Homemaker Eva

Eva Longoria is a domestic goddess and loves coming up with culinary treats for her basketball player hubby Tony Parker. Eva says the writer’s strike has left her with plenty of time on her hands - so she has turned to cooking to amuse herself. “I just like to eat and be at home, I’m really ‘homey’, and it’s funny how domestic we are,” she says. “Because Desperate Housewives works ten months out of the year, and then I usually do a movie in the hiatus, I’m always working all year round, so for this strike to come around, it was kind of nice for someone to go, ‘You have to stop working.’ For TV people it was like, ‘Oh, okay, we get a break.’ But now I feel like I really need to get back to work!

Jack’s getting shy

Jack Nicholson’s way with the ladies is not what it was because he’s getting shy in his old age. The 70-year-old movie legend insists he hasn’t slowed up in his pursuit of the opposite sex, he just struggles to hold it together when he catches them. “I never thought I would be uncomfortable to make a pass at a woman in public but aging has had an effect,” says Nicholson. “It doesn’t feel right. I feel exposed in a way I never did before. That’s a fear I still have to overcome.”

Dogg cleans up his act

Snoop Dogg has gone against his gangster rap image by revealing how he loves playing housewife. The controversial star says he’s happiest doing household chores and he particularly enjoys vacuuming. Snoop says he likes to make sure his house is spick and span before he goes out. “I like to clean up,” he says. “That’s how my mother raised me, she was strict on that. You couldn’t go out until you’d cleaned up.”

‘Buffy will stay with me’

Sarah Michelle Gellar still cannot get away from her "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" past - even if she goes to the ends of the earth. The sexy blonde starlet says she still gets called Buffy instead of Sarah when she walks down the street. “I was i n Bali, and no kidding, my cab driver called me Buffy as we were driving through a rice field. I think nearly everyone on the planet must know Buffy.”

One-Minute-Review

Mad Money Genre Comedy Director Callie Khouri Cast Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes Storyline Three women get addicted to regularly robbing their bank of money about to be destroyed. Ups The casting (Keaton’s charming, Katie’s cute and the Queen’s really fine), the writing (with gems scattered through the screenplay Sample: Do you know what it is when you trade sex for money? Advertising? Marriage?) and the sheer hilarity of the plot. Quite a few laughs all through. Don’t be surprised to see this remade in Hindi. Downs Very few actually. It’s a little implausible and way too conveniently resolved but then it’s hard not to like this housewife-heist executed in a way that would make Danny Ocean and Co blush and Spike Lee wonder if the Inside Man was way too complex a modus operandi. Bottomline By all means, go mad, put your money on it

The politics of killing

out-of-the-ordinary From The Kingdom Whoa! Here’s an action thriller set in the modern day context of the U.S. and the Islamic World that does not simplify the plot into a good-versus-evil tale. The Kingdom could’ve easily ended up becoming one of those ji ngoistic Black Hawk Downs where a handful of Americans shoot the hell out of hundreds of terrorists by going Rambo in their neighbourhood, and emerge as war heroes. The kind of films where we’re supposed to feel sorry for the injured Americans instead of the large number of dead rebels.

For a large part of the film, The Kingdom seems like one of these movies. Until the last scene, that is. The final scene juxtaposition puts the politics of hate and revenge in perspective and absolves The Kingdom of the guilt of hero-worshipping Americans to a great degree.

As the opening credits roll out, Peter Berg quickly illustrates the equations between America, Saudi Arabia and the relationship as defined by oil more than religion. That done, it’s time to show an American facility bombed by meticulous planning.

Special agents know they need to get to the spot to investigate the attack and the team of four led by Fleury (Foxx) flies down to the kingdom to get cracking within the five days extracted out of diplomatic arm-twisting.

Yes, apparently the Americans are cleverer and are better equipped to handle investigations than the Saudi police. And the three men-one woman army is enough for an entire hub of terrorists. Such Hollywood clichés later, all hell breaks loose.

What’s commendable though is the streak of humour running through the narrative especially in the bond between Foxx and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom). Genuinely funny and heart-warming.

