Monday, March 1, 2010

RCA may sell tickets over counter

16 Feb 2010 JAIPUR: Online sale of tickets for the February 21 India- South Africa ODI, may see some changes over the next couple of days. Reacting to protests by some student unions against it being the only medium to purchase tickets, the organizing committee may open a couple of ticket counters.

Vivek Vyas, member, ticketing committee, refused comment on rumours. Speaking to TOI he said, “As of now I can say there is no such development. For the time being we are going ahead with online booking only.”
When probed further on the protests at a few places and some students union leaders meeting RCA officials to press their demand, he said, “The sale of tickets indicate the system is well accepted. However, the issue will be placed in the organizing committee meeting to be chaired by our president. He will take the final call on the issue.” The meeting is said to take place on Wednesday where the progress so far will be reviewed.
As fans continue to click on the RCA site to book their tickets, ground preparations are almost over. The curators have made the practice pitches ready and all training equipment have been put in place. “We are ready to conduct the practice sessions for the teams,” said pitch curator Tapos Chatterjee. The final touches are being given to the main stadium and in a couple of days the ground will be match fit, he added.
“We have stopped watering the main track and will do so again in case the weather becomes hot and cracks appear. Also the outfield has been cut and whatever patches are there we are filling them. It will not take long from our end,” he added.
Meanwhile, security at the stadium has been beefed up and private security guards along with cops have taken the charge of the ground and every movement inside is being marked. The construction of support on the outside walls of the west stand, providing struts inside and barricading for stands is nearing completion and in a couple of days the boxes will be ready for the run feast.

Air travel from Sanganer posts 13% growth in ’09

16 Feb 2010 JAIPUR: The demand for air travel (domestic and international) has registered a growth of 13% in 2009, compared to an annual national growth of 8%. December has broken all the previous records and registered an all-time high of 1.43 lakh passengers amid swine flu scare.

The last six months (July-December) were very promising for Sanganer Airport which witnessed an average growth of 43%, compared to the corresponding period last year. According to AAI, Jaipur, total passengers flown in and out of Sanganer Airport were 14.19 lakh in 2009, compared with 12.53 lakh in 2008.
“Since operations started at new terminal building (July 2009), the passenger traffic witnessed a phenomenal rise. The travellers from both long and short haul (750 km and below 750 km distance from the city) had increased significantly,” said Anuj Agarwal.
Experts say that the gradual recovery from economic meltdown along with special offers by the airlines is responsible for the shining of aviation sector. Enthused by the rising numbers, the airport authority, Jaipur, has confirmed to have received proposals from some domestic and international airlines ahead of a Commonwealth Games. “Akash Ganga, a domestic airline, besides Best Air (Bangladesh) and Spice Jet are likely to start their international operations from this year,” added Agarwal.
The highest growth rate of 70% was recorded in September and that too in the middle of swine flu scare world over. This was followed by August which recorded a growth of 66%. The overseas passengers showed a phenomenal rise in October, November and December. In December alone, 19,500 foreigners travelled in and out of the Sanganer Airport.
“The sudden rise in foreign air travellers in last three months of previous year can be attributed to the tourist season, besides the surge in national and international corporate events that invites delegates from abroad,” said Tiahra Chishty, manager of an event management company.
Going by the figures, March was the worst-hit, as air passenger traffic registered a 24.7% decline. Domestic passengers in March 2009 was 85,045, as compared to 1.13 lakh in the same period in 2008. During summer vacation — May and June — the market showed good response as traffic jumped from -2.1% to 27%, respectively.
This sudden rise in passengers had boosted the airlines and hospitality industry that is still reaping the fruits of economic recovery. “In the last three months of the previous year (October, November and December), the airline capacity has remained around 70-80% which is profitable for the airlines,” said a premier airline official pleading anonymity.
The Northward trend has continued in January (2010) which had registered a growth of 20% and compared to the corresponding year. The existing domestic and international terminal is handling a movement of 35 flights a day, with no change since 2008.
“The very purpose of building a new terminal with a cost of Rs 100 crore is to handle the increasing passengers and flight traffic with the rate of 30% per year,” said an airport official.

