Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'What is govt. doing about pollution?' that was published in Newsband

What is govt. doing about pollution?

How much attention is our Government – both State and Central - paying to the problem relating to pollution? What steps are Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) taking in matter of eliminating pollution?

In a survey that was conducted, it was found that the approach of the States to their environment protection duties was no more than lip service. The findings make it clear that the position of Chairman of a State Pollution Control Board is often used to reward political loyalists. The candidates lacked prescribed qualifications, brazenly violating the Act relating to Prevention and Control of Pollution. The members of this Board were found mostly non-technical and not professionals.  

Major laws relating to pollution remain a dead letter in most States, with rivers turned into sewers transporting waste downstream. Such contemptuous disregard for the environment can continue only at the cost of public health.

The Surveyors should publish online the data they gather under various laws and rules, particularly on water and air quality, noise pollution, and disposal of different types of waste. These facts and figures should be directly published on the net. This is to inform the public as to what different industries are doing in terms of pollution levels. If this is done there’s a good chance that it'll cause some embarrassment to industries and make them mend their ways.

While the administration is undeniably responsible, the general public

has grown immensely callous in this regard too. Far from keeping the

forests and rivers clean, most don't feel any sense of shame while spitting on roads and other public spaces. This creates the necessity for compulsory environmental education policy.

As back as 1983, UN realized the importance to save the environment and commissioned the Bruntland commission. This committee did pioneering work, laid down the charter for saving environment from deforestation, pollution and coined the term Sustainable Development.

But India, it seems, has not made serious note of importance of clean environment. This is eroding India’s figure in Pollution map.

Mishandling of state pollution boards is one of the several examples of administrative rot set in the country. Political favoritism, neglect of specialists, absence of grievance redressal etc have gripped India's administration. The need of the hour is to initiate massive administrative reforms in the country. Unfortunately the above solution itself requires political and administrative will.

There are two aspects of pollution control. One is regulatory aspect and the other is awareness. Regulation is very poor. In fact, it is easy to break rules and in all likelihood no action would be taken for use of manufacturing processes that pollute water or environment. Although on paper there are laws to control pollution, in practice they are not implemented at all or implementation is faulty. There is lack of political and administrative will to implement pollution control rules and there are hardly any penalties for violation of rules. Hence we need action on

front of implementation.

City dwellers are often the major victims of the polluted environment. Society pays a heavy price as citizens bear huge healthcare costs on account of the polluted environment. Hence the citizens have to be involved in pollution control efforts by creating awareness of benefits of pollution free environment. Public awareness campaigns would be useful.

Thus it is high time our Government took stern steps to eliminate pollution in our country.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Navi Mumbai airport project almost gets green signal' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai airport project almost gets green signal

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Ministry of Environment and Forest has at last granted permission to go ahead with the new airport project in Navi Mumbai.

It was Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who put in a lot of effort to make this possible. Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan should also be thanked for the green signal that the project received.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) gave an okay on several conditions for diversion of around 250 hectares of forest land in Raigad.

The FAC also gave clearance in the matter of mangrove forest with the condition that afforestation of mangrove species over an area equivalent in extent to mangrove forest area being diverted has to be raised and maintained by the user agency at their own cost.

FAC also asked to secure the help of reputed organizations in environmental matters to reduce the negative effect of airport on environment.

The committee also said that there was no objection to the airport site being at 10 km radius of the Karnala Bird sanctuary because the two airstrips proposed in the project are East-West-oriented and will have lesser impact on Karnala Bird Sanctuary. The committee made it clear that no extension of the project will be allowed in the future.

FAC also looked into the matter of and asked the government to come up with a plan for approval. The committee insisted on formation of a monitoring committee and submission of a six-monthly report to the MoEF.

FAC’s recommendation now just needs Jayanti Natarajan’s approval. Even the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has shown special interest in this airport project and has set a deadline for the awarding of contract for this project.

Although the estimated cost of the project has risen considerably, it will create employment for a large number of youngsters. Besides, it will decongest the international airport in Mumbai. The capacity of the proposed airport will be 60 million passengers per annum which is more than Mumbai airport. 

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Navi Mumbai airport project included in PM's fast-track list' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai airport project included in PM's fast-track list

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: There has been considerable delay in the execution of many key infrastructure projects. Hence Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a high level committee to set deadlines for the award of contracts for such projects which also include the Navi Mumbai international airport project.

The committee questioned the prolonged delay in execution of airport project in Navi Mumbai. The committee will regularly monitor the project and submit a status report to the PMO. Since the PMO itself has set the deadline, there are all the possibilities of the airport project getting completed in a time-bound manner.

January 31, 2014 was set as deadline for the awarding of airport contract. The civil aviation ministry was asked step in to expedite the airport project. This project faces hurdles in land acquisition in view of huge demands by the local farmers.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India is more racist than America' that was published in Newsband

India is more racist than America

Racism till recently was a thing of past in America. But after White security man George Zimmerman shot dead an unarmed 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin and the Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman, racism is become a issue once again in the US.

