Real Estate in mess, Lodha group in trouble

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October 13, 2019

Due to rising debt and falling sales, Macrotech Developers, formerly Lodha Group has laid off around 400 employees. The debt of the firm has crossed Rs 25,600 crore. However, the country’s largest realty firm said it had laid off employees after conducting their performance reviews. The retrenchments at the company promoted by Mumbai BJP chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha comes at a time when the economic growth has slumped to low of 6 per cent which has led many to fear if the spectre of job losses across sectors awaits next.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Mangesh Ambekar a broker from Smart Makaan he said, “Slowdown has not affected the real estate industry much. Actual buyers are coming to buy property. They derive benefit from the government sponsored housing projects.”

The Lodha group company was downgraded with a negative outlook by two global ratings agencies in August, Moody’s Investors and Service and Fitch Ratings on concerns of liquidity and falling sales. According to a recent ratings issued by India Ratings, a division of Fitch the gross debt of Macrotech rose 13 per cent to Rs 25,640 in FY 19.

Jayprakash Poojari broker from Square Properties said, “Slowdown has affected the real estate industry as sales have declined. Work has stalled. Builders have increased rates of properties and there is lack of buyers in the market. Situation will improve depending upon the policies framed by the government.”

With more than 37 under-construction projects across India and acquisitions on foreign shores as well, Macrotech employs over 3,700 people across India. In Mumbai also seen as country’s high rise capital the group has undertaken several projects in the luxury housing segment including World One Tower in Lower Parel. According to the group’s website it has so far constructed 54.77 million square feet of buildable area across various consumption segments.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants said, “The returns on investments in residential real estate have dropped from two or even three-digit values to low single-digit or, in many locations, even negative returns over the last few years. This naturally keeps investors at bay – and investors need to be in the driver’s seat for the market to revive. The ROI from housing currently clocks in at a meagre 2-3% even in the most favourable markets across Indian cities.”

“The company, across its projects gives direct and indirect employment to nearly 50,000 persons. These lay-off are a part of our annual performance appraisals,” a spokesperson said.

The impacted jobs include mid-to-junior level employees of the company and also contractual resources, sources said.

These mid-to-junior level employees and contract workers, including engineers, architects and sales people, were working at various projects, said the source.

The president of Association of Property Professionals, a forum of brokers, Ashwin Jain said lay-offs have become common in the realty space. He added there was an expectation that after the elections, things would get back to normalcy, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Lodha currently has nearly 42 under-construction residential projects, including The World Towers and Lodha Park, comprising several high rises in central Mumbai, as well as affordable housing project like the Palava City.

According to rating agency ICRA, central Mumbai alone has unsold inventory worth Rs 45,000 crore as of end June. In volume terms, the micro-market accounts for 32 per cent of the total unsold units in the megapolis.

Due to the prevalent market conditions, its second attempt to hit the capital market with Rs 4,500-crore IPO was deferred once again.

Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part II

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 13, 2019

The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 2006 sets the legal age of marriage for women at 18 and for men at 21. The Adolescence Education Programme, which integrates life skills and HIV prevention into the school curriculum, has been adopted nationally, but as of 2011, seven states (Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) have refused or banned its implementation, citing cultural reasons. India’s abortion law is relatively progressive, permitting abortion for socioeconomic reasons; to protect a woman’s life or mental or physical health; in cases of rape, incest or foetal impairment; or if the pregnancy resulted from contraceptive method failure. A substantial minority of women are married before the legal age of 18. The higher legal age of marriage for men represents codified gender inequality that reinforces disparities in education and professional opportunities. Efforts to increase awareness of the law and its penalties, as well as legal support for young women can help to address this issue. The high level of unmet need for contraception among young married women indicates the importance of improving access to affordable, youth-friendly services so that young women are able to effectively plan their births and thus their lives. Given that fewer than half of secondary-school–aged women go to school, family life education programmes should begin in primary school and be made available outside of schools. These programmes should address topics that include stigma toward non-marital sexual activity, gender inequality and gender-based violence. State-level implementation of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services has been uneven. Evidence suggests that in many states, fears about privacy and judgemental provider attitudes prevent young people from seeking out the services they need.

