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Blame game intensifies between Cong, BJP Lokpal debacle another low in
Cong-TMC ties
Govt engineered drama in RS, says Team Anna
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Metro Man Sreedharan to take a final bow
Over 1.31 lakh fake ration cards found in Assam in 2 yrs
Was robbed during Army operation: Assam trader
Gandak Canal row meeting remains inconclusive
Irom Sharmila’s stir hogged limelight
Two women scaled Mt Everest, Manipuri players stole the show
Maya sacks 4 more ministers
New Year a day earlier!
So far, below normal snow in Himalayas
State BJP chief wants me out of party: Yeddyurappa
Four killed in Chhattisgarh for refusing to follow Naxal diktat
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Blame game intensifies between Cong, BJP New Delhi, December 30 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan K Bansal said, "The BJP never wanted the Lokpal Bill to pass and they acted in a manner keeping in mind the upcoming state elections." "The Opposition would rather see the nation fall than the government succeed. They were not willing to play the ball," he said. Asked about the discussion on the Lokpal Bill extending far beyond the allocated eight-hour time, leading to eventual sine die adjournment minutes before midnight, he said, "The BJP, and the Left kept fielding speakers till the last. Did we give their names?" Sources said more than 30 names were given by the Opposition side around 6 pm yesterday well after the expiry of the eight-hour deadline. Similarly, Minister of State for Personnel V Narayansamy accused the BJP of double speak saying, "On the one hand it demands a strong Lokpal Bill, on the other it wants to weaken the present legislation." Home Minister P Chidambaram also blamed the BJP for yesterday's fiasco saying, "They had no intention of passing the Lokpal Bill. That is why 187 amendments were moved in the House." "The last amendment was moved around 6 pm and it was expected the government should accept all of them. The BJP had no intention of passing the Bill," the Home Minister stated. The BJP and the Left also came down heavily on the government, accusing it of scuttling the Bill through deliberate subterfuge and sabotage. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, along with her counterpart in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, said, "By the evening (yesterday), it was the worst kept secret throughout Delhi that the government's management with its allies had failed and it would scuttle the Bill through disturbances." "The RJD MPs created disturbance in collusion with the government," Jaitley charged. He specifically mentioned the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the House last night and said, "The subversion of the Rajya Sabha last night by the government by denying it the opportunity to make an effective legislation is a significant moral scar on this government. The Prime Minister must now live with one more moral stigma. He won the 2008 vote of confidence through bribery. He now leads a government that prevented Parliament from legislating effectively on the Lokpal." He said, "A government that shies away from a vote and uses extra-constitutional methods to avoid it, loses both political and moral authority. The UPA government has no right to continue even for a moment. We demand that the Prime Minister and his government must resign and seek a fresh mandate." CPM parliamentary party leader Sitaram Yechury said, "The government lost the constitutional amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. They were hesitant to bring it to the Rajya Sabha. They hatched a strategy in consultation with their allies and allowed their allies to filibuster the debate."
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Lokpal debacle another low in
Cong-TMC ties New Delhi, December 30 The Congress was badly humiliated when it was forced to defer a vote on the Bill after a determined West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee insisted on going along with the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on the amendments seeking deletion on the establishment of Lokayuktas in the states. This latest incident comes shortly after the Trinamool Congress chief embarrassed the UPA government with her firm opposition to the Centre’s decision to allow foreign direct investment in retail trade. Earlier, she had pulled out of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to Dhaka when she raised objections to the Teesta river waters treaty at the last minute. Just last week, she had vetoed the Pension Reforms Bill well after it was cleared by the Union Cabinet. While Congress leaders are privately seething over Mamata Banerjee’s temperamental ways, they are careful not to criticise her in public. For instance, the brunt of the Congress attack today on the Lokpal Bill was directed against the BJP but it steered clear of commenting on the TMC’s role in yesterday’s fiasco. Home Minister P Chidambaram admitted that there are differences with the Trinamool Congress but added that this was not tantamount to a confrontation. “We will have to sit together and talk,” he added, striking a conciliatory note. However, the TMC did not reciprocate the sentiment. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O’Brien was quick to hit out at the Congress for the fiasco in the Rajya Sabha, describing it as a 'black day' for democracy. "The developments are sad, sad, sad...it was an orchestrated chaos,” O'Brien said. However, Chidambaram did mention that the government had a lengthy discussion on the Lokpal Bill with UPA allies before it was placed before the Cabinet. Having facilitated the Bill’s passage in the Lok Sabha, the Congress was at sea to explain Mamata’s U-turn in the Rajya Sabha when she even went as far as to team up with the BJP and the Left parties.
