Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'The Australian tourist was on the wrong' that was published in Newsband

The Australian tourist was on the wrong

Australian man who was a tourist in India sported a tattoo of a Hindu goddess. A bunch of people in Bengaluru threatened him with dire consequences when they spotted on his shin the tattoo of goddess Yellamma — who is worshipped in parts of southern India. A policeman corralled him to a police station and got him to write out an apology. The police might have been taken by surprise over the reactions of the religious group and probably considered it a safe option to force the visitor to apologize to the emotionally wounded group. But many learned Indians made a big issue of this incident and supported the Australian tourist.

Now the Australian said he had heard of the Deity. Sensitivity towards local traditions and iconography is expected in all civilized societies. We Indians are very respectful of the same when we travel and have every right to expect it from our visitors. Tattoo was on the leg of the Guy which meant disrespect to many. A section of the country worships Yellamma as their God. They felt sad, bad and a sort of disrespect to find a tattoo of their God on someone’s leg. They questioned the person bearing the tattoo who unfortunately happened to be a foreigner. And the police officials too understanding the gravity, handled the situation well. Where the question of religious intolerance comes here? Let us not try to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Every country has written and unwritten laws of the land. If an Australian does not understand that sporting a goddess' tattoo on the shin is particularly offensive to the sentiments of the Hindus, then it is his problem. He must understand and respect the cultural aspects of his actions. Would he try sporting something un-Islamic in Saudi Arabia? Will he even survive one single night there? India may be the largest democracy on the planet but that does not mean that anything goes. A certain level of awareness is called for global citizens in whatever country they are living in or visiting. As simple as that! This whole thing is much ado about nothing.

The person who has helped the individual to have a tattoo should be held and told about the significance of this issue. The outsider would understand that better.

Nobody gave a damn when several Indians were attacked, humiliated, abused and even killed on the grounds of racism in Australia recent times. Can't understand why we are overreacting to an event that involves an Australian tourist in India. Protecting a Nation's religious dignity and spiritual beliefs is not intolerance but an individual's inherited responsibility. Even the advanced Americans would not have tolerated if an Indian tourist in US would have got carved a tattoo of their God on the leg or any other part of the body.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'CIDCO versus CR' that was published in Newsband

CIDCO versus CR

By Dinesh Kamath

Above CIDCO

Above Central Railway

NAVI MUMBAI: Who is supposed to maintain Seawoods station - CIDCO or Central Railway (CR)?

CR is not willing to take up the maintenance because it does the maintenance of stations all across Mumbai and the suburbs. CR fears that if they agree to take up the maintenance then it will have to take care of all the stations on the new corridor that CIDCO has proposed.

The new station will become functional only after the approval of the commissioner of railway safety. The commissioning will be done soon.

However, the war between CIDCO and CR will only delay the commissioning. It will also delay in beginning the work of developing the new Uran corridor. CIDCO and CR had signed an agreement to develop the rail corridor in the city on a 67:33 cost sharing basis.

CIDCO is also demanding annulling of the earlier agreement of CIDCO maintaining 14 stations on the Mankhurd-Belapur-Panvel corridor and the other arm of the rail link to Airoli. CIDCO had been doing the maintenance work since 1992 when Vashi station was commissioned. Before taking up the maintenance work, both CR and CIDCO had agreed that it would be just a temporary arrangement. Also CIDCO signed a separate agreement with CR to develop the space on top of the stations.

The railways help the infra development in the city, which, in turn, provides connectivity. So both CR and CIDCO should cooperate and arrive at a conclusion which can prove to be just to both. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Navi Mumbai badly needs synthetic track for its athletes' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai badly needs synthetic track for its athletes

By Dinesh Kamath

Above Picture: Synthetic track

NAVI MUMBAI: The athletes of Navi Mumbai have to go outside the city to get themselves trained on performance-enhancing synthetic athletic tracks, as the city does not have any facility for these athletes. There are many sports grounds in the city but not even one of them has an artificial running track.

If only the city had a standard synthetic track, it would have been very helpful to many budding athletes to improve their performance. Currently most of these athletes practice on the ordinary track but when they go for competitions outside the city they perform miserably on the synthetic pitch since they are not used to it.

 Both Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and City and Industrial Development Corporation should combinedly make such synthetic track available in the city, according to many sportspersons and sports lovers in the city. They question as to what is the point in these budding athletes practicing on ordinary tracks when in the competitions held outside the city they are forced to perform on synthetic tracks where they fail miserably? There are some rich athletes who can afford to go outside Mumbai and practice on synthetic tracks there. But not all athletes can afford this luxury. At least they should be sponsored by the local government.

The city does have clay tracks at some places but practicing on them does not help the athletes to give a reasonably good performance on the synthetic tracks when it comes to participating in competitions outside Navi Mumbai.

Some athletes in Navi Mumbai can afford to go as far as Pune or Kandivali or Napean Sea Road where there are good facilities available for practicing. But if the city had its own artificial turf that would save the athletes the trouble of going to far-away places for practice sessions.

