AAP OPPOSES MOVE BY GOVERNMENT TO AMEND RTI ACT TO EXCLUDE POLITICAL PARTIES

It has been widely reported that the government is planning to bring in an ordinance to amend RTI Act so as to exclude political parties from the ambit of RTI Act. It has also been reported that a draft in this regard has already been prepared by law ministry and sent to DoPT. Aam Aadmi Party condemns this move by the government and questions its intention.  

It is really unfortunate that the UPA government, which boasts of brining the RTI Act in existence, is killing the very essence of the Act by exclusion of political parties. Even more unfortunate is the fact that none of the other political parties have raised this issue and tried to stop this amendment from coming. This will lead to further mistrust in the minds of common people. This move will only further strengthen the suspicion that our political class are trying to save those indulging in black money and hence promoting corruption.

The root cause of corruption is political corruption. And political corruption begins with sources of political funding. Transparency in political funding is the need of the day. If Political parties are really serious to fight against corruption, they themselves should offer total transparency in their funding. On its part Aam Aadmi Party has always strived to maintain transparency in all its dealings. It has put up its donors list on the party website. We request all parties to bring in such transparent ways in their functioning so that common man starts believing in politics and politicians.

South China Sea focal at ASEAN meet

Posted on June 30, 2013 by sagarmedia

Standard

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are trying to forge a unified policy on China’s increasing maritime presence in the region. Ten ministers began a four-day conference in Brunei on Saturday.

Members affected  discussed disputes between China and some ASEAN members over islands in the South China Sea.They are looking to conclude a legally-binding code of conduct with China to peacefully resolve the disputes.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s Yun Byung-Se to come face-to-face and talks on the sidelines of the annual diplomatic and security meetings at  the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei, the Japanese foreign ministry said late Saturday. 

South Korea’s Yun called off a visit to Tokyo this year two months back after two Japanese cabinet ministers paid their respects at the Yasukuni shrine, a central Tokyo spot that honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including war criminals.

Two countries are having important trading relationship both  allies of the United States, South Korea and Japan often struggle to get along.

On Sunday with a firm focus on trying to ease tensions with China over a territorial row, amid warnings that failure could lead to conflict on South China sea and other territorial disputes and trifles prevailing.

Rains have dampened the toxic fumes  from uncontrolled burning of Indonesia’s enormous rainforest  drifted across to neighbouring countries is expected to be high on the agenda at the annual 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Brunei’s capital.

Meeting  on Monday and Tuesday to include the United States, China, Japan, Russia and other countries across the Asia-Pacific, the rostrum for  face-to-face diplomacy on matters pertain to Asians tiger.

 China’s increasingly assertive postures  in staking its claims to most of the South China Sea were set to dominate. This is self explanatory in setting the tone for the event, a powerful arm of China’s state-run media warned the Philippines on Saturday that its defiance could lead to aggressive Chinese action.

“If the Philippines continues to provoke China… a counterstrike will be hard to avoid,” said an editorial in the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party reports media.

ASEAN members include Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, also claim parts of the strategically vital South China Sea.

 

Newspapers reports the waterway,  believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and natural gas,  regarded as one of Asia’s potential military flashpoint  the growing  tensions in recent years has enhanced concerns on matter of  battles for curb.

 Recently Philippines  the most rhetoric  of the other claimants parties has express great concern  at China’s growing dominance which is  including  an increased Chinese naval presence in the area, and Philippines  expressing   her  latest threat from its more powerful neighbour.

“There is no place in the relations of civilised nations to use such provocative language. We call on China to be a responsible member in the community of nations,” foreign ministry spokesman Raul Hernandez said in response to the People’s Daily commentary.

ASEAN members trying for more than a decade to secure agreement from China on a legally binding code of conduct that would govern actions in the South China Sea.China resisted agreeing to the code, wary of giving any concessions that may weaken its claim to the sea.

 Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN would continue to press its case with China in Brunei.”We will be really zeroing in on the need for the code of conduct,” Natalegawa told reporters on Saturday.

 US Secretary of State John Kerry  to hold a series of meetings with his counterparts from the world’s major powers, including Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and China’s Wang Yi to ease the repository of unease.

