Maya Concerned For Water, Cola and Packaged Water Companies To Face Music

SIDDHARTH KALHANS
Lucknow, 23 April



At last the Uttar Pradesh government has woken up on issue of exorbitant withdrawal of ground water by cola and mineral water companies.
The state government has decided to bring an act regarding the use of the underground water by the cola and the mineral water companies. The act has been given a formal shape and it will be tabled before the state cabinet in the end of this month after the by-elections for two parliament and three assembly seats are over. The act has been drafted after carefully going through similar kind of act which are being enforced by the Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Orissa government. At present the soft drink makers and mineral water companies do not need any permission regarding the usage of the ground water from any authority.
According to the Director of the Ground Water division, MM Ansari while talking to this reporter informed that the act has been prepared and may be tabled before state cabinet very soon. He said that at present the cola and mineral water making companies are only taking licence from the municipal corporation and the health department and some even do not bother to complete this responsibility even. After the new act being enforced the soft drink companies and mineral water companies will have to take no objection certificate from the ground water department. In the new act the district magistrates will have the power to seize the soft drinks or the mineral water factory besides it can also cancel the licence.
According to Ansari, the hazardous arsenic is found in the water samples collected from most of the districts of Uttar Pradesh. Ghaziabad is the only district where arsenic was not found in the water sample while in nine other districts the level was arsenic in the pottable water was as per the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These districts are Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Pilibhit, Rampur, Saharanpur, Unnao, Bulandshaher, Behraich and Basti. As per the WHO standards the arsenic level in the potable water should be more than 0.001 particle per milligram (PPM). Even in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, the level of arsenic is high and still 52 companies are making mineral water here while two soft drink makers have their bottling plants.
The ground water department, according to the director has warned the state government on the level of arsenic in the drinking water.

Tiger Can Now Roam Freely In UP Forest

SIDDHARTH KALHANS

Lucknow, 23 April

At last the state government has woken up to make the movement of big cats hassle free in the reserved sancturies and national parks.
The state government has proposed to create special corridors in the Dudhwa National Park, Katraniaghat and Kishanpur reserved sancturies for the free movement of Tigers. Of the total Tiger population of the state 60 per cent are found in these three forest areas due to which the state government has declared it as Critical Tiger Habitat. The state government has decided to evict the villages which will fall in the areas declared as Critical Tiger Habitat. In the first phase the villages which are falling in the way of the special tiger corridors will be evicted.
According to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wild Life) DNS Suman, the state government is in the process of issuing notification for the eviction of 10 villages which are within the forest areas of Kishanpur, Dudhwa and Katraniaghat. `There is a provision of this sort in the Wild Life Protection Act 38 V and we are following it', Suman informed this correspondent. He said that after state government completes its formalities the proposal will be sent to the Government of India which will provide necessary funds for the rehabilitation of the villagers of the forest area. The National Tiger Conservation Committee (NTCC) in its recomendations to the state government had asked to evict the areas falling in the Critical Tiger Habitat. As per the recomendations 490.29 square Km in Dudhwa, 203.41 Km in Kishanpur and 400.09 square Km in Katraniaghat needs to be evicted and conserved.
Regarding the special corridors for the Tigers, Suman said that it helps in protecting the big cats as they get disturbed due to human movement on their track. It may be mentioned that in the Katraniaghat reserved sanctury a special track for Tigers was created in the year 2006 and it has shown encouraging results. Due to the Tiger Track which was barred for the human as well as vehicular movement, the number of big cat has remained stable in this area. As per the Tiger census of 2005 there were 77 Tigers in Didhwa followed by 58 in Katraniaghat and 29 in Kishanpur. The latest Tiger census, results of which are to come out officially have indicated that there has been fall in numbers in Kishanpur while in Katraniaghat the number has not decreased. In the Katraniaghat range of forest four special tracks for the Tiger movement has been created which are under constant vigil of the forest staff.

UP Govt Eyes Tata Sky & Dish TV to Increase Revenue

SIDDHARTH KALHANS
Lucknow, 22 April


The growing number of Direct to Home (DTH) connections has given Uttar Pradesh a new idea to increase its entertainment tax revenue.
The entertainment tax department of UP government has proposed a separate clause in its Entertainment Tax Act 1989 under which the DTH operators such as Tata Sky and Dish TV would made state coffer rich by giving it tax per connections. Though a matter regarding charging of entertainment tax from Tata Sky and Dish TV is pending in the High Court both these companies have been giving such tax for Lucknow city only.
As per the assumptions of the UP entertainment tax department Tata Sky has 1.25 lakh connections in the entire state while its rival Dish TV has 1.75 lakh connections. Both these companies are adding at least 10000 consumers every month as per the survey of entertainment tax department . According to the entertainment tax commissioner of UP, Ramendra Tripathi, at present the department is only getting Rs 30 per connections from Tata Sky and Dish TV for Lucknow city only. Both these companies have shown 10000 connections in Lucknow. `We want to bring Tata Sky and Dish TV in the ambit of entertainment tax with a spate mention of them’, said entertainment tax commissioner while talking to the Business Standard. He said that growth in number of cable connection is coming down due to the DTH services. In the financial year 2007-08 the growth in number of cable connections of 10 per cent only, informed Tripathi.
The deputy commissioner, entertainment tax, VK Srivastava when approached by Business Standard said that department has proposed changed in the section 2(G) of the UP Entertainment Tax Act. The proposal would now go to the state cabinet for its approval after which it would become Act or ordinance may be issued. The entertainment tax department has proposed a flat rate of 30 per cent tax on the DTH operators. If the act comes into force with the same number of DTH connection about which data is available with the department, there would be an addition of around 25 crore as entertainment tax. `DTH operators at present are in the ambit of general entertainment which would change after state cabinet gives its nod to the proposal’, said Srivastava. He said that very soon the cases of Dish TV and Tata Sky pending in the courts would be disposed off.

