Sunday, January 4, 2009

CARBON BUSINESS

 



CARBON BUSINESS

 

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 136

 

Palash Biswas

 

Calcutta served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. Once the centre of modern education, industry, science, culture and politics in India, Kolkata has witnessed intense political violence, clashes and economic stagnation since 1954. Since the year 2000, economic rejuvenation has spurred in the city's growth. Like other metropolitan cities in India, Kolkata continues to struggle with the problems of urbanisation: poverty, pollution and traffic congestion.


Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata


Thirteen  die after drinking spurious liquor! Very sad news indeed. The system may not feed the masses but it may well pour LIQUOR in your mouth. The people are predestined to die with the legacy of INHERENT INJUSTICE and INEQUALITY.


I know that the Galaxy Manusmrit Aparteid Order does not allow us to focus on local issues anywhere. it is Post Modern globalisation of International WAR and Genocide Culture. But the complicating circumstances compell me the issues apparently Localised. But these issues also tend to be global and are intensely associated with the GALAXY Order.


Some people feel very irritated while we VOICE our people. They brand our version of the story as PROPAGANDA while their version of the stories do consist of the HOLY SCRIPTS never to be violated. Thus they sustain the Ruling Brahaminicla zionist HEGEMONIES worldwide. Illuminiti has also taken over India. It is a COMBINED ILLUMINITY called INDIA INCs! Which threaten to transform into ROTHCHILDS legacy with the legacy of the ageold companies like TATAs and Reliance in Upsurge!


The BRAHAMINICAL has no LOGIC to defend the HEGEMIONIES arouns so they pose to OPPOSE it and HIJACK our Resistance as well as ISSUES! While we speak out. They simply use ABUSIVE Language or seeks ESCAPE ROUTE to kill the DEBATE which rather exposes them!


The MARXIST ruled INDIAN state of WEST Bengal may be an EXCELLENT case to understand how the ZIONIST HINDU WHITE GALAXY HEGEMONY holds all they keys of every worldly or DIVINE affairs!


We support NANDIGRAM, SINGUR and LALGARH insurrections full heartedly!


But doing so, we support the RESISTANCE HEGEMONY led by BRAHMINS only. We become MIND CONTROLLED and BRAINWASHED by the Brahaminical CIVIL Society and INTELLIGENTSIA which HATE us, the Indigenous, Aboriginal, SC, ST, OBC, Minorities most!


Suppose we witness a CHANGE in WEST Bengal what kind of CHANGE it would be! Simply Fire BRAND BRAHMIN Ms MAMATA Bannerjee would replace another set of RULING BRAHMINS led by BUDDHADEB and see would form the LETHAL TRIO with PRANAB and ADWANI once again to continue the GENOCIDE MACHINE running!


Recent AUTO RIOTS in Kolkata may be described in a single PHRASE: CARBON BUSINESS. It is neither POLITICS nor ECONOMY. It happens to be outright BUSINESS only. That, too, CARBION Business. NONE of the sides involved into the GAME may claim whiteness in the affiars of DARKNESS. It is an EXCELLENT EXPOSURE of GESTAPO CULTURE, ORGANISED VANDALISM!


Only this morning, a Vetaran CPIM Leader, an aged friend intercepted me on my way in the locality.


He asked,` DEKHECHHEN?’


He was referring to AUTO RIOTS. I had to reply rather a little bit harsh.
` YOU CREATED THE GESTAPO DEFENDING ALL ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AND USING THE UNEMPLOYED YOUTH AS YOUR ORGANISED CADERS TO INTIMIDATE THE INNOCENT MASSES. NOW THEY HAVE CROSSED THE FENCE. YOU NEVER PROTESTED THE GUNDARAJ VANDALISM ANYTIME ANYWHERE. THEY RAN OVER WALKING MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, MISBEHAVED WITH DIABLED PERSONS, ATTACKED THE PROTESTERS AT HOME. YOU ALWAYS SUPPORTED THEM. SINCE MS MAMATA BANNERJEE COMES FORE FRONT WITH ALL THOSE AUTO DRIVERS , NOW YOU FEEL THE HEAT AND THE DUST!’


Even after the AUTO RIOTS in Kolkata, the Police and Administration never did react as they had been well aware of the MARXIST VOTE BANK MOBILisation CADRES involved.Thus, despite the HIGH COURT order, the government of West Bengal does not COMPLY!


West bengal and specially KOLKATA live on, bank on CARBON BUSINESS so extremely, that we may not dare to dream any Change whatsoever! It has been always a STATUS QUO despite so many judicial interfereances!


I just llanded in the COALFIELDS of JHARKHAND in April, 1080 from my HOMELAND, NAINITAL in the HIMALYAS via ALLAHABAD and New Delhi. I had to understand the difference in Pollution level.


Our friend, eminent writer SANJEEV, the editor of HANS used to live in KULTI. He was working a s a scientist in ISCO. At the time, he was writing a NOVEL on CHASNALA Disaster. What he did, he just ambushed our rooms in Masterpara, hirapur and convinced us, me and eminent Poet MADAN KASHYAP to accompany him in his journey to CHASNALA situated in Jharia coalfields. We visited Jharia, Lodhna and CHASNALA. We travelled by Trekker. It was a trilling experience for a FRESHER in the Coalfields as i was seeing Coal Mines and MINING first time in my life! I also witnessed the UNDERGROUND FIRE in Mines and also the INNUNDATED mines, too. Returning home, I immediately fell ill as my clothes and within me it was nothing but Coal Dust not to mention the CARBON DI OXIDE, CARBON MONO OXIDE and METHANE gases inhaled! I had been  working as an Environment ECO Activist in the HIMALYAN region throughout my student life. I could feel the suffering of the people . But it was rather shocking to witness the DETACHEDNESS of the People of Coalfields and Jharkhand as they were HABITUAL to inhale POISON extremely.


I find the same story repeated again and again in WEST Bengal, too!
The country’s greenhouse gas emissions are being fuelled almost entirely by the rapidly growing rich consumers, who despite being just a fraction of the 1.1-billion population are eating into the carbon space needed for the development of over 800 million poor in the country, according to environmental watchdog Greenpeace.


In a new report titled ‘Hiding behind the poor’, Greenpeace has called for a special tax for higher carbon emissions on the nation’s wealthy consumers, who, it says, are nearly at par with consumers in some of the developed nations in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions.


It says the economic divide within India is translating into a widening emission divide, with some 150 million Indians, who are splurging on luxury goods and air travel, producing 4.5 times more carbon emissions than the 800 million poor.


Carbon footprint



The findings of the report, Greenpeace said, “…plainly illustrate that the considerably significant carbon footprint of a relatively small wealthy class in the country is camouflaged by the 823 million poor population of the country, who keep the overall per capita emissions below 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”


Greenpeace India’s Executive Director, Mr G. Ananthapadmanabhan, said the Government should not use its average low carbon per capita emissions as a reason not to try to bring down the amount of carbon dioxide released.


India’s position on UN climate change negotiations would be strengthened if New Delhi made the rich pay a special tax for higher carbon emissions, he said, adding, “…the difference in emissions between the highest and the lowest income groups in India is almost as glaring as the difference in the average per capita emissions between the EU and India.” The report has been released in the wake of the upcoming environmental meet at Bali in December.



In Kolkata : Thirteen persons were killed and several others taken ill after drinking spurious liquor in Kidderpore area of Kolakata, police said on Sunday. Three bodies, including that of a woman, were recovered from the Hooghly jute mill colony and Hyde road areas, while three perons others died at state-run SSKM and Sambhunath Pandit hospitals late Saturday after drinking the liquor, the sources said.


Thirteen persons, including three women, have been arrested so far.


However, angry residents raided the liquor dens and smashed bottles. They alleged that the police had turned a blind eye to those selling the spurious brew.


The police said they were looking for others who may have been taken ill at their homes after drinking the liquor.


GAZA:Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, cutting the coastal territory into two and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.At least 24 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Palestinian medical sources
 
In Punjab:The national wetlands in Ropar district of Punjab has attracted hundreds of migratory birds this winter season, however the forest authorities lament declining number of trees in the area. It is a requirement of national wetland that there should be trees surrounding the area so that birds can take shelter on them but the number of trees here are lessening day by day, Forum for Protection of Animals President Prabhat Bhatti said. Despite the fact that the area has been declared as national wetland on February 2, 2007 the central government has not allotted any fund for the maintenance of this place, authorities said.


The area is loosing greenery as more and more trees are being cut, Bhatti said.


Small tsunamis hit Japan's southeast coast!
Tokyo (AP): Small tsunamis hit Japan's southeast coast on Sunday morning after powerful earthquakes struck Indonesia overnight. There were no reports of damage. Japan's Meteorological Agency said tsunamis of 10 centimetres, 40 centimetres in height splashed ashore in towns along the coast. It also warned that bigger tsunamis were possible later.Government officials said there were no reports of damage, and television broadcasts of the coastal areas showed calm beaches and cars driving as normal on roads near the ocean.


The Japanese Meteorological Agency earlier issued tsunami warnings for a wide swath of Japan's southeast coast for tsunamis up to 50 centimetres high, prompting city officials to warn people to stay away from the ocean.


A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, more than half of them in Sumatra.


Failing to get job, IIT student commits suicide in KANPUR, UP, INDIA AMERICANISED!


kanpur:Upset over not getting a job through campus recruitment, a post graduate IIT student allegedly committed suicide in Kanpur by hanging himself. G Suman, a second year M-tech student hailing from Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room this afternoon, said Sanjay Govind Panday, Director of IIT Kanpur. Suman, who was pursuing electrical engineering, was upset after he failed to get a job offer during a recent campus recruitment by several multi-nationals, Panday said. He would rarely meet anyone and would lock himself in his room. However, when he did not come to the mess for breakfast and lunch on Saturday, his friends went to his room which was locked from inside.


They saw Suman's body hanging from the fan, Panday said adding he was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.



In WEST BENGAL,the torching of buses and streetfights in Kolkata over the past two days have come in handy for the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government that  was under increasing pressure from Citu leaders over the autorickshaw ban. The government will move Calcutta High Court on Tuesday to seek more time to implement the order. Early on Saturday, Citu leaders called on home secretary Ardhendu Sen and requested him to go slow on the crackdown. CPM’s labour arm is worried about the erosion in its ranks, with auto operators switching loyalties overnight to Trinamool Congress. Around 11.30 am, the CM took stock of the law and order situation with the home secretary. By then, two buses had been burnt by mobs. The CM made up his mind. At 4.30 pm, during the anniversary programme of CPM mouthpiece Ganashakti, he announced: “The high court has passed the ban. But then, the livelihood of auto operators is at stake. We will appeal to the court to extend the deadline.”


Unchecked vehicular pollution is nullifying the effects of a reduced level of industrial pollution in Kolkata. A study by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board reveals that there has been a reduction in the levels of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and respiratory particulate matter (RPM) — two major air pollutants since 1997, though they are still above the danger mark.


The SPM level in 2002 was 173 mg/m3 against a permissible limit of 140 mg/m3, though in 1997 the level was 283 mg/m3 . The RPM level in 2002 was 90 mg/m3 against a permissible limit of 60 mg/m3 though in 1997 the level was 173 mg/m3. The sulphur dioxide, ni-trogen dioxide and lead content in the air have also reduced. “Vehicular pollution contributes to 50 per cent of the air pollution, while industrial pollution contributes to 48 per cent. The remaining two per cent can be attributed to domestic and other sources,” said Ravi Kant, member-secretary of the Board told TNN. Corrective measures taken by the CESC at its Cossipore thermal power plant was one factor which went a long way to check indus-trial pollution.


Of the total industrial pollution, 53 per cent was caused by the Cossipore plant, 44 per cent by small units, and three per cent by big industries. “The CESC plant is old and had not installed pollution checking devices. We issued stricture orders forcing it to take corrective measures. We have similarly found that 130 small scale units out of a total of 294 are still causing pollution despite our repeated warnings. We have given closure orders to these”, Kant informed. Most of the industrial pollution is caused by coal fired boilers and the Board has given directives for a switch-over to oil fired boilers.


For all such corrective measures the units are being given 50 per cent subsidy by the Board as part of the India-Canada Environment Facility, a joint venture. As one of the five most polluted cities of the country, (the others are Delhi, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Pune) the Supreme Court had asked the state government for an action plan to counter air pollu-tion in Kolkata, last year.


An action plan was submitted to the Supreme Court and the Board started working on it and hence this reduction, Kant said.


Kolkata Breathing Poison: A Story On Air Pollution In The City
Air pollution is a burning issue all over the world now. Problems like global warming are taking the planet into its grab fast. In recent time we can witness disastrous results like Tsunami, Cyder and Earthquake in China very recently.


To define, air pollution is the human introduction into the atmosphere of chemical, particulates or biological materials that leaves negative impact in the lives of lives. Air pollution can bring disasters including death. Air pollution is caused due to emission by the automobiles mainly. Climate scientists have identified Co2 as the main pollutant.


India is one of the worse affected countries in the world. The country with second largest population in the world suffer a lot due to air pollution. It can be mentioned that Kolkata is the highest polluted cities among the metro and major cities in the country. Last year Kolkata has recorded a highest level of air pollution among the metro cities in India.


Studies show that air pollution in kolkata increases during the winter days. It happens mainly due to inversion, low wind speed and high level of congestion. Data available on the suspended particulate matter (SPM), for the last two years, shows that the SPM is continuously increasing during the winter in last few years. Lead concentration in SPM during winter for kolkata was high in comparison to other cities of the world. Concentration of some components like benzene, toluene and xylene are found in kolkata in a level much higher than the any other places in the world.


Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute has recently conducted a study that shows that air pollution is the major reason behind fatal diseases like lung cancer among the city dwellers. The city has recorded a highest number of lung cancer cases in the country last year. CNCI report also include that the city’s SPM is 211 and Respiratory Particulate Matter (RPM) is 105. Both are much higher than the normal level. As a result of this breath abnormalities, difficult breathing are some of the problems people have to suffer regularly. The slum dwellers, street workers, hawkers are the worst sufferers.



There are a number of reasons behind the growing pollution in the city. Factors like use of kerosine, coal– both in domestic and industry works, add much to the pollution in the city. Other than that poor quality of fuel, old age cars, poor condition of the road, miserable slum condition, high population density are together responsible for the growing pollution in the city. Moreover, deforestation is another factor that counts a lot. It is a wonder that the high court has ordered to control the emission in of the vehicles, but the govt has taken no steps so far.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6614561.stm
http://www.soesju.org/arsenic/kolkata_pollution.htm


'Sea water may submerge Kolkata in 100 years'


Anand Mohan Sahay in Patna | May 06, 2003 16:25 IST



West Bengal's capital and one of India's densely populated metropolitan city, Kolkata, is all set to face the threat of submergence in the Bay of Bengal, according to an expert.


New Delhi based environmental scientist V Subramanian warned on Tuesday that a large part of Kolkata may be lost at the end of this century if the sea continues to rise.


Subramanian, who teaches at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and is in Patna to deliver a lecture, said that according to the latest data available, the sea is rising at the level of 1cm per year. At this rate the Bay of Bengal would engulf some part of West Bengal, including Kolkata, in the next 100 years.


According to him thermal power plants emit gases like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and methane, which deplete the ozone layer. This causes the ultraviolet rays to penetrate the atmosphere and melt glaciers, which raises the sea level. Thirty per cent of glaciers have already melted, he said and if this continues there would be no glaciers left in the next five decades.


He shocked students, teachers and researchers by revealing that Bangladesh has touched the sea level and is set to submerge. Similarly, he said the Maldives islands would not last more than 100 years and Thailand's capital Bangkok has already started sinking.


He also blamed volcanic eruptions and frequent forest fires for global warming and climatic changes. He said though  the changes were not new, it is occurring at a much faster pace.
http://im.rediff.com/news/2003/may/06sahay.htm


Infosys, Wipro get terror e-mails
Font Size  -A +A
Press Trust of India
Posted: Jan 04, 2009 at 2045 hrs IST


Bangalore Six prominent IT companies in the city, including Infosys and Wipro, have received e-mails threating to blow up their buildings, a top police officer said. Joint Commissioner of Police B Gopal Hosur said that the companies received e-mails threatening to blow up their establishments two days ago and immediately informed the police. The police have already begun investigations, he said, but did not divulge further details.


India inks largest-ever defence deal with US


4 Jan 2009, 2124 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit, TNN


NEW DELHI: The UPA government has quietly gone ahead and signed the biggest-ever defence deal with US: a $2.1 billion contract for eight Boeing 
P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft for Navy.


TOI had reported on December 27 that the huge deal was finally on the verge of being inked after protracted negotiations and clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security.


The actual signing took place on January 1, with defence ministry's joint secretary and acquisitions manager (maritime systems) Preeti Sudan and Boeing integrated defence systems vice-president and country head Vivek Lall signing the contract, sources said.


But, strangely enough, the defence ministry is keeping the deal under wraps. Incidentally, the previous NDA regime had also signed a flurry of mega defence deals -- like the $1.5 billion one for Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and $1.1 billion one for three Israeli ‘Phalcon' AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) -- in the run-up to the April-May 2004 general elections.


Sources said the P-8I contract was "a direct commercial agreement with Boeing", with "some issues of end-use verification yet to be fully sorted out" with the US government.


As reported earlier, India and US are negotiating the End-Use Verification Agreement (EUVA) and the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), which are required under American laws to ensure compliance with sensitive technology control requirements.


The two pacts are required since India is now increasingly turning to US to buy military hardware and software. Though India does not have problems with safeguards, it does not want them to be "intrusive".


In terms of the contract size, the P-8I deal supplants the $962 million deal signed with US in 2007 for six C-130J `Super Hercules' aircraft for Indian special forces.


India will get the first P-8I towards end-2012 or early-2013, with the other seven following in a phased manner by 2015-2016. The contract also provides an option for India to order four to eight more such planes.


Armed with torpedoes, depth bombs and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, the P-8I will also be capable of anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare. They will replace the eight ageing and fuel-guzzling Russian Tupolev-142M turboprops currently being operated by Navy.


The P-8I planes will help in plugging the existing voids in Navy's maritime snooping capabilities, having as they will an operating range of over 600 nautical miles, with `5.5 hours on station'.


Customised for India and based on the Boeing 737 commercial airliner, the P-8I will actually be a variant of the P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft currently being developed for US Navy, which has ordered 108 of them to replace its P-3C Orion fleet. India, of course, remains unhappy over the US decision to sell more P-3C Orions, armed with Harpoon missiles, to Pakistan.


At present, the Navy uses the TU-142Ms, IL-38SDs and Dorniers for surveillance operations in the Indian Ocean region. It is also now in the hunt for six advanced medium-range maritime reconnaissance planes, for around Rs 1,600 crore, to further boost its snooping capabilities.


For innermost layer surveillance, up to 200 nautical miles, Navy is going in for two more Israeli Heron UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), with three ground control stations and two ship control stations, for Rs 386 crore after successfully deploying eight Searcher-II and four Heron UAVs. There is also the Rs 1,163 crore joint Indo-Israeli project for developing rotary-wing UAVs for use from warships.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3934554.cms


Gandhi slams street riots, wants clean air
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
 
A bus in flames. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya) 
Calcutta, Jan. 3: Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi today deplored the destruction of public property to protest the auto ban and said it doesn’t protect the interests of the “poorest of the poor for they suffer from air pollution the most”.


In a statement issued from Raj Bhavan, Gandhi said: “I deplore the destruction of public property and disruption of public life that we have witnessed in the last few hours. It does not enhance the interests of autorickshaw owners or drivers; nor it protects the interests of the poorest of the poor for they suffer from air pollution the most.”


He also said that the protests following the government’s attempts “to implement the high court order” were “taking a very undesirable shape”.


“The judiciary has taken an unavoidable step by ordering the phasing out of certain types of autorickshaws that were causing deterioration to air quality in Kolkata. The autorickshaw owners are in need of advice and assistance to implement the change.”


