The Asian Age – BJP won’t tolerate Modi as PM candidate: Beni

Amita Verma, Asian Age Correspondent

Lucknow, 2 February 2013. Union minister for steel Beni Prasad Varma said on Friday that the BJP would not tolerate Gujarat chief minister as its prime ministerial candidate.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, the minister said that infighting in the BJP would prove to be its undoing. He said that while the Congress was yet to take a decision, his prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha polls was, without doubt, Mr Rahul Gandhi. He said that no one in the Congress had the guts to oppose Mr Gandhi’s candidature.

Mr Varma said that while Mr Rahul Gandhi was a national leader, Mr Modi had not tested waters outside his state and lacked acceptability ast the national level.

The minister said that the state government had withdrawn his security but he was not perturbed about it. “I am 72 years old and God will protect me. If someone wants to eliminate me, what can I say? I have spoken to the chief secretary and he feigned ignorance about the issue,” he said.

The minister refused to make any adverse comments about chief minister Akhilesh Yadav who he looked upon as his “nephew”.

The minister further said that he had invested crores of rupees in Uttar Pradesh through various developmental projects initiated by his ministry.

“Leaders of other states come to me asking for projects but no one from UP has ever approached me. I am doing what I can because I belong to this state,” he said.

He said that two power projects of 250 MW each with a total investment of `300 crores were being set up in Jagdishpur in Amethi. The projects would create 2000 jobs and of these 50 per cent would be reserved for people from UP.

http://www.asianage.com/india/bjp-won-t-tolerate-modi-pm-candidate-beni-256

BBC News – India Kumbh Mela dip ‘raised Ganges river pollution’

By Ram Dutt Tripathi, BBC Hindi, Lucknow

Thursday 24 January 2013. Pollution levels rose alarmingly in the river Ganges in Allahabad on the first day of the Kumbh Mela festival, according to a study by the state pollution control board.

Officials said eight million people had bathed at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers on 14 January. Hindus believe a festival dip at Sangam – where the rivers meet – will cleanse sins and help bring salvation.

About 100 million devotees are expected to bathe during the 55-day festival.

On 10 February, considered the most auspicious bathing day during the festival, nearly 30 million devotees are expected to take a holy dip in the river.

The event, every 12 years, is billed as the biggest gathering on Earth.

The Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology – many believe that when gods and demons fought over a pitcher of nectar, a few drops fell in the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar – the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.

Worst fears

Millions of people have been arriving in Allahabad for the past fortnight to take part in the Kumbh Mela festival.

The pilgrims, who come from all over India, bathe in the river, most drink a few drops of the Ganges water and many fill bottles to take home with them.

But the latest study by the Uttar Pradesh state Pollution Control Board has confirmed the worst fears of campaigners who have long raised questions about pollutants in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

The study found that the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels – which are used as a measure of the level of organic pollution in the water – had increased to 7.4mg per litre at the main bathing place, known as Sangam, on 14 January 2013.

The BOD level at Sangam a day before was 4.4mg per litre. After 14 January, the BOD levels gradually decreased to 4.8mg per litre on 18 January.

Experts say that BOD should not exceed 2mg per litre,

“Such high level of BOD in the water shows that organic pollution has increased in the river due to mass bathing,” Pollution Control Board officer Mohd Sikandar said.

Authorities have released large quantities of water from further upstream to dilute the impact of the pollution.

But experts say the Ganges water in Allahabad is still not fit for drinking and bathing.

Many Hindus believe that water from the Ganges has the ability to clean and purify itself.

But campaigners say the river is affected by long term industrial and urban pollution from the cities and towns located on its banks.

They say this may be the reason that even a normal day of ritual bathing can increase the water’s BOD level.

What is a Maha Kumbh Mela?

The Kumbh Mela is a mass pilgrimage in which Hindus gather in specific locations along the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati.

There are three different kinds of kumbh: an ardh (or half) kumbh is held every six years at two set locations; a purna (full) kumbh is held every 12 years at four set locations.

The 2013 gathering is a Maha Kumbh and that only ever happens after 12 purna kumbhs every 144 years – and it is always held at Allahabad.

Astrology determines most aspects of the festival, including its exact date and length. Where the festival is held also depends on the position of Jupiter, the sun and earth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21175890

The Tribune – The big chill: At -3°C, Narnaul (Haryana) coldest place in plains

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 7. The cold wave condition intensified with the minimum temperature plummeting sharply, throwing normal life out of gear in many places of the North. According to weather office, the lowest minimum temperature of minus 3.0 degree Celsius was recorded at Narnaul (Haryana) in the plains of the country.

