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Will Kulbhushan Jadhav get justice in Pakistan?

November 15, 2019

After Sarabjit’s fate, India was worried about Kulbhushan Jadhav. But more than the efforts of India, now Pakistan is helping him to get justice. This is very positive news since the Imran Khan government in Pakistan; a military court in Pakistan had sentenced Kulbhushan Jadhav to death on charges of espionage and terrorism. Now they are modifying its Army Act. If done, the law would allow Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his conviction on charges of espionage before a civilian court. In 2017, a military court in Pakistan convicted Kulbhushan Jadhav, the punishment was awarded by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM), a military court consisting of Pakistan Army officers. (The judges on FGCM aren’t required to possess any specialisation in law.)

Pakistan has claimed that Kulbhushan Jadhav was “arrested” from Balochistan by its security forces on March 3, 2016. However, India has rejected these charges and termed them baseless. India has maintained that Pakistan’s security forces kidnapped Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, when he was in Iran on a business trip. In July this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague held that Pakistan violated its obligations under the Vienna Convention by not allowing India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. The court had directed Pakistan to provide appropriate remedies to him, including consular access. The verdict was a major victory for India as the ICJ ruled that Pakistan must review the death sentence awarded to Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” after a closed trial in April 2017. The court had also ruled that Pakistan had violated India’s rights to consular visits after Kulbhushan Jadhav’s arrest. According to the ICJ, Pakistan “deprived India of the right to communicate with and have access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation.”

Looking at all positive factors, we can hope that the Kulbhushan’s story won’t go Sarabjit way. According another convict in Pakistan who was released later on Surjeet Singh, upon reaching India confessed that Sarabjit and another Indian detainee, Kirpal, had converted to Islam in the hope of getting “concessions” from jail authorities. Sarabjit is known as Sarfaraz while Kirpal’s Muslim name was Mohammad Deen. They embraced Islam for concessions from jail authorities and the Pakistan government, but it didn’t happen. Sarabjeet case hit the headlines for many years, his sister made this issue international, finally his release was announced but he was attacked in the Central Jail Lahore (Kot Lakhpat jail). According to his sister, the attack on Singh was pre-planned and the jail authorities were involved. His wife, sister and two daughters were allowed to visit him in the hospital but Sarabjit returned dead to Indian soil. The extra ordinary publicity made it worst for him. Similar story is of Kulbhushan.

Pakistan’s foreign office released photo of meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and family. Jadhav, met his wife and mother for around 45 minutes across a glass screen. Going by the tweeted photos, Kulbhushan Jadhav could speak to his family only through intercom, with five officials present, and no physical contact allowed. Pakistan’s foreign office portrayed the brief meeting, coming after months of waiting on the family’s visa application as a grand gesture on the birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In a few weeks, the top UN court, the International Court of Justice, was to hear India’s appeal against Jadhav’s death sentence on grounds that he never got an opportunity to defend himself. India also accused Pakistan of denying Jadhav consular access in violation of the rules under the Vienna Convention.

The International Court of Justice stayed the hanging Jadhav sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of spying. The order came a day after India approached by The Hague-based ICJ against the death sentence handed down to Jadhav by Pakistan’s field general court martial. India accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention and said Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy but Pakistan claimed to have arrested him from Balochistan on March 3, 2016. Many appeals were made; many petitions were filed to save Jadhav, because no one wants him to die the way Sarabjit died. Jadhav was born in Sangli, Maharashtra; his father is a retired Mumbai Police officer. Jadhav is married and has two children. His family resides in Powai, Mumbai. According to reports in the Pakistani media, Jadhav joined the National Defence Academy in 1987 and was commissioned in the engineering branch of the Indian Navy in 1991. After the 2001 attack on the Parliament of India, he started gathering information and intelligence within India. After 14 years of service he entered into intelligence operations in 2003, and established a small business in Chabahar in Iran. From Chabahar, he made several undetected visits to Pakistan, where his activities were confined to Karachi and Balochistan.

