We The State - Issue 21 Vol 2

8/13/2019 We The State - Issue 21 Vol 2

1/12

Education

gives

knowledge,

skills and

values:

Chauhan

Interim rail budget: A tactic to woo votersNew Delhi: The interim Rail Budget may be termed as a tactic

to woo voters before the Lok Sabha elections where no changes

were made in passenger fares.

Railway minister Mallikarjun Khadge announced that

seventeen new premium trains and 38 express trains will beintroduced.In an announcement that will bring cheer to

passengers,Kharge said,"We will run more passenger trains at

higher speed as needed."

Also,encouraged by the success of a premium AC special

train between Delhi and Mumbai,Railways have decided to run

17 more such trains in busy routes and explore the possibility of

running semi-high speed trains between 160-200 kmph to

Chandigarh and Agra from the national capital.

The premium train to Mumbai,run to handle the extra rush

during Christmas and New Year,had fetched increased earnings

of about 48 per cent as compared to Mumbai Rajdhani as the

fares were charged under dynamic fare mechanism scheme

much like that done by airlines.

"Such dynamic pricing was widely appreciated by users and

media and gave increased earnings of about 48 per cent as

compared to Rajdhani services on the same sector.We are

considering operation of this scheme on a larger scale," Railway

Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said in his Interim Budget speech

2014-15.He announced 17 such premium trains from different

parts of the country which are considered high density routes.

The Minister said there are seasonal and occasion-specific

instances when demand for travel by certain train goes up and

passengers are prepared on such occasions to pay more to

undertake journey.Most of these trains are weekly or bi-weekly

and would run in routes such as Howrah-Pune,Howrah-

Mumbai,Kamakhya-Chennai,Mumbai-Patna,Nizamuddin-

Madgaon,Sealdah-Jodhpur, Ahmedabad-Delhi Sarai Rohilla and

Trivandrum-Bangalore.

Some premium trains have also been introduced to Katra and

rail connectivity to the holy town is expected to be

commissioned soon.The Minister announced 39 new express

trains,10 passenger trains,four MEMU and three DMU trains.

He also announced a semi-high speed project,with trainsrunning at 160-200 kmph on existing routes such as Delhi-Agra

and Delhi-Chandigarh."Indian railway also intend to explore

low cost options for raising speeds to 160-200 km on existing

select routes like Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Chandigarh," he said.

We FEBRUARY 17 TO FEBRUARY 23,2014

Online edition available at wethestate.com and wethestate.blogspot.in

Vol-02. Issue-21. Bhopal. Monday Page-12. Price-5/-

heStatePublished simultaneously from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

POSTALREGD. MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15

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RAJIV TIWARI

Astate cabinet meeting chaired by

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chauhan recently endorsed Mad-

hya Pradesh Infrastructure Development

(Swiss Challenge) Guidelines-2014 to give

new dimensions to infrastructure develop-

ment in the state. As a result, private and

public sectors can be offered opportunities

for new techniques and financial expertise

in infrastructure development sector.

Under open and transparent process of

Swiss Challenge, long-term financial solu-

tion will be provided by inviting expertise

and capital from private and public sectors.

The sectors and projects not covered by ex-

isting PPP framework will also be augment-

ed through this. Initiative can also be taken

to identify and implement projects for pro-

viding social and basic facilities. In this way,

partnership of private and public sectors

will increase in comprehensive develop-

ment of the state through Swiss Challenge

Process. Besides, financially better and

long-term model will also be developed for

project building.

Virtual Information Technology Cadre

The cabinet decided to constitute Virtual

Information Technology Cadre comprising

IT expert officers for better use of informa-

tion technology in government depart-

ments. Government officers and employees

interested, experienced, educated and spe-

cialized in information technology sector in

every department will be posted as IT Offi-

cers in the same department. With this, de-

partments will be able to effectively monitor

and conduct IT activities. Fixation of mini-

mum qualification, selection, training etc.

will be prescribed by MAP-IT. Selected offi-

cers will be imparted intensive training in

IT and e-Governance.

Rationalisation of electricals/engi-

neering set-up in PWD

The cabinet decided to rationalise electri-

cals/engineering set-up in PWD. Since

workload of Bhopal electricals/engineer-

ing division has increased much, a sepa-

rate Public Works Electricals/Engineering

Division will be constituted by removing

from it Vidisha, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Be-

tul, Sehore, Rajgarh and Harda for better

conduct of electricals/engineeri ng works

in these districts. New division will be

headquartered at Bhopal. Similarly, it was

decided to constitute a new division in

Sagar since there is not electricals/engi-

neering division there. Postings in these

will be made through rationalisation of

available staff.

New dimensions toinfrastructure

development in the state


2/12

Industrial accidentsclaim over 200lives in 3 yearsNearly 215 lives were lost in various

industrial accidents in Chhattisgarh

in past three years, health minister,

Amar Aggarwal, disclosed in the

Vidhan Sabha.

The minister said a total of 209

accidents had taken place during

this period and they had also left

139 people injured.

16 SIMI activists in netA total of 16 operatives of the

banned Student Islamic Movement

of India (SIMI) outfit were arrested in

the past one year in Chhattisgarh.

This was disclosed by home minister

Ramsewak Paikra, in the assembly in

response to a question raised by the

leader of the opposition, TS

Singhdeo.

The minister said all members ofthe banned outfit were nabbed from

the capital Raipur and were booked

under provisions of Unlawful

Activities, Arms and Explosives

Substances Acts.

Liquor sales skyrocketin ChhattisgarhRAIPUR: If the government had

thought that reducing the number

of liquor shops in the state would

result in lesser consumption, it has

been proved wrong as sales have

skyrocketed in the past year.

According to figures tabled in the

House recently, though 335 liquor

shops and vends were closed last

year in accordance with the

government's policy of partial

prohibition, sales of all types of

liquor, including country and IMFL

has shot up. Revenue minister Amar

Aggarwal disclosed that till January

this year 3.63 crore proof litres of

country liquor have been sold. The

sale figure for IMFL (spirit) was over

3.35 lakh litres.

Displaced families face

starvation, alleges Cong

Chhattisgarh government has saidthat the process of rehabilitating

people whose land was acquired for

setting up National Mineral

Development Corporation (NMDC)

Steel Plant at Nagarnar, Jagdalpur,

would be completed by 2017. The

ruling BJP government came in for

some embarrassment as Congress

alleged that names of many people

had been deleted purposely by

citing them ineligible for jobs. He

said 1,000 acres was acquired from

1,052 account holders but names of

almost half of them were deleted. He

said those families were on verge of

starvation.

Revenue minister Premprakash

Pandey told Vidhan Sabha that

under the rehabilitation policy, 838

nominated members of the 369

account holders, displaced due to

acquisition of their land, were found

eligible for jobs. He said all of them

would be provided employment by

2017.

02 (MP&CG)February 17 to February 23, 2014Chhattisgarh Explore

Industry hails Chhattisgarh budgetRAIPUR

The industry has welcomed the

budget proposals, which has a total

outlay of Rs 54.710 crore with a

deficit of Rs 5,761 crore. They de-

scribed it as friendly and up to the

mark. The Chhattisgarh govern-

ment imposed no new taxes on the

industry in the state's budget for

2013-14.

The government announced a

slew of measures to provide relief

to local, small and the medium

scale iron and steel and cottage in-

dustries, which in particular are

witnessing tough times due to the

on-going economic recession.

Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh,

who also holds the finance portfo-

lio, said these reliefs were neces-

sary for reviving local industries,which have been generating jobs

for the people of the state. In an ef-

fort to promote cottage industries

set up by self -help groups (SHGs),

the government has waived off

VAT on products manufactured by

them.

The tractor trolley was also made

tax free. Dr Singh announced that

in order to make small and medium

scale iron & steel industries com-

petitive, the government has decid-

ed to reduce central sales tax from

2% to 1% on goods manufactured

by them.

The CM also proposed to waive

off entry tax on "Iron Ore Pellets"

and "Billets" imported by small and

medium steel industries from out-

side the State to ensure adequate

supply of raw materials to them.

VAT on bicycles and its parts man-

ufactured by local industries were

also reduced from 5% to 2%.

The government slashed the en-

try tax on "Coking Coal" imported

by Bhilai Steel Plant from 6% 1%.

In a bid to revive the sick industries

the government has proposed waiv-

ing off the 5% stamp duty present-

ly levied on purchase of such in-

dustries. The government also

waived off the 5% VAT on soybean,

which is used as raw material in

these industries. The government

also proposed self-certification for

small dealers by waiving off the re-

quirement for inspection before

registration.

