Letters to the Editor: 07 February, 2020

By

-

February 7, 2020

1Take precaution to prevent spread of Coronavirus

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus is alarming and across the globe warnings advisories has been issued to prevent its outbreak. As a precautionary measure people are advised to wear masks and hand gloves in the best interest of public health, safety and wellness.

Public transport shuttles buses operate to the airport on a round the clock basis and health authorities are suggested to provide hand-sanitizers to the bus passengers on board to all the shuttle buses leaving from airport. As also since bus crew interact with airline passengers directly, they should otherwise be sensitized to take necessary precautions and be advised to use masks and gloves.

The bus terminals at the airports across the world are suggested to be highly equipped to sanitize all the shuttle buses. As also it is suggested to ensure adequate hand-sanitizers are available at the airport’s bus terminals. Necessary extensive communication by international airline agencies such as ICAO, CAPA, ACI and IATA along with WHO, local governments and health authorities to maintain one’s personal hygiene is suggested to be displayed at the strategic locations within the airports across the globe.

Varun Dambal

2Djokovic wins Eighth Australian Crown

Novak Djokovic came from a set down to beat the resurging Dominic Thiem in the final of the 2020 Australian open. This is the Serbian’s eighth title at the Rod Laver Arena and 17th Grand Slam win. In the five setter Djokovic beat Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted for four hours. Thiem was too good against Rafael Nadal when the sets were extended to tie breakers. Battling through a five-set thrilled with Dominic Thiem, Djokovic maintained his dominance at this venue to win the tournament final, further reclaiming the world number 1 spot in the process. Thus, Djoker won eighth epic battle in style.

C.K. Suresh

3Minuscule allocation for sports in Budget

Sports allocation in this year’s budget has only been raised by 50 crores compared to last year which truly is sad as last year’s amount too was minuscule compared to the total national budget. The population of India is over 135 crores and it is the most populated nation in the world. Encouragement to sports is practically missing. Even the earmarked funds are spent on ‘Khelo India games’ which is PM’s pet project for popularity and you hardly would get any talent from there.

Sports signifies the health of the nation and medals at Olympics as well as world championships which practically are far and few means a lot needs to be done as sporting excellence raises the international pride of any nation. Finance is always a problem and if government can’t directly spend on sports, they should encourage corporates to pool in the funds by giving tax incentives as well as benefits so that we win many more medals in the world sporting arena in the days to come.

S.N.Kabra

4Railways and solar energy

It is really good to know that Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech has announced to set up solar power panels on unused railway land and solar power grids along railway tracks. The project will undoubtedly give a big boost to the Indian Railways to cut down its enormous power expenditure. The railways Solar energy project by installing solar power panels along its unutilized land on either side of the tracks and tap the energy can make it to an extent self sufficient as natural energy can be used as power instead of electricity which is expensive. The Railways now purchase electricity from states and other boards and producers are making it to spend a whopping amount every year. Solar energy can also help the Railways enhance its electrification of railway tracks too. Using renewable energy can help reduce pollution caused by diesel locomotives and also reduce heavy fuel consumption. As the Railways have enormous vacant land on each side of its tracks it can utilise these plots to install solar power cells. In a move to go greener the Railways already has developed Guwahati as the first fully solar powered railway station in India last year and now it has a long list of railway stations where solar energy is used. Besides cutting down power costs the solar power project also reduces carbon footprint.

M Pradyu

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

In a fit of rage, man kills gay partner in Thane; arrested

By

Hema Singh

-

February 7, 2020

Thane police arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly killing a 56-year-old man and putting his body in a suitcase near railway tracks, in Dombivli. According to the police, the two were in a homosexual relationship.

The deceased Umesh Patil worked at a private firm in Navi Mumbai after retiring as a stenographer at a Sessions court in Mumbai around five years ago. He had gone missing from his house in Kopri area since February 4. Following this, Patil’s family filed a missing complaint at the Thane police station. The police acted on the complaint and found Patil’s body stuffed in a bag near the railway tracks at Dombivli on Thursday morning around 9 am.

Police said that the accused Praful Pawar and the deceased met each other on a local train six months ago and became good friends. After becoming friends Patil who was unmarried started visiting Pawar at his house. Soon they developed a homosexual relationship. However, when Pawar got married, he started avoiding Patil.

On February 4, Patil visited Pawar’s house when his wife wasn’t there following which the duo had a heated argument. And in a fit of rage, Pawar allegedly strangulated Patil and stuffed his body in a bag and later dumped it in the bushes by the side of the railway tracks.

Police also said that in 2013, a case of attempt to murder had been registered against Pawar. Currently the police are questioning Pawar and further probe is on.

