Govt To Declare Assam's Barak River Stretch As Nat Waterway

New Delhi, Sep 6 : The government today said it is in the process of declaring Barak river stretch in Assam as the sixth National Waterway and its steps to augment inland water transport (IWT) infrastructure has met with positive response from investors, including a Rs 650 crore commitment.

India has over 14,500 km of navigable waterways but so far only five of them have been declared as National Waterways.

"Inland Water Transport sector is widely recognised as a fuel efficient, cost effective and environment-friendly mode of transport...One more waterway that is Barak river from Lakhipur to Bhanga in Assam is in the process of declaration as the sixth National waterway (NW)," Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy told a Parliamentary panel today.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), mandated with the task of developing NWs was upgrading infrastructure at NWs --1, 2 and 3, which has resulted in resulted in positive response from investors, he said.

"An indication to this effect is the coal transportation project for NTPC's Farakka power plant for which a long-term cargo assurance has been provided by NTPC due to which private sector has come forward to invest about Rs 650 crore in infrastructure and barges," the Minister said.

Jindal ITF has been selected by NTPC for this purpose through an open competitive bidding process, he added.

Coal, food grains, fertilisers, cement, fly ash and containers are some of the major commodities identified for IWT mode, and efforts are being made to develop projects targetting specific movement of these commodities, he said.

He added that the IWAI is also exploring possibilities to develop commercially viable stretches of NW-4 & NW-5, declared in November 2008, under public private partnership (PPP) mode.

Listing other initiatives, Roy said commercial operation of roll on-roll off facility created jointly by IWAI and Kochi Port Trust to provide IWT connectivity for Vallarpadam International Container Tran-shipment Terminal, Kochi has
resulted in 200 containers movement per day.

Besides, he said that Ministry of Home Affairs,Department of Revenue, Ministry of Environment, Government of West Bengal and Bangladesh authorities have approved the proposal to use an alternative route bypassing Core Area of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve which will prevent poaching; illegal infiltration and facilitate enhanced vigil on Indo-Bangladesh border.

Roy also expressed concerns over neglect of waterways, saying the total expenditure on it was just over Rs 1,000 crore in about 25 years "is insignificant compared to the investment made for development of rail and road modes."

The existing five waterways in the country are the Ganga- Bhagirathi- Hooghly river system from Haldia to Allahabad; the Brahmaputra river from Dhubri to Sadiya; the West Coast Canal from Kollam to Kottapuram along with Godavari and Krishna rivers; and East Coast Canal along with Brahmani river and
Mahanadi delta.

Android Phones To Monitor MNREGA

Google’s sweethearts, the little green robots, are getting all dusty and dirty in rural India these days. No, they aren’t on a vacation in these rustic farmlands but are rather doing some serious chores. Android phones are now being used by officers to monitor the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) projects in Bihar.

The District administration of Munger in Bihar has started this initiative and inspectors of MNREGA schemes in all panchayats have been given Android smartphones that have Bizframe’s Mobile Inspector app pre-installed on them.

Project officials are now able to send detailed reports of workers on site, pictures of working labor force and image proofs of social audit meetings, which are tagged with the GPS location of where the pictures were clicked.

The site supervisors can also complete their project reports and send them immediately over mobile networks thus saving several hours of clerical paper work each day.

More on the Story Here

Bangladesh Can be Springboard For Development of Northeast: PM

By Anisur Rahman

A painter prepares a welcome banner as portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and that of his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, are displayed behind ahead of Dr. Singh's visit in Dhaka.

Dhaka, Sep 6 : With five Indian states sharing borders with Bangladesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sees in that country a potential to become a “springboard” for development of India’s landlocked Northeast, as he embarks on his maiden visit to Dhaka with agreements on border issues and transit on his mind.

Singh, who had recently ruffled feathers in the neighboring country by alluding to widespread anti-India sentiments there, also intends to carry a message that there was “great affection” and “respect” in India for the people of Bangladesh.

In an interview to Bangladesh’s national news agency BSS on the eve of his visit, the Prime Minister also said counter-terror cooperation was also crucial between the two countries to confront the challenge of terrorism “head on”.

“Bangladesh can become the springboard for the development of India’s Northeast region as economic integration has become the trend in all parts of the world,” he said.

India has been keen on better transit links — both land and sea — across Bangladesh to its land-locked north-eastern states, and Singh’s visit will see him discuss the issue in detail with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

He said India has already opened up rail and road routes for transit to link Nepal and Bhutan with Bangladesh, but his country would “move only at a pace with which Bangladesh is comfortable” in regard to the transit through its territories to the north-eastern region.

