Cleaning Ganga 'doable', but one needs right approach, money & time: German official

"When we Germans do something, we do it thoroughly," Mr Wieck said.

Cleaning river Ganga though is a gigantic task, it is very much "doable and achieve-able", a senor German diplomat said here on Thursday.
"It is doable and achieve-able....," Jasper Wieck, Charged D' Affairs in German embassy in India, told reporters here.
"We can share with you from the experience of cleaning two rivers in Germany including Rhine is that things are doable. You can turn around a largely polluted river into a one with clean water where you can swim without any risk," he said.

For this essentially one would need three things, he said adding - "First of all, time, second money and third you have to have the right approach".
It is in the context of 'approach' he said in 2015 the German government committed to the Indian government to invest interest subsidised loan up to 120 million EUR through the German Development Bank KFW.

German embassy officials here said that the Uttarakhand government has proposed KFW to support investments totalling EUR 150 million out of which EUR 120 million shall be financed through an interest subsidised loan and EUR 30 million shall be contribution of the state of Uttarakhand.
Germany is part of the project in India as part of the Namami Gange project that started launched by the Modi government in 2014.

A joint project has been already taken up with the target to reduce the inflow of untreated wastewater in the river Ganga in order to improve the quality of the river.

The project also envisages to extend and improve the supply of urban population with environmentally friendly infrastructure, especially sewage infrastructure in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
"In Germany, we required 30 years to clean river Rhine," Mr Wieck said.
There was also requirement of huge amount of Euro 45 billion.
Answering questions, he said most cumbersome issue that needs to laid emphasis with regard cleaning Ganga would be "to reduce the amount of waste water".

"There is also need to reduce the toxicity of the waste water. This goes into over all environment friendly methods and thus it is linked to the behavioural changes.
There is also need for having enough sewage treatment plants, he said.
To a question, he said, the cooperation, the German team working on the project is getting, has been fairly satisfactory. "We have been accepted with open arms," he said.
"When we Germans do something, we do it thoroughly," Mr Wieck said.

Vajpayee's 'Ayodhya role' involved advising Narasimha Rao to speak to Shekhawat

The ‘moderate philosopher’ Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s relationship vis-a-vis the the RSS, it’s ideological commitment as also his role during Ayodhya movement will remain unfathomable for his admirers and historians. One lesser debated chapter is when in the run-up to the gory episode of December 1992 the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had approached his ‘friend’ Vajpayee for help to find a negotiated settlement on the Temple movement.  

The BJP stalwart had suggested him to talk to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, another BJP veteran. 

Once talks were started and at one point, the then Prime Minister even ignored the warnings from Sharad Pawar, his Defence Minister, not to trust BJP leaders. “P V Narasimha Rao had faith in Vajpayee and thus Shekhawat was immediately invited for talks in the PMO. Initially even Home Minister S B Chavan did not know about the exact nature of talks,” sources said.

“Three to four rounds of discussions took place between Shekhawat and Rao and Chavan was taken into confidence when it was zeroed down the RSS and VHP will agree that ‘disputed shrine’ be referred to the Supreme Court for an opinion,” the source said. Narasimha Rao trusted Vajpayee and other BJP leaders' assurance that they would ‘abide’ by the rule of law and protect the Masjid as was assured to the Supreme Court by the then UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. 

“So much was Rao’s faith in a section of BJP and RSS leaders especially after he started parleys with Shekhawat that the then Defence Minister Sharad Pawar and another minister Subodh Kant Sahay’s warnings not to trust Sangh Parivar were ignored,” says a source in the NCP.

Old timers in the BJP recall that Vajpayee, L K Advani and M M Joshi eagerly participated in the movement and Vajpayee also “had planned to go to Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, but decided not to do so when he saw the aggressive mood”. On December 5, 1992 – a day before the demolition of the historic Babri Masjid, Late Vajpayee had told a gathering in Lucknow that : “The Supreme Court has allowed Bhajan-Kirtan. One man cannot perform Bhajan alone. And many people need to gather for kirtan”, according to reports in ‘Outlook’ magazine and also mentioned in few books on the temple movement.

However, in a television interview later Vajpayee had said, “It (demolition) should not have happened. We tried to prevent it, but we did not succeed...We are sorry for that”.

