Large Infrastructure Projects: Inertia and Opposition

Abhijeet · Post by **Abhijeet** » 14 Apr 2007 05:14

The level of governance in India seems to be at about the same level as for a kindergarten -- with the students in the administration. There seems to be absolutely no forethought put into any of the arbitrary rules that the government makes. How many rule changes have we seen on just SEZs in the last few weeks? Truly amazing.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Apr 2007 12:45

another definition is the "inmates running the asylum"

it seems vote banking and survival are #1 and #2 on UPA Govts to-do list,
long term benefits around #100

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 15 Apr 2007 06:44

An industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai ?
When they can't even build a few tiny SEZs?

From Daily Pioneer

Japanese aid to build Delhi-Mumbai corridor

India will build an industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai at a cost of $50 billion with Japanese assistance, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Saturday.

Top officials of India and Japan are drafting the north-west corridor project on the lines of Tokyo-Osaka industrial corridor, so that work can start from January 2008.

"The overall investment (for the Delhi-Mumbai corridor) could be about $50 billion," Nath told reporters after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Akira Amari.

The project will include a high speed rail freight corridor, additional power of 4,000 megawatt, three new sea ports and six airports, he said.

India also plans to upgrade existing industrial units, build 12 new industrial clusters, 10 logistic parks and agricultural hubs alongside the industrial corridor.

"Initially, the project would require $2 billion investment from both government and private firms," Nath said.

India needs $320 billion to improve creaky infrastructure, which is key to sustain 8-10 percent economic growth in the next five years.

Nath said India is expected to attract $25 billion in foreign direct investment in the year to March 2008, which would be much higher than $15 billion of 2006/07, he added.

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 15 Apr 2007 06:52

Gerard wrote:An industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai ?
When they can't even build a few tiny SEZs?

Yup, this is either (a) the next big infra boondogle or (b) the next big money siphon or a little bit of both.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 15 Apr 2007 07:13

One can just imagine the NGOs being created right now to profit from opposition to this corridor.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 16 Apr 2007 06:44

SEZ APPEAL: The view from the states

Interesting overview of MH, Orissa, TN, Guj and Chttisgarh in SEZ terms.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 28 Apr 2007 23:06

Now Koodankulam. Last month there was an organised assault on the employees of the facility with explosives and weapons to weaken their resolve towards construction.

http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2 ... ain_1.html

"Several young people and organizations in Kerala are also planning a press meet and a day-long protest against the Koodankulam plants toward the end of March."

Help

"Following the felicitations of several parish priests, many anti-nuclear activists, women's movement leaders, panchayat office-bearers, farmers, fishermen and youth spoke about the impending dangers of the Koodankulam nuclear power project and called for its immediate closure. There were street-plays, music, songs, dance and slogan shouting in between passionate speeches."

What a bunch of wackos...

This when Kanyakumari district is facing 10+ hours of load shedding every day.

"[7] We demand that the land that has been acquired and the buildings that have been constructed for the Koodankulam nuclear power project be turned into other assorted industries that foster the lives and livelihood of the local people."

EeeeK! You want them glow in the dark.... Talk about SDRE....

"Public Hearing Organized by Peopleâ€™s Groups
The Anti-Nuclear Confederation is organizing a "People's Public Hearing" on March 30, 2007 at Thoothukudi. People of the area, retired judges, academics, economists, lawyers, nuclear, agricultural and fishery scientists will be participating in the program. Victims
of nuclear power plants and nuclear establishments from various parts of India have consented to present their cases before the public hearing panel. Anton Gomez is making all the arrangements."

For N3, now you know who they are.. Me thinks it would be a good spot to land a daisy cutter... The opportunity seems to have passed...

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 28 Apr 2007 23:57

parish priests have that much reach & clout?

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 05 May 2007 01:45

Paging enqyoob

From dailypioneer.com. Posting in full as the URL is not archived:

'Secularists' aligned Ram Setu project, says Baalu

PNS | New Delhi: The controversial Sethusamudram project rocked both Houses of Parliament on Thursday with an aggressive BJP accusing the Government of attempting to destroy evidence of the existence of ancient 'Ram Setu' linking India with Sri Lanka.

The BJP members said the destruction of the ancient bridge would not only offend religion-cultural sentiments of the Indians but also expose the southern coastlines of India to the vagaries of frequent cyclones and any possible future tsunami.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour, BJP member Shreegopal Vyas said the project in its present form would destroy our thorium deposits and pose a great risk to oceanic life.

In reply, Surface Transport Minister TR Baalu stirred a hornet's nest by saying that the project alignment could not be changed since it was finalised by "secularist people".