 United States  placed in fix  this weeks by perceived Chinese and Russian side Syria and help fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden presence at Moscow’s airport en-route to asylum destination after being allowed to leave the Chinese territory of Hong Kong 

JM Baxi Group Launches Delhi International Cargo Terminal at Sonepat             

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DICT – The perfect solution to the North-India Trade and Cargoes

JM Baxi Group Launches Delhi International Cargo Terminal (DICT) at Sonepat

New Delhi, June 28, 2013: The J.M. Baxi Group, one of the Country’s leading names in shipping and shipping services, has invested INR 200 Crores in an integrated rail linked cargo terminal and inland container depot, ‘DICT’ to cater to the growing trade of NCR and North India; All three sectors of EXIM, domestic & Retail trades will benefit from this infrastructure. The facility is established in 65 acres of land, situated near Sonepat, off National Highway No.1, the most important road corridor running across North India. Phased investment of another INR 600 Crores is expected to follow.

‘Delhi International Cargo Terminal’, the new generation infrastructure is being introduced to the trade through an innovative launch focusing on a B2B Trade Meet at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi on the 28^th of June. During the Trade Meet, close to 30 MoU’s are expected to be signed. Various Shipping Lines, Container Train Operators, Customs House Agents, Freight Forwarders, Shippers and Consignees would be engaging in business with DICT.

The state of the art facility is equipped with a large container storage yard, EXIM warehousing with a capacity of 50,000 Sq.ft. and an equal capacity planned for the future. In order to provide flexibility and ease to the cargo arrivals by road some of the ramps have been specially imported from Italy. DICT is connected with three rail lines, linked through the serving station of Bhodwal Majri. In order to facilitate the cargo operations, modern handling equipment like reach stackers, Hydras, forklifts, 75 road trailers, 90 reefer plug points etc. are being deployed.

User amenities like, Customs offices, EDI Link, specialized warehousing spaces, Metal Scrap inspection yard with scanners, dedicated transport pools, office spaces for CHAs, Liners, forwarders, high end IT systems, generator power back-up, weigh bridges, electronic surveillance, bank on premises, customer facilitation center and related infrastructure are pre-installed.

Keeping in view the requirements of the trade, 30,000 KL Liquid Tank Farm Facility, 5000 MT capacity controlled temperature warehousing and cold storage, Mechanized Bagging Plant with a capacity of 2500 Tonnes per day, Grain / Bulk silos for storing 50,000 MT are being added. With the growing retail market, DICT will act as a Hub and DC (Distribution Center) for North India. It is therefore rightly termed as an ‘ICT’ (International Cargo Terminal) and not just another ‘ICD’.

The facility has a capacity to handle 500,000TEUs of containers annually. DICT lies at a location approximately 35 Kms north from KMP passing point at Kundli. This is from where North India cargoes funnel into Delhi. It is estimated that 80% of the NCR traffic has a natural advantage in using DICT as a gateway. NCR Cargo break-up from North Direction is estimated 2,50,000 TEUs / Annum, from North West 2,50,000 TEUs / Annum and from North East is 3,50,000 TEUs / Annum. The location is ideal for filling up the capacity almost immediately. Notwithstanding, this would also ease up the cargo traffic congestion within the NCR road network.

DICT is privileged to be a part of Delhi Commissionerate, the most preferred by the Trade as they have well-established practices and systems. Also many CHAs have existing licenses which can be exercised with immediate effect.

Between North India and NCR there is a equipment type imbalance of 20’ & 40’ inventory as well as import and export volumes. DICT is well positioned to provide a right balance of trade and equipment as it is situated between Ludhiana and NCR ICD’s and in the close proximity of the cargo production and consumption centers.

There are many ICDs in the region but most of them are an extension of a rail operator, terminal or a Line which creates exclusivity. DICT is a complete common user facility where all stakeholders will have a level playing field and will be able to establish their businesses according to their requirements.

DICT offers better turnaround time for containers, trains and road transport vehicles; thereby saving cost and time. This creates a WIN-WIN situation for all stake holders.  Due to challenges of congestion, inventory imbalance and cost, a large section of the trade uses road transportation instead of rail to connect cargoes to and from gateway ports. DICT is poised to alleviate all the above impediments, thus enabling the cargo to revert back to rail.

There is a high demand for Less-than-container load (LCL cargo) and consolidation with increasing global trade and reduction in trade barriers. DICT is also positioning itself to be the logistic hub for LCL cargo in north India.  

Overall, there are very high expectations from all quadrants and the trade is keen to see this facility bring in the much desired change in the logistics arena of the region.

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MSME to target 100 new Enterprises

MSME to target 100 new Enterprises

Minister of Minister of Micro, Small and Medium, Enterprises, Shri K. H. Muniyappa and the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Siddaramaiah discussed various selective schemes and programmes of MSME Sector during their meeting in New Delhi today. 

