Local indicators can help predict monsoon behaviour: Study
Natural indicators such as behavioural patterns of certain fish species, ants, crows and flowers can help predict the onset of monsoon and its behaviour, according to a study done this year by city-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Vishwa Scientific.
The study is part of its five-year project on tracking monsoon in the Western Ghats and Maharashtra. The initiative, which is part of a larger project called 'Project Meghdoot', is supported by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The five-year project, which aims to estimate the impact of changes in monsoon behaviour on nature and society, had a 20-member team from Vishwa Scientific track monsoon from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to Agumbe in Karnataka, and later the four meteorological divisions in Maharashtra - Konkan, Central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.
In the first phase of the initiative, which was carried out between May 27 and June 8, the team tracked monsoon from Thiruvananthapuram to Agumbe, while in the second phase, between August and September, it covered Maharashtra. "Currently, only meteorological documentation of monsoon is done while the social aspects are rarely looked into. In other words, monsoon research is primarily meteorological, scientific and climatological. Hence, this initiative aims to find its social impact," said project coordinator Mayuresh Prabhune.
He said that the team travelled to selected places and conducted interviews with 40-50 different sections of population to identify the natural indicators they have at their disposal to predict the behaviour of monsoon. The team spoke to tribals, farmers and fishermen, among others.
"Every farmer, fisherman and tribal utilises certain natural indicators locally to predict the onset of monsoon. For instance, in Konkan, fishermen predict the onset of monsoons by observing the behavioural patterns of certain species of fish, like Etroplus. Fishermen find this small fish in large numbers on the shore just before monsoons set in. In Melghat, a tribe called 'Korku' informed (the team) that a local flower called 'Bahava' blooms 40 days before monsoon sets in, which is how the tribe predicts its arrival in their region," said Prabhune.
He added that there were some regions where the way ants behave around anthills or the way crows build their nests was observed to predict rainfall.
The team also came across a study that correlates the behaviour of spiders and changes in their population with monsoon, as spiders are very sensitive to atmospheric changes.
"There are hundreds of such natural indicators. We have currently come across 10 of them. After studying and verifying these indicators with the help of meteorologists, botanists, zoologists, bird watchers and atmospheric scientists, it may be possible to forecast monsoon at the local level, which could then be made available to people free of cost," he said.
The team also observed rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, and temperature in the regions visited.
As part of 'Project Meghdoot', the team is also compiling the Indian Monsoon Encyclopaedia, which is an exhaustive discourse on monsoon in all languages.
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US artist to help make city's largest mural
Cave paintings, elaborate wall decorations in the palaces of kings and even the full-fledged picture halls called 'Chittagaras' maintained by the rulers that find a mention in ancient texts are all murals. This ancient art form, however, is fading away.
Some art lovers have decided to turn around the scenario by introducing mural making to the new generation of artists. City-based NGO Ayuda Shilp has planned to invite Augustina Droze, American artist renowned for making large murals, to the city in November. Along with South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Ayuda Shilp has organized a Mural Art Festival in Nagpur in November. The event is also supported by 'Nagpur First'; an NGO dedicated to make Nagpur a Global city by 2020.
"For over a fortnight, Augustina would be demonstrating making of a huge mural to the artists from city. The aim of the festival is to promote this ancient art as a powerful means of expression, especially among the kids," said Vivek Bhagwatkar, a management professional from Mumbai who is the project director for the event. The mural will be made in SCZCC premises in Civil Lines.
"At SCZCC, it is our job to promote folk arts from the region. With international artists coming, it is a good opportunity for us to reaffirm our place in the world of culture. What I find appreciable about the event is that it will try to fuse Indian as well as western forms of mural making," said Ravindra Singhal, director of SCZCC. He said it would not just be an introduction of the process of mural making for artists but will also add to the aesthetic value of the centre after. "At 50x15 feet, it would surely be a huge work of art, probably the largest in the city," he added.
City-based artist Shagufta Mehdi believes the festival would be a visual statement projecting Nagpur as a cultural hotspot. "There is so much talent in the city, but the artistic community is a little scattered. Through the festival, we wish to bring them all together to make the city cultural capital of the region," she said.
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IGNOU programme in value education for teachers
The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU's) School of Extension and Development Studies (SOEDS) offers walk in admissions for its Certificate Programme in Value Education (CPVE) to be offered from January 2012 session in distance mode.
"CPVE has been designed to inculcate the importance of value education in the teaching- learning process among teachers, graduates, NGO's and professionals from the corporate and other sectors of the civil society. This programme has an Activity Component which has to be completed by the learners before the Term End Exam," said Dr. Silima Nanda, Deputy Director (ID), IGNOU, who is also the programme coordinator of this Programme.
"The target group for this course is mainly the teachers (mostly elementary) for integrating values in their transactional process of teaching and learning. It can also be offered to NGO's, Government servants, students, professionals and other workers of the civil society organisation", she added.
The Programme is available for anyone with plus two as basic minimum qualification. The minimum time period to complete this programme is six months while maximum is two years.
The course comprises of four theory papers namely, Overview and Perspectives of Values, Social Dynamics and Value Development, Pedagogy of Values and Application and Support Skills. However, two credits are reserved for the activity report.
The admission form is available online or in the Common Prospectus of the university available in all the regional centres and headquarters.
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Kerala asks bankers to lend more for schemes
The Kerala Government has asked the State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) to consider lending to more schemes announced in its Budget even as bankers pushed for better compliance from the State in terms of credit recovery.
The Finance Minister, Mr K. M. Mani, said in his address to the 104th meeting of the SLBC that he would request the banks to push a proposal to the Centre to revise upwards the limit of educational loans.
The Finance Minister also wanted banks to look at ways of financing the unique model of contract farming that the State Government had formulated.
Explaining, he said that the contract farming model would not involve any corporate investments but would rather see State Government-sponsored NGO such as Kudumbashree in action.
This alone would go to discount any possibility of owners of landing not getting their property back as has often happened after these have been leased to corporates.
There are tens of thousands of hectares of fallow land predominated by small holdings, which is another reason why a State-specific model had to be thought of in contract farming.
