EARTH QUAKE IN TIMOR

EARTH QUAKE IN TIMOR

The quake hit at 13.57pm (4.57pm AEST) at a depth of 469 kilometres, about 271 kilometres northeast of the capital, Dili, according to Indonesia's geophysics agency.


"We did not issue a tsunami warning. There are no reports of damage so far," said Novita, an official at Indonesia's national quake centre.


"The quake was felt by the people in Timor island, but not strongly," she said.


East Timor sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity.

WHAT IS JAN LOKPAL BILL

WHAT IS JAN LOKPAL BILL

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year.

Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist), the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.



Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi and other known people like Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Anna Hazare and Mallika Sarabhai are also part of the movement, called India Against Corruption. Its website describes the movement as "an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption. We have all come together to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create an effective deterrence against corruption."



Anna Hazare, anti-corruption crusader, went on a fast-unto-death in April, demanding that this Bill, drafted by the civil society, be adopted. Four days into his fast, the government agreed to set up a joint committee with an equal number of members from the government and civil society side to draft the Lokpal Bill together. The two sides met several times but could not agree on fundamental elements like including the PM under the purview of the Lokpal. Eventually, both sides drafted their own version of the Bill.



The government has introduced its version in Parliament in this session. Team Anna is up in arms and calls the government version the "Joke Pal Bill." Anna Hazare declared that he would begin another fast in Delhi on August 16. Hours before he was to begin his hunger strike, the Delhi Police detained and later arrested him. There are widespread protests all over the country against his arrest.



The website of the India Against Corruption movement calls the Lokpal Bill of the government an "eyewash" and has on it a critique of that government Bill.



A look at the salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill:



1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up



2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.



3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.



4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.



5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.



6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.



7. But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.



8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.



9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.



10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption.

Anna Hazare

Born : 15-01-1940

Anna Hazare was born in Bhingar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in western India to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai, an unskilled labourer family

He was raised by his childless aunt in Mumbai but could not continue beyond VII standard and had to quit midway due to problems.

He has two sisters.





He is unmarried.



1963 -

Anna had enrolled with the Army on April 14, 1963.

He had completed his training at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

He had joined the service as a recruit.

He was attested as a soldier on November 16, 1963.

He was holding the rank of sepoy at the time of leaving the service.



Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army.

During his 15-year tenure as a soldier, he was posted to several states like Sikkim, Bhutan, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh and Ladakh and braved challenging weathers.



When Anna was in Army five medals were notified to Anna –

1. Sainya Seva Medal,

2. Nine Years Long Service Medal,

3. Sangram Medal,

4. 25th Independent Anniversary Medal

5. Paschimi Star



Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.



In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs



In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion



After serving 15 Years in Army Anna took the voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.



Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall.

There were no weirs to retain rainwater.

During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water.

Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work



Hazare came across the work of one Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near Pune who had started a novel project of water management through watershed development in a joint venture with the Gram Panchyat. Hazare visited the project and decided to implement it in Ralegan Siddhi.



He steered the villagers to begin working towards water conservation.

At the outset, they completed 48 Nala Bunding work, contour trenches, staggered trenches, gully plugs, meadows development and of forestation of 500 hectares of land. Thereafter, they constructed five RCC weirs and 16 Gabion Weirs.



This resulted in increase in the ground water level.



Hazare’s Ralegan Siddhi became the first role model of an ideal village from the worst village to an ideal village.



Anna rightly thought that Development is marred by corruption and started a new venture in 1991 called Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) or public movement against corruption.

It was found that some 42 forest officers had duped the state government for crores of rupees through corruption in confederacy.

Hazare submitted the evidences to the government but the latter was reluctant to take action against all these officers as one of the ministers of the ruling party was involved in the scam.



A distressed Hazare returned the Padmashree Award to the President of India and also returned the Vriksha Mitra Award given by then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.



He further went on an indefinite hunger strike in Alandi on the same issue.

Finally, the government woke up and took action against the criminal and corrupt officers as well as six of the ministers were forced to resign and more than 400 officers from different government offices were sent back to home.



In 1995 Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power in the state

Hazare raised the issue of alleged massive land purchase by Gholap's wife Shashikala in Nashik between April to September 1996.

