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The lesser known story of India’s role in Ethiopian land deals

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India has become the biggest land investor in Ethiopia. There are concerns at the behaviour of Indian firms in the Gambela ecological hotspot. Shutterstock

India has become the biggest land investor in Ethiopia. There are concerns at the behaviour of Indian firms in the Gambela ecological hotspot. Shutterstock

by Mohammad Amir Anwar, The Conversation

The global food price crises between 2008 and 2009 led countries that bore the brunt of the catastrophe to look elsewhere for agricultural land to mitigate the effects.

In 2008 prices of some foods, including wheat, soared by 130% in a single year and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s food price index shot up 40%.

The result was a frenzied scramble that saw countries acquire an estimated 40 million hectares of land in foreign countries, most of it in Africa.

A great deal of attention has been paid to the role of the US, the largest investor in land in the world, China and Middle Eastern countries. Much less attention has been given to the role of India. A global land monitoring initiative, Land Matrix, ranks India as one of the top 10 investors in land abroad. It is the biggest investor in land in Ethiopia, with Indian companiesaccounting for almost 70% the land acquired by foreigners after 2008.

Indian land deals in Ethiopia are the result of the strong convergence in the two countries’ domestic political-economic policies. Both advocate the privatisation of public assets and increasing reliance on free trade and open markets.

India’s investment in land has been driven by the need to obviate the effects of spiralling food prices by outsourcing food supply. Ethiopia’s decisions are driven by its development policy based on commercialisation of agriculture and reliance on foreign investments.

Rough estimates suggest Indian firms have acquired roughly 600 000 hectares of land in Ethiopia. This is more than ten times the size of land acquired by firms in India under the country’s special economic zones policy. India is followed closely by Saudi Arabian firms, with 500 000 hectares of land, in Ethiopia.

What drives Indian firms to Ethiopia

India’s ability to feed its 1.22 billion people is under increasing strain. This is due to a rapidly growing population, low agricultural productivity, reductions in farm sizes, declining water tables, increasing control of the seed sector by multi-nationals and a gradual withdrawal since the 1990s of the farm support system.

India introduced special economic zones in 2005 hoping it would lead to agricultural development through the consolidation of land holdings. The intention was that this would lead to industrialisation.

But the policy exposed the oldest contradiction of capitalism – primitive accumulation which includes privatisation of land, the forced expulsion of peasant populations and the conversion of common, collective and state property rights to exclusive property rights.

Widespread resistance movements began in many states, stalling some of the biggest zones, most notably in Nandigram. The protests led to the fall of the Left Front state government of West Bengal in 2011 after 34 years in power.

To meet consumption needs the Indian government started encouraging firms to seek land abroad for growing crops. This was driven by two factors: it was struggling to make more land available for investors and the spike in global food price crisis in 2008.

The lure of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian agricultural sector lies at the heart of the government’s development strategy. It has set out to attract more foreign investment in large-scale commercial agriculture as outlined in its 1993 policy which was later reformulated in 2005.

The policy marked a move towards a more trade-orientated approach, and a desire to attract foreign investors. Over 3.5 million hectares of land has been earmarked for investment by foreign firms.

Need for caution

Foreign investors need to tread carefully when acquiring land in Africa. This is best illustrated in the Gambela region of Ethiopia which I visited earlier this year. The area has been the centre of large-scale land acquisitions by Indian as well as other foreign investors.

According to the Ethiopian constitution, land is administered by the regional government. However, the federal government’s move to govern land investments through a centralised agency called the Agricultural Investment Land Administration Agency has led to discontent among Gambela regional government officials.

The concern is that the behaviour of foreign companies is not being managed adequately. There is a strong sense that land deals in Ethiopia have benefited both the foreign investors and domestic private capitalists with close ties to the ruling party.

A recent study found that foreign investors are farming less than 8% of the land they have acquired. During my visit I learnt that Karuturi Global Ltd, an Indian firm which has 100 000 hectares of land in Gambela, had only 1 000 hectares under production.

A lack of consultation with people living in the area is also a problem. Gambela is an ecological hotspot with Gambela National Park at its centre. It is home to Nuer and Anuak people whose livelihoods are threatened by investors illegally clearing trees in the park. These clearances happen mostly without consultation. This has led to conflict in the region.

Given the political nature of international land deals and the role states play in shaping policy and practice, there must be scrutiny on the role governments play in such deals because of their close alliance with private capital.

