‘Mullaperiyar is a water bomb waiting to explode’

Graphics : Lento Jose. E

The 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam spells a risk to 3.5 million lives in Kerala if high-intensity tremors were to strike the region. Unless the Centre takes concrete measures to improve the situation, disaster is waiting to happen. Talking to Jeemon Jacob, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ramesh Chennithala assesses the impending catastrophe 

Photo : Lento Jose. E

Why is the Mullaperiyar dam a threat to Kerala?
After heavy rainfall, the water level has risen above the 136 ft mark. The dam was built 116 years ago and may collapse if high-intensity tremors rock the region. Residents of Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts are living in fear. The dam is leaking in many places and tremors have weakened it. No government can afford to sit idle when a water bomb is waiting to explode.

What is the Congress party’s stand on the issue?
Not only the Congress, all political parties in Kerala are united on this issue. We want to build a new dam. We have made it clear that Kerala would provide water to Tamil Nadu from Mullaperiyar. We have no intention of blocking water. We just want to protect the lives and property of our people. This is our appeal to Tamil Nadu: Please allow us to build a new dam to save our people.

How can Kerala build a new dam without getting a nod from the Union environment ministry?
We have already made a submission before the ministry. I have personally spoken to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan and briefed her about the volatile situation. I have requested all Union ministers from Kerala to make constant efforts to find an amicable settlement. But, the Centre can’t sit idle forever. I hope that it has taken note of the ground realities and would issue the clearance at the earliest. We are not requesting any favours but a constitutional obligation to save our people. When it comes to death, only survival matters.  

Why is the Congress-led UPA government shying away from intervening in the issue?
The UPA government has limitations in intervening as the case was pending before the Supreme Court. The apex court had appointed an expert panel but it’s yet to submit its final report. So any intervention in the matter would have invited the wrath of the judiciary. 

Is the Congress afraid of taking sides because of fears that it could weaken the party in Tamil Nadu?
The Mullaperiyar issue concerns 3.5 million people of Kerala. In such a situation, the Congress is least bothered about politics. If 3.5 million people die after the dam collapses, what will be the future of any party in Kerala? 

Do you foresee any confrontation between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the dam issue?
I don’t think so. The people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have common roots and share common concerns. We have been living in harmony and peace for many centuries. We are constructing a dam not to trouble the people of Tamil Nadu. In fact, a large number of Tamil people are living in Idukki district. So linguistic differences don’t count on this issue.

If negotiations with Tamil Nadu fail, what will Kerala do?
Kerala could lower the water storage level to 120 ft. We may take it as an extreme step because we don’t have too many options before us. We will always look for means to protect our people’s lives. I visited Mullaperiyar just three days ago. The entire region is living in fear.

Do you have any alternative solutions?
I have already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and leaders of all political parties seeking their help. We want an amicable settlement. I hope that Tamil Nadu will understand the gravity of the situation and help us resolve the issue. We have discussed alternative strategies but I can’t disclose them now.

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German satellite re-enters earth's atmosphere

             BERLIN — A German satellite the size of a car re-entered the Earth's atmosphere early Sunday, officials said, adding they did not know yet if any debris had hit the Earth. The Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), an x-ray observatory, made its re-entry between 0145 GMT and 0215 GMT on Sunday, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) said in a statement. "There is currently no confirmation if pieces of debris have reached Earth's surface," the statement added. According to estimates cited last week, as many as 30 individual pieces weighing a total of 1.7 tonnes could reach the surface of the Earth. But Andreas Schuetz, spokesman for the DLR, said they would have to "wait for data in the next days" to know when and where the debris could fall. He said they did not currently know how far it was from the Earth. Last week, DLR officials said ROSAT was expected to return to Earth between October 22 and 23, travelling at a speed of around 28,000 kilometres (17,000 miles) per hour. Solar radiation, which heats up the Earth's atmosphere, increases the atmospheric drag and makes it hard to estimate the date of re-entry. As the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, the x-ray observatory would break up into pieces, some of which will burn up, they said. "The largest single fragment will probably be the telescope's mirror, which is very heat resistant," it added. However, statistically speaking, there is very little danger to humans from space junk, the experts have said. The debris will almost certainly fall in the sea or on an uninhabited piece of land. During its mission, ROSAT operated at distances of up to 585 kilometres above Earth's surface, but it has lost altitude since its decommissioning, and in June 2011 it was about 327 kilometres above the ground. A controlled re-entry was not possible at the end of its mission in 1999 because the spacecraft does not have a propulsion system on board, the officials said. ROSAT was launched in June 1990 to allow researchers to perform an all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope for the first time. Last month, a bus-sized US satellite that hurtled unpredictably toward Earth crossed over Africa and the northern Atlantic before plunging into the Pacific Ocean off California, NASA said. There were no sightings or reliable accounts of damage as the six-tonne Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) fell from the sky. (AFP)