Describing the budget as "indus-

try friendly", Pradeep Tandon,

Chairman PHD Chamber of Com-

merce and Industries, Chhattis-

garh, said, "its good for small scale

and cottage industries, set up by

small help groups, as their profit

margins will increase with theseconcessions". He said these relief

measures were the "need of the

hour" and will ultimately help con-

sumers, as they would get cheaper

products.

Showing a "thumbs up" sign to

give his approval for the budget,

Mahesh Kakkar, President Chhat-

tisgarh Udyog Mahasangh, said.

"It's a welcome step". He said the de-

cisions were "up to the mark" and

reduction of central sale tax from

2% to 1% will help manufacturers.

Manish Gupta, Chairman of CII,

said the budget is "wonderful". "By

reducing taxes and duties in these

rough recessionary times the gov-

ernment has provided the much

needed relief to the industry", he

said. Gupta felt that the reduction

in central sales tax would hep the

Steel industries a great deal, as

they were the worst sufferers. He

also hailed the various concessions

accorded to the cottage industry.

Road accidents claim 2000 lives in Raipur in 4 yearsRAIPUR

Raipur has witnessed 10,000 acci-

dents with more than 2000 deaths

in last four years. Most fatal acci-

dents occurred due to irresponsi-

ble and rash driving in the resi-

dential areas. Traffic experts say

that along with unawareness and

lack of interest in a safe drive,

dearth of vision plays significant

role in traffic jam and accidents.

"For instance, while one has to

turn right from the signal, he

would halt on the left most side of

road which causes a jam once sig-

nal turns green, as the person

would struggle hard to take right

and other vehicles would march

on," a traffic expert said adding

that it is the responsibility of traf-

fic officials to create awareness

and take action on violators.

Chhattisgarh ranks high among

states in deaths due to road acci-

dents. However, traffic issues

seem perennial in the state as

chaos reigns on streets in the state

capital and other cities. Accord-ing to Ministry of Road Transport

and National Highway, Chhattis-

garh stands third in deaths on

road with about 60% above aver-

age of 32%.

According to residents, number

of vehicles, cars, autos and buses

continue to swell in the city and

contribute to road rage. Few

stretches that were once consid-

ered safe like Shankar Nagar,

Gaurav Path, Shailendra Nagar

and Katora Talab have recently

emerged as accident prone areas.

Peak hours cause accidents due to

a mad rush of vehicles and non-

peak hours cause fatal accidents

as people daringly move at

greater speed.

However, lack of coordination

of traffic department with civic

authority, public works depart-

ment and transport department is

clearly understood when traffic

officials clarify that several pro-

posals over resolving traffic prob-

lems are pending with these de-

partments.

Blind spots, lack of traffic

awareness, drunk driving and in-

active traffic police are reasons

for the deadly figure of 4,000 and

more deaths in last few years in

Chhattisgarh. Citizens feel it is

high time that the traffic depart-

ment took a call on rising inci-

dents of road accidents and

deaths caused due to irresponsi-

ble road traffic.


3/12

03(MP&CG) February 17 to February 23, 2014 Bhopal

Education gives knowledge, skills and values: ChauhanBHOPAL


Chauhan has said that meaningful

education is that gives knowledge,

skills and values. Education which

is useful for l ife is necessary. He

said that efforts should be made to

ensure that Indian universities also

figure in the list of 200 best univer-

sities of world.

Chauhan was addressing annual

function of People's University

here recently. Chauhan urged

youths to create new history. They

should lead a life which is useful

for country and society. They

should contribute their best to the

areas from where they come. He

said that human beings have im-

mense capacities. It one makes up

his mind then nothing is impossi-

ble. The Chief Minister said that

Madhya Pradesh was once a sick

state, but is now the fastest growing

state in the country. The President

has conferred Krishi Karman

Award to Madhya Pradesh. The

state is also going to receive Best

Tourism State Award on February

18.

The Chief Minister said that

Madhya Pradesh will be developed

as the best state in the country. For

this, cooperation of all sections of

society is necessary. The govern-

ment has taken resolve to ensure

that no youth wanders for employ-

ment. Chauhan said that remem-

brance of India's glorious history

inspires youths to excel in future.

He said that independence has not

been gifted away but won by India

by brave people and martyrs of the

country. He recalled services of a

number of brave people and

women of freedom movement.

The Chief Minister gave away

gold medals to university's merito-

rious students and released a sou-

venir.

Villagers pleasantly surprised to find CM among them

BHOPAL

Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chauhan recently

paid surprise visit to vil-

lage Bharan during his tour of

Shajapur district. Residents of

the village situated 12 kilometers

from Shajapur became very hap-

py findi ng the

Chief Minister among them.

The Chief Minister asked them

about benefits of government

schemes received by them. Hold-

ing the list of Mukhyamantri

Grameen Aawas Yojana in his

hand, the Chief Minister asked

villagers one by one whether

they have received house under

the scheme. The villagers were

pleasantly surprised to find the

CM among them.

One of the scheme's beneficiar-

ies Sukhram said that it is due to

favour shown by the Chief Minis-

ter that people living in shanties

earlier have got pucca houses.

Other beneficiaries also hailed

the Chief Minister. On the appli-

cation of heart patient Chhagan

Lal, the Chief Minister said that

arrangements will be made for

his treatment. The Chief Minis-

ter directed the district collector

in this regard. On villagers' de-

mand, he also announced to open

a higher secondary school.

The Chief Minister informed

villagers that government is

making earnest efforts to ensure

that income is increased and

agriculture becomes profitable.

He said that scholarships will

also be given to children of poor

people belonging to general cate-

gory. The Chief Minister assured

to develop Bharan as an ideal vil-

lage.

Eats roti fromwoman's tiffin

When CM Shivraj Singh

Chauhan was interacting

with common people

during Aao Banayen Apna Madhya

Pradesh convention, a woman said

that she has been removed from

ashram by levelling the charge that

she does not cook well whereas she

cooks well. She opened her tiffin

box and moved it towards the Chief

Minister. Chauhan tasted a roti from

the tiffin box and appreciated its

taste. After giving a patient hearing

to the woman, the Chief Minister

directed divisional commissioner to

help her.

Chief Minister Chauhan interacted

with people at city's busiest Chowk

area. He was cordially welcomed by

the people. The Chief Minister also

sipped tea with people. In-charge

Minister Paras Jain was also present

on the occasion. In Mahupura, the

Chief Minister inspected Chillar river.

He directed to clean it, strengthen

its banks and increase height of its

sidewalls. Chillar river will be

developed from tourism point ofview.

Ujjaini to develop asreligious, tourist spot

The CM also visited Indore

district's Ujjaini village

recently in order to review the

progress of state's first river link

project. Kshipra river originates from

near Ujjaini village. Under Narmada-

Kshipra River Link Simhastha

project, the Narmada water has

been brought to Ujjaini in order to

revive Kshipra river, which dries up

during summers. Chauhan said

Ujjaini village, the meeting point of

Kshipra and Narmada, will be

developed as religious and tourist

spot. He said that idols of Lord Shiva,

goddess Narmada and goddess

Kshipra will be consecrated at the

venue. Its detailed project report will

be prepared soon.

Centre shouldprocure gram onsupport price: CM

BHOPAL

In letters to Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and Union Agri-

culture Minister Sharad Pawar for

protection of farmers' interests

and proper price of their produce,


Chauhan has said that Madhya

Pradesh tops in gram production

in the country. Central Govern-

ment has announced Rs. 3100 per

quintal as support price for gram

while market price is between Rs.

2300 and Rs. 2500 per quintal. Cen-

tral Government's agency NAFED

is not procuring gram on support

price. Central Government should

take initiative and direct NAFED

to procure gram on support price.

Besides, jute bags for storage,

space and credit should also be in-

creased for NAFED so that the

agency can ensure pre-procure-

ment preparations.

In the letters, Chauhan men-

tioned that Central Government

had provided Rs. 306 crore subsidy

for promoting pulses production.

As a result, 10 percent increase was

registered in growth area of gram

in Madhya Pradesh. Production is

also expected to increase by 24 per-

cent. It is necessary to procure 20

lakh MT gram on support price in

Madhya Pradesh. Procurement isbeing done in a better way through

e-Procurement in Madhya

Pradesh. State's agency is also do-

ing good work.