India accepted that an officer arrested in Pakistan served with its navy but at the same time denied that he was an agent for intelligence agency. Indian MEA communicated that Jadhav took premature retirement from the navy and the government had no link since his retirement from the Indian Navy. India expounded that Pakistan had fabricated the documents without ascertaining discrepancies. Pakistan had previously raised concerns over involvement of foreign elements in terrorist activities in its territory but this was the first instance of India acknowledging the arrest across the border of an individual associated with its armed forces. Jadhav’s trial lasted three and a half months and he was convicted for spying for India, waging war against Pakistan, sponsoring terrorism, and destabilising the state. Following the sentencing, the government of India summoned then Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit and issued a demarche stating that the proceedings that led to Jadhav’s sentencing were farcical and India would regard Jadhav’s execution as murder in the first degree. After Sarabjit’s death too, Indian government assured consequences with Pakistan but that remained only a Jumla.

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

Letters to the Editor: 15 November, 2019

Web Team

November 15, 2019

Why this hue and cry over President’s rule in Maharashtra

The hue and cry over President’s rule in Maharashtra is unwarranted. The voters had given a clear verdict to pre-poll alliance partners BJP-Shiv Sena to rule the state but politicians backstabbed voters in the lure for power and governors decision to impose President’s rule was correct. A stable government in a fractured mandate is impossible and re-election costs a bomb. President’s rule is a cool off period for politicians to rethink on their political agenda and gauge public mood in the state.

Only BJP-Shiv Sena which has the voters mandate can give a stable government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly speak to Uddhav Thackeray and try to form a consensus to give Maharashtra a stable govt.

S.N. Kabra

Bridging the digital divide

The Kerala government has to be really lauded for its declaration recently to provide free internet access to 20 lakh poor households and others at affordable rate. The state government sees internet connection as one of the basic human right and also as a window to the world. Kerala cabinet gave it’s final nod for Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) Project and is taking all measures to see that it is completed by Dec 2020.
The state government will set up the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) to provide free and low-cost internet connectivity to residents. It will be a joint-venture of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Kerala state IT infrastructure Ltd.
A new optic fibre network, and Wi-Fi transmission centres across the state will be set up to accomplish this task. The Internet no doubt has become part of our daily life as without it life becomes isolated. The state government’s gesture in helping its citizens, especially helping the poor to access the world and to be very much a part of the nation’s progress is something that other states can follow.
M Pradyu

Take steps to prevent ragging

Ragging in colleges and medical institutions is getting out of control.
The doctors of Nair hospital in Mumbai who led Payal Tadvi, a junior student to death by making her to commit suicide must be put to shame. Arresting them and then letting them out on bail is not enough. They must be given life imprisonment so that others may learn a lesson from this incident and harassment against juniors in colleges and medical institutions may be stopped.

Jubel D’Cruz

Make passport issue process hassle free

Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Sewa Kendras (POPSKs) accept online passport applications from the citizens under Normal category. POPSK centres serving across various locations thus highly benefits even the applicants of rural areas to obtain passports within their vicinity. The RPO centres which otherwise issued Normal and Tatkal passports, have now ceased to issue/accept online appointments whilst directing the citizens to apply only at PSKs/POPSKs.

The Tatkal passport facility is not made available at all POPSK centres but only at select few PSKs. It causes an inconvenience to the Tatkal applicants owing to logistical factors involved to approach only select few PSK Tatkal passport issuing centres. The Hon’ble Ministry of External Affairs is thus suggested to establish a Nodal Center at RPO’s Central offices-to issue only Tatkal Passports. A Nodal Center based at RPO will thus enable quicker processing of Tatkal applications and reduce the burden on the existing PSKs whilst enabling hassle free application process to the citizens.

