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| Mar 18, 2007 |
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Jharkhand's bicycle coal carriers court death for living
Ramesh Hembrom begins his journey for Ranchi at midnight from Patratu on a bicycle laden with 1.5 quintals of coal. He reaches the Jharkhand capital in the evening the next day, playing hide and seek with death every time.
He completes the arduous 45-km journey in nearly 18 hours, cycling precariously through steep zigzagging hilly roads for a living even as death beckons him daily either in the form of an accident or a slow painful end from tuberculosis.
Hembrom earns Rs.300-400 from the sale. He does this twice a week, earning between Rs.2,000 and Rs.3,000 a month.
'We pick up coal from closed and abandoned mines (of Central Coalfield Ltd, CCL) and sell them in Ranchi,' explained Ramesh.
Poverty is the main reason for taking up such a job. The people who ferry coal thus face serious risk two ways - frequent accidents during the journey or tuberculosis overcomes them.
On steep roads, these men push the coal-laden bicycles with their chest, holding the handle with their hands. If the balance is lost, it can mean a free fall in the ditch alongside the road.
Such ferrying can be witnessed on roads between Ranchi and Patratu, between Ranchi and Patna and in other places in Jharkhand. Thousands are engaged in the activity.
Kishna Mahto is another poverty-stricken coal carrier from the Rajarappa colliery, which is 60 km from Ranchi. He crossed the dangerous Ramgarh valley.
'We know the risks. Every year more than 20 people die due to TB and an equal number meet with accidents. But we have no option but to engage ourselves in this business,' said Mahto.
Coal ferrying is totally illegal as it is extracted illegally, mainly from abandoned mines.
'Most people engaged in ferrying coal are poor and get involved for some money. The real culprits are the mafias who engage them in it,' an official of CCL told IANS.
Such coal carriers are found in other districts as well, including Bokaro, Dhanbad and Giridih.
Some suffering from TB are still engaged in this business.
'I am the only bread earner of my family. And so as long as I am alive, I will continue to carry the coal,' said Somnath Baitha, now in his 40s. He moves coal from the Rajarappa colliery to Ranchi.
Asked if he was being treated for TB, he said: 'I an under treatment at the government hospital in Ramgarh. Doctors have suggested rest and better treatment in Ranchi which I cannot afford.'
These people sell their coal at half the market price to brokers in Ranchi.
'The brokers bargain with us because the sale is illegal. We never get the market price. We need a market where we can sell coal to get money and go back home,' bemoaned another coal carrier.
http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20070318/21546.htm
Nandigram slows down Jharkhand land acquisition
Ranchi, March 18 (IANS) The Jharkhand government has put a brake on acquisition of land for industrial use in the aftermath of the killings at Nandigram in West Bengal due to protest against land acquisition for a similar purpose.
The state government has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with more than 54 companies to set up steel plants, power plants and other industries.
'We will soon come out with a rehabilitation policy to acquire land. If we can assure the tribal people of their future, then land acquisition will not be a problem,' Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi told IANS.
Asked when the rehabilitation policy will be announced, he said: 'By April the policy will be made known.'
At least 14 people were killed and 71 injured Wednesday in Nandigram, about 150 km southwest of Kolkata, as police opened fire to quell mobs and retake the area they lost control of in January after unrest over acquisition of farmland for a special economic zone (SEZ).
The investors are likely to pump in more than Rs.2.4 trillion in the state. The prominent companies that promised investments in the state are NRI steel tycoon L.N. Mittal's Mittal Steel, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel, besides other companies.
Land acquisition has come as big bottleneck for industrialisation in the state. To translate the MoUs in reality, the state government has to acquire more than 100,000 acres of land.
The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has refused to accept the rehabilitation policy announced by the previous Arjun Munda government. The UPA leaders argued that the minority government of Munda had announced it in haste.
The Nandigram violence has unnerved politicians in Jharkhand, particularly the UPA leaders who had opposed acquisitions when the Munda government was signing the MoUs.
