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PM brings hope for tsunami survivors
NGOs, corporates to set up houses for victims
Govt not to cut down R-Day festivities
Foundation adopts 200 families
Rajasthan BJP dogged by factionalism
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News Analysis
ULFA advised to join talks
One dies in train mishap
Publicise schemes for ailing kids, NHRC tells AP
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PM brings hope for tsunami survivors
Car Nicobar, January 9 Setting a punishing schedule, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set out from Chennai early morning for Port Blair on Saturday — the message to his officials was he wanted to have a first hand account of the extent of damage. More importantly, he wanted to hear from victims their problems and expectations. And hence, he wanted to visit as many relief camps as possible. Landing at the Car Nicobar airbase, the first sight that greeted him adjacent to the runway was a line of tents, the temporary shelter for defence personnel. The runway, a portion of which still has debris strewn over, has been made functional only for AN-32 flights and other small aircraft. Nearby, Air Force officers’ housing complex lies in a shambles. An officer points out to a damaged VVIP guest house, saying that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had stayed there when he had visited the islands as Prime Minister. December 26, the “Black Sunday”, was like any other bright morning. The officers were out jogging along the beach or playing games when waves came a little closer than usual, recalled an officer. The water then receded and no one took further notice. Minutes later, when the waves started roaring back and quickly gained height, the panic buttons were pressed. But things happened very fast leaving very little time to run to safety, said an Air Force officer. Lifted by the speeding waves, a Maruti Esteem lay smashed in the lush green forests in the complex. Most of the coconut trees survived nature’s fury. In two buildings, it looked as if the first floors have been sliced and kept on ground. Many Air Force personnel and their family members figure on the missing list and efforts to trace them are continuing at a hectic pace. As many as 21 survivors were detected in the last few days, raising hopes of some more who could have been stranded in the dense forests and awaiting evacuation. According to official estimates, about 500 persons perished and there is no trace of an equal number. Spontaneously, the men in uniform lined up the tarmac leading to the aircraft to meet the Prime Minister who had a word of encouragement. “The country is proud of all of you,” he said. His message was that the Centre would extend all possible assistance to help the victims start their lives anew. For the families of each of those killed in the tsunami disaster, the Prime Minister said Rs 1 lakh would be given from the Prime Minister’s Relief fund. Driving through the thick forests, Mr Singh visited the relief camp at Kakana village. For the tribals, it was a healing touch. Many settlers from Punjab, which included a large number of ex-servicemen and their families, lamented that they had lost everything they had made in the past 35 years. With folded hands, Paramjit Kaur pleaded with the Prime Minister to see that her family was re-settled in Punjab. “We don’t want to stay here anymore. We have lost all we have earned in the past three decades”. An emotional Singh, who patiently heard the woes of the victims, assured them “we will do everything possible. Don’t lose hope”.
— PTI |
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NGOs, corporates to set up houses for victims
Nagapattinam, January 9 The noise of heavy engines mowing down thickets and clearing the land for construction of shelters now pervades over the sound of the waves, which two weeks ago, had left more than thousands dead and homeless here. NGOs as well as major corporate houses have been earmarked 17 acres of government land to set up temporary shelters in Akkarapettai village alone, which saw maximum deaths and devastation in this district. With the government setting the deadline to move the homeless into these shelters on Pongal (January 14,) work is going on at a brisk pace in Akkarapettai and nearby Keechankuppam where five acres have been allotted near the
government salt godown for the purpose. “We hope to move those staying at relief camps into these shelters by Pongal. Many NGOs and
corporate houses have come forward and we have taken all steps to ensure speedy construction,” Tamil Nadu Rural Development Secretary Shanta Seela Nayar told PTI. The government land, for construction of houses for around 2,700, families, have already been handed over to NGOs and corporate houses who are racing against time to get the shelters built as soon as possible. “We are flooded with calls from various NGOs and business houses and it is really a welcome sign. All steps are being taken to ensure that relief work does not face any bureaucratic hassles,” Nagapattinam District Collector Veera Shanmugha Moni told PTI. “Shelters made of light roof material, with an area of 100 feet by 32 feet, will be divided into 20 rooms to house an equal number of families. The aim of the administration is to utilise the limited land here to house maximum number of homeless,” senior district administration officials said. NGOs are working round-the-clock in Akkarapettai village to set up temporary shelters. Material and manpower are expected to arrive shortly and the atmosphere here would soon reverberate with sounds of men and metal. The Tata Relief Committee of the Tata group has come up with a proposal to build permanent houses for the residents of Akkarapettai. The corporate house has approached the district administration and land has been allotted to it for the purpose. “We intend to build permanent houses for the homeless fishermen, keeping in mind their preferences, as we do not want to construct houses of alien design for them,” J Ganesan of the Tata Relief
Committee told PTI. However, the corporate house’s endeavour would take at least three-four months to complete. The government has set a target of six months to build permanent shelters.
