Hyderabad: The historic Kotwal office building in the Old City’s Purani Haveli, currently being used as a camp office, is being restored to its full glory. City police commissioner CV Anand on Tuesday inspected the structure and unveiled the plaque to mark the beginning of restoration works of the heritage building, which is symbol of the city’s 176-year-old police history.
The restoration project is being sponsored by Greenco, and carried out by Deccan Terrain Pvt, which renovates heritage buildings. The latter will work on restoring the old Hyderabad Police Kotwal building with materials like lime, hydrated lime, raw gum extracts, fibres and other materials that were widely used hundred years ago in construction.
Officials from Deccan Terrain gave a pictorial presentation to Hyderabad City police’s top brass about the current condition of the building, the outcome after its restoration etc, said a press release from CV Anand’s office. The commissioner also thanked Anil Kumar, Director Ace Urban group – Greenco, for sponsoring this project. The work is expected to be completed within 6 months, the release added.
The old Kotwal building was constructed a century ago and functioned as office of the Kotwal (police head in Hyderabad) from 1920 to 2002. Post relocating Hyderabad commissioner’s office to Basheerbagh in 2002, the structure was being used as the camp office for the south zone deputy commissioner of police (DCP).
“Nevertheless the City police decided to restore this structure since its existence is intertwined with the history of the City and served as an essential landmark. GreenKo company came forward to sponsor this restoration project,” said the release from the city police.
“From an operational stand point and its close proximity to many iconic structures, religious places and other crowded areas , many of my predecessors preferred to camp in here while monitoring Friday prayers, large scale events and other processions etc., I had been continuing the same tradition and noticed that it’s condition is deteriorating till one day the roof caved in,” said Anand.
“But being a Hyderabadi, I felt it is our responsibility to conserve and revive these heritage structures,“ the Hyderabad commissioner added. Mr.Mir Barkatullah Khan, MD of Deccan Terrain, AR Srinivas, Addl. Commissioner of Police (Crimes & SIT), P.Sai Chaitanya, DCP south zone and other officers attended the program.
“Back then also there was the state and city police. Director General was responsible for the entire state (Hyderabad). As far as I remember, Kotwal was for the city police, who directly worked under the Nizam,” said Sajjad Shahid, historian and activist from the city.
Kochi: In the wake of the Manipur violence incident, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) on Saturday issued a statement, urging the Central government to take necessary action to restore peace in the state.
“The central government should be ready to take necessary steps to restore peace in Manipur. The riots going on in Manipur for the past few days are causing a lot of concern,” KCBC’s president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said in a statement on Saturday.
He said that it is highly condemnable that two groups of people in the state are attacking each other and setting fire to institutions, houses and places of worship.
“The Regardless of the reasons that led to this conflict, immediate action should be taken by the central government to end the conflict and loss of life,” the KCBC president said.
“The central government, which describes India as the mother of democracy, should take appropriate measures to bring peace to Manipur by taking appropriate measures to end the communal riots that have brought an end to democracy,” he added.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed concern over the situation in violence-torn Manipur, and urged the prime minister and home minister to take steps to restore peace in the northeastern state.
The Trinamool Congress supremo also urged the people of Manipur to stay calm and uphold peace.
“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Manipur. Politics and elections can wait but our beautiful state of Manipur has to be protected first. I urge PM (Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah (home minister) to take steps to restore peace there. If we burn humanity today, we will cease to be a human tomorrow,” Banerjee tweeted.
The Manipur government on Thursday issued ‘shoot at sight’ orders in “extreme cases” to contain spiralling violence between tribals and the majority Meitei community, which has displaced over 9,000 people from their villages.
Fifty-five columns of the Army and Assam Rifles had to be deployed to contain the widespread rioting that broke out across Manipur.
The Centre, which is monitoring the situation in Manipur, also dispatched teams of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised force to handle riots, for deployment in violence-hit areas of the northeastern state.
Bengaluru: The JD(S) on Thursday released its “Janata Pranalike” (People’s Manifesto) for the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka promising to restore four percent reservation for Muslims, to “throw out” Amul and to save Nandini brand calling it Kannadiga’s identity, among various assurances.
The party led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has also assured to bring in a law reserving jobs for Kannadigas in the private sector, and has promised to provide free higher education for economically-weaker students.
