Updates

Than Shwe and Tata Linky

Than Shwe drops in at steel city -- Myanmar general tours Tata Motors, takes a look at truck unit
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Notably, in March 2009, Tata Motors had signed a turnkey contract with Myanmar Automobile and Diesel Industries Limited, an enterprise under the Myanmar’s industry ministry, for setting up a heavy truck plant in the country. The plant is being set up under line of credit (LoC) from the Indian government. Sources at Tata Motors said the facilities planned at the Myanmar plant included a highly flexible chassis and frame assembly line along with a cab manufacturing, painting and trimming set-up. The plant is expected to become operational by the last quarter of 2010-11, with the capacity of producing 1,000 vehicles per year.

RS Pandey vs NSCN (IM) Linky

There is no breakdown in the ongoing talks here with the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the Central Government’s interlocutor RS Pandey said on Thursday. “Talks are being held here in a cordial atmosphere. It will resume in the coming days,” Pandey told IANS. Pandey’s statement comes amidst media reports and speculation in security circles that the talks were ‘not moving ahead’. The interlocutor said there were talks on Wednesday between him and NSCN(I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah. “Today we had informal interactions. The talks will continue in the coming days.”
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Meanwhile, reports from Kohima said the United Nagaland Council (UGC) has threatened to resume the economic blockade on Manipur if the demands of the Naga people are not accpeted by July 31 by the centre. Pandey told IANS that the UGC threat and talks with NSCN, which are proceeding in an cordial atmosphere were two separate issues.

Right when the DHD scandal was brewing strong, Tarun Gogoi has a heart ailment. Why wont I also get a heart attack when I am forced to give a talk for clearly uninterested and uncaring folks? Linky

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is leaving for Mumbai tomorrow for further treatment at the Asian Heart Institute (AHI) following a discussion with the vice-chairman of the Institute Dr Ramakanta Panda. He is likely to be operated on August 4. The cardio-vascular thoracic surgeon arrived in the capital late last evening and drove down to the Chief Minister’s Teen Murti Marg House straight from the airport at around 1 am. He conferred with the Chief Minister, his attending physician and examined the test reports. Gogoi was discharged from Max Hospital at around 7.30 pm and was put under rest. He advised Gogoi to come to Mumbai and get himself admitted at AHI. The Chief Minister has been diagnosed with two heart blockages in blood vessels. He may need to undergo two surgeries – a bypass surgery and another surgery to replace an aortic valve.

Border fencing Linky

Border Security Force (BSF) sources told The Assam Tribune that severe erosion and floods seriously affected border management and if immediate steps are not taken to deal at least with erosion, there is every possibility of border roads and fencing eroding away in parts of Dhubri district.

My ongoing crusade against the CWG Linky

The vigilance body has already confirmed the widely held suspicion: that of an officer-engineer-contractor nexus which has minted money by delaying the award of contracts till the last minute so that an alibi could be found to jack up cost and assign the work to "favourites".
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The CVC probe has found that almost all the organisations executing works for the Commonwealth Games — PWD, MCD, NDMC, CPWD and DDA — have "considered inadmissible factors to jack up costs". Higher costs have been justified by citing "urgent and emergent circumstances". The CVC report says that despite the higher rates, poor site management, delays and quality compromises have been observed in all the projects for which technical examination has been carried out. Items not on the bid papers were incorporated and accounted for at a higher price in many of the projects. The report says contractors failed to give any "logical reasoning for the exorbitant prices" they incorporated in their project costs.

It may not mean de javu to many folks here, but here is the Asiad82 document on how cheating was done:
The Impact of the Commonwealth Games 2010 on Urban Development of Delhi ---- An analysis with a historical perspective from worldwide experiences & 1982 Asian Games -- Vinayak Uppal Linky Two telling remarks

The [1982 Asian] Games had become an emotive issue, and anyone raising questions about it was unpatriotic and a traitor. One notices this
patterns in such events worldwide, where the supporters and organisers of such events make it a nationalistic issue whereby, even when what is at stake is billions of dollars.
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Though thousands of crores were spent at the time to develop world-class stadiums, the construction undertaken for the games was largely of a shoddy and poor quality, reflecting the haste in which they were built. The Player’s building was never completed, nor was the roof of the Talkatora swimming pool.