‘Land Acquisition Bill not in farmers’ favour’

Nainital, November 2
A group of social activists gathered at Almora have criticised the proposed Land Acquisition Bill stating that it has nothing to do with alleviation of misery of the farmers but would just be another tool for promoting the interests of the market forces and the political establishments supporting them.
In his address, Chittaranjan Singh of the INSAF said the bill was not in the interest of the people and was yet another move to protect the interests of the market forces promoting globalisation.
He asserted that the loot of the land had been rampant across the country over the past 20 years, whether it was in Nandigram, Orissa or for the Ganga Expressway. “The present bill is not aimed at protecting the interests of the farmers and the poor but it intends making land acquisition easier for the corporate world,” said Singh.
A meeting organised by the INSAF on Tuesday also saw the release of a report “Uttarakhand ka Khisakta Aadhar”, brought out by Raghu Tewari, Neelima Bhatt and Mukesgh Bahuguna of the Aman group.
In his address, Dr JS Mehta, who has been a former official of the Forest Department, pointed out that society could not be saved unless forests, wildlife and water resources were secured.
President of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party PC Tewari underlined the need for a people’s movement against the policies of neo-liberalisation, introduced in 1990.

4th Great Bird Himalayan Count of the Action and Research for Conservation in Himalayas (ARCH) begins in Uttarakhand

Dehradun, November 2
The 4th Great Bird Himalayan Count of the Action and Research for Conservation in Himalayas (ARCH) started today with birders taking to as many as 57 trails in Uttarakhand hills this year.
Flagging off the bird count teams at a ceremony held in Dehradun, Director-General of the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology Rajendra Dobhal said such activities held importance in promoting eco-tourism in the state.
Dobhal said he had travelled a lot and had an opportunity to undertake birding, which he described as an excellent activity for both fitness and brain. He said the data being generated through the count would be extremely useful for the state wildlife authorities and other bird enthusiasts and would also reveal the lesser-known bird biodiversity of the state.
Prateek Panwar, founder trustee, ARCH, said the ARCH had been undertaking the Great Bird Himalayan Count since 2008. He said the response to the bird count had been increasing every year with large number of people from all over the country showing interest in the count. He said so far, the counts had recorded presence of 373 bird species in the state.
He said a total of 170 participants were taking part in the count, including a Malaysian and Nepalese citizen. He said the count would conclude on November 5 in Dehradun. He apprised that the popular trekking trails covered in the count this year included valleys of Tons, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Bhilangna, Mandakini, Ganga and Alaknanda rivers in Garhwal. Senior Uttarakhand Forest Officer Umesh Kumar also greeted the participants and assured all logistics support to the bird count.

Mussoorie to have centre for Himalayan glaciology

Union Minister opens Stable Isotope Lab at Wadia institute
Dehradun, November 2
Union Minister of Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh today said a National Centre for Himalayan Glaciology will be set up at the hill resort of Mussoorie in Uttarakhand for an in-depth study of glaciers.
Inaugurating a three-day international conference on "Indian Monsoon and Himalayan Geodynamics" (IMHG), being held in the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, Vilasrao Deshmukh said an institute for study of Indian glaciers in Mussoorie would go a long way to further the glacier studies in the Himalayas.
He said a lot of scientific know-how was now available on different aspects of climate change and there was no doubt about the impact in the form of rising environmental temperature, melting of glaciers, flash floods and skewed distribution of rainfall.
“Although it is well known that evolution of Himalaya and monsoon has come up together but what really is unknown, yet, is whether this scenario of global warming is a part of natural climatic cycles or is there any human folly involved in it”, he pointed out.
Lauding the activities of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Vilasrao Deshmukh said the Wadia institute had the honour of being the only organisation globally that strives to understand the geodynamic development of the Himalayas.
Welcoming the minister, Director, Wadia Institute, Prof. Anil K. Gupta, gave a brief report about the institute activities and also gave the details about the importance of the IMHG Conference. Prof Gupta said the Indian monsoon affected climate and societies over a large part of Asia, and plays an important role in Asian hydrological budget.
The Union Minister also inaugurated a new state-of-the-art-lab (Stable Isotope Laboratory) at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. He also visited the institute museum and took great interest in the various Himalayan exhibits, rock samples and minerals displayed in the museum.