Varun Dambal

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

Lata Mangeshkar – Queen of unforgettable melody

Web Team

November 15, 2019

Lata Mangeshkar, a receiver of the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Awards, is an emblem of Indian cinema and music, having sung playback for an extensive list of Hindi films; she has also sung in several regional languages including Marathi and Bengali. Lata Di, belongs to a prominent musical family, has also composed music as well as produced a handful of films. Lata Di, born in 1929, is the eldest of five siblings. Their father Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar was classical musician, who gave the young Lata Mangeshkar her first music lesson. In 1942, when her father died, 13-year-old Lata Mangeshkar began her career in music, juggling singing with acting parts in Marathi films. In 1945, she had an early hit in the song ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from the film Mahal, starring Madhubala. From there, Lata Mangeshkar’s voice and career flew to the greatest of heights. She sang raga-based compositions by Naushad in films like Baiju Bawra, Mother India and Mughal-E-Azam, Shankar-Jaikishan’s melodic hits in Barsaat and Shree 420; Salil Chowdhury’s lilting tracks in Madhumati won her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer; three more Filmfare Awards came by way of Bees Saal Baad, Khandan and Jeene Ki Raah. Lata Mangeshkar won three National Awards for Best Female Playback Singer for the films Parichay, Kora Kagaz and Lekin. Other memorable films in her credits include Pakeezah, Abhimaan, Amar Prem, Aandhi, Silsila, Chandni, Sagar, Rudali and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

Among Lata Mangeshkar’s most iconic songs is the patriotic composition ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo’; the song, commemorating Indian soldiers who died in the 1962 war with China, was performed on Republic Day in 1963 at the National Stadium in New Delhi. Lata Mangeshkar sang it live in the presence of President S Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Lata Mangeshkar has composed music for a handful of Marathi films, winning the Maharashtra State Government’s award for Best Music Director in 1965 for the film Sadhi Manase. She has also produced some films, among them 1990’s Lekin, for which she also sang.

Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a classical singer and theatre actor. Her mother, Shevanti (later renamed Shudhamati), a Gujarati woman from Thalner, Bombay Presidency (now in northwest Maharashtra), was Deenanath’s second wife; his first wife Narmada, who had died, was Shevanti’s elder sister. In 1942, when Lata was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat Movie Company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them. He helped Lata to get started in a career as a singer and actress. Lata’s paternal grandfather, Ganesh Bhatt Navathe Hardikar (Abhisheki), was a Karhade Brahmin priest who performed the abhishekam of the Shiva lingam at the Mangueshi Temple in Goa, and her paternal grandmother, Yesubai Rane, belonged to the Gomantak Maratha Samaj community of Goa. Lata’s maternal grandfather was Gujarati businessman Seth Haridas Ramdas Lad, a prosperous businessman and landlord of Thalner; and Mangeshkar learnt Gujarati folk songs such as garbas of Pavagadh from her maternal grandmother.

The family’s last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata named “Hema” at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father’s plays, Bhaaw Bandhan. Lata the eldest child of the family, Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath, in birth order, are her siblings, all accomplished singers and musicians.

Lata Mangeshkar is one of the best singers of the Hindi film industry. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in the world. She started her career in 1942 and has spanned over seven decades. She also has the credit of having sung in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages. Lived her 90 years of age by giving so many good memories, music and films to the people of India. With growing age, health takes back seat, she is unwell and fans wishing her a faster recovery, hoping for her stable health and early recovery.

By Jaya Manohar

Ranbaxy: Former promoters Malvinder, Shivinder Singh found guilty of contempt of court

Web Team

November 15, 2019

The Supreme Court on Friday held former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh guilty of contempt of court for violating its order asking them not to divest their shares in Fortis Healthcare Limited.

The apex curt had earlier asked the Singh brothers to give it a plan as to how they would honour the arbitral award of Rs 3,500 crore granted by a Singapore tribunal against them and in favour of Japanese drug manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta held the former Ranbaxy promoters guilty of contempt of court and said that they had violated its earlier order by which the sale of their controlling stakes in Fortis Group to Malayasian firm IHH Healthcare was put on hold.

The apex court said that they would hear the Singhs on the quantum of sentence later.

The Japanese firm had filed contempt petition against the former Ranbaxy promoters alleging that execution of their arbitral award had been in jeopardy as the Singh brothers disposed of their controlling stakes in Fortis Group to the Malaysian firm.

