Maharashtra police had arrested two
young women for exercising their constitutional right to free speech and
expression on Facebook. This is an autocratic act in a democratic country. Should
the policemen who arrested the two youngsters be penalized for wrongful arrest,
illegal restraint and confinement? Did they really trample constitutional
freedom of these young women? The police had found the Facebook comment by one
of the women on the Mumbai shutdown following Bal Thackeray’s death, and its
endorsement by her friend, objectionable. Can the police resort to making
arbitrary arrests and cloaking their censorial actions using a combination of
Indian Penal Code sections? After all, what can be illegal about expressing an
opinion about so public an event as the complete shutdown of the country’s
financial capital?
The rise of
community websites as networks is hope for the average citizen but it is
obviously discomfiting many in authority. The medium has the power to name,
shame and embarrass the high and mighty. But should people who use the medium
legally be arrested. Brazen misuse of the power to arrest continues, because
there is no significant penal outcome. There are clear Supreme Court guidelines
on making an arrest, which have been blatantly violated in the case of the
‘Facebook women’ and many others before them. An arrest cannot be made simply
because it is legal; the police officer must be able to justify the act.
The primary
culprit in this whole issue is the Section 66A of IT Act which gives policemen
such a free hand in handling citizens for freely expressing their views about
the political clan in India.
The Maharashtra government should take cognizance of the
matter and deal with it strongly to convince the people that they stand by them
at such an event of arbitrary confinement of one of them.
Websites like
Facebook, Blog, Twitter etc. empower people to bring forth their feelings about
any event. And, if they are not allowed to do even that then why is India called a
democratic country?
It is the
unconstitutional IT Act that is blamed for this recent persecution of free
speech in India.
How such an act could be passed in parliament without informing the public? It
is now time to organize, demonstrate, challenge the law in the courts or do
whatever that needs to be done to pressurize the government to amend the IT
Act.
Today I’ll pass on to you more information about the
film Talash
– The Truth Lies Within.
What drew Rani
Mukherjee to the role in this film Talash. This is a genre, which she
is doing for the first time. It is basically a thriller and a suspense drama. She
had never worked on a film like that. What really intrigued her was the fact
that in spite of being a suspense drama and a thriller it had a very, very
emotional side to the story. It had a lot of heart and soul and that really
touched Rani. There is a lot of
human connect in the movie and Rani actually
got connected on the first level when she had to decide whether she wanted to
be part of this film.
Rani found working with the
director Reema Kagti a wonderful
experience. She found that Reema Kagti
was one of the really, really cool directors she had worked with. Reema Kagti is completely in command of
the craft and in command of the situation. She’s truly like the captain of the
ship because she exactly knows what she wants from her actors and characters. That
is indeed a great quality.
Aamir Khan over the years has become a
bigger star with each passing day. Rani had
witnessed him when she joined the industry and she is witnessing him even now
and the only thing that’s changed is that he’s a much closer friend of Rani. He’s a much bigger star than when
Rani met him. He was a huge star
then and he’s a bigger star now so nothing much has changed. His level of focus
and dedication is just the same or even probably more.
The music of the film Talash is incredible.
They have a soul and a depth. The song Jee
Le Zara is very hopeful song. It’s a song for people who’ve suddenly lost
hope in their lives. It just brings the feeling to people that they should live
a little and see things change around them. It’s a very, very nice song.
Aamir and Kareena Kapoor are doing a thriller for the first time. That’s
really pretty interesting. The film is basically a suspense drama bordering the
line of a thriller but it is a very, very emotional film.
Now I’ll pass on to you more information about the
music of Talash. The music is given by Ram Sampath. Lyrics are by Javed
Akhtar. Singers are Ram Sampath,
Vishal Dadlani, Sona Mohapatra, Suman Sridhar and Ravindra Upadhyay.
First up is the song Muskaanein jhooti hain. Suman
Sridhar uses her husky voice effectively in this silky smooth number.
Certain portions of Jeele zara will probably be running through the film as part of the
background score and should prove to be effective. Vishal Dadlani sings about the growing distance between two lovers
in this song as Javed Akhtar writes Phir dil se dil ke pul kyun toote hain. Vishal instills enough passion into the
track to keep you hooked.
The next song Jeeya
lage na is virtually a jam session between Sona Mohapatra and Ravindra
Upadhyay. This is a great attempt to bring new sounds into mainstream
Bollywood music. The lyrics are very simple. The combination of Sona and Ravindra’s voices and the merging of various sounds makes Jeeya lage na unique.
