Now, Hazare says he didn’t want ‘political’ alternative

September 30, 2012

Hazare_political_alternative

 

New Delhi, September 30: Maintaining strong opposition to entering politics as it is “full of dirt”, Anna Hazare on Sunday claimed that he did not get answers from the Arvind Kejriwal-led group on questions raised by him on how to organise a political alternative.

 

Mr. Hazare, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday morning and met activists to chalk out the next course of action on an apolitical anti-corruption movement, said the path of “politics is not sacred and it is full of dirt” but the route of agitation is “sacred”.

 

Contending that a big movement and not politics will give the country its future, the activist said he had told the pro-party group that the route of politics was “not the right direction”.

 

“I did not give an alternative. When I was told that an alternative has to be given, I said it is a good idea but I asked them to answer my five-six questions (on how to provide an alternative). But I did not get those answers,” he told reporters.

 

Mr. Hazare was referring to the questions he raised on how will members of a new party be selected, where the money will come from and how will candidates for elections be selected among others.

 

The activist’s fresh salvo against Mr. Kejriwal came two days after he wrote in a blog that the anti-corruption group split due to “politics” within and not because of any attempts by government.

 

“If I had to enter elections I would have done it when I would have done it much earlier. I have not even fought Panchayat elections. When I talk about alternative, I am not talking about political alternative,” he said.

 

He said he will be talking to activists, retired bureaucrats and others in the next couple of days about the next course of action. “Politics is not the right direction. If politics would given us a bright future, then why India once called a golden bird had to mortgage gold. This country will not get the right future from politics,” he said.

 

Mr. Hazare will return to Ralegan Siddhi on Monday.

 


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News Network
July 18,2020

New Delhi, Jul 18: The Covid-19 lockdown-led reduction in air pollution levels across five Indian cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, may have prevented about 630 premature deaths, and saved USD 690 million in health costs in the country, according to a new study.

Scientists, including those from the University of Surrey in the UK, assessed the levels of harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from vehicles and other sources in five Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad -- since the beginning of the lockdown period.

The study, published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society, compared these lockdown PM2.5 figures from 25 March up until 11 May, with those from similar periods of the preceding five years, and found that the measure reduced pollution levels in all these places.

According to the scientists, during this period, the levels of these harmful air pollutants reduced by 10 per cent in Mumbai, and by up to 54 per cent in Delhi.

"The percentage reduction for the other cities ranged from 24 to 32 per cent, which was slightly smaller than the measured values for Delhi and Mumbai," the scientists noted in the study.

"While the reduction in PM2.5 pollution may not be surprising, the size of the reduction should make us all take notice of the impact we have been having on the planet," said Prashant Kumar, a co-author of the study from the University of Surrey.

The scientists said these reductions in PM2.5 were comparable to those reported in other cities across the world, such as in Austria's capital Vienna (60 per cent), and Shanghai (42 per cent) in China.

They also calculated the monetary value of the reduced mortality due to air pollution and found that the lowered levels of PM2.5 may have saved 630 people from premature death, and USD 690 million in health costs in India.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on July 17

According to the researchers, the present lockdown situation offers observational opportunities regarding potential control systems and regulations for improved urban air quality.

They said an integrated approach might help in understanding the overall impacts of Covid-19 lockdown-style interventions and support the implementation of relevant policy frameworks.

"This is an opportunity for us all to discuss and debate what the 'new normal' should look like - particularly when it comes to the quality of the air we breathe," Kumar said.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Tezpur (Assam), Mar 2: Seven boys, who had appeared for their class 10 board examinations, were apprehended on Sunday for allegedly raping and killing a 12-year-old girl in Assam's Biswanath district, police said.

The girl was hanged from a tree after the crime.

The incident happened on Friday in Chakla village under the jurisdiction of Gohpur police station, they said.

A senior police officer told PTI that the culprits, all of them High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examinees, were on the run, but were nabbed by a police team.

The accused after the examination had called the victim to a house on the pretext of organising a party and raped her, the officer said.

It is suspected that the girl was raped on Friday night and then hanged from a tree in a forest near the house, the senior police officer said.

The body was found on Saturday.

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News Network
June 11,2020

New Delhi, Jun 11: Petrol and diesel prices on Thursday were hiked by 60 paise per litre each - the fifth straight daily increase in rates since oil PSUs ended an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 74 per litre from Rs 73.40 while diesel rates were increased to Rs 72.22 a litre from Rs 71.62, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

This is the fifth daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

In five hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 2.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.83.

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