The Finance Minister also introduced to the bankers the scholarship scheme for students from the weaker sections of society and to be piloted by the Kerala State Financial Enterprise (KSFE), a State Government-sponsored chit fund scheme.
The KSFE has a turnover of Rs 12,000 crore and has 500 branches but the State Government may not be able to rustle up the resources to operate the scheme.
But there is a huge demand for educational loans, which the banks have not been able to meet. This is what prompted the Government to devise the scheme.
The Finance Minister requested the banks to consider refinance the KSFE scholarship, which is to be launched soon.
Another scheme that he put before the SLBC was the proposal for training 50,000 in soft skills and help five to 10 of them to set up small industries, as announced in the Budget.
An estimated 10,000 such small industries are to be floated, and the State Government is willing to extend interest-free loans of up to Rs 20 lakh for each. In case if a technocrat is promoting such a venture on his own, the assistance would be to the order of Rs 10 lakh.
But bigger scheme envisaging investment of Rs 1 crore and above would need finance from other sources and here is where banks could come in a big way.
He also asked banks to look at ways of enhancing the amount of educational loans by taking up the issue with the Reserve Bank and the Union Finance Ministry. The State Government shall use its good offices in this regard.
Responding to the proposals, the Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S. Raman, and Executive Director, Ms Archana Bhargava, assured the State Government that banks would not be found wanting to provide finance to such ingenious and result-oriented schemes as proposed by the State Finance Minister.
Canara Bank is the Convenor of SLBC, Kerala.
But borrowers must commit themselves to timely payback of the credit availed of by them, a practice that need to be cultivated by themselves.
The State Government should also think of conveying the message to them in order that banks and borrowers respect each other and help circulate money within the system to the optimal levels.
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Child labourers found working in MCD office
A Child Welfare Committee has summoned the MCD deputy commissioner of south zone after four child labourers were founding working in the canteen of the zonal office.
In an order issued on Wednesday, the committee said since the children had been found working in MCD premises, it raises serious questions about violation of child rights in the office of a public authority. "Deputy commissioner, south zone, should give an explanation in writing as to how the children employed (by) the contractor (were) operating in the canteen in MCD premises," the order said.
Four children were rescued from the canteen by the Labour department officials following a complaint by NGO Sadbhawana Samaj Kalyan Samiti. NGO worker Jitesh Kumar had video-graphed two of the four children working in the canteen. The ages of the children are yet to be determined.
The police have been directed to register a case against the accused.
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Cloud over credibility: SC finds fault with Medha Patkar’s NGO
The credentials of Medha Patkar’s NGO Narmada Bachao Andolan would remain forever under cloud after the Supreme Court on Thursday held that in future any case brought forward by the NGO should be viewed with “care and caution”.
A three-judge bench dealing with the plea of compensation for oustees of Omkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh had led the court to focus on the conduct of the NGO which leveled serious allegations against the State Government of wrongfully acquiring land.
In May this year, the SC delivered its verdict upholding the State Government’s plea and instead found fault with the NBA for misrepresenting to the court. The court took note of the affidavits filed by the organisation which carried wrong facts. In view of the fact that it was misled, the court passed scathing observations damning the credibility of the NGO.
Taking exception to the remarks made against it, NBA had filed an application for modifying the judgment to the extent that the objectionable remarks should be removed. The bench of Justices JM Panchal, BS Chauhan and Deepak Verma said, “We modify our order to the extent that from the facts on record the inescapable conclusion is that the NBA has not acted with a sense of responsibility.”
Sharing its concerns for the poor oustees who live in pitiable conditions having little access to law due to the extent of backwardness, the court further stated, “We direct that in future if any case is presented to the Court by NBA, it may be treated with caution and care.” As in the given case, where the NBA filed an affidavit accusing the state of wrongfully acquiring 284 hectares of land, which on spot inquiry was proved wrong, the bench clarified that any comment or statement by the organization should be accompanied with an affidavit of responsible persons of the organization.
Ever since the construction of the Omkareshwar Dam started in 2003, the acquisition of five villages have remained in dispute. These include Dhardi, Nayapura, Guwadi, Kothmir and Narsinghpura. In October 2007, the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) ordered acquisition of 284.03 hectares of area which fell in these five villages. This was challenged before the MP High Court and got stayed by NBA.
Pursuant to it, the state government took a decision not to acquire the said land and instead provide all weather roads for uninterrupted traffic movement for trucks and other vehicles. Even this action was challenged by NBA and by an order of September 23, 2009, the HC directed the state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to all displaced persons in those five villages, forcing the state to approach the apex court.
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Compact Fluorescent Lamp's can really harm you
Compact fluorescent lamps may have become popular for their energy saving capabilities, but they pose great danger to the health of Indians as they contain toxic metal mercury much higher than the international standards, a study revealed.
The study ‘Toxics in That Glow-Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in India’ conducted by an NGO Toxics Link found that average mercury content per unit in CFL was around 21.21 mg, which is much higher than the internationally known standards ranging four to six times the CFLs sold in many developed countries.
A total of 22 samples of CFLs of four well known brands sold in India were analysed for mercury content. Mercury was found to be in the range of 2.27 to 62.56 mg per unit. The US cap is 4mg per CFL unit for up to 25 watts and 5mg for CFL units over 25 watts. In the European Union, the restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) law mandates the cap to 5mg per CFL.
Mercury, a highly toxic metal,is known to impact vital organs such as level causing developmental and neurological problems. The study said greater exposure of mercury will affect health of waste workers and local inhabitants.
“The Indian CFL industry is exploiting the new market opened up by the climate change crisis, however, they are creating a toxic crisis. Instead of following the best practices in the world, they are putting the Indian consumer at risk trough high level of mercury,” said Toxics Link Director Ravi Agarwal after releasing the study here.
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Hint of scam as Krantichakra file goes missing
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation doesn't have any record about an entertainment programme 'Krantichakra' it organised in 2007 because the entire file about it has gone missing. This is even more intriguing as the show was produced by Kanchan Gadkari, wife of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari.
NMC, in association with a city-based NGO, had organised the week-long patriotic play Krantichakra to mark 150 years of India's first struggle for independence. The play was staged at Yeshwant Stadium. Sources said being partner of the event, the NMC had provided the stadium for free.
