Six Congress MPs from Telangana firm on resignations

HYDERABAD: Six Congress MPs from Telangana on Thursday made it clear that they will not take back their resignations over the delay in formation of a separate state.

The MPs, who met here a day after reports of differences among them, claimed that resignations of seven MPs were Wednesday submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi's office.

However, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, later stated that there is no need for resignations as the party spokesperson has clarified that the party is not against Telangana state.

K. Rajagopal Reddy told reporters that Goud's views were his personal and that the remaining MPs stand by their resignations both from parliament and the party.

He said the resignations along with a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi were sent to Delhi through Goud and another MP, Ponnam Prabhakar.

Reddy said they had requested Gandhi to accept their resignations if the party was unable to take a decision for formation of Telangana.

"We will continue to put pressure on the leadership till a favourable decision is taken," he added.

Senior leader K. Keshava Rao, at whose residence the meeting was held, said he would send his resignation from the party to Sonia Gandhi. He denied that there were any differences among the members.

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Sex to burn calories? Authors expose obesity myths

Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.

All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.

Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting from real solutions to the nation's weight problems.

"The evidence is what matters," and many feel-good ideas repeated by well-meaning health experts just don't have it, said the lead author, David Allison, a biostatistician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Independent researchers say the authors have some valid points. But many of the report's authors also have deep financial ties to food, beverage and weight-loss product makers — the disclosures take up half a page of fine print in the journal.

"It raises questions about what the purpose of this paper is" and whether it's aimed at promoting drugs, meal replacement products and bariatric surgery as solutions, said Marion Nestle, a New York University professor of nutrition and food studies.

"The big issues in weight loss are how you change the food environment in order for people to make healthy choices," such as limits on soda sizes and marketing junk food to children, she said. Some of the myths they cite are "straw men" issues, she said.

But some are pretty interesting.

Sex, for instance. Not that people do it to try to lose weight, but claims that it burns 100 to 300 calories are common, Allison said. Yet the only study that scientifically measured the energy output found that sex lasted six minutes on average — "disappointing, isn't it?" — and burned a mere 21 calories, about as much as walking, he said.

That's for a man. The study was done in 1984 and didn't measure the women's experience.

Among the other myths or assumptions the authors cite, based on their review of the most rigorous studies on each topic:

—Small changes in diet or exercise lead to large, long-term weight changes. Fact: The body adapts to changes, so small steps to cut calories don't have the same effect over time, studies suggest. At least one outside expert agrees with the authors that the "small changes" concept is based on an "oversimplified" 3,500-calorie rule, that adding or cutting that many calories alters weight by one pound.

—School gym classes have a big impact on kids' weight. Fact: Classes typically are not long, often or intense enough to make much difference.

—Losing a lot of weight quickly is worse than losing a little slowly over the long term. Fact: Although many dieters regain weight, those who lose a lot to start with often end up at a lower weight than people who drop more modest amounts.

—Snacking leads to weight gain. Fact: No high quality studies support that, the authors say.

—Regularly eating breakfast helps prevent obesity. Fact: Two studies found no effect on weight and one suggested that the effect depended on whether people were used to skipping breakfast or not.

—Setting overly ambitious goals leads to frustration and less weight loss. Fact: Some studies suggest people do better with high goals.

Some things may not have the strongest evidence for preventing obesity but are good for other reasons, such as breastfeeding and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, the authors write. And exercise helps prevent a host of health problems regardless of whether it helps a person shed weight.

"I agree with most of the points" except the authors' conclusions that meal replacement products and diet drugs work for battling obesity, said Dr. David Ludwig, a prominent obesity research with Boston Children's Hospital who has no industry ties. Most weight-loss drugs sold over the last century had to be recalled because of serious side effects, so "there's much more evidence of failure than success," he said.

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Online:

Obesity info: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

New England Journal: http://www.nejm.org

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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U.N.'s Ban decries "horrors" in Syria, urges end to war

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Denouncing "unrelenting horrors" in Syria's war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Wednesday for an end to the violence and urged more aid to address a situation he said was catastrophic and worsening by the day.

"How many more people will be killed if the current situation continues?," Ban said, speaking at a conference of donors in Kuwait called to drum up more pledges of financing for U.N. humanitarian efforts.

