Saturday, January 12, 2008

Rats devour rice in Indian state


Farmers in India's north-eastern state of Mizoram have lost nearly 88% of their rice harvest after rats ravaged croplands last year, officials say.

Nearly 40,000 tonnes of rice are reported to have been lost, with more than 70% of farming families affected.

The state's heavy flowering bamboo crops attract hordes of rats, a phenomenon known locally as Mautam.

Not only do the rats thrive on the bamboo flowers, they also then go on to destroy the farmers' crops.

Rat reward


Mizoram agriculture official James Lalsiamliana told the BBC no maize had been harvested in the state either.

He said the rats had also devoured other crops such as pumpkin, watermelon, chilli, banana and papaya.

"The total cultivation area was reduced during the year to around 75% due to apprehensions of destruction of paddy and other crops by rats," he said.

All districts of Mizoram had been affected, with Saiha and Lawngtlai in the south worst hit, he said. There, the loss of rice crops had been almost total.

The state's problems have been compounded by farmers not planting for fear that crops will be eaten by the rats.

"Most of those who planted lost everything to the rats," Mr Lalsiamliana said.

Desperate to control the rising rat population, the state government now offers a reward of two rupees for every rat killed.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed in the past couple of years, but the rats keep coming in hordes.

World's cheapest car goes on show


Tata Motors has unveiled the world's cheapest motor car at India's biggest car show in the capital, Delhi.
The vehicle, called the Tata Nano, will sell for 100,000 rupees or $2,500 (£1,277) and enable those in developing countries to move to four wheels.

The four-door five-seater car, which goes on sale later this year, has a 33bhp, 624cc, engine at the rear.

It has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, but two deluxe models will be on offer.


See key features that make the Tata Nano so cheap
Tata will initially make about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of one million cars.

The price will be slightly more than the 100,000 once tax and other costs are taken into consideration.

The Nano release comes as India's domestic car market is predicted to soar in the coming years on the back of the country's fast-growing economy and increased consumer wealth.

'People's car'

Indian car sales are predicted to more than quadruple to $145bn by 2016.

Company chairman Ratan Tata said the launch of the Nano was a landmark in the history of transportation.

He said the car was "a safe, affordable and all weather transport - a people's car, designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all".

Environmental critics have said that the car will lead to mounting air and pollution problems on India's already clogged roads.

But Tata said the car had passed emission standards and would average about 50 miles to the gallon, or five litres per hundred kilometres.

The firm also said it would introduce a diesel version of the Nano at a later date.

'Family transport'

At the unveiling ceremony Mr Tata said: "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby.

"It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family.

"Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal.

"Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions."

Ravi Vangala, of Hyderbad, India, said: "I... congratulate Tata for his dream, and I will definitely buy the Tata Nano car."

Asian voters in US 'got raw deal'


Many Asian American voters faced discrimination from voting officials during 2006 mid-term elections in the US, a civil rights group has alleged.

The report is based on a multilingual exit poll conducted among 4,700 Asian American voters in 25 US cities.

It documents alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act and Help America Vote Act and cases of "anti-Asian attitude".

According to a 2000 census, the US has more than 10 million Asian Americans, comprising 3.6% of its population.

'Rude behaviour'

The report by the Asian American Legal Defence and Education Fund (AALDEF), a 34-year-old civil rights organisation, comes as presidential primaries are in full swing in the United States.

The group alleges that poll workers were hostile towards Asian American voters, particularly those not fluent in English, during voting in 2006.

Many voters complained of "rude or hostile behaviour" and an "unhelpful attitude about election procedures", the report said.

It said 59 Asian American voters had complained.

In New York, 83% of voters who were asked to show identification were not legally required to do so, the report says.

It says English-speaking voters were not asked for ID.

The discrimination was "racially motivated and at the same time also demonstrated a bureaucratic approach", AALDEF lawyer Glenn D Magpantay told the BBC.

The survey found 40% of Pakistani-origin, 38% of Bangladeshi-origin and 17% of Indian origin-voters could not speak English well. One-third of Urdu speakers and the same number of Bengali speakers said they needed the assistance of interpreters in order to vote.