Apart from distributing free passes to students and VIPs, the corporation had also sold tickets priced between Rs 20 and Rs 1,000, said a source. Since the tickets had no serial numbers, the civic body had no records on how many tickets were sold for the event. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.
The Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) was also kept in the dark as there were no records of the event, said the source. The CAG had slammed the NMC for spending Rs 6 crore for holding or sponsoring cultural and sports events in the city since January 2007 while the law allows the civic body to spend only Rs 25,000 annually under these heads.
"Section 58 sub-section R-A of the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, provides that the NMC can make contribution towards any public reception, entertainment function provided the total expenditure on account of such contributions during any financial year does not exceed Rs 25,000. For making higher contribution, it is supposed to seek state government's permission," the source said.
For this event the NMC had allegedly overlooked the provision and spent lakhs of rupees. Some NMC insiders see a major scam brewing with file going missing. Standing committee chairman Sandip Joshi ruled out any irregularities in organising the event. He said the NMC had spent around Rs 16 lakh for the event. About the missing file, he said it was not his job to keep track of it. Cultural and sports officer Hambirrao Mohite said that there was no record of event available in the NMC. He refused to comment further stating that he had taken over the department's charge only in 2009 and the event was organised in 2007.
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NGO Launches Website to Boost Entrepreneurship
Kigali — In a bid to increase access to business information among entrepreneurs, Abeo Foundation, in partnership with the Belgian Technical Cooperation and the International Organisation of the Francophonie, yesterday, launched a web-portal.
Abeo Foundation is an international organisation that advocates for the rights of entrepreneurs across the world by enabling them easily get access to business information.
During the function which took place at the Belgian Embassy in Kigali, Eric Gakuba, the coordinator of Abeo activities in Rwanda, said that the portal aims at offering technical assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
"The main objective of this web portal is to provide SMEs across the country with the necessary information on how they can best improve their business activities," Gakuba said.
He noted that the foundation will work closely with RDB, through business development centres in all districts, to enable beneficiaries easily access business information through the use of the internet.
Gakuba revealed that they have also developed a web application where entrepreneurs can access information concerning business activities through mobile phones.
He added that Abeo will next month carry out a national sensitisation campaign aimed at encouraging Rwandans to visit the web portal, adding that the project has been launched in 12 other countries in Africa.
Michael Wimmer, the First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy, said the portal would be a useful tool for entrepreneurs and SMEs in Rwanda, adding that it may be an important engine of growth and poverty reduction.
Penelope Umurerwa, a businesswoman dealing in potatoes at Kigali's Nyabugogo market, said that the facility would enable traders to be more informed about business activities in the country, which she said, will help them to maximise their profits in future.
She requested more organisations to come up with similar initiatives in order to boost the private sector, especially entrepreneurs in the rural areas.
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Positive Court Ruling for Malaysian Reform NGO
Bersih 2.0 can challenge decision saying it’s illegal, judge says
A High Court Judge in Malaysia ruled Wednesday that Bersih 2.0, a coalition of 80-odd NGOs demanding changes in the country’s electoral laws, can appeal a July 1 decision of Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, outlawing it.
There continue to be deep suspicions in Malaysia that the government is stalling on putting in place the electoral reforms that Bersih’s component members are advocating.
Nonetheless, “We welcome the decision,” said Wong Chin Huat, one of the leaders of the organization, in a telephone interview. “There is no guarantee that we will win and we don’t want to be overly optimistic but it is a good sign.”
In a prepared statement, Bersih’s leaders said they welcomed the judge’s decision and added that: “It is absolutely vital in a democracy that the courts are prepared to allow scrutiny of executive powers by allowing citizens who are affected by the exercise of these powers to have the opportunity to challenge them fairly in court.”
Hishammuddin declared Bersih 2.0 illegal prior to a July 9 march demanding electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur in what blossomed into a harsh attempt to stop the organization from fulfilling its goals. At one point, police were arresting anybody wearing a yellow Bersih tee-shirt.
Given that Malaysian courts do not operate in a vacuum but tend to take their marching orders on political affairs from the ruling government coalition, some observers believe the government, embarrassed by naming Bersih an illegal organization in the first place, could have signaled to the court to allow the group’s complaint to go ahead.
Bersih, the Malay language word for “clean,” is formally known as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections.
Wong said he was heartened by the fact that six leaders of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) leaders who had been arrested in the run-up to the march were released unconditionally in late July, a possible indication that the government was softening its stance.
The country was badly embarrassed after police sought to stop the July 9 march, chasing down nonviolent marchers with tear gas and water cannons and arresting 1,667 people including most of Bersih’s leaders. Despite police refusal to grant a permit for the march and establishing roadblocks to shut down Kuala Lumpur to keep people out of the city, an estimated 25,000 people got through anyhow. The government was doubly embarrassed when censors blacked out parts of a story in The Economists describing the crackdown, an act of censorship that hasn’t taken place in years.
As domestic and international criticism continued, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak apparently yielded to Bersih’s demands and announced in August that a select parliamentary committee would be formed to seek to reform the country’s electoral system.
However, since that time little or nothing has been done besides cleaning the electoral rolls of some 70,000 disqualified voters, leading to criticism that Najib could be stalling. Bersih leaders are continuing to be harassed and investigated by police, leaders said. So far, there is no indication that the parliamentary committee has been formed. No Bersih leaders have been asked to join the committee. However, the Dewan Rakyat, or parliament, is in recess and is not due to reconvene until Oct. 2.
Under Malaysia’s parliamentary system, elections must be held in 2013 at the latest. The current betting is that Najib will call for dissolution of parliament sometime in March 2012, when the country’s schoolchildren are on holiday and the schools can be used as polling stations. Bersih has asked that the select parliamentary committee be allowed to meet and conclude its business prior to the election. Given the complicated machinery of changing the country’s constitution and other legal issues, it is questionable if the committee can meet and transact its business prior to the election.
Bersih has repeatedly asked that the elections be delayed until after the committee finishes its work. The NGO recently issued a statement saying it is ”disappointed at the on-going display of arrogance by the ministers of our country in negotiating the terms of reference and composition of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform. We remind the leaders of the nation that as representatives elected by citizens of Malaysia, they should humbly listen to the voices of the people and act as the people wills them.”