Just ahead of the announcement of polls in Karnataka, the State Cabinet led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had decided to scrap the four percent reservation for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota and to distribute it equally among the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities. The JD(S) in its manifesto has expressed its commitment to restore 4 percent reservation for Muslims.
The promise to protect and strengthen Nandini brand in the manifesto, comes following a controversy that had erupted after the Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul’s announcement recently, to enter the Karnataka market to supply its milk and curd. A section including opposition Congress and JD(S) had expressed apprehension that Nandini, the brand from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), could be merged with Amul, and had targeted the ruling BJP and Union Cooperative Minister Amit Shah for it. BJP had rejected the charge.
The manifesto was released by JD(S) legislature party leader H D Kumaraswamy, state president C M Ibrahim, and manifesto committee chief and MLC B M Farooq, among other leaders.
The JD(S), which positions itself as a party of farmers, has announced the “Raita Bandhu” scheme promising to provide Rs 2,000 to agricultural labour families every month. Also, girls who marry youths who are farmers will be given financial assistance of Rs two lakh.
Among the various other assurances given in JD(S) manifesto are Rs 6,000 for pregnant women for six months, loan waiver for ‘Stree Shakti’ self-help groups, pension for Anganwadi workers, Rs 2,000 per month for auto drivers, Rs 2,000 for registered private security guards, and up to Rs 25 lakh for treatment of rare diseases under CM relief fund.
In the irrigation sector, the party has listed out its plans such as: increase funds for the Upper Bhadra Project from existing Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore and also complete the project in the next four years; it also promised to complete the ‘Yettinahole’ project in four years.
Reviewing the National Pension Scheme, re-introduction of free bicycles for school children, electric scooters for girls studying in higher education, housing scheme for 30 lakh homeless, encouraging green energy, are among the other takeaways from the manifesto.
Kumaraswamy has said that the party will launch a separate manifesto for Bengaluru in the coming days.
Aiming to come to power on its own, the JD(S) has set a target of winning 123 out of total 224 Assembly seats.
A record number of river barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across Europe in 2022, with at least 325 taken down in 16 countries, allowing rivers to flow freely and migratory fish to reach breeding areas.
In its annual report, Dam Removal Europe said Spain led the way for the second year with 133 removals, followed by Sweden and France. The UK completed 29 removals, including Bowston Weir, which was built on the River Kent nearly 150 years ago for a paper mill. Its removal will help restore the health of the river, which is home to white-clawed crayfish, freshwater pearl mussels, and water crowfoot (an oxygenating aquatic plant).
“These numbers make me proud because we’re doing a lot to mainstream dam removal, and it works,” said Herman Wanningen, director of the World Fish Migration Foundation (WFMF) and founder of Dam Removal Europe. “It shows countries are picking up speed on implementing this river restoration tool.”
Across Europe, hundreds of rivers are blocked by dams, weirs, culverts and levees, with 15% considered obsolete, and many at risk of collapse.
A dam is removed on the Tromsa River in Norway. Photograph: Rob Kleinjans
In Norway, dynamite was used to destroy a seven-metre-high dam that had blocked the Tromsa River since 1916. But the year’s largest known project was the removal of La Roche qui Boit hydropower dam on the Sélune River in France.
Two countries – Latvia and Luxembourg – completed removals for the first time. “Sometimes the smallest projects make a difference for an entire country,” said Wanningen.
One of the more surprising removals was the obsolete Bayurivka dam in Ukraine, where WWF-Ukraine’s river restoration work continued, despite the war. Taking out the abandoned six-metre-high dam, in the Carpathian mountains of Verkhovyna national park, opened 27km of the Perkalaba River to migratory fish for the first time in 120 years and removed the risk of it collapsing.
“By removing Bayurivka, we hope the river has a chance to again become a biodiversity hotspot,” said Oksana Konovalenko, WWF-Ukraine’s freshwater practice lead. “Protected fish species, including brook trout, Danube salmon, and Ukrainian lamprey, are expected to return upstream and attract fish-eating animals, such as brown bear, otters and various bird species.”
Almost 75% of the barriers removed were weirs, followed by culverts and dams. At least 10 hydropower dams were dismantled in England, Finland, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
The number of removals was a 36% increase from the previous year when there were 239 removals.