Planned Parenthood is by far the nation’s largest abortion provider. Over the holidays, they conveniently and quietly published their annual report for 2016-2017. Last year, Planned Parenthood published their annual report months late – in May! An analysis of the 2016-2017 reports along with Planned Parenthood’s previous reports shows that Planned Parenthood is responsible for the deaths of over 7.6 million human babies. We know the Planned Parenthood number is likely low, in fact, pro-life journalists with the Media Research Center estimated in 2016 that Planned Parenthood had killed upwards of 7.5 million babies.

In the 2016-2017 fiscal year detailed in the report, Planned Parenthood performed 321,384 abortions. Last annual report (2015-2016), Planned Parenthood performed 328,348 abortions. The year before that (2014-2015) Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions.

Despite record income, non-abortion services are in decline, clients are abandoning them in droves, and dozens of facilities have closed. Meanwhile, abortions are holding steady at over 320,000 a year. Yet this report barely scratches the surface of the abortion giant’s troubles as it faces federal investigation for its role in the grotesque harvest and sale of aborted babies’ body parts for profit. Enough is enough. Community health centres vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities nationwide and offer comprehensive primary and preventative care for women and families. It is fortunate that we are seeing a decrease in abortions performed, but there is still much work to be done. According to its annual report, Planned Parenthood provided just 3,889 adoption referrals while performing 321,848 abortions. That’s nearly 83 abortions for every adoption referral. Planned Parenthood’s prenatal services decreased from 9,419 last year to 7,762 this year. For every prenatal service given, Planned Parenthood performed 41 abortions. Like past reports, this one also tried to sell the misleading idea that abortions make up only 3% of the services provided by the abortion corporation.

If you look at China, they are eating babies. On the menu of some exclusive Chinese restaurants is an item that goes by the name of Spare Rib Soup. Very expensive, it is usually served only in the back rooms to known customers, who are willing to pay to premium for this delicacy. So what is Spare Rib Soup?

Spare Rib Soup…. is actually a human soup, made from the bodies of aborted babies. The Chinese—at least some Chinese—as a rejuvenating potion, regards it. A kind of fountain of youth that will fix sagging wrinkles, grow back missing hair, and generally put a spring back in your step. There are several videos on youtube Planned Parenthood uses Partial-Birth Abortions to sell Baby Parts. They are very horrifying. People have stopped so low that they are eating babies.

There are several organisations that are harvesting and selling parts and pieces from aborted babies. There are many videos that explain importance of not crushing the organs so they “can get it all intact” will stay with you a long time.

Federal law prohibits the commercial trafficking of fetal tissue for profit and carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Also Read: Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part I

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

Decline of Indian National Congress in Maharashtra

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

Once again a curious election, littered with many dominating political parties, is going to take place in Maharashtra after few days. It is exciting that Maharashtra is going to witness a direct battle between two heavy-weights coalitions. The BJP and Shiv Sena are stretching on one corner, while the Congress and NCP are warming up on the other corner for a tough bout.

In this battle once again Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra’s tallest leader for nearly 50 years, is fighting hard to give his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) a new twist. This fight will be cut-throat for the Indian National Congress (INC) as the party is in declining position in the state–Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has a love-hate relationship with the Congress party that has seen many rise and fall post the state was formed in 1960. Indeed if there is one state that perhaps best demonstrates the decline of the Congress and the rise of the BJP, it is Maharashtra. Maharashtra is a state where a non-Congress opposition has never won a majority on its own.

The Congress party enjoyed a nearly unchallenged dominance of the state political landscape, until 1995 when the coalition of Shiv Sena and the BJP secured an overwhelming majority in the state, beginning a period of coalition governments. Shiv Sena was the larger party in coalition. From 1995 until 2014, the NCP and INC formed one coalition while Shiv Sena and the BJP formed another for three successive elections which were dominated by INC-NCP alliance.

