We

he StateJUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014

Vol-02. Issue-40. Bhopal. Monday Page-12 Price-5/-

POSTAL REGD. MP/BHOPAL/4-323/2013-15

Published simultaneously from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

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

3Withdraw orderon wheat's support price

5

Madhuri laudsworkers committed towomen healthcare

6

Costly goof-up:Petrol pumpowner to pay Rs24,000 for fillingpetrol instead ofdiesel

11I don't miss

working with theKhans: Vidya

Balan

10

Zaheer wantsIshant to step up

during Testseries against

England

8National

InventionCampaign to be

launched:Smriti Irani

Madhya Pradesh leaves behind statespioneer in agriculture production

resident PranabMukherjee has saidthat Madhya Pradeshhas left behind statespioneer in agriculture

production. He also lauded thecontribution of institutionsincluding Jawaharlal NehruAgriculture University, Jabalpurfor touching new heights inresearch in agriculture sector.

President PranabMukherjee was addressing gold-en jubilee of convocation of theuniversity at Jabalpur recently.The President stressed the needfor promoting schemes and pro-grammes for development andexpansion of agriculture to accel-erate pace of country’s develop-ment. He said that giving fillip to

agriculture sector is the need ofthe hour to get rid of problemslike poverty, hunger, unemploy-ment. Mukherjee said that newdirection can be given to employ-ment and development by tap-ping immense potential of multi-dimensional expansion of agri-culture sector.

He said that adequate foodgrains are being produced in thecountry as a result of improvedfertilisers, seeds, agricultureimplements and techniques. Helauded the contribution of insti-tutions including JawaharlalNehru Agriculture University,Jabalpur for scaling new heightsin research in agriculture sector.The President said that the statehas left behind states pioneer inagriculture production due toadoption of advanced agriculture

techniques. Mukherjee said thatagriculture universities haveimportant contribution in coun-try’s agriculture developmentand common people’s welfare.Quality agriculture education isa must for agriculture sector’sprogress and efficient agricul-ture management. Effortsshould be made from school levelto ensure that talented studentsare attracted towards agricul-ture.

Governor Ram NareshYadav said that we will have toraise youths who help farmers inmaking agriculture profitable.Gross enrollment rate in agricul-ture is less as compared to high-er education and needs to beincreased.

For this, need-based newagriculture colleges will have to

be opened. Besides, agriculturesubject will have to be givenwider dimension at school levelalso.

Yadav said that this universi-ty is on top in the country due toits commitment to production,augmentation of seeds and pub-licity and maximum supply ofcertified seeds in the country.The university has set the recordof evolving 238 species whichgive more yield and are disease-resistant. This university’s roleis praiseworthy in makingMadhya Pradesh the soybeanstate of the country. Today,Madhya Pradesh stands first inproduction of oilseeds, pulses,soybean, gram and garlic. Alongwith these achievements, recordquantity of wheat has also beenproduced in the state.

BHOPAL

P

How WE look it !

Chhattisgarh forestdept to rope in tribalsto protect green cover

Scarcity of skilled manpower in Chhattigarh: CII

For 16-year-oldRukmani, every day isanother back-breakingday from dawn to mid-night, cleaning utensils,mopping floors andwashing clothes athouseholds in Delhi. Butshe displayed exemplarycourage to wriggle out ofbondage and find her way backhome in Jashpur. Rukmani, whowas once sold to middlemen, isnow at the vanguard of a cam-paign to ban child trafficking.With the help of an NGO,Rukmani, who had studied tillClass 3, has also resumed herstudies. Rukmani from Kansabelblock of tribal Jashpur districtsaid, "I was 12 when I fled fromcaptivity in Delhi. A resident ofmy village, Salma, had temptedme with big city lifestyle andwith good money if I went alongwith her. Immediately after land-ing in Delhi, I was sold off to aplacement agent, Kripa, whodumped me in a house as a 24-hour domestic servant for Rs2000 per month."

She would work non-stopfrom 6am till midnight and shewould be abused and would beforced to sleep hungry. When shecomplained to the placementagency, Rukmani was bundled offin a train and sent to Indorewhere her working hours extend-ed to 1.30 in the night as the fam-ily had visitors every night."There was another girl from

Jharkhand who was alwaysfrightened. When I couldn't takeit anymore, I told them I won'tcontinue." In Jashpur,Rukmani's parents filed a miss-ing complaint with police and asearch was launched. The place-ment agency in Delhi was tappedand she was tracked to her hell-hole in Indore from where shewas rescued. While Rukmanistruggled to find her place backin family, she emerged as amulti-tasking girl. Learning tostitch and study, she also tries tosave girls from traffickers.

She has already helped policeto nab Salma and other touts.Rukmani works with JivanJharna Vikas Sanstha, an NGOthat rehabilitates trafficked chil-dren and has built her ownbrigade of boys and girls who actagainst touts. "We have groups atpanchayat-level of 30 youths whokeep vigil on middlemen. We tipoff police and NGOs when wehear about girls being huddledinto buses or trains. Many havebeen rescued and many agentsare now in jail. I have vowed toban trafficking," Rukmani said.

Raipur

Teenager workingwith NGO to endchild trafficking

2 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)CHHATTISGARH EXPLORE

To better preserve the green cover inthe state, Chhattisgarh forest departmenthas decided to rope in tribals to protectsome species of trees they have been wor-shipping for centuries. The forest depart-ment has identified six species of treeswhich are worshipped as deities of theirclans by bheel and bhilala and other tribessince time immemorial. Under the 'Dev-vriksha Protector Scheme', members of thetribal communities would be given theresponsibility to protect the 'dev-vrikhsas'or 'god-trees' of their clans, Chief ForestOfficer, Raipur, P C Dubey told reporters.The scheme will be launched in Bastar,Sarguja and other districts where there isa substantial tribal population, he said,adding, trees such as peeple, jamun,

banyan, mango, iron-wood and the bambooplant would be handed over to the tribes tobe protected from destruction. "The tribalshave absolute faith in trees of their clanswhich they have been worshipping asdeities for centuries. They don't let anykind of damage happen to their 'god' treesand we will use this sentiment to safe-guard the green cover," Dubey said. VishalVerma, an expert in tribal culture, said,"The western part of the state has inhabi-tants belonging to the bheel and bhilalatribes, which have hundreds of sub-tribes.All of them worship various trees or ani-mals as gods." The tribes and sub-tribeshave such strong emotional ties with thetrees that they are named after them. Forinstance, the bansuniya sub-tribe worshipsthe 'baans' or bamboo plant, while thejamulas worship the jamun tree, he said.

RAIPUR

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),Chhattisgarh, has said that there is a scarcityof skilled manpower and this gap can only becovered with skilled training. ChhattisgarhLaghu & Sahayak Udyog Sangh presidentHarish Kedia said this during a seminar. Hespoke about issues like land acquisition aswell. CII organized the second edition of'micro small and medium enterprises(MSME) conclave: building capacitiesthrough innovations' here recently. State CIIchairman Dinesh Agarwal (executive director

of Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd) stated thatCII accords a very high priority to the devel-opment of SMEs, the dynamic segment ofIndian economy.

