INDIA Hartal passes off peacefully in Ernakulam Workers belonging to various trade unions block the rail line at South Kalamassery on Monday in protest against the failure of the Union government to clear a revival package for FACT. Photo: Vipin Chandran TOPICS The 12-hour Ernakulam district hartal called by the Save FACT Action Committee on Monday passed off peacefully but hit normal life as public transport vehicles stayed off the road and banks and business establishments downed shutters for the day. The hartal, called to put pressure on the government for an early clearance of the Rs. 991- crore revival package for the public sector Fertilizers and Chemiclas Travancore, was described by its organisers as a “historic success.” The hartal was observed in tandem with a 24-hour industrial strike, which hit functioning of industrial units in the district. The major units hit by the hartal and strike included FACT, Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Hindustan Machine Tools and Cochin Port Trust. Operations of the BPCL-Kochi refinery were normal. However, movement of petroleum products and cooking gas from bottling plants in the district and from the Kochi refinery came to a standstill. Piling works for the Kochi metro rail project was totally halted owing to the hartal though minor works like repair of storm water drainage were carried out as usual, sources said. As many as 108 of the 164 employees at the Ernakulam District Collectorate were absent on Monday. The protesting workers blocked train traffic at South Kalamassery, where thousands of workers from different industrial units gathered. Keywords: Ernakulam hartal , Kerala politics , Save FACT Action Committee , Fertilizers and Chemiclas Travancore http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/hartal-passes-off-peacefully-in- ernakulam/article6004653.ece Buckingham and Carnatic workers seek 500 sq. feet of residential land The Hindu They opposed the sale of land on mill premises. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam TOPICS Workers of the erstwhile Buckingham and Carnatic (B & C) Mills staged a protest on Monday, demanding allocation of 500 square feet of land each for 2,300 workers. They sought the State government’s intervention to help them get the residential land. The workers staged a demonstration on Barracks Land at Pattalam, one of the quarters for mill workers. The mill, which was closed in 1996, had nearly 4,300 workers. As per an agreement then, workers received a compensation of Rs. 1.25 lakh each along with provident fund and gratuity in two instalments. Many of the workers were residing in the mill quarters – Barracks Land at Pattalam, Venkateswara village at Dasamakhan, Carnatic village at Mettupalayam and Vysarpadi Jeeva village, according to D. Pugazhendhi, general secretary of The Madras Labour Union (B & C Mill). “There are a total of 726 houses situated on 32 acres of land. While some of the workers vacated the quarters, about 300 continued to reside there. In 2008, the management gave 500 square feet of land each to 244 workers so that the pending cases against the mill management are withdrawn,” he added. Recently, workers and their families residing at Barracks land, Pattalam vacated their houses and moved to the quarters at Mettupalayam where the 500 sq.ft. land was allocated. “Now, a realtor has paid an advance amount for purchasing close to 14 acres of the land in Pattalam. The houses have been demolished. We do not want the land to be sold. Instead, it should be allotted to other workers,” he noted. The union members said that currently, nearly 2,300 workers live in various parts of the city. While a few have died, many others have moved out of the State. Keywords: Buckingham and Carnatic mills , B&C mills , Barracks Land protest , Madras Labour Union http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-events/buckingham-and-carnatic- workers-seek-500-sq-feet-of-residential-land/article6002266.ece South Delhi residents protest against water The Hindu Residents of Deoli and Ambedkar Nagar protesting outside DJB’s booster pumping station in Greater Kailash on Monday against non-availability of water. Photo: Meeta Ahlawat TOPICS Alternating between despair and anger, Sharda Rani, who lives in a South Delhi jhuggi cluster, said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) was responsible for her family’s plight. The resident of Tigri said her family was forced to skimp on food because after paying the tanker mafia for water they simply had no money left. “Do I buy vegetables for Rs.100 or a 200-litre drum of water for Rs.100,” she asked. She was among the hundreds of people, all residents of Deoli constituency, who protested outside the DJB’s pumping station in Greater Kailash as their area had no water supply for five days. “The DJB officials have stopped the tankers to Deoli because they claim a driver was beaten up in Sangam