Centre looking at Gorkhaland model for Telangana?

[email protected] (J. Balaji, The Hindu)
January 22, 2013

shindeNew Delhi, Jan 22: Fearful that the splitting of Andhra Pradesh could create a cascading effect on other states, the UPA-II government is considering the creation of a Telangana Territorial Administration on the lines of Gorkhaland.

Informed sources pointed out that if that was the case, the Centre had to further amend Article 371 (D), which has already provided a special status for 10 backward districts of the Telangana region, and this could be done with the approval of two-thirds of Parliament strength.

The Centre may announce its decision on Telangana earlier than the January 28 deadline set by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde as he is scheduled to leave on a tour of Bangladesh on January 27. Without saying yes or no for Telangana, a middle path, such as the Gorkhaland model, might help the Centre as well as the Andhra Pradesh government buy peace in both the Telangana and Seemandhra regions of the State, and the Union government could qualify the decision stating that it would be on an experimental basis, the sources added.

Like Gorkhaland, the Telangana Territorial Administration, which could be formed without bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, might be an autonomous body with more financial and administrative powers and will be administered by an elected chief executive and members of the council.

By considering the Gorkhaland model for Andhra Pradesh, the Centre may unwittingly be able to douse the Gorkhaland demand. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in West Bengal has already warned the Centre of renewing its stir for a separate State. And the Centre believes that a separate state for Telangana may only add strength to the Gorkhaland agitation.

It may be recalled that the committee set up by the Centre to examine the demand for Telangana, headed by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice B.N. Srikrishna, had in its recommendations suggested that its sixth option “stands out as the best way forward” keeping the national perspective in mind.

The sixth option talks about keeping the State (Andhra Pradesh) united by simultaneously providing certain definite constitutional/statutory measures for the socio-economic development and political empowerment of the Telangana region — creation of a statutorily-empowered Telangana Regional Council.

“The united Andhra option is being suggested for continuing the development momentum of the three regions and keeping in mind the national perspective. With firm political and administrative management it should be possible to convey conviction to the people that this option would be in the best interest of all and would provide satisfaction to the maximum number of the people in the State.”

“It would also take care of the uncertainty over the future of Hyderabad as a bustling, educational, industrial and IT hub/destination. For management of water and irrigation resources on an equitable basis, a technical body, i.e., Water Management Board and an Irrigation Project Development Corporation in expanded role have been recommended. The above course of action should meet all the issues raised by Telangana people satisfactorily,” the Committee said in its report.

Of the 294 Assembly segments in Andhra Pradesh, 119 are located in the 10 districts of the Telangana region. Of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the State, 17 are in the T-region.

Meanwhile, talking to The Hindu, Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, additional in charge of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, said nothing on the separate State issue had been decided so far. “I told this clearly to a delegation of Congress Ministers, MPs and MLAs from the Seemandhra region when they met me demanding continuation of a united Andhra Pradesh. Similarly I am willing to meet the group from the Telangana regions too on Tuesday,” he said.

Seemandhra leaders led by Minister Shailajanath also called on senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde asking them not to divide A.P. at any cost.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

Paris, Jul 2: Several interacting exoplanets have already been spotted by satellites. But a new breakthrough has been achieved with, for the first time, the detection directly from the ground of an extrasolar system of this type.

An international collaboration including CNRS researchers has discovered an unusual planetary system, dubbed WASP-148, using the French instrument SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Universite).

The scientists analysed the star's motion and concluded that it hosted two planets, WASP-148b and WASP-148c. The observations showed that the two planets were strongly interacting, which was confirmed from other data.

Whereas the first planet, WASP-148b, orbits its star in nearly nine days, the second one, WASP-148c, takes four times longer. This ratio between the orbital periods implies that the WASP-148 system is close to resonance, meaning that there is enhanced gravitational interaction between the two planets. And it turns out that the astronomers did indeed detect variations in the orbital periods of the planets.

While a single planet, uninfluenced by a second one, would move with a constant period, WASP-148b and WASP-148c undergo acceleration and deceleration that provides evidence of their interaction.

The study will shortly be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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Agencies
June 27,2020

Mumbai, Jun 27: The Bombay High Court observed that COVID-19 patients from poor and indigent sections cannot be expected to produce documentary proof to avail subsidised or free treatment while getting admitted to hospitals.

The court on Friday was hearing a plea filed by seven residents of a slum rehabilitation building in Bandra, who had been charged ₹ 12.5 lakh by K J Somaiya Hospital for COVID-19 treatment between April 11 and April 28.

The bench of Justices Ramesh Dhanuka and Madhav Jamdar directed the hospital to deposit ₹10 lakh in the court.

The petitioners had borrowed money and managed to pay ₹10 lakh out of ₹12.5 lakh that the hospital had demanded, after threatening to halt their discharge if they failed to clear the bill, counsel Vivek Shukla informed the court.

According to the plea, the petitioners were also overcharged for PPE kits and unused services.

On June 13, the court had directed the state charity commissioner to probe if the hospital had reserved 20% beds for poor and indigent patients and provided free or subsidised treatment to them.

Last week, the joint charity commissioner had informed the court that although the hospital had reserved such beds, it had treated only three poor or indigent persons since the lockdown.

It was unfathomable that the hospital that claimed to have reserved 90 beds for poor and indigent patients had treated only three such persons during the pandemic, advocate Shukla said.

He further argued that COVID-19 patients, who are in distress, cannot be expected to produce income certificate and such documents as proof.

However, senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, who represented the hospital, said the petitioners did not belong to economically weak or indigent categories and had not produced documents to prove the same.

A person who is suffering from a disease like COVID-19 cannot be expected to produce certificates from a tehsildar or social welfare officer before seeking admission in the hospital, the bench noted and asked the hospital to deposit ₹10 lakh in court within two weeks.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Washington D.C: One of the greatest spectacles of modern art is still thriving in the Australian outback as confirmed by satellite imagery of NASA. The Marree Man is a massive geoglyph depicting an aboriginal hunter, that spans over 2.6 miles in the Southern Australian region.

Discovered by a pilot in 1998, its origin still remains a mystery even to this date.

The Marree Man was given a new lease of life in 2016 when a group of people from the neighboring town of Marree plowed its lines to avert its fading due to erosion.

After NASA shared the image of the art-work that was taken in June, the efforts of the good samaritans turned out to be a total success, reported CNN Travel.

The restoration team believes that the refurbished Marree Man would last longer than its original version.

According to NASA, "They [the team] created wind grooves, designed to trap water and encourage the growth of vegetation. They hope that eventually, the man will turn green."

In a previous article, CNN reported that an entrepreneur by the name of Dick Smith took upon himself to unravel the geoglyph's mystery in 2016. His team combed through all the available evidence but couldn't find anything conclusive.

In 2018 he even offered a 5,000 Australian dollar reward for anyone who knows the identity of its creator.

Nobody turned up with an answer but it was speculated that unknown artist lives in Alice Springs or even might be an American.

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