The decision to set George Zimmerman free raises troubling questions about whether this multiracial nation can ever transcend its painful history of slavery and ugly, persisting racial hatred? Another question is why America favours ultra-liberal gun ownership rights?

Zimmerman had the right to apply deadly force if he “reasonably believed” that it was necessary to prevent his death or bodily harm. The Florida police refused to arrest him for an astonishing 44 days after the killing, until a major national campaign forced them to do so.     

The question is if the roles were reversed, would an armed African-American man have faced the same odds of acquittal? There is precedence. O.J. Simpson was also acquitted despite strong evidence against him, and he was a black man. So to suggest that America can never emerge from the shadow of its past history of slavery is a gross misstatement. Errors committed by a local Jury, however unjust, is not a reflection on the state of a nation which recently elected a black president twice.

If the Blacks in America thought that his was a case of jinxed verdict there would be a public outrage like in Jessica Lal’s case in India where the case came up for retrial.

The Indian press is always quick to point out racism in America. But Indians are definitely more racist. There are so many people in India who have been humiliated for their dark skins in their own family and in Indian circles.

Despite the error by the Jury, the American justice system is not as a rule tainted by racism.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'More AC bus services for Navi Mumbai' that was published in Newsband

More AC bus services for Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: BEST plans to increase routes and frequency of its buses in Navi Mumbai too. More AC buses are being introduced to discourage people from using private vehicles to prevent traffic snarls in the city and its neighbourhood. This is the idea behind introducing new AC bus services.

BEST has around many buses running in Navi Mumbai out of which very few are AC. Around two lakhs people commute by these buses per day. But there are many more people who need to commute by these buses and hence there is an urgent need for the expansion of the AC fleet in Navi Mumbai.

Routes, city roads, express highway and freeways existing in the city need to be exploited by introducing enough BEST buses. If AC buses are faster, frequent and more reliable, citizens will not need to use their private cars.

AC buses cannot be used by all section of people owing to their high fares which is much more than general fares. At least the middle class people cannot afford to commute by such buses. A section of the commuters have made a demand to bring down the AC fares to make it affordable to even a common man.

The BEST authorities are indeed displaying keenness to introduce AC buses on new routes. The state government is also showing keen interest in this matter. BEST is trying to please the privileged class by deploying AC buses on dedicated lanes of the city. In fact, many of these people prefer AC buses to AC cabs or cars.

The advantage of bus service is that it can carry more passengers in a single vehicle, thus reducing congestion and pollution. A few hundred buses can carry more passengers than some lakhs of cars.

In Navi Mumbai, it was found that 28 AC Volvo buses, plying on just three routes, ferried several thousand people a day. NMMT (Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport) AC buses are also quite popular. Even those with cars many a time prefer to go by buses. 

Dinesh Kamath's column 'Information about careers' (Cartoonist) that was published in Newsband

Information about careers

By Dinesh Kamath

Cartoonist

A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is often created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising. Cartoonists may work in many formats, such as animation, booklets, comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons, graphic novels, manuals, gag cartoons, graphic design, illustrations, storyboards, posters, shirts, books, or video game packaging.

In the West

The English satirist and editorial cartoonist William Hogarth, who emerged In the 18th century, has been credited with pioneering Western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects". Much of his work poked fun at contemporary politics and customs; illustrations in such style are often referred to as "Hogarthian".

While never a professional cartoonist, Benjamin Franklin is credited with having the first cartoon published in an American newspaper. In the 19th century, professional cartoonists such as Thomas Nast introduced other familiar American political symbols, such as the Republican elephant.

During the 20th century, numerous magazines carried single-panel gag cartoons by such freelance cartoonists as Charles Addams, Irwin Caplan, Chon Day, Clyde Lamb and John Norment. These were almost always published in black and white, although Collier's often carried cartoons in color. The debut of Playboy introduced full-page color cartoons by Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini and others. Single-panel cartoonists syndicated to newspapers included Dave Breger, Hank Ketcham, George Lichty, Fred Neher, Irving Phillips and J. R. Williams.

Comics

Comic strips received widespread distribution to mainstream newspapers by syndicates such as the Universal Press Syndicate, United Media or King Features. Sunday strips go to a coloring company such as American Color before they are published.

Some comic strip creators publish in the alternative press or on the Internet. Comic strip artists may also sometimes work in book-length form, creating graphic novels. Both vintage and current strips receive reprints in book collections.

The major comic book publishers (such as Marvel or DC) utilize teams of cartoonists to produce the art (typically separating pencil work, inking and lettering while the color is added digitally by colorists). When a consistent artistic style is wanted among different cartoonists (such as Archie Comics), character model sheets may be used as reference.

Calum MacKenzie, in his preface to the exhibition catalog, The Scottish Cartoonists (Glasgow Print Studio Gallery, 1979) defined the selection criteria:

The difference between a cartoonist and an illustrator was the same as the difference between a comedian and a comedy actor—the former both deliver their own lines and take full responsibility for them, the latter could always hide behind the fact that it was not his entire creation.