Lakh duniya
kahe starts
with a good music and Ram Sampath’s
soft voice. It’s a straightforward composition with easy lines. The music lifts
the track a notch higher.
Hona kya hai is a groovy number packed
with beats.
Talaash’s soundtrack is slick, groovy and situational, and
will work best in the context of the film.
Thus this crime thriller stars not one, not two, but
three superstars in the leading roles, which adds to the film’s appeal. They
are, as I told you earlier, Aamir Khan,
Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji.
Hopefully this film will be another great entertainer.
Be sure to see Rani
Mukherjee, along with Aamir Khan
and Kareena Kapoor when Talaash
hits theaters on November 30.
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within is an upcoming Indian
suspense drama film directed by Reema
Kagti. The project is jointly produced by Excel Entertainment and Aamir
Khan Productions, and stars Aamir
Khan, Rani Mukerji and Kareena
Kapoor in pivotal roles. The soundtrack is scored by Ram Sampath along with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Principal photography for the film occurred during
March–November 2011 taking place primarily in Mumbai, Pondicherry
and London. Talaash
is scheduled to release on November 30, 2012. Talaash has got U/A
certificate.
The film has an interesting plot. Seeing reflections
of Mumbai under the red light, Talaash is a tale of love lost,
fatal attraction, and above all, the quest to solve a perfect crime. Suspense
at its core, Talaash explores Mumbai’s underbelly like never before. Inspector
Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) who receives a phone call
early in the morning, informing him about death and an accident and how
everything starts to unfold from there. The case turns into a life altering
chase for Inspector Shekhawat when he
is forced to reel under the repercussions of a broken marriage with his wife, Roshni, (Rani Mukherji) and come face to face with his suppressed grief.
Being on his investigational quest and fighting it out with personal struggle, Inspector Shekhawat meets a sex worker Rosie (Kareena Kapoor) who further adds shades of mystery to the puzzle. What
looks like a simple car accident investigation turns into a haunting mystery as
further investigations show many anomalies linked to the victim`s death.
The film has Aamir
Khan as Inspector Surjan Singh
Shekhawat, Rani Mukerji as Roshni, Kareena Kapoor as Rosie, Raj Kumar Yadav as Devrath Kulkarni, Shernaz
Patel, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sonam
Kapoor as Rekha.
The principal photography for the film started in
March 2011 with Khan and Mukerji in Mumbai. For a scene
involving Khan and Kapoor, it was reported that both the
actors would shoot in a red-light district. However, Kagti dismissed it and explained that it wouldn't be safe to do so.
The scene was later shot at the Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway. The film's
second phase continued with the entire cast in Pondicherry and was completed by the end of
August. The final phase was expected to commence the following month in Khopoli
with an underwater shot. Due to visibility problems, it was cancelled and later
filmed at an undisclosed water studio in London.
The filming was completed by November 2011 after some of the remaining shots
were executed at the Bandstand Promenade.
The soundtrack of Talaash features music
composed by Ram Sampath with lyrics
penned by Javed Akhtar. It consists
of six tracks.
The film has songs like Muskaanein Jhooti Hai sung by Suman
Sridhar, Jee Le Zaraa by Vishal Dadlani, Jiya Lage Na by Sona
Mohapatra, Ravindra Upadhyay, Hona
Hai Kya by Ram Sampath, Laakh Duniya Kahe by Ram Sampath and Jee Le Zaraa (Remix) by Vishal
Dadlani.
Talaash's first teaser trailer debuted in theatres to a
positive response. Aamir Khan
promoted the film on the crime detective series C.I.D.
After winning over audiences with his fun-loving and
enduring character Rancho in 2009
film 3
idiots, actor Aamir Khan is
set to take his fans on a thrilling trip with his next film Talaash,
which is ready to hit screens Friday.
Directed by Reema
Kagti, the film promises a lot of suspense, drama and thrill. It is among
the list of much-awaited Hindi movies of the year, and comes two weeks after
two big-ticket Bollywood releases - Shah
Rukh Khan'sJab Tak Hai Jaan and Ajay
Devgn'sSon Of Sardaar.
