Gota before Bribery and Corruption Commission : Gota and his thieves for thieves falsify national flag

(Lanka-e-News- 24.April.2015, 7.30PM) Ex defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse was summoned to the Bribery and corruption commission  in connection with charges of corruption  at the Mihin Lanka in 2007 when Gotabaya was its chairman. Gotabaya who appeared with his lawyers at the commission yesterday , told   through his lawyers that after garnering correct information in this regard , he would make his statement , for which he requested a subsequent date. 

After the commission agreed to give him another date to make his statement , Gotabaya  left for the Welikada prison to see his younger brother Basil  who is now in remand custody. One of the prison officials speaking to Lanka e news remarked , it is good that Gotabaya  visited the prison ahead , to get an  idea of the place earmarked for   him within the prison when  following in the footsteps of his younger brother

Meanwhile, the idlers and hired protesting hooligan squad of the Rajapakses who have made demonstrating  on behalf of crooks and the corrupt ,their latest favorite occupation did not allow the  stupid opportunity to protest  against questioning of Gotabaya by the Bribery and corruption commission  , to slip away. These ‘thieves for thieves’ defied even the court order, and demonstrated in front of the commission.

Some of the many  chieftains of the Alibaba den of countless thieves , namely Bandula Gunawardena, Dallas Alahaperuma , S.M. Chandrasena , T.B. Ekanayake ,Udaya Gammanpila, Gamini Lokuge ,Prassanna Ranatunge and Bandula Padmakumara were also on the scene  , having come out of their den to lead the group of  ‘thieves for thieves’ 

These chieftains and thieves for thieves claimed that Gotabaya is a national hero . These empty headed ‘zeros’  did not however realize while praising their so called national hero , they were again trying to bring national  sorrow to the country by carrying a national flag that has been falsified – that is their flag did not have the colored stripes representing the minorities. They also were so stupid that they  did not know this is an offence punishable under the laws. No citizen of the country has the right to change the national flag or the national anthem. These are offences that are punishable ; excuses and defenses notwithstanding. 

The people will be ever grateful to the government of good governance if it takes urgent and strict  measures to bring these demented group of crooked scoundrels who are obstructing the legal processes , and even falsifying the national flag , before the law and punishes them , or subject them to a psychiatric evaluation ,with a view to medically treating them , at least at this belated stage .

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by     (2015-04-24 14:54:20)

Gota’s Journey Had Its Humour 

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –April 24, 2015

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Oh! What an era we live in! Gotabaya Rajapaksa, most powerful sibling of the most powerful President Sri Lanka ever had, on a journey to the Bribery Commissioner’s Office! On the first of January this year did you, reader, ever imagine this journey? Even on the 8th of January Maitripala Sirisenahad no clue that Gota will have to make his way to the Bribery Commissioner’s Office under his watch as President. Maitri was hiding that fateful day in a secret place fearing that Mahinda Rajapaksa would have Gota’s men get him and his family. Everybody feared Gota.

Such are the insecurities of politics. The Buddha had said that everything emerges, stays for a while and passes away. But nothing passes away as astonishingly as political fortunes do. We are surprised when it happens; yet we soon get accustomed to the imagination that politicos, once ensconced in the seats of power, are hard to get rid of. More than us, the politician himself will least believe his glory will end. The delusion of permanence is both the driving force of politicians in power and their eventual death knell.

The Daily FT of 24th April 2015 carried a report of Gota’s journey which compels comment. I like to share this with my readers. A large crowd of protestors had assembled in the premises defying a previous court order. Rajapaksas are experts at jana ganga (rivers of people). They had mastered the mobilizing technique from the JVP. We saw it at election meetings. We saw it at Nugegoda. With ample financial resources at disposal and a well -organized local mob leadership such jana ganga simply happens. Poor Basil, now in person, didn’t have it organized for him-maybe due to his slight fall- out from the Rajapaksa mainstream. His nephew,Yoshitha, had reportedly castigated the uncle for being primarily responsible for his Dad’s fall from power. Yoshitha does not admit his own contribution.                                           Read More   

Sajith attempts to save Nihal Jayatilake!

 Friday, 24 April 2015

Minister Sajith Premadasa is making attempts to save Dr. Nihal Jayatilake, who is ‘spending a vacation’, together with Basil Rajapaksa, at Colombo National Hospital’s merchant ward, say UNP sources.

The minister is acting so due to the friendship he had struck with Jayatileke, who was the health ministry secretary when he was the deputy health minister in the 2001 UNP government.