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 08 May 2007 07:00

Ramâ€™s bridge in man-made row-Scientist find triggers claim that islet chain was built by monkeys

[quote]Chennai, May 7: Government scientists have suggested that an islet chain in the Palk Strait is man-made, triggering claims that it is the remnant of the bridge Ramâ€™s mythological monkey army built to Lanka.

The issue has raised political passions because a Rs 2,427-crore navigation project that will save the country Rs 1,000 crore a year requires the demolition of the ridge.

Adamâ€™s Bridge, a series of sand-dune islets and shallows south-east of Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram, links India with Talaimannar off the Sri Lankan coast. It has long been held locally to be the bridge Ram built to invade Lanka and rescue Sita, and is called â€œRamar Setuâ€

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 May 2007 15:11

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/171265.html

an example of the speed and weight Massa moves when big $$ is on the line.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 15 May 2007 00:29

ASI studying impact of Metro on Tipu Sultan's palace

Govind D. Belgaumkar

Underground track will be about 65 metres away from the palace

EXQUISITE: A file picture of Tipu Sultan's palace in Bangalore. â€” Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

BANGALORE: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is studying the impact of the Bangalore Metro on the 18th century palace of Tipu Sultan at Kalasipalya here.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) has sought the ASI's opinion to run the underground track of the network about 65 metres away from the palace.

Architecture

The architecture of the palace is dominated by woodwork â€” carved pillars and cusped arches.

Superintending Archaeologist S.V.P. Halakatti told The Hindu that the chief concern of the ASI was to identify buildings of archaeological importance along the alignment of the Metro, close to the palace. The underground track passes through one of the busiest areas in Bangalore, and it is not possible to excavate the area to uncover other monuments of archaeological importance. Hence, the help of the Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has been sought.

Report

NGRI personnel, who visited the site in early April, are expected to submit their preliminary report "anytime now", Mr. Halakatti said.

So how will the ASI know what lies beneath without excavating? Dr. Halakatti said the NGRI was likely to use ground-penetrating radar, which would show underground images.

"It is like physicians examining the body without cutting it open," Dr. Halakatti said. If there was any structure underground, the ASI may have to seek a change in the Metro alignment, he added.

Vibrations

In addition, the NGRI would also study the impact of vibrations caused by heavy equipment used to build the underground Metro line.

Dr. Halakatti said the details of geo-technical studies to be carried out to assess the impact of the Metro line would be known only after the NGRI sends a report. The study would also throw light on the impact of tunnelling on the fort near Victoria Hospital and the old Kote Venkataramanaswamy Temple, if any.

Tipu's palace, completed in 1791 and described as "by far the most notable among the Islamic buildings of Bangalore" by T.P. Issar in his book "The City Beautiful", sees around 500 visitors a day. It was originally enclosed by a mud fort built by Chikkadevaraja Wadiyar I. It passed into the hands of the British and later to the Wadiyar kings. In 1831, it became the headquarters of the British administration. Mr. Issar's book notes that the existing building, with the durbar hall, was part of a bigger palace complex next to the temple. ASI's Senior Conservation Assistant Kempegowda, who is in charge of the palace, says the bigger palace was destroyed in the Third Mysore War. Mr. Issar's book, however, says that it was not known whether it was destroyed or crumbled on its own.

Monument

The Government of India's Department of Culture declared the palace a protected monument in 1951. The ASI collects Rs. 5 for entry from Indians and Rs. 100 or $2 from foreigners. Attractive landscaping in front of the palace enhances the structure's appeal.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 24 May 2007 15:59

Now Reliance's Raigad SEZ faces opposition

Vaishali Patil of the Jagatikaran Virodhi Kriti Samiti (anti-globalisation action committee)

"We lifted the blockade of the Mumbai-Goa highway March 23 after the chief minister's assurance and dispersed from our April 5 rally in Mumbai, again due to a similar promise, only to be betrayed like this," Patil said.

Not all farmers are in a mood to fight. Many have in fact sold their land or are in the process of doing so.

Absentee landlords settled in cities, who form a sizeable chunk of the farming community in the region, are biding their time for a better price. Also, the younger generation is disinclined to continue the tradition of farming.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 09 Jun 2007 02:34

Ok so far we've talked about how the land acquisition problem caused conflict and opposition. Here's are two very recent cases where new rehabiliation policies were announced by companies setting up SEZs, which have been well received, and could set a baseline:

Case: JSW $8 billion steel plant in Midnapore, WB
Solution: Cash, jobs, equity shareholding
Bengal, JSW finalise sops for land losers to steel plant

With the bitter experience of Singur and Nandigram in mind, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Sajjan Jindal of JSW Steel Ltd on Thursday finalized a novel compensation model for land-losers that includes grant of equity shares in the company to be formed for implementing the 10-million-tonne steel project at Salboni in West Midnapore district.

