[Grapevine] For July 16, 1999

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______Headlines_______
(Details below)

 News:
 At least 18 killed as GT Express rams into derailed train
 Truckers turn good samaritans as rescuers grope in the dark
 Pakistan troops had crossed LoC, admits army chief Musharraf
 Sharif says withdrawal by this evening, army says more days
 India extends withdrawal deadline till tomorrow morning
 Kuber Group director arrested from IGI airport
 No plans to lift ban on PTV - Mahajan
 Benegal, Shabana, Mammootty, Devgan bag national awards
 Four Indian companies figure in Forbes list of top 800
 Kargil tax a media creation, says Sinha
 Monsoon claims 34 lives in Maharashtra
 Rarest corrective surgey done on two-year-old child
 Malaysia to lure film producers from India
 Mumbai was not so  contaminated  earlier: Dilip Kumar
 Dilip Kumar thanks media for standing by him
 Jadeja defends Azhar's leadership


Markets:
 Equities get correction, lose moderate ground

Forex and weather below


______News_______
(From various agencies)

 At least 18 killed as GT Express rams into derailed train
   Mathura, jul 16 (pti) At least 18 people, including two women and
   five children, were killed and over 200 injured when the Delhi-bound
   superfast GT express rammed into a derailed goods train in the wee
   hours near here today.

   The impact of the accident, which occurred at 0215 hours between Baad
   and Farah stations was such that the engine and the nine bogies of
   the high speed GT express were thrown off the track with three of
   them virtually mounting the goods train.

   So far nine bodies have been identified.

   A central railway press release said that of the 202 passengers
   injured, 97 had een admitted to Swarna Jayanti hospital, Baad and
   three different hospitals in Mathura while the remaining were
   discharged after first aid.

   The collision took place a few minutes after the goods train derailed
   and its 12 wagons overturned and fell on the adjacent track on which
   the gt express was coming.

   Seven sleeper class coaches, one unreserved coach and one luggage cum
   passenger cum guard coach of the GT express were affected in the
   accident.


 [From another story]


 Truckers turn good samaritans as rescuers grope in the dark
   Mathura, july 16 (pti) Relief and rescue operations at the site of
   the GT express accident near here in the wee hours today would have
   been a near impossible task but for the much-maligned truckers who
   virtually created a floodlight lining up togeher and switching on
   their headlights.

   Rescue teams which rushed to the spot immediately found the task
   daunting as darkness stared them in their face and they desperately
   looked around for light.

   It was then that drivers of trucks parked nearby offered their
   helping hand and within minutes the operations were in full swing.

   Residents from nearby areas, kicked out of their slumber, too joined
   the team in hundreds to provide succour to the injured, who seemed to
   be more in a state of shock.

   As the first rays of dawn descended, the site appeared a scene lifted
   straight out of the battlefront with three bogies of the superfast
   train precariously hanging on to the derailed goods train.

   Blood lay splattered and slippers, shoes and other luggage of
   passengers of the ill-fated train lay strewn around as rescuers
   battled to cut through the mangled steel with gas cutters to look for
   survivors and bodies.

   The powerful engine which pulled the superfast train from Chennai to
   Agra stood like a bombarded battle tank, beaten out of shape and
   telling volumes of the mishap's impact while other bogies lay
   lifeless on the fields nearby.



 Pakistan troops had crossed LoC, admits army chief Musharraf
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Pakistan today admitted for the first time
   that its troops had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) during the
   Kargil crisis.

   'Aggressive patrolling done by our troops had put them across the
   LoC. It was done to make sure that we have our eyes and ears open
   before any action takes place on LoC', Pakistan army chief Parvez
   Musharraf told BBC in an interview.

   He said Pakistani troops crossed the LoC because of the 'offensive
   action by Indians and aircraft bombing across the LoC. That is what
   got us involved on the LoC'.

   India has repeatedly made it clear that its troops and aircraft never
   violated the LoC while evicting the Pakistani intruders in Kargil.

   On the reported opposition by the Pakistani army to prime minister
   Nawaz Sharif government's decision to withdraw the 'Mujhadeen'
   following his meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton, he said 'I
   don't think there should be any confusion. There is a disinformation
   campaign going on and the decision was taken with everyone on board'.