Making his case before the UNP leader and the justice minister, Sajith said, “Dr. Nihal is a very honest and innocent man. I can make him a state witness against Basil by promising him bail.” However, neither the UNP leader nor the justice minister given any positive response to his request.

Gammanpila regrets ‘distorted flags’ controversy

The distorted national flags on display during the protest on Thursday (April 23). Photo: Sanjeewa Lasantha

April 24, 2015 

The General Secretary of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, Udaya Gammanpila, today expressed regret over the presence of several distorted national flags during a protest staged yesterday opposite the Bribery Commission.

The protest was organized, by the PHU and certain members of the UPFA, against the summoning of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa for questioning pertaining to certain financial irregularities in Sri Lanka’s state-run budget carrier Mihin Lanka.

The stir was carried out despite a court order issued the previous day banning any form of protest in front of the Bribery Commission while the strong presence of several distorted national flags, in the hands of supporters as well as prominent politicians, had stirred controversy.

Mr Gammanpila says that the flags in question were brought to the demonstration by a certain group and that smaller versions of the same flag had circulated among supporters.

The Western Provincial Council member conceded that at one point even he was holding one of the distorted national flags.

In a statement issued today, the former legal advisor to the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) stated that he sincerely believed the flag in his hand was the actual national flag of Sri Lanka.  

Gammanpila stated that while the organisers cannot take full responsibility for the individuals who attend a protest staged at a public location and publicized through media, he regrets that an inaccurate national flag was brandished at a protest led by him. 

Meanwhile UPFA Parliamentarian Dullas Alahapperuma, who was also present at the demonstration, has tendered his apology over the distorted flag fiasco, at a press conference held in Colombo today.

Gota’s Journey Had Its Humour 

Photo by REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte, via FT

• by Dr. Dilshani Sarathchandra 
• - on 04/24/2015 

Although a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since 2007, the rights of people with disabilities in Sri Lanka has remained at a dismal state over the past several decades. A recent manifestation of this issue has occurred at my Alma Mater, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo, where a mother of a student was forced to file a complain with the Human Rights Commission to obtain adequate accommodations for her differently-abled daughter (a Grade 8 student of the school). The complainant alleged that the principal of Visakha Vidyalaya, Ms. Sandamali Aviruppola, rejected repeated requests for a ground floor classroom for her disabled daughter. Incidents like this—calling to question our collective commitment to ensuring basic human rights—often go unnoticed, or get pushed aside as ‘unimportant,’ amidst the larger sociopolitical turmoil within the country.

The recent incident at Visakha Vidyalaya is problematic in a number of ways. The school authority’s initial dismissal of the request for adequate accommodation for the student violates the student’s basic rights as stated in the 1996 Act for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Sri Lanka. It also violates a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that requires all authorities to ensure building plans are in compliance with the provisions stated in the 1996 Act.

Furthermore, the school authority’s refusal to allow the student’s father to carry her to the classroom, based on the assertion that “it is not suitable for the father to come carrying a daughter [to a classroom] because grade 8 students are young adults” is dumbfounding. This argument denotes nothing more than baseless and stereotypical ideologies about traditional gender-roles, e.g., men [in this case, fathers] cannot be nurturing/ caretakers, nor can they be trusted in female-dominated public spaces.

The media coverage of this incident also highlights an important issue. Nowhere in online media reporting about this incident was I able to find basic information such as the name of the student in question. [Perhaps this information was mentioned in local print media, to which I do not have access to at the moment.] In a national TV broadcast covering the story, the student was repeatedly referred to as “she” and “her.” Additionally, the opinions and experiences of the student were completely overlooked by only presenting interviews with the mother and the school principal, while repeatedly showcasing images of the student. In other words, popular media coverage denied her a voice—the one voice that would have been the most meaningful and powerful in this particular case.

Even presumably progressive media outlets failed to make a case for this student, with the respect and dignity that she deserves. The belittling of her identify as a person relates to the larger issue of our inability to not only protect the rights of differently-abled people, but also to distinguish between physical and cognitive impairments. A blind, deaf, or otherwise disabled person is automatically categorized as the “other.” Our perceptions towards such people change so much so that we often fail to acknowledge them and their lived experiences. In extreme cases, they are denied opportunities to develop their physical and cognitive abilities, and their voices and opinions go unheard.

