Chief Election Commissioner should get a full term to perform

 Chief Election Commissioner  should get a full term to perform

 Supreme Court Justice KM Joseph's remark regarding the tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner was noteworthy. What contribution can a person who is in this post for only 150-200 days make? Just like the promotion in the government office, one person is being promoted from the post of Election Commissioner to the Chief Election Commissioner. They generally dance to the tune of the ruling parties. It was TN Seshan who showed the power of this position and made the politicians disciplined. Later that power was drained.

 In 1950, the Election Commissioner was able to sit on that chair for more than 8 years. But in 2004, it became more than a hundred days. During the UPA government, there were six Chief Election Commissioners in eight years. In this government, eight Chief Election Commissioners came and went ,in seven years from 2015 to 2022. According to the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, the tenure of Election Commissioners is fixed as 6 years or the date of attaining the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Article 324 requires a reasonable time even if an impeachment proceeding is to be taken for any reason. The current situation is that the accused must have relieved off before impeachment procedure to happen. This has to change. The Chief Election Commissioner should be an independent minded person with the age not exceeding that of  59 years. Instead, the method of giving promotion to an existing commissioner should be changed. If it is also stipulated that the person sitting on this post should not hold any title after retirement, then he would work fearlessly and without bias. It can be assumed that this case in the Supreme Court will be consistent with that👍

Who should be given free food grains ?

 

Who should be given free food grains?

 Food rationing is a system that has existed in the country since the 1960s. This system helped to reduce starvation deaths and hardships to some extent. During my childhood, the ration shop was the breadwinner. Things were as if the ration shop owner was like a feudalist and the cardholder was at his mercy. Rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene are mainly obtained from ration shops. It was a lot of work to remove worms, stones, weeds, mud and various seeds from the rice to make it edible. Nowadays we look first at the expiry  date of the food we buy. If you see a worm or something in rice and wheat, you will be afraid and void eating it. These are all habits, or lifestyles that have come together.

       The ration shop owners used to do a lot of fraud like reducing the weight, recording more than given in the ration card, diverting good rice directly from the godown to the market. If the rice is bad, it will be given without glitch. After eating the bad quality rice, the hand has a bad smell. It would last for a day.

         Later, when the financial situation improved and life moved on, the ration card was no longer used. I have no ration card since 1987. With the advent of globalization and liberalisation, a large society has used the ration card as an identity card and a tool to obtain income certificates. With the passage of time, when Aadhaar card came, the relevance of the ration card decreased further. But the quality of ration items has improved. Digital technologies have come in to prevent fraud. Yet despite all this, ration scams continue. Many people whose standard of living has improved have stopped buying rations. Many of the buyers even end up giving it to pets or reselling it.

 With the coming of the National Food Security Act, the method of above (APL)and below the poverty line(BPL) categorization  has changed. Now the customers are classified as Priority Households (PHH), Antyodaya Anna Yojana  and Non-Priority Households (NPHH) categories. In the priority category, a person is given 5 kg of food grains per month. Rice at Rs 3, wheat at Rs 2 and small grain at Rs 1 per kg. In Antyodaya Annayojana, 35 kg of food grains are provided per card. Food grains are provided at a slightly higher rate to the non-priority category. Quantity is also low. While Tamil Nadu provides free rice to all card holders, Kerala, Bengal and Karnataka provide 50 kg rice free to the priority category. In other states, out of 50 kg of rice, 25 kg is provided free of cost and the rest at subsidized rates.

                Surveys reveal that where the technology is well-practiced, there is relatively less diversion, but a large amount of food is wasted in one way or other. Currently, about 71 crore people are included in the priority list. An effort is now being made to find out the people who really needs free ration. Humans generally have a tendency to abuse what is free. As global food production declines, the importance of each grain increases. In this situation, instead of providing rations, community kitchens should be made widespread, popular and transparent. It is also relevant that there is no possibility of reselling the cooked food. It can be implemented as one  kitchen for 100 families. It can be operated  as a joint venture of local bodies and self-help groups. By starting community kitchen,we can ensure  nutritious food to the needy. Food can be provided free to priority category (Antyodaya & PHH) and at subsidized rate to others. Frauds can be avoided using digital technology. Inspections  can also be done using food vigilance squads. With the establishment of a public canteen, housewives can engage in other occupations and increase their income. There will be fuel savings by cooking food together. Pollution will also be reduced. It would be good to make a fundamental change in the way food is distributed. Action should also be taken to bring home food for bedridden patients. A system should also be put in place for individuals to bring containers to avoid plastic and other non-degradable packing materials. This gathering can also help improve the social and mental health of individuals. I think NITI Aayog will take this proposal seriously🙏

When greedy, people become stupid !!

