Christmas celebrations are never complete without a Christmas crib. Also referred to as Nativity Scene or Manger Scene, Christmas crib represents how Jesus was born. Christmas crib exhibits figures that represent infant Jesus, his mother, Mary, and her husband Joseph. There are various other characters that are part of the Christmas crib. These characters include shepherds, sheep and angels. As described in the ‘Gospel of Luke’, all these characters are displayed near the manger in a barn (or cave) which is projected to accommodate farm animals. A donkey and an ox are also a part of this scene and Magi and their camels are also included. These characters are described in the ‘Gospel of Matthew’. However, there are various cultures which add characters that may or may not be Biblical.
The celebration for Christmas is on and as a Mumbaikar I enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere here. In the past, I was able to make my presence felt on the eve of Christmas by making an extensive coverage of the events before and after the festival. I was very much impressed by crib set up in Sanpada Jubilee Church and I was able to get a close look and take a snap for posting in facebook and for sending it to some news dailies across the country. One of the newspaper in Pune selected my photo of the crib as one of the best and I feel proud to be an Indian. I always believe and work for unity in diversity of the country and participated in the memorable events of last year’s Christmas and working for doing an exclusive coverage this year also in a big way.
Putting up the crib is the most exciting aspect of Christmas. As children we would use all our creativity and imagination to depict Christ’s birth. Even today 12 days before the festival we sow grains like ragi and wheat which would grow into tiny crops that are then used to decorate the crib. To make mountains we would like to use brown paper and dry hay to make the set look like a stable. Once the crib is set we light ‘kuthu vilakku’ instead of candles on Christmas Day. Our parents always made sure that we used less paper to decorate the crib and encouraged us to use fresh flowers instead.
It’s a family tradition to put up the crib together. Each year I used to bring down the box that has all the decorations and my grandson takes keen interest to decorate and bring out the best in Christmas tree and this year he plans to make a crib. The tree is where we try and experiment more and use newer ornaments and serial light and complete with most attractive decorations collected and purchased for the very purpose. The crib building is a creative activity and you can keep in mind the history and bring out the best with your imagination.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Today, India is being divided on the basis of religion. We have never faced this kind of problem during the Congress regime. Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are only dividing country on the basis of one’s religion. Every citizen of this country has the right to voice their opinion whether Modi likes it or not.
JubelD’Cruz
Don’t underestimate the power of youth
The police is acting in a wholly undemocratic and authoritarian manner by preventing the groups of college students from holding a peaceful protest against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and even detaining some of them without any provocation. While the police contend that the requisite permission was not granted for the protest, the students argue that there was no prohibitory order like Section 144 in force to prevent a group of people from assembling peacefully. The police has asserted that it’s his duty to ensure that the country runs peacefully. The police’s assertion is flawed because while it is his duty to maintain law and order in the city, it is every citizen’s constitutional right to protest against what she sees as unjust or unconstitutional. Such selective application of one’s sense of duty may give rise to suspicion that the police is acting as per the convenience of the ruling BJP. Student movements have changed the course of history across the world and in India, where it has roots in the freedom struggle. The police would be well advised not to stoke fire by displaying highhandedness against them. It should not underestimate the power of the youth.
Seraj Ali
Protest is basic right of every Indian citizen
Delhi police brutally lathi charged fired inside the university campus of Jamia Millia Islamia. This is not the way to deal with democratic protests. Peaceful protest is basic right of every Indian citizen.
Mahmudul Hasan
A timely and befitting speech
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi was timely and significant as it was delivered at a time when pseudo factions, parties and leaders misinterpreted the Citizenship (Amendment Act) and misguided a minority community against the government. The PM has made it crystal clear in his speech that none in the Indian Muslim community would be affected by the Act nor is it going to divide the nation on the basis of religion. The very strong and thoughtful speech truly expressed the importance of the bill and at the same time really exposed the vested interest and selfish motives of many of the opposition leaders who like chameleons keep changing their attitude just for the sake of votes and for power. The PM’s appeal to maintain peace and harmony reveals his commitment and dedication to the nation and it’s people. The opposition would have been rattled seeing the mass support the PM received at the maidan and this is sure to cause sleepless nights in the days to come. These pseudo leaders in order to get the support of a certain community were hell bent to get a cause to attack the government. They failed to stir the common man when the government passed the Triple Talaq bill, the abrogation of Article 370 and when the Ayodhya verdict was declared. And finally when CAA was passed it came as a lifer for them and gave them an opportunity to link it with religious sentiment. Though they did get a chance to divert and direct the innocent against the centre by misinterpreting the bill the speech by Modi undoubtedly is going to be the turning point as it has ripped open the hypocrisy of the pseudo leaders and it is sure to make the common man understand the real facts and repose their faith in the government.