"I appeal to all sides and particularly the Syrian government, to stop the killing ... in the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence," he said.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since the 22-month-old conflict began, the United Nations says.

The world body warned on Monday that without more money it would not be able to help millions of Syrians and appealed for donations at the aid conference to meet its $1.5 billion target.

Some four million Syrians inside the country need food, shelter and other aid and more than 700,000 more have escaped to neighboring countries since the conflict began, according to the United Nations.

SCALE OF CRISIS ESCALATES

Jordan's King Abdullah told the gathering that Syrians had taken refuge in his country in their hundreds of thousands but Jordan's ability to help was at its limits.

"We have reached the end of the line, we have exhausted our resources," he said.

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said farming was in crisis, hospitals and ambulances had been damaged and even painkillers were unavailable.

Harsh winter weather had made matters worse, and people were without winter clothes, blankets and fuel. Women and children were particularly at risk, she said. She added:

"We are watching a human tragedy unfold before our eyes."

The conference will seek pledges of $1 billion of aid for Syria's neighbors hosting refugees and another $500 million to fund humanitarian work for 4 million Syrians inside the country.

The aid would fund operations for the first half of this year, but the United Nations has so far received pledges covering just 18 percent of the target, unveiled last month as the scale of Syria's humanitarian crisis escalated sharply.

Even if pledges are made, aid groups have found in the past that converting promises into hard cash can take time.

Nevertheless, there was early positive news for the gathering when Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates each pledged to give $300 million to the aid effort.

Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, told the meeting "horrifying reports" of violence had raised questions over the future of Syria and aid efforts had to be redoubled.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE, DETENTIONS

But Ban said much more remained to be done.

"The situation in Syria is catastrophic and getting worse every day," he said. "Every day Syrians face unrelenting horrors," he said, adding this included sexual violence and detentions.

Aid officials hope the fact that the conference is being held in Kuwait will encourage other wealthy Gulf Arab states, who have led regional opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, to support the international aid effort.

Many Gulf states have sent assistance, but aid workers say their efforts have been haphazard and rarely coordinated with other aid agencies, hampering their ability to plan a sustained relief program.

Syria's main opposition coalition has criticized the U.N. appeal and its arrangements for distributing aid inside Syria, saying the organization has effectively ceded control to the Syrian government and failed to deliver all but a bare minimum of aid to areas controlled by Assad's opponents.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall, Ahmed Hagagy, Sami Aboudi, Mahmoud Habboush and Mirna Sleiman, Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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S'pore moves up to 2nd spot in trust survey

SINGAPORE: Singapore has moved up to the number two spot for the most trusting nation in the world, according to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer. It was third in 2012 and seventh in 2011.

Edelman, which measured levels of trust in institutions in 26 countries worldwide, said on Wednesday that Singapore's total trust score rose by nine points and is three points more than the global average increase.

Trust levels rose across three of the four institutions measured -- business (up 11 points), non-governmental organisations (up 11 points) and government (up 9 points).

At 82 per cent, trust in Singapore government recovered to approach the 2010 high of 84 per cent.

Trust levels in the media remained stable and high.

Edelman said while the government and business fared well in the latest trust survey, there remains scepticism about trust in their leadership.

Only 19 per cent of Singaporeans in the general population trust business leaders to tell the truth, no matter how complex or unpopular it is. While trust in government leaders is higher than in business leaders, there remains room for improvement.

Edelman said the lack of trust in leaders, compared with the institutions they lead, is a trend in all the markets where trust was measured. This, it said, points to a common need to increase transparency at the leadership level.

-CNA/ac

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Govt will be prompt in pursuing Verma panel recommendations on rape laws: PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the government will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of J S Verma Committee to amend the law to deal effectively with cases of sexual assault against women.

In a letter to Justice Verma, former Chief Justice of India, Manmohan Singh thanked him and other two members of the committee--Justice (retd) Leila Seth and former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian--for completing within a short period of 30 days the work of the panel, set up in the wake of the brutal gang rape and assault of a 23-year-old here on December 16 2012.

"That the committee submitted its report within a short period of 30 days is testimony to your commitment and concern for the public good...

"On behalf of our government, I assure you that we will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of the committee," the Prime Minister said in the letter.

Singh also thanked the committee members for their "labour of love" in pursuing their job to recommend amendments to the law to deal effectively with cases of sexual assault of extreme nature against women.

