Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 1

In a major initiative to curb forest fires, two Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi 17 helicopters today sprayed water in severely fire-affected forest areas in the state. A helicopter was pressed into service in the Garhwal region and another in the Kumaon region. The raging fire has so far affected more than 23,000 hectares of forests in Uttarakhand.A helicopter deployed in Nainital lifted water from the Bhimtal lake to spray it in the affected forests. The other helicopter at Srinagar Garhwal took water from the Koteshwar dam for the purpose.Significantly, police personnel from Uttar Pradesh also reached Uttarakhand today to help douse forest fires. Personnel from the National Disaster Relief Force, the State Disaster Relief Force, the Forest Department, the Pranteey Rakshak Dal and other civil and police units from Uttarakhand are already working round the clock to douse the flames.Chief Conservator of Forests BP Gupta, who is also the nodal officer for forest fires, said Pauri, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Almora, Pithoragarh and Nainital districts have been declared sensitive vis-à-vis forest fires. He said 1,082 forest fire incidents had taken place in the state till date this season. The loss due to the environmental tragedy has been pegged at Rs 2 lakh.Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy convened a meeting of forest officials today to review the efforts being undertaken to extinguish forest fires. The officials concerned informed that 40 master control rooms had been set up and around 6,000 persons were working round the clock to curb forest fires.Besides Rs 8 crore released from the compensatory afforestration fund, an additional provision of Rs 14 crore has been made keeping in view the gravity of the situation. Ramaswamy said besides short-term efforts, long-term initiatives were required to deal with such challenges. Efforts were needed for water conservation, he added.Meanwhile, the MeT department has forecast rain in Uttarakhand in two or three days. If rain occurs, it will be a great relief to the forest fire-hit state.

Centre allocates Rs 5 cr

• Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said in New Delhi on Sunday that Rs 5 crore had been allotted for firefighting efforts and 6,000 labourers had been deployed for the purpose. In the last one month, fire had broken out in more than 1,000 places, the minister stated. “Our top forest officers, including Director General of Forests SS Negi, are on-the-spot in Uttarakhand since yesterday. They have been holding meetings and guiding local workforce. Today, 6,000 labourers have been deployed for firefighting. The expenditure required for firefighting efforts will be granted. Yesterday, we have granted Rs 5 crore. We will study the reasons for such fires and come out with an action plan to control them in the future all over the country,” he added.

Poor mgmt reason for forest fires: Experts

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 1

While environmentalists and activists are largely blaming the timber and land mafia for raging “manmade” forest fires in Uttarakhand and now Himachal Pradesh, they also fault the poor management of such expected “cyclic” events.The lack of compliance of general management practices required to pre-empt such eventualities, which are now being further aggravated by climate change events — low rainfall, high temperatures and erratic wind patterns — are among the reasons why, they say, the hill states are facing the environmental catastrophes.Dr Yogesh Gokhale, an ecologist with TERI, says ideally the forests floors should have been cleared of accumulated pine needles — a readymade combustion source — well in time, meaning well before the hot and dry season approaches.“Fires have obviously been triggered by manmade circumstances like a burning beedi or a deliberate action. Therefore, forest floors should be cleared of pine needles with the help of early controlled burning,” he adds.Since the shortage of forest staff is a perpetual problem, participation of local people and van panchayats should be encouraged for early detection, reporting and management of forest fires, the TERI ecologist says, adding while local participation may not be of much use if the act is deliberate, if land or timber mafia is involved or villagers themselves have started the fire to ward off wild animals, it may come useful in case of inadvertent cases.Meanwhile, to manage the accumulated pine needles— one of the major causes of forest fires — ecologists advocate promotion of manufacture of pine needle briquettes—the freely available renewable energy source, Pine needles are an excellent form of energy and can be used to prepare biomass briquettes. Pine needles are a good source of environment-friendly fuel as they have combustion characteristics very similar to firewood, he says.

For too long the north-western borders have kept India away from a large landmass with which it had age-old ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Iran visit caps an effort of nearly 15 years to gain easy access into Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian countries. India has now leased the Iranian port of Chabahar. It is tempting to view the leasing from the prism of Sino-India strategic rivalry, especially after Pakistan leased out its Gwadar port to China. There is no doubt Pakistan will keep a very anxious eye on the goings-on at Chabahar, a short distance from the troubled Balochistan. But there is more to Chabahar than strategic one-upmanship.Chabahar over time could become an example of a unique trilateral collaboration: Indian expertise using Iranian gas to add value to Afghan minerals. The goodwill for India in the long run, provided the trilateral cooperation keeps going, would be immense. However, Chabahar is not Gwadar when it comes to military use. The Sino-Pakistani friendship is in a very intense phase, Islamabad won’t object to China bringing in naval vessels at Gwadar. But the India-Iran ties, though on the upswing, are yet to evolve to that level. India also had to pay a price for the trading foothold. Iran saw New Delhi’s abiding interest in Chabahar as an opportunity to bring industry to this under-developed region. India will set up smelters and fertiliser plants in Chabahar but the proposed corridor to Afghanistan needs to be linked to busier channels of commerce to make it viable. This cannot be achieved if a route of commerce develops into a contest with China or Pakistan. Afghanistan and Iran may turn lukewarm as they would not like to be dragged into a game of proxy military contests. The US is also anxious and needs to be assured that the development of a transport hub and corridor is primarily meant to sidestep Pakistan’s outmoded strategy of blocking India’s access to its erstwhile north-western neighbours. A successful implementation of the corridor over time could increase the constituency for easier movement of goods across South Asia, to begin with.

