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While city infra crumbles, 969 engineer posts lie vacant in BMC

July 10, 2019

Mumbai’s infrastructure is crumbling. Bridge collapses, potholes, rains and fires claim lives of residents of the city. It is not easy to build infrastructure projects in Mumbai. The city is very dense. Mumbai is facing a lot of infrastructure problems. At the same time, 969 posts out of 4,482 of civic engineers in the BMC are vacant. This was revealed by a reply to an RTI query.

According to the city engineer’s office, activist Anil Galgali had asked the query to the office. The city engineer’s office also gave a report for the October 1 to December 31, 2018. As per the report, 4,485 posts of junior engineer, sub-engineer, assistant engineer, executive engineer and deputy chief engineer were approved. Of these, 969 posts were vacant and 3,516 were working. Considering the large scale of work BMC takes up, these vacant posts should be filled up as early as possible.

A bridge near CST in Mumbai collapsed, killing six people in March this year. Notably, no issues were flagged when the bridge which collapsed was audited by BMC. BMC’s 2018 report highlighted that the bridge needed minor repairs but the incident dismissed all the findings. While Elphinstone tragedy created quite an uproar and the government was slammed from all quarters, no one learned any lesson. In July last year, a portion of a 40-year-old bridge collapsed in Andheri killing two people. But the problems of Mumbaikars aren’t limited to Railways and bridges. Frequent fires also kill residents of Mumbai. The Kamala Mills fire accident, in which 14 people died, revealed that enough precautions haven’t been taken to avert any fire tragedy. Fire incidents kept claiming lives. In December 2018, ESIC Hospital in Kamgar caught fire killing 13 people. It seems no one takes fire safety norms seriously in Mumbai. Aa per a report, nearly 2,600 high rises violated rules in the last four years.

Residents of Mumbai are not lucky to get potholes-free roads. Rapping BMC for ignoring its order on potholes, a division bench of Bombay HC said that the civic body shows laxity because they know Mumbaikars are tolerant. The first rains of monsoon killed 26 persons in Mumbai recently. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rout said that the BMC and Shiv Sena are not responsible for whatever happened in Mumbai, blame the monsoon.

According to consultancy firm McKinsey as reported by Livemint, Mumbai needs $220 billion (approximately Rs 14,74,000 crore or Rs 14.74 trillion) of investment in hard infrastructure and smart technology over the next 20 years to be future-proof. The report of McKinsey found that Indian cities fare much worse than even Latin American and African metros in adoption of technology, the McKinsey report said. The study, put together by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the research division of the consultancy, evaluated 50 major global cities for their smartness. With the highest score set at 37 points, Jaipur scored only 2.7 (lowest among the cities studied), Pune 6.4 (at par with Nairobi) and Mumbai 8.8, ranking below counterparts such as Mexico City and Cape Town. These were the three Indian cities that made it to the 50 that were studied.

McKinsey estimates that Mumbai needs $220 billion to build hard and smart infrastructure till 2035. Suveer Sinha, partner, McKinsey was quoted by Livemint as saying, “There are no 20-year infrastructure plans for cities. City governments create plans for their individual terms. Therefore, there is no comparable government figure for how much the city’s corporation will spend to create infrastructure over this period.”

Mumbai lags behind other Indian cities in infrastructure

According to an expert, Mumbai lacks the political push that’s needed for infrastructure projects, while the government and state agencies in other cities are collectively working on clearing logjam on the ground so that they can expedite infrastructure projects. Many cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Jaipur rapidly developed metro lines to ferry people. Mumbaikars feel left behind. Mumbai was the city where careers were made earlier, so people were ready to struggle everyday in the trains or fight the traffic on roads. Now other cities offer growth opportunity and have better in.

ELECTRICITY

45 lakhTotal no of power consumers

3 million – Reliance Energy 0.95 million – BEST 0.60-0.65 million – Tata Power

ELECTRICITY DEMAND

During Summer- 3,600 MwOther months- 2,700 Mw

LAW AND ORDER

50,600 No of Policemen in city

94 – No of Police Stations The BPRD data till Jan 2016 says, Maharashtra had 1:625 police public ratio, which means one policeman for 625 people

WATER

City gets water supply from 7 sources namely Tulsi, Vihar, Tansa Modak Sagar, Middle Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa. Net supply to city is 3,750 MLD (excluding en-route supply and transmission losses). However, the city needs around 4,200 MLD water daily. The extra 450 MLD of water will come from 5 state-of-art infra projects like the lake-tapping of Modak Sagar & installing recycling plants at the Bhandup and Panjrapol water complexes

Controversial and pro-radical Islamist Vice President of India should be investigated

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

July 10, 2019

All of us are aware of the phrase ‘black-sheep’ or proverb ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. Two-times Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari is one of them, who had betrayed with his country and secretly joined hands with notorious Iranians, thus causing massive damage to India’s intelligence establishment.

According to information, NK Sood, a former officer of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), through his Twitter account @rawnksood on June 28, 2019, has made explosive allegations against Ansari stating, he [Ansari], while serving as Indian ambassador to Iran between 1990-1992 had endangered the lives of RAW officers in Tehran and even ended up exposing its set-up in Iran.

On July 5, 2019, in another tweet, Sood wrote: “Rata Sehgal was Additional Secretary in IB [Intelligence Bureau] and he was later found to be working for CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] and help[ed] passing on documents to CIA lady agent in Delhi. He should have been arrested, jailed and dismissed. But was asked to resign and allowed to go. Now he is settled in [the] US”.

