India Dirtiest And Filthiest: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, Nov 16 : Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today described India as the "dirtiest and filthiest" country in the world where people with mobile phones go out to answer the "call of nature".

The comment was the latest addition to the minister's repertoire of controversial statements on a gamut of subjects ranging from education and research to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sanitation.

Ramesh, who last month said open defecation was a "blot" and a "shame", returned to the topic as he highlighted what he called a "paradox".

"In one area in which India can claim success in the social sector is education. We can't say the same thing in health, we can't say the same thing in nutrition, we certainly can't say the same thing in sanitation because we do remain the dirtiest and filthiest country," he said.

He said around 65 per cent of rural houses had been provided with toilets but didn't use them. "Today, if you go to many parts of India, you have women with a mobile phone going out to answer the call of nature. I mean it is paradoxical," the minister, who also holds charge of sanitation, said at an event here.

"You have a mobile phone and you don't have a toilet. When you have a toilet, you don't use the toilet... (but) use it as a godown."

Last month he had said it was a "blot" on India and a "shame" on everyone that the country had the highest rate of open defecation in the world.

According to a WHO survey, Indians account for 58 per cent of the world's population practising open defecation. China is a distant second, accounting for about 7 per cent.

The minister, who has sought an increased allocation to address the problem of open defecation, said the biggest challenge was how to educate people about sanitation and cleanliness.

The Centre and states spend about Rs 2,400 crore a year on sanitation. While the Centre spends Rs 2,000 crore, the states contribute around Rs 400 crore.

The ministry has decided to set up community toilets, which villages will maintain.

As environment minister, Ramesh had said use of SUVs in a country like India was a crime. He said diesel was subsided primarily for farmers. Some of the costlier SUVs run on the poor man's fuel.

At a convocation programme, Ramesh had taken off his robe, saying the gowns were a sign of "colonial slavery". Earlier this year, he had said there was "hardly any worthwhile research" in the IITs and that teachers in the tech schools were not "world-class".

Facebook Attacked By porn, Inquiry On

Are pornographic images invading your Facebook news feed?

We have yet to see it, but ZDNET recently reported that “gory, violent pictures” and “hardcore pornography” are spreading across the social network.

Facebook says it is getting to the bottom of the problem, but hasn’t yet revealed a solution or how the fiasco started.

“Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us and we are always working to improve our systems to isolate and remove material that violates our terms,” Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes said.

“We have recently experienced an increase in reports and we are investigating and addressing the issue.” It is unclear who is behind the attack.

As The Washington Post points out, the flood could be a trick played by the now infamous hacker group Anonymous, in celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, which occurred on November 5th, but the group typically stakes its claim on major attacks.

The images, which are apparently spreading like a wild fire, could also be the result of unsuspecting users having been tricked into clicking malicious links. Updated with statement from Facebook.

Facebook’s official statement on the matter is as follows:

“Recently, we experienced a coordinated spam attack that exploited a browser vulnerability. Our efforts have drastically limited the damage caused by this attack, and we are now in the process of investigating to identify those responsible.

During this spam attack users were tricked into pasting and executing malicious JavaScript in their browser URL bar causing them to unknowingly share this offensive content.

Our engineers have been working diligently on this self-XSS vulnerability in the browser. We’ve built enforcement mechanisms to quickly shut down the malicious Pages and accounts that attempt to exploit it.

We have also been putting those affected through educational checkpoints so they know how to protect themselves. We’ve put in place backend measures to reduce the rate of these attacks and will continue to iterate on our defenses to find new ways to protect people.”

Read [ZDNET] Read [The Washington Post]

Mizoram Increases Wine Price

Aizawl, Nov 16 : Facing agitation by grape growers, Mizoram government today increased the price of a 750 ml bottle of the popular 'Zawlaidi' wine from Rs 110.52 to Rs 130.

The wine is made from grapes in the north eastern part of the state. An official statement said the increase in price of Zawlaidi was fixed at a meeting between the state Excise and Narcotics Minister J.H. Rothuama and Mizoram Grape Growers Society.

A bottle of Zawlaidi in Aizawl would now cost Rs 193, inclusive of VAT and excise duty, the statement said. Earlier, members of Grape Growers Society had threatened to launch an agitation as the price of Rs 110.52 fixed by the government for the wine would not leave them profits to repay bank loans availed by them to set up two wineries at Champhai and Hnahlan.

Did you know: The Cleanest Village in Asia, is in Meghalaya

By Bikash Jyoti Borah

When I first heard of Mawlynnong’s claim of being “The Cleanest Village in Asia”, I knew I had to plan a trip to see it. The village is at a distance of around 90 km from Shillong, and the road leading up to it has some of the most panoramic and breathtaking views in the country.

Till over a decade ago Mawlynnong was practically unknown to tourists until Discover India magazine accorded it the Cleanest Village status in 2005.