Observing National Press Day in Hindustan

Nava Thakuria

November 15, 2019

National Press Day, press day, 16 november, newspapers, press council of india, pci, mahatma gandhi, supreme court, — Image Courtesy: Newsmobile

As we celebrate National Press Day on November 16 in Hindustan every year, let’s pay our heartiest tributes to everyone who contributed to the growth of print media and also its watchdog and mentor, the Press Council of India (PCI). Since its inception and functioning, the Press Council continues to symbolise a free and responsible press in the largest democracy of the world.

It would not be an exaggeration if we claim that among all press or media councils functioning in various countries all over the world, the PCI emerges as a unique entity that exercises authority over the media and also safeguards the independence of the press in this populous country.

For the record, the PCI was first constituted on July 4, 1966 as an ‘autonomous, statutory, quasi-judicial’ body with Justice JR Mudholkar, then a Supreme Court judge, as its chairman. Under the Press Council Act 1965, various relevant functions are being authorised for the PCI, such as helping newspapers to maintain their independence and building up a code of conduct for newspapers and journalists in accordance with high professional standards.

More responsibilities are listed so as to ensure on the part of newspapers and journalists the maintenance of high standards of public taste, foster a due sense of both the rights and the responsibilities of citizenship, and to encourage the growth of a sense of responsibility and public service among all those engaged in the profession.

Keeping vigil on developments which may tend towards monopoly or concentration of ownership of newspapers, providing facilities for the proper education and training of persons in the profession, promoting a proper functional relationship among all classes of persons engaged in the production or publication of newspapers, and developing technical and other research also put in its card.

The PC Act directs that the PCI shall consist of a Chairman and 25 members. Out of the members, three are to represent two houses of Parliament, 13 from the working journalist category including editors and representatives from news agencies, and the rest would be from various fields of education, science, literature, culture and law. The chairman, nominated by the Chief Justice of India, and the members of PCI normally hold office for a period of three years.

Till date, the PCI has been adorned by a galaxy of distinguished personalities including judges, editors, newspaper owners, journalists, media rights activists, litterateurs, educationists and lawyers. Justice Mudholkar was followed by Justice N Rajagopala Ayyangar, Justice AN Grover, Justice AN Sen, Justice RS Sarkaria, and Justice PB Sawant as PCI chairman.

Among the celebrated editors who were PCI members are Sarvshri Frank Morraes, Akshay Kumar Jain, BG Verghese, Prem Bhatia, Arun Shourie, Kuldip Nayar, Cho Ramaswamy, AN Sivaraman, Dharmvir Bharati, NK Trikha, VN Narayanan, Ramu Patel, Narla Venkateswar Rao, Nikhil Chakravorty, and Mammen Mathew.

Similarly, the council was represented by respected media personalities like Sarvshri G Narshimhan, KM Mathew, CR Irani, NB Parulekar, AG Sheerey, AR Bhat, Narendra Tiwari, Raj Mohan Gandhi, Yadunath Thatte, Basudev Ray Chowdhury, NR Chandran, GG Mirchandani, Naresh Mohan, VB Gupta, Sarvshri Durga Das, Sailen Chatterji, Prithvis Chakravarti, K Vikram Rao, S Viswam, GN Aharya, Gour Kishore Gosh, A Raghavan, and P Raman.

Eminent litterateurs including Dr Uma Shankar Joshi, Dr Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Prof KK Srinivasa Iyengar, Prof UR Anantha Murthy, Prof Indira Nath Choudhary, lawyers including Ram Jethmalani, Ranjit Mohanty, P Vishwanath Shetty, educationists Dr Alu Dastur, Dr Usha Mehta, Dr Madhuri Shah, Dr Tapas Mazumdar, Dr MV Pylee, and Dr K Satchidanandan Murthy also graced the PCI as its members.

It was our Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi who articulated the concept of self-regulation, in which press councils or similar bodies were founded and still functioning. Under this noble concept, the sole aim of journalism should be service to humanity. As the newspapers possess great power, they should be controlled from within. Irresponsible exercises of media power would always invite condemnation.

Till the last century, newspapers dominated the media scenario. Even though only 10 to 15% of the Indian populace can understand and consume English, the first newspaper in the country, the Bengal Gazette, was published in that language on January 29, 1780 by James Augustus Hicky during British rule. It was a two-page weekly newspaper, where most of the space was occupied by government advertisements.

