environmental service provider PreZero is adding 30 electric rubbish trucks to its fleet in the Netherlands The new electric rubbish trucks will join the ten electric trucks that have already been operating for PreZero in the city of Duiven since 2023 the new electric rubbish trucks will collect commercial waste in and around Amsterdam Six new charging stations will be installed at each of the nine depots in these locations Heliox has been brought on board as the technology partner PreZero explains that the new charging stations are located at several sites under an overhead bridge allowing the vehicles to be charged from above This setup is intended to save space: “Previously there was a charging column between every two vehicles but now six trucks can be parked side by side.” This summer PreZero has already electrified the depots in Berkel with the remaining locations to follow in the coming months “Stalling sustainability progress is not an option We all have ambitious goals that we must achieve for the sake of the planet Despite the current issue of grid overload we do not consider delaying the electrification of our fleet to be an option,” said Iwan te Winkel As a driving force of the circular economy his company aims to transform waste into new raw materials we are also steadily reducing our CO2 emissions and the number of transport movements in waste collection Acquiring these emission-free vehicles fits well with that.” Dutch municipalities are working towards emissions-free city centres by 2025 PreZero is not only procuring electric vehicles but also participating in several initiatives for sustainable urban logistics the company is involved in an international project where it is gaining experience with waste collection using hydrogen-powered vehicles prezero.nl (in Dutch), linkedin.com (Heliox) I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013 we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology Breaking news for everyone's consumption Officials have revealed findings from an investigation after hundreds of people reported feeling sick after going to a celebration in the town of Berkel en Rodenrijs GGD Rotterdam-Rijnmond and NVWA looked into the source of illnesses The biggest cause of gastrointestinal complaints appeared to be norovirus A total of 918 people reported being sick after attending the event but no serious illnesses were recorded GGD Rotterdam-Rijnmond visited the site where King’s Day was celebrated in Berkel en Rodenrijs several times and stool samples from 11 people were examined in the laboratory which was partially completed by 2,680 respondents Analysis showed that people who had drunk something from the stall of one café or in the café itself became ill more often This applied to alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and there was no link with food An employee at the café became ill while working on King’s Day and was likely able to infect other people The café followed the catering code by sending the sick person home as soon as symptoms became clear but the virus was able to spread in the meantime Officials said there are indications that norovirus was circulating in Berkel en Rodenrijs before King’s Day Three of the 11 people with a positive norovirus result had the same type of the virus as the employee through genetic testing They added it is likely that not everyone who became ill was infected from the same source (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News,click orovirushere) Construction of the building is currently being completed after which the facility will be fitted out with state-of-the-art manufacturing Production will commence during the second quarter of 2022 At full production capacity the plant should deliver 25 satellites per quarter by Q3 2023 Satellogic is aiming to employ a minimum of 80 new staff members and is currently hiring precision optical engineers and technical support personnel to staff the facility In addition to helping the company find a fitting location the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency and regional economic development agency introduced Satellogic to regional service providers educational institutions and potential partners as well as suppliers from the Dutch space ecosystem This is a valuable step in assisting both existing and new businesses to identify opportunities to work together and to boost the regional economic activity Berkel’s location was chosen strategically because the region is home to a large number of skilled workers but also offers the best logistical support in the world “Delft’s reputation for space expertise and talent is world-renowned as is Rotterdam’s status as a global logistics hub and gateway to Europe,” said Gustav Wenhold allowing us to get the best of both worlds.” Satellogic becomes part of a very suitable ecosystem: about 80% of all Dutch space activities take place in the province of South Holland. Read more about the aerospace industry in South Holland region the arrival of Satellogic is the largest addition to our space cluster by a foreign party in more than 30 years,” says Rinke Zonneveld “This is an enormous boost for the