Obviously, those who died mostly belonged to different families. Where is affordable housing these days? My heart goes out to the families of the victims.
What is amazing is that tenants, knowing fully well that the structures are illegal, rent it with risk. What is more surprising is that the electricity department provides power connection meters to these building helping out the cause of stay. If you look at it, you realise that there were violations by everyone concerned and such a deadly cocktail had to end in some catastrophe such as a building collapse of an illegal structure. Did those who rent space in the buildings imagine that disasters happened only to other people? They are as culpable in this crime as the owner and the officials.
BMC has failed to follow construction norms strictly and educate the residents of dilapidated buildings in a better way to avoid such fatal mishaps and that made matters worse. Residents on the other hand fail to adhere to Municipal Corporation’s instructions and pay heavy price for that. The residents not only lose their property as well life of near and dear ones. Now BMC should check and on erring builders, who resort to illegal construction without proper plan and permission. Building crash in Bhiwandi and other similar incidents have created a fear psychosis among the residents. The residents will have to seek permission from the society before making alternations within and outside the building. Even unauthorised extensions will have to be condemned and if required needs to be demolished with BMC supervision. This will give other residents the fear when they look for extra space within the four walls and not to occupy the space not meant for them as per the plan.
Awareness about not changing the main walls and beams had always been there and a close watch needs to be taken. The impetus for these long needed changes has come in the wake of recent building collapses during the monsoon season. Instead of just conducting an inquiry and just brush aside the matter civic body should have a holistic approach to the crux of the problem in building crashes of this nature. One of the various arguments given as to the causes of building collapses were laxity in implementation of building by-laws. Whether BMC officials will pay heed to the fact and act fast before some more buildings fall and cause major losses.
In the death of three-term former Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, Delhi has lost its loving daughter who was a mother to younger politicians cutting across party lines as was clear from tribute by Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari who became highly emotional while speaking to media on her death despite the fact that he recently won Lok Sabha against the departed leader who welcomed him like a mother when he went to seek her blessings on winning election against her.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia while declaring two-day state-mourning and state-funeral on her death, even cancelled their personal pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi. Above all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined unending stream of politicians and others having visited her residence to offer flower-tribute on her dead body on behalf of complete nation. She was a political icon who crossed all political boundary lines through her personal relations even in opposition camps.
Very few may remember that Sheila Dixit while she was Chief Minister of Delhi made an appeal to political community to boycott mega-budgeted marriage-celebrations. The political community may bring this aspect in practice as true tribute to the departed soul.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Sheila Dixit’s demise is an irreparable loss for Congress
l was shocked to hear about the demise of Sheila Dikshit, the longest-serving chief minister of Delhi. As far as l recollect, she was an unparalleled personality and a true daughter of the soil. Undoubtedly, her demise is a great loss for Congress as political party, with whom she was associated for so many years. Her demise will be a great loss for Delhi and for the people living there, considering the immense development work undertaken by the state government under her leadership. She will be specially remembered for her copybook planning and implementation of different development projects in Delhi. The state witnessed implementation of maximum number of development projects during her 15-year long tenure from 1998 to 2013. It will be not an exaggeration to say that she changed the face of Delhi in true sense. I am sure that residents of Delhi now are feeling the pain of loss of a family member. She is also counted among the tallest leaders of Congress party. There are lot of things to learn from her personality, style of administration and her interaction in public life. Her demise is an irreparable loss for Congress, which is currently going through a crisis phase.
I want to draw to your attention towards the rude and irresponsible behaviour of both the drivers and the bus conductors with the commuters. They look towards the passengers with indifference and behave with them in a very unfriendly and absurd way. They lack etiquettes and use filthy language most of the time.
Generally, the bus drivers do not stop the bus at the actual bus stop; they rather disdain the travellers and stop the bus before or after the actual bus stop so the passengers have to run in order to board the bus. In this way, many commuters fall and feel a lot of irritation and insult.
No less irresponsible is the behaviour of the conductors. They never bother to check whether the passengers have got into the bus or not and are bent on ringing the bell. The bus moves while the passengers have hardly put one foot on the foot board. This leads to the passengers falling and sustaining injuries. They forget the elementary duties of the conductors and behave indecently. They show no courtesy and sympathy for senior citizens and women.
It is, therefore, my humble suggestion that before their recruitment, the drivers and the conductors must be taught how to deal with the passengers. Presently, they must be instructed and advised suitably to mend their ways, and also, surprise checking in this respect must be done.