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Lokpal Bill
Ghaziabad, December 30 Putting the blame squarely on government, Anna Hazare's supporters contended that Government could have passed the bill if it had accepted the three amendments -- independence of CBI, selection and removal process and delinking Lokayukta -- on which opposition was in agreement. They chose not to attack opposition on its insistence that Lokayukta in states should not be brought through the Bill, though it is one of their key demands, but insisted that its passage after accepting opposition amendments would have been the first step towards setting up a strong Lokpal. "The way the voting in Rajya Sabha was prevented shows that Government was committing fraud after fraud. They say they want to bring a strong Lokpal but they don't have the intention," Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal told reporters here. He said the Bill presented in the House was not only weak but also "dangerous" as the ombudsman was fully under the control of government. In Lok Sabha, he said, 55 amendments were moved and all of them were not uselss. There were good amendments like the one demanding independence for CBI but all of them were defeated by the government "wrongly using its majority", he said. Noting that the entire opposition was in agreement with three amendments, Kejriwal said if there was voting, it would have been carried out as two of them -- on CBI and selection and removal process -- were critical. — PTI
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Fog disrupts 400 flights at IGIA
New Delhi, December 30 The fog enveloped the airport around 4.00 am and general visibility reached near zero while the runway visibility dipped to less than 50 metres leading to suspension of operations for seven hours. "The situation prevailed till 11.00 AM, during which almost all flight operations were affected as the runway visual range Runway 29 (new) and 28 (main) were lower than the prescribed minima for flying in CAT III B conditions (below 50 metres)," an airport official said. According to rules, the flights should take off when the runway visibility is more than 125 metres and 150 metres for different types of aircraft. Though the two runways of Delhi airport are CAT III B compliant, under this an aircraft can land when the runway visibility is not less than 50 metres, but the runway visibility went below 50 metres. The poor visibility forced the airport authorities to implement low visibility procedures on new runway at 2125 hours yesterday and was in progress till late this evening. The LVP was initiated at main runway (runaway 10/28) at 0112 hours and was also in progress till evening. Around 25 flights -- 23 domestic and two international -- departing from Delhi and 19 flights (2 international and 17 domestic) arriving here were cancelled. Poor visibility forced the airport authorities to divert 30 (19 domestic and 11 international) flights from here to nearby airports. Yesterday, around 143 flights were delayed and nine cancelled due to poor weather at destination or operational reasons. A total of 107 domestic and 41 international flights scheduled to depart from here were delayed by up eight hours, while 76 domestic and 59 international scheduled to arrive here were also delayed, the official said. When the situation started to improve after 11 am, there was a huge backlog, as a result even the flights which were on schedule were also affected. Passengers were a harassed lot, especially those who had to catch early morning flights as they had to leave for airport early and wade through foggy roads, only to hear that operations were disrupted. According to DIAL CEO, I Prabhakara Rao, "The fog was the densest in years and for close to seven hours no flight operations were possible." He said that the IGI airport is fully geared to face the fog both in terms of terminal and airside capability. "Today in spite of seven hours of visibility below 50 m, the terminals were able to accommodate the extra passenger load. All services like food and beverage, housekeeping and maintenance was up to the mark," Rao said. — PTI
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Gusty winds, torrential rain wreak havoc in TN
Chennai, December 30 Cuddalore, about 170 km from here on the east coast, bore the brunt of the cyclonic fury, accounting for nine deaths, Puducherry seven and Chennai two in rain-related incidents such as wall collapse and electrocution, officials said. 'Thane' crossed the coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry bringing in its wake torrential rains accompanied by gale that uprooted hundreds of trees and electric poles, snapping power supply in several areas. Puducherry was cut off from neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu with the uprooted trees blocking road traffic. After the landfall, Thane moved further westward and weakened rapidly into a deep depression and lay centered at about 100
