First phase of Coastal Road to have three interchanges: BMC

By

-

October 18, 2018

The first phase of the proposed Coastal Road project will have three interchanges, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday.

The first phase of this ambitious project runs between Princess Street and Bandra-Worli Sea Link Road and the three interchanges will be located at Amar Sons Garden, Haji Ali and Worli Seaface, it said.

These interchanges will have 18 alternative routes and nine entry as well as exit routes to facilitate the motorists, the civic body added.

“The total length of these interchanges will be 14 kms. They will be constructed as per the international codes of standards and using state-of-the-art tools,” the BMC said.

The speed limit for vehicles on these interchanges has been fixed at 40 kmph, it said adding that crash attenuators will be installed at important points along these interchanges to minimise the impact of collision in case of possible accident.

According to a civic official, work on the first phase is expected to start by the next month, when work orders will be issued. The entire project may take almost four years to complete.

“Work on the 10-km stretch from Princess Street Flyover to south end of Bandra Worli Sea Link is likely to start by the end of the year,” official said, adding that the first phase will comprise an under-sea tunnel starting from Princess Street flyover to Priyadarshini Circle.

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has been awarded the contract to construct a part of the project from Princess Street Flyover to Baroda Palace, including an underground tunnel passing below Girgaum Chowpatty, Malabar Hills and Priyadarshini Park.

The total length of the Coastal Road project is 29.2 kms. The eight-lane road project will start from Princess Street Flyover in Marine Lines and run up to Kandivli.

The standing committee of the BMC had given its nod for the construction of the Rs 12,000-crore project last month.

Aurangabad farmers urge govt to declare Marathwada region as drought hit

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

Farmers in Aurangabad’s Marathwada region have demanded that Maharashtra government should declare the region drought-hit.

“We are undergoing a very difficult situation due to severe lack of rainfall. Farmers are committing suicide. Dams have huge capacity but no water for the past three years. We urge the government to declare it drought-hit area,” a farmer told agencies.

Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that a total of 200 talukas in the state had been identified as scarcity-like conditions.

Fadnavis had said that the state ministers were apprised of the prevailing conditions and were also asked to submit a report to him on the issue.

“The main focus is how to tackle the drought-hit talukas in the state. One of the main reasons behind the drought is the low rainfall which has been recorded 77 per cent only, less than the average mark in the state. We are following the drought manual given by the Centre and that has helped us in planning everything well in advance,” he had said.

The Chief Minister also said that a central team will soon be visiting to these talukas to review the situation. “Be it water-scarcity issues or crop damages, I have instructed the ministers to make a detailed plan after they visit the drought-hit talukas. This not only helps in understanding the situation but allows to a counter-check. Above all, we are well prepared to control the situation that has come before us,” Fadnavis had said.

#MeToo being used for character assassination: Anu Malik’s lawyer

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

A day after singer Shweta Pandit accused Anu Malik of harassment, a lawyer for the music composer said on Thursday that the #MeToo movement, which is having its India moment, is being used for his client’s “character assassination”.

Pandit took to Twitter to accuse Malik of being a “pedophile and sexual predator”, saying he misbehaved with her when she was a greenhorn in the Hindi music industry. He denied the allegation.

In a statement to agencies, Malik’s lawyer, Zulfiquar Memon said, “The allegations made against my client are emphatically denied as completely false and baseless.

“My client respects the #MeToo movement but to use this movement to start a character assassination mission is obnoxious.”

Pandit is not the first one to name the music director, currently a judge on reality singing TV show “Indian Idol”.

Last week, singer Sona Mohapatra had also called Malik a “serial predator”, a claim he had denied.

Policeman’s son held for assaulting cop

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

A 27-year-old man, son of a police officer, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a policeman at Kalyan in Thane district, an official said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night and the accused was identified as Abhijit Shinde, police said.

“Assistant police inspector (API) A M Khatib attached to MFC police station was on Dassehra bandobust duty at Shivaji chowk last night along with other policemen when a shopkeeper drew their attention to a man, who was beating up a girl,” a police official said.

“The police team rushed towards them and tried to rescue the girl. When they asked the man why he was beating her, he started abusing them and asked them to mind their own business. He told them she was his girlfriend,” the official added.

When the policemen tried to pacify him, he threatened them saying his father was also a cop, and pulled the API by his collar. The accused also tore Khatib’s uniform, police said adding that he was thereafter taken to MFC police station.

“During his interrogation, he said his father is an inspector posted in Mumbai police headquarters,” the officer said.

Shinde was booked under IPC sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), police said adding that further investigation into the case is on.

Maha Cabinet to be expanded soon: Fadnavis

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the expansion of his Cabinet will happen soon, but refused to commit any specific deadline for the much-awaited exercise.