Animation

Dip pens have traditionally been a popular drawing tool for cartoonists.

Animated cartooning is created for short films, advertising, feature films and television. It is also sometimes used in live-action films for dream sequences or opening titles. An animation artist is commonly referred to as an animator rather than a cartoonist.

Books and exhibitions

There are many books of cartoons in both paperback and hardcover, such as the collections of cartoons from The New Yorker. Prior to the 1960s, cartoons were mostly ignored by museums and art galleries. In 1968, the cartoonist and comedian Roger Price opened the first New York City gallery devoted exclusively to cartoons, mainly work by the leading magazine gag cartoonists. Today, there are several museums devoted to cartoons, notably the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, run by curator Jenny E. Robb at Ohio State University.

Creation

Comics artists usually sketch a drawing in pencil before going over the drawing in India ink, using either a dip pen or a brush. Artists may also use a lightbox to create the final image in ink. Some artists, Brian Bolland for example, use computer graphics, with the published work as the first physical appearance of the artwork. By many definitions (including McCloud's, above) the definition of comics extends to digital media such as webcomics and the mobile comic.

The nature of the comics work being created determines the number of people who work on its creation, with successful comic strips and comic books being produced through a studio system, in which an artist assembles a team of assistants to help create the work. However, works from independent companies, self-publishers or those of a more personal nature can be produced by a single creator.

Within the comic book industry of the United States, the studio system has come to be the main method of creation. Through its use by the industry, the roles have become heavily codified, and the managing of the studio has become the company's responsibility, with an editor discharging the management duties. The editor assembles a number of creators and oversees the work to publication.

Any number of people can assist in the creation of a comic book in this way, from a plotter, a breakdown artist, a penciller, an inker, a scripter, a letterer and a colorist, with some roles being performed by the same person.

In contrast, a comic strip tends to be the work of a sole creator, usually termed a cartoonist. However, it is not unusual for a cartoonist to employ the studio method, particularly when a strip become successful. Mort Walker employed a studio, while Bill Watterson eschewed the studio method, preferring to create the strip himself. Gag, political and editorial cartoonists tend to work alone as well, though a cartoonist may use assistants.

Art styles

Scott McCloud, whose work Understanding Comics identified the different styles of art used within comics.

While almost all comics art is in some sense abbreviated, and also while every artist who has produced comics work brings their own individual approach to bear, some broader art styles have been identified. Comic strip artists Cliff Sterrett, Frank King and Gus Arriola often used unusual, colorful backgrounds, sometimes veering into abstract art.

The basic styles have been identified as realistic and cartoony, with a huge middle ground for which R. Fiore has coined the phrase liberal. Fiore has also expressed distaste with the terms realistic and cartoony, preferring the terms literal and freestyle, respectively.

Scott McCloud has created "The Big Triangle" as a tool for thinking about comics art. He places the realistic representation in the bottom left corner, with iconic representation, or cartoony art, in the bottom right, and a third identifier, abstraction of image, at the apex of the triangle. This allows placement and grouping of artists by triangulation.

The cartoony style uses comic effects and a variation of line widths for expression. Characters tend to have rounded, simplified anatomy. Noted exponents of this style are Carl Barks and Jeff Smith.

The realistic style, also referred to as the adventure style is the one developed for use within the adventure strips of the 1930s. They required a less cartoony look, focusing more on realistic anatomy and shapes, and used the illustrations found in pulp magazines as a basis. This style became the basis of the superhero comic book style, since Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel originally worked Superman up for publication as an adventure strip.

McCloud also notes that in several traditions, there is a tendency to have the main characters drawn rather simplistic and cartoony, while the backgrounds and environment are depicted realistically. Thus, he argues, the reader easily identifies with the characters, (as they are similar to one's idea of self), whilst being immersed into a world, that's three-dimensional and textured. Good examples of this phenomenon include Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin (in his "personal trademark" Ligne claire style), Will Eisner's Spirit and Osamu Tezuka's Buddha, among many others.

Tools

Artists use a variety of pencils, paper, typically Bristol board and a waterproof ink. When inking, many artists preferred to use a Winsor & Newton Series 7, #3 brush as the main tool, which could be used in conjunction with other brushes, dip pens, a fountain pen and/or a variety of technical pens or markers. Mechanical tints can be employed to add grey tone to an image. An artist might paint with acrylics, gouache, poster paints or watercolors. Color can also be achieved through crayons, pastels or colored pencils.

