509.The Man in Blue – Big decisions !

Life ain’t easy ! Those that know me and those of you who read column 503 and 504, know that I want to go back to Southall.

Although Belgian Limburg is not a bad part of the world, and although I love the walking and cycling, I do miss the big sangat and the many Gurdwaré of London. I miss the big city atmosphere and all the buses, trams, undergrounds and trains. I miss meeting with people of many cultures and religions, I miss working together with people of all different backgrounds.

And in this first generation community you do not have the diversity of sangat that you have amongst the well-established Sikhs in the UK.

Two weeks ago in the Gurdwara, after the Sunday divan, I was called into the room where committee members and some others active in the community sat together. They promised me to support me financially if that was needed to keep me one more year in Sint-Truiden. This came not just from committee members but also from ordinary members of the sangat.

I am in a difficult position. I badly want to go back to the UK (see above), but here I helped start various projects in education that are not easy to leave.

I recently discovered that the two UK organisations that have been my main sources of income over the ten years that I lived in West London do have work for me, but no money to pay me. Although I think that in the UK I will be able to earn some money to top up my pension (I’ll be 65 on the 6th of May), there is the added problem of currency conversion.

I will receive three bits of pension, and two of these are in Euros. With Spain causing new unrest and the conversion rate between sterling and the Euro already down to about 80 pence this will add to the uncertainty.

Sorry to bore you with my personal financial affairs, but these are important issues. I am sure that there are many people who have lived both in the UK and in the Euro-zone and who face similar problems.

And trusting in God does not mean that one should not look at all sides of a question like the above. To cut a long story short, I have decided to stay here one more year till June 2013.

My Dutch pension will just about cover my expenses here, and if I can earn some more money doing tuition and by charging for some of the things that I have done  for free so far, I might be able to recoup part of the 8000 Euros that I spent here the last two year.

Please UK friends and relatives come and visit us here in Belgian Limburg. Eurostar still offers tickets to any Belgian station, and although the Brussels area is famous for its overcrowded motorways, driving from Calais to Sint-Truiden is not too bad.

And next year is going to be exiting as we might be able to lift the ban on the wearing of patka, turban and híjáb in secondary schools this country !

The Times of India – Punjab gets powershock from Himachal Pradesh

Priya Yadav

Chandigarh, 9 April 2012. The Union ministry of power has sought details from Bhakra Beas Management Board to work out the arrears that Punjab government owes to Himachal Pradesh for its share of 7.19 % in power generation at all projects of BBMB. The cash-strapped Punjab government is working out strategies to dispute Himachal Pradesh’s claims of Rs 4,000 crore.

A panel comprising officials from the Central Electricity Authority, the ministry of power and the BBMB are holding meetings to prepare a report on how much is actually due to Himachal Pradesh government by Punjab government. The latter has vehemently disputed claims of Rs 4,000 crore projected by the Himachal Pradesh in the Supreme Court. The report being prepared, said sources in the BBMB, will be submitted to the apex court.

“The BBMB is not directly in the picture but is only providing figures and statistics to the ministry of power about the total energy generated, cost of projects, escalation costs,” said an official of BBMB.

The matter has become a reason of concern for Punjab’s already precariously placed financial position, especially with the Supreme Court’s intervention. The state government is mulling to take a loan of nearly Rs 9,000 crore during the financial year 2012-13, to run its business.

Sources in the finance department revealed that the Punjab government is paying Rs 7,000 crore every year as interest on the staggering debt of Rs 85,000 crore. The bills pending with the government, as of now, total up to over Rs 1,000 crore.

The state needs another Rs 6,000 crore to settle energy bills of free power promised to the farmers and the poor.

And if the SAD-BJP government has to fulfill its election promise to employees, of giving 30% of money due as per Fifth Pay Commission, then another Rs 1,500 crore are required.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Punjab-gets-powershock-from-Himachal-Pradesh/articleshow/12591465.cms

The Hindustan Times – The door has slammed shut, UK Immigration

Sunday, 8 April 2012. Britain announces new means to close down or restrict legal emigration pathways for Indians and other non-European Union citizens every few months. The home ministry’s migration advisory committee has proposed yet another new one in the past week: reducing the number of professional migrant workers by between 13 and 25% next year.

This, in turn, will be a precursor to an expected nationwide cap on non-European Union professional migrants that has been part of the Conservative government’s agenda from the time they took over the reins of power. The rule will disproportionately affect Indians, who make up the single-largest block of applicants for this specific type of migrant category.

