Komen triggers heavy rains; 70 dead in Bengal, Manipur, Odisha

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August 2, 2015

The depression created from cyclone Komen, which has been hovering over Bangladesh, has triggered heavy rain in India’s northeastern and eastern states, killing at least 75 people in Manipur, West Bengal and Odisha.

As many as 48 people have died so far in West Bengal where chief minister Mamata Banerjee called in the army for rescue operations in worst flood-hit areas on Sunday.

Indian Army personnel carried out rescue operations at Jhawdanga village in Purbasthali Block 2 in Burdwan district from their base camp at Panagarh.

“Around 450 villagers have been already rescued from the flooded Jhawdanag village were river Bhagirathi is overflowing dangerously. Another 150 villagers are still stuck and the army is carrying out rescue operations,” Burdwan district magistrate Soumitra Mohan told HT.

Various rivers breached their embankments on Sunday, inundating several areas. Districts including Burdwan, Murshidabad, West Midnapore, Howrah were among those affected. Parts of Kolkata also remained waterlogged after continuous downpour for the past two days.

Both state and national highways in several districts were damaged, affecting traffic. While traffic on NH 60 was severely affected in Birbhum, the administration in Murshidabad stopped traffic on the state highway connecting Kandi and Salar after the road was flooded.

In Manipur, at least 20 villagers were killed in a massive landslide at Joumol village, about 180 km south of Imphal. Two people including a 60-year-old farmer also died in Langmeidong and Rengkai.

Several houses were swept away as a landslide devastated a village in Chandel district, which borders Myanmar. Areas in and around state capital Imphal and its outskirts were submerged.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has arrived to carry out rescue operations.

“A team of Assam Rifles have reached the spot (Joumol village) today with the help of a helicopter and carrying out search and rescue operation,” an official source said.

Moreh, a commercial town near Indo-Myanmar border has been cut off from Imphal due to landslide. Many villages in Ukhrul district have also been cut off from the rest of the state.

Several hundred people living on riverbanks have been moving to safer places.

In Odisha, 10 villages were marooned. Around 479,000 people in 597 villages were affected by floods.

‘Bad Blood’ was like ‘Hunger Games’: Gigi Hadid

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

Model Gigi Hadid has compared singer friend Taylor Swift’s star-studded “Bad Blood” music video to her hit film franchise “The Hunger Games”.

The 20-year-old beauty starred in her Swift’s promotional clip alongside fellow models Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Lily Aldridge, Cindy Crawford, Martha Hunt, actresses Jessica Alba, Hailee Steinfeld, Ellen Pompeo, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Serayah, and singers Kendrick Lamar, Hayley Williams, Ellie Goulding and Zendaya.
She found the experience “absolutely epic.”

“What people don’t understand about how massive it was is that none of those were green screens, they’re all real sets. It was like the supermodel ‘Hunger Games’,” said Hadid.

Salma Hayek goes ‘topless’ claims it’s exciting at her age

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

Salma Hayek recently stripped it all for a magazine and the actress thinks that it is exciting to do topless shoots at her age.

The 48-year-old actress, who clutches her bosom with her hands in the black and white photograph, said she thought that her hands were big but she realised that they were not big enough to cover her breasts, reported E! Online.

She added that her hands did not cover enough but in her head they were covering more.

Claiming that there is a freedom that goes along with stripping down for the cameras, the ‘Frida’ star said it is important to be free and added that it is exciting at her age to still be able to take such photograph.

The actress will be next seen in Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ that will hit the theaters on August 7.

Mariah Carey records song with French Montana and Justin Bieber

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

A new track featuring singers Mariah Carey, French Montana and Justin Bieber is underway.

The songstress revealed the collaboration when she posted on Friday, an Instagram photograph of her posing with the rapper and the pop superstar in what looks like a recording studio.

“#comingsoon,” she captioned the image.

According to tmz.com, the image was taken on Thursday night at a Hollywood studio where Carey and Montana were working on a song with producer Eric Hudson. Bieber later showed up unannounced and told Carey he’s a huge fan of her.