 Sharif says withdrawal by this evening, army says more days
   Islamabad, july 16 (pti) Confusion prevailed over withdrawal of
   Pakistani infiltrators from Kargil areas as prime minister Nawaz
   Sharif today hoped the 'disengagement' process will be completed by
   this evening, but an army spokesman said it will require a couple of
   more days.

   Sharif told reporters during a visit to the units of Northern Light
   Infantry (NLI) in northern areas that the process of withdrawal was
   to be completed by tomorrow but 'hopefully it will be concluded by
   this evening'.

   'I think it was by mutual agreement that we (India and Pakistan)
   decided that complete disengagement would be completed by saturday,'
   he said.

   However, army spokesman Brig Rashid Qureshi told reporters here that
   Islamabad has asked for an extension of two more days to complete the
   'disengagement' process and claimed that an agreement betweent the
   Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of two countries has
   already been reached in this regard.



 India extends withdrawal deadline till tomorrow morning
   Kargil, july 16 (pti) India today extended by 24 hours till tomorrow
   morning the deadline for withdrawal of Pakistani intruders from the
   Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC), following a request from
   Islamabad, even as enemy troops pulled out from Batalik, Kaksar and
   Drass sectors.

   A decision to give one more day for completion of the withdrawal was
   taken after the director general of military operations of Pakistan
   made a request to his Indian counterpart, who agreed to it.

   Asked whether any further extension would be given to Pakistan, an
   army spokesman said in New Delhi that the situation based on 'ground
   realities' would be, if needed, reviewed tomorrow by the DGMOs.

   'As of now, the deadline set is the first light tomorrow -- july 17,'
   he said.

   An external affairs ministry spokesman said there was no change in
   India's caveat that any intruder found in Indian territory after the
   stipulated deadline would be treated as hostile and dealt with
   accordingly.

   The army spokesman said there was no ceasefire or cessation of
   hostilities, except the fact that air strikes and use of certain
   ground-based weapons remain suspended. There has been no exchange
   of artillery fire in the last 48 hours.

   In Mushkoh valley, Indian troops have been keeping a close watch on
   the northward movement of the enemy, he said, adding the army was
   moving forward to occupy dominating features closer to the Line of
   Control (LoC).



 Kuber Group director arrested from IGI airport
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Delhi police today arrested Rovina Sharma, a
   director of the Kuber Group of Companies, which had allegedly
   misappropriated crores of rupees collected from the investors through
   its various schemes.

   Rovina Sharma, wife of Kuber Group Chairman-cum-Managing Director
   (CMD) Pradyumna Kumar Sharma, was arrested by the economic offences
   wing of crime branch this evening from the Indira Gandhi
International
   airport minutes after she arrived here from Nepal, police said.

   Earlier, the crime branch had arrested another director of the
   company Mukesh Mohan Sharma on july seven. Mukesh is the brother of
   the company's CMD.

   CMD Pradyumna Kumar Sharma, who was arrested here on june three, is
   now in judicial custody.

   Police had earlier claimed that Kuber Group of Companies has assests
   worth crores of rupees including three buildings, 30 flats and 250
   acres of land in south Delhi, apart from a commercial plot in
   Patparganj industrial area in east Delhi, three buildings in Mumbai
   and other properties in Meerut and Lucknow.


 No plans to lift ban on PTV - Mahajan
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Government has no immediate plans to lift
   the ban on Pakistan TV (PTV), Information and Broadcasting minister,
   Pramod Mahajan said today.

   ''The process of normalistaion of relations with Pakistan has not yet
   begun'', he said in an informal chat with newsmen when asked whether
   the ban on PTV imposed in the wake of Kargil conflict would now be
   lifted.

   Dismissing Pakistani charges that India created a ''war hysteria'',
   he said New Delhi did not indulge in any propaganda. ''it was an
   information war where people had to make the judgement''.

   He said India won the media war on Kargil as there was ''healthy
   competition'' in the coverage of the conflict by the media and ''we
   did not hide anything'',

   Stating that Pakistan also lost the media war because it ''never
   owned the war'', he said ''world knows they called back those
   (so-called mujaheeden) whom they claim they had not sent''.



 Benegal, Shabana, Mammootty, Devgan bag national awards
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Shyam Benegal's latest creation 'Samar', a
   sensitive tale on the caste system, has been declared the best film
   while Shabana Azmi walked away with the best actress award for
   portraying an underworld don in the controversial hindi film
   'Godmother', which swept five other top prizes in the 46th national
   film awards announced today.