Bersih has published a list of eight demands they say are necessary to clean up the country’s voting procedure, saying that as many as 3.5 million voters have been disenfranchised by the current electoral process, that rolls must be cleaned to eliminate ghost voters and that the electoral period must be lengthened because the ruling national coalition has the ability to put its campaign machinery in place, then call a snap election before the opposition has the opportunity to mount a campaign.
They have also demanded that the country’s press be allowed to report more fairly on the opposition, who are consistently featured negatively if they are featured at all. Given that all of the major media are owned by component political parties of the Barisan Nasional, that seems problematical. Just last week, a public service video by a local musician promoting the right to vote was taken off the air on orders of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission because it featured opposition figures and a speech by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that featured some negative comments.
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B.C. MP expected to run for NDP's top job
British Columbia MP Nathan Cullen, whose passion for social justice issues was stirred by a terrifying 1990s kidnapping incident in South America, will announce today he is entering the race to succeed the late Jack Layton as New Democratic Party leader, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
Cullen, who will unveil some of his key supporters at an announcement in Vancouver, was recently identified by one commentator as one of two dark horse contenders, along with Ottawa MP Paul Dewar, who could upset front-runner Brian Topp.
Dewar is expected to announce his candidacy Sunday and Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair and another B.C. MP, Peter Julian, are also expected to be major candidates in the race.
Cullen said Thursday his goal is to shift Canada's direction away from Harper's government policies and approach to criminal justice, energy and the environment, foreign affairs and divisive "wedge politics."
The NDP, which won a record-shattering 103 seats under Layton in May to become the official Opposition, has a chance to advance to government, he said.
"We have a chance to reach beyond those who are already onside," he said in an exclusive interview. "I think there is a much broader progressive movement that is more open to us than in our entire history. Because of Jack's legacy, because of some things that have happened to the other parties, the door has opened in Quebec and right across the country."
Cullen, 39, is functionally bilingual and was first elected in the remote northern riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley in 2004, only months after joining the NDP.
Born to a single mother in Toronto, the former small business owner in Smithers, B.C., describes himself as pro-free enterprise and economically to the right of the party.
But he is an ex-caucus environment critic who is identified strongly with green issues, both in B.C. and in Ottawa. He is expected to lay out his long legislative track record in advancing environmental causes at today's announcement.
FATHER OF TWIN BABIES
Cullen said Thursday he hesitated to enter the race given that he and his wife Diana are the parents of 14-month-old twin boys, who will be with him at today's event.
But he said his soul-searching also brought him back to a key moment in his life in the mid-1990s, when he was working for an Ecuadorean non-governmental organization in a remote rainforest area of the country near the Colombian border.
Telling the story to the media for the first time, he said he had just finished eating dinner by candlelight with the other members of the NGO and members of the local indigenous community. The NGO was there to help the community find alternate sources of income, such as ecotourism, so they could avoid working for a local timber baron and politician who was deforesting the area.
"We could hear some birds chirping, which was really unusual in late evening, and I remember making eye contact with a guy who had been in the military and the look on his face was, 'Oh, no.'
"And then all of a sudden about 20 guys in balaclavas with machineguns, the whole deal, just swooped in and everybody's on the floor, the table's gone, they're hog-tying us and screaming. They took the women away and said, 'If we didn't give them what they want they're going to rape all the women.' It lasted 'till morning. Nasty things went on."
Cullen said the abductors, from Colombia, had mistakenly assumed the head of the NGO had brought cash to pay the locals for their work and were demanding to know where the money was.
At one point, one of the younger men put a pistol to Cullen's head.
A GUN TO HIS HEAD
"He started playing this form of Russian roulette, saying 'this gun's got a bullet and I'm going to start clicking through this until you tell us where the cash is.' And he started clicking through the revolver.
"I remember at one point getting very angry and turning on him and saying, 'Enough with the effing games' ... and I'm looking at this guy and his commander came over and realized what he was doing and smashed the guy in his head with his own gun."
By the following morning, Cullen said, the Colombians chose him as their kidnap victim and started dragging him down to the canoe.
No women were raped. The NGO leader, a large, fit and charismatic man named Guillermo, intervened, demanding that he, rather than Cullen, who was assumed by the Colombians to be an American "gringo" who could command a high ransom, be taken.
"He said, 'You don't want the American because then you'll have the CIA [involved] and the CIA will kill you."
Cullen said he argued with Guillermo, who had a wife and children, but the kidnappers left with the NGO leader. He was held for two months, tied to a tree and fed a cup of rice a day and was emaciated and deeply traumatized by the time his Ecuadorean family was able to ransom him.
"I'm pretty sure I owe him my life," Cullen said.
"They just ruined that guy, physically and spiritually. I'd like to think I was a pretty strong person, but Guillermo was a lot stronger than me and this thing virtually killed him." Cullen said they learned after a police investigation that the politician and landowner who relied on cheap local labour hired the kidnappers to intimidate the NGO.
Cullen, who has championed causes such as the opposition of Enbridge's $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline from just outside Edmonton to Kitimat, B.C., said he has thought a lot about the kidnap drama since he began thinking about the leadership.
"This story keeps coming back to me, but I hesitated to talk about it," he said.
"But when I think, 'When was the moment when I said, we've got to change things?' This was it. The stakes were so intense. This was about people's lives."
ANGERED BY PM'S TACTICS
Cullen said he is infuriated by the wedge tactics of the Harper Conservatives, who this week accused the NDP of siding with "extremists" on environmental issues.
"I side with extremists like [former Alberta premier Peter] Lougheed who say the pace of development is not good for Alberta and its environment."
The Tories are also accusing the NDP of pandering to Quebec by opposing upcoming legislation intended to give fast-growing B.C., Alberta and Ontario more seats. Cullen said he supports the NDP position that Quebec should also get more seats to prevent its influence from being watered down in Parliament.
"I don't see why the Conservatives are uninterested in saying to Quebec, 'Your role in Confederation is unique.' It seems like it [the Tory proposal] will give encouragement to the separatists, and anything that gives them encouragement I'm leery of and I would oppose."
