Sunday 14 June 2009

Racial hate war on Internet


Attacks on Indian students in Australia
By U Sudhakar Reddy
The racial onslaught against Indians in Australia took a cyber turn as street protests ended in Melbourne.
Hate blogs filled the Internet with thousands of bloggers condemning the attacks against Indians. On the flip side, groups like “Hate India” also popped up in social networking sites like Orkut.
People of Indian origin staying in Australia for several years asked the Indian student community to maintain restraint and suggested changes in behaviour that would prevent such attacks in future. Many Australian academicians have posted comments on the website of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia www.fisa.org.au condemning the attacks. However, some anonymous Australians said Indians students were attacked because they often misbehave and create problems in their homeland.
Meanwhile, T. Shravan Kumar, 25, a native of AP, who was critically injured in an attack, is being closely monitored by doctors in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Mr B. Lakshmi Narasimha, cousin of Shravan, said, “Doctors said that his brain has been damaged.
He was shifted out of intensive care unit to the neuro surgical unit.” Mr Narasimha said two surgeries have been performed on the brain since the attack. He said, “The Indian Embassy has assured that they will take care of the medical expenses. They didn’t give us any written assurance but told us to not to worry about the expenses.” Meanwhile, an Indian taxi driver was attacked by Australian passengers in an inebriated state at Blackburn. It was said the victim was from Hyderabad, but it was later learnt that that he is from Punjab.

Maoists set up bunkers and dig tunnels for a prolonged battle

Maoist can stay longer with ammunition and supplies in the bunkers. The strategy is to fight for a longer period.
An encounter does not last for a few hours.” Senior police officerAre Maoists get ting ready for a full-fledged war against the police forces and the state? It seems so if one goes through a military document of the CPI Maoists which mentions about setting up bunkers and digging tunnels across the Andhra-Chhattisgarh and Andhra-Orissa borders to fight a longer positional warfare.
Adopting the strategies of the LTTE and other terror groups, these bunkers and tunnels are coming up at key bastions on the borders.
Positional warfare is next to guerrilla and mobile warfare in which the forces fight with the police head on for days.
The police were able to confirm this plan of the Maoists from the documents related to military tactics which were found with the slain Central Military Commission member, Patel Sudhakar Reddy. He was killed in a police encounter in Warangal recently.
It was also found that a mighty military batallion of CPI Maoists was formed in Chhattisgarh and Maharasthra borders.
A senior official in the state police said: “Setting up bunkers is not anything new for them. Earlier, when they were strong in the state they set up makeshift bunkers in Nallamala and North Telangana as part of positional warfare. In Chhattisgarh Dandakaranya, they have now set up more bunkers and dug tunnels to escape and facilitate essential supplies.
They now have expertise in it.” Naxals hiding in the bunkers attack police parties carrying out combing operations.
“They can stay longer with ammunition and other supplies in the bunkers. An encounter does not last for a few hours. The very strategy of setting up bunkers is to fight for a longer period. It may run into a few days to cause maximum loss for the police forces,” the official said. Police said that in Chhattisgarh and other districts in Orissa, the area are not under the control of the state due to various reasons.

Nannari(rayalaseema sharbat plant) is now endagnered




By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy
The Nannari plant, from which the famous Rayalaseema sharbat is made, has been listed among endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Apart from the Nannari plant, 46 other species from the State have also been put in the red list by the IUCN.
“Most are medicinal plants collected from forests,” said Dr K.P. Srivasuki, CEO of the AP Medical and Aromatic Plants Board. “There is no accounting how much is collected.” Nannari, for instance, is facing threat because of over-exploitation and habitat destruction.
Scientifically known as Decalepis hamiltonii, Nan nari is seen in the deciduous forests of Kurnool, Chittoor, Nellore, Anantapur and Kadapa district in AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
“Sharbat is extracted from the roots,” said Dr R. Hampaiah, chairman of the AP Biodiversity Board. “The roots are boiled in water and the extract is used to prepare the juice by mixing sugar, lemon and ginger. It has a cooling medicinal property and protects the body from heat and summer ailments.” He added that Nannari has to be cultivated by farmers to bring it back to sustain able levels.
“It is sometimes mixed with alcoholic beverages and a soft drink giant is now using to prepare a herbal drink,” said Dr Hampaiah.
“The Anantapur Biodiversity Management Committee has issued notice to the company seeking royalty.” Nannari provides relief from intestinal ailments such as acidity and constipation and is a natural coolant.
Dr Srivasuki said the AP Medical and Aromatic Plants Board was offering subsidy schemes to the farmers to grow medicinal plants.