Emilia Clarke says she would have tried her hand at online dating if she wasn’t an actor.
The “Game of Thrones” star admitted she was once “definitely tempted” about trying out dating apps.
“There was a time. I was definitely tempted. (I missed online dating) because I was on people’s television right when it all began. So there are all my single friends being like (swiping).
“I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Shopping for a boyfriend.’ ‘OK cool.’ If I wasn’t in the job I’m in, then I definitely would do it, 100 per cent. And I feel like it’s not a taboo anymore,” Clarke told the Daily Mirror newspaper.
The actor said good sense of humour and kindness were some of the qualities she was looking for in a man.
“If you make me giggle, then I’m in pretty much. And someone who is considerate and nice. Like when someone takes you out on a date and they’ve thought about kind of an interesting thing to do … that goes a long way. But a sense of humour is 100 per cent it. If you can laugh with someone, it’s just the sexiest thing in the world,” she said.
Clarke previously dated actor Seth MacFarlane and filmmaker Charlie McDowell, whom she split with earlier this year.
Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman of JUI-F along with other opposition parties [including PML (N) & PPP] on November, 1 conducted a large ‘Julsa’ (public meeting) as part of Azadi-march (which started from Karachi on October, 27) at Islamabad mainly for demanding resignation of Imran-government and fresh elections. Mentioning the civil problems (related to economy) is not a legitimate reason for demanding resignation of Imran-government or of any government in any democracy because these can be addressed by choosing a new government during next election and incumbent government should be allowed time (from election to election) for improving the economy.
However demanding resignation of Imran-government on martial matter (of failure of Kashmir policy) and fresh election (due to absence of legitimacy of entire 2018 election process) are legitimate demands. But Maulana, the leader of Azadi-march, unnecessarily raised an avoidable controversy by saying that the public at ‘Dharna’ (sit-in) have every right to arrest PM Imran if he does not resign after the expiry of the ultimatum period of two days. However Maulana was right in asking the institutions of the State to remain impartial and should not come in the way of ousting illegitimate and incompetent (as miserably failed to solve martial issue of Kashmir) Imran-government.
But Maulana mainly referred to the executive organ of the State (bureaucracy and security forces) to remain impartial and forgot about legislative and judiciary which are main cause of the entire illegitimate process of 2018 elections as explained below:-
(i)- Before 2018 election incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was illegally removed from office and was illegally not allowed to contest 2018 election by what is termed by national and international media as ‘judicial coup’ [which brazenly violated the political rights of Nawaz his Party PML (N) and its other candidates and the people who were denied the legitimate political choice].
(ii)- The said media coverage says that this judicial coup was carried out by Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) by violating every principle and tenets of jurisprudence where (A)- Nawaz was denied the benefit of a legal trial (B)- SCP accepted findings of an investigative panel, on which two of the six members were from the same military establishment (which deposed him from Premiership in 1999) that wanted his exit, ( C)- Had this been about corruption, there would have been a trial, not direct intervention by the Supreme Court, which should only be the court of final appeal in criminal matters (D)- PCB handed down a lasting disqualification against Nawaz bypassing a fair trial without giving him the benefit of an appeal (E)- An entire mechanism exists under ROPA that also allows for an appeal, but SCP went straight to Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution (F)- Nawaz was disqualified for LIFE though there is no explicit legal provision to do so.
(iii)- Legislative is also responsible for this illegitimate election process of 2018 because they did not remove such bad laws and their anomalies on statute which made this judicial coup possible.
(iv)- Governments, politicians and executives always prefer to inflict injustice on the people through judiciary (because it is mostly unopposed due to cowardly fear of ‘contempt of court’ proceeding) as is happening in case of Kashmir where human rights are being denied since August 5, 2019. Kashmiris are not getting justice because they are not approaching SCI with proper writ petitions or agitating but Maulana can get justice for the people of Pakistan, if Azadi-march and members and followers of political parties participating in march boldly agitate against SCP all across Pakistan.
Therefore in order to achieve the stated objectives of this Azadi-march Maulana should demand the following:-
(1)- Through writ petition demand from SCP the dissolution of all National and State Assemblies which are the result of said illegitimate 2018 elections and preferably a ‘National Government’ should be formed till next election.