The statement has a message for both the opponents of the auto ban and the government. The governor has made it clear that the people of Calcutta deserve to breathe clean air and that it shouldn’t do anything that goes against the court’s order to rid the city of pollution.


Reacting to Gandhi’s statement, Sudip Bandopadhyay of the Trinamul Congress, which has been spearheading the protests on the streets, said: “When I was going to Nandigram with Mamata today, she was told about the incidents that occurred in the city. We all want fresh and clean air as desired by the governor. But the court and the government should have mercy on poor auto drivers and owners and give them adequate time. Today’s incidents were the handiwork of Citu men, who put the blame on us.’’
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090104/jsp/bengal/story_10341176.jsp


City, US experts mull ways to cut industrial pollution
18 Aug 2001, 0004 hrs IST, Dhiman Chattopadhyay, TNN
kolkata: when spiders unite they can tie down a lion - goes an old ethiopian proverb. perhaps that is what experts from the world of industry and environment from washington and kolkata had in mind when they exchanged notes over a video conference across several thousand miles - trying to develop a united strategy which would 'tie down' industrial pollution while ensuring that companies continued to enjoy profit. however, they spent the better part of an hour debating whether ensuring a cleaner environment sans industrial pollution was only a matter of better engineering and new technology or whether it had to take into account other factors like financial expenditure and popular mindset. the discussion exposed the vast differences in approach the two nations had taken, in the context of reducing greenhouse gas emission and ensuring industries cut down their pollution level. while the americans seemed convinced that "a few engineering modifications" and implementing better technology was all that was needed to solve the age-old conflict between industry and environment, their indian counterparts were not quite so sure. david gardner, who till recently worked in the white house as head of the climate test group, said one had to "ensure that new, green technology was introduced into all polluting plants," to reduce pollution. gardner and izadpanah argued that the us experiment had shown that better technology could be used and cost reduced at the same time. "each time a company invests a single dollar towards reducing environmental pollution, the society as a whole saves us $4. our experience over the last few years show that while reducing greenhouse gas emission has resulted in us companies spending a combined us $25 billion, the us citizen has saved a total of us $110 billion - so drastically has their medical bills been reduced. people in the us are therefore beginning to see the financial benefits of reducing industrial pollution," gardner said. indian experts like mobar ltd managing director aditya kashyap and abb md aloke mukherjee however, rightly pointed out that as far as india was concerned financial constraints often overshadowed any other obligation. overhauling existing technology, they said, could mean huge overhead costs which most indian companies were unwilling to dish out. "the million dollar question in india would always be who would invest that first dollar? the state, it seems would have to play a very large role here," jayanta bandyopadhyay director of the centre for development and environment policy in the indian institute of management, kolkata said. in the end, it seemed that the only thing that both sides agreed on, was in bertrand russell's famous saying: "progress must be accompanied by wisdom, otherwise it brings only sorrow".
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1868403760.cms


 


Unprecedented security cover for Nandigram by-poll
Nandigram (PTI): An unprecedented security cover has been thrown across politically sensitive Nandigram with 15,000 central forces deployed to man just 176 polling booths ahead of the assembly by-poll on Monday.


 



Besides, 2000 policemen have also been deployed, she said, adding all the 176 booths in the area were declared sensitive.


Central forces and police were maintaining logs of all vehicles plying in the area and interrogating drivers. Central forces were deployed in all the rural market areas.


"All our arrangements are complete and we expect free and fair polls. We will allow nobody other than polling agents and voters inside the booths," she said.


Lama said as all the booths have been declared sensitive, the polling process in all of them will be recorded on camera. Each booth would have a micro observer and six senior observers would monitor them. The DM would personally supervise the polling process.


The by-poll has been necessitated after the resignation of CPI MLA Muhammad Ilyas following a sting operation exposing his alleged involvement in a corruption case.


The by-poll, scheduled for December 30 but postponed due to security considerations, will decide the fate of six contestants. The main contenders are Parmananda Bharati of CPI and Firoza Bibi of Trinamool Congress, which led the agitation against the acquisition of farmland for industries in 2007.


There are 135 booths in Nandigram I and 41 in Nandigram II and the total electorate is 1,08,000 and 1,79,416 in both the booths respectively.


Meanwhile,The US has blocked an attempt in the powerful UN Security Council to express serious concern over the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza after eight days of air strikes and to call for an immediate ceasefire, asserting that it would ‘not be adhered to and have no underpinning for success’.


'FBI hands over 26/11 attacks evidence to Pak'


London The FBI has given to Pakistan evidence amassed by it on involvement of elements based in that country in the Mumbai strikes, including on the LeT handlers' warning to the attackers about the arrival of Indian commandos while watching the mayhem live on TV, a media report in London said on Sunday. Stating that evidence is growing to prove that the Mumbai strikes were orchestrated by militants based in Pakistan, 'The Sunday Times' reported that Zarar Shah, a communications specialist of Lashkar-e-Toiba, has admitted under interrogation in Pakistan that he advised the terrorists by phone as the attacks unfolded. Controllers in Pakistan watched live television and warned the gunmen of the arrival of Indian commandos, the report said, citing evidence amassed by the FBI and handed over to the Pakistani government.


Hand over Prabhakaran to India: Cong tells Sri Lanka
New Delhi With Sri Lankan troops closing in on LTTE's last bastion Mullaitivu, Congress asked the island nation to hand over Tamil Tiger chief Prabhakaran once he is caught so that he faces trial for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"We will be happy if Prabhakaran is caught and handed over to India for the heinous crime he has committed. He should be brought to book for the assassination of our beloved leader Rajiv Gandhi," party's chief spokesman M Veerappa Moily said.


Moily said the Sri Lankan government would do an excellent service to India if it hands over the LTTE chief after catching him. "We want his extradition. The request is pending," he said.


Pakistan must give ‘cast iron guarantees’: Chidambaram
New Delhi Holding that Pakistan will have to give ‘cast iron guarantees’ that its soil will not be used to launch a terror attack like Mumbai carnage, India has said that it will have to pay an ‘enormous price’ if such a strike is repeated.
 
"What we now want is cast iron guarantees" that no state actors or non-state ones will be allowed to use Pakistani soil or sources to launch an attack on India, Home Minister P Chidambaram said.


"Guarantees have to come from those who control the levers of power and that means, the elected civilian government, plus the army. These are not guarantees that you can execute on a piece of paper. These are guarantees that have to be given to the international community," he told a television news channel.


Environmental Scientists in Kolkata speak out against Chemical Hub in Noyachar


Environmental Scientists in Kolkata speak out against Chemical Hub in Noyachar


Translated by Soumya Guhathakurta, Sanhati. Sept. 5, 2007


According to environmentalists, the flowing and mixing of effluent from the chemical plant at Noyachar with the waters of river Ganges cannot be ruled out. During high tides it is possible for the contaminated water to flow upstream for a considerable distance. The possibility of the water flowing into waterways connected to Ganges cannot also be ruled out.


The previous head of the Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, and an expert on the Sunderbans, Amalesh Choudhury, opines that the decision to build a chemical hub at Noyachar cannot be taken by politicians and administrators. He believes that the last word on this issue can only be pronounced by environmental scientists. Presently, Amalesh Choudhury is a specialist member of ‘Sunderbans Mangrove Wetland Development Board’ and ‘ Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve Development Board’. According to him, the environment of Noyachor should be left in its present virgin state, in the interests of the Haldia industrial area. There are 10 to 12 varieties of grasses growing in Noyachor which protect the said industrial area. Further, they absorb a portion of the chemical pollution that is generated by Haldia. Environmentalist Shubhash Datta has gone on record saying that in case a hurried decision is forced upon the state then he will seek legal redressal.


Retired professor Manju Bandopadhyay of the Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, has worked extensively on the flora and fauna of the Sunderbans delta. She asserts that the existence or the absence of human settlements cannot be the only criterion for the project. She feels that none can guarantee that chemical effluents from the hub will not flow into the Ganges and pollute the water upstream and that of water bodies connected to the ganges, during high tides.


Retired professor Manosh Joardar, Department of Applied Physics, University of Calcutta, is apprehensive that a fate similar to the well known disaster incident in Japan (the presence of mercury in chemical effluents which flowed into the sea) awaits the ganges. He states that the river Ganges is presently heavily polluted and the government and its administration are in no position to enforce environmental norms on industries or management, whose index is profit and not environmental protection. No one is in a position to guarantee that the pollution of Noyachor will leave untouched the banks of the Ganges.


This article originally appeared in Bartaman, September 5, 2007


***********************************************************************************************


Developing news:


Sept. 4: Island in zone of no development


Experts today warned that setting up a mega chemical hub on the mud island of Nayachar would violate coastal and environmental laws.


Although seen as relatively stable and gradually growing in size, as an uninhabited island it falls under Coastal Regulation Zone 1 (CRZ 1) where development is banned.


“No development work can be undertaken in such uninhabited coastal zones unless specifically cleared by the Centre,” said Sugata Hazra, the director of the School of Oceanographic Studies in Jadavpur, who is also a member of the state Coastal Zone Management Authority.


The estuarine island, 3km east of Haldia and 15km from the sea, comes under the coastal authority since it has a salinity level of little under 10ppt (parts per thousand). Areas with salinity levels of 5ppt and above fall under the coastal authority.


Development is allowed in already developed CRZ 2 areas like Digha. It is also permitted to a small extent in partially built-up CRZ 3 areas like New Digha and Sankarpur or CRZ 4 areas like the Andamans, which are detached islands and need some development to be self-sufficient. But it is banned in the uninhabited CRZ 1 areas.


“The island is also home to five varieties of mangroves, which have played a major role in stabilising it and preventing coastal erosion over the years. It has a sizeable forest cover,” Hazra added.


Officials said cutting down mangroves to build a chemical hub would not be ecologically sound.


In need of around 10,000 acres of contiguous land near Haldia, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’ s government is banking on Nayachar as its lone hope, especially after yesterday’s meeting with political parties where the island was declared the “obvious choice”.


The government has concluded that acquisition of 10,000 acres in any other area would be impossible at this point. The search for an alternative site began after the choice of Nandigram fell through.


Yesterday, asked about reports that the island ran the risk of instability, industry minister Nirupam Sen said the soil could be technologically modified to make it suitable for development.


The 16,000-acre island is home to a tourist bungalow and a prawn cultivation project. Some 400 fishermen’s families live here, of whom 500 work in the prawn project. Another 200 come from outside to work every day.


The state has to get the proposal vetted by the coastal authority, which will forward it to the Central Coastal Zone Regulation Authority for clearance. Clearance from the Union forest ministry would also be required.


Sept. 5: State opted for Nayachar ignoring GSI warnings



Ignoring a Geological Survey of India report that the Nayachar island (see photo) is prone to earthquake, cyclone and even tsunami, the state government proposed at the all-party meeting on Monday to set up a mega chemical hub.
It came to light today that the state fisheries department, which had sounded the GSI’s opinion on the status of the island’s soil, got the report about a week before the much-touted meeting, yet it went ahead with building the case for Nayachar. Its two proposals for two other sites ~ Haldia and Khejuri-Contai ~ were shot down at the meeting, since many people would have to be displaced if the project were to come up.


The GSI report stated that the soft land, apart from being vulnerable to earthquake, cyclone and tsunami, is also “young”, not more than 60 years. Because of its proximity to the coastal area, it runs the risk of getting inundated owing to tidal surges, the report said. At the all-party meeting, Left Front’s junior partners gave their nod to the proposal, while the Congress decided to communicate its decision “soon”. Now, the principal secretary, fisheries and aquaculture department, has called a meeting with GSI officials at Writers’ Buildings on Friday to discuss the quality of the island’s soil and related issues.
The fisheries minister, Mr Kiranmoy Nanda, has, however, no difficulty in making alternative arrangements for fishermen who run cooperatives on about 850 hectares on the island.


The state environment minister, Mr Sailen Sarkar, expressed his worries about the possible negative impact the chemical hub would make on Nayachar island. Mr Sarkar told reporters, after attending a seminar, that his department hasn’t been contacted for carrying out an environmental impact study of the proposed hub on the island.


The former director of the Zoological Survey of India, Dr Ashish Ghosh, said GSI geologists should be informed about the nature of the proposed industrial units before assessing the land stability. Dr Ghosh said the government would have to strictly monitor the environmental factors. “The chances of dumping chemical waste into the waters surrounding the island are high. Proper technology should be in place for air, solid waste and effluent management,” he said. According to environmental experts, if chemical waste mixes with water, the rich fishing ground in the sandheads, off the Digha coast, will be poisoned.


Sept. 4: Congress reservations over Nayachar


State Congress leaders have expressed reservations over setting up of a chemical hub on Nayachar island, citing topographical reasons. “Nayachar is away from the mainland though it is a newly developed island. And it is only 1.5 metre above the water level. The island located at the confluence of the Haldi and the Hooghly rivers is newly formed and is topographically unsuitable for a chemical hub,” PCC working president Mr Pradeep Bhattacharjee said today.


“We are happy that the state government has finally shifted from their stand of acquiring farmland for setting up a chemical hub,” he said. Mr Bhattacharya said that Nayachar situated off Haldia, though is a possible site for the mega chemical hub, is sparingly inhabited and faces threat from soil erosion.


The Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Industries had already visited Nayachar before the state government decided to select it for the chemical hub. In all South East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia, chemical hubs are situated off the main island and as per that logic, Nayachar may be an ideal choice. But the newly developed island would not be an ideal place for setting up a chemical hub.


Yesterday, chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and commerce and industry minister Mr Nirupam Sen informed the all-party meeting at Writers’ Buildings that the outlying area of Haldia Petrochemical complex would not be selected for setting up a chemical hub as the land there was fertile. Nayachar was opted for the chemical hub as most of its 14,000 acres belong to the state fisheries department and Haldia Development Authority.


The PCC working president said that the chief minister had failed to answer all the queries regarding chemical pollution. The party has demanded at the meeting that an expert committee be set up for studying how to dispose chemical waste and effect of pollution on human beings.
http://sanhati.com/news/360/



Will 2009 be the year of Rahul Gandhi?
New Delhi Rahul Gandhi slowly emerged out of the self-imposed cocoon in the year that went by but in the New Year which will see Lok Sabha elections will he have a bigger role.
This is a question that is hotly discussed in Congress circles and outside.


With the Congress buoyed over the poll victory in three states and being part of government in Jammu and Kashmir, Gandhi was hailed as the ‘third pole’ in Congress after Party President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.


"The Congress is now on the threshold of 3-G technology; we have stood for third generation leaders who are progressive and dynamic and who can provide good governance," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi says.


But the party appears in no hurry to pitchfork him to the front as one who may be taking over. Sonia Gandhi had answered the question on Independence Day that "certainly" Manmohan Singh will be the Prime Minister if the UPA comes back to power.


In fact, early 2008 saw the AICC not approving senior leader Arjun Singh's statement that there was no harm in projecting Rahul as the PM candidate. That time, party leaders had made it known that Manmohan Singh did not like the idea when he was occupying the prime ministerial chair.


Gandhi, who was inducted as the General Secretary of the AICC in September 2007 and made in-charge of the frontal organisations of NSUI and the IYC, took the opportunity head on.


Gandhi started the process of democratising the functioning of the NSUI and the IYC holding organizational elections for the NSUI in Uttarakhand and IYC in Punjab, to be replicated in these organisations in the rest of the country.


Even though the adoption of the same model in the parent party may not be anyday soon, the 38-year old leader, in a candid admission, described patronage, money, dynasty and relatives as a "bane" which prevents the youth from joining politics.


He described himself as someone who benefited from it as his father, grandmother and great grandfather were the Prime Ministers of the country at a meeting in Uttarakhand.


Mumbai attacks an act of war by Pakistan: Rushdie
London There was no doubt about Pakistan's complicity in the Mumbai attacks, internationally acclaimed India-born author Salman Rushdie has said and urged Britain to stop aid to Islamabad for failing to act against terrorists operating from its soil.
"There is no question that this was Pakistan. You could see it as an act of war," the writer of 'Satanic Verses' and 'Midnight's Children' said in an interview to ‘The Times’.


"The West should be tougher on Pakistan. It is trying to play both ends against the middle -- to look like the friend of the revolutionaries on the one hand and a friend of the West in the fight against terrorism. It can't be both things," he said.


"This country should make clear that as long as Pakistan harbours terrorists it's not going to get any Western aid."


Mumbai saw a demonstration of the ‘extraordinary barbarism’ that people are prepared to unleash on the world, the controversial author said. "How many of these attacks do we need before we understand what's going on?"


Recalling his days in Mumbai, Rushdie said he watched with horror as flames tore through the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai.


"Those are the streets I grew up on. Two of the characters in my novel 'Midnight's Children' consummate their love affair in the Palace, as so many of us did."


PRAKSH KARAT SLAMS OPPOSITION IN WEST BEMNGAL



Kolkata:Opposition parties in West Bengal have launched a "well-planned onslaught" against the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) that leads the state's ruling Left Front, party general secretary Prakash Karat said in KOLKAT on  Saturday.


"What is now happening in West Bengal is a well-planned onslaught against the CPI-M. These activities - happenings in Lalgarh in the name of tribal agitation, growing Maoist attacks on the communists, the Gorkhaland movement in northern West Bengal - are targeted to weaken the Left Front in the state," Karat maintained.


"We've to constantly fight against all the opposition forces. Our party is not addressing this as a problem of West Bengal alone. It's a national issue. Our party has been built through a class struggle and we've to see to it so that this conspiracy against the communists is defeated," Karat said.


Alleging that the spate of troubles in West Bengal were the result of a ''well planned conspiracy', CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today said the party was ready to accept the challenge.


'' The party does not see the problems being whipped up in West Bengal as the problems of the state alone. There is a well planned conspiracy against the CPI (M) by different forces and the party is ready to take the challenge,'' he said while speaking at a function on the occasion of the 43rd foundation day of 'Ganashakti', the Bengali mouthpiece of the CPI(M).



Karat was here to celebrate the 43rd foundation day of the party's Bengali daily Ganashakti. He also attended a meeting of the party's state secretariat.


Striking a similar chord, Chief Minister and CPI-M politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said: "We've to move forward facing all the hurdles set by our opposition. There's no scope to look back.


"There would have been no agitation by the tribals against the state administration in West Midnapore's Lalgarh if the Trinamool Congress and Jharkhandis were not there," said Bhattcharjee



It was quite evident that the CPI-M led state government was not keen to implement the court's directive as a Citu delegation including the minister of state for labour, Mr Anadi Sahu met Mr Sen today at Writers' Buildings and urged him to "stop the crackdown on autorickshaws". Even the CM, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said: "We have some responsibility towards autorickshaw drivers and we will request the court in this matter but Opposition activists resorted to setting alight buses". In fact the police is yet to begin its crackdown on two stroke auto rickshaws as directed by the court. So far, by the home secretary's own admission, it has seized only unregistered autorickshaws which are illegal under any circumstances. When asked whether the government was being held to ransom, Mr Sen replied: "This is not one day's work. If we can execute the matter more systematically over a longer period of time then it would be better". The Governor, however, deplored the protests as "taking a very undesirable shape" and asked the "leaders of opinion to come forward with constructive suggestions" and facilitate the implementation of the Court order to cut down on air pollution, which also affects the autorickshaw drivers.


The CPI-M state secretary, Mr Biman Bose attacked the Trinamul chief. "How can a responsible Opposition organise a sit-in demonstration? Pulling up a chair and hurling invectives at the chief minister will not solve the problem," he said.


 


The switch to LPG has to be “painless” for auto operators rendered jobless on New Year’s Day, he said. On this, he has Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi by his side. After parting ways over Nandigram and Singur, Gandhi and the CM found common ground on the HC move to clean up the air. Polluting autos have to go, they agree, but not at the cost of livelihoods.


In a press release, the Governor said: “The judiciary has taken an unavoidable step by ordering the phasing out of certain types of autos that were causing deterioration to air quality in Kolkata. The government should take steps to see that the changeover is painless for the affected auto operators.”