The Verma Committee has recommended enhancing punishment to up to 20 years imprisonment for rape and murder and life term for gang rape but refrained from suggesting death penalty for the guilty.

In its 630-page report submitted to the government on January 23, the Committee suggested various amendments to the criminal laws to provide for higher punishment to rapists, including those belonging to police and public servants.

New offences have been created and stiffer punishment has been suggested for those committing such offence that left the victim in a vegetative state. The new offences include disrobing a woman, voyeurism, stalking and trafficking.

The present statute provides for punishment of imprisonment ranging from seven years to life for rapists. The panel was constituted in the wake of national outrage over the gang rape in a moving bus in south Delhi. The victim died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

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Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on rolling his own wheelchair into a news conference using his new transplanted arms. Then he brushed his hair to one side.

Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while serving in Iraq, these little actions demonstrate how far he's come only six weeks after getting a double-arm transplant.

Wounded by a roadside bomb in 2009, the former soldier said he could get by without legs, but he hated living without arms.

"Not having arms takes so much away from you. Even your personality, you know. You talk with your hands. You do everything with your hands, and when you don't have that, you're kind of lost for a while," the 26-year-old New Yorker told reporters Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Doctors don't want him using his new arms too much yet, but his gritty determination to regain independence was one of the chief reasons he was chosen to receive the surgery, which has been performed in the U.S. only seven times.

That's the message Marrocco said he has for other wounded soldiers.

"Just not to give up hope. You know, life always gets better, and you're still alive," he said. "And to be stubborn. There's a lot of people who will say you can't do something. Just be stubborn and do it anyway. Work your ass off and do it."

Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, head of the team that conducted the surgery, said the new arms could eventually provide much of the same function as his original arms and hands. Another double-arm transplant patient can now use chopsticks and tie his shoes.

Lee said Marrocco's recovery has been remarkable, and the transplant is helping to "restore physical and psychological well-being."

Tuesday's news conference was held to mark a milestone in his recovery — the day he was to be discharged from the hospital.

Next comes several years of rehabilitation, including physical therapy that is going to become more difficult as feeling returns to the arms.

Before the surgery, he had been living with his older brother in a specially equipped home on New York's Staten Island that had been built with the help of several charities. Shortly after moving in, he said it was "a relief to not have to rely on other people so much."

The home was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall.

"We'll get it back together. We've been through a lot worse than that," his father, Alex Marrocco, said.

For the next few months, Marrocco plans to live with his brother in an apartment near the hospital.

The former infantryman said he can already move the elbow on his left arm and rotate it a little bit, but there hasn't been much movement yet for his right arm, which was transplanted higher up.

Marrocco's mother, Michelle Marrocco, said he can't hug her yet, so he brushes his left arm against her face.

The first time he moved his left arm was a complete surprise, an involuntary motion while friends were visiting him in the hospital, he said.

"I had no idea what was going through my mind. I was with my friends, and it happened by accident," he recalled. "One of my friends said 'Did you do that on purpose?' And I didn't know I did it."

Marrocco's operation also involved a technical feat not tried in previous cases, Lee said in an interview after the news conference.

A small part of Marrocco's left forearm remained just below his elbow, and doctors transplanted a whole new forearm around and on top of it, then rewired nerves to serve the old and new muscles in that arm.

"We wanted to save his joint. In the unlucky event we would lose the transplant, we still wanted him to have the elbow joint," Lee said.

He also explained why leg transplants are not done for people missing those limbs — "it's not very practical." That's because nerves regrow at best about an inch a month, so it would be many years before a transplanted leg was useful.

Even if movement returned, a patient might lack sensation on the soles of the feet, which would be unsafe if the person stepped on sharp objects and couldn't feel the pain.

And unlike prosthetic arms and hands, which many patients find frustrating, the ones for legs are good. That makes the risks of a transplant not worth taking.

"It's premature" until there are better ways to help nerves regrow, Lee said.

Now Marrocco, who was the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq War, is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of his black 2006 Dodge Charger and hand-cycling a marathon.

Asked if he could one day throw a football, Dr. Jaimie Shores said sure, but maybe not like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

"Thanks for having faith in me," Marrocco interjected, drawing laughter from the crowd.

His mother said Marrocco has always been "a tough cookie."

