Havildar Hangpand Dada awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously

Havildar Hangpand Dada of Assam Regiment, who killed four intruding terrorists before laying down his life at the height of 13,000 feet in the harsh and icy Himalayan range of North Kashmir on May 26, was on Sunday awarded Ashok Chakra, the highest peace time gallantry award.

On the night of 26 May 2016, Dada, as Sabu Post Commander of 35 Rashtriya Rifles, while establishing a stop along with his section at 12,500 feet, led a charge on hiding terrorists in Naugam, Jammu and Kashmir resulting in the neutralisation of four heavily armed terrorists.^[2] He along with his team spotted the movement of terrorists in the area and engaged them in a fierce encounter that went on for over 24 hours. He charged at the spot where terrorists were and killed two terrorists on the spot and later the third one after a hand-to-hand scuffle as they slid down the hill towards the Line of Control. Dada sustained a sudden burst of automatic fire from the hiding fourth terrorist, receiving a gun shot wound. He continued to pin down the fourth terrorist and later succumbed to his injuries before wounding the terrorist.

Dada's action of eliminating three terrorists in an engagement at close quarters and injuring a fourth one, in disregard to his personal safety, foiled the infiltration bid and ensured the safety of his men. He was honoured posthumously, with the government announcing the highest gallantry award during peace-time operations, the Ashok Chakra, on the eve of the Independence Day in 2016.

From leading a patrol to leading a church service, Hangpan always led from the front. Born in Village Borduria, Tirap district of Arunanchal Pradesh on October 2, 1979, Hangpan, fondly called Dada by his comrades, got recruited in the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment on October 28, 1997. Six years hence, he was transferred to ASSAM Regimental Centre and on January 24, 2008 he was taken on strength of 4th Battalion The Assam Regiment where he served the most.

Dada’s personality had many shades. Out of the many adjectives often attributed with his name, fearlessness and righteousness encompassed almost the entire spectrum of his personality. During testing times, when threat of the militants would loom large, Dada would silently slip into the role of scout and lead the entire patrol safely back to the base. Few can forget the incident when Dada was evacuated in helicopter after bitten not once but twice by a snake while playing with him.

Dada always used to present a cheerful demeanor. His mere presence was a morale booster. He had that unique ability to raise up and perform when the chips were down. As the ad-hoc pastor of his outpost, his Sunday sermons were heavily subscribed. He feared God and was the voice of wisdom among his folks. He showed the way in travelling an extra mile to help his mates. Few can forget how well he took care of his ailing cousin while the unit was deployed in Lucknow and yet discharged all his duties with perfection. He was an epitome of a Humane Soldier, we often talk about.

But all knew, behind his trademark smile, was a resolve tougher than steel, and an unflinching attitude which came to fore on the night of 26 May 2016 when Hav Hangpan Dada, as Sabu Post Commander of 35 Rashtriya Rifles, while establishing a stop along with his Section at 12,500 feet led a charge on hiding terrorists in Naugam, J&K resulting in neutralisation of four heavily armed terrorists. His gallant action of eliminating three terrorists in close quarter engagement and injuring fourth one in utter disregard to personal safety not only foiled the infiltration bid but also ensured the safety of his section. While engaged in fierce gun battle with the third terrorist, Dada sustained a sudden burst of automatic fire from the hiding fourth terrorist. Undeterred by the gun shot wound, Dada continued to pin down the fourth terrorist and later succumbed to his injuries before wounding the terrorist badly.

Dada lived whole life on his terms. Whether it was getting recruited in Special Forces or volunteering out for a tenure in Rashtriya Rifles, he lived with his head held high. In death as in life he stood for the righteous path, leading his comrades on his terms. This supreme sacrifice by Dada, is yet another example of the unflinching love and dedication that people of North East possess for their motherland.

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE ON THE EVE OF THE REPUBLIC DAY OF INDIA 2017

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE ON THE EVE OF THE REPUBLIC DAY OF INDIA 2017

New Delhi : 25.01.2017

Fellow citizens:

1.On the eve of the sixty-eighth Republic Day of our nation, I extend warm greetings to all of you in India and abroad. I convey my special greetings to members of our Armed Forces, Para-military Forces and Internal Security Forces. I pay my tribute to the brave soldiers and security personnel who made the supreme sacrifice of their lives in defending India’s territorial integrity and maintaining law and order.