Shri Muniyappa informed Shri Siddaramaiah that under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme(PMEGP), every year the government will target over 100 new enterprises in all districts of the country including Karnataka which will create 65000 -70,000 new first generation enterprises every year with employment opportunities for over 5.20 lakh persons every year. 

Minister for MSME also highlighted that under the Skill Development Programme, one new Tool Room is going to be set up in Karnataka, at Devanhalli in Bangalore to develop as Aerospace Park which would enhance the quality of the skills in the region. 

Shri Muniyappa also emphasized that MSME is going to support clusters development under SFURTI scheme for micro enterprises. One cluster in each district will be taken for development. In Karnataka, so far interventions in 16 clusters have been initiated and twenty more clusters have been taken up for development. Under this programme the assistance can be extended to 10 crores depending upon the needs and more than one cluster can be supported by MSME ministry as per existing potential. 

Shri Muniyappa also said that under Cluster Developmemt Programme (CDP) more than 40 clusters have been identified in Karnataka recently and many more are in pipeline for future interventions in terms of infrastructural development and setting up CFCs for enhancing the productivity and quality of manufacturing. 

Shri Muniyappa assured all his support and cooperation to the Government of Karnataka for better implementation of all schemes. 

PGTI Pune Champ:Shamim Khan shines in round three to emerge leader

Pune, June 27, 2013: Shamim Khan of Delhi carded a resolute four-under-68 to emerge leader in round three of the PGTI Players Championship being played at the Oxford Golf & Country Club in Pune. ShamimⳠtotal moved to 10-under-206 after his superb third round effort. Rahil Gangjee of Kolkata returned the dayⳠbest score of five-under-67 to be placed second. Gangjee is now breathing down ShamimⳠneck with a nine-under-207 total.

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Shamim Khan (71-67-68), who was overnight tied third and one stroke off the lead, earned successive birdies on the fifth and sixth holes to make a move up the leaderboard. The 35-year-old reigning Rolex Rankings champion sank a 40-feet birdie putt on the fifth. A poor chip resulted in a bogey for Shamim on the seventh but he picked up a birdie on the ninth to make the turn at two-under.

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ShamimⳠback-nine featured a chip-in for birdie on the 13^th, two birdie conversions from a range of 12 to 15 feet on the 14^th and 17^th as well as a birdie on the closing 18^th. The professional from the Delhi Golf Club also dropped bogeys on the 11^th and 15^th as a result of a couple of three-putts. He thus ended up with seven birdies and three bogeys.

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㉠had a steady first round but my game picked up from round two onwards. Iⶥ been putting much better and have also hit my irons closer over the last two days as compared to round one. I rate the sixth as a very tough hole since one canⴠsight the fairway from the tee and the green is also very tight. I was therefore delighted to make a birdie on the sixth today. Iⶥ not been finishing my rounds well in the last few events. But I feel Iⶥ managed to improve that aspect of my game this week,䊳aid Shamim, a winner of nine professional titles.

Rahil Gangjee (72-68-67), climbed from overnight tied eighth to second place after shooting the dayⳠbest score of 67. GangjeeⳠeventful round included seven birdies against two bogeys. Rahil, a former winner on the Asian Tour, rolled in birdie putts from 40 and 20 feet on the seventh and 17^th respectively. The 34-year-old landed his approach shots within five feet to set up birdies on the first and 18^th and also produced two excellent chip-putts for birdies on the fourth and 11^th. His two bogeys on the sixth and eighth were a result of three-putts on both occasions.

Gangjee said, ㉒ve gotten to know this course more with each passing round and have accordingly adjusted my game. I now have a better understanding of the green speed and the distance the ball carries in the air. This in turn has helped me play better. My putting stroke was also a lot smoother than the previous two rounds.伯span>

KolkataⳠShankar Das (67-70-71), the overnight joint leader, slipped to third place after returning a 71 on Thursday. His total stands at eight-under-208.

Anirban Lahiri (70-68-71) of Bengaluru is in fourth place at seven-under-209. Sri Lankan Mithun Perera (70-70-70) is a further stroke back in fifth position.

DelhiⳠRashid Khan, the overnight joint leader, slipped to tied sixth at five-under-211 after firing a 74 in round three. He shares sixth place along with fellow Delhi golfers Chiragh Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai and Vinod Kumar.

Moinuddin Malak (77-69-72), with a total score of two-over-218, is currently the highest-placed Pune golfer. He is placed tied 32^nd.