Berg builds up the tension quite nicely and saves up all the explosive blowing-up-the-bad-guys-in-their-own-backyard action for the very end.

A truly out-of-the-ordinary action flick.

The Kingdom Genre Thriller Director Peter Berg Cast Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper Storyline A team of special agents head to Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of an American facility Bottomline Explosive. Dynamite action

Rambo goes home

angst and frustration From Rambo First things first. John Rambo aint John McLane (the guy used to Die Hard at the wrong time at the wrong place). And he sure aint Rocky Balboa (the underdog who has to train hard for the fight). John Rambo is a mentally-disturbed, scarred-for-life, g eared-for-death Vietnam War veteran who has made his peace with what he really is: the best war combat killing machine the world has ever seen, ready to “Live for nothin. Die for somethin.”

A lion, no matter how old, will not eat grass, right? Rambo is a beast; he has never exhibited traits of being human or humane to those who intimidate him. To expect him to suddenly develop a vulnerability to the changing world in the face of technology and competition like John McLane or Rocky Balboa would be to shake the very foundation of this no-holds-barred shoot-em-up, blow-em-to-bits franchise.

It is not only unimaginable but also would’ve been extremely tragic to see Rambo worry about calcium deposits in his joints, fight loneliness by talking to a mangy old dog called Punchy, complain about technology, cry over the pangs of parenting and fade into a shadow of the man he used to be. Besides, that’s already been done by Balboa and John McLane. Thankfully, director-writer Stallone hasn’t done any of that here.

Rambo and vulnerable? You’ve got to be kidding me.

The world really hasn’t changed in the savage jungles on the Thailand-Burma border. There was killing and injustice then. So there is now.

If Rocky was always about getting up no matter how many times you’ve been knocked down, Rambo has always been about blowing their brains out before they get a chance to think. He’s not an optimist. He is a man who lacks faith or reason to live. He’s seen the system fail, he’s had governments lie to him, he’s had his share of betrayals and things dear to him snatched away (right from the first scene of the Rambo franchise). He’s a drifter who’s never been able to go home and sleep after the trauma war and killing have caused him.

The only reason he knows to live is to kill for what he believes in. Not for the country, but for himself. The Rambo franchise is the manifestation of this angst of cynicism and release of rage. It’s not about fighting for right; it’s about giving the devil his due.

The philosophy of Rambo movies really is about getting all the frustration out and blowing it up to smithereens by pumping heavy-duty doses of ammunition into all that’s threatening to take away things that matter in life: Freedom (Part One), Love (Part Two), Friends (Part Three) and now Faith.

When a group of Christian missionaries who are about to instil the faith again in the killing machine is taken hostage, it’s back to the mercenary in him to set things right again because genocide-causing-evil fears no God.

There’s a lyrical quality to this release of angst, even if graphic. Bad guys are blown into pieces of flesh and splatter all around the screen like fruit pulp in a mixer. Violent, no doubt, but trust Sly Stallone to give it an emotional core; a lost soul searching for peace, only to be constantly reminded about the brutality of the world and the truth about who he really is.

Yes, people who aren’t used to Rambo might find the lines extremely corny but seriously, they are not half as corny as the long exchanges between Rambo and Trautman or Trautman and the power-hungry officers in the first three.

This is nirvana for hardcore Rambo fans. The rest enter at the risk of having their brains blown away.

Rambo Genre Action Director Sylvester Stallone Cast Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden Storyline Rambo leads a bunch of mercenaries to rescue missionaries taken captive by the Burmese Army Bottomline Bloody good as ever!

