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After onions, pulses prices skyrocket

By
Afternoon Voice
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The common man who is already grappling with rising inflation now will have to shell out more money for purchasing Tur Dal.

GroseryThere has been a sharp rise in the prices of pulses like Tur Dal, Moong Dal, Chana Dal, Urad Dal, Masoor Dal due to deficient monsoon in the state. Prices of Tur Dal have risen drastically and have already reached Rs 200 per kg. The common man who is already grappling with rising inflation now will have to shell out more money for purchasing Tur Dal. Thus Dal rice which is known as the poor man’s diet has become unaffordable for the common man. Rising prices of pulses is also affecting the bottomlines of hotels.

Moong Dal is selling at Rs 150 to Rs 170, Chana Dal Rs 80 to Rs 100, Urad Dal Rs 160 to Rs 170 and Masoor Dal costing Rs 100 to Rs 110 at APMC Vashi. Tur Dal is cultivated in districts like Latur, Sholapur and Marathwada region of the state. Maharashtra is the second highest producer of Tur dal in the country. Since the new crop is expected to arrive in January hence people will have to bear the brunt of rising prices of pulses. In order to address the shortfall the government will have to import pulses. If the government reduces the import duty on pulses then it will provide some relief to the common man.

Rising pulse prices continue to pinch the pocket of a common man. Last one month has seen record rise in prices of pulses. And adding to the woes and worries of citizens already burdened with inflation, traders predict further rise in pulse prices with festive season round the corner.

“The drought, coupled with recurring hailstorm had adversely hit overall food production. Production was worst hit due to climate changes and poor rainfall,” Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said.

Few months back the Maharashtra government had written to the Centre seeking assistance to keep the spiralling price of pulses, specially tur dal, under control. A letter was sent to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh about the sharp increase in prices of cereals and pulses.

Production of pulses in Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha, areas worst hit by drought, had been already affected. The recurring unseasonal rainfall had damaged pulses and cereals like jowar, bajra in the state.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said there was enough food grain stock though pulses were a matter of concern. He added that prices of pulses were rising across the country.

He added, “There is no reason to panic. There is adequate food grain stock. Yes, prices of pulses are going up…”

“After onions now pulses like Tur Dal, Urad Dal and Masoor Dal has become expensive. How will the common man make both ends meet? If prices continue to rise in this manner then we will have reduce the consumption of Tur Dal” said Rupali Kadam a housewife from Kandivali.

“Rising prices of pulses has become a major cause of concern for us. If an essential commodity like Tur Dal becomes dearer then it will affect our monthly budget. Why can’t the government control inflation instead of focussing on irrelevant issues? said Arpita Singh a Borivali resident.

“Continuous increase in the prices of pulses has badly affected the pockets of common man. This will definitely hit our expense plans this festive season,” said Hemant Jadhav, a resident of Malad.

“We love to eat ‘dal’ every day, but now have been replacing it with vegetables. It is always better to have two varieties of vegetables, rather going for the costly dal. Moreover, fresh vegetables are available at a very reasonable price these days,” said Malti Deshmukh a Borivali resident.

What’s up Jethmalani, why are you against Modi?

By
Vaidehi Taman
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At this crucial juncture of Bihar elections, noted lawyer and former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani urged the people to defeat the BJP-led NDA in the Bihar Assembly elections. Jethmalani, known for his vocal stand on various issues, urged the people to vote for Nitish Kumar, the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance of the Janata Dal-United, the RJD and the Congress. Jethmalani urges Modi must be punished for his “anti-people policies”.
Anyway, even people are unhappy with the performance of Narendra Modi government at the Centre as it has failed to keep its promises on rising prices and inflation. They are not fulfilling the promises made during the Lok Sabha polls. Tall promises were made during the election campaign, raising people’s expectations on inflation and price rise. However, after one and half year issues remained the same and we have not noticed any significant change. This government is also responsible for disturbing the secular fabric in the country with its “RSS-VHP and other right wing backed communal agenda”.

