Sharing the food of friendship

A bunch of Indian students enjoy some warm hospitality, extended by an Australian senior citizens group.

PREETI KANNAN reports

After numerous media reports of hostility towards Indian students in Australia, a group of retired, Australian senior citizens from Newcastle decided to take matters in their own hands to make newly-arrived students feel welcome. Monday Desperates, a modest group of Newcastle citizens who play Lawn Bowls every Monday, recently extended an invitation to Indian students at the University of Newcastle and hosted a unique ‘friendship luncheon’ for about 22 students. Their aim was to make them feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in the Australian community.

The luncheon, a first of its kinds, saw the students and about 40 members from the Monday Desperates come together and share a meal at an Indian restaurant. The luncheon was an attempt to counter antagonising reports in the Indian and Australian media about what was happening Down Under.

The students, mostly newly arrived, were deeply touched by the welcome and the warmth shown by the group.

which extends to knowing about another culture and understanding it. This makes a student’s experience complete and worth coming, even if it means leaving your comfort zone,” remarked Kanishk. He added that such interactions with locals were crucial as it made students feel comfortable, especially since they were leaving their family behind. “More such events should definitely be held across the country to not just make Indian students welcome, but also to make students from other parts of the world welcome,” he told the Indian Link Students conceded that the lunch helped them see Australians from a different perspective and the perception that Australian society is racist was dispelled.

Monday Desperates, a modest group of Newcastle citizens who play Lawn Bowls every Monday, hosted a unique ‘friendship luncheon’ for about 22 students

“We were overwhelmed by the gesture,” said Kanishk Kumar, a Newcastle University student. “Everyone felt extremely touched by the humility and welcome extended by the members of Monday Desperates. None of the students had experienced such hospitality in Australia before and the fact that it came from the local senior citizens, made it more special. One of the Indian students called me the next day and told me she missed her parents a lot after she spent time with members of Monday Desperates”.

“I feel we come from our country not just to study here, but for a holistic experience,

“The respect and generosity which we got at the luncheon was unforgettable. I never expected this because of the past attacks on Indians. But, truly speaking, Australians are really friendly and generous and the luncheon really changed my views towards Aussies,” said Zaanif Kugashia, another student. Zaanif added that the lunch helped overcome any fears of racism and was now enjoying student life.

Robert Stuart, one of the members of the Monday Desperates, who had initiated the luncheon, said, “I wanted to organise a function to provide the Indian students with a sense of belonging and acceptance in our wonderful community, just like I would have hoped a community may offer my daughter, if she was studying in India. I believed there was no finer group of local citizens with the generosity of spirit and community fellowship than the Monday Desperates and fortunately they supported me and we were thrilled with the result.”

Seventy-two-year-old Robert, who likes to be called Bob, added, “One of the unexpected surprises to come out of the dinner was learning that this was the first time all the Indian students had been brought together in one place and hardly any of them knew each other prior to this. So we were delighted they had the chance to get to know each other over lunch. This was an added bonus.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by the students. “They did a great job by arranging lunch on that day. It helped me to find out other Indians studying at the university,” said Aakash Mehta, adding, “I really liked the initiative and hope people around the world come to know how hospitable the Australians are. I am looking forward to more such encounters”.

Vaibhav Gaikawad said the lunch provided the opportunity to make good friends with people who he otherwise may never have met. “I thank Bob and all his colleagues for such a wonderful experience. It was undoubtedly the best afternoon I had in Newcastle,” he added.

The lunch was also attended by a university staff member. The Desperates was started over seven years ago and now has about over 130 men and women, who are retired doctors, nurses, solicitors, journalists, teachers, accountants and people who come from various trades and industries and also comprise of some wellknown sportsmen. The name ‘Monday Desperates’ is in fact a fun title given by former Olympic basketball player and member Terry Charlton, when he sent Bob a postcard from Zurich for the bowlers.

The group is planning a similar event in spring this year and is hoping to bring more students together.

