The head of health at Unicef India points to India’s poor maternal mortality rate and unacceptably high malnourishment among children as evidence that the National Rural Health Mission is not yielding results.
To be effective, the Indian government’s flagship health programme, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), must be goal-oriented and needs “very good managers who can work on a Gandhian mission and vocational commitment to improving rural health,” says Marzio Babille, head of health at Unicef India.
Half of the country’s women still deliver babies at home, and 20% of the world’s child mortalities occur in India, Babille pointed out in an interview to the media while attending a national-level conference in Udaipur.
The NRHM, carried out and controlled by the Ministry of Health, was launched in 2005 to improve and upgrade healthcare facilities in rural India.
Babille said that projects under the NRHM such as the Janani Suraksha Yojana (save the mother project) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) scheme had not been very successful. In 2007, only 52% of the eligible 7.5 million women received the benefits of the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY). Under this scheme, the government pays a certain amount to a woman who gives birth to a baby in hospital. Despite this incentive, half of India’s women deliver at home without any medical attention, causing high maternal mortality in the country.
ASHAs are not well trained and are overburdened. While India had the manpower, it does not have trained manpower, Babille said. He was critical of the fact that people do not know much about the programmes, and the authorities have done little to make them popular.
India has also not done much to improve malnourishment among children. “In the last seven years, malnourishment levels among Indian children have gone down by merely 1%. While 47% of children were malnourished seven years back, currently it is 46%,” he said.
According to a recent report by Unicef, every year 2.1 million children in India do not survive to celebrate their fifth birthday. This means one out of every five children under the age of five dying worldwide is an Indian. Babille said building capacity, integration of the NRHM and the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), as also better awareness campaigns, were required to improve the health situation in India.
Babille singled out Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Orissa for doing well in the field of rural health and said Uttar Pradesh needed to do more.
Source: http://www.infochangeindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7067&Itemid=44
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
eINDIA2008
Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) in collaboration with Elets technomedia Pvt. Ltd. is organising eINDIA2008, the fourth annual ICT4D forum in India. Department of Information Technology, Government of India and Global Alliance for ICT4D are co-organisers of the event.
OneWorld South Asia is one of the media partners for the event.
eINDIA2008 aims to examine the myriad challenges, which appear while integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in different spheres of life, to share and work together, to analyse and assess, as well as to create actionable plans for leading technology-enabled knowledge society.
The conference will be convened from July 29-31, 2008 at New Delhi, India. The three-day forum aims to render active conferencing, networking and showcasing. The conference offers a perfect platform for establishing and fostering high level networking contacts with leading representatives of the world’s ICT sector on both governmental and business levels.
As an international event, apart from the general public and the media, the eINDIA2008 Conference and Exhibition expects to bring together 4000 high-level representatives of the ICT industry, government, civil society, academia and private sector from all across the globe to share the best practices and digital opportunities for development, to discuss, and exchange knowledge and ideas that will shape the future of the global ICT development.
eINDIA2008 is an inclusive, consultative and constructive ICT for Development forum – the largest and only one of its kinds in India – promoting and propagating the use of ICT4D through its seven seminal thematic track conferences:
• egov
• digital Learning
• Telecentre Forum
• mServe
• eHealth
• eAgriculture
• municipalIT
Conference Objectives
The conference aims to:
• Provide a collaborative forum to participants to share knowledge and ideas, enabling them to develop cross-sectoral contacts and partnerships, as well as to enhance their knowledge, expertise, and abilities;
• Give a reference framework for describing impact, looking at approaches and methods currently used in the ICT4D sector and their suitability;
• Highlight barriers of ICT integration in India and for other countries, identify gaps in current research;
• Synthesise the main results of the experience sharing and progress made in recent years to provide a baseline for discussion with policy makers, and community of practitioners;
Registration Fee
For Indian Delegates
• Pre Registration - INR 7,500
• Spot Registration - INR 10,000
Foreign Delegates
• Pre Registration - USD 300
• Spot Registration - USD 350
For Registration visit: http://www.eindia.net.in/2008/registration.asp
Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159807/1/4867
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
OneWorld South Asia is one of the media partners for the event.
eINDIA2008 aims to examine the myriad challenges, which appear while integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in different spheres of life, to share and work together, to analyse and assess, as well as to create actionable plans for leading technology-enabled knowledge society.
