இந்திய ஜனநாயக கட்சி தொடங்கினார் வேந்தர் டி.ஆர்.பச்சமுத்து

2011-ம் ஆண்டு தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடப்போவதாக அறிவிப்பு

சென்னை, ஏப்.29-

எஸ்.ஆர்.எம். பல்கலைக்கழக வேந்தர் டி.ஆர்.பச்சமுத்து இந்திய ஜனநாயக கட்சியை தொடங்கினார். இந்த கட்சி 2011-ம் ஆண்டு தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடப்போவதாக அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

புதிய கட்சி உதயம்

எஸ்.ஆர்.எம். பல்கலைக்கழக வேந்தர் டி.ஆர்.பச்சமுத்து புதியதாக அரசியல் கட்சியை தொடங்கியுள்ளார். அந்த கட்சிக்கு இந்திய ஜனநாயக கட்சி என்று பெயர் சூட்டப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இந்த கட்சியின் நிறுவன தலைவர் டி.ஆர்.பச்சமுத்து கட்சியின் கொடியை அறிமுகப்படுத்தி சென்னையில் நிருபர்களுக்கு பேட்டி அளித்தார். அப்போது அவர் கூறியதாவது:-

மக்களுக்கு சேவை செய்தால் உண்மையான மன நிம்மதி கிடைக்கும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையில் இந்த கட்சியை தொடங்கி உள்ளேன். நான் பிறந்த சமுதாய மக்களுக்காக சேவை செய்ய பாரி நற்பணி மன்றம் என்ற சேவை மையத்தை தொடங்கி ஒருவருடம் ஆகிறது. இந்த மன்றத்தின் மூலமாக ஏழை மக்களுக்காகவும், சுகாதார மேம்பாட்டிற்காகவும் பல உதவிகளை செய்துள்ளேன். பாரி நற்பணி மன்றத்தில் 3 லட்சம் இளைஞர்கள் உறுப்பினர்களாக உள்ளனர். பாரி நற்பணி மன்றம் இன்று அரசியல் கட்சியாக உதயமாகிறது.

கொடி அறிமுகம்

இந்த கட்சி முறையாக தேர்தல் கமிஷனிடம் பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டு இதற்கான அங்கீகாரம் கிடைத்துள்ளது. இந்திய ஜனநாயக கட்சி தமிழகத்தில் மட்டும் அல்லாமல் தேசிய கட்சியாவதற்கும் முயற்சி எடுத்துக்கொண்டு இருக்கிறோம். எல்லா மாநிலத்திலும் எங்கள் கட்சியில் சேர இளைஞர்கள் ஆர்வமாக உள்ளனர்.

எங்கள் கட்சியின் கொடியின் மேல் பகுதி சிவப்பு நிறத்திலும், நடுப்பகுதி வெள்ளை நிறத்திலும், கீழ்பகுதி சிவப்பு நிறத்திலும் உள்ளது. மேல் பகுதியின் சிவப்பு நிறம் தியாகத்தையும், வெள்ளை நிறம் அமைதியையும், கீழ் பகுதியில் உள்ள சிகப்புநிறம் புரட்சியையும் குறிக்கிறது.

நாளைக்கே ஆட்சியைப் பிடித்து பெரிய தலைவர் ஆகவேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் எல்லாம் எனக்கு கிடையாது. 2011-ம் ஆண்டு நிச்சயமாக தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடுவோம். எங்கள் சக்தியையும், எங்கள் கொள்கைகளையும் மதித்து கூட்டணிக்காக அழைத்தால் அந்த கட்சியுடன் கூட்டணி வைத்துக்கொள்வோம். இல்லாவிட்டால் தனித்து போட்டியிடுவோம்.

நான் எம்.எல்.ஏ. மற்றும் எம்.பி. தேர்தலில் போட்டியிடமாட்டேன். மேலும் எந்த பதவியும் வகிக்கமாட்டேன்.

முதல் மாநாடு

இந்த கட்சியின் முதல் மாநில மாநாடு திருச்சியில் வருகிற 29-ந் தேதி நடைபெறுகிறது. மாநாட்டில் தமிழ்நாடு முழுவதும் 10 லட்சம் பேர் கலந்துகொள்கிறார்கள். இந்த கட்சியின் தலைவராக கோவை தம்பி, பொதுச்செயலாளராக ஜெயசீலன், பொருளாளராக வழக்கறிஞர் ராஜன், அகில இந்திய இளைஞர் அணி அமைப்பு செயலாளராக மதன் ஆகியோர் நியமிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். எங்கள் கட்சியில் சேரவேண்டும் என்றால் முதலில் பாரி நற்பணி மன்றத்தில் சேரவேண்டும். பின்புதான் கட்சியில் உறுப்பினராக சேரமுடியும். எங்கள் கட்சியின் கொள்கை அனைவருக்கும் உயர்கல்வியும், படித்த இளைஞர்களுக்கு வேலைவாய்ப்பும் வழங்கவேண்டும் என்பதாகும்.

இவ்வாறு டி.ஆர்.பச்சமுத்து கூறினார்.

Source: http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=563471&disdate=4/29/2010

வன்னி FLASH BACK MAY 2009

FLASH BACK MAY 2009: வன்னிக் களமுனைகளில் நேரடியாக எடுக்கப்பட்ட காணொளிக் காட்சி.

http://meenagan.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_25.html

மூடி மறைக்கப்படும் தொடரும் வன்னிப் பெரும் துயர்

Source: http://tamilthesiyam.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_4810.html

தேர்தல் திருவிழாக்களில் அதிகம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டது வன்னி மக்கள்தான். அதுவும் தமிழ் அரசியல்வாதிகளால் தேர்தலுக்காக நன்றாக பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டார்கள் வன்னி மக்கள் அதாவது, வன்னி மக்களின் துயரம் அவலம் சில தமிழ் அரசியல் கட்சிகளின் பிரசாரத்திற்கு நன்றாகப் பயன்பட்டன. முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் எங்கே இருக்கிறது என்றே தெரியாதவர்கள், அது எப்படி இருந்தது என்று அறியாதவர்கள் எல்லாம் வன்னித் துயரத்தை சில்லறை விலைக்கு விற்றார்கள். இதுவும் வன்னி மக்களுக்கு செய்யப்பட்ட ஒரு மிகப்பெரிய துரோகமே.

ஆனால், வன்னி மக்களோ வன்னிப் போரின்போது சந்தித்த அவலங்களுக்கு நிகரான அவலங்களையும் துயரங்களையும் தொடர்ந்து அனுபவித்துக் கொண்டே இருக்கிறார்கள். 2006இல் சமாதானப் பேச்சுவார்த்தை முடிவுக்கு வந்ததையடுத்து இந்தத் தொடர் கதை ஆரம்பமாகியது.
முதலில் வன்னிக்குள் போரின் போது சந்தித்த பேரவலம். சொல்லவும் முடியாமல் விழுங்கவும் முடியாமல் தங்களுக்குள்ளேயே நொந்தும் வெந்தும் வாழவேண்டிய நிர்ப்பந்தம். இறுதிப்போரின் அத்தனை வலியும், அத்தனை பெரிய வலிமையான நெருக்கடிகளும் அவர்களின் தலையில் இறங்கியது.

பின்னர் முகாம் வாழ்க்கை அவலம். அதற்குப் பிறகு இப்போது மீளக்குடியமர்வில் தீராத பிரச்சினைகளும் முடியாத அவலங்களும் தாங்கவே முடியாத துயரங்களும். போர்க்களத்திலிருந்து பாதுகாப்பான பகுதி ஒன்றிற்கு வெளியேறுவதற்காக வன்னி மக்கள் பட்டபாடு சாதாரணமானதல்ல.

யுத்தப் பகுதியில் இருந்து வெளியேறினால் போதும் என்ற நிலை அப்போது அவர்களிடம் இருந்தது. ஏனென்றால் அந்த நெருக்கடியில் இருந்து விடுபட்டால் போதும் என்ற உணர்வே அப்போது இருந்தது.

அதைப்போலவே முகாம் வாழ்க்கை அவலத்திலிருந்து விடுபட்டு தங்கள் சொந்த ஊர்களுக்கு திரும்புவதற்காக அவர்கள் பெரும் பாடுபட்டார்கள். பல இழுபறிகளுக்குப் பின்னர் சொந்த ஊருக்கு அவர்கள் அனுப்பப்பட்டபோது உண்மையில் மகிழ்ந்தார்கள். என்னதான் இருந்தாலும் சொந்த இடத்திற்கு திரும்பிவிட்டால் எதையாவது செய்து பிழைத்துக் கொள்ளலாம் என்று அவர்கள் நம்பினார்கள். ஆனால், அவர்களுடைய மகிழ்ச்சிக்கும் நம்பிக்கைக்கும் எதிராகவே அங்கே நிலைமைகள் உள்ளன.