Muammar al-Qaddafi biography

Synopsis

Muammar al-Qaddafi was born in a Bedouin tent in 1942. He joined the military and staged a coup to seize control of Libya in 1969, ousting King Idris. Though his Arab nationalist rhetoric and socialist-style policies gained him support in the early days of his rule, his corruption, military interference in Africa, and record of human rights abuses turned much of the Libyan population against him. Accused of supporting terrorism in the last decade of his rule Qaddafi reached a rapprochement with Western leaders, and Libya became a key provider of oil to Europe. During the "Arab Spring" of 2011, NATO troops supported dissidents attempting to overthrow Qaddafi's government. After months on the run, on October 20, 2011, Qaddafi was killed in his hometown of Surt.

Early Life

Muammar al-Qaddafi was born in 1942 in the town of Surt, in western Libya. Raised in a Bedouin tent in the Libyan desert, he came from a tribal family called the al-Qadhafah. At the time of his birth, Libya was an Italian colony. In 1951, Libya gained independence under the Western-allied King Idris.  As a young man Qaddafi was influenced by the Arab nationalist movement, and admired Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1961 he entered the military college in the city of Benghazi. He spent four months recieving military training in the United Kingdom. After graduating, Qaddafi steadily rose through the ranks of the military.  As disaffection with King Idris grew, Qaddafi became involved with a movement of young officers to overthrow the king. A talented and charismatic man, Qaddafi political opposition movement.  On September 1, 1969, King Idris was overthrown while he was abroad in Turkey for medical treatment.  He was named commander in chief of the armed forces and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, Libya's new ruling body. At age 27, Qaddafi had become the ruler of Libya.

Taking Control of Libya

Qaddafi's first order of business was to shut down the American and British military bases in Libya. He also demanded that foreign oil companies in Libya share a bigger portion of revenue with the country. Qaddafi replaced the Gregorian calendar with the Islamic one, and forbid the sale of alcohol. Feeling threatened by a failed coup attempt by his fellow officers in December 1969, Qaddafi put in laws criminalizing political dissent. In 1970, he expelled the remaining Italians from Libya, and emphasized what he saw as the battle between Arab nationalism and western imperialism.  He vocally opposed Zionism and Israel, and expelled the Jewish community from Libya. Qaddafi's inner circle of trusted people became smaller and smaller, as power was shared by himself and a small group of family and friends. In these early days, Qaddafi sought to orient Libya away from the West, and towards the Middle East and Africa. He involved the Libyan military in several foreign conflicts, including in Egypt and Sudan, and the bloody civil war in Chad. In 1974, Qaddafi published the Green Book, an explanation of his political philosophy. The book describes the problems with liberal democracy and capitalism, and promotes Qaddafi's policies as the remedy. Qaddafi claimed that Libya boasted popular committees and shared ownership, but in reality this was far from true. Qaddafi had appointed himself or close family and friends to all positions of power, and their corruption and crackdowns on any kind of civic organizing meant much of the population lived in poverty. Meanwhile, Qaddafi and those close to him were amassing fortunes in oil revenue.

International Notoriety

Qaddafi's ruling style was not just repressive, it was eccentric. He had a cadre of female bodyguards, considered himself the king of Africa, erected a tent to stay in when he traveled abroad, and dressed in strange costume-like outfits. His bizzare antics often distracted from his brutality, and  earned him the nickname "the mad dog of the Middle East." In addition to his oppressive rule at home, Qaddafi was despised by much of the international community. His government was implicated in the financing many anti-western groups, including some terror plots. The Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, and the Irish Republican Army all allegedly had links to Qaddafi. Because of Libya's links to Irish terrorism, the United Kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Libya for more than a decade. In the most famous instance, Libya was implicated in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. A plane carrying 270 people blew up near Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. In 1988, U.S. warplanes carried out bombings in Libya, in a failed attempt to kill Qaddafi.

