The Tribune – Mandate 2012 Punjab; Youth brigade did it for Akalis, won 11 seats

Jangveer Singh, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 9. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secured the youth vote with 11 of its 13 candidates turning victorious at the hustings. In comparison, the Congress bagged only two of the six seats allotted to its youth members.

Six young Akali candidates won in the Majha belt – Youth SAD chief Bikram Majithia (Majitha), Inderbir Bolaria (Amritsar South), Amarpal Bonny (Ajnala), Manjit S Manna (Baba Bakala), Bajit S Jalalusma (Jandiala) and Harmeet Singh (Tarn Taran).

In the Doaba belt, Pawan Kumar Teenu was victorious from Adampur. In Malwa,Virender Kaur Loomba (Shutrana), Harpreet Singh (Malout), Parminder Dhindsa (Sunam) and Manpreet Ayali (Dakha) emerged winners.

Remarkably, most of the Youth SAD candidates won their seats with respectable margins. Several downed Congress stalwarts: Jalalusma defeated former Excise Minister Sardool Singh, Ayali defeated Jassi Khangura and Bolaria defeated Jasbir Singh Dimpa.

The Congress was able to win only two of the six seats allotted to its Youth Congress members – Kuljit Nagra from Fatehgarh Sahib and Raja Waring from Gidderabaha. The party’s young candidates were defeated in Ferozepur Rural, Payal, Balachaur and Majitha.

There seems to be two factors behind the success of young SAD candidates. One, most of them were groomed by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal during 2002-2007 when the SAD-BJP was in Opposition.

Second, Youth SAD president Bikram Majithia energised the youth wing holding district-level meetings and roadshows during the last one year. Majithia supervised the campaign of the youth wing leaders in Majha besides campaigning for those in Doaba and Malwa.

The Punjab Youth Congress could not be energised with its state president Vikramjit Chaudhary busy campaigning for his father Chaudhary Santokh in Phillaur.The Congress could not win this seat.

The SAD empowered its youth leaders with Parambans Romana appointed Improvement Trust Chairman in Faridkot, Kanwarjit Barkandi as District Cooperative Bank Chairman at Muktsar and Manpreet Ayali as Zila Parishad Chairman in Ludhiana. These appointments were a game changer for the SAD and ensured the youth vote did not shift to the PPP in a big way.

Game Changer: Factors behind success

Most of the young Akali candidates were groomed by SAD chief Sukhbir Badal during 2002-2007 when the SAD-BJP alliance was in the Opposition.

Bikram Majithia energised the Akali youth wing holding district-level meetings and several roadshows in the past one year.

SAD empowered its youth leaders with Parambans Romana appointed Improvement Trust chief in Faridkot, Kanwarjit Barkandi as District Coop Bank chief at Muktsar and Manpreet Ayali as Zila Parishad chief in Ludhiana. So the youth voted for the SAD.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120310/punjab.htm#2

The Tribune – S Satyavathi is first woman loco pilot of Andhra Pradesh

Suresh Dharur, Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, March 9. For S Satyavathi, Women’s Day turned out to be a truly special day in her career. She stormed yet a male bastion to become the first woman loco pilot in Andhra Pradesh.

Joining the Railways in 1999 as an assistant loco pilot, Satyavathi’s tryst with the destiny came, quite fittingly, on Women’s Day when she drove a suburban train in the city. Without any assistant pilot, she independently handled the Mathrubhoomi Ladies Special MMTS train from Falaknuma to Lingampally.

The feat has earned her the distinction of being the first independent woman loco pilot in the state. The Platform Number 7 at Secunderabad Railway Station, the headquarters of South Central Railway, wore a festive look as officials and members of the railway unions felicitated Satyavathi before she took control of the engine, thus breaking yet another traditional barrier.

Satyavathi, who has now earned a place in the hall of fame of woman Loco pilots in Indian Railways, joined the Railways as assistant loco pilot in 1999 at Bengaluru. She was later transferred to the Secunderabad division. She was promoted as loco pilot (goods) in September 2005 and had been shuttling goods trains in and around Hyderabad before her present promotion.

After successfully clearing her MMTS (Multi-Modal Transport Service) training in January this year, she was exposed to live handling and requisite track learning and was subsequently found fit to run MMTS trains in suburban sections of the twin cities. Her biggest achievement is that she will be single-handedly managing and working on MMTS trains, without the help of any assistant loco pilot.

“I am honoured as the MMTS has now become the life line of the poor and middle-class people living in the suburban areas of twin cities,” Satyavathi said.

Driving loco trains, especially the long-distance passenger trains, is a tough job. The work timings are not fixed and it involves continuous travel. The Railways has a meticulous system of training its loco pilots and only suitable candidates, after rigorous training, are inducted into the service.

The Secunderabad division of the SCR has four more women assistant loco pilots being groomed to be loco pilots in future.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120310/main6.htm

The Asian Age – Kudankulam protests costing government Rs. 50 mn a day

Mumbai, 10 March 2012. The protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu leading to delays in its commissioning have started pinching the government — to the tune of Rs. 50 million per day (Rs.5 crore) besides cost overruns, a top official said here on Friday.