But after Congress emerged as grand party in the state from a new low in the post-Babri period when a communally charged atmosphere eroded traditional vote banks, once again it was wiped out in the metropolis by the Modi wave in 2014.

There may be many factors for Congress decline in Maharashtra during its journey from the largest party of the state towards shrinking to the small one. It is true that politics has left its original sense particularly in last decade as religious polarization has been legitimised in today’s politics. So the Congress has a big challenge in this aspect to stand strong in this tough battle.

The disputes between Sharad Pawar and the INC president Sonia Gandhi also gave the party a big jolt as the state’s political status was upset when Pawar defected from INC which was perceived as the vehicle of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

The other factor is that social churning among non-Maratha OBC groups found more space within the BJP and Shiv Sena as the BJP put together an alliance of upper castes, the other backward class (OBC) and to some extent the Dalit to fight the Maratha-led Congress and NCP. One of the major factors particularly in 2019 assembly elections is Maratha leadership deserting the Congress for the BJP.

In the wake of this declining condition, it would not be a cup of tea for Congress to win the assembly elections of Maharashtra as it used to be in earlier a decade ago. Rather it would be a very tough fighting with its all opponent mainly with BJP which is the largest political party in the modern history of India.

So the Congress, before jumping into arena, has to recover its lost honour in the state realising the factors that pushed the party aside in the battlefield. It has to overcome all the causes and factors of its decline to contest the elections otherwise the end result is obvious that the BJP is rapidly dominating the entire country.

By Faheem Usmani Qasmi

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

Letters to the Editor: 13 October, 2019

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

Mariam Thresia is India’s ninth Catholic saint

With the canonisation of Sister Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan as a saint on October 13, 2019, India now has nine saints of her own. They are — St. Gonsalo Garcia, St. Francis Xavier, St. Alphonsa, St. John de Britto, St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal, St. Joseph Vaz, St. Mother Teresa and St. Mariam Thresia.

St. Mariam Thresia is Kerala’s fourth Catholic saint. The first three are St. Alphonsa, St.Kuriakose Elias Chavara and St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal. October 13 also happens to be the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima.

Jubel D’Cruz

Balance in inoperative bank-accounts

Huge balance is lying in inoperative accounts in banks with even many account-holders having forgotten about their bank-accounts. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced Know-Your-Customer (KYC) forms which has been made mandatory also for closing such inoperative accounts. Such cumbersome practice not only is causing difficulty to account-holders wishing to close their inoperative accounts, but also creating a big loss of man-hours of bank-employees apart from unnecessary data-entries and record-keeping. Frauds are reported through some bank-employees misappropriating funds in such inoperative accounts where amount is large.

RBI should direct all banks to close all accounts not operated for say last three years, and send the remittance through pay-orders by Speed Post at last known addresses of account-holders at least for accounts having balance of say rupees ten thousand or less. In case of return of Speed-Post envelopes, formalities like of KYC form and succession-certificates etc may be required. For amounts bigger than rupees ten thousand, account-holders should be informed about their existing balance and to approach banks either to make accounts operative or close these in a time-bound period after which all such balances should be transferred to Depositor-Educative-Awareness-Fund (DEAF). With private sector dominating banking sector, public-money lying in inoperative accounts must not be allowed to be retained by banks.

Frequent change of account-numbers by banks should be prevented by making it mandatory for all banks to allot 15-digit account-numbers. Confusing and frequently changing account-numbers result in bouncing of electronic fund-transfers.

Madhu Agrawal

Court-appointed arbitrators should be regulated

It is quite usual that retired judges of Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed arbitrators by courts, giving them much-much more income than they earn while their being judges in higher courts. There are reports that these arbitrators charge exorbitantly for each hearing. Even if all the concerned parties mutually agree for adjournment much before date of hearing, arbitrators insist on sending representation for adjournment on fixed date of hearing so that they may forcibly charge for a hearing held just for seeking adjournment. It has also been reported that after completion of hearing, arbitrators withhold their arbitration-award even for years. Any party approaching for an early arbitration-award, has to pay additional cost for doing so.