Besides, over 70% of CII members arefrom this segment. State principal secretary(commerce and industry) Baijendra Kumaraddressed the house stating that MSMEgrooming can happen only through innova-tions. The first session on 'innovation andcluster for the development of MSMEs' wasmoderated by Arunava Lahiri, COO ofMonnet Ispat & Energy Limited. The delib-

erations in this session focused on how thepotential of clusters that represent favourableecosystems for innovation need to be betterexploited. The second session on 'models toease finance to MSMEs and financing forinnovations' discussed various innovativemethods and best practices for easing financ-ing to MSMEs either at individual or cluster%level. It also deliberated on various waysand methods of financing innovations. Thesession was moderated by Prof KK Ray fromdepartment of finance & accounting at IIM-Raipur. ; Kanwar Adarsh Salaria, DGM -

Regional Head, Oriental Bank of Commerce;P S Chakraborty, DGM - Zonal Head,Allahabad Bank; P S Prem Anand, SeniorBranch Manager, The National SmallIndustries Corporation Limited.On his con-cluding note, Manish Gupta said that MSMEhold the key to not only the economic suc-cess of the country but also to creating anequitable society. During the conclave, a spe-cial presentation on the opportunities forMSMEs in Naya Raipur was made by CEOof Naya Raipur Development Authority,Amit Kataria.

Raipur

3 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)BHOPAL

A new revolution of economicprosperity and social upliftment issweeping across the rural areas ofMadhya Pradesh. Lakhs of poor ruralfamilies who earlier depended onloans from moneylenders are nowearning Rs. 3 thousand to Rs. 15thousand per month through variouslivelihood activities. Some families’income has crossed over Rs. one lakhper annum. “Lakhpati Mahila Club”has been formulated for strengthen-ing economic status of rural familiesin the state. Coordinated efforts arebeing made to include over 10 lakhfamilies in this club in next 5 years.

So far, over 70 thousand self-helpgroups have been formed in the stateunder District Poverty InitiativeProject (DPIP) and State RuralLivelihoods Mission. Livelihoodsactivities through self-help groupshave brought about pleasant changein the lives of lakhs of rural families.Apart from efforts for economic uplift-ment of rural poor families, thesegroups are also playing importantrole in all-round development of vil-lages and social change. A number ofrural families have become financial-ly strong with small loans extended topoor women with the help of self-helpgroups. Efforts of self-help groups inMadhya Pradesh for empoweringrural women have also brought aboutnew change. Rural scenario is chang-ing with presence of large number ofwomen in Gram Sabhas and theireffective participation in various deci-sions for rural development. Womenbelonging to self-help groups alsocommand respect in governmentoffices and development-related insti-tutions.

News BriefNew socio-economic

revolution in rural areasof Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL

Education quality must be upgraded

to world level: Governor YadavGovernor Ram Naresh Yadav

has said that apart from increase inthe number of higher educationinstitutions, education quality mustalso be upgraded to global stan-dards. He called for united efforts toensure that universities in the stateare elevated to world-level. For this,better infrastructure will have to bedeveloped and best academic atmos-phere created in universities.Universities should have such ahigh level of teaching, research andinvestigation that people in theworld are automatically attractedtowards India.

Governor Yadav said that com-mitted efforts should be made to fillup teaching and non-teaching postskeeping in view challenges in highereducation sector. He directed toaccelerate pace of recruitmentprocess in universities. He hopedthat the government will also allowfilling up of vacancies in MahatmaGandhi Chitrakoot GrameenVishwavidyalaya, Satna andJawaharlal Nehru AgricultureUniversity, Jabalpur. Yadavexpressed desire that initiativetaken for uniform ordinance andbylaws for all universities in thestate. He also laid emphasis on eval-uation of universities and colleges

through NAAC. Yadav urged univer-sities to create better academicatmosphere in accordance withIndian culture and high moral val-ues. Higher Education MinisterUmashankar Gupta said that it ismatter of concern that there is noglobal level university in the coun-try and state.

He said that state government

will make earnest efforts to estab-

lish a world-level university in the

state. Gupta said that teachers

should reach colleges in time and

see to it that students’ interests are

not hurt. Vice-chancellors should

ensure that ragging incidents do not

occur in colleges and universities.The meeting also decided to

accelerate pace of works for estab-lishment of Chhatrasal University,

Bundelkhand and obtaining univer-sity status for Baba SahebAmbedkar National Social ScienceInstitute, Mhow. It was also decidedto increase university employees’medical allowance from Rs. 500 toRs. 1000.

Funds allocated for wi-fifacility on college premises

The Higher EducationDepartment has allocated Rs. 18lakh 30 thousand for making avail-able wi-fi facility in 122 colleges inthe state. Rs. 15 lakh has been allo-cated to every college. The govern-ment is making available wi-fi facil-ity in colleges for providing e-learn-ing contents to teachers and stu-dents. Prohibited and social networksites will not be allowed on collegepremises.

Withdraw order on wheat's support price

Bhopal

CM Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met theUnion Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in NewDelhi recently and requested him to withdraw the recentorder issued by the Agriculture Ministry with regards tominimum support price on wheat. He apprised the UnionMinister of the various projects pending in the ministryfor approval and reimbursement of the relief amount dis-tributed by the state government to the farmers for dam-age caused to their crop due to hailstorm. Chouhan saidthat the recently issued order states that the statesshould procure the amount of wheat for which they canpay the minimum support prices.

If state procures more wheat the central governmentwill not take care of the bonus amount paid to the farm-ers. Chouhan expressed his concern and said that theorder is against the interest of farmers. We are producingworld quality wheat and bumper wheat crop for last twoyears. The state has been conferred with two consecutiveKrishi Karman Awards for highest agriculture production

in the country. He urged the Minister to take back theorder in the interest of farmers. Chouhan also apprisedthe Union Minister of the relief which state governmenthas given to farmers whose crops have been destroyed dueto hailstorm in 49 districts of the state. He informed that

Rs. 2800 crore were distributed to the farmers from state'sown resources. He requested the Union Minister to reim-burse the amount. Chouhan also opposed the new cropinsurance scheme initiated by the UPA government. Hecalled for a more practical and advance crop insurancescheme in the interest of the farmers. Chouhan asked fora contingent plan to tackle the situation in case of a weakmonsoon.

Gifts to Madhya PradeshChouhan informed the Union Minister that Madhya

Pradesh wheat is of the best quality in the country. Tomaintain its quality and increase its production aresearch institute is needed in the state. Union MinisterRadha Mohan Singh announced the setting up of oneinstitutein Madhya Pradesh. The Union Minister alsoannounced opening up of veterinary college at Panna. Theinfrastructure and salary portion will be taken care bystate govt. and research facility etc. will be taken careofby central government. He also announced the setting upof Horticulture Centre in Bundelkhand area and twoKrishi Vigyan Kendras in the state.

Bhopal

4 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)

The opening of a beer bar at Raipur airport

seems like a far fetched dream. While it was first

the name of the airport, Swami Vivekanand, which

created hurdles in serving liquor at the airport,

now the airport authorities and state excise depart-

ment have locked horns over the issue of rebate on

license fee for the same. Airports Authority of India

(AAI) had shelved the proposal for a beer bar in the

food court last year after objections questioning

liquor sale at a place named after the great monk.