 

When greedy, people become stupid !!

 Craving anything is not good. Especially the appetite for getting rich easy. Many people become losers with such cravings. I don’t know why those who hear and read on such frauds , jump into such pits again. One of these scams happened in Chennai recently.  Hijavu Associates in Chennai are the new fraud heroes. Hijau lured the public by offering fifteen percent interest per month on the deposit amount. The first few months ,they were happy lots received the interest on time. And then , the situation changed. No money from the group, only excuses.  When asked by the investors, they said that they will keep it as a top-up and hence they will get more money later. Ah, what a good news!

No more money came in except for adding up the accounts. The fraud was based on money chain. They took more than 360 crores from 1500 people whose names were revealed. Many people who have black money remain silent. There are many Malayalis who worked as part of the company. It was announced that the agent who mobilize a deposit of 1 lakh rupees will be paid a commission of 2000 rupees every month. There are many people who have brought acquaintances into this trap. Malayali organizations were also a part of this. Many made investments by pledging gold and  houses.

The police registered a case against 21 people, including the founding directors of Hijavu, Soundarrajan and his son Alexander. It  is well known that such cases will be in the court for years. Those who lost their hard earned money will not have any consolation except that they will get something back. Definitely ,In some corner India, now another group will be preparing  the ground for a new fraud. Many are ready to fall into the trap too. It is natural for spiders to have victims when they set their webs😀😌

Will Mavur Gwalior Rayons get back its glory ?

 

Will Mavur Gwalior  Rayons  get its glory back ?

 K. M. Baiju's report in today's Mathrubhumi reminded the Mavur Gwalior Rayons who had gone into oblivion.

 We are passing through a time when the efforts of lakhs of people and the strength of party leaderships  in Kerala are being exercised in vain as if higher education can only be improved by appointing dependents. It is the same in local government institutions. It is on this occasion that Mathrubhumi points out the sad state of about three hundred acres of land and its institutions lying in ruins. The company was shut down in 1985 due to Chaliyar pollution and restarted in 1988 but production ceased in 1999. It was officially closed in 2001. None of the proposals brought by Rayons later were accepted by the government. In 2017, the government issued an order that the land should be given to Kinfra to set up an industrial park. The company filed a writ petition in the High Court and obtained a stay order. MLA PTA Rahim says that land can be acquired through the new legislation.

 In this situation, under the leadership of the Kerala Chief Minister, we should pay attention and take action to acquire this land urgently. Can we expect that a committee comprising leaders and top officials including Kerala industries minister will meet daily to assess and make a system that can utilize this land within six months? Can our Chief Minister give such an assurance?

 The media should be prepared to uphold such issues and maintain media integrity rather than following the practices of  reporting ugly politics and crimes . This should not end in a single day story. These issues should be blown away without putting out the fire every day. Instead of highlighting killing by poisoning and human sacrifice, it is the duty of the media to investigate and find such hundred thousand issues

If Ambedkar was here today !!

 

If Ambedkar was here today ----!