If these practices are true, then it is injustice and inhumanity on part of those minting money after their retirement from judicial posts. Arbitrators must be regulated from such malpractices and tactics of minting money, if so. They must give time-bound verdict after completion of hearing. There must not be any fees payable in case adjournments. To avoid extra number of hearings just for sake of money, there should be some maximum limit on number of hearings, after which no fees for hearing may be there for arbitrators.

Complete details of arbitration-fees earned by an arbitrator case-wise in a year mentioning also number of hearings conducted in each case should be made public by putting all details on websites of courts having appointed them arbitrators. There must be some maximum reasonable amount fixed for an arbitrator for a particular case. Money earned by way of arbitration must not exceed what they earned before retirement.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

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

World Bank cuts India’s growth projection to 6% in 2019-20

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Web Team

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October 13, 2019

After a broad-based deceleration in the initial quarters of this fiscal year, India’s growth rate is projected to fall to 6 per cent, the World Bank said on Sunday. In 2018-19, the growth rate of the country stood at 6.9 per cent.

However, the bank in its latest edition of the South Asia Economic Focus said the country was expected to gradually recover to 6.9 per cent in 2021 and 7.2 per cent in 2022 as it assumed that the monetary stance would remain accommodative, given benign price dynamics.

World Bank’s Chief Economist for South Asia Hans Timmer said, “It’s still a fast-growing economy. So even with the recent slowdown, it has growth numbers that are higher than in most countries of the world. It’s still a fast-growing economy with a lot of potential.”

The report, which has been released ahead of the annual meeting of the World Bank with the International Monetary Fund, noted India’s economic growth decelerated for the second consecutive year.

In 2018-19, it stood at 6.8 per cent, down from 7.2 per cent in the 2017-18 financial year.

While industrial output growth increased to 6.9 per cent due to a pick-up in manufacturing and construction activities, the growth in agriculture and the services sector moderated to 2.9 and 7.5 per cent, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2019-20, the economy experienced a significant and broad-based growth deceleration with a sharp decline in private consumption on the demand side and the weakening of growth in both industry and services on the supply side, the report said.

Reflecting on the below-trend economic momentum and persistently low food prices, the headline inflation averaged 3.4 per cent in 2018-19 and remained well below the RBI’s mid-range target of 4 per cent in the first half of 2019-2020. This allowed the RBI to ease monetary policy via a cumulative 135 basis point cut in the repo rate since January 2019 and shift the policy stance from neutral to accommodative, it said.

The World Bank report also noted that the current account deficit had widened to 2.1 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19 from 1.8 per cent a year before, mostly reflecting a deteriorating trade balance.

On the financing side, significant capital outflows in the first half of the current year were followed by a sharp reversal from October 2018 onwards and a build-up of international reserves to $411.9 billion at the end of the fiscal year.

Likewise, while the rupee initially lost ground against the $(12.1 per cent depreciation between March and October 2018), it appreciated by about seven per cent up to March 2019, the report said.

“The general government deficit is estimated to have widened by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19. This is despite the central government improving its balance by 0.2 percentage points over the previous year. The general government debt remained stable and sustainable – being largely domestic and long term-at around 67 per cent of GDP, the report said.

According to the World Bank, poverty has continued to decline, albeit possibly at a slower pace than earlier. Between 2011-12 and 2015-16, the poverty rate declined from 21.6 to 13.4 per cent (USD 1.90 PPP/day).

The report, however, said disruptions brought about by the introduction of the GST and demonetisation, combined with the stress in the rural economy and a high youth unemployment rate in urban areas may have heightened the risks for the poorest households.

The significant slowdown in the first quarter of the fiscal year and high frequency indicators, thereafter, suggested that the output growth would not exceed 6 per cent for the full fiscal year, the bank said.

The report said the consumption was likely to remain depressed due to slow growth in rural income, domestic demand (as reflected in a sharp drop in sales of automobiles) and credit from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

However, the investment would benefit from the recent cut in effective corporate tax rate for domestic companies in the medium term, but also will continue to reflect financial sector weaknesses, the report said.