Co-produced by Aamir,
Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani,
Talaash
has been given U/A certificate by the censor board. Made at a budget of Rs.40
crore, the movie is co-written by Kagti
and Zoya Akhtar. The film also
features actors Raj Kumar Yadav, Shernaz
Patel and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Aamir, who is playing a police
officer after Sarfarosh, flaunts a moustached look in Talaash. Rani plays a simple Indian wife and is
clad in saris, while Kareena has
gone glamorous in short dresses and heavy make-up.
Remember Aamir
Khan's shower scene in Ghajini, which turned out to be a
turning point in the film? A similar shot will feature in the actor-filmmaker's
new film Talaash too. The shower scene in Talaash will also play a
pivotal part in the movie. It will see Aamir,
who plays Inspector Shekhawat, get to
the root of the problem that he fights against. The scene in question was shot
in a flat that belongs to hairstylist Avan
Contractor's mother. It was a one-take shot. Considering the success of Ghajini,
there could be a possibility that the actor feels the shower scene is his lucky
charm.
Aamir Khan was a part of two episodes
of TV crime thriller C.I.D. He was on the Sony TV show to
promote his movie Talaash, which as I told you earlier, is a suspense thriller,
releasing Nov 30.
Rani Mukherjee chose to act in Talaash
since the movie had a lot of heart and soul and that really touched her. Rani Mukherjee, the Queen of Bollywood,
has given Hindi cinema fans many performances that make their favorite lists of
all time. Mukherjee always presents
new characters and stretches herself as an actress giving outstanding
performances in each new film. She once again tackles a new genre in Reema Kagti’s Talaash. According to the actress, Talaash is a style of
film not seen in Indian films before.
So do watch the film Talash – The Answer Lies Within
when it gets released on 30 November 2012. You’ll like it!
Suicide should
not be an answer to problems like mental distress or any severe illnesses. This
is a modern world and there exists cure for all kinds of illnesses – even the
most severe one.
One feels bad
when bright young students resort to the extreme step. Today, educational
institutions are increasingly marked by competitive pressures and financial and
other demands that put a burden which some students are just not able to bear.
The Government should deploy a Task Force to look into cases of suicide in educational
institutions. There should be a dedicated system of counseling involving
faculty members, students, parents and mental health professionals to cater to
the needs of students; Right environment should be created for students with
psychological needs. There should be a better awareness and sensitivity towards
issues of social justice including gender, class and caste. This exercise needs
to be scaled up to cover the entire spectrum of educational institutions in the
country in order to address the underlying issues in a more meaningful and
egalitarian manner.
A survey
indicated that suicides have become the second leading cause of death among
young adults in India.
In India,
suicides have become more common among educated and young adults.
An all-out
effort should be launched to reach out to youths in distress, enabling close
cooperation and collaboration between counseling services and the health
services. India
should find ways to address its shortage of mental health professionals.
Counseling processes should assist students who have social, academic,
linguistic, financial, physical and other difficulties.
When students
who are not qualified sufficiently or have not scored high enough marks are
admitted to institutions such as IIT (where majority of the students are very
brilliant) they are unable to match the performance of their colleagues. They
then feel depressed and attempt suicides. It is therefore necessary that only
students with adequate merit who can successfully clear the courses in IITs be
admitted in the first instance. It is much worse to admit students with
inadequate capability since that leads to loss of life itself. Hence present
reservation system for students needs to be revisited.
In India, much
emphasis is being laid on suicide committed by farmers as compared to suicide
committed by students. While in rural areas, farmer suicide is the major cause
of death, in urban areas suicide committed by the students is the second major
cause of death among youths. Thus, both these causes need proper attention of
the Government.
First locate a
student who is distressed. Next there should be regular counseling camps where
such students could themselves go out and may discuss their problem relating to
social, academic, financial or physical difficulties. This may prevent some of
the students from committing suicide.
Mechanized
sweeping – a good idea! But what about those rendered jobless due to it?
Mechanized sweeping has been introduced in Navi
Mumbai in a big way. It is decided that total 49 kilometer long road in the
city will undergo mechanized sweeping.
The roads which will undergo mechanized sweeping in
Zone 1 are Palm Beach Road – 11 km, Amra Marg – 2.54 km, Vashi Plaza to Arenja
Corner – 2.60 km, Shivaji Chowk to Arenja Corner – 0.45 km, APMC road – 8.50 km,
Sanpada Junction to Annapurna Road – 0.75 km and MAFCO road – 2.75 km. In Zone
2, Thane Belpur road – 14 km, Y Junction to Mhape bridge – 2.85 km, Airoli T
junction to Mulund bridge – 1.15 km and Diva Circle to MSEB – 2.45 km will undergo
mechanized sweeping.
