The Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath on Monday sacked estranged BJP ally SBSP chief OP Rajbhar from his cabinet. The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) supremo on Sunday had predicted a massive victory for the SP-BSP alliance in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
According to a tweet from Yogi Adityanath’s handle, the UP chief minister had requested the Governor of the state Ram Naik to dismiss Rajbhar which was accepted. He was the minister for backward class welfare and ‘divyangjan’ empowerment. On the other hand, welcoming the decision, Rajbhar said that he would continue fighting for his rights.
Prior to this, Rajbhar had resigned from the cabinet. He was annoyed over denial of seats of his choice in the state. But it was not accepted. After that, he fielded 39 candidates for seats in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases of the Lok Sabha elections that concluded on Sunday.
The SBSP chief was acting against the interest of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He had also declared support for the Congress candidate in Mirzapur and SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidates in Maharajganj and Bansgaon. Rajbhar had also dismissed the possibility of Narendra Modi being re-elected as the Prime Minister.
It refers to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) slashing prices of nine anti-cancer drugs by up to 87 per cent. Big question is firstly why drug-companies were allowed to mint money in the past with government-agency like NPPA in existence, and secondly why such price-slashing is not done for all drugs in one go with even World Health Organisation WHO establishing that even essential drugs in India with lowest printed Maximum-Retail-Price MRP are exorbitantly priced over manufacturing-cost followed by abnormally high trade-margin between ex-factory price and MRP. High profit-margin is evident from the fact that many companies selling on-line medicines have emerged giving heavy discounts of up to 25 per cent on medicines that too bearing the heavy cost of packing and home-delivery.
NPPA must devise a profit-formula rather than differentiating by having various categories of medicines where price-regulation is applicable only for some limited drugs. Presently even generic medicines considered to be a cheaper version of respective branded medicines have exorbitant trade-margins of several hundred percent. There are many medicines where different drug-manufacturers take undue advantage of their brand-popularity with prices of same medicine differing several times according to brand-popularity.
Price-revision of any medicines must be allowed only once in a year say on First January only unless approved as a special case by NPPA. Gimmick packaging other than in units of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 gms, mltrs or units must not be allowed unless approved by NPPA for dose-wise administration. The rule should be to emboss or print the name of medicine in a manner that name is there on every capsule or tablet thus ruling out the possibility of wastage of drug in case name-portion of the strip is consumed.
Madhu Agrawal
City hoardings — drastic steps
The bulk of the hoardings removed from the streets of Mumbai and it took over two months to take such a drastic step. It is very difficult to keep the city’s pavements free of hoardings showcasing various leaders in, it must be admitted, alliterative language, but at the same time most of it qualifying to be purple prose. What has therefore resulted in a rash of hoardings all along routes that certain VIPs in our city taken when they do such mundane things as going to the office, or take a flight out or return home after a short visit somewhere. It is even felt that these people have hoardings, banners and posters put up even with their homes as well. However, the failure of BMC to remove hoardings and file case is astonishing as the civic officials are in a fix due to pressure and lack of police protection as reasons for inaction against parties. The main concern is buildings structural stability and then also how these billboards have become eyesores.
Ramanathan Ramani Suresh
Demand-supply mismatch leading to health hazard!
An apple a day keeps the doctor away but a mango a day not just keeps you away from diseases but is a powerhouse that keeps you healthy and energised. Mango is a seasonal fruit that is loved by all and is often referred to as the King of fruits. Demand-supply of mango has forced traders to ripen mango artificially by using calcium carbide which not just has an adverse effect on the health of people but even the flavour and taste of mangoes have disappeared over the years.
Mangoes are rich in vitamins, are good for digestion, help cure many diseases, and are health booster in more sense than one. However, artificially ripened mangoes weaken not just liver but are a health deterrent and all the benefits of mangoes are not just neutralised but has a serious effect on people consuming mangoes. We outsource mangoes from Ratnagiri and Devgadh in its raw state and wait for it to ripen in its original form though it takes three weeks. Mango goes well with shakes, shrikhand, sandwiches, and almost all food items which are the reason why people of all age groups love it. The government should have stringent laws to punish people selling ripened fruits using harmful chemicals to save people becoming a victim of diseases as it even causes cancer!
S.N.Kabra
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Stocks added Rs 318,000 crore to investor kitty in one minute on Dalal Street on Monday. It was the impact of a landslide victory for NDA projected by exit polls in just concluded the Lok Sabha elections. The exit poll results came in better than market expectations.
