[chhattisgarh-net] Digest Number 1824

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:26:24 -0700

Title: chhattisgarh-net

Messages In This Digest (7 Messages)

Messages

1.

Maoists attack Nalco mine, 7 jawans killed

Posted by: "Shubhranshu Choudhary" s...@cgnet.in

Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:41 am (PDT)



Maoists attack Nalco mine, 7 jawans killed
13 Apr 2009, 1018 hrs IST, PTI

BHUBANESWAR: Seven CISF jawans and four Maoist guerillas were killed
in a gunfight following a daring attack by the ultras on a
well-guarded
armoury and bauxite mine of NALCO in Orissa's Koraput district, police
said on Monday. ( Watch )

Over 100 workers present in the mine during the attack were safe.

Before fleeing from the spot, the heavily-armed Maoists numbering
about 200, including some women, looted the CISF armoury in the mining
area which contained huge quantities of sophisticated arms and
ammunition as well as explosives.

"Seven jawans of CISF posted at the hilltop bauxite mines in Damanjodi
area were killed in the gunbattle that continued till early morning
after the Maoists attacked it last night," Director General of Police
M M Praharaj said.

Four Maoists were also killed in the encounter and two rifles were
seized from the site, he said, adding more casualties were not ruled
out as the entire area was still being searched after the ultras fled
with weapons under the cover of darkness.

NALCO Chairman and Managing Directror C R Pradhan said all the
employees were safe and have been set free.

"They were set free at around six in the mornign after the special
operation group reached the spot," he said.

The well planned attack, apparently aimed at disrupting the upcoming
polls and loot explosives, took place shortly after 9.30 pm last night
in Asia's biggest bauxite mines.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Orissa-mine-siege-ends-workers-set-free/articleshow/4392994.cms

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
2.

The Hinduised face of Bastar’s tribals

Posted by: "Shubhranshu Choudhary" s...@cgnet.in

Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:10 pm (PDT)



The Hinduised face of Bastar€ ¢â’ ’¹s tribals
Aarti Dhar
Jagdalpur * BJP is reaping the rewards of the silent work done over decades
by RSS organisations

For people who worshipped nature and knew only one God (Buddhadev) the new
deities are now Shiva, Durga and Hanuman. Chanting of the Gayatri mantra,
Hanuman Chalisa and Vande Mataram appears to come naturally to them; and
Gayatri Parivar, the Brahma Kumaris, Art of Living and Baba Ramdev are now
their inspiration.

Welcome to the new face of tribal culturein Chhattisgarh€ ¢â’ ’¹s Bastar region:
temples on the roadsides, Ramlila on stage and the worship of Ganesha during
the annual 10-day Ganesha festival.

This changed socio-religious character of the tribal population has also
impacted on the voting pattern, the beneficiary being the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP).

The BJP is now reaping the rewards of a long campaign by the various outfits
of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). This tribal support has greatly
strengthened the party in the State. Right from the 2003 Assembly elections,
the tribal vote has been polled in favour of the BJP and the trend is likely
to continue in 2009, unless something dramatic happens.

The BJP now has a dedicated cadre in terms of voters. € ¢â’ ’¼The biggest
beneficiary of the silent work carried out by the RSS outfits has been the
BJP,€ ¢â’ ’½ says Yogendra Kaushik of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. Decades ago when
the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and its related organisations started
work in the tribal regions of the State € ¢â’ ’´ Bastar and Surguja € ¢â’ ’´ it was to
provide basic amenities like healthcare and education that would also help
check the increasing influence of Christian missionaries.

The RSS started institutions like the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams, Ekal Vidyalaya
and Saraswati Shishu Mandirs to provide informal education to tribal
children that also included lessons on Indian € ¢â’ ’¼culture, religion and
tradition.€ ¢â’ ’½ Basic healthcare was provided by women through € ¢â’ ’¼Arogya Vidhi€ ¢â’ ’½ or
alternative medicine.

The schools and ashrams were opened in areas where no government facility
was available; the children were subsequently shifted to government schools,
but the lessons in Hindutva continued to ensure that they were not lured by
the Church or Left ideologies. € ¢â’ ’¼We have also lost teachers to naxalites, who
have opposed our work tooth and nail. It is not easy for us,€ ¢â’ ’½ Mr. Kaushik
explains.

The changed politics has become more evident in the recent past with tribals
shifting their support from the Congress to the BJP.