Fadnavis’ comments came on Wednesday, a day after BJP president Amit Shah held a meeting of select leaders of the party in Mumbai, amid talks of the expansion of Cabinet.

“The expansion of the council of ministers will be carried out soon,” the chief minister told reporters in Solapur, around 400 kms from here.

Responding to a query on the proposed reshuffle, Fadnavis said, “Who will be in and who will be out will be known at appropriate time”.

Fadnavis is heading the BJP-led government, in which the Shiv Sena is a key partner, since October, 2014.

There have been talks of a possible expansion of the state Council of Ministers for the last few months.

Interestingly, Fadnavis had last September also said that his cabinet will be expanded soon.

A vacancy arose when Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar of the BJP died in May. His portfolio is now being handled by PWD and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil.

The number of ministers in Maharashtra cannot exceed 42 (as per the constitutional upper limit of 15 per cent of the number of MLAs).

The current strength of the state ministry is 38, of which 22 ministers are of the Cabinet rank and rest 16 are the ministers of state.

Of the 22 Cabinet ministers, 16 ministers are from the BJP, 5 from the Shiv Sena and one from the RashtriyaSamaj Paksh (RSP).

Of the 16 ministers of state, eight ministers are from the BJP, seven from the Shiv Sena while one minister belongs to a BJP ally.

The Fadnavis government completed four years on October 31.

While the talk of Cabinet expansion has been on for the last many months and different deadlines were committed, the actual exercise is yet to be carried out. Assembly elections are due in Maharashtra in October next year.

Sources in the BJP had said that the reshuffle, which may be the last before Lok Sabha and assembly polls, could be aimed at course correction and finding a right balance of caste and region.

Koregaon-Bhima case: Activist Navlakha moves Bombay HC, seeks to quash FIR against him

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

Civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha, arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima case and his alleged links with Maoists, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the case lodged against him by Pune Police.

In his petition filed earlier this month, Navlakha urged the high court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against him, claiming there was no evidence against him and that he was being falsely implicated.

His petition will be heard Friday by the high court’s division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharti Dangre.

Navlakha, prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao, activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves and trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj were arrested in August this year by the Pune police.

However, the Supreme Court had later ordered for the activists to be kept in house arrest.

The apex court had last month refused to interfere in the case and said the Pune Police could go ahead with its probe.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court had allowed Navlakha to be freed from the house arrest.

It granted him the relief, saying the Supreme Court had earlier given him the liberty to approach the appropriate forum within four weeks to seek further recourse.

The Pune Police had claimed earlier that that they seized documents and communication exchanged between the accused persons which allegedly revealed their links with Maoist leaders and their role in facilitating weapons and funding.

The five activists were arrested on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave — ‘Elgaar Parishad’ — held on December 31 last year that had allegedly triggered violence later at the Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune.

They were put under house arrest on August 29 following an apex court order on the plea by historian Romila Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala against the police action.

Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, while Gonsalves and Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, Bharadwaj from Faridabad in Haryana and Navlakha from Delhi.

Prakash Amte appeals to youth take up social service

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

Noted social worker Dr Prakash Amte on Thursday appealed to youths to take up social service in villages to build a peaceful and humane society.

Addressing students at the 65th convocation ceremony of the Gujarat Vidyapeeth (GV), Dr Amte invoked Mahatma Gandhi who had founded the GV in 1920.

The Vidyapeeth was awarded a deemed university status in 1953.

“As rightly said by Mahatma Gandhi, real India lives in villages. Today’s youth should work in rural areas to help those who are in need. Instead of just pursuing personal ambitions, youths should also take up social service. It will give you great sense of fulfilment and satisfaction,” he said.

Dr Amte (69), son of social activist Baba Amte, and his wife Dr Mandakini have dedicated their lives for the welfare of tribals in Gadchiroli district of east.

“We need a few more dedicated workers to build a humane community where people can live in peace and harmony. We need to build bridges between the haves and have-nots, in every sphere,” said the Ramon Magsaysay-awardee.

On the occasion, Vidyapith Chancellor Elaben Bhatt awarded degrees to 816 students, including 32 Ph.Ds, 23 M.Phils, 393 post graduates, 293 graduates and 75 post-graduate diploma holders.

BJP, Cong playing dirty politics over Sabarimala: CPI

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

The CPI on Thursday accused the BJP-RSS combine and Congress of indulging in “double-talk” and playing “dirty games” over the Sabarimala issue to target the Left government in Kerala by exploiting people’s sentiments.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the second biggest constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

CPI National General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy termed as “very unfortunate” the protests in Kerala against the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages to the hill shrine.

“They (agitators) should respect the SC judgement in spite of the sentiment which they may be having (against it),” Reddy said.

“Gender equality has to be accepted in the 21st century. The old things cannot continue like this,” he told agencies.

