KRV Activist fighting for Belgaum's devlopment

Up in arms: Activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staging ‘rail roko’ in Belgaum on Wednesday.

Belgaum: The Belgaum district unit of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike on Wednesday staged “rail roko” to protest against the alleged raw deal given to Karnataka by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in the Budget proposals.
The activists, led by the district unit president of the vedike Rajeev Topannavar, stopped the Londa-Miraj passenger train for eight minutes at Belgaum railway station to register their protest. Demands
Some of the demands of the region included change in timings of Miraj-Bangalore Rani Chennamma Express, introduction of a train between Hubli and Mumbai, and improvement of infrastructure at Belgaum and Hubli railway stations.

Assuarance Letters recieved after staging realy hunger strike.

Closure of foundry units in Belgaum and Kolhapur likely, says IIF

Rising prices worry foundrymen
Sourec The Hindu 24 feb 2008

Belgaum foundry and casting insdutry the mainstay of major Automobile companies is in grave situations , no matter we have CII regional offices , no matter we have BCF ( Belgaum Faundry Cluster) but if the raw material is getting curtailed how will the industry survive.

Inititatives:

BCF should have rate contracts for supply of raw material and have distribution regulatoray body for all Foundaries.

BCF should do sourcing from Metal commodity exchanges by alloting global tenders, the CII can support for this, there should be better storage built around for supply chain mechanism along with it,

I hope someone would read and even take the first step to make these industries survive. I would like to call up the suppliers and tell them if you get involve in such artifiacl scarcity the industries have got nothing to loose , on the whole India as got lot to loose becuse the dependent buyers from these industries can source from other markets in China as well..... It is a threat for we All Wake-up.

Seeking action: Members of the Belgaum Chapter (Southern Region) of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen taking out a procession in Belgaum on Saturday.
Belgaum: The Belgaum Chapter (Southern Region) of The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) has said there is a likely threat of closing down the foundry units in Belgaum and the neighbouring Kolhapur district in Maharashtra for a fortnight “to avoid heavy losses” because of the rising prices of raw materials.
Members of the IIF marched to the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Saturday to draw the attention of the Government towards the “crisis” confronting the sector in the country owing to the increasing prices of raw materials.
The procession was led by chairman of the IIF’s Belgaum Chapter Ram Bhandare.
In a memorandum addressed to the Joint Director of the District Industries Centre, the IIF said the foundry sector was supporting engineering exports and domestic market.
It was the fourth largest producer of castings in the world. The sector was poised to become one of the top three producers of castings in the world by 2010, as it was witnessing an export growth rate of 15 per cent every year, the memorandum said. Exports during the year 2006-07 accounted for Rs. 4,000 crore and it was expected to touch Rs. 6,000-crore mark by 2010, it said.
Belgaum tops the State in the sector with production of one lakh tonne every year, Mr. Bhandare said. By 2010, the production would touch 1.60 lakh tonne a year and exports would increase from the present Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 300 crore by then, he said. This sector had provided employment to nearly 10,000 people and another 5,000 people were expected to get employment by 2010, he said. The revenue generation was also expected to grow from the present Rs. 500 crore to Rs. 800 crore during the next three years.
But, the sector was facing a crisis of sorts owing to rising prices of pig iron, steel, coke and scrap, he said and added that the prices of these materials were increasing every month and sometimes every fortnight.
To tide over the crisis, the IIF wants the Government to ban or exercise effective control on export of iron ore by imposing heavy duty which will help in better realisation for exports of steel/casting. The practice of increasing prices of raw materials every month should be stopped immediately and import duty on coking coal/coke should be abolished to bring down the prices, it said.

Belgaum Boys designed and fabricated an ingenious “Bio-Diesel Processor”

Source : Sheri Sundeep


India’s search for fuel in the face of rising oil prices
Armstrong Vaz, 23 February 2008, Saturday

Global warming is engulfing the biosphere at a rapid pace, setting in motion strange climatic changes. Humans are paying the price of messing with the environment over the centuries, while continuing to do so.
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GLOBAL WARMING is engulfing the biosphere at a rapid pace, setting in motion strange climatic changes. Humans are paying the price of messing with the environment over the centuries, while continuing to do so.