மீள்குடியேற்றம் என்பது அகதி வாழ்க்கையை முடிவுக்குக் கொண்டுவருவதற்குப் பதிலாக அதை அப்படியே தொடர்ந்தும் அவலங்களுடன் பேணுவதாகவே இருக்கிறது. சொந்த ஊரில், சொந்த வீட்டில் அகதிகளாகவே, எதற்கும் வழியற்றவர்களாகவே இந்த மக்கள் இருக்கின்றார்கள்.

போரில் முற்றாக அழிந்தும் சிதைந்தும் போயுள்ள வன்னிப் பகுதியில் மீள்குடியேற்றம் என்பது அடிப்படை வசதிகளை ஏற்படுத்திய பின்னரே மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டிருக்க வேண்டும். போரில் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட எல்லா நாடுகளிலும் இதுவே நடைறை. இலங்கையிலும் போருக்குப் பின்னரான மீள்குடியேற்றம் அப்படியே மேற்கொள்ளப்படும் எனச் சொல்லப்பட்டது.

முகாமிலிருந்து மக்களை மீள்குடியேற்றத்திற்கு அனுமதிப்பதில் அரசாங்கம் எடுத்துக் கொண்ட காலதாமதம் இந்த அடிப்படை கட்டுமானங்களை சீர்படுத்துவதற்காகவே என்று கூறப்பட்டது. ஆனால், போர் முடிந்து ஏறக்குறைய ஓராண்டு நெருங்குகின்றபோதிலும் அங்கே எந்த அடிப்படை வசதிகளும் செய்யப்படவில்லை. வன்னிப் பகுதியை மூடியே அரசாங்கம் வைத்திருக்கிறது.

மீள்குடியேற்றப் பகுதிகளில் மிதிவெடி இன்னும் முற்றாக அகற்றப்படவில்லை. அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட வளவுகளில் மிதிவெடி அபாய அறிவிப்பு நாடாக்களும் பெயர் பலகைகளும் அச்சுறுத்திக் கொண்டே இருக்கின்றன. வீதிகள் பற்றை மூடி குச்சொழுங்கைகளாக, ஒற்றையடிப் பாதைகளாக மாறிவிட்டன. இந்தப் பாதைகளில் சனங்களும் பாம்புகளும் ஒன்றாகவே திரிவதை நீங்கள் பார்க்கலாம்.
பகலில் சனங்கள் அதிகம் என்றால் இரவில் பாம்புகள் அதிகம்.

மின்சாரம் இல்லை. குடிநீருக்கு மிகப்பெரிய தட்டுப்பாடு. தண்ணீர் பிரச்சினை ஆகப் பெரும் பிரச்சினையாக இருக்கிறது. பல கிணறுகள் இடிந்து பாழாகிவிட்டன. மிஞ்சிய கிணறுகளை இறைத்துப் பாவிக்க வசதியில்லை. ஒரு நீர் இறைக்கும் இயந்திரத்தைப் பெறுவதற்கே சிரமப்படுகின்றார்கள் மக்கள்.

இராணுவத்தினர் சில பகுதிகளுக்கு குடிநீர் விநியோகம் செய்கின்றார்கள். அரச அதிகாகளின் ஏற்பாட்டில் செய்யப்படும் குடிநீர் விநியோகம் சீரில்லாமலே இருக்கிறது.

காய்ந்து எரிக்கும் கடுமையான வெய்யிலில், புதர்மண்டிய வீதிகளில் தண்ணீருக்காக அலையும் சனங்களைப் பார்க்கலாம். சில கிராமங்களில் இப்போது ஈழ மக்கள் ஜனநாயகக் கட்சியினர் நீர் இறைக்கும் இயந்திரங்களையும், நீர் கொள்கலன்களையும் வழங்கி வருகின்றார்கள். ஆனாலும் இது போதாது.

வீடுகளுக்குப் பதில் குடிசைகள், கொட்டில்கள், தறப்பாள் கூடாரங்கள்தான் அநேகமாக அங்கே உள்ளன. கொளுத்தும் வெய்யிலில் இந்த சிறிய அமைப்புகளுக்குள் மக்கள் கிடந்து வதைபடுகின்றார்கள்.
எவருக்கும் சீரான தொழில் இல்லை. முறையான வருமானம் இல்லை. கொடுக்கப்படுகின்ற நிவாரணத்திலும் சீரின்மையே நிலவுகிறது. சித்திரைப்புத்தாண்டை முன்னிட்டு வழங்கப்பட்ட நிவாரணத்தின்போது பல கூட்டுறவுக் கடைகளில் அரிசி வழங்கப்படவில்லை.

ஒரு சைக்கிளுக்குக்கூட வழியில்லாமலேயே பல குடும்பங்கள் இருக்கின்றன. பாடசாலைகளில் படிக்கின்ற சில பிள்ளைகளுக்கு மட்டும் சைக்கிள்கள் கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. ஒரு குடும்பத்தில் மூன்று அல்லது அதற்கு மேற்பட்ட பிள்ளைகள் இருக்கின்றவர்களுக்கே இந்தச் சைக்கிள்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

மற்றவர்கள் எல்லாம் நடந்துதான் திகிறார்கள். பலர் போர் காலத்தில் காயப்பட்டவர்கள். கை, கால்களை இழந்தவர்கள். இவர்களும் தங்களுடைய தேவைகளுக்காக நடந்துதான் செல்கிறார்கள்.

இடிந்துபோன பாடசாலைகளில் சீரில்லாத கூரைகளின் கீழே பிள்ளைகள் படிக்கிறார்கள்.
முன்னர் இருந்ததைவிட மூன்றில் ஒரு பங்கு அல்லது நான்கில் ஒரு பங்கே பிள்ளைகள் படிக்கின்றார்கள். வெளி இடங்களில் இருந்து வருகின்ற ஆசிரியைகள் இரண்டு அல்லது மூன்று மணித்தியாலங்களே கற்பிக்கின்றார்கள். ஏதோ சாட்டுக்குத்தான் பள்ளிக்கூடங்கள் இயங்குவதைப்போல் இருக்கிறது. ஓரளவுக்கு சீராக நடப்பது பஸ் போக்குவரத்து மட்டும்தான்.

பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்களின் எந்த விபரங்களும் இதுவரை திரட்டப்பட்டவில்லை. சொத்து இழப்புக்கள், உயிர் இழப்புகள், அங்கவீனம் பற்றிய விபரங்கள் எதுவுமே சேகரிக்கப்படவில்லை.
அதனால், இழப்பீடுகள், உதவிகள் போன்ற எதுவுமே வழங்கப்படவுமில்லை. அதற்கான ஆயத்தங்கள்கூட நடைபெறுவதாகவும் இல்லை.

மீள்குடியேறியவர்களுக்காக ஒதுக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் 20 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் கொடுப்பனவை பெறுவதாக இருந்தால் இந்த மக்கள் தங்கள் கிராமங்களில் நாற்பது நாள் வேலை செய்ய வேண்டுமென்று அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது. தங்கள் வீடுகளைத் துப்பரவு செய்தல், காணிகளைச் சீராக்குதல், வயல்களை பயிர்ச்செய்கைக்கு ஏற்றமாதிரி ஒழுங்குபடுத்தல் போன்ற முக்கியமான வேலைகளையே அவர்களால் ஒழுங்காகச் செய்ய முடியவில்லை. எதற்கும் அடிப்படை வசதிகள் இல்லாமல் இருப்பதே முக்கியமான காரணமாகும். வருமானம் இல்லாத நிலையில் இருக்கும்போது அவர்களால் எதையுமே திட்டமிட முடியவில்லை. அதனால், எதையும் செய்யவும் முடியவில்லை.

பொதுவாக மக்கள் வாழக்கூடிய நிலையில் இந்த மீள்குடியேற்றம் நடைபெறவேயில்லை.
இந்த மீள்குடியேற்ற மக்களின் பிரச்சினைகள், தேவைகள் பற்றி அரச அதிகாரிகள் தொடக்கம் ஊடகங்கள், அரசியல் கட்சிகள், நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள், அரசாங்கம், சர்வதேச சமூகம், புலம்பெயர் மக்கள் என எந்தத் தரப்பிற்கும் உரிய அக்கறையில்லை என்றுதான் சொல்லவேண்டும்.

அரசாங்கத்தால் மீள்குடியேற்றத்திற்கு தேவையான அத்தனை வசதிகளையும், ஏற்பாடுகளையும் செய்ய முடியாது. அரச இயந்திரம் குறிப்பிட்ட கால எல்லைக்குள் இந்த அடிக்கட்டுமானங்களை நிர்மாணித்துவிடவும் இயலாது. உண்மையில் அரசாங்கம் திறந்த மனதுடன் வெளித் தரப்புகளை இணைத்தே இந்த ஏற்பாடுகளை செய்ய முடியும்.