JubelD’Cruz
Pune-Solapur Highway: A Killer Road
Pune -Solapur highway is becoming a killer road as many accidents involving heavy vehicles and cars are taking place mostly during week-ends. Despite frequent accidents it is becoming a death trap to passengers travelling in this route. Speed thrills these erring drivers and it kills the people as well in the process. Apart from speed, the lane cutting caused most of these accidents. This is ninth accident in this route and the authorities, who collect exorbitant toll fee should take care to curtail accidents as well by regular picketing by police and levying fine on erring drivers resorting to over speed. Alcohol Breath Analyzers (ABA) are to be used in all focal points to make sure drunk driving is curtailed to the minimum. More and more cases of negligence and overtaking caused major accidents. Time tested methods will have to applied and see that the accident rates reduced to almost negligible in this particular route.
C.K.R. Nathan
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The main prime accused in the multi-crore IMA Ponzi scam of about Rs 2,500 crore scam IMA founder Mansoor Khan was produced on Saturday before the Special Prevention of money laundering Act court in Bengaluru and the Judge Shivashankar has sent the accused to the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) till July 23.
As the ED also booked Khan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for transfer of funds to overseas banks, ED Director Raman Gupta produced him before Special PMLA court judge Shivashankar for 10 days custody but the court has remanded him to three days.
Security was heightened by the Bengaluru city police Commissioner Alok Kumar while he was being produced before the Special PMLA Court 2 DCPs as Ramesh Banoth, Dr.Chandragupta with ACPs, PIs, with others more than 300 police personnel were deployed for no untoward incident take place as precautionary measures as many investors were trying to stage a protest.
STIR was seen near Shanthinagar ED office where investors staged protest demanding a CBI probe in the case.
The Delhi Police produced Mansoor Khan before Duty Magistrate Harjit Singh Jaspal in New Delhi on Friday night for transit remand to take him to Bengaluru where his company is headquartered.
Khan was arrested at the international airport early on Friday on arrival from Dubai on an Air India flight by the ED sleuths.
The major breakthrough in the mega scam for the ED and SIT came as a lookout or Blue Corner notice on Khan was issued to all concerned, including Interpol.
He was brought back to Bengaluru on Saturday and produced before the court, where the Enforcement Directorate sought his custodial remand for further interrogation.
Khan reportedly revealed big names involved in the case during his questioning, according to sources. He will be confronted with documentary evidence gathered by the probe agency along with statements recorded by other suspects in the case.
It is alleged that Mansoor Khan has revealed the name of many politicians, 7 IPS, 6 IAS, 6 KAS, former ministers and other names who have taken bribe from him.
The Karnataka Special Investigation Team, which is also investigating IMA, had also demanded police custody of Khan. They said they had arrested 23 accused in the case and his custody was required to establish the links.
Meanwhile, the SIT team headed by DIG Dr. BR Ravikanthe Gowda under the supervision of DCP Girish S and his team as ACP Balaraj and his special team has continued the searches they have conducted a search on Mulberry supermarkets and has been successful in recovering Rs 4.6 crore worth of demand draft from Adoni constructions which was given by IMA founder to construct Skywalks in Bengaluru and Cash worth Rs 52,030 and 300 silver coins worth Rs 60,000 were seized by SIT from Mulberry market.
IMA Ponzi scam:
Khan has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme in Karnataka that has allegedly duped more than 40,000 people of around Rs 2,500 crore. People from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Tamil Nadu are said to have invested in the company.
The Bengaluru-based company had been collecting investments for several years, assuring investors of returns of over 3 per cent per month. However, the fraud came to light after hundreds of people gathered outside the investment firm’s offices on June 12, saying that it had not provided returns on their investments for more than two months.
On July 8, the SIT had arrested Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru urban district BM Vijay Shankar for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 1.5 crore from Khan. Shankar had taken the bribe in exchange for a favourable report after the Reserve Bank of India had asked the state government to investigate the firm’s business.
The SIT had also detained suspended Congress MLA Roshan Baig in the case and questioned him for several hours and after collecting the information he was released.
Investigations under PMLA revealed that the accused companies and its directors indulged in the offence of money laundering by cheating people through Ponzi schemes and generating the proceeds of crime in the form of movable and immovable properties.
IMA founder Mansoor Khan, who is accused of perpetrating financial fraud worth crores, was shifted to a hospital on Sunday after he complained of chest pains. Khan was taken to Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research on Sunday after he complained of chest pain.
Sources said that Khan, who is in Enforcement Directorate custody after he landed in New Delhi from Dubai on Friday, was to undergo a health check-up, for which he was taken to Victoria Hospital on Sunday. However, he complained of chest pain and was rushed to Jayadeva Institute around 7 p.m.