M Pradyu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
A 30-year-old man has been arrested for raping and killing a 7-year-old girl in Bhiwandi. According to Bhoiwada police, passersby upon noticing the body of a girl, informed about the same to the police and her relatives. The accused has been identified as Bharat Kumar Kori who shared a room with other labourers at Karivali village in Bhiwandi.
Police said that the incident took place on Saturday night when the girl was playing outside her house. At that time, her neighbor lured the girl with an ice cream and took her to an isolated place where he raped her and then stoned her to death.
Senior inspector of Bhoiwada police station K A Karpe said, the family member of the girl informed the police at 2 am on Saturday when they noticed that she was missing from around 9 pm when they failed to find her.
Initially, the police registered a case of kidnapping. However, on Sunday when the locals of the area found the girl’s body in the bushes which is around 50 to 60 meters away from her house, they informed the police. After that, on suspicion, the police arrested Kori who later confessed to the crime. Police said that the postmortem report confirmed that the girl was raped before her murder.
“He was afraid that the girl might give his name away as he knew the family well,” Karpe added. The police have booked the accused for rape and murder under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
If there can be protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) all over India, how can Mumbai be left behind.
Just last week we saw two huge protests rallies in Mumbai, one in Bandra and the other at the August Kranti Maidan. On those lines, a huge protest rally took place at Dharavi on Sunday. Despite the numbers, the protest went off in a peaceful manner.The rally that got through at 2 pm calmly got over at 5.45pm. The police on their part had ensured this by asking the organisers to keep a way from unrest.
Averred Joint CP (L&O) Vinoy Choubey, “There was a sea of people at Dharavi but the protest was peaceful. Senior inspectors and the zonal DCP were in regular touch with the organisers even before the protest. We monitored the crowd using drones and CCTV surveillance from the control room. The protesters too co-operated with the Mumbai police to make it a peaceful protest.”
Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) region S Veeresh Prabhu said the crowd started gathering at the protest venue from 2 pm and stayed back till 5 pm.
He further continued, “The protest culminated at 5:45 pm and the crowd took nearly 30 minutes to disperse. We had been conducting regular meetings with several groups of people before the protest. We had appealed to them to conduct the protest peacefully and they have co-operated with us. The local groups at Dharavi also helped us by ensuring the protest was peaceful.”
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest civic body of the country has introduced a new method to minimise traffic on the roads of Mumbai by crushing the handcarts of illegal hawkers. Earlier the Corporation used to return the handcarts to the vendors after imposing a fine. On Saturday, the BMC authorities seized more than 4000 illegal handcarts and crushed them with the help of JCB machines at the Antop Hill Warehouse ground.
Nikhil Desai, Activist, Action for good Governance and Networking in India (AGNI) said, “The carts which have been destroyed are national property. If the BMC wants to send a message to people that it is not going to tolerate the hawkers, then they have to destroy these carts. In Mumbai where people don’t have space to walk, in such a situation if hawkers carry on their business by using hand carts then it should not be allowed.”
“The Supreme Court had issued guidelines pertaining to segregating hawking and non-hawking zones. However, five years have passed and the guidelines are yet to be implemented. Every time changes are made into guidelines pertaining to eligibility of issuing identity cards to hawkers but they are not implemented.”
“90,000 hawkers have applied for hawking license. All the action taken by the BMC against hawkers is an eyewash. Hawking zones should be earmarked in the Development Plan of the city,” he added.
As we all have noticed that there are many places in the metropolis where the streets are full with such kinds of hawkers. There are some stations like Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Kandivali and many more where we can find such hawkers who sell goods on handcarts. They cover the roads with their wares. According to the BMC, the hawkers occupy these places to sell goods on roads and footpaths and these are a major reasons contributing to traffic jams.