km west of Cuddalore, the regional weather office here said. "The system is likely to move westwards and weaken further," it said forecasting heavy rainfall for the next 12-24 hours in different parts of the state and Puducherry and advised fishermen against venturing into sea due to rough conditions. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa sanctioned a sum of Rs 150 crore towards immediate relief works including putting back in shape the infrastructure which has taken a hit and directing four of her Cabinet colleagues to visit affected districts to oversee relief work. In Chennai, a cargo ship ran aground off Marina Beach with the sea conditions remaining rough. Sheet of water could be seen on the service road along the beach which was lashed by tidal waves. City Corporation officials evacuated more than 2,000 people living along the shores to safer places. Eleven fishing hamlets in Karaikkal were affected following sea water
intrusion and over 70 boats were damaged. In Tamil Nadu, Nagapattinam, another coastal district, also was battered by rains and heavy wind causing damage to banana plantation. Electric posts were uprooted, resulting in power outage since Thursday night. Sea water entered several coastal hamlets in
Sirkazhi, Tarangambadi and Nagapattinam region forcing residents of these areas to move to safer places. The government had declared a holiday for educational institutions in 11 districts. The cyclone also disrupted rail and air operations with services cancelled or rescheduled. Flights to international destinations including the middle-east and Malaysia from Chennai were cancelled following the inclement weather. Southern Railway partially cancelled and rescheduled most of the trains between Chennai and southern
districts. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy reviewed the situation with officials and announced a relief of Rs two lakh to the families of the deceased.
— PTI
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Metro Man Sreedharan to take a final bow New Delhi, December 30 Concluding his successful 16-year association with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as its Managing Director, Sreedharan will finally hand over his responsibilities to the new Metro Chief Mangu Singh tomorrow. Also referred to as the Metro Man for his valuable association with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, 79-year-old Sreedharan joined the Metro family back in 1995. Under his leadership, Delhi Metro gained acknowledgment for completing all the undertaken projects well on time, without any delays. His peers at DMRC resonate that his leadership left no room for laxity, on the other hand provided unlimited space for innovation and experimentation. “The ideals and the work principals that Sreedharan introduced since the beginning are the very basics that Delhi Metro functions today. Sreedharan was and always will be our role model. Everyone at DMRC feels privileged to be associated with someone of his caliber. He has been a true inspiration for everyone,” said one of the Senior DMRC officials, requesting anonymity. The first ever Metro service in the capital was started back on December 24, 2002 between Shahdara and Tis Hazari. Over time, Metro slowly added several corridors to its network over the years thus bringing satellite cities of Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad closer to the national capital. Today, Delhi Metro extends over 190 km and ferries upto 20 lakh passengers on a daily basis. Speaking to the Tribune some time back, Sreedharan had expressed his satisfaction over Metro’s journey so far. Sreedharan was repeatedly requested by the Delhi Government to continue as the DMRC chief over the years. He was given five extensions to avoid any hindrance to Delhi Metro's Phase I and II projects, however this time, he made his intentions of retirement very clear. He now plans to spend his post-retirement days in his native village in Thrissur district of Kerala. “My government will miss him. He has given us a most reliable and modern Metro network. He made travel in the city more comfortable. I do not have words to offer our gratitude to him for giving us a wonderful mode of public transport," said Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Urban Development Minsiter, Delhi Governmnet, AK Walia added, “He will surely be missed. He has given Delhi its lifeline in the form of Delhi Metro. The team that he has mentored and trained for years will surely carry on his legacy here on.” The New Metro Chief, 56-year-old Singh is a civil engineer from Roorkee University, who will assume office tomorrow. Till now, Singh had been overseeing the high-speed Airport Express Line. An Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer of the 1981 batch, Singh had earlier worked with Sreedharan in the Kolkata Metro project. He has been associated with the Delhi Metro since its inception. Joining DMRC in the capacity of chief engineer, Singh has been promoted to the post of executive director and then director (works) in the past 15 years. In the coming year, Singh will also be in-charge of the Delhi Metro's Phase-III that will add another 103 km of the capital under the Metro network. The engineer is also in-charge for consultancy works undertaken by Delhi Metro for planning Metro systems in cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi.