   Bollywood action hero Ajay Devgan and malayalam superstar Mammootty
   shared the best actor award for their performances in Mahesh Bhatt's
   'Zakhm' (Hindi) and Jabbar Patel's 'Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar' (English)
   as Rajeevnath won the best director award for his malayalam film
   'Janani'.

   The award for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment
   has gone to Karan Johar's superhit 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', which also
   brought Alka Yagnik the best female playback singer award for its
   title song.

   The best non-feature film award went to Sanjay Kak's 'In The Forest
   Hangs A Bridge' (English) while the award for the best first
   non-feature film went to Rajeev Raj's 'Repentence' (Malayalam).

   The feature film jury led by D V S Raju gave Benegal's film, starring
   Raghuvir Yadav, Seema Biswas and Rajeswari Sachdeva, the top honours
   for 1998 'for the innovative and human manner in which the director
   structures and presents a continuing social evil'.



 Four Indian companies figure in Forbes list of top 800
   New york, jul 16 (pti) Four Indian companies, including the State
   Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum, Oil and Natural Gas and the Steel
   Authority of India, have figured in the latest ranking of top 800
   international companies by Forbes magazine, based on their revenue.

   The State Bank, along with Indian Oil, Housing Development Finance
   and ONG the top 100 companies world wide for investment.

   The State Bank, with a revenue 5,324 million dollars, is rated 438th
   followed by Bharat Petroleum, which occupied 453rd position with a
   revenue of 5135 million dollars.

   Oil and Natural Gas occupies 617th rank, having a revenue of 3,755
   million dollars and the Steel Authority is at 624th position with a
   revenue of 3,681 million dollars.

   Topping the list is Daimler Chrysler of Germany (146,472 million
   dollars). The next four companies are from Japan -- Mitsui and co.
   (109198 million dollars), Itochu (108,573 million dollars),
   Mitsubishi (107,013 million dollars) and Toyota Motor (99,580 million
   dollars).

   Forty-four us companies are listed in the super 100 list but they
   capture first seven of the ten positions based on four measures --
   revenue, net income, assets and market value.

   The american companies in the top are General Electric, Citigroup,
   Bank of America, Ford Motors, Exxon, International Business Machines
   and American International Group.

   The others are HSBC group of Britain, Daimler Chrysler of Germany and
   Nippon Tel. of Japan.



 Kargil tax a media creation, says Sinha
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today
   dismissed as 'media speculation' reports of plans to impose a war tax
   or cess to meet the expenditure incurred in Kargil operation.

   'It is a media speculation. As long as it is a speculation, i don't
   want to say anything. It should not come from me,' Sinha told
   reporters on the sidelines of the All India Conference of Chief
   Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise here.

   Asked whether he confirmed or denied reports that the government was
   planning a mid-term fiscal correction, including imposition of fresh
   tax to meet the additional expenditure of 'Operation Vijay' to flush
   out Pakistani intruders, the finance minister said, 'there is a time
   for everything. I'm saying nothing at the moment. Anything I say will
   be misinterpreted.'

   'You media create news yourself and then ask me to comment on it,' he
   added.



 Monsoon claims 34 lives in Maharashtra
   Mumbai, jul 16 (pti) Eight persons, including four children, were
   killed and six injured in two separate incidents of landslides in the
   metropolis today taking the toll in rain-related incidents in
   Maharashtra in current monsoon to 34.

   Police said seven persons were killed and two injured after their
   huts were destroyed in a landslide at Bhandup in north-central
   Mumbai.


   The injured were admitted to Mulund general hospital, police added. 
   In another incident, an eight-year-old boy was killed and four others
   injured in a wall collapse following a landslide at Park Site in
   north-east Mumbai.

   The deceased was identified as Jitendra Yadav, police said adding
   that the injured were rushed to Rajawadi hospital.

   Earlier, Jalgaon district had reported nine deaths, Buldhana five,
   Thane three, Nandurbrar two, Nasik four, Solapur one, Kolhapur and
   Mumbai one each in rain-related incidents.