Pollution levels are at an all-time high in India’s capital, Delhi, with other metro regions like Mumbai and Kolkata vying for second place.

The increasing industrial and residential use of diesel generators is adding to the global warm up, even at the village level, while the search for alternative fuels continues unabated.

The cultivation of the jatropha plant in the Western states of Goa and Maharashtra and dhaincha in Bihar is increasingly being promoted as promising an alternative to diesel fuel in India.

In Goa, bio-diesel derived from jatropha curcas, locally known as ‘erond’, is becoming more widespread. Fr Inacio Almeida, of Pilar, Goa, runs the nature farm of the society of Pilar (or society of the missionaries of St Francis Xavier) and is a leading populariser of jatropha as a feedstock for the production of bio diesel. jatropha until recently was routinely used as stumps for damming paddy fields and orchards.

“One litre of fuel can be extracted from three kilograms of jatropha seeds,” says Fr Almeida. Among the developments he envisions is for “each village in Goa to have its own jatropha plantation and extraction machinery.”

Generators using refined diesel have lately been resorted to by householders, as well as small businesses, in Goa, in lieu of tapping into an increased central electrical generating capacity. This reliance is expected to change in the next few years, as jatropha bio diesel starts to predominate.

Kanti Naik runs a small ice cream parlour in Assolna village, in South Goa. As elsewhere in Goa, the power supply here is undependable, so he relies for backup power on a small, portable diesel generator worth Rs 10,000. Nearby, Alexander Barbosa also has recourse to a similar diesel generator for his cold-storage meat warehouse.

For these two businessmen the diesel generator has become a necessity, and increasing numbers of Goan householders have been using them to power their TV sets.

“For many villages it’s a case of either clean air or television,” says Nandita Mongia, chief of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Energy Programme for Asia and the Pacific.

Figures arrived at by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in New Delhi, point to a mushrooming of the number of these diesel generators throughout India.

The diesel-powered generator has been a hit with people across the country.
A litre of refined diesel costs Rs 13, whereas petrol is Rs 50. Pretty cheap, compared to Western countries, given that India is not a major producer of oil.

India imports most of its petroleum products, which are heavily subsidised before they reach the retail market, especially gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene.

In neighbouring Maharashtra, the state government plans to allocate 30,000 hectares or 74,000 acres for jatropha cultivation to private sector business. For example, Reliance Industries is looking to the state to provide land for jatropha cultivation. As a public sector investment, the Maharashtra government plans to cultivate jatropha on 60,000 hectares or 148,000 acres of state-owned land.

In Bihar, the small village of Baharbari, sandwiched between Nepal and Bangladesh, has taken the lead in using another alternative fuel, dhaincha, a weed that provides a source of biomass, taking the place of wood from shrubs and trees. This is a project that has attracted World Bank support, as offering a cheaper source of electricity compared with diesel.

A challenge to be overcome in popularising alternative energy sources is getting the message across to the masses, which requires a sustained campaign by local leaders acting through religious institutions and schools to educate the younger generation.

If dhaincha and jatropha meet even one per cent of India’s growing fuel needs, then this will be a great achievement.

Four final-year students of the Hirasugar Institute of Technology, Belgaum, in the Southern state of Karnataka, have designed and fabricated an ingenious “Bio-Diesel Processor” for the extraction of bio diesel from jatropha seeds. The foursome of Vainath Patil, Vishwanath Khambi, Shridha Patil and Mitra used the fuel to run the college water pump.

Trial runs of jatropha bio diesel after etherification have shown it to be eco-friendly, giving an extra “mileage” of two kilometres (1.25 miles) vs refined diesel.

It costs at least INR 10 (US$ 0.23) less than conventional fuel, and the emissions do not contain carbon monoxide.

