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Bullet trains at the cost of Mangroves?

June 25, 2019

Development is good for Mumbai but it should not happen at the cost of damaging the environment. Mumbai, which has a large cover of mangroves, is going to lose a vast area due to infrastructure development. The Fadnavis government has ambitious plans of going ahead with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project but at least 54,000 mangroves spread across 13.36 hectares in Maharashtra will be destroyed for the project. Mangroves are salt-torrent trees that act as a buffer between land and sea and protect the land from erosion.

Justice B.G Kolse Patil, a former judge of Bombay High Court, said, “We along with the Adivasis are protesting against the destruction of mangroves. Mangroves are important for the mankind as it protects soil erosion. Destruction of mangroves will cause environmental disaster. Who wants a bullet train and a very few people will travel in it.”

Thousands of people come to Mumbai in search of their livelihood every month. More than 43 per cent of the city’s population is considered to be migrant. Due to the influx of migrants, there is more demand for housing needs in the city. Since the city faces space crunch developers raze mangroves and build mega housing complexes in the area. Thus, a huge area of mangroves gets destroyed in the name of development. Mangrove trees are indispensable to the ecosystem and without them, there are no wetlands. Besides, providing habitat to terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic creatures, the root system of mangrove forest is thick and complex. Mangrove forest acts as a barricade by preventing erosion and guarding terrestrial spaces.

Often environmentalists have filed complaints with the police pertaining to the destruction of mangroves but no action was taken against offenders. The nexus between builders and politicians is another reason responsible for the destruction of mangroves. Often politicians turn a blind eye towards the complaint filed by resident pertaining to mangrove destruction. Since no action is taken against the errant builders, the city losses massive area which is covered by mangroves.

Sumaira Abdulali, Environmentalist and Founder of NGO Awaaz Foundation said, “The government always says that mangroves cut will be replanted. On the other hand, replantation doesn’t happen due to lack of space. Mangroves already exist in a place where they can grow. According to me, so many mangroves should not be destroyed as they cannot be replanted. Nobody is thinking about the environment.”

Even though transport minister Diwakar Raote had informed the Legislative Council that the government will plant five times of the trees being razed for development but often replantation of trees are not carried out. Thus, the trees which are cut for development of infrastructure projects are lost forever.

Raote said, “The project will run on high pillars, to ensure the damage to mangroves and the environment is minimal. The floodwater will not enter Navi Mumbai, as no mangroves are being cut in the area.”

There has been a 70 per cent increase in mangrove destruction in the first nine months in 2018 which is the highest in three years as per data recorded by the state mangrove cell. There have been 237 cases of hacking of mangroves, debris dumping and blocking of tidal water to mangroves between January and September 2018. Out of these 234 cases were on government land and three cases in private areas. In comparison to this, Mumbai recorded 141 cases with 125 on government land and 16 in private areas in 2016.

Advocate Monica Arora said, “When the bullet train project was announced, as per the contract, it was mentioned that ten times trees will be replanted for the loss. Mangroves are razed only after an assurance is received to replant trees. When the metro project was announced, replantation drive was undertaken. Thus, if one tree is cut then 10 trees are replanted.”

Assistant Conservator of forest, state mangrove cell Makarand Ghodke said, “Around 15 per cent cases are owing to cutting off tidal water ingress. The remaining cases are of mangrove hacking and burning. Major cases are recorded in the suburbs in areas such as Malwani, Dahisar, Borivali, Trombay, Charkop, etc.”

The state government will purchase 39.252 sqm of private land in Vikhroli for the bullet train project. The government will acquire 188 ha of private land in Palghar district which will affect 3,498 families. Out of these, 2.95 hectares of land has been purchased by the government. In Thane district, 6, 589 farmers, who own 84.81 ha, will be affected by the project.

Increasing influence of India compels Antigua to revoke citizenship of Mehul Choksi

Web Team

June 25, 2019

mehul chowksi — Image Courtesy: thehansindia.com (File Pic)

Certainly, it is increasing influence of stronger India in the world community that the Antiguan government has decided to revoke the citizenship of the Punjab National Bank fraud fugitive Mehul Choksi. Meanwhile, the second accused in the case Nirav Modi is also fighting extradition from Britain. Earlier this month, the UK High court rejected Nirav Modi’s fourth bail plea. Britain is also ready to extradite Nirav Modi to India. Prior to this, India’s criminals used to take shelter in Britain.

It is worth mentioning that even Arab countries used to warn India on Kashmir issue and Hindu-Muslim riots in the country. But when the country emerged as economic and regional superpower, everyone is quietened. Today, neither Arab countries nor global superpowers like the USA dare to interfere in internal matters of India.