 Rarest corrective surgey done on two-year-old child
   Chennai, jul 16 (pti) A two-year-old male child with complex
   congenital problems like Dextrocardia, inverted chambers and great
   blood vessels leading out from the heart transposed with severe
   narrowing of the artery, has undergone a corrective surgery, claimed
   to be the rarest of the rare, at a private hospital here.

   Dr M P Naresh Kumar, managing director of the Harvey Heart Hospitals
   Ltd, told reporters here this evening that the child had undergone a
   surgical correction on june 25 whereby the heart had been converted
   to a two-chamber pump (instead of the usual four in normal human
   beings). The child had only three chambers at birth and turned blue.

   Called 'total cavo pulmonary connection', the surgery, lasting nearly
   ten hours, had been done for the first time in the world, that too on
   a small child, claimed Naresh Kumar.

   Naresh Kumar explained that medically the child's condition was
   called Dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis, unbalanced
   atrioventricular canal, supero-inferior ventricles with
   univentricular morphology, severe pulmonary stenosis with patent
   ductus arteriosus. 'In short, the child had one of the most severe
   forms of malformation of the heart', he said.



 Malaysia to lure film producers from India
   Kuala lumpur, july 16 (ap) A Malaysian business delegation will visit
   India's entertainment capital of Mumbai to promote new high-tech
   movie-making facilities, an official said today.

   'The links between Indian and Malaysian film-makers go back a long
   way. The early Malay films were made by Indian film directors,' said
   Multimedia Development Corporation's senior manager Kamil Ahmad
   Othman.

   The mission will be headed by energy, communications and multimedia
   minister Leo Moggie.

   The delegation, which will be in Mumbai for four days starting on
   sunday, will meet film and animation companies, producers and several
   Indian officials, the national bernama news agency said. Some
   co-production agreements are also expected.

   Malaysia officially unveiled its futuristic cyber-city, called
   Cyberjaya, on july 8. The project is part of plans to transform
   Malaysia into southeast Asia's hub for information technology.

   Among the sites being built on Cyberjaya is 'e-village,' which will
   boast modern studios and miniature model towns to serve as shooting
   locations for domestic and foreign film-makers. Those facilities will
   be managed by the multimedia development corporation.

   Malaysia is keen on learning from India because of the vast
   popularity of Indian films among Malaysians of all races, Kami said.

   Bollywood, as Mumbai's movie world is called, is the second biggest
   film capital after Hollywood of the United States.



 Mumbai was not so  contaminated  earlier: Dilip Kumar
   Mumbai, jul 16 (pti) The thespian of Indian cinema Dilip Kumar, who
   returned here today after a week-long stay in the national capital,
   said he was overhwelmed by the public response to Shiv Sena's demand
   that he return Pakistan's second highest civilian award
   Nishan-E-Imtiaz .

   The bollywood legend told PTI here tonight that Mumbai was not so
   contaminated earlier, as could be seen from efforts of some people
   who have no credibility, to make a hue and cry over any issue .

   Asked if he thought that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had
   fully supported him on the award issue, Dilip Kumar said his
   (Vajpayee) reaction may or may not have been so clear-cut but the
   fact remains that he supported me .

   The prime minister stated that the award rightfully belonged to me
   and I was free to decide whether to keep it or return it , he said.

   Asked what made him extend his stay in Delhi, the actor said the
   media .

   Dilip kumar, however, declined to comment on remarks attributed to
   him that he was seriously considering shifting from Mumbai .



   [Aside:" Mumbai was not so contaminated earlier"
   
   Is Dilip Kumar justified in making such a generalized statement about 
   the city and its people, when, in  his own words, "its only some 
   people who make a hue and cry over any issue"?

   What do you think? Send us your views and opinions at

   news-editor@mumbai-central.com
  
   - Ninad]



 Dilip Kumar thanks media for standing by him
   New Delhi, jul 16 (pti) Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar today thanked
   the media for 'assisting' him in the current controversy over his
   Pakistani award 'Nishan-E-Imtiaz'.

   'I am thankful to the media for assisting me in removing the doubts
   on my credibility which were sought to be created by the Shiv Sena.
   The media helped me in reaching out to my countrymen and cleared my
   position,' he told PTI before leaving for Mumbai.

   The thespian had been camping here since the Shiv Sena had asked him
   to return the award in view of the Kargil conflict.

   'Although efforts to malign my name are still on, i feel very lighter
   now that i have been able to explain my position to my cn. I have had
   very satisfactory results during my stay here,' kumar said.