development of the sector and it offers opportunities not only for the Dutch space supply chain “Satellogic’s mission is to democratize access to Earth Observation data and foster innovation across industries and borders Expanding our global footprint increases our reach as well as diversifies and strengthens our teams,” commented Emiliano Kargieman Spain and Israel and will continue to operate its current Assembly and Test (AIT) facility in Uruguay with a capacity of 24 satellites per year Satellogic has announced to become a public company through a business combination with CF Acquisition Corp by the end of 2021 and is planning to begin trading on Nasdaq under ticker symbol “SATL.” Get in touch with the Account Manager Aerospace at InnovationQuarter Privacy policy We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website If you continue to use this site we will assume that you agree with it We may request cookies to be set on your device We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites and to customize your relationship with our website Click on the different category headings to find out more You can also change some of your preferences Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website refusing them will have impact how our site functions You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains You can check these in your browser security settings We also use different external services like Google Webfonts Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site Changes will take effect once you reload the page Nikon has announced the winners of the 2020 Small World Photomicrography Competition and has once again shared some of the winning and honored images with us The contest invites photographers and scientists to submit images of all things visible under a microscope More than 2,000 entries were received from 90 countries in 2020 We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions 14 November 2023) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) today conducted searches in the Netherlands and seized assets in an investigation into a suspected VAT carousel fraud involving consumer electronics at the suspects’ homes and at a company office On the radar of the EPPO are three individuals suspected of playing a key role in a cross-border VAT fraud mainly involving the trade of IT products and consumer electronics They are understood to have supplied goods to companies primarily established within the EU in a complex fraudulent chain that included missing traders – shell companies established for the sole purpose of evading the payment of VAT The estimated damage amounts to millions of euros in tax losses in order to ascertain the extent of the suspected criminal activities The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU Morning Rundown: Movie tariffs met with confusion, the best Met Gala looks, and burger joints learn to cluck  My NewsSign Out Sign InCreate your free profileSections news Alerts But Dutch artist-photographer Wim van Egmond's picture of C. debilis isn't merely weird. Under Van Egmond's microscope, the critter's silica-covered cells shine like gold. Its spines stand out starkly against a marine blue background. The humble diatom becomes a thing of beauty. And that's exactly what Van Egmond, curator of the Micropolitan Museum "I like to show the variety and beauty and weirdness of micro life," Van Egmond told NBC News Van Egmond's image won first place in the 2013 Nikon Small World contest which was founded in 1974 to recognize excellence in photography through the microscope This year's competition drew more than 2,000 entries from more than 80 countries around the world The top 20 photographers won credit toward the purchase of Nikon equipment Van Egmond collected his golden diatom, along with thousands of other potential subjects, in a plankton net that he dipped into the waters of the Oosterschelde an estuary enclosed by dams and dikes along the Dutch coast It will last for two or three days if you keep it in the fridge," Van Egmond explained Once he puts his sample under the microscope then the organism isn't alive any more," he said The trick is to leave just the right amount of space between the microscope slide and the cover slip that rests on top of it and it's hard to get a sharp picture of the diatom Other top-rated images reveal the intricacies of nerve cells, the innards of chameleon and mouse embryos, the delicate structure of a dinosaur bone, and much, much more. Check out our top-20 slideshow for this year and then revisit these slideshows from previous competitions: Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks At Bosch Komkommers in Berkel en Rodenrijs Daan van den Bosch is responsible for crop protection In the spring of 2024 he decides to try something new: PATS-C This is an advanced camera system that monitors moths at night particularly the Tomato looper (Chrysodeixis chalcites) as this pest can cause serious damage in cucumber cultivation Daan is accustomed to keeping a keen eye out for signs of pest pressure caterpillars often become visible only when it's already too late He understands that in biological