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Over 1.31 lakh fake ration cards found in Assam in 2 yrs
Guwahati, December 30 Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has himself admitted that over 1.31 lakh fake ration cards have been detected in the state during the past two years. The government had taken a serious view of it and a judicial probe would be instituted to unearth detail about the racket, he said. The inquiry would be headed by a retired high court judge, he added. He also admitted that there was a need to revamp the pubic distribution system (PDS) in the state and plug loopholes to check pilferage. Gogoi said the Jan Lokpal as demanded by Anna Hazare and his team couldn’t be a panacea to root out corruption as it would not be easy to keep tabs on lakhs and lakhs government employees by a single authority.
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Was robbed during Army operation: Assam trader
Guwahati, December 30 Surajit Gogoi alias Poona Gogoi, a former ULFA militant who surrendered in 1992 and started his own business, complained that 10 to 12 persons armed with sophisticated weapons arrived in a Maruti Gypsy and a Tata Indica and barged into Surajit Gogoi’s house on December 20 midnight. They took away three mobile handsets, a licensed .32 pistol, a passport, Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and other valuables, as per the case registered in the Jorhat police station (case no. 922/2011). Gogoi also complained that the gang tied up his wife, two teenaged sons and a daughter and locked them up in one room and forcibly took away the items in his absence. The Army has no jurisdiction to conduct counter-insurgency operations in Jorhat, Golaghat and Guwahati metropolitan districts without informing the local police. The Jorhat police found out that one Sandeep Thapa, a havildar in the Army’s Intelligence Surveillance Unit under the 3 Corps headquartered at Rangapahar in Dimapur (Nagaland), had called up Gogoi’s parents in Himachal Pradesh at least twice from one of the three stolen mobile phones (no. 9706060977). After the police probe, the Army issued a statement that it had indeed carried out an “intelligence-based operation” in Jorhat on December 20-21 “based on initial information forwarded by the police”, but the same did not go “as per norms”. The Army said it was in close contact with the Jorhat police and was extending all cooperation to the inquiry. The Army also started an internal inquiry into the incident. It allowed the Jorhat police interrogate Havildar Sandeep Thapa. Thapa named a few more Army personnel involved in the operation at Gogoi’s residence. The police team has recovered some items taken away by Army personnel. However, gold ornaments, Rs 1.5 lakh and .32 licensed pistol taken away by the “robbers’, as per the FIR, were yet to be recovered.
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Bangalore, December 30 It is, however, believed that if a competent Lokayukta was in place in the state, Ashok would not have been let out so easily by the police. After Santosh Hegde retired from the post of Lokayukta in August, it has been not been possible to find a suitable person to hold the office. Hegde ended his five-year tenure as the Lokayukta with a bang when he handed over his explosive report on illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka to the state government. It led to the resignation of the then Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa - accused by Hegde of receiving illegal gratification from a mining company - and exposed Bellary’s notorious Reddy brothers’ lie that they were not involved in iron ore mining in Karnataka. While the respect for the Lokayukta’s office and its effectiveness reached its pinnacle in 2011 with Hegde at the helm, the year also saw the office getting mired in ugly controversies. The controversies stemmed from the track record of the judges who were supposed to succeed Hegde. Former Supreme Court judge Shivraj Patil, who succeeded Hegde, resigned within one-and-a-half months after assuming office following allegations of illegally obtaining two sites from housing cooperative societies in Bangalore. The state government then recommended to Governor HR Bhardwaj the name of former Kerala High Court Chief Justice SR Bannurmath for appointment as Lokayukta. However, it came to light that Justice Bannurmath too had obtained sites from housing cooperative societies in violation of rules. Governor HR Bhardwaj refused to give his consent to Bannurmath’s appointment in view of the allegations against the former High Court Chief Justice. So the appointment of Bannurmath is hanging in a limbo. Upa-lokayukta R Gururajan also quit his post soon after Shivraj Patil’s resignation. Gururajan, a former judge of the Karnataka High Court, is also allegedly involved in the housing society scam. There is only one Upa-lokayukta now in Karnataka.