Sood retired from RAW in 2010.

According to a report published in The Sunday Guardian, Sood has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an inquiry into the case of Hamid Ansari’s betrayal and for “damaging the RAW operations” when he was posted as ambassador in Iran.

These officers, who were posted in Tehran during Ansari’s tenure, had first approached the Indian Prime Minister in August 2017 seeking investigation against Ansari, but surprisingly, Modi has not shown any interest in doing so.

In their complaint to the Prime Minister, these officers have claimed that Ansari, while being posted in Tehran, “not only failed to protect India’s national interest, but cooperated with the Iranian government and its intelligence agency SAVAK to cause a serious dent to RAW and its operations”.

According to them, there were four major incidents when Indian Embassy officials, diplomats were kidnapped by SAVAK and Ansari deliberately failed in his duties to protect India’s interest.

It may be mentioned here that, Iran’s notorious spy agency SAVAK was officially disbanded in 1979 and a new organization, Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniat-e Melli-e Iran, was formed. However, intelligence agencies, including RAW, even till date, continue to refer to the Iranian spy agency by its old name.

NK Sood said, in May 1991, one Indian official named Sandeep Kapoor was kidnapped from the Tehran airport, by SAVAK. When the issue was brought before Ansari, he downplayed it despite RAW station chief — who was in Dubai during this incident, had to fly back considering the gravity of the situation and had briefed Hamid Ansari on the matter.

Instead of taking any initiatives in tracing the abducted official, Ansari sent a confidential report to the Ministry of External Affairs stating Kapoor was missing and his activities were under the radar of Iranian authorities because Kapoor was having illicit relations with a local woman. Hamid Ansari had deliberately suppressed the fact of being briefed by RAW and involvement of SAVAK behind the abduction of the Indian official, Sood added.

After three days of his abduction, an anonymous phone call to the Indian Embassy in Tehran informed that Kapoor was lying in a particular place on the roadside. Later he was rescued by the Indian officials. Sandeep Kapoor was heavily drugged and the after-effect of it lasted for several years.

Despite RAW’s suggestions of filing a protest with the Iranian regime, Ansari, because of his extreme romance with the Iranian mullahs, did not take any such steps.

There are many such incidents when Hamid Ansari had exhibited his total loyalty to the Iranian regime instead of looking into the interest of his own country.

During August 1991, RAW was monitoring activities of some Kashmiri jihadists, who were regularly visiting Iranian religious and recreation center named Qom, where they were getting military training. As the matter came to the knowledge of Hamid Ansari, passed the name of the RAW team leader D.B. Mathur to SAVAK and subsequently, the RAW officer was picked up by the members of the Iranian agency. As the matter was brought into the attention of Indian leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and subsequently Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, after 72 hours of his abduction, Mathur was released from Iran’s infamous Evin prison. It may be mentioned here that, Evin Prison has been accused of committing serious human rights abuses against its political dissidents and critics of the government. Hundreds and thousands of female prisoners were raped inside this prison by the prison guards as well as members of the Revolutionary Guards prior to their execution.

In his letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Sood also mentioned an incident where P.K. Venugopal, the RAW station chief, was picked up by SAVAK and beaten up before being released. Ansari never lodged a complaint with Iranian authorities.

Sood claims that Ansari’s prolonged and regular meetings with Pakistan Ambassador in Tehran was also not reported to the MEA.

Untold facts about Hamid Ansari

What the Indian intelligence establishment was not aware is, Hamid Ansari was not only having extreme intimacy with the Iranian regime, he also was under monthly payroll of the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). He had hosted Indian envoys in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain with the ulterior motive of extracting details about the RAW activities in those countries and had secretly passed the information to his Pakistani counterpart.

Hamid Ansari also was regularly supplied young Iranian girls by SAVAK while he was having a temporary wife named Shirin under Iran’s notorious Muta’ah marriage law.

It may also be mentioned here that Hamid Ansari had proposed setting of Shariah court in each of the districts in India. Following his retirement, Ansari has made numerous comments which went against India’s image.

Hamid Ansari has attended a program organized by militant Islamic organization named Popular Front of India (PFI), which has been accused by India’s National Investigative Agency (NIA) for its role in controversial love jihad cases in Kerala. He even defended and applauded those students who had protested the removal of Pakistani leader Jinnah’s portrait at Aligarh Muslim University.

It may be mentioned here that Hamid Ansari has authored a number of books on Iran including a book named Iran Today. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and a Visiting Professor at the Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia. He is a former Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University. Ansari has served as India’s ambassador to the UAE, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, as High Commissioner to Australia, and as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

It is unknown if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will initiate an investigation into the case of Hamid Ansari. But of course, for the sake of punishing someone who had betrayed with his own country, people like Hamid Ansari should definitely be tried and at least imprisoned for life on charges of high treason and sedition.

(The author is the editor of Blitz. Follow him on Twitter at Salah_Shoaib)

(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.)

Do you want a career in Cricket?

C K Subramaniam

July 10, 2019

The transition from school to college and then to actual career-building will not be as fair, nice, and safe as you might expect, particularly at a time when the world is rapidly moving towards a greater degree of automation with each passing day. You should quickly adapt to the changing times in order to match up to the tasks. Nevertheless, planning should start at the early stages so as to seize the opportunities as and when they come and the youngsters should keep learning to be productively engaged with society. Building a career in sports is the best option for children to survive in a competitive field.