Chauhan met Union Agriculture

Minister Sharad Pawar at his New

Delhi residence and urged him to

direct NAFED to procure gram

from farmers of Madhya Pradesh

on support price. Chauhan de-

manded that either NAFED should

procure gram on support price or

the Central Government authorise

any other agency for it or the

Union Agriculture Ministry

should authorise state's MARK-

FED to procure gram on support

price so that farmers of Madhya

Pradesh are not forced to sell gram

at lower price than announced by

the Central Government. The State

Government is willing to sign

agreement with state NAFED and

Ministry for procuring gram on

support price.


4/12

04 (MP&CG)February 17 to February 23, 2014Raipur Trail

26 lakh families in CG got job under MGNREGARAIPUR

During the current financial year

2013-14 till January, 9 crore 18 lakh

man days of employment have

been provided to around 26 lakh

families of Chhattisgarh under the

Central Government's flagship

scheme Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee

Scheme (MNREGA).

Out of this, 37 per cent or nearly 3

crore 38 lakh man days employ-

ment were provided to Tribal fam-

ilies and 88 lakh man days employ-

ment to Scheduled Caste Families.

Out of the total 9 crore 18 lakh man

days employment created so far,

nearly 47 per cent or four crore 29

lakh man days employment were

provided to women.

According to officials of Pan-

chayat and Rural Development De-partment, for the total work exe-

cuted under the scheme workers

were paid wages of Rs1,247 crore

during the period. At the same

time, Rs394 crore were spent on

materials used for construction

work.

Under the Mahatma Gandhi Na-

tional Rural Employment Guaran-tee Scheme work related to water

conservation, water

recharging/collection, micro and

small irrigation scheme, rural

road construction, flood control,

construction of

sports ground, Anganwadis, ish-

eries, land development, construc-

tion work related to rural sanita-tion and drinking water, develop-

ment of land belonging to BPL

families, scheduled castes and

scheduled tribes, small and mar-

ginal farmers and those holding

forest right pattas to make them

cultivable.

According to department offi-

cials, under this scheme on private

land also construction of pond for

irrigation, horticulture, nursery

development, production of organ-

ic manure through wormy com-

post, construction of shed for goat

battery farming, shed for keeping

mulching animals and construc-

tion of urine tank can be taken up.

Till date in Chhattisgarh 2,11,459

works have been executed on pri-

vate land which included construc-

tion of 419 wells and 2,02,040 works

of land development. Out of the

49,510 works of water conservation

36,743 works of micro irrigation

and 7,951 works out of 10 thousandwork of construction of irrigation

canal have been completed.

11 more Chhattisgarhcities to be free from

open defecation

RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh government has

decided to set up bio-toilets in slums

across 11 cities. According to officials,

11 cities- Korba, Jagdalpur,

Rajnandgaon, Durg, Bhilai, Dhamtari,

Ambikapur, Koria, Raigarh, Raipur and

Bilaspur have been identified for the

project.

The project aims to make these

cities free from open defecation. With

less than 30% people in the state

having access to toilets and over 80%

of slum dwellers resorting to open

defecation, the concept, if successful,

could go a long way in resolving the

problem in urban areas. Open

defecation has become a major

problem in both rural and urban

areas of state. With open spaces nking

due to fast paced urbanisation, the

problem is becoming a health hazard.

The move follows successful results

of a pilot project that was started in

the cities of Raipur and Bilaspur last

year. Officials said that maintenance

of existing bio toilets in Raipur and

Bilaspur slums, which includes

stationary units of 20 seats each, is

done by the local Mahila Arogya

Samiti. A user fee is charged fromthose using the facility and the funds

generated are used to hire a caretaker

and a cleaner.

In Chhattisgarh less than 30%

households have toilet facility within

premises is 30% or less. Although the

government constructed a large

number of toilets, majority remain

unused due to various reasons, the

main reason being non-availability of

water in summer months.

State Health Resource Centre

(SHRC) director, JP Mishra said i n

urban areas, particularly in the slums,

nearly 80% of population does not

have access to latrines. Mishra said

the encouraging results of SHRC

projects in Raipur and Bilaspur had

prompted them to extend this to

other cities. "Bio-toilets, developed by

Defence Research and Development

Organization (DRDO), can help

address the problem of open-

defecation in a holistic manner," he

said.

16 pc drop inmalnutrition inChhattisgarh: CAGRAIPUR: Chhattisgarh, the tribal-dominated

state, is ahead of several states when it comes

to tackling malnutrition.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor

General (CAG) report on the Integrated Child

Development Scheme (ICDS), Chhattisgarh has

registered a substantial decrease in the mal-

nourished children in last four years.

The Union Ministry for Women and Child

Welfare data used by

the CAG shows that

malnourishment rate

in Chhattisgarh has

decreased from 54 per

cent in 2006-07 to 38 per

cent in 2012-13. While

states like Bihar and

Orissa have failed

drastically in improv-

ing the malnourish-

ment rate.

Malnutrition rate in

Bihar and Orissa is amatter of concern

with figures as the child malnourishment in Bi-

har in 2013 was a shocking 82.12 per cent. Oth-

er States with substantial decrease in the mal-

nourished children are; Gujarat (from 71 to 39

percent); Karnataka (from 53 to 41 percent); Ma-

harashtra (from 45 to 23 percent); Uttar

Pradesh (from 53 to 41 percent); Uttarakhand

(from 46 to 25 percent); and West Bengal (from

53 to 37 percent).

Social activists have lauded Chhattisgarh's ef-

forts in curbing malnutrition, saying Chhattis-

garh has done a commendable work in tackling

the problem. The report says that only two per

cent of the total weighed children in Chhattis-

garh are severally malnourished, whereas in

Bihar: 26%, Gujarat: 5%, Karnatak and Maha-

rashtra: 3% and West Bengal: 4% children are

severally malnourished. Chhattisgarh govern-

ment had recently announced the hike in allo-

cation of suppl ementary nutrition food fund

meant for women and children under the Inte-

grated Child Development Services (ICDS)

scheme, benefitting 49,000-odd Anganwadi cen-

tres in the State.

Naxal-affected dists have undergonepositive change, says Raman Singh

RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has

said that Naxal-affected districts have certainly

undergone a major positive change because of

the development works conducted in the State.

Frequency of Naxal related incidents has also

decreased. Both State Police and CRPF are brave-ly discharging their duties in a well-coordinated

manner. Recently, many Naxalites have surren-

dered, the Chief Minister said.

Raman Singh was interacting with Prime Min-

ister Manmohan Singh's Special Advisor TKA

Nayar here recently. The Chief Minister told Na-

yar that efforts of State Government for uplift-

ing the living standard of people there despite all

odds and challenges have bore fruit. Nayar has

assured that the Centre would continue to ex-

tend all the cooperation and support to Chhattis-

garh Government in its fight against insurgency.

Singh said a special project had been launchedl

for the Naxal-affected children of Dantewada

district. The Jawanga village was being devel-

oped as an 'Education City' and Dantewada dis-

trict as a major Education Centre of the State, he

said. Besides, in Manpur area of Rajnandgaon

district also, the State Government was doing

commendable work for socio-economic develop-

ment of villagers there. Singh informed Nayar

about the scheme of 'Mukhya Mantri Bal Bhav-

ishya Suraksha Yojana', initiated by State gov-

ernment for the Naxal-affected children. He said

that under this scheme, the children were being

provided better education facilities. The Chief

Minister also informed Nayar about 'Prayas

Boarding Schools.'

On the occasion, the Prime Minister's Advisor

discussed the policies and schemes with Chief

Minister for rehabilitation of surrendered in-

surgents. Nayar said the State Government

should continue to take such innovative steps inthe larger interest of public. He said that better

implementation of Government schemes had

won the confidence of the people of N axal-af-

fected areas, especially youth. It is definitely a

good sign that people have faith in the State Gov-

ernment, he added.

Nayar appreciated the State Government's var-

ious schemes and projects that were being exe-

cuted in the aforesaid districts for development

of education and livelihood. Nayar told the

Chief Minister that under his guidance, the

young officials are conceptualising innovative

projects, like Livelihood College Project, for c re-

ating employment and self-employment oppor-

tunities for youths in State. The Chief Minister

stated that the State Government had formed

policies to associate such people (surrendered

insurgents) with mainstream of society. "The

Government is providing every possible help to

such people, so that they may lead a peaceful

life," said Singh and added that in the districts of

Bastar and Sarguja Revenue divisions, a large

number of l ocal youth had been recruited into

the Government services by creating Grade-III

and Grade-IV posts.


5/12

05(MP&CG) February 17 to February 23, 2014 Madhya Pradesh

MP worst performer in voter sex ratioBHOPAL

C

hief minister Shivraj Singh

Chauhan may be the

favourite 'mama' for the

'ladlis' with his government's cam-

paign against foeticide and gender

bias. However, Madhya Pradesh is

among the worst performers in vot-

er sex ratio. With a skewed male-fe-

male voter sex ratio, MP fares at

the bottom of the charts with Uttar

Pradesh and Bihar.