RTI activist Anil Galgali said, “The BMC has taken a right step in evicting hawkers. This drive should be held at other areas of Mumbai too. The BMC must take strict action against hawkers as they return the next day after eviction drive. If ID cards are issued to approximately 15,000 hawkers then demarcated hawking zones must be created for them. The BMC should also think about rehabilitation of illegal hawkers.”
The civic body has also planned to issue ID cards or embossed cards to the hawkers so that they cannot transfer to someone else. As per a BMC report, they have listed down a number of eligible hawkers from the hawker registration drive. And the report also says that 1 lakh hawkers were found to be eligible. However, after verification, the list was chopped down to 15,379.
Coordinator of AGNI James John said, “Just demolishing handcarts will not help. BMC has done this to just show that they are working. Instead of randomly taking action on the hawkers, they should work on ward levels and ensure that the streets are it is ‘hawkers free’. If they really are serious about evicting the hawkers they should have done in it much better way. This is just an eyewash and Tamasha that the BMC is doing.”
According to a BMC officer, they have introduced this new bar-coded cards or embossed cards policy as this will make it easier for them to scan and verify all the details of the hawkers easily. It’s been reported that the civic body will mention the details like the hawker’s name on the ID cards, the commodity to be sold, location and the pitch number (one that identifies the hawker’s zone) that needs to be renewed every month.
Former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said, “If there is proper crackdown on any illegal activity, I think that’s a great thing and we should encourage the BMC or any other government organization to stop such illegal activity.”
Talking about the illegal carts, the BMC has crushed 4,291 four-wheeler illegal handcarts that were seized from across the 26 civic wards in a special drive carried out last month. Earlier, the civic body had seized over 2,500 carts.
Reportedly, the drive that was initiated on November 16 continued for the next 15 days. Also a large numbers of such carts were impounded from the eastern and western suburbs.
As per the sources,the Corporation decided to crush the carts after it was found out that the method of imposing monetary fine on hawkers (for using illegal carts) ceased to have any effect as they were resuming business after paying the fine. The BMC will auction the scrap at a later date.
Activist Huzaifa Electricwala said, “Whatever decision the BMC and government takes a decision about demolition of carts of hawkers then should offer them substitute employment. If unemployment increases then crime rates will increase in the country. Shiv Sena is in power in BMC and running the government so they should ensure that that crime rates and unemployment doesn’t increase.”
Maharashtrians are known to be of the Indo-Aryan race. Although they came into existence when the Maratha warriors of Shivaji Maharaj established the Maratha empire back in 1600s. While the majority population consists of Hindus due to the vast number of people migrating to Maharashtra is huge and hence the place is now divided by Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists and Jews. The mix of culture is not only seen by caste but also by taste, style and music that so many different people bring. In spite of so much of diversion, Marathi Manoos has its strong and different existence in Maharashtra politics. Many political parties are born in the name of son of the soil. Maharashtra was born on 1st May 1960. Behind the state’s formation, there was bloodstained history. Jawaharlal Nehru and Morarji Desai (then chief minister of Bombay state) were against making Bombay the capital of Marathi speaking state. “In January 1960, demonstrators were fired upon by the police at Flora Fountain in the capital city of Mumbai. Flora Fountain was subsequently renamed Hutatma Chowk or “Martyr’s Crossroad” in their memory.
It is estimated that in all, 105 people were shot by security forces during the period of agitation and at different places. Morarji Desai was later removed and replaced by Yashwantrao Chavan as a result of criticism related to this incident. Babasaheb Ambedkar argued for making Mumbai the capital of the Marathi state. Maharashtra politics has always been largely dominated by the Congress and NCP. In 55 years of its existence, there were only two Non-Congress/Congress-NCP governments till now. One was the BJP-SS government of 1995-99 and other was the Fadnavis government that ruled from 2014-19. Between 1963-1975, there was only one Chief Minister – Vasantrao Naik but from 1975-1995 there were as many as seven Chief Ministers serving total of 11 terms reflecting the instability.