The conference will be convened from July 29-31, 2008 at New Delhi, India. The three-day forum aims to render active conferencing, networking and showcasing. The conference offers a perfect platform for establishing and fostering high level networking contacts with leading representatives of the world’s ICT sector on both governmental and business levels.
As an international event, apart from the general public and the media, the eINDIA2008 Conference and Exhibition expects to bring together 4000 high-level representatives of the ICT industry, government, civil society, academia and private sector from all across the globe to share the best practices and digital opportunities for development, to discuss, and exchange knowledge and ideas that will shape the future of the global ICT development.
eINDIA2008 is an inclusive, consultative and constructive ICT for Development forum – the largest and only one of its kinds in India – promoting and propagating the use of ICT4D through its seven seminal thematic track conferences:
• egov
• digital Learning
• Telecentre Forum
• mServe
• eHealth
• eAgriculture
• municipalIT
Conference Objectives
The conference aims to:
• Provide a collaborative forum to participants to share knowledge and ideas, enabling them to develop cross-sectoral contacts and partnerships, as well as to enhance their knowledge, expertise, and abilities;
• Give a reference framework for describing impact, looking at approaches and methods currently used in the ICT4D sector and their suitability;
• Highlight barriers of ICT integration in India and for other countries, identify gaps in current research;
• Synthesise the main results of the experience sharing and progress made in recent years to provide a baseline for discussion with policy makers, and community of practitioners;
Registration Fee
For Indian Delegates
• Pre Registration - INR 7,500
• Spot Registration - INR 10,000
Foreign Delegates
• Pre Registration - USD 300
• Spot Registration - USD 350
For Registration visit: http://www.eindia.net.in/2008/registration.asp
Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159807/1/4867
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Training on gender, democracy and citizenship
There is an increasing awareness about role of youth in building a more just and equitable society. Within the context of decentralised democratic processes, the youth groups, if trained and sensitised, have a tremendous potential to play a more pro-active role as human rights defenders.
In order to fulfill their roles as active and responsible citizens, the rural youth needs special skills, training and capacity building as they are deprived of real education. In order to build consciousness around multiple issues of justice, peace and harmony at the family, community and societal levels, the selected leaders required to be trained to exercise their rights as civil society members.
With this intention, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust is organising a two week training course on Gender, Democracy and Citizienship from May 26 to June 10, 2008 at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India.
About Jagori
Jagori (Woman awake!) is a women’s training, documentation, communication and resource centre that was started in 1984. In the last twenty-two years, the organisation has focused on evolving strategies to reach out to grassroots women's groups and building a broad based leadership amongst marginalised women.
Jagori Rural Expansion Program
Jagori began its work in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh in September 2003. This district has shown the sharpest decline in the child sex ratios over 10 years, from 939 in 1991 down to 836 in 2001, was selected and the rural program started.
Main objectives are illustrated as under:
• To support women’s and youth collectives at the village level in building a movement for gender, class caste equality/equity.
• Leadership building among rural women’s and youth.
• To create awareness on issues such as violence against women, declining sex ratios, adolescence problems, holistic living and sustainable agriculture.
Presently Jagori is working in 50 villages of three development blocks of Kangra district i.e. Rait, Kangra, Nagrota and Surian. The chief advisor to the rural program is Abha Bhaiya, a well-known feminist activist and founder member of Jagori. She has been actively involved in the women’s movement in India and is a gender trainer of international repute.
Jagori is also running two information centres in collaboration with OneWorld South Asia. The objective is to provide need based information to the rural communities and sensitise community on gender issues, reproductive and child health through the use of information communication techniques (ICTs).
Participants should be between 14-25 years and associated with NGOs. Each organisation is requested to send four participants (2 girls and 2 boys) along with case studies, success stories, samples of your work along with you.
All completed applications for the course must be received by Jagori Himachal by April 30, 2008. Please enclose some preliminary information about yourself and your work.
Participants will be notified as soon as the list is finalised.
Expenses such as accommodation and food for the duration of the training, cost of course material as well as travel expenses will be taken care of by Jagori, from the funding support provided by The SRTT-Mumbai.
Training venue
Jagori Himachal
Training and Research Academy
V.P.O. Rakkar (Sidhbari)
District Kangra
Himachal Pradesh (H.P.)
