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-Top News World News

‘More than 1.2 mn people displaced by fighting’

The agency also provides emergency telecommunications services to all UN agencies and the wider humanitarian community in Sudan, where basic connectivity remains challenging…reports Asian Lite News

In the six weeks since the Sudan conflict broke out, more than 1.2 million people were displaced from their homes, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) based its tally on preliminary reports from field teams, while additional displaced are likely to emerge as humanitarian access improves.

“Meanwhile, we and our partners continue to deliver aid wherever and whenever we can,” OCHA said.

“The World Food Programme (WFP) has started distributions in Khartoum state, reaching some 15,000 people trapped in Omdurman with emergency food.”

Across Sudan, WFP reached more than 7,82,000 people with food and nutrition support over the past four weeks, the humanitarian office said.

The agency also provides emergency telecommunications services to all UN agencies and the wider humanitarian community in Sudan, where basic connectivity remains challenging.

The UN Population Fund supplies life-saving medicines and reproductive health supplies to the maternity hospital in Wad Medani in Al-Jazirah state, OCHA said.

Medical teams at the hospital also provide reproductive health services to women and girls who have fled from the capital, Khartoum.

ALSO READ-Sudan Army urges Saudi-US help to restart negotiation

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-Top News India News

‘We are making it a People’s G20’

She said India is involving the private sector, universities, civil society and youth in practical activities and bringing out fresh perspectives thereby on global issues…reports Asian Lite News

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday said as the prime minister said India chairing G20 is a reflection of the strength of 140 crore Indians, “we are making it a People’s G20.”

“As the honourable Prime Minister of India has said that the chairing by India of the G20 presidency is a reflection of the strength of 140 crore Indians. We are taking the G20 to the people of our country, we are making it a People’s G20,” Kamboj said while addressing the UN Informal briefing on the ‘G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor’s Meeting and Foreign Minister’s Meeting. The Indian Ambassador said India’s G20 presidency started off well. “We’ve had several important meetings including the Foreign Minister’s Meeting and the meeting of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors,” she said.

She said India is involving the private sector, universities, civil society and youth in practical activities and bringing out fresh perspectives thereby on global issues.

Recently, Kamboj said that PM Modi’s leadership has been instrumental in highlighting the importance of gender equality, and women empowerment through impactful campaigns such as ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’.

“The ancient civilizational values and cultural ethos of India have taught us to recognize gender equality and the empowerment of women as one of the key tenants of our society,” the Permanent Representative to the UN said at CSW67 Side Event “A World We Women and Girls Want: Technology Enabled Social and Economic Advancement”.

ALSO READ-‘Sustainability, equity in growth key to global peace’

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India News News

J&K govt frames rights of persons with disabilities rules

The Government of J&K shall frame various schemes to provide assistance to PWDs…reports Asian Lite News

Finally, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has framed the Jammu and Kashmir Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules 2021, in order to ensure smooth implementation of Central Laws aimed at promoting and protecting the rights and dignity of people with disabilities in various aspects of life. In the Rules, every aspect relating to rights and entitlements, limited guardianship, education and employment of persons with disabilities has been taken care of and timelines fixed so that they don’t face any sort of difficult.

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section 1 of Section 101 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has made the Rules notified on 15th March 2021 in order to ensure effective implementation of the Central Law and the same have been notified by the Social Welfare Department and the rules are now called as J&K Rights of PWDs Rules 2021. The highlights of the said rules are as under:

• As per the Rules, head of every establishment will ensure that provisions of the law are not misused to deny any right or benefit to persons with disabilities covered under the Act and initiate action on the receipt of complaint from an aggrieved person regarding discrimination on the ground of disability.
• If the aggrieved person submits a complaint to the Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the same shall be disposed of within a period of 30 days.
• Government shall frame a State Level committee for research on disability with members from Health, Education, Social Welfare and organisations working in the field of PWDs.
• Chief Judicial Magistrates, after satisfaction as per prevaling laws, is competent to grant limited gaurdainship to a PWDs.
• Moreover, every Government establishment will appoint an officer not below the rank of Gazetted Officer as Grievance Redressal Officer to look into the grievances of persons with disabilities.

• A nodal officer will be designated in each Chief Education Office of the Department of School Education, every urban local body and in both the Directorates of Social Welfare within three months to deal with all matters relating to admission of children with disabilities and the facilities to be provided to them in schools in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
• Board of School Education will develop training courses and also facilitate training of teachers in basic Braille-sign language and special education within one year of the notification of the Rules and shall also take steps to developed syllabus and learning material in audio and visual formats.
• As far as employment and vacancies for persons with benchmark disabilities are concerned, every establishment will publish equal opportunity policy for persons with disabilities within a period of six months from the notification of these Rules.