Mumbai A City Of Tragedy; Needs Makeover

By

Vaidehi Taman

-

February 6, 2020

We have such a creaking railway infrastructure; most of which have not been upgraded in the last 50 years. Same number of lines and platforms carry longer and more frequent trains. Number of passengers have gone up tremendously, but not much thought has been given towards infrastructure. RIP, all the innocent commuters who died on Thursday. There are many such tragedies waiting to happen in the local trains network in Mumbai.

Stations are antiquated and poorly maintained. Stairs are made of granite which turns dangerous and slippery when it’s wet and are most hazardous in the rainy season. People die every day keeping the spirit of dead Mumbaikar. Terror attacks, monsoon tragedies, road accidents or train accidents, they grieve on one day and the next day they are back to the basics. Mumbaikars have become immune and prepared to die with which every situation they are put in. It seems that they have lost their voice, their stand and they have become living zombies.

Seven million commuters use the Mumbai local train network every day. The Sea link was built at the cost of 16 billion Rupees (USD 250 million) and carries mostly cars and taxis. If even a part of this money had been spent on improving the railway system, majority of Mumbai city’s commuters would have been travelling safer today. As a nation we get our priorities horribly wrong. Yet we don’t mind. Twenty-two were killed and over 30 seriously injured in a rush-hour stampede in Mumbai in 2017 when a crowd tried to leave a narrow railway bridge connecting two stations after heavy rain.

My heart bleeds for everyone who has been affected. Modiji I am from Mumbai, I don’t need a bullet train here, please spend the money to upgrade the existing facilities across the country so we can prevent such uncalled tragedies in future. Human lives being treated worse than any creature. Railways and basic transport amenities are being shamelessly been neglected. No Infrastructure development. Government should wake up and realize the immediate and essential requirement of general public. Forget Bullet train; provide minimum facilities and safety requirements.

I am human, it’s not easy for me to see heart-wrenching crush of bodies on a bridge, straining against the railing. Screams were heard from those trying to escape the weight of the bodies and some were seen jumping off the bridge. The incident took place hours before Railway Minister Piyush Goyal arrived to launch new services. This railway minister, never ever bothered to take updates on local trains of Mumbai and its worst condition. He never visited Mumbai to upgrade himself on inconveniences caused to lack of groundwork. The day he was sworn in as Railway Minister, he has witnessed huge water logs in Mumbai Local train tracks, but neither the state government nor the central government ever concerned to correct the loopholes and lacunas. Visuals after the incident showed people on the ground, many not moving at all and attempts to revive them. Passengers and local people were seen carrying bodies down the bridge. Footwear scattered next to the bridge and rescuers cleared out more from the stairs. Angry commuters and residents said that the bridge was too old and narrow and not strong enough to take the busy sector. “It was a disaster waiting to happen,” remarked a local resident, saying that the bridge has been overcrowded for years and there have been multiple demands for more railway bridges for the area.

The two stations Prabhadevi and Lower Parel are used by much of Mumbai’s local train commuters as there are large number of offices in these area. Mumbaikars real issues and requirements were not met by the government. Tweets, Photoshop, Mann Ki Baat, Facebook pages, propaganda, self boasting and selfies are not going to help the aam aadmi. This government has increased the rail fare, promised safety, but did not deliver any promises. Indian railways have become the most dangerous mode of transportation under this government. They are not interested in the safely and well being of common man.

Since 2012, six of every 10-rail accident in India has happened because of mistakes by or the negligence of railway staff. In the year to 31 March 2017, 66 of 104 consequential rail accidents were attributed to failure of railway staff according to Indian Railways data. And in the three months to 30 June, eight of 11 accidents were attributed to failure of railway staff. Since 1960, Indian Railways has seen growth in infrastructure, expenditure, ridership and freight, but it has been steadfast in terms of accidents: roughly one every three days. Indian Railways claims safety is one of its main focuses, and while that may be the case, there are several worrying gaps that point to action not matching intent. For one, there’s the 16 per cent shortage in safety staff. As of 1 April, the total number of vacancies in safety staff was around 1,24,201. And this number has been growing steadily over the decades.