Introduction of mechanized sweeping will make many
human cleaners jobless. Has Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation decided the
alternative jobs for these sweepers who are bound to find themselves without a
job owing to introduction of technological cleaning system?
These roads where mechanized sweeping has been
introduced will have one sanitary inspector and three sub inspectors to
supervise the cleaning work. What will happen to rest of the cleaning staff who
will be jobless?
When washing machines came into the markets, many
maid servants became jobless. Human beings washing clothes became a thing of
past. Clothes were now washed by the machines. The machines even helped in
drying the clothes instantly. While the housewives heaved sigh of relief after
the introduction of washing machines, the maid-servants were grumbling over the
fact that machines had replaced them. This is just like the situation when tongas
run by horses got replaced by auto rickshaws and buses.
In the newspaper world too, introduction of
computers led to printing presses and newspaper offices cutting down their
staff to size since computers could do the jobs which many human beings would
normally do.
Introduction of every new machine makes a big chunk
of human beings lose their jobs. What happens to these people who are adversely
affected by the introduction of machines? Some manage to learn and pursue some
new trades while others have to go through untold miseries. The government
should make it a point to see that whenever it introduces new machinery, the
cases of the workers who are badly affected by this introduction should be
considered and they should be made to be absorbed in some other industries
where they can prove to be useful.
Why consumer
has to bear the cost when water meter is stolen?
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has done
installation of automatic meter reader (AMR) water meters at many places under
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)
scheme. That’s great! But who will guard these water meters? Has NMMC taken
care to prevent these water meters from getting tampered with or stolen by
miscreants? During the last few days so many water meters have been stolen. The
worst thing is when the meter is stolen, the person to whom the meter belongs
has to bear the cost of replacing it. Strange! NMMC doesn’t consider itself
responsible if the meter is stolen. This is ridiculous!
In the past when such water meters were not there,
the NMMC used to adopt average water billing system for the consumers. Such
system had also created controversy. A consumer who used least water had to pay
more just because some other consumer happened to use water in abundance. This
would lead to protests and fights.
Thus it is proved that may it be water meters or
billing system, each system has its advantages and drawbacks. No system is
perfect.
Herbal education
is necessary for everyone
A popular organization of Navi Mumbai, Marathi
Sahitya, Sanskriti and Kala Kendra, had organized a seminar on ‘Importance of
Herbal Plants’ at Vashi. Now this is an absolutely noble job that this
organization is doing. People do need to be well informed about the herbal
plants.
This seminar brought many city residents face to
face with experts who are doing research on food and its connection with herbal
plants. The outcome of their research is fantastic. Their research revealed
that there are many indoor and outdoor plants which have Ayurvedic values.
These plants have the powers to cure many diseases and ailments. In fact, if
these plants are included in our daily food, many diseases and ailments can be
prevented.
This is an ancient style of keeping diseases and
ailments away. In the past, people were heavily dependent on herbal plants to
remain fit. But the advent of new medicines in the market have led to modern
man forgetting the past food culture and becoming heavily dependent on strong
allopathic medicines to remain fit. But this man little knew that although such
medicines have terrific curing abilities they leave behind side effects which
gives birth to new medical problem.
In this seminar which was held at Vashi, the
researchers who have made detailed study of herbal plants guided those who had
attended this event in the matter of how to keep themselves absolutely fit by
in-taking food mixed with herbal plants. Herbal plants can cure ailments like
diabetes, high or low blood pressure, loose motion, blood impurity etc and at
the same time they don’t leave behind side effects like the modern allopathic
medicines do. These researchers spoke about medicinal values of some of the
items we use in our daily life like carrots, onions etc.
Such seminars should be organized all over the city
of Navi Mumbai
so that every Navi Mumbaikar realizes the importance of herbal plants, how they
are safer than strong allopathic medicines and their powerful curing and
preventive abilities.
Ulwe is hot realty investment destination. This
place is located 4 km from Nerul in Navi Mumbai. It will be a hot residential
property investment destination in the next five years.
