Stop the looting

It is welcome to see that the NDA government has started filing charges against individuals with illicit accounts in Swiss banks. The move has set off speculation that some prominent politicians may figure on the list. Politicians, both ruling and opposition, want to block the release of the names. It means our legal system is flawed. Politicians looting the country are more treacherous than underworld dons. If the Modi government, sticking to its election promise, releases the names, it will be doing a great favour. All those blacklisted should be debarred from politics and sent to jail. The loot money should be declared a national treasure. Parliament should propound strict laws so no politician can loot the nation anymore.

KA Solaman

Alappuzha The Hindu business Line on Oct 23, 2014t

Bird flu outbreak

The outbreak of bird flu in Kuttanadu, Kerala is a matter of serious concern. Several thousands of birds are dead. There is also an official work out to cull as many 1.5 lakh birds, including poultry, in the three affected districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. The loss of the farmers is terrific. So in this context quick action should be by the government to avert any untoward situation. The farmers should be given adequate compensation.

Since there is a chance of human beings getting infected with the virus, utmost care should be taken to protect the people and their belongings.

K A Solaman

Mullaperiyar fear.

One hundred and eighteen year old Mullaperiyar dam has undoubtedly become a matter of great havoc to people living on the banks of River Periyar. Not only the heavy water height the dam, heated exchange by the political heads has made the situation highly tense. People on the bank of river Periyar are panic. The permitted maximum water level of the reservoir is 136 feet and but with court order it is now 142 ft. As this was a rare phenomenon for past many years, people realized about the vast amount of water in the dam and that also made them more panic.

 Actually, the new leaks and the escalation of the old leaks could be very risky allowing for the age of the masonry dam built of surki, a technology available at the time of construction of the dam. The flaw of the dam is a matter of unending concern to people of Kerala as any danger to it could affect about 40 lakh people living in five districts of Kerala.

It is to be stressed that normal life time of any dam or atomic power plant is about 50 years. And in that case Mullaperiyar dam is a doubly expired one. So, the concern about safety of this dam is not mislaid. It should be abandoned on war-footing basis and new dam should be constructed. But Tamil Nadu is seen neglecting this aspect and not thinking about the dam safety. They are interested only with water they get from the dam and keeps scant regard to lives of million people of Kerala.

So it is time for Paneerselvam and his colleagues to stand favorably for the construction of new dam as there are all chances for the breaking of existing one causing huge human causality. If dam breaks and that too due to the negligence of the TN leaders no human endeavor could be able to repair the damage. So Paneer Selvam and Ommen Chandy, the two chief ministers of the states come together for an immediate discussion to reach a settlement over the Mullaperiyar imbroglio. TN should abandon its stance of strengthening of the dam. Instead the dam should be decommissioned first. Any disaster in the worst would certainly make political bosses of the states redundant and more worse is the loss of innocent human lives

K A Solaman

Iyer’s revelations.

The city of Kochi has become a pilgrim spot as former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer turned 100. Political leaders, legal luminaries, and well-wishers met Mr. Iyer at his residence to wish him. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Myanmar, wished Mr. Krishna Iyer through Twitter. But, he once again entered into  controversy with the once rejected claim regarding the conception of land reforms in the State. It was Iyer’s claim that it was he who wrote the agriculture land reforms law of 1957 and that Ms. Gouri Amma had no role in the law at all.

What Iyer has repeated now is a matter that veteran politician K.R. Gouri had outrightly rejected..
According to her Iyer’s statement was totally wrong and misleading. Gouri Amma had repeated several times that it was on April 11, 1957,  the government issued an ordinance on integrated land reforms, after which the Communist Party of India and the government began discussions on the same. Mr. Krishna Iyer, who had introduced a similar law when he was earlier a legislator with the Madras Assembly, came up with the same law. However, this was rejected by the government since it was restricted only to tenants in the Malabar region and was not comprehensive. Following this, a committee, comprising Ms. Gouri Amma from the Travancore region, C.H. Kanaran from the Malabar region and Gopalakrishnan from the Cochin region, was constituted. The land reforms draft Bill was shaped by this committee, with references to several other existing laws. Though it was first drafted as three laws, it was later integrated into one. This was released for public opinion. Relevant ones from around 2,500 suggestions that came up were incorporated and the final law was passed by the Assembly on June 30, 1959.

However, the Union government did not approve this Bill and sent it back, recommending more amendments, Ms. Gouri said. Mr. Krishna Iyer, she alleged, was not a member of the committee and had no major role in the conception of the law.

So what now Iyer, at the age of100, is doing is rewriting history and most probably there would be no takers for the same..

