 |
|
|
Karnataka minister quits over recruitment scam
Salman ready to apologise if anyone is hurt: Salim Khan
UP on alert ahead of Ayodhya verdict
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Think of backlog before framing laws: Moily
New-age arms for crowd control
Sethusamudram Project
Tribune Special
War widow pension restored after 30 years
Letter against lecturer read out in churches
the gRAIN DRAIN
Maoists blast CPM office at Lodhasol
Reality show craze grips Shillong
Missing Explosives
Rs 45-cr boost for BSNL in Leh
PURA ready to take off
From India, 70-gm saree for Mrs Obama
|
|
Karnataka minister quits over recruitment scam
Bangalore, September 12 Gowda’s exit came a day before the government will submit a list to the High Court of those who were recruited. Last week the court had rapped Gowda over irregularities in recruitments for medical colleges in Mysore and Hassan. Gowda was proceeding to the temple town of Tirupati to offer worship to Lord Venkateshwara last evening when he was summoned by Yeddyurappa to put in his papers. In his two-line resignation letter, he said, “As per your wishes I am resigning from the ministry. I thank you for giving me an opportunity to serve as a minister”. A sulking Gowda, once a close confidant of Yeddyurappa before relations soured and an RSS follower, refused to reveal future plans but rejected allegations of irregularities. Gowda had come under opposition attack over irregularities in recruitment of over 350 paramedical staff in medical colleges in Mysore and Hassan. He is the third minister to be forced out of office from the 28-month-old first ever BJP government in the south after being dogged by controversy. SN Krishnaiah Shetty had quit after allegations of financial irregularities in purchase of land from farmers and its sale to Karnataka Housing Board surfaced while he was the minister for Housing. H Halappa made an unceremonious exit after he faced allegations of rape made by the wife of his friend, a matter now pending in court. Yeddyurappa, who is reported to be toying with the idea of restructuring his ministry, will now have three vacancies to fill, with the strength of the ministry being reduced to 31 after Gowda’s resignation. Under a truce formula scripted by BJP high command last year after a revolt in the ruling party, led by mining barons and ministers Janardhana Reddy and his brother Karunakara Reddy, Yeddyurappa had axed Shobha Karandlaje. V Somanna had to resign as minister after failing to win the bypoll from Govindrajanagar Assembly constituency. The High Court had last week not only rapped Gowda over the irregularities in recruitments, but also asked the government to consider continuing eligible candidates while taking exception to the state’s decision to cancel all appointments after the scam surfaced.
— PTI
|
|
Salman ready to apologise if anyone is hurt: Salim Khan
Mumbai, September 12 “Salman will tender an unconditional apology if anybody, even a single person, feels hurt by his remarks about the Mumbai terror attack. Salman has told me that he loves his country as anybody else does and is prepared to apologise,” Salim Khan said. He, however, suspected that portions of Salman’s interview were “selectively leaked” to show him in “bad light” just around the release of his film “Dabangg”. “Selective footage seems to have been presented by a Pakistani channel just to discredit Salman and to create communal disharmony. We regret that this has happened,” Salim said, adding his family was a “happy blend of various religions, each respecting the other”. “We believe that worshipping one’s nation is part of one’s love, affection and regard for the Almighty,” he said. Meanwhile, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha has thrown his weight behind the beleaguered film star describing him as “God’s good man” who might have made some politically incorrect comments. “The Salman I know is God’s good man. He might have made some politically incorrect statement, but he and his family have an impeccable record in secularism. Yesterday, when I went to their house, they were celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi on one floor and Eid on another,” he said.