A survey indicates that by 2017, the property price
appreciation will be 145% in Ulwe. There are the several reasons for Ulwe to
top the realty investment destination list. The proposed railway connectivity
from Ulwe to Seawood, the new airport, Trans Harbour Sea Link and the
availability of the parcel of land will help hike rates making Ulwe another
Vashi in the next five years.
Though not a single building has been built or
approved, plots in Ulwe are being sold for Rs 3,500 to Rs 4, 000/sqft. Once the
system is put in place, the rates will jump leaving behind all the so-called
residential investment destinations, such as Panvel and Kharghar in Navi
Mumbai.
The above information are given by the researchers. But
some local real estate agents and buyers urged realty agencies to stop fooling
gullible buyers by their biased survey reports.
Now whom should we believe? Should we take the words
of researchers seriously or should the local real estate agents be believed?
Are these researchers scaring the buyers so that they buy the property in Ulwe
at once? The fear that rates of plots might rise in the coming days can make
many buyers purchase the land in Ulwe immediately. This could be what the
researchers want. May be these researchers are hired by a group of real estate
agents who want new ways of attracting customers towards Ulwe. There are people
outside Navi Mumbai who are speculating whether Panvel, Kharghar or Ulwe would
be the right place to invest at. These researchers could be playing a trick to
divert the attentions of these people away from Panvel and Kharghar and attract
them towards Ulwe.
But if these researchers are speaking the truth then
undoubtedly Ulwe is the best place to invest for any property buyer.
Will farmers
accept government’s offer?
Picture of
CIDCO
In order to break the deadlock between the City and
Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and farmers, whose land will be
acquired for the development of the NaviMumbaiInternationalAirport, the state
government has decided to offer them almost 22.5% developed land against the
conventional norm of 12.5%.
Earlier the leaders who were representing these
farmers were demanding either 50% developed land or Rs 20 crore per acre plus
government jobs for the farmers’ relatives. They had next placed a final demand
of 33% developed land.
The government is now prepared to offer to these
farmers the earlier 12.5% and an additional 10% developed land or current
market rate of the land/ready reckoner rate, whichever is higher.
These offers do appear to be practical and
lucrative. But will the farmers accept the offer? If the farmers accept the
offer will there be a danger of these farmers getting added to the already
existing project affected persons (PAPs). Will the government honestly part
with the developed land or will they keep the farmers waiting like the PAPs are
doing now? The farmers should learn from the experiences of project affected
persons who are at present awaiting justice and so they should take the next
step with utmost care. The plight of the project affected persons has taught
many a lesson that one should be very careful while making any deal with the
state government or CIDCO. One should not straight away agree with government’s
offer but first and foremost ensure that government keeps its words. So this is
a very delicate situation for the farmers who are asked to part with their
lands for development of the airport and hence they should take the next step
with utmost caution.
Prevent cases
of dacoity rather than solve them
Four unidentified men robbed a jewellery store at
Kamothe, Navi Mumbai and fled with Rs 50,000 cash. The armed men assaulted the
store's employee with the butt of a gun. One of them threatened two traffic
police constables with a firearm after the stolen Toyota Innova in which they
were travelling was stopped during a nakabandi in Rabale. Later the accused
fled in different directions. The police were on the look out for the SUV that
was used by the robbers in Kamothe. When the four saw the policemen at Rabale,
they quickly got off the vehicle and fled after threateningly showing the
pistol to the traffic cops. The Innova car was reportedly stolen and was
affixed with a fake number plate by the robbers to carry out the crime. The
suspects hail from south India
and are in their early 30s. The stolen SUV belongs to a Juhu resident and the
accused had installed fake number plates. The probe is still going on.
Jewellery shops in Navi Mumbai are under constant
threat of being targeted by dacoits. This is not the first time that looters
have entered a jewellery shop and fled with valuables. What surprises many is
the fact that neither the owners of the jewellery shops nor the city police are
learning from their bitter experiences. Many jewellery shop owners have indeed
become clever enough to install CCTV cameras and microphones in their shops.
But is that enough? Do the looters care about the fact that they are captured
by the cameras? They coolly come with the weapons, threaten the shop owner and
run away with the loot. Now weapons can only be tackled by weapons. So these
shop owners should recruit armed security guards who will be in a position to
negotiate successfully the armed dacoits. Even policemen should focus on
jewellery shops particularly during the time of patrolling. In fact, more
policemen should be posted in the vicinities of jewellery shops since these are
places towards which the dacoits are most attracted. Only such drastic measures
can scare the miscreants who are intending to loot the jewellery shops.