(2)- Demand from SCP to (i)- Review the judgments in all the cases related to Panama Papers against Nawaz and others (ii)- Any sub-judice case should be first sent to trial court (iii)- Ensure that that all these victims are given bail and right to contest election and to hold party positions during trial and all the appeals in High Court & SCP.
[Maulana and all the participants in Dharna at Islamabad and the supporters and followers of all the political parties at Dharna (who will agitate against SCP at District and State headquarters) should be prepared to face minor imprisonment if SCP decides to initiate ‘Contempt of Court’ proceedings against them for this agitation against SCP. If needed Nawaz and PML (N) etc may file fresh review and other writ petitions in SCP for this purpose.
(3)- Take written undertaking from all the allied political parties that they will include in their election manifesto that in legislatures they will move appropriate amendments in Constitution and Laws which will make such judicial coups impossible in future and remove bad laws such as lifelong disqualification.
(4)- Pak Military (Security-forces) should be ordered by Government to not obstruct at LoC the over million non-violent peace-march (in presence of International media) of the un-armed people of Pakistan side of J&K (AJK + Gilgit-Baltistan, some of them are already at LoC)) to Srinagar where they will offer arrest before Indian authorities demanding immediate restoration of human rights of Kashmiris (and not for Kashmir solution) which are being denied to them since August 5, 2019 (this will automatically & effectively precipitate the issue of plebiscite in united-J&K as mandated by ‘Instrument of Accessions’ and UN Resolution 1948).
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Shakeel stating on the problem said the budget to tackle potholes has gone up and so have the number of craters. Over the past years, almost all complaints lodged with the BMC have been attended to, yet pothole problems continue to pour in.
Pending Request Report
In the year 2015 on April 1 to March 31, 2016, the complaints of potholes received by BMC stood at 99.37% whereas the percentage of complaints pending stood at 0.63 percent.
In the year 2016 on April 1 to March 31, 2017, the percentage of complaints received by BMC stood at 93.18 per cent while 6.82 per cent of complaints were still pending.
Between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018, 98.42 per cent of complaints were addressed by the BMC against 1.58%. From April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, the percentage of complaints attended by BMC was 99.76%.
Current Scenario
Talking about the current year problem in which the BMC has claimed to have attended 92.52% complaints with 7.48% pending. Total potholes complaints between April 2018 and March 2019, BMC received 4,910 potholes and from April to July 2019 it received 2,661 complaints.
The year 2019 between April to July total of 2,661 complaints out of which 2,462 have been attended and 199 are pending. The maximum number of complaints (365) came from the K East Ward followed by S Ward (Bhandup) at 218. Other wards with a high number of complaints are P North Ward (Malad, Malwani) at 193 and K West Ward at 188.
As per Shakeel every year BMC spent crores of rupees to fill the potholes however the situation remains as they are. He said many people lost their lives falling into these potholes. He continued that the BMC is not paying attention to these potholes.
After the app for potholes, the BMC has introduced a new policy name as pothole challenge which stated that if any Mumbaikar report pothole problem to the BMC and if it is not fixed within 24 hours of a complaint then the BMC will award Rs 500 to citizens.
A civic body official said, the pothole reported by the citizens should be at least one foot in length and three inches deep. Reportedly, it’s been five days of the Pothole challenge and the BMC site received more than 800 complaints by the citizens. Out of 879 complaints, the 85 were not fixed within 24 hours.
As we all have noticed that the condition of the roads remains the same as before, very few potholes were filled up. So here the questions arise what is BMC doing with the money? Is the life of people are not important? Why the conditions of roads have remained like that?
Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America was totally wrong in declaring India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few months back, as the Father of nation. Donald Trump does not even know Indian history and the role Mahatma Gandhi has played in the Indian freedom struggle. India cannot have two fathers – Mahatma Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Gandhi is the actual Father of nation, not Narendra Modi.
JubelD’Cruz
Recall Dhoni in Indian cricket team
India’s shock defeat to Bangladesh in the first T-20 game in Delhi speaks about our poor preparation for the T-20 World Cup next year. Our batting minus Virat Kohli failed to click and bowlers too did not exploit hazy conditions which gave an easy win for our eastern neighbours. T-20 is all about big hitting as wickets hardly matter in a 20 over game. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are needed in such format but sadly they are not in contention and no suitable replacement available. Captain Kohli and selectors along with BCCI President will have to exploit all other options to strengthen the team.
