Dinesh Kamath

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Price of CNG hiked; Common man is most affected' that was published in Newsband

Price of CNG hiked

Common man is most affected

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Public transport fares in Navi Mumbai are set to go up, as Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) has increased the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by Rs 2 a kg and of piped natural gas (PNG) by Rs2.19 per standard cubic metre (SCM).

This means that as of today, CNG costs Rs 36.30 in Navi Mumbai. The revised price of PNG will be Rs 24.17.

Taxi and auto unions have asked for a Rs 5 hike in the minimum fare.

Every taxi driver in the city spends between 12 to 15 kg of CNG a day. The hike would mean an additional burden of Rs 30 a day or close to Rs 1,000 per month.

Autorickshawmen's Union will calculate the impact of the fuel component today and then forward this to the state government.

At the same time, the hike in PNG prices would raise costs by almost 10 per cent for households that get directly piped gas.

The state transport department, however, might resist any demand from unions for a fare hike since they had promised not to revise auto and taxi fares at least till the year-end. Hence a revision can be expected only in 2014.

Even according to a government resolution, fare hikes for autos and taxis could be done only once a year (sometime in May).

A hike in the municipality-run BEST bus fares is also inevitable; the fares of privately-run bus and taxi services are also bound to go up. All these developments will affect the common man very badly.

The unions have urged the authorities to withdraw the hike. They have threatened that if nothing is done then they will force gas stations to shut down for three days.

Owing to the hike, residents of Navi Mumbai using piped natural gas (PNG) will have to pay Rs 2.19 more per standard cubic metre (SCM). Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) said this will reflect in their bills for July, which will be payable in August. The MGL defended the hike saying gas was still cheaper than other fuels. A statement by MGL said the hike was needed to recover part of the increase in overall input costs and to offset the rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar.

As for PNG, domestic users are not happy over the increase in costs. A housewife said she would have to cut down on gas consumption. An average monthly bill will go up by 10%, sources said, adding that this was the third price rise in the past one-and-a-half years.

For those who have switched over from petrol-driven cars to CNG-engine private cars, the fuel price hike could be a small setback.

MGL's CNG remains a very attractive customer proposition and costs about 68% and 44% lower than petrol and diesel respectively at current price levels in Mumbai. Also, MGL's domestic PNG continues to deliver convenience to consumers while costing less than domestic subsidized LPG.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Rise in number of street children in Navi Mumbai' that was published in Newsband

Rise in number of street children in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: There is a rapid rise in the number of street children in Navi Mumbai. It is clear that these kids come from neighbouring regions. Many of them drop out of school and come here since they find this city provides employment opportunities.

A survey was carried out at fifteen nodes in Navi Mumbai. It was found that the maximum number of children has migrated with families from inside Maharashtra.

All wards were combed for presence of street children including railway platforms, bridges, flyovers, dumping grounds, signals, religious places and markets for recording the presence of street children and interviewing their groups.

The trends related to influx of street children in Mumbai have undergone a sea change over decades. Earlier children from states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal used to migrate in large numbers. But the latest numbers indicate that intrastate migration from within Maharashtra has outnumbered the children arriving from other states.

The reasons for such migration include looking for jobs, drought-stricken poverty, famine and lack of power supply prevailing over the Vidarbha region. An exodus of rural families to urban areas is but natural. Children are uprooted from villages and stripped of their right to education as the family migrates.

According to UNICEF, children are either ‘on street’ working through the day and return to their families in the evening or ‘off the street,’ which are runaway, abandoned or orphaned and live on their own. The census recorded that majority of the children in the survey were categorized as ‘on street,’ and having migrated with their families from within Maharashtra.

Presence of up to 1,087 street kids was recorded in CBD-Belapur and Panvel areas of Navi Mumbai during the rapid assessment. The researchers discovered that they were migrants from within Maharashtra.

Large presence of Pardhi tribes migrated from rural Maharashtra dwelling in tarpaulin and plastic shanties were seen. Their children have gotten involved in begging and rag picking. They perform street gymnastics or are dressed like gods and goddesses for procuring alms.

Seasonal migrant labour for contractual work at construction sites being recruited from interior Maharashtra has increased. The presence of a large number of vulnerable children on streets in Navi Mumbai is alarming. These children either get work as child labourers or they become targets of those involved in human trafficking.

