New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday urged people to upload pictures and videos of dirty places — and how they get cleaned up — on the social media.
Addressing a gathering on the start of his Clean India campaign, Modi called upon people to use MyGov, a mobile application, as well as Facebook and Twitter to promote the nationwide campaign.
New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Mahatma Gandhi, a strong votary of hygiene and cleanliness, came out against the obnoxious Indian male habit of urinating in the open nearly 90 years ago.
“To pass urine anywhere on a street, at any place not meant for the purpose should be regarded an offence,” Gandhi wrote in an article titled “Our Dirty Ways” in the Sep 13, 1925 issue of “Navajivan” weekly.
During the decades that Gandhi led India’s freedom movement, he spent hours denouncing the “dirty ways” of Indians and appealing to them embrace healthy habits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is appropriately invoking Gandhi to launch the ‘Clean India’ movement.
Here are some excerpts from his writings on the subject on which he felt strongly:
“No one should spit or clean his nose on the streets. In some cases the sputum is so harmful that the germs are carried from it and they infect others with tuberculosis. In some places spitting on the road is a criminal offence. Those who spit after chewing betel leaves and tobacco have no consideration for the feelings of others… Near the village or dwellings, there should be no ditches in which water can collect. Mosquitoes do not breed where water does not stagnate. Where there are no mosquitoes, the incidence of malaria is low.” (Navajivan, Nov 2, 1919)
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“I learnt 35 years ago that a lavatory must be as clean as a drawing room. I learnt this in the West. I believe that many rules about cleanliness in lavatories are observed more scrupulously in the West than in the East… The cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing of excreta anywhere and everywhere.” (Navajivan, May 24, 1925)
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“Both excretory functions should be performed only at fixed places. To pass urine anywhere on a street, at any place not meant for the purpose should be regarded an offence… Lavatories should be kept very clean. Even the part through which the water flows should be kept clean… Our lavatories bring our civilization into discredit, they violate the rules of hygiene.” (Navajivan, Sep 13, 1925)
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“Village tanks are promiscuously used for bathing, washing clothes and drinking and cooking purposes. Many village tanks are also used by cattle. Buffaloes are often to be seen wallowing in them. The wonder is that, inspite of this sinful misuse of village tanks, villages have not been destroyed by epidemics. It is the universal medical evidence that this neglect to ensure purity of the water supply of villages is responsible for many of the diseases suffered by the villagers.” (Harijan, Feb 8, 1935)
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“Many households are so packed with all sorts of unnecessary decorations and furniture which one can very well do without that a simple living man will feel suffocated in those surroundings. They are nothing but means of harbouring dust, bacteria and insects.” (Dec 17, 1942)
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“There is no gainsaying that we have not learnt the art of external sanitation to the degree the English have. What is so distressing is that the living quarters of the menials and sweepers employed in the Viceroy’s House are extremely dirty. This is a state of affairs the ministers of our new government will not tolerate. Although they will occupy the same well-kept bungalows, they will see to it that the lodgings of their servants are kept as clean as their own.” (Speech in New Delhi, Sep 3, 1946)
New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Wednesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture (JV) company for setting up a 100 MW offshore wind power project off the Gujarat coast.
The MoU was signed between MNRE, National Institute of Wind Energy and a consortium of partners consisting of NTPC, Power Grid Corp, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Power Finance Corp, Power Trading Corp and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd.
“Considering the country’s 7,600 km coast line, opportunities for scaling up offshore wind power projects are humongous,” said Power and MNRE Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present on the occasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message in the US was loud and clear that renewable energy is the way to go, Goyal said.
“It dovetails the world’s concerns about climate change and it clearly enhances India’s energy security,” he added.
The minister also suggested building partnerships with defence, coast guard and shipping to ensure seamless and time bound approval process.
The JV will undertake a detailed feasibility study to set up the first planned demonstration off shore wind project.
It has been proposed to provide subsidy for setting up of evacuation and transmission infrastructure of the project to the mainland, an official release here said.
With more than 22 gigawatt (GW) installed capacity in onshore wind power, it is currently the fastest growing renewable energy option in the country, the statement added.
New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Delhi Metro will briefly regulate train movement at two stations Thursday owing to security arrangements for the launch of the “Swachh Bharat” campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The train movement at the Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan metro stations on the yellow line will be briefly regulated,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.
“No entry or exit of passengers will be allowed from 07.45 a.m. to 10.05 a.m. as trains won’t be stopping at the two stations during this period,” said the statement.
The statement said no interchange will be available during these timings at the Central Secretariat station for passengers of Line 2 (Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre) and Line 6 (Central Secretariat to Badarpur).
“However the train services on all other lines will function as per normal schedule throughout the day,” it said.
Incheon, Oct 1 (IANS) This is only the second time cricket is being held at the Asian Games and some countries like South Korea are fielding teams for the first time.
The president of the Korean Cricket Association Kim Seung-chul said many of the players have been recruited from the Dragons cricket club at Sungkyunkwan University.
