Cauvery on Celluloid

The recently released Kannada film H20, directed by Upendra, found itself in the midst of a roaring controversy after a local organisation, ...

The recently released Kannada film H20, directed by Upendra, found itself in the midst of a roaring controversy after a local organisation, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, refused to allow its matinee screening at a cinema in Bangalore. The film revolves around two young men 8212; one who lives in a village in Karnataka and the other in Tamil Nadu 8212; and their love for the same girl called Cauvery, who lives in an ashram. The obvious reference to the Cauvery water-sharing dispute apart, the Vedike members staged a protest dharna about the sparse two-piece costumes the heroine wore and the inexplicable presence of a DMK flag in the film. The Kannada filmmakers, meanwhile, have supported the film 8212; it has been cleared with a 8216;U8217; certificate by the Censor Board 8212; and the director8217;s right to creative expression. Incidentally, the controversy has only bolstered the film8217;s collections at the box-office.

CAG shifts Sights

HYDERABAD:

Last month, it was Kerala that the Comptroller and Auditor General was painting a bleak financial future for in view of the disparity between assets and liabilities climbing up to 18 per cent. This month, it is Andhra Pradesh that is facing the flak. The CAG has pointed out lapses in fiscal management, marked by 8216;8216;extraordinary increase in revenue deficit and growing dependence on overdrafts8217;8217; in its 2000-01 report. It also made note of serious distortions in the accounts of the state due to misclassification of grant-in-aid for local bodies and part of subsidies to power sector. The report, tabled in the state assembly last week, finally advised the government to control its borrowings and improve its financial condition.

The Russians are Coming

Tirunelvelli:

The Russians are here 8212; to build the largest nuclear power unit in the country. Work on the Rs 14,000 crore Indo-Russian Koodangulam nuclear project began last week at the project site along the coast of Gulf of Mannar in Tirunelvelli district with the ceremonial pouring of concrete. The unit will be ready in five years and nine months, according to V K Chaturvedi, Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and will increase electricity generating capacity manifold. Meanwhile, smaller units in Tarapur, Maharashtra, Kaiga and Rajasthan are also in the process of being completed.

Brawls over a Bar

CHENNAI:

Amma and the DMK continue to squabble, this time over the government8217;s recent decision to allow 8216;bars8217; in wine shops. In the state assembly, the chief minister refused to buy the charge that opening bars would create a law and order problem; instead, she stated that the government was anticipating a revenue increase of Rs 81.88 crore through them. She even alleged that the situation would be a vast improvement from the DMK8217;s time, when illegal bars fattened the pockets of some people. At least in her regime, the revenue would go 8216;8216;straight to the treasury,8217;8217; she said.