Arab Spring

After more than four decades in power, Qaddafi's downfall happened in less than a year. In January of 2011,  the Tunisian revolution forced out longtime dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and set off the Arab Spring. The next month Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was forced out, providiing a morale boost to protesters in several Arab capitals. Despite the atmosphere of severe repression, demonstrations broke out in Benghazi, and spread throughout the country. Qaddafi used aggressive force to try to suppress the protests, adn the violence quickly escalated. Police and foreign mercenaries were brought in to shoot at protesters, and helicopters were sent to bombard protesters from the air. As casualties mounted, Libyans grew  more determined to see Qaddafi's ouster. As violence spread through the country, Qaddafi made several rambling speeches on state television, claiming the demonstrators were traitors, foreigners, al Qaeda, and drug addicts. He urged his supporters to continue the fight, and small groups of heavily armed loyalists battled against the rebels. By the end of February, the opposition had gained control over much of the country, and the rebels formed a governing body called the National Transitional Council. The opposition surrounded Tripoli, where Qaddafi still had some support. Most of the international community expressed support for the NTC, and called for the ouster of Qaddafi. At the end of March, a NATO coalition began to provide support for the rebel forces in the form of airstrikes and a no-fly zone. NATO's military intervention over the next six months proved to be decisive. In April, a NATO attack killed one of Qaddafi's sons. When Tripoli fell to rebel forces, it was seen as a major victory for the opposition, and a symbolic end for Qaddafi. In June, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law, for crimes against humanity. In July, more than 30 countries recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya. Qaddafi had lost control of Libya, but his whereabouts were still unknown.

Death

On Thursday, October 20, Libyan officials announced the death of Muammar al-Qaddafi near his hometown of Surt. Early reports had conflicting accounts of his death, while some said he was killed in a gun battle, and others said he was targeted by a NATO aerial attack. For months, Qaddafi and his family had been at large, believed to be hiding in the western part of the country, where they still had small pockets of support. As news of the former dictator's death spread, Libyans poured into the streets, celebrating the what many hailed as the culmination of their revolution.

Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai dies aged 71

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for promoting conservation, women's rights and transparent government - the first African woman to get the award. She was elected as an MP in 2002 and served as a minister in the Kenyan government for a time.

Ms Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which has planted 20-30 million trees in Africa.

'Role model and heroine'

"It is with great sadness that the family of Professor Wangari Maathai announces her passing away on 25 September, 2011, at the Nairobi Hospital, after a prolonged and bravely borne struggle with cancer," the Green Belt Movement said in a statement. "Her loved ones were with her at the time. "Professor Maathai's departure is untimely and a very great loss to all who knew her - as a mother, relative, co-worker, colleague, role model, and heroine; or who admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier, and better place."

The organisation did not provide further details. Ms Maathai, who was a professor of veterinary anatomy, rose to international fame for campaigns against government-backed forest clearances in Kenya in the late 1980s-90s. Under the former government of President Daniel Arap Moi, she was arrested several times, and vilified. In 2008, Ms Maathai was tear-gassed during a protest against the Kenyan president's plan to increase the number of ministers in the cabinet.

In her speech accepting the Nobel prize, Ms Maathai said she hoped her own success would spur other women on to a more active role in the community. "I hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership," she said.

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Will end fast only if Parl debates 'unacceptable' clauses: Anna

New Delhi:

Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare swore not to end his fast unless he has written assurance from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that three of his key demands will be immediately debated in Parliament.
Hazare also said he might withdraw his fast, but not the agitation from Ramlila Maidan till a complete picture emerges on the anti-graft Bill.
Hazare wants assurance that Parliament would immediately discuss the modalities in bringing the lower bureaucracy under Lokpal, the citizens' charter and the setting up of state Lokayuktas.
After Singh appealed to Hazare to end his public hunger strike and proposed that Parliament debate his Bill, the Gandhian wrote down his demands in a letter, which was taken to Manmohan Singh by former Maharashtra and seasoned Anna pacifier Vilasrao Deshmukh.
In a provocative speech at the Ramlila grounds in the evening, Hazare also asked protesters to court arrest and picket in front of ministers' houses till his demands are met.

Nationwide protest against Anna's detention

People across India take to the streets to protest against the detention of social activist Anna Hazare and his supporters in New Delhi. 