• Every Government establishment in order to give effect to the reservation provided to the persons with disability as provided in Section 34 of the Act will take into account four percent of the total number of vacancies in the cadre strength in each group of posts for the purpose of computation of vacancies for the persons with benchmark disabilities.
• Moreover, while issuing advertisement to fill up vacancies, every Government establishment will indicate the number of vacancies reserved for each class of persons with benchmark disabilities in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The reservation for persons with disabilities in accordance with the provisions of
the Act shall be horizontal and the vacancies for persons with benchmark disabilities will be maintained as a separate class.
• As far as accessibility is concerned, every establishment will comply with the standards relating to physical environment, transport and information and communication technology.

• Every establishment shall publish equal opportunity policy for the PWDs within a period of six months from the date of notification of these rules.
• Every establishment covered under sub rule 3 of rule 12, shall maintain all related record and shall provide the same to District Level Committe for PWDs for inspection and verification.
• No person with disability shall be considered to be a subject of research except when the research involves physical impact on his body.
• Government shall appoint Commissioner Disabilities for the redrassel of the issues related to PWDs.

• The Government shall develop norms for the recognition of Special Schools run by the Government or private organisation.
• The Government of J&K shall frame various schemes to provide assistance to PWDs.
• Moreover, the Government will create Union Territory Fund for Persons with Disabilities for providing financial assistance in the areas which are not specifically covered under any scheme and programme of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, the fund will be utilized for such other purposes as may be decided by the governing body headed by Administrative Secretary of Department of Social Welfare.

ALSO READ-Good governance, tourism fuel growth in Naya Kashmir

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-Top News China USA

‘US solidarity with 23 mn people of Taiwan is more important’

Hundreds of Taiwanese, as well as Tibetans, gathered at her hotel to welcome the 82-year-old lawmaker, a staunch critic of Beijing for long…reports Asian Lite News

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of a Congressional delegation issued a statement upon arrival in Taiwan on Tuesday.

The visit is the first official visit to Taiwan by a Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in 25 years.

“Our Congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.

“Our visit is part of our broader trip to the Indo-Pacific including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan focused on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance. Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the statement said.

“America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.

“Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan and it in no way contradicts the longstanding United States policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, US-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances. The United States continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo,” it added.

Pelosi landed in Taiwan late on Tuesday for a visit to the self-governing island amid heightened threats from Chinese officials and multiple rounds of military drills by China’s People’s Liberation Army, RFA reported.

Pelosi, the most senior US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, flew into the Songshan airport near the capital Taipei at around 10:45 p.m. local time, after leading a Congressional delegation trip reaffirming the US commitment to Asian allies.

Hundreds of Taiwanese, as well as Tibetans, gathered at her hotel to welcome the 82-year-old lawmaker, a staunch critic of Beijing for long.

In the run up to the trip, both China and Taiwan’s militaries were on high-alert in preparation for the visit. Chinese domestic air travel in Fuzhou, across the Taiwan strait from Taiwan, was disrupted on Tuesday, indicating that military flights may be taking place nearby.

Taiwanese civilians have been participating in air raid drills to prepare for a potential attack by China’s much larger military, RFA reported.

The United States does not recognise Taiwan diplomatically, but retains close unofficial ties with Taipei and is obligated by law to provide it with defence capabilities.

Beijing considers the self-ruling, democratic island a breakaway province, to be united with the mainland by force if necessary, and objects strongly to high-level US visits.

ALSO READ-Pelosi arrives in Taiwan despite threats from China

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Environment Lite Blogs

Forest management by the people, for the people

During this period, people arrange grass and fodder for their cattle from within the village itself. Some villagers are also deployed to patrol the forest and to catch intruders….reports Varsha Singh

“The forests are very useful for the people living in the mountains. These forests cater to their basic needs such as clean water, pure air, cooking fuel, farming, fodder etc. Wherever the forests are meeting the basic needs of the people, the forests are healthy,” says Mallika Virdi. She is the sarpanch of the Van Panchayat of Sarmoli village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. And her Van Panchayat is counted among the finest in the mountain state.

Van Panchayat refers to a locally-elected institution that plans and organises activities to manage community forests in a sustainable manner.

In Virdi’s village, for instance, the community members clear bushes, remove weeds and prune dry branches to “get good-quality grass”. “If we leave the forest (unattended), then the shrubs will grow as tall as trees. The management of forests is, therefore, necessary,” she explains.