It is worth mentioning that domestic financial markets on Monday cheered exit poll results, which showed the ruling NDA is likely to win the general elections with bumper majority. BSE Sensex skyrocketed 942 points, and the rupee appreciated 79 paise against the US dollar.
After rising high over 962 points in early session, the 30-share index pared some gains and was trading 687.63 points, or 1.81 per cent, higher at 38,618.40. In similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty was trading 203.05 points, or 1.78 per cent, up at 11,610.20.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Maruti, L&T, SBI, ICICI Bank, RIL, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Vedanta, rising up to 4 per cent. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Infosys and HCL Tech slipped up to 2 per cent.
Mumbai, which comes in crisis during every monsoon, this time authorities have geared up towards enhancing safety. The city that has learned to live with except that the media hyper aerates on it, and then waits for the next breaking news. Every Mumbaikar knows it well why this unpleasant experience visits upon the city in monsoon. The BMC failed in its efforts to prevent waterlogging across the city. One, the city has a drainage problem. Every time it rains when the high tide is on, the rainwater does not flow out of the city. It backs up and inundates every low-lying part. Among the low-lying parts are the railway tracks, said to be a few feet below the mean sea level (MSL) and that explains their submersion. The bureaucracy of the civic body is culpable too. They approve the poor work done by the contractors and are responsible for the delayed contracts because the standing committee takes its own time for venal reasons. Settling cuts is more important than getting the work done speedily. With Praveen Pardeshi appointed as the new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner, the civic body has geared up to tackle the monsoon of Mumbai.
BMC authorities would be paying special attention to dilapidated buildings, road and rail traffic, removing encroachments and security. The BMC has claimed this month they would be clearing 2.44 lakh tonnes of 3.49 lakh tonnes of the silt from major nullahs and 2.13 lakh tonnes of the 3.09 lakh tonnes from minor nullahs. The BMC has also listed 398 buildings in the C1 category, dilapidated condition, which need to be vacated. Of these, 64 are in N ward (Ghatkopar), 51 in Andheri and Jogeshwari (K Westward) and 47 in Mulund (T ward), with 193 cases sub-judice and 46 with the technical advisory committee (TAC).
The compounding is by the garbage that chokes the escape paths. The stormwater drains, over a century old in the island part, have not been completely renewed through a big-ticket project, BRIMSTOWAD, is underway at snail’s pace – the costs have escalated, and the pace is not improving. However, the poor drainage system is not the only reason. It’s the intensity of the sleet and it’s timing, coinciding with the high tides. It has a lot to do with the way solid waste is managed. Though it is a routine requirement to be routinely attended to, contracts for clearance of drains – nullahs as we call them – are issued late. The work starts after a lag, and the contractor hopes the muck not cleared would somehow get washed away, and he is saved the expenditure of having to clean them up.
The contractors who failed and hold the city to ransom are not punished. They, in fact, continue to be bidders for the work year upon year, and no one bats an eye. In fact, it is routine. So live with it. The city has a habit of calculating the loss of business or the impact on the economy. It may make sense to impose an equivalent as fine on the contractors. The elected ward representatives, who are there because they chose to be in civic politics, do not give a damn about the management of solid waste management in their bailiwicks. They do not inspect the drains, except when a bigwig of their respective party stirs out for a photo-op, oops, inspection. The biggie issues instructions; the officials nod their heads, and then wait for the next year for the theatre of the absurd. It gives the impression that the politicians are hand-in-glove with the contractors mainly because the city residents are not of the go-lynch mindset. So what is heavy rain and a disruption? It is not understood that solid waste management is not only a piece of work to be taken up before the monsoon. They need to be kept constantly clean because there are health hazards of not attending to them.
10 per cent of the city’s garbage is plastic, which means 650 metric tonnes per day. Each plastic bag weighs a few grams, even a plastic bottle. Imagine the abandon with which plastic is thrown. It is possible that the weight estimated is of only the garbage collected. The plastic bags are the real culprits while the other solid wastes, including construction material and thermocol too add to the crisis. The cities, like others, have banned plastic bags under 30 microns. Stores are asked to charge customers for plastic carry bags to dissuade the use of plastic and encourage the return to the cloth bag. However, small stores use plastic of all dimensions with impunity, and big stores have made a racket of it.