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In this context, he blamed the mega episode to “one section of Kar Sevaks” and lamented that they went out of control and “they did something which was not to be done”.
In another media interaction, Vajpayee had termed December 6 (1992) development as “BJP’s worst miscalculation .....as a categorical assurance was given” to protect the Babri Masjid.
The opposition leaders, including from the Left parties, were not much convinced of Vajpayee’s statement and had dismissed these as “damage control exercise”.

“Ayodhya December 6, 1992 was also a proof that the RSS was fully in control of the movement and BJP was clear about its Hindu identity,” CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta had said later. It may be pointed out here that the Commission M S Liberhan, formed on December 16, 1992, in its report submitted in 2009, even named Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other BJP leaders as “pseudo moderates” saying all them had “violated the trust of the people”.

Ironically, the Liberhan Commission report had spared the Rao government of any severe criticism.

The report, was, however thrashed by the BJP leaders during the Parliament debate in November 2009.

Late Vajpayee’s advise to party colleagues when they were desperate to enhance base in Uttar Pradesh was that the more BJP would try to search for a short-cut to power by way of strategies that reflect historical amnesia, the more difficult it would be. 

ends

Vajpayee's Last Journey

New Delhi, Aug. 17 A grateful nation bid a teary farewell to Bharat Ratna former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee whose mortal remains were consigned to flames with full state honours here on Friday evening.

Amid chanting of Vedic hymns, Vajpayee's adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya

performed the last rites. She was joined by her daughter Niharika, who received the national flag 

which had been draped on the casket carrying the mortal remains of former Prime Minister.

As the chanting of peace Mantras began, the body of Vajpayee was taken to the funeral deck, where sandalwood pyre had been prepared. The funeral pyre was lit by Vajpayee's daughter Namita at 

1656 hours and a sea of moist eyed humanity bid final adieu to their beloved leader.

Gun salute was given by the armed forces as mourners chanted slogans 'Bharat Mata ki jai' and 'Atalji Amar Rahe'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked visibly moved and could not conceal his emotions.

As the armed forces gave a gun salute to the departed leader, a pall of gloom descended over the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

The President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan laid floral wreaths on Vajpayee's mortal remains.

The buglers sounded last post at 1614 hours as all dignitaries stood up to pay their last respect to the departed leader and observed two minutes silence.

Among the mourners included L K Advani, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Sushma Swaraj, Harsh Vardhan, Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress leaders Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Ghulam Nabi Azad, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambi Durai and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Among the foreign dignitaries were Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and former 

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. 

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali and Napal Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali also laid wreaths.

Mr Vajpayee's final journey to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on the banks of river Yamuna began from the BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, a nearly five-kilometre long route which was packed with people from all walks of life.

The funeral procession began at around 1400 hours and reached Smriti Sthal 90 minutes later. A sombre looking Modi was seen walking along with BJP chief Amit Shah

and other party leaders. There were onlookers who clicked selfies and recorded the momentous occasion on mobile, while others tossed flowers.

Hundreds of Vajpayee admirers waved a final goodbye to the man whom many simply called "Atalji". Forty-five-year-old Naushad Ali Khan, a resident of East Delhi, said despite his utmost political differences with the BJP, he had great respect and faith in the leadership of 'Atalji'.

Military truck which pulled the flower bedecked cortege in which Mr. Vajpayee's body was placed waded through crowded road. In a rare gesture and putting all protocol norms at bay, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, looking sombre, walked a step behind the cortege. He was accompanied by BJP president Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

  

Upon reaching the Smriti Sthal, the military cortege was escorted by slow marching columns of personnel drawn from the three services Army, Navy and Air Force walked ahead of the funeral procession. The route of Mr. Vajpayee's final journey was lined with thousands of mourners who showered rose petals on the cortege as it passed through ITO, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Netaji Subhash Marg before reaching Smriti Sthal. Not expecting the Prime Minister to walk along the entire route, mourners chanted ``Atalji Amar Rahe'' and ``Jab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega, Atalji ka Naam Rahega''.

The shower of rose petals was such that the entire cortege was covered with flowers.