Condemning the violence, Gandhi said: “I deplore the destruction of public property and disruption of public life. It does not enhance the interests of auto owners or drivers. Nor does it protect the interests of the poor — they suffer from air pollution the most.”


Sen said Bhattacharjee would take a final call on Sunday after talks with the transport minister and police chief Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti.


Three buses were torched and several vehicles damaged in Kolkata in a rampage by Trinamool Congress-backed autorickshaw operators A state-owned bus set afire by autorickshaw operators in Kolkata protesting a court ban on ageing public transport vehicles in the city and to demand the release of 18 arrested protesters. The buses were burnt in around Park Circus in south Kolkata as a large contingent of police stood by but could do little as the auto operators, protesting a ban by the Calcutta High Court on two-stroke autos from January 1, indulged in violence. They not only damaged and set ablaze the buses but also snatched cash and valuables from passengers and conductors of the buses during a 12-hour strike called by the Trinamool Congress-backed Auto Bachao Committee and the Progressive Taximen's Union.


There are over 60,000 autos, mainly two-stroke, in the metropolis of which 25,000 to 30,000 have valid permits.


It is clear now that autorickshaw operators backed by political parties are bent on using violence to stall the move to ban two-stroke autorickshaws from Kolkata. If one bus was set on fire on Friday, three were torched and three more wrecked on Saturday. The attacks seemed orchestrated. Miscreants resorted to guerrilla tactics, suddenly pouncing on commuters or buses, and disappearing into lanes and bylanes before police could react. Most of the violence was centred around the Park Circus seven-point crossing. Apprehending trouble, a large police force including RAF platoons was deployed since early morning, but they were taken by surprise when a group of hooligans struck at 9.30 am. The goons started dragging out passengers from taxis plying as shuttle vehicles towards EM Bypass and Salt Lake. Police rushed to the spot but the gang had vanished.



Home secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters that he would discuss suspension or slowing down of the police raids on autos with both transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty.


Chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty said the state government was bound to implement the high court order.


"What can we do? It is the verdict of high court. We have a sense of responsibility to auto operators. We will appeal to the high court," CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said.


Terrorism, intelligence network on CMs conclave agenda
New Delhi (PTI): Prompt handling of terror attacks, toning intelligence network and security of key installations, including nuclear plants, will be high on the agenda of a brain storming conference of chief ministers to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday here.


In his first such exercise after taking over the reins of Home Ministry, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will elicit views from all state governments on measures to beef up the security machinery to check terrorism in the wake of Mumbai terror carnage.


The meeting will focus on strengthening intelligence network and toning up of coastal security, particularly in view of the fact that the terrorists involved in Mumbai attacks used the sea route to sneak into the metropolis.


Security of key installations, including nuclear power plants, will also figure prominently at the meeting to be addressed by the Prime Minister.


The Tuesday's conclave will be followed by a meeting of chief ministers of nearly a dozen Naxal-affected states, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa, on Wednesday.


The Wednesday's meeting is expected to give emphasis on how to fight the menace through development and security. Besides reviewing the security preparedness of the Maoists-infested states, the Union Home Ministry is also likely to take note of the progress of development projects initiated in 33 districts across nine states.


Immediate filling up police vacancies, setting up of the Police Network (POLNET) connecting all police stations through a computer-based system for sharing of information and videos of crime scenes and swift action on police reforms are other issues which the chief ministers will deliberate in the Tuesday's meeting.


The issue of strengthening intelligence collection and sharing mechanism (Subsidiaries of Multi Agency Centre), modernisation of police forces, setting up of commando units in all states/Union territories police forces and discussion on the modalities of the working of the newly-formed National Investigation Agency are also on the agenda of the first meeting.


In a letter sent recently, Chidambaram had suggested all chief ministers to set up round the clock control rooms to receive and disseminate intelligence/information pertaining to terrorism and other forms of organised crime, setting up an analysis group within the state intelligence wing, forwarding intelligence inputs to Intelligence Bureau and taking urgent steps to get rid of mafia, extortion gangs and land sharks among others.


The Home Minister advised the states to immediately identify major establishments, installations and symbolic or iconic structures and conduct a thorough review of the security arrangements there.


Stop Vehicular Pollution in Kolkata 



 


View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



To:  Government of West Bengal
To: Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal, Hon’ble Transport Minister of West Bengal


Dear Sirs,


This is an urgent appeal to you for taking immediate action on the issue of vehicular pollution in Kolkata.


Kolkata’s air quality is in a perilous state, and there are enough scientific data available to substantiate this fact. However, we choose not to furnish them in this forum. Instead, we would just like to point out that this is a non-negotiable issue that cuts across all possible forms of boundaries, e.g., social, economic, age, gender etc. The black fumes that come out from the vehicles affect everyone alike – the auto-rickshaw driver, the traffic sergeant, the office commuter, the street hawker, the school children, and almost everyone who is on the road, except the ones who travel in private car with the glass windows rolled up and the air-conditioner turned on.


There are people already fighting for clean air in the city, and thanks to their relentless hard work, we now have a High Court order, passed on the 18th of July 2008, by which the following measures need to be implemented:


• commercial vehicles more than 15 years old to be phased out or converted to Bharat Stage III from April 2009
• all 2-stroke auto-rickshaws to be scrapped by December 2008
• auto-rickshaws to run on LPG from December 2009
• auto emission testing centers to remain under strict vigil and to be fined and suspended for irregularities


We are aware that a committee, consisting of senior government officials and academicians, has already been formed to implement this; but as concerned citizens of this city we just want to see to it that the efforts to do not fizzle out with time. The objective of this petition is to express the common citizen’s solidarity with the ones actively associated with anti-pollution campaign and to convey to the government that clean air is a demand of the mass, not just a handful of environmentalists.


We appeal to the West Bengal government to do the following:


1. Carry out the High Court order in a time-bound fashion
2. Restrict plying of goods vehicles during the day and ensure that those travel in night are checked for pollution
3. Augment public transport by introducing big, clean buses in more numbers and piloting concepts like dedicated bus lanes for faster flows
4. Institutionalize a transparent and hassle-free process by which the common citizen may lodge complaints against polluting vehicles and get to know the action taken on the complaint (Given the adult’s indifference towards lodging complaints, government may like to introduce a scheme by which children are encouraged through rewards to submit the registration number of the polluting vehicles to the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. We would thus be having a large section of the population itself acting as pollution watch dogs for the city.)


Many of the above measures have already been successfully implemented, or being experimented with, in other cities, including New Delhi. We are merely urging our government to replicate them in Kolkata.



This petition is also a pledge to do our own bit to address the problem. Whoever signs this petition, takes a pledge to minimize the use of cars and avail buses to the largest extent possible. This small step taken by each of us will collectively help reduce the pollution and traffic congestion in Kolkata, and make it a better place to live and breathe in.



Sincerely,


The Undersigned


 


 
View Current Signatures
http://www.petitiononline.com/kolkata/petition.html
Government Institutions
West Bengal State Pollution Control Board
Tags: Air Pollution Control, Pollution Control, State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Water Pollution Control, West Bengal, Environment
Address: Paribesh Bhavan, 10A, Block-L.A, Sector III, Salt Lake City
Tel: 1-800-345-3390
Web URL: http://www.wbpcb.gov.in/
Objectives
West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is a statutory authority entrusted to implement environmental laws and rules within the jurisdiction of the state of West Bengal, India. WBPCB was constituted immediately after the enactment of the first major environmental legislation of the country, the Water (Prevention and Control of Water Pollution) Act, 1974. During its twenty-eight years of life, the Board tried its best to ensure proper implementation of the statutes, judicial and legislative pronouncements and to fulfill the needs of the people.


THE OZONE LAYER:  IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF OZONE EDUCATION
Joelle S. Busman
Cary Belen
 
INTRODUCTION
Donna:  What is the environment?
Martha:  The environment is the earth, and you have to help the earth.  Oh, and it?s the ozone layer.
Donna:  And what is the ozone layer?
Martha:  (shrugs her shoulders in a gesture of uncertainty) I think the ozone layer?s like the top of the air where we are right now and then the rest is empty of the ozone layer.  I think it?s supposed to protect where we are right now from polluting and trash and stuff.
Donna:  Where did you hear about the ozone layer?
Martha:  Mostly on TV?.The news channels mostly?.Sometimes I want to see what there is, what I should wear, but they go into the ozone layer and stuff, and I watch that until they say what the weather?s going to be like. (King, 78)


In the book, Doing their Share to Save the Planet, author Donna Lee King interviewed numerous children to ask their opinions about environmental issues.  The conversation above exhibits the innocence and naiveté of a young child, who will eventually inherit mother earth, in regards to the ozone layer.  Although the adult reader may chuckle at this young girl?s lack of knowledge, the average adult is virtually as uneducated.  With such a life affecting issue as the ozone layer, it is essential that society be well informed about the danger ozone depletion poses to earth.


 There are many issues one must explore when educating himself/herself about the ozone layer.  The goal of this paper is to provide the layman with a general knowledge of important components of ozone education.  First, a general overview will be provided.  Next, the reader will learn scientific aspects of the ozone layer such as factors responsible for ozone depletion, and then he/she will explore the ozone hole over Antarctica.  To continue, societal aspects that will be addressed include health risks, crop/plant damage, and organism damage.  Finally, actions that government has taken to attempt to solve the problem will be discussed.  The paper will conclude with a discussion of the importance of ozone education.


SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS


The ozone layer:  What is it?


The ozone layer is a portion of earth?s atmosphere that contains high levels of ozone.  The atmosphere is divided into five layers:  the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere.  The troposphere is the layer closest to earth and is where all weather happenings occur.  The stratosphere is located directly above the troposphere, about 10-50 kilometers above the planet, and houses the ozone layer at an altitude of 20-30 kilometers.  The mesosphere is located approximately 50-80 kilometers above the earth, while the thermosphere rests at an altitude of approximately 100-200 kilometers above the earth?s surface.  Finally, the boundary of the outermost layer, the exosphere, extends roughly to 960-1000 kilometers above the earth.  For a visual of the lowermost three layers of our atmosphere, refer to Figure 1 below.
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/ozone.htm
Ozone layer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 93-99% of the sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth.[1] Over 91% of the ozone in Earth's atmosphere is present here.[1] It is mainly located in the lower portion of the stratosphere from approximately 10 km to 50 km above Earth's surface, though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically.[2] The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson. Its properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson, who developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobsonmeter) that could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground. Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations which continues to operate today(2008). The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the total amount of ozone in a column overhead, is named in his honor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_layer


Research Article
Predicting daily total ozone over Kolkata, India: skill assessment of different neural network models
Goutami Chattopadhyay 1, Surajit Chattopadhyay 2 *
1Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Calcutta, Kolkata 700019, India
2Formerly, Department of Information Technology, Pailan College of Management and Technology, Kolkata 700 104, India
 
email: Surajit Chattopadhyay (surajit_2008@yahoo.co.in)


*Correspondence to Surajit Chattopadhyay, Department of Information Technology, Pailan College of Management and Technology, Kolkata 700 104, India.


Keywords
total ozone concentration • multilayer perceptron • generalized feed forward neural network • radial basis function network • modular neural network • regression • prediction



Abstract
This paper explores the observation made by the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (EP/TOMS) to analyse the predictability of daily total ozone concentration over Kolkata, India. Latitude, longitude, aerosol index, reflectivity, sulphur dioxide index and total ozone concentration of a given day have been used as independent variables to predict total ozone concentration of the next day. Artificial neural network in the forms of a multilayer perceptron, generalized feed forward neural network, a radial basis function network and a modular neural network have been trained to generate predictive models. Performances of the models in the test cases have been judged with the help of four statistical parameters. Finally the models have been compared with multiple linear regression and the potential of generalized feed forward neural network has been established over the other proposed models. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society


 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received: 6 April 2008; Revised: 3 July 2008; Accepted: 14 July 2008
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121431131/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0


Our study on
GROUNDWATER ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL AREA OF BEHALA, KOLKATA DUE TO INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION


Reported work done by SOES



Arsenic wastes in the iron container


Summary


Contamination of groundwater by arsenic may be due to industrial discharges, mining operations, or mobilization of naturally occurring arsenic in sedimentary aquifers. Such contamination has been reported in China (Province of Taiwan), USA (Millard Country, Utah), Chile, Argentina and Japan (Tokyo).


Between 1983 and 1985, 14 villages in South Bengal were affected by chronic arsenic toxicity. A high level of arsenic was detected in the water from shallow tubewells (24-36 meters deep) used by those affected, but the cause of the contamination could not be ascertained. During the period July-September 1989, some residents of P.N. Mitra Lane, Behala. South West Calcutta, attended the S.S.K.M. Hospital and were found to have signs of chronic arsenic toxicity. This led us to study the problem from an environmental, clinical and epidemiological point of view.


Due to the discharge of industrial effluent after production of the insecticide Paris-Green [Copper acetoarsenite Cu(CH3COO)2 3Cu(AsO2)2] by a local factory at the P.N. Mitra Lane, Behala, ground water has become contaminated with arsenic. More than seven thousand people were using this arsenic contaminated tube-well water for drinking and house-hold purposes. Many people of the area were hospitalized and symptoms of arsenic toxicity were visible amongst a large number of the population. Analytical study reveals that soil around the area of effluent dumping point, which is at the middle of the locality, contains a very high concentration of arsenic and copper. For the last 20 years this factory had been producing 20 tons of Paris-Green per year and had been dumping its effluent in that area. It seems, the effluent treatment for arsenic removal was not adequate and finally arsenic percolated to the underground aquifers. Consequently, arsenic concentration in the ground water is very high. Both arsenite and arsenate are present in groundwater. An alternative source of water other than the ground water is immediately necessary for the people of P.N. Mitra Lane.Highest concentration of arsenic recorded was 8000 mg/l.


An industry was producing 20-30 tons of Paris Green [Copper acetoarsenite Cu(CH3COO)2 3Cu(AsO2)2] per year and was discharging most of the effluent without proper treatment in an open land just outside the boundary of the factory. Due to the high porosity of the soil, arsenic percolated and contaminated the underground aquifer. More than 7000 people living around the discharge point, were exposed to arsenic contaminated water. Primary investigations and follow-up studies in the area, carried out for the last 8 years, have revealed that some of the distant tubewells which were earlier free form arsenic, are getting contaminated now. In May 1997, a preliminary analysis of arsenic in the urine, hair and nails of some of the people drinking contaminated water from CMC deep tubewells indicated a higher arsenic concentration than in the normal population.


Reference
(1) Environmental Pollution & Chronic Arsenicosis in South Calcutta, West Bengal. D.N.Guha Mazumder, J.Das Gupta, A.K. Chakraborty, A. Chatterjee, D.Das & D.Chakraborti; Bulletin of World Health Organization 1992, 70(4), 481-485.
(2) A Study of Ground Water Contamination by Arsenic in the Residential Area of Behala, Calcutta due to Industrial Pollution. Amit Chatterjee, Dipankar Das & D.Chakraborti; Environmental Pollution, 80 (1), 57-65, 1993.
(3).Calcutta's industrial pollution: Groundwater arsenic contamination in a residential area and sufferings of people due to industrial effluent discharge - An eight-year study report. D. Chakraborti, G. Samanta, B.K.Mandal, T.Roy Chowdhury, C.R.Chanda, B.K.Biswas, R.K. Dhar, G.K.Basu and K.C.Saha. Current Science 74(4), 346-355, 1998.
http://www.soesju.org/arsenic/kolkata.htm
Industrial pollution at Behala and Community Action
  On 21 February,1997, there was an unusual scene in the Calcutta High court. A number of housewives from east Behala were narrating their experiences on environmental pollution in front of Green Bench of the High court. Indian urban centres are facing a new kind of problem. Already in Delhi, the issue of pollution from industries within the city area has caused several court cases and Supreme Court ordered all industries in non-industrial zone to vacate. Other cities need to take a lesson from that. But is Kolkata learning from that?


Behala is located in the south west part of Kolkata. The area under concern is Kolkata Municipal Corporation Ward Nos. 116,117 & 121. The area was rural in character three decades back and there were some big rice mills. There were a number of ponds, wetlands, fallow lands. A number of factories were set up later and a large number of small scale industries were set up without any planning in the defunct rice mill premises.


After 1990, the industrial pollution in the area became a matter of serious concern. Shri D.P.Bhattacharya, one of the founder members of vasundhara , organised local people to protest against this problem. Most of the local industries had no clearance from West Bengal Pollution Control Board. A PIL was filed against some chemical industries in the Kolkata High Court. The High Court after going through the reports of WBPCB and All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health severely indicted the factories for neglecting pollution control and closed them. Meanwhile the case was transferred to the M.C.Mehta Vs Union of India & others case in the Supreme Court since the two factories figured in both and for similar charges. Later the WBPCB filed favourable status report to the Supreme Court and the Apex Court allowed them to function as they reportedly installed pollution-control. Dissatisfied with the environmental clearances from the statutory authorities, the local residents filed a case in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed NEERI for inspection and report. NEERI found the pollution control measure inadequate and the Supreme Court directed all these industries to relocate from east Behala. Vasundhara provided the scientific and technical support to the case.


On February, 1997, the housewives of the locality addressed a letter to the Green Bench of Calcutta High Court complaining about serious degradation of the environmental quality of the area. High Court ordered WBPCB to survey the area. The survey report revealed that there are 141 plastic reprocessing units, 55 spray painting units, paints and printing ink manufacturing units, 230 engineering & fabrication units, 20 electroplating/galvanizing units and 30 chemical units. None of these units have any clearance from WBPCB. Most of the units are causing pollution. But WBPCB failed to monitor industry specific pollutants. So we are still at dark about the nature of pollution in this area.


The local people are complaining of different kind of physical problems. A number of local physicians wrote to the Minister and the High Court about this. Till now nothing has been done from the administration.


New polluting industries are being set up in the area. The ponds are being filled up. The open spaces are filled with hazardous waste. Dirty plastic wastes are heaped around the residential places. Still after analysis reports from All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, NEERI and the survey report of WBPCB, nothing has improved in the area. It is hightime that the authorities take proper actions to make the area safe for living and also solve the problem of industrial locations in urban residential areas.



What happened in Delhi


On application of Mr. M.C.Mehta in 1985, Supreme Court ordered relocation of 8738 (later increased to 9164) industries in March 1995 because of violation of Delhi Master Plan -2001and shifting of those industries in the area designated for industries. 168 hazardous industries were ordered to close immediately and shift outside Delhi as Master Plan does not permit such industries. Authorities were ready to offer plots.


For the workmen the Supreme Court ordered that a)The workmen will have continuity of service during shifting b) The workmen will be paid full wages during this period c) One year wage will be given as shifting bonus d) The workmen of the industries not willing to shift will be paid 6 years wages. e) The workmen not willing to shift will be paid according to Industrial Disputes Act and one year's wage.


For the vacated site, the Supreme Court ordered that a) Upto 2000 sq. m (0.2 ha) land, the owner can sell or develop in accordance with Delhi Master Plan b) 0.2 ha - 5 ha. , the owner can sell or develop 43% of land in accordance with Delhi Master Plan .and 57% of land will be used for tree plantation and open space. c) 5-10 ha: the owner can sell or develop 35% of land in accordance with Delhi Master Plan .and 65% of land will be used for tree plantation and open space. d) More than 10 ha: the owner can develop 32% of land in accordance with Delhi Master Plan .and 68% of land will be used for tree plantation and open space.


The Critique of the Judgement:


a) The case was filed 10 years back, why it took 10 years to decide the fate of workers or was it dragged out from old files for some purpose? Will judiciary reply?


b) As most of the workers are not officially permanent in these small industries, they will not be able to get the compensation. There is no safeguard for them. Who will take care of them?


c) As the industries violated the Master Plan, why DDA (Delhi Development Authority) officials should not be punished for allowing these industries continue for many years?


d) Why pollution control board administrators should not be pulled up for allowing such a situation to develop? Why they did nothing till the court order?


e) 64% of air pollution of Delhi is due to automobile emission and cars numbers are highest in the country. No action was taken on that field.


f) No detailed study of pollution from these industries was ever done. Authorities did not suggest any pollution control measures.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 http://www.geocities.com/geesen/Polu.htm



CONCLUDING PROGRAMME OF THE
INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION CONTROL PROJECT


at The Auditorium, Paribesh Bhawan, Kolkata
on 19th December, 2003 at 2:30 p.m.



