Soon, broadband in every Indian village: Sachin Pilot

New Delhi, March 10: India is charting a grand scheme targeting its rural outback to reach telecom and broadband services to each of its 626,000 villages, using funds to the tune of $3.5 billion lying unutilised in a dedicated fund.

Outlining the contours of this ambitious programme, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said in an interaction that 11,000 communication towers will be set up for the purpose - several in villages bordering Bangladesh and Pakistan.

"We are close to launching a programme of putting up these towers in villages where the population is less than 500 people and sometimes less than 200. It will be deployed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd," said the Minister.

"You will hear more on this very soon." He said all service providers - private or state-run - have been allowed to install telecom towers to receive signals within 500 metres near the international borders to strengthen the existing communication system in rural areas.

"This will also check interference from foreign telecom networks."

According to Mr. Pilot, many of the towers will be in the tribal belts of Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Assam in the Northeast, as the government's priority, as opposed to that of private players, was to get villages into the telecom loop as well.

"Private operators go where the money is," he said, adding the finance will come from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) that is collected by the government from private players to meet the demands of rural connectivity.

Around Rs.17,000 crore ($3.5 billion) is lying in the fund, and experts believe this is enough to connect not just every district but also all of India's development blocks with fibre-optic cable and towers for high-speed communications.

Mr. Pilot, who is an alumnus of the Wharton Business School and St. Stephen's College here, says communications will be a great unifier and bridge the digital divide so that the "other India" in the hinterland also has access to high-speed data and telecom.

"We want to make our country much more wired than it is today. That's a very good way of getting people together. That's why we have to leverage these opportunities before us." (Agencies)

 

Project Arrow targets 727 post offices with corporate look

NEW DELHI, March 10: After upgrading 1,000 post offices across the country, India Post is giving a corporate look to 727 more with better services under one roof as part of its "Project Arrow", says Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot.

"The look and feel of these post offices will be different," Pilot said during an interaction, adding these offices will be fully computerised with additional features like electronic funds transfer, instant money order and computerised banking services.

"We picked some 1,000 post offices in 500 districts over the past year and spent Rs.160-odd crore. The look and feel, the aesthetics, the uniform have all changed. They are like a one-stop shop for people looking at a host of services," he said.

"Once the atmosphere is more welcoming, footfalls will increase. And once the footfalls increase, more revenue will come in. And once more revenue comes in, it motivates our employees," he added. "We have started getting results as well. In the last quarter of 2009, these 1,000 post offices saw a 23% jump in revenue," said the Minister, who is passionate about promoting a culture of service with convenience and a smile in India Post.

The government has around 150,000 post offices across the country and more than 450,000 people working out of them. The idea is to make these offices find ways to counter the loss of revenues on account of telecom, Internet and courier businesses.

"Our job is not to make profit but deliver services to people. Fortunately, we still enjoy a lot of goodwill. We now send our people for training and give them incentives. We want them to be as self-sustaining as possible," Pilot said. (Agencies)

 

Varsity pedals for environmental cause

GU opts for cycle as mode of transport to raise awareness about the risks of global warming

Guwahati, March 10: Students and staff of Gauhati University will "pedal" the message of global warming as they travel around the campus on bicycles, junking the oil guzzling vehicles for the environmental-friendly one.

The office of the registrar of the university has issued a circular and written to every member of the university community requesting them to use bicycles at least to destinations within pedalling distance inside and outside the campus.

Registrar Uttam Chandra Das told The Telegraph that being the premiere institution of higher education, the university should set an example and motivate others to adopt the bicycle as a mode of transportation.

"With global warming having become a glaring reality, it is important for everyone of us, particularly the educated class, to seriously reviews the environmental impact of motorised transport. Every member of the university community must understand that the impact of global warming has been rising with every passing day and this has been perceived as a mounting challenge for humanity. The university will tie up with various organisations and NGOs on how to make bicycle riding a reality in and outside the campus," Das said.

The Gauhati University Teachers' Association has decided to take out a cycle rally soon.

The general secretary of GUTA, Jogen Chandra Kalita, said the teaching community was aware of the dangers of global warming and advocated measures to curb the phenomenon.

"Given the accompanying problems such as congestion and parking space constraints that cars bring with them, cycles can become a cheap and environment-friendly form of transport," another teacher of the university said.

The Post-Graduate Students' Union has also supported the move.

An office bearer of PGSU said vehicles crossing National Highway 37 that cuts through the Gauhati University campus have become a major source of air pollution for the institution.

"Many students have already started coming to the university on bicycles. Cycle riding is not only environment friendly, it also helps reduce health problems like high blood pressure and obesity," Akhil Hazarika, a post-graduate student, said.