The message is simple — if you dream of becoming a professional sportsperson, you should have earned some national visibility by 16 or you most likely compete out already! Harsh as it sounds, this is usually a family decision — a high level of mentorship is needed for a young kid to live the life of strict nutrition, fitness, and practice regimes that the demands of the sport and then to survive the emotional highs and crashing lows of professional wins and losses. Of course, you can just be a sports hobbyist and running, playing sports at community clubs and participating in amateur tournaments while you hold down your day job.

Indian cricketers were emerging in the National horizon due to sheer talent or maybe the influence of being so and so of former cricketers/officials of National repute. The talented guys had to toil hard to meet their both ends without any support, parents’ wrath and the risk of neglecting studies. In comparison with two decades back, the ever-growing popularity of cricket in India has changed the scenario completely today. Cricket is being pursued as a career. We all know that a cricket player’s career is limited. The follow up like the star tag, the glamour always adds to subsequent guaranteed engagements which may be in advertisements endorsements, politics and even in Bollywood. Besides, the money generated by a cricketer during his limited career will be more than enough to venture into business propositions aftermath the career.

No surprise, the cricket fever with the youngsters in the country increasing the number of cricket coaching institutes. Crowded summer coaching camps are seen every nook and corner of the country. And India is reigning No-1 in ODI ranking in the World. India has become the new home of World Cricket. So, If you got a trio of talent, passion, and luck by your side, maybe you can be a part of bleed blue and play for the country. To be an International player you want to start the preparations from age 14 or at least 16.

If you make it big, there is tremendous earning potential as a cricketer. In recent times, a large amount of money has been put into the game and even players who play domestic cricket can earn significant sums of money if they participate in the various T20 tournaments held around the world, such as IPL in India and Big Bash in Australia. Most cricketers also earn significant amounts of money through sponsorships. However, first-class cricket players do not earn as much as international players.

The level of competition in the world of cricket has increased drastically over the last few years, ever since more money has been made available to players. However, at the top level, there is always room for exceptional people. However, only the top thirty or so players in every country come into contention of making it into the final playing eleven in each team. Competition is extremely fierce, and one really has to stand out in terms of talent, determination, and luck to make it.

Cricketing is a viable career option in the 10 test match playing countries. These are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, and West Indies. Within India, you can get selected from any part of the country that is home to a first-class cricket team. However, it is often easier to get noticed if you are from a bigger city. Hence, the competition there can be more intense. To succeed you will have to work really hard and that makes you a tough player of the test to withstand pressure situations and perform at the highest level.

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

Letters to the Editor: 10 July, 2019

Web Team

July 10, 2019

Steep illegal parking fine levied by BMC

The fine levied by the BMC for illegal parking to motorists is too much. They should first clean up the city of Mumbai of its garbage and also clean up the drainage system which gets chocked up during the monsoons and cause flooding and then levy a fine to motorists for illegal parking.

Jubel D’Cruz

Insult of great national leaders unacceptable

There is reference of Maharana Pratap in history and civics text books of 7^th standard (Maharashtra Board) without giving him due respect and thus Education Department has, in a way, insulted Maharana Pratap. In a lesson on history of pre-Shivaji period, it has been mentioned that ‘Maharana Pratap took over throne of Mewad after the death of Udaysingh. He continued the struggle for existence of Mewad.’ He has been referred to as an ordinary citizen. On Rajput community’s staging agitations on this issue, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra said that necessary instructions would be given to the Education Department; however, there is nothing new for the State Government, in Education Department’s committing blunders in text books. Earlier, in NCERT’s text books published by Union Government, history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was given in few lines while there were several pages on the history of Mughals. Revolutionaries were mentioned as terrorists in those books. Patriotic citizens protest against Education Department’s such kind of bravery; therefore, these blunders are at least brought to the notice of people. The curriculum set by Education Board has to be ideal as it helps in building up our future generation. The Government appoints experts in respective fields for the same; even then, Education Department is in public eye for some or the other issues. Historical legacy of revolutionaries and great national leaders is an invaluable treasure of Bharat which is striving to become a super-power and if that treasure is being insulted while presenting it before future generation, how will they take the country on the path of further progress?

Mokshada Ghanekar

Health woes after deluge

Health woes haunt the maximum city after the monsoon rains along with high tide swept the city and cause innumerably problems to the routine life of citizens. Some of the people are still missing in the heavy downpour could not be traced out and the old buildings have started falling down one by one. In the aftermath of rain, health problems also surface and cause a stir to the city. Doctors advised people, who ventured out in the muddy rain water for half an hour or so, need to undergo a test without fail to make sure that they do not face any health issues. Dengue, Cholera, Malaria and Swine Flu all are common as the water is contaminated with both drinking and drainage water mixing in some areas. It is better to boil and drink water at least for a fortnight till the normalcy is achieved. The deluge will surely result in diseases outbreak and one has to be careful with diseases like leptospirosis as it is a dangerous one. It is time to take care of health after the heavy rains. Monsoon rains is part and parcel of Mumbai and the state government should be ready for the outbursts of diseases and the medical team and the hospitals should be ready to meet any calamity with life saving medicines available and doctors kept ready. On the part of citizens, the people should take all precautions to make sure that the deluge has become a worry for diseases. After all cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Lakshmi Raghu

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

Rahul takes stock of poll debacle in Amethi

Web Team

July 10, 2019

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi is in Amethi for the first time since his Lok Sabha defeat at the hands of BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani. Perhaps he will take a lesson from this debacle and improve shortcomings of the Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi, on his daylong visit to Amethi, met Congress workers to ascertain the reasons behind his defeat with a margin of 55,000 votes. On Monday, in an important meeting of the Congress Sewa Dal in Lucknow, it was also emphasised that the organisational structure should be made strong once again.