The veteran diva then played him the new song and the Canadian heartthrob reportedly liked what he heard. So, he decided to go into the booth and recorded some guest vocals, which will likely be featured on the final version of the track, reports aceshowbiz.com.

During the same studio session, Carey took another photograph with Montana.

She also shared the image with her Instagram followers and said, “We love @frenchmontana #pondestudio #surprise.”

This isn’t Carey’s first time to have recorded a song with Bieber as they previously worked together on a duet of her classic “All I want for Christmas is you” for his 2011 holiday album “Under the mistletoe”.

Skill development is necessary

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Mahendra Singh

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August 2, 2015

There are reports about skill development programme being undertaken by an old sugar mill of Kolkata. They need to be congratulated because this is the need of the hour. Training must be imparted to youth so that they can acquire skills which will enable them to find employment and set up their own workshops. India is facing shortage of electricians therefore training must be offered to youth for addressing this issue. Such enhanced training modules can be arranged with the participation of experts drawn from foreign countries. In our country, we must focus on the work of enhancing electric power generation and distribution.

It is equally important to provide clean drinking water to our citizens. Millions of Indians currently lack access to clean drinking water, and the situation is only getting worse. India’s demand for water is growing at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, the nation’s supply of water is rapidly dwindling primarily due to mismanagement of water resources, although over-pumping and pollution are also significant contributors. People residing in rural India have to go miles to fetch water. In most of the villages a tanker comes and people fight for their turn to get water as they are actually fighting for life.

What worries me the most is that instead of trying to become expert workers, we are trying to become propagandists and indulging in too much conversation and show off. While travelling, I learnt that our defense forces need good drivers. Training must be imparted to women to bridge the gender divide. China has a huge work force in almost all fields and they are learning English fast for giving us tough competition in the marine field.

Heavy fines should be imposed on drunken pilots of Air India and their licenses should be suspended for some time. The BMC has large number of unskilled work force. Our pollution control board is mired in bureaucracy, instead of performing work at the grassroot level for promoting development. We hear loud music and drum beating past 10pm in night and no one seems to bother, “Yeh koi pollution thodi hai, yeh to baaja hai”. Loud drumming affects heart patients and it causes disturbance to them.

Population control is very important otherwise strain on resources will tend to increase. It’s also necessary to curtail rising vehicular traffic. Why so many motor vehicles are allowed to ply on roads thereby increasing air pollution? Motor vehicle population is increasing but there is lack of adequate parking space in the city. Who will monitor this?

Audience don’t look for foreign stamps, says Richa Chadha

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

Actress Richa Chadha, who is being applauded for her strong role in internationally-acclaimed film “Masaan”, says ‘foreign stamp’ on a film is not needed to gain respect from Indian audience.

“I don’t think Indian audience give respect to a film or an actor on the basis of any foreign stamp. They respect the artist individually,” Richa told reporters here.

In “Masaan”, which won two prestigious awards at the Cannes International Film Festival this year, Richa plays the role of a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy and how she overcomes all hurdles and changes her fate.

The actress, who walked the ramp of ongoing 2015 edition of Amazon India Couture Week (AICW) here for designer Reynu Taandon on Saturday, says she credits Anurag Kashyap’s “Gangs of Wasseypur” for getting her into spotlight.

“I did ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!’ in 2008, but my role was not pivotal in the film. After that I didn’t look for work in the film industry for sometime. For me, my first step into showbiz was with ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’. Since then, I’m getting good work,” she added.

Meanwhile, the actress is all geared up for “Cabaret”, which also stars former cricketer S. Sreesanth.

I’m not instinctive about fashion: Aditi Rao Hydari

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari says she is not instinctive about fashion and doesn’t believe in trends.

“I’m not instinctive about fashion. I don’t know what is in and what is not. I go what appeals to me. I also don’t believe in trends,” Aditi Rao said at an event here.