'Unless the tribals are persuaded to give up their land, no acquisition work can start. We do not want to create scenes like Nandigram or Kalinganagar in Orissa,' said Marandi. In Kalinganagar, 11 tribals were killed in police firing while protesting land acquisition for a steel plant in the area in January 2006.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/india/news/article_1279101.php/Nandigram_slows
_down_Jharkhand_land_acquisition
Foundation for JSPL Steel plant laid in Jharkhand
Ranchi, March 18: The Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) on Sunday promised 5,000 direct jobs as the foundation of its six million tonne steel plant was laid by Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda in Hazaribag.
The Rs 15,000 crore project, for which an MoU was signed on July 5, 2005, would be completed in two phases with the first kicking off within three years, JSPL managing director and MP Navin Jindal said.
Koda laid the foundation at Balkudra where the JSPL had acquired the defunct Bihar Alloys Steel Limited (BASL) for Rs 108 crore at an auction and got 600 acres of land.
Stating that industrialisation brings with it things like training institutes and hospitals, Jindal said he would work with a feeling of being a local. "I will be with you in your pleasures and pains," he assured the locals.
Addressing the function, Koda said the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
"A decade ago it was a sad day for several people when bas closed down, leaving many families starving. But with today's foundation laying, I am sure the future looks bright once again," Koda added.
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=360801&sid=BUS&ssid=53
Several IAS officers 'jobless' in Bihar
PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar always complains about the dearth of IAS officers in the state.
"The previous government made a mistake by not demanding the increase of IAS cadres, after bifurcation of the state. I have taken up the matter with the Centre now," he said recently.
Interestingly, in this "IAS officer-starved" state, many IAS officers are virtually jobless.
An IAS officer, posted in the state planning board, spends his time trying to learn music. Yet another IAS officer spends his days honing his gardening skills. "It is very educating. I have known more about plants in one year than I had known in my whole life spent earlier," he said wryly.
Of course, most of these senior bureaucrats say they hardly get a file in a day at their respective offices. The state planning board is considered the "dumping ground" for "unwanted" IAS officers.
Presently, KK Pandey, AK Thakur and MM Singh have been posted there. Singh, who was the chairman of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), was shunted out after power supply in the state collapsed recently. Yet another IAS officer, SK Sinha has been posted as secretary (state gazetteer) for many years. Even IAS officers are unable to say what is Sinha's job as the state government does not come out with gazettes.
Till recently, U K Nanda was posted as DG (prosecution), another post considered "shunted" by the IAS fraternity. Senior IAS officers Amita Paul, Pancham Lal and C Ashok Vardhan have been put in the revenue board, a place dubbed as "tension free" by the officials because of little work there.
Senior IAS officer V Jaishankar has been posted as commissioner (disabilities). It is for the first time that an IAS officer has been given the post meant for an expert in disabilities.
"The list of jobless officers could be extended to IPS officers also. You have a DIG-rank official looking after the crime record bureau which is basically a clerk's job," said a senior IPS officer.
On the other hand, there are few "chosen" ones who are in charge of three to four key posts. PRD secretary Vivek Singh looks after four posts, personnel secretary Amir Subhani looks after three and so does the art and culture secretary Anjani Singh, while the NDA government has been repeatedly stressing about selection of "right persons for the right jobs", some of its recent transfers have been questioned by experts.
"Urban development is supposed to be one of the thrust areas of this government because they are talking about greater Patna and speeding up urbanisation in Bihar. Yet the official who has been posted there will retire within a couple of months. An official who is on the verge of retirement will be more interested in ensuring retirement benefits for him than working out a long-term plan for his department," said a retired IAS officer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IAS_officers_jobless_in_Bihar/articleshow/1776027.cms
Private investment in Auto LPG stations in Bengal
Kolkata, March 18: Auto Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) has attracted private investment in the state of West Bengal at a time when the state owned companies did not find the existing auto stations not viable.
A new city based private company, EG Gas Ltd has decided to set up Auto LPG stations across the state in technical collaboration of two Netherlands based companies.
"To start with we will set up three Auto LPG gas stations over the next two to three months. Total 80 LPG stations are in the pipeline over the next one to two years," EG Gas Chairman and CEO Kailash Mishra said.
"We have tied up with IOC Petronas for supply of imported LPG at our stations," he added.
Mishra was optamistic about business viability about LPG stations in the state despite high capital cost.