— PTI
|
|
UP on alert ahead of Ayodhya verdict
Lucknow, September 12
According to ADG (Law and Order) Brij Lal, the police has tied up with the mobile operators to scan the SMSes and to track the mobile numbers from which the offensive messages are originating. The endeavor bore fruit when the Ghaziabad police nabbed a BBA second year student of IMS College Dasana, Vijay Sharma, for circulating one such message. Sharma was tracked with the assistance of electronic surveillance squad and taken into custody. An FIR has been registered against him at Dasana police station said DIG Ghaziabad Raghubir Lal. Sharing the elaborate security measures being taken by the state police to curb any trouble around the Ayodhya verdict, Brij Lal said even the Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Special Task Force have been entrusted with the task of tracking the mischief-mongers circulating hate SMSes. For the first time the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) deputed in the villages under the National Rural Health Mission has been asked to assist the district administration in maintaining law and order under the new security plan put in place. Besides the network of ASHAs, the Shiksha Mitras (teaching assistants under the SSA) lekhpals and panchayat workers have also been roped in to help the district administration maintain law and order not only in the run-up to the Ayodhya judgment and following it but also during the festival season and the panchayat polls.
|
|
Think of backlog before framing laws: Moily
New Delhi, September 12 “Assessment must be made for the purpose of estimating the extra load any new bill or legislation may add to the burden of the courts and expenditure required for the purpose,” Law Minister M Veerappa Moily has said in a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Nearly three crore cases are pending in courts (lower courts and higher judiciary) across the country, and the backlog is on a steady increase. According to the government estimates based on 2009 figures, it takes 15 years on an average to finally decide a court case in India. Moily's letter, based on the recommendations of the task force on the Judicial Impact Assessment, says the government can anticipate the likely cost of implementing legislation through the courts by a judicial impact assessment. The task force, which based its findings on the research work by former law secretary TK Viswanathan, who is now advisor in the Law Ministry, had recommended that it should be made mandatory to provide an estimate of the burden likely to be imposed on the courts by every Bill passed by Parliament or state legislatures. In
a similar letter recently, Moily had stressed the need for immediate
setting up of the special courts to deal with "surmounting"
cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. In that
letter, also addressed to the Finance Minister, Moily had said there
were about 38 lakh cheque bouncing cases pending in the trial courts and
this need to be speedily addressed by setting up the special courts. —
PTI
|
|
|
New-age arms for crowd control
New Delhi, September 12 A just-concluded defence expo here was the scouting ground for top officials of several security agencies and state police departments for non-lethal weapons (NLWs) and those dealing in such arms described the response as overwhelming. Among the two NLWs on display was the 'JPX Jet Protector' -- shaped like a gun, it releases powerful concentrations of high grade Oleoresin Capsicum, a devastatingly inflammatory agent with accuracy to destabilise a person at 30 ft distance. "The response was fantastic from security agencies. We got a lot of feedback for its trials from senior officials of the Home Department, NSG, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh Police. Some asked if we could increase the range as they had to deal with stone-pelters. We are looking into these points," said Jonathan Raj, a Banglore-based importer of the non-lethal weapons. A senior Home Ministry official told PTI that the Working Group set up to examine the use of non-lethal weapons by security personnel was looking at various kinds of such weapons in the market and this high-powered panel would soon submit its recommendations to the government. "We are examining various equipment available in the country and from abroad for purchase of non-lethal weapons. The JPX Jet Protector was a much sought-after device as it is light-weight, has features like those in all hand-held guns and is cost-effective too.
— PTI
|
|
Sethusamudram Project
Chennai, September 12 The Prime Minister's recent remarks that the Supreme Court should not interfere in policy decisions of the government would also be applicable to the Sethusamudram project, DK president K Veeramani said. The project was a promise made by the UPA in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections to the people of Tamil Nadu, who responded by electing UPA candidates in all the 39 constituencies of Tamil Nadu. The Centre should file a petition to expedite the case and it should not be cowed down by threats by the BJP and the AIADMK, when it had people's mandate to implement the project, the DK leader said, referring to the appeal made by Karunanidhi at Tiruchi two days ago. The Communist parties and Vaiko's MDMK had supported the project in the past and they should raise their voice in support of Karunanidhi, placing people's interests above political considerations. The present alignment for the project was chosen by the BJP government under AB Vajpayee, he said and added that Hindutva forces and Jayalalithaa were trying to block the scheme, under the pretext of damage to Ramsethu, which does not exist. More than Rs 2000 crore had been spent on the project and only 12 more km should be excavated for the completion of the project, Veeramani said.
