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[1] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com Date: Fri Apr 20, 2007 Subject: CNDP Condoles Death of Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh CNDP Condoles Death of Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), India expresses its profound shock and regret at the news of the sudden demise of the mayor Nagasaki, Iccho Itoh, who along with Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima, have played an extremely vital, indeed leading, role in the global struggle for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament as the pioneering figures of the Mayors for Peace. In recognition of his immense contributions, in 2006 he had been awarded the highly prestigious Sean MacBride Peace Prize, jointly with Mayor Akiba of Hiroshima. It is all the more shocking and regrettable that Mayor Itoh was felled by an assassin's bullet in the last days of his campaign for re-election for the fourth term in front of his main campaign office near JR Nagasaki Station on Tuesday evening. He breathed his last in the early hours of Wednesday. The suspect has been apprehended and is reportedly a member of the country's largest crime syndicate. The CNDP shares its deepest grief with his immediate family members, the citizens of Nagasaki who had time and again reposed faith in him, the peace-loving people of Japan and the whole world. It takes special note of his active engagement in the recent days with the Japanese government urging it to take a clear and unambiguous stand against the ongoing Indo-US Nuclear Deal when it comes up for discussion and approval before the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It ardently hopes that the new mayor of the city of Nagasaki, to be elected next Sunday, would carry on his glorious and indefatigable fight for global nuclear disarmament with the same unflagging spirit. The CNDP commits itself to redouble its efforts for a nuclear weapon free world in honour of his revered memory. Statement Committee 1. Achin Vanaik 2. Praful Bidwai 3. Admiral Ramdas 4. J. Sri Raman 5. Prabir Purkayastha 6. Kamla Mitra Chenoy 7. Christopher Fonseca New Delhi 19th April 2007 --------- [2] From: Pradip Kumar Datta <pradip200@yahoo.com Date: Fri Apr 20, 2007 Subject: WANT BJP DERECOGNISED http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php? name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=180&page=2 WANT BJP DERECOGNISED! - By Easwaran Namboodiri April 22, 2007 Advani said the BJP leaders had told the police officials that lodging of an FIR against an innocent person like Rajnath Singh was “bad in taste”. The leader said he respected the Election Commission as a constitutional body but it should not have ordered the lodging of an FIR against Singh who was not at all involved in any way with the release of the controversial CD. In the most bizarre move of its kind, the Election Commission swung into action and booked an FIR against the party’s national president Rajnath Singh for allegedly violating the model code. Not that the Commission is not empowered to take cognizance of any complaint howsoever motivated but what was shocking and appalling was the cavalier manner in which the party’s national president was sought to be dragged into in what was purely a local case. Unnerved by the BJP’s victories in the Uttarakhand and Punjab Assembly elections and the Mumbai and Delhi civic polls, the ruling Congress has now resorted to its time-tested formula of pinning down its opponents by manipulating constitutional bodies. The return of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, the electoral tie-up with the Janata Dal (United) and the Apna Dal led by Sone Lal Patel, the resolution of differences with Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath, the coming together of all pro-Hindu forces in the state and the high morale of the cadres in the wake of the recent poll victories have made BJP one of the front runners for taking charge of the dispensation in Lucknow, which is all set to witness a change of guard. That the Congress has its strong reservations about both the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party is well known, but any saffron resurgence is simply unacceptable to the Sonia Gandhi, nee Maino-led party. Notwithstanding the brave face it is trying to put up, the party knows too well that the crowds come more to see the chopper than its new mascot Rahul Gandhi, who has been making ridiculous statements attacking the party’s own erstwhile Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao on the issue of the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya. Then came the controversial CD, which the BJP said was inadvertently released. Not only was the so-called ‘offensive’ CD promptly disowned and withdrawn but action was also taken against some of the party office-bearers responsible for the fiasco. In the most bizarre move of its kind, the Election Commission swung into action and booked an FIR against the party’s national President Rajnath Singh for allegedly violating the model code. Not that the Commission is not empowered to take cognizance of any complaint howsoever motivated but what was shocking and appalling was the cavalier manner in which the party’s national president was sought to be