#BLAMEGAME hits again: Was any Govt ever keen on making Chhattisgarh Naxal-free?

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November 11, 2018

Despite BJP being in power in Chhattisgarh for over a decade-long tenure, now just a few days before the state election, it seems like UP BJP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took the course of blame game over Congress for shamelessly glorifying Naxals as revolutionaries. However, the question arises that is it just another electoral strategy of the party to cover up their failed promises in the state?

Addressing a public rally in Bhillai, Yogi Adityanath launched an attack on Congress for spreading Naxalism in Chhattisgarh and making a breeding ground for the Naxals in the state. He said, “Congress is shamelessly glorifying the Naxals as revolutionaries. Congress’s culture is just to promote loot, Naxalism and corruption.” Hailing the current Raman Singh-led government in the state, he also claimed that the welfare programmes have benefitted the state public, who according to him, were now looking forward to re-electing BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.

BJP Chhattisgarh legislator Kera Bai Manhar exclaimed “Whatever Yogi Adityanath has said, is absolutely correct. The intensity of violence by the Naxals had increased during the Congress rule; after coming to the power, our government has taken all the efforts to eradicate Naxalism from the state and have managed to control it to a large extent. Congress might have used this issue as a political tool but we have always been on action against the violence. The way we have successfully eradicated Naxals from few most affected areas, the entire state under the BJP government rule will be free from Naxalism very soon.”

On Saturday, the last day of campaigning for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh polls, BJP president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Raman Singh released the party’s manifesto in Raipur with a special focus on farmers and youth. During the release, Shah praised the state government for transforming Chhattisgarh in the past 15 years, adding that it has worked tirelessly to eliminate Naxalism from the state. “Chhattisgarh was the first state to have a legislation on skill development. Raman Singh government has made Chhattisgarh almost free of Naxalism,” Shah said.

Apart from that, Adityanath continually accused Congress of creating obstacles in the path of development and ignoring national interests. “Congress always creates obstacles in development. They are the biggest obstacle even in the construction of the Ram Temple. Congress is only interested in vote bank politics and has completely ignored national interests,” he said.

NCP legislator Prakash Gajbhiye stated, “BJP has come to the power both at the centre and in the states with the help of lies and they have continued doing the same throughout their tenures. The entire 2014 election manifesto of BJP is still waiting to be fulfilled. Deaths have increased in the border and Naxal areas than before. Despite being in power, I am clueless what’s stopping them to take steps to stop these incidents. The party must go beyond using religious and caste polarisation as poll tools and start using science-technology for the development of the nation in the true sense.”

However, it is experts’ belief that not just the ruling party but no political party wants to eradicate issues like Naxalism, Ram Mandir, and many more considering the only never-ending topics to sustain the political war in the nation and draw away the attention targetting the sentiments for the vote bank.

Chhattisgarh goes to polls in two phases; voting for 18 seats will be held on November 12 and the remaining 72 constituencies on November 20. The results will be announced on December 11.

By Moumita Mukherjee & Twinkle Mehta

Indian women thrash Bangladesh 7-1 in 2020 AFC Olympic qualifiers

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

Bala Devi struck four goals to power the Indian women’s football team to a dominating 7-1 win over Bangladesh in their second match of the 2020 AFC Olympic qualifiers here on Sunday.

Besides Bala Devi, Kamala Devi produced a brace and Sanju scored once as India left behind the disappointment of the draw against Nepal.

The first half started off evenly but after the opening goal from India, it became a one-sided affair as an eight-minute blitz featuring three goals completely left the Bangladeshi players shell-shocked at the Thuwunna Stadium.

It was coach Maymol Rocky’s side that created the first chance of the match with Ratanbala Devi’s effort from the top of the box going wide in the fifth minute.

Six minutes later, Bangladesh forward Mosammat looked to be through on goal but Dalima Chhibber produced an inch-perfect tackle inside her own box to remove the danger.

Having played out a draw against Nepal in their first match, the Indian team was looking to respond in style and 16 minutes into the contest, they opened the scoring from the spot.

Bala Devi was brought down by the Bangladeshi left-back inside the penalty area and Kamala Devi, India’s lone scorer in the previous match, made no mistake from the spot, slotting her kick low to the keeper’s right, who could not reach it despite guessing the correct way.

In the 53rd minute, Kamala scored her second goal by turning in a cross from the right flank after the Bangladesh defence failed to clear the ball away.