|
|
Tribune Special
Five years after the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health care Providers (NABH) was launched to establish and operate the accreditation programme for health care organisations in India, just 53 hospitals out of estimated 15, 393 (0.34 per cent) have received accreditation having fulfilled the set standards for patient safety, hospital infrastructure, standard operating procedures, including treatment protocols, and statutory requirements like pollution control mechanisms and biomedical waste disposal systems. Most worrisome is the fact that of these 53 accredited hospitals, only four are in the government sector. Investigations made by The Tribune reveal that at the Quality Council of India (QCI), country’s quality watchdog, whose constituent the NABH is, 500 hospitals have been in line for accreditation for about three years, but only 53 have managed to raise their bar enough to secure the NABH stamp. The four accredited government hospitals in India are Gandhinagar District Hospital, Gujarat; Chacha Nehru Bal Chitiksalaya, New Delhi; Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lucknow; and Namakkal District Hospital, Tamil Nadu. Even top Government of India institutions like AIIMS and PGIs, despite their unmatched medical credentials, have not yet come forward for the NABH accreditation, a voluntary process. These facilities, however, do have their own quality control departments. “AIIMS and the PGIs are handling huge patient load and the record keeping at these institutes is a Herculean task. The Centre will have to encourage these hospitals to come forward,” Girdhar J Gyani, Secretary General, QCI, told The Tribune today. Most government hospitals lack the infrastructure needed to meet NABH accreditation norms. Ironically, in the National Capital Region, the only accredited government hospital is Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, a paediatric facility. Eight other government hospitals, including RML and GB Panth in Delhi, are seeking accreditation, but haven’t yet got one. On the contrary, the NCR has 13 accredited private facilities. Among the states (which bear the maximum onus of making accreditation a success, health being a state subject), Gujarat is the most proactive having sought NABH accreditation even for primary health care centres; 23 of its government hospitals are about to be accredited. Assistant Director, NABH, Dr Zainab Zaidi admitted, “Gujarat is the only state to have received NABH accreditation for two primary health centres.” So far, Punjab has signed one for accreditation of five government hospitals - Mata Kaushalya, Patiala; the Civil Hospitals at Mohali, Jalandhar and Bathinda and the District Hospital, Amritsar.
|
|
War widow pension restored after 30 years
Chandigarh, September 12 Kamla Devi’s husband, Nk Sis Ram was enrolled in the Army as a combatant from June 1963 and had died in service in July 1968. After his death, she was granted family pension, but suddenly in 1980 the pension, according to the petitioner, was discontinued without any process of law. She made representations from time to time, but without any result. In November 2009, she served a legal notice on the pension authorities and was informed that she was disqualified for family pension because she had remarried. Thereafter, she approached the Tribunal. The respondents, in reply before the Tribunal, stated that Kamla Devi was in receipt of ordinary family pension, but consequent to her remarriage with her real brother-in-law, she was disqualified to receive the ordinary family pension and same was accordingly discontinued. It was also submitted by the respondents that Sis Ram, while serving with 259 Coy ASC (Supply), had committed suicide. Special family pension claim by his widow was adjudicated by the Principal Controller of Defence Account (Pensions), Allahabad, and rejected as the death was due to suicide, which was neither attributable nor aggravated by military service. The Tribunal observed that the when the family pension was discontinued in 1980, at least she should have been served with a notice in this regard, but it seemed to have not been done and suddenly family pension was discontinued on the ground that she has remarried. Further, a circular issued by the government in November 2008 for implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations clearly mentioned that remarriage was no more a disqualification for family pension.