This is especially so for India. It can ill-afford to be tainted by accusations of complicity in land deals that disadvantage the people of Africa given the role it sees for itself in promoting co-operation among countries in the south to mitigate the effects of skewed power relations with the north.

Mohammad Amir Anwar is a Post-doctoral fellow at University of Johannesburg.

The Conversation

Full text of Kobad Ghandy's letter to the press explaining why he has gone on an indefinite fast

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Kobad Ghandy

Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested in Delhi in 2009 on charges of being a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), has been on hunger strike in Tihar Jail since Saturday to protest what he has described as harassment by the authorities.

Sixty eight-year-old Ghandy said that the jail authorities had transferred him three times between different wards of the jail  over the past nine months in what he viewed as a bid to target his failing health. He says that he suffers from a heart problem, blood pressure, a slipped disc, arthritis and a kidney condition, among other illnesses.

He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code for a variety of offences, including impersonation, cheating and forgery. He is facing trial in 20 other cases around the country.

Ghandy had been arrested from Bhikaji Kama place in Delhi in September 2009. At the time of his arrest, he had been undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment. His lawyers alleged that he had been illegally detained and tortured for four days before he was officially shown as arrested.

In March, an additional sessions judge in Delhi had directed the jail superintendent to facilitate medical treatment for the ailing Ghandy.

An unlikely rebel

Ghandy was born into a wealthy Parsi family, which owned an ice cream factory, among other businesses. He studied in Doon School and Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College before heading to London to study chartered accountancy. It was in London that he first saw Marxist groups fighting racism and got attracted to the ideology. After returning to India in the 1970s, he began working with tribals and the rural poor in various parts of the country. He was a member of the Maoist People’s War Group but claims he was expelled from it in 1987.

In a letter to the director of the National Human Rights Commission in November 2011, Gandhi appealed that he should be treated like a political prisoner and not a convicted criminal., “In the entire chargesheet there is no charge of violence,” he said. “There is no charge of any criminal activity or criminal intent, which is normally accompanied with charges under the UAPA. I have merely been put behind bars for my views and my work amongst the poor, who comprise 80% of our people.”

He added, “Incidentally the views (Maoist or Marxist) are not banned and freely available!”

This is the full text of Kobad Ghandy’s statement, released on June 1.

“I am 68 years and I have spent five and a half years in Tihar with the Delhi case nearing completion. Though routine (3 to 5 months) transfers of High Risk Ward prisoners have been going on for 4 years, I was subjected to this only from August ’14. This is the third time in 9 months. Earlier, jail transfers were done only as a form of punishment.

I have a heart problem, B.P., slip disc, arthritis, spondylitis, kidney, and numerous other health problems – all of which are increasing specifically after August ’14.

While transferring we have to carry our bags ourselves (some 10-15 kg) go through set of detailed searches of all items, made to hang around at the jail gates for 4-5 hours waiting for the transport, packed like sardines with baggage into a single van and taken to the new jail gate.

In the two more detailed searches, again to carry all items ourselves to the ward etc. One has to go through mulaaza (medical check) done for a new entrant. Then a scramble for cells, with the later arrivals getting the worst. Then at least 2-3 days goes in cleaning the filthy cell and arranging the baggage (no help given).

In the new jail all medical treatment gets interrupted, medical diet and other permissions have to be applied anew as also the bed and western toilet. This can take from a few days to months. Also, the Vodaphone facility has to be started anew. Barely has one settled in, and adjusted with the new lot of criminals (some of whom can be pretty nasty) when the next transfer comes and the whole process repeated.

The May 30th transfer [was] done in the midst of examination for a heart problem at the GB Pant Hospital.

Since the 2012 High Court order to Tihar to take better care of Senior Citizens (above 65), I have been applying to be put in the Senior Citizens’ ward, or given similar facilities in the High Risk ward – but to no avail. On the contrary, while at first they never transferred me, they resorted to this since Aug ’14, obviously as a method of harassment and to destroy my health.

As all the appeals, on both humanitarian and legal grounds have been ignored, I, as a last resort, have had to go on an indefinite hunger strike since the last transfer on May 30th.”

