Bollywood letter on smoking ban

Mumbai: A producers’ association, which has leading names from the entertainment industry as its members, has lambasted the government for its proposed ban on on-screen smoking, reports our special correspondent.

The Film and Television Producers Guild of India, which counts as its members film producers Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Subhas Ghai and Rakesh Roshan and television producers UTV, Balaji Telefilms and Nimbus Communications, wrote a letter to Union information and broadcasting minister S. Jaipal Reddy urging him to request the Union health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, to withdraw the decision.

“Given the fact that the Censor Board for Film Certification has laid down guidelines that are sufficient to tackle this issue, it is rather strange that this sudden high-handed decision has been clamped down on this industry,” says a statement issued by the guild.

No film till date has stooped to glorify “social evils like smoking and drinking”, it said. The ban was being enforced based on the “irrational notion” that using cigarettes in films or serials encourages smoking among the audience.

“In such a scenario, the directive of the health ministry would be of no consequence and the introduction of such a draconian step will only hamper the growth and development of the entertainment industry,” it added.

Plan to check sex ratio slide

Chandigarh: The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has decided to launch a project, Smart Parenthood Campaign, in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district to spread awareness on female foeticide and the state’s declining sex ratio, reports our correspondent.

This was decided at a meeting between the foundation’s health department in-charge, Shehnaz Akhtar, and chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday.

There has been a decline from 945 to 933 girls per 1,000 boys in the age group of up to 6 years from 1991 to 2001 at the all-India level.

Haryana had less than 860 girls for 1,000 boys. In Kurukshetra, the ratio stood at 770 for every 1,000 boys.

“It was felt that the real tragedy was that women themselves collaborated in the ghastly crime of killing girls,” a Hooda aide said.

The foundation’s top priority will be to spread awareness among women on the depleting sex ratio. It will also address issues like sex determination, female foeticide and reproductive health.

Fake CBI official held

Sonepat (PTI): A man posing as a CBI official and demanding bribes from doctors has been arrested in Haryana.

Ramesh Sehgal, a private hospital owner, informed police that Subhash had threatened him with dire consequences unless he payed a hefty sum as he was “engaged” in foeticide. Subhash was arrested when he came to get the money. He had approached two other doctors similarly.

A-I flight diverted

Mumbai (PTI): A London-bound Air-India flight from Mumbai was diverted to Bucharest after an alarm was reported in the plane’s cargo hold, an airline spokersperson said. An inspection of the Boeing 777 aircraft revealed an indicator in the cockpit had given the false alarm. There were over 200 passengers on board.

Train robbery

Ghaziabad (PTI): Two women passengers of a Mumbai-bound holiday special train were robbed of their gold chains and purses when the train stopped at a signal near Gangapur in Rajasthan on Tuesday. An FIR has been filed in Gangapur police station.

Groom death

Nashik (PTI): Twenty-seven-year-old Balwant died of a heart attack soon after marrying Vaishali Ahire in Taharabad on Wednesday. He was declared brought dead to hospital.

Dalit murdered

Shivpuri (PTI): A Dalit youth was shot in the head by his community members, who later set ablaze the houses of tribals, over a land dispute on Wednesday. in Madhya Pradesh. Siyasharan was killed for allegedly favouring the tribals, with whom the Dalits had a dispute over grazing land. The tribals, demanding the arrest of the attackers, staged a roadblock.

Killer leopard

Nashik (PTI): Prakash Gajanan Jadhav, 45, was killed by a leopard on Wednesday while he was sleeping outside a primary health centre where he worked as a clerk. His body was found by women who had gone there to fetch water.

Tourism minister Renuka Choudhury said the Centre will launch a “freedom tourism” circuit in August which will connect places across the country linked to the independence movement.