With cold wave conditions raging, Delhi continued to shiver as mercury remained below normal by five notches to settle at 2.4 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature too dipped to seven degrees below normal to settle at 13.4 degree Celsius.

In the neighbourhood, Hisar reeled with a low of minus 0.8 degree Celsius, two degrees below normal, followed by Bhiwani with 0.5. Minimum temperature in Amritsar settled at a low of 1.8 degrees Celsius while Patiala and Ludhiana recorded the minimum temperatures of 2.4 and 2.7 degree Celsius, respectively.

The entire Kashmir Valley continued to reel under intense cold with night temperature hovering several degrees below freezing point. The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 4.9 degree Celsius, down by 0.3 notches from yesterday’s minus of 4.6 degrees Celsius.

The Met office said the Kargil town in frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 16.4 degree Celsius, while mercury in Gulmarg plunged further to minus 9.8 degree Celsius. Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, shivered at a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius.

Rajasthan continued to remain in the grip of severe cold, with Churu being the coldest place at minus 2.7 degree Celsius followed by Karauli at zero degree while in UP Muzaffarnagar shivered at minus 0.7 degree Celsius. Agra recorded 0.6 degree Celsius, Najibabad (Bijnor) 1.0, Lucknow and Aligarh 1.4 each and Kheri 1.6 degree Celsius.

In Uttarakhand, the Tehri district was the coldest at 0.5 degree Celsius followed by Mukteshwar at 0.4 and Pithoragarh at 0.2 degree Celsius. Capital Dehradun also shivered at 1.3 degree Celsius.

According to the IMD, cold wave conditions would prevail over some parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar during next 48 hours. While dense fog would abate from many parts of Indo-Gangetic plains during next 1-2 days, strong northwesterly winds from tomorrow onwards could worsen chill conditions.

Chandigarh’s coldest day in history

Chandigarh on Monday recorded its coldest day in history with a maximum temperature at 6.1°C, as piercing cold conditions swept Punjab and Haryana.

The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 4.9°C

Hisar reeled with a low of minus 0.8°C

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130108/main5.htm

The Tribune – Fourteen more die as cold wave sweeps North

New Delhi, December 31. Fourteen persons succumbed to extreme cold in North India today as temperatures plummeted across the region making people stay inside homes. Delhiites shivered in the morning as the mercury plunged to the season’s lowest of 5.5 degrees celsius even as dense fog affected air traffic.

The minimum was two degrees below normal and down from yesterday’s 7.7 degrees. The maximum temperature in the capital was 13.3 degrees celsius, seven notches below normal.

Extreme cold claimed 14 more lives in various parts of Uttar Pradesh bringing the toll this winter to 83 in the state.

Despite a sunny afternoon which provided much needed respite to people, the chill claimed three lives each in Jalaun and Bhadohi, two each in Azamgarh, Bahraich and Shrawasti and one each in Gazipur and Sonebhadra.

Met office reports said that maximum temperatures were below normal by four to 10 degree celsius at one or two places in the state. Night temperatures fell appreciably in Lucknow division.

They were below normal in Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Jhansi and Agra divisions and normal in remaining divisions.

Lowest minimum temperature in the state was 4.0 degree celsius recorded at Muzaffarnagar. Fog threw normal life out of gear in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh today affecting air, rail and road traffic as the mercury plummeted sharply in the region on the New year eve.

Early morning dense fog reduced visibility to just a few metres adversely affecting air, rail and road traffic in the two states, official said here. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130101/main4.htm

The Asian Age – Kejriwal asks Farrukhabad people to dismiss Khurshid

Lucknow, 2 November 2012. Anti-graft activist Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday stepped up attack on External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in Farukkhabad and urged the people to “dismiss” their tainted representative in the 2014 polls, even as Congress workers clashed with his supporters.

“We urged the prime minister to sack him but he did not, now I request you to dismiss him in the general elections of 2014,” the India Against Corruption activist told an impressive and enthusiastic crowd. He asked the people to pit a disabled person as a candidate against Khurshid in the polls and also to ensure that the minister lost.

Earlier, the activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) which is backing Kejriwal, and the Congress workers clashed on the outskirts of Farrukhabad. The “skirmish was a minor one and some stones were pelted”, a police officer said adding that no one was injured.