In their eagerness to please these sections, AAI,

while agreeing to shelve the proposal, had forgot-

ten that liquor bars are a booming business at

domestic and international terminals in New

Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Now, there are no

takers for the proposed restaurant cum beer bar,

which is to be located outside the terminal build-

ing. The authorities had earlier planned a rent of

Rs 2.36 lakh per month but found no takers for it

even after reducing it to Rs 1.10 lakh. According to

sources at the airport, besides the yearly rent of Rs

13.20 lakh, the restaurant owner would have to

pay a yearly fee of Rs 10 lakh for the license to

serve beer. With these fixed costs of Rs 23.20 lakh

and other overheads, the project does not appear to

be lucrative and thus the cold response. This

apparently prompted the airport authorities to

approach excise department for a rebate of up to

50% in the licence fee to reduce the fixed costs and

make the proposal attractive.

Excise commissioner RS Vishwakarma con-

firmed that the airport authorities had approached

them for a rebate. However, he expressed the

department's inability to accept the request on

grounds that such concessions, if applicable, could

only be made to individuals running an establish-

ment and not the lessor (airport authorities in this

case). "Let the lessee of the restaurant apply for a

rebate and we would look into it," he said. With no

immediate solution in sight, the proposed restau-

rant and bar face uncertainty, at least for now.

Beer bar not likely to come up at airport

RAIPUR TRAIL

Paddy, soyabean crops likely tobe hit due to delayed monsoon

RAIPUR

The delayed monsoon is threaten-

ing paddy and soyabean cultivation

in Chhattisgarh. Last year, paddy

yield was around 70 million tonnes in

the state. It is feared that it is going

to be much less this season if the

monsoon doesn’t get active in a week

or so. “The monsoon hit

Chhattisgarh on June 19 but the

monsoon current was weak and there

was no substantial or widespread

rainfall. Except Koriya, Surajpur,

Bilaspur, Mungeli and Kabirdham

districts, other regions recorded less

rainfall in the current season.

Production of both soyabean and

paddy may drop substantially if

heavy monsoon showers are not

received soon,” Pankaj Oudhia, an

agriculture scientist based here said.

“If monsoon continues to elude

the state for one or two more weeks,

the output will be much less of the

estimated figure,” Oudhia added.

Paddy cultivation, which normally

takes 120 days in the state, needs

proper irrigation throughout that

period. About 80 percent of the

state’s people are dependent on agri-

culture for their livelihood. “Last

year, we had good rainfall in the sec-

ond week of June. But this year the

story is totally different,” a senior

official at the Directorate of

Agriculture said.

The government has set a target

of 65.54 million tonnes of kharif crop

production - at about 1,850 kilo-

grams per hectare - this season.

However, this target is unlikely to be

met due to delay in monsoon.

Meanwhile, keeping in view the

delayed monsoon, the Chhattisgarh

government has asked the officials

to prepare a contingency plan to deal

with any exigency. The agriculture

department has been asked to con-

tinuously help the farmers with

agriculture-related suggestions

though mobile SMS. Looking at the

predictions of delayed monsoon, the

state government is gearing up with

plans to deal with possible conse-

quences, an official here said. Chief

Minister Raman Singh has directed

the Agriculture and Revenue and

Disaster Management Departments

to stay prepared with a contingency

plan so as to extend help tofarmers

in any exigency, the official said. In

view of the less than average rainfall

so far during this season, farmers

have been asked to sow the paddy in

row.

RAIPUR

5 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)MADHYA PRADESH

Turn Mamta Abhiyan into people’s campaign: CM;Madhuri lauds workers committed to women healthcare

Concrete steps to be taken to improve

National Highways in MP

Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan has called for turning MamtaAbhiyan for saving maternal and infantlives as a campaign of society and peo-ple. He urged all sections of society tocooperate in this campaign, which hasbeen started with the cooperation ofUNICEF to reduce maternal and infantmortality rate. Chief MinisterChouhan was launching second phaseof the campaign at Samanvay Bhavanhere. Health Minister Dr. NarottamMishra and noted cine star MadhuriDixit were especially present on theoccasion. Madhuri Dixit has beenappointed as brand ambassador of thecampaign for 2 years.

Chouhan said that 24-hour powersupply has been ensured and infra-structure development works under-taken in the state. Now, a campaign isbeing conducted to change the statefocusing on health and education.Arrangements have been made to pro-vide better healthcare to women andchildren. Birth of child is the mostbeautiful incident in the world sincenature goes on with it. Coordinatedefforts have been made to ensure thatmother faces no problems. Maternal

and infant mortality rate has comedown remarkably in the state. Creditfor successful healthcare efforts inrural areas goes to ASHA and healthworkers operating there. Public aware-ness will have to be created towardsbetter health of women and children.

The CM said that Beti BachaoAbhiyan has been launched in the stateto change people’s mindset about girls.A number of schemes including LadliLaxmi Yojana, Gaon Ki Beti andMukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana havebeen launched for girls in the state.Daughters are gifts of God. Society and

country will survive only when girlssurvive. He urged to send every child toschool. Chouhan said that attentionhas been focused on health and educa-tion after attaining self-dependence inroad, power and water sectors.

State government has resolved toensure 100 percent institutional deliv-eries. He stressed the need for coordi-nated efforts for creating awarenesstowards health services and keepingfamily small. He said that field-levelAnganwadi and ASHA worker’s role ispraiseworthy in achievements ofMadhya Pradesh in health sector.

Health Minister Dr. Narottam Mishrasaid that Madhya Pradesh has wit-nessed remarkable improvement inhealth sector. Institutional deliverieshave gone up to 86 percent from 22 per-cent in the state. Constant efforts arebeing made to reduce maternal andinfant mortality rate in the state.Services have been provided for safetyof mothers. Gauravi Abhiyan has beenlaunched to safeguard women’s honour.

Madhuri Dixit said that she ishappy after joining Mamta Abhiyan ofthe state government. She said thatIndia is a country of diversities withdifferent cultures and traditions. It isdifficult to bring them together. Shesaid that ASHA and Anganwadi work-ers putting in hard work for betterhealth of mothers and children arepraiseworthy. She said that the threepoints included in Mamta Abhiyan –love, safety and honour- are in itself amission. The state government has pro-vided a number of facilities and coun-selling centres about which womenneed to be made aware. She said thatlives of 80 percent women can be savedwith a little awareness. She urged peo-ple to avail benefit of these facilitiesthrough awareness.

Bhopal

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along

with PWD Minister Sartaj Singh and Panchayats &

Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava had a

marathon meeting with Union Surface Transport

Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi recently. Union

Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was spe-

cially present on the occasion.Chouhan threw light in detail one by one on the

condition of 9 National Highways in the state. Heinformed that the state government has spent Rs. 290crore from its own resources on repair of these roads.He urged to re-imburse this amount.