With an average sex ratio of vot-

ers at 804, MP is among the worst

performers in the country as per a

survey of electoral data of 16 major

states from 1962 to 2013 carried out

by Mudit Kapoor and Shamika

Ravi, assistant professors at the In-

dian School of Business, Hyder-

abad.Average sex ratio of voters is the

number of women voters for every

1,000 men voters. While it has im-

proved from 558 in the 1960s, it's

still a cause for concern. Haryana

and Gujarat are among the other

worse performers in the list.

Among the BIMARU states, Ra-

jasthan had the best voter sex ratio

of 861 while Uttar Pradesh had

worst voter sex ratio of 761 overall.Bihar on the other hand was mar-

ginally better than UP with the sex

ratio of voters being 783.

Barring some exceptions, the

ranking remains fairly unchanged.

Bihar, with the most adverse voter

sex ratio in the 1960s, was the sec-

ond worst state. Kerala heads the

list with the most equitable gender

ratio among voters, right through

the last 50 years. Overall, Kerala

and Himachal Pradesh had the best

voter sex ratio at 1046 and 1029 re-

spectively.

The professors also found evi-

dence that women voters are agents

of change, they vote differently

from men and affect re-election

prospects significantly. Also, the de-

cline in the gender bias is also due

to the fact that there has been an

improvement in the sex ratio in the

states.

"The fact that more women are

voluntarily exercising their right

to franchise across all states in In-dia is testimony to the rise of self-

empowerment of women, This is

an extraordinary achievement in

the world's largest democracy with

717 million voters of which 342 mil-

lion voters are women," said Prof

Ravi.

Chairperson for MP state

women's commission (MPSWC)

Upma Rai said, "The problem with

MP is that sex ratio itself is highly

skewed. That is bound to reflect the

voting population. Besides, in vil-

lages and backward areas, the 'pur-

dah pratha' is still prevalent mak-

ing it difficult for women to venture

out. Still, women are increasingly

casting their vote which is a heart-

ening trend," she said.

According to Election Commis-

sion of India (ECI), in Raisen,

Guna, Vidisha and Rajgarh dis-

tricts of MP, women voters showed

less inclination to cast their vote

during the last assembly polls. Wor-

ried over it, ECI took innovativesteps to increase voter turnout in

these districts under its systematic

voters' education and electoral par-

ticipation (SVEEP) programme.

Government and society to develop golden MP: CM

BHOPAL


Chauhan has said that govern-

ment and society will work in tan-

dem to develop a golden Madhya

Pradesh. Pace of development

will increase manifold if farmers,

labourers, industrialists, traders,

students, teachers, employees and

public representatives work unit-

edly in right earnest and dedica-

tion. The Chief Minister was ad-

dressing an "Aao Banayen Apna

Madhya Pradesh" convention at

Satna today. On the occasion,

Chauhan laid foundation stones

for over Rs. 92 crore works and in-

augurated over Rs. 66 crore works.

On the occasion, he also distrib-

uted assistance amounts worth

Rs. one crore to 1068 beneficiaries

and tri-cycles to disabled persons.


lack of funds will not be allowed

to hinder development of Vind-

hya region. Water of Bargi river

will be brought to Satna. Basic fa-

cility will be developed for indus-

trial development. Rewa-Satna

Road will be converted to 4-lane

and flyover will also be construct-

ed at Satna. He said that 2 higher

secondary schools will be opened

in the city in the ensuing academ-

ic session. The Chief Minister

urged people present on the occa-

sion to take up at least one cre-

ative work.

He said that people can choose

works including water conserva-

tion, environmental protection,

plantation, sanitation, toilet con-

struction, girls' education etc. On

the occasion, the Chief Minister

inspected an exhibition put by

various departments and per-

formed Kanya Poojan.

Vidisha to be developedas model city

During a review meeting at

Vidisha, Chief Minister

Chauhan said that Vidisha

will be developed as a model city.

Whatever is necessary for this will

be done. Message should be

disseminated to city's residents that

their partnership is also vital in this.

He said that Vidisha is a historic city.

Its pristine glory will be restored.


crossings and parks should be

beautified under campaign to

beautify Vidisha city. He urged to

paint houses on both sides of

National Highway passing through

the city with same colour with

people's cooperation so that city

emerges as Pink City like Jaipur. Hesaid that attention should be paid

that water is not logged in houses

on National Highway since height

of road has increased after cement-

concrete works. Better arrangement

for release of water should be

made. Infrastructure works should

be done as per city development

plan. Funds for sewage treatment

network should be judiciously

utilised and works completed at the

earliest. Land allocated at village

Dhanora Haveli for airport was also

discussed on the occasion.

The Chief Minister said that a

large stadium will be constructed at

Vidisha which is near the state

capital.

He directed the collector to

earmark at least 50 acre for the

proposed stadium, which should be

given suitable shape as per norms

prescribed for holding one-day

international cricket matches.

ROW ERUPTS AS GOVT PARKGETS SOLD OUT IN SEHOREA sensational case of selling a park

in mid of the city has come to fore.

The morale of the culprits was s o

high that they did not only sell the

Government-owned park under

administration's nose but also done

plotting over it. The interesting

point is that all the while district

administration remained unaware of

the happenings.

The sons of the watchman of

Nehru Park sold the park spread

over two acres in the middle of the

city. The administration awakened

only when the coloniser who

purchased the park started doing

plotting over it. The administration

is now saying that it would

investigate the whole thing and the

documents regarding the

ownership of the park land wouldbe cross checked.

According to information available

with The Pioneer, the Britishers

established this park behind the

district hospital in the year 1931

over two acres of land. In 70s, statue

of Jawaharlal Nehru was placed in it

and since then the place started to

be known as Nehru Park.

Sehore Municipality appointed

Gopal Kushwaha as watchman of

the park in the year 1975. A piece of

land from the park was given

through Patta to Kushwaha in the

name of his wife Kalawati for

construction of house. Since the

death of Kushwaha and his wife his

two sons are living in that house. A

few years back the sons of

Kushwaha Sanand and Anand sold

the whole park to a coloniser.

The coloniser after doing plotting

over sold it on very high rates to

many people. Those who purchased

the plots also applied for diversion

of the land use in Nuzul.The matter

was exposed when the SDM Hridesh

Shrivastava reached the place on

Sunday for taking action under the

ongoing drive against the illegal

colonies.

STATE SUGGESTS RADIOCOLLAR FOR KUNO TIGERMadhya Pradesh has recommended

to the Centre that the lone tiger in

its Palpur Kuno sanctuary be fitted

with a radio collar to check any

possible conflict with lions

proposed to be introduced in the

reserve from Gujarat.

Palpur Kuno sanctuary, under

Sehopur district of Gwalior division,

has been chosen as the second

home for Asiatic lions found

exclusively in Gujarat's Gir

sanctuary. The matter of conflict

between tiger and lions was

mentioned in an action plan made

by a technical committee involving

officials of Ministry of Environment

and Forests (MoEF), Madhya Pradesh

and Gujarat Governments, and Wild

Life Institute of India (WII), following

a Supreme Court directive to the

Centre to ensure successful

reintroduction of lions.

BRIEF


6/12

06 (MP&CG)February 17 to February 23, 2014Editorial

ASTROLOGY

19-02-2014- Wednesday - Falgun

Mah Krishnapaksh-Chaturthi

Positive directions - South and West

Bad time - 12:41 pm to 2:06 pm

Good time - 6:57 am to 9:49

am and 3:32 pm to 6:24 pm

20-02-2014-Thursday- Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh-Panchami

Positive directions - South and West



am and 11:15 am to 2:06 pm and

4:59 pm to 6:25 pm

21-02-2014- Friday -Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh- Shashthi

Positive directions - West

Bad time - 11:14 am to 12:40 pm


am and 12:41 pm to 2:07 pm and

4:59 pm to 6:25 pm

22-02-2014- Saturday -Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh- Saptami

Positive directions - West and North

Bad time - 9:48 am to 11:14 am


am and 12:40 pm to 4:59 pm

23-02-2014- Sunday - Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh-Asthami

Positive directions - North and West



pm and 2:07 pm to 3:33 pm

24-02-2014- Monday Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh- Navami (DashmiTithi Kshay)

Positive directions- East and North

Bad time - 8:21 am to 9:47 am


am and 9:48 am to 11:13 am and

4:07 pm to 6:26 pm

25-02-2014- Tuesday -Falgun Mah

Krishnapaksh - Ekadashi

Positive directions-North and East


Good time - 9:47 am to 3:32 pm

By AACHARYA SARVESH

E-Mail: achar [email protected]

Mobile: 9826609192

VASTU TIPS FOR OFFICE

The office of the key person

should be in the South-West

corner of the office.