At Singur, where the government acquired 997 acres for the Tata Motors' small-car project and its associated units, the farmers had not only felt robbed but have lost their future income stream despite the best-ever financial compensation package.

The idea of offering shares had been put up by some Left Front partners who are opposed to farmland acquisition for industry. A section of the CPI(M), mainly agrarian leaders, had also sided with this lobby, as the land-losers would feel part of the project.

"We shall advise all entrepreneurs to follow this model in future," Bhattacharjee said, with his officers later detailing alternatives for those who cannot follow this model.

Case: DLF $8 billion SEZ at Dankuni, WB
Solution: jobs, vocational technical training, compensatory land.
Now, DLF offers displaced, land, job & training

After JSW Steel, DLF will hand out a dream compensation package to land-losers for the 4,800 acre Dankuni township in West Bengal, which will be bigger than Gurgaon.

The main components in the DLF package are : one job per family losing land, technical training and two cottahs of land per family or housing.

Surojit Basak, chief financial officer, DLF Home Developers said, according to the land survey, around 600 families would lose land.

Interestingly, both occured in the Commie heartland of WB. There have also been several incident-free land acquisition cases in Gujarat, though they didn't get coverage in the mainstream press for generally known reasons.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 10 Jun 2007 02:29

A Business Standard reporter drove to the JSW Steel plant site in West Midnapore to talk to the villagers themselves, about the equity share distribution plan announced as compensation, and concludes:
Has the land problem been solved?

Sajjan Jindal makes the most unexpected announcement of giving free shares to land-losers in his steel project at Salboni in West Midnapore. Clearly I need to visit Salboni to see how the farmers feel about it.

The heat is oppressive and the very thought of a 160 km drive to Salboni seems daunting, that too at 6:30 in the morning. But how wrong I am. The roads are fantastic and we reach in just two hours and fifteen minutes. What follows is another surprise. The mood in Salboni is upbeat, a far cry from my last field trip which happened to be Nandigram.

In Salboni, people are quite happy to give up their land. Not surprising, given that most of it is barren. The land-losers are overwhelmed by the free shares being offered. The people I meet at the gram panchayat office are discussing how the project will change their lifestyle, for the better! What a contrast from Nandigram, where subsistence agriculture was also the mainstay and yet no one wanted to give up their piece of land.

In fact, the block development officer has told the Jindal officials that villagers won't spare them if, for some unforeseen reason, the project does not come up! The acres and acres of barren land explains just one part of the puzzle. Perhaps the proximity to Kolkata also has something to do with it.

One would have thought that after a day out at Salboni, and early in the morning at that, Iâ€™d be allowed to catch up on some extra sleep. But that doesnâ€™t happen. I wake up at 8 to the loud ring of my mobile phone. And I keep getting calls after that. Some of the reactions to my Salboni story are complimentary, some are not.

It will be unfair not to print the varying reactions. In any case, Iâ€™ve had to sacrifice valuable sleeping time hearing people out, so itâ€™s an even better idea. We decide to run a story on what becomes a heated debate on most of the local Bengali television channels by the evening.

The story that began last week with Jindalâ€™s announcement of the compensation package has now become bigger. But since by now, everyone has expressed their opinion on the free shares, the storyâ€™s probably running to a close.

But more surprises are on their way. What is expected to be just another initial public offering press conference, where almost everything has already been announced in roadshows held elsewhere, turns out to be a bag of revelations. DLF says it will offer alternative land to land-losers, something that has not been announced in Bengal before by any other company! And this is apart from a firm commitment on jobs.

I suppose a company whose raw material happens to be land (a land bank of 10,255 acres), should know how to handle it best. Or should we ask the farmers? Does that warrant a visit to Dankuni?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 13 Jun 2007 01:20

More on the growing interest in shares-for-land compensation. Looks like a homegrown solution is emerging, six months after Singur and Nandigram:
Share-for-land model catching on in the east
[quote]Sajjan Jindal's model of making land-losers stakeholders in his Bengal project appears to be attracting others.

The Videocon group is considering a variation of the Jindal compensation package for its West Bengal projects and South Korean steel major Posco is examining this as an option for its land acquisition programme in Orissa.

Jindalâ€™s package for West Bengal, which appears to have found favour with local people, has three components: employment for at least one person per family losing land, compensation for land price in the form of cash and insurance annuity and free shares at par equivalent to land price.

Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot also plans to allot shares to landholders who sell land for Videocon Realty and Infrastructureâ€™s three special economic zones (SEZs) in and around Kolkata.

However, he does not intend to allot shares for free and will make them a part of the total compensation package. In other words, land-owners will have the option to take cash or shares or both.

Meanwhile, Posco is considering share allotment to landholders as an option for its Rs 52,000 crore project in Orissa. The company, which requires nearly 4,000 acres of land for a 12-million-tonne plant, says it will take a call on the issue by the end of this month.

â€œNo doubt this is an option but we will decide after we know what people want,â€

gashish · Post by **gashish** » 13 Jun 2007 01:52

stakeholding model has been around for some time..and was very successfully experimented with at Magarpatta City near Pune.

Farmers as businessmen

Farmers are generally reluctant to give up their land mainly because:

1) apparent feeling of loss of control on one's livelihood and hence future

2) owning land is still a source of pride and prestige in rural India...hence lot of emotion attached...mera gaon meri zameen feeling

Satish Magar of Magarpatta project addressed these successfully

Not one of the farmers went to a management school; perhaps one or two may have attended management workshops. When Satish Magar articulated an idea of collective self-help, he found receptive ears because he appealed to the innate rationality of mankind; the urge to retain control of one's future. That notion of enlightened self-interest is the first lesson that Magarpatta City reiterates, centuries after Adam Smith. The farmers are not uprooted from their land but are distant from their traditional livelihood. That dichotomy gives them the opportunity for wealth-generation and sets them on a discovery of new talents for sustained livelihood.

Videocon SEZ might follow the similar model

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Jun 2007 05:01

http://deccanherald.com/Content/Jun1320 ... 137182.asp

people wants the hal airport for domestic services.. what in the world is that? they should have thought about it during planning phase and not complain now.. lazy daizies.

first question is how can we arrange dedicated transport for people and luggage connecting between these two airports, giving intl travel has more luggage & weight compared to domestic travel.

too late folks!.. at least wake up for the next project.
---------
ps:
Hosur falls within 150kms from Bangalore.. but out of bounds of GoK. What if GoTN allows some private people to build an intl airport there.. jee what an idea that would make most of the people going to electronic city and surroundings happier. (btw, what is this? <coordinates>77.767214,12.66133100000002,0</coordinates> google earth.)

people should think about such wake up calls.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 03 Jul 2007 06:53

Here's an interesting episode - a bunch of Orissa villagers who happen to support the POSCO project protest against the actions of the rent-a-protest-mob brigade and demand their eviction so the POSCO project can proceed unhampered:
Posco plan supporters block roads in Paradip

Hundreds of villagers blocked roads to this port town demanding the arrest of those involved in the â€˜violentâ€™ agitation against the Posco steel project and accusing them of forcing families out of the area.

Around 700 trucks and 60 passenger buses were stranded on the National Highway as villagers said to be supporters of the project of the South Korean steel major launched a road blockade.

Even ambulances and school buses were not allowed to enter the town, police said

The agitators also stopped traffic on Paradip-Cuttack state highway, Additional Superintendent of Police Rabinarayan Patra said.

The protestors raised a five-point charter of demands including arrest of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti president Abhay Sahu whom they held responsible for the â€˜violenceâ€™.

Chandan Mohanty, who led the road blockade, alleged the villagers were being attacked by anti-project protestors and "the police did not take any action against them".

He said they had forced out at least 40 families from Dhinkia who were now taking shelter at a school outside the village as they "felt insecure in their houses".

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 05 Aug 2007 16:24

TN forms panel on Tata Titanium project (IE)

[quote] With mounting pressure from opposition parties and allies against the project, the DMK Government has decided to defer its decision to revive the project till a consensus is reached through public hearings.

Karunanidhi announced on July 30, he will take a final decision on the project after ascertaining public opinion. This decision came in the wake of growing opposition from several quarters, including the main rival AIADMK.

â€œThough the project is aimed at bringing development to Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts , certain people are attempting to create an impression as if the public is against the project,â€

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 21 Aug 2007 09:55

An eminent coastal scientist suggests that the Sethusamudram channel should be dredged deeper because of silt and sand migration due to currents. According to him, dredged material should be dumped farther away than is planned and this will not increase cost materially. Also, if the channel is NOT made, the gulf of Mannar might soon become a lagoon due to buildup of silt and sand. Hopefully, a deeper draft will lead to INS Vikramaditya and its successors regularly sailing back and forth thru this channel in the near future, along with super tankers and general shipping. Otherwise, the channel seems like a waste of political and financial capital. If general shipping is made possible, Sethusamudram will almost certainly become the Suez Canal of Asia. A ship leaving the middle east now sails way south in order to keep out of Indian waters and navigate around SL. Coming through SS will save more than the 400 miles/30 hours that is being mentioned.