crop protection Tools like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and parasitic wasps can be effective but only if you know precisely when the caterpillars are hatching Interventions at a later stage are less ideal and can potentially harm beneficial insects in the greenhouse Tomato looper caterpillar successfully controlled with a Bt application From the very first moment that PATS-C is operational in the greenhouse Even though he still doesn't see anything himself the system is already detecting adult moth activity he and PATS can accurately predict—within just two days—when the first young caterpillars will appear He can immediately deploy the appropriate biological agents The smallest caterpillars found after the indication from PATS-C Daan builds trust in the insights from PATS-C and realizes he can act much more precisely turn out to behave very differently from a biological perspective They are essentially two separate ecosystems That's why Daan decided that in early 2025 both greenhouses will be permanently equipped with a PATS-C system And I don't have to rely as much on gut feeling." Daan starts counting down: just over ten days later PATS is working on an automated recommendation model so that growers in the near future can respond even more easily to insights ultimately needing less experience or guesswork A future where precision and sustainability go hand in hand For more information:Bosch Komkommerslinkedin.com/company/bosch-komkommers/ FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com The equestrian sport community worldwide was left devastated earlier this month by the passing of Ros Canter’s World champion Allstar B This wonderful gelding – known affectionately as “Alby” – was the star of the most recent FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018, guiding Canter to Individual and Team gold for Great Britain in Tryon The 17-year-old KWPN was competing for GB at CHIO Aachen in early July when he sustained an irreparable injury during the cross-country phase Medics in Germany concluded that due to the nature of the injury euthanasia was the only course of action for Alby’s welfare Tributes came pouring in from across the globe with star names and Eventing fans impacted by the sad news While we are filled with sadness by his passing let’s look back at his incredible achievements… Allstar was foaled in the Netherlands in 2005 Van Der Burg said he was breeding so many horses at the time that it was hard to remember each one “Allstar is fantastic,” he said after Alby’s win in Tryon “He was bred as a top jumper with enough blood to canter well in the cross Bought as a five-year-old from Vere Phillips by co-owner handsome and talented — he seemed to have it all He soon started his competitive career with Moore before handing the reins over to Emily Parker Parker produced the horse up to intermediate level at which stage their biggest event together to date came in 2015 when they competed at Burghley A strong result in early 2016 at Bramham led to a first Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ call-up The pair headed to Strzegom with the Great Britain team and it was possibly a career-changing trip for both and made the podium in the Individual event finishing just behind Ludwig Svennerstal and Michael Jung Allstar & Canter were now becoming established as one of GB’s top pairings In May of that year they tackled their first Badminton They finished in fifth place – just behind Andrew Nicholson Tim Price and Mark Todd – and as the best of the Brits Their next big date was a return to Strzegom for the FEI European Championships where they would star for GB alongside Tina Cook & Billy The Red Nicola Wilson & Bulana and Oliver Townend & Willingapark Cooley The Brits were simply too strong for their rivals winning gold at the Polish venue ahead of Sweden and Italy Canter & Alby came close to Individual glory too as they came fifth in the standings with Ingrid Klinke & SAP Hale Bob Old and Jung & Fischerrocana taking the top two spots Alby & Canter placed third at Badminton booking their place on the flight to the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon They made a dream start at the World Equestrian Games with a promising dressage phase that put them just behind Klimke & SAP Hale Bob Old Both the British and German pairs then scored clears over the cross-country course in North Carolina Canter & Alby knew they’d need to go clear if they were to have any chance of gold They could now only watch on as their rivals for the Individual prize made their way round the ring The Germans were handling the course beautifully and were well within the time but knocked down a rail on the final vertical for 4 penalty points “Allstar B was absolutely amazing,” Canter said I kept saying to myself just let him do his job and I am so proud There were quite a few tears when I found out It’s just incredible for me and the whole support team behind Team Great Britain Canter took time off to have a baby in 2019 but just before that she hit No.1 in the World rankings Allstar’s performances over cross-country and his consistency – they had not finished outside