Film made on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad set to hit theatres on January 18

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January 13, 2019

Scholar and freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s firm belief in Hindu-Muslim unity and his opposition to partition in the pre-Independence days will be the highlight of a new feature film that is set to hit the theatres on January 18.

Rajendra Sanjay, who penned the story and co-directed the film ‘Woh Jo Tha Ek Massiah-Maulana Azad’, said that the younger generation should get to know what the freedom fighter stood for, in this very time of crisis.

The film talks about Azad’s principles, his belief in communal harmony and secularist views which was not coloured by any religion and faith in humanity, Sanjay, who visited the city along with the lead actor Linesh Fanse and co-director Sanjay Singh Negi, said at a press meet on Saturday.

The film will show the events that shaped Azad’s life, turning him into a “true mass leader. As someone who believed in united India and Hindu- Muslim unity, he had fervently hoped that the partition can be avoided. But that wasn’t the case, the director-script writer, he said.

‘Woh Jo Tha Ek Massiah-Maulana Azad’ will also dwell on the phase Azad came into contact with Mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s in Delhi, his arrest from his house for the publication of two magazines which propagated nationalist ideas in Kolkata and the other defining moments. The film will also have references to the post- Independence period, following Gandhiji’s assassination, he added.

Very few people remember that Azad as an education minister had introduced science and technology as subjects in our education system. The censor board has passed the two-hour-long Hindi film, mostly shot in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, without a single cut, Co-director Negi said.

Sharing his experience, Fanse, who plays the titular role, said that he had auditioned for Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s role but the directors insisted him to play Azad. The directors suggested that I would be suitable for the role of Azad. I had to learn Hindu and Urdu for the role.

Kulgam encounter: Top Al-Badr commander Zeenat-ul-Islam among two militants killed

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Web Team

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January 13, 2019

Top Al-Badr commander Zeenat-ul-Islam was among the two militants killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday.

“The two militants killed in the Katpora encounter have been identified as Zeenat-ul-Islam and Shakeel Ahmad Dar. Both were involved in several terror crimes,” a police official said.

Islam, a category A++ militant, was a top commander who had switched over to Al-Badr from Hizbul Mujahideen in November last year following consensus between the two outfits to strengthen the Al-Badr, he said.

The official said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Katpora area of Yaripora in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district Saturday evening after receiving specific information about the presence of militants there.

He said as the forces were conducting the searches, the militants fired upon them.

As per policy, the militants were given an opportunity to surrender, but they continued to fire upon the forces, the official said.

The forces retaliated, ensuing an encounter in which two the militants were killed, he said.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman said both the killed militants were affiliated with Al-Badr and were wanted by the law for “their complicity in a series of terror crimes including the attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities”.

“Islam, according to police records had a long history of terror crime records since 2006 when he got affiliated with Al-Badr and was later arrested,” he said.

The spokesman said after Islam was released, he again got recycled in 2016 and subsequently affiliated with HM and then recently joined the Al-Badr outfit in Shopian District.

“Consequently, he became the chief of the said outfit. Several terror crime cases were registered against him. He was also involved in a weapon snatching case at Tukroo Shopian. Similarly, Shakeel Ahmad Dar was also involved in terror-related crimes as well,” the spokesman said.

He said incriminating material such as arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter and all these materials have been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation.

The spokesman said no collateral damage took place during the encounter.

Bodies of the killed militants were handed over to their families after completion of medico-legal formalities, he said.

Steve Smith to undergo elbow surgery, ruled out of Pakistan Super Leagues

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Web Team

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January 13, 2019

Former Australian skipper Steve Smith will undergo a surgery to fix an elbow injury which he sustained during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

The 29-year-old is expected to be out of action more than six weeks following the surgery, Cricket.com.au reported.

Consequently, the right-hand batsman has been ruled of the upcoming Pakistan Super Leagues (PSL). He expressed disappointment over the same saying that he was looking forward to playing the tournament and help his team Multan Sultans lift the trophy.

“I am disappointed I won’t be able to play in PSL but I wish Multan Sultans all the best for this year’s tournament. I was looking forward to playing the tournament and helping the team try to win the trophy. We have a talented team and I am confident that they will do very well,” the Express Tribune quoted Smith as saying.