To appease and coopt SL for the resulting drop in business for Colombo port, we should take long lease over Trincomalee for IN on very generous terms before China does. That way, we have a choke hold on oil shipping at the entrance and exit of the Bay of Bengal. Already feeling the pinch at the Malacca Straits due to IN in Andamans, China is building a deep water port in Sittwe, northern Burma, with a pipeline directly to China from there, bypassing the Straits. We need to offer them real savings by using our channel, otherwise Indian shipping companies might undercut their shipping costs.

Surprisingly, there is very little understanding about this project's strategic importance among the aam janta. So much so that during a desi gathering in US, a large crowd was asked to support several Hindu organizations that were opposed to "breaking of Lord Ram's bridge". This needs to be discussed in greater detail on BR than it has been--the level of crap floating around is unbelievable.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Aug 2007 10:06

imo BLR is going to split into 3 cities in next decade each with its own
self contained infra and no need to visit another city for anything.

1. Whitefield-Sarjapur-ORR-HSR-Kmangala-Marathalli-KRPuram

2. Elec city-Kanakpura-Bommanahalli-Hosur-Kengeri-Bidadi
(vast number of people are buying land there)

3. Devanhalli-Hebbal-Yelehanka-RMV-dollars colonies-IISC-RT nagar

an area about 100km x 100km - 1000 sq km and housing around 10 mil
people with 5 mil transients commuting in daily.

its going to be sheer hell unless planned properly

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 21 Aug 2007 11:17

Singha wrote:an area about 100km x 100km - 1000 sq km and housing around 10 mil people with 5 mil transients commuting in daily.

100x100 is 10,000 km2.

more like 30x30 for 1000. still fairly large.

200,000 acres with 15 million will have a population density of 75 per acre or 15000 per km2. This is about the density in inner cities or Madivala.

Compare this to Dharavi with a density around 2000 per acre. yes that is the correct number of zeros. Have no clue how they fit themselves.

What about the Chennai to Bangalore megalapolis with about 50-60 million.

There have been huge cities in Karnataka before. The Hampi agglomeration is thought to have approached 1 Million. Only tattered ruins remain.

The present road system is just fine if a superb public transport system were in place and the majority took it.

Bigger problem would be water. Bangalore is high plateau. As such the water resources are limited. Need immediate water harvesting systems.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Aug 2007 11:53

Theo, the distance from MG Road to Devanhalli airport alone is close to 45kms. from MG to Elec city is 20km and Hosur is perhaps another 40km beyond that. there are thick settlements already even 15km south of elec city in attibele region. layouts both residential and industrial are being formed right upto Hosur and beyond devanhalli. one developer has gone over to TN side and selling in hosur itself.

so my estimate of 100x100 is correct. from bidadi to sarjapur would be around 60km. from bidadi to whitefield-varthur around 80.

industrial parks like volvo exist in hoskote around 35km from KR puram
bridge. nandangudi will have a SEZ. a ring road connecting these to sarjapur,
attibele, kanakpura etc is proposed outside of the PRR

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 22 Aug 2007 18:05

Navi Mumbai airport bids next March: Aviation ministry.

Aviation secretary Ashok Chawla has laid out a firm timeframe for getting the much-required Navi Mumbai airport ready by the time the existing Mumbai airport reaches the peak of its capacity by the end of 2012. Bidding for Navi Mumbai airport is set to begin in few months. Chawla recently asked the steering committee of the planned airport to invite proposals for appointing a consultant for the Rs9,970-crore project.

The consultant will prepare the bid document in three to four months. The bid will be issued by March and, after evaluation, finalised by next October. The party that wins the bid will have to complete the new airport by the end of 2012.

This airport is to be built at Khargar, near Panvel, in an area of 1,140 hectares. Almost 70 per cent of the land required is already in government possession, and the City and Industrial Development Corporation, better known by its acronym CIDCO, is acquiring the rest.

The aviation ministry wants land acquisition to go hand in hand with the preliminary spadework. The airport will be built in four phases, up to 2028

The project has acquired a new urgency because building a new runway at the present airport has been all but ruled out, and the existing cross-runways can't handle much more traffic than at present.

The Navi Mumbai airport will be built in public-private partnership way just like the new greenfield airports coming up at Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The first phase will be from 2008 to 2012, in which a handling capacity of 10 million passengers annually would be created at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore. The second phase will be from 2015 to 2017, in which an additional Rs1,896 crore will be spent to increase the capacity to 20 million passengers. The third and fourth phases will be from 2020 to 2022 and 2026 to 2028 at a combined cost of cost Rs 3,872 crore, when capacity would increase by 10 million in each phase.