MS Dhoni can also be recalled as he has not announced his retirement. Experience counts and his selection could be valuable as he is also good behind the wickets. India has a strong Test side but you need round pegs for round holes and team selection would be key for our team winning the T-20 tourney. Specialized IPL players should be tried as the format needs big hitters and not big names to make an impact on our teams fortune in this format!
S.N. Kabra
Power player concept in IPL
With dwindling response for test match cricket, IPL governing council is planning to have new IPL recipe and bring power player concept. Power player may be new mantra for keeping intact the razzmatazz of the IPL circus. After ODI cricket losing colour even IPL showed less response last season with match fixing charges escalating in the shortest form of the game. Both no balls and wide are widely used as a weapon to fix matches. The power player concept thus goes by allowing a player, who is not a part of playing XI, to come in at the fall of a wicket or replace a bowler at any given point of time. This may also give scope for fixing game just like the strategic time out break. There is a lot of scepticism among puritans about the concept, which could change the grammar of cricket.
Gundu K. Maniam
Central government should promote Indian soft drinks
Mega-star Amitabh Bachchan once disclosed at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad about his not advertising for cola-drinks after a school-student at Jaipur drew his attention about harmful ingredients in cola-drinks. It is significant that cola-companies voluntarily stopped selling cola-drinks in schools worldwide in view of increasing obesity in school-going children. Indian government should also not only ban advertisements but even sale of cola drinks in the country. Earlier also, soft-drink manufacturers were asked to remove an oil from their products which was found to be harmful for health.
It is time that Union government, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and soft-drink manufacturers should revive drinks like old and famous rose-flavoured ones, which can not only replace cola-drinks in India but even dominate global-market by breaking monopoly of harmful cola-drinks in tune with ambitious –Make in India– concept of Prime Minister. It will earn foreign-revenue for the country rather than Indian money being drained out to multinational cola-manufacturers.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
India lashed out at Pakistan for raising the issue of women’s rights in Kashmir in the UN Security Council, saying the country represents a system that has been exporting terrorism and “regressive” extremist ideologies and “stifling” women’s voices for narrow political gains.
India’s strong response came after Pakistan’s outgoing UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi commented on the situation in Kashmir, revocation of Article 370 and women’s rights in the Valley during the debate on October 29.
As everyone today focuses on collective action, one delegation rhetorically regurgitates about women’s rights in my country, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi said on Monday at a Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security.
Without naming Pakistan, Tripathi said the delegation represents a system that has been exporting terrorism and regressive extremist ideologies, and stifling women’s voices for narrow political gains. This has devastated lives of generations of women and their families, in our region and beyond.
Alluding to Islamabad’s habit of raking up the Kashmir issue at various UN forums and committees, Tripathi said the country habitually makes baseless allegations without any relevance to the agenda under consideration and this has become a staple for this delegation.
She referred to Lodhi’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir during the October 29 debate as well as during a previous debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question’.
Asserting that India firmly rejects the baseless allegations, Tripathi said the Council has not paid attention to such deceitful narratives in the past, and we are confident that the Council will continue to do so, to ensure that its agenda is not used as a ploy for furthering territorial ambitions.
In her remarks to the debate, Tripathi underscored that violence against women and girls perpetrated by terrorists remain rampant and subjugation of women in public and in private spheres continue across situations that are on the agenda of the Council.
It is important that the Council strives to effectively integrate women, peace and security considerations into sanctions regimes, including by listing terrorist entities involved in violence against women in armed conflicts, she said.
Further, Tripathi highlighted the positive impacts of greater participation of women in UN peacekeeping but voiced concern that women make up only 4.2 per cent of military personnel in UN peacekeeping missions.
We ought to encourage participation of all women units to achieve the set targets in this regard, she said.
Tripathi pointed out that a trend in which in order to accommodate those who cannot fulfill the commitments of providing all women units to peacekeeping missions, mixed units are being given preference by diluting the policy frameworks.
“If this continues, we possibly cannot achieve the set targets”, she said as she added that India remains committed to increasing the number of women peacekeepers and has deployed a Female Engagement Team in UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) earlier this year.