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Bhopal panel moots enhanced relief package, Anderson’s extradition

THE MINISTERIAL PANEL on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy has recommended that the government press for former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson’s extradition from the US and set aside Rs.1,500 crore as relief package for those affected by the world’s worst industrial disaster.

In its report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram has looked at issues, including relief and rehabilitation for the victims, with key recommendations on addressing the wrongs in the disaster that killed thousands.

“We have dealt with all the issues, compensation, legal issues, including the issues of pursuing the extradition of Warren Anderson, the legal options available with the government of India,” Chidambaram told reporters after the panel finalised its report.

Anderson was Union Carbide boss in 1984 when on the night of Dec 2-3 nearly 40 tonnes of methyl isocynate gas leaked out of storage tanks of its Bhopal plant, killing an estimated 20,000 people over the years.

Sources said the panel has recommended Rs.10 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs.5 lakh for the permanently disabled and Rs.3 lakh for those disabled partially.

“The GoM has recommended Rs.1,500 crore be earmarked for the compensation,” said a source privy to the final report submitted to Manmohan Singh in a sealed envelope.

The cabinet at a special meeting will consider the report. P Chidambaram said the GoM “most importantly discussed the remediation matters and health and healthrelated matters. Kindly remember that our focus is on bringing relief to the people who have suffered. There are few thousands who continues to suffer. We think we have made significant recommendations.”

The panel has already convened four sessions. It has recommended a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking reconsideration of its order diluting charges against the accused and fixing criminal liability in the tragedy, the sources said.

The Supreme Court in 1996 had diluted the charges against the accused from culpable homicide not amounting to murder to negligence.

The panel also cleared a proposal to clean up the plant site in Bhopal of the toxic waste, recommending that the poisonous material be buried.

But the onus of cleaning up the site has been laid on the Madhya Pradesh government with financial and technical assistance from the central government.

This means that Dow Chemicals, which took over Union Carbide in 2001, will be spared from the clean-up job that will need some Rs.300 crore, the sources said.

The panel also recommended that the government take over the Bhopal Memorial Trust Hospital, which was established in the aftermath of the tragedy exclusively for the disaster victims. Some Rs.230 crore would be needed to upgrade it.

The high-level ministerial group reconstituted by Manmohan Singh last month held four sessions to finalise the recommendations. It was originally set up in 2008.

The panel also comprises Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Urban Planning Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Roads and Highways Minister Kamal Nath, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja, Fertilisers and Chemicals Minister M.K. Alagiri, Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. Madhya Pradesh’s minister in-charge of rehabilitation is a permanent invitee to the panel.

Chidambaram said the GoM was not over. “It will continue to address any issue that will come up before it.”

On June 7, a Bhopal court sentenced seven Indian executives of Union Carbide to only two years in jail and immediately granted them bail, a decision that sparked outrage in the country.

Congress refuses comment on who decided on Anderson’s release

INSISTING THAT former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had not taken the decision to provide safe passage to then Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson, the Congress refused to take questions about who had taken the decision to release the man who is an accused in the Bhopal gas leak case.

Responding to queries, party spokesman Manish Tewari said the Group of Ministers looking into the Bhopal gas tragedy was dealing with all issues relating to the case and had given a report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“Unless the report is made public officially, we can’t comment on it,” Tewari said.

He said the party will respond “if and when the government decides to make the report public”.

Asked about former foreign secretary M.K. Rasgotra’s comments about the then home ministry under P.V. Narasimha Rao taking a decision to provide safe passage to Anderson which was later consented to by Rajiv Gandhi, Tewari said it was not for the party to react to the recollection by individuals of events that took place more than 25 years back.

However, in reply to a question, he said that Rajiv Gandhi was not involved in the decision to release Anderson.

The Congress has all along maintained that the central government, then headed by Rajiv Gandhi, had no role in the release of Anderson, the main accused in the Bhopal gas leak case and the GoM would look at various issues concerning the tragedy.

Delhi-Gurgaon metro starts

THE METRO RAIL service on the 14.47 km Gurgaon-New Delhi route has started, ending the long wait of commuters for an effective transport system connecting this satellite town with the national capital.