Why I like... Nayakan

Actor Narain

It was for purely personal reasons that I first watched it in the Eighties. I am an ardent Kamal fan and this is the film that aroused in me the desire to be an actor. Later on, after watching it many times, I realised how well made it was. Recently, it was screened on TV and I felt that I could still watch it. The team was great — one of my favourite directors Mani Ratnam, one of the best cinematographers P.C. Sreeram and excellent music by Raja Sir. From an actor’s point of view, it’s a role any actor would love to perform. The character comes a full circle, the rise and fall. How an ordinary man comes out of extraordinary circumstances. Notice the beautiful nuances such as the use of the temple bell as the background score when Kamal gets married to Saranya. It’s one of Mani Ratnam’s best works till date. Even Godfather took three parts to do justice to the whole saga. Here, the character goes through all the ups and downs in one film. Given a chance I would love to do a Nayakan. If I can mention Malayalam, I would list John Abraham’s Amma Ariyaan. It’s one of my favourite films. AS TOLD TO SUDHISH KAMATH

I’m more the ordinary man you come across in life

Cheran doesn’t mince words. Ask the actor-director about the National Award his Thavamai Thavamirundhu bagged for the Best Family Film, or the Best Regional Film honour Malayalam maker T.V. Chandran’s Tamil attempt Aadum Koothu (in which he played hero opposite Navya Nair) received, he is piqued. “Nobody here even acknowledged the achievements. It was Amitabh Bachchan’s pictures that were flashed everywhere. When Sreesanth captures three wickets in an innings, entire Kerala is in raptures. Photos of the cricketer are splashed in newspapers and magazines there! They take pride in their newsmakers. But Aadum Koothu wasn’t even considered for recognition at the State level.” (Aadum…, which is still to see the light of day, is Cheran’s fourth film as an actor.) Cheran looks completely at home in the Chettinad household in his recent release, Pirivom Sandhipom. “Naturally,” he laughs. “I belong to Melur, which is near Karaikudi. So I’m familiar with the lifestyle of the folks there.” The positive public response to the family drama isn’t a total surprise to him. “The narration appealed to me. Director Karu Pazhaniappan was confident that the story would sell, and so was I. We felt it would touch men and women above 30. When films are being made mainly for youth, why not a family-oriented subject for the next age group?” The team’s confidence is reaping dividends.

Though the adept technician is steadily turning into a hero who can deliver, he doesn’t believe in rigorous workouts or a robust physique. It is yoga which he practises. “I understand what suits me best. Flexing muscles isn’t my line. I’m more the ordinary man you come across in life. When a person is investing money in me, it’s only fair that I stick to characters that are a safe bet. Of course, within the parameters I try to lend variety. My next film, Raman Thediya Seethai will be in the same league.”

Then why did he try to be different and burn his fingers in Maya Kannaadi? “Mark my words, 10 years from now, the film will be well received. Yes, commercially it was a disappointment. People couldn’t accept me as a hairstylist. We’d worked hard … When it bombed I was shocked. Till then I hadn’t realised I have an image, and even after the first week of release I was sure it would pick up. The sad part is the media too didn’t understand the film properly. Maya … was a costly eye-opener.”

Cheran’s endeavours as a filmmaker, such as Bharati Kannamma, Vetri Kodi Kattu and Autograph, which he had written, produced, directed and acted, are proofs of his potential. Yet these days he seems satisfied with playing hero. “Financial and family commitments stalled matters on the production and creative fronts. But things are back on track and I’m already working on my next script.”

“Meena has acted in three films under my direction. Her talent amazes me. She lives the roles and brings in admirable nuances to her portrayal. Next it’s Navya Nair. The genuineness of her emotions in Maya … left me dumbstruck! Sneha, of course, was the Divya I had visualised for Autograph. She lived the role, and now, with more experience, she has scored again in Pirivom … The entire story revolves around her and she has done justice. Again Rajkiran is a fine actor. Sad that he’s so under-utilised …”

Cheran’s association with filmmaker-actor Thankar Pachan is intriguing. One moment you hear about their verbal attack against each other and the next moment you see them working together! In fact, it was in Pachan’s Solla Marandha Kadhai that Cheran first played hero. “Thankar is like a child, always impulsive. True, I don’t like certain things about him and vice versa. But he’s also a friend,” he laughs, as you gape at the response, because it’s just a few months since the two almost went to war in print! “But that’s how I really feel,” he smiles.

What answer to our woes?