AshokS · Post by **AshokS** » 23 Aug 2007 20:09

What do you guys make of this?

There is a sinister angle to the Sethusamudram Project as per the news report appearing in Dinamalar of 23.8.07. I am giving below an English version of the news:

Sethu Samudram Project â€“ Secret Agenda
Looting of Indian Nuclear Resources!
(Refer page 6 of Dinamalar dt 23.8.07 Chennai Edition)

Â· Kalyana Raman, Chairman of Committee for protection of Ramaâ€™s Bridge has said recently:
Â· The stretch of sea from Cochin to Rameswaram has rare minerals not available elsewhere in the world!
Â· Manavala Kurichi, Tuticorin, stretch has got red sand which contains Ilmenite, raw material for Thorium required as Nuclear fuel.
Â· Aluva in Kerala has got black sand containing monazite.
Â· Between these two places lot of orange colour sand, which has valuable Thorium is available..
Â· The canal is being dug in the sea between Manavala Kurichi and Triconamalai.
Â· The Ilmenite is also available in Triconamalai area.
Â· The entire project is conceived to export this invaluable sand illegally with the connivance of LTTE.
Â· The cost of the sand is Rs. One crore per Kg!
Â· As and when the Canal is dug up US will insist that it is declared as International waters!
Â· US is planning to take our Uranium raw materials, refine it and sell it back to us.
Â· ON THE WHOLE THE PROJECT IS TO SELL THE COUNTRYâ€™S RESOURCES ILLEGALLY!

I think a case is pending in the court and experts should join and provide the evidence for the existence of the resources to the court.

bala · Post by **bala** » 23 Aug 2007 23:01

Saw this on Hindu:

Activists of the 'Rameshwaram Ramsetu Raksha Manch' smash a bus as they try to block the road after a demonstration at Parliament Street, in New Delhi, on Thursday

I don't understand why Indians want to destroy Indian property in the name of protest. When will they get it that protests can happen in a peaceful manner and the point will get across much more effectively than when public property is destroyed. People are going to be turned of when there is wanton destruction of their hard earned money.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 23 Aug 2007 23:12

This article describes the importance of zoning laws in the context of land acquisition for industrialization and development:
Zone it, forget it
[quote]After a brief hiatus, following the central governmentâ€™s decision that land for industrial and other private projects would no longer be procured by the state (itself a reaction to protests like the one at Nandigram), reports suggest that state governments are back to helping private industry to procure land. The reason given is simple: it takes years for industry to procure land and, if a state wants to attract industry, one way to do this is to help companies buy land.

Two examples are cited to buttress the argument. One is the low cost of the first â€œultra-megaâ€

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 04 Sep 2007 11:46

Gotta hand it to the Koreans for coming up with novel ideas. The POSCO project displaced are being compensated monetarily and with land elsewhere, plus assured export markets for their fish and mango pickle in South Korea. If people are this serendipitous, I see these opposition issues slowly dissolving in favour of broad development:
Posco suggests fish and pickle deal for land-losers
[quote]Korean steel giant Posco is taking a novel route to persuade land-owners to sell their land in Orissaâ€™s Jagatsinghpur district where its Rs 52,000 crore, 12 million tonne steel plant is to be located.

Apart from monetary compensation for the land, Posco is offering the 140-odd fisher families that will be displaced by Indiaâ€™s largest greenfield steel plant an assured market for dried fish and mango pickle in South Korea.

The company, which has been facing stiff resistance from locals who will lose land to the project, proposes to train fishermen in the area to produce the dried fish coveted by Koreans, according to a Posco India spokesman.

â€œAround 160 families in the periphery have shown interest and will be included in the programme,â€

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 Sep 2007 12:44

it is always culturally easier to work with the rice and fish types.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 16 Sep 2007 22:51

Hey, so now that Congress-DMK are hell-bent on ramming through their canal project, where is MEDHA PATKAR in all of this? She likes to shoot off her big mouth against construction projects. Now when the canal is being constructed through a heritage site, dear Miss Press Conference is nowhere to be found.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Sep 2007 00:37

Sanjay M wrote:Hey, so now that Congress-DMK are hell-bent on ramming through their canal project, where is MEDHA PATKAR in all of this? She likes to shoot off her big mouth against construction projects. Now when the canal is being constructed through a heritage site, dear Miss Press Conference is nowhere to be found.

Congress doesn't give a damn. This has been a DMK dream for 40+ years.