Eraser, rulers, templates, set squares and a T-square assist in creating lines and shapes. A drawing table provides an angled work surface with lamps sometimes attached to the table. A light box allows an artist to trace his pencil work when inking, allowing for a looser finish. Knives and scalpels fill a variety of needs, including cutting board or scraping off mistakes. A cutting mat aids paper trimming. Process white is a thick opaque white material for covering mistakes. Adhesives and tapes help composite an image from different sources.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'CIDCO’s Radha wins the heart of villagers' that was published in Newsband

CIDCO’s Radha wins the heart of villagers

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO’s) joint MD Vennecaganti Radha belongs to the 1994 batch of Maharashtra cadre IAS officer. Vennecaganti Radha immediately went into the roots of the issue relating to the Navi Mumbai International Airport project. No sooner did she take up her position in CIDCO, she went to the extent of having a straight talk with the villagers, who were being asked to part with their land for the airport project to take off. The villagers expressed their unhappiness over what was being offered to them in return for their land. Radha promised the villagers to conduct a survey and do justice to them. The reasons for the delay of airport project are the issues of land acquisition and disagreement over compensation.

Radha is the one who had brought under control Mumbai’s octroi agents when she was working in the capacity of a joint municipal commissioner. She was responsible for lessening corruption to a great extent. When she arrived in Navi Mumbai she addressed the problems of women in Navi Mumbai first and foremost and tried to solve their problems by arranging meetings with them.

Before Radha took over her position in CIDCO, this organization was finding it tough to proceed with its ambitious airport project. The villagers were just not cooperating and were not allowing the conducting of the survey of their land. But these same villagers agreed when Radha, during a meeting with some women, convinced the villagers that a survey would do them a lot of good and that they stood to benefit a lot by the airport project. She managed to get them to promise to cooperate in this matter. So what the other officials of CIDCO could not do for one and a half years, Radha achieved it in hardly any time. She performed a kind of magic on the villagers who did not hesitate to allow CIDCO officials to conduct the survey in their village. Such was the charisma of Radha. Her public relation talents seemed to have an impact on the villagers. 

When Radha personally interacted with the villagers she became aware of their main problem which was non-receipt of their earlier dues. She found that they were angry about the fact that the government did not care to keep all its promises. Radha promised to fetch for them their earlier dues only after which she told them she would pursue the airport project. She has decided to keep her promise before dwelling on land acquisition issue with the villagers. She has also decided to set up a separate cell to clear 12.5% developed land files.

Radha has been keeping a close watch on officers in the compensation cell. She is totally against those developers, land agents and brokers who fool the villagers. She considers them as people with vested interest and she just can’t tolerate them. Her intention is to organize a direct face-to-face talk between government and the villagers. She is prepared to come down to the level where she will ask her officers to approach the villagers instead of latter coming to CIDCO office. She has directed her officials to pay all the dues of the villagers that are pending.

Radha’s first aim is to win the trust and confidence of the villagers only after which she expects her organization CIDCO to proceed towards pursuing of Navi Mumbai International Airport project. She is bent on paying the villagers the compensation that is due to them and she has absolutely no intention of cheating the villagers. She is indeed keen on acquiring the land of these villagers for the airport project but she would like to do it in a proper, legal and fair manner.

Thus Radha is the first person who has succeeded in winning the confidence of the villagers and this is a first major success of CIDCO in the matter of pursuing the airport project. 

Dinesh Kamath’s column on ‘New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai’ (Bajatey Raho, Nasha, The Wolverine, Issaq, Luv U Soniyo and Oops a Desi) that was published in Newsband

New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai

Bajatey Raho

Bajatey Raho is a 2013 Hindi comedy-thriller film directed by Shashant Shah and produced by Sunil A Lulla. The film features Tusshar Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Dolly Ahluwalia as main characters. This is director Shashant Shah's third film, after Dasvidaniya (2008) and Chalo Dilli (2011), both of which starred actor Vinay Pathak as lead.

The film has Tusshar Kapoor, Ravi Kishan, Dolly Ahluwalia, Vishakha Singh and Kamlesh Gill playing important roles.

The film has an interesting story. When all hell has broken loose and it's only the crooks left to rule the roost, it is time for the good to start its fight over evil. But is that enough? In India's first ever revenge comedy; you will witness the fight of Con v/s Evil to retain one's honour, integrity and prestige.

Sabbarwahl (Ravi Kishan) is on a roll committing a series of frauds, all in the garb of a successful business entrepreneur. But little does he know that one of his misdoings has created a huge impact on the lives of four poor sods: Mrs. Baweja (Dolly Ahluwalia), Sukhi (Tusshar Kapoor), Mintoo Hasan (Vinay Pathak) and Ballu (Ranvir Shorey) which has only resulted into an enormous wave of need for vengeance.

The death of Mr. Baweja due to a cardiac arrest after being framed in a bank fraud and Saira his assistant being put behind bars, Mrs. Baweja takes the situation in her hands. The poor sods decide to no longer remain victims to the situation by living on scrawny jobs and meagre monies but to teach Sabbarwahl a lesson in the best way possible. It's the good hearted underdog who has to become a 'little BAD' to fight the 'very BAD'.

'To dethrone the king is no mean task.' But a lot needs to happen before that: Sukhi finds love in Manpreet (Vishakha Singh) who has to get Sabbarwahl to twirl to her tunes; Mintoo's 'Modern Catering' has to offer more than just 'Quantity and Quality' and Ballu's cunning ways need to go through the litmus test.

