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SBMA places hill DEHRA DUN, May 25: The Shri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), which has been working for the welfare of Garhwali women for the past 25.....more SSP
alleges ruling GANGTOK, May 25: Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) has alleged that ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF)...more
Micro-zonation
NEW DELHI, May 25: A comprehensive plan is being drawn up for the micro-zonation of the earthquake-prone...more
Advani says no progress achieved in past 50 yrs GHAZIABAD, May 25: Union Home Minister L K Advani today said over the past 50 years the country, instead of moving forward, has taken steps ....more |
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Swaraj for comprehensive film policy in Uttaranchal DEHRA DUN, May 25: Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj has called for a film development board in Uttaranchal, which would .....more TN
will endeavour to put CHENNAI, May 25: A new industrial policy to attract investments enactment of a new law enabling 33 per cent reservation for women in employment ......more Forced
labour, human NEW DELHI, May 25: Forced labour, slavery and criminal trafficking in human beings - especially women and children - are on the rise worldwide.....more
Panchjanya
editor slams NEW DELHI, May 25: Mr Tarun Vijay, editor of RSS mouthpiece ‘Panchjanya,’ has hit out at the Government.....more |
SBMA places hill women at centre of its concerns DEHRA DUN, May 25: The Shri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), which has been working for the welfare of Garhwali women for the past 25 years in a quiet village of Tehri, continues to focus its vision on ameliorating the tough lot of the women of Uttaranchal. Garhwali women are the pivots of their community, owing to the exodus of men to the plains. They labour in the fileds through the year, wresting a slender living from the hardened soil. In 1977, the SBMA was founded by Swami Manmathan at Anjanisain in the Tehri district. As the name suggests, the Ashram has always been a shelter for women and children a platform for the activist and a refuge for the destitute. SBMA’s headquarters are in Anjanisain, a small village in Tehri which forms the buzzing hub of work and energies that are spread across Garhwal. The Ashram tries to be self-reliant through its own income-generating and farming activities. It also raises its own family of children. Rather than seeing them as "orphans" , the Ashram treats them as the vital heart of the organisation. The SBMA acts as an important catayst in the much-needed development in the hills of Uttaranchal. It strives to serve the people and respond to their needs. More than 90 per cent of the approximately six hundred people who make up this organisation are members of the local community. The Ashram evolved out of years of community struggle led by the late Swami Manmathan, a crusader from Kerala. The organisation also serves people in times of crisis as it did during the Uttarkashi earthquake of 1991. SBMA also concentrates on building bridges between voluntary organisations, Government and the community. Amidst the abundant beauty of the magnificent Uttaranchal hills, resources are scarce and shrinking. The land is laced through with a plentitude of rivers,springs and cataracts-and yet, more often than not, fields here are arid, the soil calcinted, and drinking water hard to find. SBMA’s work began with the Garhwali woman and she continues to be the focus of all its programmes. (UNI) |
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SSP alleges ruling SDF violates democratic norms GANGTOK, May 25: Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) has alleged that ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Government has violated the the democratic norms in the state. The SSP, while celebrating its 17th anniversary here yesterday, charged the ruling party headed by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling with pursuing dictatorial regime and maintained how the "system" was hindering the oppostion parties to carry out democratic function. Its "white-paper" (Shagun) released on the occasion listed Government’s "failures in various departments". The party also alleged that the "green-belts", earmarked by the previous SSP Government, were converted into housing places by the "present ruling elite". Party MLA Sonam Dorjee also took strong exception of allegations that the opposition had become ‘lethargic’. "when we react, we are considered destructive, when we don’t, we are branded lethargic. Questions raised by us in the assembly go unreported with only the answers highlighted," he alleged. Commenting on frequent allegations against his party of plotting a ‘coup’ against the Government, Mr Dorjee said, "it was not the opposition that harboured such dreams, but the 13 ruling MLAs, who constantly conspire for toppling the ministry". Mr N K Pradhan, MLA representing the Gangtok constituency, said that the system followed by the Government was going against their attempts of playing the role of a constructive opposition. "Despite our pleas to be included in the development process, we are sidelined", he said. The SSP passed three resolutions including its support to the cause of working people of the state. The resolution alleged that the labour class had been discriminated in the state. Another resolution in the party convention said it would stop growing influx in the state. "The increase in population is a ploy of the ruling party to increase its vote-bank with imported supporters", the resolution alleged. The party also decided to fight against " constant shortage of essential commodities in the state". (UNI) |
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Micro-zonation of quake prone areas begins NEW DELHI, May 25: A comprehensive plan is being drawn up for the micro-zonation of the earthquake-prone areas in the country and the premilinary work for this has already begun in the national capital, Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan said here today. Inaugurating a two-day convention and national seminar on earthquakes in built environment, Mr Jagmohan said the Union Urban Development Ministry and the science and technology department are collaborating to draw a detailed micro-zonation map of the country. With 66 per cent of the country’s area prone to earthquakes, it was essential to have more detailed zoning of the more seismic areas in zones three, four and five, he said. "I had a discussion on this with Union Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi last evening also and he assured complete support and assistance of the various scientific departments including those working on meteorology and geology," he added. In the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake, the Urban Development Ministry had also formulated a four-pronged strategy covering technical, legal, financial and management aspects to encourage the construction of disaster-resistant buildings. To this