 

Kolkata
Following Anna's detention, an NGO "Help us Help them" is going to observe a silent protest in the city  "This is horrid and unacceptable. It is against our democratic polity. We
are all free to demonstrate in a peaceful manner. Anna is fighting for our country, for the well being of all its citizens. We should all unite to support him. Our NGO is supporting his cause. We will be having a peaceful demonstration today," said Mukti Gupta, the secretary of the organisation. The youngsters of the city have also planned to support the protest. "Anna came as a special guest in a television show on Friday. He requested all the Indians to support him by standing out of their houses at 8pm today. My friends and I have decided to follow his wishes," said Priyanka Sau, a resident of Bally in Howrah district.

Chennai
People in Chennai gathered to support social activist Anna Hazare's demand for a strong anti-corruption bill, said the India Against Corruption (IAC), which backs the leader. "With Anna Hazare being detained by Delhi Police, we will soon decide on the issue of courting arrest," media coordinator for IAC Bhavana Upadhyaya told IANS. Freedom fighter Lakshmikanthan Bharathi, 85, began his fast. Ninety-year-old Venkata Kalyanam, former personal secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, is also expected to join. Corporate executives, software professionals, media artistes and small businessmen are at the venue of fast in south Chennai, Upadhyaya said.

Uttar Pradesh
Anna Hazare's early morning arrest in Delhi, before he could begin his fast to press for anti-graft lokpal bill, was widely condemned across Uttar Pradesh, people going on indefinite fast, lawyers not turning up for work and academicians joining protests.  Five people in the state capital have gone on a fast-unto-death at the Jhulelal Park near the Lucknow University, in support of Hazare's anti-corruption movement. People were seen singing patriotic songs at Lucknow's Jhulelal Park, holding protests, raising slogans against the government, burning effigies of senior union ministers. In Allahabad, the entire court work had to be stopped as lawyers either didn't turn up for work and those who did, were all in support of Hazare. In Agra, Shaheed Smarak in Sanjay Place was the focal point of the agitation that took shape. The supporters came on their own and gathered at platform while raising slogan. Traders, students, social activists and even a common man were outraged by Anna's arrest in Varanasi. Hundreds of members of the local unit of India Against Corruption assembled at the Collectorate in protest against Anna's arrest.

Himachal Pradesh
Several activists began an indefinite hunger strike in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi town to press for a strong anti-corruption lokpal bill and express solidarity with civil society leader Anna Hazare, who was detained early morning."As per the scheduled programme, we have started our fast in support of a strong Lokpal bill. Since police have arrested Anna, we have decided to go as per previous plan. If needed, we will court arrest," RTI activist Lawan Thakur told IANS from Mandi.He said Anna's arrest was regrettable and condemnable.

Maharashtra
Residents of Anna Hazare's village Ralegan Siddhi took to the streets to protest the detention of the anti-corruption crusader in New Delhi. There were demonstrations in Pune and Mumbai too. Scores of people trooped out of their homes soon after news of the arrest of Hazare and his team members reached the village, about 230 km from Mumbai. There was a spontaneous shutdown in the village.Flaying the arrests, many villagers, including women, marched to the local Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus depot and raised slogans against the government. The state police had deployed tight security in the village and all the roads leading to it from Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Nashik. While thousands of activists staged a march in Pune, a large number of protestors started gathering near Dadar in Mumbai to chart out the further course of action.The main agitation is planned at Azad Maidan in Mumbai later Tuesday where prominent activists, including Medha Patkar, are expected to congregate.

Orissa
Hundreds of Hazare's supporters held deomonstrations and rallies in protest against his arrest in Bhubaneswar and other cities of Orissa. In Bhubaneswar, senior citizens, lawyers, social activists and students held demonstrations at several places to show their solidarity with Hazare. "Hazare's arrest reminds one of the emergency in 1975 when democratic rights were throttled by the political establishment," said Rabi Das, convenor of Jan Sammelani. In Sambapur, about 300 activists held a motorcycle rally demanding Hazare's release and a strong janlokpal bill.

Chhattisgarh
Students, office workers and homemakers were among the scores of people who stepped out in Chhattisgarh, with as many as 80 of them reportedly courting arrest to protest the arrest of activist Anna Hazare in New Delhi. People gathered at the Budha Talab area soon after television channels flashed the news of Delhi Police whisking Hazare away as he was about to begin his fast-unto-death for a strong lokpal bill. After demonstrations at Budha Talab, protests spread to the state's industrial towns Bhilai, Raigarh, Korba, besides Bilaspur, Ambikapur and Jagdalpur.

Holding placards pledging support to Hazare, people from various walks of life and age groups held demonstrations at district headquarters of all the 18 districts, condemning the Congress-led government's decision to arrest Anna.