dragged into in what was purely a local case. It was unprecedented. There have been umpteen cases of model code violation across the country by the Congress party too. For instance, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Mallikarjuna Kharge was caught red-handed with tonnes of cash for distribution among the voters of Chamundeshwari in the recent by-elections and was handed over to Raymond Peters, the Centre-appointed Election Commission Observer and nominee of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. R. Reddy. But the poll panel turned a blind eye, leave alone booking the party’s national president Sonia Gandhi. Going by the Election Commission’s new ‘guidelines’, any future violation by any political party would witness its national president being booked and punished. But then, this is not meant for presidents of all political parties but the BJP, which poses the single biggest threat to the ruling UPA. It was also apparently not a collective decision of the Election Commission but that of a nominee of the Congress party in its ranks, Navin Chawla, known for his and his family’s close proximity with the ‘family’ since the days of Emergency. No wonder then that the BJP demanded that Election Commissioner Chawla “should refrain” himself from the hearing in the “communal” CD case on the grounds that a petition challenging his appointment was pending before the Supreme Court. In its petition to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswamy, the BJP argued that it has made an application for Chawla’s removal as an Election Commissioner on the grounds that the trusts run by him had received funding from the local area development funds of Congress MPs (MPLADS). Top party leaders had marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan soon after Chawla’s appointment twice and submitted a memorandum to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who subsequently forwarded the same to the Prime Minister’s Office. Thereafter, a group of BJP MPs had challenged Chawla’s appointment in the Supreme Court where the case was being heard. The BJP told the EC that as it had accused Chawla of partiality and bias, there was a conflict of interest in his hearing a case in which some parties had pleaded for freezing the party’s Lotus symbol and debarring of its leaders from contesting the elections in Uttar Pradesh. While senior Congress leaders met the EC in a delegation and demanded among other things an investigation into the matter by its pet CBI, the party’s derecognition and action against BJP functionaries, the BSP led by the Taj Corridor scam tainted Mayawati and the Jan Morcha, led by V. P. Singh, the undisputed leader of illegal Bangladeshi jhuggi-jhonpri-dwellers in the national capital, sought BJP’s derecognition. Expressing no surprise over the sudden flood of applications seeking its derecognition, the BJP, in its response, said the Representation of People’s Act (RPA) has no provision For cancellation or withdrawal of registration. The Act only provides for registration of political parties. BJP also cited the case of Arjun Singh vs BJP in 1992, in which the Commission had already held that there was no such power with the EC to cancel or withdraw the registration of a party. The EC’s action may actually be “inconsistent” with its constitutional obligations, the party said and asserted that it is the people, who as the ultimate sovereign, have the right to reject or approve a political party. Even as the Election Commission reserved its verdict on the issue till April 19, top party leaders decided to take the matter to the people’s court. BJP president Rajnath Singh, against whom an FIR has been lodged, and the party top brass including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L. K. Advani and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi marched in a procession to the Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow demanding that they be arrested in the CD case, but the police refused to do so. M. Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and Keshrinath Tripathi were among the other leaders who assembled at the party headquarters before marching to the police station. While the leaders insisted that they wanted to court arrest, state Director General of Police G. L. Sharma said the police was not arresting them as it was still an FIR and not a non-bailable offence. Later, Advani said the BJP leaders had told the police officials that lodging of an FIR against an innocent person like Rajnath Singh was “bad in taste”. The leader said he respected the Election Commission as a constitutional body but it should not have ordered the lodging of an FIR against Singh who was not at all involved in any way with the release of the controversial CD. Senior Superintendent of Police Jyotinarayan only vindicated the party’s stand when he said the police had not come across any evidence to arrest the BJP president in the case. “Investigations are on. As of now, there is no evidence against Singh and so we did not arrest him”, Jyotinarayan said. Whether the Election Commission would foil Chawla’s machinations would be known only on April 19, but the common man on the street whether in Delhi or Lucknow totally seems to agree with what Rajnath Singh had to say. “If the electoral officer commits any faux pas, will