It might be a reason why Jethmalani urges that the BJP should be taught a lesson for breaching the trust of Indian and the armed forces. Democracy without education is hypocrisy without limitation. He was in Patna to lend his support to veterans fighting for OROP, said the BJP did nothing to bring back black money, and had it done so, it would have been able to meet the demands of ex-servicemen. Under fire from the grand secular alliance for his failure to bring back black money stashed abroad, he also said he had become a “victim of fraud” by playing into the hands of Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley.

Jethmalani said both the UPA and Modi-led government at the Centre did nothing to bring black money from foreign tax havens and held both P Chidambaram and Arun Jaitley responsible for the failure to disclose the names of persons holding the black money. “Both P Chidambaram and Arun Jaitley should be first arrested and prosecuted if we really want to bring back black money. Jaitley…took recourse under the garb of Double Avoidance Tax Treaty (DATT),” he alleged.

He further pointed out that German government had the names of 1,400 people who have stashed their money in tax havens abroad and the German government was ready to part with the information with the Indian government free of cost but with a rider that there should be a written request from the government.

As per a BJP task force committee, there is USD 1,500 billion, which is equivalent to Rs. 90 lakh crore, lying in tax havens. Government has not been able to bring back a single dollar in the country. He feels Bihar should be the starting point to defeat BJP. They have made Ram Jethmalani fool but the people will not be fooled in Bihar.

In 1971, the same Ram Jethmalani contested as an independent candidate from Ulhasnagar supported by the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Jan Sangh but he lost the elections. During the Emergency period of 1975–1977, he was the chairman of the Bar Association of India. He heavily criticised the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. An arrest warrant was issued against him from Kerala. The Bombay High Court stayed it when over 300 lawyers led by Nani Palkhivala appeared for him. However the stay was nullified by the famous Habeas Corpus judgement (Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla) and Ram Jethmalani exiled himself in Canada carrying on his campaign against the Emergency. He returned 10 months later after Emergency was lifted. While in Canada, his candidature was filed from Bombay North-West constituency. He won the election and retained the seat in 1980 General Elections, but lost to Sunil Dutt of the Indian National Congress in 1985. In the 1977 general elections after the Emergency, he ousted the serving Law Minister H.R. Gokhale from Bombay in the Lok Sabha Elections and hence started his political career as a Parliamentarian. However, he was not made law minister as Morarji Desai disapproved of his lifestyle.

He became a member of Rajya Sabha in 1988. He became the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs in 1996 in the Government of India led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During the second tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he was given the portfolio of Union Minister of Urban Affairs and Employment in 1998. However on 13 October 1999, he was again sworn in as the Union Minister for Law, Justice & Company Affairs. He was asked to resign by the Prime Minister following differences with the then Chief Justice of India Adarsh Sein Anand and Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee. It is believed that Jethmalani never enjoyed the confidence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was then inducted into the Cabinet on then Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani’s insistence.

He had also announced his candidature for President of India and launched his own political fronts, the Bharat Mukti Morcha, launched as a ‘mass movement’ in 1987. In 1995 he launched his own political party called Pavitra Hindustan Kazhagam, with a motto to achieve “Transparency in functioning of Indian Democracy”. In the General Elections of 2004, he contested against Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Lucknow constituency as an independent candidate. Indian National Congress did not field their candidates in this election. However, he lost from there. Later on in 2010, Bharatiya Janta Party gave him a Rajya Sabha ticket from Rajasthan and he was elected.

In 2012, Jethmalani wrote to then Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari, accusing opposition BJP leaders of being “silent against the huge corruption” within the ruling UPA-II government, and stated that BJP is “sick”. Jethmalani’s letter became public on the internet, and in May 2013, BJP expelled him from the party for 6 years, for having made anti-party statements. Then his son too resigned from the party and now both father – son duo are campaigning against BJP and particularly against Narendra Modi.

Yogendra Yadav meets farmers in Maharashtra

By
Afternoon Voice
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YogendraExpelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav, who has formed ‘Swaraj Abhiyan’, has started his Maharashtra visit with a farmers meeting in Nanded district.