C.N. Manjunath, the senior cardiologist, and director of Jayadeva Institute, told reporters that Khan came in with complaints of chest pain and palpitations. This, he said, could be an indication of stress and anxiety. Khan, who has a history of cardiac problems, underwent CT angiogram and has been on medication. He said that Khan was advised admission for a day. However, he has refused admission. We will take it in writing from him, he said.
Mansoor Khan is in Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody till July 23.
Once journalism was much respected profession, the journalists and editors used to turn the tables and decide the fate of politicians and political parties, they were the key players in making and breaking the government. They were believed and trusted by readers. They were held with high regards by all the sectors. They were the strongest holders of democracy. All this used to happen on one cup of tea, one paper and pen. That was old school of journalism. The modern era has lost the sheen; the definition of journalism has become commercial. Larger the banner, greater the hypocrisy, they follow no ethics. There is hunger for TRP and perks. Journalism has become a game of survival, a glorified commercial approach where everything is for sale including the editorials. Here commercials are more important than the content and credibility. The responsible behaviours of media have gone missing. Hardly there are some who are trying to maintain it with great struggle. Being responsible not only means telling the truth, but also abiding by the law and being honest in the way a journalist gathers information.
If the press drifts into law-breaking, then it loses the respect of its readers and the nation. These days’ media is making stories on celebrity tweets and Instagram posts, journalists accessing the mobile phones and voicemails of people, including well-known politicians, actors and sportsmen as well as the family of soldiers killed on border. The disgust that followed led to the closure of many media houses in the country. Many journalists had to lose their jobs and got in self-broadcasting on social media. Those in the public eye should not fear or be defensive about the press. If a politician dislikes criticism from the press, then he is definitely in the wrong job. At the same time, media too should not follow particular ideology and attack the opposite side. They should always remain neutral and do their duty. Before journalists can write about a subject, they must first gather information.
They usually conduct several interviews with people involved in or having knowledge of the subject. They may also go to the scene of an event, such as a crime or an accident, to interview witnesses or law enforcement officers and to document what they see. In addition, they often search public records or other databases to find information and statistics to back up their stories. Researching a story is often similar to conducting an investigation, and journalists must sometimes ask difficult questions. They may have to invest a lot of time tracking down information and people relevant to the story. How good a journalist’s story is often depends on how adept he is at communicating and working with others. They also need strong people and communication skills, so they can persuade sources to talk to them. Journalists frequently approach people they don’t know, whether when reporting from the scene or calling to request an interview. In addition to serving the public interest, journalists must also follow the law, especially regarding the confidentiality and privacy of the people they interview or write about. For example, while journalists often tape record their interviews to ensure accuracy, federal and state laws generally make it illegal to record a conversation without the permission of the other party. In this case, journalists must tell their sources they’re recording the interview before it begins. Journalists must also understand the laws regarding libel and invasion of privacy.
Anyway, let us conclude saying that the profession needs lot of changes and government needs different approach while looking at media. When it comes to awards and rewards, they should consider even critics and their search should not be limited, many deserving journalists go unnoticed because they don’t sit or mingle in power corridors.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Many senior journalists will be honoured with prestigious awards for their achievements in Journalism for 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively for their best contribution to the field of journalism, by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium, Mumbai. The felicitation ceremony will be held at 4 pm on July 27.
The Chief Minister also announced various awards given to reporters and journalists for covering news events and contributing to the development of the state. State-level Balshastri Jambhekar Award for development reporting for 2016 is given to Dainik Pudhari’s Rajesh Joshthe, Ratnagiri while Lumakant Nalawade of Dainik Sakal’s Kolhapur Correspondent bagged the same award for 2017. DNA’s Special Correspondent Kanchan Srivastava will be honoured with Anant Gopal Shevde Puraskar (English) (State level).
Kanchan Srivastava told Afternoon Voice, “The Maharashtra state award is indeed a great honour especially when the same government recognises your work and honours you whose shoddy job you have consistently exposed to the world. I truly feel humbled for the award is being given on the basis of my 2015-2016 work, which was my debut year as a Mantralaya journalist.”
“Before that I was covering education beat for four years. I kept on requesting my consecutive bosses to shift me to Mantralaya beat as I wanted a little more challenging job. My bosses were apprehensive about this shift primarily because I lacked Marathi language skill and also because four of my colleagues were already there on Mantralaya beat.Finally, I managed to convince my bosses,” she added.