Bala completed her hat-trick in the 62nd minute by tapping the ball into the empty net after Sanju broke free down the left and unselfishly passed the ball across the goal even as she closed in on the keeper.

The left-winger was excellent throughout the game and got the goal she deserved in the 72nd minute with a delightful chip that glided over the keeper and into the net.

Just three minutes later, Bala picked up her fourth goal of the afternoon – converting yet another beautiful ball from the left by the tireless Sanju.

The Bangladesh side picked up a consolation goal with 10 minutes to go when Krishna Rani scored from a tight angle to deny the Indians a clean sheet.

India thus are still unbeaten in the competition with four points from their two matches so far.

Saha India’s best wicketkeeper in last 5-10 years: Ganguly

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

A shoulder injury has forced Wriddhiman Saha out of action as of now but he has been India’s best wicketkeeper in the last five to ten years, reckons former captain Sourav Ganguly.

The 34-year-old Saha, who has been India’s number one wicketkeeper in Test cricket since MS Dhoni’s retirement in December 2014, is undergoing rehab for his shoulder surgery.

“He’s out of the team for about a year now but I think in the last five to 10 years’ he has been India’s best glovesman. Hope he recovers soon,” Ganguly said.

The former captain spoke during the launch of ‘Wiki’, a sports fiction written by senior journalist Gautam Bhattacharya. The book chronicles the journey of a struggling wicketkeeper and how he makes it big.

Young Rishabh Pant has made an impressive start to his Test career and he will take flight for the upcoming Australia tour. Parthiv Patel is also in the squad as a backup to Pant.

Saha, who has played 32 Tests and scored 1164 runs including three hundreds, last played in the Cape Town Test earlier this year. With India not playing any Tests after the Australia tour till July 2019, the Bengal wicketkeeper’s future remains uncertain.

“Injury is not in your hands. Wicketkeeper has to dive and he got injured while diving. It takes a certain time to recover. The faster he recovers, the better it is,” said Ganguly.

World Number 1 Momota wins badminton’s China Open

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

World champion Kento Momota won badminton’s Fuzhou China Open on Sunday to add another title to his already spectacular season.

Japan’s world number one survived a spirited challenge from Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, defeating the fourth seed 21-13, 11-21, 21-16 in 66 minutes.

The 24-year-old Momota collapsed to the court floor and lay on his back exhausted after finally seeing off Chou.

Momota has been in scorching form this year, winning the World Championships, the Asia Championships and now four events on the World Tour.

His defeat of Chou was a repeat of the Denmark Open final in October, when the explosive Momota similarly prevailed in three games.

Momota, who was expelled from the Japanese team for the 2016 Rio Olympics and banned for over a year for visiting an illegal casino, is now set to compete at Hong Kong Open.

He is drawn to face ageing former number one Lin Dan of China in his opening match.

Arrest Sudhir Mungantiwar in the Avni killing incident: Sanjay Nirupam

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam today attacked Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and demanded immediate sacking and CBI probe against the Forest Minister claiming that the tigers are unsafe under his rule.

Raising serious questions on the conduct of Sudhir Mungantiwar Sanjay Nirupam said, “Sudhir Mungantiwar resumed office as the Forest Minister in the year 2014. Since then, 14, 16 and 21 tigers have died in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively in Maharashtra. The number of tiger deaths in the year 2017 is second highest in the country after Madhya Pradesh. India’s biggest tiger Jay has been missing too. Does this bitter reality sound normal to Sudhir Mungantiwar? It is highly possible that Mungantiwar could be in nexus with the International poaching mafias. It is clear that our national animal isn’t safe under Mungantiwar’s rule.”

Sanjay Nirupam further said, “Despite the National Tiger Conservative Authority’s rule of having a surveillance system installed in every tiger reserve in the country, Sudhir Mungantiwar has conveniently refrained from doing the needful in Maharashtra time and again. The Govt of Maharashtra first floated a tender in August 2016 urging the tenderers to submit their respective tenders before September 2016. Despite the bidders had already bid in, this tender was later scraped. A year later, the state Govt floated another tender in March 2017 urging the tenderers to submit their respective tenders before May 2017. However, this tender was scraped too. All the other states with tiger reserves have installed surveillance systems except Maharashtra. When a surveillance system was installed as a small model in Chandrapur’s Chanda, Sudhir Mungantiwar admitted that the location of the tigers and the activities of the poachers could both be tracked using the surveillance system. Is this why he hasn’t installed it in Maharashtra so that the poaching mafias can continue to kill tigers for huge monetary benefits?”