The injury came as a major blow to Smith who is eying an international return as his 12 months suspension for his role in the massive ball-tampering scandal in a Test series against South Africa will come to an end on March 28.

With less than six months to go for the World Cup, Smith’s injury could prove to be a major setback for the Australian team, as well.

Smith, who has played just two matches in the BPL, returned to Australia after the injury for further medical treatment. In the two games so far, he has scored just 16 runs, including a duck in the last match.

Delhi gasps for breath: Air quality dips to ‘very poor’ at 392, may worsen to ‘severe’

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Web Team

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January 13, 2019

After a few days of respite, the overall air quality index (AQI) again deteriorated to ‘very poor’ category on Sunday in the national capital after the level of harmful pollutants shot up.

According to Centre-run SAFAR, Delhi’s AQI was docking at 382 in the morning. At Dhirpur, the AQI was 423 at 9:30 am, while in Mathura Road area it dipped to ‘hazardous’ category at 416.

Furthermore, the AQI near Pitampura, Airport Terminal 3 and Delhi University stood at 429, 452 and 454 respectively.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted that the weather in Delhi will mostly be foggy, with highs and lows reaching 23 Degree Celsius and 9 Degrees Celsius with haze and mist in the air.

Due to the foggy weather, at least 9 trains were rescheduled after getting delayed by at least 2 hours.

The trains — Guwahati Express, Bhagalpur Express, Bhagalpur- Anand Vihar Garib Rath were delayed by 3 hours each.

Owing to low visibility, the railways delayed Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express, Jay Nagar-New Delhi Swatantra Senani express, New Jalpaiguri-New Delhi Express by 5 hours, 4 hours and 2 hours 30 minutes respectively.

People residing in Delhi have been advised to restrict outdoor activities, especially those having breathing issues. While light showers early this week brought brief respite, the situation still remains bleak.

Apart from vehicular and industrial pollution, practices like residue crop burning and use of bio-mass, such as cow-dung, wood and coal also aided to air pollution. With a large population relying on these practices, efforts to curb the menace of pollution need stringent measures.

On the contrary, India’s neighbour, China is making progress in this regard and has seen significant improvement. In 2013, the Chinese government identified the major pollution regions such as Hebei, Tianjin, and Beijing and set up specific pollution reduction targets and rolled out ten measures for the proper implementations of the regional action plans. Moreover, the government also fixed the quota of a total number of vehicles in its state to 6 million in 2017. From the past couple of years, as much as 4022 hectares of land has been transformed into green spaces. It also has a target of reducing coal consumption by 80 per cent by 2020.

BEST gone Worst: Govt pushing city’s second lifeline to private hands?

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Afternoon Voice

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January 11, 2019

Giving no relief to over 50 lakhs commuters in Mumbai, the indefinite strike by the employees of the city’s civic transport BEST continued for the fourth consecutive day on Friday marking it as the ‘longest in decades’. Even the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the bus strike in the Bombay High Court failed to bring out a solution. However, the court told the transport workers’ union that it should not hold the city to ransom. The court also appointed a two-member committee to conduct meetings and make attempts to resolve the issues.

Moreover, advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that the Maharashtra government had set up a committee, headed by the chief secretary, to hold talks with the union and the Secretaries of the urban development and transport departments were also part of this committee while the BMC and BEST officials attended the meeting.

BMC Opposition leader Ravi Raja stated, “Though BEST is considered the Second lifeline of Mumbai, both the BMC and the state government are not serious towards the inconvenience faced by the commuters who are being tortured due to this strike and the administration has failed to provide any alternative transport facility during the last four days. The local citizens are sandwiched between the BJP and Shiv Sena political clash and it’s a point of concern that even Sena chief failed to find a solution.”

After the unsuccessful seven hours-long talks between the union leaders, BMC Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, BEST Commissioner Surendra Kumar Bagde, and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday, the dubiety around the possibility of the privatisation of city’s second-most popular transport network caught fire as one of the major reasons behind this longest ever strike! The Mumbaikars pointed fingers both at the Shiv Sena and the BJP, the alliance ruling the Maharashtra government, for their negligence and political blame game, while netizens on social media attacked the Sena Chief for “roaming carefree in Marathwada and neglecting the stranded commuters”.