“Removing barriers to restore rivers’ natural flow and connectivity brings many ecosystem service benefits, such as flood protection, water purification, and recreational opportunities,” said Wanningen.
San Prudentzio dam on the Deba River was one of 133 barriers removed in Spain in 2022. Photograph: Gipuzkoa Provincial Council
With an estimated 150,000 old and obsolete dams and weirs across Europe, there is still a long way to go. “Dam removals are still controversial,” said Wanningen. “Some countries haven’t even started yet, because the topic is too sensitive to talk about. Hydropower companies don’t like seeing their dams going down, though [they] weren’t economically viable any more. Local villagers are worried there will be more flooding, even though removing dams creates more space for flooding if done properly. It’s a matter of providing the right information and making sure politicians and citizens understand why unnecessary dams should be removed.”
The year-on-year increase in removals is expected to continue in 2023, as the argument for freeing rivers gathers momentum. “I hope the European Commission accepts the new Nature Restoration Law this summer, which will give a solid policy base for member states to implement dam removal to restore 25,000km of rivers and maybe more,” said Wanningen. “And I hope we can keep this amazing movement growing.”
Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
After years of strained relations, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar are in the process of restore diplomatic relations and reopening the closed embassies in the coming weeks.
The development in relations between Qatar and the UAE comes more than two years after the signing of the Al-Ula agreement, which ended the Gulf crisis and the blockade of Qatar.
“At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries,” a UAE official said in a statement in response to a question from Reuters.
“Work is underway between the Qatari and Emirati teams to reopen the respective embassies as soon as possible, exact date to be announced upon the finalization of the process,” Qatar’s International Media Office told CNBC in a statement.
It is noteworthy that in mid-2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, air and sea blockade on Qatar, claiming its support for terrorism, which Doha has repeatedly denied.
Riyadh and Cairo were the first to reappoint ambassadors to Doha in 2021 following a Saudi-led Al-Ula agreement to end the dispute, while Bahrain announced last week that it had decided to restore diplomatic relations.
All countries, with the exception of Bahrain, have already restored trade and travel links with Qatar in early 2021, while the UAE has said it will take some time to resume diplomatic relations.
Doha: The Gulf countries— Qatar and Bahrain to restore diplomatic relations after a six years-long dispute.
This came at the conclusion of the second meeting of the Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in the Saudi capital, Riyadh on Wednesday.
Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the step comes out of the desire of the two sides to activate joint Gulf action, in accordance with respect for the sovereignty of states.
The two sides affirmed that the step “comes out of a mutual desire to develop bilateral relations and enhance Gulf integration and unity and respect for the principles of equality between states, national sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and good neighborliness.”
It is noteworthy that the Qatari-Bahraini follow-up committee held its first meeting in February, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh.
This is in order to discuss ending the outstanding issues between the two countries.
The meeting discussed the necessary procedures and mechanisms, and ways to ensure the success of the bilateral talks to end the outstanding issues between the two countries, according to the outcomes of the “Al-Ula” summit, and in a way that achieves the interests of the two countries.
The decision comes within the implementation of the outcomes of the “Al-Ula” summit, which was held in Saudi Arabia in early 2021, to end the Gulf dispute, which lasted for more than three years.
Saudi Arabia, along with its allies Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, severed relations with Doha in June 2017.
They were angered by Qatar’s support for Islamist groups that came to power in some countries in the wake of the Arab Spring protests in 2011, and that other authoritarian countries consider terrorist organizations.
“We would never advocate for a false or politically determined limit on abortion,” said Pamela Merritt, the Missouri-based executive director of Medical Students for Choice. “Viability is an arbitrary line. It’s a legacy of Roe that we don’t need to resurrect. And we know the language of viability can be manipulated by state legislatures, just as they are already trying to redefine what a child is or what rape is.”
The rift among progressives threatens to fracture the abortion-rights movement as it readies for costly ballot initiative fights that are likely to play central roles in coming state and federal elections.
In Missouri, the local Planned Parenthood affiliate recently quit the ballot effort because most of the nearly dozen versions activists submitted to state officials propose only protecting abortion access before the fetus is viable or until 24 weeks of pregnancy, while other versions would impose other restrictions, such as parental consent requirements.