Pros and Cons to Getting Canadian Citizenship

This article discusses the practical benefits for permanent residents in Canada choosing to become a Canadian citizen.
This is in addition to the most important benefit, a sense of belonging and commitment to one's adopted country.

ADVANTAGES

• Voting

Your chance to participate in Canada's future.

• Retaining residency and avoiding deportation

Becoming a citizen is the only way to guarantee you have the right to remain in Canada. PRs are at risk of losing their status if they spend long periods of time outside the Canada or commit certain crimes. The citizenship of a naturalised Canadian citizen cannot be revoked for any crime committed after becoming a citizen.

• Bureaucracy

You no longer have to obtain a Permanent_Resident_Card-Canada every five years (cost C$50 at March 2009) to prove your continuing right to remain in and re-enter Canada. It is a lot more hassle to obtain a PR Card compared to a Canadian passport.

• Immigration for family members

One difference which does persist is that Canadian citizens can sponsor spouses and children for migration while living outside Canada (provided there is a declared intention to return). Under the law, permanent residents are expected normally to be "usually resident" in Canada.

• Running for political office

Most types of elected positions require the officeholder to be a Canadian citizen.

• Federal jobs

Most federal government jobs, require the applicant to be a Canadian citizen.
If a security clearance is needed, with citizenship you can have a higher level, but don't forget that having ties to the UK via friends, family, property etc might still limit the level of clearance you may gain.

• Citizenship for non-Canada born children

As a naturalised Canadian, any children born to you outside Canada (after you become a citizen) will be a Canadian citizen. See also: Canadian_Citizenship_by_Descent.

• Canadian Passport

As an Canadian citizen you are entitled to a Canadian passport (which may have better visa-free travel) and to consular protection from Canadian missions overseas. However, Canadian consular protection is not normally available in any other country of which you are a citizen.

• Simpler Tourist and Business Travel to the United States

The conditions for Canadians taking vacations or other short business trips in the United States are the same as for anyone else. However, many of bureaucratic formalities of the Visa_Waiver_Program do not apply to Canadians who are given the same access as those with U.S. tourist visas:

• • admission may be for up to 180 days, not a 90 day limit
  • Canadians may arrive in the United States on a private jet or yacht, or on a one-way ticket.
  • Canadian citizens arriving for vacation or business trips do not need to fill out an I-94 or I-94W form, or be fingerprinted. This greatly reduces delays, especially on the land frontier.
  • Only Canadian citizens will be able to obtain enhanced driving licences to allow passport-free travel to continue over the land frontier.
  • Canadian citizens may seek admission to the United States as non-immigrants in most work and student categories (subject to normal approval from the U.S. authorities) without needing a visa in advance from a U.S. consulate.

• Treaty Rights

Canadian citizens have the right to seek employment in the United States and Mexico, if covered by the NAFTA provisions.
Canadian citizens with a United Kingdom born grandparent may be eligible for the United Kingdom Ancestry Visa.

DISADVANTAGES

• Dual citizenship

Citizens of some countries may lose their existing citizenship upon becoming Canadian citizens, which may or may not be a problem. British citizens do not lose citizenship upon becoming Canadian. Some holders of other kinds of British nationality may encounter issues.

• Consular Protection

If you keep your former nationality, the Embassy of your home country will no longer be able to intervene on your behalf with the Canadian authorities (since they can't get you out of jail anyway, this is a limited benefit).
OBLIGATIONS

Jury Duty
You are obliged to serve on a jury, if called upon.
NOT IMPACTED
The following are generally not impacted by becoming an Canadian citizen, if one is already a permanent resident:

• Tax

There is no impact on your Canadian tax obligations, under current law, unless in highly specific circumstances where you may be using the provisions of a double tax treaty.

• British pensions

Becoming a Canadian citizen does not in itself' impact the ability of a permanent resident to access British pension entitlements.