Antiguan PM Gaston Browne on Tuesday said, “His citizenship was processed; he got through but the reality is his citizenship will be revoked and he will be repatriated to India; so there is recourse. It is not a case that we are trying to provide any safe harbour for criminals, for those who are involved in financial crimes.”

He said, “We have to allow for due process. He has a matter before the court and as we said to the Indian government, criminals have fundamental rights, too, and Choksi has a right to go to court and defend his position. But I can assure you, after he has exhausted all of his legal options, he will be extradited.”

It is notable that Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted by the ED and CBI for allegedly defrauding PNB to the tune of around Rs 14,000 crore. In January 2018, Choksi absconded after the Rs 14,000-crore PNB fraud came to light. Following this, he surrendered his Indian passport and took up Antiguan citizenship. The PNB fraud came to light in early 2018. Both Choksi and Modi fled the country before that.

The ED recently told the Bombay High Court that it was ready to provide an air ambulance to bring Choksi to India. On the other hand, Choksi told the High Court that he left India for medical treatment and not to avoid prosecution in the case. He said that he would return to India as soon as he was medically fit to travel.

However, External Affairs of Minister S Jaishankar refrained from reacting saying that he is yet to receive full information on the development. Government sources said that India can start the extradition process after Choksi’s citizenship is revoked. India is said to be engaging with Antigua on the matter.

In August last year, India put in a request for his extradition following which the businessman submitted a plea in the Bombay High Court through his lawyer claiming that he had left India in January to undergo bypass surgery and not to avoid prosecution. In an affidavit filed in the HC, he said he would return to India if he is medically fit.

India is emerging as global superpower. It can be realised through a series of incidents. When India conducted atomic tests in 1998, the USA, Japan and many developed countries slapped economic ban against India. But almost 20 years after that India conducted an airstrike in Pakistan, no country spoke against India. This is a major change of world’s approach towards India.

Moreover, Chinese Army used to infiltrate in India and warn Indian security personnel and people. But on 18 June, 2017, about 270 Indian troops armed with weapons and two bulldozers crossed the Sikkim border into Doklam (Bhutan) to stop the Chinese troops from constructing the road. At last, on 28 August, both India and China announced that they had withdrawn all their troops from the face-off site in Doklam. Actually, Doklam stand-off proved that China or any country can not undermine India or harm its interests. After Doklam stand-off India emerged as more powerful nation and its respect increased in the entire world.

Doklam is an area disputed between China and Bhutan located near their tri-junction with India. Unlike China and Bhutan, India does not claim Doklam but supports Bhutan’s claim. China’s claim on Doklam is based on the 1890 Convention of Calcutta (at present Kolkata) between China and Britain, which states in Article I. The boundary of Sikkim and Tibet shall be the crest of the mountain range separating the waters flowing into the Sikkim Teesta and its affluents from the waters flowing into the Tibetan Mochu and northwards into other Rivers of Tibet. The line commences at Mount Gipmochi on the Bhutan frontier, and follows the above-mentioned water-parting to the point where it meets Nipal territory.

China says that by this Convention, the starting point of the Sikkim-Tibet border is “Mount Gipmochi on the Bhutan frontier” and that this clearly defines the tri-junction point. According to Chinese claims, Doklam is located in the Xigaze area of Tibet, bordering the state of Sikkim. However, Bhutan was not a party to the Convention.

In 1949, Bhutan signed a treaty with India giving allowance to India to guide its diplomatic and defense affairs. In 2007, the treaty was superseded by a new Friendship Treaty that replaced the provision that made it mandatory for Bhutan to take India’s guidance on foreign policy, provided broader sovereignty but also stated in its Article 2. In keeping with the abiding ties of close friendship and cooperation between Bhutan and India, the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Government of India shall cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. That is why, India took action in Doklam against Chinese troops.

44 years on, recalling Emergency is still hair-raising

Web Team

June 25, 2019

The Emergency is the most controversial period of India’s history since Independence. On June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of national emergency. It was officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution on account of the prevailing internal disturbance in the country. The Emergency was in effect from June 26, 1975, to March 21, 1977. The Emergency gave Indira Gandhi the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. During the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi’s political opponents were sent to jail and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported, including a forced mass-sterilization campaign by the Prime Minister’s son Sanjay Gandhi.

What happened during Emergency?