Referring to his charges of corruption and forgery against the Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust run by Khurshid and his wife Louise, Kejriwal also accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state of trying to save the tainted union minister.

They say a probe is being conducted, Kejriwal said adding that: “Where is the need for the probe as it has already been done earlier this year.”

“Now the time has come to lodge an FIR against Khurshid,” Kejriwal told the audience at the rally.

Enthused by the impressive crowd at the meeting, Kejriwal said that while he had seen various forms of corruption in his crusade against graft, the one done by Khurshid was “by far the most shameful”.

Accusing SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of working a “quid pro quo” with the union minister, he said they were trying to strike a bargain to get the SP chief off the CBI hook in his disproportionate assets case.

Referring to the threat given to him to try and come to Farukkhabad and also go back, Kejriwal said he was one of the many who did not care about their life.

“My life is in the hands of God. Until he wishes so, nothing will happen to me,” he added.

“I had been dared by Khurshid to try and come to Farukkhabad and also go back. Here I am and I am also going back safely,” he said, while taking a dig at the external affairs minister.

Earlier, Kejriwal reached the rally amid tight security provided by the state police. Congress and BJP workers showed Kejriwal black flags at two different places.

Farrukhabad, about 160 km from Lucknow and over 250 km from New Delhi, is the parliamentary constituency of Khurshid, who faces allegations of irregularities in the Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust.

http://www.asianage.com/india/kejriwal-asks-farrukhabad-people-dismiss-khurshid-689

The Asian Age, India, Arvind Kejriwal, Farukkhabad, Salman Khurshid

The Hindu – Two killed in UP communal clashes

Clashes reportedly broke out after a dispute over the route to be taken by a procession for Durga idol immersion

Atiq Khan

Lucknow, 25 October 2012.  In yet another communal violence in Uttar Pradesh — the seventh since the Samajwadi Party came to power in March — two persons were killed and several injured in clashes in Faizabad district on Wednesday night.

Indefinite curfew was clamped in the Kotwali and Cantonment police station areas. Over two dozen shops were torched by rioters in Chowk, Bhadarsa and Bikapur. Curfew was imposed in Cantonment on Thursday.

The violence followed a dispute between Hindus and Muslims over the route to be taken for a procession for immersion of idols of Durga on Vijayadashami on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has said rioters would be sternly dealt with. On Thursday, he announced compensation for those whose commercial establishments and shops were burnt down.

Situation tense

The situation continues to be tense in Faizabad. A police jeep was set on fire by miscreants on Thursday and local MLA Tej Narayan Pandey was manhandled. Ten companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), one company of the Rapid Action Force and 300 sub-inspectors and constables have been deployed in and around the town.

Additional forces from all the districts coming under Faizabad and Lucknow zones and additional fire tenders have been sent to the town. Director-General of Police Ambrish Chandra Sharma and other police officials are camping in Faizabad, a senior official said.

Clashes first broke out in the neighbouring Barabanki district following a dispute over the idols procession route in Bhatwa Mau village. However, the situation was brought under control by the security forces and Durga idols were immersed late on Wednesday night, Inspector-General (Law and Order) Badri Prasad Singh told reporters here on Thursday.

From Barabanki, the violence spread to Alwana village under the Rudauli police station area in Faizabad district.

Mr. Singh said clashes broke out after a mosque on the procession route was smeared with gulal (coloured powder). One group blocked National Highway 24 that connects Faizabad with Lucknow and the blockade was lifted late on Wednesday night after the district administration assured that Durga idols would be immersed.

Clashes erupted in the communally sensitive Chowk area after it was alleged that a youth had passed an indecent remark at a girl. Several persons were injured when two groups resorted to stone-throwing and about a dozen shops were set afire.

Mr. Singh said curfew was imposed in the Kotwali police station area after the incident. On Thursday, it was extended to the Cantonment police station area.

Another clash occurred in Bhadarsa under the Pur Kalandar police station area of the town after coloured material was allegedly thrown at a mosque.

As rival groups indulged in stone-pelting, resulting in injuries to several persons, about 13 shops were torched.

Mr. Singh said one person was killed in the violence. Another shop was torched in Bikapur, where a tractor and a vehicle were set ablaze.

On Thursday, one person was killed in Muqimpur under the Inayat Nagar police station area.

