Fwd: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter

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From: <newsletter@5thpillar.org>
Date: Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Subject: Change: The 5Th Pillar News Letter
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com

August 16th, 2010		5th Pillar Homepage             Donate Now!
5th Pillar's RTI Campaign in Sirkali Social activists in Sirkali, Mr.Sudhakar and Mr. Thillai Natarajan, organized a public event on the 4th of July at Sri Vanivilas Primary school in Sirkali to sensitize the public on the role of corruption in our society and effective strategies to be adopted to tackle corruption. Director of Operations, Mr. Subramani spoke on corruption, and the role of the RTI Act in tackling it. His speech opened the forum for discussion, of corrupt practices prevalent in our society, and the participants were eager to share their encounters. People encountering delays in obtaining services due to their reluctance in paying bribes, were thrilled to learn ways of approaching the issue placidly. The Zero Rupee Note, a novel tool adopted by our organization, is used by the public when money is demanded from them. Every participant was encouraged to hand in the Zero currency instead of actual money to the demanding personnel. Mr. Baskaran, a member from Kumbakonam chapter of 5th Pillar, spoke on the successes of filing an RTI. He explained in detail how RTI petitions may be filed, the expected processing time and the fee involved. When the audience comprising of agriculturists, students, businessmen, NGO's were made aware of how simple it is to file a petition demanding the answers for delayed services, they were very enthusiastic about doing this themselves. Participants joined hands with our organization by becoming members, and some were interested in initiating a local chapter of 5th Pillar in their hometown.			Upcoming Events Calendar . RTI Training at Chennai Office.         14.08.2010 and 21.08.2010 at 4 PM.         All are welcome.     To register your names for the FREE         training, call 9445164555 or 044 6527         3056 or email info@5thpillar.org. . RTI Training at Coimbatore Office.         15.08.2010 and 22.08.2010 at 4:30 PM.         All are welcome.     To register your names for the FREE         training, call 94438 41602 or email         cbe@5thpillar.org.     Please note current address: 15 Sreji         Apartment, East Periyasamy Road,         Road, R.S. Puram, CBE-2. Near         Brindavan Lodge and Priya Kunj Hall.
Recent Activities Ongoing: Weekly RTI training in Chennai and Coimbatore. 09.07.2010 to 18.07.2010: Zero Rupee Notes and RTI pamphlets were distributed by Annai book Stall, instituted by the Dharmapuri chapter coordinator, Mr. Vinoth, at Neyveli Book Fair. People from neighbouring towns such as Cudalore and Chidhambaram attended the fair.	Corruption in the 2010 Commonwealth Games In what is being dubbed the 2010 Corruption Games, if media revelations prove accurate, over half of the money allegedly spent on the Games has gone into the pockets of very few VVIP's. It has been found that while the very best of treadmills cost Rs. 4 lakh to buy, Rs. 9 lakh has been allegedly spent on renting them for 45 days. Single air conditioners allegedly cost $8700, but there is no written contract to prove it. Multimillion dollar stadiums sport leaky roofs and naked wires. The government now says that the Games will cost about $2.5 billion, nearly18 times more than the official estimate put forth seven years ago. Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former sports minister and prominent critic of the event, estimates the total cost to be closer to $7.6 billion. In a country where 200 million people go to bed hungry every night, the siphoning of such large amounts of money is criminal.
	5th Pillar US Team takes part in FeTNA 2010 Tamil Convention The 5th Pillar team in the US participated in FeTNA 2010 that took place in Waterbury, Connecticut from 3rd July-5th July, 2010. FeTNA is an umbrella organization of all the Tamil Sangams in North America. Film industry dignitaries, Tamil literary scholars, folk dancers and so on graced the occasion. We put up a table and distributed the Zero Rupee Note to the participants of the convention. Creating awareness is the key to tackle corruption. Some approached us with questions regarding the services provided by our organization. All the NRIs have encountered bribery in some form or the other. Some retold the experiences they face when they buy real estate property in India, starting from the registration to getting the electricity connection and so on. They had interesting stories. For example, when the corrupt official learns that the client is an NRI their demand increases multi-fold. We encouraged the participants to contact our offices in India when they or their r elatives encounter delayed services.
Window on Government: Permanent Account Number The Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number, issued in the form of a laminated card, by the Income Tax Department. The PAN number is required to be quoted on income tax returns and any correspondence with any income tax authority. How to apply: An application can be made on Form 49A, which can be downloaded from the website of Income Tax department www.incometaxindia.gov.in , www.utiisl.co.in , or UTIISL or NSDL or printed by local printers or photocopied by any other source. The form is also available at IT PAN Service centers and TIN Facilitation centers. Additional documents: Applicants must affix one recent, coloured photograph (3.5 cms by 2.5 cms), and proof of Identity and Address. Designation and code of the concerned Assessing Officer of Income Tax dept. will have to be mentioned in Form 49A.
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Publisher and Editor in Chief: Vijay Anand                 Managing Editor: Anita Roychowdhury Contributing Authors: Anitha Ramalingam, Puneet Anand, Srimathi Sridhar, A. Subramani, and Shobila Kali Copyright © 2010 by 5th Pillar
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Palash Biswas
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