Dear N.K, We work with a large number of lesser-known suppliers to the railway sector as part of our global series of rail events. While the larger turnkey, rolling stock and signalling providers are well known throughout the industry, we’ve found a number of smaller, unexpected vendors also have fantastic offerings for this market. Download the E-Book here > Find out: Who they are Where they’re based What they can offer the rail sector Download the E-Book here >  I hope you find this useful! Enjoy.  Lorna Moffatt Content Executive Total Rail

RITEISH'S DARING STUNT

Vikas Sawant who has won the hearts of many people including the Judges with his mind blowing performances yet again gave a super entertaining performance. 

Judge Riteish Deshmukh who has confessed many times on the show that he is huge fan of Vikas⠊Dance was impressed by the act he performed on the show. Riteish was so amused by his performance that he actually told Vikas that he wants to give the judgment for this act in a unique way so the delighted actor went up on the stage and the Sugar Bottle Prop which Vikas used for his dance, he hit the bottle on his head and complimented, " He is truly a Dancing Superstar, our exceptation levels are always high when Vikas comes to perform on the stage but he never give us a chance to find out any mistakes in his performance". Vikas was overwhelmed and became emotional by the accolades he received from his favorite judge Riteish Deshmukh

Tourism Minister announces 100 crore package for Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand has recently witnessed an unprecedented natural calamity that has caused colossal damage to both life and infrastructure in the State.ࠁs an exceptional case, the Union Minister of Tourism Dr. K. Chiranjeevi announced today a special package for restoration and reconstruction of the affected Government tourist facilities.

Over and above the already sanctioned Central Financial Assistance of about༯span>`95.00 crore, in the current financial year for developing tourism infrastructure in the State, the Ministry of Tourism will extend special financial package of༯span>` 100 Crore to the State for rebuilding the now damaged Government tourist infrastructure.

  The State Government has been advised to assess the destroyed and damaged tourist amenities and conveniences and come back with the requirement of funds for rebuilding the infrastructure.ࠏn examination of the demand, Ministry of Tourism will sanction funds.

The funds sanctioned in the relief package will be༯span>utilized for restoration and reconstruction of tourist infrastructure across the State with a special focus on tourist facilities along yatra route which will be used for providing shelter to the disaster hit pilgrims and tourists.

Through a series of meetings held with the representatives of the hotel industry, tour operartorⳬ travel agents and all other stakeholders in the travel and tourism trade since last week Dr. K. Chiranjeevi, Union Tourism Minister is coordinating the travel trades donations to the Prime MinisterⳠRelief Fund for the reconstruction and rejuvenation of the tourism industry and travel trade in Uttarakhand.

At the official level the Union Tourism Minister has set an example by sanctioning `100 Crore + `95 Crore to the Government of Uttarakhand for the reconstruction of damaged tourists assets and construction of new tourism projects respectively in Uttarakhand.ࠠIt may be recalled that Dr. K. Chiranjeevi had earlier donated ` 1 Crore from his MPLADS funds for Uttarakhand.

The various tourism associations have, in turn, instructed their members all over India to donate generously to the Prime MinisterⳠRelief Fund and total collection is being tabulated.

Prashanth༯span>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AirAsia Announces Termination of AirAsia Japan Joint Venture SEPANG, 25 June 2013 – AirAsia today announced its decision to terminate its participation in the joint venture with ANA Holdings Inc. under AirAsia Japan with the signing of a termination agreement.  The joint venture, created two years ago under the name AirAsia Japan faced many challenges since its launch. Issues stemmed from a fundamental difference of opinion between its shareholders on how the business should be managed from cost management to where the domestic business operations should be based. AirAsia Berhad through AirAsia Investment Ltd. had subscribed 25,120 voting shares and 23,880 non-voting shares at JPY 50,000 per share, which represented forty-nine percent (49%) of the paid-up share capital in AirAsia Japan. The termination comprises an acquisition of AirAsia’s entire shareholding in AirAsia Japan by ANA Holdings Inc. for JPY 2,450,000,000 (approximately RM80,475,150 based on current exchange rates).  The termination also involves the return of all AirAsia aircraft leased to AirAsia Japan by November 1st 2013 and the payment of all monies accrued from the leasing of the aircraft.  Under the termination, AirAsia Japan will also settle all outstanding invoices due to AirAsia accrued from the commencement of operations.  AirAsia Japan will unwind the use of the AirAsia brand in its operations, including the name of AirAsia Japan itself by November 1st 2013.  Operations of AirAsia Japan flights up to October 31st 2013 will continue as planned. Following the transfer of shares and payment of the purchase price, the Shareholders Agreement, the Brand License Agreement and other commercial contracts between the parties will be terminated immediately.       On the termination, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “I have great respect for ANA as the leading legacy airline in Japan but it is time for us to part ways and focus our attention on what we do best, which is running a true LCC. Despite the cost issues, the AirAsia brand has resonated with Japanese customers and the trend we see for July and August is very strong for all of Japan. I remain positive on the Japanese market and believe there is tremendous opportunity for a LCC to succeed, as proven by the tremendous success AirAsia X has seen.  We have not given up on the dream of changing air travel in Japan and look forward to returning to the market.” Operations of AirAsia X, the long haul low fare affiliate of AirAsia Group will not be interrupted as a part of this termination. AirAsia X will continue its operations into Japan including Kuala Lumpur to both Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka (Kansai).