“Growth is expected to gradually recover to 6.9 per cent in 2020-21 and 7.2 per cent in 2021-22 as the cycle bottoms-out, rural demand benefits from effects of income support schemes, investment responds to tax incentives and credit growth resumes. However, exports growth is expected to remain modest, as trade wars and slow global growth depresses external demand,” the report said.

The main policy challenge for India is to address the sources of softening private consumption and the structural factors behind weak investment, the bank said.

“This will require restoring the health of the financial sector through reforms of public sector banks’ governance and a gradual strengthening of the regulatory framework for NBFCs, while ensuring that solvent NBFCs retain access to adequate liquidity.

“It will also require efforts to contain fiscal slippages, as higher-than-expected public borrowings could put upward pressure on interest rates and potentially crowd-out the private sector, it said.

According to the bank, the main sources of risk included external shocks that result in tighter global financing conditions, and new NBFC defaults triggering a fresh round of financial sector stress.

To mitigate these risks, the authorities would need to ensure that there was adequate liquidity in the financial system while strengthening the regulatory framework for the NBFCs, the bank added.

Every 50 seconds parents in India kill their daughter-Part I

By

Vaidehi Taman

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October 11, 2019

Planned Parenthood is curse across the globe; you can read volumes on Google about the same, this not only disturbs mind but it forces us in soul searching.

6,29,000 girls (aged 0–6 years) are estimated to be missing in India every year.

The majority of them are aborted; others are killed, abandoned or neglected to death just because they are girls. The roots of this problem lie in a strong patriarchal society that has translated into an obsessive preference for sons and acumen against girls. Chances of survival for a second born girl after a first daughter are less if the family is well educated and rich. These families live in urban areas where they have access to ultrasound scans and can afford the price for the abortion. Although prenatal sex-detection and sex-selective abortion is illegal, many clinics provide these services. These days money speaks more than anyone and anything. In poorer communities, where there aren’t many ultrasound clinics, daughters are instead abandoned or killed after being born, or lost through neglect. There are several incidences in India where girl is dumped in dustbin, or thrown out of car soon after the birth.

With the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, abortion in India became legal up to twenty weeks and under specific conditions such as medical risk to mother. Gender-based abortions have been illegal since 1994 with the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. But breaking rules and law is not new to us. As many as laws are made, the errant of laws are in multiple numbers. This is an analysis of the problem from the inside, a research of reasons and related factors to draw a picture of the foeticide and infanticide in India. There are an estimated 2-10 times as many illegal as legal terminations, and sepsis resulting from abortions performed by nonqualified practitioners is a major contributor to maternal mortality. Continued reliance on illegal abortion is believed to reflect fear of surgery and anesthesia, a lack of access to abortion clinics, and social and cultural factors, especially a lack of confidentiality and privacy.

Planned Parenthood has been relentless in its efforts to kill babies in India since 1936. India continues to be the second largest country in the world,19 per cent of India’s population is in the 15-24 age group and over half a billion are under 25 years of age. This translates into a perfect opportunity for Planned Parenthood to turn a profit by selling abortion — the flip side of which is to push for more population control. Planned Parenthood targets the poor and vulnerable with “no refusal” and “free abortion” promotions.

The Family Planning Association of India is the founding member of IPPF. Similar to the strategic placement of Planned Parenthood facilities in black and Hispanic neighbourhoods in the United States, FPAI’s facilities in India are mostly placed in slums and other parts of the city — conveniently to prey on poor, innocent, and often illiterate women and children. According to its annual report, the Family Planning Association of India committed 165,955 abortions in the country in 2016 and 145,522 abortions in 2015. The organisation uses tactics to draw in vulnerable, impoverished women and girls, such as a ‘No refusal policy’ — meaning that they will not refuse to commit an abortion for any reason — and certain months in which they actually offer ‘free abortion service.’ This opens the door for the abortion facility to exert greater influence in a woman’s life with more contraception and sex education.

Lobbying for liberalising abortion is another important part of FPAI’s mission in India. The agency influences members of Parliament, pushing for amendments to the country’s existing abortion laws to expand legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks and to allow non-medical practitioners to dispense the abortion pill.