Above all, the city resident is a culprit too. He throws the garbage anywhere, but he is helpless as he is careless. Helpless because there are no convenient garbage bins, and even if the claim is of 7,500 tonnes of garbage per day, it is the collected garbage. The quantity of the uncollected garbage is anyone’s guess but they are what choke the drains. Walk through the slums, which accommodate half the city’s population, and the picture about the solid waste management practices emerge – no bins, careless flicking of the garbage as far away from one’s dwelling. However, the well-heeled are not innocent. They run shops and throw the garbage out on the sidewalk. They throw them out of the window. They are nonchalant about it, till the city is disrupted. But this time you may see some positive changes and very prompt resolutions to make Mumbai sage during monsoon.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Every year the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation makes tall claims about the city being ready for the monsoon. However, the city witnesses heavy waterlogging due to choked nullahs. Mumbaikars also have to face huge inconvenience on account of pot-holed roads. The newly appointed BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi has taken charge and will ensure that the city remains prepared to face any eventuality during the monsoon season. The cleaning of nullahs is happening on a war footing basis as manpower is deployed to ensure that drains don’t overflow due to silt.
The BMC has claimed that this month they would be clearing 2.44 lakh tonnes of 3.49 lakh tonnes of the silt from major nullahs and 2.13 lakh tonnes of the 3.09 lakh tonnes from minor nullahs. The civic body has started the work of uploading the pictures of desilting of nullahs in support of its claim. As of May 14 around 70 per cent of the work has been completed.
“The desilting work of major nullahs have been completed around 70 per cent and that of minor nullahs around 40 per cent. The cleaning of major nullahs will be completed as per schedule and contractors have been asked to speed up the work of desilting minor nullahs,” said a senior official of the SWD department.
The work of desilting of nullahs commences on April 1 of every year and the deadline for completion of the work is May 15. However, the deadline has been extended to May 31 this year. In a meeting with police department, railways, BMC, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Indian Navy, Public Works Department (PWD) meteorological department and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials a decision has been taken to fill potholes in the city by May 31, 2019.
During the monsoon season, the city witnesses collapse of dilapidated buildings thereby resulting into death of residents. To avert building collapse tragedy the BMC has asked residents of these structures to vacate their houses. The BMC has listed 398 buildings in the C1 category, a dilapidated condition which needs to be vacated. Of these, 64 are in N ward (Ghatkopar), 51 in Andheri and Jogeshwari (K Westward) and 47 in Mulund (T ward), with 193 cases sub-judice and 46 with the technical advisory committee (TAC).
The classification of buildings is done in three categories namely C1, C2 and C3. The C1 tag is given to dangerous buildings, structures in need of major structural repairs are classified under C2 and those which need minor repairs come under C3 category. The BMC has decided to offer Rs 100 crore to BEST every month until their budgets are merged. BEST also plans to lease 3000 buses during the monsoon season.
The Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar said on Sunday that BJP should expel Sadhvi Pragya Singh from the party. He strongly condemned her controversial remark describing assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse as a patriot.
Nitish Kumar made it clear that his party would not tolerate such things. His party JD(U) is a strong ally of BJP. Nitish said that Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the nation. People will not like if anyone talks about Nathuram Godse in this manner. He was talking to reporters after casting his vote at a polling booth in Patna. It falls under Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat, where Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha is giving a very tough fight to Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad.
The Chief Minister of Bihar said that it is an internal matter of the BJP but so far as country or ideology is concerned, there is no question of tolerating such things. In reply to a query, Kumar said that he has never compromised over 3Cs “crime, corruption and communalism”.
It is notable that Sadhvi Pragya Singh kicked a row by describing Godse as ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot). However, she apologised over this remark after being pulled up by her party.
Non-NDA parties have already started talks to form alternative government at centre if the NDA fails to get the majority mark. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday held a second round of talks with Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar and other top leaders in an attempt to rally support for a non-BJP government.
Chandrababu Naidu arrived in Delhi on Friday had met the Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India on Saturday. After this he met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati in Lucknow.
It is being said that Sunday’s meeting is very important as Chandrababu Naidu held a second round of talks with Gandhi and Pawar after meeting the SP and BSP chiefs. Both Akhilesh and Mayawati have not openly come in favour of an opposition alliance so far.
The Telugu Desam Party chief has also held several rounds of discussion with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. It is worth mentioning that Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP was a part of the NDA, but quit the alliance over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh.
In order to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day. World Bee Day was proposed by Slovenia in April 2015 when the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association presented the initiative to the United Nations about celebrating the day on May 20. Slovenia is one of the few countries in the world with the highest number of beekeepers and the only country that has adopted legal measures aimed at protecting bees.
With an expected, rapid increase in human population in the next decade, there will be greater demand for food rich in the micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals required for a balanced diet. The main purpose of the events is to spread awareness of the significance of bees and other pollinators for our survival. Over the past 50 years, the amount of crops that depend on pollinators (i.e. fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oilseeds) has tripled. Bees play an important role in relation to the scope of agricultural production. Effective pollination increases the amount of agricultural produce, improves their quality and enhances plants’ resistance to pests. Furthermore, agricultural plants that require pollination are an important source of jobs and income for farmers, especially small farmers and family-owned farms in developing countries.
