Two persons, including a panchayat member, were arrested Thursday for allegedly killing a 50 year old woman and her daughter in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, police said.
Sudhir Choudhry, a district panchayat member, along with his friend Sunil, had killed the two at their home in Bidoli village in the district on January 3, Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar Panday said.
The SP said that Choudhry had illicit relations with the woman and some altercation between them led him to take this extreme step.
Almost 32,000 BEST employees have been on an indefinite strike since Tuesday over various demands which include higher salaries and merger of the budget of the loss-making undertaking with that of the BMC. The strike has inconvenienced lakhs of commuters. Amid the ongoing strike by the employees of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST), activists and experts on Thursday blamed the Mumbai civic body for not taking timely steps to address the “crisis” in the transport body whereas the transport experts also called for fresh investment and up gradation of infrastructure to improve the transport services of the BEST.
Transport activist and former journalist Vidyadhar Date has written a letter to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta mentioning how the civic body could have avoided the situation and saved the commuters from hardships. He urged Mehta to immediately concede to the “just” demands of the striking workers of the BEST.
Date, who has written to Mehta on behalf of Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), a forum of citizens for public transport, said that the main demand of the employees-merger of the BEST budget with that of the BMC was in the interest of the majority of commuters. Like healthcare, education, water supply, waste disposal and sewerage, public transport must be run not to make profit, but as an essential service. This (merger of budget) is necessary for the economic and physical health of the city.
He also said that the AMAB has come up with a “workable, inexpensive and efficient” approach for the revival of the BEST’s bus services, suggesting how the transport body can increase bus ridership, improve the service quality and reliability as well as improve its coverage and access. The impression gained by the discerning public is clear that the BMC and the government do not want to hear or consider any sensible means to address the problems of the city’s affordable public transport service.
They continue to remain dogmatic, autocratic and tight-fisted pushing through their privatisation plans and refusing to subsidise and finance its operations. At the same time, the BMC is cutting down routes, increasing bus fares, and denying workers their dues, he said and further alleged that the civic body had done “absolutely nothing” to address why the BEST was reeling under crisis. He also mentioned that over the past five years, nearly 18 per cent of the BEST routes were discontinued; the size of its fleet was reduced by 21 per cent and 7,200 staff positions were scrapped causing non-availability of employees to operate the buses.
Another transport analyst Hussain Indorewala said that the BMC and the BEST need to invest money to address the core infrastructural issues. BEST management has been on investment strike since many years. We need to stop this first. This is the reason why the BEST services have not improved. So, fresh investment is the need of the hour to address the core issues. He further added that, besides this, the BEST also needs the same attention that was given to construct the Bandra-Worli Sea Link or the Eastern Freeway. Only car-centric projects should not be our priority.
Jitendra Gupta, another expert on transport issues and a member of Citizens’ Transport Committee, a city-based forum, questioned the government’s ability and intention to end the strike. However, this strike has proven that the government agencies be it BEST, BMC or state government are least bothered to address the issues. BEST is financially bleeding because of poor management of the undertaking since so long and its strike was bound to happen.
India are slated to play home series against Australia from February 24 to March 13.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia announce the schedule for the upcoming home series against Australia set to be played from February 24 to March 13, 2019. The series will comprise two T20Is that will start at 1 PM (IST) and five ODIs, which will start from 7 PM (IST),” a BCCI statement said on Thursday.
The two-match T20Is will be played on February 24 in Bengaluru and February 27 in Visakhapatnam, followed by five-match ODIs on March 2 in Hyderabad, March 5 in Nagpur, March 8 in Ranchi, March 10 in Mohali and March 13 in Delhi.
India are preparing to take on Australia in their away series. The first ODI will be played on January 12 at Sydney, followed by second ODI on January 15 at Adelaide and third ODI on January 18 at Melbourne.
India are slated to play home series against Australia from February 24 to March 13.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia announce the schedule for the upcoming home series against Australia set to be played from February 24 to March 13, 2019. The series will comprise two T20Is that will start at 1 PM (IST) and five ODIs, which will start from 7 PM (IST),” a BCCI statement said on Thursday.
The two-match T20Is will be played on February 24 in Bengaluru and February 27 in Visakhapatnam, followed by five-match ODIs on March 2 in Hyderabad, March 5 in Nagpur, March 8 in Ranchi, March 10 in Mohali and March 13 in Delhi.