The Emergency years were the biggest challenge to India’s commitment to democracy. It (democracy) proved vulnerable to the manipulation of powerful leaders. During the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi asked the popular singer Kishore Kumar to sing for a Congress party rally in Mumbai but he refused. In reaction, the Information and broadcasting minister Vidya Charan Shukla put an unofficial ban on playing Kishore Kumar’s songs on All India Radio and Doordarshan from May 4, 1976, till the end of the Emergency. People have to suffer a lot of troubles which are as follows:

-Detention of people by police without charge or notification of families

-Abuse and torture of detainees and political prisoners

-Use of public and private media institutions, like the national television network Doordarshan, for government propaganda

-Forced sterilization.

-Destruction of the slum and low-income housing in the Turkmen Gate and Jama Masjid area of old Delhi

-Large-scale and illegal enactment of laws (including modifications to the Constitution)

emergency destrurction red fort — Photo of the destruction near the Red Fort during the Emergency of 1975. (Image Courtesy: medium.com)

Major reasons behind Emergency:

Navnirman Andolan in Gujarat

Gujarat was governed by the Congress chief minister Chimanbhai Patel. The government was notorious for its corruption. Students of Gujarat University started a movement demanding the dismissal of the state government. It was called the ‘Navnirman movement’. The students’ protests against the government escalated and soon factory workers and people from other sectors of society joined in. Clashes with the police, burning of buses and government office and attacks on ration shops became an everyday occurrence. By February 1974, the central government was forced to act upon the protest. It suspended the Assembly and imposed President’s rule in the state. In March 1975 senior leader Morarji Desai began fast unto death and Indira Gandhi dissolved the assembly and announced fresh elections to it in June 1975.

The JP movement in Bihar

A similar movement was launched by Jayaprakash Narayan in Bihar. In the beginning, a student protest erupted in Bihar in March 1974. In this case, Indira Gandhi did not concede to the suspension of the Assembly. However, the JP movement was significant in determining her to declare Emergency.

A hero of the freedom struggle, JP had been known for his selfless activism since the days of the nationalist movement. His entry in student protest gave the struggle a great boost. He changed its name and it became the ‘JP movement’. He motivated students to boycott classes and work towards raising the collective consciousness of society. There were a large number of clashes with the police, courts, and offices, schools and colleges were being shut down.

In June 1974, JP led a large procession through the streets of Patna which culminated in a call for ‘total revolution’. He urged the dissenters to put pressure on the existing legislators to resign, so as to be able to pull down the Congress government. Further, JP toured across large sections of North India, drawing students, traders and sections of the intelligentsia towards his movement. Opposition parties who were crushed in 1971, saw in JP a popular leader best suited to stand up against Indira Gandhi. While JP accepted the challenge and formed the National Coordination Committee for the purpose, Indira Gandhi soon imposed the Emergency.

Railways strike led by socialist leader George Fernandes

When Bihar was burning in agitations, the country was paralysed by a railways strike led by socialist leader George Fernandes. Lasting for three weeks, in May 1974, the strike resulted in the halt of the movement of goods and people. As many as a million railwaymen participated in the movement. The army was called out to maintain peace. Indira Gandhi’s government came down heavily on the protesters. Thousands of employees were arrested and their families were driven out of their quarters.

Allahabad High Court verdict in the Raj Narain case

While opposition parties, trade unions, students and parts of the intelligentsia had occupied the streets in protest against Indira Gandhi’s government, a new threat emerged before her in the form of a petition filed in the Allahabad High Court by socialist leader Raj Narain. He had lost out to Indira Gandhi in Raebareli parliamentary elections of 1971. The petition accused Indira Gandhi of winning the elections through corrupt practices. It alleged that she spent more money than was allowed and her campaign was carried out by government officials.

On March 19, 1975, Indira Gandhi became the first Indian prime minister to testify in court. On June 12, 1975, Justice Sinha read out the judgment in the Allahabad High Court declaring Indira Gandhi’s election to Parliament as null and void. But she was given a span of 20 days to appeal to the Supreme Court. On June 24, the Supreme Court put a conditional stay on the High Court order. PM Gandhi could attend Parliament, but would not be allowed to vote unless the court pronounced on her appeal. The judgments gave the impetus to the JP movement, convincing them of their demand for the resignation of the prime minister. Further, by now even senior members of the Congress party were of the opinion that her resignation would be favourable to the party. After the Supreme Court judgment, an ordinance was drafted declaring a state of internal emergency and the President signed on it immediately.

Quotes of Indira Gandhi and JP

“I had always believed that Indira Gandhi had no faith in democracy, that she was by inclination and conviction a dictator. This belief has tragically turned out to be true.”

Jayaprakash Narayan, prison diary, entry of 22 July 1975

“I have no more powers than I had before.”