Organised by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board


The Industrial Pollution Control Project of the WBPCB – Supported by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC)


The Industrial Pollution Control Project (ID – P/105) is basically a capacity development project of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). The basic objective was the upgradation and augmentation of the capacity of the Board with respect to its basic objective of enforcement of the environmental statutes and maintenance of the ‘environment’ safe for human existence and development.


The project commenced on 12.04.1995 and ended on 12.04.2003. The total expenditure of the project was 426 million INR (Loan Component = 346 million INR and State Government Share = 80 million INR).


Necessity of the project (as in the year 1996)


The WBPCB is the main enforcing agency of different environmental statutes of India such as:


a) The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 & Rules.


b) The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 & Rules.


c) The Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981& Rules.


d) The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 & Rules.


e) The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.


f) The Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989.


g) The Bio-medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1989.


h) The Public Liability Insurance Act 1991.


The main enforcing instruments of the Board are "Consent to Establish" or "Consent to Operate" by which industrial and/or environmentally important activities are issued or refused to the establishments depending on their compliance with regard to discharge of liquid, solid or gaseous effluents.


The jurisdiction of the WBPCB is the state of West Bengal with a population of about 70 million (19 million urban and 51 million rural) as per 1901 census report and land cover of 88075 sq. km. divided in 18 districts. The State capital Calcutta, a business-cum-industrial city has a population of about 4.5 million. Before the said project, the Board had its head office at Calcutta and four regional offices with one laboratory at the head quarter with a scanty facility and capacity to monitor less than half the parameters required for proper environmental monitoring.


So far as air monitoring is concerned, the conventional methods adopted by the Board were prone to errors and these air monitoring systems were required to be gradually upgraded through installation of automatic ambient air monitoring stations and proper network to run and maintain them.


Speaking about water monitoring, although in last four years the number of laboratories of the Board went up to four and three more to come shortly, the analyzing of water samples lack many of the sophisticated analytical instruments used in such cases. The present facility cannot measure precisely many of the parameters and at all some parameters. Moreover, in recent years much stress has been given globally for management of "hazardous waste" and "biomedical waste". The country has enacted suitable laws implementation of which needs precise measurement of many more contaminating parameters both chemical and biological in nature. Upgradation of the laboratory facility of the Board is thus an absolute necessity with respect to the following:


Sophisticated and state-of-the-art instruments and equipment to improve precision of analysis.
Better safety arrangement inside the laboratory
Facility for proper keeping, handling and disposal of reagents and toxics to ensure safety of the workers and the neighborhood.
Impact of the JBIC-aided Project


The project, started in 1996 was concluded in April 2003 with the following achievements:


Construction of office-cum-laboratory complex at Calcutta, Durgapur and Barrackpur; Calcutta being the head quarter and the other two being two most important with respect to density of industrial establishments.
Training programme (both overseas and in-house) for technical staff of the Board for understanding of state-of-the-art technologies for environmental monitoring and industrial pollution control.
Data collection at monitoring stations at Victoria Memorial Hall and Rabindra Bharti University premises.
Establishment of a data bank and center for public awareness facility to provide facility to train government and industry personnel and non-government organisations working for environmental awareness development.
Procurement of instruments and equipments for the laboratories for monitoring of all possible parameters in environmental samples including five automatic air quality stations, one mobile van and a net work of data and information flow back and forth.
With the facility and infrastructure developed and the capacity development programme performed through the project, the WBPCB is now capable of tackling almost all industrial pollution control issues as mandated by the Acts and Rules. Performing state-of-the-art analysis of any type of environmental sample at the laboratories placed at three industrially most important locations, e.g, Durgapur, Barrackpur and Kolkata, is another unique feature obtained by the Board through the project.
http://www.wbpcb.gov.in/html/pressrelease/press_release_jbic.shtml
Jai Balaji gets land for West Bengal steel project
Kolkata (IANS): The West Bengal government on Monday allotted 748.97 acres to Jai Balaji Industries for setting up a five-million-tonne integrated steel plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district.


"We will get another 250 acres over and above this within the next 10-15 days," company chairman and managing director Aditya Jajodia said after receiving the land allotment order from state industries minister Nirupam Sen.


Altogether 3,700 acres are required for the project.

 

The first phase of the Rs 16,000-crore project comprises a two-million-tonne steel plant, a 400 MW power plant and a one-million-tonne cement plant, Jajodia said.


The total investment for the first phase will be Rs 4,000 crore, out of which Rs 1,500 crore will go towards setting up the power plant, Rs 200 crore for the cement facility, and the remaining Rs 2,300 crore on the steel plant.


"The total project cost has come down by 30 per cent and that of the first phase by 25 per cent because of developments in domestic and international markets," he said.


The company expects additional turnover of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore from the first phase, which will be completed within 36 months of the start of the project. "We will start working on the project within 15-20 days," Jajodia said.


The total project will comprise a five-million tonne integrated steel plant, three-million tonne cement plant and a 1,215 MW captive power plant.


Jajodia said the project involves a debt-equity ratio of 2:1, with a Rs 700-crore loan having already been secured from a consortium of 20 banks.


Non-coking coal, which will be supplied by the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corp, will constitute 60 per cent of the total coal requirement.


India's West Bengal reports fresh bird flu outbreak
Sat Jan 3, 2009 7:21am EST  Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+] KOLKATA, India, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Health and veterinary workers culled poultry in a densely populated eastern Indian state on Saturday after a fresh outbreak of H5N1 bird flu, officials said.


The latest outbreak of the virus in poultry is the fourth in the state of West Bengal since 2007.


Bird flu first broke out in India in 2006. Millions of chicken and ducks have been culled since to contain the virus, but it has resurfaced from time to time. India has reported no human infections.


West Bengal officials said they had begun culling about 60,000 poultry after the fourth outbreak was confirmed on Saturday near Siliguri town, bordering Bangladesh.


Culling operations in West Bengal to contain the third outbreak had ended barely a fortnight ago.


"We have sent 30 teams to kill chickens and ducks in the village where dead birds tested positive," Surendra Gupta, a senior government official, told Reuters.


Hundreds of thousands of birds had also been culled in India's northeastern Assam state and neighbouring Meghalaya after bird flu was detected in November. Experts have warned that the H5N1 virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic that could kill millions of people across the world.


According to the World Health Organisation, H5N1 bird flu has infected more than 390 people in 15 countries and killed at least 247 of them since the virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003. (Reporting by Sujoy Dhar, Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee/Tony Austin)


SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDIES IN INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION CONTROL ENGINEERING


Profile: aims and objectives, and brief history


Although the fundamental nature of the pollution problem has not changed significantly in very recent times, there have been important changes in control technology, in our understanding of the processes and interactions between various pollutants, and in admin1istrative and legislative instruments for regulation and abatement. The School of Advanced Studies in Industrial Control Pollution Engineering was set up in 2000 to approach environmental issues in this changed perspective.
The chief aims and objectives of the School are:
• To impart training to scientific and technical personnel working in various     industries
• To organise workshops and seminars on emerging areas of the subject
• To encourage experts in this field in writing notes, technical manuals and books     on various aspects of the subject
• To provide consultancy services on pollution matters to various industries,     especially small and medium-scale industries


Contact
International/National links
Infrastructural Facilities
Publications
Consultancy Services


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 


Contact


1. Address : Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032
Telephone & fax: (033) 473-1799
E-mail : sdatta_che@rediffmail.com


2. Date of establishment: 2000


3. Director : Professor S. K. Sanyal
http://www.jadavpur.edu/academics/school_of_advanced_studies.htm


Culling begins in bird flu-hit Darjeeling
Siliguri, West Bengal (IANS): Authorities in West Bengal on Sunday began culling operations in the bird flu-hit Darjeeling and Siliguri subdivisions, officials said.


"A three-day culling operation has begun in the affected areas of Siliguri. Twenty-four teams comprising of a total of 200 veterinary workers have culled at least 100 chickens since morning," Sarod Dwivedi, sub-divisional officer of Siliguri, told reporters.


The district administration had on Saturday ordered the culling of about 60,000 poultry at Pubang in Takhdra of Darjeeling subdivision and Matigara in Siliguri subdivision.


Dwivedi said that authorities were not facing any resistance from farmers.


"People are willingly handing over their chickens to our workers. For the time being, each household is getting a compensation of Rs.500. But we will soon be having a high-level meeting to decide the compensation to be paid to poultry farmers and if any animal can be given in exchange of the birds," Dwivedi said.


In Darjeeling subdivision, nine culling teams started operations on Sunday.


Said Milan Halder, Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry Department of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC): "Culling operations have started. Initially we have only nine teams, but the number will increase as and when required."


Culling operations will also be carried out in Phulbari of Jalpaiguri district, which comes under the radius zone.


Sale and consumption of poultry and poultry products have been banned in the affected areas.


Alarmed at the death of 80 poultry birds at Pubang in Takhdra of Darjeeling subdivision and 67 poultry birds at Matigara in Siliguri subdivision within a week, the district administration sent the samples to the High Security Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Bhopal. One of the samples tested positive for avian flu.


The development came 18 days after bird flu struck Malda district in the State


Real estate industry to change alignment


4 Jan 2009, 0427 hrs IST, Debasish Roy, ET Bureau
The real estate industry around the world has developed in the same manner till now. Real estate agents have graduated into real estate developers 
who undertake to do the dirty of work of getting licenses and mutating the land from either agricultural to residential urban or into commercial urban. The expertise is more often than not in dealing with specific documents , which are either vetted of generated by the local agency or body of government with their particular rules and methods. For instance, selling land or an apartment in Dankuni in West Bengal, outskirts of Osaka in Japan or in Hillsborough in the United States entail having thorough knowledge of documents regarding land ownership and also land use.


So its all about documents or lack of them, isn't it? If you don't know how to process a document for real estate then you don't know how to handle land dealings and you cannot graduate from just a guy who lives in a rented apartment to a guy who buys and sells them; or come to think of it who creates them from agricultural or fallow land.


However, in the last 10 years a few things have changed in the highly regulated regimes of Guang Zhou, Singapore and Thailand. Singapore with its lethal combination of Tamilian and Chinese cando , will-execute rationalism; Thailand with its monarchy taking most of these decisions in a centralized manner and finally Guang Zhou with its one modular body taking all decisions regarding real estate restructuring and development.


The real estate development cycle moves in a particular manner around the world. It starts from specific need, moves onto fixed budget and then the scenario of funding comes into play and then it moves on to the diverse and branched situation of multi-expertise such as digging the ground for a foundation, getting the papers in order from the local authorities, sourcing cement and bricks, etc.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Real_estate_industry_to_change_alignment/articleshow/3933008.cms


Stimulus not sufficient to boost growth, say economists
New Delhi (PTI): It's not just industrialists, but even leading economists feel that the twin packages announced by the government and RBI to boost sagging economy is 'insufficient', as the farm sector's concerns were not been addressed to.


"This (stimulus package) is in the right direction, but not sufficient," economic think-tank ICRIER's Director Rajiv Kumar told PTI when asked whether the steps announced by the government and RBI on Friday would be able to revive industry and exports.


"There is no talk about agriculture. It has been completely left out," he further said.


Although the government had raised the public expenditure during 2008-09 by Rs 1.47 lakh crore, over and above the allocations made in the budget for the fiscal, questions are being raised about the ability of the government to spend additional funds during the remaining three months.


Echoing similar view, RIS Director-General Nagesh Kumar said, "The economy need a much bigger stimulus and I expect more measures... An employment guarantee scheme is needed. The size of the package should be increased."


Expressing dissatisfaction at the second stimulus package, President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) A Sakthivel said, "We find no serious consideration (of exporters' demands) except extension of the DEPB scheme."


In order to reverse the economic slowdown, the government on Friday came up with a second stimulus package seeking to raise public spending and making available easier credit for sectors like exports, housing and small industries.


Simultaneously, RBI also slashed key policy rates and ratios to pump in an additional Rs 20,000 crore into the banking system, in addition to signalling a soft interest rate regime.
PTI



Measures to help housing sector not sufficient: Developers
Mumbai (PTI): The economic package, particularly rate cuts and easing of ECB norms, will increase flow of funds into the struggling housing sector, but more measures are needed to enable the realty business to bounce back, developers said.


"Even though the RBI has slashed rates, financial institutions have not been lending to developers... there is further scope for easing loan rates," real estate consultant Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj Chairman and Country Head Anuj Puri told PTI.


"The stimulus package announced by the government will re-generate the demand cycle in the housing sector, which remained subdued on account of high home loan rates, high prices of residential and general economic condition," he said.


"Prices maintain the equilibrium between demand and supply. The only fear is if realtors cut supply in accordance with slumping demand, prices would start rallying again. Hence, supply needs to come into the market and the government's move is a great step towards that," Puri said.


Corroborating Puri's view, noted industrialist Adi Godrej said, "Loan rates are still not low enough... I expect these should further ease by April-May along with inflation, which should also come down considerably by that time."


Sharing similar sentiments, Sunil Mantri, Chairman of Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd, said, "The relaxation in ECB norms and the repo rate is a welcome move, but we were expecting the RBI to raise the priority home loan benchmark to Rs 50 lakh."


Besides, Mantri said that the easing of external commercial borrowings would help bring down cost of funds.


"The RBI gave a strong message by cutting rates, but banks have not been passing on the benefit, and are instead sitting tight on the money," he added.


"The ECB guidelines extended to townships will boost the housing and real estate sector," Marathon Realty Managing Director Mayur Shah said.


Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the form of debt would now be available to this sector, Shah said.


Apart from these, monetary measures announced by the RBI would also release additional liquidity in the market.


Raising credit limit of banks to facilitate more credit for housing loans may help the housing sector.


However, there has been no significant step to address the real estate sector's problems such as for houses that cost above Rs 20 lakh.


"I doubt that raising the level of FII investment in corporate bonds by up to USD 15 billion even as the global economic situation remains gloomy will have any bearing on the economy as a whole," Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pradeep Jain said.


Although this has been a good step, there should have been more in the segment of houses that cost more than Rs 20 lakh is yet to be addressed, Jain said.


Welcoming the measures taken in the second stimulus package, Lodha Group Senior Vice President (Marketing) S Karthik said, "Any package that helps create stimulus will benefit the housing sector. There will be an improvement in consumers' confidence. This will spur sales of residential flats and help the primary need of consumers."


Reduction in interest rates and better availability of home loans will boost the demand for housing in the country, Karthik said.


"CRR reduction will bring more liquidity in the market. The drop in interest rates is welcome and we hope buyers should get home loans at 8-9 per cent across the board," Shah said.


On real estate prices, Shah said prices have corrected substantially and are going back to old levels. Overall, the entire housing sector was moving in the right direction, he said.


Identifying concerns of the housing sector was an important consideration. The duty cut on imported cement and TMT bars would help cut input cost in the short run, Jain said.


"It is also a welcome step to allow states to divest funds from the JNNURM to buy houses, which will boost the demand for housing further," Jain said.


Air threat to human lungs -Kolkata
http://www.gits4u.com/envo/envnew01.htm
Kolkata has upstaged Delhi as the air pollution capital of India, accounting for more deaths due to lung cancer and heart attack than the capital city. More than 18 persons per one lakh people in Kolkata fall victim to lung cancer every year compared to the next highest 13 per one lakh in Delhi, according to environmental scientist and advisor of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI), Twisha Lahiri.
  Not only lung cancer, cases of heart attack were also rising fast in the Eastern metropolis, Lahiri said quoting a six-year survey conducted by the cancer institute. She said incidents of heart attack were occurring more frequently in the city.
  CNCI scientists maintain that more than seven in 10 people here suffer from various kinds of respiratory disorder, including children as well as elderly people. Lahiri said roadside hawkers, shopowners, traffic policemen, auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw-pullers and others who spend long hours on the road were the  most vulnerable. Children mainly suffer from breathing difficulties like asthma while elderly people are victims of lung cancer, the scientists said. (published in Business Standard on May 28, 2008)
 
Howarh Bridge over Hooghly river.
 To protect Victoria Memorial
  Environmentalist Subhas Dutta on Monday, June 10, 2008 filed a petition in Calcutta High Court, alleging that the state government had failed to carry out court orders to protect the Victoria Memorial Hall from pollution. The order, passed on September 28 last year by a division bench, had asked the government to follow certain guidelines
to cut down on the pollution level around the monument.
  “The court had directed the state government to shift the Esplanade bus terminus to a site at least three km away from the Memorial within six months. No action has yet been taken in this regard,’’ said Dutta.
  The West Bengal government issued the notification on  March 28, 2008 acting on a six-month old High Court Order. The order was the concern of High Court that the relic of the Raj (Victoria Memorial) needs to be protected from the defacing fumes that tandoors and barbecues emit. Hotels and restaurants within a three-kilometers radius of Victoria Memorial can no longer use the charcoal fired ovens to barbecue meat and fish or cook tandoori food.
    
     Victoria Memorial
 Air Pollution in Kolkata city. 
 An ongoing global air pollution study by the Us-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has found that carbon monoxide emitted by cars combine with nitrogen dioxide present in the city atmosphere to cause serious damage to human lungs.



 The research being carried out by the Ultra Violet Remote Sensing Group under the atmospheric chemistry department of  Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, has also reveled that the bulk of Kolkata's dust particles come from West Asia and the neighboring  regions.
 
  The study in its first phase, is being conducted with the help of Ozone Monitoring Instrument, a satellite recording images of air pollution across the globe. "The image recorded before monsoon confirm that the dust particle in Calcutta and other parts of Gangetic valley are blown in from outside," explained Pawan Kumar Bhartia, in charge of the project. "We are in talks with Indian Space Research  Organisation and other Indian research institutes for studies on the ground and sea level. Investigation into India's air pollution is a complex process, as the direction of  air flow changes through the year." 
  The satellite images show presence of layers of nitrogen dioxide and aerosols in the city's atmosphere, Nitrogen dioxide, in the presence of sunlight, forms ozone, which is extremely harmful for crops and lungs. While nitrogen dioxide cannot move from one place to another, ozone flows to other areas. "It is to be seen how much of the thick layer of ozone  over Kolkata has flown in from outside," said Nasa scientist. The aerosol consists of solid dust particles and sulphuric acid. "The dust particles are blown over the northern part of India to Kolkata before they move south towards Bay of Bengal," added Bhartia. According to him, dust particles can travel 700 to 800 km in a day, which means they will take only a couple of days to travel from Delhi to Kolkata.
   


 
 The thick layer of ozone  over Kolkata has flown in from outside," said Nasa scientist. 
   Air pollution suffocates Kolkata
 Some 70% of people in the city of Kolkata suffer from respiratory disorders caused by air pollution, a recent study by a prominent cancer institute in India has concluded. Ailments include lung cancer, breathing difficulties and asthma, caused by air pollution, the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) study says. The CNCI is one of India's foremost research bodies, and its investigation took six years to complete.
  One of its key findings was a direct link between air pollution among the 18m people of Kolkata and the high incidence of lung cancer. Kolkata tops all Indian cities when it comes to lung cancer - at 18.4 cases per 100,000 people - far ahead of Delhi at 13.34 cases per 100,000.
 