In a country where over 16% of the population is disabled, needless to say that much more needs to be done in order to protect the rights of differently-abled people. Largely defunct policy frameworks do little to ensure the wellbeing of the disabled community in Sri Lanka. The attitudes and perceptions of the larger society need to adapt in ways that not only acknowledge, but also embrace and celebrate human diversity. Even from a purely utilitarian perspective, providing access and inclusion to people with disabilities can increase diversity of perspectives and demonstrate our collective social responsibility.

In education, inclusion of people with disabilities and providing them adequate access and accommodation will not only make them productive citizens, but also enhance the wellbeing of the overall society. The refusal of publicly funded schools in Sri Lanka to admit students with certain forms of disabilities not only deprive those students of valuable opportunities, but also deprive ‘able-bodied’ students of the opportunity to understand and embrace diversity.

This issue is deeply personal to me as someone living with and struggling with Scoliosis (i.e., a lateral curvature in the normally straight vertical line of the spine). I was fortunate to grow up in a family that had the social and cultural capital to provide me with not only quality healthcare, but also access to a “normal” education. Today, “I stand upon the shoulders of giants” such as my family and my teachers (some of them from Visakha Vidyalaya) who relentlessly stood by me and fought for my access and inclusion.

As someone who navigates the rather fluid boundary between an “abled” and “disabled” body in her daily life, I can relate to the struggles of my fellow Visakhain, to some extent. For her, me, and many other differently-abled people in Sri Lanka, my hope is that we not only fight for stricter policy implementations for enabling access and inclusion, but that we commit to changing our collective mindset through honest and open discussions about these critical issues.

‘Horu Wenuwen Horu’ to London Thames Vihara

 Friday, 24 April 2015

In the context of representing interests of thieves, bribe-takers and drug dealers becoming a national characteristic of Sri Lanka, that trait is now getting extended to cover rapists as well. That is because, former chief incumbent of London Thames Vihara Pahalagama Somaratana, due to complete serving a prison term after being found guilty of raping a small girl, is due to be freed on May 01 and a group of ‘Horu Wenuwen Horu’ London branch is planning to get him reappointed as the chief incumbent at Thames Vihara, according to reports.

This Pahalagama Somaratana is a diehard Rajapaksa loyalist. During the period he was the chief incumbent, he misused the powers of the Sri Lankan state to such an extent that this rapist was powerful enough to send back home the Sri Lankan deputy high commissioner Sumith Nakandala a few years ago. He was aided in that by speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

With the blessings of Rajapaksas, Pahalagama Somaratana was able to become owner of several guest houses in Gampaha district, and all the nefarious activities at these places were carried out by using the name of his own brother. This womanizer was sentenced to six years in prison over a sexual abuse of a small girl at London Buddhist Vihara around 40 years ago.

A group of patrons at the Thames Vihara is trying to reappoint him as the chief incumbent once he is freed, but the others are strongly opposing it. But, the building that houses the Vihara is a private property of Pahalagama Somaratana. Therefore, he has a legal right to be there.

During a recent visit to London, Ven. Dr. Dambara Amila Thera said, “As Buddist monks, we cannot remove our ‘Andanakadaya’ (undergarment) even when we take a bath. If we do so, we will have to put its strap around our neck. The former chief incumbent of Thames Vihara is not a Buddhist monk any longer, because he had worn only the prison clothing for nearly three years now. If he wants to be a monk, he will have to get priesthood all over again. The Adhikarana Sangha Sabha in Britain and the Mahanayake Theras of his chapter should take an immediate decision.”

HSBC to quit London? The key questions

Britain's biggest bank HSBC says it is considering moving its headquarters out of London. Why is this on the agenda and how many British jobs are at stake?

FRIDAY 24 APRIL 2015

Why is HSBC considering a move?

The bank says it is reacting to "regulatory and structural reforms" introduced after the 2008 financial crisis. Of particular concern is the rising bank levy, which is costing HSBC - and other British banks - more every year.

Like other British banks, HSBC is also under pressure to separate its investment banking arm from its retail division, part of the government's solution to the "too big to fail" scenario that led to the financial crisis.

Then there is the possibility of a British exit from the EU - assuming the Conservatives win the general election and hold a referendum - which is causing concern. This was a point made by the bank on Friday in the midst of the election campaign.

Where might it go?

Shareholders have told the board it should consider a move to Asia, where most of HSBC's profits are made, with Hong Kong the most likely destination. Another option is New York.

Is it the first time this has been considered?