Then came the Indian Gazette in the later part of 1780. It was followed by other newspapers such as the Calcutta Gazette (1784), The Bengal Journal (1785), Madras Courier (1785), Bombay Herald (1789), Bombay Courier (1789), Bombay Gazette (1791), Madras Gazette (1795), India Herald (1796), Calcutta Chronicle (1811 ), Sambad Kaumudi (1822), Mirat-ul-Akhbar (1822), and Bombay Samachar (1822).

As regional newspapers started hitting the market, we had Arunodoi as the first newspaper in northeast India, published in 1846. The alienated region today publishes over a hundred morning daily newspapers in various languages. The sizeable population of the region still depends on newspapers for necessary news content. For instance, Guwahati supports the publication of nearly 30 morning daily newspapers in various languages like Assamese, English, Hindi, Bengali, etc.

As a nation, we support over 82,000 registered newspapers with a cumulative daily circulation of 110 million. Fighting with an enormous credibility crisis, the Indian newspapers continue growing to make it an Rs 3,00,000-million industry. As we are improving our literacy rate up to 75 per cent, more citizens now develop the capacity to read newspapers (even in digital forums).

By the end of the century, television encroached on the Indian media scene. Today we have over 400 privately-owned ‘free to air’ news channels telecasting news and related content for almost 24 hours a day. Millions of audiences in India are glued to those channels for newsfeeds because of its speed, lucidity, and entertaining nature, making it a billion-rupee empire.

The growth in alternative media, as India today supports nearly 500 million smart-phone users (leaving aside a hundred thousand other dedicated internet-users), has however posed a serious threat to both print and electronic (television and radio) media. Because of extreme speed, cheaper and participatory in temperament, social media has turned out to be a giant entry breaking most of the barriers faced by the mainstream media.

But unfortunately, both the news channels and alternate media outlets in India are yet to be taken under the purview of PCI. Voices have been raised in different forums for enhancing and empowering the PCI (renaming Media Council of India) with the inclusion of news channels, FM radios and also portals under its ambit. Otherwise, the actual aim and thrust of PCI may dilute someday.

Should not it be a wakeup call for all of us!

(The author is a Guwahati (northeast India) based journalist and media activist)

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.

Hard to believe garbaged claims of BMC

Vaidehi Taman

November 14, 2019

BMC declared that the Mumbai is generating less garbage; the credit is given to its drives encouraging garbage segregation and recycling, and action against big societies generating more than 100 kg of refuse per day. The average garbage generated in the city per day is 7,200 metric tonne (MT), a reduction of 2,300 MT over the last three years. In June 2015, the city was generating 9,500 MT of garbage per day, as per data from a demonstration made to Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta. It has also claimed that the latest daily average is 600 MT less than the figure for January this year. In June 2017, garbage vans made 2,238 trips to the city’s dumping ground, which has come down to 2,118 in February 2018. Probably the Garbage disposal in some of the areas is lacking very badly, in spite of BMC’s claims, garbage piles surround Mumbai. From Borivali National park to the west side market, the garbage is not only evident but it has gone unhygienic. If we visit the interiors of suburban areas, we can see mountains of garbage around localities. The vans might have fewer visits to dumping grounds, but on serious note one need to really think about the piles left unattended on each corner. Civic body says action against big societies has helped, agreed. The societies have taken enough effort to segregate the garbage but BMC still lacking in doing its duty, the private garbage collector of the society dumps all the garbage at one particular place where entire locality deposits its waste. The place gets overloaded with trash and after a long interval they carry to dump yard, but by then the entire area starts stinking and foul spills around.

The city is not generating less garbage; the BMC is not carrying the garbage frequently. Their services are not frequent. Highest income tax paying areas too suffer the same problem. The average garbage generated in the city per day is 7,200 metric tonne (MT), can’t trust the reduction of 2,300 MT over the last three years.