Brothers and sisters:

2.When India attained freedom on 15th August 1947, we did not have an instrument of governance of our own. We waited till 26th January, 1950 when the Indian people gave to themselves a Constitution to secure for all its citizens, justice, liberty, equality, and gender and economic equity. We promised to promote fraternity, dignity of the individual, and unity and integrity of the nation.

On that day, we became the largest democracy of the world.

3.The faith and commitment of people gave life to our Constitution and our founding fathers, wisely and carefully, steered the new nation past its troubles of being a poor economy with huge regional imbalances and a vast citizenry deprived of even basic necessities.

4.It goes to the credit of the strong institutions of democracy built by our founders that for the last six and a half decades, Indian democracy has been an oasis of stability in the region troubled by unrest. From a population of 360 million in 1951, we are now a 1.3 billion strong nation. Even then, our per capita income has shown a ten-fold increase, poverty ratio has declined by two-thirds, average life expectancy has more than doubled, and literacy rate has shown a four-fold increase. We are today the fastest growing amongst the major economies of the world. We are the second largest reservoir of scientific and technical manpower, the third largest army, the sixth member of the nuclear club, the sixth member in the race for space, and the tenth largest industrial power. From a net food grains importing country, India is now a leading exporter of food commodities. The journey so far has been eventful, sometimes painful, but most of the times, exhilarating.

5.What has brought us thus far will take us further ahead. But we will have to learn to adjust our sails, quickly and deftly, to the winds of change. Evolutionary and incremental growth will have to accommodate rapid disruptions brought in by advances of science and technology. Innovation, more so inclusive innovation, will have to become a way of life. Education will have to keep pace with technology. In the race between man and machine, the winner will have to be job generation. The velocity of technology adoption will call for a workforce that is willing to learn and adapt. Our education system will have to join hands with innovation to prepare our youth for life-long learning.

Fellow citizens:

6.Our economy has been performing well despite the challenging global economic conditions. In the first half of 2016-17, it grew at a rate of 7.2 percent – same as that last year – showing sustained recovery. We are firmly on the path of fiscal consolidation and our inflation level is within comfort zone. Though our exports are yet to pick up, we have managed a stable external sector with sizeable foreign exchange reserves.

7.Demonetization, while immobilizing black money and fighting corruption, may have led to temporary slowdown of economic activity. As more and more transactions become cashless, it will improve the transparency of the economy.

Brothers and sisters:

8.Born in independent India, three generations of citizens do not carry the baggage of colonial past. These generations have had the privilege of acquiring education, pursuing opportunities and chasing dreams in a free nation. This sometimes makes it easy for them to take freedom for granted; to forget the price that extraordinary men and women paid to win this freedom; to forget that the tree of freedom needs constant care and nourishment. Democracy has conferred rights on each one of us. But along with these rights, come responsibilities which have to be discharged. Gandhiji said and I quote: "The highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline and humility. Freedom that comes from discipline and humility cannot be denied; unbridled license is a sign of vulgarity injurious alike to self and others” (unquote).

Fellow citizens:

9.Youth today are brimming with hope and aspirations. They pursue their life goals, which they perceive will bring them fame, success and happiness, with single-minded devotion. They consider happiness as their existential objective, which of course is understandable. They search for happiness in the highs and lows of day-to-day emotions, and in the fulfilment of the objectives they have set for themselves. They look for a job as well as a purpose in life. Lack of opportunities leads to frustration and unhappiness which manifests itself in anger, anxiety, stress and aberrations in behaviour. This has to be dealt with by inculcating pro-social behaviour through gainful employment, active engagement with community, parental guidance, and empathetic response from a caring society.

Brothers and sisters:

10.One of my predecessors left on my table a framed quotation which reads (and I quote): "The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or races but the happiness of the common man” (unquote). Happiness is fundamental to the human experience of life. Happiness is equally the outcome of economic and non-economic parameters. The quest for happiness is closely tied to sustainable development, which combines human well-being, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We must make happiness and well-being of our people as the touchstones of public policy.