The Congress had earlier also constituted a two-member panel comprising UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s representative KL Sharma and AICC secretary Zubair Khan to analyse the reasons behind the poll debacle in the Congress stronghold Amethi.

According to the report of the panel, the non-cooperation by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party workers at the grassroots level were to be blamed for the poll rout. The SP and the BSP, which had formed an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, did not field any candidate in Amethi in a show of tacit support to the Congress party.

As per the local leaders, the absence of a BSP candidate contributed to Gandhi’s defeat, even though he got more votes than his 2014 tally. They said that the votes from the BSP candidate’s kitty went to the BJP instead of getting transferred to the Congress. A senior Congress leader said, “The party chief had bagged 4,08,651 votes in 2014 while he got 4, 13,994 votes in 2019. Meanwhile, the BSP candidate from Amethi in 2014 had got around 57,000 votes. Interestingly, this time the margin by which Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi was around 55,000.”

Local Congress leader Yogendra Mishra also said, “The vote of the BSP instead of going to the Congress actually got transferred to BJP due to absence of any BSP candidate. The son of Gayatri Prajapati, who was the mining minister in the SP government, and SP MLA from Gauriganj Rakesh Pratap Singh, had expressed their support to the BJP. Rakesh Pratap Singh extended support to Rahul Gandhi after getting directive from the leadership but it was too late by then.” KL Sharma, refuted this justification and said that there will be further feedback sessions with workers from the Tiloi and Gauriganj segments.

Congress slept, BJP swept

At a tea shop in Jais tehsil in Amethi, a young farmer Visweshwar Verma put up a spirited defence of PM Narendra Modi’s schemes when asked why he voted for the BJP. “We received two instalments of Rs 2,000 each from the PM-Kisan scheme… he gave us Rs 4,000 (the second instalment came a few days before the day of polling). No one before him even gave us Rs 4 in our hands,” he added.

The overall consensus of the group sitting inside the tea shop is that the BJP was expected to win these elections. They said, “Man, dhan se chunav lada BJP ne… koi Kasar nahin choda (the BJP put its heart and resources to win the elections). An alert Congress should have seen it coming but they kept on sleeping.”

Brijesh Kumar, 40, a Congress party worker of Gauriganj, was fuming. He said, “Our local leaders expected to win without doing anything… there was no campaign in the villages, nor was anyone there to listen to people’s problems.” However, his biggest complaint is that the local leadership prevented workers from meeting Rahul Gandhi whenever he visited. “We could only see him from far away. We were told that a 134-year-old party will not function according to our suggestions.” The disconnect and lack of grassroots campaign also meant that the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY)—the Rs 72,000 per year minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest which was promised in the Congress manifesto—escaped popular imagination.

According to Jay Prakash Kaushal, a resident of Gauriganj, the widening gap with the ordinary people coupled with the gate keeping by local leaders cost the Congress the crucial seat. He said, “The results will hold a mirror to Rahul Gandhi… the party should have seen this coming.”

In the 2014 general election, Rahul Gandhi’s margin of victory fell to a little over 107,000 votes from 370,000 votes in 2009. In the 2017 state assembly elections, the Congress lost in each of the five assembly constituencies in Amethi. It was nowhere to be seen during the Panchayat elections in 2018. The poor election management in Amethi is indicative of the Congress’ wider decimation in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the party witnessed a washout despite winning state elections seven months ago.

According to Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior Lucknow-based leader and spokesperson of the Congress, the lack of foot soldiers who could campaign for the party, coupled with the BJP’s dominance of television and social media, were major reasons for the electoral loss of the party. “We were fighting a moral battle… the (popular) support for PM Modi is grounded in astha (faith), which does not see any merit or demerit,” he said.

Youths have no attachment to history of development of Amethi

From infrastructure to restoring agricultural land, the Gandhis have indeed done a fair share of work and managed to change the face of Amethi, but the youths of today have no attachment to this history of development Amethi, said Sudhir Panwar, professor at the University of Lucknow. Panwar said “When the Jat farmer leader, Ajit Singh, lost in the 2014 general election, there was anger in the villages of western Uttar Pradesh. But after he lost this time, there is none. The same goes for the Congress in Amethi. Ordinary workers of the Congress are also deserting the party since it is not in a position to benefit them in any way.”

According to Vivek Mishra, a young booth-level worker of the BJP, dislodging Gandhi from Amethi took months of hard work. “The BJP fought these elections at a micro level as if it was Panchayat elections. We worked as social workers, helping people enrol under the Ayushman Bharat (the PM’s flagship health insurance) scheme, and ensured that farmers received the PM-Kisan money transfers.” That is not all. Polarization on religious lines was also an integral part of the election strategy. Rajwant Singht, a 65-year-old resident of Gauriganj said, “The beef eaters had to be taught a lesson… only the BJP can protect the interest of Hindus.”

