New Delhi, July 17, 2008: The Rajasthan Assembly has passed the quota bill providing reservation to the Gurjar community. The Assembly passed the bill by voice vote on Wednesday night. The Bill provides five per cent quota to Gurjars, Banjaras, Gadia Lohars and Raikas under the special backward class category. It also reserves 14 per cent for the economically backward, including those from forward castes.

The Bill was brought following large-scale protests by Gurjars demanding the community's inclusion in the ST category.

Despite the opposition Congress party supporting the bill, some of the party's MLAs including C P Joshi, Jagannath Paharia, Harimohan Sharma termed it as a bill in haste and under the pressure of Gurjar community's agitation which claimed about seventy lives in 2007-2008.

After the bill was passed unanimously, the House made a consensus resolution that the Central government should include the very bill in the 9th schedule of the constitution so that it could not be challenged anywhere in the court.

State Law Minister G S Tiwari said the bill provide reservation of seats in educational institutions in the state and appointments and posts in the services under the state in favour of the Scheduled Casts (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Classes, and Economically Backward Classes and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. "The total reservation percentage would not go beyond 68 per cent," he said. The provisions of this bill shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions contained in any other act, Tiwari said.

Without disturbing the quota percentage of SC: 16 per cent, ST: 12 per cent and OBC: 21 per cent, the bill extends quota benefit of 5 per cent to four castes of Gurjars, Banjaras, Gadia Lohars, and Raika, and 14 percent to EBCs including Brahmins, Rajput, Vaishya, Mathur etc.

As many as 40 people were killed in the month-long protests. (With thanks from ibnlive.com)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THREE YEAR OLD BANJARA BOY DIES AFTER 50 HOUR ORDEAL IN BOREWELL
JAIPUR: After hours of rescue operations 3-year-old Suraj Banjara was finally taken out of the borewell late on Friday (July 6), and doctors at the Sawai Mansingh Hospital in Jaipur pronounced him dead. The state government has announced a compensation of 2 lakhs to Suraj Banjara’s distraught family.

The body of Suraj Banjara was examined by a four-member team of doctors, who accompanied him in an ambulance. Suraj Banjara fell into a borewell in the Nemidi village 30 kms from Jaipur and was stuck there for over 43 hours. The Army had been on location for rescue work for hours, before the final breakthrough came after rescuers managed to reach Suraj after digging a shaft parallel to the borewell.

Rescue work had been hampered and delayed due to the shifting sand and an accident with one of the manually operated machines employed to dig the ground – which ran over some workers yesterday, injuring several. Amidst heavy rains, rescuers from the army and civil administration took out Suraj Banjara from inside a 13-feet piece of iron pipe of eight inch diameter where he had remained stuck ever since falling into the borewell at Nimeda village on Wednesday afternoon. (With Thanks from THE TIMES OF INDIA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6-year old Banjara boy falls into a borewell, rescue operation on
JAIPUR, July 4, 2007: A six-year old boy fell into a 150- feet borewell on Wednesday while playing at a place about 35 km from here, police said.

Police sources said Suraj Banjara fell into the borewell at Mudia Ramsar around 4.00 pm. The borwell has an approximate depth of 150 feet and breadth of 8 inches.

One firetender, a digging machine and some engineers are working out plans to rescue the child whose voice could be heard from inside the borwell, the sources said.

Initially, a hole parallel to the borewell would be dug in an attempt to move closer to the boy, they said. (With Thanks from The Times of India)


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

`Meteorite' claims 3 lives of Banjaras
Jaipur: A suspected meteorite today Thursday claimed the lives of three nomads and injured four others at Banchola village in Rajasthan's Bundi district.

Two persons died on the spot and the third at a local hospital, police said.

A crater was formed due to a blast-like situation, police said, adding it might be a blast in explosive scrap which the `banjaras' had collected from somewhere.

According to fellow Banjaras, the victims, who used to sell utensils in exchange of old clothes, were sitting in a field when an `ulkapind' (unknown flying object) hit them around 9 a.m., police said. (With Thanks from 'The Hindu')


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1,000 turtles seized from Banjaras
Jaunpur (UP), Jan. 23, 2007: As many as 1,000 turtles have been seized and four people arrested in a police raid last night.

The turtles were kept in 45 bags during the raid in Changapur village in Surajgunj police station area and were being sent to West Bengal, the police said today.

Those arrested belong to the Banjara tribe and have been sent to jail, the police added.

(With Thanks from Saharasamay.com)