India
For further information and Registration Form, contact:
Jagori Himachal
C/O Pathania Bungalow
VPO Sidhpur near Education Board Colony
District Kangra
H.P. -176057
Tel: 01892 – 246857, 91-9418602726
Mail: jagorihimachal@yahoo.com, anoop_jagori@yahoo.com
Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159901/1/4867
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
In order to fulfill their roles as active and responsible citizens, the rural youth needs special skills, training and capacity building as they are deprived of real education. In order to build consciousness around multiple issues of justice, peace and harmony at the family, community and societal levels, the selected leaders required to be trained to exercise their rights as civil society members.
With this intention, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust is organising a two week training course on Gender, Democracy and Citizienship from May 26 to June 10, 2008 at Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India.
About Jagori
Jagori (Woman awake!) is a women’s training, documentation, communication and resource centre that was started in 1984. In the last twenty-two years, the organisation has focused on evolving strategies to reach out to grassroots women's groups and building a broad based leadership amongst marginalised women.
Jagori Rural Expansion Program
Jagori began its work in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh in September 2003. This district has shown the sharpest decline in the child sex ratios over 10 years, from 939 in 1991 down to 836 in 2001, was selected and the rural program started.
Main objectives are illustrated as under:
• To support women’s and youth collectives at the village level in building a movement for gender, class caste equality/equity.
• Leadership building among rural women’s and youth.
• To create awareness on issues such as violence against women, declining sex ratios, adolescence problems, holistic living and sustainable agriculture.
Presently Jagori is working in 50 villages of three development blocks of Kangra district i.e. Rait, Kangra, Nagrota and Surian. The chief advisor to the rural program is Abha Bhaiya, a well-known feminist activist and founder member of Jagori. She has been actively involved in the women’s movement in India and is a gender trainer of international repute.
Jagori is also running two information centres in collaboration with OneWorld South Asia. The objective is to provide need based information to the rural communities and sensitise community on gender issues, reproductive and child health through the use of information communication techniques (ICTs).
Participants should be between 14-25 years and associated with NGOs. Each organisation is requested to send four participants (2 girls and 2 boys) along with case studies, success stories, samples of your work along with you.
All completed applications for the course must be received by Jagori Himachal by April 30, 2008. Please enclose some preliminary information about yourself and your work.
Participants will be notified as soon as the list is finalised.
Expenses such as accommodation and food for the duration of the training, cost of course material as well as travel expenses will be taken care of by Jagori, from the funding support provided by The SRTT-Mumbai.
Training venue
Jagori Himachal
Training and Research Academy
V.P.O. Rakkar (Sidhbari)
District Kangra
Himachal Pradesh (H.P.)
India
For further information and Registration Form, contact:
Jagori Himachal
C/O Pathania Bungalow
VPO Sidhpur near Education Board Colony
District Kangra
H.P. -176057
Tel: 01892 – 246857, 91-9418602726
Mail: jagorihimachal@yahoo.com, anoop_jagori@yahoo.com
Source: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159901/1/4867
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
NEW FILM SERIES TAKES ON CULTURE OF SILENCE ON
United Nations, Geneva, 17 April 2008 — This is an unfortunate anniversary.
Fourteen years ago, in April 1994, news got out that ethnic violence in Kigali was spreading throughout Rwanda. Since then, the world community has struggled to explain how the genocide of 800,000 people happened in full view, but less discussed is the ongoing impact of the rape and other forms of sexual violence committed against hundreds of thousands of women.
Violence against women is the theme of Women on the Frontline, a series of seven films being broadcast for the first time tomorrow Friday night by BBC World at 1930 GMT to about 300 million households to help peel away the silence surrounding the brutality of gender-based violence that crosses all borders.
“Violence against women threatens the lives of more young women than cancer, malaria or war,” said Annie Lennox, the British singer who presents the series of investigative reports. “It affects one in three women worldwide. It leaves women mentally scarred for life, and it is usually inflicted by a family member.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to war, the use of rape as a weapon continues.
In Rwanda, according to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide. In Sierra Leone, a reported 50,000-64,000 internally displaced women have experienced sexual violence at the hands of armed combatants.
In a recent survey, more than half of all women in Lofa County in northern Liberia experienced at least one incident of sexual violence during the 1999-2003 conflict. While 90 percent of these women experienced at least one incident of physical violence and almost half of the women reported more than four instances in which they were required to have sex for favours.
During the current post-election conflict in Kenya, which has killed over 1,000 people and displaced more than 200,000, the Nairobi Women’s Hospital and the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa reported a two- to threefold increase over the previous year in the number of women and children seeking treatment for sexual assault, especially gang rapes by men.