It’s not that the local government is sleeping over this issue. In fact, NMMC and CIDCO are having discussions with the state government to acquire a plot in Ghansoli where they intend to come up with a regional sports complex with an artificial track to help the city athletes conduct their practice sessions. A synthetic track might soon come up even at Rajiv Gandhi stadium. Once the synthetic tracks are constructed in the city, one can expect the city athletes to bring in still more laurels and thus give more boost to the reputation of the city. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Navi Mumbai has enough stock of drinking water' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai has enough stock of drinking water

By Dinesh Kamath

Above Morbe Dam

Above Hetwane Dam

Above Dehrang Dam

NAVI MUMBAI: Just before the monsoon arrived in Navi Mumbai, many residents were beginning to face problems related to drinking water. But after the arrival of monsoon, this problem ended, and the water stock at Morbe dam, the major supplier to NMMC areas, became enough to last for another year.

Hetwane dam which provides water to CIDCO areas also got filled up to an extent where the residents did not have to face scarcity of water for few more months at least.

Dehrang dam, the major supplier to Panvel Municipal Council areas, also experienced an overflow which was a good news for residents who were dependent on it. This year, the monsoon months received steady rainfall which helped the level in all the three dams to get close to that of last year.

Morbe dam releases a huge quantity of water and a part of this water is treated and supplied to two Cidco nodes - Kharghar and Kamothe. Hetwane dam supplies water to Ulwe, Dronagiri and also Kharghar. NMMC purchases a certain quantity of treated water from MIDC.

Thus, such is the water situation of the city and NMMC, CIDCO and PMC have to take tremendous care to ensure that the entire city receives enough drinking water throughout the year and fortunately the Rain God never fails to do justice to the city. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Need to create awareness about skin donation' that was published in Newsband

Need to create awareness about skin donation

By Dinesh Kamath

Above Picture: National Burns Center at Airoli

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai has shown great advancement in medical field and the residents of the city are found to be totally aware about the roles they have to play to help activities like organ donations and heart transplants. The city has National Burns Center too at Airoli which has played useful role in treating burn victims. This Center does get skin donors but the need for skin is tremendous as compared to the quantity of skin donated. The skin is required not only for burn victims but also for orthopaedic, diabetic, accidental and cancer patients.

Sufficient skin donations are must for treatment of all the patients with burns and trauma, especially to help wounds heal quickly and prevent infection. In case of burns, skin—the primary protective barrier of the body—is destroyed and the body is exposed to infectious agents. If the burnt area is not immediately covered with some substitutes, then patients will have infection, fluid loss and die.

In case of lesser burns, auto-graft or skin from the unburnt area of the patient is taken out and put on the burn wound to cover it. But when the percentage of burn is more than 50%, then the need for donated skins is felt.

That’s the reason why the awareness about skin donation is being created among the residents of the city. Skin donated after death is found to be better than artificial and expensive skin substitutes available in the foreign market.

The spokesperson of National Burns Center at Airoli said that more and more burn victims can be saved if only there are enough skins in the bank. There is need to create in a big way the awareness about usefulness of skin donation in the city, he added.

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's news 'MH43 wins award' that was published in Newsband

MH43 wins award

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Headbangers arena an event held in Arohan’15 within NITIE college (National Institute of Industrial Engineering)  campus was won by Mh43India, a groove rock 4 piece band comprising of Keyoor Karadkhedkar (vocalist), Kunal Singh (drummer), Kamal Soni (bassist), Soham Basu (Lead Guitarist) on 24th October 2015. Arohan is the cultural annual fest of NITIE College, Powai.

Mh43India is also closely associated with the Navi Mumbai’s HEART Foundation, being musical wing of HEART Foundation.  "It was big moment for me when I heard that our band had won the award" said Dr. Jayakar Ellis, President of Heart Foundation. "We hope to interact with the kids and youth through music for music is the universal language of love" added Ellis.

Keyoor Karadkhedkar, the vocalist for Mh43India supports the triumph by saying “Mh43India is music for all as we cover old as well as new bollywood numbers and originals”.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Story of India, US and Pakistan' that was published in Newsband

Story of India, US and Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the United States. This visit has left enough for Indian strategic thinkers and policymakers to mull over. The continuing volatility in the security situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s battles with the demons within, and its relations with India were broadly the three topics that dominated Mr. Sharif’s discussions with his U.S. interlocutors, with terrorism as a theme that spanned all three topics. Particular emphasis was laid on measures to prevent Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal from falling into terrorist hands.

Now there appears to be two axes in South Asia – Pakistan and China on the one side and the U.S. and India on the other. But a U.S. official put it candidly, the U.S. has global intentions that will not allow it to choose between Pakistan and India, or tilt towards either of them. He went on to clarify that relations with Pakistan and India stand on their individual merits.

U.S. appears clear that its South Asia policy involves a composite approach involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in its search for stability and peace,

India and Pakistan are just two sides of coins for USA which can be flipped at will. Pakistan for utilizing their strategic location against Afghanistan and India for keeping one of the largest emerging economy and service provider for US based software giants on healthy terms with US.