Out of the total area of 51,125 sq.km in Uttarakhand, about 71.05 per cent of the land is covered in forests. Of this, 13.41 per cent forest area comes under the management of the Van Panchayats and there are 12,167 of these all over the state, the 2020-21 Uttarakhand Economic Survey says.

Community knows best

The Van Panchayats of Uttarakhand are known for managing community forests efficiently. Each Van Panchayat makes its own rules to use, manage and protect the local forest. These rules range from selecting forest guards to penalising defaulters. In Virdi’s village of Sarmoli, the penalty fee can go from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000.

“Van Panchayats do all the work related to environmental protection such as the revival of water sources, water conservation, protection of forests from fires, and plantation,” says Puran Singh Rawal, who is the sarpanch of Adauli Van Panchayat in Bageshwar district.

Rawal gives an insight into how his people fight forest fires. One, they routinely collect the fallen leaves and dried bushes and keep them aside. This is to ensure that the fire doesn’t spread from the ground up. Two, they have identified the water sources they can rush to, in case there’s a fire.

Van Panchayats mostly operate independently of each other, but instances of collaboration are not uncommon. Take the case of Sarmoli. Since the villagers don’t get enough grass from their own forest during the winter, they visit the forest in the adjacent village of Shankhadhura to meet their needs.

On certain terms and conditions though. One, Shankhadhura Van Panchayat opens up its forest to outsiders only when it has a surplus of grass. Two, the outsiders have to buy a pass for Rs 150 from Shankhadhura Van Panchayat to enter their forest. Three, only one person per household is given entry.

These Van Panchayats also ensure that the forest resources aren’t overused. All movement of villagers and their cattle in the monsoon, from June to September, is stopped. During this period, people arrange grass and fodder for their cattle from within the village itself. Some villagers are also deployed to patrol the forest and to catch intruders.

Virdi explains why this is done: “(As a result of the ban on forest use) a good amount of grass grows in the forests by October and November. The Van Panchayat then distributes the grass to the villagers as per their requirement. This grass is used as fodder all through the winter season.”

Fight to stay free

The Van Panchayats won their right to manage traditionally-held forests after a sustained campaign against colonial rule. Tarun Joshi, President of the Van Panchayat Sangharsh Morcha, says that the British had declared these forests as the property of the state and banned the movement of people into the forest. The people of Uttarakhand (then a part of the United Provinces) opposed the move, the British authorities were forced to form the Forest Grievances Committee to address their concerns. It was on the advice of this committee that the institution of Van Panchayat was created under Section 28 (2) of the Indian Forest Act, in 1927.

The working of Van Panchayats was disrupted in the year 1997 when the Indian government introduced the concept of Joint Forest Management or JFM. This model required both the forest departments and local communities to work together to manage and protect forests. It was met with protests by Van Panchayats across Uttarakhand, as they were opposed to the idea of the forest department ‘meddling’ in their affairs. The Forest department officials were given economic and administrative rights in the Van Panchayats, which the Panchayats did not approve of.

As a result, the JFM system was discontinued from the state in 2003 and the Van Panchayat rules were reinstated, informs Joshi. However, the Van Panchayats are still not completely free of either the forest department or the revenue department. The sarpanches complain of increasing interference by the forest officials. Retired officials from the forest department are being inducted into the Van Panchayats against the wishes of the locals.

The revenue department is responsible for conducting elections for a Van Panchayat every five years. They also step in to resolve disputes related to encroachments.

On the part of the forest department, they assign a guard for every community forest managed by the Van Panchayat. They also sanction budgets for the Van Panchayats to execute various projects like the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning (CAMPA) scheme, or the Japan Interactive Corporation Agency (JICA) funded scheme. These may include afforestation, forest protection, water conservation and soil rejuvenation.

“We are working to increase the livelihood sources of these Van Panchayats through projects such as JICA. So far, 700 Van Panchayats are executing projects under JICA,” says Neena Grewal, who is the chief conservator of forests under the forest panchayat and community forestry department.

A budget of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 is issued to the Van Panchayats for a period of three to four months, informs Rawal. According to the Forest Department Rules 2012, the department is supposed to draft a ‘micro-plan’ for the Van Panchayats every five years and sanction the budget for the same. However, a majority of the Van Panchayats haven’t yet received the funds to execute these projects, which they wanted to take up to supplement their income.

The Van Panchayats’ own sources of income stem from the money they make by auctioning the pine, grass or rhododendron gathered from the forests, or from the sale of juices, jams, pickles and other processed products made by self-help groups.

However, they have to seek permission from the forest department to use this income, even if it is for smaller interventions such as making a pond. Such interference remains a sore point in the otherwise efficient model of the Van Panchayat in Uttarakhand, say these leaders.