Mobile phones were up in the air in the hands of people who wanted to click a final shot and capture the moment. The deluge of mourners, many old timers said, was something which the national capital had not seen before, a moving tribute to a politician who was poet at heart and whose appeal transcended the ideology of the party which he represented. 

Security personnel, traffic policemen and the Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel had a tough time controlling the surging crowds. SPG men, tasked with protecting the Prime Minister, were seen instructing Delhi policemen to put up a rope barricade to prevent the surging crowd of mourners. The three service chiefs Gen Bipin Rawat, Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa also paid their last respect.

ends

Modi opts for a political - non RSS background man as new Guv of J&K

IT'S A PATH BREAKING MOVE. FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSE SATYA PAL MALIK IS THE FIRST CAREER POLITICIAN TO BE APPOINTED AS GOVERNOR OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Technically second politico Guv in J&K

The Modi government has taken a small risk and undertaken this experiment

In a decision which could prove to be significant, the Modi government on Tuesday appointed a politician Satya Pal Mallik at the helm of affairs in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A low profile politician Mr Malik, a former MP and state legislator in Uttar Pradesh, belongs to the days of yore in Indian politics.
He was a member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and also in Lok Sabha from Aligarh between 1989 to 1991. He was also a member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly between 1974 and 1977.

Mr Malik will be probably the second 'political appointee' since Karan Singh, who was Governor from 1965 to May 15, 1967. But Singh had princely background and was somehow connected to the history of the state.

A look at the list of Governors for the northern state shows illustrious figures like B K Nehru, L K Jha, Jagmohan, Gen K V Krishna Rao, Gen S K Sinha and Girish Chandra Saxena.

All these former Governors had wide administrative experience as distinguished civil servants or military officers.

Since the imposition of Governor's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir on June 20, there have been criticism of the Centre that it is trying to follow a policy of hot pursuits to crush militancy in the northern state.
The government decision to name a new Governor for Jammu and Kashmir comes in the wake of 89-year-old N N Vohra requesting the Centre repeatedly that he should be relieved of his responsibilities.
There seems to be a subtle message in the Government decision to appoint a 'political person' for the key post amid speculation that either a former army official or top retired bureaucrat will be assigned the responsibility.

A top government source justified the move and said a fresh attempt will be made as "former bureaucrats and retired army generals" have been given a chance.

Therefore the idea is to try a 'political appointee'.

In the past Governors like Jagmohan and Gen S K Sinha courted controversies while N N Vohra, 89, - who had sought retirement - could give a soothing touch.

Importantly, he was with the Congress in 1984 and became its Rajya Sabha MP but resigned in the wake of the Bofors scam. He switched to the VP Singh-led Janta Dal in 1988 and became an MP from Aligarh on its ticket in 1989.

He later shifted to BJP in 2004.  

Imran's 'Naya Pakistan' only SOUND signifying Nothing: Cabinet packed with renowned anti-India faces

Nine out of 15 federal ministers - whose names were released by his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf were senior 'representatives' and known faces in the Gen Pervez Musharraf era. There are also a few from Pakistan People's Party (PPP) dispensation. 

Predictably, some people were anguished - 

No wonder, an old hand in Pakistan's foreign office, Mosharraf Zaidi, tweeted saying: "The Imran Khan cabinet is many things, but "change", it is not. Nine out of 15 ministers, and three out of five advisers were senior officials in the Gen Musharraf era".

Not to the surprise of many at least in India, new Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday packed his cabinet committed to build up a 'Naya Pakistan' with old faces and renowned hardliners.
Among the names also include hardliner Shireen Mazari, who once advocated nuclear strikes against India. Media reports earlier suggested that she could be new Defence Minister, however according to the list released she would be the Minister in charge of Human Rights.

The vocal Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2011, is also back and has been named as new Foreign Minister under Imran Khan, who has famously claimed that in order to improve relations with India he would be keen to take "two steps in return of one" from the dispensation in Delhi. In India, both the foreign ministry and the BJP leaders have been guarded with their reactions on developments in Pakistan.

Notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi having a tele talk and complimented Imran Khan on his victory last month, the BJP leaders did not display any enthusiasm on chances of improvement in bilateral ties.