it be right to lodge an FIR against the Chief Election Commissioner?” ------- [3] -------------------------------------------------------- AICC Press Release Hindutva Forces Convert Church into Gurudwara in Punjab Sikh leaders come to the rescue of Christians Mr. Madhu Chandra Regional Secretary All India Christian Council 9868184939 New Delhi, April 19, 2007 (All India Christian Council) Bajrang Dal activists converted a Christian church into a gurudwara in Lehragaga of Sangrur district of Punjab on April 10, 2007. Later Sikh leaders came to the rescue of the Christians. Sources told the All India Christian Council (aicc) that Pastor Malok Singh from Lehragaga was falsely accused of rape by Bajrang Dal activists. He was arrested under 109 section of the India Penal Code (IPC) on April 10, 2007 and remained in jail until he was bailed after 9 days. In connection with the allegation against Pastor Singh, Bajrang Dal activists numbering over 100 came and attacked the church. Aicc was told that church furniture was broken and musical instruments were stolen, A Granth Sahib (Sikh religious scripture) was placed inside the church, holy reading of Granth Sahib was conducted, and church signboard was changed into Gurudwara Sahib. It has also been reported that Bibles were torn inside the church and large number of Christian literature was taken by two lorries to undisclosed place and reportedly burned. A source said that Sikh leaders along with police personnel restored the church by removing the Granth Sahib placed inside the church. Church members have filed a complaint against the Bajrang Dal activists at Lehragaga Police Station for provoking enmity among two religions of Christianity and Sikhism. The complaint against the culprits was lodged under the IPC sections 295, 452, 447, 506, 148, and 149 on April 11, 2007. Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr. Balraj Singh reported to the aicc that the District Magistrate has set up an enquiry commission under the leadership of Sunam Sub-Divisional Magistrate to submit a report within two weeks. No arrests of Bajrang Dal activists have been reported, while pastor Singh was arrested within short time of the complaint against him. Pastor Singh reported to the aicc that he was severely beaten up in the police station and forced him to accept the allegation against him. He said that a girl was brought by Bajrang Dal activists to his house and then Bajrang Dal activists locked the door from the outside and accused him of rape. According to a source, Bajrang Dal had a meeting at Lehragaga on April 18, 2007 and submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate to sack the District Superintendent of Police for performing his assigned duty to protect the Christian minorities. Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party activists have been telling Sikh communities the false allegation that Christians are forcefully converting Sikh communities into Christianity. Hindutva leaders have called for an anti-conversion law in the state of Punjab. The All India Christian Council (www. aiccindia. org), birthed in 1998, exists to protect and serve the Christian community, minorities, and the oppressed castes. The aicc is a coalition of thousands of Indian denominations, organizations, and lay leaders. -------------- [4] What Is The Main Plank Of The US Foreign Policy? By Chandi Sinnathurai http://www.countercurrents.org/chandi190407.htm The US proscribed the Tamil Tigers in October 1997 under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. In October of 2003, “after further review it re-designated the Tamil Tigers as a “Foreign terrorist organisation.” Whilst taking all such drastic actions however, the Bush Administration often neglected to take action or even to exert pressure against the State terror in Sri Lanka, particularly aimed at the Tamil population. The Tamils are facing a mass slaughter in the East [Mattakalappu & Amparai] and the North of Sri Lanka even as I write Status Of Manual Scavengers In Laar, Deoria By Vidya Bhushan Rawat http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat190407.htm Time has come for all of us to scrutinize government's programmes and action to eliminate manual scavenging and take the officials of the department to task. India's 9% growth rate or shining India is absolutely farcical if this large community remains outside the ambit of global change Should BJP Be Derecognized? By Ram Puniyani http://www.countercurrents.org/puniyani190407.htm --------- [5 & 6} R Singh <progressindia2007@yahoo.com Maratha Political Dirty Game; Sasan Sabotage By Reliance Honorable President Of India, Shri APJ Abdul Kalam, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi- 110004 April19, 2007 Respected Sir, Since my last message on Sasan issue there is most shameful and disgraceful development. A coolie of Dhirubhai who used to carry his suitcase and a chaprasi but now power minister at the instance of Anil Ambani are sabotaging legal biddings which are “Legal In The Opinion Of Former Chief Justice of India Justice Lahoti.” Are a Coolie and a Chaprasi above the former Chief Justice of India. Like Fevicol glue this most lunatic act of Maratha Politicians and PMO in particular cements public perception permanently absolute idiots lead India. Who shall in the world believe for 