The first Metro trains began running simultaneously from the HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon and the Qutub Minar in south Delhi at 8 a.m. The line will be extended in a month to Central Secretariat and Jehangirpuri in north Delhi.

“We have been craving for good public transport for long. There have been several announcements of starting a bus service and construction of the Metro was also going on simultaneously. The inauguration came as a respite and we are hopeful that the line will be connected to other lines of DMRC soon,” said Sukanya, a resident of Heritage city of Gurgaon.

Staff of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and some passengers were seen on the first few trains but the crowds started gathering by 11 a.m.

As of now, the entire 14.47 km section is not ready and trains will not initially stop at the Chhattarpur station, which is likely to be opened to the public only by August.

“The construction work on the station was delayed as the land for building the station was made available only in October last year,” said a DMRC spokesperson.

The trains will run at a frequency of 12 minutes on this corridor from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“Five trains have been pressed into service initially and their number will be increased gradually. On June 11, the corridor had received the statutory safety clearance from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) after he inspected the entire stretch,” the spokesperson added.

The 10 stations on this elevated section are HUDA City Centre, IFFCO Chowk, MG Road, Sikanderpur, Guru Dronacharya, Arjangarh, Ghitorni, Sultanpur, Chhattarpur and Qutub Minar.

Despite being the first day of the week, the new Metro line attracted comparatively lesser number of passengers than expected. Metro officials, however, said that more crowds are expected once the complete line becomes operational.

DMRC officials told IANS that the total footfall at the new Metro link was around 12,000 and sale of tokens and smart cards crossed over Rs.1 lakh.

“The new Metro stretch saw a nominal crowd. This line will attract more commuters only when it is extended next month to Central Secretariat and Jehangirpuri,” an official told IANS.

“By 2011 we expect a footfall of 1.6 lakh every day,” the official added. Meanwhile, the Gurgaon administration has planned to run connecting buses on six different routes within the city for Metro passengers, officials said.

“Both AC and non-AC buses will ply on these routes,” Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Rajender Kataria said. Some routes of the buses have been finalized but the routes and number of buses can be increased depending on the number of passengers.

The minimum fare for the Metro route is Rs.8 and the maximum is Rs.30. With this line coming into service, the Delhi Metro will cover a total stretch of 125 km with 107 stations.

Once it gets connected with the Central Secretariat-Jehangirpuri line in north Delhi by July, the Metro will have greater connectivity. The entire stretch of 45 km will connect north Delhi (Jahangirpuri), south Delhi (Green Park, Saket, AIIMS, Hauz Khas) and Gurgaon (HUDA City Centre).

In November last year Delhi Metro started its services to the satellite town of Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi Metro makes over 1,900 trips on its five lines and covers a distance of 111 km excluding the new metro corridor.

By the October Commonwealth Games, the Metro network is expected to reach nearly all areas of the capital as well as suburbs like Gurgaon, covering nearly 190 km.

About one million commuters use the Metro on weekdays. During the Games, about two million commuters are expected to use the Metro on weekdays.

BEML to deliver first coach to Bangalore Metro in October

State-run BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Ltd) will deliver the first Metro coach to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) in October for the mass rapid transit service scheduled to commence this year-end, a top company official said.

“We will deliver the first coach to BMRC in October for trial run and additional cars by December for commercial run.

A mock-up (model) of the Metro car will be on display at Anik Kumble circle on M.G. Road from July for public viewing,” BEML chairman and managing director V.R.S. Natarajan told reporters.

The mini-ratna company secured the order worth Rs.1,672 crore for supply of 150 standard gauge Metro cars to BMRC, a joint venture of the state and central government, that will operate the service across this tech hub covering 43 km in the first phase.

The Metro cars are being manufactured at BEML’s Bangalore plant in technical collaboration with Mitsubishi group of Japan and Hyundai Rotem of South Korea.

“The Rs.6,395-crore Bangalore Metro is on schedule. We will supply the first electric train set of three coaches to BMRC by November for commissioning the service,” Natarajan said while briefing the media on the company’s financial performance in fiscal 2009-10.