Singh also said he was “extremely pleased” that the Chief Ministers of the states neighboring Bangladesh — Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam — will be accompanying him.

Top 10 Female Models of 2011

Following are the top 10 female models of 2011 selected by models.com

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No. 8 Jac Monika Jagaciak

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No. 1 Lara Stone

Misery in Mizoram

By Jon Ulrich

Chin migrant workers collect recyclables at a garbage dump in Aizawl, Mizoram State, India.

Aizawl (India), Sep 6 : In the early morning, at the Aizawl city garbage dump, a strong wind blows thick clouds of smoke from burning trash into the air. Chin migrant workers climb the steep mountain of garbage to collect recyclables. Their shadowy figures can hardly be seen through the toxic haze.

C. Vanlal Aunga has been working in the dump for 10 years. When he came to India 11 years ago from Burma's Chin State he worked on a plantation during his first year. Aunga prefers this job because “the work is easier.”

Sometimes he finds money or even gold necklaces in the garbage. But most of the time Aunga and the other 15 regulars who sort through the trash, three times a day, when the trucks come in, collect bottles, cans, metal and paper.

He makes between 150 to 500 Indian rupees (US $3.25 - $11) a day.

The workers live in rented houses above the dump near the roadway. If the wind is blowing in the wrong direction the smoke from the burning garbage will creep into their homes.

Sometimes Aunga gets a cough.

Recently a woman was hit in the head by a tire that was thrown into the dump. Her injury was not serious. People step on broken glass or in a pit of hot coals, he says.

Aunga has large scar from a burn on the inside of his leg, several inches above his ankle.

Last month one of the pickers found a dead infant girl in a bag of trash.

Aunga says he left Chin State because he didn’t want to “live under martial law.

“The military use us as porters and steal our rations. They also force us to do labour,” he said.

The Burmese army made him do road construction.

It took Aunga and his family eight days to walk to Aizawl from Chin State.

Military harassment in Chinland is common, says a Aizawl-based human rights worker who did not want to be named.

“In Chin State, eighty-five percent of people work in cultivation,” she said. “But the constant demands for porters and forced labour by the soldiers means they can only tend their crops three or four days out of the week. They can’t make enough to survive.”

Recent famines, caused by rat infestations, have made the situation worse.

The average daily salary for Chin migrant workers in Mizoram is between 150 to 200 rupees, he says.

They take the lowest paid work in construction, picking rocks, selling Burmese goods and food in the market, weaving or as domestic workers.

Sometimes their employers don’t pay their salaries, he said.

There are also cases of domestic workers being raped, he added.

“If they get pregnant they will fire them and kick them out of the house without paying them,” he said.

Furthermore, they run a daily risk of being arrested by local authorities and deported back to Burma, he said.

There are 70,000 to 100,000 Chins in Mizoram, according to Human Rights Watch report, “We Are Like The Forgotten People,” which documents abuses in Chin State.

Aunga received his Indian identification card after applying three times.

Now that he is legally permitted to stay in Aizawl he should be considered one of the lucky ones. But Aunga admits he struggles to pay his bills. Sometimes there is not enough left to cover his three children’s tuition so he has to ask for credit from the school for up to three months, he says.

“I hope my children can complete their education. Maybe when they can get older they can get a decent-paying job in the government.”

Source: irrawaddy.org

Irom: A Fighter Greater Than Anna

By Anirban Choudhury

Irom Sharmila Chanu has been fasting for 11 years. Unlike Anna Hazare, who was cajoled by millions to end his fast, she enjoys no public support or media coverage. Her cause is almost unknown outside her state. She is seeking the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from her state, Manipur.

Irom has never had a Kiran Bedi to add melodrama to her agitation, but what she has had is the grit to try and persuade the government to repeal a law that empowers the security forces to arrest without a warrant, and shoot anyone at sight.

Irom took up a cause most Indians have no clue about. Her fight is not against corruption, which has become a popular bugbear, but for a life without fear.

Dubbed the Iron Lady of Manipur, Irom began her fast in 2000 after she witnessed the killing of 10 people by Assam Rifles jawans at a bus stop. Weighing just 37 kg, she has not eaten a single morsel for the last 10 years, as a result of which she is force-fed through her nose.

Irom hopes one day the Indian government will recognise her and her fight against rights violations. She has also urged Anna Hazare to visit Manipur and see what is happening there.

People in Manipur are upset with the media over the poor coverage for Irom's decade-old fast. Anna's 11-day fast had the media buzzing with 24/7 coverage, whereas Irom's marathon protest has largely been ignored.

Although she has won international awards, Irom's cause has never managed to strike a chord with the vocal middle class. Very few know or care about what is happening in Manipur, and how people in the state are being constantly bullied by the armed forces.