At the meeting, Bhopal-Sanchi, Gwalior-Shivpuri,Obaidullahganj-Betul, Indore-Dewas, Khajuraho-Jhansi, Shivpuri-Dewas, Jabalpur-Lakhnadaun,Rewa-Katni-Jabalpur, Sidhi-Singrauli, Shahdol-Katni, Jabalpur-Mandla-Chilpi, Rewa-Sidhi (NH 75)and National Highways connecting Indore withGujarat were minutely reviewed and practical solu-tions were suggested to dispose of the hurdles comingin the way of construction works. Describing Jhansi-

Khajuraho road as of international importance fromtourism point of view, the Union Surface TransportMinister stressed the need to complete it on priority.The Chief Minister urged to accelerate pace of worksof National Highways and sanction construction ofVidisha bypass.

Gadkari assured that work order will be issued assoon as 90 percent land for the bypass road isacquired. At present, he asked to present DPR for thebypass so that technical sanction can be given. ChiefMinister Chouhan urged for selection of villagesunder Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana on thebasis of census of 2012 and that the Centre should

bear the cost of over 50 meter long bridges. He urgedto promote construction of pucca and permanentinfrastructural assets under MNREGA and fixingratio of labour and material as 40:60 instead of 60:40.Chouhan informed Gadkari that the state govern-ment has chalked out an ambitious rural transportscheme. It envisages making available 10,000 vehi-cles to unemployed youths for public transport in vil-lages and towns. The Chief Minister said that itwould be better if the Union Government sanctionsthis scheme.

The Chief Minister urged to improve conditionsfor disability and widow pension schemes. He saidthat age limit for pension eligibility of disabled per-sons and widows should be abolished and quantum ofdisability should also be reduced from 80 percent to40 percent.

Referring to discrimination against the state inIndira Aawas Yojana, Chouhan said that 37 lakhfamilies in the state live in shanties, but the CentralGovernment has given much lesser allotment. Hesaid that state’s allotments in Indira Aawas Yojanashould be increased.

Bhopal

6 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)Must Read

Was Govt action against foreign-funded NGOs justified?

he Government of India bannedforeign funding for many NGOsfollowing Intelligence Bureaureport identifying several for-

eign-funded NGOs that are “negativelyimpacting economic development”.

The report says, “A significant num-ber of Indian NGOs (funded by somedonors based in the US, the UK,Germany, The Netherlands andScandinavian countries) have beennoticed to be using people centric issuesto create an environment which lendsitself to stalling development projects.”The report further says, “These includeagitations against nuclear power plants,uranium mines, coal-fired power plants,

genetically modified organisms, megaindustrial projects (POSCO andVedanta), hydel projects (at NarmadaSagar and in Arunachal Pradesh) andextractive industries (oil, limestone) inthe North East. The negative impact onGDP is assessed to be 2-3% per annum.”

POSCO India, subsidiary of Koreangiant POSCO, has been trying to set up asteel plant amidst protests in state ofOdisha for nearly a decade. Indian bil-lionaire Anil Agarwal-owned VedantaResources had tried for several years tomine bauxite in the same state inNiyamgiri Hills amidst protests by trib-als. The IB doesn’t explain the math thatled to the conclusion that 2-3% of possible

GDP growth is lost because of thesealleged activities.

The report adds: “Identified foreigndonors cleverly disguise their donation asfunding for protection of human rights,“just deal” for project-affected displacedpersons, protection of livelihood of indige-nous people, protecting religious freedometc. These foreign donors lead local NGOsto provide field reports which are used tobuild a record against India and serve astools for the strategic foreign policy inter-ests of Western governments.”

The dreaded “foreign hand” is back.Indian government is pretty good at rais-ing the bogey of the foreign hand, includ-ing the Congress-led UPA government

which had hinted that it was theAmericans who were behind the anti-gov-ernment protests led by social activistAnna Hazare. Its mind boggling that gov-ernments fail to understand that peoplecould actually lose their homes and liveli-hoods because of giant projects and,therefore, may not want them.

Globally civil societies are concernedabout the impact of projects like nuclearpower plants, giant industrial projectsand extractive industries, so why should-n’t Indians be concerned as well? Why isit illegal, unethical, unpatriotic or debili-tating to the GDP growth to questionthese projects?

Instead of focusing so much on thedisruption caused by protests, maybegovernments should spend some timetrying to understand why people areupset, what bothers them about theseprojects, are the companies doing every-thing in a legal and ethical manner orare they rushing through using coercion(a common trend in many such projectsas

If these projects are so important forso-called national development, what canbe done to address these concerns firstand then carry on with the projects?

For their part the NGOs, too, shouldbe transparent about their source offunds. Under Indian law only thoseorganizations that are registered withthe Foreign Contributions RegistrationAct are eligible to receive funds from for-eign donors.

T

Udaipur: How do you helpyour backward community liv-ing in remote, virtually inac-cessible villages to progress ifmost of them are uneducated?Simple, finish your own stud-ies, train as teachers and thenuse your knowledge to spreadthe cause in your home – asthese nearly three dozenwomen are doing.

The group of 35 youngwomen from a cluster of vil-lages in Rajasthan’s Udaipurdistrict is perhaps the first intheir families who ever went toschool, and are now preparingto give something back to theircommunities by gettingtrained as primary and highschool teachers.

Many of these youngwomen – in the age group of16-24 years – have parentswho work as agricultural

labourers and who are more orless illiterate. ‘My parentswork as labourers and ourfamily income is very less. Iwant to become a teacher andeducate people from my com-munity,’ Prem Kumari, a ClassXII passout said in Jhadol,around 40 km from Udaipur.Prem Kumari has cleared theBasic School TrainingCertificate (BSTC) examina-tion and, if selected, she canapply for a teacher’s post in aprimary school.

‘I also want to study for abachelor’s degree, and later gofor B Ed (the degree requiredfor teachers in higher educa-tion),’ she said. As colleges inthe only nearby city of Udaipurare far away, and because ofproblems in travelling, manyof the young women prefer tostudy in the only two degree

colleges in their area. A collegein Phalasia village offers abachelor’s degree in arts, whileanother in Jhadol also offersBachelor of Education (B Ed)degree.

During their vacations,some of these young womenwork in chocolate factories inUdaipur and nearby urbanareas to fund their education.One of them earned around Rs6,000 during her vacations,and spent this money on herstudies. These women arehowever not alone in theirstruggle and are being helpedby ChildFund India, part of aglobal child development andprotection agency.

A scholarship project called‘Udaan’ (flight) supported byChildFund Germany hasrecently been rolled out to sup-port children, especially girls,

Young women in Rajasthan setexample by educating others

Costly goof-up: Petrol pump owner to pay Rs24,000 for filling petrol instead of diesel

New Delhi:The Delhi StateConsumerDisputesRedressalCommission hasasked a petrolpump owner topay Rs. 24,000 to a man for fill-ing petrol instead of diesel inhis car, causing damage to theengine. The operator of thepetrol pump had filled petrolinstead of diesel, as a result,the car had to be repaired andhe had to pay Rs. 38,604 asbill. The petrol pump ownerhad denied as responsibilityand argued that complainantshould have been vigilant. Buthis arguments were trashedand he was asked to pay thecomplainant.