“We have long said that Roe was never enough, especially for marginalized communities shouldering the hardest impact of abortion bans,” said Vanessa Wellbery, the vice president of policy and advocacy for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. “We are deeply committed to rebuilding a system that ensures all people can access abortion and all providers can provide it without political or legislative interference.”
The ballot measures in Ohio and Nevada also only protect abortion until viability, while South Dakota’s would legalize the procedure through the second trimester.
Groups defending the viability limit argue that it is widely supported by voters and has the best chance of passing in conservative and swing states.
“Yes, Roe was always the floor. But right now Missouri is in the basement,” said Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Pro-Choice Missouri. “It’s not the end game. It’s the first step in a long term effort and process.”
They also note that the more moderate language is similar to what voters approved in Michigan in November, and protects the right to an abortion even after the fetus is viable if the pregnancy endangers the pregnant person’s life or their physical or mental health.
“People have asked, does this allow abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason? That answer is, no. It doesn’t,” said Kellie Copeland, an executive committee member of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, the statewide coalition supporting the ballot measure. “But it does allow for people to be able to get the care that they need.”
These divisions within the abortion-rights movement mirror those on the anti-abortion side as heated battles erupt in several states argue over whether to allow exceptions to abortion bans or hold firm to the view that abortion should be illegal no matter the circumstances that led to the pregnancy. On both sides, those pushing a compromise point to polling showing that voters overwhelmingly oppose complete bans on the procedure but support some limits — especially in conservative-leaning states.
“You’ve got to meet voters where they’re at,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Look, we’re going to go for the most expansive, most broad access that we can get from these constitutional amendment efforts.”
‘A literal codification of Roe’
Interest in launching abortion-rights ballot initiatives exploded in the wake of the 2022 midterms, which saw progressives win each of the six state constitutional amendment fights related to abortion that went before voters that year — in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont.
In Ohio and South Dakota, advocates are gathering signatures to restore Roe’s protections for abortion prior to viability. In Missouri, the secretary of state’s office is reviewing 11 versions of the proposed ballot measure and will release summaries of each before canvassing can begin. In Nevada, lawmakers just launched an effort to get the measure on the ballot in 2026; it must twice pass the biennial legislature before going to a popular vote.
Democratic officials in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland and Washington state also proposed legislation this year to put abortion rights constitutional amendments before voters, but only Maryland’s legislature has approved the measure, teeing up a statewide popular vote in 2024.
Most involved in the efforts agree that eliminating all restrictions on abortion would be preferable, but cite in-state polling and research to argue that measures with the viability standard have the best chance of passing.
“We’re pushing a literal codification of Roe because that is what we think is palatable to the majority of citizens in South Dakota,” explained Adam Weiland, co-founder of Dakotans for Health, which is collecting signatures to make the procedure legal again. “Even if people in our state have more progressive views than expected when it comes to abortion, it’s still a conservative state and we need to be respectful of that. Most people are pretty comfortable with no government interference in the first trimester. But that support becomes more unstable the further along you get.”
A 2022 Pew Research poll of more than 10,000 people found that support for abortion waned as the pregnancy went along: Americans are twice as likely to support abortion than say it should be illegal at six weeks, roughly split on whether it should be legal at 14 weeks and about twice as likely to say it should be illegal than legal after 24 weeks.
Backers of the viability strategy also argue that a constitutional amendment with more specific language could make it harder for anti-abortion lawmakers to find a loophole in the future.
And because over 90 percent of U.S. abortions happen during the first trimester, they also argue that protecting abortions prior to viability — the standard held up for decades by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey — would provide broad relief from the near-total bans in place now in South Dakota, Missouri and elsewhere.
“We don’t want medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion, and maybe it’s not surprising that medical groups have to draw a line there. But as advocates, as grassroots organizers, we feel an urgency,” Schwarz said.
‘We have momentum on our side’
Adopting a viability limit, however, would mean agreeing that abortion can’t always be a unfettered choice between a patient and physician, a concession that is too much for some local and national groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Ultraviolet and Medical Students for Choice. These groups warn the ballot measures as written will permanently lock in limitations they consider dangerous — and they’re threatening to withhold their support unless changes are made.