Yadav, who began his ‘Jai Kisan Movement’ from Karnataka’s Raichur district on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, arrived at Nanded district yesterday. In Nanded, he held talks with farmers and students who apprised him with their difficulties, a volunteer associated with Yadav said.

In June, Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, who were expelled from AAP after they challenged the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, founded an organisation – Swaraj Abhiyaan. Maruti Bhapkar, former AAP leader and member of National Council of Swaraj Abhiyan, said, “Yadav through his Jai Kisan Movement is trying to change country’s future by addressing farmers’ hardships. He has appealed everyone to be a part of the movement to help resolve issues faced by the farmers.”

“He will be meeting farmers of Osmanabad, Tuljapur, Solapur, Aurangabad and Jalgaon and then visit Madhya Pradesh from October 9,” Bhapkar said.

“He will then meet farmers of Uttar Pradesh from October 10 to 13, Rajasthan on October 14 and the movement will culminate in Haryana on October 15,” he added.

Pakistan giving ‘independent soldier’ status to terrorists: Sena

By
Afternoon Voice
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Uddhav-ThackerayHitting out at Pakistan after four jawans were killed in Kashmir, Shiv Sena today said it has accorded “independent soldiers” status to terrorists for which India is paying a heavy price and rued there’s a dearth of political will to carry out Myanmar-like strikes in PoK.

“Instead of saying that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorists, it would be better to say that these terrorists have been accorded the status of ‘independent soldiers’ by Pakistan,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said. “The way our forces entered Myanmar to eliminate terrorists, we are capable of doing the same in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as well,” it said. “Indian Air Force Chief (Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha) says the intent and decision (to strike at terror camps in PoK) will have to be taken by the political leadership. It is understood then that there is no dearth of willingness and capabilities, but there is less or no political will to do so,” the Sena said.

“What bravery is it that we keep garlanding the coffins of martyred jawans? Enter Pakistan once and eliminate terrorism from its roots,” the party said. Slamming Pakistan, it said, “Those who we kill are given the status of martyrs by them and memorials are constructed.” “We are not fighting a battle with Pakistani soldiers, but with terrorists who have been trained by the neighbouring country. Sadly, these terrorists are outweighing us,” it said. The Sena ruled that the country has to pay a heavy price while fighting with militants.

“While it is true that Indian soldiers have immense capabilities, we cannot ignore the fact that we pay a heavy price while fighting with them,” it said.

What is the need of harping on the Indian Army’s prowess If India is incapable of eliminating terrorism from its roots? it asked. The recent attacks in Gurdaspur, Udhampur and now in Kupwara make it seem that we are unable to teach Pakistan a lesson. On the contrary we need to learn lessons, the Sena opined.

Four jawans lost their lives in a fierce gunbattle with militants during an operation launched in Haphruda forest in Handwara yesterday, following information about the presence of militants there. One militant was killed in a separate encounter that broke out during an operation in Lolab area.

Indrani Mukerjea discharged from hospital, back to Byculla Jail

By
Afternoon Voice
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IndraniIndrani Mukerjea, who is alleged to have killed her daughter Sheena Bora, was discharged from Mumbai’s JJ Hospital on Tuesday.

She is now back in Byculla Jail.

JJ Hospital Dean TP Lahane confirmed that she had been discharged after being treated for four days.

The 43-year-old was rushed to hospital on Friday after collapsing in Byculla prison after suspected overdose of anti-depressant pills.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai court reserved its order till tomorrow on a CBI plea seeking permission to interrogate in jail IndraniMukherjea and two other accused in the Sheena murder case.

Seeking permission to quiz Indrani, her former husband SanjeevKhanna and her driver ShyamRai in jail, CBI, which had moved an application, told the court that it has just taken over the investigation from Mumbai Police and interrogation of the trio was necessary.

The agency submitted that if the permission (for interrogation) is not given then it will have to rely on the investigation conducted by Mumbai Police.