The first elevated section of the Metro rail will be 7 km between M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium on M.G. Road in the heart of the city to Byappanahalli in the eastern suburb.

When expanded, the first phase will have two corridors - east-west and north-south - covering 18 km and 25 km, with around 9 km underground in the central parts of the city.

“Each train set will carry about 1,000 commuters in three light weight airconditioned stainless steel coaches. The set will be augmented with three additional coaches to ferry over 2,000 passengers,” Natarajan pointed out.

The company is betting on a second order to supply an additional 63 coaches to BMRC.

“We have been supplying the coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) during the last two years in partnership with Rotem,” Natarajan recalled.

Of the total order for 192 coaches from DMRC, the company delivered 132 cars till fiscal 2009-10.

“We are looking for orders from other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. We have been pre-qualified for Chennai Metro and will be bidding for Hyderabad Metro along with our partner,” Natarajan added.

The company, which currently has an installed capacity to roll out 25 metro coaches per month, is exploring contract manufacturing opportunities from its competitors.

Nitish-BJP stand-off continues, question mark on alliance

AS TIES BETWEEN the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remained strained, the BJP held two rounds of discussions on the political situation in Bihar, where it is part of the ruling coalition with the Janata Dal-United, but deferred a decision on whether to continue with the alliance.

Party chief Nitin Gadkari held two meetings in the capital.

His first meeting was with the parliamentary board chairman L.K. Advani and former president Venkaiah Naidu at Advani’s residence. This was followed by the second meeting with BJP Bihar chief C.P.Thakur and Shahnawaz Hussain.

In Patna, the tension was evident where JD-U leader Nitish Kumar and his BJP deputy Sushil Modi avoided each other at the swearing-in-ceremony of the new chief justice of the Patna High Court. Neither of them spoke to each other. Sushil Modi had boycotted a march by Nitish Kumar, who retaliated by cancelling an evening event of the march.

The chief minister, before leaving for a rally, flashed a smile towards reporters and said: “There is no need to take tension. Try to be relaxed.”

The differences between Nitish Kumar and the BJP boiled over June 12 after newspaper advertisements featuring him and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi appeared in vernacular dailies in Bihar. A peeved Nitish Kumar returned Rs.5 crore to Gujarat given for flood relief by Modi.

Bihar BJP chief C.P. Thakur and party spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain met with party veteran L.K. Advani to explore the possibilities of calling a truce with the JD-U ahead of assembly elections due in October.

“We are running a vehicle of development in Bihar together with JD-U... We are not against progress, so we are trying to put it back together,” Hussain told reporters here.

Thakur later said the BJP was keen to continue with the 14-year-old alliance, but wanted Nitish Kumar to take some conciliatory steps to end the strain in relations.

Thakur said the state unit was “hurt” at the chief minister’s decision to return the Rs.5 crore flood relief money sent by the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat.

He said the BJP wanted the coalition to continue but the party would not compromise on dignity. “We want the coalition should stay but with dignity,” Thakur told IANS.

Thakur said the JD-U was also in favour of continuing the alliance.

But despite public statements indicating possible rapproachment, sections in both the JD-U and the BJP are reportedly against continuing the alliance, fuelling speculation that the relationship would snap.

BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz

Hussain had met JD-U chief Shard Yadav and asked him to decide on the party’s stand on the alliance. The JD-U has yet to respond.

As the allies bickered, their political rivals had a field day.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said the BJP-led NDA was crumbling.

He said the NDA “may exist on paper but it was only matter of time before the remaining constituents also start looking for alternatives”.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ram Vilas Paswan said he would wait and watch to see what Nitish Kumar’s moves were.

“We have to see whether Nitish Kumar is enacting an electoral drama. Otherwise, why this sudden reversal of stand by Nitish Kumar? He had no problem with the BJP, the RSS and Narendra Modi for the past four-and-a-half years,” Paswan told IANS.

Kanishka bombing report no consolation to victim families

THERE IS LITTLE consolation, for the families of 329 Air India Kanishka bombing victims in the Canadian inquiry report released by Justice John Major who headed the investigations.