No, discussions about where the bank should be based have happened regularly in recent years.

Is it the only British bank that may move?

No, Standard Chartered, which has a big presence in Asia, is also considering relocating following the recent rise in the bank levy in George Osborne's budget from 0.156 per cent to 0.21 per cent.

How many people does HSBC employ?

Across the world, HSBC employs 266,000 people, 48,000 of them in the UK. In March, it said it planned to move its UK head office to Birmingham by 2019, with 1,000 jobs transferred from London.

Was HSBC bailed out during the financial crisis?

No, unlike RBS and Lloyds, it did not ask for, or receive, taxpayer support.

Has HSBC always been headquartered in the UK?

No, this has only been the case since 1992. The bank started in Hong Kong as the Hong Kong and Shaghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), but moved to the UK after taking over the Midland.

Hasn't HSBC been criticised recently?

Yes, in February HSBC was hit by allegations that its private bank in Geneva had helped clients dodge tax.

HSBC apologised to customers and staff, with Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver saying in a full-page newspaper advert that the Swiss bank had been "completely overhauled".

He added: "The media focus has been on historical events that show the standards to which we operate today were not universally in place in our Swiss operations eight years ago. We therefore offer our sincerest apologies."

On Friday, Chairman Douglas Flint said "inadequacies in controls" had "allowed unacceptable behaviours to occur undetected". HSBC had paid a "heavy price" and its reputation had been "damaged".

The allegations were made by former HSBC employee and whistleblower Herve Falciani, who was interviewed by Channel 4 News in February.

What did HSBC's bosses know?

Much of the attention has focused on Lord (Stephen) Green, chairman of HSBC from 2005-2010 and a former director of the the bank's Swiss branch.

He stepped down as chairman a month after becoming a Conservative peer and was made a trade minister by David Cameron in 2011, continuing in this role until 2013.

Confronted by Channel 4 News in March, he said he felt "dismay and a source of deep regret" about what had happened, adding that he had not known about the files of data taken by Herve Falciani.

Is that the other critcism HSBC has faced?

No, like other British banks, it was fined for mis-selling payment protection insurance to customers and rigging the foreign exchange markets.

It was also fined by US regulators for violating anti-money laundering rules.

Obama: US was not 'cavalier' over hostage drone killings

Accidental deaths of American and Italian hostages overshadows president’s talk to intelligence chiefs as former adviser calls on officials to release further details

 Pakistan said on Friday the deaths of Weinstein and Lo Porto demonstrates ‘the risk and unintended consequences’ of unmanned aircraft. Photograph: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

Dan Roberts in Washington and Alan Yuhas in New York-Friday 24 April 2015

Barack Obama has insisted the US was not “cavalier” in its assessment of the risks to civilians as the accidental deaths of two hostages in a drone strike against al-Qaida overshadowed a planned pep talk for intelligence chiefs.
Obama US was not 'cavalier' over hostage drone killings.odt by Thavam Ratna

Russia’s Foremost Environmental Activist, in Exile: ‘Oil Is At Fault For Everything.’

BY ILYA LOZOVSKY-APRIL 24, 2015

Earlier this week, Russia’s best-known environmental activist and notable opposition figure Yevgenia Chirikova left her home near Moscow with her two daughters to set up residence in Tallin, Estonia. Chirikova joins many other prominent opposition-minded Russians, including legislator Ilya Ponomarev and economist Sergei Guriev, who have had to leave their homeland for fear of repression. Chirikova has explained that her decision to leave was motivated primarily by fears that her children could — once again — become pawns in the Kremlin’s effort to pressure her. While in Tallinn, Chirikova plans to continue her latest project, a web portalthat allows Russians to crowdsource information about environmental problems.

Russia’s Foremost Environmental Activist, In Exile ‘Oil is at Fault for Everything.’ by Thavam Ratna

Italian prosecutors say suspect al Qaeda targeting Vatican

Italian policemen detain a man suspected to be member of an armed organisation inspired by al Qaeda in this still image taken from a video released by Italian Police April 24, 2015.

 Fri Apr 24, 2015

(Reuters) - People being investigated in a counter-terrorism investigation in Italy may have been planning an attack against the Vatican, one of the prosecutors leading the probe said on Friday.

Cagliari Chief Prosecutor Mauro Mura told reporters that as well as planning to launch attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as earlier reported, the suspects may also have been aiming to target the Vatican.