Actress and Animal lover Rupali Ganguly who was also present said, “The panel formed by the Centre too comprises of people from the Govt who will be biased towards this entire issue. We want cyber experts, forensic experts, forest experts, veterinarian and shooting experts to be a part of this committee to ensure fair inquiry and action. Also there have been repeated inconsistencies in the information provided by the State Govt about the 2 Cubs of the deceased Tigress who are still missing. The simple rule of ‘Sun down, gun down’ which implies that no animal can be tranquilized past sunset too was violated in this case. If the Govt could pay Rs. 5 lakh and hire a sharp shooter to kill the tigress, why aren’t they making optimum utilisation of the State machinery to find the Cubs now? State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar must resign immediately”.

Animal lovers Priyanka Timmins, Anupama Mukherjee and Bharat Sharma who too were present questioned that why the Govt called Tigress Avni a man-eater in the first place. Sanjay Nirupam, along with other activists, urged the common people to participate in huge number in the Global March conducted on Sunday November 11. This March will commence from Worli Sea face at 4 pm and conclude at Dadar’s Shivaji Park.

First phase of Nerul-Seawoods-Uran rail line commissioned

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

A new suburban corridor on the Central Railway (CR) was inaugurated Sunday, linking Nerul and Belapur in Navi Mumbai with Kharpokar in Ulwe, a rapidly developing node in the satellite city.

The 12 km Nerul-Seawoods Darave-Belapur-Kharkopar corridor in Navi Mumbai was commissioned by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

This is the first phase of the 27km Nerul-Belapur-Uran corridor on the Harbour route of the CR that extends suburban trains to adjoining Raigad district.

Regular services on the corridor will start from Monday and link Ulwe node in Navi Mumbai with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Panvel on the Harbour route besides Thane on the Trans-Harbour corridor.

The Ulwe node is located opposite the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.

This is the first suburban corridor in the Mumbai metropolitan region in 13 years and comes after the Trans- Harbour Line, connecting Thane with Navi Mumbai, was thrown open in 2005.

Speaking after commissioning of the corridor at the Kharpokar railway station, Fadnavis said in the modern era transportation and mobility play key role in human settlement.

“In earlier days of civilisation, people would settle near rivers where they could easily get water. But now people start habitation at places which are equipped with means of transportation and mobility,” he said.

Fadnavis said large-scale investments are being made in Mumbai’s suburban railway network to enhance connectivity and improve passenger amenities.

“We are also investing Rs 1 lakh crore in various metro projects that will also be integrated with suburban networks,” the chief minister said.

The Seawoods-Belapur-Uran line was conceived in late 1990s to augment the Harbour rail network.

The commissioning of the new rail corridor was to take place in December 2017, but it got delayed by nearly a year.

The CR will operate 40 services daily from Monday, of which 20 will run between Kharkopar and Nerul and the rest between Belapur and Kharkopar stations.

The 27km-long project is coming up at a cost of Rs 1,782 crore. The second phase, on which work is currently going on, will stretch from Kharkopar to Uran, a coastal town in Raigad district.

“Once fully functional, the entire corridor will benefit the Navi Mumbai Airport, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trusts container port at Nhava Sheva and fishing communities in the region and also connect Panvel, Pen, Roha and CSMT,” said an official of state-run town planning agency CIDCO.

The project cost is being shared by the Railways and CIDCO in the ratio of 33:67 per cent.

If you spit on Pune streets, be prepared to clean up the mess too

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

In a bid to keep Pune streets clean, the city civic body has started punishing people spitting on roads by making them clean the spit, besides levying a fine on offenders, an official said today.

The decision was taken after authorities found that only monetary fine was not adequate to check the menace of spitting, Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) officer Dnyaneshwar Molak said.

The initiative was launched last week in five wards of Bibwewadi, Aundh, Yerawada, Kasba and Ghole Road, he said.

“In the last eight days, PMC sanitation inspectors caught around 156 people while they were spitting on streets. All of them were made to clean their spit immediately and a fine of Rs. 150 was imposed on each of them,” he said.

The objective behind the punishment is to send across a message to people that when offenders are made to clean their own spit, they feel ashamed, and that next time, they will think twice before spitting on streets, he said.

Mr Molak noted that in the 2018 cleanliness survey, Pune was at the 10th position whereas the Indore city of Madhya Pradesh was on the top.