“Even where there is no war, women’s bodies continue to be battlegrounds,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “Women and girls are at risk of violence when carrying out essential daily activities — within their homes, or while walking, taking public transport to work, collecting water or firewood. Demanding the end of violence against women is about protecting human rights and ensuring that women live in safety and dignity.”
According to UN figures, at least one in every three women worldwide is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, and one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape. Trafficking, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, dowry murder, “honour” killings and female infanticide are also part of the problem.
“The gaps in addressing violence against women are in terms of political will, resources and the strong involvement of men and boys in insisting on zero tolerance. If we can’t put an end to the pandemic of violence against women, we can’t achieve any of the other agreed goals: development, equality or peace,” said Joanne Sandler, acting Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The UN Secretary-General has acknowledged the depth of the problem by launching a multi-year campaign eight weeks ago to eliminate violence against women and girls. Throughout the UN, a number of agencies are involved in various aspects of fighting violence against women.
In Mauritania, as shown on Women on the Frontline, women should not have boyfriends. If women are raped, they are considered at fault and imprisoned.
“We found girls who said they had been raped and who were being sent to prison for the simple reason that there was no tangible proof of this violence,” said Zeinabou Mint Taleb Moussa, a lawyer who heads the Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health. “I would prefer them to go through the justice system or even better, I would prefer that the boys are arrested and the girls are recognized as victims.”
Women on the Frontline highlights the violence women must still endure in their daily lives and how they cope with it. The seven countries featured are Austria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mauritania, Morocco, Nepal and Turkey.
A number of UN agencies, including UNFPA and UNIFEM, donor countries such as Austria, non-governmental organizations and other partners provided information and support for the investigative reports.
“On the Frontline has gone behind the lines with rebels and filmed among violent street gangs but this time we’ve taken the frontline mostly into the home, where even after 20 years in production, I’m still shocked to see how many obstacles lie between women and equality, and the violence they must still endure,” said Robert Lamb, Executive Director of the series.
The seven films cover Nepal, where thousands of women are trafficked each year; Turkey, where killing in the name of honour continues; Morocco, where women political activists who have survived torture and imprisonment testify before a government truth and reconciliation commission; the DRC, where women bear the brunt of a 10-year war in the eastern provinces; Colombia, where women have been tortured in the shadow of a guerilla war; Mauritania, where women who have been raped may go to prison; and Austria, where, under a new law, perpetrators of domestic violence are forced to leave home.
For more info visit: http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=111
Source: http://www.unifem.org/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Fourteen years ago, in April 1994, news got out that ethnic violence in Kigali was spreading throughout Rwanda. Since then, the world community has struggled to explain how the genocide of 800,000 people happened in full view, but less discussed is the ongoing impact of the rape and other forms of sexual violence committed against hundreds of thousands of women.
Violence against women is the theme of Women on the Frontline, a series of seven films being broadcast for the first time tomorrow Friday night by BBC World at 1930 GMT to about 300 million households to help peel away the silence surrounding the brutality of gender-based violence that crosses all borders.
“Violence against women threatens the lives of more young women than cancer, malaria or war,” said Annie Lennox, the British singer who presents the series of investigative reports. “It affects one in three women worldwide. It leaves women mentally scarred for life, and it is usually inflicted by a family member.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to war, the use of rape as a weapon continues.
In Rwanda, according to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, up to half a million women were raped during the 1994 genocide. In Sierra Leone, a reported 50,000-64,000 internally displaced women have experienced sexual violence at the hands of armed combatants.
In a recent survey, more than half of all women in Lofa County in northern Liberia experienced at least one incident of sexual violence during the 1999-2003 conflict. While 90 percent of these women experienced at least one incident of physical violence and almost half of the women reported more than four instances in which they were required to have sex for favours.
During the current post-election conflict in Kenya, which has killed over 1,000 people and displaced more than 200,000, the Nairobi Women’s Hospital and the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa reported a two- to threefold increase over the previous year in the number of women and children seeking treatment for sexual assault, especially gang rapes by men.
“Even where there is no war, women’s bodies continue to be battlegrounds,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “Women and girls are at risk of violence when carrying out essential daily activities — within their homes, or while walking, taking public transport to work, collecting water or firewood. Demanding the end of violence against women is about protecting human rights and ensuring that women live in safety and dignity.”
According to UN figures, at least one in every three women worldwide is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, and one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape. Trafficking, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, dowry murder, “honour” killings and female infanticide are also part of the problem.