the top 5 in an event in the previous three years – was what made the difference They were restricted to just one appearance together in both 2019 and 2020 A post shared by Ros Canter (@ros_canter_eventing) They were selected as non-competing reserves for Tokyo 2020 but 2021 was to be another medal year as they helped GB to Team gold in the FEI European Championships in Avenches Badminton 2022 was their last five-star run together Alby finishing 12th – it turned out to be the penultimate run of his stellar career They had made the longlist for this year’s FEI World Championships in Pratoni and headed out to CHIO Aachen in late June looking to show their best Alby pulled up lame at the course and was attended to by the veterinary team who made him comfortable before he was transferred to a clinic where co-owner Caroline Moore described Alby as “the horse of a lifetime The most generous and brave horse that I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with British Equestrian Eventing performance manager also paid tribute to Alby: “The partnership Ros and he shared is one of the greatest the sport has enjoyed Together they have given so much to eventing and British teams but will hold a place among the legends of our sport.” Some of Allstar & Canter’s best performances can be viewed here on the FEI’s YouTube channel… Images by Liz Gregg / Christophe Taniére / Richard Juilliart We pay tribute to David O'Connor's Olympic gold medallist.. Ros Canter is celebrating becoming world No.1 just weeks ahead of becoming a mum… Thailand's Eventing favourite has come a long way since Queen Elizabeth helped inspire his love of horses.. Eventer Yu Xuan Su is making plans for the Asian Games from his London base we get to know more about this retiring Eventing favourite.. Nadia Aslam caught up with Eventing athlete Imogen Murray to pick her brain about the challenges and joys of the sport she so dearly loves… We celebrate Michael Jung's new superstar bay gelding.. We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies More than 2,000 images from 80 different countries were entered in the 39th annual competition. The panel of judges that combed through all of them to find the best ones included scientists, journalists and microscope experts. The photos were judged on their originality, the information they conveyed, the technical skills that created them and their visual impact. The winning image, by freelance photographer Wim van Egmond of The Netherlands, is an amazing view of a colony of marine diatoms, a type of phytoplankton. The colony is shaped like a hairy helical ribbon. To get all the detail and give a sense of three dimensions, Egmond used a technique called image stacking to piece together more than 90 images. “I approach micrographs as if they are portraits. The same way you look at a person and try to capture their personality, I observe an organism and try to capture it as honestly and realistically as possible,” Egmond said in a press release from Nikon today. “At the same time, this image is about form, rhythm and composition. The positioning of the helix, the directions of the bristles, the subdued colors and contrast all bring together a balance that is both dynamic and tranquil.” Here we have the top 20 images from this year's competition. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking Amsterdam and Rotterdam were again the scene of explosions overnight One person was treated for smoke inhalation Amsterdam had one at a fishmonger on Molukkenstraat There was also a suspected arson in the Dutch capital overnight The explosion at the Amsterdam fishmonger happened around 5:00 a.m., a local told AT5 The blast shattered the business’s windows Emergency services also responded to Derde Oosterparkstraat at 00:20 a.m. because a motorcycle, scooter, and car were on fire. The letterboxes in a nearby apartment building were also damaged. The cause of the fire is not yet known, a police spokesperson told NH Nieuws The fire happened near the site of an explosion earlier this month an explosive damaged the door of another apartment building on Derde Oosterparkstraat The explosion in Schiedam happened at a home on Boterstraat at 00:50 a.m Paramedics treated one resident at the scene for smoke inhalation The Berkel en Rodenrijs explosion set a car on fire and shattered a window at a home on Lunet the Rotterdam police reported on X at 1:45 a.m The residents were home at the time and managed to flee through the back door The explosion in Hoogvliet happened at around 1:00 a.m. at a commercial building on Koddeweg. The blast and subsequent fire damaged the building’s facade. The police think the explosion may be linked to a robbery at the same building a day earlier, possibly involving cocaine, according to Rijnmond In 2004 the Dutch population grew by 0.2 percent to reach 16.3 million The population increased rapidly in municipalities surrounding larger towns The municipality of Barendrecht reported the largest population increase in 2004 The largest decrease was recorded in the municipality of Marum In 2004 many people moved from Rotterdam to new housing estates in Barendrecht making it the fastest