Police conducted raids across Italy on Friday, targeting 18 people suspected of links with al Qaeda. Some were arrested, including the group's suspected spiritual leader, but others were believed to have left the country.

"We don't have proof, we have strong suspicion," said Mario Carta, head of the police unit leading the investigation said when asked for more details on a possible attack against the seat of the Catholic Church.

He said that, in intercepted telephone calls, investigators had heard the suspects say they would launch a "big jihad in Italy," conversations that also suggested a target might be the Vatican.

All the suspects are Pakistanis or Afghans, Carta told Reuters earlier, adding that the operation was still in progress.

(Reporting By Gavin Jones; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

In-depth: China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea

A satellite image shows evidence of a runway on reclaimed land in the South China Sea. Image via IHS Jane’s website.

By Michele Penna Apr 24, 2015

While the Chinese real estate market is experiencing some serious problems, construction work is booming in the South China Sea, the area whose sovereignty is disputed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Over the past year, IHS Jane’s has published several images showing large reclamation work underway on the Paracel Islands, just south of the coast of Hainan. Then, on April 16, the paper produced satellite photographs depicting a runway on Fiery Cross Reef, in the Spratly Islands. The paper claims that the airstrip – currently 503 meters by 53 meters – could potentially become a 3 kilometer runway which “would be well within the parameters of existing People’s Liberation Army Air Force runways on mainland China, which vary in length from about 2,700m to 4,000m at most.” It is the second airstrip China has built in the South China Sea, the first one being located on Woody Island in the Paracel chain.

The People’s Republic is hardly the only one who considers building infrastructures in disputed territories a good idea: Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines are all involved in land reclamation projects. What makes China different from the others is the scale of its efforts: besides the new runway, China is creating further infrastructure on Cuarteron, Eldad, Gaven, Johnson, Mischief and Hughes Reef. On the latter, satellite images reportedly show that 75,000 square meters of land have already been reclaimed, while a facility is under construction.

Beijing’s motivations for undertaking such controversial work are at least two. The first one is the wish to gain control over an area through which an estimated US$5.3 trillion worth of trade goods transit every year.

“China realizes that trade routes in the South China Sea are vulnerable. They want to strengthen their presence in order to defend their claims to resources,” said Timothy Heath, a senior international defense research analyst at the RAND Corporation. “At the moment, China is trying to maintain a presence in the area through deployments from Hainan, but that is too far away. With these bases they will be way more effective.”

One question that pretty much everyone is wondering about in chancelleries and government offices is whether Beijing intends to exploit the features it is dredging to create an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). On January 31, the Asahi Shimbun quoted Chinese anonymous sources as saying that officials in China are already laying out plans for the construction of an ADIZ which could be even more controversial than the one Beijing announced last year over the East China Sea.

China’s second goal is claiming de facto control over the disputed area and obtaining a definitive advantage over other contenders. The logic behind this tactic is that if Beijing can successfully install its military forces in the South China Sea other countries involved in territorial disputes will have no option but to cave in.

China’s sovereignty claims have been known for a long time, and the government’s interest in achieving control over the area is not much of a surprise either. After all, China is highly dependent on the trade and energy routes passing through the South China Sea. What has changed in recent years is that a stunning economic growth and a burgeoning military budget have given Beijing the clout it needed to carry its strategy forward.

What kind of counteraction other countries in the region will come up with remains to be seen. So far, there have been reciprocal accusations and naval confrontations, but China’s neighbors have not been able to do anything that could discourage Beijing from pursuing its plans.

The Philippines pushed themselves a bit further than others and in 2013 instituted arbitral proceedings against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) questioning the legality of China’s nine dash line, which covers much of the disputed territory.

But even a ruling in Manila’s favor might prove of little help. Beijing has so far declined to send an agent to UNCLOS to counter Manila’s initiative. Instead, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s website, “on February 19, 2013, China presented a Note Verbale to the Philippines in which it described ‘the Position of China on the South China Sea issues,’ and rejected and returned the Philippines’ Notification.”

This position was then repeated in a white paper published in 2014 whose first conclusion reads: “The essence of the subject-matter of the arbitration is the territorial sovereignty over the relevant maritime features in the South China Sea, which is beyond the scope of the Convention and is consequently not concerned with the interpretation or application of the Convention.”

It is hard to imagine that Beijing would backtrack on its policies, no matter how huge an impact the ruling could have on public opinion worldwide.