Nestled in the pristine East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya the residents of this picturesque village along the Indo-Bangla border have learnt to live at harmony with Mother Nature and might very well become an example that urban folk should emulate.

Till over a decade ago this village was practically unknown to tourists until Discover India magazine accorded it the Cleanest Village status in 2005. As one walks around the narrow zig-zagging paths of the village one is astounded by the clean well maintained black tarmac and the spotless front-yards and sidewalks of the bamboo stilt houses. There are stylish bamboo dustbins everywhere and separate compost pits in various pockets of the village for organic and inorganic wastes. Polythene use is completely banned and so is smoking.

A Bamboo Stilt House in Mawlynnong

There are public toilets which the villagers themselves maintain and everyone takes part in the ritual weeding, sweeping and cleaning of the gardens and roads which happens every evening. Even the children are taught from an early age to keep their surroundings clean and they don’t hesitate to pick up the odd piece of garbage on the road and put it in the bin. The village is well supplied with an efficient localized water supply and sanitation system.

Everyone shoulders the responsibility of keeping the village clean

Just outside the village on the passing river is situated the amazing living roots bridge which speaks out for the ingenuity of the people. It is over 200 years old and was constructed by tying the roots of two banyan trees and maneuvering them to get entangled in such a way as to create a passage over the stream. The Sky-view tower on the eastern side of the village is a tall structure built on the support of a tree with bamboos and gives a wonderful view of the Bangladesh plains.

For the discerning traveler there are many unmapped trails that one can explore around the village full of little waterfalls and sacred forests abounding in flora and fauna. The guest houses in the village are basic tree houses built on top of stilts that almost jut out into the adjacent forest. Staying in them is an experience in itself.

Village women cleaning the area

There is a lot urban society could learn from Mawlynnong and its environmentally conscious citizens. The self sustaining models though rudimentary have very strong foundations and have more to do with behavior and customs that the peoples have adhered to and upheld. With the increasing influx of tourists the challenge for Mawlynnong is to maintain its culture and also educate outsiders with their ways. Do you think modern cities in India can replicate what the citizens of Mawlynnong have done? With better technology and infrastructural support Indian cities can certainly take Mawlynnong’s concepts forward and create self sustaining environment systems with minimal damage to the eco-systems. All we need are more responsible and conscientious citizens who will take up the cause of the environment.

Mawlynnong can be reached by road and it is roughly a three hour drive from Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong. The nearest airport is Guwahati, in Assam, which is around three hours from Shillong and is well connected with major metros.

Bikash Jyoti Borah is an explorer, traveler & photographer. You can reach him at bikashjb [at] gmail.com. This article was originally published at EkTitli.org.

SBI Awarded Northeast's Most Preferred Bank

Guwahati, Nov 16 : The State Bank of India (SBI) was adjudged as the most preferred bank of North East at the second Northeast Consumer Awards, presented here on Saturday.

Constituted by regional Hindi daily Dainik Purvoday, the awards were based on a survey covering 3,000 households by research agency MaRs across 5 cities of the region.

The category list this year had increased from last year’s 30 to 37 to include airlines, watches, apparels, shoes and even digital cameras.

Besides SBI winning the ‘most preferred bank’ award, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) won the most preferred life insurance company award.

While Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was adjudged the best company of the year award.

The other winners of the Northeast Consumer Awards were Maruti Suzuki, Hero Honda, Tata Motors, Airtel etc.

The awards were awarded by JB Patnaik, Governor of Assam and Bhubaneshar Kalita, Rajya Sabha MP.

Many Mizo Orphanage Kids Have Parents: Study

Aizawl, Nov 15 : A high percentage of inmates, lodged in orphanages and children homes in Mizoram, actually have both parents revealed a study recently.

Aizawl-based NGO, Human Rights and Law Network, which conducted the study on problems of children in 27 orphanages and children homes found that 47.2 per cent of the inmates were having both the parents.

"While 42.6 per cent of the inmates of such homes had lost either their father or mother, only 10.1 per cent lost both the parents," said social workers who conducted the study.

The social worker added that many parents refused to look after their children dumped them in the orphanages, depriving them of the right to be raised as normal children in families.

She added that the figures show that many children whose fathers and mothers were still alive decided to tuck their children away in orphanages and other homes rather than raising them in their own homes.

The NGO also had conducted a study on child abuse and found that a very high number of children were raped or sexually abused by their near relatives and that many of such cases were hushed up.

The state child welfare committee (CWC) report also revealed that there were 127 reports of sexual abuse of children between September 2005 to October 2009, out of which 107 children had been sexually abused by adults. According to the findings, around 80-90 per cent of the victims were abused by their relatives.

Child labour was also rampant in Mizoram, according to the Child Right Index, 2011, released by an NGO called HAQ: Centre for Child Rights. The CRI revealed that child labour was highest in Mizoram as per population in the country.