Indira Gandhi, in an interview with NBC, 24 August 1975

“Today’s papers also publish an Indira Gandhi-Karanjia interview. Most of it is the usual stuff: self-righteousness, smugness, and the pose of being the country’s saviour.”

Jayaprakash Narayan, prison diary, entry of 22 August 1975

“I am a very humble person.”

Indira Gandhi, in an interview with the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation, 4 October 1975

“Today the only thing the people are allowed to do is to sing the praises of Mrs. Gandhi.”

Jayaprakash Narayan, prison diary, entry of 7 September 1975

“I do not think there is anyone who is less authoritarian than I am.”

Indira Gandhi, in an interview with American journalist Mary Carras, July 1978

Challenge to improve Pakistani economy

Web Team

June 25, 2019

In order to overcome the rising inflation, Pakistan has asked for $6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, the head of Pakistan’s Finance Ministry, this loan will be paid by Pakistan to IMF in three years in installments. Sheikh says that without financial assistance, Pakistan neither can meet its business losses nor can it control rising inflation.

IMF has admitted that Pakistan’s economic situation is very bad. Pakistan’s growth rate has slowed down. Inflation is continuously increasing. The government and the people are drowning in debt. According to a World Bank report, by the end of December 2018, the debt of Pakistan’s public was 73.2 per cent of GDP, which is likely to increase to 82.3 per cent in 2019. This is the highest level of debt in the past 17 years. The Pakistani government wants to solve the problems of rising inflation, rising debt, and slow growth rate, but every possible attempt of the government have been unsuccessful until now.

However, Pakistan’s economist Talat Anwar says that the borrowing from the IMF will increase the problems of the common people even more. According to them, the IMF will definitely give loans on some conditions and implementing those conditions will further reduce the value of Pakistani currency, which will increase the prices of commodities and food items consumed on a daily basis. IMF can force the Pakistani government to increase interest rates, which are currently around 10.75 per cent. It can slow down the investment and also reduce the employment generation along with the growth rate.

It is notable that Pakistan has been struggling with a serious economic crisis for the last year. Its foreign exchange reserve has come down to less than two months’ import. Pakistan hoped that countries like Saudi Arabia, China, etc. would give financial help to it. However, these countries have given some financial help to Pakistan, but it has been inadequate. By the way, Prime Minister Imran Khan is still looking forward to getting help from China. Khan hopes that China can help Pakistan to get out of the current crisis. Khan can also travel to China to achieving this purpose.

According to economists, earlier, Pakistan was getting funding on free-floating mechanisms, but by 2017, there was a devaluation of 34 percent in Pakistani currency. A Pakistani bank president even said that Prime Minister Imran Khan may have to lose his chair when there is a further decline in Pakistani currency because Pakistan’s financial situation will get worse in the days to come. Khan is also targets of the Opposition due to appointing former IMF employee Raza Bakir as the new Governor of the Central Bank. The opposition parties feel that the new governor of the central bank has failed to handle Pakistan’s economy.

The value of the dollar against Pakistani currency is increasing and it has reached Rs 141. It is being speculated that it can also reach the level of Rs 150. Pakistani citizens are unable to meet their daily needs due to the devaluation of the Pakistani rupees. The price of everything is constantly increasing. Petrol price has reached Rs 112 per liter. Significantly, its price is still increasing. Shahid Khan Abbasi, a senior leader of the Muslim League (Nawaz) said that in the last nine months, the burden of debt on Pakistan has increased to Rs 28 thousand billion. Inflation has also doubled in this period.

Recently, the World Bank released a report titled “South Asia Economic Focus-Export Wanted”, according to which Pakistan’s average inflation could reach 7.1 per cent in the current financial year and it will reach 13.5 per cent next year. According to the same report, Pakistan’s economy is growing at a rate of 3.4 per cent in the current financial year, which can reach 2.7 per cent next year.

Due to uncontrolled inflation, the common people are also cutting their food items. People have also made changes in the food items of their choice. The common people have either stopped to eat expensive foods like Paneer, fruits, milk, etc. or reduced to take more quantities of such items. The condition of small businessmen has become worse. Many businessmen have had to close their business. In the current situation, the remaining traders may have to close their business. Medium and large businesses also do not have a good economic status. Their business has also had adverse effects. Due to reaching a high level of inflation, there has been a huge reduction in the demand for diversified products. People are becoming unemployed. The growth rate is going downwards.

The Pakistani stock market condition is also very bad. The stock market CEO Richard Moran has resigned from his post before completing his term. It is being said that if the economic situation of Pakistan does not improve, then in the coming years, international financial institutions can take a tough stance against Pakistan’s crispy economy.