Since rivalry between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had led the plot to succeed and the accused to go scot free, the inquiry has recommended that a new director of Terrorism Prosecutions be created to co-ordinate such cases in the future.

The new director of terrorism prosecutions should “provide relevant legal advice to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams and to the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service,” the 4,000-page report says.

Though the spy agency (CSIS) had successfully traced and wire-taped the plot mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar testing the bomb, it failed to give the tapes to the RCMP. In fact, it erased the tapes rather than hand them over to the RCMP to successfully prosecute the suspects.

The report says “CSIS should destroy such intelligence after 25 years or a period determined by parliament, but only if the director of CSIS certifies that it is no longer relevant.”

Since the Air India case was tried a single judge, the report recommends up to 16 jurors in future terror cases. In all, the report makes 64 major recommendations.

The Air India Kanishka flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi was blown off mid air near the Irish coast June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on aboard.

Another bomb, meant for another Air India flight, also went off at Tokyo airport the same day, killing two baggage handlers.

As the Air India trial confirmed, both the bombs were loaded by pro-Khalistan elements at Vancouver airport in two unaccompanied suitcases which were later transferred to the connecting Air India flight and Tokyo-bound flight at Toronto airport.

The bombing mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar, who wanted to avenge the Indian Army’s action at the Golden Temple in 1984 to flush militants led by Bhindranwale, fled to India where he was killed in a gun battle with the Punjab Police.

Only Inderjit Singh Reyat, who was released last year after spending 15 years in jail, was convicted for the bombing.

Two other suspects - Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik - were acquitted by the trial court in March 2005.

The verdict created pressure on the Canadian government, to pinpoint the reasons for the worst air tragedy till 9/11, leading to the appointment of the commission under Justice John Major.

The five-volume report, which also carries various academic papers and a number of studies, will pinpoint the causes and systemic failures which led to the worst aviation tragedy till 9/11.

Himalayan tunnel to be engineering marvel

THE FOUNDATION OF the Rohtang tunnel - expected to be the world’s longest tunnel at over 13,000 ft - will be laid June 28, paving the way for round-the-year road access to India’s strategic Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir which otherwise remains cut off by snow for half the year.

The 8.8 km-long Himalayan tunnel, hailed as an engineering wonder that is coming up under the Indian Army’s road building wing, will be inaugurated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, giving wing to her husband and late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s dream.

Located in Himachal Pradesh, the tunnel is expected to be ready by 2015 and will serve as a nerve centre for the Indian Army to carry supplies to Ladakh.

“It will be much longer than the present longest tunnels anywhere in the world at altitudes over 2,500 m. The nearest in comparison to the Rohtang Tunnel is the Anzob in Tajikistan which is five kilometres long at an altitude of 3,372 m,” said a spokesperson of the defence ministry that is constructing the “engineering marvel”.

It was a dream of Sonia Gandhi’s late husband Rajiv Gandhi, who had conceived it 26 years ago. She will fly to Rohtang Pass in the Pir Panjal range of mountains, 51 km from the hill town of Manali, to lay the foundation stone of the Rs.1,495 crore tunnel.

Ladakh, a cold desert region, shares borders with China and Pakistan. The Kargil sector of the region was at the centre of the 1999 India-Pakistan military conflict.

The over eight kilometer long mountainous stretch where the tunnel is being built otherwise remains snowbound, cutting off the tribal Lahaul-Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh and also the strategically vital Ladakh region from the rest of the country for over six months every year.

The tunnel will take over five years to complete and the ministry of defence says digging for the tunnel remains the most challenging task.

“The tunnel’s design would be novel in many ways,” said the defence ministry spokesperson.

Its distance and the “rarefied atmosphere” at the heights it is located at, the official said, make the tunnel a “landmark in the making”.

“The tunnel would incorporate semitransverse ventilation system,” he said, boasting of large fans that would circulate air in and out throughout the tunnel length. With a horseshoe shaped cross-section, the tunnel will be 11.25 m wide at road