The Right-wing party Shiv Sena standing for pro-Hindu, pro-Marathi ideology was formed in 1960 by Balasaheb Thackeray – other right-wing party in the country was the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which was formed in 1951. Though Shiv Sena’s main influence was Mumbai and it could not grow in the rural Maharashtra and thus could not form a government until 1995. One of the tallest figures in Maharashtra politics Sharad Pawar split from the Congress in 1999 and formed the Nationalist Congress Party whose main area of influence is Western Maharashtra. In 2014, the Lok Sabha elections when BJP+Shiv Sena won 42 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, four of those six lost seats were won by NCP in their Western Maharashtra constituencies.
Many leaders of the NCP are also the leaders of Milk and Sugar Co-operatives which brought the prosperity in Western Maharashtra farmers. Below is the result of Assembly elections 2014. But always NCP’s bastion was Western Maharashtra while BJP is concentrated in Vidarbha and Central Maharashtra. Shiv Sena’s bastion is Mumbai and Konkan while INC is distributed evenly across the state. Because Vidarbha is BJP’s bastion and BJP supports formation of more states, it supports statehood to Vidarbha as well, but is vehemently opposed by its partner Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena was always a big brother of BJP in the state which was formed much later in 1980. However, the last election in 2014 has changed equations in the state when Sena could manage to get only half number of the seats of BJP. After Babasaheb’s death, Shiv Sena was dominated by BJP and Modi, but this year, they broke the alliance and formed a government with Congress and NCP.
Raj Thackeray split from the Shiv Sena and formed his own Maharashtra Navnirman Sena party in 2006. The party has the ideology of son of the soil. He has been criticised for splitting of votes in Mumbai between him and NDA in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections he lost terribly getting no seat in LS and only two in assembly election (down from 13 in 2009). And this year the party managed to win only one seat. The party at large shrunk to a greater extent due to the arrogant and unreasonable approach of Raj Thackeray. People come in lakhs for his rallies but they don’t give votes to MNS. Perhaps this is the reason why Marathi manoos never made them a choice to rule Maharashtra.
Though Maharashtra politics was dominated by the Congress and so was that at the Centre for many decades, the state could not give India a Prime Minister till date. This is the thing which many Maharashtrians feel sad about. Since its inception in 1960 and also of predecessor states such as Bombay, the politics of Maharashtra has been dominated by the Indian National Congress party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party stalwarts such as Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Vasantrao Naik, and Shankarrao Chavan. Sharad Pawar has been a significant personality in both the state and national politics for nearly forty years. During his career, he has split the Congress twice with significant consequences for state politics. After his second parting from the Congress party in 1999, Sharad Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) but joined a Congress-led coalition to form the state government after the 1999 Assembly elections. The Congress party enjoyed a nearly unchallenged dominance of the state political landscape until 1995 when the coalition of Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured an overwhelming majority in the state beginning a period of coalition governments. The Shiv Sena was the larger party in the coalition. From 1999 until 2014, the NCP and INC formed one coalition while the Shiv Sena and the BJP formed the other for three successive elections which the INC-NCP alliance won. Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress party was the last Chief Minister of Maharashtra under the Congress-NCP alliance that ruled until 2014.
For the 2014 assembly polling, the alliances between the NCP and Congress and between the BJP and Shiv Sena broke down over seat allocations. In the election, the largest number of seats went to the BJP with 122 seats. The BJP initially formed a minority government under Devendra Fadnavis but in December 2014, the Shiv Sena entered the Government and provided a comfortable majority in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha to the Fadnavis-led government. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Shiv Sena fought under the NDA banner, while the Congress and NCP were part of the UPA. The two alliances remained intact for the legislative assembly elections in October 2019. The BJP and Shiv Sena together gained the majority of seats in the assembly but could not form government due to squabbles between the two parties. The BJP–Shiv Sena alliance came to an end in early November 2019, with Sena subsequently forming a new alliance with its long-time rivals, the NCP and Congress, to form the new state government on 28 November 2019. Other parties in the state include the All India Forward Bloc, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Communist party of India, the Peasant and workers party, the All India Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, the Samajwadi Party, various factions of the Dalit-dominated Republican Party of India, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Socialist party.