To connect the North and South of the state without having to deal with lanka. In fact it is a Tamil dream,

There have been 150+ years of proposals on this.

Opposition within TN is limited to fishermen and and their worries.

There is so much hysterical discussion about this. See map below.

http://sethusamudram.gov.in/Images/Map1.jpg

The inboard channels all require smashing through coral and existing land. Impossible to get approvals for.

The present alignment, the far right red loop, just about kisses the border with lanka. We are within 5 kms of the marine border.

The Ram Sethu actually continues into lanka's territory.

Any realignment will be the end of the project. Tamil leaders mostly understand this.

The Channel is all of 300 feet wide in a 20 km long chain. The existing water depth where the Ram Sethu ill be dredged is 30+ feet deep. You cant even see the bottom.

There is no land being disturbed.

Just FUD on Hindu sentiments.

enqyoobOLD · Post by **enqyoobOLD** » 20 Sep 2007 01:06

What do you guys make of this?

"Go Pu".

I'll wait for the SC to decide on the project, but the stuff coming from the Chairman of the Committee and all his committee is 400% Go-Pu.

Don't confuse "Hindu sentiments" with "RSS propaganda". This is 450% the latter.

Theo is right - the place is a stormy, windy horror, regularly visited by cyclones and the LTTE and the trigger-happy SL Navy. Depth at LOW TIDE over the "Sethu" is around 9m (27 feet), and average depth is a lot more than that.

Ask the Holies, how many of them have actually gone out in a boat and walked on the Sethu. Or at least anchored over it and looked down. They don't give a damn about Ram or Sethu - they just see an opportunity to jump up and down like the Energizer Bunnies that they are. Until very recently, it was the Commies who were opposing the project, and the BJP was all for it.

The level of care that these folks have had for the Ram Sethu can be well gauged from the state of development of Rameshwaram island. A more blighted place cannot be imagined except maybe in Sudan or Pakistan. The people eke out a living growing jasmines to make garlands, or weaving baskets out of grass for the tourists, or diving for shiny coins tossed into the dirty puddles by tourists. Mostly they go hungry.

I hope that the retribution of Sri Ram on these cynical politicians is not too harsh. I can't imagine it being harsh enough, anyway. You have these buggers who spent their entire careers flying around First Class on Pakistan International Airlines on company $$, now chairing the effort to put more sand in the mouths of the kids of Rameshwaram and the entire southeastern coast.

As for the impact on the WEST coast, etc., this would be so laughable if it weren't so pathetic.

The only increased danger in case of a tsunami will come IF THEY FOLLOW THE RSS' SUGGESTION - which is to deepen the Pamban channel which separates the mainland from Rameshwaram island. For sure, a tsunami would amplify in THAT narrow channel and wash away a few tens of thousands of people and all the villages on that coast and tens of miles downstream.

But who's listening?

The RSS netas have of course won a brilliant "victory" when the even-worse idiots in the ASI/ Culture Ministry filed their brainless "affidavit" denying the legend of Ram. And I see today that someone (probably commies) burned a TN bus on Hosur Road in B'looru, KILLING TWO INNOCENT PASSENGERS.
Reminds me of how a policeman was burned to death outside the Karur Rail Station (which was also burned) in TN in 1964 or 65, in the name of Anti-Hindu Agitation. That was the sweet bunch who are today's DMK etc.

Oiseules, one and all.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 20 Sep 2007 01:22

bala wrote:Saw this on Hindu:
Activists of the 'Rameshwaram Ramsetu Raksha Manch' smash a bus as they try to block the road after a demonstration at Parliament Street, in New Delhi, on Thursday
I don't understand why Indians want to destroy Indian property in the name of protest. When will they get it that protests can happen in a peaceful manner and the point will get across much more effectively than when public property is destroyed. People are going to be turned of when there is wanton destruction of their hard earned money.

pl. understand our kind of democrazy. when you are not following a rule that "nobody is loser", then you are more democratic than the other demos.

when an org or public entities like politicians and their clubs, are allowed to destroy the planet, why not a bunch of people destroy some little property.. same equation.. not being extreme here, but taking a holistic view.

people / money minded have already destroyed precious resources and we have no clue if they are doing it right or wrong, keeping some long term graph. only history texts are read about. ..oh! that was it.. and that is why kinds.

all are not..

naturally selected.., though they are created equal!

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Sep 2007 02:25

enqyoob wrote:The level of care that these folks have had for the Ram Sethu can be well gauged from the state of development of Rameshwaram island. A more blighted place cannot be imagined except maybe in Sudan or Pakistan. The people eke out a living growing jasmines to make garlands, or weaving baskets out of grass for the tourists, or diving for shiny coins tossed into the dirty puddles by tourists. Mostly they go hungry.