The young men and women coming out of these institutions year after year
swell the cadres of the Hindutva organisations. Over 500 Ekal Vidyalayas are
functioning in the Bastar region alone. Vanvasi Kalyan Asanvasi Kalyan
Ashrams are present in Orchha, Lanjoda, Barsur and Bhanpuri where children
from Salwa Judum camps have also been enrolled.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/14/stories/2009041450831700.htm

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
3.

Baba Ramdev and pollution in Raipur

Posted by: "savebastar" savebas...@ymail.com   savebastar

Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:13 pm (PDT)



Dear friends,

Yesterday Baba Ramdev had a massive rally in Raipur under his "Swabhiman Trust" where he and his friends spoke of bringing back black money from abroad,100% vote,pollution in Raipur etc.Looks like over the years baba has become very naive.No matter how much he tried to claim that he has nothing to do with any political parties his "Swabhiman Trust" looked more like a frontal organization of the BJP.

The man incharge of promoting "Swabhiman Trust" in raipur was none other than Suresh Goyal from the group Goyal TMT,Sponge Iron Units,Rolling Mills and what not which are majorly contributing to the pollution in Raipur.

So Ramdev should put his house in order first when he speaks on pollution because his right-hand man in Raipur is a major polluter.

Prabhat

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
4.

'Double whammy' malaria drug hope

Posted by: "CGNet" cgnet...@gmail.com

Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:16 pm (PDT)



'Double whammy' malaria drug hope

* A new "double whammy" malaria drug which works on its own and reverses
resistance to other drugs is being developed by US researchers. *

The drug contains a chemical which prevents the malaria parasite getting rid
of a toxic by-product of feeding on red blood cells.

It also disables a genetic defence that prevents the existing drugs
chloroquine and quinine working, Nature reports.

But the team says it could be at least 10 years before the drug is
available.

There are around 250 million cases of malaria and 880,000 deaths worldwide
each year.

* Food *

The drug, developed by Jane Kelly and colleagues at Portland State
University, is called an acridone derivative.

It targets the way mosquitoes digest haemoglobin in red blood cells, from
which they take amino acids as their food.

A substance called haem, a by-product of this process, is toxic to the
malaria parasites, carried by mosquitoes, so they have to convert it into a
pigment called haemozoin.

This drug prevents that conversion taking place, meaning the toxic pigment
remains.
€ ¢â’ ’¼ * We would hope to make existing drugs like chloroquine and quinine
useful again * € ¢â’ ’½
Dr Michael Riscoe, Portland State University

It is the same effect as that of chloroquine and quinine.

But the researchers have found that, as well as working on its own, the
acridone can restore and enhance the effectiveness of these other drugs too.

Malaraia parasites have developed a genetic mutation preventing chloroquine
and quinine absorption, and expelling them from the parasite's body.

This new drug is able to disable that defence mechanism, allowing the
chloroquine and quinine to do their job.

The researchers have successfully tested the compound in the lab and on
mice, however they need to do more animal studies on the safety and
effectiveness of the drug before they move on to human studies.

It is also relatively inexpensive to make and has so far appeared to be safe
in tests.

* '10 years' *

Dr Mike Riscoe from Portland State University who worked on the study, said:
"What we wanted was to design a molecule that would be of itself an
antimalarial drug, but that would have the power to work together with drugs
like chloroquine and quinine, even against parasites that were resistant to
those drugs.

"We would hope to make existing drugs like chloroquine and quinine useful
again, so combining those with this new one could help to combat the rising
tide of drug resistance in this neglected disease.

But Dr Jane Kelly, who led the research, warned: "In the pharmaceutical
industry, it can take 10 years and $1bn for a drug to be usable in humans,
so we are still a long way away from that."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7987459.stm
Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
5.

Loksabha  Chunav -2009 aur Bastar

Posted by: "Prabhat Shukla" pshukla_prab...@rediffmail.com

Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:48 pm (PDT)



Mere dosto,

Loksabha chunav 2009 ka samay aa chuka hai. aur kaunsi sarkar aayegi,kaun banega desh ka pradhanmantri yah prasan sabhi ke man me honge aur sabhi dalo ke chunav ke liye prachar prasar chalu hai .par hame is beech Bastar me ,desh me naxal/aatankvaad ke verodhi gatividhiyo ko bhul nahi jana chahiye.aur sarkar ko kadi suraksha uyavastha ka intjaam karna hoga.