Thus the film is one with a series of cons, enthralling, amusing, and needless to say, entertaining to the core. Coz at the end of it all Happy Ending it is... but all you will want to say is 'Bajatey Raho'!!!

  

Nasha

Nasha is a 2013 Indian coming-of-age erotic thriller, directed by Amit Saxena. The film marks the bollywood debut of model Poonam Pandey. Other actors in the film are Shivam and Ranbir Chakma.

Nasha is the story of an 18 year old boy who falls hopelessly in love with a 25 year old woman. A woman he cannot have, but a woman he cannot help but desire. And, as is the case with desires unfulfilled, they turn into obsessions. And yet, every obsession is a lesson learnt; an experience gained. So that, in the course of coping with his unrequited love, the boy requites a lot more. And both he and the woman come of age - beyond mere years, in the truest sense of the word. A tale as much of longing as of losing, Nasha is a story that transcends seasons and generations. Because we've all been there, done that. And shall continue to do so...

The Wolverine

The Wolverine is an American-Australian superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is intended to be the sixth installment in the X-Men film series and follows the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Hugh Jackman reprises his role from previous films as the title character, with James Mangold directing a screenplay written by Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Frank, and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

Sometime after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai as well as his inner demons.

The Wolverine, which marks Jackman's sixth appearance in the role, finds him behaving typically. He's in the frozen forests of the Yukon, having retreated from society, both human and superhuman, to hang out with the grizzly bears. It's here that he's tracked down by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a perky young Japanese woman whose martial arts skills command his grudging respect long enough for her to get a few sentences out. She wants him to go to Tokyo with her for a reunion with her boss, Yashida, whom he met during World War II. Now a wealthy and powerful industrialist, Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), was a young soldier when he and Wolverine encountered one another in a prison camp on the outskirts of Nagasaki just before the bomb was dropped. Logan saved his life. Now he's dying and he wants to say goodbye.

When Wolverine arrives at the tycoon's compound, he learns that Yashida wants a favour. Since he believes Logan to be wearying of his immortal state, he will arrange a swap. A newly invented machine will extract the Wolverine's spontaneous ability to heal himself of any injury and transfer it to Yashida, who will then live forever, allowing Logan to pass serenely into the long goodnight.

When Logan replies with a brusquely predictable no, the hostilities begin, precipitating a plot that plays out like a Tokyo-based Dallas. The Yashidas are a fractious clan and their squabbles are accessorised with a full menu of bone-breaking stunt-work, much of it involving Ninjas, samurai swords and an extended bout of acrobatics on the roof of the bullet train.

The villains move up the chain of command from the ninjas to Yashida's corrupt son, Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada from The Last Samurai). And right at the top is the Viper (Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova), an evil superhuman posing as Yashida's oncologist. Her weapon is halitosis. One blast of her toxic breath can send even Wolverine reeling – although he does have his excuses. The script gives Yashida's nasty machine a chance to go to work on him, after all. He then has to face the alarming prospect that the multiple sword thrusts and bullet wounds penetrating his flesh might actually be inflicting some damage. The movie has an interesting climax.

Issaq

Issaq is a 2013 Hindi Romance film directed by Manish Tiwary and produced by Dhaval Gada and Shailesh R. Singh. The film is written by Padmaja Thakore-Tiwary, Manish Tiwary and Pawan Sony. The film features Prateik Babbar, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Ravi Kishan and Makarand Deshpande as main characters.

The story of Issaq revolves around the two lovers who are born to hate each other as their families are arch rivals of each other. Progressing as how they eventually fall in love with each other, the plot is set in the background of Varanasi as story on the banks of the Ganges and revered as holy in Hinduism. This story is based on Shakespeare's play Romeo- Juliet

As I told you earlier, we see the story transposed to Banaras and its neigbouring areas that are witness to violence unleashed by sand mafia controlled by urban elite and equally violent retaliation by Naxalite armies. The sand mafia is run by two influential Banarasi families, Kashyaps and Mishras, who are at brutal feud with each other. Kashyap has an 18-year old, pretty and innocent daughter Bachchi from his first wife. Bachchi's role is played by Amyra Dastur who marks her debut in this film. On the other hand, Mishra's son Rahul (Played by Prateik) is a good-looking teenager with predictable interests for a boy of his background - Girls & Guns!

Things change when the battle-hardened and pleasure-seeking Rahul and romantic yet head strong Bachchi fall in love. Disregarding the consequences, the young lovers choose to go ahead with the diktats of their hearts. What follows is a high octane action-filled drama.

Manish Tiwary's Issaq turns into a commentary on the meaning of love in contemporary India!

Luv U Soniyo

Luv U Soniyo is a 2013 Hindi Romance film directed by Joe Rajan and produced by Beena Hemanshu Mehta and Pradeep Goradia. Creative Producers - Gautam Buragohain, Shivkumar Parthasarathy. Cinematography by Kalpesh Bhandarkar.

