B4U India

Paswan promises all possible aid to Bihar flood victims

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:33:00 -0400

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan has said that he along with his party members would provide as much relief as possible to flood victims in Bihar.

Paswan conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected Purnia district and distributed clothes and food among flood victims on Thursday.

"Our solo aim is to provide as much as possible relief material to the flood victims through our party and our ministry. We provide support to them," said Paswan.

According to aid agencies, millions are now living on embankments, roads and in overcrowded camps in filthy conditions.

"I stayed on a raised place for four days," said Mohammad Mustaque, a flood victim.

The army has so far deployed 37 columns for flood relief operations in the state.

According to officials, three million people have been displaced from their homes and at least 90 killed by floods in Bihar after the Kosi River burst a dam in Nepal, swamping hundreds of villages in Bihar.

About 650,000 people have been evacuated so far. (ANI)

President Patil launches national teachers'' portal

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:32:00 -0400

President Pratibha Patil launched a national portal for teachers (www.teachersofindia.org) here today on the occasion of Teachers'' Day.

Launching the portal, Patil said it is definitely a medium to improve the quality of education in schools and will also improve the teacher-student interaction in class.

The Azim Premji Foundation has developed the portal, with support from the National Knowledge Commission, which has been working for the creation of web, based portals on key issues for aggregating and disseminating knowledge.

The portal for teachers will offer a platform for sharing best practices and generating discussion in the teaching community.

Over the next few months the portal will offer content in several languages as well as provide access to other communities such as students, parents and teacher educators.

The initial phase of the portal envisages a space for teachers to express their ideas and share their thoughts on any subject that touches their professional lives. Phase one involves the uploading of material created by and for teachers in five languages (Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada).

These will be short articles written by teachers on subjects of their choice including classroom practice, their experiences in school and ideas that they tried to experiment on. This Phase also envisages the beginnings of a district-wise directory of resource organizations working in education - this will help teachers gain access to material and people in their own geographic area.

During the subsequent phases of the portal, teachers will continue to contribute their thoughts.

Links will be provided to websites of other organizations, institutions and people to provide access for teachers.

Resource material (articles, policy documents, manuals, tools and modules) by experts in the field will be made available on the portal either directly or through links. Teachers will be able to interact with each other and post questions and opinions.

The number of languages offered by the portal will gradually increase until all Indian languages are covered. The Home Page will also feature a "Teacher of the Month" in recognition of special efforts.

This portal will offer resources related to education perspectives (Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Economics), classroom practice (Principles of Pedagogy, Pedagogy of Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports) including manuals, activities, modules, tools etc.

Subject Content (Language, Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, EVS, Art, Music, Dance, Sports) Stories, Songs, Games that teachers can use in class, reading resources (including links to other websites/portals/on line library), research information and specific case studies. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Salman Khan celebrates ''Ganesh Chaturthi''

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:32:00 -0400

Bollywood actor Salam Khan celebrated ''Ganesh Chaturthi'', the birthday of Lord Ganesha, with gaiety and fanfare here on Thursday.

Salman performed rituals connected with the festival at his residence.

"In my family, we have people of different faiths. There might be problems otherwise, but religion has never been a cause of a problem in our family," Khan said.

The transgender community in the city also joined in the celebrations.

"I wish that my work prospers. I have offered my prayers to the Lord. I do it every year," said Manisha, a transgender.

The ten-day long festival began on Wednesday.

Ganesh Chaturthi for years was a personal and private affair. But at the turn of the century, freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started using it as a platform for political propaganda against British colonial rule.

The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath.

Parvati''''s husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva''''s snow-clad mountain abode.

When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal''''s head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods. (ANI)

PM to lay foundation stone for modernisation and expansion of Salem Steel Plant

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:31:00 -0400

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the Rs 1750-crore modernisation and expansion of the Salem Steel Plant (SSP) at Salem in Tamil Nadu today.

The foundation ceremony will be held in the presence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister for Steel Ram Vilas Paswan.

The plan envisages installation of steel making facilities, including a continuous slab caster and expansion of the plant''s cold rolling capacity. The project is expected to be completed in three years.

During his visit, Dr. Singh and Sonia will also attend the 150th year celebrations of the Madras University in Chennai where they would be conferred honorary doctorates, along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Later, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Apollo Reach hospital in the state.

Tight security arrangements have been made in view of visits of the PM and Sonia. (ANI)

W. Bengal Governor to chair talks with CPM, Trinamool on Singur impasse

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:31:00 -0400

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi will today chair a crucial meeting with the representatives of the State Government and the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in an effort to mediate between the two sides to find a solution to the Singur deadlock.

A Raj Bhavan press statement said that the Governor envisaged his exercise as one that would result in a sense of shared, not one-sided, achievement.

Former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Chittatosh Mukherjee will advise the Governor on legal aspects during the course of discussions at Raj Bhavan.

Earlier, last evening the Governor held separate meetings with delegations from both sides.

Embroiled in controversy over land acquisition for the TATA Motors project at Singur that led to suspension of work at the plant, its chairman Ratan Tata met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on the same day.

Ratan Tata said he was hopeful of launching the Nano as he had planned and the company was doing “everything possible” to meet the deadline. The prospect of the talks has raised hopes that the Rs one lakh car could roll out on time in October this year.

Following TATA Motors announcement that it would relocate its Nano plant from Singur, Mamata, who had been insisting that she wouldn''t talk to the Government unless it first agreed to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers, now softened her stand to take the initiative of urging the Governor to be a mediator.

The possibility of Tata pulling out has sparked anger among supporters of the project, many of them farmers who had got compensation or jobs at the factory.

The Nano project has been billed as key to the rejuvenation of industries in West Bengal. The controversy over the factory has hurt the state''s image as an investment destination.

In view that the stalemate was exacting social costs of a high magnitude apart from the investment costs and the implications on the polity, Gandhi wrote a letter on Wednesday to Ratan Tata informing him about the initiative taken to resolve the deadlock at Singur.

An optimistic State Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said: “If we can together find a solution, then we can request Tata Motors'' representatives to stayback in the state and resume operations.” (ANI)