Bastar me hamne har chunav chahe vaah vidhansabha ho ya loksabha ho hamare desh ke javan sipahi aur aam janta ne Loktantra kee raksha ke liye apne pran gavaye hai.islye nayee sarkar kaa chunaav karte samay surksha vayavastha ko bhi dhyan rakhana hoga.

Prabhat Shukla


Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
6.

Insider role suspected in Nalco attack

Posted by: "Shubhranshu Choudhary" s...@cgnet.in

Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:04 pm (PDT)



Insider role suspected in Nalco attack 14 Apr 2009, 0504 hrs IST, Vishwa
Mohan, TNN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Insider-role-suspected-in-Nalco-attack/articleshow/4397078.cms

NEW DELHI: Security agencies suspect that the attack on Nalco's bauxite
mine in Orissa's Koraput district on Sunday, where naxalites killed 10
CISF jawans, could not have happened without `insider' information.

Agencies suspect that somebody in the company or local police might have
passed information of movement of explosive laden vehicle -- meant for the
mine -- to the Red ultras, leading to hundreds of heavily-armed naxalites
attacking the site and looting huge quantity of explosives.

Home ministry officials wondered how such information could be leaked when
the movement of vehicles carrying explosives was generally planned secretly
considering the vulnerability of such consignment in naxal affected regions.

"CISF, which provides security to the mines, has been asked to probe the
matter. Besides, the paramilitary force has also been asked to beef up its
security at all PSUs which fall in Red zones," said a senior official.

CISF chief N R Das, meanwhile, rushed to Orissa to take stock of the
situation. The home ministry, on its part, provided additional helicopters
and other logistics to Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for stepping up
anti-naxal operations in all these states.

These three states have, of late, witnessed spurt in violence, leading to
the killing of 28 security personnel (CRPF, CISF and state police) in the
past one week € ¢â’ ’´ the highest casualties recorded by these forces in the last
six months. Incidentally, all the naxal attacks took place in areas which
will go to polls in the first phase on April 16.

Admitting that the attacks were planned by ultras to scare people from
taking part in elections, home secretary Madhukar Gupta said, "With a view
to vitiating the atmosphere, they (Maoists) have not only been holding
meetings and putting up posters and banners in certain affected states, but
have also indulged in wanton violence during the last couple of weeks."

Putting up a brave face following the reverses, Gupta said "pro-active
approach" by paramilitary forces in the run-up to elections had led to spurt
in Maoist violence. In these incidents, at least 19 naxals have been killed
in the past week and weapons and communication equipment recovered from
them, he added.

Meanwhile, keeping in view possibilities of naxal groups disrupting the poll
process, the security establishment had alerted all states to take firm
measures to prevent such activities.

"The states have been urged to take measures to boost the confidence of the
electorate, including steps to counter the propaganda campaign launched by
naxals in their bid to deprive people of their democratic rights," Gupta
said.

Eighteen naxal-affected parliamentary constituencies will go to polls in the
first phase. These constituencies are Khammam, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar and
Warangal in Andhra Pradesh; Chatra, Khunti, Palamau, Kodarma, Lohardaga and
Hazaribagh in Jharkhand; Bhandara-Gondia and Gadchiroli-Chimur in
Maharashtra; Gaya, Jahanabad and Aurangabad in Bihar; and Koraput, Sambalpur
and Sundargarh in Orissa.
Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
7.

4 farmers kill themselves every day, in Re 1 rice land

Posted by: "Anoop Saha" anoops...@yahoo.com   anoopsaha

Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:48 pm (PDT)



4 farmers kill themselves every day, in Re 1 rice land

While the governmentspeaks about India as a superpower in the making, in Chhattisgarh Krishnakumar P discovers the cycle of exploitation continues for India's villagers without respite.

This day last year, Jamuna Lal Patel, a 46-year-old paddy farmer in Durg,Chhattisgarh, was going about overseeing the preparations for the
wedding of his only daughter. That day, a mail landed at his doorstep
asking him to repay a loan he had taken from the bank. Even
before he had arranged his daughter's wedding, Lal knew he had a loan
to repay and had started planning accordingly. But what shocked the
farmer from Kanharpuri village in Durg district was the amount. He had
taken a loan of Rs 166,000. The bank notice demanded Rs 278,000. "After the maang patra (demand)
came, he became very disturbed. He tried meeting the bank authorities,
but they were of no help. On April 13, when I went to farm I found my
brother in the fields, dead," Jamuna Lal's brother Pila Ram Patel
recalls. The
groom's family cancelled the wedding. It would be close to a year
before the girl got married to another person. The banking system
doesn't stop for personal tragedies though. The bank started hounding
Pila Ram. "I told them if it is a matter of 166,000 I would repay it
the very same day. But I would never repay the inflated amount without
a review," he said.What
irked Pila Ram was the manner in which the bank kept at him. "That was
when I realised. If the banks are doing this to the family of a
mid-level farmer -- and my brother was also the sarpanch of the village
-- imagine what the poor and the powerless must be going through," he
adds.

