Dinesh Kamath's news 'Navi Mumbai residents expect BJP govt to perform miracles' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai residents expect BJP govt to perform miracles

By Dinesh Kamath

(Above) Picture of Lotus - Symbol of BJP

NAVI MUMBAI: After the hectic election campaigning came to an end and after elections took place and election results were out, the Navi Mumbai residents heaved a sigh of relief. They had enough of the noise and tension that were created by the candidates and their election campaigning teams during the election period. Now that the suspense is all over and everyone knows as to who has won which seat and which party has won how many seats, the city residents are trying to convey to the yet-to-be-announced members of the yet-to-be-formed new government that they should not repeat the blunders committed by the past government and that they should, in fact, rectify their errors and to concentrate on providing good, just and efficient governance and come up with excellent infrastructures and bring about stability.

The residents of Navi Mumbai, in fact, are pleased about the fact that a single party has achieved almost a majority votes and they expect this party to deliver the goods. They expect the new government to make quick decisions since it will not be a coalition government. The residents of the city are also expecting to see the end of rampant corruption, illegal constructions, rotten infrastructures, spreading of slums and bad civic reforms in the days to come. They hope to see tremendous rise in the living standards of the city residents under this new government which will almost consist of members from one single party. In fact, many city residents strongly feel that the new government will succeed in doing what the previous government had just been promising – that is converting Navi Mumbai into most advanced city in the country. They expect the new government to improve the condition of roads in Navi Mumbai, clear the footpaths of illegal hawkers, get the civic body to clear the garbage promptly and regularly, prevent constant occurrences of traffic snarls etc.  

There are quite many residents who are expecting the Bharatiya Janata Party to create some kind of magic or miracle during the next five years of their rule. They are confident that this government will improve the conditions of Navi Mumbai residents to a great degree. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'NMMC to improve considerably its disaster management plans' that was published in Newsband

NMMC to improve considerably its disaster management plans

By Dinesh Kamath

(Above) Picture of NMMC

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has planned to conduct disaster management programme in three phases. The disaster management cell of NMMC is making a thorough research on how to protect Navi Mumbai in case of occurrence of any kind of disaster so as to make it one of the safest cities.   

The first phase consists of making a study of current ability of the civic body to tackle any kind of disaster. To do this study, Tata Institute of Social Sciences is rendering its help. This institute is studying the plan of the civic body and trying to perfect the plan so as to equip the city with all the resources necessary to tackle any kind of disaster. This institute is making a study of what kind of disasters are likely to occur in Navi Mumbai after which the institute will work out a detailed plan about how to prevent or tackle the disasters. All kinds of disasters like earthquakes, floods, dilapidated building collapse, chemical accidents, tsunami, riots and landslides etc are taken into consideration. The institute will inform the disaster cell of NMMC about the latest technology available to fight any kind of disasters.

In the second and third phases a thorough research will be done about the disasters which are most likely to occur in Navi Mumbai and how it can affect the social lives of the city residents. The disaster cell of NMMC will be informed about how certain haphazardly built infrastructures can make the city vulnerable to disasters like earthquakes and what preventive measures and techniques to adopt to tackle such happenings.

Thus the disaster management department of NMMC is currently very busy reviewing the disaster management plans which once they complete they might come up with fantastic techniques of tackling disasters that are most likely to hit the city. 

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Environmentalists versus NMMC' that was published in Newsband

Environmentalists versus NMMC

By Dinesh Kamath

(Above) Picture of fallen trees

NAVI MUMBAI: Environment activists were found to be disturbed by the fact that many trees got uprooted during the recent thunderstorm. They have held Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation responsible for this happening. They are not happy with the tree planting techniques adopted and choices of plants made by NMMC. They feel that the civic body should at least consult the forest department before doing any kind of planting. They accused NMMC of planting cheap quality saplings which when they grow are fragile and not strong enough. They suggested that strong trees like Peepal and Banyan be planted instead of fragile badam trees.

But the authorities of the garden department of NMMC denied that they resorted to planting low quality saplings. They said that they had enough knowledge about trees and methods of planting them and hence they were not at fault if the tress fell down in big number. During the natural disasters, even the strongest trees can get destroyed, they said.

NMMC refused to be responsible for the falling of many trees during the thunderstorms, but, however, the civic body in recent times has been promptly taking actions whenever it received any complaint regarding trees and tree-planting. For example, some residents of Nerul came to NMMC with a complaint that there was not enough space around trees at a certain place. NMMC workers were immediately sent to that spot and made to remove the sand gravels laid around the trees. As suggested by the environmental experts, NMMC has begun to leave breathing space around the roots of the trees while planting new saplings. It was owing to lack of such space that some trees in the past had fallen down, said the Environmentalist.  

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Raahgiri once again from first week of November' that was published in Newsband

Raahgiri once again from first week of November

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Raahgiri, which was organized by Times of India and Navi Mumbai police in the past, will once again make its appearance somewhere in the beginning of November along Palm Beach Road and near Nerul lake. Some new activities will also be added this time. This event is open to all age groups and people pursuing any profession.

The organizers of Raahgiri were just waiting for elections to get over. Now that monsoon has ended and so also the elections the organizers are once again all set to come forward with another episode of Raahgiri which is meant particularly for fitness freaks, sportsmen and fun-lovers.

Thus Raahgiri is once again making its appearance after four months. The lovers of this event were eagerly waiting for this moment. Last season, they had enjoyed every bit of this fitness regimen. They are now looking forward to taking part in cycling, running, zumba, fitness arena, serious sporting activities such as street soccer, Indian conventional games such as stapu, lagori and yoga, among others. All these activities have been included in Raahgiri and school students particularly are bound to participate in this event most enthusiastically. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Khattar as Haryana’s CM – a great move!' that was published in Newsband

Khattar as Haryana’s CM – a great move!

In Haryana, the first-time legislator Manohar Lal Khattar was chosen by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the top job not for his legislative experience or administrative expertise, but for his organisational skill and political savvy. Mr. Khattar joined the BJP from the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where he was an active pracharak, and was put in charge of the party’s affairs in several States in the last two decades. In Haryana, his inputs led to BJP becoming strong and achieving a victory in the election.  

Chief ministership was a form of recognition for Khattar’s efforts. It is also an expression of gratitude by the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah team to Mr. Khattar. Modi was himself an organisation man before he became Chief Minister of Gujarat and hence he must have found something common between him and Khattar. Now that Khattar is made the CM of Haryana, he will now have to shift his focus to governance from political manoeuvres.

While Mr. Khattar may have been known for his organizational skills, his escalation from the ranks of RSS directly to the post of State Chief Minister is a reflection of much more than that. To be elected unopposed for the post of CM denotes a tacit understanding amongst the party members, manoeuvred by the shrewd skills of the man. It was more of his prudence and political skills that got him there. Khattar was chosen for the top post in Haryana owing to the RSS factor. The Prime Minister and the BJP President come from the same source and have been successful in taking daunting challenges of strengthening the organisation as well as the party. In that line, it is to be seen whether Khattar stands tested on the expectations of PM and BJP president steering through the problems that grip the state.

Laurels to the man for working close knit with the top brass of the BJP, garnering all support from Modi-Shah duo. Will Khattar go on to become a national leader one day?

Appointment of a non-Jat as the CM of Jat-dominated Haryana was a great move. Similarly a Brahmin should be made the CM of the Maratha-dominated Maharashtra. The need of the hour is appointment of patriotic and energetic people of integrity, dedication and honesty at all levels of governance.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Dampened Diwali for some while others enjoyed the festival' that was published in Newsband

Dampened Diwali for some while others enjoyed the festival

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: This Diwali was a dampener for many people who are fond of dry fruits. The exceptional steep prices of dry fruits at both wholesale and retail markets in Navi Mumbai dampened the spirit of those who always look forward to enjoying and distributing the dry fruits.

During last Diwali, the stalls selling the dry fruits used to be packed with customers to buy the dry fruits packaged in various attractive ways. Those were the days when even the pavements used to consist of sellers of boxes of dry fruits. Business was brisk then. But this year, the same was not the case owing to tremendous hike in prices of dry fruits.

The shopkeepers at APMC market too were finding it extremely difficult to attract customers to buy their expensive dry fruits. They could not even keep the dry fruits packed in boxes and had to wait to do that till they received the orders from the customers. In fact, the owners of many shops in APMC were expecting the business to be bad and hence they focused their attention on selling Diwali goods other than dry fruits. Those sellers who depended solely on dry fruits to do their business were the worst hit since they could hardly make any profit.

The dry fruits are imported from Afghanistan and the Middle East and they are not only highly priced but even have high duties and taxes are imposed on them. India cannot produce all the dry fruits here and hence they have to depend on the foreign countries for dry fruits other than walnuts and cashew nuts. But the thing is even the dry fruits that are produced locally are high priced. This fact has disappointed both the customers and the shopkeepers during this Diwali season.

While the dry fruit lovers found this Diwali dampened, there were others who used lots of colourful lamps, diyas and torans to make the occasion very special. The interesting thing about these lamps, diyas and torans were they were made by special children, who have been working on these products long before the festival arrived.

These children had undergone vocational training at special school and here they were taught to make handicrafts and gift items. These special children went on to make a range of items such as diyas, paper bags, boxes, thalis, candles, lanterns, and spices, which they displayed at an exhibition and sale in the school. The items were reasonably priced according to their qualities.

Thus even though the festival was a dampener for some, there were others who went on to enjoy Diwali like they did every year in the past.

Dinesh Kamath's self-clicked photographs