Dinesh Kamath's column on 'Inside Navi Mumbai' (8) (Two more wonders come up in Navi Mumbai) that was published in Newsband

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Inside Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

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Two more wonders come up in Navi Mumbai

NCP’s Chief Sharad Pawar was in Navi Mumbai the other day to inaugurate Skywalk and Golf Course at Kharghar. The Golf Course will put Navi Mumbai on the world map. It will undoubtedly bring this city into international focus for the simple reason that it is bound to become the venue for many international Golf events.

The Golf Course is excellently constructed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). This is another feather in CIDCO’s cap. CIDCO is known for coming up with one wonder after another. This time it has come up with the Golf Course which is indeed a masterpiece.

Sharad Pawar also inaugurated the skywalk which is another masterpiece. Everyone involved in the construction of this skywalk should be lauded. The architects, engineers, workers and all the others who contributed to the construction of this skywalk deserve to be saluted for the superior kind of work they have done. They have indeed contributed to adding to the beauty of the city.

Henceforth both Golf Course and Skywalk of Kharghar will be added to the list of wonders in Navi Mumbai and every resident of Navi Mumbai will feel proud about the fact that they are residing in a city full of wonders.       

Sharad Pawar had come to Navi Mumbai to do the inaugurations but in one of the speeches he made he used the opportunity to make a mention about the Delhi gang rape that led to strong agitation to demand change in the law to protect women. Pawar was all sympathies for the victim and he expressed his agreement with the agitators. He was of the opinion that the power to make laws lies with the parliament and hence the members of this sacred place should come up with effective laws that will make the women feel secure.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan who was present during the inauguration was all praise for CIDCO. He was right when he said that CIDCO has created a city of international standards. CIDCO’s main contribution to the city was providing of affordable homes which benefited many lower and middle income families. The city needs more such homes and CM promised to come up with a decision that will enable CIDCO to construct more such houses.     

CIDCO conferred honorary life membership of the Golf Course on Prithviraj Chavan and Sharad Pawar. This Golf Course is bound to give birth to many Indian Golf players of international standards. The golfers in Navi Mumbai should be given the first chance to exploit this new Golf Course to convert themselves from local players to international sportspersons. If this is done, don’t be surprised if within a year or two you will witness the emergence of many international golf players within Navi Mumbai itself. 

Golf is considered as the game of elites. Navi Mumbai authorities should not hesitate to sponsor young ones of poor families to try their skills in Golf. There are many poor youngsters who are talented but due to lack of money they are not able to nurture and polish their talents. In such situations, the local government should come to their rescue. If money is invested on nurturing the talents of these poor youngsters today, then there are all the possibilities of these youngsters growing up to become sportspersons of international standards tomorrow after which they can make possible for foreign currencies to flow into the treasury of Indian government. What I mean to say is a little investment now can lead to huge profits in the future.

Thane district Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik, the strongest man of Navi Mumbai, was also present during the inauguration ceremony. He appeared to be totally impressed by the skywalk and he wondered why Navi Mumbaikars hesitated to make use of the skywalks. He rightly asked CIDCO to hand over the public utility plots to NMMC and that too at a nominal rate. Ganesh Naik is a man of ideas and at the same time he is a practical man. He believes not just in expressing the ideas but he also applies his hundred percent to convert those ideas into reality. That’s one reason why he is adored by residents of Navi Mumbai. Janata Darbar was his brainwave and till now he has conducted many Janata Darbars which gave opportunities to many common people of the city to come face to face with him and not only express their problems but also get them solved and that too almost immediately. You can as well say that Ganesh Naik is the leader of common man. India is in need of such kind of leaders.