Nearly 32,000 Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees are on indefinite strike since Tuesday over various demands, including higher salaries and merger of budgets leading to nearly 3,700 BEST buses going off the roads. The other demands include bonus payment, gratuity to former staffers, staff quarters issues, and those regarding gradation of junior staff, for which no proposal was made. While enduring the agony and expressing wrath over the delay in resolving the chaos, the city commuters also scoffed at the loss-making undertaking of BEST considering the BMC is the richest municipal body in the country. Taking advantage of the situation, the auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers charging much more than the normal rates were an added pain for the harassed commuters.

BMC Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar spoke to AV and asserted, “The BEST employees unions should not stretch the strike and must call off. They must consider the losses that BEST is facing at this moment. BMC has never supported and will never support the privatisation of the city’s civic transport system. We have been in discussions with the union leaders for the last four days for a substantial solution and trying our best to end it with a positive solution.”

While civil society management experts believe that it is the civic body’s duty to subsidise such vital public transports services, the future of BEST has remained a topic of debate since a very long time. On the other hand, BMC wants the BEST to restructure and improve efficiency before asking for additional funds.

BEST conductor Narayan Sawant regretted, “We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the Mumbaikars due to the strike but we are being compelled to do so. We have been sent notices under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) to vacate our flats given by the BEST. The administration should tackle this issue as early as possible. The state politicians have an eye on 26 depots and 400 acres of land owned by BEST. It seems a step by step privatisation of the BEST is a near future.”

The state government had moved quickly to invoke the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) against the striking BEST employees, while its management asked them to end the stir and come to the negotiating table. The BEST administration had cracked the whip, issuing notices to over 2,000 staffers to vacate houses provided by the undertaking. A total of 358 employees have been booked under this act so far. Also, 333 contempt notices have been issued for violating the industrial court order which restrained the workers from going on strike.

Aamchi MUMBAI Aamchi BEST, a forum of citizens for public transport, notes with alarm a series of developments regarding BEST bus services. In a case study on the BEST likely to contract out bus services to private firms, it says, “BEST’s decision to engage private contractors to provide bus services, in place of its own services, cannot be justified even in narrow financial terms” although the Municipal Commissioner and the BEST management claim that this policy will yield large savings and reduce BEST’s financial deficit.

The privatisation of Mumbai’s BEST services is looked upon as dismantling an important institution and permanent damage to the system which has provided Mumbai a critical public service for decades. Mumbaikars believe that the will and commitment to finding an end to the ongoing woes is missing and such shrug-and-wait attitude of both the BJP and Sena will be costly for the parties in the election year if they fail to address the issue permanently or if they attempt to join hands with private players for BEST’s survival.

CPI(M) leader Prakash Reddy said, “Delaying of salaries, reduction in the number of buses, bus depots being rented to private organisations are altogether a well-planned conspiracy of the state government. The BJP government has always favoured the privatisation both in Centre as well as at State level. The BEST workers were forced to enter into the strike. As lakhs of commuters use this essential public service, it is the duty of the BMC to subsidise it.”

By-Akshay Redij

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Sena-BJP failed over BMC and BEST

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Vaidehi Taman

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January 11, 2019

Politics is played best in glows with BMC forgetting the fact that the voters are suffering. The BEST bus strike has created questioning history by entering the fourth consecutive day — the longest in decades — the last being the 1997 stir that stretched for three days. There seems to be no end to the woes of lakhs of commuters in Mumbai as an indefinite strike by employees of the city’s civic transport undertaking. Not a single bus of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) plied on the Mumbai roads since Tuesday. The commuters complained that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers were charging much more than the normal rates. Some harried commuters also appealed to the Maharashtra government to take necessary steps to end the protest. Private transport companies minting money, the workplaces are running usual but the employees are unable to reach their destination. Nearly 32,000 BEST employees are on strike since four days over various demands, including higher salaries and merger of the budget of the loss-making undertaking with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The other demands include bonus payment, gratuity to former staffers, staff quarters issues, and those regarding gradation of junior staff, for which no proposal was made.