Mark and Soniyo, who after having been brought together by fate have to win over their parents consent. Their cultures clash in every possible way and just when fate decides to turn the game around, all they have is their faith in each other and a little help from their friends. The film features Aseem Tanuj Virwani and Neha Hinge as main characters.

The film has Tanuj Virwani, Neha Hinge, Bunty Grewal, Aaditya Shivkumar, Shobhit Khanduri, Vivek Vaswani, Howard Rosemeyer and Suresh Menon as main actors.

To be more exact, Luv U Soniyo is a story about Mark and Soniyo, who since their childhood have been brought together by fate, time after time, only to be drawn apart each time. But destiny has its own plan in store for these two who belong to two completely different worlds. Will the fate that brought them together time and again work in their favor now, and are they destined to be together after all? To know the answer to this question, watch the movie.

Oops a Desi

Ooops a Desi is a 2013 Hindi Romance, Thriller, Action film directed by Jenner Jose. The film features Buali Shah, Adnan Khalid, Pragathi Yadhati and Gideon Samson as main characters.

The film has Buali Shah as Xavier, Adnan Khalid as Dev, Pragathi Yadhati as Sonia, Gideon Samson as AJ, Anil Sachdeva as Bhushan, Manohar Pinnamraju as Swami, Siddhartha Gupta as Nilesh, Javed Khalid as Patiala and Sonia Gadhok as Aarthi.

Ooops a Desi is about Indians (Desi) living in the USA on an invalid immigration status. The movie opens to a busy downtown street (in New York city). The passing pedestrians notice something very alarming. It’s a Desi (Indian) holding a visible sign. Sign states “BOMB here!!!”. Soon we are taken to the story that occurred before this incident. The guy with the Bomb Sign (Xavier) and Dev too do odd jobs because of their illegal immigration status in the USA. They have their own troubled past that is preventing them from returning to India. The roller-coaster begins when AJ, their room-mate is mysteriously abducted to which Sonia is a witness. Because of their illegal status, Dev and Xavier along with Sonia have no option but to take matters in their own hands.

Thus Ooops a Desi is a story of ordinary Desis (with an invalid immigration status) who find themselves in an alarming situation. This could either turn deadly for them or an improbable blessing in disguise that only the ending to this fast paced exciting thriller will reveal.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Right to home' that was published in Newsband

Right to home

It is high time our government provided affordable houses to every urban poor. Most of the people belonging to lower income groups find the need of houses.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation should come up with a right policy that will make promoting of affordable housing possible. Many existing schemes have barriers that prevent the poor from benefiting. The government should take steps like fixing affordable housing loan targets for banks to achieve.

The government has realized that it alone cannot meet the needs and have tried to rope in private developers. That’s a good move.

The problem of housing cannot be adequately addressed unless the speculative investment made in the sector throughout the country across urban and rural areas is controlled. Investment in real estate is big business and all the black money and ill gotten wealth is channeled into this sector and it goes unregulated and not monitored.

The worst thing is it is always the poor who stand excluded of the benefits of the growth.  The rich goes on to own three to four houses and aspire for more to gain on the appreciation in the value of land and building since they know that prices of houses simply skyrocket.

There need to be taxation on those owning more houses so as to regulate the prices and make it affordable to the lower middle class.

Everyone has a "right to home". But it is the population growth, migration to urban areas, conflicting needs for existing land, and insufficient financial and natural resources that result in widespread homelessness and habitation in inadequate housing. We find so many children, men and women sleeping on sidewalks, under bridges, subway stations and public parks, and living in ghettos and slums.

These statistics are evidence for the difficulty governments have in guaranteeing access to housing for their citizens. The fact that shelter is a human right makes it necessary for the government to provide each one of its citizens with land, four walls and a roof.

Most important thing is every citizen needs to be aware of his or her right to home. Increasing access to education will make aware all the citizens of their right to housing. The realizations of those rights mostly lead to greater access to housing.

In a vast country like ours there are countless issues that arise with every step that follows. Everyone tries to make merry out of the government driven schemes; they are not considering the perspective of hundreds and maybe thousands of people who are adversely affected because of their selfish motives. Hence a moral factor in our economy should be introduced. Only then can every citizen of the country possess a home.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Private players join government efforts to provide affordable vegetables' that was published in Newsband

Private players join government efforts to provide affordable vegetables

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: In order to provide affordable vegetables to the public, two private players joined the effort. The Future Consumer group and D'Mart chain of stores added nine centres of their own, taking the tally to 49.

Most new outlets are located in Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai residents feel as if their wish has come true. They are happy about the fact that they will now be able to buy fruits at a lower cost than before.

A senior APMC official does not deny that prices have fallen in the vicinity of the centres but he complains that these prices remain high elsewhere. He says, “The concentration of outlets in one place puts pressure on profiteering traders there. Each day, they note down prices at the government centres and then fix their rates. Residents of some places in Mumbai are being fleeced by small retailers.”