“We are already facing a loss of Rs.five crore per day owing to these delays. This includes maintenance of the plant, payments to the site staff, and no power generation despite the plant being ready,” said a worried S.A. Bharadwaj, Director (Technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

The KK-1 and KK-2, the first and second units of KKNPP are being constructed with the help of Russia, and KK-1, the first of the two 1,000-MW VVER plants was planned for commissioning in December 2011, followed by KK-2 three or four months later.

However, the protests and the delays have led to a serious issue, and even the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is concerned, he pointed out, addressing media persons here Friday afternoon.

So far, a massive investment of nearly Rs. 13,000 crore has already gone into the two plants, which has now shot up to Rs. 14,000 crore in view of the commissioning delays, Bharadwaj added.

NPCIL’s Director (Projects) K.C. Purohit said that in August-September last year, the ‘hot run’ of the new plant has already been carried out.   Besides KK-1 and KK-2, there are also plans to have two more 1,000 MW VVER plants at the site, however, because of the delay, that move also hangs in balance.

“Everything depends on the final clearance. Once the Tamil Nadu government gives the final okay, we shall start our countdown. In the next three to four months, we would be able to commission KK-1 and subsequently in eight to nine months, KK-2. If we are lucky, we may be able to start the second unit before that,” said Purohit.

The NPCIL officials also cleared doubts over health and environment concerns of the locals and other concerned bodies on the occasion and are carrying out major awareness programmes on the issue on a regular basis. (IANS)

http://www.asianage.com/india/kudankulam-protests-costing-government-rs50-mn-day-771

Netherlands 23 december till 2 January, Den Haag & Amsterdam

From Den Haag to Delft and back
30 December 2011

Den Haag Leidschenveen
Randstad Rail RET Metro E, HTM TramTrain 3 & 4 
Ramp to lower TramTrain platform

Den Haag Leidschenveen
Randstad Rail RET Metro E, HTM TramTrain 3 & 4

 
Den Haag Leidschenveen
Randstad Rail RET Metro E, HTM TramTrain 3 & 4
Platform for TramTrains to  Loosduinen and De Uithof

Den Haag Leidschenveen
Randstad Rail RET Metro E, HTM TramTrain 3 & 4
NS mainline rail tracks on the left

 Den Haag Leidschenveen
Randstad Rail RET Metro E, HTM TramTrain 3 & 4
Stop of HTM Tram 19

To see more Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622685920411/

To see more Belgium and Netherlands gurdwara pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622147381380/

More Belgium / Netherlands pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Akhilesh Yadav set to be CM

Lucknow: Barring a last minute hitch, Akhilesh Yadav will be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. A meeting of Samajwadi Party MLAs scheduled for 11 am tomorrow will elect Akhilesh their leader, following which he will formally stake claim to form the government, sources said.

At 39, Akhilesh, currently the MP from Kannauj, will be UP’s youngest chief minister. The family of Mulayam Singh Yadav has arrived at a consensus that the party chief will focus on national politics while Akhilesh runs UP.

There has been uncertainty over who among father and son would be CM ever since the SP roared to victory with 224 seats in the 403-member UP house on March 6.

Sources said two of the SP’s seniormost leaders — Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mulayam Singh’s brother and MLA from Jaswantnagar, and Azam Khan, MLA from Rampur — will propose Akhilesh’s name at tomorrow’s meeting. It will be supported by Atrauliya MLA Dr Sangram Yadav, son of senior leader Balram Yadav, and seconded by Hardoi MLA Nitin Agarwal.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120310/latest-news.htm

BBC News – Pakistan appoints Zaheerul Islam as new spy chief

Friday 9 March 2012. Pakistan’s prime minister has appointed a new head of intelligence to replace the retiring chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.

Lt General Zaheerul Islam replaces Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who has been at the ISI’s helm since 2008 and is set to retire.

He takes up the post after a tumultuous year in which the agency has been accused by the US of backing militants across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies such claims but relations with the US have been tense.

Lt General Pasha’s term as head of the ISI was overshadowed by a single event – the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden by US special forces in the north-western Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad last May.

Some in the US accused Pakistan’s establishment, and especially the ISI, of at best incompetence and at worst complicity after the al-Qaeda chief was found to have lived in the hill town for a number of years.

Lt General Islam was born into a military family and is currently the army commander in Karachi. He has also served as deputy head of the ISI agency in the past.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the appointment is unlikely to radically change the course of the agency, but is likely to be met with relief in a number of quarters.

US relations with the outgoing chief were frosty, particularly in the wake of the Bin Laden raid and ongoing disputes over drone strikes in Pakistan.

Correspondents say that as head of the ISI many believe Lt General Islam could be an important figure in any future Pakistani efforts in future peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.

Many believe the ISI has some influence over the Taliban – the ISI denies such claims.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17312915