He forwarded the available documentary evidences in support of his allegations to then Maharashtra Governor P. C. Alexander

On 4 November 1997, Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption.

On 9 September 1998, Anna Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail after being sentenced to simple imprisonment for three months by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court all political parties, every one from Maharashtra except the BJP and the Shiv Sena came in support of him

Later due to public protest, outcry the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release from the jail.



The state government has opened cooperative societies, credit societies & urban banks everywhere in states.

However, the directors of such societies do the corruption and failed to pay back the basic amount to the members of the societies.

Thus poor people get cheated when Anna saw this he again began his agitation against this.



Hazare agitated for over eight months.

The result was that more than Rs 125 crore was recovered from defaulters and the members of such societies heaved a sigh of relief.

Recovery of around Rs. 400 crores is in the pipeline.



After this Anna started to fight for the Right to information act.

Government ignored Anna.

In 1997 Anna agitated in Azad Maidan in Mumbai to create mass public awareness about RTI amongst the youth.

Anna started to travel across state.



Government promised Anna they will pass RTI act but in reality they never did it.

For this Anna agitated ten times for this law.



When Anna saw that Government is not willing to pass this law Anna went on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in the last week of July 2003.



After 12 days of Hunger strike in Azad Maidan the President of India signed the draft of the Right to Information Act and ordered the state government to implement it with effect from 2002. The same draft was considered as the base document for the making of the National Right to Information Act-2005.



In 2003 Anna Hazare raised corruption charges against 4 ministers of the Congress-NCP government

Government ignored him

Then Anna started his fast unto death agitation on 9 August 2003.

He ended his fast on 17 August 2003 after then chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde formed a one man commission, headed by the retired justice P. B. Sawant to probe his charges.

The P. B. Sawant commission report was submitted on 23 February 2005, indicted Suresh Jain, Nawab Malik and Padmasinh Patil.

Suresh Jain and Nawab Malik resigned from the cabinet in March 2005



Jan Lokpal Bill –

Agitation and hunger strike at the age of 73 and great victory against powerful and rich government



India against corruption movement

N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People's Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the Lokpal (Ombudsman)





On April 5 2011 Again Anna started second freedom struggle in India.

Anna wrote to everyone regarding Jan Lok Pal bill but no one listened him

After that on 5th April 2011 Started fast unto death to wake up the government for India.

Anna started war against corruption in India.

Hazare has started a fast unto death from 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a new bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states)



In beginning Government of India ignored him, many people said many things, but as First day was over Anna got the support from every corner of India and

No one has expected such a support Anna will get for this bill.



Over night table were turned and after 4 days of discussion with government of India servants .

Finally Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh realized that demand of Anna is right and government accepted all the demands of Anna.

Thus Jantar Mantar saved from becoming another Tahir Square.



Anna Hazare won the following awards –

1. Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award by the Government of India on November 19, 1986 from the hands of Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

2. 1989 - Krishi Bhushana award by the Government of Maharashtra.

3. 1990 - Padmashri award, by the Government of India

4. 1992 - Padmabhushan award, by the Government of India

5. 2008 - On April 15 2008, Anna Hazare received the World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service

6. Care International of the USA, Transparency International, Seoul (South Korea)

7. He received awards worth Rs 25 lakh and donated the entire amount for the Swami Vivekananda Kritadnyata Nidhi (social gratitude fund). Out of the two lakh rupees received from the above amount, mass marriages are carried of at least 25-30 poor couples every year.



Anna Hazare has given his life for the benefit of India.



He got the home in his village but he has not entered in that house from last 35 years.



Anna Hazare and Properties –



Anna Hazare has declared he has got Rs68, 688 in bank balance and cash and three pieces of land

Hazare's lands were either donated to him or family owned

In his statement, Hazare said two land pieces measuring 0.07 Hectares and two hectares are in his native village in Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra while 0.46 hectare of land is in Pimpianer.

one of the pieces of land in Ralegan Siddhi was donated by Army to him which he has donated for village use

the Pimpianer land was donated to him by a villager.Hazare has further donated this land for village use.









Anna Hazare never got any grant from Government of India.