— PTI |
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Govt not to cut down R-Day festivities
New Delhi, January 9 “It is not correct to say any political party suggested any scaling down of the Republic Day celebrations. This is an observance of national day and achievements of the nation and not associated with festivities,” Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told mediapersons here after an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both the government and the Opposition appeared to be in unanimity on not scaling down the Republic Day celebrations. Mr Mukherjee said January 26 was a historic day in the country’s freedom struggle and Pt Jawaharlal Nehru had said in 1930 that it would be celebrated as Independence Day. It was done so from 1931 to 1947, he said. BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said the January 26 celebrations did not figure in the all-party meeting. She, however, said the BJP was of the view that there was no need to cut down the Republic Day parade. “It has nothing to do with festivities. It demonstrates the nation’s strength and capacity. It would only serve to boost the morale of the people,” she said. |
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Foundation adopts 200 families
New Delhi, January 9 Speaking to The Tribune, spokesperson for the foundation Gita said: “Our organisation has been concentrating on worst-hit areas of Nagapattinam and Velankanni where we have taken financial responsibility for the repair of 30 boats so that fishermen could begin their life again.” Foundation founder Swami
Vishvasji, on reaching Tamil Nadu, met with Governor S.S. Barnala and on latter’s instruction and suggestions directed his team members to reach Nagapattinam and Velankanni to start relief operations. In
Velankani, the foundation has adopted 200 families. |
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Rajasthan BJP dogged by factionalism
Jaipur, January 9 The suspension of BJP MLA from Ganganagar Surendra Singh Rathore following a hot exchange of words with Mr Surendra Pal Singh, Minister for Agriculture, early this week bears testimony to the unhappy developments. Mr Rathore is reported to have made some uncharitable remarks against the government for its failure in dealing with the situation arising out of the farmers’ agitation in the Sri Ganganagar region. This infuriated the minister so much that there was virtually a bitter battle of words between the two. The conduct of Mr Rathore as an MLA of the party was considered as an act of gross indiscipline that triggered his immediate suspension. Prior to Mr Rathore, the first BJP MLA to be suspended was Mr Jagannath Verma from Manohar Thana in Jhalawar district. Mr Surendra Singh Rathore alleged that the Chief Minister was surrounded by sycophants. He warned that he was now fully prepared to expose the misdeeds of undesirable elements swarming around the Chief Minister. The bickerings in the party have now reached right up to the high command. Party sources said under instructions from BJP President L.K. Advani, Mr Kalraj Mishra, General Secretary and in charge of Rajasthan affairs, was coming to Jaipur on a three-day visit to assess the state of affairs in the state unit. He would probe the circumstances that led to Mr Surendra Singh Rathore’s suspension, besides assessing the strained relationship between the government and the party. |
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News Analysis
New Delhi, January 9 Diplomatically, however, it could be a bit of a rabble-rouser. Analysts here say Pakistan is well aware of the fact that international arbitration would be the last thing which India would like to have in context of Jammu and Kashmir. Technically, the appointment of neutral experts itself would take months. After neutral experts are appointed and they seek technical data from the two sides, the submission of the data and their examination by experts will be a long and time-consuming process which is bound to take years. By that time, the construction work will be over. So the soft option for Islamabad would have been to accept the Indian offer of making changes in the design of the Baglihar project. Perhaps, Pakistan is not looking at it from the water resources point of view alone. Analysts here feel that during the four-day talks (January 4-7), it was clear that Pakistan’s objections were not really technical. Islamabad wants to prevent India from doing a major project in J and K even if it is permissible under the treaty. Seen from Islamabad’s point of view, it has to ensure that the Kashmiris are not empowered and projects like Baglihar do not see the light of the day. Projects like Tulbul, which are hanging fire for the past 16 years, suit Pakistani interests best. Pakistan’s choice of bringing in neutral experts outside the framework of bilateral process will inevitably cast a shadow on other projects in J and K, particularly when the Wular barrage and Kishanganga projects have already led to tensions between India and Pakistan. If projects like Baglihar take off, it is bound to have a spin-off impact on the entire J and K, not just economically but politically, too, because as many as 35 power projects are in the pipeline, ranging from the lowest capacity at Leh (one MW) to the highest capacity project at Bursur in Doda (600 MW). It is because of this that Pakistan has objected to virtually every project that has been taken up in Jammu and Kashmir on the Indus water system. It will not be incorrect to say that Pakistan’s threat of knocking at the doors of the World Bank is not a problem for the Ministry of Water Resources, but a potential headache for the Ministry of External Affairs.
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ULFA advised to join talks
Dimapur, January 9 Representatives of all
NSCN (IM) units based in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday unanimously reelected Swu and Muivah as their president and general
secretary, respectively. The elections were supposed to be held in 2002, but as Swu and Muivah were outside Nagaland, these could not take place in
time. The meeting of all NSCN (IM) units to reelect Swu and Muivah was held at Camp Hebron in Dimapur, its base camp. K.
Angami, publicity secretary of Naga HOHO (tribal council) told this correspondent that almost all HOHO leaders met Swu and Muivah over the past couple of days and expressed their views how to work out a political solution to the Nagaland
problem, including Nagalim. Swu reportedly told Naga HOHO leaders that they would have to reach a settlement with Delhi fast and that Nagas should understand that the world had changed since they began the struggle. |
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One dies in train mishap
Kolkata, January 9 A tractor was passing through the level crossing even as the Guwahati- bound Rajdhani was approaching towards
Dhupguri. The driver of the train, however,
noticed the tractor from a distance. Even though he tried his best to stop the
train, it hit the tractor before stopping. He thus saved the hundreds of passengers on board the
train. An inquiry has been ordered into the accident.
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Publicise schemes for ailing kids, NHRC tells AP
New Delhi, January 9 It has recommended to make available the facilities announced by the state government through its two government orders made in October, 2004 to all children between the age group of 0-12 years who require treatment for heart ailments. The schemes extended by the state government were brought to the notice of the commission in connection with a complaint referred to it by D. Narayana Swami, who had written a letter to the commission in August, 2004 drawing its attention to the plight of poor children requiring treatment. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the NHRC has sought the state government’s reply within a week. The state government had relied that it was taking appropriate steps in the matter and outlined the financial aid being given for medical treatment and surgery to ailing children. While the commission has expressed satisfaction that action is being taken by the Andhra Pradesh Government, it has directed them to publicise the schemes. |
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