India are preparing to take on Australia in their away series. The first ODI will be played on January 12 at Sydney, followed by second ODI on January 15 at Adelaide and third ODI on January 18 at Melbourne.
Delhi-Bhagalpur Express was attacked by armed robbers in a Naxal affected area in the Malda division of West Bengal. Valuables worth around Rs 3 lakh were looted. The robbers used the alarm chain to stop the train near Dhanauri station in between Kiul and Jamalpur section and looted the passengers on last Wednesday night, the railway said on Thursday.
A case was registered in this regard when ten passengers lodged their complaints with the Government Railway Police in Jamalpur. The value of looted valuables is approximate of Rs 3 lakh. The criminals had country-made pistols, however, no firing incident was reported, the railway said.
The railways further added that no passenger reported any major injury or stabbing. The incident occurred in a Naxal-affected area and the RPF is coordinating with local police and the GRP in this regard. RPF is increasing vigil in inter-zonal areas where these incidents have happened. Special squad formed to catch the gang may include plain cover policemen as well.
Kangana Ranaut “Manikarnika” will clash with “Thackeray” and the actor has said that no one approached or “pressured” them to shift the release date.
Earlier, “Manikarnika”, “Thackeray” and “Cheat India” were slated to be released on January 25. However, the Emraan Hashmi starrer, “Cheat India” advanced its date and would now release on January 18.
When asked if there was any pressure considering her film’s face-off with the biopic of the late Shiv Sena founder, Kangana told the reporters that no one told us any such thing. Neither anyone told us to postpone the release date nor there was any kinds of pressure on us. No one even approached us. So, we are very happy that we have a sort of a big window and there is a vacation around as well.
The actor, who has co-directed “Manikarnika” with Krish, said that the film is “kind of a festive release” and both the movies can find space successfully. Kangana was speaking at the launch of her new song from “Manikarnika” on Wednesday.
Veteran sound mixer Gregg Rudloff, who bagged Oscars for his work on “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “The Matrix” and “Glory”, has died at the age of 63.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office announced his death as a possible suicide while his autopsy result is pending.
With a prolific career spanning over 35 years, Rudloff had been nominated for “American Sniper”, “Argo”, “Flags of Our Fathers, and The Perfect Storm” and also bagged a 1986 Emmy for sound mixing on “An Early Frost”.
Starting his carrier with veteran director Clint Eastwood, he also worked with rerecording mixer John T Reitz for many award winning projects. He worked with Eastwoood for “J Edgar”, “Invictus”, “Changeling”, “Gran Torino”, “Letters From Iwo Jima”, “True Crime” and “Absolute Power”, along with “Flags of Our Fathers” and “American Sniper”. With Reitz he shared Oscar for “The Matrix” & partnered with him for notable projects like “ Risky Business”, “Catwoman “ , “ Superman Returns” etc.
With over 200 credits, his recent work includes “The Girl on the Train”, “Fences”, “Molly’s Game”, and “Captain Phillips”.
0.75% discount on fuel purchased through credit cards
The Union government post-demonetisation of currency on November 8, 2016, to encourage the use of cashless transactions, had started giving several discounts for promoting the use of credit and debit cards which also included 0.75 per cent discount on the purchase of petrol and diesel through credit or debit cards. Due to inadequate publicity, it is not clear which discounts are still prevailing which also included on online payment of insurance premiums.
With all such discounts having since lost relevance after the normalisation of currency-position; the Union government should not burden exchequer with subsidy-loss through such discounts anymore. Instead, steps should be taken to ensure banking to be made least expensive including in respect of credit and debit cards. The concept of minimum-balance-charge for bank-accounts should be altogether abolished with banks already earning a lot on providing a very small interest-rate on bank-balances in savings-accounts and no interest on credits in current-accounts. Likewise charges for the issue and maintain debit cards should be abolished.
However, consolidated steps can be taken to minimise currency-circulation which may also include a monthly cash-withdrawal limit from banks of say Rs 96,000 for an individual, which may be gradually reduced to Rs 50,000 per month.
Madhu Agrawal
Limit monetary benefit to ultra-rich Cricketers
The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced award money of Rs 15 lakhs extra in addition to the equal amount of match-money to each of the cricketers having played in recently concluded series with Australia where India won the series. All this is in addition to a very hefty annual salary-package of up to Rs 7 crores per cricketer and lifetime heavy pension after their retirement from cricket paid by BCCI.