I have often asked myself this question, what would have been Ambedkar's stand on reservation. Most of the Indians are presently divided on the basis of caste or religion and fight on their ideology and advocating for reservation? If Ambedkar was alive today, he would have been the enemy of all leaders of communities and politics . He was a great man who created countless enemies by telling things honestly and openly, isolated himself, contested election to protest and failed. He embraced Buddhism and that too as part of protest. His ability and knowledge that helped him to head the committee that prepared the constitution of India. He examined all the constitutions in the world without proper rest or sleep to carve out our Constitution. But in order to protect the interests of many leaders inside and outside the committee, he had to compromise on his ideology in many things that were included in the final draft of the Constitution

Ambedkar was a person who dreamed of a casteless and classless society. When reservation was introduced for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, it was mentioned that it’s for ten years only. Subhash Kashyap, a three-time secretary general in Parliament, said in 2021 that Ambedkar  wanted it not to go beyond forty years under any circumstances.He would not want the symbol of reservation to continue in Indian society forever.  He also insisted that reservation should not be given to any other community. The fact that reservation still continued and reached 60 per cent must have hurt Ambedkar.Those who have read Ambadkar will not deny Kashyap's words. Because Ambedkar was a person who analyzed things so deeply. He had such a tough stance on the formation of Pakistan too. He supported formation of Pakistan.

Now, the reason to remember all this is the new economic reservation. The limit of fifty percentages for reservation was broken and it reached sixty. It won't be long before it reaches ninety percent, because caste politics is spreading like poison in India. Even when reservation is given to the advanced, it is less likely to benefit the poor. The annual income for eligible candidate from EWS is fixed as eight lakh rupees, which will help the middle income group only. In fact, the creamy layer should be fixed at 2.5 lakhs for all kinds of reservations. If that is done, it is possible that at least in AD  3,000 reservations could be eliminated and Ambedkar's dream of a casteless and classless society might be created. It is sad that Ambedkar will not be born again to lead or fight for it!!

 

Ockhi flew to Rajasthan from Udayagiri fort

Ockhi flew to Rajasthan from Udayagiri

Ockhi is a cinereous vulture who lost his ability to fly during the disastrous cyclone Ockhi . The vulture was under convalescence since 2017 at Udayagiri  fort, Thakkala in Kanyakumari district. He was enjoying himself as a favorite guest of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. The Eurasian black vulture, which has been restored to health with excellent care, is now on its way to the midpoint of its journey home. European cinereous vultures come to South Asia in winter. Cinereous, the Europe's largest vultures are very few in number. Mostly found in the Iberian Peninsula and Greece. These gregarious Eurasian vultures are birds capable of flying great distances at high altitudes.

After constant discussions with various agencies, it was decided to release the vulture in the forests of Rajasthan. It is assumed that it may have reached Kanyakumari from a group of vultures, following the course of the wind. Therefore, experts have expressed doubt that it will not be able to continue its life if it is released in the forests here. As such vultures arrive in northern India during autumn, it is hoped that the current Rajasthan journey will facilitate its rendezvous and return. Ockhi reaches Keru, which is known as the cattle carcass ground in Rajasthan. Keru is 20 km from Jodhpur. After a few days of rest at Machia Biological Park in Jodhpur, it will be released to Keru. A number of Eurasian vultures have already arrived here. After befriending and eating with them, it is hoped that they will travel to their homeland.

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department was in constant discussions with Air India as transporting the Ockhi by road over 2600 km from Kanyakumari would be harmful to the bird. Finally Department got permission to transport Ockhi by air. It is also noteworthy that this is the first time in India that such a vulture transport happens. The forest department provided continuous training to Ockhi for road travel and air travel. Ochi was kept in cages for 1-2 hours every day and taken in vehicles. The cage was also prepared in such a way that it gets enough air and light. The authorities were careful to pay special attention in the plane as well. It was brought to Chennai by road from Kanyakumari on October 30 and after resting till November 2, it was taken to Delhi on the 3rd of November. Kanyakumari DFO,Ilayaraja,veterinary doctor and bird handler received Ockhi at the airport and took it to Jodhpur after a three-hour rest. Operation Ockhi was a success thanks to meticulous precautions taken by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. This initiative has brought world's attention to India’s efforts on conservation of vultures. It also helped bring the importance India is giving on protection of migratory birds. “Operation Ockhi” will also be a significant chapter in the five-year Action Plan for Vulture, which began in 2020.