A BJP leader in Delhi on the condition of anonymity told UNI after the election results last month that: 

"People do talk about election being rigged at the behest of army....so the story has hardly changed. This was the story even two decades back".

According to 'The Economist' - "This time the soldiers (read Pakistani military establishment) have in their sights ideal outcome - a pliable leader and a minority government that will not be too powerful".

As soon as the news flashed from Islamabad on Saturday that Mr Qureshi will be the new Foreign Minister under Imran Khan, journalists and Indo-Pak watchers did not miss the point to recall that on the 'historic and ill-fated' day of November 26, 2008 - the day Mumbai was under siege of 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, the then Pak Foreign Minister was in India "addressing a joint press conference" with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.

In fact, MEA website still has the record of the statement wherein - to the much embarrassment of the UPA regime - Mr Mukherjee had stated: "In our review today we noted the substantial achievements already have been made in the Fifth Round. To list some of them, the opening of cross LoC trade, the agreement in principle to open the Wagah-Attari route for all permissible items of trade, the opening of Kokhrapar-Munabao rail link for trade in cargo, discussion on modalities of the Kargil-Skardu link".

For his part, Mr Qureshi had said: "In Pakistan today you have a democratic government. And I expect the largest democracy in the world to be supportive to a democratic dispensation in Pakistan. The political environment of Pakistan today is very positive towards India".

It is altogether a different matter that hours after the media interaction, Lashqar militants including

Ajmal Kasab attacked India's commercial capital and killed 166 people, including foreign citizens.

Ajmal Kasab was later hanged till death on November 21, 2012.

Love for verses often helped Vajpayee, turned things against opponents

It's the prowess of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's verses that helpedhim come out with applause from a Muslim relief camp in Gujarat in 2002.

It was his poetic genius and "aapki chini mithi thi (your sugar was sweeter)" jibe in Pakistan that enthralled the crowd in Pakistan when he had taken the historic bus ride to Lahore.

But despite statesmanship and poetries, things often left him anguished - as Babri Masjid could not be protected. His 'Raj Dharma' (ethics of governance) remarks made it clear he was not happy about riots in Gujarat but he could not replace Narendra Modi after 2002 mayhem.  

Atal Bihari Vajpayee also aptly used his 'poetic sense' of both the verse and the timing to turn things to his advantage.

The poet-politician had in fact left journalists confused once when he was asked to comment on Sonia Gandhi's "challenge" to him - that his government could not stand before the united opposition led by the Congress.

The former Prime Minister - often economical but convincing with his words in his irresistible style had said, "Acchee baat hae (It's good)".

Newspersons did not know what and how to interpret of what he has said.

On another occasion, he was asked - "Sir will you shake hands with Pervez Musharraf if he offers to" -- Vajpayee had shot back to the scribe, "Okay, let me shake hand with you".



Truly, there comes a moment in history of a society and a country when the nation's soulis charred. The death of Atal Bihari Vajpayee is one such moment.

Perhaps Vajpayee was one of the few voices of reasons in an era of scepticism - that is Indian politics - when the fragile face of democracy would stand vulnerable.

MY HOMAGE TO AJIT WADEKAR

MY HOMAGE TO AJIT WADEKAR

Cricket is something he breathed in.
He pioneered 'cricket for blind'
once i met him in Mumbai Press Club...2001....he asked where from I am:
"I said PTI"...
he shot back: "Which team or state you played".
I laughed. He corrected me and said: "You must have played cricket in school or in your gulley".

I said: Sir, Shillong Anthony's School and Nagaland.He laughed - and said: "u must be brave"....whatever that means...then came the climax - He said: "I played for India...I am Ajit Wadekar". I felt humbled, almost bowed down to touch his feet.

My homage !!

One more:

Those days, Jagmohan.....Jagmohan Dalmiya

was the BCCI chief...

Indian team had problems in South Africa tour...many players were banned by a temperamental umpire. Even Sachin.

Sachin Tendulkar: suspended ban for one Test Match due to ball-tampering charges.[2]
Virender Sehwag: banned for one Test match due to excessive appealing.
Sourav Ganguly: suspended ban for one Test match and two One Day Internationals due to inability to control the behaviour of his team.