The learned Ex-Justice V R Krishna Iyer  had taken many  unacceptable stands like this. Another one was  the dragging in the name of Pope by referring to  incident of fishermen’s killing by Italian marines and saying Italy is the land of Pope.  Iyer had forgotten  the fact  that Pope is the legal head of Vatican and not of Italy. Yet another incident  is the  draconian bill drafted by the 12-member committee headed by him recommending provisions for imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for fathering a third child by Indian nationals.

K A Solaman

Mullaperiyar level

The tussle over the age-old Mullaperiyar dam row has again reignited . Tamil Nadu has been operating the dam. Apart from providing drinking water to a number of districts, the dam is also the lifeline of irrigation. The question now is about dam safety and not about water sharing. In a quake-prone area, an old dam is a potential threat. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister must immediately start talks with his counterpart in Kerala and allay fears.

K.A. Solaman, Alappuzha

The Hindu published on 18 Nov, 2014

Dam fire again.

The fire over the age-old Mullaperiyar dam row has once again ignited. This time the Government of Kerala is approaching the court for relief to its people living near dam-river site.

The Tamil Nadu government has been operating the dam, produces hydro-electric power and distributes it in state. Apart from providing drinking water to the people of Madurai, Theni, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, the diverted water is used to irrigate about 80,000 hectares of dry land in these districts.

Originated in Kerala and fully flowing through Kerala, Periyar is a rich source of water. For more than 100 years Tamil Nadu is irrigating and making power. Now the question is not water sharing but safety of the Dam. In an earth quake area, a 120 year old dam constructed without cement is a potential threat to 40 lakhs of people in Kerala. All reliable studies suggest a possible Mullapperiyar-dam collapse would collapse Idukki dam and eight others. And then the damage would be colossal.

As such it is the responsibility of TN Chief Minister to have a talk with his Kerala counterpart to alleviate the fear of several lakhs people living in the shores of Periyar.

K A Solaman

State honour for segregation

Educationist, critic, writer and orator professor B Hridayakumari has been cremated with full state honour, on the other hand bureaucrat and ace writer P C Sanal Kumar IAS has been denied it at his burial. This is seemingly obnoxious and needs a satisfactory explanation from those in charges of the affair.

If Hridayakumari was known for her proficiency in and understanding of both English and Malayalam intelligent Sanal Kumar was not below her in any aspect. He was a popular figure in literature and bureaucracy and deserves all state respects. State honour should not become a tool to segregate the dead based on influence and communal facet.

In fact the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living and it has no tie up with state honour.

K A Solaman

Hats off the Principal

The Principal of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam should be congratulated for suspending 10 students for organizing a Hug of Love to express solidarity with the recently held Kiss of Love non-sense campaign. It is the duty of the principal to teach the students of his College that there are some lessons pertaining discipline. Ignoring warnings from authorities and teachers the Hug of Love students have openly stood against the code of conduct. And it is laughable to see that the students, who were suspended for 10 days, are planning to approach the court challenging the principal's decision. Most possibly the huggers will be awarded another reprimand from the court for wasting its precious time. The action of section of comrades endorsing the kiss-hug events is interesting as they have become insolvent of ideas.

Inter-caste marriage is not a big-event in this country. Nevertheless dragging girls in love and later tormenting them would result in more cases relating sexual abuse. The state, of late, is witnessing a lot of cases where girls have been fraught and have undergone mental stress due to this undesired independence. Let the colleges remain disciplined and be a place for learning rather than ruin.

It is questioning on the part of channels to promote kiss-hug events for attracting more edgy viewers who once found pleasure in the gimmicks of solar con-woman.  

K A Solaman  

Mani should resign

In the backdrop of the allegation by liquor bar owners that a bribe of Rs 1-crore has been given to Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, he should resign immediately from the post. At the same time penal action must be taken against Kerala Bar Hotels president Biju Ramesh for bribing the minister. CPM State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s call for a court-supervised investigation into the accusation that Mani had taken the bribe, is pointless as the court could not interfere in this matter without any petition before it.

It is a matter pity on the minister who speaks volumes for the working class, to take bribe for exhilarating them and thereby ruining thousands of poor families. Mani’s channel plea asking Keralites to take a Karunya lottery seems ironical when most people are diseased by Government sponsored public intoxication

K A Solaman  

Kiss of chaos.

Mark Twain said: “Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humour itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humour in heaven”. Yes it is true in the case “kiss of love” protest in Kochi. The agitators have turned city into a hell of chaos with sorrow and humour. Some faces seen in kissing are not that much good for the act. In fact the kiss-chaos guys need some crude publicity. Next these people would argue that they would engage in more public nonsense. Their public kiss would move from cheek to lip to neck to where else and they tint that everyone opposing them as cavemen.

