Correspondent SIVASAGAR, Feb 11 – Meme as the people of the town used to call the deaf and dumb 14/15 year old familiar girl roaming about the streets in rags and a begging bowl in hand took leave of Sivasagar recently and headed towards Digboi with a new identity and a new name 'Gauri'.The unfortunate child probably left on the street by her hard-hearted parents when she was barely 3/4 year old was a painful blot on the psyche of the conscientious citizens of the town over the years, finally met her saviour in the form of Ram Krishna Sewa Ashram, Digboi. Reading about the unfortunate girl in a report filed by a young journalist Muktab Hussain in the Janambhumi , the Sewa Ashram society in Jorhat and Digboi decided to adopt the girl and cotacted Sivasagar DC Nawab Mamud Hussain. The deputy commisioner accordingly completed the formalities and handed over the girl to the members of the Ashram.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Meme finds new home at Digboi
Cancellation of registration of nursing home demanded
DIBRUGARH, Feb 11: The Dibrugarh district unit of Sadou Asom Mottock Yuba-Chatra Sanmilan (SAMYCS) alleged that a local nursing home was involved in organ trade during a press meet held here today. The statement comes after an employee of Oil India Limited (OIL), Dharampal Balmiki, brought the allegation that the very same establishment stole one of his kidneys. According to Balmiki, he was admitted in Damanis Nursing Home on August 5, 2003 and operated on for kidney stones on August 11. He discovered about his missing organ after he underwent an ultrasound in November last year. The SAMYCS district committee said that the nursing home failed to come up with certain facts demanded by various organizations. It demanded cancellation of registration of the establishment and a high-level inquiry into the matter. The organization further said the nursing home should be closed till the inquiry is concluded.
Irradiator blood machine commissioned at AMCH
DIBRUGARH, Feb 11: Assam Medical College and Hospital has commissioned a Blood Irradiator machine for the first time in the Northeast region. The blood irradiator, indigenously developed by the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology unit of DAE, is received as grant-in-aid from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India for blood transfusion for the needy patients. However, the process is associated with certain risk factors, developed during and in post-blood transfusion in patients, commonly known as Host versus graft diseases (T-GVHD) mostly afflicting patients with poor immunity complex. With a view to create awareness on irradiated blood and blood products, Assam Medical College will be conducting one-day seminar in the month of March 2009 on a date to be announced, M Rahman, Head of Radio Immuno Assay Centre (RIA Centre), Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh stated this.
LIC extends grant to old-age home
DIBRUGARH, Feb 11: The Jorhat division of LIC has extended help towards the development of the old-age home and orphanage run by International Brotherhood Mission. Senior divisional manager UK Navani handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the secretary of the Mission Acharyya Bhikshu Karuna Shastri at a function held yesterday. This is the first installment of the Rs 23 lakh financial grant. The Mission was established in 1973 and it runs the BR Ambedkar Idol Academy where 140 students are presently studying. Speaking on the occasion, Navani described the various developmental works undertaken by LIC. LIC Sales Manager AK Basumatary was also present.
11 absconding criminals surrender
MANGALDAI, Feb 11: While the char areas of the river Brahmaputra in Darrang district have almost been transformed into a safe haven for the organized gang of criminals, who even gathered the courage to kidnap four policemen on duty from Guwahati city recently and to confine them in a char area falls under the jurisdiction of Sipajhar police station in Darrang district, at the same time the Sipajhar police achieved a breakthrough as a total number of 11 absconding criminals have surrendered before the police at Sipajhar on February 9. The surrendered criminals of Bagher Char of Fuhuratoli under Sipajhar police station are Hasim Uddin, Madan Ali, Karim Ali, Abdul Ali Kuddus Ali, Kasem Ali, Shobhan Ali, Abdul Sheikh, Mahammad Ali, Moksed Ali and Safar Ali. All the surrendered absconding accused persons are involved in Sipajhar PS Case No 186/03, 42/04, 30/09 and 38/09. Of these accused persons, Safar Ali is involved in the recent attack on the indigenous farmers at Kuruwa area in Darrang district. Sub Inspector J Dutta, officer in-charge of Sipajhar police station, with active cooperation from Abdul Salam, secretary of Bagher Char Village Defence Party, and several other leading citizens of the locality has took the initiative for the surrender of these absconding accused persons.
Literacy Situation in India
The reports point out the poor picture of the total literacy campaign taken up by various countries including India.101 of 127 countries are far from achieving total literacy.72 countries would not succeed in bringing down their adult illiteracy levels by half by 2015.India is already at the bottom of the list.The number of out of school fell most dramatically in South and West Asia from 31 million in 1999 to 17 million in 2005.Girls form 66% of the out of school children in this region.In India nearly 70 lakh children are out of school.India is also among the 17 countries where survival for boys is higher than girls in primary education. Pakistan and Nepal have a better chance of surviving till the last grade of primary school.
The report talks highly of initiatives like the Sarva Shiksha Abiyan and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya launched by India.The report calls Edusat a revolution launched to meet the demand for greater access to 10,000 new schools every year.With barely 4.1% of GNP being spent on education by India,the report says India receives 11% of all aid that comes from overseas funding agencies to basic education in South and West Asia.
The report admits that there is a large gap between the NER as calculated at the national level and that at the international level mainly due to disputed population data.
India State of the World’s Children 2009- UNICEF Report
An Indian woman is 350 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy –related complications than women in America or England. For every mother who dies, 20 others suffer pregnancy related illness. Around 10 million women annually experience such adverse outcomes. Despite an increase in institutional deliveries, 60% of pregnant women still deliver their babies at home. In India more than 2/3 of all maternal deaths occur in a handful of states- UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkand, Orissa, MP, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam. In UP one in every 42 women faces risk of maternal death compared to 1 in 500 women in Kerala.