Natural indicators such as behavioural patterns of certain fish species, ants, crows and flowers can help predict the onset of monsoon and its behaviour, according to a study done this year by city-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Vishwa Scientific.
The study is part of its five-year project on tracking monsoon in the Western Ghats and Maharashtra. The initiative, which is part of a larger project called 'Project Meghdoot', is supported by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The five-year project, which aims to estimate the impact of changes in monsoon behaviour on nature and society, had a 20-member team from Vishwa Scientific track monsoon from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to Agumbe in Karnataka, and later the four meteorological divisions in Maharashtra - Konkan, Central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.
In the first phase of the initiative, which was carried out between May 27 and June 8, the team tracked monsoon from Thiruvananthapuram to Agumbe, while in the second phase, between August and September, it covered Maharashtra. "Currently, only meteorological documentation of monsoon is done while the social aspects are rarely looked into. In other words, monsoon research is primarily meteorological, scientific and climatological. Hence, this initiative aims to find its social impact," said project coordinator Mayuresh Prabhune.
He said that the team travelled to selected places and conducted interviews with 40-50 different sections of population to identify the natural indicators they have at their disposal to predict the behaviour of monsoon. The team spoke to tribals, farmers and fishermen, among others.
"Every farmer, fisherman and tribal utilises certain natural indicators locally to predict the onset of monsoon. For instance, in Konkan, fishermen predict the onset of monsoons by observing the behavioural patterns of certain species of fish, like Etroplus. Fishermen find this small fish in large numbers on the shore just before monsoons set in. In Melghat, a tribe called 'Korku' informed (the team) that a local flower called 'Bahava' blooms 40 days before monsoon sets in, which is how the tribe predicts its arrival in their region," said Prabhune.
He added that there were some regions where the way ants behave around anthills or the way crows build their nests was observed to predict rainfall.
The team also came across a study that correlates the behaviour of spiders and changes in their population with monsoon, as spiders are very sensitive to atmospheric changes.
"There are hundreds of such natural indicators. We have currently come across 10 of them. After studying and verifying these indicators with the help of meteorologists, botanists, zoologists, bird watchers and atmospheric scientists, it may be possible to forecast monsoon at the local level, which could then be made available to people free of cost," he said.
The team also observed rainfall, humidity, wind speed and direction, and temperature in the regions visited.
As part of 'Project Meghdoot', the team is also compiling the Indian Monsoon Encyclopaedia, which is an exhaustive discourse on monsoon in all languages.
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US artist to help make city's largest mural
Cave paintings, elaborate wall decorations in the palaces of kings and even the full-fledged picture halls called 'Chittagaras' maintained by the rulers that find a mention in ancient texts are all murals. This ancient art form, however, is fading away.
Some art lovers have decided to turn around the scenario by introducing mural making to the new generation of artists. City-based NGO Ayuda Shilp has planned to invite Augustina Droze, American artist renowned for making large murals, to the city in November. Along with South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Ayuda Shilp has organized a Mural Art Festival in Nagpur in November. The event is also supported by 'Nagpur First'; an NGO dedicated to make Nagpur a Global city by 2020.
"For over a fortnight, Augustina would be demonstrating making of a huge mural to the artists from city. The aim of the festival is to promote this ancient art as a powerful means of expression, especially among the kids," said Vivek Bhagwatkar, a management professional from Mumbai who is the project director for the event. The mural will be made in SCZCC premises in Civil Lines.
"At SCZCC, it is our job to promote folk arts from the region. With international artists coming, it is a good opportunity for us to reaffirm our place in the world of culture. What I find appreciable about the event is that it will try to fuse Indian as well as western forms of mural making," said Ravindra Singhal, director of SCZCC. He said it would not just be an introduction of the process of mural making for artists but will also add to the aesthetic value of the centre after. "At 50x15 feet, it would surely be a huge work of art, probably the largest in the city," he added.
City-based artist Shagufta Mehdi believes the festival would be a visual statement projecting Nagpur as a cultural hotspot. "There is so much talent in the city, but the artistic community is a little scattered. Through the festival, we wish to bring them all together to make the city cultural capital of the region," she said.
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IGNOU programme in value education for teachers
The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU's) School of Extension and Development Studies (SOEDS) offers walk in admissions for its Certificate Programme in Value Education (CPVE) to be offered from January 2012 session in distance mode.
"CPVE has been designed to inculcate the importance of value education in the teaching- learning process among teachers, graduates, NGO's and professionals from the corporate and other sectors of the civil society. This programme has an Activity Component which has to be completed by the learners before the Term End Exam," said Dr. Silima Nanda, Deputy Director (ID), IGNOU, who is also the programme coordinator of this Programme.
"The target group for this course is mainly the teachers (mostly elementary) for integrating values in their transactional process of teaching and learning. It can also be offered to NGO's, Government servants, students, professionals and other workers of the civil society organisation", she added.
The Programme is available for anyone with plus two as basic minimum qualification. The minimum time period to complete this programme is six months while maximum is two years.
The course comprises of four theory papers namely, Overview and Perspectives of Values, Social Dynamics and Value Development, Pedagogy of Values and Application and Support Skills. However, two credits are reserved for the activity report.
The admission form is available online or in the Common Prospectus of the university available in all the regional centres and headquarters.
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Kerala asks bankers to lend more for schemes
The Kerala Government has asked the State-Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) to consider lending to more schemes announced in its Budget even as bankers pushed for better compliance from the State in terms of credit recovery.
The Finance Minister, Mr K. M. Mani, said in his address to the 104th meeting of the SLBC that he would request the banks to push a proposal to the Centre to revise upwards the limit of educational loans.
The Finance Minister also wanted banks to look at ways of financing the unique model of contract farming that the State Government had formulated.
Explaining, he said that the contract farming model would not involve any corporate investments but would rather see State Government-sponsored NGO such as Kudumbashree in action.
This alone would go to discount any possibility of owners of landing not getting their property back as has often happened after these have been leased to corporates.
There are tens of thousands of hectares of fallow land predominated by small holdings, which is another reason why a State-specific model had to be thought of in contract farming.
