MONTH THAT WAS

CID probe into Rs. 970-cr garbage tenders

Mumbai: The state government has decided to probe the civic body’s move to hand out tenders worth Rs 970 crore for cleaning garbage across the city to private contractors.

The government, ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe alleged irregularities in allotment of these tenders. “We will conduct a CID probe. It would be completed within two months,” said Bhaskar Jadhav, minister of state for urban development. The state was forced to conduct the inquiry after deputy chairman of the legislative council Vasant Dawkhare asked for it following allegations by ruling party members of large scale irregularities in the deal.

The BMC recently approved tenders worth Rs: 70 crore to rent compactors, vehicles as well as transport solid waste. The duration of these contracts is five years.

Congress member Alka Desai, who raised the issue, said that the waste disposal system was in a mess. “Garbage is not being cleared for days and disease is rampant, especially during the monsoon,” Desai rued. She accused the BMC of ignoring the matter.

Congress corporators had opposed the tenders saying that they were deliberately brought in at the last moment to avoid any discussions. They alleged that the move was a way to bring back certain contractors, despite their lackluster track record. 

However, the Shiv Sena, which is in power at the BMC, is undeterred by the development. “We are ready for any inquiry from any agency,” said Yashodhar Fanase, Sena corporator and leader of the BMC House. “The proposal was brought to us by the administration. If there is anything wrong, it should be investigated and should come to the fore,” he added.

Only Lokpal can clear this garbage corruption or garbage of corruption.

Fatwa against neta, cop, iftar parties

A few Muslim organisations have asked for the boycott of iftar parties held by political parties and the police as well. The group has sent letters in this regard to Muslim leaders, and they met the additional police commissioner, Naval Bajaj.

If they want to celebrate with the community, they should organise events for Eid. Iftar is for people who fast. Politicians don’t even fast. What is the point of having a party to break a fast, then?” added Mufti Mehmood Akhtar of the Amjadi Darul Efta, Pydhonie.

Mufti Aziz-ul Rehman of the Markazul Marif Idara in Jogeshwari said that roja is something religious, and it is the duty of a Muslim to observe a fast during the month of Ramzan.

“There is no scope of political interest in this. Also, Muslims are supposed to break the fast with their hard earned money, but this is not what happens at iftar parties,” he added.

Last year, too, some religious leaders had called for the boycott of the CM’s iftar party. However, the boycott was in support of Malegaon blast accused.

“Iftar is a relious gathering. If they want to prove equality, they should be more just when it comes to Muslims in law and order situations,” said Rashid Azim, Mumbai president of the All India Milli Council.

“We will soon be distributing handbills stating that maulanas and imams too be boycotted if they attend such parties,” sai Abdul Razzaq Maniyar, who belongs to one such Muslim organisation.

SC slams MP Govt for inaction

New Delhi: The Supreme Court slammed the Madhya Pradesh government for showing laxity in handling alleged cases of illegal clinical drug trials after the state administration failed to the file its response to a public interest litigation against the menace.

“Human life is sacred…people are dying every day and human beings continue to be treated like pigs for the puposes of clinical trials. This is most unfortunate,” said a bench headed by RM Lodha. 

Granting eight weeks time to the Centre for filing a comprehensive report, the bench said: “There cannot be any compromise on an issue like this." 

Laathonke Bhoot Baathonko Nahee Maanthe hein!

BMC ban helps crooks make money

Mumbai: Municipal and state government hospitals in the city have banned their patients and patients’ relatives from charging mobile phones in the hospital premises. The hospitals say that the charging of mobile phones adds to their electrical bills, encourages loud conversation and causes nuisance. Patients and their relatives call this ban insensitive and inhuman. 

Patients say they need to call their relatives multiple times a day, to ask for packed meals, medicines, or other requirements for their hospital stay. Talking to their relatives keep them relaxed, which may boost their recovery.

Nasir Razzaq has been in Nair hospital for the past five days after sustaining multiple fractures to his left arm in a car accident. Razzaq wanted to call his family. He plugged his mobile phone charger to an electrical socket in ward 8, where he is admitted. 

Razzaq told FPJ that a security guard came up to him and informed him of the ban. He said the security guard also threatened to fine him Rs. 500 if he persisted in charging his cellphone. And so Razzaq was unable to call his family.