It can be said that Pakistan’s economic situation is getting worse and current Prime Minister Imran Khan has failed miserably in improving the situation. Does the Opposition say that the government is not able to understand how to overcome the rising inflation? In the current situation, the expectations of a better economy in Pakistan are very low in the coming years.

By Satish Singh

(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.)

Suicide a public health tragedy in need of a plan

Web Team

June 25, 2019

Suicide is the most destructive behavior of human. Usually, there is no single reason for the people to take their own life. Several factors can increase the risk of suicide, such as having a mental health disorder, depression, bipolar, disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, and personality disorder. Some are psychosocial that lack of social support and sense of isolation also increase the risk of suicide.

These factors are significant in why people have suicidal behaviour. For example, the recent heart ranching case taking place in Mehrauli, South Delhi, wherein a 33-year-old man namely Upendra Shukla murdered his sleeping wife and three kids including a two-month-old girl by slitting their throat with a knife, shook the entire nation from within. The accused also tried to take his own life but survived and got arrested.

This man has been reported to be a science teacher and was apparently depressed over his and his spouse’s deteriorating health. He was not financially stable to afford all the expenditures. For he committed this heinous crime while the actual reason yet to be disclosed. His crime, however, cannot be justified and convicted deserves capital punishment.

Financial backwardness also is the big cause behind the suicide occurrence not only in India but also all around the world as according to the data published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 79 per cent of suicide occurred in low and middle-economic countries in 2016. Failure in education or any examination leads to a large number of students to commit suicide every year in the country. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in its 2015 data made a shocking exposure that in India; one student commits suicide every hour.

So, there is a desperate need in India for a major change concerning suicide cases as India accounts for a growing share of the world’s suicide rate. Rakhi Dandona, a researcher at the Public Health Foundation of India, and her colleagues estimated suicide rates for both sexes in each state of India from 1990 to 2016 based on multiple sources, including official sample registration and vital registration surveys, medically certified causes of death, and verbal autopsy studies.

The research by Rakhi Dandona and colleagues reported in The Lancet Public Health in September 2018, using data from the Global Burden of Disease, estimated the national age-standardized suicide death rate (SDR) for 2016 to be 17.9 per 100 000 population (14.7 per 100 000 among women and 21.2 per 100 000 among).

We need to start working on social norms to make a large-scale impact as suicide is considered a taboo topic in some societies to discuss in the public sphere. We always blame the government for everything but sometimes the responsibility lies on our own shoulders to battle with the problems and issues.

We need to commence such suicide prevention campaigns and policies that encourage the people to discuss the suicide openly that, it is a major public health problem and destructive for the society with far-reaching socioeconomic, political and emotional consequences. Suicide prevention must be a subject matter in our daily discussions, let it be TV debates, public speeches or personal communication.

– By Faheem Usmani

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

Letters to the Editor: 25 June, 2019

Web Team

June 25, 2019

Rainfall shortage

Water is precious and for the first time the city is feeling the heat and finding shortage of monsoon rains. From nearly 20 per cent at the same time last year, we are feeling the shortage with just 6 per cent in the month of June. The intensity of rainfall ought to have increased by now, but since the monsoon arrived late in Kerala and the Cyclone Vayu swept away monsoon clouds we are not getting sustained rainfall. In actual terms, every year by June the city has recorded sufficient rainfall, but this year only six per cent has been recorded and which means it is 14 per cent shortage and we hope that the city may receive good rainfall to compensate the shortage in a big way.

Subramonia Swamy

Don’t make mockery of religious festivals!

Hindu festivals follow one after another after ‘Vata-Pournima’. Greetings and messages giving information on festivals and also messages making mockery of festivals are posted on social media on these occasions. There is ‘Dharma-Shastra’ for celebrating every Hindu festival and our Sages and Seers has written down, hundreds of years ago, such knowledge in detail about ways of celebrating festivals. Changes taking place in Universe as per times and true stories given in Holy Scriptures are the base for celebrating such religious and other festivals. Everything in this world is form of God and all animate and inanimate things also have God’s existence in them; therefore, we are taught to pay respect to everything through medium of these festivals. Banyan tree i.e. a tree is worshipped on the day of ‘Vata-Pournima’. Serpent is worshipped on the day of ‘Nag-Panchami’ while bulls are worshipped on the occasion of ‘Pola’ festival. All weapons and things used during the year are worshipped on the day of ‘Dussehra’. Food is offered to crows during ‘Pitru-paksha’ as if feeding our departed ancestors. Thus, festivals celebrated in Hindu Dharma teach us to worship animate and inanimate things. The present generation under influence of western culture, however, doesn’t hesitate in making mockery of Hindus festivals or to forward such messages since they lack in ‘sanskars’ as importance of religious things is not taught to them at home. However, those, who have respect towards our festivals, should explain science to these ‘jokers’, rather than forwarding such messages / posts to others.