Make sure that there is no

toilet door facing your office

cubicle/room.

Avoid offices that are in the

dead-end of a s treet/road.

Keep the entrance of your

office free from any obstaclei.e. after a customer opens the

door, he should not

immediately confront a huge

table (often the receptionists

table) or a cubicle.

Third front stands little chance of forming govt

Unless the combined tally of

the Congress and the BJP

falls below 272 seats, which

is highly improbable at this point

of time, a third front stands no

chance of forming a government ofits own. With both the BJP and the

Congress scouting for electoral

partners and political allies, many

of the major regional parties have

the option of tying up with one or

the other of the two parties most

likely to lead the next government

at the Centre.

But some like the All India Anna

DMK in Tamil Nadu have already

chosen the third way: an alliance

with the Left parties, whether in

the hope of propping up a non-Con-

gress, non-BJP alternative or by

way of keeping post-poll options

open. By all accounts, a third front

does not appear to be a contender

for power without the support of ei-

ther the Congress or the BJP. Un-

less the combined tally of the Con-

gress and the BJP falls below 272

seats, which is highly improbable

at this point of time, a third front

stands no chance of forming a gov-

ernment of its own. Indeed, the

third front in its present form is a

collection of regional parties with

the backing of the two Left parties,the CPI and the CPI (M).

In many cases, a pre-election al-

liance is immaterial as the parties

have different areas of influence.

While the Left parties would surely

like an alternative to both the Con-

gress and the BJP to emerge, many

of the regional satraps talking of a

third front, such as Mulayam Singh

Yadav and Sharad Yadav of the

Janata Dal (United), are merely

thinking up a way to make their

parties more relevant in a Lok Sab-

ha election.

Not surprising ly, the AIADMK

wants its leader Jayalalithaa to be

the Prime Minister, and Mulayam

Singh sees a similar role for him-

self, noting that Uttar Pradesh

sends more members to Parliament

than Tamil Nadu or Bihar. Bihar

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too

would like to be in the race now

that he has cut off relations with

the BJP. Depending on the results,

many of the parties now talking of

a third front might actually decide

to back either the Congress or theBJP, as they have done in the past.

The two major national parties

would have to do very badly if the

amorphous third front is to lead the

next government at the Centre.

Cong's defeat will call into question viability of dynasty

The most recent opinion

poll predicts only 89

seats for the Congress

and 202 for the BJP. These num-

bers may or may not be ab-

solutely accurate. Other opinion

polls make for slight variations.

However the broad trends are

the same. The Congress is in se-

rious danger of falling below

100 seats, which would be its

worst performance ever. The

BJP is predicted to win 200 seats

or thereabouts, which would be

its best performance ever. The

UPA Government has been

around for a decade. Sonia

Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have

been the faces of the establish-

ment -- though they have not for-

mally served in Government --

but are indelibly associatedwith the UPA.

As such, an anti-incumbency

vote against the UPA and a

harsh sentiment against a sys-

tem of privilege and Nehru-

Gandhi authority cannot be

ruled out. It is no longer easy to

pretend people are angry with

Manmohan Singh, but are neu-

tral or even sympathetic to-

wards the Congress president

and vice-president. The impend-

ing defeat will call into question

the viability of the Nehru-Gand-

hi dynasty as a political and

electoral brand. Dissidents did

leave the Congress in both 1977

and 1989. Indira Gandhi in fact

had to split the party after that

post-Emergency defeat.

However, a vast number of loy-

alists and an all-India political

network stayed true to her. How-

ever, 2014 threatens to be differ-

ent. There is little faith in Rahul

Gandhi emerging as a decisive,

clear-headed political leader

who will electrify the public.

His political acumen and elec-

toral strategies are politely de-

scribed as 'idealistic' and 'long-

term'. Privately they have Con-

gress functionaries tearing

their hair.

If the Congress indeed drops

down to 89 seats (as the recent

poll says), then recovery in the

next election would mean a tar-

get of 125-135 seats, far from the

206 the party won in 2009 and

even further from the single-

party majority its old-timers

still dream of. Quick fixes, like

replacing Rahul Gandhi with

his sister on the basis of the spe-

cious belief that she is more of

a people's person, will hardly

solve the larger problem.

What is more likely is a funda-

mental restructuring of power

equations within the Congress.

Any state-level stalwart who

emerges in a post-2014 situation

will either do so outside the

Congress umbrella or will de-

mand a heavy price for identify-

ing with the Congress. He or she

will dictate terms to Delhi.

Apart from internal collapse,

the Congress is also encounter-

ing a singularly determined op-

ponent. The party has faced

challenges before. The BJP un-

der Narendra Modi differs from

this old model on two counts.

One, having run Gujarat for 12

years, Modi represents not just

an alternative tradition in poli-

tics but also an alternative tra-

dition in governance. All of

these are harsh realities for the

Congress to deal with.

- (Editorial by Dilip Ojha)


7/12

07(MP&CG) February 17 to February 23, 2014 Miscellaneous

Organic agriculture toreceive boost inUttarakhandDehradun: Uttarakhand Organic Commodity

Board (UOCB) that promotes organic activities

in agriculture and allied sectors such as horti-culture, medicinal aromatic plants and herbs

and animal husbandry throughout the state is

taking further steps to enhance organic farm-

ing.

UOCB is presently supporting more than

60,000 small and marginal farmers of

Uttarakhand for adaption of organic agri-

culture, internal control systems (ICS) and

marketing.

It also facilitates marketing linkages to more

than 10,000 farmer families where the farmers

get direct monetary benefits from the sales and

organic market benefits.

Significantly, the UOCB and agriculture de-

partment are planning to develop large scale

production areas where select water sheds and

valleys are developed in to organic belts.

In this context, UOCB has invited bids from

NGOs, institutions and consultant to conduct a

baseline survey for Saturation of Selected Block

(SSB) under Organic Farming Project.

The survey will have to be conducted for a

sample 800 farmer families in the blocks of

Rudraprayag, Okhimath, Jhakholi, Chamoli,

Dewal and Almora.

The project will bring about model bio villages

where large numbers of farmers practice the

complete package of practice for agriculture,

horticulture and animal husbandry, according

to an official notification.

Through the project, farmers will be motivat-

ed to voluntarily adopt the different organic

systems under organic, and they will be givenin-depth support in technical aspects, training,

capacity building, exposure etc.

The project also envisages bringing about

market linkages and developing value chain

links where the organic production hubs will be

connected to specially created collection cen-

tres and processing units.

The Primary objective of the SSB project is to

create and develop a fully saturated cluster /

water shed /block as a completed practice. It

would showcase the possibility of sustainable

agriculture where minimum volumes of exter-

nal inputs are used and optimum productivity

of the farm through the principals of organic

agriculture are achieved.

The SSB will focus equally at the significance

of integrated farming systems and support

farmers to develop income generation models

with the organic mode. Emphasis will be given

on holistic approach instead of intensive and

monoculture. Allied departments like

MAP,horticulture, silviculture, animal husbandry,

forestry, fisheries, and watershed etc. will par-

ticipate and converge with the SSB project.

In addition, farmers will be supported and

trained to make their own organic input at their

farms using all disposal organic matter, biomass

and other botanical known for their insecticidal

and nutrient properties. Indigenous Traditional

Knowledge (ITK) which has been documented

and used will also be used by the farmers.

Clearly, Organic agriculture has been well re-

ceived in the state by the farmers. In the kharifand rabi farmers campaign run by agriculture

department, the farmers have demanded for

organic programs to be brought in their villages.

The success of the programme is evident by

the number of agencies involved in the

production, processing and the marketing of

the organic produce within the state.

AAP has created platform to launch for LS pollsNEW DELHI

With Arvind Kejriwal's resignation, the po-

litical dynamics of Delhi has changed with

the capital all set to go for fresh elections

and Kejriwal & Co. hopes to emerge as sin-

gle largest party in the upcoming assembly

polls.

No doubt the AAP is eying the upcoming

parliamentary elections. The party has al-

ready announced its intention to field can-

didates for 350 Lok Sabha seats. AAP con-

venor Kejriwal is likely to present himself

as a victim of a conspiracy by the two

mainstream political parties and it would

flaunt its anti-corruption campaign among

the people and sell the idea of a corrup-

tion-free India. The party and its workers

believe the debutant political outfit has

been a victim of the political system.