Lokmanya Tilak Lifetime Achievement Journalism Award comprises Rs 1 Lakh cash and memento while all other awards comprise Rs 51000 cash, citation and memento
Ga Tryam Madkhollar Award, Nagpur Division – Khemendra Katare, District Correspondent, Dainik Maharashtra Times, Gondia
The selection committee for 2016 and 2017 awards was constituted under the chairmanship of Director General of DGIPR Brijesh Singh. The 2016 selection committee had journalist Rajiv Kulkarni, Pravin Mulye, Pandurang Maske, Rajkumar Singh, Nilesh Khare, Ramakant Dani, Rahul Pande, Baban Walke, Nitin Totewar as members while that of 2017 had journalists Vijay Singh, Clara Luis, Sioddheshwar Dukre, Umesh Kumawt, Bhalchandra Pimpalwadkar, Shailendra Tanpure, Satyajit Joshi, Vilas Tokle and Krushna Shevdikar as members.
Awardees of 2018.
Baalshastri Jambhekar Award (Marathi) (State Level) – Hari Ramakrishna Tugaonkar, TheSakal
Baburao Vishnu Paradkar Award (Hindi) (State Level) – Dinesh Ganpatrao Mude, The Lokmat Samachaar
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award (Urdu) (State Level) – Mohammad Naki Mohammed Takki, Daily Varak – A – Taza
Pu L Deshpande Best Screenplay Debut Award (State Level) – Mahesh Ghanshyam Tiwari, News 18 Lokmat
Tularam Kukreja Best Newspaper Photographer Award (State level) – Prashant Somnath Khorte, The Daily Lokmat
Social Media Awards (State Level) – Sh. Aniket Balkrishna Konkar, www.bytesofindia.com
Swachh Maharashtra Public Awareness Award (State Level) – Praveen Sriram Lonkar, Daily Maharashtra Times
Dadasaheb Potnis Award, Nashik Division – Vijay Baburao Nipanekar, Open Journalist (In addition to the government’s money, the award has been given by the villager for Rs.10,000).
One person died and one other was injured in a Level-2 fire that broke out on Sunday morning in a four-storey building in Mumbai’s Colaba area.
Fire officials rushed to bring the blaze under control. The fire broke out on the third floor of Churchill Chamber building on Merryweather Road near Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba, according to news agency ANI.
According to reports, 43 people have been killed in over 3,722 incidents of fire in 2018 alone. These numbers are an indication of how the financial capital of the country is turning into the ‘fire capital’.
As Twitterati took aim at Imran Khan, who was reportedly not received by any official upon his arrival in the United States, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday threw his weight behind the Prime Minister, saying he saved Pakistan’s money.
Quoting a tweet by Pakistan-based journalist Fawad Rehman, who posted the video of Khan’s arrival, Abdullah said that the reported absence of a state protocol to Khan “reflects badly” on the Donald Trump administration.
“He saved his country money it didn’t need to spend AND didn’t wear his ego on his sleeve like most “leaders” do. Remind me again why that’s a bad thing. This reflects badly on the American establishment rather than on @ImranKhanPTI IMO,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister tweeted.
He saved his country money it didn’t need to spend AND didn’t wear his ego on his sleeve like most “leaders” do. Remind me again why that’s a bad thing. This reflects badly on the American establishment rather than on @ImranKhanPTI IMO. https://t.co/A8drk4VlqM
Khan is currently on a three-day visit to the US. The cricketer-turned-politician, who took a commercial flight instead of a private jet to cut down on expenses, was instead received by his Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others at the Dulles International Airport.
A video shared by PTI showed Khan deboarding the commercial flight and later being received by Qureshi and Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Asad M Khan. He also took the people mover for leaving the airport.
As Khan did not receive his due welcome, netizens used this opportunity to have a good laugh. “Pakistan didn’t do very well in the World Cup, but this seems a harsh punishment,” a Twitterer said.
I know Pakistan didn’t do very well in the World Cup, but this seems a harsh punishment. https://t.co/l16Uo8PQGQ
In a bid to cut costs with a struggling economy back home, Khan had earlier expressed his wish to stay at the ambassador’s residence during his visit to the US capital.
Image Courtesy : Twitter PTI Peshawar
Pakistani daily, The Dawn, had reported the news while adding that the US Secret Service, which is responsible for the security of all visiting dignitaries, is not “very receptive” towards the idea as it could pose security risks and cause inconvenience to the people. Local authorities, who are responsible for the smooth flow of Washington DC traffic during a foreign dignitary’s visit, have not expressed their keenness either.