“This time, we are aiming for the number one position. The latest drive is one of the initiatives taken by the civic body ahead of the Swachh Survekshan (survey) 2019,” he said.

In the past, the civic body used to observe the Anti-Spitting Day every Wednesday, but it got discontinued, Mr Molak said, adding that their aim is to resume it now.

“The drive will initially start on a daily basis but once sufficient awareness is created, it can be limited to one particular day,” he added.

Death toll in car-bus crash near Nashik rises to 5

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

The death toll in the accident involving a car and a private bus near Nashik Saturday evening has gone up to five, with two children also succumbing to their injuries, police said on Sunday.

Three people had died on the spot and as many others were injured when their car proceeding to Sinnar in Nashik district collided with the luxury bus, which was heading towards the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, an official of the Wavi police station said.

The mishap had taken place around 6 pm at Bhokani village on the Sinnar-Shirdi road, about 70 km from here in North Maharashtra, he said.

Of the three injured persons, two children, both aged 14, died while being shifted to a hospital on Saturday night, he said.

The other injured person was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Nashik, the official said.

All the deceased were residents of Mira Road area in the neighbouring Thane district, he added.

Fisherman missing after 2 boats collide off Palghar coast

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

A 42-year-old fisherman went missing after two boats collided in the Arabian Sea off the Vasai coast in Maharashtra’s Palghar district in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

The mishap took place around 1.15 am at nearly 15 nautical miles from the Vasai port, located about 70 km from here, an official at the Vasai police station said.

A fishing boat, named ‘Morning Star’, having seven fishermen on board, collided with another unidentified vessel.

Following the collision, one fisherman from the ‘Morning Star’ boat fell into the waters, the official said.

Police were alerted about the incident, he said, adding that personnel of the Coast Guard, local police and the district disaster management cell were making all efforts to trace the missing fisherman.

Rs 65,000 cr set aside for Mumbai suburban rail revamp: Goyal

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Afternoon Voice

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November 11, 2018

Up to Rs 65,000 crore has been approved for a host of rail infrastructure projects on the suburban network in Mumbai and its surrounding areas, said Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday.

These projects, investment for which was proposed in this year’s Union budget, include new works and upgradation of existing facilities on the busy network, which serves as the transport lifeline of the metropolis, he said.

Goyal said the Maharashtra government has been actively supporting these infrastructure projects, which seek to improve transportation and passenger amenities.

“With the blessings of our visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with the active support of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the decision of having an investment of a whopping Rs 60,000 to Rs 65,000 crore in the last proposed budget has been approved.

“This will ensure upgradation of the suburban railway system of Mumbai and its adjacent areas,” he said.

“Given the pace at which the infrastructure and public amenity works are being executed by the Railways, I believe that in the next four to four-and-a-half years, the suburban rail network of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai or Mahamumbai will see a complete metamorphosis,” Goyal said.

He was speaking after commissioning of the new Nerul-Seawoods Darave-Belapur-Kharkopar suburban rail corridor in Navi Mumbai. This is the first phase of the 27km Nerul-Belapur -Uran corridor on the Harbour route of the Central Railway.

Goyal along with Fadnavis commissioned the first phase of the corridor that comprised 12km out of the 27km rail line, at the Kharpokar railway station.

Regular services on the new corridor will start from Monday and link Ulwe node in Navi Mumbai with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Panvel on the Harbour route besides Thane on the Trans-Harbour corridor.

Addressing the gathering, Goyal said Fadnavis has set a target of Maharashtra becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2025.

The Indian Railway will play a crucial role in achieving this target, he said.

“Be it the leaders of my own party (the BJP) or from the Shiv Sena, or public and passengers representatives, they keep following rail projects regularly with me which sometimes annoys me also.

“Nevertheless, it gives me pleasure, too, as they are doing their job for improving amenities,” Goyal said.

He also inaugurated induction of eight MEMU services between Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel-Pen and other passenger amenities.

These amenities included six FOBs (foot over bridges), 41 escalators at 23 stations, 10 lifts at six stations, half a dozen toilets at as many stations, 318 new ATVMs (Automatic Ticket Vending Machines) at 77 suburban stations.

Other amenities were IP-based suburban train indicators at 10 stations, 206 additional CCTV cameras at six stations, two booking offices at Bhiwandi Road and Navde Road stations, raising of platform height to 900 mm at 273 platforms of suburban stations as well as one-megawatt solar power plant at EMU Carshed in Sanpada.