On Monday, the local court had extended the trio’s judicial custody till October 19.

It had also asked JJ Hospital authorities to furnish the medical report of Indrani.

Indrani’s lawyer Gunjan Mangala told the court that she does not have any objection to her client being interrogated by CBI in jail.

Accident victim’s kin get Rs 29.36 lakh compensation

By
Afternoon Voice
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The family of a 35-year-old man, who was killed in a road accident in 2011, has been awarded Rs. 29.36 lakh compensation by the Thane District Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT).

On August 30, 2011, Jatashankar Yadav, employed with a private firm, was travelling in a jeep from Nagothane to Goregaon when his vehicle was hit by a speeding tanker. He was injured in the accident and later died at a local hospital.

His wife Hiravati, children Jaisingh, Soni and Sachin and father Shivmurti informed the MACT that Jatashankar was earning Rs. 20,000 per month and was the sole breadwinner. They demanded a compensation of Rs. 30 lakh for his death.

They claimed that the tanker driver was rash and negligent and hence, lodged a claim on the New India Assurance Company and the vehicle’s owner – Ashish Transport Company.

As the vehicle owner remained absent during hearing, the case was decided ex-parte against him.

However, the insurance company contested the claim and put forth several arguments, including that the jeep driver was negligent resulting in the accident and also that owner of the jeep and its insurer were not made parties to the claim.

District Judge and MACT member K D Vadane, after hearing both the parties, dismissed the insurance company’s claim.

He observed that the insurance company admitted to the occurrence of the accident, but did not adduce any corroborative piece of evidence to support its contention that the mishap occurred due to sole negligence on the part of driver of the jeep in which Jatashaknar was travelling.

“The FIR copy and spot panchanama show that at the relevant time of the incident driver of tanker drove in high speed…Therefore crime was registered against him. Thus, the contention of the applicants is corroborated by the police papers on record,” the judge noted.

“Therefore, I come to conclusion that impugned accident occurred due to sole negligence on the part of driver of tanker, and there was no negligence on the part of driver of the jeep,” he observed in a recent order.

The judge awarded a total compensation of Rs. 29,36,664 to be paid to the claimants jointly and severally by the vehicle’s owner and the insurance firm.

He ordered that the amount be distributed as Rs. 6 lakh each to three children by way of Fixed Deposit for five years. His father be given Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh be invested in the name of the widow by way of Fixed Deposit for five years. In addition, the widow be given the balance amount along with the interest as realised.

Pfizer to sell its Thane plant to Vidhi Research and Development

By
Afternoon Voice
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Pfizer has entered into a business transfer agreement to sell its Thane plant as a going concern to Vidhi Research and Development for Rs. 178 crores.

In a BSE filing, Pfizer said that it has entered into a Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) for the transfer of the company’s business at the Thane plant as a going concern to Vidhi Research and Development in accordance with the terms of the agreement for a lump sum consideration of Rs. 178 crores. “Upon the conclusion of the BTA, all current workmen at the Thane Plant shall be transferred to the buyer so as to facilitate manufacturing operations,” the filing said.

In July, Pfizer announced that it will close its over 50-year old Thane plant from September 16, 2015, which was lying idle since 2013. “The decision to close the site is based on an assessment of its long-term viability and its ability to achieve the needed production. There has practically been no production activity at this plant since 2013,” a Pfizer spokesperson had said.

The plant, which employed 212 workers, had offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) last year. This was taken up by as many as 132 workmen.

The Thane plant was commissioned in the 1960s. It supplied drugs to both domestic and international markets.

HC refuses to drop plea challenging Amit Shah’s acquittal in ‘encounter’ case

By
Afternoon Voice
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Bombay High Court has refused to drop a plea challenging Amit Shah’s acquittal in Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

Rubabuddin Shaikh, brother of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat, on Tuesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking to withdraw his petition challenging the discharge of BJP President Amit Shah by a Mumbai court in the case. The application was filed in the court of Justice Anuja Prabhudesai seeking to withdraw his petition in which he had challenged Shah’s discharge by the trial court in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter killing cases. Shaikh pleaded that he wanted to withdraw the petition as there was some “communication gap” with his lawyer. The Judge posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.