Kobad Ghandy
Tihar Jail 8/9
High Risk Ward (Ward 5)

Canadian government charged with 'cultural genocide' over indigenous schools

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Truth and Reconciliation Commission report says historic government program was central in plan to ‘eliminate aboriginal people as distinct peoples’

Residential school children students in a typical classroom. An estimated 6,0000 of Canada’s indigenous children died in residential schools that failed to keep them safe from fires, protected from abusers, and healthy from deadly disease, a Commission report found. (Photo: Anglican Church Archives)

Residential school children students in a typical classroom. An estimated 6,0000 of Canada’s indigenous children died in residential schools that failed to keep them safe from fires, protected from abusers, and healthy from deadly disease, a Commission report found. (Photo: Anglican Church Archives)

by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams

The Canadian government’s historic practice of forcibly removing Indigenous youth from their homes and sending them to “residential schools”—where tens of thousands were subjected to abuse, malnutrition, substandard education, illness, and often death—amounts to nothing short of “cultural genocide,” charged the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which on Tuesday released its years-long investigation into the program.

The culmination of six years of research and 6,750 survivor and witness statements, the report argues that the Canadian government operated the school program with the explicit purpose of breaking children’s link “to their culture and identity,” and describes a “lonely and alien” existence, where students’ native languages and practices were suppressed and neglect and abuse were common.According to the report:

Buildings were poorly located, poorly built, and poorly maintained. The staff was limited in numbers, often poorly trained, and not adequately supervised. Many schools were poorly heated and poorly ventilated, and the diet was meager and of poor quality. Discipline was harsh, and daily life was highly regimented. Aboriginal languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed. The educational goals of the schools were limited and confused, and usually reflected a low regard for the intellectual capabilities of Aboriginal people. For the students, education and technical training too often gave way to the drudgery of doing the chores necessary to make the schools self-sustaining. Child neglect was institutionalized, and the lack of supervision created situations where students were prey to sexual and physical abusers.

“These measures were part of a coherent policy to eliminate Aboriginal people as distinct peoples and to assimilate them into the Canadian mainstream against their will,” the report states. Further, the Commission argues that the government “pursued this policy of cultural genocide because it wished to divest itself of its legal and financial obligations to aboriginal people and gain control over their land and resources.”

Over the course of 150 years, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children spent time in roughly 80 residential schools throughout the country. Approximately 80,000 survivors are still alive today.

The Commission lays out 94 calls for action, which it says are the “first steps” toward addressing the legacy of injustice and advancing the process of reconciliation.

Among the recommendations are efforts to protect child welfare, preserve language and culture, promote legal equity, and strengthen information on missing children. The report also emphasizes the important role that education can have in the healing process and calls for Canadian governments to work towards eliminating the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, as well as develop curriculum on residential schools.

“The children who attended these schools were severely punished for practicing their cultural ceremonies, for speaking their family’s language,” said TRC Commissioner Dr. Marie Wilson. “Reconciliation rests on building aboriginal culture back up, and preserving the languages and ceremonies that the schools tried to eliminate.”

The report also calls on governments across Canada to adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (pdf), which the Commission says will also help achieve successful reconciliation.

“One hundred years from now, our children’s children and their children must know and still remember this history, because they will inherit from us the responsibility of ensuring that it never happens again,” the report says.

The TRC was established in 2007 as a result of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

'He should get the Nobel Peace Prize': Ellsberg champions Snowden's profound impact

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“[T]he first time…this mass surveillance that’s been going on is subjected to a genuine debate, it didn’t stand up.”

Renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg spoke with The Guardian about the changing landscape of U.S. surveillance. (Photo: Steve Rhodes/flickr/cc)

Renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg spoke with The Guardian about the changing landscape of U.S. surveillance. (Photo: Steve Rhodes/flickr/cc)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden should be credited with helping change U.S. surveillance law, Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, said Monday in an interview with The Guardian.

“It’s interesting to see that the first time… this mass surveillance that’s been going on is subjected to a genuine debate, it didn’t stand up,” he said.

Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act for disclosing secret U.S. military documents related to the Vietnam War in 1971. Snowden, who leaked a trove of classified NSA documents in 2013 and has been living in political asylum in Russia for the past three years, also faces prosecution under the Espionage Act.

Asked what should happen to Snowden, Ellsberg replied, “He should get the Nobel peace prize and he should get asylum in a west European country.”

Although “there is much more support for him month by month as people come to realise how little substance in the charges that he caused harm to us…that does not mean the intelligence community will ever forgive him for having exposed what they were doing,” Ellsberg continued.

Ellsberg is currently on a week-long European speaking tour with several other renowned U.S. whistleblowers, including Thomas Drake, who helped expose fraud and abuse in the NSA’s Trailblazer program; Coleen Rowley, who testified about the FBI’s mishandling of information related to the September 11 attacks; and Jesselyn Radack, who disclosed ethics violations committed by the FBI and currently serves as the director of National Security & Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project.