The Finance Minister also introduced to the bankers the scholarship scheme for students from the weaker sections of society and to be piloted by the Kerala State Financial Enterprise (KSFE), a State Government-sponsored chit fund scheme.
The KSFE has a turnover of Rs 12,000 crore and has 500 branches but the State Government may not be able to rustle up the resources to operate the scheme.
But there is a huge demand for educational loans, which the banks have not been able to meet. This is what prompted the Government to devise the scheme.
The Finance Minister requested the banks to consider refinance the KSFE scholarship, which is to be launched soon.
Another scheme that he put before the SLBC was the proposal for training 50,000 in soft skills and help five to 10 of them to set up small industries, as announced in the Budget.
An estimated 10,000 such small industries are to be floated, and the State Government is willing to extend interest-free loans of up to Rs 20 lakh for each. In case if a technocrat is promoting such a venture on his own, the assistance would be to the order of Rs 10 lakh.
But bigger scheme envisaging investment of Rs 1 crore and above would need finance from other sources and here is where banks could come in a big way.
He also asked banks to look at ways of enhancing the amount of educational loans by taking up the issue with the Reserve Bank and the Union Finance Ministry. The State Government shall use its good offices in this regard.
Responding to the proposals, the Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S. Raman, and Executive Director, Ms Archana Bhargava, assured the State Government that banks would not be found wanting to provide finance to such ingenious and result-oriented schemes as proposed by the State Finance Minister.
Canara Bank is the Convenor of SLBC, Kerala.
But borrowers must commit themselves to timely payback of the credit availed of by them, a practice that need to be cultivated by themselves.
The State Government should also think of conveying the message to them in order that banks and borrowers respect each other and help circulate money within the system to the optimal levels.
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Child labourers found working in MCD office
A Child Welfare Committee has summoned the MCD deputy commissioner of south zone after four child labourers were founding working in the canteen of the zonal office.
In an order issued on Wednesday, the committee said since the children had been found working in MCD premises, it raises serious questions about violation of child rights in the office of a public authority. "Deputy commissioner, south zone, should give an explanation in writing as to how the children employed (by) the contractor (were) operating in the canteen in MCD premises," the order said.
Four children were rescued from the canteen by the Labour department officials following a complaint by NGO Sadbhawana Samaj Kalyan Samiti. NGO worker Jitesh Kumar had video-graphed two of the four children working in the canteen. The ages of the children are yet to be determined.
The police have been directed to register a case against the accused.
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Cloud over credibility: SC finds fault with Medha Patkar’s NGO
The credentials of Medha Patkar’s NGO Narmada Bachao Andolan would remain forever under cloud after the Supreme Court on Thursday held that in future any case brought forward by the NGO should be viewed with “care and caution”.
A three-judge bench dealing with the plea of compensation for oustees of Omkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh had led the court to focus on the conduct of the NGO which leveled serious allegations against the State Government of wrongfully acquiring land.
In May this year, the SC delivered its verdict upholding the State Government’s plea and instead found fault with the NBA for misrepresenting to the court. The court took note of the affidavits filed by the organisation which carried wrong facts. In view of the fact that it was misled, the court passed scathing observations damning the credibility of the NGO.
Taking exception to the remarks made against it, NBA had filed an application for modifying the judgment to the extent that the objectionable remarks should be removed. The bench of Justices JM Panchal, BS Chauhan and Deepak Verma said, “We modify our order to the extent that from the facts on record the inescapable conclusion is that the NBA has not acted with a sense of responsibility.”
Sharing its concerns for the poor oustees who live in pitiable conditions having little access to law due to the extent of backwardness, the court further stated, “We direct that in future if any case is presented to the Court by NBA, it may be treated with caution and care.” As in the given case, where the NBA filed an affidavit accusing the state of wrongfully acquiring 284 hectares of land, which on spot inquiry was proved wrong, the bench clarified that any comment or statement by the organization should be accompanied with an affidavit of responsible persons of the organization.
Ever since the construction of the Omkareshwar Dam started in 2003, the acquisition of five villages have remained in dispute. These include Dhardi, Nayapura, Guwadi, Kothmir and Narsinghpura. In October 2007, the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) ordered acquisition of 284.03 hectares of area which fell in these five villages. This was challenged before the MP High Court and got stayed by NBA.
Pursuant to it, the state government took a decision not to acquire the said land and instead provide all weather roads for uninterrupted traffic movement for trucks and other vehicles. Even this action was challenged by NBA and by an order of September 23, 2009, the HC directed the state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to all displaced persons in those five villages, forcing the state to approach the apex court.
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Compact Fluorescent Lamp's can really harm you
Compact fluorescent lamps may have become popular for their energy saving capabilities, but they pose great danger to the health of Indians as they contain toxic metal mercury much higher than the international standards, a study revealed.
The study ‘Toxics in That Glow-Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in India’ conducted by an NGO Toxics Link found that average mercury content per unit in CFL was around 21.21 mg, which is much higher than the internationally known standards ranging four to six times the CFLs sold in many developed countries.
A total of 22 samples of CFLs of four well known brands sold in India were analysed for mercury content. Mercury was found to be in the range of 2.27 to 62.56 mg per unit. The US cap is 4mg per CFL unit for up to 25 watts and 5mg for CFL units over 25 watts. In the European Union, the restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) law mandates the cap to 5mg per CFL.
Mercury, a highly toxic metal,is known to impact vital organs such as level causing developmental and neurological problems. The study said greater exposure of mercury will affect health of waste workers and local inhabitants.
“The Indian CFL industry is exploiting the new market opened up by the climate change crisis, however, they are creating a toxic crisis. Instead of following the best practices in the world, they are putting the Indian consumer at risk trough high level of mercury,” said Toxics Link Director Ravi Agarwal after releasing the study here.
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Hint of scam as Krantichakra file goes missing
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation doesn't have any record about an entertainment programme 'Krantichakra' it organised in 2007 because the entire file about it has gone missing. This is even more intriguing as the show was produced by Kanchan Gadkari, wife of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari.
NMC, in association with a city-based NGO, had organised the week-long patriotic play Krantichakra to mark 150 years of India's first struggle for independence. The play was staged at Yeshwant Stadium. Sources said being partner of the event, the NMC had provided the stadium for free.