“I actually established the cricketing club in our school in 2001. I also tried to include the sport as an after school activity and put cricket as one of the general physical education subjects. And in 2011, I established the Korean Cricket Association (KCA) to drive the inclusion of the Korean team at the Games,” Kim was quoted as saying by The Korean Herald.
“In 2012, we went on a recruitment drive for national team members and although they had short-term training period, they have enthusiasm and confidence.”
Cricket is virtually unheard of in South Korea but there hasn’t been any shortage of volunteers to help at these Asian Games. They have come from the small but enthusiastic local cricketing circle which also includes expat players.
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Organisers fear dismal closing act
After dishing out a forgettable opening ceremony that many believe was the worst ever, organisers of the Incheon Asian Games face a daunting challenge of bringing Asia’s biggest sporting event to a close in a memorable way – despite opearating on shoestring budget.
“We have noted the criticism we received after the opening ceremony and applied it to the direction of the closing ceremony,” Jang Jin, artistic director of the ceremony, told The Korea Times.
But he also said they were facing difficulties to prepare because of the commencement of athletic events at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium.
“We will not be able to push through with the final rehearsal that had been scheduled for Friday,” Jin said.
The closing ceremony will include performances by the National Dance Company of Korea and the National Gugak Center, a countdown using filmed shots of athletes’ shirt numbers and AD cards, a taekwondo performance and a concert by boy band Big Bang.
But most people remain unconvinced that the closing ceremony will be an improvement on the opening ceremony, which was likened by the public and foreign media to a hallyu (Korean wave) concert or film festival, featuring more celebrities than sports stars.
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Iran look to sports to break tensions
Iran is viewing the ongoing Asian Games as a way to deepen people-to-people exchanges, despite tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, an official said on the sidelines of the mega event.
Iran’s emphasis is on sports and its athletes are bolstering their reputation on the playing field said Shahrokh Shahnazi, secretary-general of Iran’s national olympic committee.
“For us as the Islamic Republic of Iran, we don’t have any problem with people of the US and their practices. We respect them,” Shahnazi, 60, told The Korea Times, adding: “The problems that we face (involve) the government of the US, not the people. Sports are about people, not government. And athletes are people.”
The official hoped to build strong relations with the US Olympic committee, as well as non-governmental groups seeking to engage in sports diplomacy.
Iran’s participation in the Games follows a rare bout of sports diplomacy with Washington, which saw Tehran send a volleyball team to California. The Games come as Washington and five other world powers negotiate with Tehran over its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions.
Incheon, Oct 1 (IANS) The Indian women’s sepaktakraw team bowed out of the 17th Asian Games with their third straight defeat, a 0-2 loss to China, in their final Group A match at the Bucheon Gymnasium here Wednesday.
India surrendered meekly, going down 9-21, 7-21 in 26 minutes, to finish their campaign at the bottom of their group.
In their previous two group matches, India had lost 12-21, 13-21 to Indonesia before bowing 16-21, 14-21 to Laos.
China take on South Korea while Thailand face Indonesia in the semi-finals Thursday.
Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Perhaps for the first time in 48 years, the Shiv Sena’s annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park here will be held this year without fiery speeches for which it was renowned.
Launched first by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in 1966, over the years the Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally has become a red-letter day in Maharashtra’s political calendar.
This year, however, will be different on account of the ongoing process for the state assembly elections to be held Oct 15.
“We shall perform the traditional Dussehra Puja at Shivaji Park, but there will be no speeches…The Dussehra speeches will be at the Borivali rally,” Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said here Wednesday.
In fact, the Dussehra rally – held virtually uninterrupted for the past 48 years – was an opportunity for the Shiv Sena to announce its major political initiatives.
Even other opposition parties considered it as a barometer of the waxing or waning support for the Shiv Sena, a party liked or hated, but never ignored under any circumstance.
For over four decades, it was religiously addressed by Bal Thackeray, virtually single-handedly holding the fort and commanding public attention as his political rivals and bete-noires squirmed at his tongue-lashing.
Bal Thackeray’s electrifying speeches in Marathi, sparing neither friends nor foes, his acidic style of butchering political opponents, no-holds barred and double-entendre language skills, dramatic mannerisms to accompany the verbal volley and the sheer public response he attracted, remain unmatched till date.
The 28-acre venue, with a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji on its western corner, was usually jam-packed, but there were years when the crowds spilled over.
Gradually, as his frail health prevented him, son Uddhav Thackeray took over the burden, as the party executive president, though he always invoked his father in speeches.
A few years ago, a nervous Uddhav Thackeray had even brought a video-recording of his ailing father’s speech which was telecast to reassure the loyal sainiks as well as to ensure a smooth passage of the Thackeray mantle to gen-next.
After Bal Thackeray’s death at the age of 86 Nov 17, 2012, Uddhav Thackeray addressed the first rally at the venue last year and vowed to carry forward his father’s “ideals and achieve the dream of a saffron flag fluttering atop the Mantralaya”, the state secretariat.
Bal Thackeray was cremated at Shivaji Park – his favourite ground in south-central Mumbai’s Dadar west.
With the assembly elections next fortnight, the time has finally come for Uddhav Thackeray to fulfil his father’s desire.