 Kolkata's air pollution results from the horribly high levels of auto emissions.  (Burbon Road, Kolkata, packed all the time with mini -buses and buses. )
  The fuel of auto rickshaws is bad for air quality. The city's highly polluted air is leading to the growing number of lung cancer patients," says Twisha Lahiri, who conducted the CNCI study with five other researchers. The ideal count of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respiratory Particulate Matter (RPM) should not exceed 140 and 60 respectively. But Kolkata's average SPM count is 211 and RPM count is 105. And in the worst polluted traffic intersections, this count can be double the city's average during busy hours. "Kolkata's air pollution results from the horribly high levels of auto emissions which the authorities have failed to control so far. If this is not checked with a heavy hand, the impact on the health of Kolkatan's, particularly children, will be devastating," says city doctor Parthasarthi Dutta. Street side occupants - particularly the hawkers who sell stuff - are the worst sufferers , the CNCI study says. It says that 79% of hawkers who spend a long time outdoors have suffered damaged lungs.
     Environmentalist Subhas Dutta filed a public interest litigation in the Calcutta High Court in March this year, alleging that the West Bengal government was doing nothing to control air pollution levels. The court ordered the government to reduce vehicle emissions. In May 2005, the government set a deadline which ordered all vehicles in Calcutta manufactured before 1990 either to be off the roads or convert to greener fuel like LPG.
   Nearly 80% of the city's buses and trucks and nearly 50% of its taxis and auto-rickshaws would have gone off the roads if the government enforced its directive. "It would have thrown Kolkata's transport system into chaos," says Madan Mitra of the Bengal Taxi Association. "The commuter would have suffered."   But the Calcutta High Court quashed the government directive, and though the government challenged it in a higher bench, the case has yet to come up.
     The worst offenders are around 50,000 auto rickshaws - half of them unregistered - who use "kantatel". This is a fuel made out of a deadly concoction of kerosene and petrol. "The toxic fumes released by them pollutes the city's air more than anything else, but no one can touch the auto- rickshaws because they have powerful trade unions," says environmentalist Subhas Dutta. "It again becomes an employment issue," he said.
Polluted waters of the Ganges River after the immersion of Durga idols:
  The Hooghly river was left so polluted after the first day of immersions that millions of fish and aquatic plants have been massacred, and anyone who went into the water faced the danger of falling severely ill due to zinc and heavy metal poisoning. The River Pollution Control Act categorically prohibits idol immersions in the river. Kolkata Municipal Corporation also claiming  to protect the Hooghly from pollution caused by immersions. Yet, all this has come to a naught. Samples of water collected showed that dissolved oxygen had dipped to 2.1 mg per litre while the desired level is at least 5 mg per litre. This is dangerous level as aquatic life cannot survive in such low oxygen content in water. The volume of solid suspended matter as well as oil and grease in water were also alarmingly high. The content of solid suspended matter in the water like zinc, aluminium and lead can affect those who bathe in the water leave alone those who drink it,” said S M Ghosh of EMG.
City schools to fight global warming
  KOLKATA , March 23, 2008: Inspired by sensitisation workshops conducted by global non-government organisation World Wildlife Fund for Nature, students of five schools- Carmel High, La Martiniere for Boys, Birla High, St James and Mahadevi Birla - have begun chalking out strategies to reduce carbon emission by saving energy.
  Urged by the students, the Carmel school principal has agreed to replace the conventional bulbs in the building with energy-saving lamps. Authorities at the other schools have also agreed to purchase only company fluorescent lamps (CFLs) when conventional bulbs need to be replaced.
  "While Carmel's CFL switch is a major step towards reduction in energy consumption, nearly 50% of the lights in the other four schools will be CFL- powered. If other schools follow suit, it could inspire offices and homes to act similarly, thereby making a positive impact on reduction in carbon emission," WWF-India state director Saswati Sen said.
  "Since the schools we have been to till now are 'elite' ones and most students use personal transport, we have encouraged teachers to urge students to use pool cars or share their vehicles with fellow students. Hence, if someone's coming to school from a particular locality, teachers are asking the student to find out if he can pick up two others for a day. The others can then take turns in picking him up for the next two days. This way, fuel can be saved, leading to reduction in carbon emission," Sen explained. After the ongoing year-end examinations, WWF-India will conduct a similar exercise in 15 more schools including La Martiniere for Girls, St Xavier's, Future Foundation and Julien Day. 
 


Time to act



International concern about the accumulation of green house gases in the atmosphere and the possible effects on global temperatures, have led to a series of international initiatives for collective action. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC, 1992), The Montreal Protocol of 1987 to control substances that damage the ozone layer, and the Kyoto Protocol
 
International concern about the accumulation of green house gases in the atmosphere and the possible effects on global temperatures, have led to a series of international initiatives for collective action. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC, 1992), The Montreal Protocol of 1987 to control substances that damage the ozone layer, and the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 on global warming. Paul Horwitz, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ozone Secretariat talked to Marianne de Nazareth, at the 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference held at the United Nations in New York.


Could you explain what is meant by the ozone layer and why it is so important to save it?


Ozone (03) is a pollutant in the lower levels of the atmosphere. It is however a naturally occurring greenhouse gas higher up in the atmosphere. At lower levels of the stratosphere there is a layer we call the ozone layer and here O3 serves man well. Even though its concentration is not high, it intercepts much of the UV light from the sun. UV can cause sunburn, skin cancer and eye damage for humans and animals.


Give us an insight into the Montreal Protocol...


The Montreal Protocol of 1987 limits the release of gases into the atmosphere that might damage the earth's shield against ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun. Concern about collection of chlorine in the upper atmosphere from CFC's and its impact on the ozone layer first surfaced in 1974 which tied CFC's to ozone 'holes'. CFC's were used worldwide as refrigerants, solvents, propellants and in the production of cleaning electronics. However, CFC's are attractive to developing countries as they do not require sophisticated technologies.


 
 
 
 
Is the issue of climate change tougher to handle and overcome than ozone depletion?


Absolutely! The issue of climate change touches many more human activities than the issue of ozone depletion. Global warming is an open access resource problem with access to the atmosphere being unrestricted. CFC's and other gases are released as the by products of human activities and other natural sources across countries. The gases retard the re-radiation of sun’s energy from the earth's surface back into space.


Which are the areas of the earth that are most prone to destruction with ozone depletion?


The Antarctic ozone hole was caused by CFC's. Ozone losses were a global phenomenon and the stratospheric chemistry above the Arctic was highly perturbed. The protocol was later updated in London in 1990 and Copenhagen in 1992.


How does UNEP and the NGO's work together to solve the ozone depletion problem?


About 191 countries have given their firm commitment to the Montreal Protocol to phase out CFC causing
products. UNEP has offices across 120 countries for information and technology transfer of ozone depleting substances. It is an extraordinary effort, but it is critical to bring coherence and combined participation to sustain synergistic cooperation between the Kyoto and the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol has unique provisions for equitable funding of developing countries and robust NGO participation.


You say India and China claim leadership roles in solving ozone depletion. Could you explain how?


India and China are the world’s booming economies. But, China is a huge example of a country which has realised the enormity of the crisis. They have agreed to phase out ozone depleting substances three years earlier than stipulated by the Montreal Protocol.


India too has agreed to take an accelerated path with our assistance
 http://www.deccanherald.com/content/Aug192008/metro-tue2008081885304.asp



70 kids fall ill after mid-day meal in Chhattisgarh
Raipur (IANS): At least 70 primary school children have fallen ill after eating their mid-day meal in a remote village of Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, health officials said on Sunday.


The incident reportedly occurred Saturday at a primary school in Nadia village, some 210 km from here.


"The school kids were offered a sweet dish, khir-puri, around 2 p.m. on Saturday, but all of them began vomiting after half an hour," A.K. Bansore, block medical officer, told IANS over telephone.


The health department immediately organised a camp at the village to provide proper treatment to the kids, Bansore said.


The kids were still complaining of stomach problems and also vomiting when last reports came in Sunday morning.


Angry parents, who are now holding a demonstration at the health camp, alleged that the doctors came to their children's rescue at least five hours after they had complained of vomiting and stomach pain.
Kerala's first district IT park to come up at Kollam
Thiruvananthapuram (IANS) : Technopark officials here are finalising the master plan for the first district level IT park in Kerala, to come up at Kundara near Kollam.


M. Vasudevan, a senior Technopark official, said the IT park would be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) policy of the state government.


"The formal inauguration will take place next month, when the foundation stone would be laid by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. Forty acres of land is in our possession and the project will see IT infrastructure being developed by the Technopark and real estate developers," Vasudevan told IANS.


"This would be a joint development project and in all there would be 1.5 million square feet of built-up area," Vasudevan added.


In May last year, the state government announced that IT level parks would be developed under private-public partnership model in the 14 districts of the state.


In the first phase, IT parks would come up in Kollam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.


Currently, IT companies operating in the state are based either at the Technopark campus here or in the Infopark campus in Kochi.


Nearly 150 companies are operating in the Technopark. They employ close to 20,000 people, while around 40 companies that employ nearly 8,000 people are in Infopark.


According to the government, the district level IT parks would help the IT industry expand operations across the state. Also, operating from the district parks would be cheaper for IT companies than functioning from Technopark or Infopark campuses.


"Kollam has certainly a lot of positives because a good number of educational institutions are there and also we propose to peg the rate per square feet at Kollam IT park around 30 percent cheaper than at the Technopark campus (where the rate is Rs.25 per square feet)," Vasudevan said."This could be a good place for those interested in BPO (business process outsourcing) operations," he added.


The government would hold 51 percent stake in the district level parks and the rest will be with private and public companies, which would build the necessary infrastructure.


India condemns Israeli ground attack in Gaza



New Delhi (PTI): India on Sunday condemned the Israeli ground attack in Gaza and demanded an immediate end to the military action.


In the fourth statement in a week on the latest situation in West Asia, External Affairs Ministry said India supports all efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire.


"The Government of India condemns the on-going incursion into Gaza by Israeli ground and other forces. It urges an immediate end to military action by all concerned," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said here.


He said the suffering of civilians in the region must end.


His statement came as Israeli army launched a ground assault against Hamas in Gaza.


India has been demanding an end to military action by Israel in Gaza, which first involved aerial attacks and now a ground assault.


India has also announced an aid of USD one million for the civilian victims of the action in Gaza.


Bomb blast on rail track in Assam
Haflong (Assam) (PTI): A bomb exploded on railway tracks in North Cachhar Hills district causing derailment of a goods train and disrupting services in the hill section of the Northeast Frontier Railway in Assam. No one was injured in blast set off by militants at 7.45 am on the railway track between Maibongdisa and Harangajao stations in central Assam. N F Railway sources said three compartments of the goods train laden with paper and candle sticks which was crossing the section jumped rails due to the explosion. Services in the metre gauge hill section were disrupted as the tracks also suffered damage. Repair work was on
Punjabi book on Bhagat Singh released
New Delhi (PTI): 'Bhagat Singh: Vicharan Inqlabi', a book written in Punjabi by Prof Chaman Lal depicting Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary thinker, was on Sunday released by eminent journalist Kuldip Nayyar here.


The book has a collection of Bhagat Singh's rare photos and interviews by his close friends and bibliography of around 300 books written on one of India's popular freedom fighters.


"The book portrays Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary thinker and consists of his rare photos like his place of birth, the place where Saunders was killed and his college," Prof Lal told PTI.


This is Prof Lal's sixth book on the Indian revolutionary freedom fighter.


Apart from the rare collections, the book also has hand written letters by Bhagat Singh in Urdu, English and Hindi.


Bhagat Singh is a popular figure in Pakistan and this book has already found takers in the neighbouring state.


"A publishing house has asked me to send a copy of the book to Pakistan, so that it can be transcribed in Persian script," said Prof Lal.


A recipient of national award by Central Hindi Directorate, Prof Chaman Lal is Chairperson of Centre of Indian Languages at the Jawaharlal Nehru University



3 lakh trucks in Rajasthan to participate in strike


Jaipur: Around 3 lakh trucks in Rajasthan will be off the road from midnight tonight in response to countrywide strike call given by All India Motor Transport Congress to press for slashing down prices of diesel and tyres and levy of uniform VAT on diesel throughout the country. The booking of goods by the transport companies had been closed this afternoon and the delivery of the goods would be closed tonight, Rajasthan Truck Transport Union president Ved Bhushan Sethi said. The transport operators had held talks with the officials over the demands but it could not yield any result and the operators were left with no option but to proceed on the strike, Mr Sethi said


Bandh like situation at Kurseong in West Bengal
Siliguri (PTI) : A bandh like situation prevails in Kurseong in Darjeeling hills on Friday following a clash at Rohini in which a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader was killed and 26 houses including a tourist bungalow were torched.


Shops and business establishments did not open shutters though no bandh was called there, SDO Kurseong Dibyendu Das said.


GJM leader Subodh Pradhan was lynched and a few others injured and in retaliation the Rohini Tourist bungalow and 25 houses of the villagers were set ablaze on Thursday.


The trouble started when Pradhan and some men broke into the tourist lodge run by Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), and the caretaker informed the villagers.


The villagers attacked them and Pradhan died on the spot. The arson came as a retaliatory attack by GJM activists.


GJM workers were now being assembled in hundreds with the information that five persons arrested in this connection would be produced at Kurseong court during the day.


According to Das, huge security arrangements have been made to tackle any untoward situation. Combat commando force and Rapid Action Force were deployed both at Rohini and Kurseong town, he said.


GJM press and publicity secretary Benoy Tamang alleged that police was playing a partisan role by providing shelter to the arrested persons by keeping them at Pradhan Nagar police station here though Rohini falls under Kurseong police station.


80 Ambedkar Sena activists arrested in Phagwara
Phagwara (PTI): Tension gripped the Phagwara area on Sundayafter a group opposed the administration's move to remove hoardings from a bus stand in Phagwara that were claimed to be "objectionable" by some Hindu outfits.


On the order of SDM Amarjit Paul, a police team reached a bus stand on national highway No 1 to remove the two hoardings, police said.


Activists of Ambedkar Sena (Mool Niwasi) Punjab and its president Harbhajan Suman, armed with iron-rods and sticks, claimed that the boards carried the life and philosophy of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and opposed their removal.


Police arrested around 80 activists, including the president and impounded a jeep belonging to the outfit.


Refusing to board the police bus, the activists walked up to City Police Station from the bus stand, raising slogans against Shiv Sena and Parshu Ram Sena, whose members also gathered outside the station and resorted to sloganeering.


Shiv Sena, Parshu Ram Sena, Hindu Suraksha Samiti alleged that there were objectionable lines against the Hindu community on the hoardings.


However, authorities claimed that all huge hoardings on National Highway No. 1 were being removed on the direction of Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has described them a distraction to road users.



Swaminathan calls for 'evergreen revolution' in north-east


Shillong (PTI):Noted agriculture scientist M S Swaminathanon Sunday underlined the need for conserving the rich bio-diversity of north-east and called for ushering in an 'evergreen revolution' in the region.


"Efforts should be directed at promotion of bio-happiness among tribal families. The NE is one of the 12 mega bio-diversity zones of the world and more than 80 per cent of people here depend for their livelihood on agriculture," he said while addressing the 96th Indian Science Congress at the North Eastern Hill University here.


Noting that the region produced 5.8 million tonne of food-grain against a requirement of 7.4 million tonne, he asked institutes to take up conservation programmes for the rare, endangered and threatened (RET) species of flora.


Observing that "domestication of rice" had taken place in the north-east 10,000 years ago, he called for evolution of "new rice species" blending traditional wisdom and modern science.


"The cultural traditions of the tribal people have an important role in understanding bio-diversity conservation and management issues."


Emphasising on linking of bio-diversity, biotechnology and business in a mutually reinforcing manner, he called for concerted efforts by agriculture scientists for "saving genes for posterity".


"The loss of every species and gene limits our options for the future. If farm ecology and economics go wrong, nothing else will go right."


PMK questions 'silence' of PM, Sonia on Sri Lankan Tamil issue
Dindigul (PTI): Questioning the "silence" of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, the PMK, a partner of ruling UPA, on Sunday sought immediate steps to ensure that the Sri Lankan military offensive against the LTTE is halted.


"What is the reason for the Indian Prime Minister's silence?" PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss asked. He questioned the response of Manmohan Singh government on the issue especially after the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister himself led a team to request the Prime Minister to intervene and the state assembly had passed resolutions on the issue.


Stating that Sri Lankan Army took over a deserted Killinochchi, defacto political headquarters of the LTTE, the PMK chief accused Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajakpaksa of trying to mislead the world by "making false claims."


"Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister were remaining silent for more than one-and-a-half years," he said and urged Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to impress on the Prime Minister to intervene and take steps to ensure that the Lankan military offensive against the Tamil Tigers is stopped.


Ramadoss alleged that India, China and Pakistan were helping Sri Lanka in the war against the LTTE.


Abbas: Israeli offensive `brutal aggression'
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced Israel's ground offensive as ``brutal aggression.''


These were his harshest words yet in describing Israel's nine-day assault on his Hamas rivals in Gaza.


Abbas spoke on Sunday, after meeting with PLO leaders in the West Bank. On Monday, he is heading to the United Nations headquarters in New York.


Abbas says his offer to Hamas to start talks on sharing power still stands. Last week, Hamas ignored his invitation. Abbas says the situation has become unbearable and that ``national unity is the most important thing to us.''



Bardhan hopes for third force before Lok Sabha polls
Berhampur (PTI): The CPI on Sunday said it was hopeful that a third force of "like-minded secular parties" will emerge as an alternative to Congress and BJP before the Lok Sabha polls later this year. "There are already some regional parties which have been initiated by the Left parties. Several other like-minded parties are likely to join the force," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan said here.


"We invite all secular and like-minded parties to join the third alternative to Congress as well as BJP.... Talks are on with them and we hope a clear picture of the third alternative will emerge before the next elections in the country," he said.


Underscoring the need for third alternative "based on policies", Bardhan said the Congress and BJP "believe in monopoly and are least bothered about protecting people's interest."


Coming down heavily on the Centre's economic policies, Bardhan said hike in prices was due to wrong policies of the government. "The Left parties strongly opposed the anti-labour and anti-people policies of the government and withdrew support to the Centre," he said.


Bardhan was here to attend a function at Sanakhemundi in Ganjam district and led a huge motorcycle procession from Chhatrapur covering about 60 km.


Olmert: Gaza ground invasion was 'unavoidable'
JERUSALEM (AP): Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the army's invasion of the Gaza Strip was unavoidable.


Olmert said on Sunday that Israel could not allow residents of southern Israel to be continuously targeted. The operation follows years of Palestinian rocket attacks on the south.


Olmert says his government ``did everything'' it could before approving the operation and was left with no choice. He spoke at the beginning of the weekly meeting of his Cabinet.


It was his first public comment since the ground operation was launched late Saturday.


Saffron delegation arrives in China on maiden visit
Beijing (PTI): The first-ever BJP-led saffron brigade delegation has arrived here on a maiden visit to China to discuss "all issues, including Tibet" with the ruling Communist Party and enhance mutual understanding.


"We will discuss all issues including the Tibet question," former Union Minister and MP, Suresh Prabhu, told PTI.


Prabhu said the five-member team of BJP, RSS and Shiv Sena led by senior leader Balasaheb Apte, which is here on a goodwill mission at the invitation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has a "lot to discuss."


Prabhu, former Chairman of the group on inter-linking of rivers, is keen to study how China has successfully linked their major rivers as well as go through major Chinese achievements in the irrigation sector.


He felt that India can learn from China's experiences.


The Chinese side has agreed to discuss "all contentious issues" during their meetings, delegation sources said as the two countries are continuing their negotiations to find a mutually acceptable solution to the vexed boundary issue.


The delegation is confident that their mission will lead to better understanding of the "right wing" views by the political class in Beijing.
 
Iraqi police say bomber kills at least 30


BAGHDAD (AP): Iraqi police say a female suicide bomber has detonated an explosive vest among a group of pilgrims in Baghdad, killing at least 30 people and wounding more than 50.


They say the death toll is expected to increase.


Police say the bomber blew up a short distance from the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kazim, one of the holiest men in Shiite Islam. They say a number of Iranian pilgrims are among the casualties.


Police spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information to the media.


The attack on Sunday came as Shiites prepare to mark Ashura on Wednesday. It is one of the most important holy days for Shiite Muslims and marks the death of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein.