A resident of Khanda Colony, Panvel says, “The prices of vegetables are high in some parts of the city. Hence the people residing over there flock to such centers. The center then appears like an annual village fair. Although their goods are not of high quality, their prices are very low. It is in localities where lower middle class people reside that there is urgent need for government intervention.”

Residents of affluent areas are forced to pay a lot of money for vegetables that cost much less in middle class localities. The hawkers in these areas are aware of the fact that the residents over here are very rich and so they don’t hesitate to raise the prices considerably even of basic vegetables and fruits. The affluent residents here too seldom bargain and pay up whatever vendors ask. The sufferers are some poor residents of these affluent areas who too have to bear the burden of paying huge price for the goods sold in this area. These are the people who are in need of centers like Sahakari Bhandar that sells good quality foodstuff at cheaper rates. But the affluent residents just do not patronise these outlets since they can afford the price that the hawkers charge. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Politics around the poisonous plate too' that was published in Newsband

Politics around the poisonous plate too

The routine midday meal proved fatal for 22 children in Bihar’s Saran district. This exposes the school authority’s inability to store food materials without the risk of contamination. This points to a colossal failure to observe minimum food safety standards.

This is a kind of man-made tragedy that has shaken the faith of the citizens. Mid-Day Meal is supposed to be the biggest school welfare programme which covers 10.54 crore children. The scheme is supposed to provide nutritious meal to pre-primary and primary school students.

In the past, there have been reports that such mid-day meals have not been meeting nutritional standards at certain places. This report itself should have alerted the authorities concerned. Such an ugly incident can be averted only if there is strong commitment among policymakers and the bureaucracy.

It is doubly tragic that the death of so many children is turned into a blame game to achieve political gains. It’s a shame that our government can’t do a simple thing like being able to guarantee children a safe meal.

This incident was the combined failure of school administration, State Government and Central Government.

The school authorities are to be blamed because they failed to check the quality of food before serving to children, did not take care to see that the school had adequate provisions to store food grains and other commodities and if they did they did not care to explain the situation to higher authorities and lodge complaint and also they failed in their duty of maintaining cleanliness in school.  

The state government is equally to be blamed for not providing all facilities to implement such a well lauded scheme, for not checking and monitoring the food quality being served and for not caring to find out where the commodities came from and went to.  

The Central Government cannot escape blame since it failed to issue enough warnings and it did not take stringent action on Bihar for this ugly occurrence.

It’s strange that the government spends about 14000 crore rupees (all tax-payers’ money) for this scheme and yet the kids are not able to get a simple hygienic food.

Another thing of shame is that when 22 kids who got their life sucked by the mid day meal offered by a government body for education scheme, the State Government minister sniffs a smell of conspiracy by opposition instead of announcing an immediate inquiry and help to the families who lost the life of their beloved. This shows the poor mental state of Indian politics and its politicians.

The country where the drama of politics is played around the poisonous plate needs a radical change and an immediate change within its system.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'IT students of Airoli shocked by the exam results' that was published in Newsband

IT students of Airoli shocked by the exam results

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Final year Information Technology (IT) students of Datta Meghe college of Engineering (DMCE) at Airoli, Navi Mumbai, are not happy with the assessment of their internal exam. They might approach the student grievance cell of Mumbai University to lodge a complaint.

The college awards them marks for their internal tests, attendance and class performance out of 25 marks, instead of 50. This has led to most scoring less than 20 marks in the internal exam. Actually the internal exam is for 50 marks and the external exam (projects) for 50 marks. But yet these students were given marks only out of 25.

When the members of school administration were approached and this error was brought to their notice they had no choice but to admit that they had committed a mistake.

The students want these errors to be rectified soonest for several reasons – one of them being their intention to apply for further studies abroad.

Mumbai University too cannot escape the blame because they happened to overlook such a big issue. They are as much responsible as the college. Another strange thing is when the principal of DMCE was told about this error he was found to be totally ignorant about the issue. However, he promised to enquire into this happening at the earliest. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'When will our govt. get enlightenment?' that was published in Newsband

When will our govt. get enlightenment?

The multiple explosions at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya and sites nearby have shocked the whole world. The shrine, revered by Buddhists the world over, was targeted by terrorists. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the attacks, nor has the temple, or the tree under which the Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment, been damaged.

In all, 13 bombs were planted at various locations, of which 10 exploded. The terrorists placed an explosive device at considerable height on an 80-foot Buddha statue.

Countering the terrorist threat needs the Centre and the State to work together. There should be information sharing, immediate analysis of specific threats and putting in place the men and measures to prevent threats from coming true.

Were these particular bomb blasts done to avenge recent anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar?

India’s political class lacks the capacity to understand or deal with the seriousness of the threat that terrorism poses to the country. The politicians should collectively help in tackling terrorism instead of just resorting to blaming one another.

Nobody is serious about the security of the country which is degrading day by day. The security consideration has to be revised to make it efficacious. Had there been appropriate sharing of information and co-ordination between state and centre, this incident could have been taken care off.