BJP the party which is known to get the party in power in spite of any situation, Goa, Karnataka are two biggest examples but why isn’t the BJP’s high command, which has thus far played a crucial role in forming the government even if it doesn’t get a majority, focusing on Maharashtra? The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, has already taken the oath but the government of Maharashtra is not even close to formation. The tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP is not showing any sign of settlement. Having ruled for 5 years now, it’s time to test the worthy of CM in Maharashtra very soon and definitely as a RSS man he danced well but as a CM of big state, nobody can claim he has done well. He is just another CM of course he messed up the state as he did tango with PM Modi at the centre without raising any of the issues as expected, so there is nothing great being a CM of big commercial state. With economy in doldrums, Maharashtra’s contribution is very meagre and not really taken the lead to take the economy from impending recession. Pathetic situation at Mumbai city for the last five years right from rainy season (every season it suffered like no other city) and poor environmental awareness for the Govt right from disposal of garbage to falling bridges. They may escape saying its BMC’s job but as a capital city of the state it failed to raise to international level except in population. Mumbaikars who used to be proud being in the city now really running away or searching other cities to live and that’s the level at which it has been reduced now under Fadnavis. He can never become a best CM of Maharashtra as he is not a tall leader and never wanted to be so, as he is good RSS man who accepts anything high command say even if it’s bad like in GST policies and fitment issues, state has accepted everything resulting in MSME suffering right from demonetisation in 2016. Further, he couldn’t handle the agri-distress for years and Dalits always felt left out and all this has reflected in incumbency in assembly elections.
In the recent Haryana Assembly elections, as soon as news of the BJP’s failure to get majority broke, Home Minister Amit Shah stopped his ITBP programme and summoned Haryana Chief Minister to Delhi. Later, with JJP’s help, the BJP formed the government but no one knows, why is Fadnavis left to protect the Maharashtra throne all by himself? May be his relations with his own cabinet ministers were not good, for his greed of becoming second term CM and having his own favourites in his cabinet he diluted the tickets of tallest leaders of the state, and somewhere that has cost him much at this crucial stage. In 2014, Fadnavis had the support of prominent leaders like Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde and Pankaja Munde, but this time Khadse and Tawde weren’t even given tickets, and Pankaja Munde lost the elections, leaving Fadnavis without much support. Moreover, he gave tickets going out of way they all lost elections with humiliating defeat. It is also evident that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has distanced himself from Maharashtra as we can recollect he did no rally in the state for any leader. It is said that Amit Shah, PM Modi and Gadkari were not prepared for an alliance with the Shiv Sena for the Assembly Elections but CM Fadnavis wanted to contest the elections with an alliance and this is the reason why Amit Shah isn’t taking initiative to talk to Uddhav Thackeray, but during the Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah came to Mumbai himself to meet Uddhav Thackeray to form an alliance. Shiv Sena has repeatedly said that it was in this meeting where they discussed the proposition of the 2.5 years each CM tenure division. Now, if Amit Shah actually did make such a promise, it’s something only the BJP or the Shiv Sena can confirm or Shah who has to come open in public and deny or accept such things have been said. Fadnavis wants to be CM but he is not staking claim to form the government, because of the post of the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.
BJP won 105 seats in the Assembly elections and with the support of Independent candidates, their number currently stands at 115. However, 145 is the number to get a majority i.e., if 30 MLAs walk out at the time of proving majority, then the BJP can form the government on its own. But even if BJP gets majority, it will have trouble in the election for the Speaker. May be NCP Chief Sharad Pawar would want someone from his party to be elected as Speaker. This has many political advantages – which will be the greatest weapon to curb the BJP. This implies that Shiv Sena or NCP can field their candidates against the BJP. Voting for this position is very discreet so the BJP will find it tough to win. So, until Fadnavis has the numbers required, he shall not stake claim to form the government. And, to achieve the magical number, he seems to be fighting all alone for the chair. Fadnavis is a worried man these days. The perception of the BJP being a perfectly run unit in Maharashtra under his command, with dominance over money, muscle and leadership, has come crumbling down in the last few days as the deadlock over government formation stretches to 11 days. Seeking to extract its pound of flesh after the BJP’s below par tally in the election, the Shiv Sena has amped up the rhetoric. The stalemate getting longer has also given an opening to savvy NCP chief Sharad Pawar to make his moves behind the scenes and explore the possibility of a government sans the BJP. Amid all this, there seems to be no help coming for Fadnavis to untangle the mess. Questions have swirled in the power corridors of the state over whether Fadnavis, whose rise in the state’s politics was being celebrated in the run-up to the assembly election, has been left to fend for himself by the party high command. With 105 out of 288 assembly seats in its kitty, the BJP looks vulnerable and helpless at this point and most of the blame has fallen on the CM’s shoulders. Farmers’ distress, unemployment, economic crisis and the failure to pacify those hurt by Maratha reservation has only added to the woes. A party which played hardball in Haryana recently, and in Goa in the recent past, seems to have abandoned Maharashtra despite being the single largest party by quite a margin here.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Even after a meeting between Devendra Fadnavis and BJP chief Amit Shah, the BJP has not issued any response about government formation. You will hardly find any speakers going and representing BJP on News Channels. There was no word on how the BJP would go about it or on any negotiation with Shiv Sena. The deadline for government formation in the state is fast approaching – the term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9. The BJP-Shiv Sena’s combined tally in the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly stands at 161.