Allow us to live: Family members, including children, of Punjab farmers who committed suicide, protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Thursday against the “anti-farmer” policies of the Central and Punjab governments. The farmers ended their lives owing to mounting debts and harassment from moneylenders.

Cristiano Ronaldo strikes twice

MAN U’s HERO: Cristiano Ronaldo scored both his team’s goals against Portsmouth.

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals and Manchester United beat Portsmouth 2-0 to return to the top of the English Premier League on Wednesday. Ronaldo scored in the 10th and 13th minutes to take his season tally to 27, and lift the defending champion ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.

Third-place Chelsea stretched its record unbeaten streak at home in the league to 75 games with a 1-0 win over Reading, Tottenham drew 0-0 at fourth-place Everton, Manchester City drew 1-1 at bottom club Derby, and Liverpool lost 1-0 at West Ham.

United and Arsenal, which beat Newcastle 3-0 on Tuesday, are tied on 57 points, four more than Chelsea and 14 more than Everton.

Manchester City joined fifth-place Aston Villa on 41 points, and record 18-time English champion Liverpool fell back to sixth, 17 points off the pace.

“Always to lose is a bad thing for us, but especially this type of game,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “We started really well and also the second half we were creating clear chances.

Dominating show

Ronaldo opened the scoring at Old Trafford from a pass by fellow Portugal winger Nani, then curled in a free kick past goalkeeper David James, who was making his 500th career appearance in the Premier League.

United dominated the match, with defender Rio Ferdinand regularly breaking forward in an attempt to bolster the attack, and Nani almost scoring late with a long-range shot. Chelsea stayed in strong contention for the title after Germany midfielder Michael Ballack scored at Stamford Bridge when he headed in a cross from Paulo Ferreira in the 33rd.

Chelsea equalled its club record of nine straight wins in all competitions.

The previous record was set under Jose Mourinho two years ago when Chelsea was on its way to a second straight Premier League title.

Liverpool seemed set for a fifth straight league draw until Jamie Carragher fouled West Ham midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg in the area, giving away a 90th-minute penalty.

Midfielder Mark Noble hit the ball in to make the result even more damaging to Liverpool’s season and Benitez’s hopes of being in charge for the next.

“Today we deserved to win but you cannot change the result,” Benitez said.

Everton moved just three points clear of local rival Liverpool when it was held to a scoreless draw by Tottenham, which had not drawn 0-0 in its last 64 matches.

Spurs’ defence was marshalled by England international Jonathan Woodgate on debut, while Andrew Johnson missed the home side’s best chance with a shot that Tottenham goalkeeper Radek Cerny saved.

The results:

Chelsea 1 (Ballack 32) bt Reading 0; Derby 1 (Jihai 47-og) drew with Manchester City 1 (Sturridge 63); Everton 0 drew with Tottenham 0; Manchester United 2 (Ronaldo 10, 13) bt Portsmouth 0; West Ham 1 (Noble 90-pen) bt Liverpool 0.

Harbhajan issue continues to make news

CAPTAINSPEAK: Mahendra Singh Dhoni says it is time to forget the past and make a fresh beginning.

Melbourne: The Harbhajan case might be closed but the issue continues to make news. Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said on Thursday that he was disappointed with ICC’s failure to inform Appeals Commissioner John Hansen with certain earlier breaches of the Code of Conduct by Harbhajan.

The ICC admitted its mistake. “It’s very unfortunate that a human error led to Justice Hansen not having the full history of Harbhajan’s previous Code of Conduct breaches and the ICC accepts responsibility for the mistake,” ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said.

The one Harbhajan offence, which Justice Hansen said could have altered his eventual verdict, pertained to the controversial second Test at Port Elizabeth in 2001. It was a match where Sachin Tendulkar was pulled up by Match Referee Mike Denness for “acting on the cricket ball.” And five other Indian cricketers, including Harbhajan, were strongly disciplined by Denness.

Topic of debate

Harbhajan was fined 75 per cent of his match fee and handed a suspended one Test ban for excessive appealing. The punishments were considered too harsh and there was a furore in India. India’s tour of South Africa came under a threat and the third match was played as an unofficial ‘Test.’ Denness’ verdicts are still a topic of debate in India.

Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting focussed on ICC’s act of omission. “The judge made it pretty clear that he was disappointed at the severity or the non-severity of his findings because he was not handed some pretty vital and important information. There is no doubt that there would be a few players in the Australian dressing room who would be disappointed....We all gave our evidence,” said.

The Australian captain expected Cricket Australia to take up the matter seriously with the ICC to ensure against such omissions occurring again. He added it was a learning experience for everyone in such situations.

On Andrew Symonds, Ponting said, “He is a very honest man. This was the second time he had to go through this sort of stuff after the tour of India. He should be able to put the incident behind him and play his best cricket again.” The Australian captain said any attempt to cast doubts over Symonds’ character would be wrong.

He, however, saw the closure of the case as “a great opportunity to move on and enjoy our cricket during the rest of the summer. We have to let this stuff go.”

Emotionally draining

Ponting confessed the weeks after the Sydney incident had been hard and emotionally draining. He maintained that apart from the incident in the second Test, the relationship between the sides had been generally good.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said it was time to forget the past and make a fresh beginning in the limited overs contests.

He maintained though that cricket could not be played in silence. “There will always be some chit-chat between the players. As long as it is not controversial, it should be all right,” the skipper said.

Like the Indians, the Australians too would have plenty to reflect upon on what transpired in Sydney. Sutherland said he would talk to Symonds and the players as a group about “some of the circumstances and some of the things that are reported in the judgment.”

19 paid parking lots for four-wheelers

IN SESSION: A view of the Chennai Corporation Council meeting at the Ripon Building on Monday.

CHENNAI: Nineteen new paid parking lots for four-wheelers were approved by the Corporation Council on Thursday. They would be operated by the Tamil Nadu Ex-Servicemen Association.

The association had sent a list of 26 proposed locations. After zonal officials pointed out that seven of them could contribute to traffic congestion, the list was whittled down to 19.

The area near the Marina swimming pool alone allows parking of buses and vans as well.

MUC Ground, the stretch between Rattan Bazaar and the MMC Hostel Gate, and parts of Wallajah Road, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Greams Lane and Wallace Garden 2nd street are earmarked for parking. In Anna Nagar, stretches adjacent to Santhosh Super Market, Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Anna Plaza, and between Sugsagar Restaurant and Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank are the places that have been chosen.

Stretches near Citi Bank on Anna Salai, between the Whites Road-Anna Salai junction and the TVK Salai junction, under the overbridge on Peter’s Road near Hotel Saravana Bhavan, near the Indian Oil Petrol Bunk on Venkatanarayana Road and MS Salai in T. Nagar, near 11th Cross Street and Hotel Planet on the beach in Besant Nagar and a part of the Pattinapakkam South Canal Bank Road are the other proposed locations.

Chennai Corporation bans spitting in public places

Chennai, (PTI): In a move to keep the metropolis clean, the city Corporation on Thursday announced a ban on spitting, urinating and dumping garbages in public places.

The decision, taken at the council meeting, would come into effect from April 1.

A fine of Rs 50 each would be imposed on those who spit or urinate on roads, pavements, parks, play grounds, water sources, bridges, commercial establishments and government premises, according to a council resolution.

While those who burn garbages in public places had to cough up Rs 500, a fine of Rs 1000 wold be imposed on those who keep their surroundings untidy, the resolution said.

The corporation had also banned washing clothes and dishes, cleaning vehicles and taking bath in public places. Those who fail to segregate medical wastes as per prescribed forms would also be fined, it said.

I don’t like being told what to do: Shah Rukh

Shahrukh Khan

New Delhi: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has taken another dig at Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for the latter’s quit-smoking-on-screen appeal to him, saying he does not like anyone telling him what to do and what not to.

“I do not endorse smoking and I do not like anyone telling me what to do and what not to do,” Mr. Khan said in an interview to NDTV.