Here are the
views of those who oppose death penalty:
Executing a
killer is not a justice; it is an act of vengeance. Death Penalty is considered
as a barbaric act and is abolished in 110 countries in the world. According to
International Law, the death penalty is inhuman and a criminal act. The
Civilized Society will never accept the brutal punishment of the Death Penalty and
other forms of Capital Punishment.
The
international community have a wide consensus over reformative justice rather
than retributive justice. The purpose is to re-integrate the offender to the
society.While the feeling of revengefulness is
understandable at the individual level, it is not a noble emotion that can be
given social sanction. Even for an individual, getting over the feeling of
revengefulness contributes to spiritual upliftment.
Capital
punishment is not justified and the entire World, including India, need to
abolish. If A murdered B, C cannot be empowered for “Planned Cold-Blood Murder
of A through Capital Punishment. If the human being cannot give life, he/she
has no Right to take away Life.”
One should
agree with the broad philosophical justification for abolition of capital
punishment and should debate the issue without any pre-conceived notions.
In order to be
human beings, death penalty should be got rid of. Solitary confinement can
replace death penalty. Death penalty only depicts a barbaric form of punishment
which only uncivilized societies follow. We ought not to allow future
generations look back and say that our ancestors used to eliminate individuals
to stop prevent crime which is the crudest form of punishment that could be
meted out.
Taking away
the life of a person in the name of punishment is uncalled for. Stringent
punishment should be awarded to such voyeurs of terrorism by giving them life
to realize their crimes. It’s time that all nations in the world abolished
corporal punishment and showed the path of peace and harmony without indulging into
bloody vengeance themselves.
Let us do away
with this appalling and barbaric system of punishment, irrespective of the
cause, the nature, or the enormity of the crime. Our judicial system is capable
of better behavior than a mass murderer. The subjectivity and the "animal
spirits" associated with the death penalty are truly scary. Let there be
no unnatural death.
Terrorists are
not born; they are created by soul-crushing poverty, the injustices that they
witness, and the world's inability to provide a liveable life for a majority of
the people. May good sense prevail. As much as terrorist's acts are
inexcusable, so is the hangman's noose, which probably conceals more than it
reveals. It is easy to hang one person rather than ask: Why is it that young
people put their lives on the line? Under what conditions does death, or
killing others, become preferable over life itself?
For all our
claims of being the land
of Buddha and Gandhi - the
land of ahimsa - it is a shame that we practice capital punishment. What one
cannot give, one cannot take.
A government proposal to allot a plot in Navi Mumbai
to the Videocon group is likely to be withdrawn. The City and Industrial
Development Corporation (CIDCO), the nodal agency of the city, is all set to
send details of the stalled project to the state government. Former deputy
chief minister Ajit Pawar has said the plot would not be allotted as Videocon
had failed to start its project despite the passage of several years.
Comment:
Videocon is the same company to whom the state
government had approved to allot 100 hectares of land in 2008 and that too for
just Rs 300 crore. This had given birth to a controversy. Videocon did have a
noble idea. They wanted the plot to set up a film transistor liquid crystal
display plant. This would provide direct and indirect employment to 10,000
people. But that didn’t mean that state government could pass on to Videocon
the plot that is worth Rs 3,500 crore for just Rs 300 crore. The then revenue minister
Narayan Rane had even threatened to resign and rightly so. The plot should not
be allotted to the Videocon not only because it has failed to start its project
but also because city should not suffer a loss.
Fact:
Galata Chemicals announced the grand opening of its
newest TechnicalCenter
in Navi Mumbai, India.
Comment:
This is indeed a great thing to happen. This will
bring about technological development in Navi Mumbai. This center will come up
with innovative solutions. The TechnicalCenter offers a full
range of analytical and testing capabilities in support of product and
application development efforts as well as marketing and technical service for
the area customers. The TechnicalCenter is focused on
providing high quality, reliable and innovative products. The company will recruit
talented scientists and this will provide employment to technical brains. The
opening of this TechnicalCenter is indeed one of
the best things to happen.
Fact:
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station of Nuclear Power Corporation
in Tapi, Gujarat, Lanco Infratech in Korba,
Chhattisgarh and Nobel Synthetics, Navi Mumbai, have bagged safety awards for
2011. The awards, instituted by the National Safety Council of India, are given
to organisations in the manufacturing, construction and MSME sector.
