Video: Dinesh Kamath captures Bollywood Star and Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Amrita Rao while speaking in Konkani

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Motorists dread Arenja corner at Vashi' that was published in Newsband

Motorists dread Arenja corner at Vashi

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: The area around Shahu Maharaj Chowk near Arenja corner at Vashi is a sensitive place for motorists. It is one of the busiest areas in Vashi. This area has an elevated patch blocks which poses problem to the motorists and hence some of them have asked for the removal of this elevation to enable them to drive smoothly at this particular spot.

The motorists have asked NMMC to have a look at this place and do something drastic so that no traffic hazard is experienced at this spot.

The motorcyclists particularly find this place very dangerous. But they can avert the danger if they stop taking short cuts at the circle. There were some accidents that took place at this spot when the motorists were taken by surprize.

NMMC did want to solve the motorists’ problems over here by removing the circle but they were not able to do it owing to the presence of electric line there. NMMC is thinking of coming up with a flyover at this place to make it convenient for the motorists.

The danger at this place increases particularly at night or when signals are not functioning and also when rash drivers increase the speed of their vehicles at this spot. The youngsters who drive vehicles are found most vulnerable when they arrive at this spot. The removal of this elevation can solve the problem, feel many motorists as well as top traffic police officers.

Both NMMC and Traffic officials are making desperate efforts to make this spot safe for vehicle drivers. It is left to be seen whether they will meet with success or not. 

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'NMMC to try new method to avoid constant road-digging' that was published in Navi Mumbai

NMMC to try new method to avoid constant road-digging

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: The civic body has come up with a solution that will make digging of roads every now and then not necessary. This it intends to do by providing underground cables and pipes via ducts. Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation is in talks with companies which can do this job for them. These companies will come up with detailed maps very soon.

There will be two separate ducts - one for general utility service providers and another for electricity cables. The Mahanagar gas pipeline will be excluded. This will make digging of roads not necessary and also this is a part of Rs 7,000 crore-One Time Planning proposed by Thane guardian minister, Ganesh Naik.

The ducts might be laid alongside roads or under pavements and there will be manholes made at regular intervals so whenever repairing work have to be done there will be no need to do any digging work again.

To do this work NMMC will need spend a lot of money. Whether it is affordable will be decided by the top NMMC authorities.

This kind of system has been applied in many foreign countries, especially the advanced ones.

Digging of roads causes lots of convenience to all. Hence application of this system will solve the problem. Digging of roads spoils the roads to a great extent. The roads are found in a very bad condition  after the digging work. And when the monsoon arrives the condition of these roads become still worse. Both the motorists and pedestrians find it problemmatic while using such roads. Also water gets accummulated all along the roads resulting in health problems.

Laying of duct might provide a long-lasting solution to end the menace of endless digging. NMMC is very keen to try this method and if they meet with success the residents of the city are bound to heave a sigh of relief. 

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai’ (Delivery Man, Bullett Raja and Frozen) that was published in Newsband

New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Delivery Man

Delivery Man is a 2013 American comedy-drama film directed by Ken Scott, produced by DreamWorks Pictures, and starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders. It is a remake of Scott's 2011 French-Canadian film Starbuck.

The film has an interesting plot. David Wozniak, using the alias "Starbuck", is a sperm donor who learns that he has fathered 533 children. When a large group of them petition the sperm bank to reveal his identity, David has to decide whether or not to come forward. Simultaneously, his girlfriend is deciding whether he would make a suitable father.

The film depicts as to what happens if an aimless, irresponsible fortysomething who made hundreds of donations to a sperm bank in his youth learns one day that he has 533 kids?

David Wozniak (Vaughn) has to maintain his anonymity, but he starts going through the list of his kids, trying to secretly connect with them. The first child Dave uncovers turns out to be an NBA star. The next turns out to be a struggling actor and jerky bartender. Then there’s the beautiful junkie. The street musician. The African-American manicurist.

At one point, one of Dave’s more intellectual kids (he wears black and quotes Tolstoy) uncovers the secret, but wants this father figure all to himself, so he moves in;. Even Dave’s pregnant girlfriend, Emma (Cobie Smulders), supposedly a motivating factor in his decision to become a responsible father, just pops in whenever it’s convenient for the story.

After Dave brings one daughter (Britt Robertson), a junkie, to the hospital following an overdose, he has to decide between signing her out (which is what she wants) and signing her up for rehab (which is what a kindly doctor wants). It’s a tense, serious little scene, as Dave walks back and forth between the doctor and the daughter, torn about the first actual parental decision of his life.

The film depicts Dave’s interactions with one particular child, a severely disabled man who seems to have been abandoned in a nursing home. Dave’s own father (played by Andrzej Blumenfeld), a Polish immigrant, gets some touching scenes as well.

Bullett Raja

Bullett Raja is a Hindi action film, written and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and produced by Rahul Mittra, Nitin Tej Ahuja and Tigmanshu Dhulia, under the banner of BrandSmith Motion Pictures and Moving Pictures. The film is presented by Fox Star Studios. The film features Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Jimmy Shergill in leading roles, whilst Chunky Pandey, Ravi Kishan, Gulshan Grover and Vidyut Jamwal will feature in pivotal roles. The film is set against the backdrop of West Bengal-based mafia while dealing with the underworld.

The movie has Saif Ali Khan in a never before seen avatar. He essays the role of Raja Mishra a commoner who gets transformed into Bullett Raja - a notorious, care-a-damn attitude gangster. A faithful friend and a loyal lover, living life on his own terms, setting his own rules, commanding respect and fearing no one, Bullett Raja in his true inimitable style takes on the system that creates people like him in a compelling struggle for power and ambition.

The film consists of seven tracks composed by RDB and Sajid-Wajid and lyrics written by Sandeep Nath, Kausar Munir, Shabbir Ahmed and Raftaar. The film has songs like Tamanche Pe Disco, Saamne Hai Savera, Jai Govinda Jai Gopala, Don't Touch My Body, Bullett Raja, Satake Thoko and Jai Govinda Jai Gopala (Remix).

         

Frozen

Frozen is a 2013 American computer animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, it is the 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Featuring the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad, the film tells the story of a fearless, yet optimistic princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged mountain man, his loyal reindeer, and a hapless snowman to find her sister, the Snow Queen, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

There are two Princesses of Arendelle: Elsa (Idina Menzel), the soon-to-be Queen, and Anna (Kristen Bell). Elsa has the ability to create snow and ice, yet has been suppressing these powers after a traumatic childhood incident involving her sister. After letting her cryokinetic powers get out of hand during her official July coronation, she goes into hiding, only for her emotions to trigger a magical, eternal winter that freezes the entire kingdom. The arrogant Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) plots to turn everyone against "the monster" Elsa for his own devilish needs.

Anna, a fearless and daring optimist, must journey with extreme mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and reindeer sidekick Sven in an epic journey, encountering mystical trolls, a comical snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad), Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn in a race to find Elsa (now known as the Snow Queen), save their kingdom from eternal winter, and make things right before it's too late.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Indian women need total security' that was published in Newsband

Indian women need total security

Just recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB). It will focus predominantly on women, apart from being staffed largely by them.

Women, who constitute about half the country’s population, account for 80 per cent lower per capita credit compared to men. Also that there is a gender bias in banking services is clear. It was precisely these factors that led to the creation of women's cooperative banks such as the Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd.

The branches of BMB should also be launched in a rural area or in remote corner of banking starved area of the country and not just in Metropolis where the banks have reached saturation. More branches should get opened in Rural and select semi urban areas. If they are started in the Rural areas, where most people hardly hold bank accounts, there might be relatively higher number of enrollments once they are educated about these banks. In urban areas where there is better participation of women in the workforce, the women may not be much interested in such a concept.

This is indeed a bold move by the government ahead of the 2014 general elections, especially at a time when economies of some developed nations are in a state of doldrums. This is a perfect example of a robust economy. BMB, undoubtedly is a boon to the women folk in India. What is important is RBI must take enough attention so that it caters to the needs of working women, women who run their own business and daily wage earners, accordingly.With population growing by leaps and bounds this would be a better alternative to the Indian women. It is now left to the women of India to utilise the most of it.

Any developmental step initially looks like heading towards a thorny path. But again this is a good step taken to focus upon the financial inclusion of women.

The BMB will ensure focused women empowering in rural India, thereby ensuring requisite livelihood opportunities to them. A very good initiative of Indian government. Further BMB would certainly ensure availbilty of credit to the marginalised women in rural areas to enable them to supplement their family incomes to reach to a viable standard of living in rural areas. This will also go a long way in mitigating the rural poverty in particular besides reducing the incidence of migration to urban areas.

 Women should not only be expected to enjoy equality with men in financial sophistication, but also she needs to have safety (in society, at work), employment, education, good health, housing, food, water. She must be allowed to survive without being maimed physically or harmed mentally as a wife, an unmarried adult, a blossoming youth, a carefree developing child, a dependent baby. She must not be killed after birth or selectively murdered before birth. The Government must know that girls and women in India enjoy none of these most basic of human rights. At some places in India, girls and women cannot even attend to unavoidable call of nature - without risking attack, rape or murder. Hence government must take steps to provide full security to women.  

Dinesh Kamath is totally impressed by the performance of Gauhar Khan in Bigg Boss 7

I'm totally impressed by the performance of Gauhar Khan in Bigg Boss 7

By Dinesh Kamath

Gauhar's strong opinion and her stand for what she thinks is right are making her fans go gaga about her. The model turned actress has also charmed her audiences with her looks and impeccable fashion statements. She is a unique combination of ideals and entertainment.

I saw her film "Miss India: The Mystery", 2003. She was younger that time and she looked extremely cute. She has retained her beauty even today. She has played an important role in the 2009 Yash Raj film, "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year". I liked her performance in that film too. She was seen in an item song Parda Parda..which became very famous number of 2010 movie "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai". What a way Gauhar danced to the tune of Parda Parda….! She was fabulous. I’ve seen her anchoring the film gossip show on Zoom Television and she was really impressive there too.

What I like about Gauhar is that she takes a firm stand on any issue. Gauhar's stand is being widely appreciated. She has the guts to stand by the right. She never loses her respect and dignity even when she is victimized. At one stage, she had worn a saree in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss 7’. She looked extremely cute in saree. In fact, any kind of dress suits Gauhar.

Gauhar deserves to be the winner of ‘Bigg Boss 7’. Whether she wins or not I will continue admiring her super qualities which makes her one of the most beautiful women in India. I luv U, Gauhar!!!!

Dinesh Kamath's news item 'NMMC and water supply' that was published in Newsband

NMMC and water supply

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has found that water is being misused in the city in a big way. Hence it has decided to penalize those found wasting or misusing potable water. NMMC will appoint its officials to keep a watch and report those cases where water is misused.

NMMC has taken this step after receiving complaints from the residents about wastage of water taking place at many places. According to the complaints the water that is meant for drinking were being used for other purpose.

There are many residents in the city who receive just two-hour water supply. Some are lucky enough to receive much more supply of water and they don’t hesitate to use this water indiscriminately and for washing vehicles and for watering gardens.

The NMMC supplies drinking water to the entire city through the existing supply system like pipelines and service reservoirs. This water is being used by many for wrong purposes. Hence NMMC has appointed officials to catch hold of and penalize such residents who waste the potable water. Also bulk domestic meters have been installed at some residences to prevent wastage of water. Notices will be issued to those people in whose residences water had overflowed from the safety tank or potable water is being misused. Some officials have been appointed to find out where there is leakage of water and to plug or repair any leaking pipeline.

It is a good thing that NMMC is keeping a watch on the residents to see to it that they don’t waste drinking water. But sometimes NMMC itself is found on the wrong. For example, a few days back, after water cut-off on a certain day, the residents of Turbhe discovered that the water which was supplied to them by NMMC had a foul smell. Now whose fault is this? NMMC authorities, instead of penalizing the officials responsible for this defended them by saying that the water had foul smell only for a short time because the pipes were being cleaned.

But NMMC should not have started supplying water while the pipes were in the process of being cleaned. So the fault here lies with NMMC. The burst of dirty water while the pipes were being cleaned could have created severe health problems among the residents had they consumed the contaminated water.  

It is true that the residents of the city should be careful while using the water. So also NMMC should do the job of water-supplying to the city in most responsible manner.