"We have three LPG stations and we are planning three more. But, our existing stations are not viable as running in low capacity," HPCL head retail (east) K S Rekhi said.
There are total 12 Auto LPG stations in and around city. Of theose, Indian Oil Coreporation has five and Bharat petroleum corporation has four.
The feedback from these two oil majors were also not encouraging in terms of sale of Auto LPG, he said adding that "unless the state government issues mandatory use of LPG sales, trend does not show sharp rise," Rekhi said.
Auto LPG costs Rs 25-26 per litre and gives milage of 90 per cent.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been trying to attract the Reliance Industries for a pipeline to carry CNG to Bengal.
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=360703&ssid=50&sid=BUS
Cigarettes under VAT in Bengal budget
Kolkata: W est Bengal became the second state after Bihar to propose value-added tax (VAT) on cigarettes, or as finance minister Asim Dasgupta said, on "tobacco and tobacco products excluding biris".
Dasgupta, an ardent proponent of the tax who headed the empowered committee of state finance ministers on VAT, has proposed a VAT of 12.5% in his budget for 2007-08, close on the heels of a 6.1% increase in excise duty in the Union budget.
The VAT on tobacco and tobacco products excluding biris is expected to fetch the state Rs 50 crore in 2007-08.
However, the actual levy of VAT will have to wait till Parliament passes the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill of 2007. The Bill has been referred to a select committee.
The tax will hit, among others, Kolkata-based ITC Ltd, the biggest player in the domestic cigarettes market even now despite its diversification into a host of other fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
ITC's spokesman pointed out that the Taxation Laws Bill is now before a select committee, and the company would prefer to see how things pan out before commenting on the VAT.
ITC, however, had been expecting the VAT blow ever since the Union government cleared the inclusion of cigarettes and tobacco products in the VAT net. These, as well as high-revenue earning cash-cows like petrol and diesel, had been kept out of the VAT net so far.
ITC had expressed its fears about a possible VAT on cigarettes while reporting its results for the quarter to December 31, 2006.
ITC, which had reported a profit after tax of Rs 717 crore on net sales turnover of Rs 3166 crore for the quarter to December 31, 2006, had pointed out that the cigarettes are among the highest-taxed products in the country.
The tax incidence on cigarettes is nearly 130% of the value of the product, or ex-factory price less excise duty. It had iterated that further taxation would be counterproductive since people would shift to other, low-value tobacco products.
It had noted that the rational for the introduction of VAT was to put in place a simplified and rationalised tax structure that would facilitate efficient revenue collections and avoid the cascading effect on taxes.
But the imposition of VAT on cigarettes would not meet any of these objectives, ITC had pointed out.
According to ITC, almost 90% of the value addition in cigarettes takes place during the manufacturing process. "Beyond the factory gate, out of the remaining 10%, nearly 7 to 8% comprise the retailer's margin," ITC had noted.
So, ITC said, "the entire administrative machinery will have to concentrate only on the balance 2% of the value chain, which is clearly inefficient and expensive."
Incidentally, going by ITC's argument, VAT on cigarettes could push down cigarette sales and hence demand for the high-return flue-cured Virginia tobacco from farmers.
So VAT on cigarettes would deprive farmers of the high-earnings and also hit exports of tobacco, which fetch the country over Rs 1400 crore a year.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=158130
Empowered to make a living, they break old shackles
People's Rural Education Movement assists rural women in Orissa to help themselves.
Breaking away from age-old shackles on women in India, 35-year-old Polamma, belonging to the Nulia (fishing) community in Goplapur in Orissa, goes to Berhampur and other nearby towns, along with her friends, to sell fish. Four years ago a woman's role among the Nulias was restricted to making and mending nets.
"I go Berhampur every day to sell fish," said Polamma, confidence and cheer lighting up her face.
Sometime around 2003, Polamma took a small loan from the self-help group (SHG) formed by 20 women, including Polamma, in the village.
Polamma has four children. When husband Sada was the only earning member of the family, it was a daily struggle to make ends meet. Not anymore.
"Now I am able to send my two daughters to school instead of sending them to catch fish," she says, adding that her son is enrolled for an IT course in Bangalore.
Polamma says selling fish directly in towns near Gopalpur has changed everything. Earlier Sada used to sell his catch to middlemen at a low price. Now Polamma has taken over.