ஆனால், அதற்கு அரசாங்கம் தயங்குகிறது. அரசாங்கத்தின் இந்தத் தயக்கத்தை அரசியல் கட்சிகளும் அரசியல் தலைவர்களும் ஊடகங்களும் போக்கவேண்டும். அரசுக்கு இந்த மீள்குடியேற்றம் தொடர்பாக அழுத்தத்தையோ அல்லது இணக்கத்தையோ ஏற்படுத்த வேண்டும்.

ஆனால், மக்களுக்கு உதவி செய்வதற்குப் பதிலாக, அவர்களுடைய பிரச்சினைகளைத் தீர்ப்பதற்குப் பதிலாக, இந்த மக்களின் அவலத்தையும் துயரத்தையும் வைத்து அரசியல் நடத்தும் போக்கு சில கட்சிகளிடம் நிலவுகிறது. இது மிக மோசமான கவலைக்குரிய ஒரு விசயம்.

அர்த்தமுள்ள மீள்குடியேற்றம் ஒன்றை ஏற்படுத்துவதே இப்போது முக்கியமானது. இதுதான் வன்னி மக்களின் துயரத்தை முடிவுக்குக் கொண்டு வரக்கூடியது. ஓர் இயல்புச் சூழலை உருவாக்குவதாயின் அதற்காக அரசாங்கம் மட்டும் முயற்சித்தல் போதாது. ஊடகங்கள், அரசியல் கட்சிகள், மக்களின் பிரதிநிதிகள் எனச் சகல தரப்பினன் பங்களிப்பும் கடுமையான உழைப்பும் அவசியம். தமிழ் மக்களின் அரசியல் உரிமைப் போராட்டத்திற்காக அதிகம் அதிகம் துயரங்களைச் சுமந்தவர்கள் வன்னி மக்கள். இந்த உரிமைப் போராட்டத்திற்காக தங்கள் வாழ்வில் அதிகூடிய தியாகங்களைச் செய்தவர்கள் இந்தச் சனங்கள்.

ஆனால், இன்று முகாம்களிலும் காடாகிய தங்கள் கிராமங்களிலும் ஒரு நாள் பொழுதைக் கழிப்பதற்கே மிகவும் கஷ்டப்படும் வாழ்க்கையைப் பரிசாகப் பெற்றுள்ளார்கள் இவர்கள். ஒரு மீள்குடியேறிய குடும்பத்தின் நிலை என்பது வன்னி முழுவதின் முடிவுறாத துயரமாகவே நீண்டு கொண்டு இருக்கிறது. சனங்கள் தங்கள் கவலைகளை முறையிடுவதற்கு வழியில்லை.
அவர்கள் தங்களுடைய தேவைகளை நிறைவேற்றுவதற்கு வாய்ப்பில்லை. ஆனால், அரசாங்கம் தொடக்கம் தமிழ் அரசியல் கட்சிகள் வரையில் வன்னி மக்களை வைத்து, அவர்களின் துயரங்களை வைத்து தமது இலாபங்களை தத்தம் பாணியில் நிறைவேற்றிக்கொண்டே இருக்கின்றன.

கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டத்தின் பூநகரி, கரைச்சி, கண்டாவளை, முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டத்தின் துணுக்காய், ஒட்டுசுட்டான், கரைதுறைப்பற்று, பாண்டியன்குளம் மற்றும் வவுனியா மாவட்டத்தின் நெடுங்கேணி, வவுனியா வடக்கு ஆகிய உதவி அரசாங்க அதிபர் பிவுகளில் மீள்குடியேற்றப்பட்டிருக்கும் இந்த அகதிகள் இன்னும் எத்தனை ஆண்டுகளுக்கு அகதிகளாகவே இருக்கப்போகிறார்கள் என்று யாருக்குத் தெரியும். வன்னி துயரக் காடாகவே வளர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறது. இதுதான் தீராத கவலைக்குரிய விடயம்.

Chidambaram must quit

It Is A Question Of Conflict Of Interest
By Sam Rajappa

IF Palaniappan Chidambaram, Union home minister, was sincere about owning moral responsibility for the Dantewada massacre of 76 men of the Central Reserve Police Force by Maoists in Chhattisgarh on 6 April, he would have resigned instead of merely offering to resign, and the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, should have accepted.

His continuance in the home ministry has become untenable because he could have a vested interest in clearing forest areas of their tribal habitations and handing over the lands to multinational mining companies, including the London-registered Vedanta Resources plc, promoted by Anil Agarwal of Sterlite fame, whose director Chidambaram had been till the time of taking over as finance minister in the first UPA government.
In the 2004 Annual Report of Vedanta Resources, its chairman, Brian Gilbertson, recorded: “On 22 May 2004, Mr P. Chidambaram resigned from the Board, following his appointment as Finance Minister in the new Indian Government. I would like to thank him for his contribution and I am sure he will play a pivotal role in the continuing development of India.”

There is direct, credible incriminating information about Chidambaram’s intimate relationship with the Vedanta group which has the biggest stake in the acquisition of India’s tribal territory. A lot of information is contained in Rohit Poddar’s book titled Vedanta’s Billion$, first published in California in 2006, but banned for distribution in India. If Chidambaram is not removed from the home ministry and a person without such conflict of interest appointed in his place, and if the government persists with Operation Green Hunt to turn the ‘red corridor’ into a ‘corporate corridor,’ there is every likelihood of the nation heading for civil war.
A product of Harvard Business School and a great admirer of former US President George Bush’s “war on terror,’ Chidambaram is keen to launch the full might of India’s armed forces, the army, air force and the paramilitary to fulfill an agenda of ‘securing territory’ for mining multinationals.

In pursuit of this agenda, paramilitary forces have been given the American-inspired ‘area-domination’ mandate to clear the tribal areas of insurgent groups, hold the territory to ensure that Maoists are unable to re-enter, and finally, prepare the ground for ‘developmental’ projects by corporate houses. The Maoists have not seized any territory. They have turned the natural habitat of the poor tribals, with their support, into their strongholds because the mainstream political parties, particularly the Congress and the BJP, have virtually abandoned them.
Had the CRPF’s 62 Battalion observed the minimum precautions required in a counter-insurgency operation, the Dantewada massacre and annihilation of the entire Alpha Company of the Battalion would not have happened. No matter on which side of the fence one is, the Maoist massacre of jawans is indefensible and deserve to be condemned.

The solution to the problem, however, does not lie in deploying the army and the air force, as Chidambaram’s battery of media spin masters is braying. Fortunately for the nation, the Army Chief made it clear that “our polity is wise and astute enough not to deploy the army against Maoists who are not secessionists.”

Equally commendable is the view of the Air Force Chief who said: “Our training and weapons are meant for enemies across the border and to inflict maximum lethality on them. We cannot do this on our own people.”
When Chidambaram visited Lalgarh in West Bengal on 2 April, called the Maoists “cowards hiding in jungles,” said the buck stopped with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in clearing the area of rebels and vowed to rid the nation of “Maoist menace” by 2013, he virtually signed the death warrant of the 76 ill-trained CRPF jawans who were already on their ‘area domination’ mission of Dantewada.

The Maoists hit back with a vengeance in less than 48 hours. Somewhat rattled by the sudden turn of events, Chidambaram called the Maoists savages more dangerous than jihadists. The Maoists believe they are waging a just war to protect the tribals from being evicted from Dandakaranya and handing over the land to national, transnational and multinational mining corporations for which the government had signed a series of MOUs, including several secret ones. Dandakaranya is a vast forest area spread over parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkand, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal.
Tribals, numbering about 85 million in he country, had been living in this area for millenia. They are the poorest and the most neglected section of society. In fact, they are sitting on billions of rupees worth of minerals buried under their land. The vast majority of them are illiterate. The few schools the government had built in their respective states have been commandeered by the government to billet paramilitary forces engaged in Operation Green Hunt, which explains why the Maoists have been blowing up school buildings. The mid-day meal scheme has not reached tribal children.
The Right to Education Act or the Woman’s Reservation Bill have no relevance to them. Unless they are allowed to live with dignity and respect and not cheated by denying them royalty, Maoists would continue to hold sway over them. The root of the problem is the displacement of tribals to cater to the greed of about 100 families who control more than 25 per cent of the country’s wealth. Chidambaram is clearly on the side of these 100 families and not of the toiling masses. If only he had utilised his legal acumen and expertise in championing the cause of the tribals instead of their oppressors, he would be furthering the cause of the party that had given him power and pelf. Instead, he chose to be the legal adviser for the collapsed US energy corporation Enron when it tried to extend its criminal reach to India in the 1990s, and the environment pillaging and tribal tormenting Vedanta. Of India’s total aluminium capacity of 1.3 million tonnes, Vedanta will account for 885,000 tonnes once its Jharsguda smelter in Orissa is commissioned in coming months.
In a move to make the best use of Orissa’s bauxite and coal deposits, Vedanta is creating 1.6 million tonnes of smelting capacity at Jharsuguda to be backed by a five million tonne aluminia refinery at Lanjigarh and a power complex of 3,750 MW. If Vedanta has its way, then all its capacity will be on ground by 2013 coinciding with Chidambaram’s targeted year for completing Operation Green Hunt.
To understand Chidambaram’s agenda, one should have a close look at his lectures. In his Mahendra lecture delivered at Harvard Business School in Boston in 2006, he described the first three decades following India’s independence, which covers the entire period of Nehru’s premiership, as the “lost years during which the nation’s economy was directed by the government and closed to the outside world with abysmal results.” Addressing a US business audience in 2007, Chidambaram said India was facing the challenge of “leveraging huge natural and human resources to ensure rapid economic growth. But attempts to make quick and efficient use of resources such as coal, iron ore, bauxite, titanium ore, dimonds, natural gas and petroleum are thwarted by the state governments and interest groups.” Any wonder dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen like Digvijay Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyer find it difficult to go the whole hog with Chidambaram?
Sterlite, a Vedanta group company, was involved in evasion of huge amounts of Central excise and customs duty and after an inquiry was ordered to pay Rs 249.30 crore in 2003. The company filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court with Chidambaram as counsel and obtained a stay of recovery proceedings. After becoming the finance minister in 2004, Chidambaram failed to initiate any significant move to recover the dues from Sterlite. According to the banned book of Poddar on Vedanta, Sterlite’s share price shot up 1,000 per cent in 2003 when Chidambaram was on its board of directors.
The Pension Board of the Church of England had invested £3.8 million in Vedanta Resources.company shares, believing it to be an ethically run company. On the recommendation of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group which found the tribal people in the mining area had not been treated properly by Vedanta and in the absence of a new approach from the company, the Board withdrew the church’s investment last year. It speaks volumes for the company’s corporate governance and social responsibilities. To facilitate Vedanta achieve its ambition of emerging as the world’s largest metals trading company by 2013, must the nation sacrifice its poor jawans?

