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March14, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Nursing Against the Odds: The Workers' View >> |
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1] From: "River Basin Friends\(RVC\)" <riverbasinfriends@yahoo.co.in> Date: Sun Mar 13, 2005 0:04pm Subject: Roar of ULFA bombs may not shake Delhi Roar of ULFA bombs may not shake Delhi GUWAHATI, March 12: The roar of the ULFA bombs is meant to be heard in distant Delhi. It??™s true that ahead of any important day in the outlawed outfit??™s calendar, members of the group??™s bomb squad becomes active and triggers off explosions, both at random as well as targeted at vital installations. But, this time round, the ULFA bosses would want those manning the Delhi durbar to hear it loud and clear. The rebel group after all is supposed to be keen on entering into a dialogue with the Government of India and wants the Prime Minister??™s Office (PMO) to respond, keeping in mind their condition that sovereignty must be on the agenda for talks. Within a span of 72 hours, the ULFA has managed to carry out around 20 bomb and grenade attacks across Assam, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30 others. The ULFA, ahead of its ???Army Day??™ on March 16, may have thought that it has been able to actually demonstrate its strike potential. But, it will certainly be at a loss to counter arguments by the security establishment that a militant group takes to as easy a task as bombings only when it is not at its peak militarily. The latest orgy of violence led to the death of a police sub-inspector who has been credited with successfully defusing around 30 bombs earlier. But, he was not lucky this time round. The police said that the technology used by the rebels while making the improvised explosive devices, of late, is different. This means that the Assam Police bomb experts are as yet trying to grapple with the new-type of bombs assembled by the ULFA that makes defusing them a lot more difficult. This suggests two things: one, intelligence agencies in the State does not really have the latest update on the types of explosives used by the ULFA, and secondly, the ULFA itself has access to the latest in the range of explosive devices. If that is to ULFA??™s credit, the counter-insurgency machinery in the State will have to do a bit of explaining: Where is the ULFA sourcing its bombs? Are the explosives assembled locally? If so, why such underground operations have not been detected so far? If not, how could so many bombs make its way into a supposedly high-security place like Guwahati? Questions really abound. As things stand today, the ULFA propaganda machinery appears to be still well oiled. On the contrary, the Assam Police does not appear to be keen on keeping the media posted on its version of events as they unfold. So today, no one in the media can say for sure as to how many bombs have exploded, the exact number of people injured and so on. This leaves a lot of guesswork and different tallies in the media on the same incident. There is no official briefing by the Assam Government, leaving journalists to hunt for information from their own sources. The Assam Police has no spokesperson. Of course, it has a part-time Chief Public Relations Officer! Only the Chief Minister is expected to take questions and comment on developing situations. The police chief is ???busy??™ in ???meetings.??™ There are sections in the state administration who seem to think that since the number of casualties in the current spate of bombings are small, there is nothing much to worry about. If New Delhi also happens to think likewise, things could turn worse. In the final analysis, the ULFA may not quite succeed in pressurizing New Delhi to respond favourably if it continues with such mindless attacks just to show off its ???strength.??™ Rather, the ULFA should give New Delhi an opportunity to react by keeping its violent campaign on hold. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2]Meghalaya Governor on Dams ,Linking of Rivers and Uranium mining Guwahati, Sunday, March 13, 2005 NORTH EAST ???Strong lobbies opposing development??™ SHILLONG, March 12 ??“ ???Whose interests are they seeking to serve by opposing developmental activities???? Meghalaya Governor MM Jacob has posed this moot question while observing that of late, some ???very vocal lobbies??? have come up in the country, which seem to oppose all forms of development on some pretext or the other. Inaugurating a symposium on ???Governance and Corruption??™ organized by the People??™s Rally Against Corruption (PRAC) here on Saturday, Jacob said energy was the ???engine of growth??™ for any economy. ???But strong lobbies have emerged to oppose setting up of new power plants in any form ??“ be it hydel, thermal or nuclear,??? he observed. ???They oppose construction of multi-purpose dams, irrigation systems, road networks, setting up of industrial parks, extension of railway lines, linking of river systems, and all such developmental efforts.??? The Governor??™s observations assume significance in the light of the fact that several NGOs in Meghalaya are vocal against several such projects, including extension of rail network and mining of uranium. Asking as to where these ???lobbies??™ got the resources from to carry out such sustained campaigns, Jacob pondered, ???What is their prescription for development???? ???These are disturbing questions, and need to be addressed while debating about corruption in the public domain,??? he said. Citing the strong opposition by certain NGOs to the proposed mining of uranium in Meghalaya, the Governor called for an ???open minded-approach??™ to the controversy. ???If we are assured by the scientific community that uranium mining, with adequate safeguards in place, would not be hazardous, then we should be prepared to accept it.??? Stating that uranium mining could bring in ???lots of benefit??? to the people of the state, Jacob, however, emphasized a ???very scientific way??? of mining in order to avoid any health hazard to the population living in the area. The Domiasiat area in the West Khasi Hills has rich deposits of uranium. Observing that India was currently denied access to uranium in the international market, the Governor stressed that it was in the national interest to develop ???indigenous sources??™ of the yellow cake. ravindranath ,Rural Volunteers Centre,Po+Vill-Akajan. Via-Silapathar District-Dhemaji.787059,Assam. India. Mobile-09435089275 phone-0091-3753-246306/246436/Fax-246353/245758(if BSNL is functional) E mail. rvcassam@g... assamravi@y... |
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March14, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Nursing Against the Odds: The Workers' View >> |
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