For the better part of the late-colonial and early post-independence periods in the state of Bombay and its successor Maharashtra state, the politics of the state have been dominated by the mainly rural Maratha–Kunbi caste which accounts for 31 per cent of the population of Maharashtra. They dominate the cooperative institutions; and with the resultant economic power, control politics from the village level up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha. As of December 2016 of the 366 MLAs (Legislative Assembly has 288 MLAs and Legislative Council has 78) combined, 169 (46 per cent) are Marathas. Major past political figures of the Congress party from Maharashtra such as Keshavrao Jedhe, Yashwantrao Chavan, Shankarrao Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sharad Pawar have been from this group. Of the 18 chief ministers so far, as many as 10 (55 per cent) have been Marathas. Since the 1980s, this group has also been active in setting up private educational institutions.
(With inputs from various agencies)
(The latter part of the Edit will continue tomorrow)
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
A major fire broke out at high-rise building in Vile Parle on Sunday evening. As per report the incident took place around 7:30 at the thirteen storey building name Labh Shrivalli near Bajaj road in Vile Parle West.
Reportedly, the fire confined to 7th and 8th floor of the building. It’s been reported it’s a level two fire. Eight to ten fire tenders have reached the spot for the rescue operation.
Mumbai Chief Fire Officer said, the cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet. At least four people have been rescued so far and the search for others is still underway.
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved children on the night of Christmas Eve or during the early morning hours of Christmas Day.
It is during this time of the year when there is celebration around the world. Your travel overseas often proved doubly delightful when your overseas visits coincided with Christmas and New Year festivities. The myth of Santa Claus has enthralled children and even adults for a long time. The figure of Santa Claus has been the beacon of hope for crying children, was the reason used by parents to encourage their children to be good for the year and has become the universal symbol for laughter and joy. The “Real” Santa Claus blurs the boundary between reality and fiction.
Waiting for the Santa to visit home on a winter night with carol singers and receiving a surprise gift at a party from the white bearded man is something that everyone looks forward to during Christmas, especially children. The Santa Claus is the most sought after person. Donning the role of Santa Claus, depicted as a fat, jolly, white bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, red trousers, boots who goes around with a red bag slung behind, however, is no easy job. Greeting us with Finnish chocolates and the trademark, “Ho Ho Ho!”, the “Real Santa Claus” sat with a buoyant smile, personifying the spirit of Christmas.
Nobody wants to volunteer for the role. Besides dressing up in advance and being a fun loving person, Santa needs to know how to manage a mob of children, and part with the gift on the Christmas eve. Many churches identify youth to play the part; they fit in the role with well tucked pillow bags acting as tummy and loads of energy to keep them going for hours together. Finding a different person to dress up as Santa every year makes the choice tougher in many churches as the identity of the person inside the mask should not be guessed easily.
Santa is a much-loved part of both religious and secular celebrations of Christmas. Santa Claus is more than someone who just comes and gives you a present, it’s this whole spirit of giving and magic that you get to be a part of and celebrate. Parents have been talking to kids about Santa since 1986. Jewish children say they believe in Santa even if he doesn’t visit their house on Christmas Eve.
Many non-Christian parents embrace Santa because they see Christmas serving as a secular as well as religious holiday. Some experts say that another reason children believe in Santa is because they are imaginative and love to pretend. Experts have debated the Santa myth for years. Some argue that perpetuating it discourages healthy skepticism in children and requires adults to carry on an elaborate lie. Santa Claus entertains children on the eve of Christmas.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Dr Shriram Lagoo’s death on December 17, 2019, is a loss to the nation. His roles in Marathi plays such as ‘Natsamrat’ and ‘Himalayachi Savli’, and movies like ‘Pinjra’, made him popular. He was not only a versatile actor but also a dynamic director. With his death, we have lost a versatile personality.
I enjoyed watching his movies, both Marathi and Hindi. He will always be remembered by the people of my generation who grew up watching his movies.
Dr Lagoo acted in over 250 films, including Hindi and Marathi films, as well as Gujarati plays, and directed over 20 Marathi plays. His wife, Deepa Lagoo, is also a noted theatre, TV and film actress. Dr Lagoo also instituted the prestigious Tanveer Samman given to most promising stalwarts in the theatre industry of India in the memory of his late son, Tanveer Lagoo.