US should bank on India as a better ally in South Asia to take on China, than Pakistan, which goes to China with a begging bowl and can never talk to it on equal terms, which India can, given its economic might in the region. As far as Afghanistan, India has played a key role in its reconstruction and could play a positive role in that country, against the divisive and destructive role played by Pakistan there through the Haqqani Network. The US should work with India more in eliminating the Terrorist Networks that are based in Pakistan, rather than seeking their help, which will never come to them, if one understands Pakistan's duplicity over the decades. Better sense should prevail with the US policy experts, since they are making a grave mistake if they believe that Pakistan can deliver them results on 'Terrorism'.

Evidently, American did not learn anything from terrorist attacks in its soil and elsewhere by Pakistan trained militants. The entire aid to Pakistan is used to train terrorists and arming them to attack India and other nations in addition to making nuclear weapons. A few of these terrorists turned against US as well. On the one hand the US wants stringent action against terrorist nations and on the other hand it is financing terrorism through Pakistan. Even IS militants are trained by Pakistan Army & ISI directly and indirectly. US is creating danger for itself by giving more and more aids to Pakistan.

If you see from one angle, Pakistan Is good for everybody except India and present day Afghanistan. It is ready to deploy its troops if proper price is given, it is ready to provide training to army or terrorists on its soil whenever required by any organization be it CIA, Al Queda, or Saudi Arabia. It provided mujahideen to US when it required, it provides terrorists, suicide bombers in various parts of world either for a fee or free of charge depending upon the brotherly relations. It can provide its port for military purpose to China, land for CPEC corridor free of charge, without delay, without agitations by its people, it provides policemen to Bahrain, allows free flow of drugs across its border. India is too much of a saint and will never offer such things to anyone at any price.

US and Pakistan have had a stable relation since cold war days and it would be naive for anyone to believe it would undergo a radical change soon. With China making all efforts to be Pakistan's strategic partner in all area it will not suit Washington's interest to even show a trace of indifference towards Islamabad. India, therefore, needs to formulate its own strategy to meet the challenges it faces in respect to its dealings with Pakistan as well as US.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movies released in Navi Mumbai’ (Main Aur Charles, Once Upon A Time In Bihar, Titli, Guddu Ki Gun, 31st October, Goosebumps, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 3D, Love Exchange and Burnt) that was published in Newsband

New movies released in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Main Aur Charles

Main aur Charles is a 2015 bollywood drama, written and directed by Prawaal Raman and produced by Cynozure Networkz. This film is a fictitious thriller, inspired by true events and told from the perspective of respected Indian cop, Amod Kanth who handled the notorious case of serial killer, Charles Sobhraj.

The film stars Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadda and Adil Hussain, Tisca Chopra, and Alexx O'Nell in lead roles. Through the narrative, we see a series of crimes committed by Charles and the story of each of his victims, who fell for his charisma but were betrayed by his serpentine like nature. The man not just escaped several high security jails but even manipulated the legal system. In the title, Main aur Charles, the word 'Main' stands for the character of Amod Kanth.

The movie revolves around Charles, an enigmatic con man and a vicious killer, and the lives he touched with his inescapable charm and mysterious personality. We follow Charles, who is literally evil personified, as he manipulates innumerable people to facilitate his jail break. The thin line between his victims and accomplices include a copywriter of an international ad agency clinging on to Charles for hope, a royal princess seeking adventure in an otherwise bland life, a young hippie girl hopelessly drawn towards him, and an innocent law student Mira madly in love with the dreams sold by Charles amongst various others - from a financial wizard, an extortionist from Haryana to a helpless prison supervisor. Bit by bit, the character of Charles is revealed through all those who encountered him. Probably the only person who interacted with Charles the least, Commissioner Amod Kanth, was affected by him the most. We see the impact of Charles on all through the eyes of Amod Kanth - and their ever raging battle of good and evil, where good eventually wins but evil always resurfaces. This story, set in the 1980s, shows how Charles escapes from India’s most securely guarded prison and is then subsequently arrested once again in Goa. It reveals the story behind the seemingly simple cat and mouse game between Amod Kanth and Charles. But more importantly, the movie gives the world a peek into the dangerous mind of Charles, how he led different people to perceive him differently, how he filled the vacuum in their lives and ultimately, his dark world where right and wrong blend into a charming and mystique grey existence.

The film has Adil Hussain as Amod Kanth, Alexx O'Nell - Richard Human, Anastasia Fomina – Andrea, Dijana Dejanovic - Charles Lawyer, Lucky Morani - Dr.Ashima, Mandana Karimi – Liz, Nandu Madhav - Madhukar Zhende, Randeep Hooda – Charles, Richa Chadda – Mira, Saurabh Sarkar – Bhajrang, Sandeep Punia – Satpal, Satyakaam Gupta – Rajan, Heeral Mei - Princes Malvika, Shanu Dev - Mr.Joshi (Investigating Officer), Tisca Chopra, Vinayak Dubey – Toby and Vipin Sharma - Satender Nath (Jailor)

The music for Main Aur Charles is composed by Vipin Patwa, Aditya Trivedi, Bally Grunge and Sanjeev-Darshan. The movie has songs like "Neeli Bullet" sung by Aditya Trivedi, "Woh Tho Yahin Hai Lekin" by Jonita Gandhi, "Ya Rabba (Lyrics By Rohan Moktali)" by Saugat Upadhaya, "Dekhe Meri Aankhon Mein Jo" by Saba Azad, "Jee Lo Yaaron" by Saugat Upadhaya, "Main To Yahin Hoon Lekin" by Ali Azmat, "Theme of Charles" by Aditya Trivedi and "Jab Chaye Mera Jadoo" by Kanika Kapoor.