The consumer commissioncomprising judicial member, SA Siddiqui and member, S CJain passed the order whileupholding a district consumerforum’s order which had askeda Delhi-based petrol pump,

MattaAutomobiles,to pay Rs.24,000 to oneBrij Mohan.

“…we donot find anyjustification

for any interference (in forum’sorder) from our side with theresult the appeal fails and isliable to be dismissed”, thecommission said, adding thatforum’s order was legally soundand should be maintained.

Mohan had told the com-mission that on June 26, 2007,the operator of the petrol pumphad filled petrol instead ofdiesel in his car. As a result,the car had to be repaired andhe had to pay Rs. 38,604 asbill.

Thereafter, Mohan filed aconsumer complaint againstthe petrol pump. The petrolpump owner, however, deniedthe claim saying the com-plainant should himself havebeen vigilant.

The Government ofIndia banned for-eign funding for

many NGOs follow-ing Intelligence

Bureau report iden-tifying several for-eign-funded NGOs

that are “negativelyimpacting economic

development”.

7 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)Commerce

inance Minister Arun

Jaitley has announced

that the government

has decided to extend interim

excise-duty concessions for

automobiles, consumers’

durables and capital goods by

six months to 31 December.

Due to the severe slowdown in

the auto sector, Chidambaram

had cut excise duties on small

cars, motor bikes and commer-

cial vehicles from 8 percent to

12 percent. Jaitley said the

extension is expected to help

India's ailing economy.

“Extension of excise duty cut

to reduce revenue in short

term, but benefit economy in

long run,” he said.

Car companies welcomed

the move and said that if the

government hadn’t done it

would have been a serious

damper for the auto sector. In

2012-13, car sales in India fell

6.69 per cent, which was the

first decline in a decade.

F

Pre-budget booster: Govt extendsduty concessions for automobiles

Coffers empty, Union Budgetwill have to be tough

New Delhi: The new government was elect-

ed with very high expectations of swift action.

The Prime Minister did surprise us when he

invited the SAARC heads of government. He

reinforced this with his 24×7 style of govern-

ment, the discipline maintained by his col-

leagues in not openly fighting over Cabinet

posts, and with his visit to Bhutan.

The Prime Minister’s speech winding up the

debate on the President’s address was a great-

ly welcomed. Here was a PM talking to the

nation; not just the houses of Parliament. Even

so, the expectations are so high that the gov-

ernment’s first problem will be to convince the

public that even with the best will in the world,

things take time to be completed. Inflation will

only come down over the next six to nine

months, not sooner. Blaming hoarders is

escapism; real policy will have to be imple-

mented on releasing food grain from warehous-

es, importing scarce commodities in a timely

fashion and removing supply side constraints

to solve the long run problems.

The Budget, which will set the mark of the

new government, will have to be tough since

the previous government has left behind an

empty coffer.

There is not much room for even routine

expenditure, let alone new sops. The govern-

ment will have to bite the bullet and pass on

the rise in oil prices to the consumers. If it fal-

ters at the outset, it will never recover initia-

tive. Petrol users are by no definition the

deserving poor or even the neo-middle class.

Every rupee of subsidy to the better-off is a

rupee added to the deficit that will only stoke

inflation. Price subsidies are not the answer to

inflation; exactly the opposite.

New Delhi: India has eased tourist

visa norms for Bangladeshi nationals

below 13 and above 65 years of age. The

decision comes on the back of the External

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s maiden

visit to Dhaka. Bangladesh Foreign

Minister Abdul Hassan Mahmood Ali

reportedly made the announcement.

According to reports, Sushma Swaraj’s

deliberations, forwarded by the MEA for

the Home Ministry, includes visa-free

entry for minor Bangladeshi residents and

senior residents, covering Bangladesh

under visa-on-arrival scheme, and multi-

ple-entry tourist visa to Bangladeshi chil-

dren under 18 and senior citizens above 65

years.

Swaraj had called on Bangladesh PM

Sheikh Hasina to discuss key bilateral

issues. According to the sources, they dis-

cussed trade and investment, security, con-

nectivity, and border management, among

other issues. Before meeting Hasina,

Swaraj met Bangladeshi Foreign Minister

Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali at 10 am for

official talks and discussed bilateral

issues. Swaraj discussed Land Boundary

Agreement (LBA), proposed Teesta river

water sharing deal and the issue of illegal

immigration. She was assisted by Foreign

Secretary Sujatha Singh and senior min-

istry officials during her talks with Ali at

the Foreign Office here.

Swaraj is also scheduled to meet

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at

Bangabhaban at 6 pm today. This is her

first official visit abroad after assuming

office. Meanwhile, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has written to Sheikh

Hasina, pledging to further strengthen the

framework of ties even as he hoped that a

“new era” of cooperation would be fostered

across South Asia to ignite the collective

surge for prosperity.

Modi, while thanking Hasina for her

letter of felicitation on his assumption of

office, has accepted her invitation to visit

Bangladesh. He also extended an invita-

tion to her to visit India at her earliest con-

venience.He has emphasised that for

India, Bangladesh is “not merely a neigh-

bour, but a nation with which we share his-

tory, culture, civilization, and enduring

links between people”. The ideals of democ-

racy, secularism, pluralism and rule of law

also serve as a link between India and

Bangladesh, he wrote.

New Delhi

Gas price hike on holdGovernment has decided to put on hold gas-price hike for three

months as it plans to consult all stake holders during that peri-

od. This was decided in the cabinet meeting that took place on

Wednesday in Delhi. The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs (CCEA) took the decision after realising the need to

address all the aspects before taking a final decision on price

hike, said Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while addressing

the media after the meet. Pradhan is not a member of the cab-

inet committee, but attended the meeting as a special invitee.

There were speculations in the media that after rail fare and

sugar price hike, the government was ready to raise gas-price.

But, it appears, Modi government has decided not to adminis-

ter too many bitter pills in a short-span of time.

India eases touristvisa norms forBangladeshnationals

8 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)Education

President Pranab Mukherjee has said that solution tomajor problems facing the country is possible through cre-ative use of scientific knowledge, research and technologicalinnovations. He said that no one can set a country back whichis rich in knowledge of science and technology. The Presidentsaid that science education, technology researches, innova-tions and quality researches are indicators of nation’sprogress in new era. Addressing the convocation of IndianInstitute of Science Education and Research (IISER) hererecently, Mukherjee exhorted students to become self-confi-

dent through knowledge and skill and move forward to builda new India. The world belongs to youth power, he added. ThePresident stressed the need for finding out new ways for bet-ter use of India’s youth power and talents.

Expressing concern over quality and norms of higher edu-cation in the country, he said that no Indian university isamong 200 best universities in the world whereas our coun-try boasted of universities like Nalanda and Taxila 1500years ago where students from all over the world came.Mukherjee said that there is no dearth of talent in India andcountry can set norms for higher education. Referring to sci-entists Hargovind Khurna, Dr. Chandrashekhar, Sir C.V.Raman and Dr. Amritya Sen, the President said that Indiantalents can win more Nobel Prizes. These talents were nour-ished in India but recognised later after studying in foreignuniversities.

