The Tribune – The Jammu and Kashmir High Court wants houseboats shifted to another part of Dal Lake

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 11. Taking serious note of the non-compliance of court directions by houseboat owners, the J-K High Court has observed that the government should explore the possibility of shifting the houseboats on the Dal Lake from their present position.

The high court observed that these houseboats could be shifted to the Doldrum area, which is another location inside the Dal Lake.

These observations were made yesterday by a Division Bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar.

The high court has been hearing a public interest litigation plea calling for the conservation of the Dal Lake and has been monitoring the efforts of the government in this regard for many years.

In a bid to prevent pollution in the lake and to supervise the state government’s efforts to conserve the lake, the HC had on October 29 directed the houseboat owners to shift their anchored houseboats from their existing position at the lake by 300 feet from the Boulevard Road, which forms the outer periphery of the lake.

The high court had ordered that the retrieval process of around 230 houseboats should be carried out within 10 days. However, the boat owners have so for shown non-compliance of the court directions, citing many reasons.

As the matter came up for hearing in the court yesterday, the court was told that the owners were yet to retreat the houseboats from their current position.

This prompted the Bench to observe that the houseboat owners were just “buying time.” Subsequently, the Bench observed that the “government shall now explore the possibility of shifting all houseboats from their current position to another location at the Dal lake, which is known as the Doldrum area”.

The court, however, did not specify any time frame, as the matter has been posted for further consideration in February next year.

The houseboat owners have so for resisted realignment or shifting of the houseboats, maintaining that realignment or shifting of the houseboats at the lake is a “Herculean task” and may require a lot of “time and effort”.

Currently, the Centrally-sponsored Dal Lake Cleaning and Conservation Project, which was started in 2005, is being implemented by the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), Srinagar, under the court’s supervision. Over the years, the lake water has become polluted as sewage of hundreds of houseboats and hotels and houses on its periphery goes directly into the lake.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121212/j&k.htm#3

The Tribune – Murder of a policeman; ASI murder key accused in SAD directory, says Congress

G S Paul, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 11. The Shiromani Akali Dal’s recently published directory of district-level leaders kicked up a storm on Tuesday, with Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh alleging that leaders mentioned in it enjoyed “immunity” from police action if found indulging in any criminal activity.

Ranjit Singh Rana, the now expelled SAD general secretary who allegedly shot dead ASI Ravinderpal Singh in Amritsar on December 5, features on page 51 of the directory. Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sunil Jakhar said there were 25 other SAD leaders with criminal background in the directory.

Titled ‘Zila Akali Jatha, Amritsar’, the directory’s cover page carries a slogan: ‘Sukhbir Singh Badal da supna, ik majboot jathebandhak dhancha (Sukhbir Singh Badal’s dream: A strong network of party workers’ and contains the antecedents of “active” SAD workers of Amritsar. Its aim: to serve as an area-wise ready reckoner of SAD leaders for the public.

Captain Amarinder Singh, at a dharna at Rialto Chowk here today, blamed the SAD top brass for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. “The SAD directory has been distributed in all police stations. Officers have been directed to look the other way if a case involving party functionaries mentioned in the directory comes their way,” said Amarinder, who later visited the family of late ASI Ravinderpal Singh.

“The directory is authentic proof of the criminal-politician nexus. There are at least 25 SAD leaders mentioned in it who have been indulging in criminal acts such as land grabbing, liquor and drug smuggling. It is the liability of the Punjab CM to get the particulars of his leaders verified,” said Jakhar.

The Chief Minister admitted that Rana was an unknown name for him, he said. “Rana’s true face emerged only after the ASI’s killing, but there are more Ranas enshrined in this directory,” said Jakhar.

SAD Amritsar district unit (urban) president Upkar Singh Sandhu refuted the allegations.

“It is baseless to say that these directories have been specifically distributed in police stations. It is equally groundless to say the directory contains the antecedents of SAD workers with a criminal background. Rana did not have a criminal background till he killed a police officer,” he said.