|
|
Letter against lecturer read out in churches
Kochi, September 12 Coming out against the lecturer, whose is recovering after a brutal attack on him by radical outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI), which hacked his right arm, the Kothamanagalm dioceses bishop, George Punnakottil, said the attack does not nullify the 'crime' committed by Joseph. Such an 'irreresponsbile' act cannot be expected from the lecturer. The college was accused of being an accomplice in hurting the religious feelings of the muslim community. So the management had to take a decision to distance itself from the act of the lecturer, it said. The pastoral letter also supported the management of the Newman college for sacking him. Despite his repeated pleas for pardon, the management has been adamant with regard to its stand. — PTI
|
|
the gRAIN DRAIN
Food storage and distribution is an old problem that resurfaced recently after the Supreme Court told the government: Don't let food rot, distribute it free to the poor. The issue rocked Parliament. The media lapped it up. When the court clarified that it had issued an order and not given a suggestion, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said he would follow the order. However, it was left to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell a proactive judiciary not to meddle in policy-making. How can food grains be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population that lives below the poverty line? he asked
Former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee helpfully chipped in: "I feel the Supreme Court should not pass orders it cannot implement. Who will decide who is eligible, what is their number and how it (food grain) can be distributed? Can the court appoint a special person or body to implement it? Can the court replace the Central Government?" But the judiciary has expressed a widely shared public sentiment. In a country of starving millions grain cannot be allowed to rot. It is not an executive-versus-judiciary issue. The core issue is: scientific storage capacity has not been increased to match the rising grain production. The food distribution system is rotten. The government does not seem to appreciate that "food saved is equal to food produced and water conserved". Indians react forcefully to such large-scale food waste because many of them have seen some of the worst famines in history. One of the worst famines occurred in Bengal under British rule in 1943 when some 40 lakh people died of hunger in eastern India that included today's Bangladesh. Drought has been a dreaded word in India. Rain triggers jubilation. Children in Punjab once used to sing "Rabba, rabba meeh vassa, saadi kothi danne pa" (Make it rain, God. Fill our homes with grain). When children in today's convent schools chant "rain, rain go away", they do not realise the significance of rain in Indians' life. Famines occur not just because of lack of rain or food. There are other factors such as declining wages, unemployment, rising food prices and a poor food distribution system, writes Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in "Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation". The scarcity fear Since the production of food could not keep pace with the growth of population India had to often import food. Nehru built Bhakra Dam to channel rainwater and produce power. Farm experts suggested the cultivation of two crops in a year instead of having one crop tied with the monsoon. Shortages persisted despite increased production. The US under Lyndon Johnson came to the rescue of hungry Indians. The ignominy of having to beg for food forced Indira Gandhi and C Subramaniam to reinvent agriculture. Heavy investment was made in building infrastructure and strengthening the irrigation network. Way back in 1956 the government was alerted about rodents eating away stored food. Says Dr HAB Parpia, a former Director of the Central Food Technological Research: "Six rats eat the food of one man and an average rat in the country is more nutritionally healthy than an average Indian". The problems of wastage, food damage, storage, distribution and high prices still exist. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on 06.9.10 in the right-to-food case by the People's Union for Civil Liberties, the government admitted that 12,418 tonnes of food grains stored in FCI godowns got damaged as on August 1, 2010. Out of this 2,689 tonnes was wheat.
When the media recently reported that 50,000 tonnes of wheat had got damaged in Punjab alone, Sharad Pawar called the reports exaggerated. However, in the affidavit before the Supreme Court his own ministry proved him wrong by putting the figure of food damage at around 67,000
tonnes.
