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ముహూర్తం కోసం నీళ్ల రైలుకు రెడ్ సిగ్నల్!
చెన్నై ప్రజల నీటి కష్టాలు తీర్చేందుకు ప్రత్యేక నీళ్ల రైలు నగరం చేరుకుంది. 50 ట్యాంకర్ల ద్వారా 25 లక్షల లీటర్ల నీటిని ప్రజలకు సరఫరా చేసేందుకు తమిళనాడు ప్రభుత్వం ఈ ఏర్పాట్లు చేసింది.
చెన్నై దాహార్తిని తీర్చవచ్చిన నీళ్ల రైలు
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Published : Jul 12, 2019, 5:47 PM IST
| Updated : Jul 13, 2019, 12:11 AM IST
ముహూర్తం కోసం నీళ్ల రైలుకు రెడ్ సిగ్నల్! చెన్నై నగర ప్రజల నీటి కష్టాలను తీర్చేందుకు తమిళనాడు ప్రభుత్వం ఏర్పాటు చేసిన రైలు ట్యాంకర్ వెల్లూరు నుంచి రాజధానికి చేరుకుంది. రాష్ట్ర మంత్రులు నీటి రైలుకు స్వాగతం పలికారు.
50 ట్యాంకర్లున్న ఈ రైలు 25లక్షల లీటర్ల నీటిని సరఫరా చేయగలదు. నీటి కొరత తగ్గుముఖం పట్టే వరకూ ఈ రైలు ట్యాంకరు సేవలు కొనసాగుతాయని అధికారులు తెలిపారు.
ముహూర్తం కోసం రైలు ఆలస్యం..
రైలు ట్యాంకర్ చెన్నైకు ముందుగానే చేరుకోవాల్సి ఉన్నా మంత్రులు స్వాగతం పలికే ముహూర్తం కారణంగా ఆలస్యం చేశారని ఆరోపణలు వచ్చాయి. అయితే అధికారులు చెప్పిన సమయానికే రైలు వచ్చిందని మంత్రి వేలుమణి వివరణ ఇచ్చారు.
తమిళనాడు రాజధాని చెన్నైలో నీటి ఎద్దడిని తగ్గించేందుకు అక్కడి ప్రభుత్వం అందుబాటులో ఉన్న అన్ని మార్గాలను ఉపయోగిస్తోంది. ఇప్పటికే సముద్రపు నీటిని మంచి నీరుగా మార్చే ప్లాంట్లను ఏర్పాటు చేసింది.
ముహూర్తం కోసం నీళ్ల రైలుకు రెడ్ సిగ్నల్! చెన్నై నగర ప్రజల నీటి కష్టాలను తీర్చేందుకు తమిళనాడు ప్రభుత్వం ఏర్పాటు చేసిన రైలు ట్యాంకర్ వెల్లూరు నుంచి రాజధానికి చేరుకుంది. రాష్ట్ర మంత్రులు నీటి రైలుకు స్వాగతం పలికారు.
50 ట్యాంకర్లున్న ఈ రైలు 25లక్షల లీటర్ల నీటిని సరఫరా చేయగలదు. నీటి కొరత తగ్గుముఖం పట్టే వరకూ ఈ రైలు ట్యాంకరు సేవలు కొనసాగుతాయని అధికారులు తెలిపారు.
ముహూర్తం కోసం రైలు ఆలస్యం..
రైలు ట్యాంకర్ చెన్నైకు ముందుగానే చేరుకోవాల్సి ఉన్నా మంత్రులు స్వాగతం పలికే ముహూర్తం కారణంగా ఆలస్యం చేశారని ఆరోపణలు వచ్చాయి. అయితే అధికారులు చెప్పిన సమయానికే రైలు వచ్చిందని మంత్రి వేలుమణి వివరణ ఇచ్చారు.
తమిళనాడు రాజధాని చెన్నైలో నీటి ఎద్దడిని తగ్గించేందుకు అక్కడి ప్రభుత్వం అందుబాటులో ఉన్న అన్ని మార్గాలను ఉపయోగిస్తోంది. ఇప్పటికే సముద్రపు నీటిని మంచి నీరుగా మార్చే ప్లాంట్లను ఏర్పాటు చేసింది.
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
SHOTLIST:
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 4 July 2019
1. Various of trams passing a shopping district in Central Hong Kong
2. Various of pedestrians in central Hong Kong
3. Wide dry food district
4. Wide interior of a Chinese medicine shop
5. Close-up of ginseng in jars
6. SOUNDBITE (Cantonese) Mr. Chan (no full name given), shop owner:
"The protests greatly affected the people. On the day of the protests, the streets were so quiet because there were no customers."
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 1 July 2019
7. Various top shots of thousands of people marching on the street to protest against extradition bill
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 4 July 2019
8. Wide of analyst Joseph Cheng speaking during the interview
9. Cheng's eyes
10. Close of Cheng's hands
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Joseph Cheng, leader of pro-democracy coalition the Alliance for True Democracy:
"In the recent controversial legislation, it has been perceived, at least, by a lot of Hong Kong people including the business community and expatriate business community that in this eagerness to create instruments to deter the opposition movement, to deter dissidents, the Hong Kong government and probably Beijing have allowed the investment environment to deteriorate and to the extent of even neglecting the demands, the basic interests of the business community."