Vihar. What is the fault of the people of Deoli? They are only targeting us as we are with the Aam Aadmi Party and we are raising the public’s problems,” said Deoli MLA Prakash, who led the dharna. Deoli and the neighbouring Ambedkar Nagar and Sangam Vihar constituencies are largely made of unauthorised colonies which have no access to piped water. The DJB provides tankers which, the residents claim, are scant and unreliable. “Very often the DJB officials say they have lost the cards that allow them to take water from filling points or that the tanker has a puncture. They find any excuse not to deliver water to the people who need it as they then sell it for double the rate in the market,” alleged Mr. Prakash. While raising slogans, the residents said they were being neglected as they were economically weak. “The driver who was beaten in Sangam Vihar was actually selling the water for Rs.2,000. Seven tankers leave from here with our names on it, but only one or two reach,” said another Tigri resident Ravi. The protesters blamed collusion between the DJB officials and the private tanker mafia for the problem. “They leave us with no option so we have to buy from the private tankers. It is basically extortion,” added Ravi. Also present at the protest was Ambedkar Nagar MLA Ashok Kumar Chauhan, who said people in his constituency were also suffering. The AAP MLA said the irony of the situation was that “pipelines from the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant passed right next to the protesters’ jhuggis”. “Our fight is for water, it is not a political one. The public is fed up with the water situation and they are coming to us for help,” Mr. Chauhan said when asked why his party was involved in the protest. The DJB CEO, Vijay Kumar, spoke with the Deoli MLA on Monday evening and convinced him to suspend the protest for now. The residents said they would be back on Tuesday if no action was taken. Though the CEO was unavailable for comment, a Board member, Sandeep Tanwar, admitted that there were huge problems with the tanker service. “There are not enough tankers as the DJB has decided to rely on new stainless steel vehicles and has parked its old tractors and trolleys,” Mr. Tanwar said. He added that the DJB’s summer action plan, announced last month, should have made special arrangements to use the tractors and trolleys to tide over the peak demand. Meanwhile, traffic on the BRT corridor was hit from 11 a.m. to about 5 p.m. as the protesters blocked the south-bound carriageway. An elderly protester, Akbar, said: “We know people have been inconvenienced by our protest, but they are our brothers and sisters so they have to understand that we are suffering from thirst.” Keywords: Delhi Jal Board , GK DJB protest , Tigri , South Delhi slums water supply http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/south-delhi-residents-protest-against-water- woes/article6003770.ece VHP protests against ‘anti-Hindu policies’ As the Congress-led State government turns one year, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other organisations gathered in protest here on Monday against the alleged “anti-Hindu policies” of the State government. The protestors held a public meeting in front of the DC office where a memorandum, addressed to the Governor, was submitted. Jeetendra S. Kottari, VHP district chief condemned the State government’s decision to grant Rs. 10 lakh to the kin of Kabir, a cattle trader, who was allegedly killed by anti-naxal force personnel near Sringeri recently. He said with this the government was encouraging cattle traders to indulge in illegal trafficking. Among the “other atrocities” mentioned by the groups was the withdrawal of the proposed amendments to the anti-cow slaughter bill. Keywords: anti-Hindu policies , Vishwa Hindu Parishad , anti-cow slaughter bill http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/vhp-protests-against-antihindu- policies/article6003763.ece OU, UoH students lead protest march to Eflu THE HINDU Students protesting at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) on Monday following the suspension of three students by the administration, in Hyderabad. PHOTO: G. RAMAKRISHNA Educationists, social activists lend their backing to the stir. The Students Forum for Justice said they were forced to organise the protest as Eflu Vice- Chancellor Sunaina Singh had failed to initiate a dialogue with them. A group of students from the Osmania University and the University of Hyderabad marched towards the English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) on Monday following a ‘Chalo Eflu’ call given by student unions. The programme was organised to protest the rustication of Eflu students Mohan Dharavath, Satish Nainala and Subhash Kumar. The Students Forum for Justice said they were forced to organise the protest as Eflu Vice- Chancellor Sunaina Singh had failed to initiate a dialogue with them.