Apart from distributing free passes to students and VIPs, the corporation had also sold tickets priced between Rs 20 and Rs 1,000, said a source. Since the tickets had no serial numbers, the civic body had no records on how many tickets were sold for the event. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.
The Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) was also kept in the dark as there were no records of the event, said the source. The CAG had slammed the NMC for spending Rs 6 crore for holding or sponsoring cultural and sports events in the city since January 2007 while the law allows the civic body to spend only Rs 25,000 annually under these heads.
"Section 58 sub-section R-A of the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, provides that the NMC can make contribution towards any public reception, entertainment function provided the total expenditure on account of such contributions during any financial year does not exceed Rs 25,000. For making higher contribution, it is supposed to seek state government's permission," the source said.
For this event the NMC had allegedly overlooked the provision and spent lakhs of rupees. Some NMC insiders see a major scam brewing with file going missing. Standing committee chairman Sandip Joshi ruled out any irregularities in organising the event. He said the NMC had spent around Rs 16 lakh for the event. About the missing file, he said it was not his job to keep track of it. Cultural and sports officer Hambirrao Mohite said that there was no record of event available in the NMC. He refused to comment further stating that he had taken over the department's charge only in 2009 and the event was organised in 2007.
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NGO Launches Website to Boost Entrepreneurship
Kigali — In a bid to increase access to business information among entrepreneurs, Abeo Foundation, in partnership with the Belgian Technical Cooperation and the International Organisation of the Francophonie, yesterday, launched a web-portal.
Abeo Foundation is an international organisation that advocates for the rights of entrepreneurs across the world by enabling them easily get access to business information.
During the function which took place at the Belgian Embassy in Kigali, Eric Gakuba, the coordinator of Abeo activities in Rwanda, said that the portal aims at offering technical assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
"The main objective of this web portal is to provide SMEs across the country with the necessary information on how they can best improve their business activities," Gakuba said.
He noted that the foundation will work closely with RDB, through business development centres in all districts, to enable beneficiaries easily access business information through the use of the internet.
Gakuba revealed that they have also developed a web application where entrepreneurs can access information concerning business activities through mobile phones.
He added that Abeo will next month carry out a national sensitisation campaign aimed at encouraging Rwandans to visit the web portal, adding that the project has been launched in 12 other countries in Africa.
Michael Wimmer, the First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy, said the portal would be a useful tool for entrepreneurs and SMEs in Rwanda, adding that it may be an important engine of growth and poverty reduction.
Penelope Umurerwa, a businesswoman dealing in potatoes at Kigali's Nyabugogo market, said that the facility would enable traders to be more informed about business activities in the country, which she said, will help them to maximise their profits in future.
She requested more organisations to come up with similar initiatives in order to boost the private sector, especially entrepreneurs in the rural areas.
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Positive Court Ruling for Malaysian Reform NGO
Bersih 2.0 can challenge decision saying it’s illegal, judge says
A High Court Judge in Malaysia ruled Wednesday that Bersih 2.0, a coalition of 80-odd NGOs demanding changes in the country’s electoral laws, can appeal a July 1 decision of Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, outlawing it.
There continue to be deep suspicions in Malaysia that the government is stalling on putting in place the electoral reforms that Bersih’s component members are advocating.
Nonetheless, “We welcome the decision,” said Wong Chin Huat, one of the leaders of the organization, in a telephone interview. “There is no guarantee that we will win and we don’t want to be overly optimistic but it is a good sign.”
In a prepared statement, Bersih’s leaders said they welcomed the judge’s decision and added that: “It is absolutely vital in a democracy that the courts are prepared to allow scrutiny of executive powers by allowing citizens who are affected by the exercise of these powers to have the opportunity to challenge them fairly in court.”
Hishammuddin declared Bersih 2.0 illegal prior to a July 9 march demanding electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur in what blossomed into a harsh attempt to stop the organization from fulfilling its goals. At one point, police were arresting anybody wearing a yellow Bersih tee-shirt.
Given that Malaysian courts do not operate in a vacuum but tend to take their marching orders on political affairs from the ruling government coalition, some observers believe the government, embarrassed by naming Bersih an illegal organization in the first place, could have signaled to the court to allow the group’s complaint to go ahead.
Bersih, the Malay language word for “clean,” is formally known as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections.
Wong said he was heartened by the fact that six leaders of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) leaders who had been arrested in the run-up to the march were released unconditionally in late July, a possible indication that the government was softening its stance.
The country was badly embarrassed after police sought to stop the July 9 march, chasing down nonviolent marchers with tear gas and water cannons and arresting 1,667 people including most of Bersih’s leaders. Despite police refusal to grant a permit for the march and establishing roadblocks to shut down Kuala Lumpur to keep people out of the city, an estimated 25,000 people got through anyhow. The government was doubly embarrassed when censors blacked out parts of a story in The Economists describing the crackdown, an act of censorship that hasn’t taken place in years.
As domestic and international criticism continued, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak apparently yielded to Bersih’s demands and announced in August that a select parliamentary committee would be formed to seek to reform the country’s electoral system.
However, since that time little or nothing has been done besides cleaning the electoral rolls of some 70,000 disqualified voters, leading to criticism that Najib could be stalling. Bersih leaders are continuing to be harassed and investigated by police, leaders said. So far, there is no indication that the parliamentary committee has been formed. No Bersih leaders have been asked to join the committee. However, the Dewan Rakyat, or parliament, is in recess and is not due to reconvene until Oct. 2.
Under Malaysia’s parliamentary system, elections must be held in 2013 at the latest. The current betting is that Najib will call for dissolution of parliament sometime in March 2012, when the country’s schoolchildren are on holiday and the schools can be used as polling stations. Bersih has asked that the select parliamentary committee be allowed to meet and conclude its business prior to the election. Given the complicated machinery of changing the country’s constitution and other legal issues, it is questionable if the committee can meet and transact its business prior to the election.
Bersih has repeatedly asked that the elections be delayed until after the committee finishes its work. The NGO recently issued a statement saying it is ”disappointed at the on-going display of arrogance by the ministers of our country in negotiating the terms of reference and composition of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform. We remind the leaders of the nation that as representatives elected by citizens of Malaysia, they should humbly listen to the voices of the people and act as the people wills them.”