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Gandak Canal row meeting remains inconclusive
Patna, December 30 However, the chairman of the Central Water Commission, who presided over the meeting attended by Bihar and UP Principal Secretaries (water resources) and top engineers, directed Bihar to make a reassessment of the site in Bihar and Nepal and examine the feasibility of UP’s demand for releasing water in the canal from January 5 to January 25; and from February 20 to March 10 to save the rabi crops. Bihar wanted a joint inspection of the site to assess the situation by the Centre as well as its own engineers but that was not agreed upon. The 197-km long Western Gandak Canal that originates in Nepal and caters to irrigation needs of farmers in eastern UP, Bihar and Nepal has been closed for structural repairs and maintenance since November 15.
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Irom Sharmila’s stir hogged limelight
Guwahati, December 30 Her steely resolve has been phenomenal ever since she was felt devastated by the killing of 10 villagers by Assam Rifles personnel at Malom village, near Imphal, on November 2, 2000. An employee of a local Daily in Imphal, she was 28 then. She was arrested on the charge of attempting suicide, hospitalised and force-fed. Since then, it has been a routine for her to appear in the court every 15 days only to tell the judge that she is not going to end her fast. Once a year, the court releases her given the fact that the maximum sentence for “suicide attempt” is one year. She is usually arrested the following day. To highlight Sharmila’s crusade against AFSPA, the Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign launched a public caravan (comprising around 20 persons) from Srinagar to Imphal from October 16 this year. It passed through 10 states and covered a distance of around 4,500 km to reach Imphal on October 27. More than 50 organisations extended support to the campaign. A nationwide signature campaign was also launched by the Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign in New Delhi on October 2. Soon it spread to 21 states in the country. The campaign continued till December 8 and a representation carrying all the signatures was forwarded to the President. The Save Sharmila Solidarity campaign demands that the government should hold talks with Irom Sharmila and send an all-party delegation to Manipur. The National Women Commission and the NHRC have also been urged to send delegations to Manipur to talk to
Sharmila.
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Two women scaled Mt Everest, Manipuri players stole the show
Guwahati, December 30 First it was Tine Mena, a resident of Malinye village of Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh, who achieved the rare feat of becoming the first lady climber from the North-East to scale Mount Everest on May 9. Mena is the eldest daughter of Buge Mena. She had to discontinue her school education due to abject poverty. Mena’s feat was equalled not once but twice by another Arunachalee woman and a mother of two children Anshu Jamsenpa (32) from Bomdila. It was a refreshing bit of news that said Anshu Jamsenpa made it to Mount Everest not once but twice within a span of just 10 days in May. The rare feat of being the first mother in the world to conquer Mount Everest twice within 10 days made Anshu an instant celebrity. However, the sports scene in the North-East was dominated by sportspersons from Manipur. Out of the 16 sportspersons from Manipur, who took part in the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi this year, seven won medals for the country -- three gold, two silver and two bronze. The three gold medals were clinched by Yumnam Renubala Chanu (58 kg category of women's weightlifting), Laishram Bombela (women's archery recurve team event) and Mayengbam Suranjoy (52 kg category of men's boxing). Soniya Chanu won silver medal in 48 kg women's weightlifting and Bheigyabati Chanu won silver medal in women's archery compound team event. The two bronze medals were won by L Monika Devi (75 kg category of women's weightlifting) and A Sandhyarani (48 kg category of women's weightlifting). Two of the Manipuri sportsmen were felicitated with the Arjuna Award this year. Mayengbam Suranjoy received the award in 2011 in boxing, while Manipuri woman Wangkhem Sandhyarani won the award in
wushu.