“The gaps in addressing violence against women are in terms of political will, resources and the strong involvement of men and boys in insisting on zero tolerance. If we can’t put an end to the pandemic of violence against women, we can’t achieve any of the other agreed goals: development, equality or peace,” said Joanne Sandler, acting Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The UN Secretary-General has acknowledged the depth of the problem by launching a multi-year campaign eight weeks ago to eliminate violence against women and girls. Throughout the UN, a number of agencies are involved in various aspects of fighting violence against women.
In Mauritania, as shown on Women on the Frontline, women should not have boyfriends. If women are raped, they are considered at fault and imprisoned.
“We found girls who said they had been raped and who were being sent to prison for the simple reason that there was no tangible proof of this violence,” said Zeinabou Mint Taleb Moussa, a lawyer who heads the Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health. “I would prefer them to go through the justice system or even better, I would prefer that the boys are arrested and the girls are recognized as victims.”
Women on the Frontline highlights the violence women must still endure in their daily lives and how they cope with it. The seven countries featured are Austria, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mauritania, Morocco, Nepal and Turkey.
A number of UN agencies, including UNFPA and UNIFEM, donor countries such as Austria, non-governmental organizations and other partners provided information and support for the investigative reports.
“On the Frontline has gone behind the lines with rebels and filmed among violent street gangs but this time we’ve taken the frontline mostly into the home, where even after 20 years in production, I’m still shocked to see how many obstacles lie between women and equality, and the violence they must still endure,” said Robert Lamb, Executive Director of the series.
The seven films cover Nepal, where thousands of women are trafficked each year; Turkey, where killing in the name of honour continues; Morocco, where women political activists who have survived torture and imprisonment testify before a government truth and reconciliation commission; the DRC, where women bear the brunt of a 10-year war in the eastern provinces; Colombia, where women have been tortured in the shadow of a guerilla war; Mauritania, where women who have been raped may go to prison; and Austria, where, under a new law, perpetrators of domestic violence are forced to leave home.
For more info visit: http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=111
Source: http://www.unifem.org/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Teacher Sensitization Workshop on Climate Change
Times Foundation and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) jointly organized a one-day workshop titled the “Concern Planet Teacher Sensitization Workshop on Climate Change” on 11 April for school teachers from Delhi and the NCR. Fifty-two teachers from forty-five schools attended the workshop. The workshop was interactive in which teachers were divided into groups that discussed and made presentations on the following topics: Energy, Waste, Water and Health.
The workshop discussed the various ways in which teachers can be agents of change at the school level. Resource persons from TERI and TF explained the irreversible changes that human action had effected on the atmosphere and the practical life style changes that the teachers can go back to their schools and impart to their students.
Some of the schools at the workshop have already initiated programmes for a greener earth at the school level. Representatives from these schools described their experiences, which enhanced the learnings for the other participants at the workshop. Participants took home with them TERI resource kits including solar panels.
Source: http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2952976.cms
Contact Times Foundation:
Delhi:
Times Foundation,
The Times of India Building,
7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi – 110 002
Telephone: +91-11-23782031, 23782396, 23302000
Fax: +91-11-23782765, 23319764,
Mumbai:
Times Foundation,
The Times of India Building,
Dr D N Road,
Mumbai – 400 001
Telephone: + 91 - 22- 66353535
Fax: + 91 - 022-22731144, 1401
Hyderabad:
Times House
8-2-351, Road no. 3
Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad – 500034
Ph: +91- 040 - 23355335
Fax: +91- 040 - 23355302
Chennai:
Times House
126/127
Chamiers Road, Nandanam
Chennai – 600035
Ph: +91 – 044 - 24342121, 24301234
Fax: + 91 – 044 - 24335511
E-mail: timesfoundation@timesgroup.com
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
The workshop discussed the various ways in which teachers can be agents of change at the school level. Resource persons from TERI and TF explained the irreversible changes that human action had effected on the atmosphere and the practical life style changes that the teachers can go back to their schools and impart to their students.
Some of the schools at the workshop have already initiated programmes for a greener earth at the school level. Representatives from these schools described their experiences, which enhanced the learnings for the other participants at the workshop. Participants took home with them TERI resource kits including solar panels.