Some of his best performances in Hindi films were when he was pitted with Rajesh Khanna in films like Thodi Si Bewafai, Maqsad, Souten, Nasihat and Awam. His other best performances came in films like Devta, Des Pardes, Laawaris, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Inkaar, Sajan Bina Suhagan, Kinara, Lootmaar, Sau Crore, Jyoti Bane Jwala, Neeyat, Nishana, Swayamar, Shriram Shrimati and Sadma. May his soul rest in peace.
JubelD’Cruz
Form is temporary but class is permanent
Hitman Rohit Sharma is back among the runs and his innings are extraordinary when he gets going as India outplayed West Indies to level the series at Visakhapatnam. Rohit was the star performer in last year’s ODI World Cup in England but seemed to have lost his golden touch thereafter. But form can be temporary and class is permanent as Rohit hit a strokeful 159 to get back into the headlines. He was well supported by KL Rahul who too hit a ton which helped India post a formidable total on the board.
Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick and Shami’s lethal strikes top the order meant the Caribbeans where never in the hunt to win the game. Virat Kohli failed with the bat but Team India’s performance without the skippers contribution was noteworthy.
S.N. Kabra
NSDL should waive off speed-e registration charges
National Securities and Depositaries Limited (NSDL) as a custodian of investor interests has initiated several investor friendly steps to ensure fairness and transparency. An investor can open a free online account through NSDL’s IDeAS (Internet-based Demat Account Statement) portal to know the status of holdings of shares and other commodities but otherwise only held in demat form. A monthly consolidated statement through a unique CAS id is generated with consolidated list of shares and other commodities and is thus sent to an investor periodically through email.
It is given to understand that NSDL has initiated Speed-e services for the benefit of online DIS transfers to the investors and the facility is available through passwords and also smart card tokens with a nominal registration charge. An investor otherwise is mandated with Delivery Instruction Slip (DIS) book for physical mode transactions with the depositor participant. The benefit of availing seamless and hassle free eDIS slips through online transactions provides immense value to retail investors. Hence to encourage a paper free environment, promote a cashless ecosystem in securities market and to push for robust infusion of digital transactions, NSDL is thus requested to waive off Speed-e registration charges -to otherwise help retail investors transact through e-DIS slips online in a hassle free manner.
Varun Dambal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Few years ago there was an RTI query that found that the Borivali station rakes in maximum moolah among all suburban railway stations in Mumbai, with the highest number of tickets being sold. An RTI has also found that the particular station rakes in maximum revenue among all suburban railway stations in Mumbai with the highest number of tickets being sold. Fraudulently travelling or attempting to travel without proper pass or ticket, (1) If any person, with an intent to defraud the railway administration,he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months with a fine or both. If any passenger liable to pay the excess charge and the fare mentioned in or the excess charge and any difference of fare fails or refuses to pay the same on a demand any railway servant authorised by the railway administration in this behalf may apply to any Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first or second class, as the case may be, for the recovery of the sum payable as if it were a fine. And if the Magistrate is satisfied that the sum is payable shall order it to be so recovered, any person failing or refusing to pay the fare and the excess charge may be removed by any railway servant authorised in this behalf who may call to his aid any other person to effect such removal. Borivali station rakes in nearly Rs 16,86,591 from ticket sales.
Borivali has 2,87,196 commuters purchasing tickets i.e. no other station out of WR’s 36 stations sees as many tickets being purchased as at this station. I think that these figures make trains headed to Borivali among the most crowded ones and are a testament to how much load the station takes per day. From Churchgate to Dahanu, WR earned Rs 1,99,46,652 from a total 3,508,469 commuters purchasing tickets. Following suit in terms of adding to the railway kitty are stations like Nalasopara (Rs 1,352,587); Virar (Rs 1,333,733); Bhayandar (Rs 995,121); Vasai Road (`Rs 934,007); Malad (Rs 930,898); Kandivali (Rs 929,175); Dadar Rs 890,606); Goregaon (Rs 839, 617); Bandra (Rs 755,846) and Churchgate (Rs 743,275).
