UN panel wakes up to prof’s idea

Professor Bharat Desai still remembers the day in 1999 when, at a World Bank conference in New York, he had first suggested that the United Nations’ top environment programme be upgraded to a permanent body.

No one paid much heed to Desai’s proposal then. Eight years down the line, the UN is considering a fresh plan almost identical to the one made by Desai, and has approached the Jawaharlal Nehru University professor for assistance.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) may soon be upgraded to the United Nations Environment Organisation, but Desai is unlikely to be directly credited for the change. “The proposal being considered isn’t the one Desai made. But his contribution will also be recognised,” a senior UNEP official in Delhi said.

Desai himself said he was not “hankering” after recognition. His aim, as in 1999, was to bring environmental problems to the forefront of global talks. Desai holds the chair for International Environmental Law at the university’s Centre for International Legal Studies.

Landmark comes alive

It isn’t often that people of one big city learn about the landmarks of another. Such places flit into public memory, but usually when they are engulfed in a controversy.

In Chennai, though, many recently woke up to the Calcutta Police Museum, the interest aroused by a local English daily that featured the landmark in one of its supplements.

Readers got a rare glimpse into the history of the imposing red building, which was built in 1704 and had served as the home of social reformer Raja Rammohun Roy for years.

The building, well known in Calcutta as a repository of invaluable documents, photographs and artefacts, suddenly found its way into the consciousness of people in Chennai in a way that might have required a trip to the eastern city.

Cobra tamed, rivals hissing

He isn’t a stranger to rivals hissing around, but K. Keshava Rao might not have expected to display his snake-catching skills in a way that gave him instant fame.

Recently, the Andhra Congress chief was busy sizing up problems his party’s government might face in polls two years away when he had to tackle a more immediate threat — a cobra that had slithered into his home.

But Rao, who has been a teacher and a journalist before he took the plunge into full-time politics, was unflappable.

He caught the cobra, almost like a trained snake charmer, even as family members quaked in fear and some policemen shied away from the challenge.

But after the conquest came the bragging.

“People underestimate my capabilities but I can overcome any kind of hurdle and resolve all problems,” he boasted before the swarm of reporters who were waiting for a sound bite.

AIDS lessons

Lawmakers of Delhi will soon get an opportunity to bone up on HIV/AIDS and the threat the virus poses to society.

The Delhi government is planning a one-day workshop for parliamentarians and MLAs from the city to raise awareness about the disease. Around five million people are living with the virus in the country.

The plan to educate legislators comes after the recent inauguration of 15 new integrated counselling and testing centres.

The initiatives, part of the government’s effort to fight the disease, also cover campuses like Delhi University, JNU and Jamia Milia.

Chennai: The Veena Foundation will organise the first Veena Navaratri from September 11 at the Narada Gana Sabha. The nine-day event will feature 30 distinguished performers. The venue is located on the arterial TTK Road. Call 24993201 and 24990850 for more details.