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Maya sacks 4 more ministers
Lucknow, December 30 The ministers sacked are Fateh Bahadur Singh, Sadal Prasad, Anis Ahmed Khan aka Phool Babu and Shahjul Islam Ansari. They have been removed from their posts to “prevent them from misusing their posts in the coming elections,” a BSP functionary said. The CM has, since the announcement of the Assembly elections on December 24, sacked 10 ministers. — PTI
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So far, below normal snow in Himalayas
So far, there has been one major “snow event” in November and one in December where as the normal occurrence for these is three each month. Areas incorporating the Greater Himalayas have on an average received 15cm of snow so far, which normally is 50-60 cm by this time of the year. Similarly, the Pir Panjal range has received just about one-fifth of the normal amount. The Greater Himalayas are the source for the Ganga, Sutlej, Brahmaputra and the Indus river systems, while the snow melt from Pir Panjal feeds the Ravi, Beas, Chenab and to some extent the Jhelum and the Sutlej. Pir Panjal is part of the Lower Himalayas stretching across Southern Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, with heights ranging up to 13,000 feet. The Greater Himalayas lie further to the north at higher altitude that range over 20,000 feet. In some parts of the Karakoram Range, which includes the strategic Siachen Sector, the situation has been normal so far, with small amounts of snow being received almost daily. About a metre of snow has been recorded this season in places along this range. Besides, some places like Dundi near Manali have received 55 cm while Karsalwan and Sonapindi, both in Kashmir, have received 1 and 1.5m snow respectively. “Snow precipitation occurs when western disturbances (WDs) flow in over the Himalayas at low heights,” Ashwaghosa Ganjoo, Director, Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) said. “This year, however, we have seen a peculiar phenomenon of WDs passing over at higher altitudes resulting in lack of snowfall,” he added. Studies undertaken by SASE, a Defence Research and Development Laboratory, have revealed that over the years, snow cover has been gradually shrinking in some parts of the Himalayas. The climatic pattern and the duration of winters is also undergoing noticeable changes. Snowfall over the Himalayas was “good” last year, with the Pir Panjal receiving normal and the Greater Himalayas getting above normal snowfall. The SASE Director said that with changing climatic patterns, the snow season is now beginning late and ending late, now continuing beyond March with some snow events in April also. “Though at present, we do not have long-term forecast on snow events, there are at least three more months to go and there are strong chances for the deficiency to cover up,” he said.
Less or late?
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State BJP chief wants me out of party: Yeddyurappa
Bangalore, December 30 “Ever since Eswarappa assumed office, he has been making statements branding me as guilty. He is not content with my ouster from the Chief Minister's post, but is also trying to throw me out of the party,” Yeddyurappa told the mediapersons here. Yeddyurappa lost his post of the Chief Minister after being accused of receiving illegal gratification from mining companies in the Lokayukta’s report on illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka. He spent more than three weeks in the prison on land scam charges, tried hard to come back as the Chief Minister after being let out from the prison on bail. The BJP high command has opposed the return of Yeddyurappa to the saddle at this juncture since this will jeopardise the moral ground the party has taken on the issue of corruption at the all-India level. Eswarappa, being the chief of the party in Karnataka, is doing the unenviable task of conveying the high command’s decision to people. “I have not begged anyone to make me the Chief Minister again or appoint me as the state unit president. The high command will look into these demands. But Eswarappa has been regularly making statements as if he is the BJP high command,” a furious Yeddyurappa said. Yeddyurappa also accused Eswarappa, who is also from his home district of Shimoga, of hatching a conspiracy and being responsible for him going to jail. Yeddyurappa has set a deadline of January 15 (the day the Hindu festival of ‘sankranti’ will be observed) to the central leaders to heed his demand or face the consequence of a political backlash.