The actress, who turned up as a show-stopper for designer Debarun Mukherjee for the 2015 edition of Amazon India Couture Week (AICW) here on Saturday, also shared that she loves to dress up, but not over-do things.

“I love dressing up. But for me, dressing up is not burdening yourself with heavy accessories,” she added.

The actress, who was last seen in Subhash Kapoor’s film “Guddu Rangeela”, feels people in Delhi have a ‘great sense of aesthetic’.

Aditi, who ventured into Bollywood with film “Delhi 6”, also doled out her favourite shopping spot in the national capital.

“I love to shop in GK (Greater Kailash) market and Sarojini Nagar,” said the actress, who will be next be seen in “Wazir” starring Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar.

Bhagyashree compliments Salman Khan after watching ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’!

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Afternoon Voice

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August 2, 2015

Maine Pyar Kiya fame Bhagyashree said that after watching Salman Khan’s “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, she complimented him for his new and emotional avatar.

“I really liked the film. I even told Salman that he came across in a completely new avatar. And it’s a different kind of emotional connect that he’s got with the audience this time around,” Bhagyashree told designer Rohit Verma’s store launch after being asked if she had seen the film.

Bhagyashree had arrived on the big stage with her debut in Sooraj Barjatya’s “Maine Pyar Kiya” as a sweet and innocent girl in love with Salman. Though, Salman’s debut film was “Biwi Ho To Aisi”, it is “Maine Pyar Kiya” is often considered his debut film since he left a good impression on the minds of viewers. Their chemistry in the film is discussed even today.

But post the film, Bhagyashree went away from the spotlight, and post marriage and having kids, she only did a film once in a while, even down South as well as Marathi and Bhojpuri films.

But her interaction with Salman does show that they’re still in touch and that he hasn’t forgotten his first heroine.

Make Memon’s wife MP demands Samajwadi

By

Afternoon Voice

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July 31, 2015

If Rahin enters active politics then she can become the voice of those people who are marginalised says Mohammed Farooq Ghosi.

Mohammed Farooq Ghosi has written a letter to Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav urging him to induct Yakub Memon’s wife Rahin Memon in active politics and make her a MP. According to him, the Memon family has undergone several hardships in life after the occurrence of 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. They are mourning the death of Yakub Memon who was hanged to death on 30^th July, 2015. Ghosi also added that the family has become helpless after Yakub’s death and injustice has been meted against them. Several family members of Yakub Memon were among the accused in the case and some of them were discharged for want of evidence. Yakub’s wife Rahin was also arrested along with her husband in the 1993 bomb blast case. She too faced charges of aiding and abetting terror acts, but was acquitted in September 2006 due to lack of evidence.

In the letter written to Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ghosi mentioned, “You are our leader and you are known to help the poor and needy persons. According to me, Rahin has become helpless and there are many women in the country who are living miserable lives like her. We have to come forward to help these women. Today, Muslims are considered as vote bank and they are being sidelined by the mainstream political parties. I hope that you will consider my request.”

When AV asked Ghosi why he is supporting Rahin who has been convicted for the Mumbai bomb blasts incident, he said, “People are confused between Rubina and Rahin Memon. Rubina is Suleiman’s wife who is serving life sentence but Rahin was acquitted.”

“Rahin had live without her husband for 21 years and injustice has been meted against her. If Rahin enters active politics then she can become the voice of those people who are marginalised. Therefore, I am urging Mulayam Singh Yadav to make her a MP” he added.

Suleiman’s wife Rubina was convicted by the TADA court and sentenced to life imprisonment, as a Maruti van used in the bomb blasts was registered in her name. This van was found abandoned at Worli and Ak-56 rifles and hand grenades found in it.

The accused had abandoned this vehicle as they heard noise and thought that it was an explosion. They were allegedly on a mission to go to the municipal headquarters in south Mumbai and open fire at the corporators.

Rubina, however, defended herself saying she was a housewife and that certain property of the family was registered in her name though she had not taken any part in the bomb blasts conspiracy.