Once Upon A Time In Bihar

Once Upon A Time In Bihar is an Indian political/social drama film directed by Nitin Chandra, Produced by Neetu Chandra starring Ashish Vidyarthi, Kranti Prakash Jha, Arti Puri, Pankaj Jha and Deepak Singh.

Movie is based on a real incidents, set in the backdrop of Buxar District of Bihar.

The film is based on real incidents, set in the year 2003 - 2004 in ravenous terrains of Buxar District of Bihar. The film also touches upon true events of the attack on North Indian candidates from Bihar and UP by MNS during the 2008 All-India Recruitment Board Examination. The movie reflects upon the state of youngsters who are forced to move out of their state to look for better employment and income. The movie tries to display the true situation of people from Bihar and UP in other states of India, especially Maharashtra. The movie also triggers the elements of kidnapping and extortion that is widely spread across Bihar which is owing to the lack of employment and income opportunities. Thus the movie is a social drama highlighting the lives of the youth of Bihar.

The film has Ashish Vidyarthi as Madan Sharma, Kranti Prakash Jha as Rajiv Kumar, Ajay Kumar as Jeans, Arti Puri as Seema, Pankaj Jha as Bisnu  and Deepak Singh as Sankar Pandey.

The soundtrack for the film is released by T-Series label and includes songs performed by singers Sonu Nigam, Mohit Chauhan, Sharda Sinha, Swanand Kirkire and Bharat Vyas. The music director is Ashutosh Singh.

Titli

Titli (English: Butterfly) is a 2015 Bollywood drama film written and directed by Kanu Behl, co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee Productions Pvt. Ltd and Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. It features actors Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shashank Arora, Lalit Behl and Shivani Raghuvanshi in the lead roles.

In Titli, Behl captures the volatility of a society where violence lies uneasily just below the surface.

In the badlands of Delhi's dystopic underbelly, Titli, the youngest member of a violent car-jacking brotherhood, plots a desperate bid to escape the 'family' business. His struggle to do so is countered at each stage by his indignant brothers, who finally try marrying him off to 'settle' him. Titli, finds an unlikely ally in his new wife, caught though she is in her own web of warped reality and dysfunctional dreams. They form a strange, beneficial partnership, only to confront their inability to escape the bindings of their family roots. But, is escape the same as freedom?

The film has Shashank Arora as Titli, Ranvir Shorey as Vikram, Amit Sial as Pradeep, Lalit Behl as Daddy, Prashant Singh as Prince and Shivani Raghuvanshi as Neelu

Guddu Ki Gun

Guddu Ki Gun is a Bollywood Adult comedy film directed Duo Shantanu Ray Chhibber & Sheershak Anand. The film stars Kunal Khemu, and debutant Payel Sarkar and Aparna Sharma. The film is based on a washing-powder salesman, Guddu who appears to be sexy.

The film Guddu Ki Gun starts with the interaction of Guddu (role played by Kunal Khemu) with different girls. Guddu is a playboy (washing-powder salesman), perfect in doing flirts, having affairs with married and Unmarried Girls, but the real twist comes out in the movie when Guddu falls for his real love. Mainly the script of the movie is based on a lifestyle of salesman Guddu, who appears to be sexy.

The film has Kunal Khemu as Guddu, Payel Sarkar, Aparna Sharma and Sumeet Vyas as Ladoo

31st October

31st October is a Bollywood film written and produced by Harry Sachdeva and directed by National Award Winner, Shivaji Lotan Patil. It is the first Bollywood Film on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's Assassination. The film is based on a true story.

31st October is the first mainstream film ever based on the assassination of Indira Gandhi and what it led to. Set against the backdrop of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the film is a true-life story of a Sikh family and their fight for survival.

The film is a depiction of one of the most important dates in Indian history, the day India lost its Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. She was shot dead by her own bodyguards, which changed the political scenario of the country to such an extent that many innocent lives were lost and India witnessed a black Wednesday. It is a story of human emotions, conflicts, survival and friendship.

The film has Vir Das as Devender Singh, a Sikh engineer and Soha Ali Khan as Tejinder Kaur.

Goosebumps

Goosebumps is a 2015 American 3D live-action/computer-animated horror comedy film based on the children's book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. It is directed by Rob Letterman, and written by Darren Lemke, from a story by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The film stars Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Halston Sage, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell, and Halston Sage.

Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 3D

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is a 2015 American 3D found footage supernatural horror film directed by Gregory Plotkin in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Pagan, Andrew Stark, Adam Robitel, and Gavin Heffernan. Plotkin served as the editor for the past four Paranormal Activity films. It is the sixth and final installment in the Paranormal Activity series.