Govt’s dismal response Though the court was pacified by the Food Ministry's response, the fact is the ministry's performance has been dismal. The Prime Minister's intervention has sidetracked the issue of fixing responsibility for the criminal waste of food on such a large scale. As early as March 11, 2010, Haryana cadre IAS officer Ashok Khemka had cautioned the government in an article in The Economic Times that "Almost 10mt (million tonnes) stocks of wheat are lying in open CAP storage, and unless these stocks are liquidated fast, large quantity would become unfit for human consumption". No one the government paid heed. Glut of food grains between 1998 and 2001 was not accompanied by high food inflation. Almost 80 per cent of the stocks were kept in the open covered and plinth (CAP) storage. About 7.5 lakh tonnes of wheat were damaged and sold as animal feed in 2004. The FCI suffered a loss of Rs 280 crore and the procurement agencies of Punjab and Haryana together incurred a loss of Rs 390 crore. Yet no remedial action was initiated to deal with a future problem of plenty. The food loss is often higher in Punjab than Haryana. Perhaps poor governance is to blame. Instead of storing wheat or rice the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation rents out some of its godowns for liquor storage. Its godown at Khanna was let out to a private rice mill reportedly at below-market rates. CAG has indicted the shoddy food handling in Punjab. This public distribution system (PDS) has not been overhauled despite persistent complaints about large-scale diversions of food meant for the poor year after year. The government spends Rs 47,000 crore annually to provide subsidised food to the poor. The food subsidy bill will balloon once the National Food Security Act with a liberal definition of poverty is put in place. Chhattisgarh shows way If the existing delivery system is to be retained, there are some lessons to be learnt from Chhattisgarh, which started reforming the PDS in 2003. The government snatched fair price shops from private traders and handed them over to cooperative societies, panchayats, women's self help groups and other such bodies. The commissions were raised four-fold. Bogus ration cards, numbering some 3,00,000, were eliminated. The state food corporation took up the work of doorstep delivery of food grains to each fair price shop. Global positioning systems were installed in trucks carrying food grains. The trucks were painted yellow and consumers could alert the authorities on toll-free numbers if any truck was found unloading grains at a place other than the fair price shop. In 2007 a survey revealed that the poor' still had limited access to subsidised rice. The government cut the rate to Rs 3 a kg. Chief Minister Raman Singh spent Rs 1,800 crore on his flagship programme and enforced zero tolerance of corruption. Erring senior officials were booked and arrested. A latest survey showed that 92 per cent of the respondents got their full quota of food grains, 98 per cent possessed ration cards and 97 per cent were satisfied with the quality of food grains. Incidentally, the last general election showed that the political parties retained power in the states - Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh - which had reformed the PDS. With the new food security Act the food storage problem will only worsen. At present the country has 60 million tonnes of grain and the coming paddy will add 25 million tonnes more. The FCI keeps buffer stocks of only wheat and rice, leaving pulses, edible oil and sugar out. Food mismanagement comes to the fore time and again. In March 2010 the FCI maintained five times the norm for wheat buffer stocks (20 million tonnes) and twice the norm for rice stocks (24 million tones). If it had offloaded the grain in manageable quantities in the market, it would not only have made space for the fresh produce but also brought down food prices. Strangely, the FCI hands over wheat at below-market rates to a select number of registered mills that sell flour at a hefty profit. What should be done The FCI can use its buffer stocks to stabilise food prices. But often prices fall when farmers bring in their produce and rise later. Thanks to the biggest hoarder in the country called the FCI, middlemen benefit at the cost of growers and consumers. Here are some radical steps experts have suggest to remedy the situation. 1. Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu says the food subsidy should be handed over direct to a poor household instead of the PDS shop owner. The BPL households should be issued food coupons which can be used as money to buy food from any store. 2. Noted economist S.S Johl advocates corporate entry in food business. Just as Nestle's tie-up has benefited dairy farmers, private firms can bring in their expertise and efficiency to boost agriculture production, food grain handling, transportation, storage, cold chains, processing and packaging. 3. The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (2001) headed by I.G Patel had suggested, among other things, foreign, private, cooperative and panchayati investment in agricultural marketing, handling and storage. It had also asked the government to abolish taxes on agricultural commodities and allow large private grain trading companies to come up and compete with the FCI. 4. The Supreme Court has called for the abolition of ration cards for the above poverty line (APL) families. The court's advice to limit procurement to storage capacity has met with the Food Ministry's argument that during peak production farmers would be left at the mercy of traders. 5. The argument against offloading excess food grains in the market is that traders will buy grains cheap and sell these back to the government at the minimum support price.