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=325504:special-article&catid=38:editorial&from_page=search

The writer, a veteran journalist, is Director, Statesman Print Journalism School.

Misuse of Government properties by the Principal of MGGC

TV, Fridge and water cooler go missing, found at Principal's quarter.

Port Blair, Apr 16: Misuse of Government properties by the Principal of Mahatma Gandhi Govt. College is reported from Karmatang, Mayabunder in North Andaman. The students of MGGC informed that the Government properties meant for the students are allegedly being used by the Principal himself instead of providing the facilities to the students. It is alleged that the Principal of MGGC, Dr. A.R.P.Sinha installed most of the equipment and appliances like the refrigerator/water cooler, aqua-guard, TV, even some of the furniture in his own residence (Govt. Quarter) taking from the hostels and college buildings, depriving the students and hostel inmates.

According to the students, the Principal is not concerned about the problems of the students and staffs of the college instead he tries his level best to cause inconveniences to both the students and the staffs including the teaching and non teaching staffs by imposing self made rules, regulations and restrictions.

There is already shortage of cot in the hostels and instead of providing more cots in the hostels he has taken some of the cots for his own use in his residence; students have been craving for pure and chilled drinking water in the peak summer as well as examination season whereas the Principal uninstall the refrigerator or water cooler and the aqua guard from the hostel and installed it in his residence. Altogether, it may be concluded that he has been utilizing all the facilities of the students depriving them and satisfying his own comfort and lust.

During the tenure of the previous Principal Dr. R.N.Rath internet facility was made available for all the students for aiding and enhancing their teaching learning process. The cut-off and remote location of the college was connected with rest of the world through internet facility but the golden days are gone. Now internet facility is there in the college but only for the use of two persons i.e. the Principal and one of his aides.

There are four Copiers in the college but not for the use of the students. Even the office staffs are restricted to use the copiers. As the location of the college is isolated and remote, it is not possible for the students to make photocopy of their study materials as it is required for the students of higher education. “The teachers and the staffs of the college are very unsatisfied with the behaviour of the Principal of the college as he is very rude, apathetic and problematic,” informed a source.

Source: http://www.andamansheekha.com/

The long road to cryogenic technology

Image courtesy: www.8ak.in

Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article397441.ece

By N. Gopal Raj

The forthcoming launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) will be a watershed for the Indian Space Research Organisation, marking the culmination of the quest for cryogenic technology that dates back to over 25 years and has seen many twists and turns.
Cryogenic technology involves the use of rocket propellants at extremely low temperatures.

The combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen offers the highest energy efficiency for rocket engines that need to produce large amounts of thrust.

But oxygen remains a liquid only at temperatures below minus 1830 Celsius and hydrogen at below minus 2530Celsius. Building a rocket stage with an engine that runs on such propellants means overcoming engineering challenges.
The United States was the first country to develop cryogenic rocket engines. The Centaur upper stage, with RL-10 engines, registered its first successful flight in 1963 and is still used on the Atlas V rocket. America's early mastery of the technology paved the way for the J-2 engine, which powered the upper stages of the immensely powerful Saturn V rocket that sent humans to the Moon.
Other spacefaring nations followed. The Japanese LE-5 engine flew in 1977, the French HM-7 in 1979 and the Chinese YF-73 in 1984. The Soviet Union, first country to put a satellite and later a human in space, successfully launched a rocket with a cryogenic engine only in 1987.
ISRO recognised the importance of cryogenic technology fairly early. A rocket stage based on a cryogenic engine offered the simplest way of transforming the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), intended to carry one-tonne earth-viewing satellites, into the far more powerful GSLV that could put communications satellites into the orbit.
In December 1982, six months after the PSLV project was cleared, a Cryogenic Study Team was set up. A year later, it submitted a report recommending the development of a cryogenic engine that could generate about 10 tonnes of thrust. The 15-volume report went into every aspect of developing the engine and rocket stage indigenously.
Then, strangely, ISRO went through a long period of indecision, dithering on whether to buy the technology or develop it on its own. Acquiring the technology from abroad would greatly reduce the time that would otherwise be needed, it argued.
But the U.S., Japan and France would either not provide the technology or do so only at an exorbitant price. Finally in January 1991, a deal was signed with the Soviet company Glavkosmos to buy two cryogenic flight stages as well as the technology to make them in India.
The 11D56 cryogenic engine had been developed for one of the upper stages of the mammoth N1 rocket, the Soviet equivalent of Saturn V. But after four successive launch failures, the N1 project was scrapped and its engines were mothballed. Under the Indo-Soviet deal, ISRO would get a stage built around the 11D56 cryogenic engine that could produce 7.5 tonnes of thrust. The stage would carry 12 tonnes of propellant.
But the deal violated the Missile Technology Control Regime, which was intended to prevent the spread of missile-related technology, and fell foul of the U.S. laws meant to enforce its provisions. Despite warnings from within the organisation, ISRO opted to go ahead with the import. In May 1992, the U.S. imposed sanctions on ISRO and Glavkosmos. A year later, Russia, which inherited the contract after the break-up of the Soviet Union, backed out of the deal.
ISRO then had no option but to develop the technology on its own. The Cryogenic Upper Stage project was launched in April 1994. Its aim was to develop a cryogenic engine and stage closely modelled on the Russian design.
At the time, ISRO gave the impression that much of the technology had already been acquired and further development would be quick. A GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine would be ready to fly in about four years, Chairman U.R. Rao told The Hindu in July 1993.

The space agency's engineers were privately saying then that a flightworthy cryogenic stage was 10 years away. Instead, it has taken 16 years.
The Russian design involves a complicated ‘staged combustion cycle' to increase the engine efficiency. Hydrogen is partially burnt with a little oxygen in a gas generator. The hot gases drive a turbopump and are then injected at high pressure into the thrust chamber where the rest of oxygen is introduced and full combustion takes place. Before going to the gas generator, the incredibly chilly liquid hydrogen is used to cool the thrust chamber where temperatures rise to over 3,0000 Celsius when the engine is fired.
Reproducing the Russian design meant ISRO engineers also learning to deal with new materials and manufacturing methods. A process, known as vacuum brazing needed to make the engine's thrust chamber, for instance, took considerable time to master. Then there was the challenge posed by the powerful turbopump that rotates at a tremendous speed in order to send up to 18 kg of propellants every second into the thrust chamber. It must do so in the face of a sharp temperature gradient, with hot gases at over 5000 Celsius driving the turbine, which then spins the pumps for freezing-cold propellants.
Steps were also taken so that materials required for the engine and stage could be made within the country.
The Indian cryogenic engine is produced by Godrej and the Hyderabad-based MTAR Technologies working together as a consortium. Instead of ISRO first mastering the technology and transferring it to industry, the two companies were involved from the start and even the early prototypes were built by them. Failure on their part was not an option and the space agency had to make sure that these companies succeeded.
Finally, in February 2000, the first indigenous cryogenic engine began to be test-fired on the ground. According to one source, things went wrong in one test and an engine ended up badly damaged. However, by December 2003, three engines had been ground-tested for a cumulative duration of over an hour and half. One of those engines was fired continuously for more than 16 minutes, four minutes longer than it would operate in actual flight. More tests with the engine integrated into the full stage followed. The cryogenic engine that will fly in the forthcoming GSLV launch was tested on the ground for a little over three minutes in December 2008.
Meanwhile, the Russians had supplied ISRO with seven ready-to-fly stages. But their 11D56 cryogenic engine had not flown before and the Indians faced some unpleasant surprises.
The first was that the Russian-supplied stages turned out to be heavier than expected. In order to carry the extra load, it is learnt, the Russians increased the maximum thrust that the 11D56 engine was capable of — from 7.5 tonnes to a little over eight tonnes. The engine operates at the higher thrust for only part of the duration of its flight. The Indian engine too had to be tested and made to work at the higher thrust level. Moreover, the Indian stage is lighter than the Russian one.
When the GSLV was first launched in April 2001, the Russian cryogenic engine was found to be less efficient than predicted, based on a measure that rocket engineers call specific impulse. The increase in stage weight and decrease in efficiency together reduced the rocket's payload capacity significantly.
Where the GSLV with the cryogenic stage was intended to put 2.5 tonnes into the orbit, the rocket carried a satellite weighing just 1.5 tonnes in its first flight. With further optimisation of the Russian cryogenic stage and other parts of the rocket, the GSLV could successfully launch the 2,140-kg Insat-4CR in its fifth launch in 2007.
Sources told this correspondent that the last two stages supplied by the Russians carry an engine with a maximum thrust of over nine tonnes and are capable of accommodating an additional three tonnes of propellant.