Mokshada Ghanekar

Hotels charging compulsory service charges from customers

It refers to highly irresponsible Guidelines dated April 21, 2017 issued by Department of Consumer Affairs (Government of India) wherein consumers going to hotels and restaurants for enjoying food are advised to approach Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum against malpractice of certain restaurants and hotels charging compulsory service-charge in their invoices instead of the Department imposing ban on such levying of service-charges or even providing column for tip. Guidelines doubt of some under-the-table deal with associations of hotels and restaurants, because everyone knows that consumers go to hotels and restaurants for enjoyment and relaxation rather than fighting for their rights through cumbersome court-procedures.

If eateries are really sincere for staff-welfare, they can increase their wages at their own. Also since there is no limit on served food-prices, they can increase prices rather than adopting back-door route to fool consumers through unfair service-charge. Law must be tightened for incorporating prison-provision for eatery-owners levying service-charge in bills. Rather paying and accepting tips otherwise also may be made an offence since gifts and tips are polished form of bribes. Even provision of writing tip-amount on credit-card pay-slips must be abolished.

Central government should go ahead with its proposal to reduce GST on services provided by restaurants including also by air-conditioned ones to 12-per cent slab by abolishing corruption-generating provision of Input-Tax-Credit (ITC) of raw material. Any objection by restaurant-owners against abolition of ITC must not be entertained.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

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

Water to cost Fadnavis heavily

Rajesh Choudhary

June 24, 2019

The entire Maharashtra is facing severe drought. So, water has become burning issue for the residents of the state. Amid this water crisis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has increased the trouble of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The BMC has declared Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’s ‘Varsha’ bungalow as a defaulter for not paying water bills. 18 other ministers of the state have also been named in the list of defaulters. Maharashtra state government official residences owe Rs 8 crore to the BMC for different services.

On being asked about the issue, the RTI activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh told Afternoon Voice, “I filed RTI application on June 11 and got reply after 7-8 days. I have demanded the BMC to recover money or disconnect water supply. It must take action against defaulters. But the matter is related to the head of the state government. So, there is pressure over the civic body. It is the responsibility the Chief Minister and the Public Works Department to pay all dues to the BMC as early as possible. Only then the BMC can spend public’s money on its well-being and development works.”

He said, “If the bills of Chief Minister’s and other State Minister’s bungalows are not paid in time, then how can anybody expect a common man to do it? If the common public fails to pay the bills, their water connection is disconnected. The same should be done to all the defaulters including Chief Minister’s official bungalow.”

According to a reply to an RTI query, the BMC has said that the Chief Minister’s official bungalow is yet to pay water bills worth Rs 7,44,981. The RTI report further revealed that the official bungalows of state ministers, including CM Devendra Fadnavis, haven’t paid bills worth Rs 45 lakh. This RTI query was filed by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh from the NGO Adhikar Foundation. He hit out at the authorities over their failure to take action.

D. P. Tripathi, General Secretary, NCP said, “We condemn defaulter ministers of Devendra Fadnavis government for not paying water bills of the BMC. It is dereliction of the ministers. They should pay water bills soon. Either Chief Minister or the PWD cannot escape from their responsibilities. The NCP will raise this issue in the state Assembly.”

It is worth mentioning that Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in October this year. The Bharatiya Janata Party will fight Assembly elections under the leadership of Fadnavis. Therefore, the issue of the pending bills will definitely give the opposition ammunition to take on the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in the state. The BMC charges Rs 5.22 per thousand litres of water while people living in slums pay only Rs 4.33 per thousand litres.

On the other hand, the BJP spokesperson Avadhut Wagh said, “All these bungalows belong to the PWD, not to any particular person. The PWD receives water bills. As far as the BMC and the PWD is concerned, whatever difference is there we will settle it. It is a government to government issue, not a private issue which will be sorted out.”

As per RTI reply, the municipal corporation in the list named 19 Maharashtra ministers. The list includes Pankaja Munde, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Diwakar Raote and others. The list includes Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s ‘Devgari’ bungalow that has defaulted on Rs 4,45,055 in water bills, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote’s ‘Meghdoot’ bungalow that failed to pay bills worth Rs. 1,61,719 and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde’s bungalow that defaulted on bills worth Rs 35,033. Names of Vinod Tawde, Ramdas Kadam, Ashish Shelar, Subhash Desai, Eknath Shinde, Chandrashekhar Bavankule and Mahadev Jankar was also mentioned in the list of defaulters. Apart from the minister’s official residences, the state government’s official guest house ‘Sahyadri’ also has pending bills amounting to Rs 12,04,390. Most of these bills have been pending since 2018.