“You cannot tell me how to earn a packet, you cannot tell me what to eat and what to wear, what not to say to my wife, these are personal things. So, I guard that very jealously,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Anbumani had said Mr. Khan should not have smoked in the stands while watching a cricket match in Mumbai and that he and Amitabh Bachchan can learn a thing or two from superstar Rajinikant regarding smoking onscreen

But Mr. Khan had this piece of advice for everyone. “I tell children all the time, please do not smoke because it is the worst. If I do not smoke, I would be a big movie star for many, many years to come or maybe I won’t be because I smoke that is such a bad thing to do. Do not do it,” he pleaded.

Mr. Khan (42) has earned the ire of anti-smoking groups on different occasions for lighting up in public in violation of a 2004 ban.

Entering politics

On rumours of his entry into politics, Mr. Khan said despite having a good relationship with the young scions of the Gandhi family, there is no question of joining politics. “Half of the people think that I am very close to the Congress and am going to join politics. I am very close to Priyanka, Robert and Rahul. I tell everyone, I say this whenever I meet them. Why don’t you ask them, are you going to join films,” the actor said in the interview to be telecast on Saturday. — PTI

Indian IT weathers slowdown

BANGALORE: The Indian information technology-enabled services — much of it centred here in what is being called Silicon City — seems to be weathering the deterioration in Internet connectivity with rest of the world, caused by damage to two trunk undersea cables in the Mediterranean.

While a swathe of user nations in the subcontinent and West Asia reported feeling the impact from late Wednesday Indian time, the effect here has been reported to be minimal by key players in critical business process outsourcing sectors. This is because, almost all companies for whom the broadband Internet is a vital business umbilical, have standby solutions for just such situations. Most of them have entered into service level agreements with Internet providers who have in many cases switched traffic from the two cable systems known to have been affected: FLAG (a part of Reliance Telecom) and SEA-ME-WE -4 a consortium that covers South East Asia- Middle East-West Europe. These cables land in Kochi and Mumbai on the West Coast and their broadband feed is used by all major service providers including Reliance, VSNL and BSNL.

Typically these providers switch affected cables and reroute traffic to Europe and the Americas via Pacific routes for which Chennai and Singapore are cable heads.

Immediately after Wednesday’s outage in the Mediterranean, many Indian corporate customers experienced reduced bandwidth which means traffic was a bit slower — but no critical problem. During the day, some heavy users reported increased ‘latency’, that is jargon for the delay between the sending and the receiving of a ‘packet’ of information of between 20 and 40 milliseconds — which was not too bad. The largest contact centre player Genpact as well as other big outsourcers like Infosys, Wipro and Satyam, are known to have seamlessly switched to other unaffected routes — so for them and most of the ITES sector it has been business as usual after a small blip which they were all geared to weather,

Chidambaram exudes optimism on growth

NEW DELHI: Enthused by the revision of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure from 9.4 to 9.6 per cent in 2006-07, the highest in 18 years, a confident Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday pitched for a near 9 per cent expansion of the economy during the current fiscal, while reserving the government’s right to make rapid adjustments in tune with the evolving global situation.

The revised data on GDP growth and quick estimates of national income released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for the previous fiscal showed that while the growth rate of per capita income stood at 8.1 per cent, the overall growth in 2005-06 was fixed from nine to 9.4 per cent.

At a press conference here, exuding optimism over the robust performance of the economy in the last fiscal, in the wake of fears of a global slowdown now, Mr. Chidambaram said: “We are maintaining a balance between inflation, which is still below four per cent, and growth, which is well above eight per cent. My goal is to maintain growth, but at the same time, the government reserves the right to make rapid adjustments depending upon the evolving international situation.”

Asked whether the adjustments would be monetary or fiscal, he said: “We are not taking administrative steps in a vacuum. We are doing so in heightened uncertainties, and we are making rapid adjustments. I am confident that if we keep firm hands on the wheel, [the] economy will sail through the turbulent waters.”

Asserting that the GDP growth this fiscal would be close to 9 per cent and the government would strive for a higher growth in 2008-09, Mr. Chidambaram said the economy was “growing at 9.4 per cent in 2005-06; 9.4 per cent, which has been revised to 9.6 per cent in 2006-07, and is estimated to grow close to nine per cent in 2007-08.”