Rs 2.5 lakh looted from employees of electricity dept

16 Feb 2010 JAIPUR: Two unidentified miscreants looted Rs 2.50 lakh from two electricity department employees who were returning to office after collecting the amount from consumers in Arniya village under Bandikui police station in Dausa district on Monday.

Police have registered a case in this regard and are investigating the incident.
According to police, Ram Kishore Sharma and Rameshwar Sharma were sitting at a shop of one Bhola Ram after collecting the electricity bill amount from the consumers of the area. Two persons on a motorcycle approached them and inquired about Bhola Ram, who was not present in the shop. Hearing this, they went away but as soon as the duo left the shop for their office to deposit the cash, the miscreants followed them. On reaching a deserted location, the duo tried to snatch the bag but when resisted, the miscreants threw chili powder in their eyes and snatched the bag, police said.
Sources said that though victims have sustained minor injuries, police are also looking into the possibility of their involvement in the incident.
Bandikui police said they have registered a case and are looking into the matter. Police have recorded statements of the victims and strict check has been launched in the area to nab the miscreants.

Basic water usage cap to be fixed, pay more for extra

16 Feb 2010 JAIPUR: Use more, pay more. The government is considering a progressive tariff policy for water. Users will now have to shell out more if they consume more than the basic limit to be soon fixed by the state government. The proposal was cleared by the state cabinet’s sub-committee.
However, the cabinet will have to give its final approval to the new draft water policy. This is likely on Wednesday. Under the new policy, drinking water tops the list of priority, followed by water for irrigation and power generation.
The new policy aims to optimise the water available in the state. The water resources department will prepare a comprehensive inventory of the existing resources before it drafts its distribution plan. Water distribution would henceforth be done in a decentralised manner.
“The policy looks into the prospects of diverting excess water in some areas to where there is a deficit by connecting the basins. This would be done after gauging the environmental impact and gaining confidence of the locals in the area,” said an official, adding that the state government is also contemplating limiting the use of groundwater. A source from the department confirmed that this would mean limiting the use of groundwater for commercial purposes.
Traditional water harvesting structures, along with the new ones, would be promoted. Principal secretary, water resources, Ram Lubhaya, said, “As part of the decentralisation, funds, functions and functionaries would be transferred to the panchayat and local bodies to involve more people in water management.” The draft policy states the state is heading towards absolute water scarcity. The per capita annual water availability in the state is about 780 cubic meter against a minimum requirement of 1000 cubic meter. It is feared that the availability would fall below 450 cubic meter by 2050.

Patient treated as 'specimen', given wrong injection

15 Feb 2010JAIPUR: A patient undergoing treatment at SMS Hospital for bone marrow infection was allegedly administered a wrong injection after which he developed complications and was rushed to the emergency ward. The patient, currently recuperating in the hospital, was reportedly taken to another ward by medical students as a ‘specimen’ for their college examination, during which the wrong medicine was given. As the patient developed complications, the nursing staff tore off the prescription of the medicine.

According to sources, the patient, Vijay Sharma, was undergoing treatment at 2F ward of the hospital and had been advised bone marrow transplant. As the surgery was unaffordable for his family, doctors at the ward had been providing best treatment to him.
However, on Saturday afternoon, he was taken to another ward by medical students and given an injection — Vanking 500 MG — in addition to other prescribed drugs. The patient soon developed rashes all over the body and complained of severe discomfort.
As the hospital staff realised their mistake, their first reaction was to destroy the evidence. “The nursing staff at the ward manhandled us and forcibly took away the prescription and tore it to pieces,” said a relative of the patient.
“After giving the injection, his condition deteriorated and the doctors at the 2F ward refused to accept him,” he added.