|
|
Maoists blast CPM office at Lodhasol
Kolkata, September 12 The Maoists pamphlets and posters pasted on the party office warned that similar such attacks would be launched elsewhere if the CPI(M) did not “stop torturing” the poor villagers and abandon their “area capturing drive”, they had launched with the help and the police and the joint action forces. Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee made the same demands after making similar charges. The Home Minister P.Chidambaram also admitted he had received the same reports and asked the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for dismantling all the cadres camps in these areas. The chief minister, however, so far did not take any action in response to Chidambaram’s request. On the contrary, the CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose categorically denied the existence of any cadres camps in the Lalghar-Jangalmahal-Jhargram area. Meanwhile, three CPI(M) workers who had been kidnapped two days ago from the Pirakata village, still remained untraced. The police, which had been making frantic searches, suspect these people might have been killed. The CPM’s youth wing, the DYF will be holding a public rally in the district town in west Midnapore on September 15 in which the party leaders will give a call to the cadres to mobilise themselves in large number for freeing the “seized Lalghar” from the Maoists clutches and re-establish their control. The rally had been planned to counter Mamata Banerjee’s public meeting at Lalghar on August 9. The state minister for West Anchal Development Sushanta Ghosh declared they were planning to free Lalghar and Jangalmahal from the Maoists’ control some time next week and re-establish the rule of law. He said he himself would lead the cadres in launching the drive. The former party MP Md Selim will also take part in the anti-Maoists drive. Both the leaders will be present at the DYF rally on September 15. Party sources claimed they had already re-captured Dharampur, Ramgarh and Pirakata and re-opened there their party offices there. They were now planning to re-capture the entire Lalghar and Jangalmahal which could take place any time from now. Though Biman Bose denied they had set up any armed camps in Lalghar and Jangalmahal for launching area-capturing drive but the party’s district leader Anuj Pandey, who led the re-capturing drive and was engaged in building their camps at Pirakata and Dharampur, admitted to mediapersons they had set up several camps in the Maoists-affected areas for sheltering the homeless party workers and their families who had been forcibly evicted by the Maoists.
|
|
Reality show craze grips Shillong
Guwahati, September 12 A number of music enthusiasts NGOs and local social groups in the hill city known as the rock capital of east have made fervent appeals to the people of the region to vote tirelessly for the SCC to see it through to the final of the reality show. The NGOs have reminded the people that their pine city is once again the limelight after Amit Paul of Indian Idol (season 3) fame made Meghalaya proud a few years back. Forum for Promotion of Talent has been created to promote the cause of the SCC. The Forum member Dino G Dympep said, "The people of Shillong once again need to rally together and come forward to make Shillong proud." The Forum expects that Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and his Cabinet colleagues too lend their voices in the appeal for votes for the SCC. The Forum urges the Meghalaya government to negotiate with the mobile service providers to reduce the SMS charges for voting Shillong Chamber Choir in the show. People can vote for the group only from their cell phones and not PCOs, Meghalaya Royal Enfield Riders will organise a bike show on September 18 to garner support for the SCC even as Meghalaya United Women's Welfare Organisation also stated it is a golden opportunity for the people of Meghalaya and the N-E to create history by making the Shillong Chamber Choir victorious in the show. It is music that really smashes the omnipresent tribal- nontribal divide in Meghalaya and creates an atmosphere of bonhomie and togetherness among different communities. That is why Meghalaya Government had made Indian Idol (Season 3) runner up Amit Paul the brand ambassador of peace, communal harmony and excellence Meanwhile, the SCC team leader Neil Nongkynrih says, "We are doing our best but much depend on the goodwill of the people of Meghalaya, our friends and well wishers in the North East and the people of India."
|
|
Missing Explosives
Jaipur, September 12 The others arrested in the case are RECL unit head Edward Kelly, senior marketing manager VK Garg and marketing manager Rakesh Agarwal. Their arrest came within a week of registration of a case against the RECL for violation of the Explosives Act, 2008. The case was registered after an inquiry report by the district collector found that the RECL had failed to intimate the police about transportation of explosives to other places as per the norms. It was also found that the RECL officials supplied explosives to two MP-based firms more than the prescribed limit. These four officials have been booked under various sections of the Explosives Act and under sections 420 and 120 (B) of the IPC.
|
|
Rs 45-cr boost for BSNL in Leh
Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Sachin Pilot, during his two-day visit to Leh district today, had to face a number of queries by mediapersons on the poor connectivity of BSNL in the region. Even one month after the tragedy, landline telephones were still lying defunct and cell phones were not working properly. Though the minister during his speech said the cell phone service of the BSNL had already been restored in all flood-hit areas in Leh, but not even a single cell phone of the state-run company was working at the Hemis Monastery near Kharu, where the minister addressed the mediapersons. On reason behind the poor connectivity in a major part of Leh, Pilot said, “During the August 6 catastrophe, the BSNL has suffered a huge loss, as its main exchange was damaged and many towers were also partially affected.” Pilot ensured that the BSNL would spend Rs 45 crore to restore the functioning and expansion of its infrastructure in Leh.