There should be no surprises that Britain is closing its doors to workers from India or the rest of the world. Since it joined the European Union, Britain has continuously narrowed the scope for Indian immigration. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the number of Indian migrants was curtailed to barely 5% of total immigrants to the country.

The door reopened in the economic boom years of the past decade, but only for highly-skilled immigrants. Now, as the British economy enters a recession, this temporary opening is also being closed. What is noteworthy about the new proposals is that they also seek to reduce the number of intra-company worker transfers — a slap in the face of Indian companies who have invested in the country.

Indian firms do more direct investment in Britain than they do in all of the rest of Europe put together, but clearly they receive little consideration from Prime Minister David Cameron for doing so. At least the recent proposals should put to rest any residual belief among Indians that Britain is a nation welcoming of immigrants — its foreign-born population is a smaller percentage than that of almost any other western country.

They should also lay to rest any sense that there is a special linkage between India and Britain. The primary conduit between the two countries is effectively investment, a dwindling immigrant legacy and tourism. The Indian immigration story has long ago switched to, above all, the United States — with Canada and Australia not far behind.

And for the highly-skilled immigrant, the options have increased ten-fold with the Persian Gulf, northern Europe and Southeast Asia all laying out the red carpet. Who would have foreseen the day, as has now happened, that Indians would be the largest source of new immigrants to Sweden?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/Edits/The-door-has-slammed-shut/Article1-837483.aspx

The Hindu – Manmohan brings up Saeed issue ‘upfront’ with Zardari

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, 8 April 2012. Promising the prospect of continuous high-level engagements instead of sporadic one-off meetings, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday held talks on a number of issues, including action against Jama’at-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

Though Saeed was not the dominant subject, it was mentioned “upfront” by Dr. Singh. Dr. Singh emphasised need to prosecute Saeed, the alleged strategist behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, during the 40-minute one-to-one talks. He said action against all those involved in the terror attacks in India would be a major issue by which people here would judge their ties with Pakistan.

Mr. Zardari referred to the legal issues involved and both leaders agreed that a structured discussion on Saeed could be held during the coming Home Secretary-level talks in Islamabad. They were also hopeful of the meeting easing the onerous curbs on travel that had stifled people-to-people interaction, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told journalists.

Mr. Zardari had primarily come to pay obeisance at the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer and accommodated the Delhi leg of his visit following a request from the Indian side.

While India seemed to highlight terror and trade, Mr. Zardari felt both sides needed to resolve the disputes over Kashmir, the Siachen glacier and Sir Creek. But both leaders agreed that they should proceed “step by step” in repairing the ties.

The two leaders covered all aspects of relationship as well as regional and global issues of common interest and noted the positive signs that emerged after the dialogue resumed — peace on the border, fewer incidents of cross-border terror, end to slanging matches at the governmental level and attempts to normalise trade.

They expect interactions between the Commerce Ministers and Secretaries to move ahead with the next identified lot of trade-enhancing measures, including a shorter negative list of imported items from Pakistan.

“We are willing to find practical and pragmatic solutions to all our issues. That is the message President Zardari and I wish to convey,” Dr. Singh said in a brief statement to the media.

Mr. Zardari responded in a similar vein, saying discussions were held on “all topics that we could have spoken about.”

Some issues such as that of imprisoned Pakistan biologist Khalil Chishti were raised at a small lunch that followed the talks.

Dr. Singh regretted the death of a large number of Pakistani soldiers at Siachen. He said India would be happy to provide any humanitarian assistance Pakistan required.

On Mr. Zardari’s invitation to Dr. Singh to visit Islamabad, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said they expected the dialogue process to make the kind of solid enough progress that would make it possible.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3293513.ece?homepage=true

28 February 2012 – Antwerp, trams, the river, the castle and the wedding

On 28 February I went to Antwerp to attend the wedding of Jatinder Singh & Reyhan Kaur
As I was early I had time to take pictures of trams, the river and the castle

Articulated  De Lijn Tram 11 enters the Lange Nieuwstraat on its way to central Antwerp

Sint-Jacobsmarkt, De Lijn Tram 10 and 11 use these track on their way back to Central Station and Deurne 

Sint-Jacobsmarkt – De Lijn Tram 10 on its way to Deurne

Sint-Jacobsmarkt, Stop for De Lijn Tram 10 and 11 to Deurne

Sint-Jacobsmarkt, When will the tram come ?