In 2010, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to impose a fine on people found dumping garbage in drains. If anyone caught throwing garbage in a drain he will have to pay anything between Rs 100 and Rs 5,000 as a fine. BMC teams were formed in every ward under the ward officer who would go around the city keeping an eye out for offenders. The amount of fine depends on how much garbage an individual dumps. Clean up marshals been also alert, but later on they landed up blackmailing and extorting people. The cleanup drive and its marshals remained utter flop and the plastic bags still sunk the city but no one was caught. Some formalities were done to show the numbers. Throwing garbage in the open is not only an offence but it leads to choking of the drains. If drains are choked it will lead to flooding. There is still lack of civic sense in people.

Few months back when Mumbai was flooding, many nullahs (drains) passing through thickly populated slums were chocked. Nullahs around Pan shop were seen with heavy garbage of pan masala’s waterproof sachets and Gutka plastic wraps. Areas like Pila house and Nagpada nullahs were chocked with condoms. Even if the drains are cleaned garbage from these areas it found floating in them the next day. Just plastic bags are the not the issues, from chocolate covers to condoms all those waterproof wrappers are the challenge to Mumbai’s drainage system. Many slums which are situated on drains such as Chamdawadi nullah that passes through the Behrampada slum in Bandra (East) gets choked with garbage that people living in homes near the drain throw in it. You cannot stop them unless and until there is strict vigil. There are many slums on gutters, who do small-scale works throw most of the waste in these drainage pipes. The BMC finds it difficult to clean these drains regularly because most of them are difficult to access because of shanties built around them. The politicians who rule the city and the state of Maharashtra blame it on the weather but they still failed to understand the geographical conditions and drainage issues pertaining to city.

No one disputes that the island city on the Arabian Sea had more than its share of rainfall recently. Many ambitious projects like Metro, etc. have made ecological compromises. The systematic destruction of about 1,000 acres of the city’s mangrove cover – what’s left, about 5,000 acres, is under threat – has deprived Mumbai of its natural flood-barrier and silt trap. Now rainwater washes silt into the bay, threatening to clog the city’s deep natural harbour. Ecologically unsound decisions have caused huge financial damage. Meanwhile, horror stories abound of urban welfare projects have gone terribly awry. Mangroves have been cleared to build golf courses, amusement parks and rubbish dumps. Building construction is planned on thousands acres of salt pan land. In the 16th century, 95% of today’s Mumbai was under water. It’s not just the “no-development zones” that have fallen prey to the frenzy of unplanned building.

Successive state governments have signed off lands reserved for parks on the pretext of housing the poor. In fact, the replacement of low-lying slums with multi-storey buildings has made the city a concrete jungle. Typically, the land, lifting groundwater levels, absorbs 35-40% of rainwater but there are few open spaces left in Mumbai. India has the lowest ratio of open space to people in the world – a mere four acres per 1,000 of population, compared to the global benchmark of 12 acres. In Mumbai, this falls to a paltry 0.2 acres, and after accounting for slums, it diminishes to a measly 0.03 acres.

An unholy nexus between politicians and builders and unfettered development has brought the city to the brink of collapse. Thousands of tonnes of un-cleared rubbish choke the city’s 100-year-old storm water drains, which urgently need an overhaul. And in a city where 88% of commuters use public transport, governments spend a lot on flyovers and a pittance on upgrading creaky trains and buses. If Mumbai’s extraordinary rainfall is warning of global warming and rising sea levels, the city will become an island again, be it with rainwater or seawater. In the next 50 years, the storm drains that carry rainwater out of Mumbai could be bringing sea water in, even at low tide. Stormwater drains choked with ubiquitous plastic carry bags are partly responsible for Mumbai’s woes. Mumbai crisis serves as a grim reminder that unless our plastic waste is taken care of, we cannot dream to emulate Shanghai.

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

BEST quarters in unliveable conditions

Afternoon Voice

November 14, 2019

Members of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) committee demanded a structural audit of the buildings in all of its staff colonies across the city. The committee members slammed BEST administration for delaying the maintenance of the buildings in its staff colonies, even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — the parent body of the undertaking — had allotted Rs10 crore for the work. Anil Patankar, BEST panel chairman, has asked the administration to call for a special meeting on the issue.