"The BJP and the Congress together con-

spired against AAP to make sure it cannot

continue in the government," is the com-mon sentiment among the AAP support-

ers. But this time, the battle is likely to be

BJP-Congress vs. AAP since the party has

already made it clear that it would cam-

paign over the issue of resignation. "We

will play up the fact that the government

had to quit because the Congress and BJP

did not want to support the pro-people

moves initiated by the party in Delhi," said

an AAP leader. Kejriwal has made his in-

tention very clear through his resignation

letter to the President. He wants the Delhi

assembly to be dissolved and fresh elec-

tions to be held as soon as possible.

After demitting the office, Kejriwal gov-

ernment claimed it had achieved in 49 days

what others hadn't in years. AAP leaders

showed off the free water supply of about

660 litres a month to households, slashing

power bills by 50%, a CAG audit of dis-

coms and the launch of an anti-graft

helpline to prove their stand. They even

called the FIR against Mukesh Ambani,

Veerappa Moily and others as a landmark

decision by Delhi Government on gas pric-

ing scam. The party has been able to cre-

ate a decent platform to launch itself for

the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, sched-

uled to take place in April-May this year.

With little time for Lok Sabha elections,

AAP members would like their convener,

Arvind Kejriwal, to spearhead the election

campaign. By being Delhi CM, Kejriwal

would have been left practically inefficient

to launch an effective campaign for Lok

Sabha elections. However, BJP and Con-

gress may have indirectly provided an es-

cape route to AAP for the upcoming Lok

Sabha elections.

Is Akhilesh trying to soothe resentmentbrewing among minorities?

LUCKNOW/SAHARANPUR

Is Akhilesh Yadav trying to soothe the resentment

brewing among minorities in Muzaffarnagar after

the recent communal riots? Chief ministerAkhilesh Yadav, along with his father and Sama-

jwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh, inaugurat-

ed a medical college after the name of Jamiat Ule-

ma-e-Hind's founder "Maulana Mahmood Hasan"

in Saharanpur district recently.

In November last year, Chief Minister Akhilesh

Yadav renamed 'Manyavar Kanshiramji Govern-

ment Medical College' as 'Sheikhul Hind Maulana

Mahmood Hasan Medical College'.

According to reports, Maulana Abdul Latif Qua-

sim, Ustad of Darul-uloom Waqf, had said that the

SP government was trying to create a rift between

the dalits and Muslims by changing the name of

the Medical College. The father-son duo visited the

city to address seventh of the series of Samajwadi

Party rallies named 'Desh Bachao, Desh B anao'.

Meanwhile, various political leaders from vari-

ous parties opposed state government's decision to

re-christen "Kanshi Ram Medical college" as

"Shekh-ul-Hind". Hasan (1851-1920) was the

founder of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. The medical col-

lege was conceived in 2007 by Mayawati at a cost of

Rs. 300 crore. While, the move is seen as an attempt

by Akhilesh to appease Muslims ahead of Lok Sab-

ha elections.


8/12

08 (MP&CG)February 17 to February 23, 2014Must Read

Politics of blackmail replaces parliamentary democracyT

he parliament and the na-

tion were put to shame fol-

lowing unparalleled scenes

of violence in the House that were

sparked by Telangana Bill. The in-

creasing propensity of political

parties to resort to various forms

of disruption -- including dhar-

nas, shutdowns and hunger

strikes -- runs counter to parlia-

mentary democracy. If politics of

blackmail should replace constitu-

tional propriety, what is to stop a

prime minister from threatening

to commit suicide should a no-con-

fidence motion be brought against

his government?

Delhi chief minister Arvind Ke-

jriwal recently staged a dharna --

to the inconvenience of the gener-

al public -- in order to get some po-

licemen suspended. Such politi-

cians forget they have been electedto provide good governance, not

hold the system to ransom. In try-

ing to bypass legislative proce-

dures to achieve political goals

legislators expose their own short-

comings as lawmakers.

Parliamentary democracy de-

mands that legislators do their

homework and argue their case on

the basis of facts and reason. This

appears too much to ask from our

current crop of political represen-

tatives. Those who cite Gandhi to

justify their dharnas should know

that the Mahatma operated in

colonial times. Six decades of par-

liamentary democracy ought to

have ingrained parliamentary

propriety. India deserves far bet-

ter.

Expelled Congress MP L Ra-

jagopal used pepper spray inside

the Lok Sabha. Rajagopal and oth-

er anti-Telangana legislators -- in-

cluding TDP's Venugopal Reddy

who was accused of brandishing a

knife -- orchestrated one of the

worst disruptions in the history of

a Parliament. Such disruptions

are homicidal to the very spirit of

Parliament. While elected legisla-tors have every right to voice their

opinions and put forward con-

cerns of their constituencies, rep-

resentative democracy needs to be

distinguished from anarchy.

Constitutional procedures and

rules cannot be subverted to score

political points. Else Parliament

would be a mere mob of desperate

individuals lacking any means to

reconcile their differences. Of

course, the Telangana issue is

very contentious. This is all the

more reason why it should be dis-

cussed and debated threadbare in

Parliament. By turning the legis-

lature into a veritable circus, leg-

islators are undermining the very

source of their power and author-

ity.

Congress gamble on

Telangana is set to failEven those who believe that a

separate Telangana would

spur a faster socio-econom-

ic development in the region have

no hesitation in acknowledging

that the Congress leadership has

belatedly chosen to divide Andhra

only for purely electoral reasons.

The party expects to win a couple

of Lok Sabha seats in Telangana,

while it fears a complete washout

in the rest of Andhra. But the lead-

ership did not do its homework,

failed to get its own Andhra unit on

board. Once the Andhra chief min-

ister and a large number of minis-ters, MLAs and MPs from Seeman-

drha rebelled, the Congress leader-

ship ought to have put brakes on

the Telangana move. It did not. Be-

cause it is desperate for any seat it

might win. However, those who

know the situation on the ground

are of the firm belief that the Con-

gress gamble on Telangana is set to

fail. But leave the Congress and the

Telangana issue aside. What about

the sorry state of Parliament? They

were outright disgraceful.

Every Indian ought to hang his

head in shame that we send such

men and women to Parliament,

who uproot mikes from the presid-

ing officer's podium, raise raucous

slogans, tear up official papers,

hoist banners and generally con-

duct themselves in the most rowdy

manner in front of a nationwide

audience. Delinquent school kids

behave better. But what marked the

lowest of the low in the annals of

our parliamentary history was the

conduct of a ruling party member

from Andhra Pradesh, who had

come armed with a can of chilli-

pepper spray which he emptied on

all and sundry inside Lok Sabha. It

was a stellar performance, causing

the House to be adjourned immedi-

ately. Three members required

medical attention; even a few mem-

bers of the media sitting at some

distance suffered the stinging ef-

fect.

The entire nation went through

the stinging effect of that lone

member's idiotic act to take on hisown party in the Lok Sabha. The

collapse of the ruling party leader-

ship was complete. Now, even if the

Telangana resolution is passed,

only due to the BJP's readiness to

support the government, the bitter-

ness and animosity between the

people of the two regions in

Andhra will persist. And it is not

as if the people from Seemandhra

would cease to live in what would

become Telangana, but their sense

of insecurity and vulnerability

will need to be addressed. As for

the Parliament, the sanctum sanc-

torum of Indian democracy, it

stands irretrievably sullied.

Though the Prime Minister and the

top leadership of t he ruling party

bear major responsibility for the

disgracing of Parliament, everyone

else in the two Houses, including

the Opposition, is not blameless ei-

ther. The entire political class has

shamed India.

A Shameful day for the Parliament

BIPIN SASI

Lagadapati Rajagopal, the

Lok Sabha member from

Vijaywada, released the

pepper spray towards fellow

members after Home Minister

Sushilkumar Shinde tabled the

Telangana bill at noon. How is La-

gadapati different from Afzal

Guru who master-minded attack

on parliament?

What happened in parliament in

the last two days is part of that

glorious tradition where the well

of the house wails under the

weight of our overweight MPs

protesting against something or

the other. Please understand that

these are people's representa-

tives. People have elected and

sent them to voice their views. So

whatever is happening in Parlia-

ment is indicative of what peo-

ples mentality. Throwing mikes

or chairs represents dignified

practice of burning buses and

cars, fist fighting that public do

on streets.

The "Telangana Tangle" is not

something that has erupted quite

recently! Telangana was an im-

portant region of Hyderabad

State from 1948 to 1956! Andhra

state was carved out of Telugu

speaking northern districts of

Madras State on 1st October,1953!

