is tender and fluffy and the water is absorbed. Fluff up the rice with a fork and serve immediately.

Celery Root Gratin with Saffron and Gruyere Cheese

Celery Root Gratin with Saffron and Gruyere Cheese
	Ingredients           • 4 lb Celery root, peeled and coarsely chopped • 3 lb Russet potatoes, (preferable Idaho), peeled and coarsely chopped • 1 cup Heavy cream • 1 stk , (1/2 cup) butter • 1/2 tsp Baby Brand Saffron • 2 x Garlic cloves, finely minced • 2 1/2 cup Gruyere, coarsely grated Salt and pepper to taste • 1/2 cup Coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley           Preparation           Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the celery root and the potatoes in separate large saucepans with enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until soft. Strain both the celery and the potatoes and set aside. In a heavy saucepan bring the cream to a boil over moderately high heat, and add the butter, Baby Brand Saffron and garlic. Reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook about 5 minutes, or until the cream mixture is bright yellow. Puree the celery root in a food processor, gradually adding the cream mixture. Set aside. Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash until you have a rough texture. Add the celery root mixture to the potatoes, and add 1 cup of the Gruyere. Mix together with a wooden spoon and season generously with salt and pepper. Butter a 13 x 9" ovenproof dish (about 10-cup capacity). If you prefer to serve individual portions, you could use instead eight #4-size ramekins (each one has a 1 1/4 cup capacity). Place the celery root-potato mixture in the large, ovenproof dish or in the individual ramekins. Sprinkle the top with the parsley and the remaining Gruyere. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through and the top is golden brown.