On Wednesday, protesters opposing the apex court order allowing the entry of women of menstrual age group into the shrine turned violent at Nilackal and clashed with the police, who resorted to baton-charge.

Reddy said there was a “political angle” vis-a-vis the agitation because Kerala is ruled by a Left front government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) combine welcomed the judgement at the national level but are opposing it in the state, he said.

“So, this is a dirty game. They want to fight behind communalism. There are many such beliefs among people which are unscientific. This should not continue and the RSS-BJP should not indulge in double talk, one at the Centre and one at the state level,” he said.

If the BJP-RSS have “got any morality”, they should control their people at the state level and make them withdraw the agitation, he added.

On Congress lending its support to the stir, Reddy said the party was behaving in a “very irresponsible” manner.

“This is all third-rate type of politics,” Reddy said adding, the Congress being the main opposition party in Kerala was “very irresponsible in behaving like this”.

The veteran Communist leader said both the BJP and the Congress were unnecessarily politicising the issue and exploiting the religious sentiments of the people.

He also clarified that the government cannot file a review petition in the court as it has already filed an affidavit in the SC stating it has no objection over women praying at the shrine.

“(Travancore) Devaswom Board (which manages over 1,200 temples in the state, including the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala) can go for an appeal if they want… They should discuss with the state government but the state government cannot do this (file review petition),” Reddy said.

“On October 19th, there is a meeting of the Devaswom Board, they may discuss and decide,” he said.

On the agitation drawing significant support in the state, he admitted that there was quite a big section of people on the streets but stressed that emotional issues can be dealt with only if the people are objective.

“But if the RSS wants to take advantage of the sentiment and Congress too wants to utilise this (opportunity) to fight against the LDF government, it will not be possible (to deal with this issue properly),” he added.

On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the SC, headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

Maneka urges all political parties to immediately form sexual harassment committee

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

In the backdrop of the ‘Metoo’ movement, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Thursday urged all recognised political parties to form internal committees immediately to look into complaints of sexual harassment.

Maneka Gandhi said she has written to six national parties and 59 regional parties to form internal complaints committee against sexual harassment and post information on it on their website.

“We are trying to get to every single form of harassment that is being experienced by women at workplace,” she told agencies.

“I have written to chiefs of political parties to form Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which should have already been there under the law. When we are asking every organisation to have an internal complaints committee, why should we exempt political parties from it,” she said.

Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act mandates every organisation which employs women to constitute an internal complaints committee which is to be headed by a senior women employee.

The Minister had earlier also written to all Bollywood production houses to form an ICC, following which about seven of them had formed such committees.

Allegations of sexual harassment against prominent people in various fields have come to light under India’s online “#MeToo” movement, which started with actor Tanushree Dutta accusing fellow actor — Nana Patekar — of harassing her during the shooting of a Bollywood film in 2008.

M J Akbar, who resigned as the Minister of State for External Affairs Wednesday, filmmakers Subhash Ghai, Sajid Khan, Rajat Kapoor and actor Alok Nath are among those who have been accused of sexual misconduct. They have denied the allegations.

Bajaj Finance increases fixed deposit rate of interest

By

Afternoon Voice

-

October 18, 2018

Bajaj Finance Ltd., the lending and investment arm of Bajaj Finserv, has increased its Fixed Deposits’ (FD) rate of interest.

The company has increased its FD rates for existing loan and FD customers to up to 9%* and new customers to up to 8.75%*. For senior citizens the FD rates are increased to up to 9.10%*.

These new rates are offered on an annual basis, applicable under the cumulative and non-cumulative payout schemes on a 36-60 months tenor. The annual rate of interest valid for deposits up to Rs. 5 crore (w.e.f 17 October 2018).

For the same schemes and tenor, the new Fixed Deposit customers would get 8.75% instead of 8.50% earlier. The existing loan and FD customers are offered a rate of 9% which previously was 8.75%. The rate of interest, has thus recorded a rise of 0.25% on a tenor of 36-60 months across all customer categories.

For the recently launched special tenor scheme of 15 months with a minimum FD size of Rs. 1 lakh, the FD rate of interest would be up to 8.05% for new customers and 8.40% for senior citizens.

Upon renewal, senior citizens will now earn a higher rate of interest of 9.35% which previously was 9.10% and new customers will be offered rate of interest of 9% compared to 8.75% prior, for a tenor ranging between 36 to 60 months.

Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposit has been accredited ‘FAAA/Stable’ rating by CRISIL and ‘MAAA (Stable)’ rating by ICRA which indicate highest degree of safety with regard to timely payment of interest and principal on the instrument. Deposit book stood at Rs. 9,427 crore as of 30 June 2018 which was a growth of 85% from Rs. 5,095 crore as of 30 June 2017. Deposits contributed to 14% of the standalone borrowings.