Demand for direct rail link

Source The HINDU 22 feb 2008

BANGALORE: The State Government has urged the Ministry of Railways to sanction new direct lines between important cities in the State, even while asking the Ministry to give priority for completion of projects being undertaken on a cost-sharing basis in the 2008-09 Railway Budget.
The Government said important cities such as Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davangere, Dharwad and Belgaum lack direct rail connectivity.
As a result, trains — passenger and goods — have to take circuitous routes which waste valuable time and energy.
While Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, during his recent Tumkur visit, had promised a direct line between Tumkur and Chitradurga, the State Government has asked the Railways to extend it up to Davangere. Similarly, a direct line should be laid between Dharwad and Belgaum. As things stand, the journey via Londa Junction takes three-and-a-half hours while it is just one hour and fifteen minutes by road. Hence, the Government has sought a new line via Kitur and Bailahongala.Many projects
Karnataka is the only State which has taken up projects on a cost-sharing basis in large numbers (six of them, in fact) while other States have one or two projects. Hence, according to the Government, the Railway Ministry should accord priority to projects in Karnataka.
Besides speedy completion, the Government has also demanded an inter-city train between Bangalore and Shimoga, besides new lines between Belagum-Bagalkot-Raichur and Chamarajanagar-Kollegal-Kanakapura-Bangalore. It wants the Ministry to allocate sufficient funds for ongoing projects being undertaken by the Railways, the Government said.State’s requirements
Principal Secretary to Government (Infrastructure Development), V.P. Baligar told The Hindu that Governor Rameshwar Thakur had already written to the Ministry bringing to its notice various demands of the State. Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao, who recently visited New Delhi, briefed the Cabinet Secretary about the railway needs of the State, he added.
Mr. Baligar said doubling of Bangalore–Mysore line (completed between Bangalore and Ramanagaram) and Gadag–Sholapur line (nearing completion); new lines between Harihar– Kottur; Bidar–Gulbarga; Munirabad–Mehaboobnagar and gauge conversion between Shimoga and Talaguppa were being undertaken on a cost-sharing basis.
Apart from these, the Railways, on its own, is undertaking construction of new lines between Shravanabelagola – Bangalore and Kadur – Chikmaglur – Sakaleshpur and the process should be speeded up, the Government told the Railways.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/22/stories/2008022254760500.htm

VTU for Name sake in north Karnataka

I was deeply upset over the recent attitude and act of state government especially education department and vice chancellors of VTU
The VTU Bosh and Rexorth R & D centre is opened in Mysore and even the German tool room was established at Bangalore, the e-learning studio of VTU is in Mysore,

Why not the proper expansion of VTU takes place in Belgaum , why the government have this sham and show off in showing its attitude towards North Karnataka in general and Belgaum in particular,

North Karnataka cities mainly Belgaum and twin cities hubli dharwad are the best potent cities with diverse culture and skilled manpower resource ,

I highly feel off for such attitude of state government, I want Beklgaumites to come forward and fight for such discrimination , Why not Belgaum have such development centre and studios

The wake up call some weakness and strength

Strength :Belgaum contributes second largest revenue to state and first in horticulture export
Weakness: Cargo handling facility at Belgaum Airport for agriculture and horticulture export was planned and never executed.

Strength: Equidistant to Bangalore Mumbai and Hyderabad
Weakness : No initiative form state government for Belgaum-Dharwad and Belgaum-Bagalkot-Raichur Rail line

Strength: American and foreign universities, GEMS education interested to establish educational township in Belgaum
Weakness : lack of political will and slow response form state government to make investor friendly approach towards Belgaum



Still at Large

IT park ( only foundation stone , no facilities)
Textile Park ( Private partnership , in progress)
Power generation projects ( 1 Shelved and 2 are on hold for indefinite time)
Food and Agriculture park (bureaucratic delays and lack of support to contractor)
International cricket stadium ( only land allotted and no further move on it)
Airport expansion funds available with state government from AAI but not ready to utilize for settlement of farm land acquired by farmers , fight over the cost of land
Ring road , just ringing around in papers
Suvarna Vidhan Suadha , only foundation stone
Vaccine institute to be developed in Belgaum as research centre, no further news on it
Auto complex an utter flop due to lack of proper planning , lot of entrepreneurs investing in border district of Maharashtra.