Yashwant Devangar's father Ram was one of those poor and
powerless people Pila Ram is talking about. The farmer from Bhemtara
had taken a loan of Rs 5,000. It was not from a bank, but a
moneylender. The interest was so high that he had to sell his two acre
plot of land for Rs 17,000 to repay the loan. But the moneylender
wanted more. And one day, Yashwant saw his father hanging from a tree
on the farm. His
mother took ill soon after and he had to take a loan of Rs 20,000 from
the bank. But the treatment couldn't save his grieving mother. But
where the moneylender differed from the bank was that he did not hound
the family. He had gotten back more than Rs 80,000 on a loan of Rs
5,000.

Yashwant still has the bank loan he took for his mother's
treatment to pay off. And the responsibility of providing for his three
younger brothers and sister has fallen on him. Also, Yashwant doesn't
own any land anymore.Local
officials say Durg is the number one district in the state when it
comes to agriculture. But the district saw 206 farmers killing
themselves in 2007. Among the district's problems are poor rainfall and
insufficient irrigation facilities. That was why Jamuna Lal took taken
the bank loan. "His borewell had failed and he had to spend a lot on
redoing the set-up," says his brother Pila Ram.What
angers the farming community in the region is the state government's
lack of interest in solving their problems. Ironically, the
Chhattisgarh government is a pioneer in cheap rice schemes. For two
years now, the government has been offering rice at Rs 3 for the poor
and Rs 2 for the very poor. The Bharatiya Janata Party [Images]
government rode back to power last December on the back of the promise
to offer rice at Rs 1. This scheme would have come into effect on April
1, but for the imposition of the Election Commission's Model Code of
Conduct for the elections.

"Let them give rice for even free.
But they have to do something for the farmers who are producing the
rice. They have to subsidise farm equipment for them," says a
government official in Durg who did not want to be named for this
report. Though he agreed that the situation is bad (7 blocks in the
district have been declared drought-hit) the official denied that any
farmers had committed suicide in Durg. "The rate of farmer suicides in Durg is zero," claims District Collector Thakur Ram Singh.Ever since the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh [Images],
Chhattisgarh has topped the farmer suicide rate charts. According to
figures issued by the National Crime Record Bureau, 1,600 farmers
committed suicide in Chhattisgarh in 2007. "That is four farmers every
day," says Subranshu Choudhary, an activist who runs the forum CGNet.

While
there is at least a semblance to accept, if not fully address, the
problem in states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh where farmers
commit suicide, the Chhattisgarh government claims the NCRB figures are
flawed. "The NCRB gets the figures from the state police. So someone is
lying here. Let the chief minister decide whether it is his government
or his police," says Choudhary.On
the government's claim that even if farmers are committing suicide it
could be due to reasons unrelated to farming distress, he says, "If
there are 50 teachers in a place and 5 of them commit suicide, this
argument holds. But this is like 7 out of 10 teachers committing
suicide. In that case, isn't something wrong with the profession? Let
them take any route to solve the problem. But first let them
acknowledge that there is a problem."The
government apathy has led to anger among farmers. Though right now,
they do not know how to express their anger, the frustration at being
ignored by successive state governments is showing. "They
are giving rice at two rupees and soon it will be one rupee. I am
warning them. If they don't anything about our plight, there won't be
any rice to dole out. What will they do then?" asks Yashwant Devangar.
"There will only be our blood left. Will they drink that?"

http://election.rediff.com/special/2009/apr/13/four-farmers-die-every-day-in-chhattisgarh.htm

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)
Recent Activity
Visit Your Group
Y! Groups blog

the best source

for the latest

scoop on Groups.

Yahoo! Groups

w/ John McEnroe

Join the All-Bran

Day 10 Club.

Yahoo! Groups

Stay healthy

and discover other

people who can help.

Need to Reply?

Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily Digest.

Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web
Visit our website: http://www.cgnet.in

Reply via email to