growing municipality in 2004 The population of the municipalities of Pijnacker-Nootdorp (people from The Hague and Delft) and Albrandswaard (people from Rotterdam) increased by approximately 5 percent New housing estates in Haarlemmermeer attracted Amsterdam residents The population of Berkel en Rodenrijs (people from Rotterdam) and Houten (people from Utrecht) grew by roughly 3 percent In the municipality of Thorn the population grew considerably due to the opening of a new home for the elderly The highest rate of population decrease (-2.9 percent) was recorded in Marum the population fell by more than 2 percent In Marum and Vlagtwedde asylum seekers centres were closed down a large number of residents of Vaals left the Netherlands to settle in Germany The highest population growth rate in 2004 was found in Almere (+2.4 percent) and Utrecht (+2.1 percent) Almere attracts many residents from Amsterdam many young families move to Almere which results in a higher birth rate The number of residents living in Rotterdam and The Hague declined by 0.5 and 0.1 percent respectively Amsterdam’s population remained virtually unchanged Using satellite data to focus on air pollution and socioeconomic inequality Press Office and Infoservice in the spotlight Assam Times: First of all could you please tell us how you spent your early life in Assam and also how you shift to Europe I attended the lower primary school at Jorhat and then joined the Jorhat Government High School From Jorhat my father was transferred to Kohima He was the Principal of Kohima Polytechnic School I had my matriculation from Kohima Government High School and did my undergraduate study at J.B From there I went to study Aircraft Maintenance Engineering at Southern College of Engineering and Technology in Ernakulum in Kerala The college selected me to join BMW Triebwerkbau GmbH Germany for higher training in Jet Engines I joined Kalinga Airlines and worked as a trainee Here I got my first hand experience in DC3 I worked as a teacher at the Kohima Government High School I left Bombay by ship and after 14 day-long travel reached Genoa in Italy From there we took the train and travelling through Switzerland we arrived in Munich in one of the coldest winters of Europe I not only got my training in Jet-engines but I also leant how to survive in an alien environment amidst a totally different work culture and above all without knowing the local language From Munich I went to Hamburg to work with the Lufthansa German Airlines There I came in contact with numerical controlled machines and data processing I joined evening classes to study computer programming in languages like Basic In Germany I wanted to change my profession from Aircraft Maintenance Engineering to IT But I could not get the residence permit to work in the IT sector I applied for an IT job in the Netherlands and moved to the Netherlands in 1968 Saleh with the mayor of Berkel en Rodenrijs receiving his royal award Flyer introducing Sattriya dancer Vedajyoti Ozah Milan 2007: with Sattriya dance participants at Milan Festival AT: Why you applied for a job in Netherlands One of the reasons I applied for a job in the Netherlands was that as a student from India I was corresponding with a medical student from the Netherlands and she wanted to continue her study to become a medical specialist AT: You are the first one of the Assamese to be sent for training in Jet engines In those days in India we had aircrafts with propeller driven engines It was a four-engine propeller-driven aircraft built by Lockheed Then there was the turbo-prop Fokker’s Friendship aircrafts used in the Kolkata – Assam sector The Boeing 707 entered commercial services in 1958 Air India introduced the first 707 with jet engines in 1960 At that time there was no possibility in India to get training in commercially used Jet engines there were only two institutions in India to study Aircraft Maintenance Engineering One was at Dumdum airport and the other was at Kerala One of the newspapers published from Kolkata reported that I was the first Assamese to be sent for training in Jet engines As India introduced commercial aircrafts with Jet engines in 1960 it is very well possible that I was the first Assamese who got an opportunity to go abroad for higher training in this subject AT: How your inclination to work in social activities in Netherlands start life in the Netherlands was very comfortable In the aircraft maintenance division of an airline some of the employees have to follow a three shifts rooster In such an environment it is not that easy to follow evening and weekend classes Another big advantage in the Netherlands was that almost everybody here speaks English As a new arrival I got in touch with the Netherlands-India Association It is one of the oldest cultural associations of the Netherlands I became an active member and then got elected to the Board During this period I came in contact with the diplomats of the Indian Embassy and other India centric organizations I got involved with different social and cultural organizations and started my contacts with the Dutch local and central government offices Slowly Indians