To see more Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures :

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

More Belgium pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Asian Age – Rahul accepts Bilawal invite to Pakistan

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 9 April 2012. The cynosure of all eyes at the four-course Sunday lunch Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted at his 7 Race Course Road residence for Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari were two young guests — Mr Zardari’s son Bilawal, who heads the Pakistan People’s Party, and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi — who sat next to each other.

The two were seen talking to each other throughout the 50-minute lunch. It was revealed later that Bilawal had invited Rahul Gandhi to visit Pakistan soon, and that the latter had accepted the invitation.

Bilawal, 24, now studying history at Oxford’s Christ Church College (also attended by his grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto), was named PPP chairperson days after his mother Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in December 2007.

He tweeted soon after the meal: “Prez n I enjoyed lunch with Rahul Gandhi and PM Singh. lovely meal. Much to learn from each other.”

Congress president Sonia Gandhi could not attend due to ill health, and sent her regrets.

The lavish spread included kebabs, biryani and masala dosa.

Dr Singh asked Mr Zardari to pray for peace in both India and Pakistan when he went to Ajmer Sharif immediately after the lunch.

Those present included senior ministers P. Chidambaram, A.K. Antony and S.M. Krishna, top BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj, NSA Shivshankar Menon and foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai. Mr Chidambaram could be seen exchanging notes with his Pakistani counterpart, interior minister Rehman Malik.

http://www.asianage.com/india/rahul-accepts-bilawal-invite-pak-341

Dawn – Desperate rescue efforts at Siachen

Rawalpindi, 9 April 2012. Rescue workers used bulldozers on Sunday to dig through snow, boulders and slush in an increasingly desperate search for 135 people buried a day earlier by a massive avalanche that engulfed a military complex at the entrance to the Siachen glacier.

Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the place to supervise the rescue operation as hopes of finding any survivors faded.

General  Kayani said during his visit that the army had mobilised all available resources with the help of the air force to carry out a full-scale rescue operation. He praised the morale and efforts of troops who were braving the harsh weather and inhospitable terrain.

The chief of the army staff instructed the commanders to optimally utilise all resources at their disposal and leave no stone unturned to reach the entrapped personnel.

He said efforts were under way to acquire latest technical equipment for the rescue.

The army chief said an avalanche of such a magnitude was unprecedented in the 20 years of the battalion headquarters’ existence at Gayari.

He said the calamity should not affect the morale of the troops defending the motherland at the highest battlefield. The army had always risen to the occasion and would come through this challenge as well, he said.

FCNA Commander Major-General Ikramul Haq apprised the COAS about the details of the rescue operation.

More than 36 hours after a wall of snow crashed into the remote army camp high up in the mountains, rescuers were yet to recover any survivors or bodies.

The camp was engulfed between 5am and 6am on Saturday — perhaps when some were sleeping — by a mass of snow, stones, mud and slush more than 1,000-metre wide and 25-metre high, the military said in a statement.

About 180 military personnel and 60 civilian rescuers were braving freezing temperatures at the inhospitable site close to the de facto border with India, in an area known as the world’s highest battlefield, it said.

Those missing from the camp include 124 soldiers from the 6th Northern Light Infantry battalion and 11 civilian contractors.

“There is no hope,” mountaineering expert Colonel Sher Khan told AFP. “You can survive only in the first 5-10 minutes.”

“It’s a huge, huge avalanche,” a military officer said, adding rescue work would take several days.

Specially trained search-and-rescue teams of army engineers equipped with the latest locating gadgets and heavy machinery had arrived, joining rescue units aided by sniffer dogs and helicopters, the military statement said. Some of the equipment was flown in on military aircraft.

“Adequate medical staff has been made available for the treatment of injured persons in forward field hospitals,” it added.

A tailor and two hairdressers were among the civilians missing.

Army spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said it was unclear whether any of the people who were buried were still alive.

“Miracles have been seen and trapped people were rescued after days… so the nation shall pray for the trapped soldiers,” he said while talking to a TV channel.

The spokesman said the headquarters that was buried was located in an area previously believed to be safe. At an altitude of around 4,500 meters, it is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their way to more remote outposts.

It is situated in a valley between two high mountains, close to a military hospital, according to an officer who was stationed there in 2003.

More soldiers have died from the weather than in combat on the glacier, which was uninhabited before troops moved there.  (Agencies)

http://dawn.com/2012/04/09/desperate-rescue-efforts-at-siachen/