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- Will Hina Rabbani Khar visit India this time ?
- What India-Pakistan expects from Zardari’s visit
- Bangalore on verge of severe Water Famine
- Yogathon to draw over 1 million crowd on Saturday
- Patna High Court seeks affidavit on Mahatma ka School
- Celebrating Bihar Diwas in Silk way
| Will Hina Rabbani Khar visit India this time ? Posted: 06 Apr 2012 08:38 AM PDT
If Khar, Pakistan’s youngest and first female foreign minister, makes it, it will be her second visit to India. She last came to India for the foreign minister-level talks last July. Khar stole headlines as much for her looks as much as for her diplomatic skills. The Indian media reported extensively on her fashion and appearance—the Birkin bag, the sunglasses, the Jimmy Choo stilettos and the pearl necklaces. In the first presidential visit from Pakistan in the last seven years, Zardari is likely to be accompanied by an over 40-member delegation that will include Interior Minister Malik, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, senior aides, close family members and more than a dozen journalists. It’s not certain Zardari’s son Bilawal will be part of the presidential delegation, but Zardari is likely to bring his two daughters, Bakhthawar and Asifa, who are known for their sharp tweets defending their father against his critics. Earlier, Malik was the only minister expected to accompany Zardari, but with the visit acquiring political overtones, Khar may also be coming, reliable sources said. Khar’s presence could have an added significance as she, along with Malik, are said to enjoy the confidence of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. |
| What India-Pakistan expects from Zardari’s visit Posted: 06 Apr 2012 08:07 AM PDT Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to India to pray at the Sufi shrine at Ajmer Sharif is quite significant, said analysts in Pakistan and India who hoped that it will lead to “concrete steps like easing of visas”, to say the very least. Zardari will visit the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer Sunday after meeting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over a working lunch at the latter’s official residence. The visit provides an opportunity for talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Zardari, who last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Yekaterinburg in Russia in 2009. After the talks, no formal statements are likely to be made by both leaders and neither are any agreements likely to be announced. The action will be mostly behind the scenes to bridge the trust deficit on the so-called core issues, the sources said. Zardari is expected to press Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan, but the sources said it’s premature to accept the inivtation. In all likelihood, the talks could end in both leaders directing their foriegn ministers to move the peace process forward, specially in view of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s visit to Islamabad in June-July. This visit is important in the view that Pakistan has moved in the direction of granting India Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. Last month, a judicial team from Pakistan had visited India to take forward the dragging trial of the 26/11 terror accused. Amid improving ties, Hafiz Saeed, the suspected 26/11 mastermind and the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, however, remains a festering irritant. India has been closely monitoring his anti-India jihad speeches and activities, and wants Pakistan to shun its denial mode and take credible action against the man who has made it his mission to poison the waters of bilateral ties. The US announcement of a $10 million bounty on information leading to the conviction of Saeed has only bolstered India’s case. Against this backdrop, Manmohan Singh and Zardari are expected to discuss “all issues,” including Kashmir and terror, that bedevil the accident-prone India-Pakistan relationship. Savita Pande, a professor of international relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, explained that this trip should be seen in the backdrop of Commerce Minister Anand Sharma’s visit to Pakistan. Anand Sharma was the first ever Indian trade minister to lead a business delegation of more than 100 Indian companies when he went on a four-day trip to Pakistan in February this year. |
| Bangalore on verge of severe Water Famine Posted: 06 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT Bangalore’s population is growing at the rate of four percent a year, but water availability is going down steadily. The metropolis of nearly nine million needs to implement water rejuvenation projects worth Rs.24,000 crore ($48 billion) to prevent water famine in the city by the year 2020, says an expert panel. Bangalore’s population, growing at the rate of four percent per year, will reach 12.6 million by 2020 from the present 8.5 million, while water availability that year will be only 73 litres per capita per day (LPCD) if remedial measures are not taken now, the panel warned. Water supply to the city from various sources now stands at 925 million litres a day (MLD). The main source is the Cauvery river that originates at Talacauvery in Kodagu district, about 330 km from here, and is tapped at 80 km away from Bangalore for water supply. Other