Hrishik Pandey (21 years) from Pure Dhana Pandey village in Jais, voted for the first time. He said, “Hindus have been suppressed for far too long… see, Rahul also knew that he will lose, so he ran away to Wayanad (in Kerala) where Hindus are in minority… but don’t you think southern states are odd. Why did they vote the other way?”

Many promises yet to be fulfilled

Rajesh Choudhary

July 9, 2019

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has claimed to retain power again but he has not fulfilled many promises made by him during elections. In the recent past, CM Fadnavis recited a poem indicating that he will be coming back again and resuming the work as CM of Maharashtra.

Seeing the winning graph of the BJP, no one can deny that the party will retain the power in alliance with the Shiv Sena. However, at the same time, the poem is contradictory to some people in the state as youths are jobless and Mumbai is still in potholes. Mumbai’s potholes will be addressed, it was in the 2014 manifesto of the CM.

CM had also told people that if you find any pothole, do not vote for me. He had said that Mumbai would not suffer waterlogging.

The first rain of monsoon this season left Mumbai paralysed and more than 50 people lost their lives. His ally party leader Sanjay Raut blamed the monsoon saying that the BMC and Shiv Sena are not responsible for whatever happened in Mumbai.

On the other hand, corruption in the state is continuing without any break and women safety is still a distant dream.

Chief Minister was speaking on the last day of the last legislative assembly session of the present government. He expressed his firm belief that once again he will return to power for the creation of Navamaharashtra. He said, “I’ll be back again to make the villages of the state hydrated, to change the face of the cities, to make Maharashtra drought-free and youths more efficient.”

Congress spokesman Atul Londhe told Afternoon Voice, “None of their promises has been fulfilled. People are very disappointed with them. People are surprised that how did they win elections?”

Fadnavis said that during his five years reign as the Chief Minister, there were many problems and challenges. He said, “I did not run away from it. I have tried to solve the questions honestly and positively with everyone. We have done the things that have not been done in the past 15-20 years. We have been successful in bringing back the glory of Maharashtra. Today Maharashtra is the number one state on all the fronts.”

BJP spokesperson Prof. Suhas Farande said, “The work of the Fadnavis government has been good. That is why people gave 41 seats out of 48 to the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. This government is transparent. Like PM Modi, CM Devendra Fadnavis has done a good job. As far as unemployment is concerned, it cannot be solved in only five years. This problem has been persisting since the Independence of India. The Fadnavis government will come back, it is our confidence.”

The BJP led by Fadnavis came in power in Maharashtra five years ago. The Chief Minister promised clean, transparent governance, more industrialisation, and employment opportunities, improving the state’s finances and ramping up infrastructure. However, his tenure has grappled with acute agrarian distress and a farm loan waiver, dwindling finances, slow investment, and corruption charges. Maharashtra’s position as the number one economy in the country is slipping. During the ‘Make in Maharashtra‘ event in 2016, the state government promised Rs 8 lakh crore worth of foreign investment that would create 30 lakh new jobs. But the ground reality is that no major industry has come and no new jobs have been created. The BJP promised clean governance, but Fadnavis’s ministers are facing corruption charges.

NCP leader Shashikant Shinde said, “They have won the recently held Lok Sabha elections. But there will be a huge difference between the results of the Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls. NCP will fight Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress. There is also an apprehension about polling through EVMs.”

BJP leaders made pre-poll promises to farmers about complete loan write-offs, remunerative prices based on the Swaminathan Commission‘s recommendations, and doubling farmers’ income in five years, but they have not delivered on any promise. Incidents of farmers committing suicide are continuing. The state government failed to control farmer suicides. Demonetisation and the implementation of GST have caused a major slowdown in the economy. Even traders are not happy.

Despite this, the implementation of many projects has not been as quick as the government earlier projected. Five years on, the construction of key projects like Mumbai’s trans-harbour link and a coastal road are yet to take off. The grand ‘housing for all’ scheme is lagging far behind targets and the smart cities scheme is doing little to bring about the overhaul that cities really need.

BJP’s populist promises to Mumbaikars:

-Pothole-free roads in 5 years, till then no street tax

-To introduce mobile application to address citizens’ grievances

-The projects taken up by BMC in last 20 years under Public Private Partnership module for education, medical and other projects will be investigated by retired judge

-24×7 water to be provided and under Right to Water, every family will be provided 750 litres water on which corporation takes eight per cent charge every year. No more extra charges

-The citizens would be provided with more 3200 MLD water with the help of Gargai, Pinjal and Daman Ganga dams

-Salt water treatment plant will be set up

-Sewage treated water will be utilized to wash roads of Mumbai’s to make the city pollution and dust-free

-Families who are living in flood-prone areas would be given extra FSI so redevelopment of flood prone area buildings would be easier

-Eight sewage treatment plants will be set up

-Electricity from waste management

-Waste collection vehicle information will be available on mobile phones

-Waste treated water will be used to wash railway bogies, BEST bus, State transport (ST buses) and private vehicles. A separate place would be provided for sewage treatment plant

-Separate plants for debris treatment will also be setup

-Unhygienic public toilets will be given free electricity and water as incentives to maintain them well and motivate people to use it cleanly

-To decongest Mumbai city, a ‘Traffic comprehensive Mobility Plan’ will be worked out

-Five new medical colleges will be constructed

-A special budget provision will be made for Mumbai open space and beautification

-Beach Beautification programmes will be undertaken; East Coast, which comes under Bombay Port Trust, will be beautified and kept open for public

–Mangroves theme park will be setup on 30 per cent land of Mumbai city with people’s participation

The Chief Minister said in poem:

I’ll be back again! The same fixes,

In this same place in this role

New Maharashtra’s creation

I’ll be back again!