Comment:
It is a thing of pride that Nobel Synthetics, Navi
Mumbai has bagged the prestigious safety award for 2011. It received the award
in the medium and small sector. NSCI, an autonomous organisation set up by the
Labour Ministry in the field of occupational safety and health, has been
awarding organisations since 1998. Nobel Synthetics of Navi Mumbai deserves a
lot of praise for having caught the attention of Labour Ministry and was chosen
for this prestigious award.
Fact:
Picture of
Ganesh Naik
Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik has directed the
local administration to recruit the sons of Mathadi labourers in the work
force.
Comment:
Ganesh Naik, the strongest man of Navi Mumbai, is
right in wanting the sons of Mathadi labourers to be recruited. He wants the
sons of those Mathadi labourers who have resigned to get jobs.
Naik, as everybody knows, belongs to Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP). Now the Mathadi workers load and unload goods and work in
various godowns as well as project sites. They are spread across Maharashtra and have a strong union which supports the
NCP. That’s another reason why Naik has gone out of the way to support the
Mathadi workers. He even went to the extent of directing CIDCO to identify land
to construct homes for the labourers. He also directed officials to follow up
with the railways to provide basic sanitation facilities at railyards.
Fact:
German drugs and chemicals group Merck KGaA plans to
make its Indian chemicals units in Navi Mumbai a global competence centre to
cater to markets in select product segments, apart from being a customer
training and application development location.
Merck has currently seven such competence centres
located in Germany, Japan, Taiwan,
Korea, Brazil, China
and the US.
The Indian unit will be its eighth and will be part of the global network of
Merck’s production and application training centres.
By being a global competence centre, the Navi Mumbai
facility will also provide consumer training to its local and foreign clients,
apart from being an international sourcing base for performance chemicals such
as effect pigments and cosmetics.
Comment:
It is a thing of pride that a company of high
standard like Merck has chosen Navi Mumbai to make its Indian chemicals units here
a global competence centre. Both the government at the Center and State and
also local government bodies should extend all the cooperation to Merck in
achieving their ambition. The substantial amount of investments in terms of
infrastructure, technology and people should be provided to Merck without
hesitation since their intentions are absolutely noble and clean.
Also it is a globally competitive project which primarily
caters to industries such as paint, packaging and printing, brand protection
including anti-counterfeit solutions, and cosmetics. Merck has about 40% market
share in India
in this segment. There is a big local market for performance chemicals including
pigments, plastics and printing material, cosmetics and others.
That is the reason why Merck looks at India,
especially Navi Mumbai, as a very important market globally.
Expanding its clientele base both among the large
corporations and small and medium enterprises at a faster pace is high on the
company’s agenda. Setting up a global network centre here to provide both
product-related services as well as application and development consultancy
will help achieving this goal faster.
Thus it is obvious that India and Merck and most
importantly, Navi Mumbai, will stand to benefit if the plan materializes.
Kasab has been
the face of evil for millions of Indians. He took part in a monstrous plot
against the people of India
and Mumbai, killed innocent people with abandon, and showed no remorse for his
actions.Hence he was rightly executed, although
late.
Some call this
an act of vengeance since Kasab was neither the architect of 26/11 nor its
strategic mastermind; the men who indoctrinated and controlled him remain safe
in Pakistan.
It is true that Kasab was not the mastermind but by hanging him to death an
example had to be set to those elements who intend to become terrorist in the
future.
In the United States, with its
highly-functional criminal justice system, new forensic techniques have shown
dozens of innocent men were executed. But in this case, Kasab’s guilt was
proven well beyond even unreasonable doubt.The absence of the death penalty in, say, France and the United Kingdom
has not made these two nations softer in their ability to combat terror than the
U.S.So why should India have been soft towards Kasab?
The question
is not why Kasab was hanged? The question is why did it take four years to hang
him?
The set of
miscreants who attacked Taj Mahal Hotel on 26/11 knew well enough that
surviving the mission would be a thing impossible. They were prepared to
embrace death post completion of their heinous task. Hence Kasab had to die.
Of course,
hanging a killer will not bring back life to the killed, butit will set an example to those terrorists who intend to indulge in
mass killing.As much as the man who
hanged, the masterminds that orchestrated the crime, must equally pay.If Kasab was not hanged it would be
injustice to those innocent whose lives were cut short.
