>> hello and welcome to "news week south asia." in this weeks episode -- pakistan raises the height of the dam and an entire city drowns.

tensions build in houses of parliament. now for all the details -- 50 years ago, a town of pakistan- occupied kashmir was destroyed and drowned. once again this man-made disaster is repeating here. pakistan's hunger for energy is once again proving to be fatal for the residents. tens and thousands of residents are rendered homeless as water enters their homes. entire cities drowned. this is not a natural calamity. the city is drowning because

pakistan has decided to raise the height of a dam, due to which water levels have gone up, and the entire city is flooded. pakistan is planning to raise the water storage capacity of the dam to 1242 feet, which will spell disaster for this city. more than 1000 families would be affected by this foul action.

>> it is the repeat of history. the dam was built on the grave of the ancestors of these people . now this generation also has to go through the same ordeal. when pakistan decided to raise the height of the dam, locals showed resistance. their voice was crushed with force.

pakistan's institution in the water and power authority conducted a survey and assured they would be no flooding, but it proved wrong, and the interest of the people are once again sacrificed. >> they claimed they would be no flooding. in fact, they promised that water would not even touch the

city, but it was a plan to steal the resources of the city for their own use. authorities very well knew the consequences of raising water levels, but they did not care. even mosques and graveyards are flooded. homes of these people are lost. they have nowhere to go. no one is rescuing them from this tragedy. not even pakistan, who is responsible for their plight. >> international rules or national rules. >> when pakistan first built the

dam in 1967, the entire city was ravaged and destroyed. huge swaths of for thailand -- a fertile land destroyed. now islamabad is repeating its mistakes, and local government is hard -- could hardly react because itlit statdly raise itse against islamabad. pakistan is building similar dams elsewhere without really caring about the well-being of locals.

after losing at least three parliamentary sessions, debating, and fighting over bills pertaining to food security, land acquisition, and pension, the government has finally appeased the opposing forces, and the bills have been passed. opposition believes that the government has passed the bills hurriedly. the passing of the bills was crucial as the country is feeling under deepening economic crisis. >> parliament has approved an ambitious plan to subsidize food for numeral two/3 of the population. the bill proposes to make food a legal right and seeks to provide five kilograms of grain a month to some 800 million people. the bill proposes to provide a kilo of rice at three rupees, rice at two rupepepepepepepepep.

somexisting schemes with an eye on general elections next year. the food minister said the federal government and the states will have to work hand in hand to make the scheme a success and that the government would bear the major part of the expenses. india accounts for 1/3 of the words for, and supporters say it would help reduce the world's poverty and hunger.

>> whatever shortcomings are there in the bill, we will try to rectify it after we come to power in 2014. by ensuring access to quality food at affordable prices for people to build a life with dignity.

>> indian parliament has appealed a new land acquisition bill that aims to ensure industrialist pay fair compensation to farmers. the bill says companies will have to obtain the consent of 80% of people living on the land before acquiring it. people will also have to be paid up to four times the market value for land acquired in rural areas and two times the value in urban areas. industrialists have raised concerns over the impact of the bill on the economy. they say it will push up the cost of acquiring land and make projects unviable. >> the farmers will get the

exact commercial value of their land when the project is done, so i think this is historical legislation. the land acquisition will go back tomorrow and the day after. >> in july, the world's largest steel company separately abandoned plans to build steel plants in india because of problems acquiring land. the new bill also says that before any land is acquired for industry, a report assessing the social impact of the acquisition of the land on its residents must be prepared in consultation with village councils and residents associations. there will be no forcible acquisition of land with the government under the new law.

>> in a separate development, indian parliament passed the pension bill that seeks to give statutory passed to regulators and also allows at least 26% or in direct investment in the sector. the pension fund regulatory and development authority has traveled for nine years. it has been functioning under executive authority since it was set up in 2003. >> still, that downgrading

threat is looming, and one will have to see how the things pan out in future because the times are difficult. unless there are more act passed in parliament, the bills passed, regarding insurance pension, which are likely to end other economic reforms at the government takes, then i think the downgrading threat will cease to exist. >> the act grants didn't pension system retirement scheme for central government employees started in january 2004 that is now open to private individuals and also state governments. the scheme now has 5.3 million subscribers and accounts for nearly 15 billion u.s. dollars. 26 state governments have also joined the scheme.