Source: http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2952976.cms
Contact Times Foundation:
Delhi:
Times Foundation,
The Times of India Building,
7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi – 110 002
Telephone: +91-11-23782031, 23782396, 23302000
Fax: +91-11-23782765, 23319764,
Mumbai:
Times Foundation,
The Times of India Building,
Dr D N Road,
Mumbai – 400 001
Telephone: + 91 - 22- 66353535
Fax: + 91 - 022-22731144, 1401
Hyderabad:
Times House
8-2-351, Road no. 3
Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad – 500034
Ph: +91- 040 - 23355335
Fax: +91- 040 - 23355302
Chennai:
Times House
126/127
Chamiers Road, Nandanam
Chennai – 600035
Ph: +91 – 044 - 24342121, 24301234
Fax: + 91 – 044 - 24335511
E-mail: timesfoundation@timesgroup.com
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Help me save the turtles
Hi,
I've just written to Ratan Tata asking him to not to go ahead with building a port in Dhamra, Orissa, dangerously close to one of the world's largest sea turtle nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. I think its a good idea for Mr. Tata to move the port to another location rather than endanger the turtles.
By living up to the Tatas' environmental legacy, Ratan won't just save the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles, he will also end up making Tata a better company.
The only problem is that I can't bring about that change alone. I need help from lots of people, especially you.
Please do what I've done. Write directly to Ratan Tata here on this link: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/turtles/write-to-tata
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
I've just written to Ratan Tata asking him to not to go ahead with building a port in Dhamra, Orissa, dangerously close to one of the world's largest sea turtle nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. I think its a good idea for Mr. Tata to move the port to another location rather than endanger the turtles.
By living up to the Tatas' environmental legacy, Ratan won't just save the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles, he will also end up making Tata a better company.
The only problem is that I can't bring about that change alone. I need help from lots of people, especially you.
Please do what I've done. Write directly to Ratan Tata here on this link: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/turtles/write-to-tata
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
OLD AGE PENSION SCHEME in India
A proposal is under consideration to provide pension to persons who are 60 years or higher and belonging to a household below the poverty line according to the criteria prescribed by the Government of India, by lowering the age limit from 65 years to 60 years under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS).
Guidelines have been issued to all the State Governments to identify the beneficiaries based on the liberalized eligibility criteria under IGNOAPS and certify that all the eligible beneficiaries have been covered. Information and Education Campaign has also been taken up to generate awareness.
This was stated by Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37519
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Guidelines have been issued to all the State Governments to identify the beneficiaries based on the liberalized eligibility criteria under IGNOAPS and certify that all the eligible beneficiaries have been covered. Information and Education Campaign has also been taken up to generate awareness.
This was stated by Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37519
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Iam on exploration tour to Himachal
Dear Friends,
For next 7 days Iam going to Himachal Pradesh,India for exploration tour.This will be also a annual break.My family also needs this outing.
I love nature , the greens and want to breath fresh air,hope I will get it there.
The greens will give me more thoughts,more creativity,more ideas to come back and blog,work more better and with lot much energy for the Social cause.
The Passion for Elder care is making me more committed and so I with my Team launched Siver Innings - A dedicated website for Senior Citizens and their family members.
I would like you all to visit www.silverinnings.com and explore and know more about Elders.This website will give you all understanding about our Elders also it will help Elders and the society to make this world a much better place to live.
So happy blogging and surfing.
Take care,I will be back soon.Will miss blogging and communicating with you.Am I addicted???????
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
For next 7 days Iam going to Himachal Pradesh,India for exploration tour.This will be also a annual break.My family also needs this outing.
I love nature , the greens and want to breath fresh air,hope I will get it there.
The greens will give me more thoughts,more creativity,more ideas to come back and blog,work more better and with lot much energy for the Social cause.
The Passion for Elder care is making me more committed and so I with my Team launched Siver Innings - A dedicated website for Senior Citizens and their family members.
I would like you all to visit www.silverinnings.com and explore and know more about Elders.This website will give you all understanding about our Elders also it will help Elders and the society to make this world a much better place to live.
So happy blogging and surfing.
Take care,I will be back soon.Will miss blogging and communicating with you.Am I addicted???????
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Demolition of Sethu will lead to disaster: Expert
The country's top environmental scientist has warned that the demolition of the Adam's Bridge (Ramar Setu) for constructing the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project is a surefire recipe for ecological disaster. Prof C.S.P. Iyer, who led the Department of Atomic Energy's (DAE) scientific team for more than three decades and who chaired the Centre For Marine Analytical Reference and Standards (C-MARS) told this newspaper that the proposal to link Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea through the Sethu Channel would lead to an ‘ecological disaster' of the worst kind because water differed from ‘sea to sea'.