When it comes to a Mumbai local, then the figures are very frightening, 3,304 deaths in 2015. Nine people die on the Mumbai local train tracks every day. The causes for deaths include accidents, suicides and casualties. An average of 31 per cent victims remain “untraced”, unidentified. The Mumbai suburban railway network is spread across four major routes Western, Central, Harbour and Trans-harbour and carries more than 7.5 million passengers every day. A local train in Mumbai has the capacity to carry 1,320 people. However, during peak hours it carries no less than 4,800 people which means that 16 people jostle for space in 1 square meter of area. Overcapacity is also the reason behind deaths due to falling off trains. It’s a common sight during peak hours to see men and women hanging insecurely out of a packed compartment holding on to one pole placed at its gate. The number of deaths due to falling off overcrowded trains has shot up sharply. Majority of ‘other’ deaths are caused by suffocation and asphyxiation but these deaths go unreported.

Mumbaikars are biting the bullet everyday; one must say MUMBAI is Undying spirit…. of those who have died.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Threat To Mumbaikars: Dangerous Road Dividers Found Across City

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 6, 2020

The Mumbai traffic police carried out an extensive survey and found gaps in road dividers at 177 locations across the city. The utility of every gap has to be defined and design interferences made. If a gap is not carefully designed, it puts the user in direct conflict with oncoming vehicles.

Vivek Kalyankar Dy chief Traffic Engineer-BMC said,“According to the recent report given by Mumbai traffic police, we are making arrangements to close the gaps between the dividers across the city as accidents has been occurring. To tell you the fact, some motorists were taking advantage of these gaps to reach early to their destinations. This has been leading to accidents. Keeping the safety of people in mind we are doing the needful.”

Interestingly, many of the gaps can be found outside commercial establishments. The gaps are a concern for road safety as motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders, use them to take sudden U-turns. The list of all the locations has been sent to the BMC.

Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “Dividers come under the Road and Traffic department. The BMC will provide it any assistance they will ask for in the matter.”

To a query whether BMC was in plans to construct more FOBs, she said that the civic body has made arrangements to construct foot over bridges and other necessary facilities for pedestrians.

Traffic police said many of the gaps are unauthorised. Personnel from each of the 34 traffic chowkies were asked to inspect dividers in their jurisdictions. As many as 11 gaps were found in the divider near Saifee Hospital at Charni Road.

RTI activist Anil Galgali said, “The gaps have been made in dividers to divert rising traffic in Mumbai. These gaps should be closed for safety of motorists and pedestrians. If the Mumbai police remove vehicles parked beside roads then there will be a reduction in volume of traffic in the city.”

Other locations where such gaps were found were Lala Lajpatrai Road near the racecourse, Karnak bridge, Darbhanga House at Pedder Road, Mahalaxmi Junction, near Marathon Heights at Worli, Nanavati Hospital at Vile Parle, outside Oshiwara and Samata Nagar police stations and IIT-Bombay market gate, among others.

Social activist Zoru Bhathena said, “If the motorists are taking a U-turn and due to their actions, accidents are occurring, it is the duty of the BMC to shut these gaps. The dividers have been made for some specific reasons and if they are broken or there are gaps in between, the space should be closed for the safety of people.”

There are numerous gaps on Bhulabhai Desai Road. Besides being dangerous, it leads to big jams. It is also the main cause for delaying ambulances. 2016 case where a gap outside a bar was filled at the owner’s request, as a BMC school was on the opposite side of the road. With the closure, the distance between the two increased to 150 metres, more than that required for excise licence.

On the condition of anonymity, a Mumbai traffic police officer said, “The gaps are made for emergencies such as the smooth running of heavy traffic on the road or the passage of the ambulance. However, some motorists particularly two-wheeler riders, use them to take sudden U-turns which often leads to accidents. So, we have sent the survey list to BMC and they will take necessary action on it.”

When AV spoke to a pedestrian, he said, “It is true that one can find a lot of gaps between dividers. Sometimes when one is in a hurry and crossing the road without noticing the gaps, we are in a danger of falling down and injuring ourselves. The BMC should take up the task of filling the gaps on a war footing basis.”

Vasai man crushed by lift in Mulund; dies

By

Hema Singh

-

February 6, 2020

Lift Man Dies in Mulund — Sanjay Yadav, the 40-year-old liftman was repairing lift on the 3rd floor of a housing complex when it came crushing down.

In a shocking accident, a 40-year-old man who was repairing a lift of a housing complex in Mulund died after the lift accidentally started crushing him to the side wall. The incident took place in the afternoon around 12 pm at New PMGP Society in Mulund East when the victim was carrying out repair work in the housing complex society. He died on the spot.

The victim has been identified as Sanjay Yadav, a resident of Vasai who was working as a technician with Omega Lifts.

According to the Navghar police, the residents of the society had complained that the lift in ‘I’ wing was not functioning properly. The lift was automatically stopping on 7th and 15th floor as the work was not done properly by the builder. And the society members had complained about the problem to Yadav. When he was doing the repair work, someone from the 13th floor pressed the lift button and the lift started crushing him.