11.Many of the flagship initiatives of the government have been designed to promote the well-being of the society. The Swachh Bharat Mission aims at a Clean India by 2nd October, 2019 to coincide with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gandhiji. Increased spending on programmes like MGNREGA is enhancing employment generation to rejuvenate the rural economy. Aadhaar, with its present reach of over 110 crore people, is helping in direct transfer of benefits, plugging leakages and improving transparency. The Digital India programme is creating a knowledge economy through universal provision of digital infrastructure and platforms for cashless economic transactions. Initiatives like Start-up India and Atal Innovation Mission are fostering innovation and new-age entrepreneurship. Under the Skill India initiative, the National Skill Development Mission is working on skilling 300 million youth by 2022.

Brothers and sisters:

12.It is my firm conviction that India’s pluralism and her social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity are our greatest strength. Our tradition has always celebrated the ‘argumentative’ Indian; not the ‘intolerant’ Indian. Multiple views, thoughts and philosophies have competed with each other peacefully for centuries in our country. A wise and discerning mind is necessary for democracy to flourish. More than the unison of ideas, a healthy democracy calls for conformity to the values of tolerance, patience and respect for others. These values must reside in the hearts and minds of every Indian; inculcating in them a temperament of understanding and responsibility.

Fellow citizens:

13.We have a noisy democracy. Yet, we need more and not less of democracy. The strength of our democracy is evidenced by the fact that over 66 percent of the total electorate of 834 million voted in the 2014 General Elections. The depth and breadth of our democracy sparkles in the regular elections being held in our panchayati raj institutions. And yet, our legislatures lose sessions to disruptions when they should be debating and legislating on issues of importance. Collective efforts must be made to bring the focus back to debate, discussion and decision-making.

14.As our Republic enters her sixty-eighth year, we must acknowledge that our systems are not perfect. The imperfections have to be recognized and rectified. The settled complacencies have to be questioned. The edifice of trust has to be strengthened. The time is also ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the early decades after independence when elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously. It is for the Election Commission to take this exercise forward in consultation with political parties.

Fellow citizens:

15.In a fiercely competitive world, we have to work harder than ever to redeem the promises that we make to our people.

- We have to work harder because our war on poverty is not yet over. Our economy is yet to grow at over 10 percent for an extended period of time to make a significant dent on poverty. One-fifth of our countrymen still remain below poverty line. Gandhiji’s mission to wipe every tear from every eye still remains unfulfilled.

- We have to work harder to provide food security to our people and to make the agriculture sector resilient to the vagaries of nature. We have to provide better amenities and opportunities to our people in villages to ensure a decent quality of life.

- We have to work harder to provide enhanced employment opportunities to our youth through the creation of world-class manufacturing and services sectors. The competitiveness of the domestic industry has to be improved by focusing on quality, productivity and efficiency.

- We have to work harder to provide safety and security to our women and children. Women must be able to lead their lives with honour and dignity. Children must be able to enjoy their childhood to the fullest.

- We have to work harder to change our consumption pattern which has resulted in environmental and ecological de-gradation. We have to appease nature to prevent it from unleashing its fury in the form of floods, landslides and droughts.

- We have to work harder because our pluralistic culture and tolerance are still being put to test by vested interests. Reason and moderation should be our guide in dealing with such situations.

- We have to work harder to keep at bay the dark forces of terrorism. These forces have to be dealt with firmly and decisively. The forces inimical to our interests cannot be allowed to grow.

- We have to work harder to ensure the well-being of our soldiers and security personnel who protect us from internal and external threats.

And,

-We have to work harder because;

We are all equal children before our mother;

And our motherland asks each of us in whatever role we play;

To do our duty;

With integrity, commitment and unflinching loyalty;

To the values enshrined in our Constitution.

Jai Hind!

AKRAMA SAKRAMA SCHEME STAYED BY THE SUPEME COURT OF INDIA

AKRAMA SAKRAMA SCHEME STAYED BY THE SUPEME COURT OF INDIA.

More details are awaited.