Similarly Urmila, along with her friends, pluck kewar flowers and directly sell to the manufacturer of essence.
"During the season, I can procure at least 30 to 40 thorny flowers and earning range between Rs 150 to Rs 200, depending on the quality," she said. The marketing of the flowers is being done by the SHG in the village.
Over 42,000 women in 28 districts in Orissa have moved from the confines of the kitchen to engage in income generation.
The origin was 1992, when the People's Rural Education Movement (PREM), a leading NGO in the state, launched the micro-credit system in Ganjam district.
The organisation formed a separate wing, called Utkal Mahila Sanchaya Vikash O Samaj Mangal (UMSVOSM) to take its activities far and wide.
The district administration and UK-based Plan International helped in formation of the SHGs.
As many as 2,435 SHGs under the UMSVOSM were levering about Rs 50 lakh and savings from poor households grew to about Rs 1 crore. Further, the number of households with access to credit is over 42,000 families, according to Sanjukta Tripathy, the coordinator of the project.
The interest stands at two per cent.
Apart from empowering the rural women in the state, the SHGs are also 'arms' for the benefeciaries to fight social evils like domestic violence, say members.
According to said Jacob Thundyil, the president of PREM, UMSVOSM's SHGs are a way for the rural women to generate income, build on dreams and even muster political influence by banding together.
http://www.oxfam.org.au/world/sthasia/india/prem.html
Maoists make a corridor
ANGUL: The infiltration of Maoists into the border areas of Dhenkanal, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts has posed a renewed challenge for the Orissa Police.
They have identified the group active in the border areas of these three districts as CPIML (Janashakti). The State Government woke up from its slumber after the killings of three forest staff in Kandhar area of Dhenkanal district. The incident has indeed established the fact that the Maoists are slowly advancing into new areas of the State.
The mainline ultras have already made a corridor from Sundargarh to Rayagada via Sambalpur, Deogarh and Phulbani from where they are slated to carry out their activities. The area from where the new outfit is operating is about 10,000 sq km, covering the three districts.
The problems for the police, to fight and root out the ultras from these areas, are both logistic and administrative in nature. Though for Maoists, the area is a single unit, for police it belongs to three districts coming under three police ranges. While ultras are conversant with the roads and passes, district police are unfamiliar with the road communication and Naxal hideouts.
Moreover, a strategy is yet to be worked out to integrate the fighting mechanisms in these areas, sources maintained. But what is really required here is motivation of local police to fight the ultras. Absence of proper infrastructure and latest combat strategies are the other hurdles, which the police have been facing.
Meanwhile, a top police official claimed that if the government fully backs police, all the ultras can be wiped out as it did in Deogarh. A coordinated effort by the three districts is necessary to wipe out the menace in Dhenkanal too. However, despite all odds, Maoists have not been able to set up a liberated base in Orissa as they had succeeded in creating their own in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20070317223229&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0
Chhattisgarh farmers refuse to hand over land to Tatas
The farmers of 10 villages in Lohandiguda block have now refused to hand over their land for Tata's proposed 5 mtpa steel plant until their 13-point demands are addressed by the administration.
The villagers, led by the Left parties, have taken a U-turn from their earlier resolution that was passed in the Gram Sabha held on July 20, 2006 and August 3, 2006.
As a result, the Chhattisgarh government today refused to reorganise the Gram Sabha in Lohandiguda block of Bastar district that had earlier passed a resolution giving nod to the transfer of land.
On Friday, members of the ruling BJP raised the issue in the Chhattisgarh Assembly and said the state government started the land acquisition process on February 1, 2007 without addressing the 13-point demands that include land for land to the villagers going to be displaced under the project. The government had earlier refused to accept the demand for providing land in return.
The BJP members said the local administration resorted to pressure tactics when the villagers proposed to organise a Gram Sabha on February 24, 2007 to pass a resolution to deny handing over land to the Tatas. The villagers also clashed with the police. A senior official and a dozen policemen were injured in the clash.
Following strong protest from the villagers, the administration had to suspend the land acquisition process. Chhattisgarh Revenue Minister Brijmohan Agrawal today announced in the House that there was no question of re-organising the Gram
Sabha when the villagers had earlier given consent to hand over their land for the proposed steel plant of Tatas in Lohandiguda block of Chhattisgarh.