Soon after, Yadav was rushed to the Mulund General Hospital. However he was pronounced dead before admission. Currently, the police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and negligence case against unknown persons.

Rishi Kapoor back to hospital

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 6, 2020

Days after he returned to Mumbai from Delhi where he was hospitalized for a few days on account of infection, Rishi Kapoor was yesterday admitted to Mumbai’s H N Reliance Foundation. It is said that the doctors at the hospital found a patch that could have led to pneumonia and admitted him.

Talking about himself, Kapoor said “I was running a slight fever and on investigation, doctors found a patch which could have led to pneumonia, was detected and is being cured. People seem to have assumed a lot different. I put to rest all those stories and look forward to entertain and love you. I am now in Mumbai.”

It has been reported that the actor’s wife Neetu Kapoor and son Ranbir Kapoor are with him.

It may be remembered that the actor returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for Cancer in the US where he was there for almost a year.

Surge seen in demand of luxury real estate in Mumbai

By

Afternoon Voice

-

February 6, 2020

Regardless of the dwindling economy, Mumbai is currently witnessing a surge in the demand for luxury real estate while developers are preparing to cater to it.

Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, has always been the prime choice of residence with potential buyers preferring to invest in the city’s coveted neighborhood. However, despite huge unsold inventory and the overall slowdown in India’s real estate sector, property prices continue to go South.

The cost of an apartment in Mumbai rose 3.3 per cent in 2015 and 6 per cent in 2016. With the real estate regulations effectively making home ownership more expensive in the city, the stakes of buying the right home in the right neighbourhood are relatively higher now. So what should a savvy prospective buyer do?

Where there was a climb down in luxury real estate projects in the last few years, the launch of new projects and absorption in the market for Central Suburb and South Mumbai remained unaffected.Even though they represent just 3 per cent of Mumbai’s unsold inventory volume, these areas contribute a massive 29 per cent to the city’s real estate value. Moreover, with strongly growing commercial activity, the demand for luxury residential segment had started to pick up in the past and developers are preparing to cater to the demand.

Upcoming luxury real estate projects in South Mumbai do seem to promise a much-needed break from the hustle-bustle of the Mumbai city with apartments inspired by some of the best urban parks around the world bringing comfort and extravagance for buyers-suited needs.

State CM unveils new identity and logo of BMC schools

By

Hema Singh

-

February 6, 2020

Schools of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest corporation of the state, is all set to get a new identity along with a logo. This was announced recently by Shiv Sena supremo and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray while he was launching a new logo of the municipal schools along with their original name.

Tourism and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray shared the design of the new logo and informed that it has been designed by students of the School of Design and Innovation.

Apart from the new logo, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is also planning to begin ICSE and CBSE boards in municipal schools. Reportedly, teachers who wish to teach in the upcoming CBSE and ICSE schools under BMC schools would have to undergo a rigorous selection and training process. The BMC will shortlist teachers after they are assessed for their English language and teaching skills.

All the selected teachers would then be trained from the respective boards before they start working in these schools in the new academic year that begins in June. This would be a nice learning experience for teachers to get trained in a national curriculum without having to pay for it. Many teachers would want to become a part of the initiative, it is understood.

Uddhav Thackeray took to his Twitter handle and wrote, “India’s first municipal school which will be affiliated with ICSE board and Mumbai’s 1st municipal school affiliated with CBSE board will kick start from the academic year 2020!.”

PM inks Bodo accord; ushers in a new dawn of peace

By

Vinod Dixit

-

February 6, 2020

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the historic Bodo Accord that he signed last week. The term Bodo means ‘man’. Kachari1 is a generic term for a number of groups speaking a more or less common dialect or language and claiming a common mythical ancestry.

The Bodos are found in almost all the areas of Assam in various configurations though they came from Tibet and settled in the lower parts of Bhutan, later got scattered to the different parts of North-East India diachronically.

The Prime Minister said that the accord will lead to transformative results for the Bodo people. The Government of Assam had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah to Kokrajhar town in the Bodoland Territorial area to celebrate inking of the the Bodo peace accord, a pact that Prime Minister Modi has termed as “historic.”

Bodos are represented by a variety of organisations, including the All-Bodos Students Union, the Bodo Liberation Tigers, the Bodo Security Force and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland. These organisations have at times resorted to violent tactics including attacks on public buildings and railroads to attract the attention of the central government.