Khan is expected to discuss Afghanistan and peace in the South Asian region during his upcoming meeting with Trump on July 22.
After ‘Avatar‘ dominated box office for 10 years, ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ has officially surpassed the sci-fi epic to become the biggest movie in the history.
Disney and Marvel‘s blockbuster crossed USD 2.7892 billion at the global box office on Saturday and will exceed the USD 500,000 in ticket sales needed to surpass ‘Avatar’s’ USD 2.7897 billion benchmarks, reported Variety.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ has minted USD 853 million at the domestic box office and USD 1.9 billion globally.
Outside North America, the film performed well in China (USD 614 million), the United Kingdom (USD 114 million), South Korea (USD 105 million), Brazil (USD85 million) and Mexico ($77 million).
In a bid to push the epic finale to ultimate box office glory, the studio had re-released ‘Avengers: Endgame’ last month.
“A huge congratulations to the Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios teams, and thank you to the fans around the world who lifted ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to these historic heights,” Alan Horn, Disney co-chairman and chief creative officer, said in a statement.
“Of course, even with the passage of a decade, the impact of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ remains as powerful as ever, and the astonishing achievements of both of these films are ongoing proof of the power of movies to move people and bring them together in a shared experience. The talented filmmakers behind these worlds have much more in store, and we look forward to the future of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Pandora,” the statement read further.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ features Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man.
Mumbai continues to reel under persistent monsoon rains and the problems go unabated as more and more rain related issues continue to haunt the city. After potholes menace the city is reeling under tree falls and building collapses causes ripples in the minds of people.
Dilapidated buildings cause worry for inmates and the Deonar building collapse is one such tragedy awakening people. BMC had issued Public Notices through various news dailies asking the inmates of these building to evacuate them and look for alternative accommodation. It is time to reconstruct these unsafe buildings or it may cause disaster during severe rains. The major places where such unsafe buildings exist are: Mahim, Bhandup, Sion Koliwada, Antop Hill, Kurla, Tilak Nagar.
The water soaking of these buildings during heavy rains may cause dampness and the chances of these buildings collapsing is very high. To avoid human loss and loss to the property, BMC has served notice well in advance to residents. In the past, we have seen many building collapsed during rainy season in Mumbai. Let the residents vacate dilapidated building and does not make it a prestige issue and stay at these buildings and risk their lives against the instructions of BMC. Deonar building collapse opened up Pandora’s Box and brought to light the nexus between politicians and the builders. There is no doubt that it is a self-inflicted disaster. Stitch in time saves nine is true. Regular maintenance of old buildings is the only solution to enhance the life of buildings. It is time to realise harsh realities of life in the best way possible to look for favourable solutions. It was indeed a case of sheer negligence.
The callous attitude of BMC and the carefree attitude of the residents struggling for survival in an old building all caused the collapse. In the recent building crash incident is yet another case, where BMC showed its apathy in dealing with old buildings. These old structures could not take weight and was declared unsafe for stay six years back. The Government of Maharashtra must think and act to save lives of poor people dying on this count and in view of the fact there are thousands of such buildings in Mumbai and suburbs remain insecure for occupation. Unauthorised construction and dilapidated building are the root cause for all the major building collapses in the city. It is indeed a very sad and shocking incident.
(The remaining part of this article will continue tomorrow)
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Even before fans could get over the hangover of Marvel’s ‘Infinity saga’, the studio has announced its new slate led by the fourth Thor movie “Thor: Love and Thunder“, featuring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson.
The film, to be directed by “Thor: Ragnarok” helmer Taika Waiti, was announced by Marvel movie’s panel at the ongoing San Diego Comic-Con.
The news came as a surprise as fans were uncertain about the future of Hemsworth’s Asgardian God of Thunder in Marvel Cinematic Universe post the events of “Avengers: Endgame“.
According to the media reports, Waititi also announced that Portman’s Jane Foster will get to adapt a version of the Lady Thor arc that was recently seen in Marvel Comics.
Portman has been associated with the series as she has played Jane Foster in the first two films. Taika Waititi, film’s director announced the same at the Comic-Con panel in San Diego.
“That story line is incredible is full emotion, love and thunder and introduces for the first time female Thor,” Waititi said during the panel.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” will is scheduled to be released on November 5, 2021.
Obviously, those who died mostly belonged to different families. Where is affordable housing these days? My heart goes out to the families of the victims.
Death of a political icon Sheila Dixit
The main prime accused in the multi-crore 
Mumbai continues to reel under persistent 