It’s Christmas 2013 in Northern California as The Ghost Dimension begins, and we quickly meet Ryan (Chris J. Murray), his wife Emily (Brit Shaw), their seven-year-old daughter Leila (Ivy George), Ryan’s brother Mike (Dan Gill) and family friend Skyler (Olivia Taylor Dudley). Ryan unearths videotapes left behind by his home’s previous occupants, discovering that mysterious, cult-like behaviour seemed to have transpired on the property. Meanwhile, Leila begins to be visited by “Toby,” the menacing invisible presence that has perpetually harassed the franchise’s hapless victims. Thus the series nemesis Toby begins to make his presence felt.

Love Exchange

‘Love Exchange’, the main protagonists played by Mohit Madan and Jyoti Sharma belong to Maharashtrian and Punjabi families respectively. The film is directed by Raj V. Shetty. It is his romantic venture.

‘Love Exchange’ beautifully blends two diverse cultures in an entertaining, lively and convincing manner while capturing the essence of romance at the same time. ‘Love Exchange’ brings two different cultures to mix together in a light-hearted way. In the film, the lovers are asked to learn each other’s culture so that they can have a better life post marriage. The main protagonists played by Mohit Madan and Jyoti Sharma belong to Maharashtrian and Punjabi families respectively. Adapting to one another’s cultures is not an easy task, hence the families decide that both of them would spend three months at their would-be in-laws’ homes separately to get familiar with the opposite cultures, the director said.

Burnt

Burnt is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by John Wells and written by Steven Knight from a story by Michael Kalesniko. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson.

Adam Jones is an up-and-coming chef whose drug use and erratic behavior lead him to lose his restaurant. He attempts to rebuild his life and his career in London, in the hopes of returning to Paris to open a new restaurant that will gain three Michelin stars.

In other words, Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) had it all – and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he’ll need the best of the best on his side, including the beautiful Helene (Sienna Miller). 

Dinesh Kamath's news "CIDCO celebrates Vigilance Awareness Week; Pledging ‘Integrity in Governance’" that was published in Newsband

CIDCO celebrates Vigilance Awareness Week 

Pledging ‘Integrity in Governance’

By Dinesh Kamath and Chandrashekhar Hendve

Above: Seen in both the pictures are Shri Sanjay Bhatia, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, CIDCO and Smt V Radha, Joint Managing Director

CBD-BELAPUR: “This year we celebrated Vigilance Awareness Week with a motive ‘Preventive Vigilance as a tool for good governance’. Preventive Vigilance is not just for today or for a week; it’s a year long process which involves changing minds. As real change comes from within, this year we launched ‘Changing Minds’ as an initiative not just to change the mindset of people, but to bring integrity in life, society and governance,” said Shri Sanjay Bhatia Vice Chairman and Managing Director, CIDCO at a lecture on ‘Transparent Administration through Vigilance and Spiritualism’ at the Vigilance Awareness Programme held today on October 27 at CIDCO Bhavan.

Dignitaries present for this programme were Shri Sanjay Bhatia, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, CIDCO, Smt V Radha, Joint Managing Director, Shri Rajendra Chavan, Joint Managing Director and Shri Sunil Kendrekar, Chief Administrator (New Towns), CIDCO. Also, present on this occasion were CIDCO officers and employees, students and principals from various schools of Navi Mumbai and the members of the newly formed Vigilance Stakeholders Committee.

To change the minds of the people and involve them in spiritualism, Shri Sanjay Bhatia made a special lecture on ‘Vigilance and Spiritualism’. He added, “Though Vigilance and Spiritualism are two different aspects, the common part in both is awareness. Awareness comes from within and further it stimulates into realisation.” At the lecture, he shared some of his life experiences and later conducted a demonstration on meditation for about 15 mins. 

To enlighten about this awareness week campaign, Dr. Pradnya Sarvade, Chief Vigilance Officer said, “My aim is to bring environment of integrity in the corporation thereby making the roles and functions of the administration clear and efficient. The whole motive is to bring accountability in the public services and promise to protect good and fight against the evil.”

She further added saying, “To bring transparency in the administration and departmental processes, we have launched several citizen centric initiatives like vigilance webpage wherein citizens can fearlessly complaint against corruption. Also, with the help of the departmental process manuals uploaded on the webpage, citizens can find detailed administrative and department procedures and processes of the corporation.”

Talking further on the vigilance awareness programme, Shri Rajendra Chavan said, “There will be no work burden if everyone efficiently works as per the guidelines of the organisation. We have to set a framework that each citizen who comes to the corporation has some purpose, and we must help them in fulfilling their needs.”

To make vigilance more accountable, for the first time we have formed Vigilance Stakeholders Committee comprising of eminent personalities of Navi Mumbai like Shri Sandeep Thakur, RTI Activist, Shri Santosh Shukla, RTI Activist, Shri A K Bhattacharya, Navi Mumbai, Chairman, Navi Mumbai Housing Society Federation, Shri Mallinath Gaikwad of Panvel and Urban Taluka Housing Society Federation, Shri Devang Trivedi, President Builders Association of Navi Mumbai, Shri V Venugopal, Additional Chief Planner (NAINA), and Shri Vijay Patil, Chief Lands Survey Officer, CIDCO.

