Mumbai Festivals May Lose Big Sponsors

GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, July 19, 2002: Uttar Pradesh has joined the list of states where pan masala (betel leaf and nut) and gutka (a tobacco product) are under an official ban following Thursday’s order by the Allahabad High court directing the Uttar Pradesh government to ban the sale, production and advertisement of pan masala and gutka. The ban…

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Protesters Greet Sadhvi Rithambara in New York

GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, USA, July 27, 2002: Sadhvi Rithambara was at the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, New York, to raise funds for her new project — homes and shelters for orphans and widows. Rithambara, a well-known voice of Hindutva in India, was confronted with her political past as angry protesters demonstrated outside the auditorium where she was scheduled…

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Orissa’s Most Famous Elephant Recovering

GO TO SOURCE PURI, INDIA, July 29, 2002: Laxmi, the elephant who became seriously ill during the Puri Rath Yatra, is now responding to medicines and the prayers of hundreds of villagers. Meanwhile the wildlife division has decided to take action against the district administration for using the animal without proper medical verification and authorization. After six days of agony,…

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Sabarimala Pollution Cleanup Urgent

GO TO SOURCE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, July 28, 2002: The Environment Committee of the State Assembly has called for urgent steps to check the pollution hazards faced by the hill shrine of Sabarimala. Millions of Ayyappa devotees pilgrimage to this sacred place from across the country during the November-January season. In a report given to the Assembly recently, a nine-member panel…

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World Turning to Bicycle for Mobility

GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, D.C., July 17, 2002: In the year 2000, world bicycle production reached 101 million, more than double the 41 million cars produced. This article, extolling the virtues of bicycles, states that sales are soaring because bikes provide affordable mobility for billions of people, increase physical fitness, alleviate traffic congestion, and do not pollute the air. The…

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Muslim Militants Attack Amarnath Pilgrims

GO TO SOURCE SRINAGAR, INDIA, July 30, 2002: Two people were killed and three seriously injured when a powerful blast ripped apart a car on Anantnag-Amarnath road in Anantnag in south Kashmir on Tuesday evening, official sources said. The blast took place inside a taxi, seriously injuring five persons on K. P. Road near Anantnag bus stand, 55 kms from…

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Guyanese Immigrants Flock to Schenectady, New York

GO TO SOURCE SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, JULY 26, 2002: Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski’s (pronounced jur-ZIN-ski) involvement with the Hindu community began after he received a telephone call last year from Deryck Singh, a Guyanese immigrant who settled here 15 years earlier and was looking for a place to build a Hindu temple. There were only 200 Guyanese immigrants living here,…

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Dedication of Lokenath Prem Temple

GO TO SOURCE KOLKATA, INDIA, July 29, 2002: On the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima (July 24, 2002), Loknath Divine Life Mission celebrated the Mahakumbhabhishekam (dedication) of Lokenath Prem Mandir (temple) and Prana Paratisthapana of Mahayogi Baba Lokenath’s (1730-1890) Divya Murthi at 99/5/15 Ballygunj Place, Kolkata. Parampujya Swami Shuddhananda Brahmachari, Founder President of the Mission, inaugurated the newly constructed temple…

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Overcooked Potatoes Carcinogenic?

Source: Times of India LONDON, ENGLAND, July 26, 2002: New research on acrylamide levels in cooked food has confirmed fears that french fries and potato chips may not just be clogging arteries and padding guts, they may be the main causes of cancer too. The findings reported in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American…

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Tamil Nadu State Government Sponsors Weddings for Poor Couples

GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, July 14, 2002: For some families in Tamil Nadu the expense of sponsoring a wedding for their daughters has become so high that many young ladies are unable to get married. Stepping in to assist these families, the state government under the direction of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa recently sponsored 1,008 marriages. Jayalalithaa said, “The…

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