sources include a lake on the city’s outskirts and thousands of bore wells in the city. “This gives a per capita availability of 93 LPCD for a population of 10 million, which will go down to 73 LPCD by 2020 when the population of Bangalore will be 12.6 million,” V. Balasubramanian, former additional chief secretary of Karnataka, told IANS in an interview. Balasubramanian heads the Bangalore-based Centre for Policies and Practices which, along with Bangalore Environment Trust, has prepared a seven-point plan to avoid “Impending Water Famine” in the city. “The population will not stop at 12.6 million in 2021 and 20 million in 2031 and the shortage will only keep on increasing unless remedial measures are taken now,” Balasubramanian said. Nearly half, Rs.10,000 crore, of the proposed project cost is needed just to remove encroachments and maintenance of 850 km of storm water drains and ‘rajakaluves’ (major canals) with proper servicing tracks, the action plan notes. Another Rs.5,000 crore is needed for rejuvenation and maintenance of lakes, for which Bangalore was once famous. The government-run Lake Development Authority says the city had 262 lakes in the middle of the last century. The number has come down to 127, of which only 81 are in good shape. The rest have become cesspools due to discharge of industrial effluents, domestic sewage and dumping of waste, it says. The other components of the Rs.24,000 crore action plan are reducing leakages in the 650,000 water connections in the city, segregation of sewage from storm water drains, upgrading existing and setting up new sewage treatment plants and rainwater harvesting. Balasubramanian said since the project cost is huge, the state government should seek assistance from the World Bank, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Asian Development Bank. He said a ‘Bangalore Water Supply and Water Recovery Plan’ should be prepared by a competent agency and it should be presented to these organisations to fund its implementation. Balasubramanian said the proposal will soon be submitted to the state government to take it forward. |
| Yogathon to draw over 1 million crowd on Saturday Posted: 06 Apr 2012 05:32 AM PDT More than a million people across India are expected to be part of a ‘Yogathon’on Saturday performing ‘Surya Namaskars’ (Salutations to the Sun) to mark World Health Day. The ‘yogathon’ is being organized by the Bangalore-based Art of Living (AoL) founded by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “This unique nation-wide initiative by The Art of Living, will see over 1.25 million people across 28 states, performing Surya Namaskars (Sun Salutations) on April 7, the World Health Day,” AoL said in a statement here Friday. The event will be from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It will be held in 1,800 venues across India in schools, parks, colleges, stadia, prisons, rehabilitation centres, orphanages and clubs, the statement said. Bangalore alone is set to witness over 24,000 participants performing at 97 venues. Inmates in 34 prisons in different parts of the country, including 3,800 in Delhi’s Tihar jail, will also take part. “The Yogathon Challenge will allow people to participate to the best of their ability and will challenge participants to complete 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar,” it said. ‘Surya Namaskar’ is a series of 12 ‘asanas’ (exercise) and part of the ancient Indian tradition of ‘Yoga’ that promotes health. |
| Patna High Court seeks affidavit on Mahatma ka School Posted: 06 Apr 2012 05:04 AM PDT The Patna High Court has told the state government to file an affidavit on the status of the 391 Buniyadi Vidyalayas (basic schools) set up to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of providing elementary education to every child. The Thursday order came after a PIL was filed seeking revival of the schools that are fighting for survival following decades of neglect and official apathy. The court has fixed April 23 for further hearing. The first Buniyadi Vidyalaya was established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939 at Brindavan in West Champaran district. Since then, the ‘Mahatma ka school’, as they are known, have been struggling for survival |
| Celebrating Bihar Diwas in Silk way Posted: 06 Apr 2012 01:52 AM PDT
Prominent designers from Bihar like Samant Chauhan, Arun Tiwari, Priyal Prakash, Vikram Kumar presented their collections made of silk, including the famous tussar silk, at the show. The silk costumes included kurtis, sarees, gowns and office wear in various colours, styles, textures and designs. Designer Priyal Prakash presented her 'Jagruti' collection, which had both traditional sarees and contemporary Indo-western outfits. Models wearing Shibori Silk collection made using tie'n'dye technique on Bhagalpuri silks walked down the ramp for Mura Collectives, a craft-based organization. Well known designer Arun Tiwari showcased formal and informal wear that had knee-length dresses, trousers and jackets in shades of reds, browns and purples. Samant Chauhan gave international look to tussar silk by using it for dresses, evening gowns, jodhpuris and jackets. Ambapali, the Bihar state emporium, displayed Madhubani designs on the pallus of sarees woven by skilled craftsmen in the original shades of tussar. |
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