"He's not changed that, and he's just taken it and made it an art form," Michelle Marrocco said. "He's never going to stop. He's going to be that boy I knew was going to be a pain in my butt forever. And he's going to show people how to live their lives."

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Associated Press Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee and AP writer David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md., contributed to this report.

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French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops retook control of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Monday after Islamist rebel occupiers fled the ancient Sahara trading town and torched several buildings, including a library holding priceless manuscripts.

The United States and the European Union are backing a French-led intervention in Mali against al Qaeda-allied militants they fear could use the West African state's desert north as a springboard for international attacks.

The recovery of Timbuktu followed the swift capture by French and Malian forces at the weekend of Gao, another major town in Mali's north that had been occupied by the alliance of jihadist groups since last year.

The two-week-old mission by France in its former Sahel colony, at the request of Mali's government, has driven the Islamist rebels northwards out of towns into the desert and mountains.

Without a shot being fired, 1,000 French soldiers and paratroopers and 200 Malian troops seized Timbuktu airport and surrounded the town on the banks of the Niger River, looking to block the escape of insurgents.

In both Timbuktu and Gao, cheering crowds turned out to welcome the French and Malian troops.

A third town in Mali's vast desert north, Kidal, had remained in Islamist militant hands. But Malian Tuareg MNLA rebels, who are seeking autonomy for their northern region, said on Monday they had taken charge in Kidal after Islamist fighters abandoned it.

A diplomat in Bamako confirmed the MNLA takeover of Kidal.

A French military spokesman said the assault forces at Timbuktu were avoiding any fighting inside the city to protect the cultural treasures, mosques and religious shrines in what is considered a seat of Islamic learning.

But Timbuktu Mayor Ousmane Halle told Reuters departing Islamist gunmen had four days earlier set fire to the town's new Ahmed Baba Institute, which contained thousands of manuscripts.

UNESCO spokesman Roni Amelan said the Paris-based U.N. cultural agency was "horrified" by the news of the fire, but was awaiting a full assessment of the damage.

Ali Baba, a worker at the Ahmed Baba Institute, told Sky News in Timbuktu more than 3,000 manuscripts had been destroyed. "They are bandits. They have burned some manuscripts and also stole a lot of manuscripts which they took with them," he said.

Marie Rodet, an African history lecturer at Britain's School of Oriental and African Studies, said Timbuktu held one of the greatest libraries of Islamic manuscripts in the world.

"It's pure retaliation. They (the Islamist militant rebels) knew they were losing the battle and they hit where it really hurts," Rodet told Reuters. "These people are not interested in any intellectual debate. They are anti-intellectual."

ISLAMISTS "ALL FLED"

The Ahmed Baba Institute, one of several libraries and collections in Timbuktu containing fragile documents dating back to the 13th century, is named after a Timbuktu-born contemporary of William Shakespeare and houses more than 20,000 scholarly manuscripts. Some were stored in underground vaults.

The French and Malians have encountered no resistance so far in Timbuktu. But they will now have to comb through a labyrinth of ancient mosques, monuments, mud-brick homes and narrow alleyways to flush out any hiding fighters.

The Islamist forces comprise a loose alliance that groups Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) with Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine and AQIM splinter MUJWA.

They have retreated in the face of relentless French air strikes and superior firepower and are believed to be sheltering in the rugged Adrar des Ifoghas mountain range, north of Kidal.

The MNLA Tuareg rebels who say they now hold Kidal have offered to help the French-led offensive against the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamists. It was not clear, however, whether the French and Malians would steer their offensive further towards Kidal, or hold negotiations with the MNLA.

FRANCE: MALI "BEING LIBERATED"

The world was shocked by Timbuktu's capture in April by Tuareg fighters, whose separatist rebellion was later hijacked by Islamist radicals who imposed severe sharia (Islamic law).

Provoking international outrage, the Muslim militants - who follow a more radical Salafist brand of Islam - destroyed dozens of ancient shrines in Timbuktu sacred to Sufi Muslims, condemning them as idolatrous and un-Islamic.

They also imposed a strict form of Islamic law, or sharia, authorizing the stoning of adulterers and amputations for thieves, while forcing women to go veiled.

On Sunday, many women among the thousands of Gao residents who came out to celebrate the rebels' expulsion made a point of going unveiled. Other residents smoked cigarettes and played music to flout the bans previously imposed by the rebels.