All the states in India were re-or-

ganised on the basis of languages

on 1st November,1956! SRC did

NOT favour the "immediate

merger of Telangana with

Andhra in 1956! However, Andhra

Pradesh was formed by signing a

"Gentlemen's Agreement between

Telangana group and Andhra

state safeguarding Telangana's

interests! It has been a 57 years

"itch"! So Andhra was formed

without Telegana!

We should thank the MP for not

bringing mustard gas or handgun

in the parliament. Democracy in

India cannot be strengthened if

our elected members show nei-

ther respect nor faith in the Par-

liament and parliamentary con-ventions. Such unrestrained con-

duct is against a healthy form of

self-rule for which the freedom

movement was launched. Is it

"fraternity"? Is it a riot between

the minority and the majority?

Any democracy is facile in the ab-

sence of the moral authority of

the people's representatives, min-

isters and prime minister.

First, the issue could have been

handled with greater care for all

aspects and conflicting claims;

second, the PM could have im-

parted some discipline. The qual-

ity of administration whether it

is from a politician or a bureau-

crat has gone down drastically

world over, and the scenario in

near future as far as administra-

tion is concerned, it looks very

scary.

But it is unfortunate that the na-

tion is going down at a very high-

ly accelerated speed!


9/12

09(MP&CG) February 17 to February 23, 2014 Feature

Get along with the person in the mirror!SWECHCHHA OJHA

Email: [email protected]

"Getting along" with

people, it's not as easy

as it seems. Those

who say this too frequently to oth-

er people have probably not come

across the type of people that

those they advise have come

across.

This is probably what they call

empathy, the ability to put oneself

in the situation of others and try

to see things from their point of

view.

This is a quality that has become

a peril to those who have it be-

cause of its lack in too many peo-

ple. Another such quality is

Workoholism. But it's better thatwe talk about that some other

time.

The best thing would be to jump

back to getting along with people,

which is almost as hard as achiev-

ing the sense of empathy. Have

you ever thought how easy are

YOU for others to get along with?

Probably not.

But c'mon isn't it a thing you

must give a thought at? I think it

is, because when we tell others

how hard they are to get along

with, it's so much easier than in-

trospecting and getting to know

ourselves.

And easy things, they can be

done by anyone. The bigger per-

son is the one who takes the hard-

er task and does it for good. The

beauty of picking the harder

tasks is that you can dive into the

intensity of what you do and get

what you never expected.

As far as getting along is con-

cerned, you can only know how it

is for others to get along with you

when you try getting along with

yourself.

In fact, this is the best way to do

anything. If you want someone to

do something, try to do i t yourself

first. If you want to know some-

one, know yourself first. If you

want someone to understand you,

try to understand themselves

first. And thus, if you want people

to get along with you, get along

with yourself, get along with oth-

er people, and then ask others to

get along with someone else. Be-

fore you do this, how can you ask

others to do it? For you can't ex-pect others to do something you

don't know whether you can do or

not.

Since I was a kid, I have heard

my elders saying, "Treat others as

you want them to treat you." This

has engraved on my thinking so

deep that I can relate everything

to it in my life. Whenever I am

confused as to how my behaviour

should be with someone, I just

think how I would like them to be-

have with me. Whenever I give a

task to a little cousin or an office

subordinate, I first think if I can

do the same. I retrospect in the

night whatever I've said to people

and if I would like being told

those things by someone else.

This makes me realize my mis-

takes sooner than I would other-

wise and much before its too late

to correct them. This makes me

safe from expecting things that I

cannot get, makes me more empa-

thetic and more compassionate.

Sure it doesn't stop me from mak-

ing mistakes, but then who does-

n't make mistakes? We're all hu-

mans and making mistakes is our

birth right. But correcting them

well within time is what we can do

the best. And doing that as soon as

possible is the most wonderful

thing we can do. So next time you

ask something out of someone,

just think for a while, can you do

it too? Think. Realize. Correct

your mistakes. Smile. Cheers.

Love. Happy Monday.

Now, withdraw money fromyour relative's bank account

MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ina move to harness technology to fa-

cilitate remittances across India has

employed a method to withdraw re-

mittances from automated teller ma-

chine (ATMs) for those who do not

have a bank account. RBI governor

Raghuram Rajan while speaking at

inaugural session of Nasscom Lead-

ership Forum in Mumbai said that

through the innovative method a

money sender can go to an ATM of a

participating bank and authorise a

relative for money withdrawal from

his bank account. 'Recently, we

(RBI) approved setting up of a pay-

ment system, which will facilitate

funds transfers from bank account

holders to those without accounts

through ATMs', Rajan said. The

whole transaction is carried out in

simple steps. Once the sender has

authorised her relative to withdraw

money through an ATM, the inter-

mediary will generate an access

code and send it to money sender via

mobile after processing the pay-

ment. The receiver of the remit-

tance is granted permission throughthe processed code from the nearest

ATM of the participating bank. The

recipient will simply have to punch

in the access code and can cash the

remittance from the ATM.

The governor said that RBI aims at

better financial inclusion in the

country. He highlig hted the impor-

tance of cashing out as India has a

large recipient population. Most of

people do not even own a bank ac-

count and in a move to empower

such people RBI has come up with

this measure.

Such a system would provide for-

mal access to financial services by

incredible use of technology. Rajan

contented that with such advance

use of technology the cost of trans-

action shall come down as well. This

will provide access to the unbanked

areas of the nation, which has been

RBI's agenda since 40% of Indian

population doesn't have a bank ac-

count.

India becomes top exporter of rice

NEW DELHI

The country is likely to achieve

record 263.2 million tonne food-

grain production this year. This

would be about 4 million tonne

higher than the record of 259 mil-

lion tonnes achieved two years ago.

This was announced by Union

Agriculture and Food Processing

Minister Sharad Pawar, while ad-

dressing the national agricultural

exposition, Krishi Vasant, at Nag-

pur recently.

Sharad Pawar also informed that

the country has now become the

top exporter of rice and second top

exporter of wheat and cotton. India

also is the top producer of milk and

horticultural crops.

Krishi Vasant, the biggest ever

farm exposition so far, was inaugu-

rated by President Pranab Mukhar-

ji in a glittering ceremony. The

President lauded the 'new dimen-

sion and new direction' provided to

Indian farming in the last ten

years, which has seen the country

achieving food security and becom-

ing a top exporter of foodgrains. In

this period, special initiatives tak-

en for increasing foodgrain produc-

tion in the eastern part of the coun-

try, production of pulses and

oilseeds and provision of credit to

farmers have resulted in second

agricultural revolution in the coun-

try, he said.

Referring to the huge gathering

of farmers present at Krishi Vas-

ant, Pawar said that special trains

have been put into service to bring

farmers to the event. The exhibits

include farm machinery, new crop

and animal varieties and breeds,advances in the sphere of farm re-

search, and best practices for appli-

cation of inputs such as fertilisers

and seeds. An interesting aspect of

the exhibition is stalls by 92 suc-

cessful farmers. Pawar called upon

farmers to emulate these success-

ful farmers to improve their own

farm production and prosperity.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra,

Prithviraj Chavan, expressed the

hope that the recent policy initia-

tives coupled with credit flow

would lead to the country becom-

ing a global superpower in the field

of agriculture.

Krishi Vasant is being organized

by the Government of India and

Government of Maharashtra along

with CII, the strategic partner rep-

resenting Indian industry. Krishi

Vasant also showcases the history

of agricultural research accom-

plished in last the 100 years by

ICAR.


10/12

10 (MP&CG)February 17 to February 23, 2014Glamour

Shruti Haasan spendstiring session on

'Gabbar' setsPUNE

Veteran south-

ern actor Ka-

mal Haasan's

sizzling daughter

Shruti Haasan was

spotted shooting for

her upcoming flick

'Gabbar' in Pune.

The gorgeous ac-

tress, who has made

a huge impact in

Bollywood throughher flawless looks

and mind-blowing

acting, posted over

Twitter on Sunday,

"Longest day ever!

Finally in Pune to

shoot 'Gabbar'. Oh

how I love my sweet

white sheets."

The Hindi remake

of Tamil block-

buster 'Ramanna' is

being helmed by

renowned director

Krish and stars Ak-

shay Kumar and R

Madhavan in pivotal

roles.

The film is expect-

ed to hit the theaters

this Independence

Day on August 15,

2014.

Britney Spears suffers malfunction

during residency concertLOS ANGELES

Pop sensation Britney

Spears suffered malfunc-

tion during her residency

concert on February 4, 2014. She

faced embarrassment when her

microphone pack fell loose amid

a dance number.