The kiss of love sponsors have close parallelism with Hippies of the 60s.  Hippies, by their dress, and lifestyle had seriously offended and outraged the society. They were dispensed with boring middle class customs such as bathing, neat dressing, and family discipline and outraged the conservative members of society. Nevertheless, the Hippism was finally wiped out from the globe.

If a person and his friend are in love and kissing, why should passersby is forced to witness personal act? The kiss-of-lovers are holding their rally without permission. It means they do believe in societal anarchy for negative publicity.

K A Solaman

Wise decision by Governor

Congress party of Kerala launching a political war against Governor P Sathasivam, over his intervention as Chancellor in the issues relating the universities in the State is unwarranted. Congress vice-president MM Hassan saying that Governor’s act is against law is surprising. Does it mean that Hassan knows laws and Governor doesn’t? Sathasivam’s intervention is never an infringement upon the powers of the Government instead it is a well-thought decision to save the universities. There should be some measures for the smooth functioning of the institutions and unperturbed conduct of examinations.

Hassan is known for his rhetoric against hartals but when one occurs with the sponsorship of Congress outfits Hassan leaves out. It is a curse that when someone tries to do good for the state the daft politicians place all sort of ruckus.

This discretion of the Governor as Chancellor to intervene in varsity affairs has always been there. Then what is wrong if a governor takes a wise decision?

K A Solaman

Dead rat has no place in Swacha Bharat

It was a hopeful act by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to emulate all India sweepers to take up a scheme to clean the country. And with this the market has witnessed a huge price surge for broom! Nevertheless, one could not see any sincerity in the act of former minister and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor joining Modi by holding a dead rat at a cleaning program in Vishinjam. The ex-minister who opts to stay in luxury hotels and ridicules cattle-class flight travellers never will do such common man’s act honestly. Tharoor holding a dead rat in his hand can be viewed as his indirect protest against KPCC which has made a complaint against him for endorsing Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' campaign. 

Tharoor has some hitches with the mysterious death of his third wife and any help out from Modi would be advantageous to him. The Congress, by holding this UN returnee in their wagon for quite long, was doing a foolish act.

K A Solaman 

It is loot money in Swiss banks

It is welcome to see that the NDA government has started filing charges against individuals having illicit accounts in Swiss banks. The move has set off speculation that some prominent politicians may figure on the much-awaited list.  Nevertheless, no disclosure to the sort would likely to happen because black money holders are not belonging to a single party.

In fact the politicians, both ruling and opposition want to block the release of the names. It means our legal system is very poor and flawed. The country for quite long is a property for politicians to loot and keep the loot else where. The better place to keep the loot money  is Switzerland as they keep safely and it is the way of their income.

 The politicians looting the country are more treacherous than underworld dons. If the Modi government, sticking to its election promise, releases the names, it will be a great deed for the nation. All those black listed should be debarred from politics for ever and send to jail, like in the case of former Tamil Nadu CM J  Jayalalithaa. The loot money should be confiscated and declared as national treasure. The Parliament should propound strict laws where no politician could loot the nation any more.

K A Solaman
The New Indian Express published on 25-10-2014

Clean India campaign.

It is promising to see the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi taking up the scheme to clean the country. Modi has absolutely kept a tally over his predecessors by initiating this campaign and making many celebrities join his drive for a noble cause. Though politically in opposite pole, the CPM leaders in Kerala like T M Thomas Isaac MLA has followed the footprints of Modi by starting his clean campaign in a school toilet in Alappuzha.

We often are pleased about western countries for their hygiene and of course leaders returning after a visit to Singapore and similar places have mouthful to say about cleanliness, but often  they do not bother to realise the people to keep the streets clean . It is our primary duty to maintain a clean atmosphere not only in our homes but also in streets.

We should also have neat toilets on the road side and see that people are actually using them. Our children should also made to understand the value of a clean surroundings.

K A Solaman

Notable work by Thomas Isaac MLA

Whatever   be the kick-back  by his fellow comrade G Sudhakaran it was a noble work by  T M Thomas Isaac MLA to clean the toilets of a nearby school in Alappuzha.The MLA was inaugurating a cleanliness project, which was about to be undertaken by the Aryad Block Panchayath staff. The MLA’s initiative persuaded the onlookers to join in and all the toilets of both boys and girls of Kalavoor school were cleaned up.