It is remarkable that monsoon has already been delayed in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The situation in drought hit Maharashtra is very severe. The state has 355 talukas. Out of these, 182 talukas have been declared drought-prone. According to data available for June 13-14, Maharashtra has only 6.8 per cent water of total storage capacity in its dams. The situation is particularly grim in the Marathwada region where water level in reservoirs has dipped to an all-time low. Total capacity of Maharashtra’s dams is 40,604,000 million litres and at present water level is at 6.8% of its total capacity i.e. 2,802,000 million litres, compared to 17% at the same time last year.

Not possible to defeat BJP by having alliance with SP: Mayawati

Web Team

June 24, 2019

The rift between Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) has widened in the aftermath of alliance’s loss in Lok Sabha polls. BSP chief Mayawati posted three tweets on Monday targeting Samajwadi Party. She stated that SP government has sidelined the interest of Dalits. It is not possible to defeat BJP by having an alliance with Samajwadi Party stated Mayawati. Earlier Mayawati had announced about severing ties with SP. Both SP and BSP formed an alliance for challenging the BJP in the run up to Lok Sabha polls. However, it failed to stop the BJP as the party won 62 seats out of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats. BSP already had planned to contest the upcoming assembly by-polls alone.

Mayawati posted, “Therefore, in the interest of the party and the movement, now BSP will contest all future elections, big and small, on its own,”

Thus the Mahagathbandhan experiment which commenced at the start of the year could barely last for seven months. The SP-BSP and RLD alliance could manage to win only 15 seats in Uttar Pradesh. She also asked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to set his house in order first. She also added that SP was unable to get Yadav votes and even Dimple Yadav lost the election.

India, its Muslims can’t afford to be passive spectators of US-Iran conflict

Hem Raj Jain

June 24, 2019

Despite (i) Crippling economic US sanctions against Iran after withdrawal of USA from Iran nuclear deal

(ii) Six tankers explosion in that region in the last one month including two on June 13, which crippled the Japanese Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair, forcing their crews to abandon ship which the U.S. the Saudis and UK said that Iran was behind the attacks (which Iran vociferously denied) and

(iii) On June 20 Iran shooting down a US military drone which the US claimed was in international airspace (while Iran said was over Iranian territory) with the result a military operation to strike Iran over the downing of a US drone was set to begin that night when the President called it off 10 minutes before strike, as US President said in public statement.

The war between USA and its allies and supporters v/s Iran and its allies and supporters has not started so-far for the simple reason that Iran can’t afford it and President Trump does not want it because he will otherwise face electoral problems (as Trump during 2016 campaign told to his support base that what to talk of fresh war rather he will pull out all troops from foreign countries) and also due to the fact that Democrats are telling the Americans that Republican Trump pulled-out unilaterally and arbitrarily of Iran nuclear deal (which was signed by Democrat President Obama) and that is the root cause of the US-Iran problem with its adverse international ramifications.

This stalemate will not remain permanent because Iran is under tremendous economic pressure due to said US economic sanctions hence Iranian leaders are openly threatening that if they can’t export their oil, neither will anyone else from that region. In a nutshell, the Iranians have their backs against the wall, and there is very little they can lose because they are already in a state of absolute loss after said US economic sanctions. Moreover, even if the new President comes in White House (if at all), it will take another one and a half years which Iran cannot afford to wait! Hence, this tanker war (due to some unintended and unexpected untoward incident) is bound to escalate into a US-Iran war and which is highly likely to culminate into World War III.

The people normally think that only military-industrial conflict between powerful adversaries triggers World War but it is not enough unless some country or human group is prepared to offer most of the blood for it. In the 20th century World Wars, it was Russia/USSR which supplied most of the blood. In this World War III there is not only military-industrial conflict between USA and allies v/s China, Russia, Iran, North Korea group but for World War III most of the blood will be supplied by Muslims (both Shias and Sunnis from not only Central Asia-AF-Pak to NAME region but even from Muslim countries Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia etc). Hence, World War III is highly likely if not inevitable and this will hugely and adversely impact India (if India does not wake-up) as given below:-