18 months GOI institutions didn’t knew Lanco was incompetent to bid and operate the Sasan Project? It actually operates over 500 MW capacities and there has been no controversy or news about any cheating and fraud. Reliance on the other hand has long history of frauds, misconduct, non-performances, failures, rigging the consumer meters but not providing meters to distribution transformers, inflating losses from 40% to 50% leading the bidding for Delhi Discoms. REL under declared sales of Rs. 1827 crores in 2001-02 in Mumbai alone. In 1998 Reliance subscribed shares in Hirma 10,560 MW project that is yet to see the ground breaking. It was caught “Re-routing international calls a locals” and made back door entry on local license to operate mobile services but in spite of all the frauds, revenue of its CDMA operated network is barely Rs. 160 per connection compared to around Rs. 320/- for competing GSM. But for the frauds, Reliance Infocomm would have been bankrupt and Anil Ambani insolvent and in jail for frauds. Lanco tied up with the Globelec, a Singapore tax heaven company to meet the financial requirements but in the course of long process of bidding, Lanco public issue was oversubscribed, it net worth shot up to Rs. 5000 crores. Lanco no longer need Globelec support---. Lanco moved in to consolidate its share in the Sasan project, in which it is the lowest bidder. Had I been PM or Power Minister I would have gladly approved majority holding of Lanco in Sasan Project. Nowhere in the world lowest bidder is subjected to Vigilance on the grounds a legal company (Lanco) was not competent after the bidiing turned in its favor. Were Anil Ambani and REL so stupid that they allowed Lanco - Globelek Singapore consortium bid for the project and didn’t have money to go to the courts? It was obvious to a professional Lanco has the technical capability to operate the Sasan project and its financial competence was endorsed by over subscribed IPO. Reliance had no competence in Power in Hirma 10,560 Case, Telecom, Oil & Gas and Petroleum Refining Operations and they have legally failed to deliver on promises and survives on illegal GOI favors which public perceive as mega corruption. Most shamefully Jaswant Singh was finance minister for several years and this joker didn’t object when Southern Electric with drew from Hirma 10,560 MW project and Reliance was left with 100% share but had no experience and it failed to execute the project. REL’s parent company RIL shut down over 1000 retail outlets selling petroleum products and is now exporting products that have very nominal value additions but clandestinely Rs. 1568 crores in just one year 2004 were doled out to RIL as incentives when India gained nothing. Reliance big companies are operational due to illegal and unjust GOI donations and tax breaks. RIL the parent company of REL also didn’t take up gas well development expeditiously and actually DGHC issued notices for delay in implementation of the gas delivery infrastructure. CAG, Gajendra Haldea as well as Petitions Committee of Delhi Assembly recommended CBI investigations in to privatization of Delhi Discoms but there is no response till date. Are we not worse than Banana Republic? President of India is entitled to serve “Show Cause Notice To Manmohan Singh For Jungle Rule In The Government For Dividing The Corporate On Political Lines, Sabotaging Legal Projects As Favors To Its Own Supporters And Why His Government Is Not Dismissed For Incompetence Apparently Corrupt Practices. And Why GOI Is Reluctant To Order CBI Investigations In To REL/ RIL Criminal Misconduct” Thank you, Faithfully, Ravinder Singh Progressindia2007@yahoo.com Sasan report card to reach PMO this week PMO Interest And CVC Investigations Fallout Of Complaints And Letters By Senior Politicians Urmi A Goswami NEW DELHI The Economic Times April17, 2007 P-15. THE Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has stepped in to look into the controversy related to Sasan ultra mega power project that is facing a crisis due to questions raised about the competence of the Lanco consortium which won the project. The power ministry is likely to submit its report to the PMO this week. The PMO request comes close on the heels of the probe by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Both PMO’s interest and the CVC’s investigations are the fallout of complaints and letters by senior politicians. In February, Congress MP and Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy chairman Gurudas Kamat had written to the power minister Sushilkumar Shinde asking him to get the deal examined and make sure the project is implemented by a party with proper credentials. At the heart of the controversy are two issues: the sale of Globeleq Singapore by its erstwhile parent Globeleq Ltd to Jindal Steel & Power and Prince Stone Investments, which is the holding company of Lanco Infratech. The other issue is the alleged misrepresentation by Globeleq Singapore of its net worth and turnover in the bid documents. The ministry of power, which is preparing the two reports, maintains that the ultra mega initiative was being spearheaded by the Power Finance Corporation. More importantly, the ministry has maintained an arm’s length from the process. In a bid to maintain the sanctity of the process, the ministry has extended the terms