ALSO READ-Tribal women spearhead mission to promote millets

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-Top News Asia News China

Thousands under secret surveillance in China


Caster estimated that in 2020, between 10,000 and 15,000 people went through the system, up from just 500 in 2013…reports Asian Lite News.

 Campaigners say China has ‘systematised arbitrary and secret detention’ by holding thousands of people under ‘Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location’ (RSDL), Al Jazeera reported.

Spain-based rights group Safeguard Defenders say that as many as 27,208 to 56,963 people have gone through China’s RSDL system since 2013, citing data from the Supreme People’s Court and the testimony of survivors and lawyers.

“These high profile cases obviously attract a lot of attention, but they shouldn’t detract from the fact that there’s no transparency. Collecting data that is available and analysing the trends, the estimate is that every year 4,000 to 5,000 people are disappeared into the RSDL system alone,” said Michael Caster, a co-founder of Safeguard Defenders, Al Jazeera reported.

Caster estimated that in 2020, between 10,000 and 15,000 people went through the system, up from just 500 in 2013.

The number includes well-known names like artist Ai Wei Wei and human rights lawyers Wang Yu and Wang Quanzhang, who were caught up in China’s 2015 crackdown on human rights defenders.

Other foreigners have also gone through RSDL, like Peter Dahlin, a Swedish activist and co-founder of Safeguard Defenders, and Canadian missionaries Kevin and Julia Garrett, who were accused of espionage in 2014, the report said.

William Nee, a research and advocacy coordinator at China Human Rights Defenders, said that since RSDL was first employed almost a decade ago, use of the extrajudicial detention system has changed from an exception in its early days to a more widely used tool.

“Before, when Ai Wei Wei was taken away, they had to make an excuse that it was really about his business, or a tax issue or something like that. So there’s this trend, a decade or two ago, where they would use a pretence to detain someone when the real reason was their public participation or their political views,” said Nee, as per the report.

Communist Party members, state employees and anyone involved in ‘public affairs’ are held in a similar parallel system known as ‘liuzhi’.

Since its introduction in 2018, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people have been held in liuzhi each year, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, the report said.

Conditions under both RSDL and liuzhi have been described as tantamount to torture, and inmates are held without a right to legal counsel.

Sleep deprivation, isolation, solitary confinement, beatings, and forced stress positions have been reported by survivors of both systems, according to multiple rights groups.

In some cases, the inmates may be placed in an infamous “tiger chair” which restricts limb movement for days at a time, the report said.

Together, RSDL, liuzhi and similar extrajudicial procedures have “systematised arbitrary and secret detention”, said Caster, as per the report.

ALSO READ-India’s former envoy to China appointed Deputy NSA

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-Top News India News

In ‘Naya J&K’, people no longer wait in queues to get heard

In a nutshell addressing the public grievances has been the priority. The initiative to reach out to the people and stay in touch with them has filled in the void which used to exist prior to August 5, 2019…reports Asian Lite News.

There was a time, when people used to stand in long queues outside the Civil Secretariats in Srinagar and Jammu cities to reach the helmsmen. The visiting hours were fixed and the lucky ones only could somehow get a chance to get heard. Many people had to return disappointed as the time used to run out. Ineffective and weak grievance redressal system in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State was one of the major reasons for disconnect between the government and the people.

For elected representatives governance was never a priority. They remained busy in raking up the issues which did not fall in their domain and harping about the validity of Kashmir’s accession with India. A common man, who lives for his survival, found it very difficult to reach the men or women, whom he had voted for. Issues like proper roads, sanitation, electricity, water, education and other basic amenities were the least discussed problems.

However, after August 5, 2019 — when the Centre announced its decision to scrap J&K’s special status and divided it into two union territories — the government emphasized on making the grievance redressal system effective in the newly carved out union territory.

Within two years change is clearly visible in ‘Naya Jammu and Kashmir’ as people no longer have to wait with applications in long queues outside the civil secretariats in Srinagar and Jammu, nor do they have to be lucky enough to be heard. The government has set up help lines and online grievance redressal portals for a common man to drop his complaint and check the status about the action taken either online or over the phone. The officials are just a phone call away. The system which used to remain inaccessible has become accessible.

Just a few months after J&K’s transition into a Union Territory, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) organized two conferences in J&K on good governance on November 15-16, 2019 and conference on Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat with focus on Jal Shakti and Disaster Management on November 30- December 1, 2019. The aim of these events was to drive home a point that the system has changed and redressing the grievances of a common man has to be a priority.