According to a recent report published in the Lancet Medical Journal, almost 16 million abortions were committed in India in 2015. This, along with the push for hormonal contraception, massive abortion epidemic has increased the risk of breast cancer epidemic and other health crisis for which the country is totally unprepared.

Son preference is deeply rooted in Indian culture and manifests in various ways, including sex-selective practices before birth and inequitable access to educational, social and economic resources for girls. Fifty-five per cent of women aged 15–19 disagreed with five out of five reasons offered for why a husband would be justified in hitting his wife. Three-fifths (60%) agreed that a wife is justified in refusing sex for the following reasons: knowing her husband has had sex with other women, knowing he has an STI, or feeling tired or not in the mood.

Among married 15–19-year-olds, only 40% reported that they had sole say over their own health care or made such decisions jointly with their husband; for the remaining 60% of married young women, their health care is not in their control.

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

Is Mumbai safe for foreign women?

By

Rajesh Choudhary

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October 11, 2019

A Maharashtra Police officer, who was supposed to help and protect innocent persons, has been found committing serious crimes like repeatedly raping a Russian woman, threatening and cheating her, and preparing fake Aadhaar and voter ID cards. The Russian woman has lodged a complaint with the Chembur Police in this regard. She also accused him of committing double murder in front of her and burying their dead bodies near Pune.

It is worth mentioning that the officer in question has been identified as police inspector Bhanudas alias Anil Jadhav. The incidents of rape happened in Mumbai while he was posted here. He was last posted with Pimpri-Chinchwad police station in Pune. Currently, he is under suspension for accepting bribe. Jadhav was suspended last month. He has been arrested by the State Anti Corruption Bureau. Only after this, Russian woman dared to approach police and lodge a complaint.

When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Jayprakash Bhosale, Senior PI, Chembur Police station he said, “FIR was registered against Anil Jadhav yesterday night. He was in a relationship with the woman since 2003. The woman has alleged that Anil has married her. An investigation is going on.”

As per reports, Nitin Satpute, advocate of the victim, said that the Russian woman had come to Mumbai to act in Bollywood. When her visa expired in 2004, she contacted Jadhav for first time and asked for help in extending her visa. Jadhav took her passport and other documents. Later on, he claimed that the documents were lost. But he helped her in staying in India and made a duplicate passport and Aadhaar card in her name.

Criminal lawyer Pankaj Purway said, “Section 465, section 467, section 468 will be applicable for committing forgery. Section 494 and 495 will be applicable for fake marriage. Section 376 and 376 (C) will be applicable for rape committed by policeman. Prevention of corruption act will be applicable against the cop for indulging in corruption.”

After this, Jadhav started threatening to get her arrested for making a fake passport. One day in 2008, he spiked her drinks and raped her for the first time at a hotel in Chembur area. Later on, he repeatedly raped her on false promise of marriage, Satpute added.

The advocate further stated that when she got pregnant, Jadhav forced her to abort. In 2013, the victim shifted to Kharghar in Navi Mumbai and gave birth to a baby boy. She has a five-year-old son from Jadhav.

Satpute also said that when the victim was looking for work in Bollywood, Jadhav allegedly told her that he knew some film producers and can help her. After entrapping, he blackmailed her. Nitin Satpute said that Jadhav killed her brother when he came to India to check on her and buried his body near Pune.

DCP Pranay Ashok, the spokesperson for Mumbai police, said that it is very complicated case. Many incidents took place between 2004 and 2019.

All claims of Russian woman should be verified. But the primary complaint is of rape.

38-year-old Russian woman alleged that her passport is in possession of Jadhav. She said that Jadhav abducted her and threatened her to implicate her for fake passport and Aadhaar card. He also threatened to kill her if she denied to fulfill his demand for sexual favours. She added that Jadhav also helped her in changing her identity with the help of forged documents so that she could stay in India without any passport. She demanded that a strict action should be taken against Jadhav.