"The Gulf of Mannar (GoM), which has been declared as the world's rarest bio diversity reserve by UNESCO will be destroyed by this action. The project envisages the demolition of Adam's Bridge which will result in the mixing up of the waters of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay," said Prof Iyer.
Having done extensive research on the chemistry of water water in land as well as in sea, he pointed out that the water in GoM was very different from that of Palk Bay. "The salinity, temperature, acidity, nutrients, productivity and bio diversity differ in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. The moment the waters get mixed up, the entire ecology will be disturbed and that's the end of it," said Prof Iyer.
Prof Iyer, an emeritus professor at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), pointed out that the GoM harboured more than 3600 species of identified and unidentified flora and fauna. "Many endangered species like sea turtles, sea cow, and sea horse could be found only in the GoM. The Palk Bay has more than117 species of sea grass. It is the sea grass which protect the Tamil Nadu coast and provide shelter to sea cows," said Prof Iyer.
The DAE scientist said he strongly felt that the Adam's Bridge was a natural formation. "It is the naturally formed reef barriers which keep the waters of GoM and Palk Bay separated. Once we demolish this structure, the two water regimes will get mixed and the fragile ecology of the entire area would be impaired," he said.
He also said the Channel which requires dredging would cause turbidity. "This will destroy the valuable corals of the region. There is no way you can save the corals once you start the dredging. Though the sea is full of energy, it is equally sensitive," said Prof Iyer who is an authority on the chemistry of ocean water.
By Kumar Chellappan
Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1772
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
"The Gulf of Mannar (GoM), which has been declared as the world's rarest bio diversity reserve by UNESCO will be destroyed by this action. The project envisages the demolition of Adam's Bridge which will result in the mixing up of the waters of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay," said Prof Iyer.
Having done extensive research on the chemistry of water water in land as well as in sea, he pointed out that the water in GoM was very different from that of Palk Bay. "The salinity, temperature, acidity, nutrients, productivity and bio diversity differ in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. The moment the waters get mixed up, the entire ecology will be disturbed and that's the end of it," said Prof Iyer.
Prof Iyer, an emeritus professor at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), pointed out that the GoM harboured more than 3600 species of identified and unidentified flora and fauna. "Many endangered species like sea turtles, sea cow, and sea horse could be found only in the GoM. The Palk Bay has more than117 species of sea grass. It is the sea grass which protect the Tamil Nadu coast and provide shelter to sea cows," said Prof Iyer.
The DAE scientist said he strongly felt that the Adam's Bridge was a natural formation. "It is the naturally formed reef barriers which keep the waters of GoM and Palk Bay separated. Once we demolish this structure, the two water regimes will get mixed and the fragile ecology of the entire area would be impaired," he said.
He also said the Channel which requires dredging would cause turbidity. "This will destroy the valuable corals of the region. There is no way you can save the corals once you start the dredging. Though the sea is full of energy, it is equally sensitive," said Prof Iyer who is an authority on the chemistry of ocean water.
By Kumar Chellappan
Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1772
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Five villages become litigation-free, thanks to the efforts of one man
A legal battle can be more devastating than a jail term. Two Sharma families of Vishunapur village in Kaimur district know it well.
Dukhant Sharma, 55, was involved in legal battle with Ramjanam Sharma, 60, for 30 years. During this period, Dukhant's son Baban Sharma struggled to complete his education till Class VIII as the family's earnings from carpentry went towards litigation expenses, which ran into lakhs of rupees. It left them impoverished. The case of Ramjanam was no different.
Things changed after the panchayat elections in 2003. An energetic young man, Ashok Kumar Pandey, was elected the mukhiya of Kharenda panchayat, in which Vishunapur falls. Pandey persuaded the Sharmas to end their dispute. A compromise petition was filed in the district court. Today, the Sharmas are a content lot.
"In the past four years, we have saved lakhs of rupees by engaging ourselves in carpentry," said Baban. Ramjanam's family members, too, do not have to spend their earnings from the farm on litigations. "Mukhiyaji proved to be a god for me," Ramjanam said.
Pandey's intervention has helped more than 100 families in 13 villages of the panchayat end their disputes. The district legal cell has declared the villages of Uchinar, Vishunapur, Bhorya, Hurda Khurd and Sonao as litigation-free. The remaining villages will soon be added to the list.
