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India says financial crisis gives NAM new relevance

Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:33
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The Hindu 16.07.2009

India says financial crisis gives NAM new relevance

Siddharth Varadarajan

“A moral force for equitable transformation of today’s world”

— Photo: PTI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna at the opening session of the 15th NAM summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Wednesday. National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan is seen at right.

Sharm-el-Sheikh: Calling the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) a “moral force” for the equitable transformation of a world going through the worst economic crisis “in living memory,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the 118-nation grouping must ensure the steps planned to revive the global economy take into account the developing world’s concerns.

He was speaking at the NAM summit which got under way here on Wednesday.

Dr. Singh said the developing countries had been the hardest hit by the crisis which “emanated from the advanced industrial economies” and had strengthened protectionism and choked credit and capital flows to the third world. “If the aftermath of the crisis is not carefully managed, and if the abundance of liquidity leads to a revival of speculative activities, we may well see a period of prolonged stagflation,” the Prime Minister warned.

On climate change too, he blamed the “over two centuries of industrial activity and unsustainable lifestyles in the developed world” for the threat posed to the planet by the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

The weight of NAM should be used to achieve “a comprehensive, balanced and above all, equitable outcome” in the ongoing multilateral negotiations leading up to the Copenhagen conference in December this year.

The Prime Minister criticised the fact that “decision-making processes” at the United Nations and in international financial institutions “continue to be based on charters written more than 60 years ago, though the world has changed greatly since then.”

He said NAM should work to prioritise Africa’s problems in the global development agenda. On its part, India was committed to developing a comprehensive partnership with the continent.

Palestinian issue

Echoing the strong sentiment within NAM in support of Palestinian aspirations, the Prime Minister began his remarks by saying his “thoughts turn to the people of Palestine, who have endured great suffering and hardship.” “The movement,” he said, “must do more to facilitate a comprehensive, just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue.”

On terrorism, he stressed the long-standing Indian demand for speedy agreement on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. “Terrorists and those who aid and abet them must be brought to justice,” he said. “The infrastructure of terrorism must be dismantled and there should be no safe havens for terrorists because they do not represent any cause, group of religion.”

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:46
 

Rain revives hopes; improves storage in reservoirs

Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:32
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The Hindu 16.07.2009

Rain revives hopes; improves storage in reservoirs

Staff Reporter

Coimbatore: Heavy downpour in the hilly terrain in Western Ghats has helped improve storage in catchments of the various reservoirs under the Parambikulam – Aliyar Project (PAP).

With the rain setting in, the storage in the PAP reservoirs have started improving, reviving hopes of the PWD officials as well as the farmers living in Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and even in Karur districts.

The water level in Sholayar stood at 121.75 ft as against the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 160 ft. The dam witnessed an inflow of 5,342 cusecs while the discharge from the reservoir stood at 1098 cusecs and the rainfall in the reservoir stood at 80 mm (for 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday).

Parambikulam reservoir with an FRL of 72 ft had a storage of 27.17 ft and the inflow into the reservoir stood at 736 cusecs and the rainfall was 62 mm.

Aliyar

The Aliyar reservoir had a storage of 90 ft as against the FRL of 120 ft and the inflow stood at 1004 cusecs while the discharge stood at 114 cusecs and the rainfall was 7 mm.

Thirumurthy reservoir stood at 19.33 ft as against the FRL of 60 ft. Inflow remained at two cusecs while outflow was 16 cusecs. Amaravathy reservoir had storage of 54.15 ft as against the FRL of 90 ft. The inflow into the reservoir stood at 2338 cusecs and discharge stood at 312 cusecs.

Officials said that once Sholayar gets filled up, the surplus water through the saddle sluice would reach Parambikulam and on filling up that reservoir it would reach Thirumurthy reservoir.

With the inflow from the tributaries and rainfall in the catchments continuing, the authorities expect the storage position to improve further in the next 15 to 20 days.

The rainfall figures at 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday are as follows: Upper Nirar 100 mm, Lower Nirar 48 mm, Valparai 75 mm, Pollachi 14 mm, Manacadavu 10 mm, Thoonakadavu 82 mm, Peruvaripallam 99 mm, Upper Aliyar 4 mm, Kadamparai 12 mm and Sircarpathy 27 mm. With reports of monsoon getting intensified and rainfall turning vigorous, the farmers are confident of further improvement in storage over the next fortnight.

In Coimbatore, Siruvani reservoir that caters to the drinking water needs of a part of the city and a number of wayside local bodies, the storage as on Wednesday stood at 872.90 as against the FRL of 878.5 ft. Rainfall at 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday was reported at 120 mm in catchments and 70 mm at the foothills.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:33
 

Funds given to housing project beneficiaries in city

Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:29
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The Hindu 16.07.2009

Funds given to housing project beneficiaries in city

Special Correspondent

Land provided by Government to construct houses

 

If people need more money to build the houses, they can approach banks for loans


FOR THEIR UPLIFT: Coimbatore Corporation South Zone Chairman P. Pynthamil handing over sanction letters to beneficiaries of the Basic Services for Urban Poor housing project at Highways Colony in the city on Wednesday.

COIMBATORE: More than 10 families of Highways Colony off Tiruchi Road in the city were on Wednesday given Rs.1.12 lakh as Government grant to construct houses on lands provided to them by the Government, according to Coimbatore Corporation South Zone Chairman P. Pynthamil Pari.

The colony comes under Ward 25 of the Corporation. Mr. Pynthamil is the ward’s councillor.

234 families

The Government had approved the cases of 234 families for the grant of pattas to them, meeting a decades-old demand of these people, he said.

The total area was Rs.2.61 acres, costing around Rs.36 crore. Of these, 136 pattas were distributed last year and each family got a house site worth Rs.25 lakh to Rs.35 lakh.

The Government granted only non-transferable pattas so that the beneficiaries could not sell the sites, Mr. Pynthamil said. By granting the pattas, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had fulfilled the promise it made to these people during the 2006 Assembly elections, he said.

Of these 136 families, 94 had been identified as poor families that could not build houses.

Scheme

They had been brought under the Basic Services for Urban Poor scheme. Mr. Pynthamil handed over cheques for the grant to 11 of them. “The aim is to complete the houses in six months. If the people want to build houses that cost more than Rs.1.12 lakh, they can take loans from banks. Getting the loans may not be a problem as thecost of the land is high enough to serve as a viable security,” he said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 July 2009 06:31
 
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