Well there are many still but will never work till are made aware and brought to public notice

Let Belgaum flourish and we the Belgaumites reap benefits of it

Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Award for Belgaum based Women Walfare Society

News soruce: Press Information bureau
link proveded By Sheri Sundeep (IIT Roorke)

The President, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away the 6th and the 7th Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Awards for the years 2003 and 2004 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi today. Following is the text of the President’s speech on the occasion: “I am happy to give away the 6th and the 7th Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Awards to organizations who have done exemplary work in the field of women’s development for the years 2003 and 2004. Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh was a courageous freedom fighter, committed educationist, active social reformer and an eminent Parliamentarian. As a Member of Parliament, she took up various causes of the poor and was instrumental in getting a number of social welfare measures adopted. She is described by many as the “Mother of social work in India” because of the great dynamism she imparted to work in the sphere of women’s welfare, motivated as she was by a strong commitment to their advancement. In her capacity as the founder Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board, she mobilized thousands of voluntary organizations to carry out programmes of education, training and rehabilitation for needy women, children and the handicapped. It is, therefore, befitting that the Central Social Welfare Board constituted an award in her name to be given to organizations working in the field of women's development. The life and work of great persons always inspire others. Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh was such a person, who can be a role model for women. Today, our nation is working for inclusive growth, which means development of social sectors to complement our economic growth with a view to have a sustainable and equitable path of growth. What do we need to do for achieving inclusive growth? In my view it entails four essential steps – the identification of those sections of the population who have got left behind, followed by the formulation of a framework of policies and programmes for their benefit. In these two first steps, we have made considerable progress. The next two steps are implementation and a monitoring system for the proper implementation of programmes and policies designed for the upliftment of the weaker sections of society. The effectiveness of any development programme can be assessed by the actual impact it has on the lives of the beneficiaries and society at large. If a large segment of the population remains beyond the purview of the ‘safety net’ of socio-economic programmes because of the failure of the implementation machinery, then their purpose is entirely defeated. Implementation and monitoring remain the principal challenges we face. This can only be done with the collective effort of the Government, civil society organizations and the people themselves. Popular participation, in fact, holds the key to the success of any programme of socio-economic change. To achieve various socio-economic goals of development, efforts should be made to forge public-private partnerships. The Central Social Welfare Board and the State Welfare Boards with more than five decades of work experience and an extensive network of welfare projects and centres, have a very important role to play in taking social services to the grassroot levels. Voluntary organizations also can assist people to get the benefits of governmental development programs and also assess their efficacy by conducting ‘social audits’ to study the impact of programmes on the socio-economic lives of people. With women constituting about 48.3 percent of our population, until welfare facilities are made available to them and they are empowered, we would have an unfinished task on hand. Women specific and women-related policies and programmes have been enunciated, the Government has also been creating an enabling policy environment in which women’s concerns can be reflected, articulated and redressed. Yet, my deep concern is that women still do not have the same opportunities as men. Real development cannot take root if it bypasses women, who represent the very pivot around which social changes takes shape. For achieving our objective of growth with equity and delivery of services with people’s participation, the mainstreaming of women into the national development process is essential. Women's empowerment requires that a range of steps be taken to facilitate their participation in educational, political and economic activities. This includes hostels for working women, crèches for children and women helpline services. I am glad that both organizations, that is - Abhaya and the Women’s Welfare Society, Belgaum - who have been conferred the Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh Award, are involved in multiple activities to ameliorate conditions of women. The work of Abhaya in looking after women mental patients in Kerala and of the Women’s Welfare Society, Belgaum in setting up helpline services for women in distress is commendable. Today, we have to start thinking about the tomorrow that we want. Today, there are fewer women in India than men and if this trend continues it would have an adverse impact on society itself. Societal attitudes need to be changed towards the girl child. We need to start shaping the attitude of the next generation so that it is a generation free of gender bias and social prejudices against women. Our efforts should be to enable the girl child of today to become the confident woman of tomorrow, ready to work, shoulder to shoulder, with men as equal partners in all spheres of national life. For that to happen, action needs to begin by providing education and health facilities for the girl child. I call on Social Welfare Boards to join in the endeavour to ensure that the girl child has access to education and there are no cases of dropouts from school. The incidence of child malnutrition, particularly in the case of the girl child, is high in India and needs our attention. Proper nutrition at the growing age makes a child physically and mentally strong. Voluntary organizations need to come forward to make people aware about health, food and proper hygiene. They should advise families about giving proper nutrition to the girl child and also educate society about looking at a girl child as an individual with as much potential for the future as a boy child. The Central Social Welfare Board and voluntary agencies have an important role in changing social prejudices and eliminating social evils through awareness campaigns. In this task I would call upon them and all of you to join hands with like-minded organizations and people. During my interaction with NSS volunteers and NCC cadets who had participated in the Republic Day Parade, I was informed about their experiences in their social service activities. I also saw their enthusiasm for the future. These young committed boys and girls are willing to join in efforts for the eradication of social evils. Their energies should be utilized to influence other youth. A society to be sustainable has to be a society based on realization of duty towards fellow human beings. The disabled and the handicapped should be given skills and support to live a life of dignity. Similarly, it should be understood that the care of the elderly, who in our tradition are venerated and given respect and honour, is a family duty and society’s responsibility. Social Welfare Boards should have “care support programmes for the elderly” who, at the twilight of their lives, after having worked hard, need special medical attention and emotional support. Social Welfare Boards should develop and strengthen the nationwide infrastructure of voluntary agencies through which these services could be made available. I conclude with a call to voluntary organizations to work selflessly for the poor and the underprivileged in society. It is only when we will succeed in this task that will we bring about a progressive and caring society. I once again congratulate the two organisations who have done wonderful work and hope others will take inspiration from them.”