Although the sunset of the Patriot Act on Sunday has forced the NSA to end its domestic phone records collection program, the agency will likely retain much of its surveillance power with the expected passage of the USA Freedom Act, a “compromise” bill which would renew modified versions of Section 215 and other provisions.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the NSA’s bulk phone records collection program “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized” under the Patriot Act. Referring to that decision, Ellsberg said Monday that “even the USA Freedom Act, which is better than the Patriot Act, still doesn’t really reflect the full weight of the circuit court opinion that these provisions have been unconstitutional from their beginning and what the government has been doing is illegal.”

Drake also spoke to The Guardian on Monday, stating, “This is the first time in almost 14 years that we stopped certain provisions… The national security mindset was unable to prevail.”

The USA Freedom Act, meanwhile, “effectively codifies all the secret interpretations, a lot of the other authorities they claimed were enabled by the previous legislation, including the Patriot Act,” Drake continued.

In a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that despite the sunset of the Patriot Act, the Obama administration would not change its view that Snowden “committed very serious crimes.”

But the importance of the Senate’s rejection of the legislation cannot be discounted, said Ellsberg, and Snowden’s influence on the changing political landscape in the U.S. deserves credit.

“This is the first time, thanks to Snowden, that the Senate really stood up and realized they have been complicit in the violation of our rights all along—unconstitutional action,” Ellsberg said. “The Senate and the House have been passive up until now and derelict in their responsibilities. At last there was opposition.”

Interpol issues six wanted person alerts over FIFA case

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Two former FIFA officials, including Jack Warner, and four corporate executives wanted over racketeering and corruption.

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice [File pic - Reuters]

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice [File pic – Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Interpol has placed six people, including two former FIFA officials and four corporate executives, on its most wanted list on racketeering and corruption charges at the request of US authorities.

The former FIFA officials are ex-vice president Jack Warner and former FIFA executive committee member, Nicolás Leoz.

The Red Notices issued by Interpol are not international arrest warrants.

However, they are used by the organisation to inform its member countries that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual by a judicial authority and who seeks the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.

Warner is among nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives charged by the US Department of Justice with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150m in bribes.

Meanwhile, FIFA President Sepp Blatter is being investigated by US authorities as part of their corruption inquiry into football’s governing body, the New York Times (NYT) has reported.

Blatter, who announced on Tuesday that he will be resigning from his position, has not been directly implicated in the parallel US and Swiss criminal investigations into FIFA, which were announced last week.

Unidentified US law enforcement officials, however, told the NYT that “they were hoping to win the cooperation of some of the FIFA officials now under indictment and work their way up the organisation” in a bid to build a case against Blatter.

Nine FIFA officials and five business executives were indicted by the US last Wednesday on corruption charges, with seven arrested in Zurich ahead of FIFA’s annual congress on Friday.

Blatter announced his decision to resign on Tuesday, just four days after the congress that saw him win a fifth termas the body’s president.

“I cherish FIFA more than anything and I want to do only what is best for FIFA and for football,” Blatter said at a news conference in Zurich on Tuesday.

“FIFA needs a profound overhaul. I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress.

“I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA president until that election.”

Domenico Scala, head of FIFA’s independent audit and compliance committee, said there would need to be four months’ notice for any new presidential election.

At the FIFA meeting in Zurich last Friday, Blatter, 79, had been re-elected when his only rival, Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, withdrew after gaining 73 votes to Blatter’s 133 in the first round of voting.

A day later, Blatter came out fighting, implying that the US timed the announcement of a major corruption probe to try to scupper his re-election bid.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Office of Attorney General (OAG) has confirmed that it is not investigating Blatter.

Swiss authorities have launched a separate criminal investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups that are set to be held in Russia and Qatar.

No sooner had Blatter announced his decision to resign than English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke raised the possibility that the controversial vote that awarded Qatar the tournament could be rerun.

“If I was the Qatari organisers I wouldn’t sleep very well tonight,” the former TV executive told British media.

In response, Qatar Football Association’s president, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Thani, said in a statement that Qatar had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the FIFA-commissioned Garcia report on corruption.

“Having already cooperated fully with Mr Garcia’s investigation – and been subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing – we welcome the Office of the Swiss Attorney General conducting its own work into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups,” the statement said.

“We would urge Mr Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.”

Former US Attorney Michael Garcia was appointed by FIFA in 2012 with the priority of probing the controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

He resigned in 2014 after a FIFA judge cleared the World Cup bids, based on his findings – which were never fully released.