Indian universities should ensure theirplace in top 100 universities: President

Indian universities’ presence in global scenario is verynecessary. Indian universities should have a place in top 100universities in the world. Indian talents should have oppor-tunities to nourish in the country itself. Research shouldalways be continuously promoted. Universities must interactand impart education conducive for local industrial require-ments. President Pranab Mukherjee was addressing convoca-tion of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya at Indore recently.

The President said that an Indian university produced aNobel laureate 80 years ago. There is a vacuum after Dr. C.V.Raman. Nobel laureates like Dr. Amritya Sen, Dr. S.Chandrashekhar and Dr. Hargovind Khurana had graduatedform Indian universities, but got awards and recognitionwhile working in foreign universities.

Solution to problems possible throughuse of scientific knowledge: Mukherjee

National Invention Campaignwill be launched to increase stu-dent’s interest in science and maths.National Innovation Council will beconstituted to connect science withmarket. This was informed byUnion Human Resources MinisterSmriti Irani during a meeting withChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan here recently.

Chief Minister Chouhan saidthat quality of education has beenaffected as a result of abolition ofBoard exams for class V and VIIIfollowing implementation of Rightto Information Act. Keeping this inview, evaluation system of primaryeducation should be re-started. Heinformed about the proposals sentby the state to the Centre for educa-tion development and improvementin its quality. Union HRD MinisterSmriti Irani said that there are sev-eral challenges in implementation

of Right to Education Act. A meet-ing will soon be convened in whichdiscussions will be held with stateson challenges of education at state,region and national levels.Programmes will be held in everydistrict and lab is also upgraded toincrease student’s interest in scienceand maths under National InventionCampaign. Students will be madeaware about publication of researchpapers and patents.

Special attention will be paid tohigher education. National e-librarywill be started which will contain allrare books, research papers and lec-tures. Apart from students andteachers, any person will be able touse it. The National Book Trust willconduct a campaign for increasinginterest in libraries from the birthcentenary year of late DeendayalUpadhyay. She said that everydemand and suggestion of the stategovernment will be earnestly con-sidered.

Bhopal

These teachers showhow ideas make all

the difference

Bhopal

RAIPUR

National Invention Campaignto be launched: Smriti Irani

ne day in Bilaspur'sPriyadarshini Nagar, ateacher at Prime Way

Middle School Shaheen Saifi real-ized that her Class III studentswere not paying attention duringher lessons. So she came up witha trick. While explaining a prob-lem on the blackboard, she delib-erately made a mistake and thencalled upon a child who was notconcentrating to lead the classthrough to the next step. Itworked. The students now hangon to every word during lessontime to make sure they are awareof what she is doing. That way,learning occurs.

Just changing the order ofnames in the attendance registerand a simple vocabulary gameduring those five minutes of rollcall can result in a student earn-ing 400 new words a year. Andinstalling a 'best students of themonth' and 'best class of themonth' display board has actuallyled to a big drop in number ofabsentees and striking improve-ments in overall performance ofstudents in a different school.How about simply studying rou-tine aspects of community life toimbibe the fundamentals ofmathematics?

Policies apart, such class-room-level micro-innovations byindividual teachers can bringabout significant improvementsin delivery of education, and thiswas successfully showcased at aconference in the city recently.Piloting an international move-ment of teacher changemakers inChhattisgarh which will thentravel to other parts of the coun-try as well as overseas to Africanshores, non-governmental organi-zation STIR (Schools andTeachers Innovating for Results)showcased 55 classroom innova-tions which are not part of anypolicy decisions but a result ofindividual efforts of teachers.

Innovations in governmentschools stand out like that at agirls' primary school at a villageof Bilaspur where sharing storiesbecame a way to stop girls fromdropping out. Students wereencouraged by teacher VinitaKanwar to share their personalstories and motivations in theclassroom to foster a sense of pur-pose. Or, for that matter, at amunicipal school in Bilaspur’sSindhi Colony, observing the stu-dents' disinterest in printed mat-ter, teacher Ritu encouragedClass IV students to publishbooks for their own library. JoOwen, chair of STIR, said, "Thisis a global initiative we piloted inChhattisgarh.

Like agriculture, Madhya Pradesh

should also create history in education

sector. This was stated by Union HRD

Minister Smriti Irani while reviewing

activities of Higher and Technical

Education departments at Mantralaya here

recently. Irani said that Central govern-

ment will make every possible effort to

make Madhya Pradesh an education hub.

Irani directed to chalk out a policy for

studies of North-eastern students in

Madhya Pradesh. On this, Higher

Education Minister Umashankar Gupta said that this policy will be for-

mulated in the current session itself. Irani said that framing of online

testing scheme is being considered to bring about transparency in exams.

She said that teachers should also be evaluated from time to time. The

Union HRD Minister urged to give information about the academics who

are unknown even after doing remarkable work in education sector.

Like agriculture, MPshould also create historyin education sector: Irani

O

Hike in price of food itemspushes up inflation

9 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)

ncrease in prices of essen-tial food items like vegeta-bles, fruits and cereals,

pushed up inflation to five-month high of 6.01 per cent inMay and the likelihood of sub-normal Monsoon and politicaltension in Iraq may furtherworsen the price situation.Attributing rise in inflationpartly to withholding of foodstocks by traders, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley said theCentre is committed to ease sup-ply side bottlenecks and has alsoasked states to take firm meas-ures against hoarders to checkspeculation.

"The Government is seized ofthe matter and is committed toease supply side constraints. Therise in prices of food articles canalso be attributed to withholdingof stocks on account of apprehen-sion of a weak Monsoon," he said.He was commenting on theWholesale Price Index (WPI)data which showed that inflation

jumped to five-month high of6.01 per cent in May primarilyon account of costlier food arti-cles, fuel and power costs. TheUnion Finance Minister said theState Governments should takeeffective steps to ensure thathoarding is discouraged. down,"Jaitley said.

The rise in inflation has beenmainly on account of 31.44 percent increase in prices of potato,19.40 per cent in fruits and 12.75per cent in rice, according to theofficial data on Wholesale PriceIndex (WPI) based inflation. Thefood inflation stood at 9.50 percent last month, while the manu-factured inflation was 3.55 percent. Indicating that hard timesare ahead, Barclays (India) ChiefEconomist Siddhartha Sanyalsaid, “The risks from a poorMonsoon and uncertaintiesaround global oil prices due togeopolitical tensions in Iraqremain.” Such high level of infla-tion was witnessed last in

December when it was 6.4 percent. The WPI inflation was 5.20per cent in April and 4.58 percent a year ago in May. TheMarch inflation figures havebeen revised upwards to 6 percent from 5.70 per cent.Expressing concern over spurt infood inflation, industry chamber

CII said the Government shouldimplement APMC Act, developadvanced supply chains, ratio-nalise subsidies, augmentinvestment in agri-infrastruc-ture and encourage FDI in retail.Prime Minister Narendra Modiin his first address in the LokSabha last week had said, “We

have promised to control infla-tion. We are determined toachieve this target.” TheGovernment is preparing contin-gency plans to deal with theimpact of below-normal Monsoonon food prices. The IMD has cutits June-September Monsoonforecast to 93 percent.

Politics

I

Mumbai’s suburban rail fare rollbackHas vote bank politics taken over Modi?

