Vision 2020 hope for N-E

Vision 2020 hope for N-E
New Delhi, June 27: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will release the Vision 2020 document on July 2 amid the buzz that the DoNER ministry would soon be scrapped. The document’s unveiling will coincide with the opening of tenders for a regional airline for the Northeast the same day.

The document has been prepared for the past three years and is the crux of inputs from 30,000 questionnaires answered by various sections of society from the eight states. DoNER minister Mani Shankar Aiyar wants the NEC to don the role of a regional planning association.

PM to release Vision 2020 on July 2

PM to release Vision 2020 on July 2

KOLKATA, June 19 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unveil ‘Vision 2020’, a document aimed at the socio-economic development of the North-Eastern region, in New Delhi on July 2, Union Minister for Development of North-Eastern region Mani Shankar Aiyar has said. The ‘Vision 2020’ was prepared after three years of uninterrupted consultations with 50,000 common people of the North East and a host experts and institutions to take care of the shortcomings in the region Terming the vision document as an ‘Aam Aadmi (common man) document’, DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said it would require Rs 13 trillion for the implementation of Vision 2020 in the region. The document had been endorsed by the North Eastern Council and Chief Ministers of the region, he told members of the four industry chambers at an interactive session on N-E development, last evening. Aiyar said if India wanted to match the GDP growth of China, then it will have to consider the contribution of the North-East where growth potential was immense. –PTI

State Joha producers hit

State Joha producers hit

By Ajit Patowary
GUWAHATI, June 18 – The Government of India ban on the export of non-Basmati rice has landed State’s aromatic Joha rice producers in a tough situation. The Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) has therefore requested Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Manishankar Aiyar to initiate measures for lifting the ban from this variety of rice produced only in Assam. FASS is a non-Government organization (NGO) operating throughout the world to promote NE Indian cause.Last year, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) arranged export of 17.5 MTs of State’s organic Joha rice to Switzerland through the exporters’ firm M/S Sunstar Overseas Ltd. This year, the State produced 60 MTs of organic Joha with the involvement of 150 farmers of Sonitpur, Lakhimpur and Udalguri districts.These farmers tied up with the exporters for another three to four years with the latters agreeing to pay the certification cost and to bear the miscellaneous expenses for exporting this variety of rice. The farmers also secured the NOP certificates mandatory for exporting organic products to the USA. But the ban changed the entire scenario.The Union Government imposed the ban on export of non-Basmati category of rice in mid-October 2007, though it was relaxed for certain countries due to some special considerations on occasions.In its memorandum to the Union Minister, the FASS said that since Joha was grouped under non-Basmati category, its export got forbidden. As per Union Government records, there are only two categories of rice in the country – Basmati and non-Basmati.Joha has a number of varieties like Tulasi Joha (which is similar to Kaljira of Bangladesh), Khorika Joha, Suagmoni Joha etc. While the price of other varieties of non-Basmati rice in the State ranges from Rs 11 to Rs 22 per kg depending on their quality, the price of Joha starts from Rs 25 and goes up to Rs 38 in Guwahati. Joha rice is the expensive variety and has no shortage in the domestic market. For, it is not the common man’s rice and even those who consume this variety of rice do not do it regularly, said Bidyananda Barkakoty of the FASS Guwahati chapter. He also underlined the need to test the aromatic and nutritious qualities of the Joha varieties of rice.The traditional belief in Assam is that Joha varieties of rice help growth of finer qualities in those who consume them regularly, he said.The Union Government ban on the export of non-Basmati category of rice has also created problems for State’s other varieties of rice like Bora Chaul, which resembles the sticky rice of China, Komal Chaul, which is used for cereals etc. For, these varieties of rice also fall under the non-Basmati category, said the FASS in its memorandum to the DoNER Minister.It further said that NE India might practically be called the motherland of rice. Probably, it is here where the Neolithic rice revolution started some time around 6000 BC and spread even to China. With high quality milling and good packaging, the Assam Joha has the potential of competing with any other premium quality rice in the world.Especially, organic Joha rice has tremendous potential in the world market. With such potential, if this variety of rice is cultivated in large areas and marketed world wide another success story, like the small tea growing movement, can be written in the State in the days to come. This will undoubtedly help Assam prosper and perhaps solve many of its social problems largely, said the NGO.According to available information, APEDA has contacted the Union Commerce Ministry on the issue and the Ministry has shown eagerness to help the State farmers.Barkakoty while talking to this correspondent made an appeal to the Assam Government and leading organizations of the State to come forward for wresting registration for the State’s above varieties of rice under the GI Registration regulation. Source: assam tribune

Expert for Monorail system

To address the greatest menace of the capital city, the chaotic traffic problems, reputed consultant engineer JN Khataniar, who has to his credit of concept designing the Welcome Gate-cum-Footbridge over MG Road and illumination of trees at Sankardev Udyan inspired by King’s Park, Perth, Australia, has come up with a dream project—of introducing Sydney’s Monorail system in Guwahati. Khataniar is going to present his project before the minister of DoNER, Mani Shankar Aiyar on June 18 at Kolkata.Revealing the details of the project to The Assam Tribune, Khataniar said that the elevated Monorail system was the best suitable option for managing Guwahati’s traffic congestion as there was no scope of widening the existing road network, neither enough wide roads for placing massive sky rail tracks like in New Delhi.“Underground railway network is also not advisable for the city due to presence of high ground water level, poor drainage system and perennial water logging, poor soil conditions and being seismic sensitive,” said Khataniar.The unique feature of the Monorail system is that it is environment friendly, noiseless in operation, electrically operated with low energy consumption without any visible hanging wires. The entire system requires light structure in less space and can be accommodated by the side of congested roads or even over the road dividers without necessitating much dismantling and clearing works. Sydney’s Monorail network has the technical sophistication of using 7 cars of total length of 32.12 m, carrying 170 passengers at a speed of 33 kmph on a sleek steel box girder rail track of size 832x700mm supported on thin steel columns of size 690x250mm.“The building structures in Guwahati are very close. Only a system like the Monorail can pass by the side of the existing structures without creating any disturbance as the vehicle width and height are only 2.06 m and 2.6m.” said Khataniar.What is the other significant feature of this system is that the Monorail track can also pass over the flyovers easily, and run quite as easily on power back-up during electricity failure.It may be mentioned here that during a recent visit to Australia as part of a delegation led by the DoNER minister and initiated by the Indian Chambers of Commerce (ICC), Khataniar was highly impressed by the Monorail Network Sydney and on returning back to India he got in touch with Warwick Horsely, General Manager of Veolia Transport Sydney Pvt Ltd, the operator of the Monorail network. Horsely has assured all technical assistance to Khataniar.Khataniar has also developed four loops or circles for the monorail tracks covering the important locations within the city.He has apprised Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about his project. Source: Assam Tribune