discovered the Netherlands and started coming to the Netherlands The new arrivals wanted information about Indian shops The Dutch got interested in yoga and Indian classical music The Dutch school students also got interested in India The Dutch public contacted me for information If the Indian Embassy was not able to give answer to questions Later the Indian Tourist Office also started informing the public to contact me with their specific questions That is how I got involved with the socio-cultural activities in the Netherlands I started writing down the questions and also the answers This was the foundation of my book called Indiawijzer (Guide to India) which was first published in 1992 The profit of the first edition of the publication I donated to the Netherlands-India Association I donated to an educational foundation from Assam I am now more or less a walking information source on India related subject and a linking pin between different organizations and India AT: Tell us some significant work that you and your foundations have done in Netherlands To name these… which I initiated or involved with are: As a Secretary of the Association I organised art-exhibitions and cultural programmes of well-known Indian artists and coordinated fundraising campaigns for drinking water projects I was also responsible for running relief campaigns including As a social entrepreneur I am an active member of the Indian community in and outside The Netherlands community and cultural organizations’ in various advisory and executive positions Last year I was able to introduce Satriya dance in the Netherlands I am indebted to both Indian as well as the Dutch society It is always a pleasure to be able to give back a considerable amount of time and energy to the work of the voluntary and charitable organizations I followed what the Old Testament said “Better a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away” George Bernard Shaw once said – “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can” I also wanted to do something for the community I wanted to accept the challenges in a foreign land wanted to give a helping hand in social activities and not just sit on the fence and remain a finger pointer AT: You have won a lot of awards including the Order of Orange & Nassau in Netherlands Prabhashi Bharatiya Community Service Award etc. It is an unexpected honour to learn that I received an award You work hard every day but sometimes wonder if anybody notices It is honour even to be recommended for an award it gives you a feeling that you are respected and recognized When you receive an award it means the people definitely notice Being celebrated at the ceremony is also a special honour At the award ceremony when I learn about the achievements of other recipients I feel intensely proud and privileged to be included in the group The Indian community honoured me in 1998 with the “The Golden Jubilee Community Service Award” So far I am the only person to receive this award In April 2002 I was awarded the coveted Dutch honour Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau or the Knighthood of the Order of Orange-Nassau It was presented on the occasion of the queen’s birthday For an Indian national it was a rare honour to receive this award which is normally given only to Dutch nationals who have made distinguished contributions to socio-economic life in the Netherlands I was chosen for the award for my efforts in the promotion of multicultural activities in the country I have also declined to receive awards like Hind Rattan AT: What is your comment on Indian democracy in view of the current political situation is said to be a fluid one specially at a time when there has been an allegation these days that everything in Indian democracy is for sale the Republic of India is the world's largest democracy considerable illiteracy and diversity on a sub-continental scale Democratic procedures go down to the village level Indian government has decentralized several administrative functions empowering elected gram panchayats to govern at the village level But the question is what type of democracy we have in India when ethnic and other identities like religion or language determine the voting process where a right of the group is more important than individual rights After the terrorist attacks in Mumbai the city elite and intellectuals were blaming the politicians At the same time voters have turned up in unprecedented numbers to cast their ballots in elections to local assemblies in six states According to a study conducted by National Election Watch as many as 125 candidates with criminal records have won in assembly elections in December 2008 There are several candidates who have cases of serious criminal charges such as murder attempt to murder and kidnapping against them Affidavits submitted by the candidates showed that the total number of candidates with criminal records who contested the assembly elections were 549 I think it was in a speech in 1999 our former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said that despite the outward appearance of health Indian democracy appears to have become hollow with