“I think China intends to have its own argument to counter the UCLOS. They will likely say that the position of the United Nations is outdated and should be updated to reflect new realities,” contended Abraham M. Denmark, the senior vice president for political and security affairs at the National Bureau of Asian Research, a US-based think tank.

Lacking a major diplomatic breakthrough, there is something of a consensus among experts that China’s actions will push contenders to rely more heavily on other powers – and particularly the United States – for their security. As pointed out by Mr. Denmark, “the main result will be countries reaching out to the States and the international community”.

Whither Indian Farmers – Let Politicians Move Away

The problem is that the fortunes of agriculture almost entirely depend upon monsoon conditions and agriculture suffers in the case of excess rain or drought conditions. The government of India and state government during the last sixty decades of independent India have not been able to find a solution for this vulnerable scenario facing Indian agriculture.

by N.S.Venkataraman        

( April 24, 2015, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Indian farming community consist of farmers who own land and workers at unskilled and semi skilled level working on agricultural farms. When government extends subsidy and support to the agricultural farmers in times of distress, it largely reaches the farmers who own land and not the workers who really work on the land.

Amongst around 490 million workers in India, around 47% of the total employment is provided by agriculture , largely to the workers at skilled and semi skilled level. Of this 28% are women. When agriculture goes through crisis , millions of workers in the lower income group at vulnerable level are driven to impossible conditions.

The problem is that the fortunes of agriculture almost entirely depend upon monsoon conditions and agriculture suffers in the case of excess rain or drought conditions. The government of India and state government during the last sixty decades of independent India have not been able to find a solution for this vulnerable scenario facing Indian agriculture.

Modi government appears to think that millions of workers in agricultural sector can be provided adequate and remunerative employment only by rapid industrialisation. The finance Minister has gone to the extent of saying that 300 million people in India would get jobs when land bill proposed by Modi government would be passed. Those in the know of things cannot but conclude that Modi government’s expectations are utopian.

What is needed by the country today is more agricultural operations and not less, which alone will ensure steady progress , employment generation at various levels and overall growth with equanimity. Industrial growth is needed but it should complement the agricultural growth and not substitute   it and cannot be encouraged at the cost of agriculture. It would be suicidal to sacrifice the interests of agriculture for the sake of industrial growth.

Even without land acquisition bill, India has lost around 16000 sq.mt. or 0.8 % of the cropped area in the last ten year period due to buying spree of agricultural land for various non agricultural purposes. This should stop. The agricultural share in the GDP has declined to 13.7% in 2012-13 , which is an extremely disturbing trend.

There are around 18000 hectares of allotted industrial land in twenty states which are lying unused. There are many sick projects in India occupying huge area of land without any operations. There are many educational institutions which possess hundreds of acres of land whereas actual utilisation is less than 5%. 63.85 million hectares in India are now waste lands which remain unused.   It is surprising that Modi government has not thought about utilising such waste and unutilised land for industrial and other productive purposes before focussing on land acquisition bill.

There exists enormous scope for investment in agriculture and the sector can be considerably stabilised by improving productivity , optimising seed quality and promoting large number of agro based chemical projects and herbal projects that will give value addition. Government also should give guidelines to the farmers at periodical intervals about the choice of crops for cultivation based on the forecast of monsoon, demand supply and price factors and shape it’s supportive policy according to the need.

There are many appropriate projects like algae, which has around 40% oil content, which can be cultivated in thousands of acres of waste land in India. Algae needs only waste water , sun light and carbon dioxide to grow. Bio fuel , methane gas and power can be produced from algae farms and this can be a game changer. While millions of dollars are being invested in USA and other western countries in algae sector, nothing has been done in India. Several suggestions submitted on this to government of India do not seem to have been heard.

It is high time we realise that the recurring crisis of Indian agriculture can be overcome only by adopting innovative and appropriate technology practices in tune with India’s strength and ground realities. Government should focus on this , instead of diverting national attention to land acquisition bill , which is proving to be counter productive now.

Sadly, instead of technologists and scientists discussing about agri problems and government listening to them to find solutions, we are only hearing politicians talking about agri crisis with obvious intention of getting sympathy of the agricultural workers who could be a big vote bank for them.

It is high time that the politicians should be told to move away and let the space be filled by knowledgeable farmers, scientists and technologists, who can lift Indian agriculture to it’s potential , if they would be facilitated to do so by efficient government and bureaucracy.

It is hoped that Modi government will take a pragmatic view , even if it would mean slight change of course with regard to it’s plan for land acquisition bill.