end, the building by-laws of Delhi and Gujarat had already been amended to incorporate Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) norms on disaster-resistant technologies. Four more draft notifications from States and Union Territories, including one from Tamil Nadu, were also under his ministry’s consideration, Mr Jagmohan added. While the Government was doing its bit, the people should also launch a movement against illegal and unauthorised constructions which posed a major danger in times of natural calamities like earthquakes and cyclones. This had been borne out in Gujarat where a large number of deaths were caused by the collpase of poorly constructed buildings. "The faultlines in the social system were just as responsible for causing death and destruction as the faultlines in the earth’s crust," he added. Delivering the keynote address, renowned seismologist and former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Roorkee University A S Arya said the total damage caused by the Gujarat earthquake was now estimated at around Rs 10,000 to 15,000 crore. More than 255,000 houses were completely destroyed while more than 800,000 were partially damaged. "We all should remember that deaths are not caused by earthquakes but by collapsing buildings. I hope our builders, architects and engineers would rise to occasion and help in the construction of quake-proof buildings," Dr Arya added. President of the Indian Buildings Congress, the organisers of the seminar, R K Bhandari said while it may not be possible to undertake large-scale retrofitting in a quake-prone city, retrofitting could be done selectively with important buildings such as hospitals, fire stations, telecommunication exchanges, power stations and water and sewage pump houses getting priority. The two-day seminar would have five major sessions on Bhuj and other recent earthquakes - issues and lessons, earthquakes - causes, effects and basic issues, seismic vulnerability of present Indian habitats, earthquake resistant design and construction and governance for earthquake safety. More than 35 technical papers would be presented by multi-disciplinary experts. The status of the action plan formulated on the basis of an earlier seminar on built environment and natural hazards in Feburary, 1997 would also be reviewed. During the inaugural function, Mr Jagmohan also gave away the IBC’s award for excellence in built environment to M/S Adlakha and associates for the design and construction of the cororate office of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority. (UNI) |
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Forced labour, human trafficking on the rise NEW DELHI, May 25: Forced labour, slavery and criminal trafficking in human beings - especially women and children - are on the rise worldwide and taking new and insidious forms, according to a new study by the International Labour Office released in Geneva today. The study entitled ‘stopping forced labour’ was prepared as part of the follow up to the ILO’s declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work and will be discussed at the ILO’s 175 member states at the 89th session of the International Labour Conference. The growth of forced labour worldwide is deeply disturbing, said ILO Director General Juan Somavia. ‘The slavery, oppression and exploitation of society’s most vulnerable members - especially women and children - have to be consigned to the past by all means.’ Mr Somavia said the entire world needs to re-examine its conscience and instigate action to abolish forced labour and the often terrible living and working conditions that accompany it. There is no excuse for forced labour in the twenty-first century, he said. "Although such ancient, barbaric practices as slavery and feudal bondage would appear to be declining under the impact of national and international legislation and Government action, they are still present. The phenomenon of trafficking for forced or compulsory labour is growing so fast that most countries in the world fit into one of three categories - sending countries, transit countries and receiving countries." The report notes that outright slavery, though increasingly rare in the modern times, was still found in a handful of countries and the wholesale abduction of individuals and communities in such conflict torn societies as Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone was not uncommon. The forced recruitment of children for armed conflict deemed one of the worst forms of child labour, was also on the rise, the report said. (UNI) |
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Panchjanya editor slams Govt for ignoring BMS NEW DELHI, May 25: Mr Tarun Vijay, editor of RSS mouthpiece ‘Panchjanya,’ has hit out at the Government for ignoring the views of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on labour reforms and charged Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha with "arrogance of power." Squarely blaming the Government for not initiating a dialogue with the BMS over the proposed labour law reforms and disinvestment, he warned that the BMS cannot be taken for granted. Mr Vijay, considered close to RSS chief K. Sudarshan, vent his ire on the differences between the Government and the BMS over the proposed economic reforms in an interview to SAB TV programme "Line of Fire" to be telecast tomorrow at 2230 hrs. "I think the whole issue deals with the arrogance of power. Some of the BJP Ministers who are in power think that they know everything and they can do whatever they think is right and they just don’t have to ask anyone else," he said. Asked who he was referring to, he said "I am talking about Mr Sinha. If he takes decisions of this kind, it simply shows his arrogance of power." Mr Vijay said BMS was the largest labour union of the country and it knew what was happening in the labour sector. But some Minister "thinks that he can take any decision without consulting the millions and millions of people" represented by the union. Asked whether he was also accusing the Prime Minister as decisions were being taken with his (PM’s) consent, he replied in the negative. "An atmosphere has been created where some people in their arrogance think that others are stupid. They think that only they are right and everyone else is wrong," he said. However, the Panchjanya editor made it clear that nobody wanted the Government to go ‘’because whoever tries to topple this Government will be empowering Mrs Sonia Gandhi. We do not want that.’’ Regretting Mr Arun Shourie’s disinvestment decisions, he said "the predicament before us is we see a person like Arun Shourie there, well meaning, honest and a man of integrity, believable and trustworthy, and he is advocating disinvestment. What do we do? "We cannot say he is an anti-national. We cannot say that he is unpatriotic." The Government should always be in touch with the mass organisations whether they espoused the same ideology or belonged to a different ideological school, he said.(UNI) |
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