The 1993 bomb blasts case was one of the longest in the history of Indian judicial system, having lasted for 14 years.

Is government bothered about increasing crimes against women?

By

Vaidehi Taman

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July 31, 2015

Violence against women has become a prominent topic of discussion in India in recent years. Politicians and media have placed great focus on the issue due to continuously increasing trends but so far nothing concrete could have been done to stop these types of violence against woman.

More than 9,700 cases of atrocities against women, including domestic violence and rape, have been registered since April 01, this year. So far, many cases have been registered with the National Commission for Women this financial year. As per the State and Union Territory-wise data, Uttar Pradesh has seen the highest number of women rights violation cases so far this financial year at 6,110, followed by Delhi (1,179), Haryana (504), Rajasthan (447) and Bihar (256). Together, in the last three financial years and so far this fiscal, the total number of such cases in Uttar Pradesh stood at 44,328. The National Commission for Women has registered 16,584, 22,422, 32,118 and 9,786 cases of violation of rights of women in 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 (till date), respectively. Whenever these issues hit headlines, government officials and concerned ministry gives an eye wash and hush hush the data.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, reported incidents of crime against women increased 6.4 per cent during 2012, and a crime against a woman is committed every three minutes. In 2012, there were a total of 244,270 reported incidents of crime against women, while in 2011, there were 228,650 reported incidents. Of the women living in India, 7.5 per cent live in West Bengal where 12.7 per cent of the total reported crime against women occurs. Andhra Pradesh is home to 7.3 per cent of India’s female population and accounts for 11.5 per cent of the total reported crimes against women. 65 per cent of Indian men believe women should tolerate violence in order to keep the family together, and women sometimes deserve to be beaten. International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) Questionnaire reported that 24 per cent of Indian men had committed sexual violence at some point during their lives. A dowry death either murder or abetment to suicide of married woman is great concern.

The majority of these suicides are done through hanging, poisoning or self-immolation. When a dowry death is done by setting the woman on fire, it is called bride burning. Bride burning murder is often set up to appear to be a suicide or accident. Dowry is illegal in India, but it is still common practice to give expensive gifts to the groom and his relatives at weddings which are hosted by the family of the bride. Women are not always the only primary victims of dowry deaths. In some cases children are also killed along with their mothers. In eastern India, on January 30, 2014, for example, a women and her one-year-old child were burned alive for dowry. Incidents of dowry deaths have decreased 4.5 per cent from 2011 to 2012. However, abusing and molestation of married woman and marital rapes increased with modern era.

An honour killing is still a fashion in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. UP and Bihar’s conservative family murder their family members who brought dishonour and shame to their family and reasons for honour killings include the refusal to enter an arranged marriage, committing adultery, choosing a partner that the family disapproves of, and becoming a victim of rape. Honour killings are rooted to tradition and cannot be justified by any major world religion, because none of the major world religions condone honour-related crimes. Honour killings are very violent. For example, in June 2012, a father chopped off his 20 year old daughter’s head with a sword in pure rage upon hearing that she was dating a man whom he did not approve of. Such killings are openly supported by both local villagers and neighbouring villagers. This was the case in September 2013, when a young couple who married after having a love affair was brutally murdered.

Murders of women accused of witchcraft still occur in India. Recently, two women were beaten to death in West Bengal. The victim is always a single helpless woman. Another most common and known factor is female infanticide which is the elected killing of a newborn female child or the termination of a female feotus through sex-selective abortion. In India, there is incentive to have a son, in contrast, daughters are considered to be a social and economic burden.

Even today, women are not safe in India. Every single day young girls, mothers and women from all walks of life are being assaulted, molested, and violated. There is an unspoken war on the streets. Girls and women cry in silence and most of them don’t complain even to their family members about the incidence. Young school and college going girls use books to shield themselves, other women wear full-covered attire to protect their bodies. We don’t need to look at statistics to confront the horrid truth. News stories of women from all over India being raped, beaten, killed are flashed across us day after day – and we all are aware of it. We also know that no government is bothered about these happenings.