The GSLV with this stage would be capable of delivering a payload of 2.5 tonnes into the orbit. With further ground testing, the Indian engine too would be upgraded to a similar thrust level.
But the immediate challenge for ISRO and its engineers is to demonstrate in the GSLV launch that they have indeed mastered the intricacies of cryogenic technology.

We shall overcome ISRO

In the world of trial and error, this is not a failure at all. We shall overcome Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

JAI HIND

'DoT extended undue benefits to Reliance, Aircel'

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dot-extended-undue-benefits-to-reliance-aircel/605877/0

New Delhi:
Country's apex auditor CAG has said the Department of Telecom extended undue benefits to RCOM and Dishnet Wireless (now Aircel) at the cost of others while allotting spectrum in 2008.

"... the department failed to follow its own FCFS (First-Cum-First-Serve) policy resulting into an undue benefit to Dishnet Wireless Ltd and Reliance Communication Ltd in Punjab Service area," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has observed.

The DoT had last week sent a detailed reply to all the issues raised by the CAG.

The CAG said the then existing operators like Hutch (now Vodafone Essar), Bharti and Spice, who had applied for allotment of additional spectrum prior to these two companies, were not allotted the same.

"On 25.8.06, DoT denied their request for additional spectrum on the ground of non-availability of spectrum and further stated that their requests have been noted for necessary action when the additional GSM spectrum is available.
"Thereafter, the operators kept on pursuing their requests for additional spectrum with the WPC wing," CAG has said in a memo issued to the Wireless Advisor, DoT, during Audit of issue of Licences and Allocation of (2G and 3G spectrum).

It said Hutch, Bharti and Spice were providing mobile services in Punjab circle prior to Reliance and Dishnet.

Hutch with a subscriber base of 6.34 lakh in February 2006 had applied for 8 MHz additional spectrum on April 5, 2006.

Likewise, Spice and Bharti with a subscriber base of 15.14 lakh and 17 lakh in 2006 had applied for additional spectrum of 10 MHz each on July 2006 and April 2006 respectively, it said.

However, CAG mentioned that their requests were denied whereas "...all these operators complied with the subscriber base eligibility criterion of additional spectrum...needed to provide good quality of services".

It also mentioned that approval of the allocation of start-up spectrum was communicated to Dishnet on January 11, 2008 whereas it has applied to the WPC (wireless planning coordination) wing on December 18, 2006.

It pointed out that Reliance was allocated start-up spectrum on January 11, 2008 under dual technology policy which was approved by the department on October 18,2007.

National census on fisherfolk to begin on Friday

Picture courtesy: http://www.radford.edu/gmartin/Bel.Chennai.India.608%20078.jpg

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express on April 13, 2010:

CHENNAI: With the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) embarking on a mammoth data collection exercise - National Marine Fisheries Census 2010 - from Friday across all the coastal states, the country would be getting a detailed report on marine fisherfolk population and their economic status in four months.
Conducted after every five years, the massive exercise was to gather various details related to the marine fisherfolk.

Elaborating the details of the census to Express, G. Mohanraj, Principal Scientist and scientist-in-charge, Chennai Research Centre of CMFRI, said, “In the month-long exercise, which will be held from April 16 to May 15, trained enumerators will ascertain details like the total number of marine fishermen, their crafts and gears, socio-economic profile, demographic features and behavioural parameters.”

Of the 2,100 enumerators trained by scientists of CMFRI for the nation-level exercise, more than 450 were from Tamil Nadu who would embark on the mission from Chennai, Tuticorin and Mandapam centres, Mohanraj added.

Keeping with the changing trends, enumerators during this year’s census would seek additional information like attitude towards fisheries regulations, awareness of climate change, extent of labour migration and perceived constraints.

The data would be analysed by the CMFRI to develop a comprehensive census database in next three months which would be helpful in facilitating formulation of fisheries related plans and policies in the marine sector.

The last census conducted in 2005 revealed that the total number of fishermen was 3.52 million living in 7,56,212 households spread across 3,202 marine fishing villages. There were 2,38,772 crafts of which 58,911 were mechanised, 75,591 were motorised.

After analysing the collected data, it was found that women formed 48.6 per cent of the population with 948 females for every 1000 males. Out of 29,241 trawlers in the fishery Gujarat (8,002) accounted for the maximum number followed by Tamil Nadu (5,300), Maharashtra (4,219), Kerala (3982) and other states.
It also revealed that nearly 62 per cent of the families involved in fishing did not possess any craft.

Georgian TV channel exactly foretold the murder of Polish president

Pic courtesy: Dailymail.uk

Source: http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/11/11838.shtml

The fact that Polish president Lech Kaczynski could be killed in a plane crash arranged by Russian special services, was reported on March 13, 2010 by Georgian TV channel Imedi.

It is to be mentioned that TV channel Imedi in a report on alleged Russian aggression against Georgia, reported the killing of the Polish President by the Russian terrorist organization FSB. The half-hour-long film, shown in Georgia, reported the killing of Lech Kaczynski in an explosion on his presidential plane.

The statement by the head of the international affairs committee of the state duma parliament, Kosachev, who blabbed about a plane crash near Smolensk, seems rather ambiguous in this regard.

In an interview with Interfax, he said he was "in a state of shock and horror" over the news. "The soul trembles to think that Katyn has taken new victims", Kosachev said.

Recall that thousands of Polish officers were executed in the Katyn on the orders of the Kremlin and Stalin personally. Until recently, Russia has been trying to deny its guilt and responsibility for the massacre. Moscow has not apologized so far for the crime.

Moreover, Moscow tried to do everything possible to prevent the Polish President Lech Kaczynski visit Katyn. Diplomatic scandals broke more than once on this occasion.

Some historical facts are interesting in this regard.

On September 30, 1939 Sikorski became a prime minister of the Polish exile government (and remained on this post until the death in 1943).

The discovery and publication by Germans of the Katyn graves led to the rupture Sikorski with Moscow. In April 1943, these relations were formally broken off by Stalin's government after the Sikorski demanded investigation into the Katyn massacre of Polish servicemen.

Sikorsky delivered sharp charges to the Soviet Union, in particular demanding Churchill to break relations with the USSR. A few weeks later, General Wladyslaw Sikorski and his daughter Sophia died in a plane crash on July 4, 1943 near Gibraltar.

In November 2008, his body was exhumed and tested by Polish experts to confirm the version of Soviet secret police's involvement in his death.

We would like to mention thereupon that the Polish President Lech Kaczynski was one of the most hated by Moscow Polish leaders. Indeed, the Kremlin had reasons to hate Kaczynski. Here are some facts -

* Among the decisions of city administration of Warsaw under the leadership of then-mayor of the capital of Poland Kaczynski - rename one of the largest squares in the Warsaw area after the first Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudayev

* Kaczynski's election campaign was based on slogans of national revival and the historical responsibility of Russia to Poland.

* On Nov. 15, 2006 Kaczynski suggested the EU to impose sanctions against Russia if Moscow refuses to lift ban on import of Polish meat and agricultural products.

* Poland vetoed talks on cooperation between the European Union and Russia, which were to begin at the EU-Russia summit on November 24.

* During the war in South Ossetia in August 2008, Kaczynski announced that fully supports Georgia.

* After the war with Georgia, Poland agreed with the US on deploying on its territory missile defense system - the interceptor missiles.

* At Kaczynski's initiative Poland was going to rid Europe of Russian gas dependence with a sharp increase in production of its own shale gas. In this case Poland may become the largest European supplier of this type of fuel.

