People's Democracy

on file

ABOUT 40 per cent of the 51,770 farm households surveyed by the National Sample Survey Organisation said they would quit farming, given a choice. About 27 per cent said they did not like faming because it was not profitable, while eight per cent felt it was a “Risky proposition.”

The survey, conducted at the behest of the Agriculture Ministry between January and December 2003 for the agriculture year 2002-03, covered farm households spread across 6,638 villages……

The survey report, “Some aspects of farming,” based on the situation assessment survey of farmers, said 57 per cent of the farmers did not know their crops could be insured.

Only four per cent of the households had ever insured their crops. About 18 per cent knew about bio-fertilisers. About 29 per cent understood what minimum support price meant. Only eight per cent of the household had heard of the World Trade Organisation.

--- The Hindu, August 01

THE US Department of Justice released its first statistical report on prison rape and abuse, but acknowledged that much sexual violence in prisons was probably never reported. In a report required by the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act, the Justice Department’s statistical arm measured sexual violence officially reported to prison authorities last year.

The report concluded that there were an estimated 8,210 incidents in the nation’s prisons and jails, which hold about 2.1 million inmates, but the report itself warned that there was no reliable estimate of unreported sexual victimisation behind bars.

--- The Statesman, August 02  

THE Guinness book of World Records beckons but this is a claim to fame the Delhi government is unlikely to be proud of. It has only one electrical inspector to certify the electricity inspector to certify the electricity meters of 33 lakh consumers of two private discoms, NDPL and BSES, in the Capital.

There is a severe shortage of electrical inspectors in the city as only one post of chief electrical inspector one post of chief electrical inspector is currently occupied. The chief electrical inspector, Mr K L Grover, is the only employee with the Delhi government eligible to certify the authenticity of these electronic meters……

Section 57 of the Electricity Act, 1956 also entrusts electrical inspectors with the responsibility of testing meters. “It is the chief electrical inspector who certifies whether the meter is running fast or slow. He gives his testimony in any consumer dispute related to inflated bills and faulty meters which is pending in the court,” said a DERC official. “How can one official be responsible for testing and certifying the electricity meters of the entire city,” the official added. The electrical inspector was supposed to be the topmost official who would monitor the testing process of meters and issue certificates, said a DERC official.

--- The Statesman, August 3

US PRESIDENT George W Bush took a political beating this weekend after a second opinion poll, taken after a spike in US casualties in Iraq, showed a sharp drop in public support for his Iraq policy.

The survey by Newsweek magazine indicated only 34 per cent of Americans approved of the way Bush was handling the situation in Iraq while 61 per cent expressed their disapproval. The findings, made public on Saturday (August 6) represented the president’s lowest rating on Iraq ever, which thus far has hovered above the 40 per cent mark.

They echoed a sampling conducted this past week by Ipsos-Public Affairs for the Associated Press, which indicated that just 38 per cent of respondents approved of what Bush is doing in Iraq while 59 per cent disapproved of the policies and two per cent had mixed feelings about them.

--- DNA, August 8

TAKING the bride bazaar of the Old City to newer heights, a set of marriage brokers last month paraded 13 young girls before a group of four Arabs, all above 50 years, to be chosen for marriage to them.

Among the visiting grooms, a 55 year-old ‘sheikh’ from the United Arab Emirates liked one young girls age 16, married her on July 15, spent two weeks with her and then left the country after uttering ‘triple talaq’.

The marriage was facilitated by Mumtaz Begum of Falaknuma with the help of four brokers --- Mansoor, Toufiq, Yousuf and Abdullah. Deputy commissioner of police (south) Sandeep Sandilya told TOI, “The brides were paraded before the Arabs in Toufiq’s house at Kalapathar, while the ‘nikah’ was solemnised by a qaiz, Khaled, at his house in Shalibanda.”

With her hopes of going abroad, even with the aged Arab shattered, hapless Shameem (changed named) approached Kalapathar police on Saturday (August 13) seeking help. While police acted swiftly and nabbed Mumtaz Begum, the brokers and the qazi are still at large. During search operations police also recovered three thumb-impressed affidavits which mentioned Shameem’s age as 22 and stated her consent to marry the aged Arab.

--- Times of India, August 15

THE Pentagon has moved forcefully to block the release of new video evidence of prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, arguing it would help recruit new Islamist insurgents and endanger American lives.

The request is contained in a motion filed in federal court by joint chiefs of staff chairman Gen Richard Myers in response to a plea by several human rights groups to make public 87 photographs and four videotapes Josheph Darby that thus far have been kept under wraps.

Darby triggered the Abu Ghraib scandal last year when he turned over to military investigators extensive photographic and video evidence implicating his fellow military policemen in brutal abuse of prisoners.

The picutes showed inmates piled up naked on the floor, cowering in front of snarling military dogs, chained to beds in stress positions, with women’s underwear put over their heads, and forced to stand naked in front of female guards…..

But o far; only a fraction of pictures made by Specialist Darby have been released to the public.

--- The Times of India, August 15