of reference of the Deepak Parekh evaluation committee that awarded the project to Globeleq-Lanco. Meanwhile, Ernst & Young, the consultants for the ultra mega power projects, are also preparing a report. In March, the CVC started a probe into the award of the project following a partial change in the ownership of the lead partner of the winning bidders, Globeleq Singapore-Lanco. Questions had earlier been raised about Globeleq Singapore’s competence to implement projects of this scale at the price quoted. The CVC has also questioned the validity of the Jindals as the partowner of Globeleq Singapore, as Jindal Steel & Power was one of the eight unsuccessful bidders for the project. The CVC’s involvement in the Sasan project follows a letter by former finance minister and BJP leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, raising questions about the deal. The project, estimated to cost Rs 16,000 crore, was originally awarded to a consortium of Globeleq Singapore and Lanco Infratech in December last year. However, the 4,000 mw project courted controversy following the sale of 100% of Globeleq Singapore by its parent, Bermuda-based Globeleq Ltd (a unit of UK’s CDC Group Plc) in February. Jindal Steel & Power and Lanco Infratech’s Mauritius-based holding company together acquired the 100% stake in Globeleq Singapore — a move that was challenged by rival bidders for the project. Subsequently, PFC sought clarifications from the Lanco-Globeleq combine on technical and financial capability claims furnished by it in the Sasan bid document and submissions made separately by Globeleq Singapore with certain authorities in Singapore, based on information forwarded to PFC by a rival bidder. Project consultant Ernst & Young, on PFC’s behest, recently sought a fresh set of clarifications from Lanco Infratech on its financials and also on the ‘low’ tariff bid of Rs 1.19 per unit made for the proposed project. ------ -------------- R Singh <progressindia2007@yahoo.com Anil Electricity Powering Mulayam In Elections- Exclusive This world’s most exclusive of how Corporate use their resources to aid political friends in elections. This is Clear Evidence of Political Divide of Corporate India. India, which is already divided on caste, religion between Urban and Rural, Farmers and Moneylenders, Rich and Poor and Bunglows and Slums. In a most shameless Corporate Behavior and political incompetence of Shiela, Dixit, Delhi electricity is being diverted to Uttar Pradesh by Anil Ambani Discoms BYPL and BRPL (The area covered in TOI exclusive is entirely East and South Delhi controlled by Anil Ambani). Since the elections are scheduled over seven phases even 400 MW when diverted to zones going to polls could light up entire zone for days before going to polls. It is already harvest time in UP and tube-well demand is minimum. So UP would appear to be in power situation in polling times. Rahul Gandhi is sweating in bright and hot Sun to defeat Mulayam Singh and claiming there is no progress in last 17 years of non congress rule, Shiela Dixit is conniving with Anil Ambani in powering UP to boost electoral prospects of Mulayam Singh. Clearly Rahul Gandhi official patron of Mukesh Ambani but Shiela Dixit is seen in rival Anil Ambani camp undermining Rahul Gandhi poll campaign. In this invisible Political Game Mulayam Singh is seen as the clear winner. · He could create an illusion in voter’s mind that electricity supply promised by Anil Ambani would light up their lives shortly not with standing political hindrances caused by Mukesh Ambani and his aids in the government thus votes flowing in Mulayam account. · When Rahul Gandhi shall sweat in open soliciting votes for his party, people sit back and watch movies that they missed for long. · At election time supporters of Rahul Gandhi may prefer to stay at home watching movies and cricket when supporters of in power Mulayam shall largely succeed in taking their voters to polling stations. · UP can easily reschedule power supplied by Anil Discoms to day time hours also and all it has to do is reschedule more power during day time. Anil Ambani is cutting the roots of Rahul Gandhi, who appears to be helpless, with Shiela Dixit connivance. TOI stories follow this message. Ravinder Singh April19, 2007 Progressindia2007@yahoo.com No surplus, only plenty of complaints Saurabh Sinha TNN TOI April19, 2007 P-4 It is quite clear that Delhi is selling power to other states by denying its own citizens the same power, and not by trading off a surplus, never mind what the authorities have to say. The situation is the worst in east Delhi, where 75% had faced power cuts during the night and 73% in the forenoon. The corresponding figures for west Delhi were 55% and 73%, and for the south 61% and 59%. More people in the west than elsewhere said they had faced power cuts of two hours at a stretch. The parts in which the situation is apparently a little better are north Delhi — where 54% had faced power cuts at night and 63% between 9 am and noon — and central Delhi, parts of which are not under any of the private distribution companies (discoms). Power cuts apart, an overwhelming threefourths of all respondents said the quality of supply was ‘‘unreliable or erratic’’ at all times and one-fourth complained of very high or very low voltage that damages electrical equipment. In