Though there are sweepers and scavengers in schools, none is cared to keep toilets clean. The heads of the institution are often reluctant to ask the sweepers to keep the school clean because of the union might of the latter. The immediate visit and attempt to clean the school premises by MLAs place much responsibility on the l employees to keep the school clean. Along with this our politicians including Panchayat-Municipal members should take action to keep the streets  also clean. The useless E- toilets should be replaced by manually operated pay and use toilets. The fish venders polluting the entire street should be shifted to fish markets. The people working under RGWGP should be deputed to clean the streets instead of asking  them to do job in privately owned properties.  

 The MLA’s work was  notable and he should be congratulated for the same.

K A Solaman

Unnecessary remark

Cine  singer K J Yesudas’ remark that women should not cause trouble to others by wearing jeans is unwarranted . Yesudas is now at 74 and this jarring comment is an old age hue. Wearing jeans is  better than wearing a skirt, or sari.

In fact  the celebrity like Yesudas could speak more on subjects which boost the development of the state rather than  petty issues like wearing jeans by women or bermuda by men. Let the celebrities focus on matters which really need attention rather than ensnaring ourselves on hollow subjects and interfering in someone's personal life.

K A Solaman

In TN, leader’s popularity is a measure of deaths.

It is a further setback for the TN former CM Jayalaltihaa to stay in prison as the vacation bench of the Karnataka high court adjourned plea for bail to October 7. The counsels favoring Jayalaithaa staging dharna in front of the court is unwarranted. 

My concern is about the killing of people after the special court in Bangalore convicted Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case. It is reported that at least 16 people committed suicide or died of cardiac arrest across Tamil Nadu. Two people have been hospitalized with severe burns. A thorough enquiry should be conducted to find the exact reason for these deaths. There are stories of planned killings as self immolation. 
  
The people of TN, in fact, are emotionally charged by politicians and they are usually instigated by fellow citizens that prompt them to go for suicide. Moreover the leader’s popularity is measured by the number of deaths and the intensity of agitations over the arrest. Had the common people any sense, they should enquire any higher-ups have resorted to this kind of extreme step. The role of leaders and the media are also found responsible for not taking any defensive steps to prevent these stoppable deaths.
There should be a law to further penalize the convict in prison to compensate the loss of lives caused by the poignant electrification by the politicians.

K A Solaman  

Wrong move by the government

The Kerala Government move  for disinvestment of 26 per cent shares of State-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs)  for mobilising Rs.1,000 crore to rein in the revenue deficit,  is in the wrong direction. The proposal if implemented would have far-reaching consequences and set a mistaken example.
The Finance Department of Kerala is a poorly run one.  The very instance is, their deploying of police, excise, and sale tax staff on highways to extract money from passengers. In order to protect the government interests, there are better ways other than selling earnings made by our ancestors. If not checked, this government would sell land and other properties owned by government colleges and other public sector institutions.

The government could not sell loss making establishments as there are little takers for them, It can sell only profit making ones. Absence of a professional management in public sector establishments is the fault of the government. The unaccountability of the staff there may be another factor.
The ministry which is in power for a short span of time has no right to sell the public properties. The move should be out rightly opposed.

K A Solaman

New government college

It is a welcome step on the part of the Kerala Government to start a Government college at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district. The college will provide opportunity to poor students who are unable pay hefty sum as fee in the neighbouring self financing colleges.  Now there are only three courses B.Com, BSc (Zoology), and BA (Malayalam) courses with a strength of 132 student. Classes are handled by guest lecturers.
Guest lecturers are a handicap of all educational institutions where the students are denied better educational facilities. So the faculty should be furnished with permanent teachers and more courses.
The UDF government at the time of  inception has promised  a government college in each taluk and presumably the Elanthoor college is the first of its kind. It is, therefore, the accountability of the government to start government colleges in every taluk and that too with full pledged facilities.  What we need a complete college and not a namesake college.

K A Solaman

Total ban or abstinence?

In Kerala there is no liquor ban. Liquor is available in beverages outlets and in bars. Another intoxicant toddy is also available in every nook and corner of the Kerala What will be now in Kerala to happen is a bar ban and not liquor ban. The term ‘liquor ban’ is thus a misnomer.

A few political and communal leaders consider that total liquor ban is impractical in Kerala. According to them what we need is not a total ban but abstinence from alcohol which should be achieved through planned awareness programmes. This observation about abstinence is rather illogical because awareness programmes that started from the time of Sree Narayana Guru reached nowhere. The most laughing matter is, the Guru founded organisations are now headed by advocates of liquor.

I endorse the comment of KPCC President V M Sudheeran that “Sree Narayana Guru’s followers should work towards the success of the new liquor policy”.

It is the common people to understand the hazard of liquor consumption and to work for the success of the bar ban. The financial crisis now experienced in the State is not of liquor policy as it is yet to be implemented.

K A Solaman