PM Narendra Modi with Iranian President Hassan Rouhan during the signing of port pact in Tehran, Iran. PTI file

Washington, May 25

The US is “watching very closely” India’s growing ties with Iran after it recently pledged $500 million for developing the Chabahar port and will see if its legal parameters and requirements are being met, the Obama administration has told lawmakers.As of now, there is no military or counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries that could be a cause for concern for the US, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)She said the US is “watching very closely” India’s relationship with Iran. “We also track very closely what their economic engagement is and make sure they understand what we believe are legal parameters and requirements,” Biswal said.“With respect to the announcement in the Chabahar port, we have been very clear with the Indians on what we believe are the continuing restrictions on the activities with respect to Iran and what we have done,” she said. She was responding to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Iran visit from Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Modi’s visit, that saw the signing of a bilateral pact to develop the Chabahar port for which India will invest $500 million, came months after the lifting of international sanctions on Iran following Tehran’s historic nuclear deal with the western powers over its contentious atomic programme.“Obviously nothing appears to be in violations of our agreements. But how do we see India as partner in fighting extremism and financing terrorism?” said Cardin as he expressed concerns that India’s economic relationship with Iran would further boost Tehran’s alleged activities to support various terrorist groups. She said India’s burgeoning ties with Iran were driven by ever-growing energy needs and using the Persian Gulf nation as a gateway into Afghanistan and Central Asia.Biswal in her answer said: “They (Indians) have been very responsive and receptive to our briefings, to what we believe the line is. And we have to examine the details of the Chabahar announcement to see where it falls in that place. “But with respect to India’s relationship with Iran, which I do believe is primarily focused on economics and energy issues, we do recognise that from the Indian perspective that Iran represents for India a gateway into Afghanistan and Central Asia.”“For India to be able to contribute to the economic development of Afghanistan, it needs access that it does not readily have across its land boundary. And India is seeking to deepen its energy relationship with the Central Asian countries and looking for routes that would facilitate that. “That said we have been very clear with the Indians what our security concerns have been and we would continue to engage them on those issues,” said the US official. — PTI

Port pact to ‘counter’ China-Pak alliance

New Delhi, May 25

The pact between India and Iran to develop the strategically located Chabahar port, along with the one with Afghanistan on road and rail network, will counter China and Pakistan’s alliance in South West Asia, BMI Research said today.“The agreement between India and Iran to develop the latter’s port of Chabahar is a major boost for both countries, as well as Afghanistan. In particular, growing co-operation between the three countries will counterbalance China-Pakistan alliance in the geopolitics of South West Asia,” it said.BMI Research, a Fitch Group company, said the governments of India, Iran and Afghanistan have taken a significant step towards closer cooperation by signing an agreement on May 23 to develop Iran’s southern port of Chabahar.“Once the port is developed, it will provide a major boost for Indo-Iranian trade, and also provide a new route for Afghanistan’s exports, bypassing Pakistan.“In particular, the new port at Chabahar is designed to compete with Pakistan’s port of Gwadar, which is being developed with Chinese assistance as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” it added.The CPEC in turn is part of a much bigger Chinese initiative known as “One Belt One Road” (OBOR), which envisages new land and sea routes connecting China to Western Eurasia and East Africa. Iran stands to benefit from Chabahar as it will get an enhanced port from which to export more goods to India and the Asia-Pacific region at a time when it is seeking to reintegrate itself into the global economy, the BMI Research said. Iran will also benefit from increased Indian investment.The pacts include one on setting up of an aluminium plant and another on laying a railway line to give India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. — PT

Chandigarh, May 21

To harness the vast repository of knowledge possessed by a large number of senior defence officers residing in the tricity, a think tank on defence and strategic affairs, “Gyan Chakra”, was launched by the Western Command in Chandimandir today.The institute was inaugurated by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command Lt Gen KJ Singh. The event coincided with the Army Commanders Conclave that is being attended by former chiefs of the Western Command. On the occasion, Lt Gen KJ Singh presented the future vision and developments for the Command with particular reference to the veterans’ issues.He said since a large population of veterans, including senior officers, were residing in the tricity, there was a need to generate new ideas on national security and defence-related issues for the benefit of the serving community in particular and society at large.The institute will also conduct exchange programmes with other similar institutes such as United Service Institute of India, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, and Defence and Strategic Affairs Departments of various Universities of the region. Lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, research work, literary festivals and publishing of a journal will be undertaken under the aegis of the institute.A seminar on social media and a military literary festival that would include presentations on service as well as offbeat subjects pertaining to the armed forces are also proposed to be held next month.Among former chiefs of the Western Command who were present included Lt Gen SK Sinha, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Gen JJ Singh, former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Lt Gen HB Kala, Lt Gen Surjit Singh, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi and Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra. Lt Gen HS Panag, Lt Gen GS Sihota and Lt Gen BS, who had headed other command and are now settled here, were also present, along with a host of senior serving and retired officers. — TNS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI

KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

The BJP today emphasised it remains committed to implement the vision document for Assam in toto, underlining the new government will work to complete fencing of India-Bangladesh border and update National Register of Citizens work to detect illegal migrants in the state.“We will work to secure the interests of Indian citizens in Assam, protect their identity so that they can live with pride and take steps to detect illegal migrants,” Sarbananda Sonowal told The Tribune here flanked by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, considered the chief architect behind the party’s unprecedented success in this gateway to the Northeast.Sonowal, who arrived here from Guwahati to discuss government formation with party leaders, said people of the state have entrusted BJP with a Himalayan responsibility and his task would be work hard and carry people along.The 53-year-old Sonowal, currently a Sports Minister in the Modi Government, is scheduled to be elected leader of the BJP legislature party tomorrow at Guwahati and take oath as the Chief Minister on Tuesday.On his part, Madhav said the state government will work to complete the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to stop infiltration, enact laws to further the objective and work with alacrity to fence entire 263-kilometer long border it shares with Bangladesh.Of the 260-odd km border, 224 km of the 229-km sanctioned is already fenced while some 40-odd km is riverine area.The process of updating of the NRC is going on and the new government, Madhav said, will complete it at the earliest. The final list was to be published on January 1 this year as per a Supreme Court order two years ago, but the verification process is not yet complete with some 3 per cent work remaining.According to reports, some 68 lakh people have submitted documents for inclusion in the NRC and once finalised, it could set into motion procedure to deport illegal migrants who entered Assam after 1971.The issue of illegal migrants from Bangladesh has been a long festering problem that led to the Assam agitation in the 1980s steered by All Assam Students Union, whose product Sonowal is. Nearly a decade ago, as Asom Gana Parishad MP, Sonowal won a major victory after Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal, a key proviso in the Assam Accord.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 17

Western Command chief Lt Gen KJ Singh will visit Samba on May 19.His visit comes following the two-day visit of the Defence Secretary to forward areas on the Line of Control (LoC). Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar on Sunday visited forward areas along the LoC in the Jammu region.“Though the Western Command chief is visiting to witness the finals of a volleyball tournament in Samba, he is likely to review the security scenario along the 198-km-long international border in the Jammu region,” said a defence source. Lt Gen KJ Singh may also review the summer strategy of the Army and the Border Security Force on the international border.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 16

In a major development in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), political parties have demanded repealing of laws that requires candidates contesting elections to sign an affidavit of allegiance to the “ideology of the state’s accession to Pakistan.”According to several media reports, leaders from different ‘nationalist parties’ in PoK, who have been demanding an ‘independent J&K’, have emphasised the need for doing away with the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution Act, 1974, and electing a constituent assembly to draft an independent constitution for the state under occupation of Pakistan.Reports say that during a conference, “Election of AJK Assembly under Act 1974 and the Rights of People of AJK,” representatives from United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) and the Awami Workers Party (AWP) put forward these demands.Parties have also denounced what they called undue interference by Islamabad in matters of the state through the ‘AJK Council’ and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs.Sub-section II of Section VII of the Act says, “No person or political party in ‘Azad Jammu’ and Kashmir shall be permitted to propagate against, or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the state’s accession to Pakistan.”Since 1947, when Pakistan occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir after it invaded the state, every effort has been made to muzzle the democratic voice of people. Unlike J&K which saw successive democratic elections allowing public representatives to take policy decision, Pakistan army is the major decision maker in PoK.

Dear Veterans,

I am doing a book launch at India International Centre tomorrow at 1830 tomorrow ( Monday 16th) and would be honoured if maximum  veterans  can attend despite the heat.

I am attaching the invite to be uploaded on Sanjha Morcha web site.

Parsekar in his statement said, “We have our own son of soil (Manohar Parrikar) as a Defence Minister. Two months back we successfully hosted Defence Expo in the state. The interest shown by youths in the expo was enormous.” He further added,
“This is an attempt to provide Goan youths another employment avenue. The defence sector was never an attractive career option for Goan youths due to some misconceptions.”

The recruitment drive, as put out by Parsekar, will showcase and provide different avenues for the youth in the state, giving the alternative opportunity to work in the defence sector of the country. On 3 June, the recruitment drive will conduct recruitment for musician position in the IAF. With legacy of good music and musicians, Goa seemed a perfect choice.

Parsekar on the recruitment said, “Goans are good musicians. Our youths are best suited for this post. They should apply and get into this new avenue of career. The education qualification for the post is only secondary school examination.”

In order to conduct the recruitment drive smoothly, the Goan Government has already sat in meetings with Director of Education, Director of Higher Education and District Collectors. The Chief Minister Parsekar also said that in order to spread awareness about the drive the state government has planned to rope in various media outlets.