QUOTES FOR LIFE

quotes

1.   Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75. —Benjamin Franklin

2.   Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions. Their lives a mimicry. Their passions a quotation. — Oscar Wilde

3.   Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. —Arthur C. Clark

4.    Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. — Albert Einstein

5.   Of all sad words of mouth or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been. — John Greenleaf Whittier

6.   I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks, but I do fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times. Bruce Lee

7.   And when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. — Friedrich Nietzsche

8.   Don’t let schooling interfere with your education-Mark Twain

9.   A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. — John F. Kennedy

10. It is no measure of health to be well—adjusted to a profoundly sick society. — Jiddu Krisnamurti

11. Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. — William Wallace

12. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. — Plato

13. Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go. ― Oscar Wilde

14. Have I not destroyed my enemy when I have made him into my friend? — Abraham Lincoln

15. To love is to recognize yourself in another. – Eckhart Tolle

16. Prejudices are rarely overcome by argument; not being founded in reason they cannot be destroyed by logic. — Tryon Edwards

17.  If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. —Antoine de Saint—Exupery

18. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. — Benjamin Franklin

19. Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money. — Indian Proverb

20. And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. –Kahlil Gibran

21. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell and when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough. – William Saroyan

22. When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ― John Lennon

23. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ― Albert Einstein

24. As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves. ― Mahatma Gandhi

25. The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed. — Ernest Hemingway

26. In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. ― Hunter S. Thompson

27. Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

28. Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. – Lao Tzu

29. Dalai Llama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, said: “ Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

30. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off ― Chuck Palahniuk

31.  The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost invariably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And if he is not romantic personally, he is apt to spread discontent among those who are. ― HL Mencken

AKRAMA - SAKRAMA REQUIREMENTS-ELIGIBILITY-AFTER EFFECTS

The state government is set to issue a fresh notification on Akrama-Sakrama, the onetime regularization scheme for unauthorized building constructions and violations.

A senior BBMP official said citizens who apply for the scheme have to fill in Form 1, `Application for Regularization of Unauthorized Development' which has four sub-sections, depending on the category of violation pertaining to the applicant's property.

PAPERS WILL BE CHECKED

"Each category of violation has a certain set of documents that need to be attached to the form. Since the scheme is a self-declaration model to start with, citizens should assess their property dimensions and file the application with relevant documents. Civic officials will go through the documents, approve of them or reject them after a spot inspection," he added.

"For some category of violations, we are asking for an NOC from the KSPCB as the Akrama-Sakrama rulebook clearly says that no special and hazardous industry, or an industry categorized `Red' by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, shall be regularized. Also, scrutiny fee and regularization fee will have to be paid through demand drafts favouring the competent authority," he added.

Asked what would happen to property owners who don't apply for the scheme but continue with the violations, BBMP officials said, "We've got instructions to map such properties once the April deadline for filing applications is over. The government may issue orders to demolish properties which continue to violate building norms."

Civic officials reiterated that buildings or sites encroaching spaces reserved for parks, open spaces and playgrounds and public/semipublic activities in the respective master plans of the localities will not be considered for regularization.

"Properties encroaching parks or civic amenities in approved layouts will not be regularized. They will face demolition," an official said.

If you own a structure that violates building norms and think you can get away by not applying under Akrama-Sakrama, think again. Foreseeing poor response to the proposed regularization scheme, the state government will make it mandatory to regularize illegal constructions and unauthorized structures in urban areas.

Those who fail to apply and regularize their illegal structures by paying the stipulated penalty will face dis connection of water and electricity services and, finally, demolition.

BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said the civic body will undertake a survey of all buildings, irrespective of whether they apply for the regularization scheme or not, before initia ting action. As per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Regulation of Unauthorized Development or Construction) Rules, action can be taken under Section 76FF of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961. This section empowers urban local bodies, among others, to demolish such structures.

The government will incorporate the mandatory clause in the rules to be notified, to ensure no one gets away scot-free and the civic body earns a target revenue of Rs 5,000 crore.

Three categories of unauthorized constructions will attract action -unauthorized buildings for which no application for regularization is received within the time limit, unauthorized buildings which are not eligible to be regularized under the scheme as violations are beyond the fixed limit, and unauthorized buildings for which the regularization fee has not been paid within the stipulated time limit. Justifying the need for such a clause, a senior of ficial at the state urban development department said the Akrama-Sakrama scheme will pave the way for the regularization of over 10 lakh unauthorized buildings raised in violation of construction norms in Bengaluru alone, but it doesn't guarantee that all will respond. “We ex pect a response from just about 30%, so the government has decided to include the clause to ensure that owners of all unauthorized structures apply for regularization of the building,“ he added.

The application for regularization has to be made within four months from the date of commencement of the notification, tentatively April, considering the government is due to issue it soon.