Western railway earns a lot through various fines such as, passenger travelling without proper pass or ticket.The fare from the station which a passenger has travelled or from the station which the train originally started or from the checking point with equal amount of excess charge subject to a minimum of Rs. 250/- upto the point of detection. Adult travelling with half ticket, the difference in fare between the cost of a full ticket and half ticket with an equal amount of excess charge subject to the minimum of Rs. 250/-. Half of the adult fare subject to the minimum fare applicable with an equal amount of excess charges subject to the minimum of Rs. 250/-.The difference in fare for the minimum charge of the class upto the point of detection with an equal amount of excess charges subject to the minimum of Rs. 250. Difference in fares will be collected from the point of detection to the destination of the passenger as per ticket held, if accommodated in the higher class.
If there is no accommodation, the passenger will be detrained from the higher class and will be directed to go to the class for which he originally holds the ticket of. Passengers travelling ‘on e-ticket’ without original identity card or will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged as per rules. Senior citizens travelling without age proof, (i) Senior citizens whose age is 60 years and above for men and 58 years and above for women, travelling without age proof will be charged the difference of full fare and the concessional fare (ii) Persons travelling on Senior Citizen’s concessions whose age is below 60 years for men and below 58 years for women will be treated as without ticket and charged as per rules (in 1 above). The concession ticket will be forfeited. Concession ticket holder travelling without an original certificate, wherever instructed, the concession ticket holders should carry the respective certificates in original and produce it on demand. Otherwise, they will be treated as without ticket and charged as per rules. The concession ticket held by the passenger will be forfeited. Physically challenged persons travelling on concessions without an escort will be treated as without ticket and charged as per rules. Male persons found travelling in ladies compartments will be vacated from the coach and if he resists, he will be forcibly removed from the coach. His ticket will be forfeited and he shall also be punishable with a fine which may extend upto Rs. 500/-. Smoking in railway compartments/premises is punishable with a fine up to Rs. 200/-. Roof top travel and footboard travel is punishable with an imprisonment for a term up to 3 months or with fine up to Rs. 500/- or with both and trespass (i) Crossing of railway track (ii) Entering into the platform without proper authority are punishable with imprisonment for a term up to 6 months or with fine up to Rs. 1000/- or with both. Travelling in a drunken condition/Consuming Alcohol in train. Alarm chain pulling without any valid reason, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term up to 1 year or fine up to Rs. 1000/- or both. It is strictly prohibited.
If found travelling will be treated as travelling without ticket in First Class. Fare + Penalty is collected as per rules and passenger will be removed from the carriage. Travelling without superfast surcharge ticket in super fast trains are charged with super-fast surcharge and excess charge of Rs. 250. Waitlisted ‘e-ticket’ holders travelling in reserved coaches are treated as without ticket and charged as per rules. Season ticket holders including First Class season ticket holders are not permitted to travel in reserved coaches of any class. If found travelling, the passengers will be treated as travelling without ticket. There is fine for many such things, Western Railway collects huge amount but still in comparison it always lacks in providing required facilities for commuters. It failed to control accident death. It fails to manage overcrowding.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Christmas celebrations are never complete without a Christmas crib. Also referred to as Nativity Scene or Manger Scene, Christmas crib represents how Jesus was born. Christmas crib exhibits figures that represent infant Jesus, his mother, Mary, and her husband Joseph. There are various other characters that are part of the Christmas crib. These characters include shepherds, sheep and angels. As described in the ‘Gospel of Luke’, all these characters are displayed near the manger in a barn (or cave) which is projected to accommodate farm animals. A donkey and an ox are also a part of this scene and Magi and their camels are also included. These characters are described in the ‘Gospel of Matthew’. However, there are various cultures which add characters that may or may not be Biblical.
Shah and Modi dividing the country
A 30-year-old man has been arrested for raping and killing a 7-year-old girl in Bhiwandi. According to Bhoiwada police, passersby upon noticing the body of a girl, informed about the same to the police and her relatives. The accused has been identified as Bharat Kumar Kori who shared a room with other labourers at Karivali village in Bhiwandi.
If there can be protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) all over India, how can Mumbai be left behind.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest civic body of the country has introduced a new method to minimise traffic on the roads of Mumbai by crushing the handcarts of illegal hawkers. Earlier the Corporation used to return the handcarts to the vendors after imposing a fine. On Saturday, the BMC authorities seized more than 4000 illegal handcarts and crushed them with the help of JCB machines at the Antop Hill Warehouse ground.
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved children on the night of Christmas Eve or during the early morning hours of Christmas Day.