To make the villages hydrated

To change the face of the cities

Maharashtra to be drought free

For the creation of Navamaharashtra

I’ll be back again!

To make young friends more efficient

To strengthen the victims

For the creation of Nava-maharashtra …

I’ll be back again!

Monsoon mess in Mumbai

Vaidehi Taman

July 9, 2019

Expect heavy to very heavy rainfall for the rest of the week, this was the message from the weather department. When it rains, the entire city traffic comes to a halt in Mumbai, India’s second most important city in the country after Delhi. Every year, at least a dozen people get washed away in flood water here and as usual, Nobody Cares!

Monsoon puts our government, city civic bodies, and urban planners to shame every year. However, nobody cares. Major cities across India resembling a huge water body when the skies open up is a regular feature during monsoon. When it pours, life comes to a halt and lakhs of people suffer. Mumbai receives more rain than many other major cities in India; the commercial capital of the country suffers the most and makes it to headlines. Once the rain stops and flood water recedes, everybody including the people of Mumbai choose to forget it till the next monsoon.

Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Srinagar, Guwahati, Jaipur, and even Dehradun and Lucknow have the same issues during monsoon. It exposes the serious lapses in our urban planning and more so in its execution. Unless we get our basic drainage system right, we can’t save our cities from monsoon fury. The need of the hour is investing in better and effective drainage system across all major cities. We need to build good quality wide roads with no potholes to decongest the cities when the skies open up.

For all these, we need more money, world-class technology, political will, and no corruption while delivering the work. Mumbai needs urgent attention of the concerned authorities. If we can’t protect them from rain, we better forget our plans or dreams of making them model cities or smart cities or world cities. Heavy overnight rains lashed Mumbai and adjoining areas causing water logging in several low-lying areas, resulting in the slow movement of peak hour rail traffic. The local trains on the Harbour line were running late by 15 to 20 minutes. The trains on Central and Western lines, however, were running on time. The disaster management team is keeping a tab on the situation but that is not enough. The city recorded 477.2 mm rain since June 1. With the average rainfall for June in Mumbai is 523.1 mm, the city has 46 mm left to cover to surpass its monthly mean rainfall.

Every year monsoon arrives and exposes the authorities and government. Every year, there is at least one picture of a BMC worker who is working towards clearing the choked drainage, the silent messages depicted in pictures but what is the point in it? Every year the government is making budgets for drainage and those people are doing their jobs. The ever-procrastinating people, who are not answerable to anybody, waste much of government funds. Just one or two rains hit Mumbai and look at the conditions around. Railways station escalators are not protected against weather, there are water logs everywhere on the stations to metro and skywalk, tiles are broken and holes. Of course, there are attempts being made to ‘advance’ the facilities to passengers by installing escalators worth nearly 80 lakhs per set, which can speed up enough to cope with the rising demand of hurry for citizens.

Before the arrival of monsoon in the city, the opposition always disputes with the ruling party, the BJP used to attack then and now Congress and NCP are attacking, leaving these political parties aside from the civic body’s claim that most of the city nullahs have been cleaned. However, if you visit Borivali nullah near the national park to Andheri, most of them are filthy, overflown with plastic covers and all sort of garbage. The work at the Dahisar River nullah remains incomplete.

At many nullahs, the parapet walls have not been built. The nullahs of Dahisar River, Chandavarkar nullah did not have proper parapet wall causing flooding during heavy rains. Lacks of funds are one of the reasons that parapet walls have not been built at some nullahs. The NL Complex nullah, which starts from Dahisar east near Sanjay Gandhi National Park and flows into the Mira Bhayander creek, is still not cleaned properly. In case of high tide, there are chances that water might go backward and flood some areas, instead of flowing into the sea. This is the main cause of water borne diseases. People suffer from different kind of strange viral infections.

Seashores are dirty, beaches and dumped with all sort of waste. Lakes are stinking. Since a large number of Mumbaiites are used to urinating, spitting and defecating in public places, rains promptly absolve us of the guilt of our reckless conduct. In this way, we can continue to blame the authorities for not making our areas hygienic and mosquito free whilst assuring ourselves unrestricted use of the freedom we won so dearly. Common public and BMC both blame each other but the main issues get sidelined, above all politics kills the substance of the purpose. I have been witnessing Mumbai rains since my birth, but every year, the issues are the same without any solution.

There is no other season or weather that can fill one with as deep and different emotions as the rains. Every season the stories are same, just the rulers may change. You voted for this government with great faith, hope they live up to your expectations and do not leave in monsoon mess of Mumbai.

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

Crocodile tears by OHCHR & JKCCS for human rights

Hem Raj Jain

July 9, 2019

An irked India on July, 8 lodged a strong protest with the UN rights office over the OHCHR report and in addition to other complaints India termed it as violative of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

On June 14, 2018, OHCHR released a first report on the human rights situation in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. On September 10, 2018, the High Commissioner for Human Rights informed the Human Rights Council during its 39th session that the OHCHR report’s findings and recommendations had “not been followed up with meaningful improvements or even open and serious discussions on how the grave issues raised could be addressed.”