Opting for Akrama-Sakrama to regularize the violations of your building?

PAPERS WILL BE CHECKED

“Each category of violation has a certain set of documents that need to be attached to the form. Since the scheme is a self-declaration model to start with, citizens should assess their property dimensions and file the application with relevant documents. Civic officials will go through the documents, approve of them or reject them after a spot inspection,“ he added.

“For some category of violations, we are asking for an NOC from the KSPCB as the Akrama-Sakrama rulebook clearly says that no special and hazardous industry, or an industry categorized `Red' by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, shall be regularized. Also, scrutiny fee and regularization fee will have to be paid through demand drafts favouring the competent authority,“ he added.

Asked what would happen to property owners who don't apply for the scheme but continue with the violations, BBMP officials said, “We've got instructions to map such properties once the April deadline for filing applications is over. The government may issue orders to demolish properties which continue to violate building norms.“

Civic officials reiterated that buildings or sites encroaching spaces reserved for parks, open spaces and playgrounds and publicsemipublic activities in the respective master plans of the localities will not be considered for regularization.

“Properties encroaching parks or civic amenities in approved layouts will not be regularized. They will face demolition,“ an official said.

If you own a structure that violates building norms and think you can get away by not applying under Akrama-Sakrama, think again. Foreseeing poor response to the proposed regularization scheme, the state government will make it mandatory to regularize illegal constructions and unauthorized structures in urban areas.

Those who fail to apply and regularize their illegal structures by paying the stipulated penalty will face dis connection of water and electricity services and, finally, demolition.

BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said the civic body will undertake a survey of all buildings, irrespective of whether they apply for the regularization scheme or not, before initia ting action. As per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Regulation of Unauthorized Development or Construction) Rules, action can be taken under Section 76FF of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961. This section empowers urban local bodies, among others, to demolish such structures.

The government will incorporate the mandatory clause in the rules to be notified, to ensure no one gets away scot-free and the civic body earns a target revenue of Rs 5,000 crore.

Three categories of unauthorized constructions will attract action -unauthorized buildings for which no application for regularization is received within the time limit, unauthorized buildings which are not eligible to be regularized under the scheme as violations are beyond the fixed limit, and unauthorized buildings for which the regularization fee has not been paid within the stipulated time limit. Justifying the need for such a clause, a senior      official at the state urban development department said the Akrama-Sakrama scheme will pave the way for the regularization of over 10 lakh unauthorized buildings raised in violation of construction norms in Bengaluru alone, but it doesn't guarantee that all will respond. “We expect a response from just about 30%, so the government has decided to include the clause to ensure that owners of all unauthorized structures apply for regularization of the building,“ he added.

The application for regularization has to be made within four months from the date of commencement of the notification, tentatively April, considering the government is due to issue it by today or tomorrow.

AKRMA - SAKRAMA WILL BE ON NEXT WEEK

AKRAMA – SAKRAMA – UPDATE – A NEW YEAR GIFT FROM THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE REGULARISATION OF VIOLATION AND DEVIATION

The Government of Karnataka will notify the AKRAMA-SAKRAMA Scheme, may be from 02-01-2017 and the applications can be submitted till April, 2017.

In a bid to thwart any attempt to bring in a STAY ORDER, the Government has submitted a CAVEAT in the Supreme Court of India.

The Scheme will be enforced subject to the Supreme Court directives.

The state government on Saturday decided to invite applications from property owners for regularisation of illegal properties within the limits of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara Palike (BBMP).

A high-level meeting of BBMP, BDA and Urban Development department chaired by CM Siddaramaiah resolved to give four months time to the public to submit their applications for regularisation.

The state government, after resolving a few technical issues within the scheme, has finally decided to issue an official notification inviting applications from the public. Addressing media persons, Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George said, “The government has set a deadline of four months to submit applications by the public. Those properties built before 19 October 2013 are eligible for regularisation.” Elaborating further, George said, “There will not be any change in the fee structure which is based on the guidance value of the property.

All residential properties with 50 per cent deviation and commercial properties with 25 per cent deviation will be eligible to apply under the scheme.

Public can submit their applications online as well as manually at BBMP offices. Any property, which has deviation and had failed to apply under the scheme, will be mapped and mercilessly demolished after the end of the deadline.”