It is absolutely unfair to create such a class-distinction in a society where cricketers earning otherwise also through their costly appearance in advertisements and business-income are paid so heavily from the BCCI funded through public-craze where cricket has become a religion for people. There should be an upper-limit of salary-package for BCCI which may be equivalent to a highest paid bureaucrat in the country.
If earning of BCCI is a criterion for payment to cricketers, then priests of famous temples can also demand such hefty payments based on the income of temples. The central government should ensure that BCCI funds may be utilised for public-welfare schemes in the manner income from famous Hindu temples like Tirupati are spent.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Strike – Where country loses
Currently, it is seen that BEST and Banks are organising strikes on a major level and the motive behind this strike is simple fulfillment of their demands. But do they ever realise how our country is adversely affected by these kinds of strikes? When BEST goes on a Strike, every common man is suffered and when Banks goes on strike, every financial work is hampered directly affecting the bank customer. Today, if we see our country is in debt which means every citizen carrying a hefty sum of Rs 60,000 as a share of the country’s debt. So everyone should think in this situation are really this strike important, should we really do this strikes now and then! If we really want our country to progress, every citizen should contribute with the sense of sacrifice and keeping personnel demands at distance. Otherwise, in no time, we will see a downfall rather than a rising Country.
Nehali Shimpi
Strike and senior citizens
I, a senior citizen aged 71 years from North Mumbai and a huge number of senior citizens above the age of 60 years travelling by BEST buses everyday and have savings accounts with nationalised and the other banks, are wholeheartedly grateful to all the strikers for putting me and crores of senior citizens like me into unbearable troubles for three consecutive days!!! It is ridiculous to note that though the bank employees get the heftiest salaries and bonus with so many types of leaves and allowances, they go on strike nearly every now and then. They are entitled also to go on privileged leaves and enjoy outings with their families at the cost of the bank (read crores of bank customers like me). Is this their art of avoiding work?
Hansraj Bhat
Shame on Police
A few weeks back, a woman with the help of two of her male friends from Dombivli, a far-off suburb in Mumbai, cut off her tormentor’s genitals because he used to pester her for sex very often in spite of her being married. She later confessed to the crime. But why was the woman arrested along with her friends? She did a good thing. They should’ve been applauded.
The man deserved the punishment he got. Shame on the police for arresting the woman and her friends who taught the man a lesson by chopping off his genitals! In today’s world, women are rejected in society and are treated as sex objects by most men, including the police.
Jubel D’Cruz
Use Sci-tech for a healthy lifestyle
Development is necessary for the growth and progress of a nation but not at the expense of the environment and ecology. What good are luxuries and comforts while it that has an adverse effect on the health of the people. Rampant destruction of forest for commercial gains is a matter of concern and 11 square meters of forest area lost in the State in the year gone by has come as a shock. We are intruding into animals’ space and animals are forced to trespass into civilisation areas which have resulted in lives lost both in terms of the animal as well as human numbers. Cities and towns have been turned into concrete jungles which have resulted in an ecological imbalance which is the reason for regular famines, floods, and other natural calamities.
Development needs to be well planned and every single tree uprooted should be replaced with a similar plantation in the nearby vicinity. Public gardens and playgrounds should be mandatory in all new townships being constructed so that the health of citizens is not compromised. Jungles should be untouched and men are intelligent enough to discover substitutes for wood to manufacture paper or other commodities for which we destroy forests. Progress in science and technology should be used for a healthy lifestyle and not comforts that have resulted in a rise in elite diseases that were once unheard of in the days of yore!
S.N.Kabra
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Negative thinking creeps into our mind and disrupts its working. If one is positive, the effect on others may or may not be positive and the environment may not necessarily become positive. But when a person is negative, the effect definitely rubs on others and the environment becomes negative. Each one of us is negative or positive at some point in our life. How can we control negativity? It all starts again with the mind. Once the mind is under control, all is well. Basically, we need to train our mind to think positively. We can tune our minds and repeatedly think positively to break free of the negativity and its vicious circle. Letting go of negative people doesn’t mean we hate them, it just means that we care about our own well-being. Every time we subtract negative from our life, we make room for more positive. The mind is neutral energy and because of this, the way we think determines whether the results are positive and beneficial, or negative and harmful. It is the same energy acting in different ways.