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All five battle sites offend
Anglo-Sikh War memory Ferozepur, December 30 There are five such memorials - Ferozeshah, Mudki, Saragarhi, Sabraon, Misriwal - and none is in any better shape. Central funds, however, helped raise new boundary walls, besides some urgent renovation work. The debris from the repairs, however, has not been cleared.
The Misriwal War Memorial is a classic case of neglect. There is no approach road to the site that is 20 m off the main road. Unless one knows the way, it is impossible to locate the complex, as there is no indicator on the main road. A neon-lit signboard that greets visitors is blank, awaiting a brief write-up on the history. Other memorials too do not have such information. The 10-foot-high brick-lime structure, even after renovation, is in a shambles in the absence of any attendant. A storm water gulley lies uncovered. Further down the road is the famous Mudki War Memorial, which again is undergoing renovation. In the absence of any literature, and the information board being blank, a visitor is at a loss here too regarding the significance of the monument. Unlike the other memorials, the Mudki memorial has been provided with accommodation for a full-time attendant. The huge triangular minar that symbolises triumph of the British over the Sikhs in the historic Anglo-Sikh War is often ignored by the Sikhs, says the attendant, Sukhdev Singh, for “Sikhs believe it symbolises their defeat at the hands of the British.” The monument was raised in 1870, almost 25 years after the war. He adds: “Sikhs think the memorial was in fact built by the British to remind them of their defeat. They, thus, pay tributes to the Sikh soldiers at a gurdwara in Mudki raised in their memory. Outside the gurdwara, the history of the war is written, where the treachery of some Sikh generals that led to the defeat is highlighted. The gurdwara memorial also pays tributes to the valour and courage of the Sikh army that fought gallantly despite being outnumbered.” Sukhdev suggests the government should post the complete history even at the memorial raised by the British and organise visits for students to all war memorials. The Mudki memorial, however, does not have connectivity problems. It is situated on the main road and the tall monument is visible from a distance. The Mudki gurdwara memorial had come up on a piece of land donated by a tehsildar, Bachittar Singh, in 1930. The “Nishan Sahib” that was initially 51 ft, is today 111 ft high. A mela is organised there in the Bikrami month of Poh. The gurdwara now also houses a degree college for girls and an English-medium school. The Ferozeshah War Memorial too looks dilapidated despite the renovation. Located on a piece of land adjoining the village gurdwara, it now has a boundary wall and a gate. But in the absence of an attendant or information on the memorial, there is hardly any visitor. The triangular memorial minar here too is as high as Mudki, but the limestone bearing the name and year of the Ferozeshah battle lies shattered. The war memorial at Sabraon too is in similar shape. At Saragrahi, there is only a gurdwara to commemorate the valour and sacrifice of the Sikh soldiers. Director, Cultural Affairs, Karamjit Singh Sra said: “We are trying to work out a plan so that tourists and those interested in Sikh history could get a complete package of all war memorials and war museums in the state. Since I have also been named Director, Tourism, we will soon do something to address the problem.” (With inputs from Anirudh Gupta, Ferozepur) (Series concluded) |
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Four killed in Chhattisgarh for refusing to follow Naxal diktat Raipur, December 30 The victims include Ganesh, who was the village postman, and his uncle Vishwanath, one Chaman and Sukhlal, belonging to Maria Gond tribe. Sources said the Maoists earlier had asked the four to help to bomb the Ashram school building located in Kakner village, a portion of which was being used as a police outpost. When they refused to carry out the Maoist order as the village children study in the school, they were kidnapped and subsequently killed. — PTI
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The government today blamed the BJP for messing up the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha last night, while the BJP accused the government of subterfuge and sabotage.
Ghaziabad, December 30
New Delhi, December 30
Chandigarh, December 30