Post-Sikkim Quake: Ham Radio, Bamboo Apps For Northeast India

 New Delhi, Nov 15 : A meeting of India's top seismologists and earthquake specialists, which discussed issues arising from the Sikkim earthquake, has strongly recommended that northeastern states set up their own state disaster response units instead of being dependent on centralised forces like the National Disaster Response Force.

In addition, the national workshop on 'Housing, Resilience and Rehabilitation' on Nov 11-12 at Jamia Millia Islamia, which saw senior level representation from the governments of five states - Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim - suggested several innovative steps such as extensive use of ham radio operators and "community radio stations in every district" to respond to crisis where normal telecommunications are knocked out, including mobile phone networks.

The 'father' of earthquake engineering technology in the country, AS Arya, and others emphasized the critical need to develop quake resistant technology and use bamboo applications wherever possible. They said that most urban centres in the northeast faced major disasters in the event of a severe earthquake: retrofitting of existing buildings, especially "lifeline buildings such as schools and hospitals" was crucial.

"Retrofitting Clinics may be established in every district to develop cadre of trained masons, contractors and engineers and provide information and guidance on retrofitting to the community," the recommendations said.

While awareness was flagged as a key component of preparedness, the workshop recognised the urgent need for "short-term sensitisation programmes for elected representatives, community leaders and government officials."

For Sikkim, the workshop declared that the state government should consider setting up a separate "Department for Disaster Management under a designated officer no lower than a rank of a Secretary/Commissioner who will report directly to the SDMA (State Disaster management Authority". It also noted that the Regional Node for Disaster Risk Reduction in North East Space Applications Centre premises at Umiam, Meghalaya, should be the nodal agency with centres in each NE state with electronic and satellite connectivity.

In addition, the workshop flagged the need to involve communities in projects, programmes and policies. "Since public awareness is at the heart of preparedness, an intensive campaign must be waged from door to door and village to village, involving students and teachers and using the excellent network of Panchayats in Sikkim to sensitise communities and to enable them to meaningfully participate in the reconstruction process."

Other specialists called for campaigns using SMS' and new technology to sensitise and train people to how they could respond to earthquakes. Another suggestion made was for a "community based participatory monitoring system to track the progress, implementation of technical guidelines, grievance redressal" on the lines of existing processes in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
Launched on Nov 11 by Jamia Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung, the programme began with a minute's silence to honour the late Dr. Bhupen Hazarika and listened to his legendary song, "Buku hom hom kore".

The workshop was organized by Sanjoy Hazarika of Jamia's Centre for North East Studies under the auspices of its Sikkim Studies Programme with collaboration from the National Centre for Peoples Action and Disaster Preparedness in Ahmedabad of Rajendra and Rupal Desai.

Presentations were made by GC Khanal, joint director, Department of Land Revenue and Disaster Preparedness, Biswajit Sarma, head, Centre for Disaster Preparedness, Assam, TP Khaund, adviser to the Mizoram chief minister, PP Shrivastav, member, North Eastern Council, Suhel Akhtar, Manipur's principal secretary for disaster preparedness, and Pankaj Jain, government of Meghalaya as well as Jemino Mawthoh of the Department of Continuing Education at NEHU.

Mila Kunis Dubbed Knockout of the Year by GQ

She sparred onscreen with Justin Timberlake and sizzled alongside Natalie Portman, and now Mila Kunis is finally being honoured for her beauty and talent.

The 28-year-old actress has been named Knockout of the Year in GQ magazine's annual Men of the Year issue.

In her photograph, the sultry star looks dangerous and alluring in a revealing pink bikini top and black shrug.

KO: Mila Kunis has been dubbed 'Knockout of the Year' by GQ magazine

Her loose, bedroom hair and smoky eye make-up add to the illusion of a vamp. 

The lady's a vamp: The 28-year-old actress has finally been recognized for her stunning looks

Next up for the single star, who was once rumoured to have been seeing co-star Friends With Benefits co-star Timberlake, is the Muppets movie.

She makes a cameo appearance in the film, which stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Rashida Jones.

She is also starring in Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut, Ted, alongside Mark Wahlberg.

Kunis is currently the voice of Meg, the annoying Griffin family daughter in Family Guy.

She isn't the only star to be honoured in GQ, of course. X-Men: Origins star Michael Fassbender was dubbed a Breakout star by the magazine, while Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon won the Showmen title.

Father-to-be Jay-Z, however, received the best award: he has been dubbed 'King' of the year.

In his interview with the men's magazine, the 41-year-old rapper talks about his wife and how he plans on raising his unborn child.

On announcing wife Beyonce's pregnancy at the VMA's this year, he said: 'It was actually Bey who wanted to [announce] it. You want to be in control of your life.'

Given that both he and his wife are musicians, it isn't surprising that he'd want his child to appreciate what he does for a living.