elections reduced to a farce and the "party system eroded due to unethical practices." According to Vajpayee but appears to be moth-eaten from inside." Vajpayee wondered whether democracy had truly taken root in India "How can democratic institutions work properly," he asked "when politics is becoming increasingly criminalized?" personally I have my own opinion of our democracy But still I am proud of it as it is still working and keeping India in one piece According to the law all are equal in India But due to the all compassing caste systems prevailing in our society some people are more equal then the others Otherwise we would not have 780 million Dalits many of them still fighting at the lowest ladder of the society Many of them are not allowed visiting the temples frequented by the upper caste or draw water from the village well Sometimes you even cannot choose different policies and different political parties and elect different leaders as the same set of leaders keep changing parties An extraordinary growth of regional parties coupled with defection politics and political infighting the legitimization of criminal elements in the parliament and the State legislatures have compelled us to lose our faith in the ballot-box The wheels of the electoral politics run on unaccounted money This was also telecast live from the Indian parliament where three MPs pulled out bundles of notes to show that they were given to change party The shocking statistic of vote for cash in Karnataka was highlighted in a study conducted by the Delhi-based NGO titled 'Alarming trend of purchasing voters' Karnataka tops the country in voters being bribed to cast their vote in favour of a particular political party for money Another disturbing factor in Indian democracy is the use of populism in the political arena posing as “senas” or savior of local culture generally operating as fronts for political parties to carry out their dirty jobs Some of them will work for the highest bidders Many of us have experienced corrupt bureaucracy and complain about it But we have no ideas on removing this evil But in 2001 the fundamentalist groups succeeded in preventing the circulation of the book “The Myth of the Holy Cow” A custodian of Hinduism even sentenced the author to death The book was ultimately published outside India the government of Maharashtra banned the book “Shivaji: Hindu King of Islamic India” by US academic James W Laine in the name of protecting the image of Shivaji large scale violence was unleashed by a mob resulting in the destruction of properties They ransacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune and destroyed valuable collections India's most famous living artist was banned by Hindu fundamentalist groups from exhibiting his work in Delhi as they were enraged by his paintings of nude gods and goddesses But they all go on a pilgrimage to see the erotic sculptures of the sun temples of Khajuraho We have seen what Raj Thackery did to North Indians After the attack in Mumbai we have seen how Shiva Senas ransacked the properties of the lawyers who wanted to defend the terrorist This is what I mean by - there is no freedom in our democracy in their discussion I think four subjects dominates – cricket Indian democracy was and still is a secular democracy and a republic with its States enjoying a good measure of autonomy There is a silent majority which upholds the values of democracy Indian democracy is not dominated by its religious leaders and the armed forces We still sing with full conviction – Sare Jahan se Asha AT: In one of your papers that you presented in the staff college at Khanapara you had mentioned that the word Assam is a brand now In one of my articles on the issue of name change from Assam to Asom I mentioned that Assam is a “brand name” Assam is known all over the world for its finest tea Even the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 20th May 2006 assertively said in a press conference at Guwahati that the State Government would take up the issue of giving State's tea a special brand name -- Assam Tea The first successful mechanically drifted oil well in Asia was at Nahorpung near Digboi Asia's first oil refinery in Assam went on stream in 1901 and today the world's oldest operating oil refinery in Assam is still producing In the world of textile Assam silk has also a place Besides having 820 species of birds (highest for any Indian state) Assam is an established name amongst the ornithologists Changing the name of Assam may only marginalise whatever little name recognition the Assamese have in the world today AT: What do you feel about the existing political scenario in Assam Wahid: I have already given you some of my thoughts on Indian democracy I have not come across any politician from Assam with vision for the development of the State Otherwise Assam would not have earned the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt State in the country on the basis of corruption in 11 vital services We need politicians with leadership qualities motivation and action to set right the flaws in Assam’s institutions of governance The politician should be made accountable