We have informed the police commissioner that if any of our workers are found involved in any case, we should be informed right away, he said. “We have also directed our local chiefs to be vigilant about all party workers and verify their backgrounds,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121212/main5.htm

The Asian Age – Rahul Gandhi terms Modi as ‘marketeer’ who makes false propaganda

Jamnagar (Gujarat), 11 December 2012. Making his first appearance in the Gujarat Assembly election campaign, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today unleashed an attack on chief minister Narendra Modi calling him a “marketeer” who does false propaganda claiming progress in the state.

“People’s voice is not heard in Gujarat. The government of Gujarat and the chief minister do not want to listen to you. He wants to hear only his own voice. He has his dream and he thinks only about his own dream. A true leader makes people’s dream his own dream,” he said addressing a rally in this town of Saurashtra.

The Congress general secretary claimed that a false propaganda that Gujarat was making all round progress has been launched but contrary to it there is rampant corruption in the state, unemployment is very high and there is all round failure.

“The marketeer says Gujarat is shining. But tell me how many hours people get water ? People get water for 25 minutes in every three days. But marketeer says Gujarat is shining. There are 10 lakh unemployed youth in Gujarat. But marketeer says Gujarat is shining,” he said.

Rahul said voice of poor and down-trodden is suppressed in Gujarat as the leader does not want to hear common people’s grievances.

“Gandhiji and Nehruji always wanted to hear people’s voice. They were true leaders,” he said.

The Congress leader claimed that even Opposition’s voice is curbed in Gujarat as the Assembly sits for just 25 days in a year and very often Opposition leaders are thrown out of the House.

Rahul said there is no Lokayukta in Gujarat and 14,000 RTI applications were pending as government does not want to let any information come out as it would expose its true affairs. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/rahul-terms-modi-marketeer-who-makes-false-propaganda-155

17 till 27 August 2012 – Visit to London UK

Hayes & Harlington – Paddington – St Pancras – Brussel Zuid – Sint-Truiden

27 August 2012

New entrance to Paddington Circle and Hammersmith & City platforms

St Pancras International – waiting for the Eurostar to Brussel

Left and right Eurostar Highspeed EMUs ready for departure

St Pancras is a busy place !
As I have already published too many pictures of Brussel Zuid / Bruxelles Midi and Sint Truiden station, this is the last of  the 27 August pictures

Afghan Ambassador to UK visits Guru Nanak Darbar Southall
Pritpal Singh – The Dutch Sikh
26 August 2012

The Afghan Ambassador and his assistant in the sangat

Guru Nanak Darbar
Afghan Ekta Cultural and Religious Community Centre
65-75 King Street
Southall UB2 4DQ

To see more UK Trains, Underground and Buses pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157611244941713/

To see more World and UK Gurdwara pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/4304661200/in/set-72157611278213681

More Afghan Ekta
Guru Nanak Darbar pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Pakistan Punjab CM coming; visit set to boost CBMs

Jangveer Singh, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 11. The Punjab-Punjab connect, set to happen with Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif’s visit, is expected not only to bridge people-to-people ties between the two Punjabs but also the two nations, as the visiting dignitory meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 16.

On the Agenda

* Better trade ties across Wagah border

* Study collaborations in power, education and agriculture

* One-on-one contact between Pakistan and Indian traders

Pakistan Punjab has a representation of nearly 60 per cent in Pakistan’s parliament and the Sharif family is the most important after the Bhutto clan. It is in this backdrop that the Indian government is reaching out to Sharif during the course of his visit to Punjab. Sharif is visiting Punjab for four days, starting December 14.

Sharif’s visit is set to boost confidence building measures initiated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal during his visit to Pakistan Punjab last month.

The Punjab Government sees this confidence building exercise as a precursor to better trade ties across the Wagah border.

“We have already laid the groundwork for Punjab-Punjab prosperity and growth,” says Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. He says the government wants to use this strength to ensure people-people growth between the two countries.

Majithia says besides attending the closing ceremony of the ongoing World Cup Kabaddi tournament, Sharif will concentrate on three fields during his visit.

This includes examining the development ushered in by the Bathinda refinery as well as the thermal power plant being built by the Vedanta group in Mansa district.

He will also examine the scope of renewable energy sources by visiting the 1 MW solar power plant at Phullokheri in Bathinda.