The police, however, maintained that it was on account of enmity and was not related to the clashes.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/two-killed-in-up-communal-clashes/article4031799.ece

The Tribune – Rs 1,800 crore spent, why is Yamuna still dirty, SC asks Centre, states

R Sedhuraman, Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, October 10. The Supreme Court today took the Centre, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to task for the worsening water quality of the Yamuna despite the fact that over Rs 1,800 crore had been spent on combating pollution so far.

“It is unfortunate that huge amount of public finds is spent without showing any improvement in water quality” of the river, a Bench comprising Justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan Lokur remarked in its order.

The Bench noted that Rs 1,062 crore had been spent by the Centre alone, followed by Rs 219 crore by Uttar Pradesh and over Rs 200 crore by Haryana. Besides this, various corporations and civic bodies of the Centre and the states had also pitched in with considerable effort, taking the total expenditure to Rs 1,800 crore.

But the report filed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the level of pollution had considerably gone up all along the course of the river since March this year. For instance, the coliform content was measured at 17 billion per 100 ml at Delhi and Agra, against the permissible limit of 5,000, the court pointed out.

Even at Hathnikund, located upstream, coliform presence had gone up from 2,000 in March 2012 to 20,000 in August 2012. At Panipat, it was measured at 13,000 in March and at 3.8 lakh in August. The numbers for Sonepat stood at 8,000 and 20,000.

The Bench directed the Chief Secretaries of the three states and the Secretary of the Union Urban Development Ministry in consultation with other ministries concerned to file detailed reports on the works undertaken so far from Hathnikund to Agra, the number of sewers — be it industrial, domestic or other waste — joining the river and the treatment plants installed and functional. The heads of the civic bodies concerned such as the Delhi Jal Board would also have to file similar reports.

The SC asked these authorities to be present in the court at the next hearing on October 30 if they failed to comply with the order.

The Centre and the states should also give the names of their representatives for inclusion in an expert commit to be constituted for suggesting a comprehensive plan for prevention and control of Yamuna pollution.

Pointing out that the SC was seized of the issue since 1994, the Bench said it wanted to ensure that some concrete results were produced without any further delay.

Haryana’s Additional Advocate General Manjit Singh Dalal informed the Bench that the state incurred an expenditure of Rs 247.82 crore under phase one of theYamuna Action Plan, of which the Centre paid 50 per cent.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121011/main1.htm

The Tribune – With Trinamool gone, SP blows hot and cold

K V Prasad, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 23. The dichotomy in the political approach of the Samajwadi Party (SP) is glaring. On one hand it continues to support the UPA government from the outside and on the other it vehemently opposes the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retailing.

The latest in the series of his steps to keep up the pressure on the ruling coalition is a statement by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that he would support a resolution in Parliament against the FDI in retail which the Trinamool Congress is threatening to move during the winter session.

With 22 MPs, the SP chief knows the crucial nature of support for the survival of the Congress-led UPA coalition. On Saturday, after initially suggesting that a view on the resolution could be taken only when a situation arises, Mulayam later told a TV channel that the party will go with the TMC.

On Friday, the SP Parliamentary Board decided to continue support to the UPA on the grounds that it wants to keep the BJP at bay. The next day, the SP supremo goes to meet Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal that has an alliance with the BJP in Punjab.

Separately, Mulayam’s son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav blames the Manmohan Singh government for the ‘economic mess.’ “The people had voted UPA-1 and UPA-2 to power to deliver goods to people and if it failed in doing so who should be held responsible,” Akhilesh said in Mathura on Saturday when asked for his reaction to Prime Minister’s justification in hiking the price of diesel to reduce fiscal deficit. In the same breath, the young SP leader parroted that the party was standing behind the UPA to keep communal forces away from power but is ready for a snap poll.

The SP attitude is anchored in its deep interest of how its moves will impact political fortunes of the party in Uttar Pradesh and is multi-pronged in its approach. One is to deny space to the Congress there, two, is to prevent its political rival the Bahujan Samaj Party any leverage with the Centre, three, not to upset its support base among Muslim-minorities, and finally by straddling with the Left and other secular allies to keep them on its side with an eye on post- 2014 General Election scenario.

Having burnt its fingers in UP following a tie-up with the Rashtriya Kranti Party of Kalyan Singh, the SP chief is wary of taking any step that could be interpreted of moving closer to the BJP and by supporting the Congress, the party is making sure that Mayawati cannot fill the vacuum created by the SP moving against the Central Government.

