LEH: With the recovery of more bodies, the toll in the cloudburst here climbed to 130 even as 600 more are feared washed away in the calamity that was followed by torrential rains and flash floods devastating this Himalayan town in Ladakh region.
Sources fear that the death toll could cross over 500 as several far flung villages were yet to be accessed by rescue teams in this high-altitude terrain.
"We have recovered 130 bodies so far and at least 370 are injured. The number of missing is yet to be ascertained," State Police Chief Kuldeep Khoda said, adding the toll may go up.
A small village before Choglumsur, which bore the brunt of the incessant rains, was completely wiped out as rescue workers were looking for survivors in the mud slush and debris.
Over 200 people were still reported to be missing from the worst-hit village Choglumsar, 13 kms from here.
Authorities said that the Army had suffered losses in Turtuk area. Some of the villages along the Chang La pass, world’s second highest motorable road, were also believed to have been washed away in the torrential rains.
Army spokesman Colonel J S Brar said that rescue operations which had slowed down due to heavy rains have picked up again.
Police, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) and civil administration are collectively involved in the rescue operation. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6270525.cms?prtpage=1
2. Geelani rejects Chidambaram’s talks offer, Mirwaiz silent
SRINAGAR: The offer of "quiet dialogue" by union home minister P Chidambaram has not gone down too well with separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir with hard-line leader Syed Ali Geelani rejecting it saying it was an attempt to "discredit him" as he had not softened his stand.
The pro-azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has termed the talks offer "sheer hypocrisy" as "talks and killings can’t go together". Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has said the centre should take some "tangible measures" to restore confidence before initiating any talks.
Speaking to some media persons here late Friday evening, Geelani, chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat group, said: "I won’t participate in any dialogue process unless India accepts Kashmir as a disputed territory, withdraws its troops from the Valley and helps implement the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir."
Geelani said there had been no change in his stand and accused New Delhi of trying to create confusion among the masses by extending the talks offer to him.
The central government, in order to win the hearts and minds of the people of Kashmir, had Friday said it would resume dialogue and asked the separatists including Geelani to join the effort.
Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha that the centre was keen on fulfilling its promises, including those on the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and reduction of security personnel in the state, depending on the situation in Kashmir.
Chidambaram also said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be receiving an all-party delegation from Jammu and Kashmir, possibly next Monday, and that leaders of parties in parliament would also be called for a meeting.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, declined to make any comment on Chidambaram’s dialogue offer.
The pro-azadi Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) vice president Bashir Ahmad Bhat said, "The JKLF was never opposed the talks. But these should be aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute. New Delhi has never been sincere on Kashmir. Besides, talks and killings can’t go together. This is sheer hypocrisy."
In the mainstream political camp, the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti said before New Delhi initiates any dialogue process it should initiate certain tangible confidence building measures, including release of all the separatists and youths arrested during the ongoing protests.
Senior leader of the ruling National Conference (NC) and Rural Development Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar said the state government especially Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had been trying to initiate the dialogue process between separatists and New Delhi. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6269889.cms?prtpage=1
3. Govt to clear integrated action plan for Naxal-hit districts soon
NEW DELHI: The government will soon approve an integrated action plan, including a financial aid of Rs 13,742 crore, for infrastructural development in Naxal-hit districts in the country.
The plan spread over a period of three years will aim at development of infrastructure and facilities like drinking water, electricity, roads, sanitation and health services.
Besides, it will envisage continuous efforts to improve governance like implementation of Panchayats Extension (to Schedule Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA) so as to give the tribals the right to use minor forest produce.
"Initially, 35 left wing extremist affected districts will be given Rs 45-50 crore for setting up primary health care, educational and sanitation facilities. Later, it can be extended to other districts as well," Union home minister P Chidambaram said at a national conference on forestry administration in Naxal-affected areas.
He said, "This will be in the addition to the existing security related schemes being doled out."
Stressing that development was key to the growth of the tribals and forest dwellers, he said, "However much we may romanticise life in the forests, let us remember they will remain poor as long as they live the way they have lived."
The home minister felt that abject poverty was a breeding ground for extremism.
Chidambaram also tried to dispel the myth that the larger the population is of the scheduled tribes, the greater is the potential for supporting Naxalites.
The facts speak otherwise, he said giving example of Sonebhadra district in Uttar Pradesh where ST population is merely 0.03 per cent. Similarly, five of six Naxalite-hit districts of Bihar have "zero ST population," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6271123.cms?prtpage=1
4. Border Bill Aims at Indian Companies: The NY Times, Aug 7
PHOENIX — Indian high-tech workers do not typically sneak into the United States through Mexico, but beefing up the Southwest border may still make it tougher for them to migrate here.
A Senate bill approved Thursday night by unanimous consent would pay for more security along the Mexico border by raising fees for companies from India that operate in the United States and hire so many Indian workers that they have been criticized for violating the spirit of American immigration law.
The $600 million spending bill would send 1,500 more Border Patrol agents, customs inspectors and other law enforcement officials to the Southwest border, finance additional aerial drones to monitor remote desert regions and build two operating bases close to the border to help reduce illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
“It’s just a great package,” Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, said in a conference call with reporters on Friday. She contends that the Obama administration has made the border more secure than ever but nonetheless hears the frustration of many local politicians, especially those in her home state, Arizona, who say that immigration is out of control.
Republicans had proposed paying for the beefed-up security by tapping into stimulus money. But Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said his staff had come up with an alternative that would not hurt American workers: raising the visa application fees paid by any companies with more than 50 people in which more than half the work force has H-1B or L visas that are intended for skilled foreign workers.
Senate aides said four Indian companies would qualify for the significantly higher fees: Tata, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam, all of which operate in the United States and are criticized as “body shops” because they provide outsourcing of Indian professionals to American companies. Large American high-tech corporations, which bring the bulk of the skilled immigrants into the United States, would not be affected since the vast majority of their work forces are made up of Americans.
India’s high-tech industry reacted angrily to the proposal, with the New Delhi-based National Association of Software and Services Companies issuing a statement saying that raising the visa fees by more than $2,000 per application would violate international trade practices and unfairly focus on Indian companies. And Peter McLaughlin, an Infosys spokesman, said, “It is unfortunate that this tax is being levied on a discriminatory basis when the need is to open markets to make companies more competitive in the global marketplace.” www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/us/politics/07border.html?ref=asia&pagewanted=print
5. Julia Roberts embraces Hinduism
NEW DELHI: Her parents were Baptist and Catholic and she was born in Georgia, part of the US Bible Belt. But Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts says she is now a practising Hindu. Speaking to the September issue of Elle magazine, Roberts said she goes to the temple to "chant, pray and celebrate.
The 42-year-old actress, who won a million hearts with Pretty Woman and an Oscar with Erin Brockowich, took to Hinduism during the shooting of her upcoming film, `Eat, Pray and Love’ last year. In the movie, she plays a divorced woman who travels to Italy for food, India for spirituality and Bali, where she finds love. In the interview, Robert also spoke of reincarnation. "I’ve been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting," she said.
Swami Dharamdev of Hari Mandir, Pataudi, where `Eat, Pray and Love’ was shot for three weeks in September-October last year, said it is good news if someone accepts Hinduism from the heart.
In a statement, Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism in the US, also said he and his fellow practitioners welcome Roberts into the fold.
Julia’s move to Hinduism has sparked off a torrent of online response. Some are highly critical of her; others the opposite. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6267826.cms?prtpage=1