"The villagers are being misguided by some elements who are not interested in the development of Bastar region," the minister said.
When the members demanded that the government should relax the norms and force Tata Steel to accept all the demands of the villagers, Agrawal said the government could consider the suggestion.
http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=3&sub
Left=1&chklogin=N&autono=278039&tab=r
Dantewada police camp didn't even have fence
RAIPUR: The 55 policemen, who died in the Maoist attack at Rani Budli police camp in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, had locked themselves into room with their arms, awaiting for a firefight. What actually happened was a fire, which claimed their lives.
The tragedy is that most of the men were operating from a building that also served as a 'balika ashram' (girls' hostel) and did not even have a fence.
When the 500-strong armed Maoists attacked the camp, the commandant was missing and the sentries, who were to sound the alert, ran away.
The policemen and special police officers (SPOs) locked themselves inside a room armed with SLRs, waiting for the Maoists to enter the room for confrontation.
Instead, the Maoists threw grenades and petrol bombs and burned the room, killing most of them instantly.
Next day, it took the state administration more than seven hours to retrieve the bodies from the camp. "They planted landmines everywhere," state home minister Ram Vichar Netam said.
"After looting the ammunition, they planted the landmines for more casualties. The entire area had to be sealed and taking every step into the police camp required a search for hidden explosives. We recovered five landmines from inside the police camp premises."
Whether Rani Budli or Errabore massacre of July 2006, the incidents make it quite clear that the security forces are totally outnumbered and isolated when guerrilla attacks occur.
But IG Bastar range R K Vij disagreed. "There were only 74 police personnel and they were more than 500. They used petrol bombs, fire-arms, grenades, tiffin bombs, choppers and spears. It was the sheer numbers that they had for which our forces could not retaliate," Vij said.
When two neighbouring police stations at Kutru and Farsegarh were informed, the back-up reached at 6 am. By that time, the battle was over.
"The two police stations are at a distance of 18 km. Rani Budli outpost was in the centre. The police camp was set-up to have more police presence in the area. The forces from Kutru and Farsegarh were rushed but Maoists had blocked both ways. They cut trees and blocked the path while also planting explosives. There would have been more casualties if they tried clearing the road," the IG said.
"This is the reason why we had been asking for helicopters. We could air-drop reinforcements under these circumstances."
B K Ponwar, a retired brigadier helping the Chhattisgarh government train policemen to counter red violence, said what is required is dynamic deployment of forces and early warning signals from locals of the area.
"Police stations in Naxal-affected areas are places at a distance of 20 to 30 km from each other. This is too far away for effective law and order duties during disturbed times. There has to be more deployment of forces and they need to be constantly on foot visiting the villages with people friendly operations. People can be the sources of information, the tribals in the villages will have to be won over," the brigadier said.
Decades of exploitation, lack of development, poverty and Forest Acts usurping rights to tribals over "jal, jungle and jameen" have made locals suspicious of any government move.
Manish Kunjam, a former CPI MLA from Konta said, "There is no administration. Only a police force which is still not people friendly. After salva judam (anti-Maoist movement by tribals), the situation has worsened. On the one hand is the terror of Naxals and on the other the terror of salva judam. Tribals are leaving villages and sleeping in forests. Salva judam cannot be the answer to Naxalism, it will only result in more bloodshed. The Centre and the state have to start dialogue with Naxals."
Pratap Agarwal, an advocate in Bastar who fights cases on behalf of tribals said, "It is not as though tribals don't know that Naxals are outlaws. They are aware of it and accept them because so far the administration has been a bigger goon. In undivided MP, Bastar was treated as a punishment posting. Officials who came here did not work but cheated tribals of their forest produce."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Dantewada_police_camp_didnt_even_have
_fence/articleshow/1775492.cms
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| Hot issues of Today |
- Mar 17, 2007
- Mar 16, 2007
- Mar 15, 2007
- Mar 14, 2007
- Mar 13, 2007
- Mar 12, 2007
- Mar 11, 2007
- Mar 10, 2007
- Mar 09, 2007
- Mar 08, 2007
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