The committee is also investigating the possibility of redeveloping these buildings if the maintenance cost is found to be higher. BEST committee members raised this demand while discussing a proposal regarding the maintenance of the buildings in its staff colony in Parel, which has 15 buildings, with nearly 1,100 houses, that were built-in 1956. The buildings are presently in a rundown condition.

Sunil Ganacharya, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member on the committee, said, “It is a huge loss, which comes to around Rs 11 crore per month in tickets and season pass sales, as compared to the previous financial year.” He blamed the BEST administration for spending only Rs 1 crore of the Rs 4.74 crore collected in rent from BEST colonies, on maintaining the buildings. Ganacharya said that the buildings have outlived their codal life (duration for which an object can be used optimally) and require heavy maintenance repeatedly. Therefore, he suggested that the BEST administration should explore the possibility of redeveloping these colonies. Meanwhile, the latest report of BEST revealed that the undertaking incurred losses to the tune of Rs 132 crore, for which BEST panel members blamed faulty electronic ticketing machines.

The BEST administration, in its reply, informed that they have already conducted the structural audit of all the 330-335 houses in their colonies and depots. “Based on the structural audit report, we have already planned essential preventive works,” said a senior BEST official.

Anil Kolil, Shiv Sena member on BEST committee, demanded a proper structural audit of BEST colonies at various locations by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) or Veer Jijamata Technical Institute (VJTI), considering these institutes audited the Himalaya Bridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, which collapsed last year. In the meeting, the BEST committee also gave approval for increasing the budget for Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Mahaparinirvan Divas function to Rs13 lakh from Rs10 lakh.

When Afternoon Voice contacted Ravi Raja Congress leader of opposition in BMC about the structural audit of Best staff quarters he said, “This topic has been going on from 2-3 days because the capital expenditure of 10 crores has been given by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, we asked them for more money, as more expenditure will be incurred on audit. And already some work has been passed by the committee and the work will be starting soon.”

Here are 10 unseen childhood pictures of Bollywood celebs on the occasion of Children’s Day

Vijay Panchal

November 14, 2019

Childhood is the most adorable and beautiful phase of everyone’s life. Whether it’s about Bollywood celebrities or any other major personality everyone has their own hilarious and unseen pictures, which are truly wonderful. The Divas who have always won millions of hearts by their charm and acting ability across the globe.

On the occasion of Children’s day, we have brought out some of the unseen pictures of B-towners from the Shahenshah to the Bhaijaan of Bollywood , which will surely make you aww- check it out!

1. Amitabh Bachchan – The Shahenshah of Bollywood

2. Salman Khan – The Tiger of Bollywood

3. Deepika Padukone – The Dimple Queen of Bollywood

4. Ranveer Singh – The Rambo of Bollywood

5. Akshay Kumar – The Khiladi Kumar of Bollywood

6. Shahrukh Khan – The King Khan of Bollywood

7. Kareena Kapoor – The Bebo of Bollywood

8. Saif Ali Khan – The Nawab of Bollywood

9. Hrithik Roshan – The Greek God of Bollywood

10. Raveena Tandon – The Tip Tip girl of Bollywood

Letters to the Editor: 14 November, 2019

Web Team

November 14, 2019

President’s rule just the beginning

Government formation in Maharashtra is not in deep freeze. The politically naive presumed that imposition of President’s rule is end of the game and a prelude to another Assembly election. But in reality, it is just the beginning of a political process, for which the stakeholders were not given sufficient latitude earlier. Actually, it gives three parties, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP one more go at the power point. Similarly even BJP may also try for getting near the magical mark of 145 through the support from small parties and the rebels from the above three parties. President’s rule means there is no Chief Minister on the ground calling shots or taking decisions. It is just the beginning.

Nikhil Akhilesh

Outstanding spell by Chahar

Deepak Chahar’s best bowling figures in T-20 cricket had the Bangladesh team on the mat as India managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat to win the closely fought series 2-1. Six wickets at the cost of only seven runs in 3.2 overs was magical stuff from Chahar which also included a hat trick which no other Indian bowler had achieved before in this format. A steady line and length is what makes Chahar dangerous to bat for opposition and we would hear a lot about his exploits in the years to come.