The state government had moved quickly to invoke the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) against the striking BEST employees, while its management asked them to end the stir and come to the negotiating table. The BEST administration had cracked the whip, issuing notices to over 2,000 staffers to vacate the houses provided by the undertaking. A total of 358 employees have been booked under this act so far. Also, 333 contempt notices have been issued for violating the industrial court order which restrained the workers from going on strike. BEST administration also held dialogue with the BEST workers’ union leader Shashank Rao, but it did not yield a positive outcome. Passengers continued to face inconvenience and some complained that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers were trying to fleece them. Meanwhile, the Central Railway and Western Railway have decided to operate additional suburban trains for the convenience of the commuters but that is not enough to address the local distance from the stations to other work locations. The BEST operates around 3,200 buses across the city and its suburbs and is the second biggest mode of public transport after the local trains.

Shiv Sena which is the ruling party in the BMC is at the receiving end for not giving any remedy to the commuters. Shiv Sena chief Udhhav Thackeray tried to intervene and end the deadlock. However, despite a seven hours-long meeting with the agitating BEST union leaders, BEST officials, and BMC officials, he could not do so. The Chief Minister remained silent, however, Udhhav tried to take the middle ground in the negotiation while the BMC and BEST authorities denied them even giving any kind of written assurance. Ahead of the 2019 elections, everyone is trying to project their powers but one needs to understand that in this game of display, the sufferer is none other than the commuters those who are the voters, who can decide the fate of these parties by adding value to the Opposition in the forthcoming elections. If Mumbaikars have the tolerance, they have their way of reacting at right time.

BEST is the second largest mode of public transport in the city, which ferries around 29 lakh passengers daily, with its fleet of 3,337 buses. It has a workforce of more than 35,000 employees. Count these people and their families as votes; one must know that each vote counts. Even as the survival of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is at stake owing to its poor financial state; labour unions want salary of around 14,000 junior grade workers to be revised, besides the interim pay hike for all the employees. These demands of the BEST Sanyukta Kamgar Kruti Samiti (BSKKS), the joint action committee of labour unions in the undertaking, are the main reason behind the current stalemate. The debt-ridden BEST management is hesitant to accept the labour union’s demand, as it will put an estimated burden of Rs 900 crore on the cash-strapped undertaking. BEST was going through a financial crisis since April 2017, with a loan burden of Rs 2,500 crore, besides a cumulative loss of Rs 1,800 crore. It is unable to pay workers’ salaries and retirement benefits such as gratuity in time. BJP came to power claiming development and they are talking about bullet trains and high-tech infrastructure, and new metros. The 14,000 employees working on junior grade get a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 – Rs 12,000 (basic pay of Rs 5,430) after provident fund and other cuts. So the unions are demanding master grade. The total burden of the demand is less than Rs 200 crore a year. BJP-Shiv Sena both failed on their grounds; Shiv Sena wants to take absolute power in hands to take care of Maharashtra but they failed to take care of the basic BMC and BEST; BJP has just proven to be a jumla party and this government not only failed on these issues but there are various such challenges that they simply ignored keeping silence. Both the parties need to understand that the voters are not always agenda-driven or kind. Every time sympathy for Balasaheb and Modi waves are not going to spell the mandate. Rather, the party in alliance needs to act on these issues urgently by taking it as the priority.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Fadnavis used police to ‘spy’ on party rally, says NCP

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Web Team

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January 11, 2019

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP Friday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ‘spied on’ the party’s rally by videographing it through police, and accused the BJP-led government of imposing ’emergency’ through back door.

State NCP president Jayant Patil said the party would on its own send videos of its rallies to the government, which he alleged was “misusing” police machinery.

The NCP has been holding rallies as part of its public outreach programme called the ‘Parivartan Yatra’ to highlight alleged failures of the BJP-led central and state governments ahead of the 2019 general polls.

“Fadnavis instructed police to record videos of our #ParivartanYatra to keep an eye on us! Instead of such hidden spying, we will personally send you videos. Hope you will also notice the public anger towards your government in these videos. Don’t misuse the Police Force!” Patil tweeted.

He shared on the micro-blogging site the photo of a policeman filming the NCP’s rally at Khed in coastal Ratnagiri district.