to their election promises Since decades we are clamoring about the illegal immigrants Did any politicians come forward with an action plan How do we ensure that candidates with criminal records are kept out of the electoral arena I understand even we have a MP from Assam who is not born in India and has a criminal record The education minister was arrested for bribery Democracy does not come about simply by holding elections AT: We understand that you are involved in some charitable and other projects in Assam Wahid: In a small way I am involved with a few projects in Assam My wife and I had a dream that after our retirement we shall return to Assam Now we are enjoying the fruits of our labour Our children are settled in the Netherlands We realized that we shall not be going back to settle in Assam So we sold our properties and established a charitable trust in the name of my parents The aim of the trust is to give financial assistance to needy students from the socially weaker section of our society My wife supports the Matoekoe project in Suriname Suriname was a Dutch colony in South America Matoekoe is a curative education centre for children with a mental disability We also try to support Parijat Academy and Prajnalaya AT: Your advise to the young generation and people of Assam Hence I don’t think I have the right baggage to give advice to the present generation who has different sets of expectations and have to face new type of challenges I can mention a few of the important points which were handed down to me by my elders and friends and which I picked up during my travel through different roads don’t worry about what the society expects from you You have to live your life and do something that has some meaning to you It is not easy to follow and fulfill your own dreams In the world there were no short cuts to success nor in future there will be One has to work very hard to achieve ones goal Don’t believe that you are entitled to something You should do work that you love to do not what others expects you to do You should do something because you love doing it My Fourth suggestion: Don’t ever stop learning You should have the courage to stand behind your conviction and move away from following the crowd To start with do little things at a time that makes you proud of yourself You will have faith in your capacity when you have a few achievements to your credit – however small and insignificant they might be But name tarnished is very difficult to clear More information about text formats AssamTimes.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at http://www.assamtimes.org.  Contact: editor@assamtimes.org This newspaper is powered by Drupal / Open source. Design & hosting by Rongjeng Technologies.  Follow us at Twitter Facebook. You may also Contact Us here. Join Assam Times WahstApp Group the new bell pepper plants were partly planted this month in a brand new greenhouse has given way to a new model with wider windows better insulation and a more efficient layout Grower Edwin van der Ploeg looks forward to start growing in the new greenhouse Good planningThe yellow pepper nursery has a total of 7.5 hectares The old 1.5-hectare greenhouse was due for replacement Then the new greenhouse was built by Havecon "All the glass panes were installed before the weather became really bad," says Edwin satisfied "That was well planned." SDP panels in the facadesWith a column height of 6.10 m the new greenhouse is ready for a more energy-efficient cultivation Thanks to the acrylic sheets in the façade the rolling wall screens are no longer necessary In the new greenhouse the path is straight The two screen installations that Huisman Scherming has installed will certainly help to make the cultivation in this greenhouse more energy efficient." For more information:Montreahof B.V.+31(0)10 - 511 5422 J Poortmanweg 42651 NB Berkel en RodenrijsThe Netherlands Two large fires resulted in parts of Zuid-Holland dealing with stench issues on Tuesday evening A motorcycle workshop went up in flames in Zoetermeer and a monumental farmhouse burned down in the village of Driebruggen Complaints of a foul burning smell came in from Berkel en Rodenrijs, Bleiswijk, and Bergschenhoek, according to NOS The stench could also be smelled further away with reports in Alblasserdam and Sliedrecht urging locals to keep their windows and doors closed and shut off their ventilation The fire in the motorcycle workshop on Goudstraat in Zoetermeer started in the early evening Firefighters and the owner saved some motorcycles but the rest burned down with the building The fire brigade let the building burn down in a controlled manner Veiligheidsregio Haaglanden warned that the smoke caused by this blaze may contain soot particles Firefighters tried to save the monumental thatched-roof building they let the building burn down in a controlled manner The cause of this fire is also still unclear Aanwezig bij een flinke woningbrand aan #Laageind in #Driebruggen. De brand is inmiddels minder hevig, een groot deel van de woonboerderij is volledig uitgebrand. De brandweer heeft overslag naar schuren weten te voorkomen. pic.twitter.com/ut1dYCjwt2