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Troop Withdrawal Will Aid ‘Nation-Building’: Obama

 
President Barack Obama, announcing a reduction of 33,000 troops in Afghanistan by September 2012, said it was “time to focus on nation-building at home” and offered a “centered course” for U.S. military engagement that he said would be rooted in pragmatism.

In a nationally televised speech, Obama sought to balance the demands of the military, which wanted to avoid a rapid withdrawal, and the sentiments of many Americans, who polls show think the war is no longer worth waging.

“We are starting this drawdown from a position of strength,” Obama said last night in the East Room of the White House. “The tide of war is receding.”

Obama’s plan would withdraw 10,000 troops before the end of this year and an additional 23,000 -- the remainder of last year’s troop surge -- as the 2012 presidential election campaign kicks into high gear.

The president in 2009 ordered deployment of the additional forces to quell a growing Taliban insurgency, and he said last night that the goals set out then largely have been accomplished. Even with the withdrawals, the U.S. will have roughly 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, about twice as many as were there when Obama was elected in 2008. Also in the country are more than 40,000 personnel from 48 other nations, which are making plans to pull back as well.

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CPM slams NSS for anti-Achuthanandan comment

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Viajayan on Friday came down on the Nair Service Society (NSS) acting General Secretary G Sukumaran Nair for using "adverse comments" against Chief Minister Minister V S Achuthanandan.

"The adverse comments made by Nair against Achuthandnan were quite unbecoming of Kerala culture. He should withdraw the abusive language he used to attack the Chief Minister", Vijayan said in an article in the party daily Deshabhimani.
"Unleashing attacks, using abusive words and expressions against rivals is heinous and deplorable. This is especially so in the case of those holding responsible positioins. Those who indulge in such acts are only discrediting themselves before the public," Vijayan said.

Indian World Cup 2011 squad: Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma, Ojha dropped

The BCCI on Monday announced the 15-member Indian squad for the 2011 World Cup beginning from February 19. The team comprises seven batsmen, one all-rounder, four pacers and three specialist spinners

 

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been retained from the present team on a tour of South Africa. Vice-captain Virender Sehwag, who had opted out of the ODI series in South Africa, has made a return for cricket's biggest event.

Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra will take care of pace-bowling while Harbhajan, R. Ashwin and Piyush Chawla form the spinners' trio.Yusuf Pathan has been handed the all-rounder's job. Wicket-keeping has been entrusted entirely to captain M.S. Dhoni. Those who failed to find a place in the team include spinner Pragyan Ojha, pacer S. Sreesanth and all-rounder Rohit Sharma. The selection panel, headed by chief selector K. Srikkanth, chose the team out of a list of 30 probables. Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten, who are currently busy with the ODI series in South Africa, were also part of the consultations done through teleconferencing.

 

The 15-member team is:

 

• MS Dhoni (C)
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Virender Sehwag
• Gautam Gambhir
• Yuvraj Singh
• Suresh Raina
• Virat Kohli
• Yusuf Pathan (all-rounder)
• Zaheer Khan
• Ashish Nehra
• Munaf Patel
• Praveen Kumar
• Harbhajan Singh
• R. Ashwin
• Piyush Chawla

Chief selector K. Srikkanth said a well-balanced team had been picked up keeping in mind the ground and wicket conditions in the sub-continent. "We have selected the best combination after consultations with the captain and the coach. I am confident the team will win the World Cup for us," Srikkanth said in Chennai. He brushed aside concerns over fitness of the players, saying: "Every team has injury concerns. Why worry about it?"

 

Five new Malayalam channels announce their arrival

The already populated Malayalam channel scene in television will have to make room as five more channels have announced their arrival.

The Indian Union Muslim League announced the launch of its channel named Channel IBC (Independent Broadcasting Council). Channel IBC will be a full time news channel and be initially available in the MPEG-4 format for cable television subscribers. In a second phase expansion, IBC will become a satellite channel.

Following the footsteps of Malayala Manorama, Kerala Kaumudi and Mathrubhumi are also launching news channels.

Politician and former Congress leader K Muraleedharan, has announced the launch of a new television channel named Janapriya Communications. The launch is however put on hold.

An entertainment channel from Manorama TV and a news channel in Malayalam from the Sun Network are also expected to start operations in the state soon.

Asianet, in 1993, became the first private channel broadcasting in Malayalam. Since then the industry has seen new entries and currently, there are nine TV channels broadcasting in the state.

Amala Paul

She is cute and good acting in "Maina" movie...