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 1 July 2019
12. Protesters ramming Legislative Council building's glass front
13. Protesters storming into the Legislative Council
14. Protesters placing a British colonial flag on the podium inside the chamber
15. Wide of protesters inside the chamber
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 9July 2019
16. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaking at news conference
17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Carrie Lam, Hong Kong Chief Executive:
"There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the Legislative Council. So, I reiterate here, there is no such plan. The bill is dead."
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Kowloon, Hong Kong - 7 July 2019
18. Protesters marching in the streets of Kowloon
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Hong Kong - 4 July 2019
19. SOUNDBITE: (Cantonese) Joseph Cheng, leader of pro-democracy coalition the Alliance for True Democracy:
"It has become quite clear by now that unless you have further democratisation - you have a timetable, a schedule to introduce and implement genuine democracy - it is very difficult for the HK government to re-establish its legitimacy and without legitimacy you certainly cannot rule effectively while the society continues to polarise."
20. Cars driving on the street
21. SOUNDBITE (Cantonese) Lisa (no first name given), laundry shop worker:
"Everything has changed, I am not talking about democracy, it seems no matter how hard you work, your life remains hard. You could afford a flat if you worked hard in the past. This is a huge difference."
22. Various pedestrians in central Hong Kong
STORY LINE:
It's still the world's "freest" economy, one of the biggest global financial centres and a scenic haven for tycoons and tourists, but the waves of protests rocking Hong Kong are exposing strains unlikely to dissipate as communist-ruled Beijing's influence grows.
The end of the former British colony's 50-year grace period after China took control in 1997 is years away, and the protests have had only a minor impact on day-to-day business, but they point to issues clouding the outlook, as investors and residents fret that the city will lose its Western-style freedoms.
Many in Hong Kong believe their future hinges on keeping the civil liberties: independent courts and other advantages Beijing promised to preserve for at least a half-century after Britain ceded control of the territory.
The arrangement was dubbed "one-country, two systems".
Hong Kong's economy was once about a fifth the size of China's.
Now, it's a tiny fraction of that, thanks in no small part to an industrial boom driven by Hong Kong tycoons who set up factories across the border after China opened to outside investment in the 1970s.
The territory's success as a centre for trade and investment is grounded in its independent legal system and the free flow of information, said Joseph Cheng, a political analyst and leader of a pro-democracy coalition, the Alliance for True Democracy.
He believes that, without further moves toward democracy, it will be "very difficult for the Hong Kong government to re-establish its legitimacy and without legitimacy you certainly cannot rule effectively while the society continues to polarise".
Confidence in the "one country, two systems" experiment was already feeble when the top local leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, put forward legislation that would allow authorities to send suspects held in Hong Kong to face trial in mainland Chinese courts that provide no assurances of independent judges, due process and other Western legal protections.
As tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets in protests and business groups and foreign governments registered their concerns, Lam suspended the proposed legislation.
Pro-democracy activists have continued the protests, demanding she permanently withdraw the bill, order an independent inquiry into heavy handed police tactics and resign.
On Tuesday, Lam insisted that the extradition bill was "dead".
Hong Kong's government also issued a statement saying it doesn't plan to implement the "social credit" system used in the mainland to penalise and reward behavior measured using various technologies including data processing and facial recognition that critics have described as "Orwellian".
Activists plan more protests.
Most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, though some have turned violent.
Protesters vandalised the local legislative building earlier this month.
Such sights might deter some investors but they also show the city is a world apart from the rest of China, where public dissent is banned.
The protests are "part of the checks and balances in place in Hong Kong that support institutional strength", the ratings agency Moody's said in a recent update.
The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has ranked Hong Kong the "freest economy" for 25 straight years.
The city is the No. 3 financial centre, according to an international survey of bankers, behind New York and London.
It plays a pivotal role in financing for China and was the top location for initial public offerings in 2018, with nearly 37 billion US dollars raised.
If trade tensions between the US and China worsen further, leading Washington to curb financial activities of mainland companies in American markets, Hong Kong's role for launching IPOs could grow further, he notes.
For now, it's Hong Kong's proximity to China, and its special status, that make it such an important location for businesses, analysts say.
Beijing has plans to build a "Greater Bay area" encompassing Hong Kong and other parts of the manufacturing-heavy Pearl River Delta, helping to integrate the territory more closely with neighbours such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
That might help revitalise its economy, which expanded at an anemic 0.6% annual rate in the last quarter, battered by slowing demand and trade tensions.
While unemployment is low, bread-and-butter issues such as how to afford to live in a city with the world's priciest real estate are adding to frustrations.
Salaries come nowhere close to matching the territory's per capita GDP of nearly 50,000 US dollars a year - a reflection of the vast disparities in wealth between those living in villas on Victoria Peak and the majority occupying tiny apartments that sell for about 24,000 US dollars per square metre.
"Everything has changed. I am not talking about democracy, it seems no matter how hard you work, your life remains hard. In the past, you could afford an apartment if you worked hard", said a laundry shop worker who like many protest supporters gave only her first name, Lisa.
"This is a huge difference."
For a country like China whose leaders often boast of a 3,000-plus year history, 50 years is only a snippet of time.
For Hong Kong residents taking to the streets in protest, it's the better part of a lifetime.
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Last Updated : Jul 13, 2019, 12:11 AM IST