Belgaum Food and Industry Park still a dream

Reliance industries taking note of Belgaum’s potential started a food packing and a large distribution unit at Halga in Belgaum ,Hatsun food products is in second phase of expansion , despite of such encouraging business the State government is showing no interest in developing the Food and Agricultural park here sanctioned four years ago, Belgaum is already the largest flower and fruit exporter in the state but due to cold storage and lack of packaging facility is hindering the thriving business, the district representatives asusual sleeping on such issue and only we people need to raise out voice for it ,Mr Suresh Angadi is been asking for cold storage rail van slip coaches at Belgaum station to Rail Minstery ,but he need to know the infrastructure limitation at Belgaum station for which I had given a proposal
The CII had setup its office in Belgaum but I wrote to the representative on such requirements and limitations and also with solutions to overcome such problems, but my request are falling on deaf ears

Source: livermeint Jan 2008

Bangalore: Not even one of the six proposed food parks in Karnataka, which were to be operational by last December, has started.
The state government had invited bids in September 2004 for the setting up of these food parks to try and give a boost to the processed food industry under a public-private partnership model.
The state government even floated a special purpose vehicle, Food Karnataka Ltd (FKL), to manage the setting up of such parks.
FKL now says that only two of the parks are likely to be completed by mid-2008, even as the government and private entrepreneurs blame each other for the delay.
Under the Food Agro Technology Parks scheme, the Central ministry for food processing industries as well as the Karnataka government were to provide funding of up to Rs4 crore each, with the private partner investing the rest of the project cost, which varied between Rs16 crore and Rs18 crore.
The six parks were to come up in different agro-climatic zones of the state, such as Malur, Bagalkot, Maddur, Hiriyur, Jewargi and Belgaum.
Each of these parks were expected to have at least 20 food processing units with the park itself providing the grading, salting and cold storage facilities.
Sobha Nambisan, managing director of Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corp. Ltd, who is also the chairman of FKL, says the Malur and Hiriyur parks would be ready by March and June, respectively.
“The physical infrastructure, like buildings for two other parks at Jewargi and Bagalkot, should be in place by the end of 2008 even if they are not completely operational,” she added.
The other two parks, in Maddur and Belgaum, are in limbo. The Maddur project, which was to be implemented by Karnataka Breweries and Distilleries Ltd (KBDL) is stuck in a legal battle because FKL cancelled the bid, citing delay in infusion of funds.
However, K.M. Srinivas Murthy, director of KBDL, blames FKL for the inordinate delay in land acquisition, which, he says, stymied the project. KBDL is also implementing the Bagalkot project.
“We have placed orders for all machinery and pre-fabricated buildings,” he said. “If one project is put off, the cost of the other will escalate.”
Says S.S. Patil, president of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and whose company, Rayalaseema Concrete Sleepers Pvt. Ltd, is implementing the Jewargi and Belgaum food parks: “Unless we are given more concessions, it will be difficult to implement.”
Nambisan counters saying that since the food parks are a new concept, “the private companies are only having teething problems. We are confident that the parks will take off.”