If Kasab was
pardoned he would not have changed. Yes, we have to abolish capital punishment.
But in the case of Kasab, he deserved it. Death penalty should be abolished in
many cases. However, the law as it now stands allows the death penalty in rare
cases as in the Kasab case.
If the laws of
the country dictate that Kasab has to be executed, so be it; Death penalty for
a murderer is not a quid pro quo. It is meant to be only a reminder to
prospective murderers about what awaits them after their dastardly acts.
CM Prithviraj Chavan said, “The government is
developing two international airports - at Chakan and Navi Mumbai. Both
projects were delayed due to land-related issues. The Navi Mumbai airport requires
some additional land.
We are working on airport projects and are confident
to push ahead both projects in the coming days. We are keen on setting up
airports in every district to promote industry and better communication."
Comment:
There is no end to excuses that are being made for
delaying the InternationalAirport project in Navi
Mumbai. CM promises to push ahead the project in the coming days. What exactly
does he mean by ‘coming days’? Will it take few more days or months or years?
CM should specify the time that he requires to make this project a reality.
Fact:
The bodies of two of the three young men who were
found dead near the tracks in Navi Mumbai on Thursday were allegedly switched
and given to the wrong families. The families of the two men protested at the
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation hospital in Vashi and then took away the
bodies of their own sons. The hospital and the railway police authorities have,
however, washed their hands of the incident. The hospital blames the police for
this mistake while the police holds the hospital responsible.
Comment:
How could this mistake happen? Ridiculous! The
hospital authorities, the police and the families of the dead persons are all
responsible for this. In the first place, the hospital authorities and the
police should have taken care to see that they are handing the right body to
the right family. Both the families are also to be blamed since they should
have checked whether the body was of their relative before accepting it. The
strange thing is that both the families realized that mistake had happened only
when they were about to cremate the bodies. Instead of passing the bucks, all
the three should admit that they were all at fault.
Fact:
Even before the construction of the Nhava-Sewri sea
link has begun, the state has fixed the toll amounts that people will have to
pay if they use the 22-km bridge that will bring Mumbai and Navi Mumbai closer
by half an hour. Those driving in a car will have to pay Rs 235 as a one-way
toll on the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link for the first three years. "The toll
will increase by 5% every three years and the amount will be charged for 30
years," a source in the state administration said. It is expected to take
five years to build the sea link and the work is likely to begin next year.
Comment:
This is like parents planning the future of the
child before it is born. The construction of the sea link has not begun and it
is already decided that people who will use the bridge will have to pay the
toll amounts. Even the exact amount that the users of the bridge will have to
pay is decided. This is ridiculous! How can the authorities decide as to how
much toll these users will have to pay after five years or still later. The
value of money will have risen after five years. It is not right on part of the
authorities to decide now the toll amount that will have to be paid five years
later. They should count the fruits after the tree is grown fully. But here the
fruits are being counted even before planting the tree.
Fact:
A day of mourning over Bal Thackeray’s demise for
lakhs of people became a day of earning for some opportunistic vendors across
the city, who took advantage of the shutdown to make a quick-buck from
consumers desperate for goods or services.
With all prepaid booths at airport and railway
terminals closed and few taxis and autos plying, several cabbies tried fleecing
commuters by demanding exorbitant fares far exceeding the norm.
A commuter was asked by a taxi driver to pay Rs.
3,000-4,000 to go from the domestic terminal at Santacruz to Seawoods in Navi
Mumbai. Similarly, cabbies at railway terminals also quoted higher fares. The
regular fare to Vashi from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus is Rs. 300 to Rs. 350, but
they were demanding Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,500. Vegetable vendors kept their
businesses running on Sunday also upped their rates.
Milk buyers were charged Rs. 54 a litre, whereas it
usually is Rs. 32. Even eggs cost Rs. 2 extra per egg.
Comment:
The entire state was mourning the death of a person
who when alive opposed such practices. These people who were charging high
prices must have felt relieved that there was nobody now to question them and
hence went about raising the prices without any fear of being penalized. It is
obvious that Shiv Sainiks were in the state of mourning the death of their
beloved leader and hence couldn’t prevent these wrong practices. But where were
the policemen? Is it a rule that policemen should overlook such happenings and
only the political activists should do the job of taking actions against such
people who cause inconvenience to public in general? If that is so, then it is
a strange rule!