At the time, he claimed the judge’s decision contained “numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations” of his investigation.

BHEL gets largest-ever order worth Rs 17,950 CR

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BHEL

Bengaluru: Power generation machinery maker BHEL has bagged its largest order amounting to Rs 17,950 crore from Telangana State Power Generation Corp (TSGENCO) to set up a 4,000 MW plant at Yadadri.

“BHEL has achieved a new landmark by securing the single largest order in its history for setting up a 4,000 MW (5×800 MW) supercritical thermal power project from TSGENCO,” BHEL said in a statement.

The project valued at Rs 17,950 crore is one of the highest orders ever placed in the capital goods sector in India, the statement added.

“TSGENCO has entrusted BHEL with this order for setting up the 5×800 MW thermal power plant, on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis, at Damaracherla in Nalgonda District of Telangana, named as Yadadri Thermal Power Project,” it said.

In December 2014, TSGENCO had placed an order with BHEL for setting up Telangana’s first Supercritical Thermal Power Plant of 800 MW rating, also on EPC basis, at Kothagudem followed by an order for the 4×270 MW Bhadradari TPS at Manuguru in Khammam district in March this year.

The statement further said, BHEL has been a long standing partner in the development of the erstwhile combined state of Andhra Pradesh with 78% of coal-based power stations having been commissioned by the company.

In 2014-15, these plants operated at a high Plant Load Factor (PLF) of 83.5% against the national average of 65.5%.

Earlier this year, TSGENCO has entered into an MoU with BHEL for construction of new thermal power plants totalling to 6,000 MW in the state.

BHEL said that all these power plants are expected to commence generation on fast-track basis to meet the state’s increasing demand for power, with power being identified as a crucial factor for the development.

To overcome the current uncertainty of coal supply, BHEL shall be supplying its in-house developed fuel flexible boiler, which is capable of firing the entire range, from 100% Indian to 100% imported mix of coal, BHEL said.

(Agencies)

India reiterates support for independent Palestine nation

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India's Deputy Permanent Representative Bhagwant S. Bishnoi (Credit: United Nations file photo)

India’s Deputy Permanent Representative Bhagwant S. Bishnoi (Credit: United Nations file photo)

United Nations: Following External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s reiteration that New Delhi’s policy towards Palestine is unchanged, India pledged Tuesday support for an independent Palestine nation “at peace with Israel” and urged them to resume the peace process for a comprehensive solution.

“We firmly believe that dialogue is the only viable option in the search for a just, durable and comprehensive peaceful solution of the Palestinian issue,” Deputy Permanent Representative Bhagwant S. Bishnoi told a high level conference here. “We call for all to show restraint, to avoid provocation and unilateral actions and to return to the peace process.”

The measured statement came two days after India announced that Narendra Modi would soon become the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel. Disclosing the planned trip, Swaraj declared Sunday, “There was no change in India’s policy towards Palestine.”

Bishnoi said at the UN, “India supports a negotiated solution, resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side and at peace with Israel.”

Tuesday’s conference was organised to mark the 65 years of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It was “unfortunate,” Bishnoi said, “sixty five years have passed without finding an amicable solution to the Palestine Question.”

India, he said, contributes $1 million annually to UNRWA, has pledged $4 million to the National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, and is working jointly with Brazil and South Africa on development projects in Palestine.

(IANS)

Live larvae found in milk powder sample of Nestle

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larvae milk powder Nestle

Coimbatore: Facing trouble in many states over the safety of its popular Maggi noodles, Nestle India has courted fresh trouble after a preliminary test by a state agency of a sample of their milk powder allegedly found live larvae in it.

The Drug Administration Department (food safety wing), tested the NAN PRO3 milk powder, bought by a cab driver and the initial report by one of its food analysts found live larvae in the sample.

The report also found it unsafe for consumption as it contained live insects and did not conform to standards, a health department official, on condition of anonymity said.

The driver had claimed that his child had developed skin allergy after consuming the milk and gave the sample for testing.

The official said they are awaiting a comprehensive report from the Government food safety laboratory.

Nestle denies receiving recall order from central, state FDAs

Nestle India today said it has not received any order from the central or any state FDA authority for recall of its Maggi noodles as the controversy over safety issues deepened.

“We have not received any official communication from the authorities so far,” the company said in a BSE filing.