Both the ABSU and the Bodo Security Force (BSF) have employed violent measures to gain publicity for their cause. The pact, described as “historic” by PM Modi as it provides for setting up of a commission to reconstitute the Bodo Territorial Areas District by including new Bodo dominated villages contiguous to the existing BTAD area and excluding villages with a predominantly non-tribal population. BTAD will be rechristened as Bodo Territorial Region. Bodo language will be notified as an associate official language in Assam. The Bodos, the largest plains tribe with a Territorial Council of its own, have furiously opposed the idea proposed by the Assam Sahitya Sabha that Assamese are those who, “irrespective of community, language, religion and place of origin, accept Assamese as their mother tongue or their second or third language”.

In a tweet PM said, “Ushering in a new dawn of peace, harmony and togetherness and the accord with Bodo groups, which has been inked will lead to transformative results for the Bodo people. Bodo accord inked stands out for many reasons as it successfully brings together the leading stakeholders under one framework. Those who were previously associated with armed resistance groups will now be entering the mainstream and contributing to our nation’s progress.

The accord with Bodo groups will further protect and popularise the unique culture of the Bodo people. They will get access to a wide range of development oriented initiatives. We are committed to doing everything possible to help the Bodo people realise their aspirations”.

The accord with Bodo groups which has been inked today will lead to transformative results for the Bodo people as they will get access to a wide range of development oriented initiatives. The prime minister has rightly said that it would usher in a new dawn of peace, harmony and togetherness and that those associated with armed resistance groups would now enter the mainstream and contribute to the nation’s progress.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 06 February, 2020

By

Web Team

-

February 6, 2020

1Kiwi cricketers and sportsmanship

It was a pleasant and heartwarming sight to see young West indies batsman Kirk Mc Kenzie being carried off the ground by New Zealand u19 cricketers skipper Jesse Tashkoff and pacer Joseph Field when the former suffered severe cramps on the field while playing against the Kiwi team in the ongoing Under 19 World Cup cricket tournament.

New Zealand players are widely popular and noted for their sportsmanship and their behavior was witnessed by sports buffs around the world during the World Cup semi final when the Kane Williamson led side showed excellently an example of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ in the 50-over World Cup (WC) final held in July last year. Even in the heat of the thrilling match the Kiwis never lost their cool and only displayed excellent sportsmanship worthy of emulating. The match lingers in our memory not just for its thrill and chill but for the beautiful spirit of cricket displayed especially by the New Zealand team and though unfortunately they lost the match they won the hearts of everybody. Sometime back the seniors team won the very famous ICC’s 2019 Christopher Martin-Jenkins’ Spirit of Cricket Award.
At a time when cricketers forget gentlemanliness, which is the soul of cricket and cricketers and get into all types of tiffs, conflicts, clashes and dirty ‘sledging’ at the drop of a hat the Kiwis both seniors and junior’s have proved that sportsman spirit is still alive. The youngsters’ gesture has been applauded by the cricketing fraternity including cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar.

M Pradyu

2Night life will gain popularity in days to come

Any alterations takes time for people to get accustomed to the change and 24×7 shopping as well as eating may have received a mute response but would pick up in the days to come. Mumbai is an international city and people should not crib at the empty malls and hotels during midnight hours as the change is for upgrading the city the benefits of which would bore fruits in future when tourists line up our shores as people plan vacations and not just rush at any change. Empty public transport buses at odd hours doesn’t mean you withdraw the services. Mumbai is a city that never sleeps and one believe the 24×7 scheme of shopping as well as eating was a move in the right direction.

Government should offer some incentives like tax cuts as well as subsidised electricity during night hours for mall owners to popularize the scheme. Shop and hoteliers should offer free vouchers as well as special discounts during night hours to not only popularize the scheme which would than attract more customers. People at the moment must be worried about security to visit empty malls at odd hours but the scene would change in future when people adopt the change and crowd these places in the days to come.

S.N.Kabra

3Wuhan kaun hai tera?

Alarmed by the breakout of the Coronavirus, a harried passenger arrived at the Wuhan airport to board a plane back to India. A accomplice of his was also at the airport but he was going to Pakistan. Both knew each other very well.

The Indian Venkataraju by name was alone in the family. Neither did he have his parents, nor was he married. The scare of the deadly virus made Venkat to return home. His accomplice Khan knew that back home also, Venkat was a disturbed man with no friends to support him.

While they were sitting at the airport waiting for their respective plane to arrive, Khan pleaded with Venkat asking him to go with him to Pakistan and stay with him. The discussion went on for a long time when suddenly it was announced that the plane to India was now boarding.

When Venkat got up, Khan loudly pleaded, “Wuhan kaun hai tera musafir, jayega kahan.” People who were overhearing the conversation, broke art laughing.

Ashish Mitra

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)