New National Judicial Service suggested for selecting judges
New Delhi (PTI): Selection of competent judges through an all-India exam like the Civil Services may become a reality if the Law Ministry accepts a proposal for establishment of a nation-wide judicial service.


While the government is still considering the proposal, it has sought the views of different states and High Courts on the matter.


Ministry officials said they have also held discussions on a suggestion that till a consensus is reached on the all-India service, a selection mechanism involving the judicial member, Pradesh Public Service Commission should be formulated and followed uniformly in all states.


The process of a rethink on the judges' selection process by the Law Ministry follows an advice from a House panel to establish an All India Judicial Service to attract the best of talent to the prestigious Indian judicial system.


"It will naturally improve upon the deteriorating quality of language used in judgements delivered these days by the Courts excluding the apex court," the parliamentary standing committee on Law and Justice has said in a recommendation to the ministry.


The Committee chairman, E M S Natchiappan, said initially state judicial services may be set up so that these could further blossom as the National Judicial Service for all National and Regional Tribunal Chairman and Member appointments of various discipline.


The Law Ministry has even been told to consider bringing about an amendment in the Constitution, if necessary, to set up the judicial service.


A ministry official said the panel's suggestion on state-level selection of judges "is presently under examination."


The suggestion to have a national judicial service is linked to the Law Commission of India's three reports -- 1st, 8th and 11th -- in which it had stressed on the need to have such a service.


Even the Supreme Court had recommended, in its judgments in November 1991 and August 1993, in the matter of All India Judges Association for establishing an All India Judicial Service in the country.


Natchiappan also reiterated his earlier proposal that all out efforts should be made to address the crying need to improve the quality of judges and the setting up the All India Judicial Service could be considered as the most viable option.


Arabs demand immediate Gaza cease-fire
UNITED NATIONS (AP): Arab nations demanded on Saturday night that the U.N. Security Council call for an immediate cease-fire following Israel's launch of a ground offensive in Gaza, a view echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.


Libya circulated a draft statement to council members expressing ``serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza'' and calling on Israel and Hamas ``to stop immediately all military activities.''


The 15-member council then held emergency consultations behind closed doors to discuss the proposed presidential statement, which would also call for all parties ``to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza.'' Steps would include reopening border crossings.


Council diplomats said the United States opposed the presidential statement because it was similar to a press statement issued by members after Israeli warplanes launched the offensive a week ago which was not heeded. Presidential statements become part of the council's official record but press statements are weaker and do not.


The five permanent council members _ the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China _ along with Libya, the only Arab nation on the council, then met privately to discuss possibly issuing another press statement.


US blocks UNSC attempt to seek ceasefire in Gaza
United Nations The US has blocked an attempt in the powerful UN Security Council to express serious concern over the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza after eight days of air strikes and to call for an immediate ceasefire, asserting that it would ‘not be adhered to and have no underpinning for success’.
Insisting that Tel Aviv's right to self defence is not negotiable, US Ambassador Alejandro D Wolff put the entire blame for the current crisis on Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which controls Gaza, saying Washington cannot equate the actions of Israel, a UN member, with those of a terror group.


"There is no equivalence there," he remarked after a three and a half hour emergency closed-door meeting of the 15-member Council late last night.


Wolff said Hamas is in violation of earlier agreements and there are no prospects of it abiding by the statement issued by the Council last Sunday calling for immediate truce.


"Any statement at this point of time would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, would do no credit to the Council," he told reporters after the meeting.


As the diplomats came out of closed-door meeting held at the request of Libya to take stock of the ground invasion by Israel, Arabs expressed frustration that the Council could not agree even on a press statement, even though most members were agreeable on the elements.


Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council, told reporters that they could not agree on any statement, though there were ‘strong convergences’ on basic elements.


The members, Ripert said, expressed serious concern on escalation of violence and deterioration of the situation in Gaza and southern Israel.


They supported "immediate permanent and fully respected" ceasefire, expressed "deep concern" over humanitarian situation in Gaza and favoured free access to humanitarian supplies.


They also supported call for protection of civilians and regional and international efforts being made to resolve the crisis as also the need for parties to go back to the negotiation table.


Though Ripert did not name the member state which blocked any statement, Arab diplomats later identified the US as the hold out, saying that Washington did not want even to issue the statement on the lines of the one the Council did on Sunday last.


American Ambassador Woff did nothing to contradict what the Arabs had said as he laid all blame on Hamas.


The problem that the region is facing, he said, is Hamas' continuing rocket attacks on Israel. "The efforts we are making ... are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire" and that means no more rocket attacks.


It is important not go back to status quo ante by allowing Hamas to threaten Israelis and continue to bring deprivation to the people in Gaza, he said.


The emergency meeting was convened ahead of the arrival here of Arab Foreign Ministers to press the United Nations to adopt an Arab-sponsored resolution which was moved by Libya a week ago.


They are expected to hold a meeting among themselves and then call on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and permanent and elected members of the Council separately.


Council diplomats say there could be an open meeting of the Council on Tuesday in which the Arab Foreign Ministers could take part.


As the Council began closed door meeting last night, it had before it a text of a statement drafted by Arabs which expressed "serious concern at the escalation of situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of ground offensive by Israel. It also called on all parties to declare immediate ceasefire and to stop immediately all military activity.


British Ambassador John Sawers expressed "disappointment" about the Council's failure to agree on a statement and called for, among other things, an end to smuggling of arms from Egypt to Gaza which sustained the capacity of Hamas to fight.


But Egyptian diplomats took strong objection to his statement, saying that no such thing was happening.


A statement, unlike a resolution, needs the concurrence of all Council members though it is way down in importance than a resolution.


Council diplomats said that the United States, which is a permanent member, could not be persuaded to either back the Libyan draft or a watered down version of it.


Wolff maintained that there is no use of issuing statements which are not going to be observed. The Arabs do not agree with Washington's view and thus the Council is deadlocked.


Permanent Palestinian observer Riyad Mansour said Israel cannot continue to behave as a state above the international law and the Council needs to stop the aggression.


BJP plans to corner Omar on Amarnath row


Ishfaq Naseem
Posted: Dec 31, 2008 at 1144 hrs IST


Jammu The BJP will take the Government led by Omar Abdullah to task on the issue of Amarnath agitation and the discrimination meted out to Jammu.
The party will decide on the line of action to be taken in the new Assembly at a meeting of all its 11 legislators.


The party is depending on old stalwarts, including former MoS for Defence Chaman Lal Gupta, and new faces like Prof Gharu Ram, Sukh Nandan Kumar and Bharat Bhushan Bodhi to corner the Government.


Besides demanding that the Government shouldn’t interfere in the functioning of the Amarnath Shrine Board, the BJP will target the Government on the issue of Jammu being discriminated in the representation of Assembly seats. “Delimitation is our main demand. There are Assembly seats in Kashmir which are spread over a population of 60,000 while in Jammu, on average, an Assembly seat is spread over a population of 80,000. Jammu region has always faced discrimination. Under the Ghulam Nabi Azad Government, while daily wagers in Kashmir were being paid Rs 2,100 a month, their counterparts in Jammu were getting only Rs 500. The former CM is shedding crocodile tears by saying that Jammu has lost in the BJP win,” said BJP state president Ashok Khajuria.


He said the party would have no problem in supporting the Congress in starting an exercise of fresh delimitation of Assembly seats. Earlier, the Azad-led Government had brought a Bill in the Assembly to carry out fresh delimitation of Assembly constituencies, which fell due to the lack of support by other parties.


Khajuria said they would also demand that those having the custodian property of the people who have migrated to the other side of the border in the earlier wars with Pakistan should get the ownership rights. “There is no need for a Custodian Department. Also, we will ensure that the Pakistani and PoK refugees get their due rights,” he added.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/BJP-plans-to-corner-Omar-on-Amarnath-row/404713/


Times of India reports on AUTO ROIOT in KOLKATA:
Around 10.25 am, violence erupted a few hundred yards away on No-4 bridge. A brick smashed through the windscreen of a government bus moving towards EM Bypass. The driver, conductor and passengers were dragged down, and the vehicle was torched. Police and firemen rushed to the spot and doused the flames, but the bus was charred.


While police battled flames in Park Circus, the mob moved towards Topsia and started harassing taxi passengers. Before police could arrive, another state bus and some other vehicles were damaged. As police were busy removing the damaged vehicles, a gang of 20-25 attacked two other government buses on the Park Circus end of No-4 bridge. The mob dispersed as soon as police moved in.


A gang of hooligans struck near the Circus Avenue end of AJC Bose Road flyover around 11.45 am. A government bus on its way to Salt Lake was waiting at a red signal when seven-eight people ordered all the passengers and staff off, and torched it. The gang vanished quickly. Police had no clue about it until they saw the smoke. "It was behind a number of other vehicles. We rushed towards it on noticing smoke.
By the time, we got there, it was engulfed in flames," a police officer said.


Trouble then spread to CIT Road, where Citu joined the fray. A government bus slowed down for a Citu rally near Ladies Park when two people (not from the rallyists) boarded the vehicle. They dragged out the driver, conductor and passengers. Two others doused the bus with diesel from its own tank and struck a match to it. The bus was gutted before police could arrive.


Police had had enough by this time and started conducting raids in the lanes and bylanes. This resulted in snap demonstrations, triggering traffic jams. Around 3 pm, a CSTC bus was damaged on the Park Circus side of Bridge No. 4.


Ten persons were arrested for the Park Circus violence and one from CIT Road. The 18 arrested for Friday's violence were produced in Alipore Court and remanded in judicial custody till January 12. Two of them have been identified as notorious criminals from Tollygunge.


Roads were blocked at Ekbalpore, Ultadanga, Taratala and Howrah Bridge too, but there was no major disruption. No autorickshaw was seized during the day.


"We did not conduct raids as there were no autos on the streets today," said Pradip Chatterjee, joint commissioner (administration).


Trinamool Congress workers blocked the road near Palm Avenue (where the chief minister lives) till around 6 pm. Home secretary Ardhendu Sen said nobody would be allowed to create any trouble near Palm Avenue as it was a high-security zone. "No additional security measures have been taken though," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kolkata_/Mobs_on_smash__burn_rampage/articleshow/3933012.cms


Prachanda says Pashupatinath move not targeted at Indians
Kathmandu (PTI): Fissures seemed to be appearing in Nepal's ruling coalition on Sunday with a key ally flaying Maoists for trying to "capture" Pashupatinath temple, but the premier sought to calm tempers saying appointment of Nepalese priests in place of Indians was being "pointlessly politicised".


Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said he did not intend to displace the South Indian 'Bhatta' brahmins, who had overseen rituals at the temple for the past 300 years.


The appointment of Nepalese priests in place of Indians was a "mere coincidence" and not intended to oust the former, he told leaders of various small parties here.


The former guerrilla leader's comments came a day after Nepal's dethroned King Gyanendra, who was once seen as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, appealed to the people not to "politicise" the dispute at the temple, which was stormed by Maoist cadres to install local priests defying a court order.


However, another Maoist minister seemed to be taking a tougher stand when he said the government would allow Nepalese priests to conduct worship despite a stay by Supreme Court.


Gopal Kirati, Minister for Culture and State Restructuring, said he would not re-instate the sacked Indian priests and file a petition against the interim order.


He also said he would launch a three-month long awareness campaign here to press for reforms in the temple management and hold rallies in support for the move, which had sparked protests in the country as well as in India.


Upendra Yadav, the Foreign Minister and leader of a party representing Indian-origin Madhesi people, today launched a scathing attack on Maoists, saying they were trying to "capture" Nepal's holiest Hindu shrine.


Another Indian priest, Ganesh Bhat, quit today as Maoists forcibly escorted two more Nepalese Brahmins into the temple to assist the new priests.



Phase-out chaos: Blame it on govt
4 Jan 2009, 0430 hrs IST, Subhro Niyogi, TNN


KOLKATA: The high court ban on two-stroke autos is not a bolt from the blue. Calcutta High Court only endorsed the government's scheme of things of 
"phasing out two-stroke autos completely by December 2008."


Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and transport minister Subhas Chakraborty were well aware of the phase-out plan because the high court had set the cut-off date for December 31, 2008, based on the environment department's notification of July 17 (S/EN/1517/611/08). It is another matter that the transport department did not take it seriously till the court passed the ban order on July 18. Why else did the public vehicles department (PVD) register two-stroke autos after the government notification in July?


The environment department notification clearly states that "registration of two-stroke autos should be stopped immediately by the PVD and such autos should be phased out completely by December 2008. Police should ensure the implementation of the aforementioned direction".


Sources in environment and transport departments said the draft notification was prepared after officials engaged in several rounds of discussion between May and July, chalking out a timeline that was viable, practical and could be implemented. The draft was then sent to the law department for approval. The chief secretary and advocate-general were also kept informed as it was they who had to present the government's seriousness of intent in cleaning up the city's air before Calcutta High Court.


"The timeline for phasing out two-stroke autorickshaws, petrol-run autos and commercial vehicles that are over 15 years old was framed after several rounds of discussion with the transport department. It is only when the latter agreed to the timetable as feasible for implementation that it was incorporated in the final draft. The high court directed the government to enforce it without delay," an environment department official said.


In fact, what the court's stamp of approval on the notification did was to prevent the government from doing a volte-face as it had done in the past. "The Green Bench was angry at the way the state appeared to have dragged its feet on a vital issue. It made its displeasure known in no uncertain terms when the environment department withdrew a notification that made it mandatory for vehicles to produce pollution under check (PUC) certificate during fuel purchase," green activist Subhas Datta recounted.


In fact, the notification issued this April was struck off in May following repeated requests for a temporary relief' by the transport department. "As many of the autos plying on Kolkata streets run without papers, obtaining PUC certificate was a problem as registration certificate has to be produced during emission testing," a source in the environment department said.


When Datta brought the withdrawal of the No PUC, No Fuel' notification to the Green Bench's notice in May, the court castigated the government. This led to the heads getting together to formulate the draft notification. The next day, the notification was placed by the advocate-general before Calcutta HC, which gave it legal sanction by adopting it as an order.


Moreover, since the notification is under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, it supersedes all other notifications as environment is of paramount importance.


Any change, especially an unplanned one, causes pain. But just about everyone except trade unions and politicians agree that this one's absolutely crucial. "It's happened in neighbouring Bangladesh too. In Dhaka, 50,000 autos have made the switch to LPG. If it can happen in a country as poor as Bangladesh, I don't see why it can't in Kolkata," he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kolkata_/Phase-out_chaos_Blame_it_on_govt/articleshow/3933011.cms


Transporters to go on strike from midnight; talks fail
4 Jan 2009, 1821 hrs IST, PTI


NEW DELHI: Supplies of essential commodities may get disrupted in the coming days with transporters going on an indefinite strike from midnight on 
Sunday after their talks with the government failed for the third time.


Transporters have demanded lowering diesel prices by Rs 10 per litre, besides the withdrawal of service tax on truckers.


Transporters also want a moratorium on all instalments and waiver of interest on truck finance for at least six months.


"Although the All India Motor Transport Congress thanks the secretary, ministry of road transport & highways, Brahm Dutt, for calling us for the third round of talks today, it is pitiable to note that nothing concrete came out from the talks and therefore, the proposed chakka jam from the midnight tonight is imminent," AIMTC said in a statement.


Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Jan. 3: Violence over the auto-rickshaw ban in the city worsened today as three government buses were set ablaze and two others badly damaged at and around Park Circus this morning, allegedly by members belonging to the Trinamul Congress-controlled Auto Banchao Committee (ABC). Police arrested 11 persons in connection with the incidents.
According to police, a group of ABC members intercepted a West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC) bus near Park Circus Bridge No. 4 and forced passengers to alight. Then, around 10.25 a.m., they set the bus on fire.
Within 10 minutes of the incident, another group of auto-rickshaw drivers stopped another WBSTC bus on the bridge, forced passengers to vacate the vehicle, and damaged the bus by pelting stones. The agitators retreated after a large police contingent led by senior police officers reached the spot. Locals alleged that the vandals also snatched cash and valuables from passengers. Two more government buses were set ablaze near Circus Avenue and Ladies Park on CIT Road around the same time. Police sent reinforcements to Park Circus following the violence.
Trouble also broke out at Rajabazar after 185 auto-rickshaw drivers decided to quit Citu, but were reportedly prevented from taking out a procession to join ABC by men owing allegiance to Citu. Police, however, promptly reached the spot and thwarted what could have been a major clash.
TMC supporters, meanwhile, took out a rally between SP Mukherjee Road and Bondel Road demanding the release of those arrested for yesterday’s rampage. The 18 people, arrested for damaging public property, were produced before the chief judicial magistrate of Alipore Court today and remanded in judicial custody till 12 January.
The 12-hour strike called today by ABC and Progressive Taximen’s Association greatly inconvenienced commuters, particularly in south Kolkata. The two unions were protesting against police high-handedness on union members. Around 25,000 auto-rickshaws plying on 200 routes in the city and 5,000 taxis stayed off the roads.
TMC and Citu leaders blamed each other for today’s incidents. Mr Kishor Ghosh, general secretary of the Citu-controlled West Bengal Auto Rickshaw Operators Union, held TMC responsible for the violence, but refuting the allegation, TMC MLA Mr Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay called the incidents “a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the party”. He said the TMC would stage a sit-in demonstration near Hazra Road on 6 January from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., following which ABC would meet the representatives of the auto unions affiliated to it to decide the future course of action.


Govt equivocal on ban
KOLKATA, Jan. 3: The state government today indicated it would “go slow” in its drive against illegal auto-rickshaws even as Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi deplored the “destruction of public property and disruption of public life”. Although chief secretary Mr AM Chakrabarti said Calcutta High Court’s order on the crackdown on polluting auto-rickshaws would have to be implemented, home secretary Mr Ardhendu Sen categorically said the state government was reconsidering the modalities of the clampdown. SNS
Details on Bengal
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=238824


‘Trinamul trying to break up the state’


Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Jan. 3: At a time when the state government is on the back foot over the ongoing agitation of auto-rickshaw drivers, the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, today went on an offensive against the Trinamul Congress accusing it of being in league with Jharkhand Party and Maoists to break the state. The charge of hatching a plot against the government had earlier been voiced by Mr Prakash Karat, party general secretary and Mr Biman Bose, party state secretary who were sharing the stage with the chief minister.
Paschim Midnapur, Purulia and Bankura are being sought to be carved out of this state by the Jharkhand Party, the chief minister said while speaking at the 43rd anniversary of the setting up of Ganashakti, a party organ. The Maoists and Trinamul Congress are in league with them, he added.
These two outfits were hand-in-glove at Nandigram in unleashing terror, he said. Now a Lalgarh squad has been floated whose activists are roaming around with bombs and guns, he said.
The Opposition in this state wants to retard its progress while their counterparts in other states work in tandem with the government for development, he observed. There has to be some introspection about who gained or lost at the departure of automobile industry from Singur, he said.  
The standard of living of the tribals have been raised in various respects in the past three decades, he said. But it is yet to reach the standard of living of that of the Opposition leaders, he said.     
Perhaps, the CIA archives would later reveal that a plot was hatched against the CPI-M and the Left Front government in 2006, 2007 and 2008, Mr Biman Bose, party state secretary said. It may state that the funds for this purpose was not given directly to any political party but disbursed to NGOs which had sprouted overnight, he said.
The Opposition is shedding crocodile tears at the plight of the tribals and Muslims, he said. These outfits had opposed the giving of land to the poor when the government's land reforms schemes were in progress, he said.  
As the state is the bastion of Left movement, those who do not like it are targeting it at home and abroad, party general secretary Mr Prakash Karat said. A plan is afoot to launch an onslaught against the CPI-M and Left Front, he said.
The Left would like to gather other forces around it to form a front against the BJP and the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said. This is necessary to chalk out a new economic policy as these two parties’ policies would spell disaster for the national economy, he added.