BRO Intensify Efforts to Restore Road Connectivity

Border Road Organisation has further intensified its efforts to restore road connectivity in the flood affected areas of Uttarakhand. BRO has pressed in to service more than 95 excavators and Bull dozers. Many more are on the way. About 4000 BRO personnel and laborers are working day and nights. Due to heavy rains in the entire region road clearance work has hampered at many places and roads blocked due to fresh land slides and breaches.  However these are being cleared quickly.  Due to fresh landslides Rishikesh – Uttarkashi road has blocked at 7 places and clearance work is going on .Similarly Rishikesh  Joshimath - Badrinath axis was also blocked at two points due to water logging and fresh land slides and breaches. BRO has constructed two improvised log bridges between Songangaand Gaurikund on Rudraprayaga axis. This has greatly helped evacuation of about 2000 pilgrims from Gaurikund by land route. A readymade foot Bridge is being launched across river Alaknanda near Badrinath. Road Rishikesh-Dharasu- Uttarkashi - Gangotri :- Road up to Uttarkashi was blocked due to fresh land slides at 7 locations . The clearance work is going on . Beyond Uttarkashi there are major breaches at four locations. Road clearance work has also been  started from Gangotri side ,and  road has been   opened up to Harshil .Efforts are on to open the road between Uttarkashi and Harshil which has suffered major damages. BRO has made several foot tracks to help stranded passengers and also provided shelters food and transportation to pilgrims. Rudraprayag-Gaurikund Road :- Presently the road from Rudraprayaga side has been cleared upto  7  km. Now efforts are on to clear the road between km 07 to 35.  The continuous rain has disrupted clearance works and also damaged some stretches which were earlier repaired. BRO has constructed two improvised log bridges betweenSonganga and Gaurikund on Rudraprayaga axis. This has greatly helped evacuation of about 2000 pilgrims fromGaurikund by land route. Other roads in Uttarakhand :- Many other lateral roads with BRO in Uttarakhand have also suffered extensive damages. The road clearance work has also started on these roads however full focus will shift to these roads once the major axes are open.

Central Water Commission’s Flood Forecasting

Pathetic performance in Uttarkhand disaster

Central Water Commission, India’s premier technical body under Union Ministry of Water Resources, has once again failed in the Uttarakhand flood disaster. Even as the Uttarakhand state faced the worst floods in its history, CWC, which has been given the task of forecasting floods across flood prone areas all over India, completely failed in making any forecasts that could have helped the people and administration in Uttarakhand.

First principle of disaster management is prior warning. With prior warning, significant proportion of possible damages and destruction can be avoided. In that respect, one expected that CWC would play a key role in forecasting the floods. SANDRP has been monitoring CWC flood forecasts throughout the monsoon for some years. During June 15-17, when Uttarakhand was receiving the most intense rains, CWC did not make any forecasts regarding Uttarakhand. As far as the most severely disaster affected areas of Ganga basin upstream of Devprayag are concerned (these include  the worst affected Kedarnath and Mandakini valley, the Gangotri and Bhagirathi valley and Badrinath in Alaknanda valley), CWC has made no flood forecasts at all this year. Same is the case regarding other affected regions of Uttarakhand including Yamuna basin including Yamunotri and Pithoragarh including Goriganga basin. What is than the role of this premier technical body tasked with flood forecasting?