|
|
PURA ready to take off
New Delhi, September 12 In fact some of the top infrastructure companies have shown interest in executing projects under the recently re-structured PURA scheme. They include TATA Power, TATA Reality & Infrastructure, Jamshedpur Utility Services Limited, Jindal Steels & Power, Apellon Energy (Ahmedabad), IL&FS, IDFC, Drishti, SPNLInfra, IVRCL Infraprojects, SPEI, NEPC (Chennai), Unity Infrastructure (Mumbai), SVEC Constructions Limited (Hyderabad), ACC, IFFCO and Reliance Energy.
|
|
From India, 70-gm saree for Mrs Obama
New Delhi, September 12 The old couple is also engaged in weaving an intricate 30-gram scarf, to be gifted to President Barack Obama when he and his wife visit India in November. Will Narayanappa and Kamalamma get to meet the Obama couple? “I may not get a chance to meet him. For me, meeting him is not important. I will be happy if my gifts reach them,” Narayanappa told PTI over the phone. He said the Central Silk Board and the Karnataka Silk Minister have assured him that they would give his gifts to the Obamas. Narayanappa, the winner of many state and national awards for excellence in weaving silk sarees, has already woven the scarf for Obama, which is made from Bivoltin silk. The 36 x 36-inch scarf can be wrapped inside a matchbox, he said. “It has golden zari with a temple design. It has been woven in 20 days using silk fibre from just two cocoons,” he said.
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Vouching for Salman Khan and his family’s “unflinching” commitment to secularism, his father Salim Khan today said the Bollywood actor was ready to apologise for his reported remarks on 26/11 Mumbai terror attack aired on a Pakistani TV channel.
New Delhi, September 12
Food storage and distribution is an old problem that resurfaced recently after the Supreme Court told the government: Don't let food rot, distribute it free to the poor. The issue rocked Parliament. The media lapped it up. When the court clarified that it had issued an order and not given a suggestion, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said he would follow the order. However, it was left to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell a proactive judiciary not to meddle in policy-making. How can food grains be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population that lives below the poverty line? he asked
New Delhi, September 12
According to the World Food Summit of 1996, food security is the situation "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life." Improper and inadequate grain storage results in 5 to 10% losses of stored grains worldwide due to molds and insects; the losses can exceed 50% when those caused by rodents and birds are included. Thus, poor storage threatens food security. In India, post-harvest losses due to improper storage out in the open are on the high side. There are daily reports of food grains rotting in storage. For example, The Tribune reported on September 8, 2010 (p. 3), "Besides 14,000 tonnes wheat rotting in various blocks of Fatehgarh Sahib for the past three years, 21,000 tonnes more food grains is likely to perish over the coming six months." Similarly, another report in Indian Express (September 9, 2010; p4) indicated that of the 53,000 tonnes of wheat declared non-issuable in the 
Food grains are very precious products. Their production requires a substantial amount of capital expenditure, use of scarce natural resources like water, land and puts a lot of pressure on ecological resources. The grains can be stored easily for a year but also for a longer period if proper arrangements are made. Moreover, food is emerging as a scarce commodity and food security of the nation is becoming very important. In countries like India and China with a high density of population and fast-growing incomes are bound to put further pressure on the limited cultivated areas for ensuring food security. But lack of proper storage has made the food to rot on one side while more than 37 per cent of India's population is unable to meet the minimum food requirements. In view of the present situation the country has more food stocks, nearly 40 million tonnes, than the minimum requirement of food security (20 million tonnes). The Supreme Court's direction of free distribution of food, which is threatened to rot in open, is worth implementing immediately. 
Sachin Pilot on Sunday attended a sapling plantation programme, jointly organised by Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Committee and Drukpa Lineage of Buddhism at Hemis Monastery. After the drive, head of the Drukpa Lineage, Gyalwang Drukpa, announced that the forest would be named after Pilot’s name.