Moreover, neither India nor Pakistan had taken any concrete steps towards providing OHCHR with unconditional access to their respective sides of the Line of Control (the report examined human rights in Pakistan Administered Kashmir and found that human rights violations there were more structural in nature; these included restrictions on the freedom of expression and freedom of association, institutional discrimination of minority groups and misuse of anti-terror laws to target political opponents and activists). The High Commissioner also informed Member States that OHCHR would continue its monitoring and reporting work on Kashmir. Therefore, this follow-up OHCHR report of July 8, 2019.

This July 8, 2019, the report has also quoted the figures given by ‘Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society’ (JKCCS) of Kashmiris killed, injured, blinded, etc. in the Indian side of J&K. However, both the OHCHR and JKCCS are merely shedding Crocodile tears for human rights of Kashmiris in India and Pakistan which is evident from the fact that the human rights can easily be protected on both sides of LoC in unified J&K but they are doing it, as explained below:-

(1)- India has assailed July 8, 2019, report also by saying that it is ‘violative of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’. However, India forgot that J&K is not an integral part of India and is not like any other State of India. Rather, the political fate of J&K will be decided by plebiscite mandated by ‘Instrument of Accession’ (IoA) as mentioned in my March 25, 2019, online writ petition to J&K High Court.

(2)- It seems that the J&K High Court has not admitted my said online writ petition hence JKCCS should file this writ petition [preferably on behalf of the victims (and their family members) of human right violation in J&K] which will constrain Government of India (GOI) to carry-out plebiscite (after retrieving PoJK and after maintaining law and order in unified J&K) and which will solve all the human rights problems in both sides of LoC in J&K.

(3)- Before filing said writ petition in J&K High Court for plebiscite, the JKCCS should arrange a meeting of the victims (and their family members) of human right violation in Indian side of J&K and should explain the legal reality to them that as per IoA it is not India or Pakistan but the people of unified J&K who will decide the political fate of Unified J&K. However, the governments of India and Pakistan both have taken the territory of J&K under their administration for granted and that is the main reason of human rights violations on both sides of LoC in J&K and this unfortunate situation can be rectified only through said writ petition by JKCCS in J&K High Court.

(4)- The main pleadings in the said writ petition in J&K High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution can be as given below:-

That gory and chronic Kashmir problem has lingered mainly due to ultra-vires acts of the legislative bodies of the Union of India and the State of J&K) about ‘Instrument of Accession’ (IoA) of J&K to India accepted by the then Governor General of India on October 27, 1947, which in essence is given as –“[My Dear Maharajah Sahib, Your Highness’s letter dated the 26th October, has been delivered to me by Mr. V.P. Menon. In the special circumstances, mentioned by your Highness, my Government has decided to accept the Accession of Kashmir State to the Dominion of India. Consistently with their policy that, in the case of my State where the issue of Accession has been the subject of dispute, the question of Accession Should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State, it is my Government’s wish that, as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir, and her soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State’s Accession should be settled by a reference to the people. Meanwhile, in response to your Highness’s appeal for military aid, action has been taken today to send troops of the Indian Army to Kashmir to help your own forces to defend your territory and to protect the lives, property, and honour of your people. My Government and I note with satisfaction that your Highness has decided to invite Sheikh Abdullah to form an Interim Government to work with your Prime Minister: Yours Sincerely Sd/- Mountbatten of Burma”].
That as per IoA, the people of J&K have nothing to do even with United Nations rather it is the responsibility of India to get plebiscite by getting the soil of United J&K cleared of Pak invaders (including non-citizens of united J&K) and after getting law and order restored in united J&K (including rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits) and how India does it is India’s headache whether by its own or through UN or by getting help from any friendly country for retrieving PoJK (militarily or on table).
That neither Indian Parliament nor Legislative Bodies of J&K nor any other constitutional authority or institution in India has any constitutional-legal right to decide on the fate of territory of united J&K before plebiscite as per IoA. However, in utter violation of this fundamental legal principle, the Union of India and the State of J&K have illegally mentioned the J&K as a State like any other State of India and even an integral part of India which is against the letter and spirit of IoA, hence ultra-vires and null and void and legally ought to be repealed by Hon’ble Court.
That in view of above mentioned the J&K High Court should be requested to issue appropriate writs as under:-

[1]- Get repealed the Article 1 (3) (a) of The Constitution of India and PART II THE STATE (3) of the Constitution of J&K [which illegally show J&K as Indian territory (like any other State of India) and even an integral part of India without any mention of the condition of plebiscite to decide the territory of J&K as per ‘Instrument of Accession’].

[2]- Recommend to the President of India that the President, under Article 86 (2) of the Indian Constitution, should send message to Parliament to incorporate in such repealed parts of the Constitution of India that – [As per ‘Instrument of Accession’ the fate of territory of J&K will be decided after plebiscite which will be carried out by Union of India after ensuring, in united J&K, the conditions conducive for carrying out such plebiscite].

[3]- Recommend to the Governor of J&K that the Governor, under Article 54 (2) of the Constitution of J&K, should send message to Legislative Bodies of J&K to incorporate in such repealed parts of the Constitution of J&K that [As per ‘Instrument of Accession’ the fate of territory of J&K will be decided after plebiscite which will be carried out by Union of India after ensuring in united J&K the conditions conducive for carrying out such plebiscite].