It is to be mentioned that Lech Kaczynski said that one of the goals of Russia's aggression against Georgia was an attempt to prevent Europe to get rid of the gas dependence from Moscow. Kaczynski has also actively lobbied for Georgia's accession to NATO.

Many ordinary people in the world doubt that the crash was accidental. So in the guestbook of Polish Radio the Belarus resident wrote:

"The signs appear more and more worrying that the Russians were involved. From the Nazi-Russian pact and Katyn to the recent Russian and Belarusian war games near the Polish border, Russia has always considered Poland its own territory, lost in a time of weakness much as China threatens all over democratic Taiwan.

The difference is that Russia shows no compunction about murdering its citizens abroad and backing its threats with violence (vide Georgia) and economic measures (closing oil pipelines). A Russian plane recently "repaired" in a Russian factory? If it is simply a coincidence, through its actions Russia immediately comes under suspicion.

My condolences to our Polish allies who have always supported us since breaking free from Russian control".

It is to be mentioned that according to Russian media "Kaczynski's presidential plane was fully overhauled in December, the general director of the Aviakor aviation maintenance plant in Samara, Russia told Rossiya-24. The plant repaired the plane's three engines, retrofitted electronic and navigation equipment and updated the interior", Alexei Gusev said.

In turn, the Russian authorities actively promote a version of "natural environment", which became the "cause of the accident". Moscow points to the thick fog that enveloped the military airfield near Smolensk. The fog, for some reason, did not prevent eye-witnesses quite clearly see the details of aircraft flight.

"The plane tilted to the left before crashing, witness Slawomir Sliwinski told the state news channel Rossiya-24. He said there were two loud explosions when the aircraft hit the ground and burst into flames", AP reports.

Meanwhile, Polish media do not exclude FSB's involvement in this crash. The version of terror attack by the FSB is also being considered.

In particular, a Polish expert on the TV channel POLSAT called improbable Russian version that the destruction of the Polish plane was due to bad weather, pilot error, etc.

The Polish flags have been lowered to half-mast. Under Poland's constitution, the leader of the lower house of Parliament, now acting president, has 14 days to announce new elections, which must then take place within 60 days.

According to experts there are some "strangenesses" in this tragedy. The Polish side asserts that 88 people flew from Poland, the number of dead passengers of a flight, according to Russia amounts to 132 people.

All passengers were died, as Russian media have reported an hour after the tragedy, although in similar accidents, 80 percent of passengers are usually survive (the drop height is 15 meters, the absence of fire and fuel, increased security measures, etc.). The plane could have landed in other airdrome, but it did not do that.

Polish media outlets seriously doubt the version of the Russian side that the plane was reportedly coming in to land the fourth time. According to Russian media outlets, the press service of the Smolensk region told that the manager allegedly offered the crew to land in Minsk, 200 km from Smolensk, but the crew reportedly decided to land down.

"Skilled pilots often decide to land the plane with the fourth attempt, usually, if the second attempt fails, the pilots land on the alternate aerodrome", said on Polish television, one of the Polish pilots, noting that the president's plane serviced by the best pilots of the country.

The Polish side noted that the tragedy of this magnitude and level occurred for the first time in the world. A large number of top officials of Poland died.
In turn, the Ukrainian media outlets do not exclude that Kaczynski's plane was lured into a trap.

The reason remains unclear why pilots of Tu-154 with the top officials of the Republic of Poland on board decided to use for landing a poorly adapted military airfield "North" near the town of Pechersk, Smolensk region, rather than landing at the airport of Smolensk, Ukrainian RUpor agency wrote.

The agency notes that the existence of a military airport in a particular place on the territory of Russia is a state secret and without the intervention of the military department dispatcher civil service can not recommend it for the landing of foreign government planes. Especially since as noted by TV channel Russia 24 prior to this the airdrome denied landing Russian military aircraft.

If the fact of the interventions of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (and perhaps actually GRU) will be proved, it would be possible to speculate on the political component of the incident.
Experts have repeatedly pointed to sharply increased role of the Russian military intelligence GRU, after Medvedev's rise to power.

-Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

SIPCOT turns a blind eye to RTI application

By G Saravanan

Published on April 11, 2010:

CHENNAI: While the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) Limited’s astonishing speed in acquiring vast tracts of land for industrial purposes seems to be missing when it comes to reply an RTI query.

More than two weeks have passed by now after the mandatory 30 days time for sending a reply to RTI query and the delay shows that SIPCOT give scant regard to RTI queries, T V Sivaraman, a resident of Choolaimedu and who filed the application told Express.

In February 23, Sivaraman had filed a RTI petition with SIPCOT seeking details about the country specific industrial estates and the area set apart for each country and their location in particular village in and around Sriperumbudur.

“I have asked for simple details, but the delay in providing them force me to think that they (SIPCOT) have some ulterior motives after acquiring vast stretch of lands from the people living there for decades, rued Sivaraman.

In his RTI plea, Sivaraman asked questions like how many acres of land are proposed to be taken for the country specific industrial estates, how many countries are in the queue and the nature of industry they have proposed there.

Like the residents of several villages like Vallam, Vadakakal and Buthanur, which were now fallen in the SIPCOT’s acquisition radar in Sriperumbudur, we strongly suspect that the non-transparent activities of the acquiring agency undoubtedly turning locals’ cultivable lands to foreign companies in throwaway prices, lamented Sivaraman.

Since the reply he sought from SIPCOT has not reached yet, Sivaraman plans to send a reminder to the agency and if it also falls on deaf ear, he vowed to go to State Information Commission.

முல்லைவாய்க்கால் நினைவு தினக் கவிதைகள்!

Source: http://meenakam.com/?p=12678#more-12678

சிங்களனும்
உடன் சங்கறுக்கும் துரோகிகளும்
தந்திரத்தால் செய்த
நச்சு குண்டுகள் வீசப் பட்டன;

அதை உள்ளிழுத்து
போரில் -
உமிழ்ந்து துப்பியதில்
இறந்தது
கோழைத்தனம்!
——————————————-

முல்லைவாய்க்கால் பகுதியில்
வீட்டிற்கு வீடு ஒருவர்
போரில் மரணம்.

வீட்டின் -
அத்தனை பேரும்
சிங்களன் வீசிய
நச்சு குண்டிற்கு
நரபலி தகனம்!
——————————————-

விடுதலை என்னும்
ஒற்றை வார்த்தைக்கு
எத்தனை மரணம்?

எத்தனையோ மரணங்கள்
நேர்ந்த பின்னும்
சிங்கள குண்டுவெடி சப்தத்தில்
கேட்கவேயில்லை
விடுதலை என்னும்
ஒற்றை சொல்!!
——————————————-

ஈழத்தின்
வருடங்களை கடந்த
இருட்டு,

ஜெயிப்போ தோற்ப்போ
என்பதான
பயம்,

இரண்டிலொன்றை
பார்ப்போமென்ற
நம்பிக்கை..

எதையுமே பார்க்கவில்லை
சிங்களன் வீசிய
நச்சுகுண்டு;

நியாயத்தை
விழுங்கிக் கொண்டதில்
நச்சு -
பிணங்களாய்
கொப்பளித்தன!
——————————————-

மயான கிடங்காய்
நீண்டது -
முல்லைவாய்க்கால்,

வெறும் செய்தியாக
மட்டுமே -
காண்பிக்கப் பட்டது
தமிழரின் மரணம்!
——————————————-

பசுமை வளர்த்த
இனம் -
பிறப்பு இறப்பு பதிவின்றி
பிணங்களாய் குவிந்தது
வரலாற்றில்!
——————————————-

ஒரு இனத்தின்
பிணவாடை -
உலகமெலாம் வீசியும்
மூக்கை மூடிக் கொண்டு
சேனல் மாற்றியது
அதே சுயநல இனம்!
——————————————-

போரில்
விடுதலைக்காய்
உயிர்விட்டவர்கள்
போர்வீரர்கள் ஆனார்கள்.

அருகில் இருந்தும்
வேடிக்கை மட்டுமே
பார்த்தவர்கள் -
கோழைகளா??
கல்நெஞ்சக் காரர்களா??
எதிர்க்கும் திராணி போதாதவர்களா???
அவரவரே -
முடிவு செய்துக் கொள்ளட்டும்!
——————————————-

வன்னித் தீவில்
ஒரு -
குழந்தை கதறி அழுதது.

போருக்குப் போன
அப்பா இறந்திருக்கலாம்..

அம்மா போருக்குப் போகும்
வழியில் கூட
இறந்திருக்கலாம்..

குழந்தை -
தானும் சென்று
ஒரு சிங்களனையாவது சுட்டு
என்னிரு -
தமிழரை காக்கவில்லையே – யென
அழுதது போல்!
——————————————-

காட்டிக் கொடுத்தவன்
திருடித் தின்றவன்
அண்டிப் பிழைத்தவன்
இறந்த -
சகோதரிகளின்
சவத்தின் மீதேறி ஓடிய
ஒருசில துரோகிகள்
சிங்கள இனமானான்.

