Baby born with 2 faces

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Indian man stands on one foot to win car, place in record book

A contest sponsored by an Indian radio station asked participants to literally bond with their cars to win a new Hyundai i10. A slate of 24 contestants, rigorously screened through medical tests and counselling sessions, competed for the prize by standing on one foot while placing a palm on the vehicle. They had 10-minute breaks after the completion of each gruelling hour. The contest, known as Chipak ke Jeeto (Stick and Win), was billed as the "biggest endurance test of all times" by organizer BIG 92.7 FM. Contests were hosted simultaneously in several Indian cities with the winner of each event driving home in a new car. The three-day nail-biter concluded at 72 hours and 50 minutes as Raj Dongre of Mumbai grabbed the keys to the final prize vehicle and was entered into the Limca Book of Records, published by Coca-Cola India.

National Post

Vanishing People

MUMBAI: More than 11,000 people get lost in Mumbai every year, reveal police statistics, and around 20% of them are never found. The figures thrown up by government officials are alarming. The fact that more than 2,000 people never get back home every year means that each day around six Mumbaikars are lost to their families and friends for ever. An overwhelming majority—about two-thirds—of the people who go missing in Mumbai are, surprisingly, adults. Sociologists who deal with the problem say most of the people who leave home do so because of some strained relationship within the family or because they are mentally unstable; this accounts for so many adults in the missing population. Figures for 2007 show 11,168 people went missing in 2007 and 9,055 (some went missing before 2007) came back. And, of the 11,168 men, women and children who went missing last year, Bada Kabrastan alone received around 1,100 unclaimed bodies that seemed to have belonged to Muslims. Rights experts allege that cops rarely make an effort to tie up a missing-person information with an unclaimed body. But senior police officials say the fact that an overwhelming majority of people ultimately come back to their families shows that the force is doing its job properly. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said it was extremely difficult to trace people who left home on their own. "Some may leave home after a fight in the family, children often sulk and go missing if they are scolded and elopement of girls and boys in love is a frequent occurrence. All these cases are extremely difficult to trace," he added. The Missing Persons' Bureau (MBP) recently started sending e-mail messages, with details of missing persons, to other investigating agencies in the state and outside so that missing people could be traced faster, officials added. But sociologists say police can claim credit for very few of the lost-and-found cases. "It is mostly a network of family and friends or voluntary group or good Samaritans who are responsible for reunions," a sociologist said.

Times of India

Catch a monkey and win a price

Shimla: Catching a monkey in Himachal Pradesh would soon a become rewarding endeavour as wildlife officials here are thinking of involving the public and giving them a cash prize for catching the menacing simians.
"We are preparing a proposal to involve people in capturing monkeys by offering them monetary benefits," said Vinay Tandon, chief of the state wildlife department.
The proposal, if accepted by the government, will be introduced in monkey-infested zones. The captured animals will be shifted to primate protection centres that are to be set up in Shimla and Naduan in Hamirpur district.
Officials said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had asked the wildlife department to prepare a proposal to catch monkeys and shift them to these primate protection parks.
The department is likely to offer Rs.400 for catching a monkey, the officials said. However, it isn't clear if there is a plan to train people to do so.
The state government is already carrying out monkey sterilisations in and around Shimla for the past one year. But of the 30,000 monkeys in the hill state, only 1,000 have been sterilised so far.
In the past, the government had captured monkeys with the help of experts from urban centres and shifted them to rural areas. This had angered villagers and farmers as the horses of simians had damaged standing crops. (IANS)

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