In this issue:

1) PRESIDENT OF INDIA VISITS A.I.D. SAATHI
2) A.I.D. PROJECT ON P.B.S.
3) FLOODS IN GUJARAT STATE
4) INDIAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL
5) SUPPORT A FAMILY IN THE NARMADA VALLEY
6) A.I.D. SUPPORTS SLUM-DWELLERS' RIGHTS

 (1) PRESIDENT OF INDIA VISITS A.I.D. SAATHI
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The following news item was submitted by Sangeetha Sriram:
On June 30, President Abdul Kalam visited S.P.Nallur, the village where AID Saathi Revathi and her team are carrying out land reclamation work in Nagapattinam district. Earlier, a BBC team had visited the village. Impressed by what they saw, they mentioned it to the President during a meeting, and he decided to visit.  He spent 30 minutes in the village, interacting with farmers. He could not visit the lands for security reasons, but watched a presentation by Revathi on the story of land reclamation in S.P.Nallur. The story starts with the condition of the lands, doubts of several NGOs and the government about the feasibility of reclaiming lands within a year, work carried out in the last five months, and improvement achieved now. Revathi said it would have been impossible to document the project without the digital cameras provided by AID. Revathi presented President Kalam with indigenous seed varieties like Maduvu Muzhungi (Maduvu=Floods, Muzhungi=Swallow), a paddy variety that grows taller than the water level to save itself. President Kalam was fascinated to know that such varieties existed in India. He released a manual guiding individual farmers in tsunami-affected areas on land reclamation. The manual was written by Nammalwar and Revathi.

(2) A.I.D. PROJECT ON P.B.S.
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PBS has launched a new program titled "New Heroes" that narrates the stories of 14 individuals from around the world who are successfully fighting poverty, illness and violence. The program that aired on July 5 featured social worker Inderjit Khurana, the NGO Ruchika, and the "train platform schools" that they started in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa The project was financially supported by AID.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/khurana.html

(3) FLOODS IN GUJARAT STATE
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Torrential rains in various parts of Gujarat since late June have caused immense damage. Several rivers, including the Narmada, flooded their banks and inundated about 5,000 villages. At least 150 people have died, 1000 villages are inaccessible, 4500 villages are without electricity, and over 200,000 people are homeless. Representatives from 31 Gujarat NGOs met on July 1, and are sending reconnaissance teams to assess the assistance required in the next six months.
AID-USA has formed a team to respond to the Gujarat floods. This team will coordinate between AID partners involved in flood relief, disperse funds for relief, and coordinate between chapters that support medium- and long-term rehabilitation efforts. A public website is expected to be up soon.  The team can be reached at floret05(at)aidindia.org.

(4) INDIAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL
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Following ten years of persistent efforts by the women's movement, the Protection from Domestic Violence Bill, 2004, received the Indian cabinet's approval for introduction in Parliament, on June 23, 2005. Some provisions of the bill are being hailed by women's groups as reflecting recognition of women's right to a life of safety.... It is believed such steps are essential for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals....
Pages of newspapers in South Asia are full of tales of domestic violence. 15,000 young brides are burnt to death every year in India (OXFAM). Forty per cent of all sexual abuse cases in India are about incest. In a survey on violence against women in India, 94 per cent of the cases involved an offender who was a member of the family (UNIFEM). Violence against women in South Asia often begins before birth. It is estimated the 50 million women are missing in India either through sex selective abortions, female infanticide or female neglect. There are 79.3 girls for every 100 males in the Punjab and 87.8 girls for every 100 males in Gujarat (OXFAM).
http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/114836/1/

(5) SUPPORT A FAMILY IN THE NARMADA VALLEY
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Thousands of families are being displaced as partial dam construction has flooded their homes, fields, and forests before resettlement arrangements were made. With the rising dam height, more and more villages are flooded each monsoon. Please support a family that has lost its livelihood. Every dollar helps.
http://www.aidindia.org/sahyog/

(6) A.I.D. SUPPORTS SLUM-DWELLERS' RIGHTS
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Following recent slum demolitions in Mumbai that have left many hundreds of citizens homeless in the heavy monsoon rain, over 500 NRIs (non-resident Indians) signed a petition initiated by AID. An earlier version of the petition, with about 319 signatures, was personally handed to Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on June 29, when he visited Georgia Tech. It was handed by Prof. Govindaraj, faculty advisor to the AID chapter in Atlanta. The final petition, including signatures collected online and at the Maharashtra Mandal conference in Atlanta on the July 4 weekend, will be sent to the chief minister soon. Meanwhile, AID is reviewing a rehabilitation proposal for the displaced people.
http://www.petitiononline.com/AID0561/petition.html