CIDCO started its vigilance awareness campaign involving various schools of Navi Mumbai. An essay competition was held at various schools in Navi Mumbai for the students of std VIII to X on October 16, 2015. The topic for the competition was ‘Be the change to make the change’. The essay competition got an immense response as more than 9000 students participated. CIDCO received 25 best essay entries on October 23, 2015.  The team of experts scrutinized the essays and selected two best essays. Shri Sanjay Bhatia felicitated the winners. The first prize was awarded to Ms Aisha Anwar Khan of St Lawrence High School, Vashi with a cash prize of Rs 5000, gold medal, a certificate. While second prize was awarded to Ms Rajpriya Bhattacharya of New Horizon Public School, Airoli with cash prize of Rs 3000, gold medal, a certificate. Both the schools were awarded a Rolling Trophy for winning the prizes.

Shri K. K Verkhedkar, Chief Engineer Navi Mumbai gave vote of thanks to all the dignitaries present during the programme. The programme indeed received an immense response. The programme was compared by Dr. Mohan Ninawe, Sr. Public Relations Officer, CIDCO. The CIDCO Vigilance department under the guidance of Dr. Pradnya Sarvade worked proficiently to make this programme successful. The programme concluded by taking the vigilance awareness pledge. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Differences between Sena and BJP will only benefit Congress' that was published in Newsband

Differences between Sena and BJP will only benefit Congress

Shiv Sena’s activists forced the cancellation of a concert by Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali in Mumbai, smeared black paint on ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni for organising a release function for a book by former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, stormed the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai where board president Shashank Manohar was to meet Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan, made things difficult for Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,  with Saamna, the Sena mouthpiece, attacking the BJP and party chief Uddhav Thackeray using his traditional Vijaya Dasami address to the party faithful to lash out against the Central government etc.

After all these dramas, is it possible that Sena and BJP will break all its ties? The important thing is that Sena draws its support base largely from the backward castes and the party challenges brahminical notions of purity. This attitude can sever Sena’s alliance with the BJP.

Sena thinks of (Maharashtra) state while BJP thinks of the Center. Sena seems to be scared of its very survival. Even Raj Thackeray being an antagonist, there is nobody to turn to. Hence they resort to all these mindless outbursts. But how long can one survive with 'hate politics'? Sena can prolong its end only by merger with BJP.

Both BJP and Sena should try to shift the focus towards development agenda. If they are in partnership, they have the potential and talent to fight against poverty, corruption. They can utilize their strength in developing health and education sector instead of fighting against each other the first day and getting back together the very next day. They have five years in hands to fulfill the promises they made but if they go on this way then it will be Congress who will benefit most.

Of late Uddhav Thackeray is in the process of perfection to turn out to be another Bala Saheb in the country, when the BJP is diluting its core values of Hindutva for sheer object of remaining in power like the Congress did. Fringe parties like Shiv Sena, MNS etc are "spur of the moment parties" who have no long term agenda and they are not guided by any principles. Even though the DMK and such Dravidian parties did come up without any specific long term agenda, as they (like the Sena) relied only on a sort of militancy and destructive methods, the Dravidian parties quickly steadied themselves to look at State Development issues as the most important need, and that helped them consolidate and even throw out Congress, virtually decimating them now for over thirty years. If the Sena wishes to make a mark, they need to look at Maharashtra State rather than indulge in some meaningless spur of the moment ideas and concepts that have no relevance to the needs of the people.

The wrong attempt by the BJP to court such a party would affect the BJP more than the fringe parties - the fringe gaining and the BJP losing ground.. But without any long term Socio-economic agenda, the Sena and the like cannot move forward.

Sena has not been known to be consistent in its policies since the senior Thackeray also. It formulates policies for immediate rabble-rousing among its constituents. The BJP will have to be cautious about it and not let the Sena have more political space, either in local bodies or in the government.

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Workshops on Dining Etiquette and Style Essentials for Men' that was published in Newsband

Workshops on Dining Etiquette and Style Essentials for Men

By Dinesh Kamath

“Learn the Art of Dining” at The English Manner Finishing & Style Academy, A Wasan Knowledge Hub Initiative

The English Manner Finishing & Style Academy, A Wasan Knowledge Hub initiative has designed an exclusive one day workshop for all ladies and gentlemen who aspire to master the absolute essentials of fine dining. The participants can learn essence of dinning in theory and practice. Good dining etiquette will ensure that you create a lasting impression.

 Workshop Highlights:

•        Learn the do’s and dont’s of dining

•        Learn the art of table setting

•        Digestifs and Apertifs

•        How to order wine

•        Glassware and Cutlery

•        Practical dining experience at the Hyatt Regency

Date: 31st October, 2015

Timing:  11 am to 4 pm

Investment: Rs.6500 with wine / Rs. 5500 without wine + taxes

Venue: Wasan Knowledge Hub, Hyatt Regency, Andheri East, Near International Airport, Mumbai

To enrol call on: +91 22 61641234

 Workshop on Style Essentials for Men

 ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression!‘ By The English Manner Finishing & Style Academy, A Wasan Knowledge Hub Initiative

Hone your sense of style with a one day workshop by Wasan Knowledge Hub that focuses on power dressing, corporate styling and critical grooming do’s and don’ts.