Vishwas Pathak BJP spokesperson said, “I think the presidential rule situation would not happen because it is all-theoretical and or you can say hypothetical discussion. This situation won’t arrive because the mandate is given by public to form a government jointly, and both the parties cannot disrespect that. Otherwise, they have to pay a higher price and they will lose their credibility.”
Meanwhile, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is set against any dealing with the Shiv Sena, even though her party leaders in Maharashtra and ally Sharad Pawar are said to be amenable to an arrangement to keep the BJP out of power. Whereas Shiv Sena believes that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be from the Sena, its leader Sanjay Raut asserted in proof that the ruling BJP and its long-time ally are no closer to an understanding that will unlock the process of government formation nearly two weeks after the election.
Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP of the Sena told Afternoon Voice that, “The face and politics of Maharashtra is changing, you will see. What you call hungama (commotion) is not hungama but the fight for justice and rights… victory will be ours and the Chief Minister will be from Shiv Sena only.” He added that the decision on Maharashtra will be taken in the state, a reference to meetings in Delhi that drew much attention – one between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and his party chief Amit Shah and the other between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
When Afternoon Voice asked Chief Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, Madhav Bhandari about the presidential rule in Maharashtra he said, “We won’t comment about this matter.”
Pre-poll allies BJP and Shiv Sena won a clear majority together, with 161 seats in the 288-member assembly, but are feuding over how to share power. The Sena is insisting on a “50:50” deal in which a chief minister from each party will have half the five-year term. The Sena’s attempt to leverage support from other sources – like independents, the NCP and Congress – has faltered with Sonia Gandhi reportedly turning down any arrangement with the Sena. The BJP, which won 105 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, says it has the support of 115 MLAs. The Shiv Sena won 56 but says it has the support of 63 along with independents. The opposition NCP, Congress and others have 102 seats. If there is no compromise before the term of the assembly expires, the state may head towards President’s Rule. In an unforeseen turn of events, senior BJP leader from Maharashtra, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, may emerge as peacemaker between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
Farmers’ rights activist-turned-Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari had urged Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – the BJP’s ideological mentor – to intervene “in the interest of Hindutva” and even suggested Nitin Gadkari should step in for a resolution. “We have demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party should deploy its senior leader and Minister Nitin Gadkari for the negotiations with Sena. We are confident that he will not just honour ‘alliance dharma’ but resolve matter in a couple of hours with dialogue,” Tiwari told media. But there has been no response from the RSS yet.
A 30-year-old man was arrested for the alleged possession of gutkha worth Rs. 6 lakh in the western suburb of Khar, police said on Tuesday.
According to police they got a tip from their sources and form a team with Mumbai police‘s crime branch on Monday and arrested the accused, from a parked van, which was loaded with the banned substance.
The accused identified as Abu Sahama Riyaz Ahmad Khan a resident of the Nala Sopara area. Police said, After interrogating with Khan, the crime branch team and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials raided two of his godowns in Khar and seized gutkha worth Rs 6 lakh.
Police have booked the accused under relevant sections of the FDA Act and further investigations are underway.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report within four weeks on the investigation conducted so far relating to the larger conspiracy behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
A bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Hemant Gupta asked the CBI to apprise it of the probe carried out till now on the conspiracy aspect behind the making of the belt bomb that killed Gandhi and several others, and foreign involvement in the assassination.
The investigation is being carried out by the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), headed by a CBI official. It also has officers from IB, RAW and Revenue Intelligence and other agencies.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by a convict, AG Perarivalan, seeking suspension of his sentence till the CBI concluded its investigation into the conspiracy behind making of the belt bomb that killed Gandhi and others.