Pakistan Punjab is keen on learning from the state’s experience in developing energy sources quickly as well as possible tie-ups in the future.

The other two fields of Sharif’s interest include studying the strides made in establishing technical education institutions as well as modern agriculture practices.

The Pakistan Punjab government is keen on studying the steps taken to help small farmers earn a better livelihood by establishing low-cost net houses for vegetable cultivation as well as increasing dairy production.

Sources say emphasis will also be laid on real term ties between traders and industrialists from both countries.

The Pakistan CM will be accompanied by a team of 25 leading traders and industrialists and are expected to ink agreements with the Indian counterparts during the course of the visit.

The Pakistan CM will also meet representatives of the hand tool, sports, leather, textile and automotive industry during his stay here.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121212/main4.htm

Dawn – Afghan refugees in Pakistan resist pressure to return

Jalala, 12 December 2012. Despite pressure from Islamabad and incentives from the UN, the vast majority of the 1.6 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan are still refusing to return to a country gripped by war and poverty.

“Some people think that the security situation has improved in Afghanistan, but they’re wrong,” said Malak Nader, who represents 500 families in the Jalala refugee camp on the outskirts of Mardan, a farming town in northwestern Pakistan.

“If we support the government, the Taliban will come the next day and slit our throats and if we support the Taliban, the coalition forces will come and bomb us,” the truck driver told AFP.

More than five million Afghans fled their homeland for Pakistan in the early 1980s, soon after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan.

Since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down the Taliban regime, 3.8 million have returned, leaving 1.6 million behind, most born and brought up in Pakistan.

But as the 2014 deadline nears for Nato combat troops to leave Afghanistan, they are under increasing pressure from Pakistan to leave.

Their formal refugee documents are valid only until December 31, and Islamabad has so far declined to confirm publicly that it will renew their residency.

“If they don’t go in these conditions where every country is present in Afghanistan to provide them peace, when will they leave?” Pakistan’s minister for states and frontier regions, Shaukat Ullah, told reporters recently.

“Our idea is that they should go and participate in their country’s development.”

At talks with Afghan and UN officials at the weekend, Pakistan said it wanted to make repatriation “faster and better” but reiterated its commitment to a “voluntary process” although saying the deadline remains the same.

In late October, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) boosted incentives for Afghans to return — adding fuel, clothes and tarpaulin to the food package previously given to those looking to repatriate.

As a result, around 10,000 Afghans went home from October 23 to November 30 — more than double the numbers who were repatriated in the same period last year.

Preparing to join them was the elderly Azat Khan, who spent 30 years in exile in northwestern Pakistan but spoke to AFP as he got ready to drive back to Afghanistan.

He has always come and gone — first to fight the Russians, then to conduct business or to visit extended family — but this time it is for good.

“My house is completely destroyed over there, I have to rebuild it,” said the father-of-11 from Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan, upbeat about the future despite fears of a new civil war after 2014.

“I am happy to leave, it’s costing me less,” said Azat referring to the incentives from the United Nations.

But there is a catch: Afghans who leave give up their refugee status. If they come back, it will be without the protection of the law like a million other illegal Afghans, regularly accused by the Pakistanis of being criminals.

According to the UN, nearly 97 per cent of the refugees have no intention of leaving Pakistan, largely due to the insecurity.

Faced with the stalemate, charities have suggested that a new permit should be created allowing Afghans and Pakistanis to work on both sides of the border, legally, without risk of being harassed.

If their refugee papers are not renewed, UNHCR representative in Pakistan Neill Wright said it was “hazy” what would happen on January 1.

“They have never knowingly deported or forced an Afghan registered refugee back,” he said, adding that he was “quietly confident” the same situation would continue next year.

Back in Jalala, which looks more like a village than a refugee camp, with sugar cane fields and mud-brick homes, Nader said he did not want to risk losing everything in Pakistan for an uncertain future in Afghanistan.

“As long as the Pakistani government doesn’t expel us, we’ll stay here,” he said, as a dozen men from the camp nodded in agreement.

http://dawn.com/2012/12/12/afghan-refugees-in-pakistan-resist-pressure-to-return/