 

A day at Vatika club&resort , Hosur ,Tamil Nadu

 

A day at Vatika Resort

======================

Asha's Delhi schoolmate Sridevi, husband Tanuj and daughter Gauri live in Whitefield. It was planned to go on a trip with them on our arrival in Bangalore. Nandi Hills was the target, but in the Diwali rush, we realized that all the places there were booked. That's how farm houses were searched. Those too were mostly booked. The search finally reached the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. Our journey to Whitefield was to join them for that trip. As the road journey was tiring, we planned to go by train. It was understood that there will be a passenger train as it was not a long distance journey. Metro Rail is not as developed in Bangalore as it is in Chennai. Now construction has picked up pace. After a year, it may even reach the white field. Now the eastern terminus of the metro ends at Baiyappanahalli.

  Checked out from the hotel at eight o'clock. In a taxi, we reached KSR (Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna)  railway station for Whitefield in MEMU. It was a new bogie. The train was not crowded, hence enjoyed the trip. The ticket price is only ten rupees. It was 21 km distance, took forty minutes to reach. It crossed the stations of Bangalore Cantt, Bangalore East, Baiyappanahalli, Krishnarajapuram and Hoodie Halt and finally we reached Whitefield. Tanuj had come by his car. He made friendship so quickly that it was not as if we were meeting each other for the first time.

The traffic is not good here either. Whitefield is a place that developed without any planning. Narrow roads and high population density are the problems here. We reached their apartment  after thirty minutes journey .There was one more member besides them. Isabella aka Issa. She is a pug dog. Tanuj testified that Issa was with him even before his marriage. Padma quickly became close to Issa. The trip consisted of preparing a small house for Issa in the dicky  of the car and putting her inside. Being an animal which  sleeps for 12-14 hours every day, she might  not have felt much discomfort.

  The journey to Vatika was with the help of Google. As we continued our journey through traffic, bad roads, farms and villages, we wondered if the journey will end somewhere without a road. But, finally we reached Thalapalli village in Hosur taluk in Krishnagiri district, there the Vatika Club and Resort  is located. When we arrived, we saw a group of 20 people enjoying the facilities there. It was lunch time. We joined the buffet. There were chicken biryani, chapati, rice and curries. We enjoyed the meal and rested in the room.

 It had been more than ten years since Vatika started. There were various fountains, playgrounds, rain dance floor, swimming pool and parks for children. A village market, shop, study center etc. had been built as sculptures. There were rabbits, pup, various types of chickens and ducks. About 10 double rooms were there, that include a bamboo house and wood house. The damage of being out of business during the Covid period was generally felt. Repairs were currently underway. Manager Pawan said that they were trying to return to its old glory by April.

 Vatika belonged to Congress leader Dr. Rama Reddy. He died recently. Now his son Karthik is in charge. There were about 10 employees, half were locals and the rest were outsiders. We spent time walking around the paddock, watching and participating in the children's activities. Then, walked a short distance in the village in the evening. Jain farms are aplenty there. Their farms are more than eight hundred acres there. Apart from that, Senior citizens’ apartments, Sukhshanti is also here. Adjacent to the Vatika is a lake. Then we could see the mango plantation and papaya cultivation too. By nightfall ,we were the only guests there. ambience was quiet, chilly cold. It must have been twelve o'clock when we went to sleep. I had a good sleep.

In the morning, I went for a walk. Farmers were busy with their work that time. I spent some time in the fields where the farmers were growing flowers and chillies. I came back  after an hour and had  breakfast. We started around 11.30 am from there. This time we had found some better roads. The road  was less crowded. Yet it was about one o'clock when we reached Whitefield. We got into the apartment and quickly got out with the luggage. It was doubtful that we would get the passenger to the Central. We reached the station five minutes before arrival of the passenger. Although it was full, we got seats. Reached KSR around 2.15 pm, bought Hyderabadi biryani and fried rice from IRCTC, from where we had the breakfast day before. It was really good, tasty food.  Kunchu and his friend Vishnu had come on the platform. After a while, Nandu also arrived. Enjoyed chat with them till the train reached the station.  Mysore- Chennai Jansatabdi was full. We reached back to Chennai at half past nine😍

≠========================

Vatika club & resort,Thallapalli village, Bellathur, Po, Bagalur, Hosur ,Tamil Nadu – 635103

M- 9880428797,Reservations- 9500456105

Email-  book@vatikaclubandresort.com