According to Praja Foundation report, in Mumbai the rape cases registered have increased by 83 per cent and molestation cases have risen by 95 per cent between 2013 and 2018. Many foreign women have been raped in the city. But the case of Russian woman questions the law and order of Mumbai and indicates that it is not safe for foreign women.

Don’t oppose development in the name of environment

By

C K Subramaniam

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October 11, 2019

The development wins over quality of life and preservation of environment. Trees are already being chopped down in the dark of the night. The accused were arrested as they held a protest without prior permission and assaulted two constables, including a female constable, who was trying to disperse them. Where was these people and protesters when the discussions for Aarey car shed was going on. Now they are stopping development in the name of trees in the last brink? People should welcome this move and let BMC do their work, rather than showing environment in last minute when discussions are over.

There is no one to be blamed for the Aarey mess as the stand for cutting around 2000 trees was taken in the best interest of development and infrastructure advancement. Passing the buck at this stage is not in good taste. Bombay High Court should have certainly covered a host of issues before giving its judgement, agreeing with the proposal to cut down certain number of trees. But then, it is the government’s responsibility to make serious attempt to convince the people, the public, as to why the trees need to be cut and why it could not wait till the issue is heard by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). It is now or never position and a make or break situation.

Those opposing the Metro car shed at Aarey Colony have accused the government of ignoring the environmental impact of the project. They say the project site is a green lung which absorbs harmful carbon carbon dioxide. The felling of trees is being opposed by green activists and local residents. The letter said Aarey Forest was an unclassified forest and the felling of trees, robbing Mumbai of its green lungs, was illegal. The Bombay High Court had refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash a Mumbai Municipal decision to permit the cutting of the trees for the metro car shed. Restrictions under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure was imposed in the Aarey colony area.

The cutting of trees at the Aarey forest continued through the night of October 4 and into October 5, even as activists and residents of Mumbai reacted with outrage over the government’s decision to start felling in the middle of the night, just hours after the High Court verdict. The handling of the protests by police also came in for criticism with 29 persons arrested early in the morning and nearly 200 others detained through the day.

It is observed that those people who are opposing the felling of trees inside Aarey despite a court directive are showing fascist tendencies. It seems they have no respect for the judiciary and the government and have fascist mentality. The need to cut trees in the night was felt because the government machinery wanted to speed up the project once the court has given its judgement on the matter.

The discussions have happened. NGT, tree authority, activists have all presented their side of views. Based on everything High Court has given judgement. There is nothing undemocratic. Even I don’t want the trees to be cut. But when I see all experts point of view was considered and judgement arrived at, we all should agree and do not create ruckus. The space available in Mumbai is limited and hence for any infrastructure development we have to fore go environment. Mumbai receives, every week, 48 trains from UP and Bihar, the populous states. In Mumbai everyone gets job, makes money, remit home and pull on with Vada Pav. Sparrow is endangered bird in India but not in Mumbai. Finally Mumbai cannot grow horizontally but only vertically.

No doubt, our modern and materialistic life is putting lot of impact on environment by way of cutting trees and deforestation especially during 21st century. Therefore instead of cutting trees, it is better to use state of the art method to extract out tree along with roots and fix somewhere else where it’s use can be taken out to make friendly environment, so as the continuing progress for the society be carried out like laying down metro rails and roads.

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

Letters to the Editor: 11 October, 2019

By

Web Team

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October 11, 2019

Begging has become a lucrative business

Begging has become a profession in most metropolitan cities and the tale of a beggar who left behind Rs 10 lakhs with a nominee named in his bank account should act as an eye-opener. Begging has become a lucrative business and some prefer to beg than work for a livelihood. We are encouraging begging by giving money and one should rather help the needy in kind like giving them food and medicines than cash which is either saved or spent on addictive habits like alcohol as well as cigarettes.

Government should open orphanage and old age homes for the needy. People too can donate directly to these homes to help government in this noble cause. Begging infact should be banned and those who are handicapped without income should be shifted to these homes for shelter and food. Easy money discourage people to work which is the reason why begging has become a lucrative business!

S.N. Kabra

Is our money safe in banks?