 If the government behaves as if it is helpless, then where will the common man look towards for safety of his life.

These serial blasts have shown the poor coordination between our national security agencies. Another thing is these blasts were followed by immature arguments by politicians for whom even terrorism is a vital vote-amassing tool. The prior information given to the state security agency regarding such terror attacks went futile due to carelessness displayed by the secret intelligence team.

Unfortunately most of our leaders who are at the helm of affairs just think of how to divide people at every step to retain their own power or their power bases. In such a circumstance, how can we expect this menace of terrorism to go away?

The United States of America could defeat terrorism. Why can’t we? Our political parties, instead of blaming one another, must work together for a common goal and that is to put a permanent end to terrorism.

Prince Siddhartha saw few horrible things like sufferings of people and few deaths. He then went and sat under the Bodh tree and got enlightenment and became Lord Buddha. When will our government get such enlightenment? 

Despite intelligence inputs, the terror attacks count not be prevented, thanks to vote bank politics. Our media too should behave secularly and not adopt double standards in reporting and commenting on terrorism related cases. They should learn to call a spade a spade.

It is indeed a shame that India continues to be vulnerable to terrorism of the sort that has been controlled quite well in Western nations.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Houses for all is the need of today' that was published in Newsband

Houses for all is the need of today

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: It is difficult for many people in Navi Mumbai to buy a house. They find the price of a house too high and hence unable to buy it. They then prefer to stay in rental places till they are able to amass enough money to be able to afford to buy a flat.

What is CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra) doing for such people? CIDCO has done a lot for development work in Navi Mumbai but what they have done is not enough. Many things more need to be done.

The houses that CIDCO built at the early stage of formation of Navi Mumbai are found to be in a dilapidated condition now. CIDCO had come up with JN type buildings in 1984-85 but even these buildings appear as if they will collapse any time.

Thus there are two problems relating to houses in Navi Mumbai. The first problem is there are many residents here who can’t afford a house and the second problem is there are many residing in buildings which might fall anytime.

Most of these dilapidated buildings built by CIDCO are in Vashi. CIDCO has indeed constructed strong houses but they are located in Kharghar and Panvel. Even if CIDCO agrees to let people of dilapidated buildings in Vashi reside in Kharghar of Panvel, the question that arises is whether these residents will prefer to shift from Vashi to those faraway places? The right thing for CIDCO to do in such a case would be to construct tough houses for these residents in Vashi itself.

The State Government has been time and again promising to allot to these people an increased FSI of 2.5 for redevelopment of old buildings. But this promise has yet to be kept.

CIDCO had once built for Adivasis many flats but after the construction of these houses they were found to be of poor condition. These buildings have now developed cracks, leakages and other damages.

If CIDCO authorities make up their minds they can do justice to thousands of city residents who are without their own flats. In fact CIDCO has made a plan to make available houses for certain number of people per year. If CIDCO lives up to this plan, it will prove to be a relief for many city residents.

It is true that CIDCO has constructed more than a lakh houses which is less than what the Private Sector has provided to the residents of the city. But one should take the quality of the houses too into consideration. It is not enough to just construct houses. These structures should be tough enough to last for a long time.

When flats become too costly, the people then prefer to live in slums. This proves beneficial to slumlords who go out of the way to make available houses in slums at affordable prices. These slumlords do not make much demands to the buyers of their houses and hence there is a terrific demand for slum houses.

Lack of enough houses also leads to another curse called encroachment. When people don’t get a house to live in, they illegally encroach into whichever land available and construct their shanties over there. This creates a big problem for CIDCO and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) who have to time and again conduct demolition drive.

CIDCO is not only accused of constructing weak houses but they are also blamed for the poor condition of the roads they have constructed in the city. No sooner they construct a road, it is found that these roads develop a big number of potholes which cause great inconvenience to the drivers and thus there is a rise in the rate of accidents even. Another inconvenience that the vehicle drivers face is that they find lack of enough parking spaces in the city owing to which one finds light and heavy vehicles being parked anywhere on the road and this leads to long queue of vehicles and traffic jams.

Since CIDCO cannot do justice to entire population of Navi Mumbai in the matter of housing, we find many private builders having come forward and formed builders’ associations to rescue these poor residents without houses. They hold property exhibitions and fairs where they guide the people in the matter of obtaining houses which they can afford. In these exhibitions, they see to it that there are flats made available for all the economic classes. These private builders deserve to be commended for this excellent contribution to the city residents. In these exhibitions, people are also made aware of the existence of real estate agents who are frauds and the residents are cautioned to keep away from such fraudsters.

Other problems that exist in the city are relating to debris being dumped at wrong places and destruction of mangroves taking place in large scale in order to make space for construction houses. We find environmental experts time and again warning CIDCO as well as private builders to take care not to disturb the environment and to maintain perfect eco system. Let’s hope that both of them pay heed to this warning before it might become too late.