Narendra Modi has beentalking about 'bitter pill' toimprove the condition of theeconomy. Recent rail fare hike,despite facing ire of politicalparties, received positiveresponse from the industryand experts who know aboutthe condition of Indian econo-my and Indian Railways.

Modi managed to create theimpression that his govern-ment's decisions would bebased on merit only, and vote-bank politics would find noplace in decision making. But,now it appears vote-bank poli-tics has taken over Modi, asthere are enough signals whichindicate that Mumbai’s subur-ban rail fare rollback will hap-pen soon. Unfortunately, this isan effort to win over voters as

the state goes to polls later thisyear.

According to experts, afterfare hike NDA finds it difficultto face the voters, later thisyear, during the assembly elec-tions. Results of Lok SabhaElections had charged up BJPand Shiv Sena, but rail fare

hike has dampened theirenthusiasm. Passengers trav-elling in Mumbai local trainsare worst affected, and neitherShiv Sena nor BJP could riskputting them off and still hopeto win assembly elections.

Recently, 10 BJP and ShivSena MPs met Railway

Minister Sadananda Gowda topress for a roll back. TheNarendra Modi governmenthas come under pressure fromits own MPs to reduce the hike.

The recent hike in rail fareshas led to a steep increase inthe prices of monthly passesfor Mumbai local trains. The

MPs said that people in theirarea were deeply upset aboutthe rise in monthly fares andGowda “agreed” with themthat the hike of over 150 percent in some cases was notgood.

“The minister said RailwayBoard officials will meet soonand a relief will beannounced,” another BJP MPKapil Patil said.

The state is going to pollslater this year and the leadersof BJP-Shiv Sena alliance donot want the hike to spoil theirchances of winning the polls.Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray has publicly flayedthe decision and demanded arollback. Somiaya said Gowdahas also assured them thatmore facilities will be providedto suburban travellers andsecurity will be enhanced.

Mumbai/New Delhi:

10 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)SPORTS

rom the beaches to the capital, Costa Ricans pouredinto the streets Sunday to celebrate the nationalteam`s historic World Cup victory over Greece thatwill put the team in the quarter finals for the first

time. Fans in the capital of San Jose gathered at theFuente de la Hispanidad, a fountain and traditional cele-brating spot, carrying flags, wearing wigs and jerseys,honking and whooping following the team`s win in a penal-ty shootout.

"The country has fallen. There`s been an earthquake,"said restaurateur Teo Prestinary, 43, on the beach inNosara, where he said it was jammed with countrymen

cheering, whistling and singing "Vamos Ticos," or "Go,Costa Ricans." "It`s beautiful. It`s historic, emotional."Maria Mendoza, 33, watched the celebration on televisionfrom nearby Santa Ana, said she was, "happy, happy,happy." Costa Rica reached Sunday`s match against Greeceafter defeating Uruguay and Italy and tying England in adivision where it was considered the weakest team. It wonin a 5-3 shootout after the game ended 1-1 following extratime. Now Costa Ricans say they could go all the way. "Wealways had faith," said Luis Diego Escorriola, 42, who waswatching the final game commentary before joining the cel-ebration. "The entire country is going to the streets."

Costa Rica celebrates World Cup win over Greece

Zaheer wantsIshant to step upduring Test seriesagainst England

Veteran India pacer ZaheerKhan said that it was time IshantSharma should step up and spear-head the Indian bowling attackduring the upcoming five-Testseries against England, starting inNottingham on July 9. Ishant,who is the only one out of the sixfrontline seam bowlers in theIndian squad to have touredEngland before, had a miserableouting during India`s tour matchagainst Leicestershire.

"It is Ishant who has playedthe most number of matches andhe has been around for a while. Itis time he steps into that role,"said Zaheer, who missed out onselection for the England tourbecause of a side strain. "ForBhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and(Mohammed) Shami, it is theirfirst (England) tour so they willlook to Ishant and (bowling coach)Joe Dawes for inputs to perform inthose conditions," he toldESPNcricinfo. Ishant had playedonly four Tests in England duringIndia`s 2011 tour and took just 11wickets in that series.

Zaheer said Shami could com-plement the rest of India`s seamattack very well. "I was alsoimpressed by someone likeMohammed Shami, who was ableto perform the pace bowler`s rolevery nicely. "For a successful bowl-ing unit you require a good fastbowler with very good pace andShami has that. And that helpedme cope with my workload.

London

F

London: KevinPietersen has said an"underlying current ofunhappiness" within theEngland side that devel-oped during the Ashesthrashing in Australia wasstill at work had played itspart in the team`s firsthome Test series defeat bySri Lanka. England wentdown to a 100-run defeatby Sri Lanka in the secondTest at Headingley onTuesday to lose the series1-0 after the tourists clungon for a draw at Lord`s.The Sri Lanka series wasthe first since Pietersen,England`s all-time leadingrun-scorer across all for-mats, had his central con-tract cancelled by theEngland and Wales CricketBoard. That decision,which the ECB didn`texplain by any reference toloss of form or fitness, but

rather a need to "support"Test captain Alastair Cook,effectively ended the inter-national career of SouthAfrica-born batsmanPietersen. But hopesresults would improvequickly in his absence afterthe 5-0 Ashes reverse weredashed by Sri Lanka. AndPietersen, in his latestDaily Telegraph columnpublished Saturday, sug-gested there was more toEngland`s woes than on-field performance, citingthe way in which last manJames Anderson brokedown in tears after beingdismissed off the penulti-mate ball at Headingleyas an example.

"England were inwinning positions in bothmatches but blew it, andI believe that is a symp-tom of the senior playersbeing very unsettled.

They are not turningup for the captain orcoach. "(Stuart) Broadand (Anderson) lookedjaded at Headingley.Why? Why was Jimmyso emotional? We havelost a lot of matches inthe past but he hasnever shown suchemotion.

Pietersen says 'unhappy' Eng stillsuffering Ashes hangover

Kristen dropped from sequel of SnowWhite and the Huntsman

11 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)GLAMOUR

Preity set for a

silver-screen

comeback:

This timea bandit

I don't miss

working with

the Khans:

Vidya BalanMumbai: Actress-

businesswoman PreityZinta, whose currentlegal conflict with ex-beau Ness Wadiascorched the head-lines, is set to make acomeback with NeerajPathak’s ‘Bhaiyyaji’,in which she plays aferocious bandit.

The film will alsofeature Sunny Deolas a gangster fromUttar Pradesh.According toPathak, Preity haspulled it off withaplomb. “Preityplays a UttarPradeshwali. Sheplays a gangster’sdaughter. She’s no-nonsense UP gang-ster and SunnyDeol’s wife,” headded.

ApparentlyPreity’s transforma-tion into a foul-mouthed rustic ban-dit was so convincingthat Sunny wants tocast her as Sohni’sPunjabi mother in theremake of ‘SohniMahiwal’, a film thatthe actor reportedlywants to do with hisson in the lead.