this respect, north and central Delhi were no better than the rest. Under the circumstances, it comes as no surprise that 70% of respondents were against the idea of Delhi selling power to other states and 84% felt the government had slackened off in regulating the discoms. SHOCKING GREED Believe it or not, discoms don’t stop selling power to other states even when Delhi has to cope with a shortage. What they are doing during ‘lean’ hours is quite mean. But people are now protesting, asking questions TIMES NEWS NETWORK TOI April19, 2007 P-4 An analysis of the data released by Delhi State Load Despatch Centre shows that there have been instances when power has been sold to UP even at times when there’s a shortage in the city. For instance, last Thursday midnight, the city was facing a shortage of 352 MW but at that time 400 MW was being sold to UP. Similarly, on Wednesday midnight there was a shortage of 100 MW in Delhi but at that time too UP was getting 400 MW. Discoms say Delhi’s anticipated demand and supply position is worked out a day in advance after which it is decided whether and how much Delhi would sell to UP the next night. This means if the actual demand is higher than what was anticipated, it’s just too bad as there’s no way last-minute diversions can be made. The 400 MW of Delhi’s share would be sent to UP via the grid as this power won’t first come to the capital and then flow to the neighbouring state. In short, the capital is proving to be a better bet for its neighbours than its own residents. While a TOI survey clearly shows 60 % respondents reported power cuts during what is being described as the lean period between midnight and 8 am, the discoms have been selling up to 400 MW to UP during that time. Interestingly, even Mumbai had tied up with Delhi earlier this month to get up to 200 MW between 9 am and 12 noon but the financial capital has never got this power for more than a day or two. These sale pacts are for April only. BSES (Rajdhani) CEO Lalit Jalan had recently told TOI that discoms were selling this power with DERC’s nod at night as there was a surplus. And the power cuts witnessed at night were blamed on three reasons — local breakdowns, preventive maintenance at night to avoid cutting supply during day for this work and low frequency in the grid. ‘‘Loadshedding could have been for these reasons, not shortage,’’ he had said on Saturday. The Delhi Power Procurement Group, an informal group of representatives from discoms and government, trades in power for the city after April 1. An official shortage is not the only thing that troubles the city. Analysis of a majority of demandsupply reports on SLDC websites show that Delhi has a surplus at night but this does not translate into uninterrupted supply for residents. Recently, chief minister Sheila Dikshit had ticked off a discom for not buying adequate power — despite the fact that there was no official shortage — just to save money. Posh south too finds power, water scarce TIMES NEWS NETWORK New Delhi: Many south Delhi residents these days don’t believe they are a privileged lot by just being where they are. Three-hour cuts in April have got them worried for the coming months and last year’s summer is haunting them now. After east, residents of south Delhi had the maximum number of complaints against the power supply — fastrunning electronic meters, billing and most of all... unscheduled outages that last for hours. ‘‘Summers have almost become synonymous with power cuts. Every year as peak summer approaches, we have to go without electricity. It’s ridiculous,’’ said Manoj Sharma, a resident of Panchsheel Park. What angers residents even more is that the government keeps making promises to improve the situation but nothing changes. ‘‘Promises that Delhi will have surplus power by 2010 hardly makes any difference to us. It’s the immediate present that is our concern... when will that improve?’’ questioned Keerti Arora of Safdarjung Development Area. And along with power, south Delhi’s water woes are back to haunt the residents. ‘‘We spent thousands of rupees every month buying drinking water from the market last year. This year also, we have already started stocking up on bottled water. I doubt there will be any improvement in the situation,’’ said Veena Kumar from Kalkaji. Power cuts affecting water supply is a common phenomenon in south Delhi colonies. ‘‘Discoms should not cut electricity when we’re getting our water supply. We hope they will spare us at least during that time,’’ said Sharma. Many areas are now facing power cuts upto two to three hours daily, even at night. ‘‘It’s getting hotter everyday and when the electricity suddenly vanishes at night, it’s impossible to get any sleep,’’ complained SD Mitra of Asiad Village. East is a dark spot, hope dims Richi Verma TNN New Delhi: Eight-year-old Debonina, a Class II student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, does not know why the power supply in her east Delhi house goes off so frequently. However, two years of facing the same crisis has taught her exactly what to do when suddenly the lights go out. Out come the candles in case the inverter fails and a paper fan is always within reach. ‘‘We have an inverter, otherwise it’s impossible to survive the peak summer,’’ she says, echoing the words her parents mouth in