Rubabuddin’s lawyer Vijay Hiremath said, “Rubabuddin has gone to the High Court seeking withdrawal of his petition on his own and has not consulted me. Therefore, I am not aware of the grounds cited in that application for withdrawing the petition.” On December 30, 2014, a CBI Court in Mumbai had discharged Shah in the alleged fake encounter cases saying there existed “no case” against him and that he had been implicated for “political reasons”.

The trial court had also ordered dropping of charges of murder, abduction and criminal conspiracy against the BJP Chief.

Sohrabuddin, an alleged gangster whom the Gujarat police had claimed to have links to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, and his wife Kausar Bi, were allegedly abducted by Gujarat ATS from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra, according to prosecution in the trial court. Sohrabuddin was killed in the alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005 after which his wife had disappeared and was believed to have died.

Tulsiram, an aide of the alleged gangster and an eyewitness to the encounter, was also allegedly killed by police at Chapri village in Banaskantha district in Gujarat in December, 2006.

Shah, who was the then Minister of State for Home in Gujarat, was alleged to have plotted the killings with some police officers.

He was arrested by CBI in July, 2010 and granted bail by the Supreme Court three months later on October 29 on the condition that he will not enter Gujarat.

The Sohrabuddin killing case was transferred to Mumbai in September, 2012 at CBI’s request for a fair trial. In 2013, the Supreme Court had clubbed Tulsiram Prajapati’s encounter killing case with that of Sohrabuddin.

Maharashtra cabinet clears two Mumbai metro railway routes 

By
Afternoon Voice
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The Maharashtra cabinet cleared two new Mumbai metro railway line routes, an official in the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office said.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority ( MMRDA), will complete both the Andheri East to Dahisar East route and the Dahisar East to D N Nagar route, which are expected to be completed by March 2019, at a total cost of Rs. 12,618 crore, the official said.

The Dahisar East to D N Nagar route, with 17 metro railway stations, is part of the Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra- Mankhurd Metro II project, whose estimated cost of the 18.6 km route is Rs. 6,410 crore, the official said.

The Andheri East to Dahisar East route which is 16.5 km long would have 16 stations and cost Rs. 6,208 crore, the police official said.

The fare collected on both routes would be Rs. 10 for the first three kilometres and Rs. 20 for upto 12 km, while the fare would be Rs. 30 for a distance of more than 12 km, the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation stone for these projects on October 11, the official said.

Law can’t be violated in the name of festivals: HC

By
Afternoon Voice
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Asserting that law applies to every religion and it cannot be violated in the name of religious festivals; the Bombay High Court appreciated the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for proper management of the famous Mount Mary Fair in suburban Bandra.

Mount Mary fair, held to celebrate the birthday of Mother Mary, draws huge crowds every year from all parts of the city and nearby places and is considered a historic event by members of all communities.

A division bench of Justices A S Oka and V L Achiliya was hearing a petition by Lillian Pais, a resident of Bandra, stating that every year during the fair vehicular and pedestrian traffic is disrupted as several stalls are put up without permission.

The civic body today told the court that this year 183 illegal stalls were removed following complaints and several steps were taken to ensure that there was no obstruction to traffic.

“Law of the land applies to every religion. In the name of religious festivals, no one can violate the law and put up illegal pandals and stalls on public roads. Only in this festival (Mount Mary Fair) we are noticing the civic body has been able to reduce the number of stalls,” Justice Oka said.

The civic body informed the court that henceforth two months prior to the fair every year a policy will be formed by it and will be published on its website and the local ward office.

Directing the Corporation to give wide publicity to the policy in local newspapers, the court disposed of the petition saying the petitioners can approach the civic body if it has any problems or suggestions about the policy.

The court also directed the concerned Assistant Municipal Commissioner to ensure that no stall is illegally put up and garbage from the area is removed immediately after the fair ends.

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