Pathak said:“Preity’s interpreta-tion of the firebrandwife’s character isbang-on. She will notbe seen as only forurbane sophisticatedroles after ‘Bhaiyyaji’.We’ve 12 days’ shootingleft. We will completethe shooting post-mon-soon,” said the director.In the past Preity hadworked with both Sunnyand Bobby in ‘The Hero:Love Story Of A Spy’and ‘Soldier’.Interestingly, boththe films werehits.

now White and the Huntsman actress Kristen Stewarthas been dropped and won't be returning for the

movie's sequel which will now be a spin-off titled “TheHuntsman” The actress, who played the iconic fairy talecharacter in the original movie in 2012, is said to havebeen axed from the sequel as it takes a new angleunder director Frank Darabont, reports contactmu-sic.com. According to The Hollywood Reporter,the 24-year-old star won't be returning for thesecond movie as it will now be a spin-off notfocusing on Snow White as a character.

S

ational-award winning actress VidyaBalan says she has not been offered any

film with the Khans in Bollywood yet. Vidya,who will be seen sharing the screen spacewith newbie actor Ali Fazal in detectivethriller 'Bobby Jasoos', said she is not keenon doing it either as she doesn't see herselffitting into 'masala commercials.' "I don'tmiss working with them. There has to be ascript that has enough for me to do.. It has tobe exciting for me. I have never looked forfilms where I can work with certain actors."I have never planned my career.. I haveonly responded to scripts that came my way.To be working with (known) actors or newactors, I don't plan my career that way. I

have a different approach. And I am veryhappy with the kind of work I am doing,"Vidya told PTI. "I have not really got offers(for films with Khans).. not in the past sevenyears. I don't see myself fitting into thosekind of films honestly," she added.Meanwhile, gossip mills are abuzz that thebiopic on legendary Carnatic singer MSSubbulakshmi, which Vidya, 36, will bedoing, is in some legal trouble. "I have noinformation on that. In past one year it hasbeen put on hold. So, I dont know what is thethe status," she said. Now the actress willalso be next seen in director Mohit Suri's'Humari Adhuri Kahaani' with EmraanHashmi and Rajkumar Rao.

N

12 JUNE 30 TO JULY 06, 2014 (MP & CG)

Owned Printed and Puplished byM.M. Baig. Printed at lucky, 267, Pragati Nagar, Shahanshah garden, Bhopal (MP) and published from H.No. 101, A Sector Indrapuri BHEL, Ward No. 63, Dist. Bhopal- 462021, M.P.

Tele/FAX 0755-4292545, Mob. 9425029901 email-editor@wethestate.com RNI No. MPENG/2012/46415 Editor: M.M. BAIG- Responsible for selection of News & Articles under PRB Act, Subject to Bhopal jurisdiction

NATION

Beas tragedy stresses need

for dam safety lawshe tragic incident of 24 engineering stu-dents getting drowned due to negligent damoperations at the Larji hydropower projecthas sounded an alarm on dam safety and

maintenance. In April, in a similar incident of suddendischarge of water from Teesta V Dam near Dikchuin Sikkim, a girl child playing in the downstream gotswept away. The district collector of East Sikkim hadtaken the matter seriously and asked the dam opera-tor, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, tosubmit a report on water releases and precautionarymeasures. Still earlier, in January, a 4.8 MW Aleohydropower at Pirni, near Manali, had breached dur-ing a trial run. Similar accidents near dams haveoccurred with alarming frequency in the last fewyears. But apart from handing out compensation tovictims in a few cases, and instituting probes in fewerstill, various state administrations and the centralgovernment have uniformly failed to undertake athorough introspection on the issue of dam safety byexamining these accidents collectively. The country’swater resources establishment maintains an ad hocattitude, responding to each dam-induced disaster asit unfolds.

Even a half-hearted attempt to bring in a centraldam safety legislation took almost 25 years, startingfrom the resolution adopted at the first conference ofstate ministers for irrigation and flood control thattook place in 1975. While the dam safety mechanismhas been the subject of discussions in policy circles,India doesn’t have dam safety legislation at the uniongovernment-level till date. A draft bill was introducedin parliament on 30 August 2010. This was discussed

by the parliamentary standing committee which sub-mitted its report on 4 June 2011. The standing com-mittee was surprised to note that the bill did notmention the penalty to be imposed on the owner oranyone responsible for the failure of the dam causingdisaster in downstream or upstream. The committeefelt that the bill would not prove as effective as itshould in the absence of any penal clause for suchgrave omission.

Where have all dam safety measures gone? Thecentre’s law on disaster management, enacted in2005, lays down the structure for instituting disastermanagement authorities at various levels of gover-

nance, and calls upon each level to prepare disastermanagement plans. But in the language of legisla-tion, ‘disaster management’ is nothing more thanattempting to rescue helpless victims. As a result, thelaw fails to lay down clearly defined and easilyunderstandable norms of institutional and officialaccountability in the event of a serious lapse. Theengineers at the Larji dam seem to have argued thathad they not released the floodgates, the reservoirwater would have proved fatal for the dam structure.However, that leaves us with the crucial question:why was this reservoir filled up to brim in the firstweek of June, well ahead of monsoon?

T-S. ManiEmail: sastrymani@hotmail.com

Shimla

Devotees seethe with anger, complaint lodged against Shankaracharya

complaint has been lodgedagainst SwamiSwaroopanand in Shirdi for

instigating religious feelings.Expressing his disapproval on con-struction of Sai Baba temples claimingit to be merely a way of money makingby his devotees, ShankaracharyaSwami Swaroopanand addressed SaiBaba as ‘non-vegetarian and a robber’,describing his worship as a conspiracyto divide Hindus. In his new attack onSai Baba, upholding his previous state-ment, raised questions on Sai baba`swatchwords ‘Sab ka malik ek hai’(There is one god for everyone).According to Dwarakapeeth

Shankaracharya SwamiSwaroopanand, Sai Baba is neithergod nor godman. He further describesa godman is one who is full of virtuebut Sai was a non-vegetarian, used tocircumcise people and belonged to com-munity of robbers. However, as per

Pandit Manish Sharma, an astrologerfrom Ujjain that teacher - student rela-tion is a part of ancient tradition ofHinduism. It is believed that withoutthe grace of Guru or godman, one can-not seek the blessings of gods- goddess-es. The literal meaning of guru is - theperson who leads from darkness tolight. Anyone can be a guru and canalso be non-vegetarian.Shankaracharya has also arguedagainst the incarnation of Sai andinsisted on the fact that in the ancientscripture does not speak about anyoneelse other than the incarnation ofBuddha and Kalki. Swaroopanandargued that only incarnation of some-one and godman is said to be wor-shipped. Sanatan Dharma considers

24 incarnation of Lord Vishnu. TheKaliyuga only describes the incarna-tion of Buddha and Kalki. Therefore,Sai cannot be an incarnation.

In an interview given to ABP news,he said that Muslims visiting Sai tem-ple is spreading off misinformation.About one billion Hindus are misled.Constructing Sai temples across thecountry would divert attention fromRam temple movement in Ayodya.Ram Mandir project is very big andcreating a similar temple ofCombodia`s Angkor Wat requires bigfunds. Some of the foreign organiza-tions do not want the Hindu communi-ty to unite, He added. He challengedSai devotees not to woo SanathanDharam devotees.

New Delhi

A