Bees immensely contribute to the agricultural system, which is a major source of employment and income for farmers, particularly in developing countries. Moreover, they help these households in poverty reduction and hunger alleviation contributing towards the achievement of the global vision 2030. Bees are renowned for their role in providing high-quality food (honey, royal jelly and pollen) and other products used in healthcare and other sectors (beeswax, propolis, honey bee venom). However, the work of bees entails much more!
The bees are wonderful builders. A bee-hive is a good piece of architecture. It has a large number of cells in it. Some of the cells are used for storing up honey. Other cells are used as bedrooms and sitting rooms. Long passages connect the cells. They are connected in such a way that coming out and going in is quite easy. Bee-hives are generally made on the branches of trees. But sometimes they are also made on the walls and window tops of the house.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Only very few are aware of one-rupee notes having been re-issued on 06.03.2015 after being discontinued two decades back. The note earlier discontinued those of rupees two and five were re-issued about two decades later subsequently being reprinted even now only because of the bureaucratic craze of secretary-level officers of Union Finance Ministry. Only one-rupee notes bear the signature of a secretary-level officer in Government of India. Another distinct feature in the one-rupee note is that it is issued by the Government of India while notes of all other denominations are issued by Reserve Bank of India RBI as printed on notes.
Even the majority of bank-employees have not seen re-issued one-rupee notes, what to talk of the general public. These notes are still sold at an extraordinary heavy premium multiple times the face-value. Central government and RBI should immediately stop the printing of one-rupee notes, and initiate an enquiry on re-issue of these notes on 06.03.2015 with existing print-stock sold as a souvenir in attractive plastic-packs so that government rather than currency-dealers may earn a heavy premium on one-rupee notes.
Since ten-rupee coins are not accepted by the public, coins should be only in denominations of rupees one and five with ten-rupee plastic notes issued for long life. Rather recently introduced 20-rupee coins must also not be minted. Once ten-rupee plastic-currency is successful, it may be introduced for other denominations also.
Madhu Agrawal
Kamal Hassan unaware about history
It refers to Kamal Hassan calling Nathuram Godse as first Hindu terrorist. Such persons have neither read history nor the note was written by Nathuram Godse on his killing of Mahatma Gandhi. Undoubtedly it cannot be justified to kill a person, even though it was pseudo-secularist policy and the undemocratic decision of the uncrowned king-maker which provoked Nathuram Godse to take such bold but undesired step that too with full knowledge that he himself would be hanged.
Everybody knows the person who deprived the nation of a really capable Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel of becoming first Prime Minister of India. Big problems like that of Kashmir hanging and troubling India till now since independence would not have been there if Indian citizens would have been fortunate enough to be led by democratically elected but unfortunately vetoed out Sardar Patel as first Prime Minister of India.
By the logic of Kamal Hassan, even freedom-fighters Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Ashfaqualla Khan and many others having martyred themselves voluntarily by making fatal attacks on cruel British rulers for their inhuman deeds and torture on citizens of slave India would also be termed, terrorists. Hindu-terrorist is the term innovated by pseudo-secularist lobby running their vote-bank politics on minority-appeasing. Hinduism is not only a religion but a fine culture and way of living which is full of tolerance allowing pseudo-secularists to be a part of the Indian political system.
It is time that all martyrs having laid down their lives for attacking cruel British rulers may be given due respect by figuring them on currency-notes which are presently being monopolized by a single person.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Sion-Panvel Highway repair
It is notable that the PWD has undertaken the concretisation of Sion-Panvel Highway on a war-footing basis and the work is going on in full swing. With Navi Mumbai airport scheduled to be ready by the year 2022, the PWD had faced flak. Further several spots on the road developed potholes and it may develop to carters during the monsoon season. The Vashi Belapur concretisation work is going on and we hope the work will be over before the monsoon season.
Chitra Krishnan
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Kashmiri Muslim protesters hold Isis and Pakistani flags as they shout anti-India slogans during clashes in downtown Srinagar on 8 April, 2016 ( TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images )
Countering militancy is no kinder-game:
Strategies of countering militancy are not only a complicated issue but it also is one of the most sensitive matters, especially in Muslim nations. Slightest mistake in adopting any policy in countering militancy or creating public awareness against militancy and religious extremism would not only blow-back, but it would even open opportunity to Islamic militancy groups in dramatically getting support and sympathy from the masses and spread the seeds of radical Islam even at much faster pace than imagined.