Spears mesmerised audiences

until when her audio equipment

fell loose of her bejeweled black

leotard in the middle of her

dance number in Las Vegas. But

the experienced singer's morale

didn't shake up a bit as she con-

tinued her performance, as per

reports.

The 32-year-old have faced

many such oops moments in her

career.

The most recent was in Decem-

ber last year, when her corset

dress started to come off during a

rendition of her song "Circus".

Yami Gautam invites AliZafar to dine together

MUMBAI

Sensuous 'Vicky Donor' actress

Yami Gautam has decided to intro-

duce her 'Total Siyappa' costar Ali

Zafar to her family. For the same,

she has invited the Pakistani actor

to her home in Chandigarh where

she along with her family will host

a special dinner.

Meanwhile, Yami has invited Ali

Zafar because her family was real-

ly eager to offer him dinner as he

also is a Punjabi and is really fond

of Punjabi food. Ali Zafar also ex-

pressed happiness over being invit-

ed for dinner.

After the invitation, now, the

whole crew of 'Total Siyappa' is

planning to visit Yami Gautam's

house in Chandigarh.

'Total Siyappa' is a fun oriented

film which is based on a love story

of a Pakistani lad and an Indian

girl. The director has shown all the

complications in their way to mar-

riage in a comic way.

The film has been jointly pro-

duced by Neeraj Pandey, Reliance

Entertainment and &Pictures. It is

scheduled to hit the silver screens

on March 7.

Nargis Fakhri'sawesome but scary act!NEW DELHI

Bollywood's scorching beauty Nargis Fakhri mesmerised

audiences with her acting in debut flick Rockstar and ac-

tress is all set to dub in Hindi for the first time in 'Main Tera

Hero'. Excited Nargis says, "I am through with the dub-

bing. I dubbed in Hindi for the first time. It was awesome

and scary. I did enjoy and learned a lot."

Main Tera Hero has been directed by David

Dhawan and he is using Nargis' voice for the first

time as her voice in Hindi wasn't used in her ear-

lier flick Rockstar.

However, she had dubbed herself in English

for John Abraham-starrer 2013 film "Madras

Cafe". "I will start promoting the film in

a bit. Comedy is difficult, but I had a

great time working with everyone.

It's releasing on April 4. After its

release, I'll start shooting

right away for 'Shaukeen'.

It's remake of the old

film. It will be a new

modern take of

that," she said.


11/12

11(MP&CG) February 17 to February 23, 2014 Sports

2nd Test: Brendon McCullum eyes maiden triplecentury as India go on leather hunt at Basin Reserve

WELLINGTON

Indias listless bowlers allowed

New Zealand off the hook as the

home team rode on skipper Bren-

don McCullum`s monumental dou-

ble century to continue their re-

markable fightback and take a

commanding lead on the fourth

and penultimate day of the second

cricket Test here on Monday. Mc-

Cullum remained unbeaten on 281

runs and shared a world record

partnership of 352 runs for the

sixth wicket with BJ Watling (124),

helping their side reach a formida-

ble 571/6 at stumps and take the

game away from India at the BasinReserve.

India, who had New Zealand in a

spot of bother at 94 for five in their

second innings yesterday, are now

facing the prospect of even losing

the match with the hosts swelling

their lead to 325 runs. The duo de-

fied the visitors for 123 overs and

turned around a 246-run deficit

into a massive lead with one day

left in the match.

McCullum was still batting after

nearly six sessions at the crease,

facing 525 balls and hitting 28 fours

and 4 sixes. At the other end,

James Neesham brought up his

maiden Test fifty and was unbeat-

en on 67 off 93 balls, with 9 fours.

For India, Zaheer Khan (3-129),

Mohammad Shami (2-136) and Is-

hant Sharma (0-124) toiled hard on

an unresponsive pitch, particular-

ly with the third new ball. Ravin-

dra Jadeja (1-108) was rendered in-

effective as well. Part-timers RohitSharma (0-40) and Virat Kohli (0-

13) were given a go to try some-

thing different, while skipper MS

Dhoni (0-5) also bowled after the

tea-break.

Starting at 440/5 after tea, the set

batsmen had another string of bat-

ting records coming their way, with

the pitch playing perfect foil to

them. As Dhoni bowled his gentle

medium-pace first up, McCullum

and Watling crossed the 350-mark

for their partnership in the 159th

over. An over later, they brought up

the highest ever sixth-wicket part-

nership in Test cricket breaking

the 351-mark by Mahela and

Prasanna Jayawardene, also set

against India at Ahmedabad in

2009. Their lead also swelled to 200

in the meantime.

The third new ball was taken im-

mediately and the Indian pacers

put in a lot of effort to change the

direction of the match. Moham-

mad Shami got the breakthrough

finally, in the 161st over, trapping

Watling lbw. He faced 367 balls in

his innings, hitting 13 fours. Mean-

while, McCullum carried on and

crossed the 250-run mark, starting

to climb the ladder for highest in-

dividual score for a New Zealand

batsman. At the other end, Nee-

sham too joined in the fun and

struck some lusty blows, matching

his partner for strokes. They con-

tinued to punish the hapless bowl-

ing on a flat track and in the final

session put on 125 runs for the sev-

enth wicket, as the hosts crossed

the 550-run mark.McCullum heaped misery on In-

dia, finishing as the second-highest

run-scorer for New Zealand, be-

hind Martin Crowe`s 299 scored

against Sri Lanka at the same

ground in 1991. On the final day, he

will attempt to become the first

Kiwi batsman to get a Test triple

hundred. Earlier in the post-lunch

session, McCullum and Watling

continued their brilliant domina-

tion of this Indian attack on a pitch

that completely changed character

to become a batting beauty. They

brought up the 350-mark for New

Zealand in the 128th over, first one

after the break, and then carried

on to reach personal milestones.

First up they broke the highest

partnership record for New

Zealand for any wicket against In-

dia, passing the 271 runs scored by

Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder in

Napier in 2009. Then in the 138th

over, Watling brought up his 3rd

Test century in 420 minutes, facing

297 balls and hitting 12 fours. Un-

like his captain who was dropped

twice, the keeper-batsman never

even gave a sniff to the Indian

bowlers. Their 300-run partnership

came in the 142nd over, and then

two overs later, McCullum became

the first New Zealand batsman to

hit back-to-back double hundreds.

It was his third double hundred,

all three having come against In-

dia, and he is only the second New

Zealand batsman after Stephen

Fleming to score three double-hun-

dreds. Before going to tea, they

crossed the 339-run sixth wicketstand between McCullum and Mar-

tin Guptill against Bangladesh in

2010 and became the third-highest-

ever partnership for New Zealand

in Test cricket. In the morning ses-

sion, starting at their overnight

score of 252/5, McCullum and

Watling needed a double approach

on this fourth day`s play.

If it was all about survival on day

three, now they also needed to

score runs and put pressure on In-

dia. And they did not get bogged

down, as shots started flowing once

they both got a feel of the condi-

tions early on. For the record, the

golden-brown pitch now looked

completely different from the lush-

green wicket that it was on day

one. Their progress was very

heartening for the hosts` camp,

with the scoring rate reaching 4.7

over in the first ten, and in the first

hour of play, 56 runs came in the 13

overs bowled.

The 200-run partnership between

the two batsmen came up in the

110th over of the innings. As if

sensing the high scoring rate, Jade-

ja was introduced in the 115th over

and was given an attacking field

with three close-in fielders. But it

didn`t have any effect on the two

settled batsmen who marched

along without fuss. In the next

over, McCullum crossed the 150-

run mark for the second time in

this series, notching up his best se-

ries aggregate and going past his

previous best of 370 runs, also

scored against India in 2010.

He faced 303 balls and batted for ahumongous 432 minutes for this,

hitting 18 fours and 1 six. After be-

ing put down twice yesterday, if at

all he gave a chance, it was in the

122nd over bowled by Zaheer, when

he edged one past the slip cordon

wherein Shikhar Dhawan was

standing at third slip. Watling

though was solid as ever at the oth-

er end, and the 250-run partnership

came up in the 126th over, just be-

fore the break.

On day one, Ishant Sharma`s best

Test figures of 6-51 bowled New

Zealand out for a paltry 192 runs.

Then, on day two, Ajinkya Rahane

(118) strucks his maiden Test hun-

dred to take India to 438 in their

first innings, a lead of 246 runs. On

day three, needing 247 runs to

make India bat again, New

We The State - Issue 21 Vol 2

Documents