Speaking at the rally, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said police have been filming the party’s public meetings at a time when neither elections were being held nor the model code of conduct was in force.

“Is this democracy? At whose behest is it being done? We never misused power. But emergency is being imposed via the back door and this is the BJP’s plan,” a statement quoted Pawar as saying.

Party spokesperson Sanjay Tatkare wanted to know if the government also videographed rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.

Don’t see women empowerment with political lens: Activists

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Web Team

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January 11, 2019

Prominent women from different walks of life and lawmakers Thursday underlined the importance of women empowerment and called for not looking at the issue from political or religions angle.

Speaking at a book release function here, they said India should become a country where women are considered equal and their constitutional rights safeguarded.

Bureaucrat-turned-activist Abha Singh, actors Poonam Dhillon, Gul Panag and Bhagyashree, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) co-convener Noorjehan Safia Naaz, NCP Member of Parliament Majeed Memon and AIMIM legislator Waris Pathan put forth their views on women empowerment.

They said when it comes to women empowerment, everyone, including the political class, should set aside their self-interest and push for it.

The prominent personalities expressed their views after the launch of the Urdu version of Hindi book “Stree: Dasha Aur Disha”. The Hindi version, co-authored by Singh, was released last year.

The book is an initiative of city-based NGO RannSamar, which works for women empowerment and gender justice in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Noorjehan, one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case, emphasised on a codified law for Muslims, saying this will safeguard their constitutional rights.

Bhagyashree pitched for making suitable changes in laws for all communities.

Terming the #MeToo movement as a “good thing”, Dhillon, recently appointed Mumbai BJP vice-president, said, “We need to change the pro-man mindset prevailing in the society.”

“Besides, we also need to rationalise laws with current scenario,” she said.

Singh said the book highlights the present condition of women and encourages them to stand up for her rights.

“So far, laws have been accessed largely by urban women. Domestic violence and cases were reported by urban women.

“(Through the book) we want to empower and sensitise the rest of the women in their own language,” Singh said.

GoAir Flight Returns To Mumbai After Mid-Air “High Engine Vibrations”

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Web Team

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January 11, 2019

MUMBAI: A Pratt & Whitney-engine powered A320neo plane of GoAir returned to Mumbai due to “high engine vibrations” an hour after its take-off for Delhi on Thursday, a source said.

The plane, which had 168 passengers on board, made a safe emergency landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 12.15 pm, he said.

The aircraft is out of operations, he added.

When contacted, a GoAir spokesperson said its flight G8319 made a turn back to Mumbai due to a “technical glitch”.

“GoAir flight G8319 departed for Delhi from the Mumbai airport at 10.17 am. However, mid-air, one of the aircraft engines experienced high vibrations, forcing the pilot to seek ATC’s permission to return to Mumbai,” the source said.

The aircraft safely landed back at the airport under emergency conditions at 12.15 pm, the source added.

“Flight G8 319 (Mumbai-Delhi) returned to Mumbai after the take-off due to a technical glitch. Post-normal landing, all passengers were immediately accommodated on to another aircraft for their journey to Delhi,” GoAir said in a statement.

There were 168 passengers on board the A320neo plane, the spokesperson said.

The crew operated within the established guidelines to provide for safe travel, it said adding the (snag) rectification work is in progress.

A reply to a query sent to Pratt & Whitney on the issue was awaited.

This is the first incident of US-based firm manufactured jet engine experiencing in-flight vibrations after the government giving a clean chit to these engines following a stakeholders’ meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Significantly, the clearance to the P&W engines came a day after the US aviation firm announced extending sponsorship for an aviation event being hosted jointly by the civil aviation and commerce ministries, industry lobby Ficci and Airports Authority of India.

2 Rohingyas held for attempting to sell narcotic drugs in T’gana

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Web Team

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January 11, 2019

Two Rohingyas arrested for possessing narcotics drugs in Telangna.

Two Rohingyas were arrested Friday for allegedly attempting to sell narcotic drugs here, police said.

The duo was booked under relevant sections of Narcotic Act. Both of them possess identity cards issued by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and are living in Balapur,” a police official said.

Narcotic substance worth Rs 66,500, which was in the form of tablets, was seized and a hunt is on for another accused involved in the case, the release added.