Those living in other parts of India have got used to a free life, and just don't understand the pain of living under constant surveillance. Once in a while, the middle class conscience wakes us up and we rush to rallies or candlelight vigils to show that we stand with the just and the right. It has become fashionable to be seen at rallies wearing a Anna topi.

Irom is not happy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's leadership as he has not kept his promise to work towards amending the AFSPA. She wants him to look at her like he did Anna Hazare, as "people of this whole nation, just like in God's eyes, are equal."

It's a shame that she pleads to be treated like Anna Hazare. Why should she be treated like Anna Hazare? She is fighting a more serious cause. A government bullying or intimidating people is a far more severe crime than corruption. Imagine living in a state where you cannot differentiate between the saviour and the tormentor.

Being bullied is something that is not new to the people of North-East. This has been going on for decades. The government has done little to soothe the wounds of those living there. The government's apathy toward these states is unlikely to change in the near future as they offer very little in terms of GDP.

Thousands flock to Anna's fast to support a cause that is not the solution to corruption, but not even a small number of his supporters know about Irom and her fight. We are free to choose our own battles and causes, but it is not fair that one cause gets all the attention and another gets nothing but indifference.

Irom's heroic protest and her voice for a better homeland are being ignored now. The next time you attend a candlelight vigil, say a silent prayer and light a candle for this extraordinarily brave woman.

Thousands of Poor Manipuri's Fall Victim To ‘Get Rich Quick’ Malaysian Company Scam

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 6 : Over 70,000 investors, mostly farmers and petty traders from the India’s north-eastern state of Manipur, have fallen victim to the multi-million ringgit pyramid scam in Malaysia.

The nature of business of the four-year-old Selangor-based private limited company has been described as “general trading and investment”, The Star reports.

“Most of the investors are poor people while some politicians and bureaucrats have also invested in the schemes. People sold their properties, land and invested their savings,” Brojen Sinam, president of United Investors Trust, a body set up to address victims' grievances, said.

In 2009, the company hired local agents in the impoverished Manipur to launch its “get-rich-quick” schemes.

“In the first year, investors received good returns and were given gold coins. That gave them confidence to invest more. But in the last three months, no payment has been made and all the agents went missing.

Most of the poor people do not know what to do. We are appealing to politicians and the Indian Government to help recover the money,” Sinam added. 

Meanwhile, the Imphal police has confirmed the scam, adding that investigations are in progress.

“They have lodged an FIR (First Information Report prepared by the police based on complaints) on several companies that have cheated them here.

We were told the group's headquarters is in Malaysia but most of the agents are now outside Manipur or escaped to Malaysia,” an investigating officer who declined to be identified, said.

Irom Sharmila is Fighting Another Fight — For Her Right To Love

By Esha Roy

It is not the usual story about Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila. This time she is fighting for another right — the right to love.

In an interview in the Kolkata edition of The Telegraph on Monday, Sharmila was quoted as saying she was in love with Desmond Coutinho, a British citizen of Goan descent, that they were engaged and that her supporters were against the relationship. She wished, she said, they did not “view her as a superhero”.

In his blog on www.manipurtalks.com, 48-year-old Coutinho says he hopes to marry Sharmila once AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) is repealed.

“Then I will live with her because we love come what may,” writes Coutinho, who has met Sharmila just once — in March this year when he came to Manipur.

They stay in touch through correspondence.

“Insurgents have been aggressively pushing the position that I am an agent of the Indian Government trying to break Sharmila’s fast. The Indian Government has refused to let us meet. The only Manipuris who do not have an agenda and are happy for us are ordinary people,” adds Coutinho.

Sharmila’s supporters say they are hurt at accusations that they are trying to keep her apart from Coutinho, even as they reassert support to her and her 11-year fast against the AFSPA.

“The Indian government has not let any of us meet her in three months. Where is the scope to bar her fiancé from meeting her?” Babloo Loitongbam of The Justice Foundation, which has been handling her campaign, said.

Loitongbam questioned the impression that they were forcing Sharmila to fast. “She herself has said she will not marry till AFSPA is withdrawn.”

Sharmila has been quoted in The Telegraph as saying her supporters were against Coutinho because he was of Goan descent and a British citizen.

Kuki leader Helam Haokip, another Sharmila supporter, said: “Of course, she should have a normal life... But we personally believe this is an attempt by the government and the media to drive a wedge.”

Meanwhile, Coutinho has said in her blog he does not want Sharmila to die. “I believe we can have a happy life together wherever she chooses to live. She will choose Manipur and I choose her.”