>> it's time now for a quick break, but stay tuned because coming up after the break, a big hit despite opposition from separatists, and glitz and glamour bring an end to the fashion week in mumbai. welcome back. you are watching "news week south asia." moving on now, india-born german sensation mesmerized the valley with a spectacular performance. the concert in the valley caused a lot of flutter in the light of

opposition from separatists, but the resolve of kashmiri people in the state government made the show possible. here is a report. >> stealing the thunder and along with it, hearts and minds of young kashmiris welcome arming in the valley. ♪

>> despite all the odds and opposition, the show went on smoothly and unhindered. when asked why he chose kashmir for his concert when there was so much opposition, he said, "kashmir chose me." >> i did not choose kashmir. kashmir chose me. >> do you think this should be a message of peace? >> this is the new -- music is the message of peace. music only brings peace.

>> state government ensured that the show must go on. on the eve of the show, the chief minister himself visited the site to take stock of the situation. i had run into controversy with separatists opposing it. the venue of the concert was a spectacular 15th century garden, which has the himalayan mountains as its backdrop. as the concert was described as a dream come true.

>> i'm extremely happy for my country having honored me this way. i hope we have the blessings of the whole country for our music. >> he was accompanied by the bavarian state orchestra in 1000 500 invited including government ministers and diplomats, and the performance was broadcast in 50 countries around the world. >> in musical show, which has been organized in kashmir is most welcome. >> the concert was to reach the

hearts of kashmiris with a message of hope and encouragement, but kashmiri separatist said they do not want the concert to take place in kashmir, which for years has been facing cross-border terrorism but is fast returning to normalcy. although there have been some are protests, urban local issues, and a recent spike in attacks on security forces. tens of thousands of tourists have returned to the region. separatists believe the concert was an attempt to legitimize indian rule in kashmir.

>> the call for a daylong strike on saturday was to protest the event, with and it was largely ineffective. some kashmiri rights supporters announced a parallel concert. the alternative concert consisted of local poets, singers, and wrap bands performing in a public garden.

>> on to entertainment now. bollywood celebrities flounced on the runway with ethnic ensemble at the finale of fashion week in mumbai. >> bali with celebrities on the runway with ethnic ensemble of indian designers at the finale of indian fashion week in entertainment capital mumbai on tuesday. ace designers brought the curtain down on the show.

the collection termed absolute royal of the ace designer, was an interpretation of indian royalty and featured neutral tones of nude, ivory, white, peach, and then moving onto red and black. the line featured skirts, saris, jackets, dresses. the collection was reminiscent of the beautiful collections worn by gorgeous women in their mansions. >> it to picked beauty in the local dialect of rajasthan, a state which is surrounded with a lot of scenic beauty, historical

structures, and it inspired me to put together this collection. the collection has -- determine it's a lot of qualities from rajasthan, depicted from its color palette and embroidery. >> inspired by the early colors, images, embroidery, the designer brought these in a contemporary mode. the color palette had a rich offering of orange, turmeric yellow, and maroon reflecting the glory of the vibrant region. away from the auditorium, it was

already committed. the showstopper looked radiant in a leaf green ensemble, saying indian clothes would look stunning for infants like red carpet. >> beautiful. at the end of the day, i think there are occasions for which indian is just stunning. i think about my wedding, and for infants like -- even -- events like red carpet.

>> celebrities graced the wrap as showstoppers for many designers in the finale of fashion week, 2013. >> with that, we come to the end of this edition of newsweek south asia. we will be back next week with more news, views, and analysis from the subcontinent. meanwhile, keep writing into us. on behalf of the entire

production team of "news week south asia,"

hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. u.s. federal reverse officials have decided to stick with their easy money policy. they said they won't change things up until they have more evidence of a sustained recovery. u.s. central bankers said the economy is growing at a moderate pace. they pointed out rises in household spending and business