Indian announced 'boycott'. Gentleman that Wadekar was-- he said: "we are stressing things too far".

'Rajiv Gandhi-AASU Assam Accord' of 1985 full of lapses and has HARMED ASSAM

Just as BJP chief Amit Shah has highlighted 'Rajiv Gandhi-AASU' Accord of 1985 highlighting the issues with regard National Register of Citizens (NRC) row in Assam, as a northeasterner I can say the document was no panacea and had several lapses. The Assam Accord has actually perhaps not helped Assam in one way or the other, they say.
In fact, to many, the signing of the accord itself post midnight of August 14-15, 1985 was a typical case of reflection of  "a young Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi) in hurry".

Mahanta, Rajiv Gandhi and others

The agreement was signed barely a few hours before the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi went for making his maiden speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort. "The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) movement was virtually on its last leg......But the centre was in haste. Yet another illustration of how things could be mishandled by Delhi for considerations totally different from ground
realities," - I did highlight in the book 'The Talking Guns: North East India'.

Observers in northeast have been particularly critical of the manner students leaders led by the likes of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bhrigu Kumar Phukan were allowed to 'encash' the publicity and storm to power with least experience of running the state of affairs. "Rajiv Gandhi did not know what sort of leadership he had created for Assam and the people in the state," says the book published in 2008.

"He (Rajiv Gandhi) also did not realise the futility of electing a bunch of young student leaders, who have shot into fame only through negative means - the agitation - whatsoever may be the cause they stood for".

It also says the hurried manner the pact was pushed could be understood that even Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's objections on certain phrases vis-a-vis English language was brushed aside by the then Home Secretary R D Pradhan, who actually signed the paper with AASU president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

Thanks to the Rajiv-AASU pact more popularly known as the Assam Accord, the governance in Assam passed on to the hands of 'students leaders' - who were "novice in the art of running a state".  In fact, stories of corruption flourished and young ministers also fought over which cushy rooms to occupy, says the book.

Another book also echoes similar sentiments. "The overriding consideration was that the agitators (student leaders) wanted to get rid of the streets and encashing the 
goodwill and support that their movement had granted in Assam, come legitimately to office and power at Dispur," writes Sanjoy Hazarika in 'Strangers of the Mist'.

Post Script/penned in 2015

Even in 2012, Assam witnessed a bloodbath owing to conflicts of interest between Bodo tribals and Bengali Muslims. The clashes and subsequent remarks from politicians — especially the likes of Hyderabad-based Asaduddin Owaisi, who lately expanded his base in Maharashtra too — aroused passions and undoubtedly created the upsurge for a violent protest in Mumbai. The Mumbai hara-kiri and lopsided handling of the entire situation primarily due to police complicity and the then Congress-NCP regime in Maharashtra actually accentuated the unprecedented exodus of North-east people from hubs like Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. 

Those who propose to rake up “Muslim population increase” in Assam now in the run-up to the 2016 assembly elections should also remember that the genesis of the insane rage in Bodo tribal pockets in 2012 also owed its origin to population arithmetic. There has been an interesting and perhaps funny angle to some of the statistical figures those were reported then. 

It was said only in 2011, in Kokrajhar and neighbouring districts, that the Muslim population was counted at about 235,000, but by June-July 2012 Badruddin Ajmal, chief of the pro-Muslim All India United Democratic Front championing the cause of minorities, said about 500,000 Muslims were in relief camps. So the obvious question was: from where did so many Muslims come so fast? 


Even then, Union home minister P Chidambaram admitted that illegal immigration had been one major issue that got lost in the din. 

That’s the paradox of North-east India. Forwarding the clock to 2015, let us revisit the official data now released by the Census authorities. The Muslim population has increased by 28.8 percentage points in Darrang district, 14.88 points in Kamrup, 13.86 points in Nalbari and 11.37 points in Barpeta. 

Interestingly, in districts bordering Bangladesh, Dhubri saw a rise of 5.67 points and Karimganj 4.08 points. So does this imply — as Muslims are growing in numbers in districts away from the international border — that there’s a decline in the Bangladeshi influx? 

A neo-Vote Bank protagonist