   During his more than a week-long stay in the capital, the veteran
actor
   had called on President K R Narayanan, Vice President Krishan Kant,
   Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union Home Minister L K Advani
   besides other political leaders.

   The centre on wednesday decided to provide adequate security cover to
   Kumar.

   He had decided not to return Pakistan's second highest civilian award
   after a meeting with the prime minister on sunday.



 Jadeja defends Azhar's leadership
   New Delhi, july 16 (pti) Indian cricket vice-captain Ajay Jadeja has
   defended beleagured skipper Mohd Azharuddin and said a man who has
   led India for nearly 10 years cannot be blamed that he has not been
   carrying the team along in the last one year.

   Jadeja, one of the captaincy aspirants, criticised media comments on
   Azhar's leadership saying the same newspapers that voted him the best
   captain when he won and 'broke records' earlier were now writing
   against him.

   'He has been the captain for the last 10 years. It cannot be that in
   the last one year he has not been carrying the team along with him.
   Ten years ago he was captaining the same team. When we won the series
   in 1993 and 1997, he was the captain who broke records,' Jadeja told
   STAR TV's Janata Ki Adalat programme slated to be telecast on sunday.

   Asked about his own captaincy aspirations, Jadeja who showed dynamism
   leading India to victories in a few matches at Sharjah earlier this
   year, said it was any cricketer's dream to lead his country, but
   there was no guarantee he or anyone else can perform miracles.

   'I don't believe Ajay Jadeja or xyz is a magician that India will not
   ever lose. It was fortunate we won two three matches that I led. No
   team wins because of one man,' he said.

   Asked about betting and match-fixing in Indian cricket, he said
   betting does take place but did not commit himself when asked whether
   he has been approached by bookies.



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______Market_______

 To get today's complete NIFTY (the NSE index) listing send an e-mail to
                    get-nse@mumbai-central.com

 Equities get correction, lose moderate ground

   Mumbai, jul 16 (pti) Equities met with fresh resistance and
   surrendered part of the recent gains pushing the sensex further down
   by about 40 points on the stock market today due to fresh selling
   pressure by speculators as well as Foreign Institutional Investors
   (FIIs).

   The BSE sensitive index which opened with a downside gap at 4635.87
   indicated that the yesterday's sales were not well absorbed by the
   market.

   The market had risen sharply by over 670 points since last five weeks
   and was very much in overbought zone making a technical correction
   necessary for its good health, opined a section of dealers who
   justified the downward reaction as the required squaring up at the
   last day of current settlement.

   The sensex was trapped in a restricted range of 4658.36 and 4593.69
   before closing at 4639.94 as against yesterday's close of 4679.92,
   netting a loss of 39.98 points or 0.85 per cent. The BSE-100 index
   also moved down by another 14.54 points to 1995.92 from previous
   close of 2010.46.

   FIIs, who were reportedly net buyers in a select few key scrips like
   Castrol, Satyam Computer, Digital Equipments, Zee Telefilms and
   Infosys Tech, generally pressed sales in several Indian stocks. Even
   speculators had turned sellers in some of the software and phama
   scrips while winding up their positions.


___________________________________________________________
               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
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______Forex_______
      
  1 DMark  = 22.53675    INR    
  1 FFranc  = 6.719515    INR    
  1 U.K. Pound  = 67.74141    INR    
  1 US $  = 43.23000    INR    
  1 Yen  = 0.357923    INR    
  1 Singapore $ = 25.33 INR
  1 UAE Dirham = 11.77 INR
  1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 11.52 INR

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               This is the Mumbai Grapevine 
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______Weather_______
(From the Weather Underground)

Temperature: 81 F / 27 C
HeatIndex: 87 F / 31 C
Humidity: 84%
Dewpoint: 75 F / 24 C
Wind
WSW  at 5 mph / 8.0 km/h
Pressure: 29.53 in / 1000 hPa
Conditions
Haze
  
Tonight: Low: 75 F / 24 C Thunderstorm 
Saturday: High: 84 F / 29 C Thunderstorm 
Saturday Night: Low: 75 F / 24 C Thunderstorm 
Sunday: High: 84 F / 29 C Thunderstorm 
Sunday Night: Low: 73 F / 23 C Thunderstorm 
 

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