US airline says sorry to Indian-origin Muslim family


Agencies
Posted: Jan 03, 2009 at 1417 hrs IST


Washington A US airline has apologised to members of an Indian-origin Muslim family including three children, who were off loaded from a plane after co-passengers overheard what they thought was a ‘suspicious’ remark.
The family was not allowed to board the AirTran flight to Orlando from Washington after they were removed from the plane despite the FBI clearing them of any wrongdoing.


Kashif Irfan and his brother Atif, both Indian-Americans born in Detroit and based in Virginia, along with their wives, a sister and 3 children were removed from the filght before takeoff on Thursday after some passengers reported that one of them was discussing the safest place to travel in an airplane.


The airline refused to re-book the family despite FBI clearing them of any wrongdoing after interviewing them. Ultimately the FBI helped them book a flight on USAirways.


"We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did," AirTran said in a statement last evening. "But we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount."


The airline said it had refunded the family's money and offered to fly them back home to Washington free.


Kashif Irfan, a 34-year-old anesthesiologist, said he was ‘surprised’ by AirTran's apology, CNN reported.


The AirTran statement was an abrupt about-face for the airline, which came three hours after it had issued a press release without an apology.


The dispute occurred as Kashif and Atif, a tax attorney, boarded the AirTran flight 175 at Reagan National Airport near Washington for a trip to Orlando, Florida.


Federal officials, quoted by the media here, said some passengers on the plane told a flight attendant about a ‘suspicious’ conversation among the family members. The pilot then asked the air marshals to remove the passengers.


"The conversation, as we were walking through the plane trying to find our seats, was just about where the safest place in an airplane is," Inayet Sahin, Kashif's wife was quoted as saying by CNN.


"We were (discussing whether it was safest to sit near) the wing, or the engine or the back or the front. But that's it. We didn't say anything else that would raise any suspicion."


The conversation did not contain the words ‘bomb’, ‘explosion’, ‘terror’ or other words that might have aroused suspicion, Atif, 29, said.


"When we were talking, when we turned around, I noticed a couple of girls kind of snapped their heads," Sobia Ijaz, Atif's wife, was quoted as saying.


"I kind of thought to myself, 'Oh, you know, may be they're going to say something.' It didn't occur to me that they were going to make it such a big issue."


Authorities first removed Atif and Sobia, then returned for the rest of the family. They also removed a family friend, Abdul Aziz, a Library of Congress attorney who was coincidentally taking the same flight and had been seen talking with the family.


We should be proud of Deoband, BJP tells Cong


Press Trust of India
Posted: Jan 03, 2009 at 1958 hrs IST
Faizabad: The BJP on Saturday sought to turn the tables on Congress over the administrative reforms committee report which, according to the saffron party, ‘blacklisted’ Darul Uloom Deoband and demanded an apology from the grand old party in this regard. BJP national general secretary Vinay Katiyar said there was no question of banning the Islamic seminary and said, "We should be proud that we have Deoband like Islamic centre, which gives religious direction to the rest of the world." Quoting from the second administrative reforms report submitted by senior Congress leader Virappa Moily, he alleged, "On page 27 and 28, this report has blacklisted the Darul Uloom and accused the seminary of having contacts with terrorists and Pakistani leaders involved in anti-India activities."


Now the Centre is left with only two options:- if the report is correct it must take action or ban the institution and if wrong, Congress should immediately seek apologies from the Muslims.


Meanwhile, Deoband chief rector Maulana Marghuburrahman demanded that the Centre make the report public.


BJP spent Rs 100 cr in bypoll, alleges Kumaraswamy


 


 


Agencies
Posted: Dec 31, 2008 at 1536 hrs IST
Bangalore: JDS Karnataka unit president and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday alleged that the ruling BJP spent more than Rs 100 crore in the recent bypolls to the state assembly from eight Assembly constituencies. A day after the results were declared with the BJP winning five seats and the JDS three, Kumaraswamy said the amount of money spent by the the BJP in the eight segments has crossed Rs 100 crore.


"Our information is they (BJP) have spent Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore in each constituency", he alleged and said he was prepared to face a defamation case in this regard if the government files one.


Karnataka Government had filed a defamation case against Kumaraswamy on Monday for his statement that the Chief Minister had accepted a Rs 50 crore bribe from a private firm to award a contract to it.


"I am ready to face it (the defamation case) within the legal framework. I have been dragged to court. I am happy and I welcome it", he said.


Claiming that the executive director of the private firm Maverick Holding and Investments had publicly stated that "similar to the donation that one gave in temple, the firm had paid donation to the Government," he said ''Investigation would bring out the truth (in the matter).


Britain: No US request to resettle Gitmo inmates
LONDON (AP): Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the U.S. has not asked Britain to accept Guantanamo Bay detainees if the camp for terrorist suspects is closed.


President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to shut Guantanamo. Several European nations have said they are considering taking inmates who cannot be returned to their own countries because of the risk of persecution.


Former U.K. Attorney-General Peter Goldsmith said last week that Britain should be prepared to take in detainees if it helps the U.S. shut the camp.


Brown said Sunday that Britain supported the closure of Guantanamo but had not yet been asked to accept inmates.


Some 250 detainees remain at the U.S.-run camp in Cuba. Australia says it has been asked to accept detainees and declined.


Gordon Brown unveils plan to create 100,000 jobs
London (PTI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday unveiled plans for a 1930s American-style programme of public works to check recession affects by creating up to 100,000 jobs and build a low-carbon economy.


School repairs, new rail links, hospital projects and plans to usher in a new digital age by investing in superfast broadband will be used to keep unemployment down. Other key priorities for 2009 include an international agreement to reduce carbon emissions.


If Obama asks for more British troops for a surge in Afghanistan he may be disappointed, with the prime minister insisting that the priorities were to strengthen Afghan governance and involve Pakistan in fighting terrorism.


"The first question everybody starts by is saying 'What about the numbers?', but actually the first question is purpose and objectives and how we can achieve them," he said.


"We have increased our numbers in the past few weeks; we are the second-largest force in Afghanistan."


Speaking to the Observer, the prime minister pledged action within weeks to kickstart bank lending in an attempt to save existing jobs.


Brown even claimed his green plans would be bigger than Obama's planned multi-billion-dollar "Green New Deal", relative to the size of Britain's economy.


Brown is studying a scheme pioneered by Nissan to avoid redundancies in manufacturing which would see ailing firms given government funding to move staff on to part-time working and use the remaining time for training.


During the interview, Brown ruled out an early second recapitalisation of the banks; signalled opposition to deploying more British troops in Afghanistan and proclaimed a "historic opportunity" for an international deal on climate change.


Michelle Obama, daughters arrive in Washington
Washington (PTI): Giving a slip to a battery of media persons crazily following her, the future First Lady Michelle Obama along with daughters Malia and Sasha has arrived here ahead of her husband Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the US on January 20.


Landing in Washington last evening, a day ahead of their scheduled arrival, the three checked into the posh Hay-Adams hotel. The President-elect is expected to fly in from Chicago, his home town, shortly.


The family is staying in hotel, instead of the Blair House, a guest house on Lafayette Park where Presidents-elect normally stay before inauguration, as the White House informed them that it was already booked and was not available.


The future First Family has come to Washington some two weeks before inauguration so that Malia and Sasha can begin in time their classes at the prestigious Sidwell Friends School starting tomorrow.


Being daughters of the President of the United States, it is not going to be easy for both Malia and Sasha to adjust to their new school, media reports said.


On the first day itself, when they arrive at the school tomorrow they are expected to be greeted by a large number of reporters, photographers and television crew.


Even as the future First Lady entered into the hotel along with her two daughters -- of course covered by the SUVs of the Secret Services -- a small crowd had gathered at the entrance to greet them, local media reported.


None of them, however, got that chance.


"Michelle, welcome to D.C.!" Annette Martin, 51, yelled anyway, 'The Washington Post reported'. Another woman whispered, "She's probably heard that a lot already," the paper said.


Direction of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board
 
D I R E C T I O N
 


WHEREAS West Bengal Pollution Control Board (hereinafter will be referred to as the ‘State Board’), is entrusted to implement the provisions of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the purpose of protection of Environment and for the prevention and control of pollution in the State of West Bengal.


 


AND WHEREAS it is observed that due to extensive non-biodegradable use of plastic carry bags indiscriminately, different water courses have been affected creating adverse environmental impacts especially in coastal areas, forest areas, and also different tourists spots.


 


AND WHEREAS for the purpose of protecting the environment in the aforementioned areas, it has been decided that use, sale and processing of the plastic carry bags will be prohibited.


AND THEREFORE in exercise of the powers conferred under 33A of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and under Section 31A of Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the use, sale and processing of plastic carry bags are prohibited in the following areas from 15-09-2001 ;


i)   Entire Sunderban Area ;


ii)  Coastal Regulation Zone Area (Digha, Sankarpur, Frezerganj, Sagardwip, Bak  Khali etc.)


iii) Hilly areas of Darjeeling district ;


iv)  Entire Forest areas in West Bengal ;


2. In case of any violation of this order by any institution or by any industry or by any shop, the State Board will issue closure order and also will issue order for disconnection of electricity of the said institution or industry of shop as the case may be.


  3.     Officer in Charge of the concerned police station is also directed to oversee that the aforementioned direction is not violated in any manner and in case of any violation noted, immediate action under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code may be initiated against the violator.


  4.          Forest Department, Govt. of West Bengal, Digha Development Authority, Sunderban Development Board, concerned Municipal and Panchayat authorities and the district administration of Districts concerned should take necessary steps for proper execution and implementation of the aforementioned direction under intimation to the State Board.


 


By Order


Sd/- K.S. Ramasubban


Member Secretary


W. B. Pollution Control Board  


Dated :03/09/2001
http://wbenvironment.nic.in/html/legislation/dir_wbpcb.htm


Dividing the developing countries will spell disaster for Copenhagen and future climate negotiations
Date: 29/09/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Down to Earth
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


TagsChina, Climate Agreements, Climate Change, Climate Mitigation, Developing Countries, Emission Targets, European Union (EU), Japan, Kyoto Protocol, India


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Yu Qingtai, Ambassador and Special Representative, Climate Change Talks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China


talks to Pradip Saha about developing country imperatives in climate talks in face of increasing pressure from


developed countries to increase commitments


 



On sudden EU attempt to divide developing countries during Accra meetÀ


 


I don’t know if you could call it sudden attempt. It should be called a renewed attempt on the part of our friends from some of the developed


countries. Some of the eu arguments could be misleading. Of course we are all different. In the climate change


context, we all contribute to fight climate change. But the specific actions we take would be different from one another according to our national


conditions, respective capabilities, levels of development, technical knowledge capacities.In the ‘common but differentiated’ principle, when it


was first negotiated and agreed upon in the early 1990s, the differentiation was well defined. It is between two distinct groups of countries. A


group of countries which created the problem of global warming in the first place. And the other group, developing countries who suffer from this


problem created by the developed countries. And over the past 10 years or so this has been the critical cornerstone supporting international


cooperation in climate change. If you attempt to sabotage this very principle, the whole international cooperation to fight climate change would fall


apart. I am confident that all of us in the G77+China are well aware of the importance of unity.



On Sino-Indian cooperation in climate negotiationÀ


There are regular bilateral discussions between us. There are also close


co-ordination and collaboration at international level. Whether it is convention process, or the g 8+ process, or


major economy process, or regional conferences, or in the un, India and China have been working very closely and


very effectively. Within the G77+China, there is wider scope of working together in the negotiating process. China is very happy that the Indian


government and its people are taking climate change seriously. I was in the other room, couple of days ago, when the Indian delegation


presentated the National Action Plan. It was a very positive and timely move.



China and India are emerging as major economic powers in the world today. So it is more important that we remain close in coordinating,


collaborating at the international level on climate change among other issues.



On the sectoral approach initiated by the JapaneseÀ


Sectoral approach could be used by Annexe 1 countries to implement


their targets and commitments. But some countries have been trying to distort this concept of sectoral approach by proposing a set of standards


that would be applied across the globe regardless of different levels of development and capabilities. More critically, they want to use this


universal set of standards to measure the performance of each and every country and then establish what the country needs to do for mitigation.


This means that the burden of mitigation would basically fall on the developing countries. This goes against the ‘common but differentiated’


principle as developing countries lag behind the developed countries in technology and efficiency. I don’t know if our friends in the developed


world are prepared to go back to the original provisions in the protocol and in the convention as far as sectoral approach is concerned. As far as


g 77+China is concerned, this effort to promote sectoral approach will not get anywhere.



On finance and technology transfer by developed countriesÀ


These two are of most critical importance. The way they are


solved or not solved would determine the future of international co-operation to fight climate change. Transfer of finance is not to be looked as a


charity. If we go back to the convention, the developed countries made two commitments, to reduce their emissions and to provide financial


resources and technology transfer to support the developing countries fight climate change. In the last 17 years, nothing much has happened.


Once you talk about financial resources, they say that there must be creative approaches to financing. There is the market and there is the private


sector. But the commitment to provide financial resources were undertaken by developed country governments, not their business people, not


their tax payers. When we talk about technology transfer, again they would say that technology is in the hands of private business.
But it was a


government obligation. Governments should work out ways to make technology transfer possible. There are different ways of looking at how


these funds, once it becomes available would be managed through discussions. There is no point in talking about all kinds of methods of


managing a lot of money that just does not even exist.



On the nature of financial transferÀ


We are not here to talk about the traditional concept of Official Development Assistance


(oda). oda in the traditional sense should continue to be available for the developing


countries, particularly for Least Developed Countries, African countries, small island developing countries and be increased. But there is a need


for additional resources to help developing countries fight climate change and to adapt. The problem was created by the developed countries


and they need to come up with additional financial resources for developing countries. But there is hardly any additional resource available. They


just divert some part of the oda already committed, and place a climate change tag on it and come up with all


kinds of new conditionalities on developing countries. I think China and the rest of the developing countries should be firmly against this practice.


Additional funds are not a nice gesture but a political obligation under the convention.



On compliance of commitmentÀ


You could look at it from the legal perspective, but Kyoto protocol is essentially a political


commitment. If by the end of the first commitment period, there are countries that fail to meet their commitments, I think the conference of the


contracting parties to the convention would have to sit and look at what to do. And China would definitely be working actively within


class="UCASE">g 77+China to decide on this issue. But definitely, the key lies in ‘political intent’ as we say in Chinese.



On long-term approachÀ


There is a lot of discussion about what happens in 2050. But the Chinese position has always been


to see what happens in the next few years, or 5 or 10 years beyond 2012. Long term is very nice to discuss but it is more important to look at


what happenes within the first commitment period and in the five, ten, fifteen years beyond that. If you make nice statements about 2050 and


then do not fulfill commitments in the next five years, that will be meaningless.



On international campaign on China’s polluting economyÀ


In my work, in the last few years, I have met considerable number of


government officials, ngos, journalists in the developed world. One of the questions they kept asking was in


reference to the amount of emission from China. The answer is very simple. It is all there in the convention. You cannot look only at the current


emissions, you must also look at the historical cumulative emission, because that is the root cause for climate change and global warming.


Number two you cannot look at the aggregate alone without looking at per capita. I cannot accept the argument that somebody from the


developed world by birthright enjoys emission entitlement that is 3-4 times higher than me being born as a Chinese. So the answer to that is


easy. You cannot compare a country of 1.3 billion people and a country with a population of a quarter of a million. You compare the two, the


figures are there, but would that be a logical conclusion?



And a large part of Chinese production is exported to developed countries. That is why we insist that emission must be calculated from


consumption side.



On road to Copenhagen CoPÀ


I think China and India and rest of the developing countries believe that the Bali road map


was achieved only after very difficult negotiations. We wish to see a good agreement in Copenhagen which would show the road after 2012. But


it does not only depend on what we believe. We need good political intentions and seriousness from our developed partners. We must show up


together, as an international community and be serious about our responsibilities about our commitments. Frankly, I am worried about some of


the recent developments like the one you referred to earlier on about the sudden attempt to divide the developing world. All of us in this process


should stick to the fundamentals of the convention and the protocol and not create new problems, new distractions, new definitions, and to try to


reopen negotiations. That would be a disaster not only for Copenhagen but more importantly for this common fight against climate change.


http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/263871



'Maps of resource rich, poverty stricken tribal India overlap'
Date: 30/05/2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Down to Earth Vol: 16 Issue: 20070531
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 


Ethnic conflicts have dogged India since independence. The problem has attracted a lot of scholarship. Amarjyoti Borah talks to two eminent academics who have looked at the problem. Ram Dayal Munda, currently chief advisor, Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, puts the problem of tribal people in the country in perspective


Which areas in India are most prone to ethnic conflict?
These days unrest begins in Nepal, and proceeds down along forest lines to Kerala; from north Maharashtra it spreads to the east coast. Maps of forest-laden India, poverty-stricken India, illiterate India, and natural resource-rich India overlap. These areas are also coterminous with tribal India, a realm prone to ethnic conflicts.


What are the main reasons for the unrest?
Rural deprivation breeds unrest.Illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and insecurity are reasons that are interrelated. People rebel because their survival is threatened.


But a lot of violence is committed by educated young men who have options.
Most, actually, don't have options. People are lured into extremist groups for paltry sums, sometimes as low as Rs 1,500. Such violence will definitely come down, once the economic condition of people improves.


Today tribal lands are encroached by non-tribals. There is also violence for small jobs, which adds ‘fuel to fire'.


Why can't the tribal leadership across India organise tribals into a more powerful force, like the dalit leadership?
I don't think the dalits are doing any better. But they do have more political knowledge. Besides, they are more in number and have better access to the ‘system'.


Why are tribal leaders not visible in national politics?
It takes time for tribal people to become aware of politics, their political awareness is quite low. They have to come out to towns from rural areas.


Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have had tribal chief ministers who have done very little for tribal welfare.


They are not tribal states.


But they had tribal chief ministers.


It is the assembly which takes decisions, not the chief minister.


Is the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, against the indigenous people of the northeast?
Yes, and it is very unfortunate that the common people are at the receiving end of an act specifically designed to curb insurgency in the area.


Does the Indian economy have any role in adding fire to ethnic conflicts?
Yes. Unfortunately equal attention has not been paid to rural development. This year's budget stresses that. This realisation should have come much earlier.


Do transnational companies complicate matters?
Yes. Most mega developmental projects such as dams and express highways are taking place in tribal belts displacing many people. This can cause major conflicts.


Your views on the Narmada Bachao Aandolan (nba).


It's almost a failure and this is because people were mobilised far too late—after work on the dam started.


Its leadership doesn't have any tribals as well.


Awareness among tribal people is very low except in the northeast and Jharkhand. The leadership should have geared people up for a long-drawn battle. This, unfortunately, did not happen. Also a lot of people opted for the dam: a lot of money was used to ‘buy' supporters.


How would you compare nba with the agitation which succeeded in getting the ‘Koel Karo' dam in Jharkhand scrapped in 2004?
In Koel Karo, people were aware of ground realities, they set conditions for resettlement.The government couldn't resettle two villages, which made the people more suspicious and they hardened their agitation.


What can civil society groups learn from the two movements?
Civil society involvement was minimal in both the cases. Civil society actually wanted the dams. In both the cases, nobody except activists, was concerned.


Should protest be non-violent?
The state misuses power. It's better to use other means and not non-violence.


Your views on reservation in employment and in educational institutes.


Reservation can only have a limited impact. The government should give extra attention to children from weaker sections. After all, the purpose of reservation is to bring about an improvement in lives of the weaker section of people, and not a reduction in work quality.


http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/34278
Why waste a chance?
Date: 14/01/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Down to Earth Vol: 16 Issue: 20080115
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsColombia, Egypt, Informal Sector, Peru, Philippines, Private Sector, Rag Pickers, Urban Sanitation, Waste Disposal, Waste Processing, Waste Recycling, India, Sanitation, Solid Waste
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Something's changing in urban India. Cities are now being redesigned to fend for themselves, become ‘viable' entities on the balance sheet. Every bit of infrastructure and service is being packaged as an investment opportunity. It's called urban entrepreneurism. Goodbye government, hello markets.