Also note the condition of the memorial to those who died in the 1964 Cyclone. All those 'religious tourists' are not interested in the real history of the place. Which in itself is a fascinating tale of life and death.

Such is our fate, to forget the real sufferings and drama of our ancestors.

Note too that a thriving industry in the area is the dynamiting and removal of limestone from the local islands including Ram Sethu for making cement and lime mortar.

I would also point out that the holies better be prepared for what they will encounter when they set foot on the small sections above the water line. The local fishermen use these islands for drying fish. If you have ever smelled 'karuvadu' you know that smell will follow you to the grave.

Makes a delectable 'kolombu' though, exp with coconut milk, chilly and just a touch of 'pudina' and sea water. Yumm!

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 20 Sep 2007 02:28

I'm an atheist myself, and don't believe in Rama or any supposed divinity.

But I certainly think the area should be respected as a heritage site. I don't believe in Buddha either, but that didn't make it right for Taliban to blow up the Buddhas at Bamiyan. They weren't maintained in great shape either, btw, but that doesn't give any state or quasi-state authority the right to tear things down.

The Dravidianist racists should neither be appeased nor accommodated. Forget about these clever-by-half play-it-subtle tactics -- those are the kinds of scams that are peddled by the Left on everything from Kashmir to the NorthEast (ie. "ohhh, if only those terrible nationalists hadn't made such an issue out of it, then militants wouldn't be campaigning for this or that")

What a pile of garbage. Ethics should not be soft-pedaled out of fear of offending the radicals. If unethical people are offended by ethics, then too bad -- tough luck.

If Afghans are offended by opposition to demolition of Bamiyan Buddhas, then too bad, they're still in the wrong. If Dravidianist fascists are offended by opposition to dredging of a heritage site in their vicinity, then too bad, they're still in the wrong.

I see that Karunanidhi is quick to scoff at Hinduism, but where is his skepticism towards other faiths?
That guy isn't an atheist. He's a racist. As a real atheist, I'm offended by him taking the name of atheism in vain, just to peddle his ideology of racial chauvinism which excludes the rest of us untermenschen.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 20 Sep 2007 02:30

Oh yeah, and if those DMK crooks push through their canal, then cut the Cauvery water. Rebuild the Bridge of Rama across the Cauvery, and let the DMK drink salt water from their canal project. Let's see how happily they survive on that.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Sep 2007 02:36

Sanjay M wrote:But I certainly think the area should be respected as a heritage site. I don't believe in Buddha either, but that didn't make it right for Taliban to blow up the Buddhas at Bamiyan. They weren't maintained in great shape either, btw, but that doesn't give any state or quasi-state authority the right to tear things down.

Have you ever been to this place you speak of so highly.

KK is crazy. Has been for years. Even before that bullet. Crazy like a Fox. but he was speaking to his constituency. There is a section of the population that gets into the Ram northern god routine. Can't you guys see what he is doing.

We just want the canal built. All the combinations have been debated and worked on.

You know if this was a sacred hill formation in dilli or mumbai that needed to make way for a highway you bet it would be dynamited in a heart beat.

For gods sake you can't even stand on it.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Sep 2007 02:38

Sanjay M wrote:Oh yeah, and if those DMK crooks push through their canal, then cut the Cauvery water. Rebuild the Bridge of Rama across the Cauvery, and let the DMK drink salt water from their canal project. Let's see how happily they survive on that.

Gives me a wonderful sense of you priority.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 20 Sep 2007 02:45

Theo_Fidel wrote: Have you ever been to this place you speak of so highly.

KK is crazy. Has been for years. Even before that bullet. Crazy like a Fox. but he was speaking to his constituency. There is a section of the population that gets into the Ram northern god routine. Can't you guys see what he is doing.

We just want the canal built. All the combinations have been debated and worked on.

You know if this was a sacred hill formation in dilli or mumbai that needed to make way for a highway you bet it would be dynamited in a heart beat.

For gods sake you can't even stand on it.

Likewise, as I said, Buddhas of Bamiyan weren't in fabulous shape either, but it was still malevolent of the Taliban to dynamite it. DMK is not motivated by any social good -- no man who names his kid Stalin is an humanitarian or even a free market reformer. He's not interested shipping commerce, he's more interested in giving the LTTE pirates their own Straits of Malacca to prowl in.

Theo_Fidel wrote: Gives me a wonderful sense of you priority.

Opposing his racial fanaticism is certainly a high priority, and I'll make no apologies about that. Those who downplay his blatant race hatred should be the ones to feel shame and apologize.