Mulayam is of the view that the Congress cannot recover lost ground in many states, including in Bihar, Punjab, Gujarat, UP, West Bengal.

See-sawing, SP style

With 22 MPs, Mulayam knows the crucial nature of support for the survival of the Congress-led UPA coalition

Keeping up the pressure on the ruling coalition, Mulayam now says he would support a resolution, which the Trinamool Congress is threatening to move during the winter session, against the FDI in retail

Earlier, he had suggested that a view on the resolution could be taken only when a situation arises

On Friday, the SP Parliamentary Board decided to continue support to the UPA on the grounds that it wants to keep the BJP at bay. The next day, the SP supremo goes to meet Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the SAD, a BJP ally in Punjab

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120924/main1.htm

BBC News – Love marriages ‘banned in Indian village’

Friday, 13 July 2012. A village in northern India has banned love marriages and imposed a series of restrictions on women, reports say.

Council leaders in Asara in Uttar Pradesh state have reportedly barred women under 40 from shopping alone and from using mobile phones outside.

They have also ordered women to cover their heads when outside.

Village heads say the measures are a response to cases of harassment, but the Press Trust of India news agency reports police are investigating.

The village council order was issued at a meeting on Wednesday, officials said.

The council also ruled that those marrying for love would not be allowed to live in the village, reports said.

Baghpat district, which is where Asara village is located, is only about 40km (25 miles) from the Indian capital, Delhi.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18824367

The Tribune – Khaps term female foeticide as murder; Want drive against menace, guilty punished

Bijendra Ahlawat, Tribune News Service

Bibipur (Jind, Haryana), July 14. A mahapanchayat of leaders and representatives of over 100 khaps from Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh took a tough stand against female foeticide on Saturday and demanded registration of a murder case against those who indulge in the “heinous act”.

The mahapanchayat, a conglomeration of various caste councils, was convened for the first time to discuss and debate rampant female foeticide in Haryana’s Bibipur village, 10 km from Jind on the Bhiwani road. It was pointed out that the population of girls had decreased due to the rampant practice and effective steps should be taken to wipe out the social ill. There are around 877 females per 1,000 males in the state.

“The perpetrators (of female foeticide) should be booked under Section 302 of the IPC instead of the simple imprisonment of five years and fine awarded to the guilty of such a crime,” said the resolution passed at the mahapanchayat.

The mahapanchayat, which for the first time saw a large number of women participants, also decided to launch an awareness campaign against the social evil by holding regular panchayat meetings. An 11-member committee would be formed to oversee the campaign.

“The committee will be headed by Ram Karan Solanki, chief of the Palam-360 Khap. It will meet again to ensure that the campaign against foeticide continued till positive results were achieved,” said Sunil Jaglan, Sarpanch of Bibipur village, and organiser of the mahapanchayat. It was chaired by Kuldeep Ram Rai, head of the Naugama Panchayat.

While speakers condemned the practice of female foeticide, they stressed the need for creating social awareness against female foeticide and educating the masses on problems that could crop up if the rampant practice continued. Khaps blamed the media for presenting them in poor light and claimed they had only been working for the social benefit of various communities.

Santosh Dahiya, head of the woman wing of the Sarvakhap Mahapanchayat, said both men and women were responsible for foeticide and the state’s skewed sex ratio and only their will and attitude could bring about a change.

Kuldeep Singh Dhanda, pradhan of Barah Kalan Khap, said they were worried about the declining sex ratio in the state. Change is possible only with the involvement of all sections of society, he said.

However, voices of dissent were also heard during the function. While a large number of women attended the panchayat, only a handful was allowed to speak after the resolution. They termed the resolution a futile exercise.

Some participants objected to the manner in which the resolution was adopted. “The organisers ought to have held a thorough debate and discussion on the matter before adopting the resolution,” said Umed Singh Deswal, head of the Dulehra Barah Khap of Jhajjar. He said organisers exhibited immaturity in the manner in which the event was organised.

Khaps that participated in the meeting included Malik, Binain, Dalal, Sheoran, Hooda, Barah Kalan, Dahiya, Bhanwala, Gathwala, Kandela, Sangwan, Solanki, Maan, Dhanda, Deswal and Tanwar, besides representatives of Dalit bodies. With women of the village leading the campaign, the Gram Sabha of Bibipur village had invited leaders of over 300 khaps to seek their support for the campaign.

(With agency inputs)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120715/main4.htm