(Courtesy: TTNE)

 

Bamboo Dance to boost tourist inflow in Mizoram

Aizawl, March 10: Mizoram, the most peaceful state in India, is all set to woo thousands of visitors this year, according to state Tourism ministry officials.

"We expect thousands of foreign tourists to visit Mizoram this year. The government is making sure that the facilities for tourists are world-class. We are also promoting tourist destinations across the state in numerous ways," said an official on condition of anonymity. One such step taken by the Congress government is to organize the largest 'Cheraw' (Bamboo Dance) on March 12, he added.

According to sources in the organizing team, the bamboo dance event will be attended by a representatives of the Guinness Book of Records besides other tourists-both foreign and domestic. Hundreds of youths from all over the state have been training for the big day since last year.

Meanwhile, the security forces and police have been told to keep a close watch on the any "anti-social" elements so that the event passes without any untoward incident.

The hilly state of Mizoram is known for its vast natural resources and bamboo is found in plenty. However, the 2008-09 bamboo flowering in the state has completely destroyed the thick bamboo forests. However, bamboo shoots have come up again in some areas. Experts in the state's Bamboo Development Agency say it will take at least 5 years for the bamboo forests to grow back to its former state. (ME)

 

Garo militant groups extort money to pump owners

Shillong, March 10: A local militant group has allegedly demanded an extortion amount of Rs 30 lakh each from petrol pump owners in 2 districts of Meghalaya, triggering panic among the businessmen.

In the demand note, signed by the self-styled Finance Secretary of Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), the pump owners have been asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each by March 13 or face "dire consequences", police said today.

The extortion notes were sent to the pump owners in past few days.

The outfit earlier served demand notes ? ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore - to coal traders and prominent businessmen in the two districts, they said

It had also kidnapped the chief of a Garo clan on January 11 and demanded Rs 1 crore for his release. The clan chief still remained untraced. (PTI)

 

43.27% in Mizoram had pre-marital: Survey

Aizawl, March 10: According to the latest survey done by a church body in Mizoram, 43.37%  had revealed that they had pre-marital sex. The survey was done to 31,202 persons across the state. Dr. Robert S Halliday, Coordinator of Synod Social Front in the Mizoram Synod said.

The main reason for the Synod Social Front (SSF) of the Mizoram Synod, the largest church organisation in Mizoram, to conduct such survey had been to eradicate the practice of pre-marital sex in Mizoram.

The SSF said that out of the total 31,202 people asked whether they had experienced sex before marriage, 13,501 (43.27%) had responded that they had sex before marriage while 16,500 (52.88%) revealed that they had not experienced sex before marriage while1201 persons which is 3.85% of the total respondent refused to reply.

On the question of 'pre-marital sex: Is it morally right or wrong', 87.43% had said that it is morally wrong while 9.8% revealed that pre-marital sex is not morally wrong and they have no problem in it, according to the church body.

In the meantime, it has been reported that there are 500 Mizo sex videos circulating in the state but the genuine number orginated from Mizoram is only 50, said the survey.

Churches and the social organisations in Mizoram are taking measures to reduce the numbers of premarital sex as it is morally wrong in every society. A local resident of Aizawl informed NNN that premarital sex not only harm the future of the people indulged but also the parents indirectly. Awareness campaign should be organised frequently so that youngster could live a free and morally good future, said Thanga, a shopkeeper in Aizawl.

Meanwhile, Aizawl-based Shalom, an organisation working for the reduction of HIV/AIDS in its survey had found out that viewing pornographic pictures and other `bad pictures` among high school and college students is increasing in Mizoram. Officials at Shalom indeed urged the people of Mizoram and the church to fight against the pornography.

One social activist is of the opinion that the arrival of mobile phones in Mizoram has been the main reason for the youths increasing in viewing pornography. Easy access to pornographic sites in cyber cafes offering adult contents have also another factors leading to an addiction to pornography among youths in Mizoram. (Agencies)

 

Garo rebel group threatens to break truce

Tura, March 10: The Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC), a Garo rebel group observing a ceasefire since 2004, has threatened to break the truce if the Centre fails to come up with a "workable solution" to its demands.

"Though the Centre had in 2008 said the ceasefire would be indefinite, last month they informed us that it would be periodic. This is a violation of the earlier agreement," ANVC Publicity Secretary Arist Sangma told reporters here yesterday.

"We have come down from our demand for separate statehood to an autonomous council in the format of Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam, which is very much constitutional and acceptable. The government should state clearly whether they want a solution or not."

The ANVC said it will seek public opinion on whether to continue to the ceasefire or go back to the jungles. (PTI)