However, one was surprised that India struggled to beat Bangladesh in home conditions. Our boys need to perform consistently if we have to win the T-20 World Cup next year. There is very little room for error in T-20 cricket and selectors should go in for specialist who have performed well in IPL and not bother about big names as it is the performance that matters in the end to win games and tournaments.

S.N. Kabra

Welcome Supreme Court verdict bringing CJI-office under RTI Act

Five-member Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on November 13 delivered a land-mark verdict dismissing appeal by its own CPIO thus holding office of Chief Justice of India under RTI Act, thus adding yet other mile-stone in an era requiring transparency. Verdict coupled with another recent Supreme Court verdict dated September 17 declaring DAV College Trust and Management Society public-authority under RTI Act because of substantial government-funding, will have far reaching positive implications where it has set an example for bodies resisting to be under purview of RTI Act by challenging CIC-verdicts declaring them as public-authorities in the courts also succeeding to get easy stay-orders.

Apex Court in other two cases has also delivered verdict totally in frame-work of RTI Act directing its CPIO to re-examine the matter keeping in view of section 11 of RTI Act regarding third-party information. However it would have been better if in addition to laying down procedures, final decision could be there on correspondence sought between a judge of Madras High Court writing to the then CJI alleging influence by a Union Minister. Final decision on the matter would have benefitted independence of judiciary to have a check on those in legislature trying to influence judiciary. Clarity is required about third-parties concerned in the Collegium matter whether these will be members of collegium or those named in collegium-proceedings.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Onions are making us cry bitterly

The government of Maharashtra and its counterpart of all other states of India must control inflation and must do something to bring down the price of onions and other essential commodities as a relief to the common man. The price of onions have touched Rs 80 a kilo in Mumbai and elsewhere in the country is bringing tears to our eyes much before we cut them.

Jubel D’Cruz

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

Local trains: The lifeline of Mumbaikar’s

Rashika Shinde

November 14, 2019

mumbaio local, lifeline of mumbai,mumbai lifeline, mumbai local trains, trains, mumbai trains — Image courtesy: Vivek Panicker

Mumbai is known as the city of dreams and life here is all about following your vision. Thousands of people come here every day to follow their dreams. Mumbai is also known as busiest city. Here every person’s day starts early from 5 am. Travelling is more time consuming be it traffic of vehicles on road or local modes of transport. Every single second means a lot to people. One minute of work delay can bring some kind of loss to them. More than life time is important for mumbaikar. Mostly people here commute by local train to avoid traffic and to reach their destination on time. Suburban trains are the most popular and quickest way of commuting in Mumbai.

Mumbai locals are called as the lifeline of the city, with almost all of the city’s inhabitants relying on them to reach office or other destinations at some point of time. Many of them depend on these services on a daily basis. It is also reported that, Mumbai Suburban Railways operates over 2,300 train services every single day.

Mumbai’s local trains give a whole new meaning to the concept of overcrowding. People hang out from the train gates to save that one minute and not to be late. Mumbai city’s local rail network is the busiest commuter train system in the world; with 7.5 million people using the trains to travel daily, it is no surprise that overcrowding, here reaches epic proportions.

Trains are literally overcrowded during peak hours, with commuters spilling out of the doors, windows and every nook and corner. Wherever you can get a foothold you will find someone hanging on. Sadly, commuters are forced to take big risks, gambling with their lives, just to reach their workplace on time. It isn’t uncommon to see commuters climbing onto the top of trains or sitting on the narrow connecting-pipes, between coaches.

Due to daily rush many people met with accident. Instead of changing coach’s interior railways should introduce more trains.Reportedly, every day 10 to 12 people meet with accident while commuting on suburban trains. Accidents occur because some people use railway tracks for crossing, while some of them stand on footboard, half of the people lean out when train is overcrowded.

Report:-

In 2016-17, 607 people were injured or killed in train accidents, in 2017-2018, the number stood at 254. While derailments have come down from 78 in 2016-2017 to 54 in 2017-2018, accidents at level crossings stood at 13 in 2017-2018 as compared to 30 the previous year.

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

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