The main medical causes of maternal deaths are:
Abortion: 8%
Obstructed labor: 5%
Hypertensive disorders: 5%
Sepsis: 11%
Hemorrhage: 38%
Other conditions: 34%
In India the states with the top five neonatal mortality rates are
Orissa- 52 deaths /1000 live births
Madhya Pradesh- 51/1000 live births
Uttar Pradesh- 46/1000 live births
Rajasthan- 45 /1000 live births
Chattisgarh- 43/1000 live births
Source: http://azadindia.org/social-issues/index.html
Govt has fulfilled all its commitments: President
Honourable Members, I convey my good wishes to you and to all our people. On behalf of all of us, let me greet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. We are happy that he is recuperating fast. We wish him a speedy recovery for continuing with his onerous responsibilities. I also convey my special greetings to members of our security forces keeping vigil to protect us.
We have been through an eventful year — a year that challenged our open society and our open economy. A year that tested by fire the principles that our country has always lived by-communal amity, tolerance, compassion, justice and peaceful coexistence.
Looking back, we see hope. We have not only withstood the challenges but also emerged stronger. The spirit of ordinary people rising together as one overcame the challenge to our nation from terrorist violence. The calibrated and prudent economic reform pursued by our government is helping us to weather the extreme adversities of the global economic meltdown.
In both these disruptive events, it was our abiding commitment to the principles of democracy that has been our strength. Our economic reform was catalysed through our deliberative democracy. Challenges to our nationhood were again thwarted by our functioning democracy.
The record turnout of people in Jammu and Kashmir to cast their votes in the elections to the State Assembly in a peaceful atmosphere was a resounding affirmation of their faith in democracy and a rejection of terrorism and violence. The elections have brought new hope to the people of that state.
Our functioning democracy has set for my government exacting standards to judge its performance. People measure government not on the basis of what it says but on the basis of what it does. In a democracy, government is measured on a simple maxim aam admi ko kya mila? When democratic, secular, progressive forces came together in this government it sought to make itself accountable to the people through a National Common Minimum Programme.
Today, after close to five years in office, my government believes that it has acted on nearly all the commitments made to the people through the National Common Minimum Programme.
The commitment to inclusive development articulated in the NCMP has been translated into laws, policies and programmes by my government. A right to work for people in our rural areas was guaranteed through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008, will facilitate provision of social security to 43 crore unorganized workers. Through the Act on Right to Information, government has been held accountable to citizens for governance.
Through the Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, historical injustice to tribes and traditional forest dwellers was corrected to confer land rights. A Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act ensured reservation to students of Other Backward Classes in educational institutions.
A Bill on Right to Education, a Bill for amending the Land Acquisition Act along with a new Bill for Rehabilitation and Resettlement and a Constitution Amendment Bill providing for Reservation for Women in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures stand introduced in Parliament.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which now covers the whole country, is the first such intervention anywhere in the world where a country has guaranteed employment for a specified number of days to any category of citizens.
In 2007-08, nearly 3.4 crore rural households were provided employment under this programme. Out of those provided work, 55 per cent belonged to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and 49 per cent was women.
Over 46 lakh works have been taken up under the programme so far of which 19 lakh have been completed. Water conservation, irrigation and land development account for 83 per cent of the work in 2008-09 contributing to agricultural productivity. It has consolidated grassroots democracy working through panchayats.
Payments under the programme are being effected through post offices and bank accounts which now hold nearly 6 crore account holders making it a remarkable case of financial inclusion. This programme is keenly watched all over the world as an Indian innovation in combining the twin objectives of providing for consumption expenditure of the poor as well as improving rural productivity and income.
Results of the programme in the last three years show increased agricultural productivity, reduced migration and increase in wage rates for agricultural employment across the country. As India is entering the sixtieth year of the republic, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is moving India towards a Republic of Work.
Soruce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Presidents_address_to_Parliament/articleshow/4117144.cms
Bangarappa quits SP, to join Congress
"I have resigned from my Lok Sabha seat Shimoga as well as from the Samajwadi Party. I submitted my resignation to the Speaker and he has accepted it," Bangarappa told reporters outside Parliament house.
The former Congress leader said he has sought an appointment with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
He said that he decided to quit SP and join the Congress as he felt that BJP's winning assembly election in Karnataka was "not a good sign and it's high time all secular parties unite to defeat the communal forces".
To a question whether he resigned from SP due to the recent bonhomie between that party and former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, Bangarappa said, "This is not the reason".
He declined to comment on whether his resignation from the SP will affect the alliance talks between Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party.
"Such things happen. They will be sorted out," he said.
Soruce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ex-Karnataka_CM_Bangarappa_quits_SP_to_join_Cong/articleshow/4117357.cms
Industrial growth turns negative by 2%
Earlier, minister for external affairs Pranab Mukherjee said the Indian economy will grow by 7 per cent this fiscal even as recent projections by global agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say that advanced countries' economies would shrink by 2 per cent.
"I am proud to say that in 2008-09 India will still grow by 7 per cent," said Mukherjee while addressing the 81st annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
He referred to the latest projections for growth by IMF that says advanced countries would shrink by 2 per cent.
However Mukherjee also said that it was not going to be a smooth ride for India.
"India faces a special challenge from the international financial crisis. In a globalised economy while India cannot be immune to the impact of the crisis, we have to address this on many fronts," he said.
Maintaining that the government would be looking at several avenues to spur growth, Mukherjee said: "There is a need to sustain our foreign trade, revive foreign investment and generate domestic demand in order to maintain our growth rate which is essential to the uplift of the multitude below poverty line."
"India remains committed to work with its friends including the G20 for devising a new global financial structure," he added.
Soruce: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Industrial_production_down_by_2/articleshow/4116900.cms