“It cannot be left to any politician to decide when an obstetrician-gynecologist must stop providing evidence-based care, to determine when a doctor can save the life of a patient, or which patient has a greater need for abortion than any other,” said Jennifer Villavicencio, an OB-GYN and leader of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Other abortion-rights organizations dispute the premise that a measure that goes beyond Roe would not pass in a red or purple state — pointing to polling showing high support for abortion rights and opposition to restrictions.
“We need to start from the most expansive and expansionist place possible and not go in with preconceived notions about what people will or will not support,” said Sonja Spoo, the director of political affairs for the abortion rights group UltraViolet. “The people putting forward these restrictions, they’re not doing it because of mal-intent. It’s based on their feeling of what they think can come to fruition. But we see that we have momentum on our side and that this is an opportunity for education and a culture shift rather than codifying bans.”
Supporters of the ballot measures argue that the proposals’ fetal viability language is broad enough to allow abortions in a range of different circumstances later in pregnancy and leaves the decision up to doctors. Under the proposals, for example, providers would be responsible for deciding whether a fetus is viable based on the facts of the case and whether there is a “significant likelihood” of the survival of the fetus without extraordinary medical measures.
“It’s sticky to talk about, but it’s also something that we know gives voters assurance that what we’re talking about here is something they can understand and appreciate,” said Caroline Mello Roberson, southwest regional director for NARAL.
Yet some medical and abortion-rights advocacy groups argue the built-in flexibility is a mirage that would leave patients and providers vulnerable to prosecution.
“When you are practicing under an elected body that is so aggressive and the potential consequences for providers are a felony, time in jail, loss of license, etcetera, those ‘protections’ on paper don’t play out in reality,” said Colleen McNicholas, the head of ACOG’s Missouri chapter and the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region. “We already know that now. We have physicians right now who are afraid to provide completely legal care like miscarriage management or emergency contraction or ectopic care.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
New Delhi: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had pressurised him to restore friendship with India, the media reported.
Bajwa wanted friendship with India and put pressure on him for this, Khan was quoted as saying by The News.
Bajwa said something one day and retracted it the next day. His accountability should be initiated within the army, he said.
Answering a question about the general elections, the PTI chairman said if the elections were not held in 90 days, there would be no Constitution left in the country and then he would take direct action.
Earlier this month, Pakistan again denied it was holding any “backchannel” talks with bordering India but reiterated its desire for a peaceful neighbourhood, The Express Tribune reported.
“At this stage, there is no back channel (talks) between Pakistan and India,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while responding to a question at a weekly briefing, The Express Tribune reported.
Relations between the two neighbouring countries have remained at a standstill for the last many years.
Pakistan had not only downgraded diplomatic ties but suspended bilateral trade with India.
However, there was a chance of a possible thaw in ties when two countries engaged in backchannel talks in 2021. The secret meetings between senior security officials of Pakistan and India in the UAE led to the renewal of ceasefire understanding along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021, The Express Tribune reported.
The next move was to restore bilateral trade but the process came to a halt when the government of then premier Khan turned down the decision to import sugar and cotton from India.
Some reports later claimed that backchannel talks even discussed the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Pakistan.
(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
Bengaluru: Flaying the BJP-led Karnataka government for its decision to scrap the reservation for Muslims under Category 2B in the OBC list, the Congress declared on Sunday that it would restore the quota to the minority community in the event of the party coming to power in the State, where Assembly elections are due by May.
The Cabinet meeting on Friday also decided to split this quantum (four per cent) equally between Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayats at two per each in jobs and admissions in educational institutions, which was welcomed by the two politically influential communities.
The government moved Muslims into the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) pool. President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D K Shivakumar termed the step “unconstitutional”.
“They (the government) think that reservation can be distributed like a property. It’s not a property. It’s a right (of minorities)”, he told reporters here. “We don’t want their four per cent to be scrapped and given to any of the major communities. They (members of the minority community) are our brothers and family members”.
“Entire Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats are rejecting this offer,” Shivakumar claimed.
Exuding confidence that the Congress party will come to power in the “next 45 days”, he said: “we will scrap all this” and added that there is no basis to remove Muslims from the OBC list.
Charging the Bommai government with trying to rake up “emotional issues” as it’s set to lose the polls, Shivakumar said as party president, he wants to declare that the first meeting of the Cabinet, in the event of Congress coming to power, would take a decision to restore the quota.