Most importantly, counter-militancy organisations in the Muslim nations need to realize, jihadist notions are not only spreading on the ground, but it also is spreading through the internet. In this case, greater vigilance against the threat of ISIS in cyberspace is crucial. It is important to note, ISIS keeps the virtual form of caliphate alive through the diabolical language of hatred. We need to remember, the defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq was not the end of its terror threat and cyberspace was now a new battle ground.
Cyber-attacks can be very complicated to deal with and requires totally new doctrine for us to counter it effectively. Cyber defence is not about physical strength, but wit and sharpness. We need new types of soldiers, one with sound knowledge in information technology. Threats posed by ISIS are now greater due to the advancement of technology. Combating terrorism requires better cooperative security strategies in various forms, be it hard or soft approaches.
It is also important to note, there is no ‘one size fits all’ in terms of violent extremist or terrorist profile, set of motivations, level of radicalization and extremism, and their trajectories. Similarly, counter terrorism responses and solutions. It is fundamental that we be united to fight against terrorism effectively.
Don’t trust the ISIS brides:
I am surprised seeing few reports in the international media saying, the women [ISIS brides] say it was misguided religious faith, naiveté, a search for something to believe in or youthful rebellion. Whatever it was, it led them to travel across the world to join the Islamic State group. Now after the fall of the last stronghold of the group’s “caliphate,” they say they regret it and want to come home.
Here is the blunder those news outlets are making, which might even mislead the people and finally help those ISIS brides return to their home countries and melt in the societies and of course, continue their notoriety as they are taught by the jihadist masters. These brides are ruthless, ferocious, and cunning and nothing can liberate them from the brainwash they have received during the stay with the ISIS men and women. Each of them is returning with a similar agenda – killing the non-Muslims, more precisely, Jews and Christians, for the “cause of Allah”. Such mindset has transformed them into predators, which only looks for the blood of the ‘enemies of Allah’.
What is next for South Asia?
In my personal opinion, counter-terrorism or counter-militancy strategies of the South Asian nations, particularly of Bangladesh and India are grossly wrong or misdirected. Just recently, India’s intelligence Bureau or IB has exposed its naivety by copying a report about ISIS attacks on the Buddhist temples 10 days after the report was published. Meaning, they were sitting tight for over a week and the entire intelligence establishment of the country were also not even aware of the matter. This particular case has clearly proved the very ability and capacity of the Indian counter-militancy or counter-terrorism forces as well as its intelligence establishments. Most definitely, India’s only hope is the cooperation and intelligence alerts it has been receiving from its key ally – the State of Israel, which helps India in saving the people from jihadist attacks.
Indian intelligence agencies are spending significantly in mass awareness against militancy and thanks to the contributions of the Bollywood film industry, which also has been playing crucial role in creating mass opinion against militancy and religious extremism.
Bangladesh, although is facing challenges posed by Islamic State especially because of Rohingyas and ARSA joining hands with ISIS is still either legging much behind in its efforts in creating mass awareness and public opinion against militancy and religious extremism or are simply putting such responsibility of creating mass awareness into wrong hands, which ultimately would generate catastrophe for the country and give further boost to the jihadist forces.
While Bangladesh has always been denying existence of ISIS or Al Qaeda in the county, it needs to note, despite not having an organizational foothold in Sri Lanka, the attacks conducted by National Thowheed Jamath on behalf of or by pure allegiance toward the Islamic State highlight a franchised form of terrorism that is going to offer a fresh set of challenges for counterterrorism policies. The Islamic State functions as a brand name nowadays, with those adopting its image creating instant narratives, gaining immediate attention, and reaching the front pages around the world. A lax approach after the territorial defeat of the Islamic State is no longer an option — instead nations worldwide have to adapt to battle a hydra-headed insurgency.
Are we really capable of doing that?
(The author of the article is the editor of Blitz.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
The Chief Minister of UP Yogi Adityanath on Monday sacked estranged BJP ally SBSP chief OP Rajbhar from his cabinet. The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) supremo on Sunday had predicted a massive victory for the SP-BSP alliance in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Devise profit-formula for all drugs
Stocks added Rs 318,000 crore to investor kitty in one minute on Dalal Street on Monday. It was the impact of a landslide victory for NDA projected by exit polls in just concluded the Lok Sabha elections. The exit poll results came in better than market expectations.
Non-NDA parties have already started talks to form alternative government at centre if the NDA fails to get the majority mark. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday held a second round of talks with Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar and other top leaders in an attempt to rally support for a non-BJP government.