[4]- (In view of delay of 71 years and immense killings, injuries, sufferings and human rights violations due to chronic and gory so-called Kashmir problem) direct the Union of India to get plebiscite in united J&K at the earliest possible after ensuring in united J&K the conditions conducive for carrying out such plebiscite required by IoA.

It is hoped that both OHCHR & JKCCS instead of shedding crocodile tears for violation of human rights in Indian & Pakistani sides of J&K, the OHCHR will persuade JKCCS to immediately file said writ petition in J&K high Court for plebiscite so that human rights on both sides of LoC in J&K can be protected, restored and ensured in an effective manner.

India vs NZ: India has won 69 per cent of matches played since last four years

Web Team

July 9, 2019

India will clash against New Zealand in the first semi-final game of the world cup. The match will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester. Team India will be eyeing a final berth for the fourth time. On the other hand, New Zealand will be keen to play its second final match. However it won’t be easy for New Zealand to beat India. In the last four years, Team India has won 69 per cent of the matches played against New Zealand. Both teams have played each other on 13 occasions where India had won nine matches and Kiwis emerged victorious in four matches. Both teams will play each other at Manchester after a period of 44 years. The last time New Zealand had defeated India by four wickets in 1975 world cup edition. After this two more matches were played by both the teams as New Zealand had emerged victorious.

India will be playing its seventh semi-final in the world cup. India has won three semi-finals and lost three games. Last time, Team India was beaten by Australia in semi-final match. Team India will be playing against New Zealand for the first time in semi-final match of the world cup. On the other hand, New Zealand has managed to win only one semi-final and it had to face defeat in six semi-final matches.

Indian captain Virat Kohli stated, “We will be playing for a win in semi-final match. There would be immense pressure on both teams. Both Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are good players. It would augur well for us if we can get them out cheaply.”

Both India and New Zealand have played 106 matches against each other out of which India have won on 55 occasions while Kiwis have emerged victorious in 45 matches. One match was tied and five matches had no result. The last match between India and New Zealand was abandoned due to rains. Rains are likely to come in Manchester and temperatures will be between 18 to 20 degree Celsius. The team which bats first will have advantage over the other. India has already beaten Pakistan on this venue. Chasing teams have lost on five occasions on this ground.

Letters to the Editor: 09 July, 2019

Web Team

July 9, 2019

Lumpsum money offered to inefficient PSU banks

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman didn’t have many goodies in her bag to doll out to the poor due to budget deficit rising each year but no Income Tax upto 5 lakhs must be welcomed by all though it is a small relief in today’s inflationary times. Re 1 surcharge on fuel should not cause much uproar at a time when roads are congested and people still can afford to buy cars whose prices have shot up dramatically in the last few years. TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal over 1 crore in a year must be applauded as that certainly is an huge amount which normal people doesn’t require in normal circumstances.

I am worried about the 70000 crores being offered to inefficient PSU banks. This is honest tax payers money given to inefficient banks who loot the poor by way of frenzy charges on the savings account to fund the elite who have no intention to return back the money. We need banking reforms of efficient money management before recapitalization, else this money too would become NPA‘s in no time. A job well done otherwise by our efficient FM and good luck to her!

S.N. Kabra

When will lynchings stop?

It is a very sad incident that a 24-year-old Muslim man by the name of Shams Tabrez Ansari was beaten to death by a very cruel and violent mob in Jharkhand on June 22, 2019 and the police did nothing to help him out nor arrest the mob. The reason was simple: He was a Muslim. He was not even carrying beef. He was even made to take the name of Hindu gods and chant praises to them.
I wish that the police and the current BJP government take serious action against mob-violence and lynching, especially in this case and arrest the culprits as soon as possible, otherwise it will bring a bad name to the BJP. The people who killed Shams Tabrez Ansari should also be arrested.

Jubel D’Cruz

Auto strike may paralyse life in state

Auto strike in the state is threatening to take away normal life of the common man. Office going people and school going children generally make use of the service and sudden disruption will cause discomfiture in the state. The indefinite strike starting will have a stifling impact in transportation of general public. Since taxi fares were increased, auto unions are restless and demanding hike. Since last 42 months, fares have not been increased for Autos and it appears to be a genuine demand. The Unions may get a hike of at least Rs.2 to Rs.3 if their demand is acceded in principle. But the present strike is going to paralyse life in the state.

Krishnan Subramaniam

Share details about bills passed through media

The current monsoon session of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is witnessing an important phase through passing of several bills. Many bills are tabled after Zero hour in both the houses through pending, amendment and introduction of bills respectively by the honorable members of the parliament through a consensus motion. It is welcome to know that certain bills related to Special Economic Zone, the Dentists, Indian Medical Council and the Central Educational bills have been passed recently through an amendment tabled in the current session.

Further the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is suggested to share the details of all the bills passed, amended or introduced, including private member bills, through a comprehensive list published daily in local newspapers and regional newspapers. Also the Press Information Bureau news portal may carry a detailed daily press release updates specifically announcing the list of bills presented in the current session on a regular basis.

Such a positive and proactive move will help ensure that the citizens are well aware of bills passed by the respective members on daily basis accordingly in every session of both the houses. The announcement may also carry complete details of the bill along with the member details who has passed the bill. Thus the information dissemination as suggested will further help the Parliament to effectively manage public outreach initiatives through newspapers and PIB website press releases.

Varun Dambal

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

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