Who said our money is safe in banks? It is not. Banks looting customers have become a common sight nowadays. The PMC Bank did not have a better audit system hence they incurred heavy losses. Poor customers. They now have to bear the brunt.

Jubel D’Cruz

One Rupee Clinic

The popular “one rupee clinic ” which functions at important railway stations in the Mumbai region of the central and western railways has again found it’s place in the news and the hearts of railway commuters as recently it helped a pregnant woman passenger deliver a baby in an emergency situation. These clinics that function at railway stations in the region has helped save many a lives before too.
The Central Railway introduced the concept of such clinics at its major stations two years back in the wake of accidents and health problems happening suddenly to passengers. The doctors provide consultation at a charge of Re 1 and the clinics have already been appreciated whole heartedly by the public for its dedicated service to commoners. During railway accidents the victim needs immediate medical attention and assistance which due to lack of medical facilities often result in death. As life saving tools and doctors are available 24×7 many number of precious lives have been saved. The clinics also provide medical tests too to commoners at a very affordable rate thereby winning the hearts of the people who now feel safe during rail journeys. This medical service is laudable and the same can be followed in the other railway zones too.

M Pradyu

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

Sheikh Hasina exhibits an excellent example of hood governance

By

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

-

October 11, 2019

For decades, Indians and Indian media were competing in undermining the capabilities of Bangladesh by showing us as “poor”, “hunger-stricken” etc. But those days are gone and things were possibly just because of the magnanimous and dedicated leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now the Indian media are projecting Bangladesh as “economic lessons for India”.

Truly, Indian policymakers now need to learn from our Prime Minister how she has been successful in turning an under-developed Bangladesh into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Currently, our GDP is above 8 percent while per capita income in US$ 2,000 and by 2030, we are expected to leave India’s economic growth far behind that of ours. While the size of unemployment is growing fast in India, in Bangladesh, the scenario is just the opposite. Currently, being frustrated with their financial conditions and failing to find a job, over 800,000 Indians are working in various sectors in Bangladesh illegally and the number of such illegal immigrants – most coming in search of the job- is growing at an alarming level. According to statistics, Bangladesh has already become a key attraction to most of the Indians in West Bengal and Northeastern states, just because, they don’t find a job in their own country.

While Sheikh Hasina is wholeheartedly working in elevating Bangladesh to the status of a developed nation by 2040, Indian politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unfortunately, are indulged into the old-days habit of cheap and filthy politics or even political stunts. Though the Indian policymakers fully understand that foreign investors are increasingly becoming uninterested in putting their investments in India because of a very chaotic political situation, they sadly are failing in adopting a workable strategy, which would help them in getting foreign investors interested in investing in India.

One of the most important points here is – Bangladesh has already become a top choice to foreign investors, especially those billionaire investors in China, who are looking for relocating their industrial projects. To them, Bangladesh is at the top chart because of many reasons, which includes political stability and very fast growth of infrastructure and connectivity.

A glowing example of good governance

Since September 18, 2019, law enforcing agencies in Bangladesh began a massive crackdown on illegal casinos, which was later expanded on extortionists, tender manipulators, and drug dealers. It is learnt from media reports that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has passed strict instructions to the law enforcing and intelligence agencies to show zero tolerance for such illegal activities. She has also asked them to wholeheartedly combat corruption and bring the perpetrators of such crimes into books, irrespective of their political or social identities.

This is for the first time; a political government has taken such a praiseworthy initiative with the noble goal of freeing the country from the evil clutches of corruption and other forms of criminal acts. Though the political opponents of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making frantic bids in somehow sabotaging such noble endeavor, the people of Bangladesh at large are confident about the success in her efforts in fighting corruption, drugs, extortions, tender manipulations and other forms of criminal acts.

But of course, in achieving remarkable success in her noble endeavor Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina well-deserves all-out support from people of every walks of life as well as the international community. Bangladesh is moving ahead in establishing good governance, and it is time for mighty nations in the world to extend their wholehearted support towards Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

(Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a multi-award-winning journalist and editor of Blitz.)

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.