One can learn the following at the Men’s grooming workshop:

•        All about Suits- from Fab Fit to Fabric

•        Quality Signs to look for in a Suit

•        The best of Designers, Tailors & Brands

•        Style tips to always look dapper

•        Changing conservative office wear 

•        Right Way to team up different Shoe Styles

•        The Art of minimalist yet Impressive Accessorizing

Date: 31st October 2015

Timing: 11 am to 5 pm

Investment: Rs.4999 + taxes (this includes lunch, tea/coffee)

Venue: Wasan Knowledge Hub, Hyatt Regency, Sahara Airport Road, Andheri East, Mumbai

To enrol call on: +91 22 6141234

About The English Manner & Style Academy:

An initiative of the Wasan Knowledge Hub, the academy brings together two of UK’s top Etiquette and Style academies, namely, The English Manner, UK and The Style Directions, UK. The English Manner was founded by Alexandra Messervy FRSA, a former member of The Royal Household of Her Majesty, The Queen.  They have been successfully training individuals, corporations, diplomats, royalty and VIPs for many years.  Style Directions was founded by Carol Spenser, who introduced Personal shopping to the UK high Street; she has helped leading celebrities, political figures, discover their best style and improve their confidence through her unique brand of advice, products and services.

The English Manner and Style Academy is a first of its kind, full service academy which offers detailed theory and practical training in the art of corporate etiquette, grooming diction and style. The modules offered are as per the international offerings and ensure the highest quality of international expert training. Located in Mumbai, the Academy was inaugurated on 1st December 2014, in the presence of International partners and the 1st Secretary of the British High Commission, India. There is a bouquet of offerings for Ladies, Gentlemen, Children and corporates.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Remove article 370 of the Constitution' that was published in Newsband

Remove article 370 of the Constitution

Article 370 of the Constitution determines the constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India. Its abrogation is an avowed policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But the J&K High Court remarks that Article 370 is beyond amendment, repeal or abrogation

One of the features of Article 370 is that a Constitution amendment becomes applicable to J&K only after the President issues an order. Article 370 impliedly rules that the President’s power to issue orders, as has been done over the years making several laws and provisions of the Constitution applicable to J&K, remains untrammelled.

Some may find the observation that Article 370 is beyond repeal or abrogation debatable. Parliament’s amending power under Article 368 remains available for such a measure.

Article 370 was introduced as a temporary measure. Indian Parliament under 368 can amend any part of constitution provided it remains under basic structure of the constitution. There is requirement of presidential order for extending any act to J& K. Under this power president has extended various acts including the Civil Services act, Powers of election commission of India, Supreme court to act as appellate authority for cases decided by J& K high court etc. Thus article 370 in itself is not rigid and permanent as can be seen. The overall objective should be to integrate J& K with whole of country for effective governing in a streamlined manner.

If there can be so many amendments to our constitutions why not an amendment to Article 370, there by complete integration of J & K can happen with India. Modi government’s step to remove Article 370 is absolutely right descision and even the team RSS is supporting it. So, the Prime Minister should raise this issue (removing art. 370) with our President and Chief Justice of India and they should remove the art. 370 of J & K at the earliest possible. Because, India is called Union of States, all the states equally belongs to the Indian Constitution.

Article 370 is misconceived law. It has not produced any results. It’s time to integrate Kashmir with rest of India by abolishing 370. Special treatment is taken by hardliners and extremists as a reason to keep the issue burning. Common man in Kashmir is not dependent or doesn’t need 370.

Just get the Supreme Court to declare Art 370 temporary and hence open to amendment without affecting our territorial sovereignty. After all, the law is what the judges say it is. So, get the Supreme Court to say so and then bring J&K under the Constitution of India.

The article 370 has paved the way for so much corruption, radicalisation, terrorism and unaccountability in all spheres of governance affecting the lives of the people. The JK government is also not accountable to the Union Government regarding financial propriety due to non applicability of many articles resulting in a ruling elite indulging in monumental acts of corruption. In this great autonomous state the center has to dole out Indian tax payer's money for the maintenance of anti nationals and criminals even as people who do not come under the state's permanent residents continue to suffer due to lack of rights.

Sooner or later Article 370 has to go. J&K state gets the central financial assistance as 90% grant and 10% soft loan. You can't have special status for just one state and let other states suffer due to step motherly treatment.

Anyway, the provision in Art 370 of the Constitution, gives a particular area special powers not available to the People of the rest of the country. It should be abrogated with courage and extraordinary steps not caring for what they say.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Nation has the right to know the truth about Netaji' that was published in Newsband

Nation has the right to know the truth about Netaji

Prime Minister Narendra Modis decision to declassify documents in the “governments possession relating to Subhas Chandra Bose” is excellent. This might help lift the veil of secrecy surrounding his life and death. Part of the credit for the momentum on this front should go to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,

In this age of assured transparency, Mr. Modi’s step, and especially his observation that “nations that forget history are bound to lose the power to create it”, must go beyond mere words. Did Bharatiya Janata Party make this movie simply because West Bengal will be going to the polls in 2016? It is clear that Modi is looking forward to conquer more States.

There is no doubt that Bose was one of the greatest fighters of independence era and the whole nation is entitled to know the full details not only of his strategy of his fight but also whether he had actually perished in the so called plane accident or not. If he had not been killed in the accident then how did he spend the rest of his life and what compelled him to live in hiding?

In its frenzy of undoing what Congrss has done, the government is doing some rare good things. One of them is to unveil the historical truth about the great leader Bose. The step is welcome and any truth, however unsavory it may be, helps understand history in right perspective. Hopefully, the truth would be out sooner.

Historians will finally get the opportunity to do research and lift the veil of secrecy surrounding his life and death. Bose was a revolutionary lawyer and leader of the Congress Party and stood in direct confrontation with Gandhi’s passive and nonviolent resistance methods against the British. His plan was to get Hitlers help to stage a revolution in India that would distract British forces from the war against Germany under the motto “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He had calculated that Britain would lose the war against the military superior Germany and as a consequence, lose India as well. But most important was Germany lost the war. A lot of research on Bose will be done in the coming years. Perhaps the veil of secrecy surrounding his life and death can be lifted.

One has to admit that at last, the Modi Government has plucked courage to resurrect Netaji. Netaji will be happy that what he could not achieve in his life time has now been achieved; viz., a grand alliance with the Hindutva brigade.

Will it be right to suspect that the Modi government's decision to declassify Netaji files is promoted by a political agenda? That way one could always say that Nehru and the Congress kept the facts of these files under wraps to make sure there was no other hero on the scene. Unfortunately Marxist historians who dominated the scene till date collaborated with the Congress in denying Bose his share in India's history of freedom struggle. One can only hope despite many speculations the files will reveal the truth and the whole truth.

Video: Dinesh Kamath about Rajesh Khanna

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India should do justice to Nepal' that was published in Newsband

India should do justice to Nepal

Inviting Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa to New Delhi is a good move by India. The mistrust that has marked the relationship in the past two months between the two countries should end.

There is a need to end the pile-up of trucks at the border in Bihar that Nepal terms an unofficial blockade, and of bringing the new Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, to Delhi for talks. Another task for the Indian government is to help Nepal build on its Constitution. It is also necessary to undo the perception that New Delhi is interfering in the neighbour’s internal processes, and worse, ‘punishing’ Nepal for not acceding to its wishes. It is time to turn attention to the struggles of the ordinary citizen of Nepal, a country that has been battered by an earthquake and ruptured by internal divisions and brutal clashes. It is suffering without electricity, food and essential medicines. A small start at rebuilding trust should be achieved. Indo-Nepal relation must be built on convictions of mutual trust, goodwill and benefit.

There was a feeling among the Nepalis that India's policy has been aimed at generating "intrinsic instability" in Nepal. But with the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his two fruitful visits to Nepal, the speedy and generous support during recent earthquake, and Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj's matter of fact retort reportedly made during her last visit to Nepal to a group of disgruntled - and defeated in last election - Madhesi politicians regarding their claims of discrimination, all suggested fundamental shift in the foreign policy.

A good relationship with the neighbour is important in building trust and safeguard for the country against any type of terror attack. But helping Nepal after all the natural calamities it has suffered is a step forward in building relationships.

It is a very wise step taken up by both the nation. It is the step that may reconstruct the unique relationship of friendship and cooperation accompanied by linguistic, cultural and civilizational link with wide ranging economic ties that once prevailed between both the nation right from the time of integration of princely states into Indian union. If we see it diplomatically it also slows down or ceases the Beijing's intervention in the Himalayan state. China is constantly trying to seize the opportunity of influencing Nepal's constitutional framework as China is afraid that federal system proposed by India could lead to anti China activities and troubles in Tibet.

Before the laying of the constitution, Nepal cannot go for the development in a witty manner. Interim talks are welcome by the ministry of external affairs in all matters relating to the soft core issues like road building between Nepal and India, reconstructing Nepal city once more and bilateral communication between the two neighbours. Sure, India's role is not divisive but to reunite Nepal without any frontiers and distaste in politics.

When Nepal is undergoing negative pressure, India can act as community between the frontiers to give positive approach to Nepal to introduce Equality, Justice, Freedom and Development in its constitution rather perfect solution. In chaos, the dialogue is must.

There has always been tension between the plains people (of Terai) and the Hills people which the Royalty sharpened by attempting to change the demography of the Terai (just as the Chinese did in Xinjiang by relocating the Han or the Pakistanis did in Gilgit by relocating the Sunnis in a Shia dominant region) with the Hills people. The second drafting of the Constitution saw India asking Nepal to treat both regions fairly, a promise that Nepali leaders gave to India, but which has been breached in spite of last minute attempts by our Foreign Secretary. The Terai people feel shortchanged and are angry.

What Nepal needs is a humanitarian friendship and not 'opportunistic' friendship.