There are times when we want to think positively but our mind does not want to open to receive positive and we are angry. Anger is one emotion that can destroy everything one builds throughout one’s life. If we are able to control our anger consciously we can move ahead in life. We can open our minds and accept what life has to offer with open arms. One must remember that the more negative energy we create, the more negative energy we attract. Quite simply, no matter how positive a person we are, negative people can affect our lives, unless we take the right precautions. Life is full of highs and lows, but you don’t have to go up and down with them. We develop from the negatives when we accept them and learn from them.
Often, the mind does not judge or examine thoughts and opinions before accepting them. If what it hears, sees and reads is always negative, it accepts negativity as the standard mindset. When the tiger crosses your path, for example, you run. The rest of the world doesn’t matter. You are focused entirely on the tiger, the fear it creates, and how you can get away from it. In other words, negative emotions narrow our mind and focus your thoughts. Doing simple things like talking about positive daily events, common friends, hobbies, happy news, make for light conversations with negative people. Negative emotions prevent our brain from seeing the other options and choices that surround us. President Obama said that “if you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”Erasing negative thoughts and influences can be challenging, especially when we are surrounded by negative individuals or if we have established a base of negative habits. However, through awareness and perseverance, we can turn the tide and begin to focus on living positively. It’s never too late to make alterations or transitions in your life. It is said that there is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is the attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The 29.2 km-long coastal road project here will also give rise to the city’s longest promenade, overtaking the iconic walkway at Marine Drive in south Mumbai. The proposed promenade which is a part of the road is set to be built along the coast of the city which will be 6.4 km long, stretching from Worli to Priyadarshini Park via Haji Ali in South Mumbai, a senior civic official has said.
So far, Marine Drive, which is around 3.4 km-long, is the longest promenade in Mumbai. However, the promenade along the coastal road will be almost double its length that makes it the longest public walkway in the city, the official said on Wednesday. He further added that the new promenade will be 20-metre wide and will have gardens, playgrounds, cycle tracks, open auditoriums, toilets and seating arrangements for senior citizens. It will also have three underground parking spaces to accommodate around 1,625 vehicles as well.
The walkway will come up on around 96.87 lakh sqft area of the reclaimed land. Of this, 22 per cent area will be used for the construction of the coastal road whereas the remaining 78 per cent of the land will be used for setting up public amenities, he said.
Once completed, the eight-lane 29.2 km-long coastal road will start from Princess Street Flyover in Marine Lines and run up to suburban Kandivali. The stretch will have tunnels, bridges, interchanges, pedestrian underpasses and foot over-bridges along the route.
The Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case in the Supreme Court got adjourned again on Thursday as the apex court fixed January 29 as the next date of hearing after Justice UU Lalit recused himself from the case.
A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, and comprising of Justice SA Bobde, Justice NV Ramana, Justice UU Lalit and Justice DY Chandrachud, said that there will be no hearing in the case on Thursday adding that only date and schedule will be decided.
Justice UU Lalit recued himself from hearing the case after advocate Rajeev Dhavan pointed out that Justice Lalit had appeared for Kalyan Singh government in 1997.
It’s been six decades that the decision on the title suit is pending and has remained as the India’s most politically divisive issue. There are demands to speed up the plan to build a Ram temple at the site where the 16th-century Babri mosque stood before it was razed by Hindu right wing activists in 1992.
Moreover, the members of the ruling BJP, some of its allies and right-wing groups want a special executive order or ordinance to enable the start of construction before the general elections are announced.
Two persons, including a panchayat member, were arrested Thursday for allegedly killing a 50 year old woman and her daughter in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, police said.
Almost 32,000 BEST employees have been on an indefinite strike since Tuesday over various demands which include higher salaries and merger of the budget of the loss-making undertaking with that of the BMC. The strike has inconvenienced lakhs of commuters. Amid the ongoing strike by the employees of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST), activists and experts on Thursday blamed the Mumbai civic body for not taking timely steps to address the “crisis” in the transport body whereas the transport experts also called for fresh investment and up gradation of infrastructure to improve the transport services of the BEST.
India are slated to play home series against Australia from February 24 to March 13.