கைகால் இழந்து
ஈழத்தையே சுவாசித்து
பட்டினி, போர், துக்கத்தால்
இறந்தவன் -
ஈழ விடுதலை வெல்லும்
வெற்றிக் கொடியை
நாளை -
விண்ணில் பறக்கவிக்கும்
காற்றாயினான்!
——————————————-

மொழி
இனம்
மதம்
யாராகவேனும்
எதுவாகவேணும்
இருந்துவிட்டுப் போகட்டும்
ஒரு மனிதராகக் கூட
என்னாது -
சுட்டு சுட்டு எறிந்த சிங்களனக்கு
துணைபோன தேசத்தில் தான்
நானும் குடிமகன்;
தமிழன் வேறு;
மனிதன் என்று சொல்லத் தான்
எனக்கே வெட்கம்!
——————————————-
வித்யாசாகர்

Distillery brews trouble for Baalu

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennai/distillery-brews-trouble-baalu-945

Vadaseri, April 9: While the public protest against setting up of a distillery unit by T. R. Baalu’s family turned violent on Friday, the 3,000-odd villagers of Vadaseri, a predominantly agricultural village in which a vast majority belong to the devar community like Mr. Baalu, have been an aggrieved lot for over a decade now.

“Kings India Chemicals Corporation was set up here in the 90s with the blessings of the entire village. We came forward and handed over the land thinking the factory would be a boon for us. But our hopes soured within a couple of years,” said advocate Manikandan, who is heading the protests this time.

While all the villagers were made shareholders of the project, none of them received any benefits as the company declared losses.

Mr Kumar, who drives an autorickshaw at Vadaseri, said, “Moreover, the stench that emanated from the unit was unbearable. Though it polluted our village, we stuck to it.”

The company management then claimed that their primary raw material, alcohol, had to be brought from Gujarat and the transportation costs led to the losses. After a lull, Kings Chemicals came up with a proposal to set up a distillery to produce its own alcohol as raw material for its operating unit.

To run a distillery, several lakh litres of water would be needed every day and the management even dug several borewells to meet their daily need for water.

Villagers complained, “We simply cannot allow that since our village does not have any external water source. We depend only on our groundwater for irrigation. If that too gets sucked away by the distillery wells, then our lands will be parched.”

They alleged that the local panchayat hoodwinked them and gave a no-objection certificate to Kings Chemicals for setting up the factory in their village without consulting the locals. “We had to stage many protests to force the village panchayat to revoke the NOC. This public hearing is an outcome of that effort and we will fight to the end to save our village,” village elders who were gathered at the
venue said.

Speaking to reporters, T. R. B. Rajkumar, Kings’ chairman and son of Mr Baalu, said his firm had not flouted any environmental guidelines. “We have met all the requirements and we are open to a public debate anytime,” he said.

__________________________________________________
Villagers put up spirited fight against Baalu’s unit

Vadaseri, April 9: At least five persons were badly injured and several vehicles, including a car belonging to the local RDO, were damaged after violence broke outside a chemical factory owned by the family of former union minister and DMK MP, T.R. Baalu, here on Friday afternoon.

Thousands of residents from Vadaseri village had gathered outside the Kings India Chemicals Corporation to voice their protest against the Baalu family setting up a distillery unit nearby. The people had collected for a public hearing organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board when the violence broke out.

While the situation had remained tense since morning after the villagers got information that Mr Baalu had brought several supporters to ‘infiltrate’ the public hearing, the situation went out of control when two villagers were attacked with knives and rods allegedly by the henchmen of the ex-minister, who were housed at Thalikottai, his native village close to the factory site.

Police responded with a lathi-charge, in which dozens of villagers were injured and, in turn, the public hurled stones at the police. The rioters were brought under control after district revenue officer M. Karunakaran and Thanjavur SP K. A. Senthil Velan intervened and pacified the people.
______________________________________________________

Kolathur weeps in memory of its brave son

By G Saravanan
Published on April 9, 2010:

CHENNAI: CRPF constable R Mohana Rangan managed to give death the slip. Twice. But the third time around, he was not so lucky — ‘Operation Green Hunt’ proved to be his undoing. He was killed in the deadly ambush laid by the Maoists at the Dantewada forest in Chhattisgarh on April 6.

Hailing from Poompuhar Nagar in Kolathur, his fate seemed to be sealed the day (April 5) he informed his family members over phone that his team was embarking on a “tough mission”. Perhaps, his family members would never have imagined that that would be the last time they would ever hear from him.

Barely 10 hours later, on the morning of April 6, TV stations had begun broadcasting what they termed ‘breaking news’ — Maoists had massacred 76 CPRF personnel at Chhattisgarh. At Rangan’s house, family members sat glued to their television set, waiting for updates, even as a pall of gloom descended over the entire household.

Since Rangan had informed them about the operation, his family members made frantic efforts to get the latest information on his status, and it took more than a day coupled with umpteen telephone calls to different CRPF offices, to receive the news his family would have gladly done without: “Rangan mar gaya” (Rangan is dead).

Born into a traditional joint family consisting of 11 brothers and sisters, 45-year-old Rangan is survived by his wife Sujatha and a 13-year-old daughter, Anusha. Prior to this, he had also served in the Black Cat Commando unit for about 10 years and was part of BJP leader LK Advani’s security.

Keeping a stoic appearance in the face of tragedy, Rangan’s brother Raghupati hailed him as a brave son, born as he was into a family of freedom fighters. Recalling his early brushes with death, Raghupati said, “Rangan was unlucky the third time. He had survived two such incidents earlier. While in Tripura during 2000, Rangan almost died when his commando unit was caught in an explosion, but he survived with severe fractures to his skull. Likewise, for the second time, he survived another brutal attack by terrorists in Chhattisgarh some six months ago. But the third time on Tuesday, Rangan was unlucky.”“We feel honoured that Rangan died a martyr, the biggest sacrifice that anybody could make for his motherland.”

Fondly known as Danganna to his friends and relatives, Rangan was a role model to many youngsters in the Kolathur locality, awed as they were with tales of his valour and bravery.

“Whenever he came to Kolathur on two months’ leave each year, the youth here would tease him about his luxuriant moustache. We are definitely going to miss him,” said a youth who reached there just in time to catch a glimpse of his beloved Rangan for one last time.

Sekar hailed from a family of agriculturists

Like Mohana Rangan, D Sekar (37), a CRPF head constable from Vellore, also laid down his life in service of the nation in the deadly Dantewada ambush. Sekar, who was attached to the 62 battalion of the CRPF, belonged to Thokkiyam village near Tirupattur. Sekar hailed from a family of agriculturists and is survived by his wife Umamaheshwari (31) and two daughters, Gopikashri (3) and Harinishri (6 months). He was the only son of his parents. His body would be laid to rest with State honours on Friday morning.

Rs 5 lakh to jawans’ kin

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the three CRPF personnel, who were killed in the ambush by maoists in Chattisgarh.The three CRPF personnel from Tamil Nadu are Mohanarangan from Kolathur, Vijayakumar from Ananthamangalam and Sekar from Thokkiyam village. Expressing deep grief over the tragic incident, the CM ordered that the assistance be given to the families immediately.

GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATION: Preliminary report for wards ready

By G Saravanan

Published on April 8, 2010:

CHENNAI: With the systematic incorporation of each and every detail from the to-be annexed 42 local bodies with the existing Chennai Corporation database has been completed, a preliminary report on how to demarcate the proposed wards in the Greater Chennai Corporation is getting its final shape.

According to Ripon Building sources, the digital maps carrying details on population of the areas and revenue source (income) for the civic body from the existing wards were completed and the mammoth task of reorganising and merger of wards were expected to take off in the next few days.

It may be noted that the existing Chennai Corporation with 174 sqkm has 155 wards with 10 zones. With the inclusion 42 adjacent local bodies, including nine municipalities and eight town panchayats, the proposed greater Chennai Corporation would be expanded to 426 sqkm, from Idayanchavadi village panchayat on the northern side to Uthandi village panchayat on the southern side.

Though the size of the greater Chennai would be increased by more than two times, the number of wards after reorganisation was estimated to be around 175 and the number of zones was set to increase to 18 from the existing 10 zones.

While the shape of a proposed new ward in the greater Chennai has been planned on the population figure (40,000 per ward), it was going to be an uphill task for officials to demarcate them as ruling party in both the existing and to be annexed local bodies tend to lose most of their wards. Besides, officials in the reorganising process also in a state of dilemma on how to number the new wards, either to organise on Assembly constituency basis or to start numbering the first ward from Idayanchavadi.

Corporation to sell ad space on its website

By G Saravanan

Published on April 7, 2010:

CHENNAI: With the Chennai Corporation website (www.chennaicorporation.gov.in) registering more than 5,000 hits per day in March this year, the civic body is exploring possibilities of auctioning space (available on its website) for online advertisements to private players.
According to sources, the proposal has gained importance after the hits crossed 5,000per day a few days ago as it would help the Corporation increase its revenue.