The only forecast that CWC made for Uttarakhand this June 2013 were for Rishikesh and Haridwar on June 18, 2013. Even in these instances, CWC’s callousness is reflected. For example, by the fact that normally when flood forecasts are made for any site in the first place, the forecasts would be low flood forecast (where water level is between warning and danger level for the site), and only in next stage, would medium flood forecast would be made (water level above danger level). However, in case of both Rishikesh and Haridwar, CWC straightaway made medium flood forecasts, clearly missing the low flood forecasts.

In fact looking at the CWC flood forecasting site (http://www.india-water.com/ffs/index.htm), we notice that in entire Uttarakhand state, CWC has only three flood forecasting sites: Srinagar, Rishikesh and Hridwar, which means CWC would not be doing any forecasts for the most vulnerable regions of Uttarakhand in any case! Even in case of Srinagar (which actually suffered the worst floods with hundreds of damaged houses), CWC site says the Highest flood level is 536.85 m, amazingly, below the warning level of 539 m! This means that CWC has never forecast flood at that site and even if water level goes above HFL, it won’t forecast any floods since level could still be well below the warning level?  Can one imagine a more callous technical body?

The callous performance of CWC does not end there. During June 2-7 this year, CWC flood forecasting site as also the flood forecasting site of NDMA which also depends on CWC, stopped functioning. After numerous emails and phone calls from SANDRP, the website started functioning on June 7, 2013 and Shri V D Roy, Director (Flood Forecasting Management) of CWC wrote to us, “Due to technical reasons, the CWC FF site was not working since 2nd June. With consistent effort, the website was made functional w e f 7^th June”. Pointing out a major blunder of CWC, we had written to CWC on June 12, 2013, “CWC forecast site reported that water level of Brahmaputra river at Neamatighat site in Jorhat district in Assam had reached 94.21 m at 0900 hrs, which was 6.84 m above the highest flood level of the site at 87.37 m. The FF site also forecast that the level will be 94.15 m at 0900 am on June 12, 2013, that is today. Both the recording and forecast were clearly wrong, rather way off the mark. The site or the area in question or upstream and down stream levels do not match with what the CWC site said y'day.” Needless to add there was no floods in Brahmaputra in spite of such forecast by India’s highest technical body! CWC is yet to respond to our emails on this issue.

It is strange that CWC, in stead of putting its house in order, is acting as a lobby for big dams by making baseless claims about Tehri dam having saved downstream area of floods, as reported by Indian Express[i] on June 25, 2013. This is like adding salt to the wounds of the people of Uttarakhand who are suffering from the ill effects of lopsided developments including dams and hydropower projects. It would be better if CWC tries to improve its flood forecasts rather than indulging in such lobbying efforts at such times of crisis.

Himanshu Thakkar (ht.sandrp@gmail.com, 09968242798)

South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People  (http://sandrp.in/)

Posted on June 26, 2013 by sagarmedia

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Here’s the plan to cut carbon pollution

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Hi, all – The carbon pollution that causes climate change isn’t a distant threat, the risk to public health isn’t a hypothetical, and it’s clear we have a moral obligation to act. The 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15 years, and 2012 was the hottest one we’ve ever recorded. When carbon pollutes the air, the risk of asthma attacks increases. When the Earth’s atmosphere fundamentally changes, we see more heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods. These events also create an economic imperative to act. When farms wash away and crops wilt, food prices go up. Last year, we saw 11 different weather disasters that each cost the United States more than $1 billion. And confronting this challenge isn’t just about preventing disaster — it’s also about moving America forward in a way that creates hundreds of thousands of good, new, clean energy jobs. It’s about wasting less energy, which saves money for every business and every family in America. So the debate’s over. It’s time for action.  Here’s what President Obama is announcing today. Check it out, then help to spread the word. First, he’s laying out a plan to cut carbon pollution in America — by working to cut pollution from power plants, protect the health of our kids, boost clean energy, and revamp our transportation sector for the 21st century. Second, he’s preparing the United States for the impacts of these changes — by building stronger, safer communities and developing resources to make our country more resilient. And finally, he’s leading international efforts to combat global climate change. We’ve put together a graphic that breaks this all down — from the effects we’re already seeing to the specific actions we’re going to take to lead this fight. No single step can reverse the effects of climate change, but that’s no excuse for inaction. We have a moral obligation to leave our kids a planet that’s not broken and polluted. So here’s what we’re going to do: http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan Share President Obama’s plan to make sure people in your community understand why we’re taking these steps and what comes next.   Thanks!  David  David Simas Deputy Senior Advisor White House This email was sent to nksagar_1@yahoo.com. Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111