Hundreds of troops from Niger and Chad have been brought to Gao to help secure the town.

"Little by little, Mali is being liberated," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France 2 television.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris, French President Francois Hollande said French troops would take a step back once the job of retaking key towns was complete, and Malian and other African troops would take over the task of hunting the rebels.

"They are the ones who will go into the northern part, which we know is the most difficult because that's where the terrorists are hiding," Hollande said.

As the French and Malian troops thrust into northern Mali, African troops for a U.N.-backed continental intervention force for Mali, expected to number 7,700, are being flown into the country, despite severe delays and logistical problems.

Outgoing African Union Chairman President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin scolded AU states at a weekend summit in Addis Ababa for their slow response to assist Mali while former colonial power France took the lead in the military operation.

Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Niger and Chad are providing soldiers for the AFISMA force. Burundi and other nations have pledged to contribute.

AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said these regional troops could play a useful "clean-up" role once the main military operations against the Islamist rebels end.

Speaking in Addis Ababa on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. was "actively considering" helping the troop-contributing African countries with logistical support.

(Additional reporting by Richard Valdmanis in Sevare, Mali, Bate Felix and David Lewis in Dakar, Maria Golovina in London, Alexandria Sage, Vicky Buffery and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako, Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey, Richard Lough and Aaron Masho in Addis Ababa; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Infrastructure development to keep pace with population growth

SINGAPORE: The government is planning to build 700,000 new homes by 2030.

That is one of the long-term plans to support the projected increase in population which is expected to hit 6.9 million in about 20 years.

Some Singaporeans have observed that population growth in Singapore has outpaced infrastructure development in the last five years.

The government is now planning and investing in advance to accommodate a larger population.

Beyond just relieving strains on public transport and housing today are long-terms plans to ramp up infrastructure developments to support a population of up to six million in 2020 and then a population of up to 6.9 million in 2030.

There are already plans to add 800 buses over five years, and by 2030, to double of the rail network to 360 kilometres.

This means the addition of three new MRT lines and an extension of two existing lines over the next nine years.

Come 2030, there will be another two new lines and three extensions, allowing eight in 10 homes to be within a 10-minute walk from a train station.

To further alleviate the strain on public transport, more jobs will be located near residential areas, reducing the need to commute.

The White Paper has named Woodlands, Serangoon and Punggol as possible growth areas to create more space for businesses. It also said the Jurong Lake District, Paya Lebar Central and One-North will be expected to mature by then.

More healthcare facilities are also in the pipeline with three general hospitals, five community hospitals and two medical centres set to open between 2014 and 2020.

On the way too are 200,000 new homes which will be ready by 2016.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said even more land has been set aside to build another 500,000 homes until 2030.

Mr Khaw said: "I am very confident that we will be able to resolve this housing shortage very soon because once you say let's build a town, it takes more years. That's why I begin to publicise what are the number of housing units that will be coming on stream in 2014 and 2015. They are very big numbers and that is to assure Singaporeans that there are enough homes for you. Don't panic, don't need to worry.

"Practically for first timers or new family formations, the problem is actually largely resolved. There is some mismatch purely because of our balloting system. If you look at the figure, every year, (there is around 15,000) new family formations involving Singaporeans but I'm building 25,000 new units a year and we've been doing so. This is into the third year now. There are many more new units being formed than the number of new family formations.

"And effectively, what is happening is we are now meeting future demand because the fiance scheme is for couples who are not yet married. They are being rational. They are planning ahead so that hopefully when the key is received, they can also exchange rings, so that they time it properly, which is a good thing, which is something that we support."

Possible sites for these new homes include new towns in Bidadari, Tampines North and Tengah but some will also be built in mature estates, allowing children to stay close to their parents.

Mr Khaw said: "Wherever possible, where there are possible sites for development, we have to do so. And that is why sometimes, it is a bit painful for us to have to remove some trees, which I know many people are upset about. We are equally upset because I love trees. I'm a treehugger and we think many times before to chop down a tree or not to chop down a tree. But sometimes it can't be helped because of larger objectives, larger benefits."

Mr Khaw added that good urban planning to achieve a high quality of living is a top priority for the government.