The report says some poll workers made disparaging remarks about such assistance.

"One poll worker in New York said she thought it was a waste of the taxpayers' money to pay for so many interpreters.

"Another poll worker commented that she did not think they should be required to provide multilingual material and voters should learn English," the report says.

It also said Chinese American voters had been given Spanish-language ballots in New York.

No response

Many Asian Americans' names were missing or misspelt in voter lists at polling stations, the report found.

Copies of the report and letters of complaint have been sent to the US Department of Justice for investigation, the AALDEF says.

The BBC contacted the voting section of the department, both by phone and e-mail. There was no immediate response to the allegations.

However, a Republican state representative of South Asian origin, Saghir "Saggy" Tahir, said he was not aware of such discrimination in his community.

"I am in my fourth term in the state legislature but I have never heard of any such complaint," says Mr Tahir, who was the first Asian American Muslim elected to this level in the Republican Party.

He says the easiest thing for people is to blame others for their inconvenience.

"I can only advise that they must learn English if they want to realise their American dream," says the New Hampshire legislator, who arrived in the US in 1972 from Lahore.

India outlaws 'cruel bull sport'


The Indian Supreme Court has banned a version of bull fighting popular in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Jallikattu is an annual festival celebrated in two villages near the temple town of Madurai. The sport is said to be thousands of years old.

In jallikattu contestants do not try to kill the bull. But animal rights campaigners still say it is cruel.

The sport has also become increasingly dangerous. Every year dozens of people are injured and many are killed too.

Organisers say bullfighting is a sacrosanct Indian tradition, mentioned in the ancient scriptures.

They say the sport has existed for more than 2,000 years and is an integral part of Tamil culture.

Grappling with bulls

In prohibiting jallikattu, the Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, said "any event which involved cruelty to animals would not be permitted".

Hundreds of bulls are released one at a time into a large open space for the fights, which are held during the annual harvest festival known as Pongal.

Contestants have to try to get close enough to the bulls to grab prizes and valuables tied to their horns. That often involves grappling with the animals.

Defenders of the sport say the bulls are only "tamed", rather than killed, so that participants can help themselves to the prizes.


As the bull-taming does not take place in a stadium, those taking part and spectators are often injured as the animals hurtle into the crowd.

Last year one person was killed during the festival. In 2005, five people died and more than 200 were injured during the fights.

Authorities say that although new safety measures are taken every year, the number of wounded continues to rise.

World Bank 'uncovers India fraud'


The World Bank has said it has uncovered "serious incidents of fraud and corruption" in a review of five health projects it has backed in India.
The multi-million dollar projects, some of which date back to 1997, involve HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.

"The probe has revealed unacceptable indicators of fraud and corruption, said World Bank head Robert Zoellick.

India's government said it took the findings seriously and would punish anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.

The evidence of fraud was revealed in a newly released Detailed Implementation Review, begun by the World Bank in 2006.

That review was prompted by an investigation into a World Bank-backed reproductive and child health programme in 2005, which found evidence of corrupt practices by two pharmaceutical firms.

'Eradicate corruption'

The projects involved in the latest review included a $193.7m (£99m) programme to tackle HIV/Aids, a $124.8m tuberculosis scheme and a $114m malaria programme.

The World Bank has said it and the Indian government will cooperate to ensure the scrutiny and transparency of ongoing and future projects.

Mr Zoellick, who took over as World Bank president in July, said he appreciated the Indian government's "resolute commitment" to pursuing criminal wrongdoing.

He said: "These problems have to be fixed. I am committed to cleaning this up. I have spoken to Finance Minister [Palaniappan] Chidambaram and he feels the same way.

"The results of this World Bank Review show we must keep pressing to eradicate corruption from our projects. Fraud and corruption are not acceptable."

A statement from India's finance ministry said: "Necessary action under the relevant laws, rules and regulations would be taken against those suspected of wrongdoing and, if found guilty, they will be visited with exemplary punishment."