What the people who conducted the survey did is just the visible tip of the iceberg. The hidden population is difficult to be accounted for in a rapid assessment survey.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Developer residing at Airoli arrested for breaking rules' that was published in Newsband

Developer residing at Airoli arrested for breaking rules

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Kantilal Bhanushali, 42, a resident of Airoli, a developer was arrested by the Navghar traffic police on Monday. He was found with the amber beacon on his swift car. He was stopped by the traffic police at Airoli toll naka in Mulund at around noon. He was next brought to the Navghar police station and a criminal case was registered against him.

As per Central Motor Vehicle Act, the amber beacon cannot be used by private vehicles. However, the offence is bailable.

Bhanusali who wad driving the car was stopped by assistant sub inspector Shekhar Harne and constable Sachin Ghadge from Vikhroli traffic division and they in turn handed him over to the local police. Bhanushali did try to pass himself off as a politician’s aide, but the policemen on duty could not be fooled. He was booked and later released on bail.

During the investigation, it was found that Bhanushali would fix the beacon on his car whenever he came to Mumbai to avoid being pulled over and to get easy parking. He had purchased the beacon at Kurla Chor Bazaar a few months ago.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Total road safety need to be ensured' that was published in Newsband

Total road safety need to be ensured

There have been many accidents taking place on Indian roads in the recent times. The Centre has been ignoring the shameful toll of death and disability for years, responding only with token measures. State governments mostly limit themselves to granting meagre compensation to the families of victims, instead of engaging in serious reform.

On paper, India is addressing several aspects of the problem through a Road Safety Policy: education of users, law enforcement, engineering of roads and vehicles, emergency care, and audits of highways. But none of this is really working. No major improvements have been made to the process of driver training and certification, in spite of a steady rise in the number of vehicles.

The ever-present threat of injury and death on India’s lawless roads violates the right to life, and calls for its vigorous assertion by citizens. Municipal governments responsible for putting up physical infrastructure should be held accountable if their failure leads to accidents.

The number of vehicles on road is increasing and hence the road tax collected as well, but the condition of Indian roads remains the same. Where does the tax collected for repairing roads and supporting the infrastructure go?

Both the central and state governments have the responsibility to keep the roads well maintained. Fixing the road should not be limited to only when there is a visit of some ministers in the adjoining area. It is the right of the tax paying Indian to have a well maintained road.

It is a shame that India has one of the highest number of deaths caused in road accidents. Main problem is that there is no space for pedestrian to walk on, thus forcing them to walk on roads which act as an invitation to accidents. Second the driving sense of people is pathetic. The driving habits are abysmal poor - drivers overtaking without indicators, vehicles going on wrong lanes and wrong sides, uncontrollable speed, lack of safety measures, talking on mobiles while driving, lack of sense of parking, use of high beam at nights etc.

What is the first thing required is proper driving skills without which any policy, safety measures would be ineffective.

The RTO officials should stop taking bribe while issuing the licences. Normally we find gross traffic violations happening right under the noses of policemen who don't intervene unless an accident happens. Traffic police must be well trained and should patrol the roads and penalise errant drivers. Also road markings and signalling must be provided on all roads in phases. Pedestrian Traffic must be told to cross the roads only at zebra crossings to avoid accidents. Two wheeler drivers must be asked to wear helmets and talking on cell phones on road must be discouraged. Traffic rules must be told to pupils when they join middle schools.

The first corruption takes place when road tenders are filled. This should stop first and foremost. Insurance companies should also start chipping in for vehicle safety certifications, give preferential rates for more safe vehicles.

These are the ways to ensure total road safety.

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Some buildings in the city violate laws relating to CRZ' that was published in Newsband

Some buildings in the city violate laws relating to CRZ

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Some buildings in Navi Mumbai are likely to face criminal action for violating laws relating to coastal regulatory zone (CRZ).

Majority of the buildings on Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai, including high profile societies that house bureaucrats and police officials, don’t have CRZ clearance. The state has sought legal opinion on how to proceed against such buildings after the Union environment ministry’s refusal to regularise them.

It seems that the Evironment Ministry will be forced to take action. It is studying the sections of the Environment Protection Act to find out whether the action can be taken against such buildings.

It seems that developers or promoters of these buildings have flouted coastal norms. The penalty for this could be five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rs1 lakh. They could also receive notice under section 5 of the Act, which empowers authorities to cut their power and water connections.

The state environment department is likely to issue this notice, give buildings a hearing and forward the cases to the Centre for further action.

Earlier the union environment minister Jayanti Natarajan had refused to regularise these buildings despite chief minister Prithviraj Chavan proposing a hefty fine for their regularisation.

These buildings are located in the coastal area and yet they don’t possess the clearances from Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

Some developers who have violated the law claim that they were unaware about the fact that they needed to take permission of MCZMA since nobody informed them.