summer. With most east Delhi households gearing up for a long, powerless summer, the discomfort of the residents is palpable. And it’s no big surprise that east Delhi has the largest number of complaints, say residents. ‘‘It’s common knowledge that BYPL Yamuna is not at par with BRPL. Delhiites in east Delhi usually face more outages than other parts of Delhi,’’ said Karan Malhotra, a resident of Patparganj. ‘‘We had a very good idea of what to expect in the coming months just looking at last year. No assurance from the government has worked. I bought a new inverter just the day before as most manufacturers generally hike the prices in May-June, anticipating a power crisis,’’ said Sanjay Aggarwal, a businessman living in Harbogind Enclave. What surprises residents in east Delhi areas the most are the claims made by the government of having a surplus power supply, enough to sell to other states like Maharastra and UP. ‘‘Where’s the surplus power? If that really is the situation, why are the Capital’s residents suffering so much. For almost all of last week, we had no power for two hours in the middle of the night and the situation might have improved a bit in the last few days but its still there,’’ said Anu Dutta, a houswife from Krishna Nagar. VC Sukheja, a resident and member of the residents welfare association in Vivek Vihar, recalled how he woke up in the middle of the night last week to discover there was no power. ‘‘It’s surprising that there should be loadshedding in the night when the demand is usually so low. I thought it was just a one-off incident but now it’s almost a daily affair.’’ Purnima Dutta from Orissa had come to Delhi two months back for an operation in Max Hospital and was staying with her relatives in IP Extension. A day before she returns home, Dutta says she will remember her time in Delhi mostly due to the inconvenience caused by the frequent outages. ‘‘I was on bed rest for a long period which meant I could not move at all. The power kept going so often that it became a major hassle,’’ she said. While many residents are still ready to brave the power cuts these months, its the fear of what discoms will resort to in May-June that has them worried. ‘‘The evenings are still bearable these days but the weather in going to be scorching in May-June. If its going to be anything like last year, then we’ll once again have no electricity or water. Is this the price one pays for living in the Capital?’’ asked Arunima Jasraj, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase II. Power Punch To Discoms TOI-TNS Poll Calls Bluff Of ‘Surplus’ Electricity Sale To Other States Saurabh Sinha TNN TOI April19, 2007 P-1 New Delhi: The citizens of Delhi have called the bluff of those who run the city’s power sector. In an extensive exclusive poll by TOI, they have exposed that the argument being peddled by private distribution companies and the city power regulator, DERC, to sell 600 MW of Delhi’s power to other states is badly flawed. At a time when the city is reeling under power cuts, power is being sold to Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra on the ground that Delhi experiences a ‘lean period’ in demand between midnight and 6 am and then again from 9 am to noon. Hence, only ‘surplus’ power is being sold and big bucks are being earned for the Delhi consumer. But this ‘lean period’ argument seems to be specious. A citywide survey done for The Times of India by top market researcher TNS has thrown up startling results: an overwhelming majority of Delhiites is experiencing power cuts — ranging from one to three hours — during these so-called lean periods. The situation seems to be particularly acute in east and west Delhi, but south Delhi too is not much better off. The survey, covering 200 respondents spread across north, south, east, west and central Delhi, showed that 60% had faced power cuts in the wee hours of the morning and two-thirds said they had experienced power cuts between 9 am and noon. If there was, indeed, surplus power at these times, there shouldn’t have been power cuts. Delhiites aren’t just lamenting the sorry state of affairs. They also seem to be quite clear on what the way out of this mess is. Almost nine out of 10 respondents — 89% to be precise — said consumers should have a choice when it comes to deciding who they buy their power from. Having reaped the benefits of competition in sectors like telecom, they are now demanding that there be some competition between power suppliers too. Coming back to power cuts, roughly two-thirds said the power outages lasted about an hour or more, which is a fairly clear indicator that most of these cuts were due to load-shedding rather than breakdowns or faults. Times-TNS Survey THIS IS WHAT DISCOMS CLAIM From the night ‘LEAN PERIOD’ 400 MW is exported to UP and from the 9 am-12 noon ‘LEAN PERIOD’ 200 MW is exported to Maharashtra THIS IS WHAT THE CITIZENS SAY 60% say there are power cuts of 1-3 hrs between 12 midnight and 6 am 67% say there are power cuts during 9 am-12 noon 96% of those who complained of power cuts at night say these lasted 1-2 hrs; 3% said it was for 2-3 hrs 70% said discoms should not be allowed to sell power as the city was deficient in power 89% say there should be competition in this sector for better service |
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