He said: "Unlike other cities, they have hinterlands to go to. Thanks to former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, he was already ahead of his time. When we talk about the terms you hear today - green, garden city, sustainable living, etc., he was really ahead of his time because he knew that this was the only way for us to survive because this is the only place we have. This is the only city, this is our home, and if it is polluted, dirty, crowded, congested, then what kind of a life will we get?"

There will be more green spaces and parks, and by 2030, at least 85 per cent of Singapore's households will live within 400 metres of a park.

The National Development Ministry is expected to release more details on land use plans this week.

- CNA/fa

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Chhattisgarh land acquisition, large-scale tree felling for NH four-laning sparks row

PITHORA: Massive land acquisition and indiscriminate tree felling for four-laning of National Highway-53 (NH-53) has sparked unrest among the locals, who are now up in arms against the state government.

More than 55,000 trees are being cut on the stretch of 115 Kms from Aarang to Saraipali, not only affecting those in possession of the land and trees but also the environment as a whole. "Large number of farmers is losing their lands for compensation less than the market value or even the actual value of the land. Chopping down trees in large numbers, despite the state facing a lot of pollution related problems due to industrialisation, is going to be serious concern in the coming years," locals told TOI.

Though the affected farmers and people would get compensation from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) but their grievances are now taking a shape of protest with even more complaints. A group of farmers and others have formed a committee and submitted a memorandum to State Governor Shekhar Dutt, Chief Minister Raman Singh. They are also contemplating to take up the issue with Prime Minister.

"NHAI and the State Environment Conservation Board are supposed to issue the EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) report to all the related departments including Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation, District, block and tehsil officers and also the Sarpanch of all the blocks. Being a Sarpanch, I have not yet received any copy of the assessment report while as part of the process, a copy of EIA is supposed to be produced to the Sarpanch," said Vinod Sinha, sarpanch, Pithora.

As per the norms, EIA reports are supposed to be issued to the sarpanch before organizing the public hearing for ascertaining concerns of local and affected people, but they alleged that the hearing was done in a hush-hush manner in the month of September, 2012 without issuing EIA and without taking the locals into confidence.

Meanwhile forest officials in Pithora said the farmers and affected people were being compensated depending upon the size of the trees and land. However, they refused to divulge the details of the compensation being given for land and trees.

Farmers, however, told TOI that though the officials claim that centre's guidelines are being followed, the scenario shows that the farmers are being paid even less than the actual value of the land as fixed by the Mahasamund district administration for the purpose of registration of land deeds.

"My land of 1.5 acres, which is an irrigated agricultural land with grown up trees, has been put on stake due to NH -53. As per the Mahasamund registry rate 2012, each acre of my land costs not less than Rs 6.3 lakh, which would provide me not less than Rs 10 lakh if considered the market value. But the amount calculated by the government comes down to a paltry Rs 5 lakh! This mere amount won't let me buy even a small piece of land according to the market value," HD Ghosh, a farmer in Pithora said.

More than 600 farmers are being affected with four-laning work of NH-53. "The rate of the land located on the right and left side of the road differs with thousands of rupees, per square metre. The farmers are not even aware of the rate, which the government has fixed for their lands," the agitating locals alleged adding that the NHA directly issuing the cheques to the farmers without having any consultation. The rate of the land has increased to 30 per cent in a year but the farmers are not even getting the actual value of the land being evacuated by the government.

Talking to TOI, Gautam Bandhopadhyay, convenor National Highway Affected Farmers and Citizens Committee, said, "Central and state government has been violating the rules of EIA Act and NHAI Act due to which thousands of farmers and citizens have been displaced without allotment of compensation and settlement. Implementation of proper rehabilitation policy is needed for the affected people."

Despite repeated efforts, Mahasamund district collector R Shangeetha could not be reached for comments.

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Soldier talks about his new arms after transplant

BALTIMORE (AP) — A soldier who lost all four limbs in an Iraq roadside bombing has two new arms following a double transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Twenty-six-year-old Brendan Marrocco along with the surgeons who treated him will be at the Baltimore hospital on Tuesday to discuss the new limbs.

The transplants are only the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant ever conducted in the United States.

The infantryman was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009. The New York City man also received bone marrow from the same dead donor. The approach is aimed at helping his body accept the new arms with minimal medication to prevent rejection.

The military is sponsoring operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in the wars.

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