The Corporation’s website ever since its inauguration in 2000 has been registering steady patronage in pageviews.
While hits on its webpage per day were a few hundreds initially, it has reached more than 3,000 hits per day after the civic body launched several online services two years ago.

Besides, the introduction of online services for property tax payment, tax status, tax calculator and town planning status, the click rates are now hovering around 5,000 per day during weekdays and around 4,000 on weekends, sources say.

In the last financial year, more than 10,000 people used the civic body’s online facility to remit their property tax dues amounting to above Rs 3 crores. For qualifying for hosting online advertisements, any website needs a sustained 3000 hits every day and the civic body’s website has crossed the mark several months ago.

If the proposal sees the light of the day, it would not only help the civic body meet its website’s operating expenditure (Rs 1.5 lakh per year), but could also help the Corporation get sustained income as the website would become a one-stop shop for all services in future.

According to www.serversiders.com that keeps track of the most popular domains on the Internet across the globe, the Corporation’s website is the 692nd largest site in India (within .IN) and the 116334th largest site in the world.

அந்தமான் தமிழோசை: பிரதிகள்

அந்தமான் தமிழோசை: பிரதிகள்

Chennai looks up to arrival of ‘pied pipers’

Image courtesy: http://loveforlife.com.au/

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, on April 4, 2010:

After fighting a near-successful battle with mosquitoes, the civic body is now turning its focus towards another growing menace: the rodent population, which could open Pandora’s box during outbreak of any diseases.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said the pertinent tender would be floated in a fortnight, seeking bidders who could play the role of the ‘pied piper’.

“We are working out the modalities in involving private players for the massive programme, and are examining issues of payment for eliminating each rat,” he told Express. If the rode nts were controlled and eliminated, the civic body could reduce chances of several diseases including the leptospirosis and plague, Lakhoni noted.

Another senior official of the civic body said several MNCs involved in pest control across the country have expressed interest and approached the corporation for the programme.

The Tamil Nadu Pest Control Association said it would be almost impossible to estimate the city’s rodent population. “But we can certainly identify the highly infested areas,” said P Thanigai Arasu, its president.

“We have classified rat-infested areas based on complaints, especially from places like Koyambedu fruit and vegetable market, all railway stations and Ranganathan Street in T Nagar where we estimate high level of rodents’ infestation,” he added.

Shore leave: Mariners feel like prisoners

By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express on April 3, 2010:
Chennai, April 2:Even though the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has declared 2010 as the ‘Year of the Seafarer,’ Indian seafarers, whether working on foreign going or coastal ships, are increasingly finding it difficult to go ashore in Indian ports as their shore leave, a legitimate due, was overlooked under the pretext of security.

Shore leave is a kind of permission to sailors to spend their time on dry land. In India, for lakhs of sailors, (including Indian seafarers) it has been restricted to just 12 hours a day, from 8 am to 8 pm. Urgent and medical emergencies (from sailors) require advance permission from Immigration authorities to leave their ship to visit land.

With the Indian government not in a mood to listen to the woes of sailors, especially on shore leave, mariners has now started feeling like prisoners in their own country.

On the occasion of the National Maritime Day, which is falling on Monday, they have planned to register their strongest ever protest against the government.

Reacting strongly to the issue, Capt.Vipan Kumar, said, “I have been a sailor for more than 30 years and never saw this kind of situation in my life. I landed on one ship in Mumbai port recently and was shocked to see that Indian seafarers were not given shore leave by port authority in the name of increased threat to Indian ports.” How can threat to Indian port become less if I am not allowed to go outside the port, he questioned.

Seafarers sail through seas in difficult circumstances and when they come back to Indian waters with a hope that they will be able to see their own kith and kin, they are denied access outside the port. Instead of beefing up their security and becoming vigilant, an easy route is taken by the government to stop seafarers from visiting their own country, many seafarers rue.

While 12-hour shore passes issued on a per day basis, by the time the pass is issued, it is often close to lunch time, and the seafarer has to return by 7 pm so as to enable the agent to return the pass to the authorities by 8 pm.

Capt. K G Ramakrishnan, another experienced sailor said, “The Indian seafarers are issued identities by their government and should not be seen as aliens. We need the same rights as a labour in the port who has access in and out at any time based on a port pass issued on the recommendation of a shore agency.”
Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cricket/shore-leave-mariners-feel-like-prisoners/162204.html

Taiwan may pay couples to have babies

Source: http://www.fijilive.com/news/2010/04/02/24824.Fijilive

Taiwan said Friday the government may start paying people to have children in order to boost the island's dwindling birth rate, one of the lowest in the world.

Among the proposals being considered is a monthly subsidy of 5,000 Taiwan dollars (160 US dollars) for all children under the age of three, the interior ministry said, a move which would cost 36 billion Taiwan dollars a year.

"The ministry hopes to raise the public's willingness to have children with measures that help them look after their children and improve their living standards," it said in a statement.

Taiwan's authorities have been offering various incentives to encourage births, amid growing concerns that a severe manpower shortage will trigger serious social and economic problems.

The ministry last month kicked off an on-line contest for a slogan that would "make everybody want to have children" with a cash prize of one million Taiwan dollars for the winner.

The response was overwhelming, with more than 1,000 entries only hours after it started, causing the ministry to upgrade its systems after its website was temporarily paralysed by the traffic.

The island's birth rate stood at 8.29 per 1,000 people last year, according to official figures. That compares with a global average of more than 20 births per 1,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Lao Song Elementary School in Taipei -- which set a world record in 1966 as the school with the most pupils at 11,000 -- now has only 778, the China Times newspaper said.

Last year 191,310 babies were born in Taiwan, down almost four percent percent from the previous year.

600 Karen Refugees Return to Burma

By LAWI WENG
Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=18172

About 600 Karen refugees return from Thailand to Burma, despite what has been described as the “very unstable” situation there.

The Karen Information Center (KIC), based on the Thai-Burmese border, said the refugees had returned voluntarily but after pressure by Thai authorities.
KIC editor Nang Paw Gay said: “The people lost hope after the Thai authorities told them many times to return to Burma. They decided that whatever happens to them they would go back home.”

Sally Thompson, the deputy director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), said the situation in eastern Burma “remains very unstable. For any of these people returning, it is going to be difficult for them.”

Many human rights groups, including the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, have appealed to the Thai government not to repatriate the refugees in areas where is the risk of landmines, forced labor and army recruitment.

Kitty McKinsey, regional spokeswoman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told The Irrawaddy that there is a procedure in place for refugees who choose to return to Burma. The Thai military noted their names and handed the list to the UNHCR, which then interviewed them.

McKinsey said the UNHCR had interviewed more than 700 people over the past few weeks and they said that they wanted to go home.

“What they are telling us is they wanted to go back because they wanted to prepare their field for planting before the rains,” she said.

“From the point of view of the UNHCR, they shouldn't be forced to return. All return to Myanmar [Burma] should be on a purely voluntary basis.”

About 3,000 Karen refugees in the Tha Song Yang District of Tak Province fled to Thailand in June 2009 following clashes between Karen soldiers and a joint force of Burmese government troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

The Thai military planned to deport all 3,000 to Burma in February, but then shelved the plan after pleas by human rights groups and the international community. Nevertheless, about 300 Karen refugees have returned since February.

Meanwhile, a Karen refugee child was admitted to hospital in the Thai border town of Mae Sot on Wednesday with injuries sustained after reportedly handling an unexploded mortar shell in the landmine-sown border area of eastern Burma. A second Karen child reportedly died in the explosion.

CHENNAI Corporation betters last year’s tax record

By G Saravanan
Published on April 1, 2010:

CHENNAI: For the first time in the history of Chennai Corporation, a total collection of its property as well as professional tax revenue reached the Rs 490-crore mark. Last year, the collection of these taxes stood at Rs.414 crore.

According to sources, the total revenue from these taxes have exceeded their own target for 2009- 10 and finally stood at Rs 490 crore. While the property tax collection for the year was Rs.363.83 crore, revenue collected under professional tax reached Rs.126 crore.

On the last day of the financial year, the local body had collected Rs.20 crore. It may be noted that the civic body had collected Rs.18 crore on the last day of last financial year (March 31, 2009).

For 2009-10, the civic body’s revenue department had fixed a target of Rs.350 crore for property tax collection, while Rs.101 crore has been fixed as target for professional tax.

The urban body had collected Rs.323 crore as property tax during 2008-09 against its target of Rs.290 crore. Likewise, for the same period, the Corporation collected Rs.91 crore as professional tax, thus making it to Rs.414 crore in total.

According to Corporation sources there were about 48,000 commercial buildings in the city and were subjected to pay commercial tax every six months. But during the last three to four years there have been reports of under assessment by several tax collectors across all the 10 zones of the Corporation and after the top brass cracked the whip against errant tax collectors the tax revenue had witnessed a steep rise.