Smugglers Target World's Second Oldes Fossil Park

SIDDHARTH KALHANS
SONBHADRA (UP)
Imagine in the rocky terrains of Sonbhadra there use of an ocean and that too rich in aquatic life.
And one of richest fossil park of Uttar Pradesh with remains as old as 170 crore years have become a happy hunting ground for the smuggler. The algi fossils situated in the Salkhan park spread in an area of 25 acres are being stolen and smuggles. The rich heritage which is of great geological importance is lying neglected in the Markundi area of Sonbhadra district. In the entire park the fossils are sprea without any safety or security and is easily acessable for the smugglers.
Eminent geologist and faculty member in the department of Geology, Lucknow University, Professor Vibhuti Rai while informing about the age of the fossils said that it is second oldest in the world. `These are algal structures which look like fossil remains of tree and it is second oldest after China', said Prof Rai. Geologically it is of the stramatolite age and its dating has been done by severl big institutes including National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), informed Prof Rai who has written an international paper of these algal structures. He said that such rocks are found in the lower Vindhyan range. `You can trace the history of life from a place like this and geologically this entire region is very important', said Prof Rai. He said that it is known as fossil park but it is yet to get the shape of a park. `In fact with the efforts of some locals the forest department declared it a protected place but basic amenities are lacking here', informed Prof Rai.
Giving details of the park, member divisional advisory committee for tourism, Vijay Shankar Chaturvedi, said that on August 8, 2002 the park was inaugurated by the then district magistrate Bhagwan Shankar. `It was then that this place hit the headlines and four months later a team of world level scientists arrived in Sonbhadra', said Chaturvedi. Geologist at the KSV Institute of Geology, S Swaroop too confirmed that the fossils in Salkhan park are 170 crore years old and if the number of fossils per square meter is concerned this park is richer than Yellow Fossil Park of US.
However Chaturvedi who was instrumental is setting up Salkhan Fossil Park said that smugglers are active in this area and a visit to the park confirmed his claims. Remains of stolen fossils are seen everywhere in the park and some broken pieces are also visible. The guard room at the fossil park was

Raids In Delhi, Prices Down In Lucknow

SIDDHARTH KALHANS
Lucknow, 15 April
After raids in Delhi the traders in Uttar Pradesh have turned `Samaritan'.
Taking a new inititaive the different trader’s organisation in several cities of Uttar Pradesh has decided to setup special counters to sell edible oil, rice and pulses at reduced rates. After raids in Delhi on the go downs of traders, their counter parts in UP have started offloading their stock and in the last two days the rates of various items have come come down. The first such initiative was taken by the firms selling edible oil. The traders of edible oil put special counters at three dozen places in Lucknow and at dozen places on Kanpur and Varanasi and other cities. At these special counters the muster oil is selling at Rs 64 per KG instead of Rs 75 to 80 per KG while Vanaspati is selling at Rs 55 per KG instead Rs 70 to 74. What is more surprising is that the even the mustard oil with Rs 100 MRP ( maximum retail price) printed on it is being sold at Rs 64 per KG. Seeing the initiative of the edible oil traders, the UP Rice and Pulse Millers Association decided to open special counters and sell rice and pulse at reduced rates. From Friday the good quality mansoori rice will be available at special counters that are to be opened in each of the market, at Rs 13 per Kg instead of Rs 18 per KG. The rates of Arhar Daal has also been reduced from Rs 42-44 per Kg to Rs 38 per Kg while ordinary quality pulse will be available for Rs 35 per Kg. The traders have also decided to sell the wheat flour at Rs 15 per Kg instead of Rs 18 per Kg.
The traders organisations have been claiming by the end of this week such special counters will be opened in each and every big city of the state.
The spokesperson of UP Udyog Vyapaar Partinidhi Mandal, CK Chabra when asked about Business Standard about sudden drop in the prices of edible oil, rice and pulse, said that it is not due to the fear of raids. `The meaning of hoarding has been changed now and at present big companies which are in retail sector are doing this. The trader sitting in a Lucknow market can hoard up to such an extent that could change the price line', Chabra told Business Standard.
Meanwhile while the grocery shop owners in UP have started mounting pressure on the companies supplying edible oil, rice and pulses to reduced the rates in general. `Why should we deprive out customer from the reduced rates on various items', said Shivram Agarwal of Lucknow Kirana Association.
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Reduced Rates Of Essential Items in Lucknow
Item Rates (Last Week) Rates (Now) at Spl Counters


Mustard Oil Rs 75-80 per Kg Rs 64 per Kg

Vanaspati Rs 65-78 per Kg Rs 55 per Kg

Ghee Rs 155-180 per Kg Rs 140 per Kg

Rice (Mansoori) Rs 18 per Kg Rs 13 per Kg

Pulse (Arhar Phool Brand) Rs 42-44 per Kg Rs 38 per Kg