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Round The States
Majority Of States Guilty
SCANDALOUS LOOT OF FOOD GRAINS
By Insaf
New Delhi, September 22, 2007
Sensational disclosures about the “great Indian grain
drain” have pushed a majority of the States into the dock.
Wheat and rice worth more than Rs.31,585 crore meant for the
poor was reportedly siphoned off from the Public Distribution
System in the last three years. Last year alone, according to
a statistical study commissioned by the Ministry of Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in 2005, Rs.11,336 crore
worth of food grain that was meant for distribution to the
needy at subsidized prices found its way into the market
clandestinely. The total cost of wheat and rice stolen from
the PDS was Rs,9,918 crore in 2004-05 and Rs.10,330 crore in
2005-2006. The study shows that India’s poor and needy are
cheated out of 53.3 per cent of wheat and 39 per cent of rice
meant for them.
The six top offenders guilty of criminal loot among the States
are: UP Rs.3,289.713 crore, Left-ruled West Bengal 1,913.758
crore; Madhya Pradesh 1,038.69 crore; Assam 958.48; Rajasthan
Rs.665.71 crore and Maharashtra Rs.435.80 crore. The
North-East region beats all. Of the eight States, not even a
grain of the wheat supplied to six --- Sikkim, Meghalaya,
Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Nagaland --- reportedly reached
the targeted poor. Arunachal was a little less corrupt at 96.2
per cent. Shockingly, Vigilance Committees to catch the
culprits have not been constituted so far in Assam, Bihar,
Haryana, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab,
Tripura, Uttarakhand, UP, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Daman
& Diu.
* * * *
Ram Setu Controversy
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, is up in arms
against the Centre on the controversial Ram Setu issue. His
annoyance stems from the Union Government’s decision to take a
re-look at the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSPC)
while withdrawing its affidavit in the Supreme Court
questioning the existence of Lord Ram and Ram Setu. Chiding
the Centre for its stand, Karunanidhi who has been pushing
hard for the project, sought to underscore the Ramayana as
fiction floated by the Aryans (represented by Ram) to dominate
the Dravidians (read Ravana). “Who is Ram?” he derisively
asked and added: “If he built the Ram Setu, from which
engineering college did he graduate?” Leading to a sharp
reaction from the Sangh Parivar and an attack on his
daughter’s residence in Bangalore.
Forgotten in the political churning on Ram Setu are the views
of renowned experts that the SSCP is not only a bad idea but
bad economics. The distance saved by ships coming from Europe
and Africa by using the canal has been highly over estimated
by assuming Kanyakumari and Tuticorin as the starting points.
These ships need not touch either before going around Sri
Lanka. Even time saved will be much less. The ships
negotiating the canal will have to slow down considerably to
enable them to be piloted through. Moreover, the Rs 3000 crore
project faces one other disincentive. The canal will be able
to carry vessels up to 32,000 DWT as against the latest trend
of operating vessels of 60,000 DWT and above. According to a
top infrastructure expert, the project may take more than 200
years to break even!
* * * * *
Andhra Bails Gulf Returnees
While neighbouring Tamil Nadu continues to be embroiled in the
Ram controversy, the Andhra Government is being revered as a
‘godsend’ by thousands of Indians returning from the Gulf.
Following the State’s decision to give the workers a year’s
“holiday” from repaying the loans they had taken before going
abroad. Moved by a spate of suicides among 28,000 workers who
have already returned and 15,000 who are awaiting deportation.
Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy has also put the onus on the
private money lenders, who charge interest ranging from 36 per
cent to 100 per cent as against 14 per cent by the financial
institutions. Harass and be punished, is his stern message to
them. Going a step further, the State Government plans to
provide employment too. A classic case of Mera Bharat Mahan!
* * * * *
BSP To Debut In Gujarat
Riding high on her electoral success in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP
chief Mayawati plans to brave it out alone in the forthcoming
Assembly election in Gujarat. The Party intends fighting all
the 182 seats, even though Mayawati’s recent rally in
Ahmedabad attracted a crowd of no more than a few thousand and
her BSP has yet to open its account in the Assembly.
Undeterred, Mayawati seems to be banking on repeating her
Dalit-Brahmin success story in the State. Going a step
further, she has also demanded a quota for Dalit Christians
and the poor among the upper castes. Gujarat has a sizeable
Dalit Christian population. Will Mayawati’s quota wheels churn
her rich electoral dividends? Much will also depend upon the
outcome of quiet attempts to get her to join hands with the
Congress on a trial basis.
* * * * *
Kudos for ASI In MP
Even as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) takes flak
for the Ram Setu controversy, it deserves a pat for its
performance in Madhya Pradesh: reconstructing temples dating
back to the 6th and 9th centuries --- literally from scratch.
More importantly, it is now successfully working on the
borders of dacoit-infested Chambal, near Gwalior. Earlier
attempts of the ASI had failed as the ruins were the hideout
of the dacoits. But not anymore, thanks to a chance meeting of
an ASI archaeologist with a group of dacoits. He convinced
them that the temples were of the same deities as they
worshipped and that the ASI team was neither the police nor
its informers. The dacoits are now staying away from the site.
And with hundreds of stones and idols in the debris, score of
temples shall go up at Bateshwar before very long.
* * * * *
ULFA Commander Captured
Assam may well get some respite from the ruthless operations
of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), following the
arrest of Prabal Neog, its self-styled commander. For the
State police it is, indeed, a prize catch. Not only was Neog
beind the killing of Hindi-speaking people in Upper Assam this
January. He was also responsible for conducting monthly
extortions to the tune of Rs 2 crore from the “industrialist
districts” of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. Neog, according to the
police, had been trained in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Mynamar and had the reputation of being an excellent
organizer and planner. Meanwhile, the English version of an
article published by ULFA’s monthly mouthpiece Freedom and
e-mailed to newspapers last week has sought to give the peace
talks a new lease of life. It has claimed that these talks
have neither come to a halt nor broken down. Time alone will
tell.
* * * * *
Mothers’ Milk Bank
Few are aware that we now have even human milk banks! The
Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion, Mumbai was
the first in Asia to set up such bank in 1989. Other
Government hospitals have followed suit giving hope for
survival to premature, sick and abandoned babies. The milk is
collected, pasteurized at 65 degrees Celsius for30 minutes and
frozen at minus 20 degrees Celsius. It can be stored for at
least six months. The Lokmanya Tilak hospital has collected
924 litres of milk from mother donars and created a record of
sorts. Dr Armida Fernandez, the founder of the human milk
bank, cites scientific data to claim that mother’s milk given
to a premature baby on ventilator can prevent asthma, diabetes
and other allergies which are the cause for infant death. The
milk is, indeed, a boon for the babies. Mum’s the word! ----
INFA
(Copyright India News and Feature
Alliance)
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com
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