In any US-Iran military flare-up, India will stop getting most of the oil from the Gulf and Middle East region. Presently Indian economy is heavily dependent on oil and 70 per cent of oil consumption in India is out of imports which means that in case of a huge reduction of oil imports the Indian economy (with rural distress) will become unviable and unsustainable to a large extent. As far 30 per cent of India’s consumption of oil which India produces, the substantial part of it will be given to Indian Military which will need it urgently due to exacerbated Kashmir problem (in addition to homegrown terrorism after Killing of Burhan Wani in 2016) also instigated by Pakistan, an adversary supported all-out by China.
Huge bloodshed of Shias and Sunnis in World War III is bound to create huge political and law and order problems in India as it will create bad-blood & ill feelings not only between Sunnis and Shais of India (200 million) but also between Muslims and non-Muslims of India.
During World War III, India will not be able to remain non-aligned (strategically independent) which will bring Indo-US tension to the fore on two counts (i) ‘Indo-Pacific doctrine’ which USA is trying to thrust on India when it says that “India is a crucial partner in the Trump administration’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region” and (ii) ‘US-India military cooperation and interoperability doctrine’ being pushed by the USA under which USA is asking India to give-up S-400 missile defense system deal with Russia.

In order to avoid all these problems, India (and its Muslim population) should take active interest for solving US-Iran problem by offering to provide manpower for carrying out elections under UN in NAME region (first in Syria), by demanding one-State solution for Israel–Palestine problem and by demanding de-nuclearisation.

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.

It is time to pay attention to women’s woes

Jayanthy Subramaniam

June 24, 2019

In India, women are the main target for eve-teasing, molestation, rape, acid throwing, ragging, and honour killing and that is unbecoming of a country where women are most respected in society. A new study has found that nine in 10 women have suffered some form of sexual discrimination at the workplace, which is alarming and India is not an exception to this. The researchers at Michigan University found that 10 per cent of the women surveyed had experienced the most severe form of harassment, in which they were promised promotion or better treatment.

The purpose of this article is not to dampen women spirit. The society is not saying that you stop celebrating this special day. All we are saying is that this Women’s Day, look around you. Do you see or know someone who needs help? A woman, who is probably not as lucky as you? Lend her a hand, help her out. If that’s not feasible, because you know a lot of such women are just not ready to come out of the situation, then lend them a shoulder or an ear.

NGOs and Women Welfare Wings are working hard to provide the safety of women in this country. Police team work round the clock to bring the culprits to books. However, women are scared of complaining and that gives the miscreants more freedom to act in an indecent manner. Police play a pivotal role and women sufferers should not scare to report as the matter needs to be attended on a priority basis. If you dial number 100, police respond to your call and the help reaches within the next 10 to 15 minutes and that is normal. An app is created to make genuine complaints on offences made against women and it is time to tap this facility to avoid future embarrassment.

The Indian film industry should play a punitive role in making India crime free against women. The contents of the film carry weight and to make a film a box office hit such filthy contents are added to make the films successful.

Women safety is of utmost importance as we face a regular case of rape and molestation. Even the influx of foreigners coming to India is reduced due to such untoward incidents taking place in the tourist spots like Goa and Srinagar. The press should play a proper role in projecting such cases in a better way rather making it just a breaking use. Handle them with discussions and debates and bring out the truth and play a Samaritan role rather than just make use of the same for TRP. Instead of going by perception, look into each case as a unique one and bring out the truth and not through sensational journalism just as a publicity stunt. Do not generalise the case and make a sincere try to bring out the facts and give cover to women in rape cases through proper editing.

Parental role plays a big part in bringing out a girl to womanhood. Instead of spending time on clubs and kitty parties, mothers need to play a perfect parent role in inculcating sex education in a phased manner and to know about in and out when an attack is made. Keeping a pepper spray or a soap solution may serve the cause to a certain extent. Knowing martial art for protection is yet another option.

However, generally speaking, women should have ways of wearing decent clothes to avoid instant attacks on the roadside. Sex education in schools saves the day to impart knowledge and to know the vagaries in a women’s life. Women’s Wings are coming out in open to oppose in most of the cases coming to their knowledge. Even the victim should also come in open to raise their voice to give the much needed focus on the real subject and not to deviate on other trivial issues related to the crime.

The government should give the women the much-wanted protection so that women can walk on the roads much freely. Policing has improved a lot to find out even Cyber crimes on women and that makes more sense. In cases of rape, FIR is to be lodged providing all the facts to make the issue more clear. The roles of the Gynaecologists, Lawyers, Police, and NGOs all play a stellar role in screening the real crime in a rape case. Hiding facts will not help out the cause. Women suffer forever and it is time to pay attention to women’s woes.

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

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