On August 16, 2020, the Government of India assigned the task of improving the grievance redressal system in Jammu and Kashmir to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The DARPG was asked to enhance the collaboration with the Jammu & Kashmir Government to revamp the “Awam-ki-Awaz” portal with mapping of last mile grievance officers for improved quality of grievance redressal and reduced timelines in effective disposal of cases (1). Since then there has been no looking back as the administration is no longer inaccessible. The online portals are working round the clock and the genuine grievances of the people are being redressed in the shortest possible time. This initiative has helped to create a transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration in line with the vision to bridge the gap between the government and the people.

Jammu & Kashmir is the first Union Territory in the country to have district-level grievance offices with the central grievance portal to ensure prompt action. The grievance office has been integrated with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal.

New grievance redress system

On September 11, 2020, J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, launched the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS). The purpose of the new system was to create an interface with the public and focus on governance issues in J&K.

Idea behind the initiative was to tell the people that the government cares for them and it’s always ready to hear and help them. The officials, who were asked to handle the system, were told in clear terms that a common man wants a sympathetic, courteous, responsive, and helpful administrative set-up. The JK-IGRAMS provides minute by minute status updates of the grievances on the portal. District Collectors and Deputy Commissioners are the primary nodes for receiving, disposing and monitoring grievances.

On October 22, 2020, another step was taken to make the grievance redressal system more effective, LG Manoj Sinha held the first run of “LG’s Mulaqaat”- Live Public Grievance in Srinagar. It was altogether a different experience for the participants who interacted face to face with the LG and top officers through video conferencing and put across their problems. In the very first round of the live mulaqaat with people, the LG heard nineteen grievances out of which fifteen were addressed on the spot.

Talking to the Indian Express, Secretary, Public Grievances, J&K, Simrandeep Singh had stated that the grievance redress systems generally work only when top leadership directly monitors or takes interest.

Explaining the mechanism Singh had stated that the LG Mulaqaat is an interactive platform wherein the LG and Chief Secretary directly review the performance with all administrative secretaries, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and senior officials from various departments.

Till date LG Sinha has held seven rounds of live mulaqaats. His advisors meet the people in Srinagar, Jammu and other places every week on a rotational basis. The message is clear that people are supreme, they are the fountain head of the power and no one can ignore them. They have to be heard and accommodated.

Stay in touch with people

After the outbreak of Covid-19 second wave in the union territory in April-May this year the grievance redressal system had become a bit slow, but soon after the number of cases declined the J&K government in June this year directed the administrative secretaries to regularly hold meetings with the public.

An order issued by the General Administrative Department stated: “It has been observed that due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, the government-public interaction has been affected in recent weeks. Due to limited mobility, the general public having grievances in various departments could not visit the civil secretariat for their redressal therefore it has been decided that all Administrative Secretaries shall be available for attending public grievances on daily basis (except on days of tour) between 2.30 to 3.30 p.m. in person or on notified telephone numbers or on video conferencing facility for redressal of public grievances.”

Students hold placards during Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to clean the Dal Lake on the occasion of birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, in Srinagar (Umar Ganie)

In a follow up action the J&K Government on September 30 this year directed all the Administrative Secretaries and Deputy Commissioners to submit weekly appraisal of public interactions and the grievances redressed by them during fixed daily hearings.

In a nutshell addressing the public grievances has been the priority. The initiative to reach out to the people and stay in touch with them has filled in the void which used to exist prior to August 5, 2019.

In ‘Naya J&K’ common man is the priority

In ‘Naya J&K’ addressing public grievances is not only about how many complaints have been received and how many have been disposed of, it’s about talking to the people directly and reaching out to them. The deadlines have been fixed to ensure that complaints don’t remain lingering.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, who recently visited frontier district of Kupwara in connection with the Centre’s outreach programme lauded the people of Kashmir for showing interest in peace and development and assured them that the grievance of every Kashmiri would be resolved in a time bound manner.

To ensure that no one is left out from the ambit of grievance redressal system a portal was launched for Kashmiri migrants in August this year with the aim to address the issues and concerns related to the land and properties of the migrants. The portal www.jkmigrantrelief.nic.in deals with the subject matter of the grievances that ranges from correction of encroachments, trespassing and alienation by way of fraud or distress, etc. 

Downgrading J&K from a State into a Union Territory has proved to be a blessing in a disguise for a common man. His pleas are being heard and every possible effort is being made to ensure that no one misses the opportunity to become a part of development and prosperity. New Delhi seems keen on addressing all the issues which were the main causes of discontent and resentment. The mantra is simply to make a common man part of everything and develop a society which includes all.

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