Perarivalan had claimed that this aspect was not being probed properly. He added that he was held guilty for supplying two nine-volt batteries which were allegedly used in the improvised explosive device (IED) that killed Gandhi while the investigation by MDMA relating to the IED was still going on.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991, in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur town by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at an election rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.
On February 18, 2014, the apex court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, along with two other condemned prisoners, Santhan and Murugan.
Despite heavy rains and floods this year, many parts of Maharashtra received deficient rainfall. 70 per cent area of the state falls under semi-arid region. Maharashtra has declared drought three times in the last five years. Even after spending thousands of crores on irrigation and drinking water projects, the drought leaves people in the lurch every year. Maharashtra has many big rivers like Godavari, Penganga, Wainganga, Wardha, Krishna, Koyana, Bhima, Indravati, Tapi, Purna, etc. But all rivers are rain fed. So, we need to use these precious water resources carefully and wisely.
In the backdrop of water crisis and drought, Israel can be role model for Maharashtra in water management. Farmers of the state have been irrigating their fields by flooding them, while Israel has invented drip irrigation technology which saves up to 75 per cent water. Drip irrigation also increases crop production by 15 per cent. Inspite of only 100 mm annual rain fall, Israel has no scarcity of water. 60 per cent area of Israel is desert and rest of the area is arid. Israelis use groundwater and lake water to fulfill their needs. They treat 80 per cent of their domestic wastewater. Recycled water is used for agriculture and constitutes nearly 50 per cent of the total water used for agriculture.
On the other hand, Maharashtra gets over 1,000 mm rain annually. It means that the state gets 10 times more rain than Israel. But it lacks effective water management and continuously facing water shortage and drought. Production of sugarcane is one of major factor for water shortage in Maharashtra. According to the Water and Irrigation Commission formed under former Central Water Commission chairman Madhav Chitale, sugarcane cultivation consumes 71 per cent of Maharashtra’s irrigated water. Therefore, Maharashtra government took step for saving water and promoted drip irrigation for sugarcane cultivation. Sugarcane was grown over 9.42 lakh hectares in the state in 2017-18 and mere 2.25 lakh hectares areas was covered by drip irrigation. As per available data, Konkan region receives 1500 mm to 3,005 mm rain, Marathwada 882 mm and Vidarbha receives 1,034 mm rain per annum. Thus, Marathwada and Vidarbha are drought-prone.
This year, six out of nine major dams of Marathwada are not at their full capacity. Major dams of the region are at 56 per cent of their live capacity, compared to 21% at the same time last year. As per latest data, Manjara Dam in Beed district is almost empty. Siddeshwar Dam in Hingoli is also empty. Lower Terna Dam in Osmanabad is at 33 per cent of its capacity. Sina Kolegaon Dam in Osmanabad is also empty. Lower Dudhana Dam in Parbhani is at 8.63 per cent of its live capacity.
It is remarkable that water availability per capita in India is continuously decreasing. It has come down to 1,540 cubic metres from 5,000 cubic metres in 1947. India receives 4,000 million cubic metres rain water annually. All possible efforts should be made to save and conserve this water. For this, every person, organisation, industry and government have to work together. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat raised this issue in 13th World Aqua Congress recently. He warned that if water level continues to fall and the population continues to increase, a majority of India could face water scarcity.
Rapid urbanisation, increasing population and poor water management have worsened the situation in Maharashtra. Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur are over populated. Other cities and towns of state are also lacking proper infrastructures and basic amenities. All big cities face water supply cuts much ahead of summer season. In future, more industries will be established in Maharashtra, which will need water. People of other states are continuously coming and getting settled in the state in search of livelihood. In such scenario, water management of Israel will be very helpful in mitigating water crisis. Maharashtra receives more rain in comparison to Israel. Therefore, by creating awareness among people regarding stopping misuse of water, rain water harvesting, making drip irrigation mandatory, saving and conserving every drop of water, treating wastewater in every city and village, and using recycled water for agriculture, we can make Maharashtra Israel of India.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Emilia Clarke says she would have tried her hand at online dating if she wasn’t an actor.
Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman
Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of nation
Even after a meeting between 
A 30-year-old man was arrested for the alleged possession of gutkha worth Rs. 6 lakh in the western suburb of 
The 
Despite