Said Kabhir Shaikh, whose brother Imran has been admitted to Nair Hospital with a leg injury. “Most of our relatives’ numbers are in our cellphones. I don’t keep them in my head. I need to charge the phone so as to fetch their phone numbers and keep them updated about brother’s recovery.”

At KEM hospital, Parel, Mukesh Bangar conveys his sick daughter’s prospects to his worried relatives every day. His daughter Shraddha, seven months old, battles a life-threatening fever in Intensive Care. Bangar stays in Shahpur, district Thane. 

“Every day, I have to go outside the hospital to charge my phone. There are shops that charge me Rs. 10 for charging my cellphone  battery,” Bangar says. “I can’t afford it, what with the hospital charges and the medical and food bills.” 

Just outside KEM, there are two shops that offer cellphone charging, 24X7.One shop keeper, Sameer Jadav, said that he has hired four assistants specifically to handle the roaring business of cellphone charging. “They work in four shifts around the clock,” Jadhav said.

He added, “We have over 50 cellphone chargers at our shop, including generic chargers for those cellphones which won’t take any of the other chargers.” 

Oddly, municipal authorities say that there is, in fact, no ban on patients charging their cellphones.

“There is no rule forbidding patients from charging their cellphones,” said Dr. Sanjay Oak, BMC’s Health director. “Neither is there any provision for fines.”

Why, then are patients being inconvenienced?

A municipal hospital nurse said, on condition of anonymity, that the warnings about fines have been put up just to deter patients. “We want to prevent too many people from charging their phones at the same time,” she said.

FPJ found that the KEM’s ward number 4 carries a notice saying, ‘Rs. 500 fine for charging cellphones.’ In ward number 1, though, security guards instantly levy a fine of Rs. 50 for charging cellphones. The Rs. 50 fine goes into the poor fund, said a nurse from ward 1 on condition of anonymity (municipal nurses are forbidden from speaking to the media).

Thus, the ban on charging is in fact a bogey. The dean of the state government –run JJ hospital in Byculla has banned cellphone charging, but has levied no fines.

JJ’s dean Dr. Tatyarao Lahane told FPJ, “We used to let patients’ relatives charge their cellphones from the electrical plugs in our verandah. We were, however, forced to remove the electrical plugs after noticing quarrels between the relatives of patients, each of whom wanted to charge their cellphone first.”

While some patients are able to charge their cellphones on the sly, others are unable to contact their loved ones. They insist that the ad-hoc ban should be removed.

Let the hospital allow charge cellphone and levy a cost of Rs:2/- per half an hour. It will solve all problems, so also save some money for the hospital.

Fukushima nuclear crisis man-made

Tokyo: The nuclear accident at Fukushima was a preventable disaster rooted in government – industry collusion and the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture, a parliamentary inquiry concluded. The report, released by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, also warned that the plant may have been damaged by the earthquake on March 11, 2011, even before the arrival of a tsunami. 

Shall augur well for power needy.

Pay us first & then save others life

New Delhi: An assistant drug controller and an employee of a Custom House agent were caught red-handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from an importer for clearing a consignment of life-saving drug in the air cargo complex of the Sahar International Airport in Mumbai. Both have been taken on remand till Monday, a CBI spokesperson here said. She said a case has been registered against the assistant drug controller under Section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

The CBI laid the trap and caught the officer demanding the bribe to issue a “no objection certificate” for the consignment and also arrested the agent’s employee collecting the money on behalf of the officer.

Raids conducted at the officer’s residential premises in Mumbai and Delhi led to the recovery of Rs. 20 lakh in cash and counterfoils of cash deposit of Rs 30.50 lakh in his bank accounts, the spokesperson said, adding that Rs 6.64 lakh were recovered in the search at the residence of the agent’s employee.

We are Indians, the title said it all.

Allow constables to collect fines, HC tells traffic police

Mumbai:  The Bombay High Court recently indicated that it would direct the Maharashtra government to constitute a high-powered committee to address the traffic woes faced by citizens.

The court also suggested the government to give power of imposing fine upon the violators of traffic rules to the constable or police naik.

A division bench of Chief Justice, Mohit Shah and Justice, Nitin Jamdar, was hearing public interest litigation filed by Bombay Bar Association seeking strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations.

As per the directions on the last hearing, O P Gupta, general manager of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST), joint commissioner of traffic police, Vivek Phansalkar, deputy secretary of home department, transport Commissioner, V N More and officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s road and traffic signal department were present in the court.

The problem is the higher hierarchical mindset, not delegating power.