His objective was to continue to maintain growth at the same level.

The interesting data in the CSO figures, the Finance Minister said, pertained to the spurt in capital formation in 2004-05. According to the revised figures, the jump in capital formation and domestic savings was to the extent of four per cent.

While domestic savings rose, foreign direct investment played a crucial role.

Undersea cable breakdown hits Internet-based services

NEW DELHI: The booming Indian information technology sector, mainly business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, and some international long distance and Internet service providers have been affected due to a major underwater cable breakdown in the Mediterranean sea. The snag has led to disruption in Internet and communication networks. As tension gripped BPO firms, service industry and individuals due to the snag in their Internet connections and ILD services, the Centre swung into action on Thursday and contacted the three main service providers affected — the Tata-owned VSNL, Reliance and Bharti Airtel Ltd — to take stock of the situation. Reportedly, more than 50 per cent ILD and Internet capacity remained down in the country following the cable damage.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said the three companies were in constant touch with Telecom Egypt to ensure speedy repairs to the two cables connecting India to Western Europe and the U.S.

“Normally the repair of such type of submarine optical fibre cable takes 15 days. However, it is expected that the links will be completely restored by the ILD operators within 10 days by expediting the repair,” it added.

The cable snag occurred near Alexandria, off the coast of Egypt, on Wednesday, affecting ILD and Internet traffic to Europe and the U.S. Besides India, traffic in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia was also affected. Though the ILD operators shifted the circuits to other marine cables falling in the Pacific region, the extra load on this route has resulted in a slowdown of Internet and communication traffic.

“Out of total links working on these cables, approximately 30 per cent links are restored and efforts are being made on a war footing for providing an alternative path to remaining links,” the Ministry said. According to the Internet Service Providers Association of India president Rajesh Chharia, IT companies and call centres that provide online services to the U.K. and the U.S. were the worst affected.

Though some of them were re-routing through the Pacific as a backup, the voice quality and speed of traffic would be highly degraded, he added.

Rs.10,000-cr. package for Arunachal

1,840-km highway from Tawang to Mahadevpur planned

Manmohan lays foundation for Dibang power project

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Itanagar: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday announced development projects worth about Rs.10,000-crore for Arunachal Pradesh. He also laid the foundation for six of them during his maiden visit to the northeastern State.

The package includes a Rs. 5,500-crore 1,840-km trans-Arunachal Pradesh highway that will stretch from Tawang to Mahadevpur. In three or four years, Itanagar would be connected with a four-lane highway, Dr. Singh said.

He laid the foundation for the 3,000-MW Dibang power project, the country’s biggest hydel project, and the 110-MW Pare power project. He said the Dibang project alone would generate over Rs. 300-crore revenue for the State.

Dr. Singh also laid the foundation for a new Secretariat building in Itanagar, a rail link between Itanagar and Harmuti, and water supply projects for Itanagar and Naharlagun.

The Prime Minister announced a new greenfield airport for the State capital, operationalisation of the airports at Pasighat, Along, Daporijo, Ziro and Tezu and a daily helicopter service between Guwahati and Tawang, for which the Centre would provide a subsidy.

“Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost State of our country, and the sun kisses the country here first. That is why for the country it is the land of the rising sun,” he said in his half-hour speech before a capacity crowd at the Indira Gandhi Park here.

Dr. Singh said there were four major areas in which the government needed to work to ensure rapid development: connectivity, infrastructure, educational and healthcare facilities, and economic development.

Dr. Singh, who also unveiled a bust of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, said: “Arunachal Pradesh was a favourite of two of our beloved leaders, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. If Indiraji created Arunachal Pradesh, Rajivji granted Statehood to it.”

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu requested Dr. Singh to constitute a high-level committee for finding a lasting solution to the Chakma-Hajong refugee problem.

Mr. Khandu said the State was endowed with rich natural resources. But it lacked the financial resources for converting them into goods and services.