It further said: “We wish to state that we have till now not received any orders from any state/Centre FDA authorities to recall Maggi noodle products in the market except an order from the Uttar Pradesh FDA dated 30.4.2015 asking us to recall a batch of Maggi noodles manufactured in February 2014, which had already reached the ‘Best Before date’ in November 2014.”

Meanwhile, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group today stopped selling Maggi in its retail stores.

“In the interest of consumer sentiment and concerns, we have taken Maggi noodles off the shelves from all our stores for the time being. We will wait for more clarity from authorities to take any further course of action,” a Future Group spokesperson said.
Modern trade retail outlets like Big Bazaar contribute a large chunk of sales for FMCG firms, including Nestle.

Nestle India, which has been at the receiving end with several state governments ordering tests to find out lead and monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in Maggi noodles, said it’s “cooperating with the authorities”.

Yesterday, the Delhi government decided to initiate a case against Nestle India after it found samples of Maggi noodles “unsafe” for consumption. The probe into alleged lapses has already widened to different parts of the country.

However, Nestle India claimed that it has got samples tested in an external laboratory as well as its in-house one, and the product is found “safe to eat”

In Karnataka, Health Minister U T Khader said officials have been directed to randomly lift samples of Maggi noodles for laboratory testing. Haryana, too, ordered the same. The West Bengal Food department has convened a meeting tomorrow to take a call on the issue.

Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is undertaking more tests in the wake of the findings of Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration.

Earlier this week, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said strict action will be taken for any violation.

A case has already been lodged against Nestle India by UP food regulator FSDA in a Barabanki court in UP.

Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta were also separately dragged into the matter for endorsing the noodles brand.

(PTI)

U T Khader urges not to sell, consume Maggi noodles

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maggi-noodles

Bengaluru: Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader has appealed to retailers to not sell Maggi noodles till the test reports are ready in the state and advised people to not buy it.

Mr Khader said he had directed officials to collect random samples from the manufacturing unit in Nanjangud and retail shops in the State. “The test reports will be made public in the next two days,” he said.

The Minister said the samples would be tested in the four Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI)-identified divisional laboratories, Mysuru-based CFTRI as well as six NABL-accredited private laboratories in the State.

“If required, we will get it tested by laboratories outside the State too,” he said.

FSSAI Deputy Director H.S. Shivakumar said the food safety officers had started surveillance from May 27 as a precautionary measure.

Naresh Bhat, consultant hepatologist and gastroenterologist at Colombia Asia Hospital, said there was no need for people to panic as only long-term regular consumption of the product could affect a person’s health. While MSG can cause certain reactions only in people who are sensitive to it, lead can cause swelling of the brain in children. In adults, it can cause constipation, nerve paralysis, stomach pain and anaemia in some cases, he said.

After samples of Maggi noodles manufactured in March 2014 were found to have high levels of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry had directed State governments to get samples of the product tested.

After receiving an official communication from the ministry on Monday, 66 food safety officers in the State have been put on the job of collecting samples.

(Agencies)

California man brutally beat 82-year-old Sikh grandfather he mistook for 'one of those people'

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Piara Singh

Washington: An 82-year-old Sikh grandfather was brutally beaten with a steel pipe by a man who reportedly targeted him for looking like one of “those people”.

Piara Singh was attacked outside his gurdwara in Fresno California where he was preparing free meals to give to the homeless. He suffered a punctured lung and head injuries and was left lying in a pool of blood, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Two years later, members of Mr Singh’s Sikh community say that while his physical wounds have healed, they are still waiting for closure in the case because of a third delay in sentencing.

The assailant, Gilbert Garcia Jr who was 29 at the time of the 2013 incident, was initially charged with attempted murder but admitted elder abuse and a hate crime in February.

And as they wait for Garcia to at last be sentenced, community advocate Ike Grewal told local KFSN news that the attack was all the more troubling because it is believed the attacker confused Mr Singh for a radical Muslim.

“The Sikhs have been attacked all over the United States after 9/11 and this is not acceptable because we have been mistaken as radicals when we are not,” Mr Grewal said.

Speaking to the LA Times shortly after the incident itself, Mr Singh’s nephew Charanjit Sihota said that police told him they found Garcia hiding behind a tree in a neighbour’s garden, and that as he was arrested he shouted that he hated “those people” and wanted to bomb their places of worship.

Even if his attack was misdirected, legal expert Tony Capozzi told KFSN, it can still be classed as a hate crime. “His hatred was the focus, the driving force, towards that belief,” he said. “And the fact that the victim wasn’t of the religion he thought it was is of no consequence.”

(Agencies)

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