Bersih has published a list of eight demands they say are necessary to clean up the country’s voting procedure, saying that as many as 3.5 million voters have been disenfranchised by the current electoral process, that rolls must be cleaned to eliminate ghost voters and that the electoral period must be lengthened because the ruling national coalition has the ability to put its campaign machinery in place, then call a snap election before the opposition has the opportunity to mount a campaign.
They have also demanded that the country’s press be allowed to report more fairly on the opposition, who are consistently featured negatively if they are featured at all. Given that all of the major media are owned by component political parties of the Barisan Nasional, that seems problematical. Just last week, a public service video by a local musician promoting the right to vote was taken off the air on orders of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission because it featured opposition figures and a speech by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that featured some negative comments.
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B.C. MP expected to run for NDP's top job
British Columbia MP Nathan Cullen, whose passion for social justice issues was stirred by a terrifying 1990s kidnapping incident in South America, will announce today he is entering the race to succeed the late Jack Layton as New Democratic Party leader, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
Cullen, who will unveil some of his key supporters at an announcement in Vancouver, was recently identified by one commentator as one of two dark horse contenders, along with Ottawa MP Paul Dewar, who could upset front-runner Brian Topp.
Dewar is expected to announce his candidacy Sunday and Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair and another B.C. MP, Peter Julian, are also expected to be major candidates in the race.
Cullen said Thursday his goal is to shift Canada's direction away from Harper's government policies and approach to criminal justice, energy and the environment, foreign affairs and divisive "wedge politics."
The NDP, which won a record-shattering 103 seats under Layton in May to become the official Opposition, has a chance to advance to government, he said.
"We have a chance to reach beyond those who are already onside," he said in an exclusive interview. "I think there is a much broader progressive movement that is more open to us than in our entire history. Because of Jack's legacy, because of some things that have happened to the other parties, the door has opened in Quebec and right across the country."
Cullen, 39, is functionally bilingual and was first elected in the remote northern riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley in 2004, only months after joining the NDP.
Born to a single mother in Toronto, the former small business owner in Smithers, B.C., describes himself as pro-free enterprise and economically to the right of the party.
But he is an ex-caucus environment critic who is identified strongly with green issues, both in B.C. and in Ottawa. He is expected to lay out his long legislative track record in advancing environmental causes at today's announcement.
FATHER OF TWIN BABIES
Cullen said Thursday he hesitated to enter the race given that he and his wife Diana are the parents of 14-month-old twin boys, who will be with him at today's event.
But he said his soul-searching also brought him back to a key moment in his life in the mid-1990s, when he was working for an Ecuadorean non-governmental organization in a remote rainforest area of the country near the Colombian border.
Telling the story to the media for the first time, he said he had just finished eating dinner by candlelight with the other members of the NGO and members of the local indigenous community. The NGO was there to help the community find alternate sources of income, such as ecotourism, so they could avoid working for a local timber baron and politician who was deforesting the area.
"We could hear some birds chirping, which was really unusual in late evening, and I remember making eye contact with a guy who had been in the military and the look on his face was, 'Oh, no.'
"And then all of a sudden about 20 guys in balaclavas with machineguns, the whole deal, just swooped in and everybody's on the floor, the table's gone, they're hog-tying us and screaming. They took the women away and said, 'If we didn't give them what they want they're going to rape all the women.' It lasted 'till morning. Nasty things went on."
Cullen said the abductors, from Colombia, had mistakenly assumed the head of the NGO had brought cash to pay the locals for their work and were demanding to know where the money was.
At one point, one of the younger men put a pistol to Cullen's head.
A GUN TO HIS HEAD
"He started playing this form of Russian roulette, saying 'this gun's got a bullet and I'm going to start clicking through this until you tell us where the cash is.' And he started clicking through the revolver.
"I remember at one point getting very angry and turning on him and saying, 'Enough with the effing games' ... and I'm looking at this guy and his commander came over and realized what he was doing and smashed the guy in his head with his own gun."
By the following morning, Cullen said, the Colombians chose him as their kidnap victim and started dragging him down to the canoe.
No women were raped. The NGO leader, a large, fit and charismatic man named Guillermo, intervened, demanding that he, rather than Cullen, who was assumed by the Colombians to be an American "gringo" who could command a high ransom, be taken.
"He said, 'You don't want the American because then you'll have the CIA [involved] and the CIA will kill you."
Cullen said he argued with Guillermo, who had a wife and children, but the kidnappers left with the NGO leader. He was held for two months, tied to a tree and fed a cup of rice a day and was emaciated and deeply traumatized by the time his Ecuadorean family was able to ransom him.
"I'm pretty sure I owe him my life," Cullen said.
"They just ruined that guy, physically and spiritually. I'd like to think I was a pretty strong person, but Guillermo was a lot stronger than me and this thing virtually killed him." Cullen said they learned after a police investigation that the politician and landowner who relied on cheap local labour hired the kidnappers to intimidate the NGO.
Cullen, who has championed causes such as the opposition of Enbridge's $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline from just outside Edmonton to Kitimat, B.C., said he has thought a lot about the kidnap drama since he began thinking about the leadership.
"This story keeps coming back to me, but I hesitated to talk about it," he said.
"But when I think, 'When was the moment when I said, we've got to change things?' This was it. The stakes were so intense. This was about people's lives."
ANGERED BY PM'S TACTICS
Cullen said he is infuriated by the wedge tactics of the Harper Conservatives, who this week accused the NDP of siding with "extremists" on environmental issues.
"I side with extremists like [former Alberta premier Peter] Lougheed who say the pace of development is not good for Alberta and its environment."
The Tories are also accusing the NDP of pandering to Quebec by opposing upcoming legislation intended to give fast-growing B.C., Alberta and Ontario more seats. Cullen said he supports the NDP position that Quebec should also get more seats to prevent its influence from being watered down in Parliament.
"I don't see why the Conservatives are uninterested in saying to Quebec, 'Your role in Confederation is unique.' It seems like it [the Tory proposal] will give encouragement to the separatists, and anything that gives them encouragement I'm leery of and I would oppose."