Pandey has a knack and a passion for settling disputes, as was seen in the quarrel between Shyamlal Kahar and Harimohan Kahar. Shyamlal went to the police to file a case after he was injured in a scuffle with fellow villager Harimohan.
When Pandey learnt about the incident, he rushed to the police station and, with the help of the sub-inspector, worked out a compromise.
It took five years for Pandey to change the face of the crime-ridden panchayat, which was once terrorised by dacoit Mohan Bind. It was a goal he had set for himself in childhood. "I had resolved that one day I would make the area crime-free," said Pandey.
After completing his LLB from Banaras Hindu University in 1994, Pandey started taking keen interest in the affairs of the panchayat. "Even as I was studying, I set time aside to understand the problems of the people of my village," he said. That villagers had forced Pandey, a Brahmin, to contest elections from a village where the majority of people belonged to the extremely backward caste speaks for his popularity.
"I would not have been able to achieve this without the support of the district administration and the peace-loving people of my panchayat," he said.
Pandey's father, Vijay Shanker Pandey, who was the mukhiya of Kharenda for 25 years, is proud of his son. "I had not been able to make Kharenda crime-free despite several attempts during my term," said Vijay, who was elected to the Bhabhua Assembly seat in 1990. "I have advised him not to join any political party if he really wants to serve the people," he said.
Pandey's next mission is to make Kharenda, which has 6,500 voters, a 100 per cent literate panchayat, and poverty-free. The literacy rate of Kharenda is 65 per cent, compared to Bihar's 48 per cent.
"I am motivating people to send their children to school," he said. "I am sure when you come here next time, the panchayat will have 100 per cent literacy."
By Kanhaiah Bhelari
Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1794
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Dukhant Sharma, 55, was involved in legal battle with Ramjanam Sharma, 60, for 30 years. During this period, Dukhant's son Baban Sharma struggled to complete his education till Class VIII as the family's earnings from carpentry went towards litigation expenses, which ran into lakhs of rupees. It left them impoverished. The case of Ramjanam was no different.
Things changed after the panchayat elections in 2003. An energetic young man, Ashok Kumar Pandey, was elected the mukhiya of Kharenda panchayat, in which Vishunapur falls. Pandey persuaded the Sharmas to end their dispute. A compromise petition was filed in the district court. Today, the Sharmas are a content lot.
"In the past four years, we have saved lakhs of rupees by engaging ourselves in carpentry," said Baban. Ramjanam's family members, too, do not have to spend their earnings from the farm on litigations. "Mukhiyaji proved to be a god for me," Ramjanam said.
Pandey's intervention has helped more than 100 families in 13 villages of the panchayat end their disputes. The district legal cell has declared the villages of Uchinar, Vishunapur, Bhorya, Hurda Khurd and Sonao as litigation-free. The remaining villages will soon be added to the list.
Pandey has a knack and a passion for settling disputes, as was seen in the quarrel between Shyamlal Kahar and Harimohan Kahar. Shyamlal went to the police to file a case after he was injured in a scuffle with fellow villager Harimohan.
When Pandey learnt about the incident, he rushed to the police station and, with the help of the sub-inspector, worked out a compromise.
It took five years for Pandey to change the face of the crime-ridden panchayat, which was once terrorised by dacoit Mohan Bind. It was a goal he had set for himself in childhood. "I had resolved that one day I would make the area crime-free," said Pandey.
After completing his LLB from Banaras Hindu University in 1994, Pandey started taking keen interest in the affairs of the panchayat. "Even as I was studying, I set time aside to understand the problems of the people of my village," he said. That villagers had forced Pandey, a Brahmin, to contest elections from a village where the majority of people belonged to the extremely backward caste speaks for his popularity.
"I would not have been able to achieve this without the support of the district administration and the peace-loving people of my panchayat," he said.
Pandey's father, Vijay Shanker Pandey, who was the mukhiya of Kharenda for 25 years, is proud of his son. "I had not been able to make Kharenda crime-free despite several attempts during my term," said Vijay, who was elected to the Bhabhua Assembly seat in 1990. "I have advised him not to join any political party if he really wants to serve the people," he said.
Pandey's next mission is to make Kharenda, which has 6,500 voters, a 100 per cent literate panchayat, and poverty-free. The literacy rate of Kharenda is 65 per cent, compared to Bihar's 48 per cent.
"I am motivating people to send their children to school," he said. "I am sure when you come here next time, the panchayat will have 100 per cent literacy."
By Kanhaiah Bhelari
Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1794
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
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