In this heady new world, waste occupies an important position, not merely because of its physical attributes but because of services required to manage it. There is a shifting understanding of waste as the new wealth. The idea of wealth from waste has been popular since the late 1980s. Now, bolstered by public interest litigation, there is a paradigm shift towards capital-intensive, large-scale privatization of solid waste management services. Municipalities sub-contract agencies to help set up privatization via a global bid. Typically, this is for collection and transportation of waste, sometimes collection from the doorstep.A few contractors get advertising rights to dhalaos — neighbourhood disposal points. And end-point technologies depend on private players. A recent study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 25 Indian cities found that only two cities hadn't privatized some part of the formal waste system. The conclusion? "Huge scope for privatization in solid waste management.' 
But waste has always been managed and recycled by indigenous private players in India. Almost 1 per cent of urban populations are estimated to be involved in recycling. Wastepickers, itinerant buyers, junk dealers—these are our indigenous waste handlers. For them, waste is lucrative because it generates the next meal. Theirs is an investment of time, labour and acquired skills. The cost is their health.


They have few opportunities to leap into the formal sector and no social security. With low capital investments and no subsidies, the informal sector recycles between 9- 59 per cent of the total waste generated in urban India, depending on the city or town you are looking at.


These private players are excluded from the grand plans for waste management; perhaps because they are embedded in everyday life, perhaps because the fruit of their low capital investment is poorly appreciated. Casting such smaller players aside, policymakers imagine privatization as a capital-intensive investment for well-networked entities. Most contracts in India seek investment capacity, fleet ownership and similar large assets. Few seek proven efforts in the field. To become a new-age waste contractor, you don't need to know about waste. But being rich is essential.


Privatization's only occasional concession is a patronizing one: through hiring ‘bin guides'. These involve a single person, sometimes a wastepicker, to the exclusion of all others. They keep the disposal points clean. This creates a new ‘professional' individual outside indigenous systems, rupturing collective earning capacity for the poor. Women, for example, lose the flexibility to look after homes or pick or sort waste at convenient times, unable to contribute to family income.


Private contractors, owners of the recyclable waste, sell it all to the biggest dealers, if not factories. A long chain that includes hundreds of small junk dealers breaks. It is the fencing of urban common property resources.


The informal sector can't compete in this unequal playing field. Being denied resources to independently trade materials is a deep demotion. Wastepickers and small scrap dealers collaborate and compete through unwritten codes of conduct, kinship and community or peer pressure, resulting in one of the highest rates of recycling in the world.


A popular understanding of privatization is that it results in municipal savings. The World Bank, in its 2006 report, Improving Management of Municipal Solid Waste in India : Overview and Challenges, agrees that there is a 20-40 per cent reduction. However, it says, "One of the reasons for the relatively lower costs incurred by the contractor is quoted as differential wages, particularly when private contractors tend to pay lower than minimum wages to their sanitary workers.' Savings arise from depriving workers, a fact borne out empirically even in Delhi.


In a country with rapid urbanization and 300 million people earning under a dollar a day, dislocating and disenfranchising the poor their jobs is against public interest. A paper in the 2007 summer edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review emphasizes that stable jobs are the best way out of poverty. Author Aneel Karnani says, "If societies are serious about helping the poorest of the poor, they should stop investing in microcredit and start supporting large labour-intensive industries.' The new privatization of waste works in the opposite direction.


But the poor aren't the only losers. The rest of the city loses too, we've recently seen. Last year, the German bilateral agency gtz and the Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste Management (cwg) asked a question: what is the economics of informal sector recycling? Their results, culled from six developing world cities across the continents, are lessons for us.


They found that the informal sector significantly subsidized the cost of waste handling and recycling. In the formal sector, there was a cost to recycling. In the informal sector, there was a benefit. The data from Cairo showed that the informal sector's handling cost per tonne of waste was $4.30, and the formal sector, $14.40. In Lima, the tonnes per person handling waste, including recycling, in the informal and formal sector was an astounding 1:30 ratio. The study concluded it was a "bad idea' for formal sector players to colonize recycling.


If the informal sector went away, the costs of recycling would rise dramatically. In the Philippines, it costs the informal sector 17 euros per tonne for waste recycling. For the same work, the formal sector must spend 81 euros. This matters to both the city and citizens, because they will finally finance these rising costs.


Delhi is a good example of poor waste policy and privatization. The terms of the contract, made by the Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation for the Municipal Council of Delhi, only perfunctorily mentions wastepickers, ignores several other informal recyclers, reduces segregation standards and worsens work conditions. The recyclables also belong to the private operators. In Delhi, the private operators must segregate only 20 per cent in the final and eighth year of operations—a lowering of standards from the over 90 per cent by wastepickers. Consequently, many low-value materials are incentivized to be landfilled, morphing from resources to pollutants.


Clashes become inevitable. Documentation by Chintan Environ-mental Research and Action Group, in New Delhi's R K Puram area, showed that the contractors often intimidate, abuse, harass and even beat wastepickers who attempt to ‘break into' a newly privatized space to carry out their earlier work. Wastepickers collecting waste from the doorstep were disallowed from entering bins for secondary segregation. They took all the waste home, impacting the health of entire communities. Some were stopped from disposing off waste in dhalaos, if they removed the recyclables from it.


India isn't unique in its rich informal recycling sector. Other countries have this too, and they've preserved the system well. Many of them have been able to make good inclusive policy. In Argentina, a zero-waste decree makes it mandatory for private waste handlers to provide facilities for the informal sector to segregate and store recyclable waste. In Rosario, wastepickers have recycling infrastructure and the training to use it. In the Philippines, junk dealers are licensed and performance standards created. Wastepickers at the Smokey Mountain are helped to work safely.


In Colombia, In 2003, under Decree 1713, part 1505, wastepickers are included in solid waste management plans. This was backed by a strong cooperative movement and federation.


Given how Indian policymakers obsess with being world class, these are examples to learn from. If there is one guiding principle that municipal officials must remember, it is this: It is cost effective to encourage the informal sector to work. Recycling more than pays for itself, in this sector. If the informal sector had priority access to all recyclable waste, an important first step would have been taken. This would require backstopping in the form of space for secondary segregation and storage. The non-motorized transport of this sector—cycle rickshaws, non-polluting and green—should be accommodated too.


But this is not enough. Future privatization must take the form of small contracts of under Rs 20 lakh, where micro-enterprises can compete. Current contracts must be stopped, for they are deleterious to India's own stated vision for progress and the Millennium Development Goals. And only inert, non-recyclable waste should be in landfills. Everything else must be recycled, composted or bio-methanated locally. This can save on transportation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, and stop the poor from becoming poorer. Labour is one of the main skills of the urban poor. Combined with innovation and embedded in good policies, it offers them hope. Otherwise, they are doomed to remain poor, with huge social and economic costs for everyone.


Urbanization rates forecast for India means that our towns and cities will simultaneously house more poor and generate more waste. They can be the sites for innovative policy that addresses both environmental sustainability and urban poverty. Waste provides an invaluable opportunity to do this. Why ignore it, then?


Bharati Chaturvedi is Director,Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, Delhi


http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/879



Report on environmental issues of chromite mining in Sukinda valley
Date: Nov 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Orissa State Pollution Control Board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Attachments: Environmental_Issue_of_Sukinda_Valley.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsEnvironment Impact Assessment (EIA), Environment Management, Health Effects, Minerals, Orissa, Rehabilitation, SPM, Air Pollution, Mining, Water Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Orissa accounts for about 98% of the total proved chromite (chromium ore)reserves of the country, of which about 97% occur in the Sukinda Valley, over an area covering approximately 200 sq. km., in the Jajpur district. Presently there are 14 chromite mines operating in Sukinda. Out of these, one mine, Mahagiri Chromite Mines (IMFA) has started its operation of mining lumpy
chromite, recently at the foot hills of the Mahagiri hill range. So far no mine drainage water has been generated. The following report pertains to the impacts of the remaining 13 mines.
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/report-environmental-issues-chromite-mining-sukinda-valley


SEZs and socialism
Date: 30/01/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Down to Earth Vol: 16 Issue: 20080131
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, Development, Goa, Land Ownership, Land Resources, Public Participation, Rural Development, Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Water Conservation, India, Mining
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


the Goa chief minister's unwillingness to allow special economic zones (sez s)in his state must have mildly zapped his central colleagues (see p 24). Has he become a socialist? Doesn't he aspire for his state? But what Digambar Kamat did was to please his electorate; his energy has deflated the commerce ministry and it seems Goa sez s are going to be denotified. We must ask: so it is easy to get rid of the idea of sez, right? There are anti- sez protests in every state, against special treatment to industrialists whose interests amount to creating private states within the union of India, propelled primarily by farmers. Outbursts usually dealt with violent forces, gunshots. How come the Goa cm responded positively?


Protesters in Goa speak in English, and have a large middle class component of those who have seen their land ravaged by mining and property developers. Opposition in other states is ‘vernacular', led by poor farmers the state and a section of media can volubly dismiss as an inarticulate lot. They don't understand growth, is the buzz. (Please note rich farmers are protected; the survey post never springs up on their land.)


All chief ministers are intelligent enough to realize that providing free electricity and water at a discount to industries that will generate very little local employment will not bring much prosperity to their state. But the game goes on. Trashing subsidy to agriculture is a shame. For all efforts are to prove agriculture unviable, and hand over precious natural resource to private developers.


Fortunately, the great Indian social set-up is not unidirectional (see p 28-34). Hiware Bazar has proved the rural economy can be so profitable that it brings all villagers, who had earlier fled to cities, back. They have done this by simply using a state-run programme, the Employment Guarantee Scheme (egs), a small amount, creatively, just conserving soil and water. The small egs money is good enough to turn one-fourth of the village into millionnaires. They reckon the dignity of prosperity lies in collectively creating and then harvesting bountiful capital, a model the exact opposite of giving away precious natural resources to private profiteers at a devalued rate.


It is not surprising that the centre, in response to a supreme court question, has validated ‘socialism' in the constitution (p 11). Outside the preamble, official policies irrespective of political hue prove otherwise. It is absurd that the rhetoric of socialism has become good ad copy for the state.
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/2898


Government Institutions
Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research
Tags: Energy, Coal, Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research (CSIR), Dhanbad (D), Jharkhand, Minerals, Mining Research
Address: Barwa Road, Dhanbad,
Tel: 91-326-2296023, 2296006, 2296003, 2296004, 2296005
Fax: 91-326 2296025
Web URL: http://cmriindia.nic.in/
Objectives
The newly formed national laboratory, the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) Dhanbad, is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) was aimed to provide R&D inputs for the entire coal-energy chain from mining to Consumption through integration of the Core Competencies of the two (CFRI & CMRI) premier Coal institution of the country.



Denial of the rural
Date: 14/09/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Down to Earth
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bharat Dogra


TagsEconomic Development, Migration, Rural Habitat, Rural Poverty, Traditional Knowledge, Urban Habitat, Urbanisation, Habitat And Urbanisation, India, Poverty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


85 per cent urban population will be a disaster


 


A tendency has been gaining ground in some influential circles lately that India’s development is closely and necessarily linked to a path of very


rapid urbanization. Finance Minister P Chidambaram forcefully articulated this view recently (in an interview to Tehelka, May 31, 2008).


He said, “My vision of a poverty free India will be an India where a vast majority, something like 85 per cent, will eventually live in cities.”



Currently, only about 30 per cent of India’s people live in cities and about 70 per cent live in villages. So Chidambaram’s vision means a massive


transfer of 55 per cent population from villages to cities. How does he justify such massive relocation? Chidambram says, “In an urban


environment it is easier and more efficient to provide water, electricity, education, roads...security rather than in 600,000 villages.” Several


long-suffering city dwellers will no doubt ask that if that is so, then why are water and electricity shortages so acute in our cities? Why are so many


urban children out of school? Why is the crime rate so high? If this is the situation when about 30 per cent of population live in cities, what will be


the situation when 85 per cent live in cities?



But the most basic issue relates to Chidambaram’s emphasis on depopulation of villages, so that rural dwellers are reduced to 15 per cent from


70 per cent. Such massive transfer of population will mean that land will have to be cultivated in a highly mechanized way, the sort of costly


mechanization that only the corporate sector will be able to afford. So it is most likely that in the villages of Chidambaram’s vision, farming will be


dominated by corporate sector and/or very big farmers. Such agriculture will be necessarily more energy-intensive. Mechanization might


increase production in the short term in a few areas, but within a few years soil health and land fertility will suffer and energy costs will become too


heavy.



Also, how will millions of families that are supposed to leave villages get a satisfactory livelihood, assuming they get some sort of housing? It is


well known that modern industry is capital-intensive and has low employment potential. Opportunities of government employment have been


getting lesser, not increasing, in many areas. An India of 85 per cent urban dwellers could easily mean a lot more unemployment and a lot more


discontent and crime.



It is also not correct to say that it is more difficult to provide basic facilities in villages. In fact in a rural setting the dependence on energy-intensive


life style is less. At the same time there is a huge potential to make villages self-reliant in energy by choosing a location-specific mix of windmills,


micro-hydel and watermills, solar energy, bio-gas etc. Similarly water-shortages can be more effectively tackled in villages by water-conservation,


water-harvesting and by repair and maintenance of traditional water sources. Education based on equal opportunities and education which


brings children closer to nature also has more potential in villages.



A troublesome aspect of ideas which support massive depopulation of villages is that these can be easily used to justify projects that involve


large-scale displacement. Chidambaram does assert, “If the laws are inadequate, strengthen them, but in the name of the environment...please


don’t say that the poor should remain poor for the next five thousand years.” When asked about opposition to Vedanta and


class="UCASE">posco projects on mining and steel, in Orissa, Chidambaram says, “This could be categorised as a conspiracy of the


socially driven classes to keep poor people poor. What is the quality of life we’re talking about? These districts of Orissa have remained poor


since the earth dawned.” The reality is that many villages in Orissa, and in other states, are humming with activities, capable of providing


sustainable livelihoods to several generations. As any school child of Orissa will tell you, the state’s history is full of rich examples of sustainable


livelihoods based on rich traditional wisdom in agriculture, crafts, forestry.



Bharat Dogra is a senior journalist
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/263802



Life for production, sale of fake drugs
Date: 18/07/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Asian Age (New Delhi)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsDrugs, Government Of India (GOI), Parliament
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


It will be life imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for those found guilty of sale and production of spurious drugs in the country.
Not only this, this offence has been made non-bailable and will be heard only at the special designated court which will be set up by Centre in collaboration with state governments and the judiciary.
At present such an offence is liable to five years of imprisonment and Rs 10,000 penalty.
The Centre gave its approval on Thursday to move official amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetics Amendment Bill, 2005 which is pending in Rajya Sabha.
The bill has also proposed stricter punishments for spurious ayurvedic, unani and siddha medicines, where imprisonment of five years and penalty of Rs 10,000 have been proposed.
Also, for misbranding on these products, the punishment will be one year imprisonment and Rs 20,000 fine.
The bill proposes imprisonment for a term for not less than 10 years which may be extended to life term and fine of not less than Rs 10 lakhs or three times value of the drugs confiscated, whichever is more, for a person involved in manufacture and sale of spurious drugs.
The central government had constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of former director general, CSIR, R.A. Mashelkar in 2003 to undertake a comprehensive examination of the problem of spurious drugs.
The committee recommended for the enhancement of penalties, setting up of special courts for speedy trials and making the offences relating to spurious drugs non-bailable.
Based on these recommendations, a bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 2003 which lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
It was again introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2005 and would help contain the problem of manufacture and trade of spurious drugs.
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/life-production-sale-fake-drugs
Government Institutions
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Tags: Chemical Fertilisers, Delhi, Pesticides, Pesticides And Toxins
Address: Shastri Bhavan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road,
Tel: 91-11-23383430, 23383814
Fax: 91-11-23386222, 23387892
Objectives
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is the administrative unit of two departments namely:- Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Department of Fertilizers. The ministry is headed by Minister of Chemicals and fertilizers.


Food Policy
Posted under: News
Imported food items flout Indian laws
Karthik Madhavan


Labour Department can initiate action against seller


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A few items like jellies do not sport the name and address of the manufacturer


There is no mention about the date of manufacture and date of expiry


Date: 03/01/2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Hindu (Chennai)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsFood Safety, Imports, Tamil Nadu, Food Policy, India
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
Ban organic farming totally, says expert
Basavashree awardee and exponent of natural farming method Subhash Palekar has demanded for total ban on organic farming.


Addressing a press meet in the city on Thursday, he condemned the State Government for establishing organic farming mission.


Date: 26/12/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Deccan Herald (Bangalore)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, Karnataka, Organic Farming, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: Reports and Documents
The impact of climate change and adaptation on food production in low-income countries
This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of climate change on food production in a typical low-income developing country. Furthermore, it provides an estimation of the determinants of adaptation to climate change and the implications of these strategies on farm productivity. The analysis relies on primary data from 1,000 farms producing cereal crops in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia.


Date: Dec 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: International Food Policy Research Institute
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Attachments: Sec08-adap-IFPRIDP.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, Climate Adaptation, Climate Change, Food Security, Rainfall, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: Reports and Documents
The state of food insecurity in the world 2008
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 represents FAO’s ninth progress report on world hunger since the 1996 World Food Summit(WFS). This report focuses on high food prices, which are having a serious impact on the poorest populations in the world, drastically reducing their already low purchasing power. High
food prices have increased levels of food deprivation, while


Date: Dec 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: FAO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Attachments: food insecurity 2008.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, China, FAO, Food Prices, Food Security, Global, Malnutrition, Starvation, Food Policy, India, Poverty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
Central expert takes stock of new paddy plantation system
The director of rice under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in New Delhi, MC Dibakar, recently visited the paddy fields of Nalbari district to take stock of the progress of the newly-introduced System of Rice Intensification (SRI). He also interacted with the farmers to share the experiences of this new system of rice production.


Date: 15/12/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Assam Tribune (Guwahati)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAssam, Food Security, Nalbari (D), Rice, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: Reports and Documents
Anatomy of a crisis: the causes and consequences of surging food prices
This latest IFPRI paper is a comprehensive review of the causes and consequences of recent increases in international food prices. Is based on the best and most recent research and includes fresh theoretical and empirical analysis.


Author(s): Derek Heady, Shenggen Fan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Date: Dec 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: International Food Policy Research Institute
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Attachments: IFPRIDP00831.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsBiofuel, Economic Development, Food Prices, Global, Food Policy, India, Poverty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
FAO demands $30 bn bailout for agriculture
Surinder Sud / New Delhi November 24, 2008, 0:11 IST


A United Nations agency has warned of negative impact of the global financial crisis on agriculture in the developing countries and has called for an agricultural bailout package of $30 billion annually to ward off hunger and food riots.


Date: 24/11/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Business Standard (New Delhi)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, Economy, FAO, Food Prices, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
The food crisis
The high food prices that have sparked riots in many parts of the developing world - from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh to Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti -should come as no surprise. These are only the latest in a series of events many developing countries have suffered as a result of opening their borders and neglecting domestic agriculture.


Date: 21/11/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: New Nation (Bangladesh)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsBangladesh, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
Bangladesh in hunger index
BANGLADESH has been ranked 70th among 88 nations in the global hunger index (GHI) as reported by media recently. From January 2007 to June 2008, one-third of all the countries, for which GHI was calculated, suffered from a violent or non-violent protest, with multiple occurrences in Bangladesh, according to the report prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute.


Date: 20/11/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: New Nation (Bangladesh)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsBangladesh, Starvation, Food Policy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Posted under: News
Price fall, credit crunch may hit agri output: FAO
Amid the international financial crisis, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned that falling food prices and reduced access to credit are likely to hit the agricultural production, threatening global food security.


Date: 15/11/2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Business Standard (New Delhi)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
TagsAgriculture, FAO, Food Prices, Food Security, Food Policy


http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/taxonomy/term/289


No comments: