Pawar’s cancer would have won

 A steely resolve to fight cancer ultimately saw NCP
supremo Sharad Pawar emerging triumphant in his battle against the
deadly disease which had also caused a turbulence in his political
career.
" i got cured of cancer because of a strong will to fight the disease.
If I had given up the fight and stopped work,  cancer would have won",
Pawar said in an informal chat with reporters at the two-day NCP state
level convention which was inaugurated on Saturday.
Pawar who was first diagnosed with mouth cancer a decade ago,
recounted his battle against the disease saying it was important to
defy it by remaining mentally strong.
" Investigations started when a doctor friend of mine noticed a
swelling on my cheek and suggested a biopsy. The treatment started. It
was painful as the skin inside my mouth was burnt making it difficult
to take food", he said.
After he underwent a surgery, he was sworn in as Union minister within
a month, he said, and added with a smile that the members of the house
cooperated with him by not addressing  too many questions to him.
Asked whether he considered that period as critical in his life, Pawar
said apart from his will power, he had a  strong family  support in
his wife and daughter.
"What I was more worried about during this period was the emotional
vulnerability of my party workers who are  attached to me".
The Union agriculture minister said he drew his mental power from his
mother whom he described as a  "very strong woman" who fought against
all odds.

Movie hurt sentiments of people in the region

The Committee appointed by the Andhra Pradesh Government to examine the controversial movie 'Cameraman Gangatho Ramababu', advised 9 modifications in the flick.

According to RV Chandravadan head of the 8-member committee recommended the modifications including cuts and removing audio from certain scenes.

The movies starred by Pawan Kalyan, brother of Congress MP Chiranjeevi kicked up a row alleging that the film ‘hurt’ sentiments of Telangana people and movement.

“We have given our report to the minister. The movie can be screened after the modifications” Chandravadan told.

Pro-Telangana activists yesterday stopped screening of the Tollywood movie at theatres here and at different places, claiming that some dialogues and scenes in the movie hurt sentiments of people in the region.

A group of pro-Telangana activists also allegedly attacked the office of the movie's director Puri Jagannadh at Madhapur over the issue, demanding his apology and immediate stopping of the movie's screening.

Jagannadh had come forward to remove some scenes and dialogues if  people found them objectionable.

Pepsi Changes the Game… brings Cricket & Football together in a spectacular new campaign

Cricket and football, the two most loved sports around the world, come together in a never seen before format… Pepsi changes the game with its spectacular new campaign featuring the Indian heroes of international cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh; along with the biggest global football stars, Didier Drogba,Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres. With cricket season at its peak and Pepsi T20 Footballcreating waves across the country, the new campaign brings together the biggest passions of a sports fan!

It is the ultimate face off between the gods of sport… So, do the athletes play football or they play cricket? Here lies the twist as our cricketers challenge the footballers to a game of cricket to win Pepsi, while the footballers show them how to play cricket - football style. Fun and irreverent, the film captures the essence of ‘Change the Game’ with a foot tapping soundtrack, ‘Mauke Pe Chauka’.

Three persons including Civic Asstt. Commissioner injured in mob attack......................

Three civic employees of the demolition squad including an Assistant Municipal Commissioner was attacked with stones and sticks by an irate mob in Kausa of Mumbra today while they were removing encroachments the Thane Civic sources said today.

Following the attack on the senior official Ashok Burpulle, the General Body of the Thane Municipal Corporation which was in progress expressed serious concern and condemned the incident and the meeting itself was adjourned by the Mayor, expressing the feelings of the civic corporators towards the inhuman incident.

The civic corporation said in a late evening press release that the official an Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the corporation had along with his team gone to the M K Steel compound and was still in action an armed angry mob of about 30 to 40 persons came on the scene and straight away attacked Bhurpule, with stones, sticks and iron rods.

The members of the mob also kicked the officer repeatedly and beat him blue and black it was stated.

Immediately after the incident the Municipal Commissioner R A Rajeev rushed straight from the civic general body meeting to the scene and gave a first hand report to the State Chief Secretary, Addl. Chief Secretary (Home) and Principal Secretary of the CM about the entire incident.

The car driver and the security guard who were along with the officer were also attacked by the mob the civic sources said.

The Municipal Commissioner went straight to the police station and lodged a complaint and held discussions with the Police commissioner and declared that henceforth the civic officials will not not budge an inch and take strict action on the encroachments and illegal constructions in the city.

The civic officials further said that Mr. Burpulle who escaped from the furious mob and went towards his car was chased by the mob which dragged him out and again beat him badly and attacked him with stones and sticks besides rods.

In the attack the security guard and the car driver were also injured and all the three have been admitted to the Chatrapati Shivaji Hospital at Kalwa.

Consequent upon this incident of attack on the civic official the Municipal Commissioner said that henceforth the civic officials would be provided armed guard and their vehicles will have wire mesh and shield.

Thane Mayor H S Patil, leader of the house Naresh Mhaske and leader of the opposition Manoj Shinde went to the civic hospital and enquired about the injured.

This is not not the first time such mob attacks had happened in Mumbra it is stated and in earlier occasions too the civic officials were subject to attack in the volatile Mumbra/Kausa region.

EARTH DAY

Earth Day is the occasion to assess our environmental account of the preceding year for the three natural resources on which all life hangs - the atmosphere, water and land. The balance between the over-use and restoration of each resource is an indicator of our long-term sustainability. Past trends show an imbalance on the land account. This makes it an area of prime concern for at least three reasons.

First, fertile land is finite and in short supply, and increasingly so. Land covers 30% of the Earth’s surface. However, the US Department of Agriculture and Earth Action determined that only 3.25% of the Earth was fertile arable land as of 1993. Soil formation takes many years and, for the most part, is the six inch-layer shielding humanity from extinction. But its degradation is rapid.

New data shows that every year, 75 billion tons of fertile soil is lost forever. An assessment conducted in 2008 showed that between 1981 and 2006, 24% of the global land area was degrading while improvement was evident on only 16% of the global land area. This reflects a negative balance, where land degradation exceeds its recovery.

Second, maintaining such a negative balance is unsustainable when another 2 billion people are projected to join us by 2050. Already, 52% of all land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation. Also, 70% of all fresh water resources are now used for agricultural irrigation.

Third, it should concern us that this imbalance is not due to a lack of solutions but rather, a lack of political will leading to five policy failures. The failures to scale up and scale out good practices, to share information and knowledge, to mainstream appropriate land practices at the national and local levels and to invest resources in the practices, as well as the failure to build holistic approaches that allow for synergy across issues, among actors and levels to be harnessed for effective action on the ground.

Sustainable land use for all and by all must be our goal. One act that could radically move us towards this goal is agreement on a global target that will help contain this imbalance. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June, on “The Future We Want”, offers a most opportune moment to do so. 

Under the theme, “Healthy soil sustains your life: LET’S GO LAND-DEGRADATION NEUTRAL”, we are calling for a commitment from the Rio Conference that would ensure that further land degradation is avoided and for every hectare of land that is degraded an equal amount is restored. This target would make us land degradation neutral.

The UNCCD's contribution to Earth Day’s “A Billion Acts of Green” is to promote the move to a land-degradation neutral world by enlightening and educating the public about our land-use account.

This is the message of our joint campaign launched today in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Xinhua News Agency and Reuters under the motto, “Global Action, Green Economy Transforming Lives”.

To deepen knowledge on this issue, starting tomorrow, we will hold a week-long online exchange called, ‘Desertification Week’, facilitated in collaboration with the non-governmental organization, Responding To Climate Change (RTCC). Lastly, the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification held every 17 June, will take place in Rio de Janeiro this year in order to bring this issue to the attention of the policy-makers going to the Conference.

It is possible to keep an even balance on our land-use account, but it will take the participation of every individual, including you. What is your “Act of Green” on this pressing land issue? Be part of the education solution by sharing this message and information with your network, and tweet about it all the way to the Rio Conference. Will you?

WATER-MINISTER

Andhra Pradesh stamps and registration minister Thota Narasimham  said the necessary steps would be taken on war footing basis to solve the drinking problem in the Kirlampudi mandal of East Godavari district.

            He inaugurated comprehensive protective drinking water scheme constructed at a cost of Rs 12.50 lakh in Gaddenapalli village of Kirlampudi mandal and Rs 2 lakhs worth constructed drinking water borewell.

He said all necessary steps will be initiated on war footing basing to solve the drinking water problem in this mandal. He said wherever necessary drinking water is necessary borewells will be digged and water will be supplied through water tankers.

Rs 20 lakhs has been allocated to Ramakrishnapuram protective drinking water scheme,he added.

Earlier, he inaugurated paddy purchase center at Primay Agriculture coopertive center in Kirlampudi mandal and  said the state government is setting paddy purchase centers in view to provide procurement price to farmers for their product.

three constables wounded

 In  a  strange   mishap,  three  constables  were  injured  when  a  police  rifle  went  off  accidentally.

   R  Samasiva  Rao,  reserve  constable  was  cleaning  his  rifle  ,  unaware  that  it  was  loaded  As  his  finger  unwittingly  touched  the  trigger,  the  bullet  released  with  tremendo  force  The  bullet  hit  nearby  rock  breaking it  into  pieces.  Some  pieces  hit  Sambasiva  Rao  and  two  other  constables  who were  chatting  with  him  The  injured  were  rushed  to  the  Government  general  hospital  where  they  were  declared  out  of  danger