Corruption in NREGS not alarming

15 Feb 2010Emergence of a local mafia that siphons off funds, misuse of taxpayer's money or largescale corruption -- several anomalies have been detected during the implementation of NREGS since its launch in 2005. However, talking to Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Union minister for rural development and panchayati raj CP Joshi allayed misconceptions about the UPA government's flagship scheme, saying the NREGS had given a new dimension towards empowerment of rural India.

Q: The social audit of NREGS in Rajasthan was launched from Bhilwara, the constituency represented by you. But it was abruptly stopped. Why the brakes were imposed all of a sudden?
A:The social audit of NREGS in the state was stopped in compliance with a court order, which was based on the bylaws of the NREGA, which already has provisions for the audit of the funds involving sarpanches and officers from the local administration. Moreover, panchayat is a state subject and if states want to initiate audit through some other agency, they can do so as it had been done in Andhra Pradesh. I agree that ensuring transparency with the given norms was a little difficult as a sarpanch himself will be part of the audit team. But bringing any change can happen only through an amendment in the Act. One needs to understand the national corollary of the Act which mandates 100 days work to unemployed.
Q: Social activists, who were part of the audit team, allege that the governments (Centre and state) were not serious on checking the deep-rooted corruption in utilisation of NREGS funds. They say politicians were constrained by vote-bank politics and lacked will power?
A: I appreciate a few social activists who are doing excellent social service in Rajasthan and other parts of the country. But they need to understand the expanse of the scheme and the imminent challenges. There are 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country, where the NREGS has been implemented. Over Rs 40,000 crore is earmarked under the scheme so far. But my department has recieved complaints of irregularity in funds worth Rs 7.5 crore, which is negligible. So, the alleged corruption was not as alarming as it is being cited and it can be contained through routine exercises.
Q: NREGS has played a vital role in checking migration from villages but it has also hampered several other sectors mainly in urban areas like shortage of labourers etc. Besides, there is no quality check as there have been instances of funds not being properly utilised.
A: NREGS has a message for urban elite, the employer of the labourers in rural areas. They will have to pay the stipulated money to the labourer, otherwise NREGA ensures 100 days job in his own village. So it is for the people to increase the pay and keep the inflow of the labourer intact. The project initiative happens at the panchayat level and there are multi-tier screening committees which evaluate the viability of a project proposal. The processes involved are mainly meant to minimise any chance of manipulation.
Q: NREGS has also led to emergence of a new mafia which controls the entire funding process. Are you aware of it? If yes, what steps have been taken?
A: The so-called emergence of NREGS mafia is a new terminology coined by media a few days back. But, as I told earlier, there are several agencies involved in the entire exercise and hence "mafia" per se is not possible. Yes, there are some problems like how effective are the elected representatives. Over 66% of them are SC/STs and women. Majority of them are dependent on upper caste landlords. Women are guided by their male family members. But empowerment can't happen overnight and it will take some time. Once the elected representatives become self-dependent, most of the problems will be sorted out automatically.
Q: What modifications, you think, are required in NREGS?
A: Delayed payments are the biggest challenge. So it is the most important priority for us. Besides, NREGS will be introduced in Scheduled areas, as it could not be introduced in absence of panchayat machinery. Over 60,000 panchayats fall in Scheduled areas. For this purpose, the IT-enabled Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra is being opened in Scheduled areas through which NREGS funds will be allocated. Rs 10,000 crore has already been sanctioned and 1,000 kendras at panchayat level and 2,500 at panchayat samiti level will be set up. The entire project has been launched from Rajasthan. Convergence of various projects under NREGS is also being worked out. Water-shed projects, forestry and agriculture will also be covered.
Q: There have been allegations that VIP constituencies are the main beneficiaries of NREGS. In Rajasthan, Bhilwara is one of them, which has been allocated the maximum funds?
A: Allocations are demand-based. So there should not be any confusion in this regard. Funding to Bhilwara was high even when I was not an MP from there. So such allegations are totally baseless. There are states like UP, Punjab, Haryana from where demand is not high. So allocations are done accordingly.