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Four Year Old Heavy Smoker

A 4 year old boy in a Chinese village has become a heavy smoker, the habit he picked up when he was just two. Smoking by Dong Dong of Banaqiao village, near Feidong town in eastern China’s Anhui province, came as a big shock to the doctor of a children’s hospital. His family, who run a grocery store, say they have been unable to stop him from stealing cigarettes, reports the Jianghuai Morning Post. Dong lives with his grandparents, who run the shop, because his parents are migrant workers in another city. They say he started smoking by mimicking adults. “When he needs cigarettes, he just takes them from the house or steals a pack from the store. We just can’t seem to stop him,” said Dong’s grandmother. They say Dong, who reportedly also drinks alcohol, learned to walk and talk later than other children of the same age in the village.

(FPJ 02/10/2009)

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(FPJ 14/10/2009)

(FPJ 14/`10/2009)

Extra Effort Extra Luck

10 years on, Kargil lures tourists too

THEY braved shells to feed and shelter about 100 scribes during the Kargil conflict and now ten years later they continue to function with a smile and open arms waiting for the area to be thrown open to tourists'Hotel Siachen' and 'De Zozilla' were the two hotels that catered to journalists from various media houses, who had thronged the otherwise little known Kargil for the coverage of the 1999 conflictAnd now a decade later, their staff still remembers the trauma and jubilation that they went through as news of either an Indian soldier being killed or another point being recaptured from the clutches of the Pakistan's Army, poured in respectively"Earlier, I had thought of going to Srinagar but the reporters persuaded me in keeping the hotel open despite the shells which were landing in the nearby market (Lal Chowk) where my hotel is located," Mohammed Sadiq, the owner of 'Hotel Siachen' saidSadiq, 55, who ran the 23-room hotel when the conflict was as its peak and the town deserted because of heavy shelling from the enemy's side, said what kept him going was the fact that the journalists were taking risk and doing their job, and they would not have a place to stay if he shuts down the hotelOwner of 'De Zozilla', Haji Rangin Ali, too fondly remembers the day when his 39-room hotel displayed a placard with "packed" written on it"It was a safe location for the scribes as shells were either hitting places much ahead of the hotel or just behind," Ali saidExcited about the State Government's plan to develop certain landmarks of Kargil conflict as tourist destinations, Sadiq said, "This year, there is a steep decline in the number of foreigners who used to come here primarily for mountaineering purposesBut we have no qualms about it. The number of domestic tourists has gone up". "Earlier, they used to spend a night on the way to Srinagar or Leh, but now they want to see the places where the battle took place," he addedHowever, hoteliers and locals say a lot needs to be done to promote Kargil as an attractive destination for tourists"Road connectivity is a big problem here. Proper marketing of this destination is also the need of the hour," Leader of Opposition in the Ladakh Autonomous Council, Haji Asgar Ali Karbalaie, saidOther destinations like Suru valley, Tiger Hill, Gun Hill, Drass and Buddhist sites like Sankhu and Mulbekh which have 30-40 feet tall Buddha statues should be connected as a tourist circuit," he saidAli said the Kargil conflict had given this scenic district an "identity" which has helped bringing in domestic tourists"The conflict has helped us in getting an identityPeople now know what Kargil is. At least when we tell people that we are from Kargil they associate us with the place where the Indian Army fought with Pakistani soldiers," he saidEarlier, Kargil's significance was limited to the Army because of its proximity to the LoC that separates the Indian and the Pakistani side of KashmirBut in the last few years the number of tourists has gone up. From a transit point on the way to Leh from Srinagar and vice-versa, he said

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Obama a messiah for Chennai family

US President Barack Obama may have won a million votes in his country and more hearts around the world while running for Presidency, but for a Chennai family, he became a messiah five-years-ago when he intervened to help a woman get a US visa to attend her son’s house warming ceremony after American consulate turned down her application.

For Sujatha Adsumilli, Obama has a special place in her heart. She even prayed for the success of Illinois Senator after the Democrat was named for the Presidential race.

Sujatha wanted to fly to US in 2004 for the ceremony of her son A Vijay Kumar, but officials at the consulate denied her a visa as she was a widow and they considered her a “potential immigrant”, her elder son A Ramesh Kumar told. “Officials feared she could end up living there with my brother Vijay Kumar, who has US citizenship. Vijay Kumar wrote to then Illinois Senator Obama, telling him of the problem, who wrote to the State Department and the Consulate in Chennai asking them to consider the matter under Department of state guidelines,” the letter which he sent to Sujatha said.

This was enough to spur the officials into action to grant her a 10-year multiple entry visa to the US. Sujatha left for USA in 2005 for the “grahapravesam” and also tried to personally thank Obama, but in vain. She rues missing the opportunity to meet him “as he had just left his.” “But the staff at his office extended great hospitality and promised me that they would convey my greetings to him,” she said. The family now prizes the sheet of paper the US President sent, which allowed Sujatha to join her son. “ I cannot quantify or put in words the value we attach to the letter from Obama. In fact, we were so happy when he understood the request and responded to my brother’s letter at a mere representation,” Ramesh Kumar said.

Sujatha think Obama is a “very humble person” and said she was very excited when he became the President.

Excerpts of the letter from Obama read –“My constituent, A Vijaya Kumar, recently contacted by Chicago office regarding his desire to obtain a non-immigrant visa for his mother from the Consulate in Chennai, India. His mother’s name is Sujatha Adsumilli (passport no F0771408). I would ask you that you please give this matter every consideration under Department of state guidelines”

(The Free Press Journal, Mumbai, Monday, January, 2009)